After the autumn harvest, the arrival of winter seemed to suddenly come upon them. The harvest this year was gratifying and the granary was filled up to the roof. They even had to build more than a dozen more to fit all of the food. This food supply was enough for the people to eat fully for three years. Taizhou’s land yield was not very high. Even if they planted sweet potatoes and potatoes which had the least requirements, Taizhou’s output still couldn’t compete with other places.

But for the people in Taizhou, the bad news from previous years did not seem so bad this year.

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They could now earn money, and then they could buy the food on their own. The price of food was not high at all.

It was not difficult to survive, and there was no need to live with a tightened belt.

Wang Xi was the youngest son of a family in Taizhou. He made a living by moving goods. After the merchants’ caravan arrived they would find local people to unload the goods and move them to their warehouses. The pay depended on how many pieces of goods were moved. Wang Xi looked very thin and small but he had great strength. Others earned about ten coins a day, but he could earn more than twenty coins.

He supported his parents and also raised his children. His wife was now working in the Sewing Bureau and could earn more than three hundred to four hundred coins a month. With his and his wife’s wages, their family had a very good life.

Although tired, Wang Xi was very happy. Only by putting in the work could one gain anything.

This was something he didn’t even dare to think about before.

After moving the goods that day, Wang Xi received his wages for the day from the caravan’s manager. He hid the money in his inner clothes and patted his flushed cheeks with his hands. Then he walked towards his home. Now almost every family had replaced oil lamps with candles, which were cheaper and more convenient.

Usually when he arrived back at this time, his wife would have a lit candle and sweet potato rice warming in the pot for him. Only sleeping after he got home.

The children would also wait for him with his wife. Although he had repeatedly said that he did not need them to wait, when he arrived home and saw their small faces, he always felt unspeakable contentment.

Passing through an alley, Wang Xi took a shortcut home.

This alley was very dark. He had walked this alley many times, so many times that he forgot how many by now. The alley was very dark but sometimes when the moonlight was brighter he would be able to still see the road ahead. But today, the moonlight was covered behind dark clouds and he could only make his way through it according to his memory, but his memory was always good.

In the dark alley, only one family’s candle was lit. Wang Xi was sitting under the eaves at a corner of that family’s house to rest for a while before continuing. Today was a tiring day. He had moved two caravans worth of goods and he could barely feel his hands and feet.

Just when Wang Xi was about to stand up and continue walking, he suddenly heard someone talking.

“At that time, we coordinate outside and inside offensives.”

“Don’t know when the court will send someone over.”

“They don’t know that those filthy commoners are practically sitting on the heads of the lords, and if this continues, those filthy commoners will forget just what kind of trash they were originally.”

“This so-called South Bodhisattva is the one with the most vicious heart.”

Wang Xi was very smart. He had been smart since he was a child, so he was always able to find the caravan with the highest salary.

He understood what these people planned to do in an instant.

They wanted to rebel against the South Bodhisattva.

They wanted to launch an attack on Taizhou.

After understanding this, Wang Xi stood up without making a sound. He had never been so light-footed in his life. After walking on tiptoe for a while, Wang Xi broke out into a run. At this time, there was no one on the road. If it weren’t for the fact that he wanted to earn more money today, he wouldn’t have left work so late.

Wang Xi did not run home, he ran directly to the government office.

The government office was now on duty all day long.

Wang Xi was terrified. He felt that if he had been discovered, he would definitely be dead by now.

He heard from his fellow workers that the government office now had a protection policy for key people. He could take his family and move into the house reserved for the protected person. With soldiers nearby he would be much safer.

The guard saw Wang Xi coming over and asked, “What’s the problem, coming to the government office so late? Come back tomorrow if it’s not a major issue.”

Wang Xi quickly said: “I have something important! It is very important! I want to tell the provincial governor!”

The guard looked at him: “Follow me in. If you don’t have any major issues but wake the lord up at this time, then you will be sent to prison for a few days.”

Wang Xi nodded quickly and followed the guard through the side door.

Jiang Gui got up from bed in the middle of the night. Since he became the provincial governor of Taizhou, Jiang Gui felt that he was under more and more pressure. When he was a small official, he had never been under such great pressure before——yes, pressure.

He still remembered what Lin Yuan said to him when he was sent to be the provincial governor of Taizhou .

He said: “Third brother, treat the people kindly, otherwise I will find any reason to treat you kindly.”

“I give you power and wealth, but I want you to treat the people kindly in return.”

“Third brother, I hope we will always be brothers, and not one day I can only see you on the guillotine.”

Jiang Gui knew that Lin Yuan was not just talking casually.

He always kept it in mind and he dared not slack off even one day.

Fortunately, Lin Yuan had taken care of the major problems in Taizhou a long time ago. Even if the people at the bottom had their own little schemes, it would not affect the operation of Taizhou as a whole.

He put on his clothes and told his wife to continue to sleep before he walked out of the room.

Wang Xi was fidgeting in the study. He had never been to a place like this before, and his nervousness almost suffocated him.

So much so that after Jiang Gui entered the study, what he saw was Wang Xi squatting on the ground instead of sitting in one of the chairs.

“You’re Wang Xi?” Jiang Gui yawned. He wanted to handle the matter quickly and then go back to bed. Don’t know why, but this person kept insisting that except for him he didn’t want to talk to anyone, only saying that he had something important that he must inform the provincial governor.

However, what Wang Xi said next caused Jiang Gui to forget all about sleeping.

His face was so dark that it could practically drip ink.

Wang Xi said as he trembled: “My lord, can my family apply for the protection of key peoples? My family include……”

Jiang Gui: “Take him to find the Sub-prefect.”

Wang Xi was led away by his servants. He seemed to want to kowtow to Jiang Gui, but he was taken away by his servants before he could have time to.

Jiang Gui ordered a trusted subordinate to pass the news to Lin Yuan on a fast horse.

He then have people surround the house Wang Xi had pointed out.

Fortunately, Wang Xi avoided alerting the people in the house. When they arrived, those people were still sleeping in their respective rooms.

A total of five people were arrested. The people sent by Jiang Gui were very quiet and did not even disturb the neighboring residences. These five people had the same surname and looked similar. Their noses were practically carved out of the same mold.

After an overnight interrogation, Jiang Gui learned most of the information.

These people were all surnamed Ma. They were originally members of one of Taizhou’s great, wealthy households. The Ma family was a very influential landowning family. There were even five streets in Taizhou that belonged to the family. But when the South Bodhisattva came, the family property was gone, the originally rich lifestyle was gone, the servants were gone, and even the big family manor was gone.

One could imagine just what kind of mood the Ma family was in.

The brothers had felt that so long as the imperial court’s rule returned, then they could get back their original things.

So they secretly passed the news to the court. At the beginning, no one paid any attention to them. But recently, they finally heard an answer.

The court sent a letter replying back!

It asked them to inquire about the positions of all the granaries in Taizhou, and where the defense forces of the weapons armory and barracks were the weakest.

The five brothers of the Ma family secretly contacted the court without telling the rest of their family.

They felt that by doing so, they could become the saviors of their family.

Inexperienced, naive, and simple.

And also incurably stupid.

When Jiang Gui went to see them, they had already revealed everything they knew under severe torture.

Their buttocks were beaten bloody, but they did not die. They cried and screamed in prison, and their tears fell until no more tears could be shed.

The Ma family didn’t know why the five brothers suddenly disappeared. They had many family members who all began inquiring around in Taizhou, but they still found nothing.

Until some people found some of their personal belongings on the road outside the city.

The Ma family thought they couldn’t stand their lives now and left Taizhou.

But what the Ma family didn’t know was that they might not have the chance to leave Taizhou in the future. Any people related to them would not even be able to think about leaving the city. They were essentially placed under house arrest in this city. As for when they could finally travel freely, it depended entirely on their luck.

As for their correspondences with the court, Jiang Gui also handed over the letters to Lin Yuan.

“The imperial court will not send troops.” Lin Yuan said to Song Shizhao and Wu Changqing as he held the letter, “This whole matter is just to see if there is any advantage to be had.”

Wu Changqing asked strangely: “Advantage?”

Song Shizhao explained: “The imperial court now has no extra troops. At most, they are just tricking those five fools to provide some free information.”

Song Shizhao: “What about those five fools now?”

Lin Yuan: “In the prison. Jiang Gui have people watching them. They don’t know who was in contact with them, only that it was someone from Tongzhou.”

Song Shizhao was speechless: “Can people be so stupid?”

Lin Yuan smiled and said: “You ask me but I don’t know. Maybe the family raised them up to be too naive?”

Song Shizhao: “No wonder the Ma family fell so fast. If they are all this kind of people, they are no different from the pigs to be slaughtered.”

Wu Changqing asked: “Then Tongzhou……”

Lin Yuan: “No need to worry about Tongzhou. Even if we give them the courage they would still not dare to attack us at this time.”

