Chapter 480
Parting
...
In this lifetime, Li Qingzhao and Su Shi wrote far fewer poems, especially Li Qingzhao, whose output was much lower than in history.
They are still the same people, and their talent is still the same talent.
The reason for the sharp decrease in production is that they are not as idle as they were in history, nor are they as frustrated as they were in history.
Su Shi, a historical figure, spent half his life in the ups and downs of officialdom, which allowed him to accumulate a wealth of heartfelt words from a disillusioned person. His unsuccessful circumstances stripped away the superficiality of the imperial court, allowing him to get closer to the mundane world and the natural world, which in turn led him to write a large number of poems and songs.
Li Qingzhao's poems have historically been associated with the word "sorrow." The national humiliation and family ruin caused by the Jingkang Incident, the "betrayal" and incompetence of her husband Zhao Mingcheng, the broken marriage, and the desolation of her later years were all transformed into words that wept blood. Those famous works that have been passed down through the ages are all products of the intertwining of marital misfortune and a turbulent fate, and are the result of suffering that endowed her with keen perception and deep empathy.
In this life, Su Shi encountered time travelers like Zhao Yu, who ensured that Su Shi's career was smooth in his later years, leading him to become the Vice Prime Minister, holding a high position in the imperial court and wielding real power.
In this way, Su Shi no longer needed to express his resentment at being unappreciated through poetry, because the imperial court provided him with a platform to realize his ambitions.
By reforming officialdom, developing water conservancy, and pacifying the people, Su Shi's talent was transformed into concrete strategies for governing the country, rather than mere sentiments on paper. The toil of official duties replaced solitary drinking under the moon, and the harmonious relationship between the emperor and his ministers alleviated his pent-up resentment.
When Su Shi devoted all his energy to assisting the monarch and stabilizing the country, the poems he once used to dispel his frustrations naturally became dispensable embellishments.
Incidentally, in this life, Su Shi met Zhao Yu in the penultimate year before his death in history. Therefore, the influence of Zhao Yu and other time travelers on Su Shi, or more accurately, on Su Shi's poetry and prose, was not that great; they simply caused him to write fewer poems before his death.
The impact on Su Shi personally was enormous. He lived to be eighty years old, served as prime minister for nearly twenty years, fulfilled all his dreams, and was able to die peacefully in his old age.
Compared to Su Shi, the influence of time travelers like Zhao Yu on Li Qingzhao was far greater; one could even say that her life was completely rewritten.
In this life, Li Qingzhao did not marry Zhao Mingcheng, but instead entered the palace and became Zhao Yu's concubine.
With Zhao Yu's indulgence, Li Qingzhao shed the constraints of the boudoir and took charge of an unprecedented cultural undertaking—compiling the "Hongwu Encyclopedia," which gathered classics from all over the world, compiled the opinions of various schools of thought, and personally created a cultural monument that connects the past and present.
This honor and responsibility transformed Li Qingzhao from a sensitive woman into a shrewd cultural leader. She no longer needed to grieve over the ups and downs of marriage, because the prestige of the imperial family gave her stability and confidence; she no longer needed to express her melancholy through poetry, because the massive project of compiling the Hongwu Encyclopedia had already allowed her talent to be fully displayed.
With scholars from all over the world gathering under her banner and countless classic texts flowing from her pen, this grand undertaking provided a better place for Li Qingzhao's talent than simply expressing her personal feelings.
Ultimately, their prolific output of poetry was a "byproduct" of hardship and disappointment. When Su Shi was no longer frustrated by his unfulfilled talent, and Li Qingzhao was no longer lonely due to her unhappy marriage, when both of their talents found grander and more direct avenues for expression, the poems they once used to soothe their souls and express their pent-up emotions lost their fertile ground. They no longer needed to use pen and ink to vent their emotions, because reality had already given them the most satisfactory response; their time and energy were devoted to a greater cause that better reflected their own value.
Just like Zhang Heng, who was the top scholar in the same imperial examination as the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties, Su Shi, Su Zhe, and Zeng Gong; Zhang Zai, the founder of Neo-Confucianism who proposed the four-line phrase "to establish a heart for heaven and earth"; Cheng Hao, the founder of Neo-Confucianism in the Northern Song Dynasty; Zeng Bu, an important prime minister during the reign of Emperor Zhezong of Song; Zhang Jie, the commander who won the great victory at Pingxia City; and Wang Shao, a famous general who opened up the border at Xihe.
He criticized the three high officials, confronted the prime minister, rose to the rank of third grade official, and dominated the officialdom for more than fifty years. Even Su Shi could only look up to him.
Why didn't he leave behind many poems and songs?
That's because he was such a good official that he didn't experience the feeling of "unappreciated talent".
This perfectly illustrates the saying, "You may not have heard of me, but all those you look up to are my defeated opponents."
