Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

Qin Hui, holding the woman's hand, asked, "Has the eldest son been crying or making a fuss?"

The woman smiled and said, "You've been quite well-behaved today."

The two entered the house hand in hand, with a baby lying in a cradle.

Qin Hui dared not bring his mistress and son home, fearing that his son might die unexpectedly.

He planned to raise the child until it was older before making it public. If Wang dared to cause trouble then, he would divorce her on the grounds of jealousy and childlessness!

Qin Hui must have had a tough life; he didn't even dare to raise his son openly.

……

winter solstice.

This is a festival as important as New Year's Day, and even more important than Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and Double Ninth Festival.

A heavy snowfall brings good fortune, and the whole world rejoices.

In the first two years after Zhao Yuan ascended the throne, there were many floods, droughts, and locust plagues, but the following years were blessed with favorable weather.

Except... it's extremely cold.

Frequent frost disasters and continuous snow disasters.

Temperatures, which had been declining since the mid-Tang Dynasty, had now almost reached their lowest point, only slightly warmer than at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

This cold climate will continue for several decades before it slowly warms up and returns to the level of the early Northern Song Dynasty.

If Zhao Yuan ascends the throne next year, it will mean that he will become emperor during the coldest time of his life.

And his entire reign as emperor was spent in extremely cold weather!

Every disadvantage has its advantages, making it suitable for developing the southern region.

The entirety of Yunnan, the entirety of Guizhou, half of Guangxi, southern Sichuan, southern Jiangxi, the mountains of Guangdong…

These places are inhabited by barbarians, and the colder the climate, the more suitable it is for Han people to develop them.

Outside, the snow was still falling heavily, while inside, people were gathered around the stove eating hot pot.

Because there were so many members of the royal family, several pots were placed there.

The main reason was that Zhao Yuan had many wives, concubines, and children. If you include the infants who were still breastfeeding, he had more than ten children.

This year, the Jin state only launched a large-scale military campaign once, which was to drive the Ongud tribe back north of Daqingshan and incidentally plunder their people and livestock.

The rest of the time, it was about suppressing internal rebellions.

During the Little Ice Age, when temperatures dropped to the valley level, the Jin Dynasty suffered far more than the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty enjoys favorable weather, but it faces frost and snow disasters.

However, the frost and snow disaster caused heavy losses to the Jin Kingdom.

Just imagine, the capital of the Jin Dynasty was in Harbin, and its core territory was in the Liaozhong area. How cold must it have been every winter?

The snowmelt time has been delayed, and the sowing time for spring wheat and soybeans has also been delayed, but the rainy season in Northeast China has not changed much.

The spring wheat harvest season coincided with the rainy season...

Many farmers in the Jin Dynasty are now reducing their spring wheat planting and increasing their soybean planting area.

In addition, Wanyan Zonghan and Wanyan Zonggan joined forces to reform, which stripped the local chieftains of their administrative power and further strengthened their control over local civil affairs.

But this required the help of gentry from various ethnic groups. When these officials began to exploit the people, they were in no way inferior to the local tyrants.

At least the leader is a local, and he will deliberately protect his base of supporters.

But what do officials care about these things?

Many Jin people, unable to bear the exploitation any longer, crossed the Yalu River and fled into the Goryeo region of Baozhou, where the Ming army was stationed.

On the south bank of the Yalu River, there were still many territories of the Jin Dynasty, where the Jurchen and Bohai people lived.

As time went on, the conflict between the two tribes intensified because they were unable to go out and plunder.

Unable to bear the oppression of the Jurchens, the Bohai people also fled to places like Baozhou, Anzhou, and Pyongyang.

The Jin dynasty was unable to defend against this because the border was too long and consisted entirely of mountainous and valley areas.

Last year, the Bohai people of Posulu rebelled, and the Jin Dynasty sent troops into the mountains to suppress them for three months.

Finally, more than a thousand Bohai people, young and old, smuggled themselves across the Yalu River and successfully reached Baoding.

This greatly consolidated the Ming Dynasty's rule in northern Goryeo!

Because many of the Bohai people who fled there could speak Chinese, and their customs and habits were no different from those of the Han people in the north.

The Jin Dynasty protested repeatedly, hoping that the Ming Dynasty would return the fugitives.

In the autumn, the Jin Kingdom sent envoys, but Zhao Yuan had already been keeping them waiting for several months.

……

After the winter solstice, Zhao Yuan finally remembered to meet with the Jin envoy who had been left out in the cold and was almost moldy.

The Jin envoy was named Zuo Guangqing. His tenth-generation ancestor was Zuo Hao, the prefect of Dizhou during the Later Tang Dynasty. When the Liao Dynasty attacked, Zuo Hao surrendered without hesitation.

Zuo Guangqing's grandfather, Zuo Qigong, was an even more notorious traitor to Liaoning.

Aguda wanted to sell the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun to Emperor Huizong of Song, but Zuo Qigong firmly opposed it and even wrote a poem: "Your Majesty, do not listen to the proposal to sell Yanyun, for every inch of land is worth an inch of gold."

As for Zuo Guangqing himself, he was famous for his calligraphy.

Wu Qimai's succession edict, the emperor's seal, and various plaques of the Jin Dynasty court were all made by Zuo Guangqing.

Zuo Guangqing's biological father, Zuo Yuan, was a top corrupt official in the Jin Kingdom!

"Just say what you have to say. You should go back when the snow melts in the spring."

Zhao Yuan leaned back in his chair, feeling increasingly relaxed.

Zuo Guangqing said, "Many fugitives have crossed the border into our country. These are all unruly and wicked people. We urge your country to repatriate these fugitives."

