Chapter 451: Return

The fleet did not bring back any epidemics, which is good news. Although many people were missing when they returned, there were many women with exotic customs and mixed-race children.

They hacked through thorns and thistles and endured loneliness. Sometimes the barbarians were not enlightened and difficult to communicate with, so they had to use troops to conquer. Sometimes they sailed on the vast sea without knowing the way forward, without replenishment, and had to endure hunger and thirst. These are all expected.

In any case, they survived and returned, and in any case, they completed the great task of the Chinese people having no worries about famine. Compared with this, the rotten things they did outside are really insignificant. And to put it another way, it is not a kind of salvation that those women and children could survive and reach China.

The harvest this time is very large. The fleet basically sailed through the entire American continent, not only bringing back sweet potatoes and potatoes, but also corn, chili, tomatoes, green beans, sunflowers, and other crop seeds native to the Americas. They could not distinguish what was what, but the collection, recording, and organization were done very well, and even the names were given, which were transliterated according to the local people's names.

Wang Yan changed the names, which are the same as the later names. And then an imperial edict, the Minister of Agriculture personally rolled up his sleeves and planted land in the imperial manor outside the city, and three thousand Yulin Guard soldiers guarded it day and night, and also began to build greenhouses, experimenting in winter. There are many seeds brought back, and they are well protected. Breeding work is done well, basically covering the capital region in two years, and promoting to the entire North in five years.

In the foreseeable future, the original five grains will definitely be significantly reduced in production. This is because the yield of potatoes and sweet potatoes is large, and even the yield of corn is higher than the original five grains. It can be rice or vegetables. The people who are used to hunger will definitely plant on a large scale, pile their own granaries full, and fart comfortably in the yard every day, sighing that this life is beautiful.

By the time another two years pass, people will feel the taste of being full, and at the same time, they will have enough of the unchanging taste of sweet potatoes and potatoes, and the side effects of farting all day, they will consciously plan their own land and reasonably plant crops.

This is a spontaneous process, no need for intervention. By that time, people will not be satisfied with eating those coarse grains; instead, rice and flour will naturally be placed on the dining table, and they will also pursue dishes and crave more diverse diets.

After all, material is the foundation of civilization.

Since there will be no shortage of food soon, naturally, we must consider meat and land.

So the Ministry of Revenue calculated all expenses for the whole year and issued an estimated expenditure for the next year, and found that the gap was not large. So the two newly trained guards of the Northern Army, plus the two guards already in Liaodong, totaling 200,000 troops, attacked the Xijin Prefecture of the Liao Kingdom.

Of course, war does not rely on heads to besiege the city. After all, the entire Xijin Prefecture only has 50,000 troops, which is not worthy of the conquest of 200,000 troops. The number of people who really participated in the attack on Xijin Prefecture was only 120,000, and the remaining 80,000 broke through the Liao Kingdom's defense line outside the Great Wall. At the same time, the four newly trained guards of the Western Army also moved east in the border area, launching an attack on the Liao Kingdom's garrison, wanting to trap those tens of thousands of troops in Xijin Prefecture, and at the same time compress the territory of the Liao Kingdom.

Since 1115, more than ten years have passed, and the defense line of the Liao Kingdom has actually shrunk. Although the territory looks large, most of it is actually an enclave. The combat effectiveness of the Western Army was already sufficient. After reorganization, changing the military system and wartime leadership mode, they fully exerted the subjective initiative of the generals. They fought according to the battle map, but they were not fools. Now that they have escaped the cage, the upward channel is open, and there is no need to worry about the emperor's suspicion, so naturally, they use all their strength to seek a title and fame in history.

So the progress of the war was very smooth. The Western Army took Datong Prefecture, divided 100,000 troops to join the 80,000 troops fighting foreign aid on the other side, and successfully joined forces outside the Great Wall, blocking Badaling and other important passes. And the army outside Xijin Prefecture did not move, besieging the enemy troops and preventing them from escaping. After insisting for less than two months, Xijin Prefecture was taken.

Casualties are inevitable, but according to the scale of such a war, those casualties are really insignificant and can be counted as a light victory, completely driving the Liao Kingdom out of the Great Wall and recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun. This was the winter of the fourth year of Huaxia.

