The fall of Danyang City was like a wake-up call to the Song Dynasty.
The voices of those who wanted to surrender overpowered those who wanted to fight. It seemed that surrender was the only option for the Song Dynasty.
However, at this moment, the news that the Indian Ashoka Dynasty had taken over the Tubo Dynasty and was preparing to fight with the Xia Dynasty spread across the land of Huaxia. It gave Zhao Kuangyin, who was already in despair, a glimmer of hope.
"Wait a little longer. Maybe the Xia Dynasty will retreat," Zhao Kuangyin thought.
Zhao Kuangyin wanted to wait a little longer, but the other officials of the Song Dynasty did not. There was only one day left before the surrender deadline given by the Xia Emperor.
The "seven days of surrender" was like a butcher's knife hanging over the head of the Zhao Family.
In the eyes of the nobles and officials, even if the Ashoka Dynasty threatened the western border of the Xia Dynasty, with the power of the Xia Dynasty, they could still stabilize the western defense line and take care of the Song Dynasty at the same time.
When that time came, they would have to die with the emperor.
The Song Dynasty wanted to endure, while the other side wanted to stay alive. There was an irreconcilable and life-and-death conflict between the two sides. When Zhao Kuangyin made it clear that he wanted to hold on, the conflict finally broke out!
Night of July 3rd.
With the support of the officials, Prince Jin, Zhao Guangyi, started a rebellion and put his brother, Zhao Kuangyin, under house arrest.
History seemed to be repeating itself once again.
On the 19th of October in the ninth year of the treasure, Zhao Kuangyin summoned Zhao Guangyi to the palace for a drink. On the morning of the 20th, Zhao Kuangyin suddenly died. On the 21st, Prince Jin, Zhao Guangyi, ascended the throne as Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty.
The death of Emperor Taizong and the death of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty left the eternal mystery of the "Shadow of the Axe".
No matter what, with the success of Zhao Guangyi's rebellion, the fate of the Song Dynasty had been settled. The next morning, Zhao Guangyi represented the Song Dynasty and announced that he would surrender to the Xia Dynasty.
The world was shocked when the news came out.
…
Imperial City, Jingshi.
The cold winter seemed to be yesterday, but in the blink of an eye, it was already summer.
After half a year of construction, the Imperial City's renovation project was almost completed. With the injection of a large amount of capital, the new urban area began to be revitalized and became the new engine of the Dynasty's economic growth.
Almost every week, new things were produced from the factories in the new urban area.
In recent days, there had been a bicycle craze among the nobles of the capital, especially for young men. Riding a Mountain Eagle bicycle was a matter of great honor.
If there were still any Young Masters riding horses, then they would truly be outdated.
The Mountain Eagle Bicycle Factory's realization of assembly line production not only meant that bicycles would be rapidly popularized in the capital, but it also meant that a new assembly line production model would soon replace the inefficient small workshops.
The industrialization of Great Xia had reached a new level.
The development of the new city district was inseparable from the support of a group of people, and that was the adventurer players who had resumed their old profession. According to the statistics provided by the Industry Department, in half a year, 150,000 industrial workers were recruited in the new district alone.
With the development of the new urban area on the fast track, the number of workers continued to increase.
At the beginning of the year, Great Xia opened its doors to adventurer players. More and more players completed their identity changes. Workers, doctors, teachers, merchants, farmers, and civil servants could all find their positions in Great Xia and obtain a place for themselves.
Human resources were fully released, and Great Xia's economy ushered in rapid growth.
In just the past five months, the Great Xia Imperial Court had collected as much as 17 million gold coins in taxes. It was easy for the annual tax revenue to exceed the 200 million mark.
With the help of the Great Xia Bank, the Great Xia Commercial Bank, the Great Xia Agricultural Bank, and the recently restructured Huitong Bank, the Great Xia currency was promoted. Massive amounts of gold coins were recycled, turned into gold bricks, and stored in the Great Xia treasury.
When the game was released, Gaia directly injected a massive amount of gold coins into the wilderness through the drop of monsters, mission rewards, and shops in the capital, activating the entire trading system.
Gold coins also became a global currency.
As the game continued to move in the direction of "realism", Gaia's involvement in the game continued to decrease, and the capital continued to fall. The increment of gold coins was mainly completed through the territory's gold mines.
This also meant that the status of gold coins as a global currency was being challenged day by day.
According to the laws of economic development, a pure hard currency like gold coins was not the best currency. It was inevitable that it would be eliminated. The dynasty that established a stable new currency system first would benefit first.
As the Great Xia currency was circulated among the people, gold coins were more often used to create ornaments and not as currency.
In just half a year, the gold and silver ornaments on the market increased by four to five times. This showed that the spending power of Great Xia's citizens was increasing day by day. It stimulated domestic demand and became another engine of economic growth.
All in all, Great Xia was undergoing a profound internal transformation.
The atmosphere of the feudal dynasty gradually faded away and was replaced by a vibrant new nation. It was also because of this that the elites of China began to take the initiative to lean towards Great Xia.
