Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

The historical records only contain the four words "abolished due to an incident".

But it's definitely not a trivial matter.

They must have committed a serious crime!

Because not only was the perpetrator stripped of his title of "Duke Yansheng"

The Northern Song court also changed the title to "Duke Fengsheng".

It seems they feel that the descendants of Confucius are unworthy of being called "Yansheng" (a title implying sagehood).

Chapter 1954 Confucian Temple

This punishment is too severe.

This is probably not just ordinary corruption and bribery.

Instead, they committed heinous crimes.

Zhao Yuan asked, "What about the future Confucian Temple?"

"We must make offerings to the sages of past dynasties,"

"Which wise men do you think should be invited in?"

"Lord Fan Zhongyan!"

Fu Zhirou answered immediately.

Zhao Yuan nodded and said, "Okay."

Fu Zhirou then said, "Han Wengong!"

“That works too,” Zhao Yuan said with a smile.

Fu Zhirou stole a glance at the emperor: "How about the Cheng brothers?"

Zhao Yuan thought for a moment: "Since Wang Linchuan has already entered the Confucian Temple,"

"The Cheng brothers should also enter,"

"Su Dongpo is also acceptable."

Wang Anshi, the Cheng brothers, and Su Shi were all carried into the Confucian Temple.

This aligns with the Ming Dynasty's national policy on academics.

This is tantamount to official recognition of the New Learning, Luoyang Learning, and Su Learning.

The official schools of the Ming Dynasty in the future will inevitably integrate these three schools.

No one should try to dominate the market.

Each should learn from the strengths and make up for the weaknesses.

Then incorporate natural science.

That is the true official learning of the Ming Dynasty!

Zhao Yuan then said, "Zhang Hengqu should also be enshrined in the Confucian Temple."

"His four sentences were excellent."

"To establish a moral compass for heaven and earth,"

"To establish a life for the people,"

"To continue the lost learning of the sages,"

"To usher in an era of peace for all generations."

The Confucian Temple of the Northern Song Dynasty

For now, only the "Ten Sages" are available.

The concept of "four matching" was not even mentioned.

All the sages,

They were all divided into four categories.

That is: virtue, speech, deeds, and writing.

Zhao Yuan was troubled by,

It's easy to stuff me in.

It was extremely difficult to fit Mozi inside!

.....

The Ji River meanders eastward.

The river surface was covered with sails.

Compared to the bustling docks,

The city of Jinan is much quieter.

Zhao Yuan stood on the city tower and gazed into the distance for a while, then couldn't help but ask:

How many households remain in the outer wards of Jinan city?

Linghu Xu replied, "A little over twenty thousand."

Zhao Yuan listened in silence.

The population was smaller than he had imagined.

War and famine,

The elderly person is unlikely to survive.

The average household size is estimated to be only two or three people.

There will definitely be no more than four.

In other words, Jinan, as the capital of Shandong province,

Only 70,000 to 80,000 residents remain in and around the city.

Zhang Shuye pointed into the distance and said:

"Jinan City was besieged by bandits many times,"

"But it was only breached by bandits once."

"Unable to breach the city each time?"

"The bandits then plundered towns and villages in the suburbs."

"The nearby towns of Liuhong, Sungeng, Yaoqiang, and Huihe..."

"They were repeatedly robbed by bandits five or six times."

"Although a large number of displaced people were resettled last year,"

"But these towns and villages are still sparsely populated."

"Even some large landowners,"

"We can't even recruit enough tenants,"

"They can only abandon their land."

It would be a miracle if large landowners could find tenants.

The Shandong government encouraged land reclamation.

Everyone can get a share of land.

Able to cultivate their own land,

Why should tenant farmers be hired by landlords?

Those landlords in Shandong nowadays

They all treated the tenants like gods.

They were afraid that the tenants in their household would quit.

The reason they were able to retain some tenant farmers was...

It's purely based on high-interest loans they've taken out in the past.

But the Ming Dynasty court,

The "rent and interest reduction campaign" has been launched in the hardest-hit areas.

Loans with excessively long repayment periods

The government does not recognize interest at all.

This is tantamount to encouraging poor farmers to only return the principal.

More than 20 years old debt,

You don't even have to repay the principal.

Recent debts with excessively high interest rates

The government has also set a maximum interest rate.

Any amount exceeding this limit will also not be recognized.

Chapter 1955 Promoting the Spirit of the Campaign

Officials at all levels, including provincial, prefectural, and county officials.

Every month, a clerk is dispatched to the front lines.

They traveled to the countryside on horseback and by boat to repeatedly promote the policies.

These policies,

More and more farmers are aware of this.

Indebted farmers all rent half of their land from the creditors.

The other half was land allocated to them by the government.

Then, by saving every penny, they repaid the debts owed by their ancestors in installments.

Large landowners lacked tenant farmers,

Unable to defy the government,

I can only hold my nose and admit it.

If the landlords push too far...

The tenants chose to flee with their entire families.

In any case, all the prefectures in Shandong were resettling displaced people.

You can get a share of abandoned land by going to the government office to report.

"Is there a Xin family in Jinan?" Zhao Yuan asked.

Zhang Shuye served as an official in Jinan for many years.

I am very familiar with this place:

"There is a woman named Xin,"

"They moved here during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song,"

"He served as a judge in the Court of Judicial Review."

"Four generations of the family produced Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations)."

"He is quite famous in Jinan."

"They live in Yaoqiang Town to the east,"