Control your ancestors and create an immortal family starting from the Eastern Han Dynasty

Chapter 241 The World Is in Turmoil, Merchants in the South and Farmers in the North (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

One war shakes the world!

As news of the fall of the Southern Han and Southern Tang dynasties spread, the atmosphere across the land suddenly became more somber.

Even though everyone had long been aware of the Song army's strength.

But when you actually hear the news, you'll still be shocked!

Rumors about the reunification of the land by the generals spread far and wide, and also included various rumors about the Gu family.

This is what is meant by the contention of a hundred schools of thought.

Whether it's a new idea or an old one.

They will all take advantage of the current situation to drum up support and create momentum.

Not to mention the young scholars with new ideas, even some Confucian scholars with old ideas have changed under this wave.

—They applied the concept of "Mandate of Heaven" to the Gu family.

From the emperor to the Gu family.

This is also a very rare change.

To this end, many of them compiled detailed evidence, using the rise and fall of the Gu family to illustrate the rise and fall of the entire Nine Provinces.

This also greatly intensified academic competition, including so-called reforms among nations.

Kaifeng.

Gu Jin naturally returned to Kaifeng immediately, and Zhao Kuangyin treated him with the utmost courtesy.

The emperor personally led all his officials out of the city to welcome him.

The familiar scene is playing out once again.

Even though Zhao Kuangyin never liked to put on a show, he still fulfilled all the courtesies a ruler should have for this triumphant army.

It is worth mentioning that he spared Li Yu.

Furthermore, it is completely different from the original history.

He didn't even send anyone to monitor Li Yu, as if he didn't take this deposed ruler seriously at all, and directly ordered him to be sent to Julu.

This trust in the Gu family exceeded everyone's expectations.

After all, he was once the emperor, yet now he is safely placed in Julu without any oversight—no matter how you look at it, he seems like an unstable variable.

However, Zhao Kuangyin did not care.

In his words, "Since Li Yu's kingdom has been destroyed, if he could rise again, then I am not worthy of this position!"

Zhao Kuangyin was an extremely confident person.

No, perhaps it should be called arrogance.

Whether considering the world as a whole or just an individual, he was always so proud.

When this is applied to an emperor, it becomes an unparalleled display of imperial demeanor.

That's enough for anyone in the world to praise.

At the celebration banquet.

Zhao Kuangyin and Gu Jin discussed for a long time, and at this moment they reached an amazing consensus: they both decided to postpone the attack.

The impact of rapid expansion on a dynasty is far more significant than it seems.

Although this is a time of great change.

However, the Song Dynasty has not yet completely resolved the various problems in Shu, and now it has rapidly amassed troops against the Southern Han and Southern Tang. No matter how you look at it, it needs to slow down and at least integrate the various internal problems.

In fact, the territory of the Southern Han was not a problem for the Song Dynasty.

The Gu family's influence in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions was astonishing.

The rapid progress of maritime trade has led to a transformation in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, making them no longer what they were in history.

In addition, there are various religious factors.

All of this greatly enhanced the Gu family's status in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions.

With the help of the Gu family, it was not a problem to quickly integrate Guangdong and Guangxi. The main key was still in Sichuan and the former territory of the Southern Tang.

Of course, the two of them didn't stop there.

A great era of contention lies ahead.

If you want to accomplish anything, you must first build it on the strength of your nation. This applies to both internal governance and external territorial expansion.

Whether it was Zhao Kuangyin or Gu Jin.

Both of their core strategies were to prioritize the south before moving north.

The initial framework has now been established, and for the Song Dynasty, which now enjoys immense prestige, there is no need to launch any further military action!

Sometimes, momentum itself is the most powerful weapon.

Following Gu Jin's advice, Zhao Kuangyin announced the change of reign title to "Kaibao" and proclaimed it to the world, declaring his ambition to unify the south.

—The news spread, causing shockwaves everywhere!
And things unfolded exactly as Gu Jin had predicted.

It happened in June of the first year of the Kaibao era.

The ruler of Wuyue sent his crown prince to Bian and requested to abolish his kingdom and surrender.

From then on, the Song Dynasty took over all the southern lands, forming a situation of confrontation between the north and south with the Northern Han and Liao dynasties in the north.

Time is like water, years are like a shuttle.

As a polymath.

Gu Jin was not only training the Song army, but also working with Zhao Kuangyin to reorganize the various systems in the Song territory.

This is something they have to do.

The system established by Zhao Kuangyin was indeed too basic.

The Song Dynasty of today can no longer be considered a small country.