Lin Yuan’s military strength had increased greatly. So long as the governor of Tongzhou was not a fool, he would know that under the circumstances in which the court did not order to send troops, just their own strength was definitely not enough to confront Lin Yuan, even in a sneak attack or a surprise attack.

If they really wanted to attack, they would need someone who could disrupt the order in Taizhou, such as setting fires and burning granaries. These things could throw the people into a panic quickly in a short period of time.

Now that the five fools of the Ma family were arrested, they obviously couldn’t find anyone to do this.

Moreover, all the granaries were heavily guarded and every soldier had to go through an identity check. People who were even just slightly suspicious would not be placed to guard the granaries.

Lin Yuan: “Since Tongzhou is so interested in us, then we should give Tongzhou a big gift.”

Wu Changqing and Song Shizhao looked at Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan smiled and said: “We are rebel thieves.”

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Song Shizhao understood: “If my Lord trust me, then this official will deal with the matter, properly and without any flaws.”

Lin Yuan: “Then go.”

Since someone in Tongzhou coveted Taizhou, he could only take action. He planned to capture Tongzhou in an effortless victory and without any blood shed. Have the people from Tongzhou personally offer Tongzhou to him. Lin Yuan’s face had on a smile but his eyes were cold.

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The next time he heard news of Xu Shouhui was in March of the following year. The capital of Tian Wan, Qishui was breached. Xu Shouhui’s capable subordinate Peng Yingyu died in battle. Xu Shouhui could only lead his people to retreat to Huangmei County to fight a protracted battle with the Yuan army.

At this time, it was the 14th year of Yuan Shun, and the news received was from the end of last year.

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“Liu Futong’s situation is not bad.” Lin Yuan said with a smile.

The Yuan army assembled the troops stationed in several provinces to deal with Xu Shouhui, which was enough to prove that the Yuan army attached great importance to Xu Shouhui.

But in other respects, the Yuan army did not gain as much of an advantage.

In the 12th year of Yuan Shun, 300,000 Yuan troops attacked Liu Futong’s area of ​​Runing prefecture, but the result was repeated defeats and heavy losses on the imperial court’s side.

In the 13th year, a 100,000 army came to attack Gaoyou but was defeated, losing nearly 60,000 toops.

There were not many people under Xu Shouhui’s command, but the court still failed to annihilate him in one fell swoop.

Zhu Yuanzhang said at this time: “The Yuan imperial court is now exhausted of most resources so it is the perfect time to take a step further this year.”

Lin Yuan smiled at him: “I have this intention too.”

They now occupied Taizhou, Gaoyou, Changshu, Changzhou and Songjiang. Lin Yuan stood in front of the map and said to everyone: “Everyone put forth your opinions.”

Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Baisong’s opinions were very unified. They both felt that currently both soldiers and morale were at its peak in strength. The original 50,000 soldiers had been increased to 300,000. Even now, Lin Yuan felt that this increase was very terrifying. Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Baisong were responsible for recruiting troops. These two people did not show much eloquence in front of him, but judging from this number, their eloquence must be very good.

Or perhaps their own staff and advisors were very good.

Both felt that Pingjiang Lu could be taken directly now.

However, Song Shizhao believed that instead of just taking Pingjiang Lu, it was better to split in half and take two roads, one to take Pingjiang Lu and another to take Pingjiang.

Pingjiang Lu was an administrative division of the Yuan Dynasty, which included Kunshan, Changshu, Wujiang and Jiading.

Pingjiang was a separate place name, which would later be known as the modern day Jiangsu and Suzhou.

Brother Dao didn’t understand, the whole time he was looking at his fingernails. Lin Yuan glanced at him, and he quickly said, “I can do any, I’m not picky!”

Everyone in the room laughed.

Yang Zi’an said: “I can lead the way to Pingjiang.”

Zhu Yuanzhang: “I can go to Kunshan.”

Chen Baisong: “Jiading.”

Brother Dao: “……Then, only Wu Jiang is left?”

Lin Yuan smiled and said: “It’s handed over to you. If you feel that it is not possible, just tell them and ask them to exchange with you.”

Brother Dao waved his hand: “That’s not necessary.”

Lin Yuan set the time of the battle campaign at the end of the year, which would be during the winter.

Although it seemed that this time was not conducive to war, it was actually advantageous for them. Now, most of the financial expenditure was on the purchase of cotton. Lin Yuan did not let the people under his rule grow cotton, and would rather spend money to buy it from outside.

He must ensure the people’s food sources and ensure that his soldiers had sufficient food supplies.

Before winter arrived, they had to work overtime to prepare.

The clothing workshops were all busy now.

Women now worked almost six hours a day and this was just the base number. Sometimes they worked even more than seven hours. If this was in the modern times, someone would definitely sue Lin Yuan for overwriting his employees.

But during this emergency period, no one would feel like it was too difficult. The women sat in warm houses protected from the cold wind outside.

In summer, there was even an ice basin placed inside.

The ancients had long been making ice and saltpeter ice had always been there. But poor people had never seen ice in the summer. Fortunately, Lin Yuan now had a lot of saltpeter. He didn’t want to have people getting heatstroke on top of all the hard work they had to do.

He did not want to lose a single person now.

Soldiers had to train outdoors and Yang Zi’an and the others had each led a team out to raid mountain bandits and bandit villas.

Not even the larger stockades were able to escape their raids. Now, practically all the wild lands in the places under Lin Yuan’s rule had almost no danger.

Merchants also liked to come to Gaoyou to do business more and more, and many of them even came to Gaoyou to settle down, bringing with them the great wealth they had accumulated.

So long as someone came, someone spent money, and someone earned money, then the economy would develop.

Qian Daniang was currently sewing the cotton-padded clothes. The weather was getting hot so she only wore thin cloth clothes, but she still felt stuffy. The sweat on her forehead soon dripped down, dampening a spot on the cotton-padded clothes. Fortunately, it was only a small spot.

Just as Qian Daniang was so hot she gulped down a cup of cold tea——though it was called cold tea but in truth, the tea was still warm no matter how long it was left to cool.

Finally, the sound of girls cheering came from outside.

“The ice is here! Today’s ice is here!”

“We need at least three blocks!”

“Come on, how many of you are there? Our side have more than 30 people! I need five blocks!”

The young person driving the ox cart to deliver ice was very familiar with them, and smiled at this time: “Ladies, please have mercy on me, the manager said, only three blocks for more than 10 people but less than 30 people, and those more than 30 people but less than 60 people get five blocks.”

The women began to haggle: “My girls are all big!”

“One can fill in three!”

The young man said with exasperation: “It’s useless to say it to me. The manager would flay a layer of my skin if I act without permission.”

Seeing that the manager did not come along to send the ice, the women could only each bring their alloted ice back to the house.

As soon as the ice arrived, the women in the house felt much cooler. They pulled up their long hair and pinned it with hairpins. The work under their hands was also faster. Every room had a female teacher who taught needlework as well as supervise. She could get a lot of rewards if the people under her did a good, but if she took advantage of her position and oppressed the employees, then a complaint would be lodged against her using the anonymous complaint box in the manager’s office. Once verified, she would not only have to be dismissed, but she might also spend time in jail and be paraded in a public humiliation display.

Just for avoiding the shame no one dared to do it, especially as women had thinner skin than men. Besides, now life was only getting better and the income of female teachers was not low, so the complaint box had yet to receive any anonymous complaint.

The room was full of snow-white cotton and navy blue fabrics. The stitches made by the women were very well done, and the cotton clothes they made only got better and better.

The previous use of grass stuffing had been replaced. After all, it was not as good as cotton and was only used when cotton wasn’t enough.

They chatted while working, and there were also work-study children serving them tea and water.

“These days are truly wonderful.” Qian Daniang said to the young girl next to her, “I didn’t even dare to imagine living this kind of life before. At that time, I couldn’t even have enough to eat. Who would have the energy to care about hot or cold?”

The young girl smiled at her: “My wages can also buy some ice for my family.”

“How is your father?” Qian Daniang asked her.

The girl’s father fell and broke a leg a year ago and became lame. He couldn’t walk on the ground and could not do heavy work. The pain would be unbearable even just taking a few steps. Fortunately, both mother and daughter could earn money so life was not too difficult.

The young girl said: “My father can now walk around the yard.”

Qian Daniang sighed: “Fortunately, the South Bodhisattva came, otherwise……”

The girl was also thankful: “Otherwise, my family would have starved to death long ago.”

The working house was always very lively. There was a fireplace in the house so winter was better than summer. As soon as the fireplace was burned in winter, the whole house would be warm, the only downside being that it used up a lot of wood.

“Time to eat!”

When it was time for lunch, the women all stopped their work one after another, though some were still working on the finishing touches. They all walked out of the house in groups of twos and threes towards the cafeteria to get their meal trays.

