Rebirth: Overthrow Song Dynasty

The ancients had a deep sense of hierarchy, and the emperor and ordinary people were like the difference between heaven and earth.

From ancient times to the present, there has never been a reason for the emperor to visit the people's homes! Even if the emperor received the people, it was the people who entered the palace and waited tremblingly for the emperor's reception.

Moreover, the emperors of all dynasties, except for the founding king, most of the emperors grew up in the deep palace. These emperors grew up with eunuchs and court ladies. The eunuchs and court ladies were naturally respectful and pious when they saw the emperor, and the emperor was naturally arrogant since childhood. The emperor must be superior when talking to ordinary people, and it is absolutely impossible for him to be as kind as Zhao Chen.

In this way, Zhao Chen's approach seems unimaginable, and he is "close to the people" to the extreme.

Such an approach is really "unprecedented emperor".

That night, among the people Zhao Chen visited, none of them could sleep peacefully!

He visited not only those poor people, but also some rich and noble families! Those rich and noble families even put up lanterns and festoons to celebrate the emperor's visit to their mansion today.

On the second day, March 27th, in just one day, people came and went in Lin'an City. Although compared to the most prosperous time, it still looks a bit deserted now, but it is better than the previous two days! Two days ago, people were afraid to come out, but after one day, they came out one after another!

Qingjingfang, here is the famous square market in the west of Lin'an City, which is also the market for later generations.

The day before, there was silence here, and all the shops were closed.

But today, many shops have opened their doors, and there are countless people and merchants doing business here.

"I heard that His Majesty came to the homes of many people yesterday, is it true or not?" In front of a jewelry store, a young man in his twenties was picking out a silver hairpin, he said while looking at it.

"It's true! Our old Xue's house, the emperor went there in person! Last night, old Xue's house was decorated with lanterns and festoons to celebrate! I heard that there is a family in the south of the city, and His Majesty even left a word for it. In the morning, several rich merchants have gone to him to buy back that pair of imperial brushes." A middle-aged man in his forties next to him said.

"Since ancient times, there has never been such an emperor! He actually came to the homes of the people in person. This is how he loves the people like a son! The Emperor Jianyan used to hide in the palace all day long. I heard that there were thousands of concubines in his harem. He dotes on his concubine every day, pays us a lot of miscellaneous taxes, and never thinks about whether the people can survive! Look at Emperor Xuanwu, he is far better than Emperor Jianyan!"

"Yes! This is the Holy King!"

In the entire Qingjingfang, such discussions abound.

For what Zhao Chen did yesterday, all the people without exception praised him.

The sun has risen high, and the Qingjingfang is becoming more and more lively.

At this moment, the sound of horseshoes suddenly sounded in the distance.

Hearing the sound of horseshoes, the merchants were all shocked!

They looked over there one after another, and saw countless black armored soldiers coming on horseback.

Seeing these soldiers, the merchants were horrified! Although Zhao Chen personally visited the people yesterday, the people of Lin'an City were greatly encouraged! Zhao Chen said that there will be no more turmoil, and you are not joking, these people will naturally believe it! But seeing the soldiers now, they were still frightened.

"Hey! Look! That person seems to be His Majesty!"

"That's right! It's Your Majesty! Emperor, he's so young! So heroic!"

"Oh my god! It's really His Majesty who has come!"

At this moment, someone suddenly shouted, and then the voice of shouting got closer and closer.

"Your Majesty is coming! Hurry up and kneel down!"

There are human beings nearby.

"Right! Get down on your knees!"

After a while, countless merchants and common people in the entire Qingjingfang fell to their knees on the ground.

The sound of horseshoes had stopped, Zhao Chen got off his horse, and the soldiers also got off his horse one after another.

"Let's all get flat!" Zhao Chen strode forward and said loudly at the same time.

Someone stood up in front, and the people behind hesitated for a moment, then stood up one after another. It's just that they still stood respectfully aside, and no one returned to their stalls or shops.

"Whose new tea is this?" Zhao Chen asked immediately when he saw someone selling tea.

"Your Majesty, this is the villa's tea shop." A middle-aged man in his thirties stood up and said excitedly.

"How do you sell the tea here? I want to drink the best!" Zhao Chen laughed.

"Your Majesty wants to drink tea, it's the villain's honor! The villain would never dare to ask for your majesty's money!" The middle-aged man hurriedly said.

"Hey, what are you talking about? It's not easy for you to do business! How you sell it on weekdays is how you sell it to me now! I won't let the people suffer!" Zhao Chen said.

"Okay! Your Majesty, the villain has a request. I wonder if you can agree to it?" The middle-aged man hesitated for a while, then suddenly said.

