Sky Curtain: The Overlord Charges into Battle, Shocking Emperors of All Dynasties

That's right, this is my Great Song Dynasty!

Emperor Renzong of Song, Zhao Zhen, straightened his back a bit, and even appeared somewhat spirited and high-spirited.

This is the Song Dynasty, this is Kaifeng!!

When it comes to wars against foreign powers, Zhao Zhen certainly lacked confidence; before, he even wished he could dig a hole and disappear.

But when it comes to how he treated the common people, Zhao Zhen had something to say.

Who doesn't know that Emperor Zhao is benevolent and righteous?

This praise is well-deserved by the Great Song Dynasty!

The people of Kaifeng shared in this pride, standing tall with their heads held high.

"Indeed, putting aside everything else, has any dynasty in history been so lenient towards its people?"

"Exactly! Where have we ever seen such an official?!"

"Kaifeng, the capital of my Great Song Dynasty, is truly the number one city under heaven!"

Imprisoned by the Jurchens in the Five Kingdoms City, Zhao Ji's mental state had become somewhat unstable due to his prolonged confinement.

"Hahaha, it's like the 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' scroll!!"

"The painting depicts Bianjing during my reign!!!"

"This is my achievement!!!"

Zhao Ji suddenly rushed out the door and shouted into the sky amidst the swirling snow:

"I have rendered meritorious service!!"

"I did nothing wrong!!!"

After venting his anger, snowflakes fell from the sky onto Zhao Ji's face, cooling down his burning cheeks.

Zhao Ji couldn't help but shiver, shrinking his neck and rushing back into the house, wrapping himself tightly in a felt blanket.

Feeling his body temperature rising, Zhao Ji wrapped himself in a blanket, squinted, and the painting "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" evoked memories of his days in Bianjing.

The once extravagant and dissolute lifestyle

"The emperors of the Han and Tang dynasties were truly pitiful. What good were their victories in foreign wars?"

"They only eat two meals a day, mostly millet rice, meat sauce, and roasted meat."

"Do they even know what eating is?"

Zhao Ji seemed to see before his eyes the daily meals he had when he was emperor.

Dishes like lamb tongue skewers, lotus root duck, crab-stuffed orange, and lactose-flavored snow dessert, etc.

Thinking of these things, Zhao Ji's mouth watered, and he unconsciously smacked his lips.

Sigh, the kind of life we ​​had before is gone forever!

Can not go back!

Meanwhile, the other Song Dynasty citizens who weren't in Kaifeng rubbed their eyes, as if they were hallucinating.

He looked down at his tattered clothes and the land beneath his feet that didn't belong to him, and thought about the various taxes he was about to have to pay.

Wait a minute, when did life in the Song Dynasty become so good?

Nobody told them!

The people of Kaifeng certainly lived well, but that was only true in Kaifeng.

Life in all cities except Kaifeng is not like that in Kaifeng.

The Song Dynasty practiced a system where each state supported only one city. Apart from a few commercial cities, the development of the rest of the cities was stagnant.

Ultimately, this was because Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, wanted to prevent local governments from becoming too powerful again, so he required that all their revenue, except for necessary expenses, be sent to the capital, Kaifeng.

[Using the resources of a single nation, Kaifeng and Lin'an were developed into paradise on earth.]

However, apart from Kaifeng, other cities in the region lacked the funds for urban development.

So, were the lives of ordinary people in the Song Dynasty really that prosperous?

If we're referring to the gentry and landlords as "common people," then it's true that they lived a comfortable life.

But if we're talking about ordinary people, all we can say is that they're all trying their best to live.

The taxes in the Song Dynasty were incredibly heavy. Chao Shuozhi of the Northern Song Dynasty once lamented: "The taxes and corvée labor in the Song Dynasty were dozens of times that of the Han Dynasty."

The two basic land taxes a year accounted for 20% of people's income, and there were also dozens of miscellaneous taxes such as salt money, shoe money, farm tool money, and transportation money, which accounted for another 20%.

Other taxes included poll taxes, tea tribute, and flower and stone tribute.