Now the staple meal was sweet potatoes and potatoes, cooked in many different ways. Their favorite was mashed potatoes, which could be eaten with some salt and sauce.

Vegetables dishes were stir-fried. There were now special oil factories for manufacturing oil. Now a lot of rapeseeds were planted in the fields outside the city. After the rapeseeds were harvested, the oil supply had become even larger. The owners of these oil factories were basically all merchants. Lin Yuan did not directly monopolize these channels. If the merchants wanted to do this business, then he would let them so long as they paid taxes.

And because of the presence of the Merchants’ Guild, the local oil prices under Lin Yuan’s rule were all the same. No one maliciously cut prices, nor did they maliciously drive it up.

Lin Yuan didn’t care how much they sold it for outside. In any case it was enough so long as the taxation was good.

The people who could still afford oil in these times were basically big influential families. The poor people were still struggling to fill their stomachs.

“This taste good.” Qian Daniang said to the young girl, “You only just came so you don’t know. This kind of wild vegetable is the most delicious when fried.”

The young girl grabbed a plate of wild vegetables, ordered a bowl of mashed potatoes as well as a bowl of sweet potato rice before sitting down at an empty table with Qian Daniang.

When they ate they would always be in their best mood.

Qian Daniang ate very slowly. She was over starved before so now her stomach always felt uncomfortable if she ate too fast.

The young girl ate very quickly. She ate very cleanly without wasting anything at all. If it weren’t for the fact that it would not look good, it was likely that she would even lick the dishes.

Qian Daniang was surprised and said: “You look so thin but you can eat so much.”

The girl’s face was a little red: “I always had a bigger appetite than others.”

Qian Daniang hurriedly said: “What’s wrong with that? When I was your age, if it wasn’t because I didn’t have much to eat, I might have eaten more than you.”

“You look to be fifteen this year?” Qian Daniang suddenly asked.

The girl nodded: “Just turned fifteen years old.”

Qian Daniang looked at her in the kindly manner of an elder: “Have you been betrothed yet?”

The girl shook her head and said a little shyly: “My family still needs me.”

If her family did not have her anymore, her mother alone would not be able to make ends meet.

If she still sent money to her natal family after marrying to someone else’s house to be a wife she would be criticized.

Qian Daniang hurriedly said: “I have a nephew. His parents passed away on the way to Gaoyou. If you are willing, I can make a match between the two of you. Then you can ask him to come live with you. As long as you have a son that takes his surname to continue his family name, all the other children can follow your family name.”

The girl was taken aback for a moment, obviously she didn’t expect to have this kind of choice.

She thought that her future would be to become a spinster and then find a random person to marry.

Qian Daniang looked at her expression, and said, “It’s also possible if the children all follow your family name. I’ll talk to him again.”

The girl lowered her head, her voice was very small: “Daniang, why don’t you go to my house for dinner tonight.”

Qian Daniang repeatedly said: “No problem, no problem. I will definitely stop by after I get off work.”

The girl was the only child in her family. Her father hurt his body when he was on the road and could no longer have more children. He had a headache about this matter for a long time now. But now he heard that he could have a son-in-law at home, and except for one child all the other children would follow their family name he agreed almost immediately.

It was her mother who was more cautious and asked Qian Daniang, “Don’t know what kind of personality that child has? I’m afraid that my daughter is too soft-tempered. If she found a husband with a bad temper……”

Qian Daniang: “My nephew is a solid and honest young man. He has great strength, eats anything and speaks very little. It is not that I am bragging but he is now an apprentice blacksmith, and his teacher has said that next year he will be able to become an official blacksmith.”

Her mother: “I’m afraid my family won’t be able to keep such a good man.”

Qian Daniang smiled and said: “His parents are gone. Nowadays, he is living alone and just want to find someone who could take care of him, start his own family. If nothing else, he is very filial. If Zheng Niangzi is still not assured, I can take you tomorrow to go and see him.” (TN: daniang and niangzi are both used to refer to a woman, usually one already married)

Only then did her mother say: “It’s better to meet.”

The girl blushed on the side.

If she could find a husband to become part of her family, then she wouldn’t have to leave home and could support her parents without being criticized.

At the beginning, recruiting son-in-laws to become part of the wife’s family was not as prevalent. After all, people adhered to the belief of raising children to prevent old age, the more sons, the better. Even if everyone in the family starved to death together, they must still have a son. If the baby was not a son, then they must continue to keep trying until they had one. As long as they lived then they must continue to have children, they must have a son no matter what.

Even in the modern times, many impoverished mountainous areas and places still valued sons and belittled daughters.

In order to have a son and avoid fines for exceeding the one child pilicy, many people who worked in the city tried all kinds of ways to give birth to a son.

Only when the economy was more developed, the society was more stable, people’s thinking was more advanced, and the workplace was more equal to men and women, would there be less of this kind of thinking.

Lin Yuan still remembered reading a scholar’s argument before.

The origin for valuing men and belittling women, apart from the patriarchal society, was that in ancient times, there was no machinery and everything relied solely on manpower. Men were born with greater strength than women, so their right to speak in the family came from their ability to make money.

The regions that had less valuing men and belittling women was because most of these regions were not farming regions. Most of the people in these regions relied on handicrafts to make money. Handicrafts had the lowest differentiation between men and women, and women could also earn money to support their families.

The economy determined the status of both sexes.

The more developed the economy, the smaller the difference between men and women in earning ability, then the more equal men and women were.

In Gaoyou, the difference between men and women was getting smaller and smaller because women could now find work. In additon, Lin Yuan also gave them the right to own private property.

Once women had private property, they would also have higher requirements when choosing a partner.

And many families only had one daughter, so these families often chose to recruit a son-in-law.

Thus, recruiting son-in-laws was becoming a prevailing trend.

But probably to prevent men from being too reluctant the men didn’t have to change their surnames, and they could also have a child that would take the man’s surname. So, everyone was happy in the end.

The people had their own wisdom. In order not to allow the children who did not follow their own family name but took their father’s surname to inherit everything, they had also stipulated that the division of the inheritance must be as even as possible, and no one could have more or less.

This wind first blew in Gaoyou, and then it blew to several other cities.

The Zhao family in Changshu was the first family to recruit a son-in-law in Changshu.

Father Zhao originally had three sons and two daughters, but all three sons died, and only one of his two daughters survived. He himself was already fifty years old now. He was faced with a difficulty as he could not give birth to a son anymore and his bloodline was about to end with him. Furthermore, the option of adopting an orphaned relative was closed to him since he had no remaining relatives left. But if he were to adopt an orphan that was not related to him he would also feel that his wealth had been given to outsiders.

His daughter was getting older and was old enough to get married so he often couldn’t sleep at night nor stay focused at work.

Seeing his troubles, his fellow workers asked a few words and as he was not a person who could hide his thoughts he ended up revealing all of his problems.

The workers said to him: “Then you might as well recruit a son-in-law. I heard that there are many households in Gaoyou recruiting son-in-laws. By that time, your daughter will have a child with your family name, and your family name will not end with you.”

Father Zhao: “Can this be done?”

Since ancient times, not many men had been willing to “marry” into women’s homes.

Workers: “Why can’t it be done? Look at those poor families who have seven or eight sons and can’t support them. If you give them a betrothal gift, won’t it be done?”

The worker said this casually, but father Zhao remembered it in his heart and at night he said to his old wife: “Er Niang is all grown up, it’s time to talk about her marriage.”

Old wife: “I can’t bear to let her leave……it’s just her remaining. Whenever I think of her getting married and being bullied by her in-laws my heart feels as if it is being roasted over a fire……”

Father Zhao’s eyes lit up: “I also can’t bear it either. I only have this one daughter, say, how about we recruit a son-in-law?”

The old wife was a little scared: “Our family only has us old couple and a weak girl. If we find a bad person, wouldn’t we……”

Father Zhao hadn’t thought of this. He was now also a little worried when he heard this from his old wife. He sighed, “I’m going to ask the matchmaker tomorrow. I heard that there is a matchmaker who just arrived from Gaoyou. Gaoyou has a lot of families who recruited son-in-laws so she may have a solution for us.”

The matchmaker naturally had a solution for them. She smiled and said to father Zhao: “You don’t have to worry about it. There were divorced wives in ancient times, and now we have divorced husbands. If your family is not satisfied with him, you can just divorce him. What are you afraid of? And now we even have a women’s federation. If he dares to harm your daughter, then just send him to prison, have him get a beating with a board. I guarantee you he will be obedient then.”

“Gaoyou has a lot of families recruiting a son-in-law, and there was a case where a husband was divorced.”

Father Zhao was taken aback: “Then could that lady still find a new husband?”

The matchmaker: “Why can’t she find a new one, aren’t men easy to find nowadays?”

Father Zhao whispered: “She won’t be chaste anymore!”

