My father Zhao Kuangyin

Upon learning that Zhao Pu had accepted seafood from Qian Chu, Zhao Dezhao was powerless to do anything and could only sigh in despair.

He personally promoted Feng Bing, the Imperial Censor, along with his father-in-law Wang Pu, his brother-in-law Wang Yisun, the Commander of the Palace Guard Mi Xin, and his son Mi Jifeng, the Assistant Magistrate.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the civil and military officials are all taking shape; the only one who can rival his third uncle both inside and outside the court is still Prime Minister Zhao.

Unfortunately, Zhao Pu had been in power for too long and was unable to change his mindset in a short time. He kept giving others ammunition against him and suffered the consequences of his mistakes.

In short, there were too many hidden dangers. Even if the old father trusted Zhao Pu, over time, he would inevitably develop resentment and gradually become estranged.

Once he loses favor, only Heaven knows what will become of this prime minister.

Zhao Dezhao rode in a carriage out of the Imperial Street, first inspecting the eight wards and finding the people's livelihood to be prosperous, before leaving the outer city and heading to the more impoverished countryside.

Thanks to the example of the frightened bird, Zhao Dezhao was still very cautious and apprehensive. Once he left the city, he saw no more tall buildings or pavilions, so he had nothing to worry about.

Kaifeng used to have twenty townships, but now it has eight townships and eight wards.

The eight districts were located within the city, while the eight villages were located outside the city. The closer a place was to the palace, the wealthier it became, and the higher its property prices were.

As seen in Tokyo, the Song Dynasty's general policy of strengthening the central government and weakening local power was implemented very well. However, when it came to the so-called "weak branches," the contrast was rather stark...

Is your hometown really that poor?

Wei Liang, the head constable who drove the carriage for him, was overwhelmed with joy and sorrow at the thought of being sent back to his hometown.

"I can't say for sure, but I know that the village has been emptied out. There were originally several hundred households, but due to the extortion by the clerks, I don't know if half of them are still there."

It was a township in the capital, and with only a few hundred households, it could only be considered average to above average.

Naturally, the eight townships collectively referred to in Kaifeng are all large townships. The other townships and villages are not included in the register because their numbers are too small. Usually, the village heads of the large townships manage the villages, and then the process goes through another layer of management.

"Now that the corrupt officials have been removed, has anyone returned?"

"I dare not come back..." Wei Liang said with difficulty, "I owe too much money. If it weren't for a general amnesty from the government, I probably wouldn't dare to come back."

Amnesty was either a change of reign title or the ascension of a new emperor. At a time when the average lifespan was around thirty or forty years, a generation could probably only experience it two or three times.

It should be understood that owing money to the government is one thing, but owing money to wealthy families, or rather, "usurious loans," is another.

The imperial court had regulations governing the annexation of land, but sometimes too many people were involved, resulting in much land being abandoned and making the accounts look bad, so the bottom line was gradually relaxed.

The great-grandson Wang, who invented the philosophy of mind in the later dynasty, caused considerable harm because of it.

At this point, Zhao Dezhao might feel some reluctance, but he would never be able to undertake a major reform.

Not to mention him, even my father couldn't do it, and neither could my third uncle.

To try to shake up one's "foundation" before one has even secured a stable position is tantamount to digging one's own grave.

"Are you the only son in your family?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Liang said bitterly, "My lord, you don't know, my ability to become a clerk and to have such a strong physique is all thanks to my parents' generous upbringing. When I went to study law and regulations... there was money to bribe officials... If I had more brothers and sisters... I certainly wouldn't be able to support them."

Taking a meticulous approach to health and wellness? That's quite rare.

As they entered the village from the official road, the journey became increasingly bumpy, and Zhao Dezhao could no longer bear it, so he switched to riding a white horse.

Because of his appearance and clothing, as well as the ten Imperial Guards, some villagers actually mistook him for an official and awkwardly bowed, which made Zhao Dezhao both amused and exasperated, but he couldn't explain it to them.

When the village magistrate rushed over, speaking in his local dialect, I suddenly understood.

The Zhao family was from Cangzhou, and the official language of the Song Dynasty today should more accurately be Hebei dialect.

However, due to the Liao Dynasty's frequent raids on the northern border, more and more people from Hebei have migrated south over the decades, resulting in a mixture of accents from both regions, which has become somewhat obscure.