After taking Xijin Prefecture, the pace of the attack did not stop, because the purpose of this battle was land, was pasture. So 180,000 troops united to go north, and in fifteen days, they took the Central Capital Dading Prefecture of the Liao Kingdom, and together with the 100,000 people led by Lu Zhishen, a total of 380,000 troops pressed on the capital of the Liao Kingdom, Shangjing.

By this time, the territory actually controlled by the Liao Kingdom was not much left, plus its internal chaos, it was basically considered dead in name only. However, this time, compared to the original history, it was still delayed by two years. It's just that perhaps it would be better for them to perish earlier, saving them from struggling to support and living a difficult life.

No one wants to die, especially the Liao royal family and many other ministers who have enjoyed wealth and glory all their lives. They have an example; the Li family of Western Xia is living quite well in the north now. So they were very decisive, taking tens of thousands of troops, as well as a large number of craftsmen, and countless wealth, and fled north.

This does not look like fleeing, but more like moving. Not only insulting the Chinese Empire's combat troops, but also insulting the Jin Kingdom's iron cavalry. So China's combat troops chased them all the way, and there was a siege by the Jin Kingdom in the north, wanting to rob those materials. So in the end, not many Liao people ran out, and they also abandoned most of their wealth.

China's combat troops only chased to Hulunbuir and stopped, and at the same time began to implement the blockade of the Greater Khingan Range, blocking the Jin Kingdom in the Northeast.

At this step, the strategic goal of this battle was achieved. One battle destroyed the Liao Kingdom, recovered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, and also took several lush pastures including Hulunbuir, and also blocked the Jin Kingdom, which can be said to be very perfect. Wait for a period of time to digest the gains of this battle, free up money and materials, unify the Northeast, and take the entire Northeast Plain, the granary, and that is basically finished.

For the empire to conquer such a large piece of land and recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun that had been ceded for a hundred years, it is naturally a national celebration. Such a great achievement is naturally worth celebrating. Another grand ceremony was held to sacrifice to heaven and earth, sacrifice to ancestors, and celebrate the victory of recovering lost territory and expanding the territory.

It stands to reason that this matter has nothing to do with the common people. But first, psychological satisfaction, and second, there are benefits. The most closely related to them, the Council of State issued a notice that the price of cattle and sheep will drop significantly in the future. And there is the immigration of two million people to the north, and the conditions are very generous. When you get there, there is land, pasture, seeds, and cattle and sheep cubs to distribute, you can borrow money interest-free to build a new home, and you are exempt from tax for five years.

Of course, few people in the capital region want to go, but there are still many people in the Northwest and the South. After all, soil erosion in the Northwest is serious, and grain yield is not high. And there is little land in the South. Although you can work, there are always many people who want to have land. And going to the North, everything is guaranteed by the imperial court, and they are also at ease.

The current imperial court is very popular with the people. First, it directly abolished the original large number of heavy taxes and levies; second, local officials have high administrative efficiency; third, local officials dare not bully the good; fourth, from the beginning of the founding of the country, it has never told lies, nor has it changed its orders in the morning and evening. These little things have raised the authority of the government.

Immigration is not because there are not enough people on the grassland. The Liao Kingdom had nearly 10 million people. In recent years, because of wars, internal chaos, etc., many people died, and many were captured by the Jin Kingdom. That still leaves seven or eight million. All these populations were accepted by China, and the Jin Kingdom did not grab people. Because they are now very difficult to maintain their own small population, and then absorb millions of Liao people, they don't need to send troops to fight, just block trade, and they will collapse themselves.

The real reason is to promote ethnic integration and prevent the old Liao people from making trouble. He immigrated two million Han people to the grassland, and at the same time, he will also immigrate two million people from there to live in the Central Plains. Let those who cannot herd learn to herd, let those who cannot farm learn to farm, and absolutely will not happen any grassland autonomy. That is to cultivate a new generation of large grassland tribes, which is looking for trouble for himself.

He wants to immigrate Han people to the past, integrate the two sides through marriage, increase trade, and spread lifestyles, etc. He also wants to build schools, cultivate talents in the North, and let them be officials in other places. In this way, after a long time, after two generations, it is basically completely integrated into the North.

