Chapter 0008: Reality is often more Versailles than Versailles itself

Su Yonglin, through numerous speeches and the dissemination of political thought, gradually built a shared political ideal for his founding team

It sounds a bit like Versailles, but reality is often even more Versailles than Versailles itself

There is nothing that reality cannot achieve, only what you cannot imagine

Moreover, it is not only ordinary farmers who are subjected to such treatment; even large landowners will experience similar fates, losing substantial amounts of land and property

Thus, there was even a time when the Jin court stirred up the issue of returning the lands south of the Yellow River to the Song court, which indicates the chaos in the political situation of the Jin state at that time

This situation emerged in large numbers in Hebei and Shandong regions after the first year of the Zhenglong era of the Jin dynasty, leading to an unprecedented intensification of social conflicts in the Shandong region

To defeat the Jin Dynasty at this moment, it is necessary to overcome its military main force

In summary, at this time, the Jin Dynasty has lost the support of the people; as long as the main army is defeated, the Jin Dynasty is bound to perish! The Jin Dynasty is also fundamentally incapable of counterattacking; once the internal contradictions lose the suppression of the military, it will completely implode, shattering them to pieces!

Therefore, seizing the opportunity when Wanyan Liang recklessly endangers himself and Wanyan Yong has not yet ascended to the throne, to strike decisively against the Jin Dynasty and reclaim the Central Plains is not an unrealistic notion

Thus, the Jurchens obtained the land and were finally satisfied

The Jurchen household registration merely involved seizing some land and overseeing a number of Han households. In essence, they quickly transformed into landlords, not only failing to play a significant positive role but also losing their original fierceness, becoming complacent, and rapidly degenerating

Expel the gold thieves and restore the Central Plains

He inherited the unfinished事业 of Wanyan Liang and completed the feudalization of the Jin state through the sacrifice of Wanyan Liang

From this, he further realized that the Jin state had not truly established a firm foothold or solid rule in the Central Plains, and the hearts of the people in the Central Plains had not yet submitted to the Jin state

The large-scale and rapid southward migration of the Jurchens resulted in local governments being unable to keep up with land registration. Some Jurchens became landlords and began to prosper, while others were unable to secure land and continued to live in poverty, filled with resentment towards the Jin court and deeply dissatisfied

Jin Ting, in the interest of social stability, believed that the Han people were also subjects and therefore prohibited them from engaging in robbery, compelling them instead to cultivate wasteland

Before the Manchu Qing entered the pass, they fought bloody battles with the Ming government for many years, capturing a large number of Han people and occupying vast territories. They continuously optimized the limitations of their fishing and hunting tribes, and during the era of Huang Taiji, they essentially completed the historical transition from a slave tribe to a feudal regime.

Then establish an ideal nation

All those who, like us, have suffered oppression and exploitation will no longer tread the perilous path of risking their lives as we have done

Perhaps in their understanding, governance is about forcibly requisitioning land and conscripting able-bodied men for military service

No one will ever suffer the devastation of losing their family due to the inability to afford salt again

The rough immigration and land policies of the Jin dynasty rulers exacerbated the already sharp class contradictions in the Hebei and Shandong regions during the Northern Song period, adding an additional layer of ethnic conflict.

As long as its military forces are defeated, its rule in the Central Plains will collapse completely, without the need to consider any other factors.

The official document that Su Yin heard about stated that the emperor dispatched individuals to various regions to seize the original occupied lands and idle pastures, granting them to the southern migrating Jurchen Meng'an Moke households for cultivation, thereby facilitating their settlement

They have not established an effective grassroots governance system, nor can they efficiently and rationally utilize the immense war potential of the Central Plains region. They have only preliminarily set up mechanisms for taxation and conscription, while everything else continues to follow the old system

In certain regions, ethnic conflicts have even temporarily overshadowed class conflicts, rising to become the primary contradiction

Leveling the land, draining water, digging ditches and building channels, and nurturing the soil require several years of effort to transform a piece of wasteland into arable land suitable for habitation. The Jurchen people originally lived a life of fishing and hunting, with limited agricultural skills. Suddenly ordered to migrate south, how could they cope with such a lifestyle

However, Jin Ting could not allow the Manchus to truly suffer from poverty and illness. He could not cultivate the land either, and the land reclamation policy issued by the emperor had to be implemented. What should be done?

The Qing Dynasty's entry into the pass and the defeat of the Shun and Ming dynasties was, in fact, a confrontation between feudal regimes, rather than a triumph of barbarism over civilization

The materials brought back by Su Yin described the situation he observed

The process of feudalization has begun and has also accelerated, but it is far from complete

Wanyan Liang is very talented and ambitious, having received a comprehensive education in the Han style. He aspires to be the ruler of all of Greater China

Wanyan Yong's role in the Jin dynasty is equivalent to that of Huang Taiji combined with Yongzheng in the Manchu Qing dynasty

During the reigns of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Xizong of the Jin dynasty, the number of Jurchen households migrating south was limited, and this issue was not yet prominent. However, during the rule of Wanyan Liang, this situation suddenly intensified

The actions of Wanyan Liang at the central level are set aside for the moment; at the grassroots level, he demanded that the Jurchens relocate to Shandong, even requiring them to fund their own travel expenses and set a deadline for arrival, failing which they would face punishment

Only the land that has already been cultivated by the Han people can be purchased and rented to the Jurchen households, allowing them to farm and sustain their livelihoods

As long as the Jin army is defeated, the Jin dynasty's rule in the Central Plains will be like a fortress built from a pile of sand; with a gentle push, it will collapse with a loud crash, leaving only a ground full of rubble, a mere laughingstock.

