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

Chapter 3404 Southerners Can Fight Too

Chen Ao, with his youthful spirit and unrestrained nature, stood in waist-deep lake water:

"If Your Majesty lacks capable generals, I will abandon my civil service career and take up military command to fight!"

"You're from the South, how long can you hold your breath?" Zhao Yuan asked.

Chen Ao replied, "Not much, just half an hour."

After saying that, Chen Ao dived into the lake to pick lotus roots for the emperor, his two long legs kicking wildly as he stretched out of the lake.

Is this some kind of personal attendant?

The officials and scholars were all stunned. How could they be so unprofessional?

Zhao Yuan smiled, growing increasingly fond of the young man.

Most of the scholars brought by the professors from Renqiu County School were also young people.

Seeing Chen Ao go into the water to harvest lotus roots, they were not to be outdone and all took off their clothes and jumped into the lake.

Normally this would be considered uncivilized, but in front of the emperor, it was seen as unrestrained and frivolous.

The group gathered a lot of lotus root shoots, and Zhao Yuan instructed, "Take them to cook, and share them today."

The magistrate of Renqiu County quickly beckoned to his clerks, whispered a few instructions, and soon the lotus root stalks were taken away.

There are quite a lot of people; there definitely won't be enough food.

These officials sought help from the villagers when the emperor couldn't see them.

It was not the busy farming season at the time, but when the common people heard that the emperor wanted to eat lotus root shoots, they all went to the nearby areas to help collect them with smiles.

While you're at it, bring over some fresh lake delicacies too, the magistrate guessed the emperor might like them.

A gentle southerly breeze blew, and the lake surface shimmered.

Zhao Yuan, who had been traveling extensively, felt refreshed standing on the boat.

He said to Prefect Liu Yizhi, "I have heard of Liu Xiaoxing's name. Why don't you compose another poem today? Poetry or lyrics are both fine."

"Xiaoxing" is not a courtesy name, but a poem written by Liu Yizhi.

He wasted half his life failing the imperial examination, but the prefect recommended him as one of the eight outstanding scholars and wanted to recommend him for an official position.

However, Liu Yizhi did not accept that he had finally passed the exam when he was over forty years old. At that time, it was too difficult to fill the vacancy, so he was directly thrown into collecting liquor tax.

Put yourself in their shoes: you spent half your life taking the imperial examinations, only to end up as a minor official collecting wine taxes.

Moreover, this country is devastated, so there's nowhere for you to realize your ambitions.

It wasn't until Emperor Huizong abdicated that Zhao Huan summoned Liu Yizhi back to the capital.

At that time, the whole country was in chaos. On his way to Beijing, Liu Yizhi woke up in the morning and saw the waning moon shining on the sparse forest.

He thought of the treacherous officials who were wreaking havoc on the country, and of his own wasted life with an uncertain future, and of his wife whom he had not seen for a long time. Moved by these thoughts, he wrote a poem called "Joyful Oriole - Dawn Walk".

This poem caused a sensation in the capital at the time and quickly spread throughout the country, because it touched the hearts of many scholars.

Liu Yizhi said, "In this haste, I have not come up with any good lines."

"When it came time to transplant rice seedlings this year, there was a slight spring drought in Xiong'an Prefecture. I saw the people using waterwheels to irrigate the fields, so I wrote a poem, which I haven't shown to anyone yet."

Zhao Yuan smiled and said, "Let me recite it for you all."

Liu Yizhi said, "This poem is called 'Waterwheel'."

"The high fields face the low valleys, and the stream flows gently but in different directions."

"I wish to irrigate the fields, but Heaven does not send down the thunderbolts."

The old dragon, its joints thin, drank water as it slurped up mud.

At first glance, it seemed as if the earth's axis was being shaken by the treading of the windmills, which then turned in tandem.

Alas, my wife's feet never stop; she walks a hundred miles a day without leaving home.

Green awns and thorny seedlings sprout in the water; when will the snow-like waves of rice bloom on the ridges?

Farmers toil without a care in the world, their ears never tired of the constant nagging.

In my twilight years, I still yearn for a full stomach; for I find this music and drumming more pleasing than the sound of croaking frogs.

Zhao Yuan was unaware of this poem.

The poem, told from the perspective of a peasant mother and her son, reveals the hardships and toil of farmers, as well as their meager desire for just enough to eat.

Moreover, the description of the waterwheel is extremely vivid, with both magnificent and simple imagination.

"Good poetry,"

Zhao Yuan clapped his hands in praise,

"The Prime Minister will definitely like it! He loves farming and has even built waterwheels by hand."

Liu Yizhi cupped his hands and said, "It's just my humble work; I hope Your Majesty will forgive my poor writing."

Zhao Yuan then looked at Chen Kangbo: "And you?"

Chen Kangbo immediately recited: "The people of Hai are all righteous and courteous, and the bandits of Huangchi have ceased their fighting."

"The four borders of agriculture and sericulture have seen bountiful harvests year after year, and the sounds of flutes and drums fill the air in thousands of villages."

"That's a fine poem too!"

Everyone praised it.

This poem was even more appealing to the emperor.

Peace reigns throughout the land, and wars have ceased. The nation enjoys bountiful harvests year after year, and the world is filled with tranquility.

This song praises the glorious Ming Dynasty, and also subtly criticizes the former Song Dynasty.

Chen Kangbo is twenty years younger than Liu Yizhi, full of vigor and ambition, and naturally focuses on the positive aspects.

Liu Yizhi, however, is over fifty years old and has experienced too many setbacks, making him more appreciative of human suffering.

Chen Ao climbed out of the lake, still wet, half-clothed and shirtless, and quickly jotted down the poems of the two men.

