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

Chapter 281 The Incense Will Never Die!

Seeing the simulated character die in battle in Lin'an, Zhou Liang felt both sorry for him and relieved for him.

It's a sigh because this ending was far too tragic for Zhou Chi himself!
First, he himself died in battle, his elite troops being wiped out by the Jin army. Even though he fought valiantly, he couldn't change the Jin's overwhelming advantage over the Southern Song. Ultimately, the court collapsed and the Jiangnan region was lost. Even if Zhao Gou rebuilt a new country overseas, such as "Australia Song," it would no longer be the Song Dynasty...

Secondly, he had no wife, concubine, or children. He only had one illegitimate son from his early years, and this illegitimate son was given away to someone else from the very beginning and never recognized him in his entire life.

In a sense, this son, whom he had never met and with whom he had not developed any emotional bond, was ultimately his last emotional anchor... As people grow old, they always have an obsession with their descendants. If he had no son like Zhou Tianzun, it would be fine, but he happened to have an illegitimate son, so he couldn't help but worry about him.

It could even be said that this side storyline, which shouldn't have existed in the first place, was actually created by Zhou Chi specifically for his son whom he couldn't let go of!

He knew that once he started all over again, everything in this place would be irrelevant to him, so he was unwilling to start over...

This is selfish and self-serving.

But when he actually started doing it, he wasn't very kind to that illegitimate son. He didn't even look at him once, and they still didn't know each other... Zhou Chi only took the time to check on him when he sensed that the building was about to collapse.

This development is simply illogical...

But Zhou Liang, as an observer from a macro perspective, was able to understand his complex state of mind:

No matter how you look at it, there's still no real affection between the two. Zhou Chi has no idea how to face this son he's never met... Besides, the other person was already in their forties or fifties at that time, and the illegitimate son had long since adapted to his family and life. If Zhou Chi suddenly went to claim kinship, what would the other person think?
They really asked for trouble!
Therefore, Zhou Chi's state of mind was always contradictory and complicated... and his final solution was to not dare to go and acknowledge his relatives until the last moment when he gritted his teeth and went.

However, fate always plays tricks on people. Zhou Chi struggled for decades before finally making up his mind to acknowledge his family. But when he actually went to do so, he was shocked to find that his son's family had long been captured by the Jin army and taken to the Central Plains...

Now he no longer has to worry, because this time he really will never see him again.

He could no longer tell his illegitimate son about what happened back then, nor could he ever place his affections in anyone else. All that remained for him in his life was regret...

Aside from Yue Fei, who sailed away across the sea, no one would know that the Grand Tutor of the Song Dynasty, Zhou Hui, who died a heroic death, was actually Zhou Chi from Xiangyang. Even his illegitimate son would not know that his biological father, Zhou Chi, was actually the Grand Tutor of the Song Dynasty, Zhou Hui.

From this day forward, no one will ever mention Zhou Chi's real name again; when future generations speak of him, they will only remember his pseudonym, "Zhou Hui."
Grand Tutor Zhou Hui of the Song Dynasty was truly a heroic figure, but as for the nobody Zhou Chi? Who even knows him...?

Therefore, his life can be described as both a success and a failure:

He is famous throughout the world, but it is an alias.

He left behind the most poignant words of lament for the fall of the Song Dynasty, yet he left nothing for his own family...

This is why Zhou Liang sighed for him.

But amidst his sighs, Zhou Liang also felt fortunate for his life:
Although the Jin dynasty destroyed the Southern Song dynasty, the fact that Wanyan Wuzhu (Jin Wuzhu) was able to collect his body and give him a proper burial, and that he issued proclamations to reassure the people, shows that the Jin dynasty had long since shed its barbaric past and successfully Sinicized, becoming a normal feudal dynasty in the Central Plains.

While a normal feudal dynasty is unlikely to have a very high ceiling, generally speaking, the Jin dynasty in this state wouldn't have gone on a killing spree in Jiangnan. As long as the Song people didn't raise the flag of rebellion, they could continue their normal production and life.

And from this day forward, the division between North and South will come to a complete end, and the people, who have faced political division since the Five Dynasties, will finally be able to unify the country...

So, in a way, this could be considered a decent ending:

The Southern Song Dynasty met a tragic end, the Jin Dynasty unified the country, and the people were able to live in peace...

What constitutes "bad"?
Zhou Liang knew that although the Jin Dynasty was now a normal feudal dynasty, it was still a feudal dynasty. Corruption in the government, land annexation, the bullying of the weak by the powerful, and rigid class structures... these common problems of dynasties would not be far removed from the Jin Dynasty!
How could the ruling class of the Jin Dynasty, who wielded divine power, allow themselves to be overthrown by the people?

In any case, it's just another Ming Dynasty under a divine emperor...

"When a dynasty prospers, the people suffer; when a dynasty falls, the people suffer!"

Zhou Liang couldn't help but sigh:
"This ending is good, but it's not the best... To achieve a more perfect ending, we need to look forward to more simulations."

"System, process the settlement!"

[Ding! This round of simulation has ended. Rewards are being calculated...]

