Rebirth: Overthrow Song Dynasty

In ancient China, farming was the most important thing!

The king regards the people as his heaven, and the people regard food as their heaven!

Among Zhou Shu's Eight Policies, the number one is "farming affairs"!

Scholars, farmers, businessmen, farmers are social occupations second only to scholars!

Throughout the dynasties, when spring comes, the emperors have to offer sacrifices to the God of Rain, and the emperors have to go to the fields to cultivate in person! However, in many dynasties, the emperor was just showing off, but in the current Song Dynasty, Zhao Chen actually came to the fields and participated in farming!

For the current Song Dynasty, the status of food is very important! Central Plains and Yanyun have only just solved their food and clothing, while in Shangjing, Zhongjing, and Liaodong, many people are still hungry! Starvation still happens in many remote places! Zhao Chen must be able to lead by example, mobilize the enthusiasm of the people to grow grain, ensure a bumper harvest in agriculture this year, and ensure that there will be no shortage of grain in the Song Dynasty!

Except for the necessary left-behind personnel, the ministers of the DPRK and China also entered the fields to help the people plow and hoe the fields! This is not only the case in Yanjing, it is the case all over the country!

Spring has just arrived, and many places are still hurrying to build water conservancy projects! Such major projects often mobilize the local people. In mid-March, Zhao Chen also participated in the water conservancy construction, digging ditches and repairing canals with the people!

The entire land of China, from south to north, from east to west, is in such a hot situation!

Even many scholars responded to the call of the court and participated in farming.

In a village more than 20 miles south of Yanjing, as the sun was setting, two scholars in coarse clothes came back from outside the village.

They are sweating! Today, they are all busy in the ground.

"The current imperial court attaches great importance to farming, and the emperor is really a wise master!" A scholar in his forties with a bookish face said while wiping away his sweat.

In ancient China, any emperor who valued farming was well received by Confucian scholars, so it is not surprising that this scholar said so.

"Unfortunately, I waited hard to study the knowledge of sages. I thought I could enter the court as an official and benefit the world. Who knows that the Jurchens invaded. Until now, the imperial court has not yet held an imperial examination!" The other looked slightly younger, about thirty years old. The scholar who was more than one year old said.

"The world is in chaos, and it is impossible to hold an imperial examination! But now the imperial court has ruled the world, and even recovered thousands of miles of land in the north, and the emperor attaches great importance to farming. This is a symbol of the world's great stability! After the world is settled, the emperor will definitely Open the imperial examination! When Emperor Taizu established the Great Song Dynasty and ended the war in the world, it took several years to open the imperial examination!" said the elder scholar.

"I hope so, otherwise our knowledge will be in vain!" The scholar in his thirties said with a wry smile.

The two were talking here when a young man in his twenties came running towards them. This young man was very strong and dark-skinned. When he came to the two of them, he saluted and said, "Uncle Feng , Uncle Li, I have good news to tell you!"

"Oh? What good news?" said the scholar in his forties.

"Yesterday, I went to Yanjing City with my father to buy some fabrics. Word spread in Yanjing City that the imperial court is going to hold the imperial examination!" said the young man.

"Ah! Seriously?" The two scholars said with disbelief on their faces.

"It is said that the emperor came back from the north and had already discussed with the prime minister about the opening of the imperial examination, and then discussed the matter with the adults of the military aircraft department. This matter came from the residence of several military aircraft ministers, and there is no mistake!" said the young man.

"Great! Really great!" the scholar in his forties said excitedly.

"Brother Feng, in the past two years, our knowledge has been wasted. During this time, we need to read books carefully!" said the scholar in his thirties.

"Yes, yes! The world is in chaos. We thought that books were useless. We just read them in our spare time. Now that the imperial court is going to hold an imperial examination, that is the only way for us to advance. We need to study hard to learn! Let's go!" , let's go back and read by candle!" the scholar in his forties laughed.

The two ignored the young man and hurried towards the village. The young man looked at them amusedly.