Although complete unification has not yet been achieved, the entire south has been unified, and the overall system needs to be further improved in any way.

Fortunately, Zhao Kuangyin was the founding emperor of the dynasty and also a decisive and ruthless person.

The two of them cooperated.

There was simply no one who could stop them.

Gu Jin made many changes to the Song Dynasty's system, but his main key was still the method of benefiting farmers through commerce.

The convenient maritime trade between Jiangnan and Guangdong and Guangxi provided the foundation for all of this.

It is worth mentioning that Gu Jin has further relaxed the maritime trade policy this time.

Both the Jiangnan region and the Guangdong and Guangxi regions were key areas for maritime trade.

For the Song Dynasty at present, this is undoubtedly the most effective way to rapidly enhance its national strength in a short period of time.

Of course, Gu Jin was well aware of the risks hidden behind this policy.

Given the usual style of the Gu family members, he would never have taken such a step—after all, the Gu family's vision has always been more far-sighted than that of ordinary people.

But the situation is different now.

Various states implemented reforms, especially the powerful Liao state in the north, which integrated new ideas with Legalism to build a completely new system.

They drew upon Shang Yang's "laws," emphasizing strict laws and regulations and justifiable rewards and punishments; absorbed Shen Buhai's "techniques," focusing on managing officials, supervising governance, and evaluating performance; and integrated Shen Dao's "power," strengthening the monarch's authority and consolidating centralized power.

The three factions united and established themselves on the foundation of agriculture and warfare, thus initiating a vigorous transformation throughout the Liao Kingdom.

Even Gu Yi noticed this.

The Liao Dynasty had a vast territory, far exceeding that of the Song Dynasty.

What's more important is——

The Kyushu of today is different from its original historical trajectory.

Although foreign tribes still retain their pastoral traditions, the area of ​​arable land in various regions has already changed due to the continuous expansion of Kyushu culture.

This is why this system of agriculture and warfare, which originated in the Central Plains but was further developed in the north, was particularly suitable for the Liao Dynasty.

The entire Liao region was like two extremes compared to the Song Dynasty.

Commerce and Agriculture

Each of them considered it their own priority.

The Northern Han is also undergoing sweeping reforms, though it is slightly less effective than the Liao. This is not only because the Northern Han's strength is inherently inferior to that of the Liao.

The most crucial reason was that the rulers of Northern Han were too easily swayed, which led to intense infighting among various factions throughout Northern Han.

It was precisely for this reason that Gu Jin had no choice but to make this decision.

In an era of great strife, this is how things should be.

However, he also had a backup plan – the re-establishment of the Censorate throughout the Song Dynasty was a prelude to curbing excessive commercial expansion in the future.

Gu Yi watched all of this silently.

It must be said that this period of chaos was the one that truly stirred his emotions.

It even far surpasses the well-known Three Kingdoms period.

The influx of new ideas enabled Kyushu to achieve a qualitative leap based on its existing culture.

Unlike the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.

The intellectual resources accumulated by our predecessors are already extremely rich, and new ideas no longer need to go through the hardships and pioneering efforts of ancient sages in carrying out educational activities.

Although it seems that Kyushu has not changed much compared to the original history.

But this is not the case.

Whether in terms of education or influence over the surrounding regions, Kyushu today is far beyond what it was in its original history.

The doctrines of the various schools of thought—from the benevolent governance of Confucius and Mencius to the rule of law of Han Fei, from the universal love of Mozi to the naturalism of Laozi and Zhuangzi—have all been repeatedly expounded and deeply analyzed.

The emergence of new ideas is merely a comprehensive leap forward achieved on this basis.

This is bound to bring forth a host of exceptional talents beyond academics.

Some of these people never even appeared in the original history.

Take He Yu, for example, who is now carrying out reforms in Liaodong. He himself is not found in the original history, but his achievements today can definitely be called one of the most dazzling people in the world.

This is an unprecedented trend.

It surpasses all previous periods of chaos, and the changes it can bring will be unprecedented.

It's not just about the rise and fall of dynasties.

The key is the idea.

Just like the various states that coexisted during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, eventually developing into a unified empire.

The same is true today!
Gu Yi is currently unaware of what changes this will bring to the future.

But no matter how you look at it—

This matter cannot be considered a bad thing for the entire Nine Provinces, and the same is true for the Gu family, because all factions are centered on unification.

This fundamentally prevented the Kyushu from splitting apart.

In addition, the advancement of ideas is definitely one of the best opportunities to promote science and also the best opportunity for Gu to spread his influence to the world.

Even if the Gu family's descendants are subject to restrictions.

Gu Yi had to do it.