[Ding! Settlement complete. You have received the prize: "Name for both before and after death!"]

[“A name that will be remembered both before and after death!” (Idea category): Having accomplished the affairs of the king and the world, one can win a name that will be remembered both before and after death!]

Claim this item to learn about some of the events that occurred after the death of Zhou Hui/Zhou Chi, the last Grand Tutor of the Southern Song Dynasty!

"This……"

Zhou Liang was stunned, because the prize was truly useless!
Whether it's improving combat power or obtaining unknown information that's helpful for clearing levels, it can't do it... In terms of functionality, it's not even as good as "Me and My Animal Friends," at least the latter acts like a protagonist's halo, quietly driving the plot forward.

It was merely a simple piece of information from later generations, making it arguably the most useless prize Zhou Liang had ever obtained in his simulations...

But with the mindset that "even a mosquito bite is still meat," Zhou Liang ultimately chose to accept it.
"receive!"

[Ding! Claimed!]

[Ding! Message being transmitted...]

As the system notification sounded, information about the later generations of "Zhou Chi"/"Zhou Hui" gradually surfaced in Zhou Liang's mind:

He "saw" that in the future Jin Dynasty, literary works about Zhou Hui, the Grand Tutor of the late Song Dynasty, would emerge in abundance, and countless literati would mourn this heroic and tragic figure with poems and songs!
Zhou Hui has become a great figure in contrast to the villain Qin Hui. His image is directly compared to modern figures like Yue Fei and Han Shizhong... Some even equate him with Zhuge Liang, because both were outstanding rulers of separatist dynasties. When later generations reminisce about Zhuge Liang, they will casually mention Zhou Hui...

Furthermore, people from all walks of life, such as iron smelting, textiles, ceramics, and tea, regard him as an important patron saint. On festivals, practitioners would offer him incense and fruits to bless their businesses with success... This is because he established many new industries and technologies in Jiangnan, and later generations commemorated him...

Of course, the above is only the posthumous name of "Zhou Hui", while the reputation of "Zhou Chi" has also been passed down.

For no other reason than twofold: firstly, because he had been known as "Yue Fei's disciple," later generations commemorated him as well when commemorating Yue Fei; secondly, because his storytelling works such as "The Story of Yue Fei" and "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" have been passed down to later generations, who regard him as the author of ancient masterpieces, just like Wu Cheng'en and Luo Guanzhong! Seeing this, even Zhou Liang couldn't help but sigh: no matter which identity he used, he achieved fame for posterity, so this life was not a failure.

Perhaps the only drawback is that no one knows that these two seemingly unrelated people are actually the same person...

As Zhou Liang looked around, his gaze suddenly sharpened, for he had "seen" this scene:
In a certain area of ​​Central China, a family surnamed Liu actually had three memorial tablets in their home!

One is a memorial tablet for the late Mr. Liu, another for the late Mrs. Pan, and the third is...

"The position of the biological father, Zhou Chi!"
"This is……"

Zhou Liang thought for a moment, then seemed to understand something:
"It seems that Liu Pan and his wife have finally revealed the truth about their son's biological father..."

As for why, it's probably because Zhou Chi had been missing for decades without a wife or children. The couple thought he had died alone in a foreign land, so they took pity on him and decided to leave him a lineage.

This ill-fated relationship has finally come to an end in a way that everyone can accept. I suppose if Zhou Chi knew this in his next life, he would feel relieved...

In conclusion, while this prize, named "Reputation Before and After Death," has no practical benefits, it serves as a comforting gift for the simulated character "Zhou Chi," bringing relief from all his worries.
The people of Song territory were not massacred by the Jin army, and both of his pseudonyms were passed down to later generations with positive images. Even his final regret about his illegitimate child was effectively soothed...

"I guess I haven't lived in vain..."

Zhou Liang sighed.

However, this prize had more than just comforting effects. In addition to making up for the disappointment of the simulated character, it also revealed some useful information that Zhou Liang had never thought of:
For example, since the people of the world enjoyed peace and tranquility after the Jin Dynasty unified the country, it means that the curse of "Song and Jin cannot meet" has failed. Otherwise, the two sides would have to fight as soon as they met!
It can then be deduced that the Jin people and the Song people were essentially no different, and the division between them was actually intentionally created by Zhao Gou. It was because of Zhao Gou that the Jin people changed upon encountering the Song people...

In that case, wouldn't Zhao Gou become the pure villain who hindered the unification of the country? And wouldn't the Jurchens become the destined saviors?
This is clearly wrong!
The reason is simple: if the unification of the Jin dynasty was truly a good thing for the people, then why were Yue Fei and the others resisting alongside Zhao Gou?
As a positive figure who has withstood the test of history, Yue Fei would never have followed Zhao Gou in causing trouble for no reason and wanting to bring disaster to the people... In other words, things are not as simple as they seem on the surface.