"Back when the Jurchen invaded, the imperial court paid more attention to martial arts than culture and education. Many people no longer read books! In troubled times, no matter how many books you read, it is useless! Now the imperial court wants to conduct imperial examinations, but there are not many scholars. Uncle Feng, Li Uncle will definitely be able to pass the exam!" The young man secretly said.

*** ***

The weather is getting warmer and warmer, and it has come to April in the lunar calendar.

Zhao Chen had been busy outside for more than a month, and finally returned to the palace on this day.

The night was getting dark, Zhao Chen stayed in the imperial study room, there was a pen and paper on the table, and Zhao Chen was constantly writing there.

After a while, footsteps came from outside, and someone put a bowl of porridge in front of Zhao Chen.

"Back off, don't bother me again." Zhao Chen said.

"Oh." There was a somewhat indifferent reply from the side.

Zhao Chen raised his head abruptly, only to see a girl in white clothes standing in front of him, with a beautiful face, whoever it was if it wasn't Qin Yuzhen.

"It's you? Please sit down!" Zhao Chen smiled.

"Didn't you tell me not to disturb you?" Qin Yuzhen said angrily.

"I thought it was some maids and attendants in the palace, but I didn't expect it to be you! You are different from others." Zhao Chen said.

"What's the difference between me and others?" Qin Yuzhen asked.

"You are the one I like." Zhao Chen said.

"Stop talking nonsense." Qin Yuzhen said with a slightly red face.

Zhao Chen smiled, let her stay aside, and continued writing on the paper.

"What is the emperor writing?" Qin Yuzhen asked.

"It's only a matter of time before agriculture and commerce recover under the current regime. In addition to these, we should educate the people and promote education. Don't you think that's right?" Zhao Chen said.

"That's right, that's the reason." Qin Yuzhen nodded.

"In your opinion, what should the people be taught?" Zhao Chen said.

"They should be taught to practice Taoism." Qin Yuzhen said.

"Cultivate the Tao? Are all of you as non-human as you?" Zhao Chen laughed.

"How can I not eat the fireworks of the world? I think Taoism is the most difficult and interesting thing in this matter. If everyone in the world practiced Taoism, there would be a lot less disputes in this world. Wouldn't it be good?" Qin Yuzhen said.

"Tao can be Tao, very Tao, no one can tell what this 'Tao' is? If you have cultivated Tao to the extreme, what can you do even if you are an ordinary master? Can you really live forever? Who among the ancient Taoist priests can achieve longevity Not old? When I got many ancient books from the Qin Mausoleum, all the so-called "immortals" recorded in them died, and the disciples explained in the books! Or, the so-called Taoism in the world is completely wrong! Cultivation can only cultivate the heart Cultivation of character is of little benefit to changes in the world, and not to social evolution." Zhao Chen said.

"What is social evolution?" Qin Yuzhen asked curiously.

"It is to make the human race stronger and stronger, and the life of ordinary people is getting better and better! In ancient times, human beings drank blood, and most people would die when they lived to be twenty years old! Most people live in bitter cold and can only live in caves. Stones are used as tools, hunting for a living every day! By the time of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, humans would plant crops, but the vast majority of people were slaves of others, and their lives were under the control of others. In their eyes, they are just goods like cattle and sheep! At that time, they only had bronze wares and pottery wares, no steel, no fine porcelain, no embroidery. In our eyes, ordinary things were very precious in the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties Stuff! By the time of the Qin, Han and Jin Dynasties, the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System was implemented in the world, and the offspring of officials would always be officials. It was as difficult for ordinary people from humble backgrounds to climb into the upper class! By the time of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the imperial examinations were implemented, and ordinary people finally had Advancement level! These are the evolution of society." Zhao Chen said.

Qin Yuzhen stood there with a thoughtful expression on his face.

From Zhao Chen's point of view, these are the most common principles, but from Qin Yuzhen's point of view, they are extremely profound. She has never heard such a point of view.

"How do you know what happened in the ancient times?" Qin Yuzhen asked after a while.

"After the ancients died, there were bones and relics. Based on these, we can get a lot of information, and then judge their living conditions!" Zhao Chen said.