Several county magistrates and school principals also came to compose poems, which were actually all thought up halfway through. The content mainly praised the Ming Dynasty, and some also wrote about the great governance of Hebei in recent years.

Subsequently, the scholars also took out their works to recite, hoping to take the opportunity to show off their talents in front of the emperor.

The crowd asked the emperor to leave behind a poem, which he gladly accepted.

Zhao Yuan did not change the poem "The lotus leaves stretch to the sky, an endless expanse of green," but instead used poetry to express his purpose.

Su Qin brought over paper and pen, and Zhao Yuan wrote with a wave of his hand: "Distribute this to all prefectures and counties in Hebei, instructing them to conscript laborers to join the army after the autumn harvest!"

Chapter 3405 Military Music

"yes!".

Su Qin recited: "The Song of Joining the Army".

"Autumn winds blow and horns sound on the frontier, the setting sun shines on banners atop the city walls. Young men on horseback are perfectly suited for it. Joining the army is joyful; do not ask who you serve."

The scouts had barely reached the north of Ji when their first message was already sent to the west of Liao.

Her return will still coincide with the willows swaying in the breeze. Under the spring moon in her boudoir, the beautiful woman need not weep.

Everyone was solemn upon hearing this. Although they had already guessed it, they were now finally certain that war was about to break out.

Liu Yizhi cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, rice is grown in several counties along both banks of the Juma River, and the harvest season is later than in the south."

“If a large number of laborers are conscripted, it may affect the autumn harvest, and the people will have many complaints.”

Zhao Yuan said, "In counties and prefectures where rice is grown, families with only one able-bodied man are exempt from conscription."

"During the busy farming season, the tax for each laborer is equivalent to the tax for ten acres of land."

Liu Yizhi finally smiled and said, "In that case, the people will all be happy to follow."

Throughout the Hebei region, the newly recovered Youyan area was sparsely populated, and the lower reaches of the Yellow River were equally desolate and impoverished.

The three prefectures of Zhengding, Baoding, and Xiong'an were the closest to each other and had the largest populations, so the laborers naturally had to come from these places.

After enjoying the boat trip for a while, Zhao Yuan ordered his men to return to shore.

The meal had been prepared, and Zhao Yuan sat on the ground, inviting everyone to join in the feast.

...

We crossed the Juma River and continued north.

Once you leave the rice-growing areas on the north bank, the scenery instantly becomes desolate.

The land along the way is vast and sparsely populated, and the wind blows the grass low, revealing white bones.

Only when you get close to the various county towns do you feel like you've returned to the human world.

The entire Youyan region is similar; signs of human activity can only be seen within a few miles of each county town.

Even small towns are rare; everywhere you look, there are deserted villages.

The old house, covered in vines, suggests that it was once a wealthy family.

Occasionally there would be a post station, surrounded by fences to keep out wolves and wild dogs.

All of Zhao Yuan's entourage were visiting the north, which had been ravaged by the Jurchens, for the first time.

Actually, we can't blame everything on the Jin Dynasty, because by the end of the Liao Dynasty, it had already experienced ten years of war and famine.

The State of Song bought this place several years ago and transported countless amounts of money and grain here.

It was either embezzled by civil officials or used to maintain the troops of Guo Yaoshi and others.

Every year there was famine, bandits roamed freely, and the area was repeatedly invaded and looted by traitorous generals of the Jin Dynasty.

Immediately afterwards, the Jin soldiers arrived.

Instead of providing relief to the people, they continued to exploit them to the point of death!

How many people could possibly be left?

Upon arriving outside Yongqing County, the county magistrate led officials out of the city to greet them.

Zhao Yuan asked, "How many people are there in the entire county at this time?"

The magistrate replied, "More than 20,000. A small portion is in the county seat and its suburbs, and the large portion is on the north bank of the Juma River."

"The recovery is going well." Zhao Yuan nodded approvingly.

Indeed, the recovery is quite good. The more than 20,000 people in Yongqing County are either from various ethnic groups who did not want to follow the Jin Dynasty to retreat, or criminals and their families who were exiled and relocated.

The Han, Khitan, Xi, and Bohai people from the north lived in harmony with the exiled criminals.

There was wasteland everywhere, and they could cultivate it as they pleased without any conflicts of interest.

In order to obtain tax reductions and exemptions, people of all ethnic groups responded to the government's call and took the initiative to intermarry with the Han people who had been exiled there.

Decades later, it will probably be completely translated into Chinese.

Further north, in Anci County, Zhao Yuan inquired and learned that the county had a population of just over ten thousand.

Huoyin County was in an even worse situation, with only a little over 6,000 people in the entire county.

Continuing eastward to Xianghe County, the entire county had fewer than three thousand people, half of whom were convicts and their families...

There are few shops in the county town; most people live and farm in the suburbs.

Here, you don't even need money; you can return to the era of bartering, taking your harvested grains and poultry to the city to exchange for supplies such as salt and cloth.

"The people's livelihood is in ruins!" Zhao Yuan couldn't help but sigh.

Chen Ao said, "Once Your Majesty destroys the Jin Kingdom, we can recuperate and rebuild our lives. Thirty years later, our population will surely be prosperous."

After staying in Xianghe County for two days, Li Bao came from Yanjing to pay his respects.

The emperor and his minister were quite pleased to meet, and Zhao Yuan took Li Bao out for a drink.

After drinking a few cups, Zhao Yuan mentioned the desolation of the place, and Li Bao shook his head repeatedly: "Continue east and north, the counties are even more dilapidated."

"In the entire Shicheng County (Kaiping), there are only a little over a hundred households."

"Moreover, each household has a small population, only three or four hundred people in total."