The Han people who lost their land either became wanderers or could only sell themselves to return to their original land as tenant farmers, cultivating the land for the Jurchens

It was during the reign of Wanyan Liang that the Jin Dynasty truly completed its centralization of power through bloody political purges and the relocation of the capital to Yanjing, marking the beginning of feudalization

This has brought more negative effects to the Jin state, rather than strengthening its control over the grassroots.

The farmer signed the transaction contract in tears, then packed up and left, while the authorities immediately rented out these lands to the Manchus

They eliminated the Liao Dynasty in ten years, and merely two years after the fall of Liao, they destroyed the Northern Song Dynasty. Three years later, they forced Zhao Gou to submit, after which he no longer dared to look northward

Considering various sources of information and combining them with his own understanding, Su Yonglin concluded that the likelihood of a successful rebellion in the Jin Dynasty prior to Wanyan Yong was at least greater than that of a rebellion during the Southern Song Dynasty

In this way, the Jurchens gradually established a foothold in the Central Plains, thereby increasing the stability of the Jin dynasty's rule

On this point, the rulers of the Jin dynasty were quite adept, executing their operations with great vigor, successfully transforming ethnic conflicts into the primary contradictions in regions such as Hebei and Shandong under Jin rule

Moreover, it is not only the Han people; the Jin dynasty also has the Khitan as a ticking time bomb. If they gain a foothold in Shandong, once it provokes the main forces of the Jin dynasty to march south to quell the rebellion, Su Yonglin does not believe that the Khitan will not stir up some trouble.

In order to prevent further resistance from the Han people, they restrained their plundering activities after the establishment of the puppet Qi and did not further pillage the Han people of the Central Plains

Thus, the Jurchens who migrated south to the land of Shandong became a large number of impoverished people, with no means for clothing and food, which led to intense resentment towards the Jin court among the Jurchens

Such negative situations had already emerged during the reign of Emperor Jin Xizong, and they further intensified during the period of Wanyan Liang

However, the Jin dynasty's destruction of the Song dynasty was indeed a barbaric victory over civilization

Su Yonglin was very curious about this, so he compared the Jin Dynasty and the Manchu Qing regime, discovering that the reason the Jin Dynasty failed to establish a firm foothold was due to the rapid collapse of the Northern Song Dynasty

So, follow me north

However, the situation is indeed as such

This so-called "purchase" is, of course, a forced purchase

The Northern Song dynasty fell too quickly

Officials led troops to the door, brandishing knives against the necks of the farmers, glaring at them and forcing them to sign the transaction contracts, selling the land to the government at a remarkably low price

The Jin Dynasty's rise from establishing the state to the destruction of Liao and then to the downfall of Song took merely over a decade, which was insufficient for them to complete the transition from a slave regime to a feudal regime. They were neither psychologically nor practically prepared to destroy the Song and occupy the Central Plains.

When we achieve this ideal, we will be able to turn back and bring redemption to the tens of millions of people on the territory of the Southern Song Dynasty who, like us, are struggling on the brink of survival

Officially, the public statement is as follows, but in reality, based on the information gathered from Su Yin, the local government of the Jin state does not operate in this manner

The original intention of the policy of enclosure was to solidify governance; however, its implementation did not necessarily lead to a stabilization of authority

The original intention of this policy is, of course, to consolidate power by relocating the Jurchens to the Central Plains

The Jin dynasty's sudden destruction of the Song was not part of any plan to govern the Han territory; hence, it established the puppet regimes of pseudo-Chu and pseudo-Qi to facilitate the transition.

However, how difficult is it to break new ground

Such political classes were often held during the years when Su Yonglin was in charge of the private salt group

No one will ever take risks again due to the inability to afford salt.

They usually remain silent and do not disturb the common people, but once a policy is issued, it could potentially lead to your financial ruin

This statement sounds somewhat arrogant, even a bit ridiculous

Su Yonglin slammed his fist on the table in front of him, the dull sound resonating, causing the heart of every person in the audience to leap violently.

When the Jin Dynasty abolished the puppet Qi and directly governed the Central Plains, they discovered that the Han people had already reoccupied a large amount of land and resumed production. The migrating Jurchens lacked production materials and had no land to cultivate.

When the Wanyan clan was high on adrenaline, they pursued Zhao Gou relentlessly, searching mountains and inspecting seas. Once they calmed down and looked back, they were astonished at the scale of it all

Let us work together to achieve this ideal, this goal

This situation has led not only to dissatisfaction among Han farmers and landlords towards the Jin court, but also to discontent among certain Jurchen commoners with the imperial government

The policy of land reclamation by the Jin dynasty was the primary cause of the conflict between the Jurchens and the Han people of the Central Plains

It feels as if it suddenly collapsed when the Jin people were not paying attention, catching them off guard; not to mention the Song people themselves did not anticipate it, the Jin people were likely also bewildered.

Defeat the Jin, reclaim the Central Plains, and avenge past humiliations

Su Yonglin said this

Placed elsewhere, it easily makes Su Yonglin feel like a desperate leader, pinning hopes on the non-existent counteroffensive of Steiner, believing that as long as Steiner launches a counteroffensive, everything will improve

Thus, Su Yonglin reached a conclusion

However, it has been less than ten years since Wanyan Liang ascended to the throne.

The current Jin state is not a feudal empire at all, but rather exists in a state that is half-slavery and half-feudalism