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

Chapter 266 Mutiny, Suppression!
In the 226th year of the Shaoxing era, amidst a period of uncertainty, you were promoted by Zhao Gou to "Vice Chancellor," becoming a powerful prime minister who, along with several other colleagues, jointly governed the country!

Although you don't know why Zhao Gou values ​​you so highly, since he's willing to give you the opportunity to govern, you naturally won't deliberately challenge him.

And so you began to govern seriously...

As a novice with little experience in governing, you were naturally flustered and even caused quite a few problems due to operational issues... Fortunately, your senior advisor was always there to guide and teach you. Thanks to the guidance and example of this experienced leader, you gradually adapted to the job despite your initial clumsiness.

[To realize your dream of surpassing your father's achievements, to bring a better living and working environment to the people of the Song Dynasty, and to deliver a satisfactory report to Zhao Gou, you, as the newly appointed official, are full of energy. Aside from basic necessities like food, clothing, and shelter, you are almost always at your workplace, working tirelessly with the other councilors to manage state affairs!]

Your workaholic, beast-like spirit has several colleagues secretly groaning: we're all just here to work for the Zhao family, not to deliberately risk our lives... who can stand this kind of treatment!

Seeing how enthusiastic you were, your colleagues couldn't back down, so they had no choice but to bite the bullet and keep up with your workload, resulting in a helpless competition among themselves...

Of course, they also had their own calculations: although a newcomer like you always harbors lofty political ideals of "cultivating oneself, regulating one's family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world," people's enthusiasm is ultimately limited. Once you've worn off your excess enthusiasm during your tenure, you'll slow down your work pace, just like they did before.

In their minds, you'll only stay quiet for a year or two at most!

However, the intensity of your enthusiasm far exceeded their expectations...

[In the 226th year of Shaoxing, you wielded the big stick of reform and change to brutally beat the old comrades, knocking down a large number of veteran officials and bureaucrats, causing the old bastards to wail in despair!]

In the 227th year of the Shaoxing reign, you struck again with a heavy blow, ordering landlords and wealthy households to hand over half of their land, citing the reason that "the rich own vast tracts of land while the poor have no place to stand," so that the imperial court could distribute it to the landless or land-poor populace... This blow was met with widespread condemnation!

In the same year, you also provided high-quality seeds and farming tools to the poor people of the world free of charge, and even allowed them to rent out oxen at low prices on a regular basis!

[In the 228th year of Shaoxing, you once again wielded your big stick, striking the tax system! To alleviate the burden on farmers, you drastically reduced various unnecessary exorbitant taxes, retaining only some lighter basic agricultural taxes… But reducing agricultural taxes did not mean reducing fiscal revenue, so while reducing agricultural taxes, you increased commercial taxes!]

[It just so happens that commerce was thriving in the Southern Song Dynasty, and maritime trade was particularly profitable. If the imperial court didn't collect commercial taxes, it would be a huge loss...]

After such drastic adjustments, not to mention whether the common people can withstand it, your colleagues and subordinates are already exhausted... They are both shocked and angry: You little rascal! You're just stirring up trouble!

Soon, people began to complain about you: "Prime Minister Zhou's overreaction suggests he might be another treacherous minister like Wang Anshi, bringing disaster to the country!"

"Yes! To avoid the disaster that befell Wang Anshi, we urge Your Majesty to issue an edict punishing him!"

Unlike later generations who lavish praise on Wang Anshi, his image in the Song Dynasty was actually quite negative, even appalling! Because his reforms affected the interests of too many people, he was seen as a "treacherous minister who brought disaster to the country and its people," to the point that the Southern Song Dynasty even blamed Wang Anshi for the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty…

Therefore, when angry people compare you to Wang Anshi, whose reforms failed, it shows just how much resentment your reforms have generated.

Under these circumstances, everyone believed that you would definitely be demoted by the authorities!

[However, to their bewilderment, even though your image in the memorial was almost identical to that of Wang Anshi, the villain, Zhao Gou remained unmoved...]

Faced with a barrage of impeachment memorials, Zhao Gou kept them all in check, clearly determined to force Zhao to continue his reforms!

Such trust infuriated countless people, causing your image to increasingly resemble that of Wang Anshi… [“Wang Anshi?”]

You simply smiled and said, "Fine! Since you all say I'm Wang Anshi, then I'll truly be Wang Anshi for once!"

So, in the 229th year of the Shaoxing reign, you struck again, deeming the court plagued by the "three redundancies": redundant officials, redundant soldiers, and redundant expenses. You then implemented reforms to streamline administration and reduce the number of useless, redundant officials and bureaucrats...

[Then, citing the low risk of the Jin army advancing south, you drastically reduced the military strength of the entire country, cutting nearly half of the more than one million troops in key military towns such as Hanzhong, Jingxiang, and Lianghuai, thus saving the court as much financial expenditure as possible!]

After this massive upheaval, resentment towards you was almost everywhere in the land: soldiers and officers felt you had threatened their jobs, court officials felt you were treating them like cattle, and landlords and wealthy households felt you were trying to kill them...

[Damn it! They've even brought up the "three redundancies" (redundant, excessive, and redundant documentation) – are you even going to stop acting?!]

[The enraged crowd hurled even harsher insults!]

While most laid-off officials and wealthy victims were merely at the level of "cursing," the laid-off soldiers were definitely the pragmatists.

[So, shortly after you issued the order to eliminate the "three redundant" positions, a large number of unemployed soldiers in the Hanzhong region were the first to raise the banner of rebellion!]

In the 229th year of the Shaoxing era, a large-scale mutiny broke out in Hanzhong. Nearly 100,000 unemployed soldiers, both new and old, rose up and stormed cities and towns in Hanzhong and the Bashu region, looting extensively!

This scene is practically a re-enactment of the Five Dynasties...

[Furthermore, while the mutiny was underway, the rebels also raised the banner of righteousness: "The world is in turmoil, all because of the treacherous minister Zhou Hui! If the Emperor, in accordance with Heaven and the people's will, were to execute him, the mutiny would be quelled!"]

【…】

When news of the Hanzhong mutiny broke, the Lin'an court was immediately shaken! Since the Emperor's ascension to godhood through a "heavenly anomaly," the Song Dynasty had never experienced a mutiny of such scale… After all, the Emperor was a god, and even though this god had never directly displayed his invincible divine power to the people, no one dared to easily provoke Him.

[And now, you, Prime Minister Zhou, have only been in power for a few years, yet you've already provoked them to raise the banner of rebellion despite the Emperor's might. This is truly...fantastic!]

The officials couldn't help but secretly rejoice: Before, when nothing major happened, the Emperor would still protect you; but now you've stirred up such a huge mess as a mutiny! Surely the Emperor can't tolerate this any longer?

However, they were disappointed again...

The moment news of the mutiny arrived, Zhao Gou, as if he had anticipated it, immediately issued an edict!

[“The emperor hereby orders Zhou Hui, the Vice Chancellor, to lead four generals—Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, Liu Guangshi, and Zhang Jun—along with 100,000 imperial guards, to suppress the rebellion in Hanzhong!”]

"I am neither Emperor Shenzong nor Emperor Jing of Han. Since you wish to reform, then reform thoroughly!"

……

(End of this chapter)