Traveling back to the Northern Song Dynasty: Picking up a princess as my wife

Upon returning to the mountain stronghold, Li Zhen immediately organized a grain transport team of more than twenty people. He gave each person a composite bow from the spatial storage, and then distributed the sharpened arrows to everyone.

The Yue brothers, Yue Peng and Yue Ying, were worldly-wise. They knew the compound bow in their hands was no ordinary weapon. After a test shot, they discovered that it was not only incredibly powerful but also had an aiming aid function.

Seeing the wide-eyed expressions of the group who had just received the compound bows, Li Zhen thought to himself: What a bunch of bumpkins, never seen the world before. I haven't even equipped you with laser sights yet. If I did, you'd be scared to death.

As for the grain, Li Zhen moved the rice and flour from his spatial storage to two empty rooms in the mountain stronghold that night when no one was around. Of course, they were in bags without any writing on them. The next day, everyone loaded the rice and flour onto oxcarts and donkey carts using horse-drawn carts. The stronghold had brought out almost all of its means of transportation for this grain transport.

After finishing breakfast, Li Zhen mounted his horse and shouted to his twenty-odd men, "Let's go!"

On his way to Tangyin County, Li Zhen pondered that after the transaction was completed, he would need to find time to return to the modern world. He planned to convert the gold, jewelry, and paintings he received into cash, and with sufficient funds, he would try to acquire some stab-proof vests and other weapons. Unfortunately, China had very strict regulations on firearms; otherwise, he would have loved to equip his mountain stronghold with a batch of modern firearms, so he wouldn't have to fear any Jin soldiers.

Although Tangyin County is now under the administration of the Jin Dynasty, apart from the prefectural government officials who are dispatched by the Jin, the rest of the officials and clerks are still the same people. The common people continue to live as before; nowadays, they only care about solving their basic needs and don't care who governs them.

The group continued their journey without stopping. Upon arriving at the gates of Tangyin County, they met the grain shop owner, who was already waiting there. Seeing that Li Zhen had arrived as promised, and that his men were all dressed in uniform—though the style was somewhat strange—the owner was even more certain that this mysterious young master was from a prominent southern family. Otherwise, in an era where even food was scarce, who would bother to dress their servants in identical clothes?

After confirming that the amount of grain was correct, the other party also brought over the prepared gold.

After weighing each item one by one with a scale he had prepared in advance, Yue Peng said to Li Zhen, "Young Master, the quantity is fine."

Li Zhen laughed heartily as he bid farewell to the grain store manager: "Come find me again if you need grain next time. I'm currently in Lijiazhai, twenty miles south of the city. Goodbye for now."

After saying this, he led everyone back happily. The grain shop manager watched Li Zhen and the others leave, and then had the grain temporarily transported to Tangyin County by carriage. This was all high-quality grain, and they had to find a way to transport it to Daming Prefecture and other major prefectures, because only in those places would wealthy people be willing to pay high prices for such good things.

Li Zhen was exceptionally happy today. He shouted to the crowd behind him from his horse, "Everyone, hurry up! We'll go back to the mountain stronghold for lunch!"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately erupted in excitement. While others were struggling to get enough to eat, they, following their leader, not only ate premium rice and flour every day, but today Leader Li was even providing them with meat. What kind of person was he? He was practically a god!

At this time, Li Zhen was unaware that almost all of the more than one hundred people in the mountain stronghold were extremely loyal to him. If Li Zhen asked them to join in the rebellion, they would do it without hesitation.

Upon returning to the mountain stronghold, Li Zhen immediately retrieved over a dozen slaughtered pigs from his spatial storage and, when no one was around, placed them in the stronghold's warehouse. He told Widow Zhang, who was in charge of cooking, to prepare several large pots of braised pork for everyone, and not to be stingy, as he would have more after they finished eating.

Before eating, he wandered around the mountain stronghold alone to see what needed to be improved. After all, this was his base in the Northern Song Dynasty, and it not only had to be sturdy and safe, but also comfortable.

With the cement provided by Li Zhen and various modern bricklaying tools, the mountain stronghold's walls have been built to a height of over ten meters and a thickness of two meters. Constructed using stones from the mountains and cement, their sturdiness is such that even explosives might not be able to breach them.

Then there are the houses in the mountain stronghold. The original mud walls have been replaced with red brick and tile houses, and the materials were also brought over by Li Zhen from modern times. Since this is in the north, considering the issue of heating in winter, each house has been equipped with a heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove). Later, some coal will be brought over, so the winter won't be so cold.

As Li Zhen wandered around, he spotted Zhao Yingluo. The princess was learning how to sew under the tutelage of several former palace maids. However, judging from the dense needle marks on her hands, it was clear that this former princess had endured considerable hardship.

Zhao Yingluo was also on the verge of tears. She originally thought it would be a very simple matter, but the thin iron needle just wouldn't obey her commands when it was in her hand, and she felt that her fingers were swollen.

"Uh-huh..."

Zhao Yingluo looked up when she heard the noise and saw that it was Li Zhen. Zhao Yingluo and several palace maids stood up to greet Li Zhen, but Li Zhen raised his hand to indicate that they didn't need to be so polite.

Li Zhen looked at Zhao Yingluo and said, "How are you doing? Are you settling in well in the mountain stronghold? This place is nothing like your palace."

Hearing this, Zhao Yingluo's heart stirred, but she quickly regained her composure: "Thank you for taking me in, Chief. Now that the Song Dynasty is gone, what princess is there to speak of? From now on, Chief, just call me Yingluo."

Looking at the charming Zhao Yingluo in front of him, Li Zhen said softly, "You don't need to do this kind of work. The population in the mountain village is growing, and I've decided to open a school there. I'm thinking of having you as the teacher. I wonder if you'd be willing?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yingluo immediately agreed: "Yes, I'm willing."

She might not be good at other things, but when it comes to calligraphy and painting, she is definitely an expert. After all, she is the daughter of Emperor Huizong of Song, the emperor of calligraphy and painting, and has been exposed to these things since childhood.

During the Song Dynasty, learning culture was not something ordinary people could even dream of. Not to mention whether they could afford tuition, even the writing brushes, ink, and paper were beyond the reach of most families.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, those who could study were mainly concentrated among the scholar-official class. However, some people from other social classes, such as farmers, artisans, and merchants, also had the means and ability to receive education. Furthermore, while women faced certain limitations in accessing education, there were also exceptions where they were able to receive it.

Furthermore, Emperor Taizong of Song's governing philosophy emphasized co-governing the country with the scholar-officials, making the scholar-official class a vital part of society. The scholar-official class was the most prestigious stratum in the Northern Song society, typically obtaining official positions and prestigious status through the imperial examinations.

However, Li Zhen was well-educated and understood the drawbacks of the feudal system's policy of keeping the people ignorant. Therefore, if he wanted to develop in the Northern Song Dynasty in the long term, he needed to develop his own power. This power was not only military force but also cultural and educational resources. Once he had his own group of scholars, would he still have to worry about a lack of talent?