After all this miscellaneous work, the common people basically had nothing left after a year of labor.

"My God, so much tax! Doesn't that mean I've worked for nothing all year?"

"No wonder the Song Dynasty was so rich; they squeezed money out of the people, that's why they were so wealthy!"

"The key point is that a portion of this money was given to the foreign race as tribute!"

"Then I'm not going. I think Dahan is fine as it is now, and I don't want to eat any of that food!"

The people of the Han Dynasty patted their chests, as if they had been frightened by what was said on the celestial screen.

It's dozens of times higher than the current taxes, so what's the difference between that and the taxes collected by the tyrannical Qin Dynasty?

"I understand!"

Li Shimin clapped his hands, suddenly realizing why commerce was so developed in the Song Dynasty, with night markets even late at night.

"People need to earn money to pay taxes, so how can they not open their shops late at night to do business?"

"Otherwise, after a long day, who wouldn't want to rest?"

Li Shimin asserted that if people could live a good life by working hard all day, why would they work at night?

During the Song Dynasty, people outside Kaifeng gazed at the sky with tears in their eyes, filled with gratitude.

Finally, someone revealed the details of their current life.

What kind of life are we living now!

Even if you want to farm, and after all the hard work of clearing land, it soon no longer belongs to you.

And they don't dare to sue!

Those landlords were rich and powerful, and they colluded at every level; even if you sue them, it won't do any good.

Even if they went to Kaifeng to make a living, the huge gap between Kaifeng and their original county town was enough to make these people feel powerless.

How could Kaifeng be so prosperous? Is this really the same Song Dynasty?

Just like how people from small counties in Northwest China go to big cities in the South to make a living,

Furthermore, the Song Dynasty did not suppress land annexation, a practice that originated with Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin.

After the "releasing military power over a cup of wine," he promised meritorious officials such as Shi Shouxin that they would "choose good fields and houses to buy, so as to establish a lasting legacy for their descendants."

After all, the Song Dynasty shared power with the scholar-officials and gentry. As long as the land was concentrated in the hands of large landowners, and taxes were still paid, everything was fine.

On the contrary, these wealthy landowners were protecting the country's wealth.

Does it not curb land consolidation?

How dare the emperors of the Song Dynasty?

Upon seeing the Song Dynasty's land policies, many emperors and ministers exclaimed in surprise.

If that's the case, then all the land will be concentrated in the hands of big landowners, and what can ordinary people do without land?

Wouldn't that make them refugees?

"That's right. If people lose their land and wander aimlessly, won't that only create more trouble?"

"But with the support of powerful landlords and literati, how could these refugees possibly cause any trouble?"

"Didn't the Song Dynasty already have a plan for these people? Just look at the 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' scroll, and you'll see."

The sounds of sweat dripping onto the ground as porters carried heavy bags, the cries of vendors, and the calls of waiters in restaurants could be faintly heard in their ears.

It has a very down-to-earth, everyday feel to it.

[This includes the laws of the Song Dynasty, which protected the taxi lords of the Song Dynasty.]

For example, Song Dynasty law stipulated that if a tenant farmer harmed a landlord, the crime would be increased by one degree; if a landlord harmed a tenant farmer, the punishment would be reduced by one degree if the punishment was less than caning.

Therefore, the lives of ordinary people are extremely miserable.

[It wasn't just in the Song Dynasty; in the later stages of any feudal dynasty, the lives of ordinary people were extremely miserable.]

In comparison, the lives of ordinary people in the Song Dynasty were relatively rich and varied, and they could still be considered quite free.

[The treatment of scholar-officials was particularly good; as long as one passed the imperial examination, one's fortunes could be changed overnight.]

[In previous dynasties, productivity was not high, people's lives were not rich, and there were too many obstacles to crossing social classes.]

Not to mention the Yuan Dynasty, which treated Han Chinese people as completely inhuman beings and held scholars in utter contempt.

Relatively speaking, the Song Dynasty was actually doing quite well.

Otherwise, so many people wouldn't have died for their country when the Song Dynasty fell.