The South is about the same. Since the second year of Huaxia, troops were sent south, advancing step by step, and by the fifth year of Huaxia, the original rebel forces had been completely wiped out, those big households had been raided, and the whole place had been combed.

There are also Tubo and Dali that need to be taken down, but there is no need to pay too much attention. Tubo is indeed difficult to handle, after all, it is a plateau area, and it is too difficult for China's troops to fight there. So the best way is economic sanctions. Through decades of trade, let the Tubo tribes form dependence, and then it will be natural to submit. As for Dali, it is still that sentence, they just rely on the advantage of terrain to be safe in one corner. The landscape, climate, and environment, as well as the dangers in the jungle and the unsuitability of water and soil, are the keys to blocking the army from entering.

However, the problem is not big. The troops that swept the South did not return, but went directly to the border area with Dali. Station troops nearby, recruit local people to train new troops, and slowly advance the front line. Actively contact the ethnic tribes in the mountains, trade with them, and give generous conditions to let them go down the mountain to live in groups. Just advancing unhurriedly, whether it is grain and materials or the lives of combat soldiers, is the least consumed. It only takes ten or eight years to destroy the Duan family, unify China, and be one family in the North and South.

The main problem is the great development of the South. Because there is no Jingkang Shame this time, no migration of the Song royal family to the South, the development of the South is no longer a natural thing, but has become a necessary and active task. This task fell on Wang Yan, who is in power now.

The resources of the South are very rich, and it has its own necessity for development. And the best way to develop is to increase trade and strengthen logistics efficiency. Let the things in the mountains come out, and let the things outside the mountains go in. In this way, the way of development naturally goes without saying, and there is only one way to repair roads.

The South has many mountains, especially in Bashu and other places, and the roads are more difficult to repair, basically filling them with human lives. But it doesn't matter, because the corvee team is very strong, not only the rebel forces in the North and South, but also the prisoners of war of the Liao Kingdom who were demoted to forced labor, and some people who committed serious crimes in various places.

There is no way to have criminal events. After all, a thousand years later, there are cameras everywhere, and they are managed so strictly, and there are still fights. Not to mention now. Individuals because of some quarrels, villages because of water sources or grabbing business, are not individual duels, but two-village fights. There are also other times, some vendettas, murder for money, etc. Throughout the year, there are still many big cases.

Among them, of course, there is also the relationship that Wang Yan does not prohibit short weapons such as knives and swords, and encourages martial arts. But to be honest, this relationship is not as big as imagined. Because he stipulated that holding weapons must have a certificate issued by the yamen, and random checks are carried out from time to time. If it is privately made, the punishment is very heavy. On the other hand, he also controls blacksmiths, and casting weapons must be registered and reported. And the most critical point is that the cost is not low. So although it is not prohibited, it is not something that ordinary people can play with. And even if he prohibits weapons, there are kitchen knives, and if he thinks the short power is not enough, there are longer sickles.

So looking for the cause and effect, it is not that he did not prohibit weapons that led to poor public security. This kind of thing can only rely on the legal popularization of the local government, as well as the suppression of the Martial Guard and local garrison, ensuring that every occurrence is severely punished, making people deeply understand the consequences of blood splashing five steps. Another point is to rely on the martial arts currently being promoted into the education system. By then, everyone will know martial arts and have two skills. You can't tell who is strong and who is weak just by looking, plus severe punishment, then you can control homicide to a certain extent.

Wanting to prohibit it is impossible. This is the human disease of being cheap, it is human nature. There are always people who want to bully others, want to override others, and what is more hateful is that the more honest they are, the more they are bullied. Then there are always people who cannot bear the bullying and frantically counterattack and retaliate, which is very normal.

So using the lives of these people to repair roads is no problem at all. This is the greatest contribution these people can make to this land.

The situation this time is different from the end of the Ming Dynasty. Because various places have not been developed well, he did not intend to expand again. The fundamental purpose of using troops to occupy land is for land and other resources.

Now the land cultivation in the country is just right, and there is industry and commerce to absorb the labor force without land. Various regions are still waiting for in-depth development, and there is no need to use troops at all. And if resources are needed, he can exploit them through trade. Use the labor of other countries' people to subsidize the welfare benefits of domestic people. Just like he constantly dumps goods to Nanyang, to put it ugly, it is all working for the Chinese people, which is the benefit of the economy.