The matchmaker was surprised: “How long has it been seen such things mattered now? How much is chastity even worth now? Those bachelors have never even seen a woman. They complain that the lady is not chaste, well the lady might not even think all that highly about them either. Tell me, isn’t it true that there is no shortage of men now, only a shortage of women.”

“In the past, there were even two families who married a single girl.” Seeing that the odds were high in making a match for this family, the matchmaker naturally babbled on, “If you trust me, I will find one for you and guarantee that he will be an honest one.”

Father Zhao quickly said: “Then I will bother you with this, also……”

Matchmaker: “What else?”

Father Zhao looked around and after making sure that no one else could hear him, he then whispered: “It would be best if his assets are big, big assets will be able to give birth to a son.”

The matchmaker covered her mouth and chuckled: “That’s natural. When the time comes I will ask my son to go check, I guarantee that you will be satisfied.”

So the market for men with “big assets” changed for the better. So long as it was not the eldest son, the families were all basically willing to marry off their sons. After all, there was a betrothal gift for the groom which was quite a lot! Besides, there were so many sons in the family who couldn’t marry a wife. If the son stayed with the family for a long time, it could also lead to disharmony in the family.

Not to mention there were some bachelors who had no father and no mother and were even more willing to marry into the woman’s family.

The matchmaker quickly found someone and led him to father Zhao.

“This kid is surnamed Li, fourth in his fsmily, and is the most honest person I could find.” The matchmaker first praised, and then said, “His family does not want a betrothal gift as long as your family treats him better.”

Father Zhao first looked at the other person’s height and then the person’s physique. Although he was thin, he did not appear weak.

He whispered to the matchmaker: “Have you seen that thing?”

The matchmaker also whispered: “My son has seen it, and said that it is one and a half fingers long.”

Father Zhao was satisfied.

Li Si probably guessed what they were talking about and his face blushed.

There were six brothers in his family. Although life was getting better now, he still couldn’t marry a wife.

Even his eldest brother in the family had no wife.

Although the matchmaker came to offer the option of marrying into the wife’s family this time, his father ended up agreeing after smoking a few shots of dry tobacco.

He was also afraid that his parents would refuse. He was eighteen this year, and he was at the age to begin thinking about women. Besides, with so many brothers in the family, he was not as valued as much.

Although it was being “married off” to his wife’s family, but there was still a son who would have his surname. Moreover, there was no need to change his surname so it was not all that different from the normal way of marrying a wife, the only difference being that the new married couple wouldn’t be living with the husband’s family.

But with the size of his family’s home, even if he married a wife they wouldn’t be able to live there without feeling cramped.

Not to mention if it was even possible to find a wife to marry into his family in the first place!

The wedding was nothing too fancy, just inviting relatives and neighbors to have a meal. After that the young couple moved into their own room.

Li Si was very satisfied with his wife. She had a good temper and earned a lot of money. She was also gentle and considerate to him, and she didn’t look down on him because of his marrying into her family.

After they were married for six months, his wife became pregnant with a child.

The first child was a boy, and his wife, regardless of her parents’ obstruction, had the boy follow his surname.

Li Si was even more in love with his wife.

Thus, Changshu also had many families marrying off their sons.

However, in the past, it was the women who were afraid of being divorced, and no matter how hard it was they would endure it. Now it was the men who were afraid of being divorced. If a man was divorced, then he could forget about marrying into a new wife’s family. Find a wife who would marry into his family? Currently, there were so few women, what were the chances that he could find a wife to marry into his family? Better prepare himself to be a bachelor for a lifetime!

So the families who recruited son-in-laws now had a pretty good life.

When Lin Yuan learned about this, he actually felt that his thinking was too outdated in comparison——he was a man so he understood the psychology of most men. He had thought many men would not be able to accept this kind of thing.

But looking at it now, they were actually perfectly accepting of it.

There was even a case where two men fought over who would marry into a woman’s family. And these two were actually blood related brothers.

Lin Yuan now understood. The men had already all gone crazy thinking about women.

Brother Dao said next to him: “How come no one comes to matchmake for me?”

Brother Dao frowned. He said, “I am a bachelor too!”

No one introduced him a wife to marry, and no one recruited him to be a son-in-law. He asked Lin Yuan, “A good man like me is actually disregarded by them?”

Lin Yuan: “……Maybe they think you already have a woman?”

Brother Dao: “……”

He might have boasted to his soldiers, saying that he was quite popular with women on many occasions.

While he might still be a virgin, brother Dao had a very tall and muscular physique and add to the fact that he was a general, everyone believed that he would definitely not lack women. What was more, brother Dao himself liked to make false boasts, practically describing himself as having been with countless women.

Heavens knew, he was just speaking casually.

After hearing this, people who originally wanted to marry their daughters to him all stopped their original intentions.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

After all, apart from brother Dao, there was still Zhu Yuanzhang, Chen Baisong and Yang Zi’an, all of whom seem to be much more reliable than him.

Brother Dao: “……Can’t they tell that I was just bragging?”

Lin Yuan looked at him.

Lin Yuan said to him: “You truly relied on your own capability to remain a bachelor.”

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After repelling the army of the imperial court, Lin Yuan got the best news of the year. Both the potatoes and sweet potatoes were harvested. After more than a year of cultivation and planting, they finally ushered in a large-scale harvest. Starting from this year they would no longer be short of food, and no one would be hungry again.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

At the same time, the people of Huzhou and Songjiang came to Xianzhou. Speaking of, Huzhou and Songjiang were actually not short of food, but because the imperial taxation was getting higher and higher, the people became overwhelmed. As a result, in an unorganized and undisciplined manner they launched a mutiny.

Then……

They were all bewildered.

They didn’t know what to do after that. After killing off all the big and influential lords and households, they divided the granary and the big households’ food supply. But even then, there were too many common people and it didn’t take long for them to begin to starve once again after dividing up all of the food. After all, the crops in the field would not grow at the sight of the wind. It was impossible to plant it today and harvest it tomorrow.

So, after they heard that the South Bodhisattva planted and harvested “sacred food”, they discussed it and then rushed eagerly to Xianzhou.

Moreover, they even wrote a document in a rather official and ceremonial way, although the words on it looked like those written by a child.

The general idea expressed in the document was: “The South Bodhisattva is the chosen one by the heavens, and we need the South Bodhisattva to guide us and rule us.”

In other words: “We are out of food, please come and save us.”

Lin Yuan: “……”

Song Shizhao laughed beside him: “Maybe it’s true?”

Lin Yuan: “Have the spies go take a look first. If it is true, it will save us trouble. If it is false……”

He laughed coldly.

The spies went, and the information they inquired was almost the same as that in the document. Because the people killed all the big officials, small officials, and big households, the two places were now very chaotic without any order at all. Murders and robberies became more common, and many people even started to flee their homes.

This was rather of a novelty. They killed the powerful people above in order to survive. Originally, they had thought that they could now live a happier life in this way, but they didn’t expect that life only became even worse after killing their oppressors.

Lin Yuan took a sip of tea and said to Song Shizhao: “Let them remain chaotic for the time being.”

Song Shizhao smiled and said, “This is natural.”

Lin Yuan was very calm, so calm and practical that he did not resemble himself. He could calmly analyze the pros and cons, and then choose the action that would result in the least cost to him. Then he said to Song Shizhao: “Perhaps we have remained closed off from the outside world for too long of a time.”

Song Shizhao poured tea naturally with a smile at the corner of his mouth: “Exactly.”

“Xu Shouhui……” Lin Yuan touched his chin, “Send him a gift.”

Only then did Song Shizhao raise his head and ask: “Send what?”

Xu Shouhui was now struggling to resist the Yuan army and would soon be defeated.

Lin Yuan smiled and said: “Send a piece of imperial seal over.”

Song Shizhao’s hand shook and the teapot in his hand almost fell to the ground.

Lin Yuan: “Mister, is something the matter?”

Could it be that when one was older they would need calcium supplementation for osteoporosis?

Song Shizhao’s voice was filled with both difficulty and excitement: “The imperial seal is in the palace.”

Lin Yuan said indifferently: “Then make one.”

Song Shizhao: “As my Lord orders.”

When he left the study, Song Shizhao felt that both his hands and feet were not his own.

He had never felt so excited before.

He wanted to see Xu Shouhui’s expression when he received the imperial seal. As a person who had just rebelled and declared himself emperor, he wouldn’t be able to resist such temptation. The imperial seal was both an expression of flattery and surrender, and Xu Shouhui’s ambitions would become even more inflated.

When there was nowhere to put his ambitions, he would perish on his own!

“The weather is quite good today.” Song Shizhao stood with his hands held behind his back, his head high and back straight!

Er Liang, who was passing by, saw Song Shizhao standing on the spot and talking to himself, and was rather befuddled. He walked into the study with Lin Yuan’s meal. Recently, Lin Yuan often ate in the study so Er Liang also frequently served him in the study. Sometimes Lin Yuan would not only handle government affairs, but also practice his calligraphy in there, often spending an entire day.