"What request?" Zhao Chen asked.

"Your Majesty, I heard that you wrote an inscription for someone yesterday. Can you inscribe an inscription for the shop as well. Your Majesty's inscription is worth thousands of gold, so I don't need to give you the money for the tea." The middle-aged man said nervously.

"Okay! This is easy." Zhao Chen laughed.

At that moment, Zhao Chen took a catty of good tea from the middle-aged man. Zhao Chen mentioned the four words "Wangji Tea Shop" to the middle-aged man. sent to the palace.

"Who made this umbrella? The painting on it is so beautiful! How much is this umbrella?" Zhao Chen walked forward after leaving the tea shop, and after a while picked up an umbrella from a small stall, road.

"Your Majesty, this is an umbrella made by grass people, and this painting is also drawn by grass people." An old man in his sixties stood in front of Zhao Chen. His whole body was extremely dirty, and he was extremely excited at the moment.

"Good umbrella! Great painting! How much is it?" Zhao Chen laughed.

"It's... just three silver coins." The old man hurriedly said.

"You are so old, and you still need to make umbrellas to subsidize your family. Life at home must be bad. Come here, take ten taels of silver and give it to the old man." Zhao Chen said.

"This, this, this... the grassroots dare not take more money from His Majesty." The old man hurriedly said.

"I see that your painting is not bad. This painting is worth ten taels of silver!" Zhao Chen said.

When Zhao Chen said this, the old man was both surprised and happy, and he no longer refused.

Zhao Chen kept walking forward, buying something he saw when he saw it. He even bought some jewelry for women, but when he thought of the woman in his heart, he couldn't help but sigh softly.

When he reached the middle of the Qingjingfang, Zhao Chen finally stopped.

He turned around, looked at all the merchants and common people, and said: "I came here today, firstly because I heard that this Qingjingfang is the most prosperous, so I came here to buy some things, secondly, I have a few things to tell you."

Zhao Chen stopped here, and the merchants and people around him were all listening, hoping that Zhao Chen would hurry up and continue. Finally, a merchant couldn't help it, and said, "Your Majesty, what is it?"

"The first thing is that Kang Wang's traitor is dead, and there will be no more turmoil in Lin'an City. Everyone can rest assured, do business with peace of mind, and rest assured to buy things! The second thing is that when Kang Wang's traitor was in power, he levied miscellaneous taxes. Even the business tax in this Qingjingfang is extremely high. When I regained Jiangnan, it is naturally impossible to oppress the people like him. I discussed with several ministers yesterday. The business tax should be reduced by at least half, and it may be lowered even more. You guys Just wait for the news from the imperial court, at most half a month, the news will come down!" Zhao Chen said.

"Ah! It's really great!" Immediately, the surrounding merchants and common people applauded.

"Not only will the business tax be reduced, but the food tax will also be reduced! From now on, there will be no more exorbitant taxes!" Zhao Chen said again.

The surrounding merchants and common people knelt down one after another at this moment, saying long live again.

Zhao Chen has left here for a quarter of an hour, but the merchants and people here still haven't dispersed. They are still standing in the middle of the street, and many people are discussing.

"Your Majesty really loves the people like a son, the real sage is alive!"

"Your Majesty is the eldest son of the Supreme Emperor, and he was the crown prince back then! King Kang's usurping the throne is really a terrible death!"

"Your Majesty is far better than King Kang!"

For a time, there were voices of praise everywhere.

Originally, Zhao Gou ruled Jiangnan for six years, and his prestige was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Especially in Lin'an City, many people still regard Zhao Gou as the emperor, and it is difficult to accept that Zhao Gou was killed. Now that Zhao Chen came here and stayed for less than half an hour, the merchants and people here did not care for Zhao Gou at all, and no one missed Zhao Gou anymore. On the contrary, they denounced Zhao Gou one after another, levying miscellaneous taxes so that everyone in the world suffered.

For a whole day, Zhao Chen came to several markets to meet merchants and common people.

On the night of this day, Lin'an city was once again discussing, and many people were very excited.

And that night in the Jiangnan Imperial Palace, Zhao Chen and Qin Hui, Zhao Ding, Wu Jie and others watched the official documents together, learned about the situation in Jiangnan, and discussed ways to make Jiangnan fast and stable, so that Jiangnan can support the northern war.

Qin Hui and Zhao Ding admired what Zhao Chen had done these two days!