"I read a lot of books since I was a child, and it only records that the sage ruled the world and the world was unified, but no one said that the ancients lived like this." Qin Yuzhen said.

"You follow me from now on, and I will tell you more things." Zhao Chen smiled.

Qin Yuzhen nodded, she was still frowning and thinking, but Zhao Chen couldn't help standing up and hugging her in his arms, Qin Yuzhen let out a soft cry, then closed his eyes and let him hold her...

*** ***

For the next half month, Zhao Chen was still busy in the farmland.

Water conservancy construction in various places needs money, which is constantly reported to the imperial court, and the Military Aircraft Department makes overall arrangements.

Now the organization of the Military Aircraft Department is getting bigger and bigger. In addition to the Military Aircraft Minister and Military Aircraft Zhang Jing, there are also some subordinate agencies that specialize in handling affairs, led by the Military Aircraft Minister respectively. However, the original court structure Zhongshu Sheng, Privy Council, Six Departments, Yushitai, etc. are now in name only. After years of development, the Military Aircraft Department has finally completely replaced the original court. Compared with the original imperial court, the current military aircraft department is much more efficient, and the emperor's power is much greater than before.

On April 18th, the busy farming season was completely over, and the Military Aircraft Department finally held another meeting to discuss education and imperial examinations.

This time, the Minister of Military Aircraft and the Minister of Military Aircraft Zhang Jingdu have arrived. Some time ago, they already knew that the imperial court was going to hold the imperial examination. These days, they are also thinking about it, and they all have their own ideas.

Zhao Chen looked at the ministers and Zhang Jing below, thought for a while, and said: "I have heard people say, 'A strong young man makes the country strong, a wise young man makes the country wise, a young man is better than foreign barbarians, and a country is better than foreign barbarians. If a young man is the hero in the world, then the country is the hero in the world, do you think this is true?"

These were originally the words spoken by Liang Qichao's young China in the late Qing Dynasty, but Zhao Chen changed them and told the ministers below.

"Your Majesty is right!" Li Gang nodded in agreement.

The military ministers below nodded their heads one after another! The truth is so obvious that you don't need to think too much about it.

"The best way to make our young people in the Song Dynasty better than foreigners is to establish education! But I think the education in the past has a lot of flaws, and education can no longer be the same as before!" Zhao Chen said.

"Can't it be the same as before?" Li Gang asked strangely.

"What did scholars study for in the past?" Zhao Chen asked rhetorically.

"This... naturally increases knowledge." Li Gang said.

Zhao Chen shook his head lightly, and said: "That's not true! The sage Confucius once said that 'the best in learning makes you an official'. Studying is just for becoming an official! Ten years of hard work, and finally the limbs are not working hard, and the grains are not working." It's nothing more than hoping to be elected as an official, I don't know if I'm right?"

"Your Majesty, scholars also want to serve the imperial court." Li Gang wanted to refute, but there was no way to refute, so he could only say at the moment.

In ancient times, there were indeed some people who studied for learning, but the vast majority of people studied for being officials! There are countless examples like Fan Jinzhong's. Once he wins the exam, he can immediately rise to the top, and his status will undergo earth-shaking changes! It is precisely because of such a huge temptation that countless children from poor families are eager to leap into the dragon's gate, study endlessly all day long, and never care about family affairs.

"I want to establish education so that children and teenagers in the world can study and study, but I don't want all the children in the world to become officials! If everyone becomes an official, who will farm and who will do business?" Zhao Chen said .

Li Gang, Wang Shu and others all nodded.

"Reading books is not only for the purpose of becoming an official, but also to help these children and teenagers. When they grow up, they can apply the knowledge in the book to practice! Therefore, Confucianism should not only be taught in the school, but also Confucianism should be taught. Talking about other knowledge, such as agriculture, mathematics, or other ways of managing the world, I will name it "practical learning"! In the future, Confucianism and practical learning will be promoted simultaneously in the school!" Zhao Chen said.

After Zhao Chen finished speaking, the ministers below were in an uproar.