“Young master, what’s wrong with manager Song?” Er Liang asked in a low voice, “He is talking to himself outside alone, as if he has been possessed.”

Lin Yuan looked at the meal tray. Today’s lunch was very rich. Steamed sweet potatoes, potato roasted with meat, plus a bowl of white rice and a bowl of tofu soup. If there was anything wrong with it, it was that he had been eating potatoes and sweet potatoes for a month.

However, the enthusiasm of the common people was still high.

Sweet potatoes tasted sweet and was glutinous. In the eyes of people who lacked any form of sugar, not only could sweet potatoes fill their stomachs and had a large yield, it was also very delicious. Sweet potatoes were indeed much better than potatoes!

They felt that they would never get tired of eating it for the rest of their lives.

Lin Yuan’s current cook was still Si Niang. Si Niang had actually found a man again, a vegetable chopper who looked very honest, had a good temper, and liked children. He treated Gou zi very well even before he was with Si Niang.

Because they were always working together, the two of them developed feelings for each other. They did not hold a banquet and just invited their fellow workers in the kitchen to have a meal, and then moved into the same house.

People only think about starting a family after their lives had settled down.

Lin Yuan finished his lunch and took a walk in the yard to digest. He only had a short time to relax at noon.

However, since a batch of heads were chopped off, the flies hiding in the dark had now become quieter and no longer buzzed in his ears.

Killing a few offenders to intimidate was indeed useful. Although it could not last long. When a sufficient amount of time had passed, many people would forget those previously chopped heads and become active again.

He estimated that another batch would need to be chopped at that time.

——

“Mother, are we going to eat roasted sweet potatoes today?!” The child who got out from school quickly ran home, with ink on his face and his little sister in tow. The brother and sister hopped and skipped the whole way back, picking some wild vegetable along the way.

The woman held her big belly and gently touched the heads of the two children. She smiled at them: “We’ll be eating sweet potato rice.”

The children screamed: “We have meat to eat today!”

The woman also laughed: “Your father did a good job and earned a cut of meat.”

The children said confidently: “I will be the first in the next monthly exam!”

The one who got the first place in the monthly exam could also get a cut of meat and a chicken.

And it was a fat chicken with a lot of oil.

Woman: “His father! It’s dinner!” (TN: women in ancient times, mostly in rural areas, called their husband “his father” which is short for “the child’s father”)

The man who was chopping wood in the backyard straightened up. He squatted down and hugged the two children, and said proudly, “We’re going to eat meat today.”

The two children laughed: “Mother just told us.”

At the dinner table, the man added meat to the woman’s rice bowl: “You have to eat for two, eat more meat.”

He ate only sweet potato rice, occasionally picking up some vegetables soaked in oil with chopsticks.

The woman lowered her head and smiled.

The children also noticed and said: “Father, give me some meat too.”

The man was a little embarrassed, but he still put meat in the children’s bowls and said dotingly: “The meat can’t even stop your big mouths.”

The children stuck out their tongues and ate happily.

They could take a break at noon and go to school early. At this hour, they would call on friends to play. The children living on their street all went to school and knew each other. They would go to the open field to play cuju together during the lunch break. It was a game for the poor, and only one ball was enough. This ball was made by the boy’s father. (TN: cuju, ancient Chinese football/soccer)

He was a craftsman and used bamboo strips to weave into a ball. It was filled with old and unused pieces of cloth, and sewn with small pieces of leather on the outside. His needlework was even better than his wife’s.

The children laughed happily in the open space.

Sometimes adults who got off work would also join in, but they obviously went easy on the children.

The people of Gaoyou had become accustomed to this kind of life. They went to work and got off work on time, got their pay at the end of each month, and occasionally ate meat. They hoped to live under the rule of the South Bodhisattva and live such a good life forever.

In this way, their sons, their grandsons, and their offspring could also live like this forever.

After the first day of winter, Lin Yuan accepted the surrender of Huzhou and Songjiang. After all, there was no way to find something to eat during the winter unlike during the autumn.

When Lin Yuan sent people to take over the rule of these two provinces, the people had been hungry for a while. They did not put up any resistance, and Lin Yuan’s laws were implemented without any hindrance.

And his takeover was a complete one.

The leaders who led the people’s uprising in these two places were completely incorporated into Lin Yuan’s troops.

Their people were also divided amongst Lin Yuan’s army divisions.

Although the uprising leaders were all given positions as battalion commanders, they had no real power in their hands, and the original people under them could not join together and form a faction either.

The number of the Lin family troops had increased.

Potatoes and sweet potatoes were the most planted in Huzhou and Songjiang.

It was a rare winter when Lin Yuan didn’t have to worry about food. Lin Yuan finally had the time to take a breath and slow down. On the New Year’s Day, Lin Yuan set up a banquet to entertain his capable subordinates and his own family.

Old father Lin drank a lot of wine at the banquet and began to boast to anyone he came across that one of his greatest achievemen6nts in his life was to give birth to Lin Yuan.

Nowadays, old father Lin didn’t have to worry about anything. Other than being unable to commit crimes, old father Lin was practically living the life of the Taishang Huang (TN: retired emperor, and/or father of the living emperor).

However, old father Lin was a sensible and smart person. He understood his son’s current position and he also knew that he couldn’t be arrogant. What was more, his wife was still watching him by the side, so he didn’t dare to act indiscriminately.

Many merchants planned to send him beauties.These beauties were all taken by Lin Yuan and sent to work instead. When old father Lin learned about this, he was very regretful.

But after all, it was his son who did this, so he could only express his dissatisfaction with his eyes, but anything else he dared not say.

Almost unconciously and without old father Lin even being aware of it, he had already become afraid of his own son.

This feeling was very peculiar. He couldn’t uphold any of the imposing dignity of being a father in front of Lin Yuan.

Sometimes, old father Lin even felt that if he did anything that violated Lin Yuan’s bottom line, Lin Yuan would ruthlessly place righteousness before family.

For the sake of his own little life and the good life he was now leading, old father Lin would not be foolish enough to knowingly violate the laws.

The gift Lin Yuan gave to Xu Shouhui was also delivered to Xu Shouhui in the winter.

Xu Shouhui’s advisor looked at the small wooden box on the table with him.

The wooden box was very beautiful. Even if they couldn’t tell what the wood was, they could still feel that this wooden box was extremely luxurious. It was carved with auspicious clouds and dragons on the front and a phoenix on the back. There was even a carving of the sun and the moon on the lid.

Xu Shouhui was a tall and strong looking man with extraordinary looks. He asked: “The merchant who brought this gift really said it was from Gaoyou?”

The advisor below said quickly: “This humble one don’t dare to deceive Your Majesty.”

Xu Shouhui touched his chin: “Now that’s interesting.”

The advisor smiled and said: “The so-called “South Bodhisattva” must have found out that His Majesty is chosen by the heavens and wanted to leave a way out for himself.”

The advisor opened the wooden box which had another smaller box inside.

There was also a note on the small box, which read: “This thing is of extraordinary origin, it would be best to have everyone retreat.”

Xu Shouhui sneered: “Pretensions.”

“Open it.”

The advisor opened the small box.

The moment he opened it his eyes widened: “This thing……this thing!”

Xu Shouhui pushed away his advisor.

He almost couldn’t wait to pick up the content inside, and he swallowed: “This thing, shouldn’t it be in Dadu?”

Dadu was the capital of the Yuan Dynasty.

The advisor had already knelt down and he took a deep breath, knowing that this was an excellent time to flatter: “Your Majesty is the true dragon! Even the sun and the moon dare not fight against your glory! That South Bodhisattva is surrendering to your rule!”

Xu Shouhui had calmed down: “This is not the real thing.”

However, the advisor said: “Your Majesty does not know this but this subordinate once inquired and found out that the imperial seal in Dadu now is a fake.”

Xu Shouhui: “How did you find out? Not mentioning that this would be a top secret, but even if that imperial seal is indeed fake, how would that prove that the piece in front of you is real? The way I see it, that South Bodhisattva must think I am stupid and is using this thing to insult me!”

The advisor said lowly: “Your Majesty, it should be ‘Zhen’.” (TN: Zhen=form of imperial use for the emperor)

Xu Shouhui: “Does Zhen need you to remind me?”

The advisor said: “Your Majesty, this thing is precious. If the South Bodhisattva intended to insult you, why bother to use this kind of high quality jade? He must want to please you instead.”

Xu Shouhui felt that this thing must be a fake, but in his heart he hoped it was real. He felt that what his advisor said was somewhat reasonable. He consciously believed that he was the real dragon. When the real dragon came out, the fake dragons would naturally bow their heads and give him offerings. It was not only Gaoyou but also Xiancheng that had defected to him.

“Put it away,” Xu Shouhui said.

Advisor: “Put it in the study room?”