Qin Hui felt that Zhao Chen was a man of means and resourcefulness, and went to visit those "poor and lowly people" "without regard to face". Those people were naturally extremely grateful. Of course, Lin'an City returned to prosperity in just a day or two! He admired and was vigilant at the same time in his heart, such a "thick-skinned" emperor was very frightening, he definitely had no scruples in doing things, and needed to be served carefully. Zhao Ding felt that Zhao Chen loved the people like a son, better than Zhao Gou.

On March 28th, Zhao Chen came to the villages around Lin'an City and visited those villagers. Naturally, the villagers around Lin'an City were also sensational.

On March 29, Zhao Chen began to visit the homes of the remaining Jiangnan court officials.

That day Yang Shi rebelled, and more than half of the court officials rebelled with Yang Shi, but some people stayed! Some of these people are quite talented. These few days, these people are also hiding at home, not daring to go out, let alone go to the palace.

*** ***

Most of the officials live in the east of the city, and most of the buildings here are magnificent, but there are also ordinary-looking buildings.

There is a small courtyard next to the east gate, and there are only two small tile-roofed houses in the courtyard.

This is the home of Li Guang, Minister of the Ministry of Officials of the Jiangnan court!

On that day Yang Shi rebelled, and Li Guang was the only one among the six ministers of the Jiangnan court who did not rebel with Yang Shi.

At this moment, Zhao Chen, Qin Hui, and Zhao Ding were standing in front of Li Guang's courtyard.

Zhao Chen has heard of the name "Li Guang", and this is also a famous figure in history! In the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty, there were four famous ministers, Li Gang, Zhao Ding, and Hu Quan, and there was another person who was Li Guang! Li Guang was older than Li Gang, and his seniority in the imperial court was extremely old! He served as Minister of the Ministry of Officials three times, and he promoted countless officials in the court! He has also served as the local Xuan Fu envoy and appeasement envoy many times! This person has a very high literary talent, he left countless poems, his son is Tanhua of the Great Song Dynasty, his two grandsons are Jinshi, and his two great-grandsons are also Jinshi! The Li family has become a world-renowned scholarly family since Li Guang, which has a lot to do with Li Guang's strict education for his children.

This person is a clean and honest official, and he has promoted many anti-golden ministers, which is quite appreciated.

At this moment in Li Guang's mansion, Li Guang was sitting on a stool reading a book. His hair and beard were already gray, and he looked a little thin with wrinkles all over his face.

A woman in her fifties came to him and brought a cup of tea. Li Guang took it, drank it in one gulp, and said, "Listening to the voice, this Lin'an city seems to be much more prosperous!"

The old woman was his wife. She nodded and said, "I heard that Emperor Xuanwu visited the people these days, and the people were very grateful, so they came out one after another."

Li Guang was taken aback, and said, "Is there such a thing?"

The old woman said: "It has spread throughout Lin'an City! His Majesty went to the homes of the poor people in the south of the city, talked with the people, and asked them what they thought of the government! His Majesty even left paintings and calligraphy in some people's homes! His Majesty also went to various places. In Fangshi, visit merchants and tell those merchants that the rebels have been killed, and there will be no more turmoil in Lin'an City! His Majesty also went to some villages around Lin'an City to appease the people himself."

Li Guang couldn't believe it, and said: "There is such a thing? This Xuanwu Emperor is really extraordinary!"

The old woman nodded and said: "Of course he is very important! When he left Kaifeng, he was only ten years old. After he arrived in Guanshan, he was oppressed again. Qu Duan was killed when he could ask for it, and many of Qu Duan's generals took refuge in him. After that, he trained a strong army at a young age, and he was able to defeat Jurchen after half a year. The policies he implemented in Guanshan, Hanzhong, and Sichuan , each item is unbelievable, but they all have significant effects. His Majesty Jianyan is far older than him. At the beginning, he had millions of troops to support him, and there is a rich place in the south of the Yangtze River. There are no powerful officials in the court, but this is short. In just a few years, His Majesty Jianyan was killed by him. I heard that some people in the Guanshan area said that he was a saint who came into the world. I didn't believe it at first, but now I have to believe it."

As Li Guang's wife, this old woman actually understands the political situation. When she said these words, Li Guang was silent for a long time, then nodded slightly.

"Master, now that Emperor Xuanwu rules the world, are you willing to help him?" the old woman said.

"I'm a little worried." Li Guang said after hesitating for a moment.

"What are you worried about?" Mrs. Li said.

"I followed Emperor Daojun first, and then Emperor Jingkang. Everyone knows what these two emperors did! Our Great Song Dynasty was destroyed by these two emperors! Emperor Xuanwu is Emperor Daojun I am afraid that he will be the same as them." Li Guang said.

The two of them were talking when there was a knock on the door.