Chapter 1

In the fourth year of Emperor Renzong's Huangyou era, which was the year of Renchen.

Fifty-seven years had passed since the uprising led by Wang Xiaobo and Li Shun in Western Shu, and the illegal trade of tea and salt had once again become widespread.

The aftermath of the uprising left a reputation that the people of Shu were difficult to govern. Sichuan became a region where the court turned a blind eye, allowing it to fend for itself. Various policies and management were very lax, differing greatly from the Central Plains, making it a special administrative zone.

Fourteen years ago, the Tangut people in the border regions of the Song Dynasty rebelled, leading to the establishment of the Western Xia.

In the same year, the term "faction" appeared in the imperial court of the Song Dynasty.

Twelve years ago, Ouyang Xiu wrote "On Factions," solidifying this concept and lifting the veil of warmth and sentimentality in the court, making the issues clear, theoretical, and patterned.

Eleven years ago, the Song-Xia War began, and the Song army suffered a major defeat at Haoshui River.

Ten years ago, the Western Xia, emboldened by their victory, counterattacked the Song Dynasty. The Song army resisted at Dingchuan Fort but was defeated again.

In the face of national crisis, the Khitans also took advantage of the situation. Fu Bi was sent to the Liao Dynasty to negotiate an alliance, agreeing to an annual tribute of 100,000 bolts of silk and 100,000 taels of silver.

After prolonged negotiations, a peace treaty with the Western Xia was finally reached eight years ago.

The Song Dynasty recognized the Western Xia and agreed to an annual tribute of 70,000 taels of silver, 150,000 bolts of silk, and 30,000 catties of tea.

In a short span of a few decades, besides external threats, there were also internal troubles.

Wang Lun, Zhang Hai, Guo Moshan, the people of Jinzhou, Guanghua Army, the Guiyang tribes, and Wang Ze... various disturbances arose one after another.

Four years ago, the Yellow River breached its banks at Shanghu.

In the imperial court, the shadow of the failed Qingli Reforms had not yet dissipated, and disputes over river management policies arose again, with orders changed three times and decisions delayed.

Later, due to the appointment of the imperial relative Zhang Yaozuo, court disputes flared up again. Song Xiang and Wen Yanbo were successively dismissed from their positions as prime ministers.

This year, Nong Zhigao, after several probes, finally revealed his true intentions and established the Great Southern Kingdom.

The court, unable to tolerate this any longer, dispatched Di Qing to suppress the rebellion.

This year, a large number of tenant farmers in the Kuilu region fled, and the government enacted laws to rectify the situation.

The great Confucian scholar and model official Fan Zhongyan, with a heart full of concern for the country and the people, and with many regrets and sorrows, passed away.

Still this year, the court ordered Wang Yaocun, Wang Shouzhong, and Chen Xu to compare the financial revenues and expenditures of the Qingli and Huangyou eras, totaling four years. The total revenue in the first year of Huangyou was 126,251,964 units of currency, silk, and other goods, with no surplus.

...

At this time, the Yangtze River was not yet called the Yangtze; it was only known as the "Great River" or simply "River." From Jiangling Prefecture, heading west, passing through Xiazhou, through the Three Gorges, and beyond Kuizhou, the Great River entered the Min River section.

After the Min River passed Luzhou and entered Jiazhou, it turned northward.

Within Jiazhou, several small rivers converged.

One of these rivers had a clear blue color in autumn and winter, pleasing to the eye. The banks were lined with lush bamboo, and people called it the "Glass River."

Following the Glass River upstream, one would see a small mountain lying by the river, low and resembling a toad. This mountain, due to its shape, was called "Toad Nose Mountain."

At the foot of Toad Nose Mountain, there was a small city named after the mountain's eyebrow-like shape, which was the transit point between Jiazhou and Chengdu Prefecture—Meishan City.

It was 160 li from both Jiazhou and Chengdu Prefecture, making it an excellent water transport hub.

The city, though small, was very prosperous. The entire Meizhou region had 30,000 households, with 5,000 households in the city itself.

Under the Song Dynasty's administrative system, which was divided into circuits, prefectures, states, military districts, and counties, and further classified by population and prosperity into imperial, metropolitan, first-rank, second-rank, upper, middle, and lower, Meizhou, despite being on the frontier, was a first-rank state with three first-rank and one second-rank counties, ranking fourth among the twelve states of Yizhou Circuit, making it a very prosperous region.

If one disembarked at the southern wharf, passed by a pavilion, they would see fields and lotus ponds on both sides of the city outskirts, the legacy of Li Bing's water management, with lotus flowers in full bloom, creating a beautiful rural landscape.

Meizhou lotus was famous throughout the land.

Around the farms, there were often patches of taro, mostly the local red-mouthed variety.

