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

Emperor Huizong's second wife even gave birth to another daughter...

Yelü Dashi did not launch a campaign against the Jin Dynasty. Instead, he consolidated his own territory and successfully subjugated the various tribes of Talas.

The Talas tribe nominally submitted to the Western Liao and regularly paid tribute to Yelü Dashi every year.

However, if Yelü Dashi wanted Talas to help him in the war, he had to provide them with sufficient wealth, which would essentially mean having an additional group of mercenaries during the battle.

The Seljuk Sultan quelled the rebellion in his vassal state, but did not immediately attack Yelü Dashi.

Because the Caliph has rebelled!

This being, who is similar to the Zhou emperor and pope in the Green World, has always lived in Baghdad as a puppet.

However, in recent years it has regained some strength and attempted to drive out the Seljuk governor of Baghdad by force.

The Seljuk Sultan was a very busy man, suppressing this one year and that one the next.

They are either suppressing a rebellion or on their way to suppressing a rebellion.

If he suddenly finds himself with free time, he will think about expansion and then summon the armies of his vassal states to fight.

……

Last year, Shaanxi suffered a large-scale drought, the Yangtze and Han River basins experienced floods, the southeastern region was hit by typhoons, and Sichuan was struck by a major earthquake.

The sharp drop in temperature during winter caused ice floes to form on the Yangtze River, and many provinces suffered from frost disasters.

This year, the weather has been favorable!

At least up until the summer harvest season, there has been no large-scale disaster.

The northern provinces were overjoyed as they began harvesting wheat, with local officials sending in a steady stream of reports of a bountiful harvest.

Zhao Yuan said to his personal attendants, "Have the Tongzheng Yuan draft an edict and send it to the southern provinces, saying that Hebei has had a bumper harvest this year."

"Especially the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, which are sparsely populated and have vast lands. Once you go there, you will be allocated land and will be exempt from taxes for three years and have your taxes reduced for two years."

"The immigrants who went there a few years ago now have more food than they can eat, so we are encouraging people in the southern provinces to sign up for immigration,"

"The government continued to provide them with boats, carriages, clothing, seeds, and livestock."

"Yes!" The imperial attendant withdrew.

Zhao Yuan continued reviewing memorials and soon read a message from Yue Fei.

Chapter 3614 The Mongol Empire: A Dual Power

According to Yue Fei, the Mongols had conquered all the surrounding small tribes, and some herders from these small tribes had migrated south to join the Ming Dynasty.

Last year, Han Shizhong also submitted a memorial stating that the Kereit tribe had also wiped out the small tribes and even devoured the tribes that were originally loyal to Yelü Dashi.

Today, the northern desert is completely dominated by two powerful forces.

The Kereit tribe's territory was much larger, but the Mongol tribe's territory had more abundant water and pasture.

Zhao Yuan picked up his pen and wrote an instruction: "Order the two vassal states of Kereit and Mongol to send their princes to Luoyang to pay tribute next year."

"Those who fail to arrive by the deadline will be considered to have committed treason!"

Next is Yang Zaixing's memorial, in which he abducted 100,000 people from Thang Long Prefecture, and asks how they should be settled...

The cabinet recommended resettling people in Guangxi for land reclamation and mining.

Zhao Yuan instructed: "They can be settled in Guangxi. Three thousand people should be sent to Taiwan County, and five thousand people should be sent to Qiongzhou (Hainan Island)."

Yang Zaixing went to great lengths this time, practically looting the entire city of Thang Long!

When the King of Annam returned to his capital, he would find that there were hardly any people left in the city.

Of course, some must have been left, as they had already escaped before Yang Zaixing entered the city.

With the capital in such a state, it's estimated that Annam won't be able to wage war against other countries for at least twenty years.

Zhao Yuan reviewed the memorials for a while and came across one from the Ministry of Rites: "Please tell me what kind of rites should be used for Wu Qimai's burial, and whether Wu Qimai should be given a posthumous title and temple name."

The cabinet's proposed burial was to be conducted with the rites due to a county official, and to be granted a posthumous title and temple name.