Xu Shouhui: “Put it in Zhen’s room.”

The advisor lowered his head and a smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

At night, the advisor returned to his home.

“Is merchant Jiang still here?” He asked his servant.

The servant hurriedly said: “He hasn’t left yet.”

The advisor went to see merchant Jiang and at this time Jiang Guang had been waiting for him for a long time. When Jiang Guang saw the advisor, he said, “Lord Zhao.”

Zhao Rong had no expression on his face. He looked down on these merchants, but the other had given him a huge benefit, only asking him to say a few good words of the South Bodhisattva in front of the emperor in return. It was but a little effort so he agreed readily enough.

The two chatted for a while.

Jiang Guang said: “Since the court sent troops to Gaoyou, Gaoyou’s situation is not so good now. If it hadn’t been for that South Bodhisattva using a lot of valuables to ask Jiang, Jiang would not come here.”

Zhao Rong asked strangely: “Wasn’t the court beaten back?”

Jiang Guang sighed: “As you know, the South Bodhisattva is a soft-hearted man. He didn’t have many soldiers under his command and also bought food everywhere. He is just a rich young master. Now Gaoyou can only hold itself together with difficulty.”

“Oh?” Zhao Rong smiled profoundly.

Jiang Guang also smiled.

He had said everything that should be said. As for whether the other believed it or not and what they would do in the future, it did not matter to him.

Jiang Zheng left Zhao Mansion with a smile.

Although Xu Shouhui was ambitious, he was not a stupid man. From a certain perspective, he was a good leader. The Red Turban army under his command had a strict military discipline and was prohibited from commiting rape or looting. Every time he conquered a place, he would give the new people under his rule a household registration, winning the hearts of the people.

However, Xu Shouhui eventually died at the hands of Chen Youliang.

The matter of one’s fortune could never be clearly explained.

——

“So long as he accepted it. As for whther he believes it or not, it doesn’t matter.” Lin Yuan said, “Just planting a seed is enough.”

Chen Baisong had a rare free time at that moment so he watched Lin Yuan practice calligraphy. He himself had just left the illiterate ranks, but his writing was really ugly. Lin Yuan had them use charcoal pencils to make it easier for them to pass on news.

Unexpectedly, charcoal pencils became quite popular. Poor people were all willing to use it. It was more convenient and cheaper than brush and ink.

Chen Baisong looked at Lin Yuan’s handwriting and suddenly asked, “Where will we fight next year?”

Lin Yuan raised his head and glanced at him: “Why?”

Chen Baisong said: “The sword will rust if it doesn’t see blood, and the soldier will waste away if he doesn’t kill.”

He believed that if they don’t fight for a long time, the soldiers under his command would lose their combat power. Training and fighting were two different things.

Lin Yuan smiled and said, “What you said makes sense.”

But now they couldn’t fight. Lin Yuan finished the last stroke to the word “kill” and wiped his hands with the wet towel next to him, before sitting down and saying to Chen Baisong: “You can go out with your soldiers. You can’t wear armor and helmets but must pretend to be bandits. The bandit villas and stockades in the area are all there if you want to fight.”

Chen Baisong nodded.

Lin Yuan sat on the chair and looked at Chen Baisong. He asked, “Aren’t you tired?”

Chen Baisong had to lead soldiers in training every day. Although he didn’t need to use too much brain it was still very exhausting work. But Lin Yuan found that he was in good spirits and never appeared tired.

“Not tired.” Chen Baisong said plainly, without any pretty words.

Chen Baisong suddenly said, “Young master, the people are asking, why are you still not married.”

Lin Yuan almost spit out the sip of tea he had just took. He smiled helplessly: “Yes, I should really pay attention to this.”

The people would always worry about this, not because they needed him to marry a wife, but because they needed his children.

A child, even a daughter, could prove his health and his fertility.

Regardless of the age, people always worshipped reproductive ability.

Men pursued physical strength and height.

Women pursued thin waists and small feet.

This was all about sex.

But the Lin Yuan of now had no children.

The people began to worry about him. They even wanted to offer their daughters to Lin Yuan so that they could give birth to Lin Yuan’s children.

Some people even want Lin Yuan to be with women who had given birth to children.

Women who had given birth to healthy children could certainly continue to have healthy children.

Lin Yuan asked Chen Baisong: “Why don’t you marry a wife?”

According to Chen Baisong’s current status, there must be many people who wanted to marry their daughters to him.

Chen Baisong: “One day, I will die on the battlefield. There is no need to leave an heir.”

Lin Yuan’s breath froze.

He did not expect that Chen Baisong had already planned his future.

Chen Baisong said: “Since young, I have had no father and I don’t want my children to experience having no father.”

“Young master, you should think about it.” Chen Baisong said, “If you have a child, I will fight to my death to protect him.”

Lin Yuan waved his hand: “We’ll speak of this later.”

He was not prepared.

He was not ready to be a husband or a father. If he really wanted to get married and have children, then it would have to wait for when everything was stable. He didn’t want to bring a child into a chaotic time, a time of war.

He was an orphan in his previous life, but it was not that his parents died prematurely. He was abandoned because he had a genetic disease.

Most healthy children would be adopted, especially boys. Adopters might not be able to even get one despite being in line for several years. But no matter how well-behaved he was, no one would adopt him.

It was because he had a congenital heart disease.

His parents abandoned him.

Perhaps he should be grateful that his parents left him at the entrance of the orphanage, instead of leaving him out in the mountains and forests.

He felt that if he had a child, he would surely give all the precious things he could give to the child, whether it was a boy or a girl. But he was not sure how far he could walk on this dangerous road. He was still young, even if 20 years passed he should still be able to conceive children with a woman.

Bringing the child into this world now was not a good thing for both the child and himself.

From the moment he or she was born, he or she would be noticed by the various forces around him and might face danger.

Lin Yuan said to Chen Baisong: “If someone asks me when I will marry and have a child, you can tell him that while the world is still uncertain I will not marry and start a family.”

Chen Baisong showed a puzzled expression, was there a relationship between the two? Then he asked: “Wasn’t this what Huo Qubing said? The original words don’t seem to be this though……” (TN: Huo Qubing, Han dynasty general)

Lin Yuan sighed, “I changed it a little bit, can’t I?”

Chen Baisong still did not understand the relationship between the two.

Lin Yuan said bluntly: “Just tell them, there are still many people being displaced in the world and the people under my rule has still yet to be able to start their own families. I can only start a family when the world is settled and the people live and work in peace and contentment.”

Chen Baisong: “Oh.”

Chen Baisong said again: “But……”

Lin Yuan interrupted him: “Don’t ‘but’, just say what I said.”

Chen Baisong touched his nose and felt that the young master’s temper had become bigger. But this was a good thing, as the superior he should be like this. He used to worry that the young master’s temper was too soft, but now it seemed that his worry was unnecessary.

Chen Baisong took a sip of tea and changed the subject: “This tea is good.”

Lin Yuan: “Ask Er Liang to pack some for you to bring back.”

“Recently, many people gave me gifts.” Chen Baisong said.

Lin Yuan nodded: “What kind of gifts?”

Chen Baisong: “Gold and silver jewelry, spears and swords, and……”

Lin Yuan: “Women.”

Chen Baisong nodded.

Lin Yuan: “Have you accepted it all?”

Chen Baisong shook his head.

Lin Yuan: “Next time when someone give it to you, you will accept it, the gold and silver jewelry can be distributed to the subordinates, and the woman can be given to me.”

Chen Baisong’s eyes widened. Didn’t the young master just say that he wouldn’t get married?

Chen Baisong thought for a while, and then felt that the women sent to him could not be considered to have anything to do with marriage.

He nodded and said, “I will send them all to the young master.”

Lin Yuan: “……”

I think he seemed to have misunderstood something.

Chen Baisong: “But there are a lot of them, so take care of your health.”

It was not until Chen Baisong left that Lin Yuan realized what Chen Baisong meant.

Did he think he could…..with so many women……

This was truly a bizarre misunderstanding.

But if he called him back to explain, it would seem as if he was trying to cover something up.

Forget it, it would be cleared up in time, there was no need to complicate matters.

Until——

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

One day, Chen Half-Immortal gave him a box of medicinal pills. They were made very beautifully and was even coated with soy flour. The medicinal pills looked white and plump and very attractive.

The person who delivered the medicine also said: “Half-Immortal said, this thing can have the South Bodhisattva be with ten women in one night.”

……To hell with ten women in one night.

TN: bonus chapters coming up!

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This was the fourth time San zi had fought in a battle. He was now a small squad leader. His face was scarred by the enemy during the last battle. There was now a terrible scar on his face, and women dared not look directly at him. San zi was also very sad. He always wanted to find a wife and then give birth to a plump, healthy baby. Since he was taken to the bandit villa he was separated from his family. Later when he was taken away by the South Bodhisattva he felt that life had meaning again.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

It was a pity that after he became scarred, his prospects were gone once again.

