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

There are two main reasons why the two countries went to war:

First, when the Ming prince was regent in Annam, he did not replenish the troops after the ten provinces of Annam were decimated.

Instead, they took the opportunity to carry out large-scale troop reductions, directly halving the size of Annam's standing army.

This reassured both Champa and Zhenla, as they no longer needed to guard against Annam and could attack each other.

Secondly, the old king of Champa died last year without leaving any heirs, and was succeeded by a member of a collateral branch of the royal family.

The King of Zhenla believed there was something wrong with his bloodline, and that his son's bloodline was more legitimate. He wanted to send his son to become the King of Champa.

The current king of Khmer is the same one who built Angkor Wat, named Suryavarman II.

The Angkor Dynasty of Zhenla that he took over had reached its zenith in terms of both territory and finances.

So they went all out and built hundreds of temples of all sizes, with Angkor Wat being the largest of them all.

Chapter 3844 Southeastern Countries

The state religion of Zhenla was the Shaivite Brahmanism, but this king believed in the Vishnu sect, which greatly displeased the mainstream Buddhist community in the country.

"Envoys from Champa and Zhenla, receive the imperial decree!"

Not long after the duel ended, an imperial messenger came to deliver an imperial decree, but Zhao Yuan was too lazy to deal with such a trivial matter personally.

"...Champa and Zhenla are both vassal states of the Ming Dynasty. The two countries are like brothers and should no longer attack each other..."

"...The succession to the throne of Champa should be decided by the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty. Does the King of Zhenla intend to usurp the Emperor's authority?"

"Now, all official titles of the King of Zhenla are stripped except for the title of King, and he will no longer be ranked like a prince of the Ming Dynasty..."

"...The Zhenla people and wealth looted from Champa were ordered to be returned immediately..."

The Champa envoy cheered immediately, "Father really is on our side!"

The Zhenla envoy was furious and no longer held the rank of a Ming prince. Thus, the Zhenla king was inferior to the Champa king.

No matter how angry you are, you have to hold it in!

After the messenger left, the Zhenla envoy glared at the Champa envoy, and they decided to send a large force when they returned.

The newly enthroned King of Champa did indeed have some issues with his bloodline, and there were many opponents within his country.

Historically, the Zhenla people would take advantage of internal strife in Champa and, a few years later, would march on the Champa capital, plunder it, and kill the Champa king.

Taira no Kiyomori witnessed the entire reading of the imperial edict and couldn't help but exclaim, "This is the true power of the emperor. It can not only subdue the country but also command many foreign nations."

Hanoi Gyeong-qun asked, "What exactly do you want to do upon returning to your country?"

Taira no Kiyomori remained silent.

His current ambition is to unify all the counties and districts of Japan, use the "Emperor" to command the feudal lords, and then use force to punish those who disobey.

The Dali envoy remained silent throughout the entire process and quietly retreated to his own courtyard.

Although the Ming Dynasty did not directly attack Dali, it destroyed the Luodian Kingdom and the Ziqi Kingdom and supported tribes that were close to the Ming Dynasty to rule the local area.

They then dealt with the independent-leaning Special Mill Road again, and appointed a new Special Mill Road Commander who was close to the Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, every year, convicts were resettled in Guizhou to cultivate the land.

Dali has lost its external defenses, and who knows when the Ming Dynasty might suddenly send troops.

Now that the Western Xia dynasty is gone, I wonder who will be next.

The Goryeo envoys were not stationed in Luoyang because the cost of living in Luoyang was too high, and the Goryeo king and his officials were unwilling to send envoys to reside there permanently.

Especially after the two countries opened up trade, there was no need to do business under the guise of tribute.

In the end, the military leaders simply drew their swords, massacred the civil officials, and installed a new emperor.

The chaos of the Goryeo warrior era is reminiscent of the Five Dynasties period in China.

Now that the Ming Dynasty has occupied Pyongyang, there is no longer any power struggle among the nobles of Xijing. The nobles of Gaegyeong are playing even more wildly than in history.

Moreover, the Ming army was too powerful, and Goryeo couldn't win anyway, so the powerful clans stopped caring about military development, and most of the military expenses went into the pockets of civil officials.