Zhao Yuan picked up his pen and wrote: "The grave mound, tombstone, and tomb guardian beast shall be of the standard for a duke; everything else shall be the same as for a commoner."

His temple name was Emperor Taizong of Jin, but he was not given a posthumous title.

The tomb is simply made to look nicer, after all, he was the Duke of Anle of the Ming Dynasty.

But the coffin, burial goods, cemetery, and funeral arrangements can be done however you like, whatever saves money and trouble.

If the executor hates the Jin Dynasty, they might even be willing to wear a straw mat.

However, it certainly wouldn't be that despicable; at the very least, they should provide a thin wooden coffin.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Yuan then sent Wanyan Ping to offer condolences to her deceased father.

As for Wu Qimai's first wife, she was sent to a Taoist temple in Kaifeng to become a female Taoist priest.

If she is a Buddhist, she can also choose to become a nun.

The house that was given to Wu Qimai was taken back.

Not long after, he reviewed the memorial from the Ministry of Revenue.

It is said that due to the large volume of goods, the Guangzhou Maritime Trade Office was unable to handle all the transactions, so the exchange implemented a three-day waiting period for goods.

The buy and sell orders for goods are frozen after being submitted, and transactions can only be completed after a minimum three-day waiting period.

Matching can still be done during the freeze period, but normal delivery cannot be carried out.

This approach can alleviate the pressure of numerous transactions and effectively curb wealthy merchants from speculating on goods.

The Ministry of Revenue requested that this system be implemented in exchanges nationwide.

Zhao Yuan found it interesting and commented, "Approved."

It's actually a variation of the Chinese T+3 model, but Zhao Yuan didn't know much about stocks before he time-traveled, while Zhu Guoxiang had been fleeced several times.

After a day of diligent governance, Zhao Yuan took a walk back to the inner palace.

Today it is Zhao Jin'er's turn to serve the emperor. Her title in the former Song Dynasty was Princess Xianfu. Historically, she was tortured to death by the Jurchens.

Along with her, three princesses of the Song Dynasty were tortured to death at Liujia Temple, along with many noble ladies of the royal family and female relatives of ministers.

"May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings!" Zhao Jin'er bowed and happily welcomed Zhao Yuan into the courtyard.

After Zhao Yuan entered the room and sat down, he casually asked, "Have you been out playing with your sisters these past few days?"

Zhao Jin'er said, "I went to Tianwang Temple to worship Buddha half a month ago and bought a lot of things while shopping."

"I've been staying in the palace these past few days, reading, playing football, playing chess, and swinging."

Zhao Yuan was relatively lenient towards his concubines, allowing them to apply to leave the palace for outings, but they had to be accompanied by at least three women, along with eunuchs and guards, and they had to return to the palace to report on the same day.

In addition, they could only leave the palace once every two or three months.

Sometimes, Zhao Yuan would personally take his concubines out of the city to the suburban horse farms and royal gardens.

As for the Tianwang Temple mentioned by Zhao Jin'er, it is the Tianwang Temple in Luoyang.

That was the largest temple in Luoyang, and its status was equivalent to that of the Xiangguo Temple in Kaifeng.

The temple has more than 100,000 peony plants, which are most beautiful in spring.

Tianwang Temple also operates some shops, and there are also brothels and entertainment venues in the square, making it a large-scale comprehensive commercial and entertainment complex in Luoyang.

Zhao Jin'er said, "In the Tianwangyuan entertainment district, there are bodhisattvas dancing in broad daylight. I saw it with my own eyes."

Zhao Yuan was extremely surprised: "Bodhisattva Man has gone to the Heavenly King's Temple to dance?"

“I heard they were invited by the temple abbot,” Zhao Jin’er said. “They weren’t the two most famous Bodhisattvas, and their clothes weren’t that revealing.”

"They danced very well, and they were dressed beautifully too."

Zhao Yuan laughed and said, "This Li Bangyan certainly knows how to do business."

The original two Bodhisattvas were extremely famous, but now they only entertain guests at the Aranya Temple.

Even minor officials and merchants find it difficult to meet these two individuals.