This can be seen from Yue Fei's political views:
Originally, Yue Fei was a staunch advocate of war in the Northern Expedition, advocating the recovery of the Central Plains by force. However, in the current timeline, Yue Fei has become a proponent of peace, refusing to go on the Northern Expedition no matter what. Even when Zhao Gou forcibly ordered him to advance with thirteen gold tablets, he would rather disobey the order!
Therefore, it can be seen that Zhao Gou could not actually force Yue Fei to do bad things that violated his own morality. In the relationship between the emperor and his subject, Yue Fei had a great deal of freedom.

Based on this, if Zhao Gou really did obstruct the course of history by his own efforts, then Yue Fei should not have just turned into a pro-peace faction, but directly into a surrender faction... After all, resistance was meaningless, so why not surrender?
Therefore, at least in Yue Fei's view, the unification of the Jin Dynasty could not be said to be an absolutely good thing, nor could Zhao Gou's resistance be said to be an absolutely bad thing.

This can also be seen in Zhao Gou's case:
Judging from the fact that Zhao Gou could abandon Jiangnan without any psychological burden and instead occupy Australia, he actually did not want to be the emperor at all. Therefore, his reason for maintaining the division between Song and Jin was not for his own selfish reasons... at least he did not think it was a good thing for him.

His true desire was to continue enjoying himself overseas, rather than sitting on the "golden toilet" of the Southern Song Dynasty as a consumable, since maintaining the defense required him to expend a lot of divine power... It was simply a bottomless pit in the subspace!
But Zhou Chi's descent into destruction of the Southern Song Dynasty may have ironically granted this divine emperor the liberation he had always longed for...

"That's clearly where the problem lies!"

Zhou Liang pondered:

"It seems that the Southern Song Dynasty's decision to continue resisting on this basis was actually, to some extent, out of a sense of public duty. Once the Southern Song Dynasty fell, the Jin ruling class would have no more enemies, and the world would become a replica of the Ming Dynasty, with the common people no longer able to overthrow the rule of the Wanyan family..."

"Zhao Gou himself was like this, as were Yue Fei and others. It cannot be said that they were completely without selfish motives, but the proportion of public interest was definitely very high... It is even highly possible that Zhao Gou was forced by Yue Fei and others to sit on the golden toilet, because he actually had a better choice, and his public interest in the world was far less than his selfishness..."

At this point, the situation between the Song and Jin dynasties became completely clear!
However, there was still one thing Zhou Liang couldn't understand:
"Looking at it this way, don't Yue Fei and his comrades have a bit too much power and freedom?"

The emperor's own will to resist was not firm. It was most likely that Yue Fei and others forced him not to open the road... Moreover, Yue Fei and others could openly challenge Zhao Gou on political issues. Zhao Gou was a war advocate, while they were peace advocates. The peace advocates suppressed the war advocates for a long time. Wasn't that the same as the ministers suppressing the emperor?
Furthermore, Yue Fei was even capable of directly defying imperial orders when necessary. For example, when Zhao Gou ordered him to launch a northern expedition, he believed that the expedition would only increase casualties, so he directly withdrew his troops and returned home...

What's even stranger is that even though Yue Fei defied the imperial order so blatantly, Zhao Gou didn't throw him into the Fengbo Pavilion and kill him...

Is this reasonable? This is completely unreasonable!
History has shown that emperors who hold real power will not tolerate any ministers going against their will. Zhao Gou in history is a typical example. He ordered Yue Fei to be executed at Fengbo Pavilion simply because Yue Fei disagreed with him on political issues.

In other words, compared to the original historical timeline, Zhao Gou did not actually wield as much real power during this period, and Yue Fei and others were not entirely subjects who could only kneel and kowtow. The relationship between the two sides was perhaps more like an "equal cooperative relationship" than a "master-servant relationship".

And that makes things very strange...

"How could an emperor possibly cooperate with his subjects on an equal footing? Not to mention that He is a divine emperor whose unparalleled illusionary arts are so powerful that even Zhou Chi, who is possessed by the Heavenly Venerable Zhou, cannot withstand them. How could Yue Fei and the others possibly be equal to Him?"

Zhou Liang raised his eyebrows:
"Could it be that Yue Fei and the others possess a hidden force capable of rivaling Zhao Gou? Otherwise, why wouldn't Zhao Gou establish a one-man rule? He is the supreme god-emperor..."

In short, the relationship between the two is very strange...

Unable to figure it out no matter how much he thought about it, Zhou Liang could only pin his hopes on the next simulation:

"System, continue the simulation!"

[Ding! We've detected that you're currently simulating. Would you like to return to your last life choice point and continue the branch simulation, or return to your birth node and start over?]

"Return to the initial node!"

[Ding! Returning to the starting point...]

System notifications sounded one after another.

It was at this moment that Zhou Liang suddenly thought of something, and then said to the system:
"By the way, could you tell him a few more words on your way back?"

[Yes, host. What would you like to tell him?]

Zhou Liang said slowly:
"Tell him that his descendants are still alive, and his incense has never been extinguished... His fame will be passed down through the ages, and his achievements will last forever!"

"No need to dwell on the past, please move forward!"

[Ding! System has transferred...]

[Ding! Zhou Chi is very happy to say: Thank you!]

……

(End of this chapter)