It's fair to say that even mid-level officers in Goryeo are struggling to get enough to eat, and ordinary soldiers have to find all sorts of ways to make a living.

The only thing missing is a trigger to ignite the Korean warriors' show of their swords.

……

Chui Gong Hall.

Prime Minister Liu Jian bowed respectfully: "Your Majesty, the drought this year is becoming increasingly severe, and hundreds of thousands of laborers have been conscripted in the spring. The three provinces of Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan need grain relief."

"In preparation for the campaign against the Western Xia, grain from various provinces has been transported to Shanxi and Shaanxi for the past three years, and the grain reserves in the south from previous years are already running low."

Chapter 3845 The Ceremony of Presenting Captives

Zhao Yuan said, "The Cabinet is discussing disaster relief matters with the Six Ministries."

After hesitating for a moment, Liu Jian couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty, please cancel the ceremony of presenting captives."

"Destroying the Xia dynasty is indeed a great joy, but the harvest is poor, so we must be more frugal."

"I'll think about it some more. You may leave now," Zhao Yuan said.

Liu Jian bowed and took his leave.

National-level ceremonies are indeed extremely expensive, with millions of strings of cash being thrown away at will.

From the powerful and wealthy to the lowly officials, from generals to soldiers, all participants were rewarded, and their meals were also provided.

I don’t know if it’s because of the Little Ice Age, but in recent years there have been floods in the south and droughts in the north. This year, Shaanxi, Shanxi and Henan are experiencing severe droughts again.

The drought devastated the Western Xia dynasty, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was one of the reasons for its demise.

But now that the Western Xia dynasty is gone, the drought cannot be stopped.

It was certainly not a good year for celebration, and holding a ceremony to present prisoners of war seemed to be doing a disservice to the disaster victims.

Zhao Yuan sighed and wrote: "In years of great disaster, we should practice frugality and not present captives to the emperor."

"All military commanders have returned to their posts. Soldiers, please wait patiently for your rewards..."

Since this was a war of annihilation, the ceremony of presenting prisoners of war would not be held, but other rewards would be increased.

The main problem for the Ming Dynasty right now is a shortage of food after the war, but not a shortage of gold, silver, or copper coins. We can simply reward the soldiers with more money.

Zhao Yuan then carefully examined the memorials from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites, which concerned the conferment of titles and rewards.

Yue Fei distinguished himself in the destruction of the Jin dynasty and was already granted the title of Marquis.

Now that he has made great contributions, he should be granted the title of Duke of a County, but Zhao Yuan decided to hold back.

This action is to protect Yue Fei!

His performance was so outstanding that it caused the merits of the two allied forces to be greatly reduced. Rising too fast is not a good thing.

However, we cannot allow Yue Fei to misunderstand, nor can we allow Yue Fei's generals to harbor resentment.

After much deliberation, Zhao Yuan made the following decision:

Yue Fei's marquisate remained unchanged, but his fiefdom and actual fief were increased, and his military rank was raised.

Honorary titles were bestowed upon Yue Fei's parents and principal wife, and those who had already died were posthumously honored.

All of Yue Fei's generals, including Han Shizhong's subordinates who followed Yue Fei on his raid, received additional rewards on top of their original titles.

He then bestowed upon Yue Fei a top-quality warhorse, a set of specially made armor, and a specially made long spear.

Han Shizhong's rewards were relatively simple: he was promoted from earl to marquis, and all other rewards were given to him.

They also have to take care of the elderly.

Deng Chunfeng was granted the title of County Duke.

Chen Ziyi had already been enfeoffed as a marquis, and this time he was promoted to a military rank and granted a full fief. He also bestowed titles upon his parents and wife.

The other early generals received additional rewards this time, as a way of giving them an explanation.

……

The emperor's procession, carrying imperial edicts and rewards, traveled from Luoyang to different provinces, prefectures, and counties.

If the troops are stationed too far away, and there is too much money to be used for rewards, it is impossible to transport it from the capital.

In this situation, one would take the Ming Dynasty banknotes with them and exchange a portion of them for silver dollars or copper coins at the nearest Baoquan Bureau.

High-ranking generals were rewarded with Ming Dynasty banknotes, mid- to low-ranking generals with silver dollars, and ordinary soldiers with copper coins.

