Just when the Yangtze River was fighting in the north and south, Bai Chongyan, Min Zishun, and Ling Guxu finally returned from Guangnan.

Because they had too close to Zhu Ming, although they were not posthumously destroyed, they were all escorted to Guangnan for management.

After the peace talks, the imperial court agreed to release them, but the return journey was very tortuous.

First, he planned to take Jinghu, which was the closest road, but he heard that Zhong Xiang rebelled and became emperor, and he killed Confucianism if he did not convert to Manichaeism. So he changed his route to return to his hometown from Jiangxi, but when he crossed Meiling, he was told by the guards that the road ahead was impassable, and there was also a rebellion of thieves in southern Gansu.

There was no choice but to go around from Fujian and go all the way to Jiangdong to board the ship.

Then he landed in Huaixi ahead of schedule, because Wuchang had already been occupied by the Zhong thieves. (At this time, Wuchang was in Ezhou in later generations, and Ezhou was in Wuchang in later generations.) ）

The three of them went all the way west and found that the county orders of Macheng and Huangpi had been lying flat.

To the west of their jurisdiction is the Zhu thief, and to the south is the Zhong thief, who is caught by the two thieves and lives in horror all day. Officials and errands did not dare to go to the countryside to collect taxes, for fear that a bad one would provoke a popular uprising.

Among Zhu Ming's newly occupied territory, Anzhou is relatively not short of population.

Anlu, Xiaogan, Yingshan, Yingcheng, the county seat is obviously more dense. These places originally belonged to Jinghu North Road, but now they are assigned to Xiangyang Mansion by Zhu Guoxiang, and the cultural customs are more inclined to Huaixi.

Entering the boundary of Suizhou and Yingzhou, the style immediately changed greatly.

There are resettlement villages everywhere, and there is no need for the government to bother too much here.

Most of them were wealthy families who had fled from the south, bringing their own money and food and loyal slaves. After acquiring a small piece of wasteland, the rich also had to reclaim it themselves, and the domestic slaves were free to reclaim the wasteland, and the masters and slaves could help each other.

"Under successful rule, there are no displaced people!" Bai Chongyan exclaimed.

Ling Gu Xu said: "From this point of view, Zhu Xianggong will win the world!" ”

Min Zishun said: "The rich land in the southeast has not yet recovered its vitality, but the taxes are still heavy, and the Great Song Dynasty has no regrets at all. ”

Ling Gu Xu said: "I heard that Shandong and Hebei are full of thieves, and the imperial court needs to suppress thieves, so naturally it has to levy heavy taxes to raise soldiers." ”

"If the conquest continues like that, there may be a second Fang La in the southeast." Bai Chongyan sighed.

All the way to Xiangyang, the people along the way were very poor.

Even the wealthy families who fled from Zhongxiang's territory did not have much property left north of the Yangtze River, and they had to go down to the land to reclaim the land in person to continue their lives.

But what is visible to the naked eye is a kind of order.

The most precious thing in troubled times is order, with which there is hope, and people's hearts will be stable.

When I passed by a deserted village, I saw many scholars weeding beans. Although he wore the cheapest brown clothes, he could still identify his identity as a Confucian student.

Bai Chongyan stepped forward to salute and couldn't help asking, "Why do you gather here to open up the wasteland, instead of going to a certain official position?" ”

The Confucian scholars returned the salute, and one of them said: "We all fled from Jinghu, and after crossing the Yangtze River, our family wealth is gone." Originally, he planned to go to Xiangyang to seek a position, but there was no shortage of officials for the prime minister and the generalissimo. I heard that we were all scholars, and the generalissimo also took good care of us, and gave us some bean seeds, coils, and books. He also said that the imperial examination would be resumed in three years, and asked me to wait and study while reclaiming the famine. ”

Another scholar said: "It is also a rebellion, Zhu Xianggong and Marshal Zhu care about the people, and cherish the scholars more than the Song Dynasty." On the other hand, the bell thief is simply a demon in the world, this fang is not popular with the people, and he will inevitably die and be wiped out! ”

After careful inquiry, I learned that these scholars had all been ruined, and many parents, brothers, wives and children had been killed.

For a family of ten, there are only three or four people who can escape the Yangtze River alive. They have despaired of the Great Song Dynasty, and they are disgusted and hateful Zhong Xiang is now pinning all their hopes on the Zhu family and his son.

Confucian scholars came from different states and counties, and they got together because they went to Xiangyang to seek officials, and then brought their families to reclaim the famine here.

While they were talking, their families brought food, and they sat down in the fields to eat.

There were also boys with books, and a scholar was in charge of teaching the children to read, writing in the dirt with branches.

The rest of the scholars held their jobs and gathered together to study the "University Chapters and Sentences". They had read The University before, but now they understood it anew, and compared it with the traditional commentaries, they quickly had a heated discussion.

Ling Guxu looked at the simple thatched hut in the distance, at the boy lying on the ground writing with branches, and at the Confucian student who was covered in mud but was studying knowledge, and suddenly his eyes were sour and there was an urge to cry.

In this deserted village, there are not only scholars, but also ordinary farmers, and some of them are domestic slaves and tenants who fled with the scholars.

They were also divided into the wasteland, and now they were eating in the fields, and they came with their rice bowls in their arms. Although I don't understand knowledge, I like to watch the excitement, and I think it's very interesting for the princes to study.

There were also a few children from lowly backgrounds who gathered around to follow the Confucian scholars to read and write.

Bai Chongyan, Ling Guxu, and Min Zishun were all quite emotional, ate some dry food, and continued to hurry with their wives and relatives.

In the blink of an eye, entering the reclamation area where the army is located, the scene here is different.