Fortunately, there was a blind woman who was willing to be with him. She couldn’t see what he looked like and he didn’t care that she was blind. San zi also bought a house with all the money he had saved and would go home and spend time with her on off days.

His superior told him yesterday that he could go back and say his goodbyes to his family.

So he told the woman where he hid the money and also told her that if he could not come back and she was pregnant with his child, he hoped that she could give birth to the child and then put him or her in the Children’s Home. He was a soldier. The South Bodhisattva said that if they died on the battlefield, their family members would receive the care they deserved.

The South Bodhisattva would not lie.

The woman agreed.

Although they didn’t know whether the woman was pregnant or not.

But San zi felt that the woman must definitely have his child in her belly, his bloodline.

Then, San zi walked out of the house and left without looking back.

He did not dare to turn his head. He was afraid that once he turned his head, he would not be able to go to the battlefield again.

He finally had a home after much difficulty.

As a small squad leader, San zi was in charge of ten people. They all wore helmets, wore vine armor, and held re-polished sharp weapons in their hands. After assembly, they left Gaoyou City with the large army unit and marched out the city wall. San zi would be afraid every time he went to the battlefield. It was the fourth time already but he still couldn’t get used to war.

After walking out of the city wall, he finally couldn’t help but glance back.

What a great wall, it must be very strong.

His woman would definitely be able to live well in the city. Maybe if she had a child, she would not send the child to the Children’s Home, but raise it by herself? It was better for children to be with their parents.

If……if he could come back alive, he hoped that his child would already be born before he was called to fight next time.

No one spoke during the march. Everyone was silent. The military discipline was strict and the pace was steady.

San zi saw the army not far away. It was the army of the imperial court. He could only see the people in front wearing their helmets, anything else couldn’t be seen. He heard the sound of war drums, the sound of horseshoes, and the roar of the generals in the front.

Then——

The battle started.

San zi charged out with the people around him.

His long knife accompanied him in several battles and was stained with the blood of the enemy, perhaps also his own.

Sam zi held the knife in both hands, stabbed the knife into the enemy’s stomach, and then pulled it diagonally. The enemy’s stomach was cut and his intestines fell to the ground. San zi raised the knife and slashed it towards the person next to him.

But this time, the enemy was wearing a helmet, and he heard the sound of his knife slashing against the iron covering.

The enemy’s weapon pierced his chest.

Even if one had on vine armor, it was not foolproof. The enemy had great strength.

San zi felt the other pull his weapon away and then turned it towards his comrade beside him.

He fell to the ground. San zi wanted to reach out to cover his chest. He no longer felt the pain.

It was a bit cold, San zi thought as he lay on the ground. He turned over with the last of his strength. The people next to him were still fighting, but he was able to look at the white clouds in the sky. He recalled his life before the bandit villa. The days before being a soldier.

His parents were still there. Although the family was poor, the family lived happily together.

That was a truly good life……

If he had known that he would really die, he would not have asked the woman to have his child. A child without a father was too pitiful.

San zi died.

His eyes were still looking straight up at the sky, not closing his eyes even in death.

There must have been something he wanted to say before he died, but no one would know what he wanted to say now.

——

Chen Baisong charged at the forefront, fighting with the enemy general. He had a spear in one hand which he used to knock the opponent’s knife away. Chen Baisong was not afraid. He seemed to be born for war, and his eyes were calm and gaze steady, watching the opponent’s movements. He knew what the opponent would do next before he even did it.

Naghachu, who was fighting against Chen Baisong, was gritting his teeth. At this time, Naghachu was still a young man. Although he was a wanhu at a young age as well as ordered by the court to encircle and suppress the rebels, but a battle of this scale was also a first for him.

Naghachu also knew that the enemy in front of him did not possess any ostentation in his movements, every blow was made with the intention of taking his life.

He did not expect this. Among the rebel parties, the one with rule over Taizhou, Gaoyou and Changshu was the one with the least presence. They had no king or dynastic name. If it weren’t for more and more people fleeing here and presenting a convergence of popular support, the court would not have the energy to deal with them.

In fact, the imperial court believed that the only reason they were able to capture these three lands was because these three lands had low military strength, and they depended entirely on luck.

But now, Naghachu knew that this had nothing to do with luck.

The soldiers of Taizhou were very strong, possessing a discipline and combat capability that even the court army did not possess.

No general would not want such soldiers.

What’s more, they were not afraid of death.

They were fierce like hungry wolves.

Naghachu dodged and counterattacked while observing the battle.

Although it was not obvious, they were already at a disadvantage here.

An enemy team broke in from the flank and opened a path through the court’s army, as if their formation was suddenly penetrated by a long knife.

It was a cavalry, and even the head and limbs of the horses were protected by armor made of iron.

The soldiers on the horses wore a complete set of armor that covered even their faces.

Naghachu took a deep breath.

But it was this breath!

Naghachu was knocked off his horse and Chen Baisong’s spear was pointed at Naghachu’s neck.

So long as Chen Baisong moved forward just a hair’s breadth, the spear head would pierce Nahachu’s neck.

“Surrender.” Naghachu heard the man on the horse say to him.

Naghachu flushed red and the veins on his forehead popped. He roared, “Kill me!”

Chen Baisong pierced Naghachu’s neck, and the soldier guarding next to him hurriedly stepped forward and chopped off Naghachu’s head.

They had completely torn from the court, so it made no sense to spare Naghachu’s life.

It’s just that although Naghachu was dead, the military officers under Naghachu were still fighting hard and the soldiers didn’t know that their commander had been beheaded.

Chen Baisong led a small team and continued to charge forward.

He glanced at the sky as he rode forward.

The sky was bloody.

The red clouds caused the entire sky to look like it was full of bloody mist.

——

Lin Yuan couldn’t help falling silent for a while when he heard the news of Naghachu’s death. Although he knew that he had changed the original historical timeline, he never expected that Naghachu, who was supposed to have died of old age, would actually die like this. He was just killed by Chen Baisong in such an ordinary manner, and his head was beheaded in an equally ordinary manner by a soldier.

En……the head was currently placed in front of Lin Yuan.

A very young head.

And also very handsome.

Lin Yuan said: “After the war ends bury him properly.”

This head was still useful. They must hang it on the city wall.

Although cruel, it must be done.

The war lasted for a month. After Naghachu died, the person with the highest position under him took over his position.

Fortunately, Gaoyou had enough food and the soldiers used their own flesh and blood to keep the enemy outside the city wall.

The people trembled inside the city wall.

Wu Yuelian led the women to set up a tent on the edge of the city wall and accompanied the military doctors in taking care of the wounded. They hadn’t rested for a long time and no longer knew what it was like to take a bath. There was blood stains all over the body, the metallic scent like a perpetual cloud of perfume around them.

But no one disliked this smell.

These smells came from one soldier after another. These soldiers might end up dying in the end but they might also survive.

On the twentieth day, some common people signed up to join the army.

They didn’t know when this battle would end, and they didn’t know what was going on outside.

But they knew that there were obviously more wounded soldiers.

“Are you going to join the army? I’ll go too, you wait for me.” Someone said to the neighbor who was about to leave at the door of the house.

The neighbor could only stop and wait for him.

The first to join the army were those who had no family members. They had no wives, sons, or parents. They came to Gaoyou as refugees, had their own shelter, were able to eat fully and dress warmly. They were full of confidence in the future. When the court sent its army over they were all very scared. They hid in their houses and dared not go anywhere.

Until——

They saw the women rushing to the city wall.

They were so weak, some were even still trembling, but they walked firmly towards the city wall.

No one backed down.

“Am I not even as brave as a woman?” The first one to follow the women to the city wall was an apprentice in a blacksmith shop. He was more than 40 years old. In order to find a better job, he went to be the oldest apprentice at the blacksmith shop. Before going to the city wall, he also took the long knife he smelt by himself.

With the first person providing a model, one after another the men came out.

This was their home, where they lived. Even if they didn’t have family members, they all had hope.

This was the place where they would hold fast to.

Wu Yuelian was taking care of the wounded in the tent. The scents in the tent did not smell good. Even though she had tried to keep the tent clean, there was not enough staff. She used a clean cloth to wrap the wounds.

The wounded man was not seriously injured. His hands and feet were not broken and the wound was not deep enough to see any bone. After getting it bandaged a little and then getting something to eat he would be going out again.

Next time, she might be able to see him.

Or maybe she might no longer see him again.

After Wu Yuelian bandaged him she turned her head and wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes.

She thought she would not cry anymore.

After bandaging the last wounded, she rushed out of the tent and ran to a place where no one could see. She finally couldn’t help but burst into body wracking sobs.

They just wanted to live.

Why was it so difficult?!

But after crying she still had to return to her post and continue her work.

One month later, the enemy finally retreated.