Chapter 3358 The Golden Envoy

Zhao Yuan said, "The Ming court has not received any news; perhaps the border generals have been negligent in their precautions."

“Since the Ming and Jin are friendly nations, I will send people to investigate thoroughly. If it is true, the fugitive will be sent back.”

Zuo Guangqing added, "There was another traitor named He Cheng, who claimed to have been appointed by the Ming Dynasty and was known as the 'General of the Clouds'."

"He gathered bandits to wreak havoc in all directions, and after being suppressed by our Great Jin, it seems he fled into Ming territory with his remaining forces."

"We urge the Ming Dynasty to return this man so that he may be brought to justice!"

"I don't know of such a person," Zhao Yuan denied outright.

The conflict between the Song and Jin dynasties began when the Song dynasty harbored a Jin general who had defected.

Now it seems like a cycle has come full circle, and it's the Ming Dynasty's turn to take in a Jin Dynasty traitor.

The Ming emperor was clearly making excuses, and Zuo Guangqing was extremely annoyed. He emphasized, "The Jin and Ming countries are now friendly nations. We urge the Ming to return the traitorous general and the fleeing civilians. Otherwise, there may be a risk of war in the long run."

"Ah!"

Zhao Yuan, who had been sitting relaxed, suddenly slapped the armrest and sat up straight: "Go back and tell Wu Qimai to learn how to govern a country properly."

"You have plunged the Jin Kingdom into misery and rebellion, yet you come to me demanding the return of fugitives. This is utterly absurd!"

"What talk of the danger of war? If he wants to fight, then the two countries will go to war next year!"

Zuo Guangqing panicked and hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, this humble subject did not mean that..."

"Take it down!"

Zhao Yuan interrupted directly: "This person is disrespectful to the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty. Expel him from the Sifang Pavilion immediately!"

In the freezing cold, driving the Jin envoys out of the guesthouse was a deliberate insult to the Jin, forcing them to tear up the peace treaty.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

Zuo Guangqing was terrified and was dragged away by the guards.

Immediately afterwards, the Seljuk envoys Abu and Suleiman, one a scholar and the other a warrior, were led inside by eunuchs.

After the prayers, Suleiman asked, "Great Khan of Peach Blossom Stone, spring is here and we must depart. Has a decision been made regarding the marriage alliance between our two royal families?"

Zhao Yuan said, "My daughter is young, and I cannot bear to see her marry too far away. I appreciate the kindness of your monarch."

"Thank you for sending so many gifts. I have also prepared a return gift."

"One of the return gifts is the most precious treasure in the Ming Dynasty, something even the nobles of the Ming Dynasty find difficult to obtain. Bring it here!"

A eunuch carried a bolt of velvet into the palace.

The gifts presented by the Seljuk Sultan were very valuable, including two Arabian horses.

Unfortunately, they were all castrated male horses.

The Ming Dynasty's return gift was naturally not to be stingy.

The Seljuks, who treasured silk, could hardly resist the allure of velvet.

Suleiman and Abu stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

Suleiman's voice trembled as he asked, "Your Majesty, may I touch it?"

“Of course.” Zhao Yuan smiled.

Suleiman's palm touched the velvet, and the sensation instantly intoxicated him.

They even close their eyes and stroke and feel it back and forth, as if they have encountered a priceless treasure.

Zhao Yuan said, "There are even better quality velvet fabrics available."

"If your monarch desires them, he may send warhorses in exchange."

"It can be transported by land or by sea."

"The better the warhorse, the higher the quality of the velvet I'll provide. And, don't castrate it!"

Suleiman finally opened his eyes: "Your Majesty, I will certainly convey this to the Sultan."

……

Snowflakes were falling heavily, and the weather was freezing cold.

A group of Jin envoys were driven out of the Sifangguan. Although they were all extremely angry, they dared not retaliate on the spot and could only make noise and protest.

Because the commotion was quite large, envoys from other countries flocked to see what was happening.

Abu has lived in Tokyo for over a year, interacting with scholars from the Hanlin Academy every day, and is now able to communicate in Chinese in daily life.

He casually asked the Japanese envoy beside him, "His Majesty the Emperor has always been kind and courteous, so why did he expel these Jin envoys?"

"I heard that the Jin envoy was extremely disrespectful and directly angered His Majesty the Emperor of Ming," Fujiwara Tadamune said.

Fujiwara no Tadamune was both a cousin of Fujiwara no Ienari, the regent of Japan, and his brother-in-law.

With these two connections, he naturally became the deputy envoy of the mission to the Ming Dynasty.

As for the chief envoy, he is a monk who is currently staying at the Daxiangguo Temple.

Although the Sifangguan in the Ming Dynasty was used to receive foreign guests, there were fees for staying beyond the permitted period, and the accommodation fees were very expensive.

Of the large number of Japanese envoys sent to the Ming Dynasty, more than half currently live in rented houses.

Of course, the Seljuk envoys were different; the two batches of gifts they brought were very valuable.

You can now stay at any of the four-sided pavilions!

Abu regarded Emperor Zhao as a saint and couldn't help but sigh, "How rude the Jin envoys must have been to anger such a benevolent and magnanimous emperor!"

Fujiwara no Tadamune said disdainfully, "The Jin Dynasty is nothing but barbarian Jurchens."

"A hundred years ago, Jurchen pirates plundered our coastal areas and abducted countless women and valuables."

"These Jurchen bandits were formerly slaves of the Liao Dynasty, yet they rebelled and destroyed the Liao Dynasty."

Chapter 3359 Get out!

“I’ve heard of that,”