Since it can be exploited comfortably, those places have no threat, why occupy their places and receive so many people. After all, you can't kill them all, or enslave them all. In any case, you have to receive a part, and you have to give them the same welfare as the original people of the country, which is unnecessary.

Of course, the premise of all this is that the survival land of the country's people is wide enough. If you wait until it becomes crowded again and the contradictions become bigger again, then fight, then kill...

The eighth year of Huaxia, the Jin Kingdom perished. When the country perished, the Jin Kingdom breathed a sigh of relief from top to bottom. Because fearing destruction and having already perished are not the same thing. Not to mention that many people in the Jin Kingdom had the intention of surrendering early. After all, they couldn't fight, couldn't run, and didn't live well, so why not surrender? All the original land was taken over by China, and wheat was planted on a large area in the Northeast Plain, while constantly breeding, improving, and screening high-quality seeds.

In the battle to destroy the Jin Kingdom, a hundred-man commander fought bravely, broke through the bamboo, and made great military achievements. He was promoted during the war and became a brigade-level commander. His name is Yue Fei.

This is what Wang Yan saw when he reviewed the report of military achievements. Yue Fei had already joined the army and had been in the Northern Army. Before, when he fought the Xijin Prefecture of the Liao Kingdom, he participated in the war, but that time it was just a siege and no fierce battle broke out, otherwise he would have come out early. After all, Yue Fei was a big-headed soldier who killed his way up with real knives and guns. This kind of person is especially popular in the army, especially in the army of the Chinese Empire. Those who can fight can be generals who lead the charge, and those who can charge and know strategy can be commanders. This is the path of advancement for the army, and it is natural for Yue Fei to come out.

At the end of the tenth year of Huaxia, after a year of census summary, the population was over 135 million. Among these populations, there are newborns, as well as the populations of the Liao and Jin countries. Of course, this number does not count the huge number of forced labor teams, because in the new law of China, they have been deprived of human rights, and there is only working to death, and no other way.

The twelfth year of Huaxia, after negotiations, Dali surrendered and was incorporated into China's rule. The negotiation was not anything else, but to keep the wealth of the Duan family. After being beaten by the Chinese Empire for several years, internal chaos naturally occurred. This is no longer something the Duan family can solve, even if there is a wise master, it is useless, because it cannot be solved by wisdom, it is purely a huge gap in hard power. Knowing that it will perish, making plans early is a wise choice. So the final result is that the Duan family is allowed to retain part of their wealth, demoted to commoners, and the whole clan moved to Luoyang.

The twentieth year of Huaxia, after another ten years of stable development, social wealth increased, and education, health, medical care, welfare, etc., have all been improved to varying degrees. As long as the limbs are sound, farming, working, and going to sea, you can find a job to ensure that you will not starve to death. Coupled with the vigorous encouragement of the government, the newborns in these ten years have had a blowout growth, and the population statistics reached over 178 million. The increase of more than 40 million people are all children born in these ten years. Women of appropriate age, after these ten years, basically did not stop having children.

Because having children can strengthen the family, children grow up to be labor, and the most critical point is that although having children will still bring burdens to the family, both men and women can go to school at a very low cost. They look forward to their children being able to take the imperial examination and become officials, or at least take the imperial examination to the Royal Lecture Hall, and become a military officer in the future, which can also raise the status of the family little by little.

There is no doubt that this is already full.

The twenty-first year of Huaxia, Zhao Ji died of illness at the age of sixty-three. When he died, Wang Yan went to see him. Zhao Ji said, "You are a good emperor, better than me." Wang Yan smiled, the old guy is still brooding, which is understandable. After all, he is an emperor, and it is always uncomfortable to be kicked off the stage. The greatest pain in life is having once possessed it.

The thirty-third year of Huaxia, the champion of the imperial examination, Xin Qiji, entered the Imperial Academy.

The forty-second year of Huaxia, Pan Jinlian, seventy-four, died. This is already the result of Wang Yan's attention. In this era, it is very good to live to be seventy. Although he is used to it, when it comes to such a time, Wang Yan is still affected and in a bad mood. He knows that this is a beginning, and the women who have accompanied him for most of his life will leave one by one.