With the flourishing of domestic and international trade, the issuance of the Ming Dynasty Treasure Notes proceeded very smoothly.

There were already four denominations: 500 guan, 200 guan, 100 guan, and 50 guan. They were mainly used for transactions of bulk commodities, and merchants could also use them to pay taxes at the government office.

Chapter 3846 The Currency Problem

Ordinary people rarely used this because the denomination was too large; many people's entire family fortune was less than fifty strings of cash.

Zhao Yuan was very cautious in bestowing honors upon Yue Fei, even carefully selecting the messenger—Zong Ze's grand-nephew, Zong Wu.

Zongwu made this long journey; he couldn't possibly only reward Yue Fei.

He first stopped in Kaifeng and, with an official document from the Ministry of War, obtained command of a troop of transport soldiers.

He then took the official document from the Ministry of Revenue, led the grain transport troops to the Kaifeng granary to collect supplies, and then distributed cartloads of wealth to the Kaifeng Imperial Guards.

Even those imperial guards who were ordered to stay in Kaifeng and did not go to fight against Western Xia received a few hundred coins as a token.

Zhao Yuan was not afraid that his soldiers would squander their money, as this could stimulate the local economy and accelerate the circulation of currency.

The drought-stricken areas are receiving emergency food relief, so even if food prices rise, they can be basically controlled.

The monetary problem in ancient China was never inflation, but rather that people hoarded their money, leading to a shortage of currency in the market!

After bestowing the rewards in Kaifeng, Zongwu went to Daming Prefecture.

The Yellow River diversion project was officially completed last year. Learning from the lessons of the Northern Song Dynasty's management of the Yellow River, the Ming Dynasty spent several years diverting the river.

Today, the main channel of the Yellow River flows through the southern suburbs of Daming Prefecture.

It passed through Qingping, Gaotang, Pingyuan, Dezhou, Deping, Leling, and Wudi, and finally entered the sea at the border of Wudi County and Haixing County in later generations.

In order to dredge the river and build dikes, the city of Dezhou was moved 15 li north.

Of the counties along the route, only Gaotang County remained untouched; the other five counties were all relocated, with the shortest relocation being to a new city ten miles away.

Kaide Prefecture (Puyang) and Daming Prefecture were key areas for the management of the Yellow River, with large dikes surrounding smaller dikes and large embankments surrounding smaller embankments.

In Zhao Village, located in the northwest suburbs of Puyang, all the villagers were relocated, and several additional dikes were built.

On the opposite bank of Shanghu Shoal, an artificial canal was dug to divert the flow. This artificial canal was about 200 li long and directly connected the Yellow River with Liangshan Marsh.

Artificial rivers have dikes and sluice gates. Normally, some gates are opened for navigation, and during floods, all gates are opened to release floodwaters. During dry seasons, the gates are closed to dredge the artificial waterway.

In Liangshan Marsh, tens of thousands of acres of farmland were returned to the lake. Furthermore, the reclamation of land around the lake was strictly prohibited; any violation would be punished in the same way as arson.

The entire ancient town of Daming Prefecture was relocated, and a large lake with a circumference of more than ten miles was dug for flood discharge and water storage.

The area is slightly elevated, so water is stored during the wet season and released during the dry season.

Several dikes were also built around the lake to store water and flush the river downstream.

From Kaide Prefecture all the way to the estuary, the Yellow River is regularly diverted for irrigation, which not only raises the terrain on both banks, but also releases the silt in the river and irrigates nearby farmland.

Once this series of projects is completed, and with proper maintenance, the Yellow River can be free from major problems for one or two hundred years.

With the Yellow River floods brought under control, Daming Prefecture, which Zongwu visited at this time, had become even more prosperous and bustling.

Merchants from Hebei and northern Shandong continuously stopped in Daming Prefecture to unload their goods, and countless others transported their goods to Kaifeng and Luoyang.

The prefect is organizing the people to reinforce the city walls!

During the more than ten years of Ming Dynasty rule, the population here flourished, and the number of people living in the surrounding areas increased significantly.

With the permanent population exceeding 300,000, the original city walls were no longer sufficient.

Chapter 3847 The Yellow River Breach