Simulates history, but Chongzhen is the Divine Emperor at the beginning

Chapter 265 Dominating the World!

Han Shizhong's unusual behavior arouses your curiosity, and your intuition tells you: he may know something more secret!

Driven by the desire to learn more, you began to subtly probe him, trying to extract the information you needed, such as the details of the "Battle of the Three Sovereigns," the specifics of the Jin Dynasty, and Zhao Gou's personal secrets...

[But to your disappointment, Han Shizhong, who used to love telling you those secrets, has now completely changed his tune. When you ask him friendly questions, he either deliberately avoids the topic or pretends not to know.]

This unusual change both disappoints you and fuels your growing curiosity: What does this old general know? What is he hiding?

【…】

Your attempts to test Han Shizhong have all failed!

In the days that followed, no matter what you asked him, he would try his best to keep quiet, simply squatting quietly in the corner of the cell pretending to be asleep...

Over time, a sense of unease gradually settles in your heart: your intuition tells you that you seem to be being treated differently!

The only possible reason for this change is your previous self-destruction towards Zhao Gou...

[You are puzzled by this: although you revealed this to Zhao Gou, the information you provided had all been processed, especially after being personally reviewed by the Chancellor, so the amount of truthful information was extremely low!]

In theory, at most Zhao Gou would only regard you as an "envoy of the Ming Dynasty." Under this title, even if Zhao Gou valued you, it would never reach that level.

[But now, even Han Shizhong is deliberately avoiding communicating with you, and the complex look he occasionally casts at you is even more perplexing: that complex look contains pity, hesitation, and even more struggle and unease!]

Clearly, he knows you're about to encounter some unpleasant things, but for some reason he can't say it outright, so he tries to avoid talking to you to prevent revealing any information...

[But that's not what makes you most uneasy. What makes you most uneasy is that your treatment is getting better and better!]

[Even though you are a prisoner in the imperial jail, the jailers treat you with utmost respect, serving you the finest imperial wines every day, and the rarest delicacies from land and sea, including chicken, duck, fish, meat, and seasonal fruits and vegetables.]

What's even more outrageous is that they even decorated the prison cells like luxurious rooms: the beds had brocade quilts and mosquito nets, there was an incense burner in the corner with exotic fragrance... there were also luxurious tables and chairs, high-end writing implements, and gorgeous clothes...

[There are even beautiful singers and dancers who will sing, dance, and offer themselves to you... All of this stands in stark contrast to the filth and chaos next door!]

In short, this isn't prisoner treatment; it's clearly emperor treatment!

You were so panicked that you dared not indulge in any of the outrageous luxuries beyond basic necessities like food and clothing...

And this went on for a very, very long time.

【…】

Day after day, year after year.

As such days become a routine, even if you still feel apprehensive, you eventually get used to it instinctively...

Five years later, just when you thought Zhao Gou had probably forgotten about you, an imperial edict suddenly arrived in the imperial prison!

【…】

[In the 225th year of the Shaoxing era, after the criticism of the previous Northern Expedition had gradually subsided, Zhao Gou seized the opportunity and issued an imperial edict to release you from prison!]

[And before you could fully process it, another imperial edict reinstated you to your original position, and you returned to the long-absent court, resuming your role as the head of the censorate, "Censor-in-Chief."] [The following year, seeing that you were gradually adapting, Zhao Gou issued yet another imperial edict: promoting Censor-in-Chief Zhou Hui to "Participating in State Affairs"!]

The moment this imperial edict was issued, the court was immediately thrown into turmoil...

[The position of Vice Chancellor was essentially equivalent to that of Prime Minister! Although there wasn't just one Vice Chancellor in the Southern Song Dynasty, this official post still held significant power and influence in the government, making it extremely prestigious!]

[And such a high and powerful position was given to you just like that... This truly surprised the entire court.]

However, since Zhao Gou had already used the Northern Expedition to purge the opposition in the court, the court had become a "one-man show," and whatever the emperor said was law. Therefore, no one objected to your promotion.

[Furthermore, you are not a completely incompetent newcomer. Back then, you bit countless pro-peace figures in the court like a mad dog, even sending veteran generals like Han Shizhong, Liu Guangshi, and Zhang Jun to prison. So your record is quite impressive, and being promoted to "Vice Chancellor" for this reason is not entirely unacceptable...]

And so, on this day in the 226th year of Shaoxing, you inexplicably became the Vice Chancellor, a position coveted by countless officials, and began your era of ruling the empire!

【…】

Although you find your rise to power quite bizarre, now that Zhao Gou has promoted you to this position, you certainly can't afford to be a mere slacker!

[Or rather, having grown up with stories of prime ministers, you've always looked up to him as a role model. Therefore, you naturally hope to one day rule a nation like him and create a peaceful and prosperous era.]

So, as soon as you took office, you began to reform this corrupt country according to your own ideas...

More than two hundred years have passed since the Southern Song Dynasty moved south. During these two centuries of development, the Song Dynasty has accumulated countless problems.

For example, land annexation, deeply entrenched powerful families, unreasonable taxation, and class stratification... Among these, class stratification is the most serious problem!

Since the "heavenly upheaval," the old-era nobles, represented by Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, and other "Four Generals of the Restoration," had occupied important positions in the Southern Song Dynasty for many years. Within this stagnant political system, even if these veteran generals did not intend to commit evil, they and their numerous former subordinates still formed a severe class stratification.

When lower-level employees can't get promoted and upper-level employees are unwilling to step down, things naturally stagnate over time...

So you came up and swung your sword fiercely at those old guys, cutting down countless remnants of the old era!

[To bring them down, you once again employed your traditional skill of fabricating charges, wielding the big sticks of corruption, organized crime, and abuse of power to severely punish them... After this beating, the court, which had already been purged by Zhao Gou, became even cleaner.]

[Afterwards, you vigorously promoted new talents, revitalizing the entire court...]

As for issues like land annexation and powerful clans, that's even simpler. Just have the Prime Minister teach you his experience, and then implement it accordingly.

[Throughout this process, the Song Dynasty began to flourish!]

[As you implemented various beneficial reforms for the Song Dynasty, although the people still harbored resentment towards you as a prime minister with a tainted reputation, their perception of you improved considerably after they experienced the benefits of the reforms.]

Seeing such good news, you couldn't help but feel relieved: you've finally managed to salvage some of your ruined reputation...

However, amidst this ease, your wariness of Zhao Gou also grows stronger.

[What exactly is this lustful god-emperor, whose stance is unclear, trying to achieve by bestowing such excessive favor upon you?]

……

(End of this chapter)