Time passes quickly.

Amidst this sweeping reform movement, the atmosphere of tension and intrigue across the land intensified. Open and covert struggles raged throughout the regions, and everyone could clearly sense that a massive war was about to erupt.

It is worth mentioning that the Song Dynasty never relaxed its war preparations and continued to strengthen its military, seemingly preparing for a northern expedition at any time.

This was Gu Jin's decision.

At the height of its power, the Song Dynasty's actions not only enhanced its prestige but also inspired more people to support it.

At this time, outside Kaifeng city.

Tread. Tread. Tread.
A troop of cavalry was galloping towards the city gate.

Upon seeing the fluttering banners of the Gu family, the soldiers guarding the city dared not obstruct them in the slightest and quickly opened the city gates, allowing them to enter unimpeded.

Gu Jin did not slow down, but rode straight into the city, only reining in his horse in front of the palace.

"The entire army is lined up—awaiting my audience with the Emperor."

His tone was calm but unquestionable.

Having said that, he strode towards the palace gate.

"Here!"

Without any hesitation, the dozens of armored soldiers behind him roared in unison.

The guards outside the palace stared at these people with unwavering determination. Even though these people hadn't done anything, the aura they exuded was enough to instill fear in them.

Unlike previous generations of Gu family members who governed the army, Gu Jin placed great emphasis on military discipline.

Over the past year, he has vigorously reorganized the Song army, with strict discipline and extremely high requirements.

This was also due to the circumstances.

The arrogance of military figures during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period is already evident in the original history, let alone in the even more chaotic world today.

Enforcing military discipline was something Gu Jin absolutely had to do.

The results were equally remarkable. Although Gu Jin dealt with many arrogant and fierce soldiers, the overall strength of the Song army was far greater than before, especially in terms of morale, which was incomparable to what it used to be.

Funing Hall.

"Your subject Gu Jin greets Your Majesty."

Hearing the sounds coming from outside the hall, Zhao Kuangyin quickly put down the memorial in his hand, waved his hand, and told the eunuch to bring Gu Jin in immediately. A smile immediately appeared on his face.

His attitude towards Gu Jin became better and better.

The reason is also quite simple.

That means Gu Jin's various systems have already yielded results.

Unlike farming.

Commercial development is inherently faster than arable land, not to mention that the Jiangnan region already had a sufficient foundation.

In just one year...

The total tax revenue of the Song Dynasty has increased nearly fivefold.

This is an extremely alarming number. Although it includes the issue of land for the newly stationed troops of the Song Dynasty, the key issue lies elsewhere.

Gu Jin was exempted from a significant amount of land taxes.

Especially in newly acquired lands.

This includes the changes in officialdom brought about by the reopening of the Censorate.

Although Zhao Kuangyin had already gained enough prestige, it was still not as great as the Gu family's prestige over the past few centuries.

Especially in the past year.

Gu Jin successively dealt with arrogant soldiers and even nobles.

This earned him a considerable notoriety.

That's the key point.

Seeing Gu Jin enter the hall in full military attire, Zhao Kuangyin did not pay attention to his armor and asked with a smile before he could speak, "Huaiyu, what brings you back to the capital so suddenly?"

He paused slightly, then said, "Let me guess—"

"Have you come to attack the Northern Han?"

Gu Jin was not surprised that Zhao Kuangyin had guessed his purpose, and immediately bowed and replied, "Your Majesty is wise, this is exactly what I intended."

His expression grew solemn as he continued his report: "I have recently learned that the Liao Kingdom's harvest last year more than doubled compared to previous years, and there have been repeated indications that it intends to conquer the Western Regions in the west and pacify Liaodong in the east, attempting to open up trade routes."

"If my prediction is correct, the Liao Kingdom will surely become a major threat to our Great Song Dynasty in the future."

"The Northern Han has always been indecisive and wavering in its stance. If we do not eliminate this threat before the enemy's power is fully established, and wait until they coordinate with the north and south and gain a firm foothold, it will be too late to regret it!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin's expression instantly turned solemn.

Although he had long harbored the intention to launch a northern expedition against the Northern Han, he was not as knowledgeable about the specific movements of the Liao Kingdom in recent years as Gu Jin, who had been on the front lines.

At that moment, countless thoughts raced through his mind.

Zhao Kuangyin was never a hesitant ruler, especially since the plan for a northern expedition had long been brewing in his mind. After only a moment's hesitation, he decisively stated:

"good!".
(P.S.: I'm begging for monthly votes at the beginning of the month to help me climb the rankings. I'd be extremely grateful for your support.)
(End of this chapter)