Spring comes to the desperate place

Chapter 465: The Fall of the Jin Dynasty

Because rice was delivered yesterday, today's court meeting seemed particularly lively. Some people thought that Song Chunlin's rice farming in the north was a waste of money and labor. They believed that the north was desolate and even if rice was grown, it would definitely take a lot more effort than in the south.

However, their views were quickly rejected by the people from the Ministry of Agriculture. They took out the farming notes compiled by Song Chunlin in the north. They studied them for a whole night yesterday and believed that Song Chunlin's planting methods still had room for improvement. If they had not had to go to court today, this group of people would not have planned to come back.

"Your Majesty, this is Young Master Song's first time planting. His planting method is no different from that in the south, but his yield is still several dan higher per acre than in the south. Although it's only a few dan, the fields there are vast and fertile. If we send some experienced farmers there to manage them well, the yield can be at least a few more dan. Then, the north will become the new granary of our Great Jing Dynasty."

Another assistant minister of the Ministry of Works also stepped forward. He had obtained the data from the Ministry of Agriculture earlier than the Ministry of Agriculture, because Song Chunlin had asked the court for many new agricultural tools. The huge number made all the people in the Ministry of Works work so hard that they even had to find many craftsmen from the public to work together. They were deeply impressed by how big the fields in the north were.

"Your Majesty, the greatest advantage of the North is that the fields can be connected into one large expanse. Although the area has increased, there are no slopes or hills there, making it easier to cultivate than in the South. A field of the same size in the South would take at least twice as long to cultivate in the North due to the terrain. The North is vast, and even horses can run in the fields. If such spacious fields can be managed uniformly in the future, it may be possible to increase production even further."

After the Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of Works discussed the matter in the court, the voices of opposition gradually died down. Only some stubborn old ministers still insisted on opposing it, arguing that the Jin Kingdom had not been conquered yet, and Song Chunlin was so ostentatiously reclaiming farmland on someone else's territory. If the other party retaliated, wouldn't he be making things difficult for others?

There are also some people who are complacent and think that even if the barbarians' territory can grow crops, it will not be as developed as the south. Not to mention whether the land there is fertile, who would be willing to go there to govern such a desolate place?

Well, this is indeed a good question. However, soon, just a few days after they received the rice, good news came from the border. Gu Fengyue led the Gu family army to successfully attack the Jin Dynasty's imperial city and captured all the Jin Dynasty nobles. The little emperor who was temporarily pushed to the throne by the Queen Mother of Jin Dynasty, in order to avoid being captured, committed suicide while sitting on his throne.

The little emperor is only nine years old this year. He was just a seven-year-old child when he ascended the throne. Although he was only a mascot chosen by the queen mother and had no power at all, because he committed suicide for his country, even the Gu family army admired this little emperor very much.

Gu Fengyue looked at the little emperor's body and ordered people to bury him properly.

The nobles, led by the Queen Mother, were either captured or killed. The Queen Mother of Jin, who had been powerful for half her life, was burned to death in her own palace during the palace turmoil.

Upon hearing that the Jin Dynasty had been destroyed, the Song family members' hands were shaking with excitement. Song Chunsheng repeatedly asked the soldier who delivered the letter whether the Jin Dynasty had really been defeated. The soldier also seemed very excited and did not show any impatience from being repeatedly questioned. Not to mention the Song family members, even many nobles and common people in the capital still found it unbelievable.

That was the Jin Dynasty. How could they conquer an entire country?

"My Lord, our Grand Marshal personally led the Gu family army into the Jin imperial city. The young emperor and the queen mother are both dead, and the other Jin nobles were also killed. I'm afraid they are now preparing to return to the capital."

When Grandpa Song heard that his grandson and his son-in-law were about to come back, he was so happy that his old face turned into a chrysanthemum with a smile. He said several good words in a row. After that, he remembered something and hurriedly asked his grandson to go back to his room and get out a few red envelopes.

"Come here, dear child, thank you for telling us this good news. Oh, it's been three years, and you're finally coming back."

The soldier took the red envelope with a smile. He had long known that the Song family was easy to talk to and generous. It turned out to be true. No wonder everyone was rushing to deliver letters to the Song family.

After the soldier who brought the news left, the Song family was immersed in joy. Aunt Song even started to look through the almanac, calculating when her grandson and son-in-law would be able to come back.

Song A-mo pointed at Layue and said to her husband, "It's already October now. Spring is coming fast. If he leaves on his own, Layue will definitely be back."

Grandpa Song also nodded and said: "Layue will definitely be able to come back, but they are in a mess right now. Chunlin will definitely have to stay to help deal with it for a while. However, he has no official position, so if he wants to come back, all he needs is a word from Fengyue. Sigh, I haven't seen them for three years. I hope we can be reunited as a family during the Chinese New Year this year."

Song A'mo was also praying secretly in her heart, hoping that her grandson and son-in-law would come back soon so that their family could have a reunion dinner.

After the Jin Dynasty was defeated, there was a lot of work to be done there. Now it is the end of the year, and many people are unwilling to go to the north to take up posts at this critical juncture, but they cannot leave the place alone. Gu Fengyue is only a military general, and Song Chunlin only knows how to farm. It is okay to let them take care of the three acres of land in front of them, but the Jin Dynasty is such a large area that two people cannot take care of it all.

Therefore, the work that had to be done outside the province at the end of the year was assigned to a lower-level position. Gu Fengyun took this opportunity to promote several low-level civil servants, including Li Gu and Lu Jiao.

Three years ago, Li Gu and Lu Jiao both passed the civil service exam. Lu Jiao relied on his excellence to solve many problems for his superiors and successfully helped his mother to get rid of her nationality. Now they are both good citizens and no longer slaves who can be beaten and scolded at will.

This trip to the north was originally a hard job that others would avoid, but for people like Li Gu and Lu Jiao who had climbed up from slavery, was there any job more difficult than being a slave?

Li Gu is a lonely man, and wherever he goes is his home. Lu Jiao plans to take his mother with him to the north. After all, people like them just want their relatives around.

Li Gu set out on the road alone. He and Lu Jiao were going to the same place and had agreed to travel together. Because they had to hurry, Lu Jiao had to ask the caravan to set off later. By the time he settled down there, his mother would be there.

Lu's mother had no objection to her son's arrangement. It happened that she had just sorted out the affairs of the family. Lu Jiao was a civil servant. Although the court had good benefits, civil servants were not allowed to buy or sell land, so Lu Jiao had no land under his name. On the contrary, Lu's mother used her son's salary to buy a few acres of mountain land around the capital since she was deregistered. Currently, she rented it to other farmers to grow corn.