For the first time, the people in Gaoyou finally felt what it was like to have a new lease on life after a calamity.

The Lin family troops was originally 60,000 strong, but after taking a count after the war only 30,000 were left.

The enemy’s losses were not much less than theirs. To be precise, 30,000 people died on their side, but 60,000 people died on the enemy’s side. But for the court, 60,000 more people would soon be recruited again in no time——no matter if they were captured or conscripted.

But for Lin Yuan, the loss of 30,000 people was a huge blow.

Even if they won against thw court this time, but what about next time?

But unexpectedly, many men joined the army after the war. Some of them were farmers, some were small vendors, and some were even refugees who had just arrived. They all put down their sickles and pots and walked towards the barracks to take up weapons instead.

Taking the place of those who had died and preparing themselves to continue to guard this land.

Guard the people on this land.

Not only Gaoyou, Taizhou and Changshu also had men joining the army.

Within a week, Lin Yuan’s barracks received 50,000 recruits.

After receiving the report of the number of people, Lin Yuan could not sleep that night. His eyes remained opened and stared up at the beams above his head. In a place where no one could see him, Lin Yuan, who had to show his strength in front of his people, rolled over and shed tears from the corner of his eyes.

So many human lives. They were the sons, husbands, and fathers of others.

So easily turned into dust.

Perhaps it would be recorded in the history books where there was a war and how many people died on each side. It would record the generals who had made great achievements in battle, but it would not record these ordinary people.

It was not the powerful figures who decided the life and death of a dynasty. It was these ordinary people whose names were unknown.

Lin Yuan had always felt that he was also an ordinary person.

He was just one of many who had to be constantly busy for his livelihood in the modern society, throwing away his health for financial security, often staying up late, and even occasionally feeling that if one day he were to die it would be from overwork.

Lin Yuan clenched his hands into fists.

This whole time, he had not had a clear goal.

But now, he found it.

He wanted to let the common people of the world to be able to live a good life, eat fully and dress warmly. They would be able to study if they wanted to and would be able to find work if they wanted to find work.

He wanted to make those crying faces smile again.

With such thoughts, Lin Yuan finally fell asleep at dawn.

——

After the war ended, Gaoyou quickly returned to normal everyday life. The most obvious change was that the small vendors took to the streets again and the children were released out onto the streets by their parents.

The problem was that there were more orphans in the Children’s Home.

However, these orphans were not the children of soldiers who died in battle. The soldiers successfully protected their wives and children, and their children still had mothers.

Most of these orphans were picked up.

Yes, picked up.

The patrol team often patrolled nearby and sometimes even patrolled outside of the city. They would pick up children in the villages or orphans wandering on the road. These children were brought to Gaoyou in this way.

The abandoned Children’s Hone once again had life in it.

After this war, they once again picked up many orphans.

No one knew how these children got here. Many of them were still too young to speak anything clearly.

The eldest was only six years old. He just remembered that his parents had been traveling with him on the road. Then one day, his parents fell down and never got up.

No matter how much he yelled, he could not wake them.

Lin Yuan took the time to take a look at the Children’s Home.

It was the women who were now taking care of these children. Most of them were women who had given birth. They would bring their own children with them, so that they would not miss their children while working.

The food in the Children’s Home was basically donated by merchants.

In addition to food, merchants would also donate some fabrics and toys.

Although the toys of this era were very simple, but for these children, these toys were the most luxurious things they had ever seen in their lives. Although it was also very luxurious to eat fully and dress warmly, the meaning of toys was different.

Children were actually much better at adapting to the environment than adults.

Once the environment became unfamiliar or dangerous, even the most naughty of children would become obedient and sensible.

A wayward and spoiled temper, that was something that only a safe child who was loved could possess.

When Lin Yuan walked into the big room where the children usually played, the first thing he saw was the children chasing each other around. They had yet to understand what an orphan meant. The women in the Children’s Home had a motherly heart and never told them. In the eyes of these children, the women who took care of them were their mothers.

And they had a dozen mothers.

They were probably the children with the most mothers in the world.

Even the women’s own children thought that these children who suddenly appeared were their own brothers and sisters.

The relationship between all of them was very good.

Lin Yuan had the servants following him leave first. The women were all very anxious. Their eyes looked at Lin Yuan with awe. To put it simply, they both loved and feared Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan smiled at them and made a gesture to let them continue to do their own things and to not mind him.

Then they watched Lin Yuan walk towards the group of children.

The women prayed in their hearts that the children would not do anything that would offend the South Bodhisattva.

But children were children. They didn’t know who Lin Yuan was, they only knew that a stranger had arrived.

There was a courageous child who asked him in a high, childish voice: “Why is your chest so flat!”

Because they only came into contact with “moms” on a daily basis, they thought that only women could come take care of them.

They thought that the person in front of them who looked very much like a man should also be a woman.

As a woman, he was too unqualified!

No chest!

Lin Yuan laughed and he said to the children: “I have candy here, do you want to eat it?”

Then he took off a cloth bag from his waist that contained milk candies. The current production of milk candies was not much. Most went to supplying the military barracks. Milk candies could provide energy and were sweet. Both adults and children loved it.

The children looked at Lin Yuan timidly.

But soon, the craving for sugar overwhelmed the fear of strangers.

The children surrounded Lin Yuan.

A girl asked in a low voice: “My lord, can you give us candy?”

Lin Yuan took out a milk candy and handed it to the girl.

The little girl took a lick and after realizing that it was indeed candy, she raised her head and showed a brilliant smile to Lin Yuan: “Thank you, my lord!”

Their “moms” had taught them that when someone gave them something or if they asked others for help, they must say “please” and “thank you”.

Lin Yuan stretched out the hand that did not hold the candy and rubbed the girl’s head.

These young lives would one day become the new pillars of their society.

Lin Yuan spent this day with these children.

These children didn’t know the identity of Lin Yuan. After they passed the first stage of unfamiliarity and got acquainted with Lin Yuan, they even showed Lin Yuan their treasures.

There were strangely shaped stones to flowers that were nearly withered.

The little boy said sadly, “This flower is the most beautiful.”

Unfortunately, it was about to wither.

Lin Yuan taught him how to dry and press flowers.

The girls also had Lin Yuan watch them kicking the shuttlecock. The played it very well, the little braids on their heads flying up and down like the shuttlecock.

“My lord.” The children sat around Lin Yuan.

It was getting dark and after nightfall the children had to sleep.

“Please tell us a story!” They made a request.

Lin Yuan told them the story of the “Dragon Pearl”.

In the story, there was a child from a poor family. His family worked for a landowner. The landowner treated them very badly. There was always no food in the house and his younger brothers and sisters were all starved to death. He was the oldest child in the family so he could only go fishing in the river after finishing the work.

One day, he found a pearl.

That pearl was so beautiful that the boy decided to take it back home.

He hid the pearl in the rice jar.

And on the next day, the rice jar was full of rice!

The boy’s family finally ate a full meal. They also found that so long as the pearl was put in with the grain, the grain would continue to increase.

For a poor family, this was such a happy thing.

But their neighbor told on them to the landowner.

The neighbor said they stole food from the landowner.

The landowner also discovered the strangeness. The family did not steal food and yet did not appear hungry, so the landowner followed the clues and ended up finding the pearl.

He asked the family to hand over the pearl.

On the night when the boy went to fish again, his entire family was killed.

Only he escaped the disaster.

After dawn, the boy went home. He had the pearl with him because with the pearl on him he could stay in the water for a longer time and catch more fish.

He saw the bodies of his parents.

He was discovered.

The boy was forced to the shore of the river where he used to go fishing. Countless former neighbors stood in front of him.

The landowner also looked at him fiercely.

They were all forcing him to hand over the pearl.

The boy who had nowhere to go eventually swallowed the pearl.

Then——he became a dragon.

The dragon hovered in the sky briefly and the sky began to rain heavily. Some people said it was the tears of the dragon.

The dragon flew away and never returned.

After listening to the story, a child whispered: “This story is so sad.”

“Why didn’t he eat the landowner and the neighbors!”

“Yes! The bad guys didn’t get retribution, this story is not good!”

Lin Yuan smiled and rubbed the head of the child closest to him. He said, “Because he is a dragon.”

The children were still very confused and didn’t understand what Lin Yuan was talking about.

Lin Yuan: “Go rest early. I will see you again when I have time. Come and say goodbye to this uncle.”

The children waved and said goodbye to Lin Yuan.

Once they grew up a little bit more and thought back to their experience today, they all felt like it had been an incredible dream.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Some of them had their heads touched by the South Bodhisattva and some had even sat on the South Bodhisattva’s lap.

Just thinking about it was incredible.

Lin Yuan’s departure caused all the women to finally let out a sigh of relief.

Heaven knew, they were scared to death for a whole day!

TN: Remember San zi and Wu Yuelian back in the farmstead days? This translator cried a bit translating this chapter.

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