Zhao Dezhao dismounted, helped the old village head to his feet, and asked, "I heard there are more than ten orphans in the village who grew up eating food from many families. Is that true?"

"Most of them were left behind in the village because their parents had fled. The children were too young to endure the long journey, so they stayed in the village. The older ones were fourteen or fifteen years old, and the younger ones were eleven or twelve..."

Where are they all?

"What does the Prime Minister intend to do?"

"Oh." Zhao Dezhao said in a serious tone, "I am a Buddhist. I saw that the lonely and widowed were suffering, so I came here to help them."

This is similar to Zhao Dezhao's experience in poverty alleviation in a rural village in his previous life. Although he was a senior examiner, he had never eaten pork but had never seen a pig run.

Upon hearing this, the village head's expression brightened, and he quickly went to greet him with a smile.

After walking and stopping for a mile, from one end of the village to the other, Zhao Dezhao arrived at a courtyard enclosed by a fence, where young children were playing with a yellow dog in front of the gate.

He was indeed a bit thin, but being under the emperor's nose, he dared not go too far.

"It's Grandpa Xu!"

Seeing that there were many people, one of the children shouted and then timidly ran into the yard.

Zhao Dezhao looked at Xu Lizheng and saw that he was getting closer to Xu Jiebao. Then he looked at Wei Liang and realized what was going on.

The Serbian is one of the village chief's men; this guy's got some nerve...

After being admitted to the hospital, the eleven boys stood up crookedly, listening to what Grandpa Xu said.

"Why are they all men?" Zhao Dezhao asked in surprise.

Old Man Xu smiled bitterly, "There are hardly any young ladies to begin with, and families in the inner city often send their servants here to find girls. They don't need much money, and there's no need to look at their appearance. Most of them are bought into their homes to be maids..."

amount……

Zhao Dezhao remained silent.

If you call it discrimination, at least there's a place to belong and no worries about food and clothing. If you call it no discrimination, it basically only accepts women and doesn't need men, and the latter suffer more.

Seeing that things were going slightly wrong, Mi Jifeng stepped closer and whispered something.

"Ah Lang, this...this kind of assassin cannot be kept in seclusion..."

Who told you I was going to raise them? This is called charity, doing good deeds!

In fact, Zhao Dezhao brought grain, rice, and clothing to gain fame, not to recruit assassins.

Not only would this move be easily exposed by his third uncle, but the training cost would also be enormous. Instead of having this idea, he might as well have a drink with the Imperial Guard generals, have a heart-to-heart talk, and win over the readily available and top-notch elite troops.

"Each person will be given three bushels of rice, as well as clothing. I don't know their sizes, so they're all a bit too big. I hope that's alright?"

The village head exclaimed "Oh dear!" and quickly agreed.

"It doesn't matter, a slightly larger size doesn't matter, as long as I have new clothes to wear!"

"That's good."

After he finished speaking, officials and soldiers brought food and clothing into the courtyard, causing the orphans to blush and feel at a loss.

To express my gratitude would be difficult, even my pronunciation isn't quite right. I can only remember in my heart that a benefactor once gave them food and clothing...

A moment later, a young boy saw Zhao Dezhao leaving and mustered up his courage to step forward and ask him.

"May I ask your name, my benefactor?"

Zhao Dezhao glanced at him, chuckled, and waved his hand.

"Why bother with names? This is a messy debt the government owes you, and now... I have the ability to pay back what I can."

"this……"

Throughout history, officials have been considered rulers and fathers, while the common people have been considered subjects and children, and both were expected to be loyal and filial.

It would be truly shocking if a king or father owed a debt to his subjects and required them to pay it back…

But Zhao Erlang, whom they had never met before, blurted out something that left everyone bewildered.

The courtyard remained silent for a long while, and no one dared to speak.

Zhao Dezhao did not seek much in return for his kindness, so he did not linger and went to visit poor families to provide assistance.

The main groups are the four categories of people: widowers, widows, orphans, and elderly people without children.

Before they knew it, the sun was setting. In the afterglow of its brilliance, as they embarked on their journey home, many villagers gathered behind the white horse to bid farewell to Songde.

Zhao Dezhao didn't have much to say. Seeing how easily the villagers were bribed and how they all seemed to owe him a debt of gratitude, he was filled with emotion.

In short, after occasionally escaping the murky vortex of the imperial court, he completed a series of good deeds and felt extremely happy.

De Zhao Zhao De, one can be considered worthy of his name.