He was right. Half a year after Jin Lian left, Li Shishi tightly grasped his hand and said that she was unlucky and entered the wrong line, and died without having a child for them. Wang Yan smiled and combed her white hair, stroking her wrinkled cheeks, saying "If not, we wouldn't have met." Shishi nodded and recognized this sentence, sighed at the trickery of fate, packed up her mood, and let Wang Yan recite the Yuanxi for her again. In "Looking for him thousands of times in the crowd. Suddenly looking back, that person is there, in the dim light," she smiled and closed her eyes that were as bright as stars. That smile was still as charming and charming as it was at the beginning.

Two years later, Hu San Niang also left. She said she was content in this life and told him not to miss her.

Yupan lived the longest, seventy-eight years old. She left very peacefully and didn't say anything, just told Wang Yan, who was over eighty, to pay attention to his health, because what should have been said had been said long ago. She didn't suffer in her life, and she liked to travel. She had been to many places and seen many sceneries in her life. Although her father was kicked off the throne by her man, it was clear that her father was not good. She had nothing to be unable to let go of, no regrets.

The women were all dead, and the children began to die. When he was ninety-three, he successfully outlived all his children. It was also at this time that he truly became a lonely man. Although the third generation was also filial, he didn't have much feeling for the third generation, because there were too many.

It was also at this time that he began to cultivate successors. The royal family has never prohibited them from engaging in any profession. They can do business, join the army, or even go into politics, go to sea, and there are many talents. He started directly from the fourth generation, because he could still live.

By this point, the development of China has been very good. Even if he did not intervene in technology, under his vigorous support, in the year he was one hundred years old, he saw the emergence of the steam engine. Of course, it was still in an experimental state, the level of taking a lot of effort to lift a bucket of water. As for firearms, they naturally came out, but they were still in the state of burning sticks, although the rifling had already come out.

This is the inevitability of development, and the rules of the world are there. He encouraged development for seventy years, with a population of hundreds of millions, and has achieved comprehensive six-year compulsory education. The talents that emerged are really countless. With a flash of inspiration, someone always discovers it.

This is not to mention the brilliant achievements of art and culture. The great writers and great painters that emerged are countless, absolutely brilliant fruits.

By this point, he no longer manages affairs. Every day, he takes people out for a stroll, in the increasingly magnificent Luoyang City, being his mascot. The founding emperor, lived over a hundred years old, could still stroll on the street, care about the people's feelings, plus these many years of great achievements, he is already a living god. His statue stands behind the national flag, together with the hero monument that had long been built.

He is lonely in the bustling and great imperial capital. The so-called gain must have loss. This may be the price he should pay when he gets the care of the living father and enjoys various lives.

This time he did not leave at the age of one hundred and twenty, which was within his expectation. Because his physical data had improved, naturally he could maintain his physical state for longer.

Finally, at the end of the ninety-fourth year of Huaxia, on New Year's Eve, he received a long-lost message from the system living father. This year, he was one hundred and twenty-five years old. Only six years short, he had been in charge of the Chinese Empire for a hundred years. He could not see the historical evaluation, but he thought he was a great emperor.

He ignored the descendants who were gathered to show filial piety in the palace. Every year it was this scene, and he was already annoyed. Because he didn't know so many descendants, and the ones he could call by name were just a few children who performed quite well. Of course, the children in his mouth were also fifty-year-old fourth-generation grandchildren...

Today it was snowing again. In the eyes of the eunuchs who were worried and afraid, he walked steadily and slowly into the Hall of Ten Thousand Phenomena against the wind and snow. He didn't let anyone serve him, waved his hand to dismiss them, and didn't let anyone appear in his sight.

He entered from the wide-open front door of the Hall of Ten Thousand Phenomena, walked a long distance, stepped up step by step, shook his dragon robe, and sat steadily on that hard dragon chair.

He was old after all, and he couldn't sit still. He took out the Hanfeng from the space with its scabbard, held the hilt with both hands, and sat like a general.

He looked at the flying snowflakes reflected by the lights outside, he looked at the brilliant fireworks blooming constantly in the sky, he looked at the infinite rivers and mountains in front of him... ===== CHAPTER 452 =====