Zhu Ming allowed the army to exercise every five days, and the rest of the time could go home to clear the wasteland. Everywhere there were soldiers who had taken off their armor, and some soldiers were given dozens of acres of land that they could not cultivate at all, and each family was assigned homeless people to work for them.

The displaced people in the military reclamation area have the hardest work, and they cannot use all their energy to reclaim the land for their own families, but also have to allocate time to cultivate the wasteland of the soldiers.

But there are also preferential treatments, the wasteland reclaimed by the soldiers is exempted from taxes for three years, 20% in the fourth year, and 10% for each year thereafter. The wasteland reclaimed by the nearby displaced people is exempted from taxation for two years, and only 30% in the third year, and then increased by 10% every year until it is fully collected.

In addition, during the tax reduction period, various miscellaneous taxes are also exempted.

Both military and civilians are full of energy, and their faces are full of hope for a better life.

The people in the reclamation area, whether it is soldiers, Confucian scholars, or ordinary people, once the wasteland is cultivated, they will be the most loyal group of people!

Min Zishun asked about the reclamation policy, and people replied with a smile, only saying that they would have a good life in the future, not mentioning that they were so tired that they would lie down and fall asleep every day.

Coming to Xiangyang with great emotion, Zhu Ming warmly received: "The three brothers are finally back, temporarily listen to orders under my account, and after the summer harvest to conquer Jiangling and Zhijiang, you will go to those two places to be officials." ”

Although Zhu Ming does not interfere in political affairs, in the newly occupied territory, he has the right to temporarily appoint and dismiss officials, and he does not have to wait for Hanzhong to make decisions on everything.

"After the summer harvest, you will fight Gangneung?" Bai Chongyan asked, "I see that the scale of land reclamation in various counties is quite large, is there still food to fight?" ”

Zhu Ming said: "Although the land here is vast and sparsely populated, there are also many large households, and there are also a lot of wheat grown. As long as the scale of the war is controlled, the grain will definitely be able to hold up, not to mention the fact that there is grain transported from Sichuan. The people who reclaim the famine should be able to be self-sufficient for a year, and there is no need for the government to borrow grain. A small amount of land can be collected in two years, and it can be completely settled in three years. ”

Min Zishun asked: "On the side of the imperial court, will you bring troops to conscript?" ”

Zhu Ming smiled: "I'm already merciful if I don't go to beat them, how dare they come and beat me?" There are uprisings everywhere in Hebei and Shandong, and it will take at least a year to quell the smoke there. And it will certainly not be completely wiped out, a large number of rebels have fled into the mountains, and the officers and soldiers will come out again after leaving. ”

"In this way, the overall situation will be decided," Bai Chongyan said happily, "Once the reclamation of Jingnan Road is successful, our army will have enough food and grass, and no matter how many officers and soldiers come, they will not be afraid." ”

Zhu Ming asked, "What is the situation in Quang Nam?" ”

Ling Gu Xu said: "Guangdong is quite stable, but there are also sporadic thieves. Guangxi has been fighting in the past two years, mainly against Fang Qifo, and there are some Yao people, Fang Qifo was beaten into the mountains and did not dare to come out. When we returned, there was also turmoil in southern Gansu. As for the southeast, Zhu Mian has been staying in the capital, but his father is still doing evil in the southeast. The officials of the southeastern states and counties are all protégés of Zhu Mian's father and son, and Zhu Mian's father and son are known as the emperors of the southeast. ”

Min Zishun said indignantly: "It's so chaotic, Zhu Mian's father and son are still favored, this great Song Dynasty should be destroyed!" ”

Not to mention that people's hearts are turned back, even God can't see it.

A while ago, there was another major earthquake in the north, and Kaifeng, Hedong, and Shaanxi were all affected.

Wang Huang, who was still struggling to protect his position, was impeached by his ministers because of this earthquake, and also asked the emperor to issue an edict.

Song Huizong did not admit his mistake when he died, and he resolutely refused to issue the edict of his own crimes.

But the emperor really couldn't bear the pressure, Wang Hao was not only dismissed, but also pushed to the end and thrown to the Taoist temple.

Cai Jing was reinstated as prime minister, and because he was blind and unable to see, all official affairs were represented by Cai Tiao and Cai Ying.

Especially Cai Ying, read official documents to Cai Jing and helped Cai Jing write instructions. This young man in his twenties is the real prime minister of the Great Song Dynasty.

Cai You still served as a privy envoy, picking on his younger brother's mistakes all day long, and even asked the emperor to put Cai Ying to death.

The party struggle of the Great Song Dynasty has opened a new version and has become a father-son brother fight.

The officials promoted by Wang Hao, except for those who were admired by the emperor, were all excluded and retaliated against by Cai Jing. A series of high-level personnel changes, even affecting local states and counties, made the already chaotic Great Song court even more chaotic.

He Su, who successfully impeached Wang Hao to the dismissal of the prime minister, was also demoted to the local governor.

This move brought great popularity to He Su, and all the soldiers in the world regarded him as a spiritual leader.

At the same time, Li Gang wrote a letter to the imperial court, announcing that he had severed relations with his father-in-law Zhang Gen and resolutely refused to go to Hanzhong to become a thief.

Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty transferred Li Gang back to the capital to replace He Su's position as the Imperial Historian.

Li Gang is not only Zhang Gen's son-in-law, but the Li family also has a foundation, and he will not be too implicated because of this relationship!

On the side of Liao, Yelu Dashi took refuge in Emperor Tianzuo.

Emperor Tianzuo then subdued the Jugudili Division, and with an army in his hand, he felt that he could do it, and decided to send troops to recapture Yanyun.

Yelu Dashi's persuasion was fruitless, and he fled with three hundred iron horsemen, and set himself up as king on the way, starting another part of his life.

(End of chapter)