The Great Xia officialdom was ushering in a change of old and new.
As the emperor, Ouyang Shuo was very happy to see that the dynasty was constantly being replaced and not stagnant. He did not wish for the expansion of the imperial court to be hindered by the interests of the country.
Change was the main theme of Great Xia for the past six months.
The changes were like a dream. Just by taking a nap, one would be able to keep up with the trend.
Even the Hall of Diligent Government, where Ouyang Shuo usually worked, welcomed a seemingly inconspicuous but significant change. Just a few days ago, the construction bureau completed the renovation of the Hall of Diligent Government according to Ouyang Shuo's instructions.
The change was actually very small. It was just a large room beside the imperial study, with a long square table and sandalwood chairs. It was transformed into an ancient and very modern conference room.
Ouyang Shuo called it the first conference room.
From then on, whether it was military or political discussions, unless it was required by etiquette, Ouyang Shuo would not hold them in the Martial Heroic Hall or the Hall of Literary Glory. Instead, he would choose the first conference room.
In the conference room, everyone sat together. There was no need to look up to the emperor, Ouyang Shuo.
Ouyang Shuo also did not have the patience to sit on the cold dragon throne all day and discuss matters with the civil and military officials. The real authority of the emperor was not established through such boring ceremonies.
The imperial court also welcomed a few new people.
On the 15th of June, after completing the handover of the [Imperial Style], Peerless Elegance officially took office in the Secret Literature Pavilion. Ouyang Shuo appointed him as the scholar in charge of the organization of intelligence according to the agreement.
In layman's terms, Peerless Elegance was Ouyang Shuo's intelligence secretary.
This appointment had clearly surprised Peerless Elegance, because no matter where it was, intelligence was a highly classified secret, especially when it was reported to Ouyang Shuo's level.
The position of intelligence secretary had to be held by Ouyang Shuo's most trusted person.
But Ouyang Shuo had chosen Peerless Elegance, who had just submitted. Not only was Peerless Elegance surprised, the other officials were also surprised. They all looked at Peerless Elegance with strange gazes.
But Ouyang Shuo was unmoved. He had always adhered to a single principle: 'Don't doubt the people you use, and don't use the people you doubt.'
Placing suitable talents into suitable positions was Ouyang Shuo's most important and most difficult task. Peerless Elegance had been in charge of the [Imperial Style] for a long time, and he was unquestionably the best candidate for intelligence secretary.
As for Peerless Elegance's loyalty, the Mountain Sea Guard was responsible for monitoring him.
Before Peerless Elegance took office, Di Chen, who had rushed to the capital to take up his post, had already left the capital with a few guards to travel the world.
Ouyang Shuo could understand Di Chen's mood and knew that Di Chen needed some time to adjust. Thus, he did not place any hard and fast rules on Di Chen's work, only giving him some funds to work with.
Di Chen had a lot of flexibility in how to operate.
Ouyang Shuo also believed in Di Chen's judgment of people. Since Di Chen had accepted the position of Chamberlain of Dependencies Minister and the Imperial Court's Special Envoy, he could not just sit there and do nothing. He was bound to want to achieve outstanding results in this position.
All Di Chen needed was a little time to adjust.
The only thing that surprised Ouyang Shuo was that after the Great Zhou surrendered, Old General Lian Po voluntarily gave up his military post and willingly stayed by Di Chen's side as an ordinary guard captain.
Their previous relationship as ruler and official had turned into that of master and servant.
Since this was Lian Po's choice, Ouyang Shuo did not force it and let nature take its course. Presumably, with Di Chen's achievements, he should be able to materialize a Lian Po.
Besides Lian Po, the old officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty also had new posts.
Advisor Fan Zeng stayed in the capital to enjoy his retirement, no longer serving as an official. Great General Zhang Hongfan of the Yuan Dynasty, whom Ouyang Shuo despised, had tactfully left the Great Zhou on the day the Great Zhou surrendered and concealed his identity.
Not everyone could adapt to the Great Xia and start a new life.
With the power of the Mountain Sea Guards, they could naturally find Zhang Hongfan's hiding place. However, Ouyang Shuo did not do so. Since Zhang Hongfan was very tactful, Ouyang Shuo did not hesitate to spare his life.
Among the old officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty, only the Japanese General Toyotomi Hideyoshi was truly appointed. He was arranged by Ouyang Shuo to join the Heluo Army and take up the position of Army Commander.
At this point, the last trace of the Great Zhou Dynasty had disappeared.
The afternoon sun was still scorching. It shone through the green leaves outside the window and through the grille, casting a long shadow on Ouyang Shuo's body.
In front of the table, Ouyang Shuo was taking a nap with his eyes closed.
The Asoka Dynasty's annexation of the Tufan Dynasty, the Great Song Dynasty's change in the palace, and the recent upheavals had caught Ouyang Shuo unprepared. For a moment, he actually felt a little tired.
He took the opportunity of his afternoon nap to organize his thoughts.
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