It's gotten a bit off-topic.
In short, although Su Shi and Li Qingzhao had fewer poems and songs in this life, their lives were actually more perfect.
The poems and songs they lacked were later "created" by Zhang Chun. Zhang Chun also plagiarized some poems and songs that did not exist in this era, making her seem to have the intention of replacing Li Qingzhao and becoming the most outstanding female poet of this era.
Li Qingzhao had no regrets about this, because in her view, the work she was doing now was more valuable.
Today, all the books from the regions conquered by the Song Dynasty have been included in the Hongwu Encyclopedia. The remaining documents from the Indochina Peninsula and Dali are being collected by specialists.
Li Qingzhao will also accompany Zhao Yu on this western expedition.
Firstly, Li Qingzhao could go out and see different worlds, and perhaps she could create some poems and songs that will be passed down through the ages.
Secondly, Zhao Yu's western expedition would surely have yielded many documents from other regions. Li Qingzhao's presence there would have helped protect these documents and include them in the "Hongwu Encyclopedia".
Before setting off, Li Qingzhao called all her children together for a reunion. She instructed her sons who aspired to be princes to be careful on the battlefield; she instructed her sons who did not aspire to be princes to not be too ostentatious since they had chosen a life of ease, lest they upset their elder brother, the emperor; and she instructed her daughters to be good wives and mothers, and not to bully their husbands just because they were princesses…
This westward expedition will take many years, and Li Qingzhao is already forty-two years old, no longer young (others of her age, or even those over thirty, are not allowed to go on the westward expedition with Zhao Yu without his special permission). By the time she returns, who knows what the situation will be like, or even if she will be able to return alive.
Therefore, although Li Qingzhao was saying goodbye, she was actually implying that she was making arrangements for her affairs after her death.
Many others, like Zhao Yu's cabinet members, were in a similar situation to Li Qingzhao. Unless they themselves did not wish to go, they would all follow Zhao Yu on his western expedition.
—Although this campaign was nominally led by Emperor Zhao Yu himself, in reality, Zhao Yu would remain in the rear, relatively close to the battlefield, protected by a large and reliable army. Those who would actually go to the front lines were Zhao Yu's sons, whom he had brought with him. After all, Zhao Yu was fighting to seize territory for them; if they didn't put in the effort, would they rely solely on their father to fight for them? If that were the case, even if they were given a piece of land, they wouldn't be able to hold it. Therefore, Zhao Yu was relatively safe, and naturally, he would bring all his familiar people and belongings with him.
Incidentally, although Zhao Yu was prepared for a triumphant return, he himself was unsure whether he would actually come back.
If Zhao Shou and his people can truly govern the Song Dynasty well, it wouldn't be a bad idea for Zhao Yu to find a scenic place to live out his remaining years.
This would also prevent Zhao Yu and his son Zhao Shou from clashing over power.
Of course, Zhao Yu never told these thoughts to anyone, nor would he tell anyone, not even Zhang Chun and the other five women.
He would keep this secret to himself forever, and hoped he would never need to use it.
In short, Zhao Yu brought all the people and things he wanted to take with him this time, and secretly brought along a huge scepter made of hundreds of millions of taels of gold, just in case.
The first to be taken along by Zhao Yu were the five women.
Now, whether in science and technology or agriculture, the Song Dynasty is on the right track. With Ma Xiaojiao and Yuan Qingcheng around, they can at most take shortcuts in some areas, but they can't really help much in other aspects. Crucially, after more than twenty years of rapid development, the Song Dynasty has already cultivated tens of thousands of scientists, forming thousands of teams of varying sizes, which is more than enough for developing both industry and agriculture.
The crucial point is that the research and development directions of these thousands of teams were all determined by Ma Xiaojiao and Yuan Qingcheng.
If these technologies can be successfully developed, the technological level of the Song Dynasty will at least reach the level after World War II.
enough.
Moreover, after being busy for two or three decades, Ma Xiaojiao and Yuan Qingcheng should take a break, travel around, and appreciate the natural beauty of this era.
Ye Shiyun, this homebody, has had her fill of eating, playing, and causing trouble over the years.
In addition, Ye Shiyun had already laid a solid economic foundation for the Song Dynasty.
The rest can be handled by her son Zhao Cun and others.
Most importantly, Ye Shiyun also wanted to go out and explore, and try some of the delicacies that were not available in the Song Dynasty.
Of course, this was mainly because Zhao Yu and the other four women were all going on a western expedition, and it would be too boring for her to stay alone in the Song Dynasty palace.
As for Zhang Chun and Li Lin, there's not much to say. Zhao Yu's westward expedition was largely instigated by them, so how could they not go along?
Incidentally, the reason why the five women were willing to go on the western expedition with Zhao Yu was because they were special.