This region was rich in produce, and the red-mouthed taro, though tasty, was not often eaten. However, its leaves, similar to those of the canna lily, with red edges and green centers, were very attractive.

Besides being used for famine relief, people often used it for landscaping.

To the south of the city was a stone bridge, locally known as the South Bridge. Beyond the South Bridge was a low earthen city wall.

After the Song army entered Shu, only four cities were retained, and Meizhou City, being close to the southwestern frontier, was one of the survivors.

On the city wall was a gate tower with three large characters—"Civilization Gate."

Entering the city through the Civilization Gate, a straight road of blue stone slabs extended northward, with houses gradually becoming more densely packed along the road.

Along the base of the city wall, to the right, not far away, was an official pavilion called the "Cinnamon Pavilion." Behind the pavilion was a tower, the Kuixing Pavilion, which was the location of the Meishan Post.

On the left side of the road was the Shuyuan Tower, from which one could enjoy the view of the Glass River.

The Song Dynasty had many festivals, such as the second day of the second month and the third day of the third month, during which there were flower markets and silkworm markets, attracting crowds of people from both urban and rural areas, creating a lively atmosphere.

Continuing north along the stone road, there was another small stone bridge spanning a stream, called the "Tongjin Bridge," meaning that people leaving the city through this bridge would head to the wharf and travel by water to the major ports.

Passing by a land temple, after a few hundred steps, one would reach the core area of Meishan.

First, on the east side of the road, were the Confucian Temple and the school, followed by the Meishan Academy.

Behind the academy, on a small hill to the east, stood a large palace, the most magnificent and beautiful building in Meishan—the Wenchang Palace.

On the west side of the road was the most prosperous commercial district, with shops and businesses lined up in rows, their signs standing tall.

Among them was a small alley, the center of the textile industry in Meishan, known as the "Silk Gauze Lane."

These large shops and businesses catered to major merchants from Jiazhou and Yizhou, forming a high-end community and the local upper-class families, known as the "Jiangqing families."

This was a folk custom, a remnant of the aristocratic system, which the state did not promote but could not ban, both in the north and south.

The Jiangqing families intermarried, and even if outsiders were wealthy, it was difficult for them to marry into these families.

Small vendors and the lower class also had their place. Continuing north along the stone road, there were two crossroads, making the main streets and city walls of Meishan resemble the character "用" (use) with four open sides.

At each crossroad stood a tall platform with a building on top, covered with green tiles and eaves that faced each other, serving as a landmark of Meishan—the Dading Tower.

The two Dading Towers were official buildings, with clocks and drums on the upper floors, which were not open to the public.

However, due to the open space below, which provided shelter from the rain, a natural market formed spontaneously, including the street between the two towers.

Small vendors, attracted by the cool and comfortable environment, gathered here, and residents enjoyed exchanging information and chatting.

Meishan was a county attached to the city, so it had two government offices, the prefectural and county administrations, located at the intersection of the high-end and ordinary commercial districts.

Continuing north, on the right side of the stone road, there were the Fire God Temple and the Chastity Arch, and on the left side, the Yushan Temple and the Dongyue Temple.

Beyond the city wall to the north was the northern suburban training ground.

Residents bustled about, and vendors hawked their goods, all busy with their daily lives, unaware of a child standing alone at the street corner, looking bewildered.

"Grandpa really is something, he's so trusting! I'm just a child!"

He had been in this world for five years.

In his previous life, or rather, his future life, he was an orphan who grew up eating food from various households in the village.

The village where he lived was a relatively isolated small village in the 21st century.

However, the people were kind, and he never lacked food. From a young age, he learned to be self-reliant.

He loved reading, but there were few extracurricular books in the village. Instead, he read many old books left by the elderly, developing a fondness for ancient literature and a love for reading ancient books.

If he had to name another hobby, it would be watching documentaries.

After graduating from university, he entered the civil service in Meishan City, working as a clerk in the government office. After two years, he was paired with an older colleague to work on rural poverty alleviation.

His achievements were significant. Based on his strengths, he piloted the development of intangible cultural heritage projects in several towns, becoming close friends with local heritage bearers.

Under his dedicated efforts, the various intangible cultural heritage industries flourished, and the older colleague privately revealed that the higher-ups were considering promoting him to the position of director of the poverty alleviation office, a full-section-level position.

He was happy, not for his own achievements, but to celebrate the effectiveness of his ideas. So, he bought a bottle of wine from a village distillery, and in a moment of whimsy, he went to the opposite side of the Qingshui River in Jiazhou, where the Great Buddha stood, drank to excess, and shouted that he regretted not being born a thousand years earlier. Then...

Then, the Great Buddha of Jiazhou must have heard him, and sent him to this world.