You need to buy a ticket first to enter and have wine and tea, and then compete to enter the inner courtyard.

Those who can't compete can only spend money at other establishments; the women who accompany them are considered second-tier.

Chapter 3615 The Three Sisters of the Zhao Family

Those who made it to the inner courtyard could only watch Pusa Man dance and sing, and drink with her from a distance.

Only by accumulating a certain level of spending and becoming the top spender on Bodhisattva Man's platform can one have the opportunity to get close to her.

Moreover, it's just close, casual contact; to get into bed, you have to be "mutually interested."

Getting up close is already amazing. Next time I come, I can invite a few friends to chat, drink, and watch the dance with Pusa Man.

How prestigious this is! Others can't even get in, but I can invite my friends and companions straight into the inner courtyard—it's especially suitable for banquets for officials and business invitations.

Now, Li Bangyan is promoting the new "Bodhisattva Barbarian" and has even gone to dance at the Tianwangyuan Wazi (entertainment district) to create a third famous courtesan.

Zhao Jin'er whispered, "Would Your Majesty like to see Bodhisattva Man dance?"

“I can send someone to buy those costumes, and I can wear them and dance in the palace for the Emperor’s enjoyment.”

"Zhuzhu and Xiangyun can also dance, so the three of them will dance the Bodhisattva Dance together."

Zhao Yuan's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he instructed, "Don't make a fuss."

"I understand," Zhao Jin'er said with a smile, covering her mouth.

Alas, what a Ming emperor he was, even his appreciation of dance was a knock-off.

If the musicians are wrong and the dancers are wrong, they'll just be dancing aimlessly, nowhere near as good as Li Bangyan's performance.

Zhao Yuan actually wanted to be like King Zhou and enjoy a few days of feasting and debauchery.

Unfortunately, that's just wishful thinking; he still wanted to be a wise emperor.

Damn it, I'll indulge myself tonight, after all, the summer grain harvest is booming nationwide.

It's time to celebrate!

Zhao Yuan said to the attending eunuch, "Summon Zhuzhu and Xiangyun here."

Zhao Zhuzhu, Zhao Xiangyun, and Zhao Jin'er are the same age and the three are very close.

Historically, Zhao Zhuzhu became Wanyan Xiebao's concubine, while Zhao Xiangyun was tortured to death at Liujia Temple.

The incompetent Emperor Zhao Yuan drank some wine with Emperor Huizong's three daughters during a meal.

Fueled by alcohol, let's... play mahjong!

Since leaving the palace in the spring to admire the peonies, Zhao Yuan had been cooped up in the palace for a long time, only having a little free time during his ten-day break.

I'll treat myself tonight; I can work two hours later tomorrow if I want.

Zhao Yuan started cosplaying as a tyrannical emperor, shuffling mahjong tiles and saying, "If I lose, I'll give you silver coins; if you lose, you'll have to take off your clothes."

The three girls blushed, but their small hands deftly laid out the mahjong tiles, all showing an eager urge to try their hand at it.

Then the three sisters joined forces and worked together to make a fortune in silver dollars.

Zhao Yuan couldn't stand losing, and he turned hostile halfway through the game, dragging Zhao Zhuzhu towards the bedroom.

"The officials are cheating!" Zhao Xiangyun cried out. Her outer garment had been lost, and she was only wearing a bodice and underpants.

Zhao Zhuzhu, however, was laughing and shouting from the bedroom: "Help! Help! The bandits have kidnapped me!"

Zhao Jin'er shouted, "Zhuzhu, don't be afraid, we're coming to save you!"

The two women, disheveled, rushed in and quickly got into a fight with the mountain bandit, screaming and laughing all the while.

The emperor's life was dull and tedious, and it also strained his back and damaged his kidneys.

.....

There was no court assembly the next day, and Zhao Yuan was only an hour and a half late for his work.

Around noon, Zhao Yuan saw a memorial and immediately said, "Summon Hu Anguo and prepare an extra portion for lunch."

When Hu Anguo arrived at the Chuigong Hall, lunch had already been prepared.