I don't know if it's a perk of time travel, or if they're just good at taking care of themselves? In any case, like Zhao Yu, the five women, despite being almost forty, still look like they're only in their teens or twenties. Their small faces are full of collagen, so plump that you could pinch them and feel the moisture.
Crucially, the five women's physical condition is similar to that of teenagers and those in their early twenties; they have boundless energy and physical strength that rivals that of people their age.
With such bodies and such conditions, the five women were naturally willing to take a good look at this world and, incidentally, conquer it.
While Li Qingzhao and others were making their final arrangements with their relatives, the five women were also holding a meeting for their children.
Over the years, each of the five women has given birth to more than seven children for Zhao Yu. Among them, Ma Xiaojiao, who is the most fertile, has given birth to eleven children for Zhao Yu, making her the woman who has given birth to the most children for him. Even Ye Shiyun, who has given birth to the fewest children, has given birth to seven children for Zhao Yu.
Perhaps due to the educational program implemented by Zhang Chun, which imitated the schedule of the princes during the Qing Dynasty, the children born to Zhao Yu by the five women had a high success rate.
What's remarkable is that not all of the children born to Zhao Yu's five wives went down the military or political path; many of them also achieved considerable success in other areas.
The most typical example is Ye Shiyun's son, Zhao Cun, who has now replaced his mother Ye Shiyun as the new God of Wealth of the Song Dynasty. He even manages most of Zhao Yu's money.
Furthermore, both Ma Xiaojiao and Yuan Qingcheng have children who are engaged in scientific research and have already achieved considerable success.
Ye Shiyun also has a son who has a natural love for medicine. He and Chen Miaozhen's son have already made a name for themselves in the medical world of the Song Dynasty. Moreover, they have been dedicated to developing new medicine. Based on "Ye Shiyun's Medical Canon," they have been using medical instruments such as microscopes made for them by Ma Xiaojiao to develop new drugs such as penicillin. They have also advocated disinfection and sterilization methods, promoted intravenous injection medicine, smallpox vaccination, isolation medicine, auscultation, and so on...
—Currently, with the help of women such as Ye Shiyun, Ma Xiaojiao, and Chen Miaozhen, they have successfully developed penicillin and promoted it, especially among the Song army.
In addition, many of the sons of the five daughters became great merchants, even multinational ones. They engaged in maritime trade, railway trade, and combined waterway trade. Along the land and water Silk Road opened up by their father, they traded timber, coal, oil, and all sorts of rare and luxury goods. Some of them had a net worth of over 100 million, and could even be said to be richer than a country.
However, they were mainly born to the children of Ye Shiyun, Ma Xiaojiao, and Yuan Qingcheng.
The three women never forced their children to pursue certain paths in life; at most, they offered suggestions. As a result, most of their sons did what they loved.
Zhang Chun's sons mostly went into politics, while Li Lin's sons mostly went into the military.
Needless to say, this is mainly due to their mother's choice.
Zhang Chun, as everyone knows, is an ambitious and power-hungry woman.
In her early years, Zhang Chun sent all three of her sons to the Prince Continent to develop their careers, and laid out a development path for them as princes.
When Zhang Chun's fourth and fifth sons grew up, she arranged for them to enter the Song Dynasty's official system for training, making them bright political stars in the Song Dynasty's officialdom at a young age.
Zhang Chun's sixth son was truly hopeless and rebellious. From a young age, he was lazy and only interested in making money. He had no desire to become an official or even a feudal lord.
Zhang Chun has been too busy these past few years to take care of his son. In addition, since he is the youngest son and can be quite affectionate, Zhang Chun plans to let him go into business when he grows up.
As for Li Lin's sons, apart from her fourth son who wanted to become a feudal lord and would go on a western expedition with Zhao Yu to obtain a fiefdom, the other five sons all joined the army.
Her eldest son, Zhao Qing, has now risen to the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Southeast War Zone, guarding the southeastern region of the Song Dynasty alongside Yang Yizhong. He is one of the twenty marshal-level generals left behind to defend the Song Dynasty.
— Zhao Di, the eldest son of Ma Xiaojiao, is the commander-in-chief of the Beijing Military Region. He is not only one of the twenty marshal-level generals who stayed behind to guard the Song Dynasty, but also one of the best among them.
It is worth mentioning that Zhao Di and Zhao Qing were also the two sons of Zhao Yu who held the most military power.
In addition, many of Zhao Yu's sons had already risen to the rank of high-ranking military officers.
To put it simply, at least one-third of the Song Dynasty's army was in the hands of Zhao Yu's son.
They were also one of Zhao Yu's sources of confidence.
The five women will be on a westward expedition with Zhao Yu for many years, so it's natural that their affairs after they leave must be clearly explained to prevent their children from going astray in the future...
...(End of chapter)