"Zi'an, you're too impatient," Lao Wang said sadly.

In the Song Dynasty, there were two taboo topics, land and taxes.

It doesn't matter if you talk about it, even if the brothers Li Jing, Zhang Zai, and Cheng openly said that they would implement the ancient Jingtian system, but they couldn't go to the book and force the court to pass it.

Including Wang Anshi, he also avoided these two topics.

At most, the Fangtian Average Tax Law has been implemented, and it seems that it has touched this land and tax.

But it has not been carried out thoroughly, and it is only to let Haoqiang report the amount of hidden land in full, not to let them hand over the cultivated land and distribute it equally to the common people, let alone let them stop annexing from now on.

However, that's it, because of Fangtian's average tax law, how many heroes hate it.

Not to mention the Qi business tax, how many officials in the Song Dynasty did business, and why, because the Song Dynasty system, or the so-called ancestral family law, forbade officials to do business.

However, it was also the custom of the time, to deceive the high and raise the reputation...... Therefore, everyone is looking for agents to do business, and there is no evidence to prove that they took the initiative to come forward, so how to record it fairly. But that's it, in the relevant Song Dynasty history materials, you can still see N ministers doing business, and there are many illegal phenomena, including Zhao Pu.

Even a good baby like Su Dongpo, who grew up in a honey pot, returned to Bashu with a few boats of private salt to seek money. As a result, because I didn't understand anything, I even lost money because of the profiteering private salt.

So this kid ...... It's better to write about Da Jiangdong, being an official and managing money well are not this child's strengths.

Just like Suzhou City, it is located on the main road of the Grand Canal, so the business is becoming more and more prosperous, and the people in the city can't squeeze in, so the governor Zhou Zhi should be requested by the people to report this matter to the imperial court. Song Zhezong allocated 10,000 yuan of money. Let Zhou Rank expand Suzhou City.

That's a good thing.

An expansion of the city can increase how much land can be squeezed.

It also solves the shortage of houses for the people in the city, and after the expansion, Suzhou will become more prosperous. However, Su Dongpo made a small report, saying that it was a waste of money and labor. The matter was over, and even in the later anti-Jin, it was the most important city. Because it was not expanded in time, it left a serious hidden danger.

Su Dongpo was kind-hearted, but because he didn't understand, he did bad things.

But the other ministers are not romantic and naïve Su Dongpo, they are quite scheming, especially those descendants from powerful and wealthy businessmen, such as Fu Bi, the rich family was originally a huge rich family in Luoyang, plus he himself is talented. Therefore, there was no Zhongjinshi, Yan Shu still appreciated Fu Bi and married his daughter to Fu Bi. However, this little Yan is not a trouble-free master, but because of this daughter, the relationship between Yan Shu and Fu Bi has not been very good.

In other words, not all officials have family members who are engaged in business, but many officials are directly or indirectly involved in business.

The reason is very simple, what comes the fastest money, it is not land. Agriculture is a stable income, but windfall profits are still industry and commerce!

Not only profiteering. And because of their status, the officials did not dare to levy any field taxes.

This field tax is quite staggering, at least 5 percent, and if you save more than 5 percent of the tax on a trip to the goods, then this tax will undoubtedly turn into a profit. More than 5% profit!

Think about it, Wang Ju launched the Qi business tax. How many powerful and powerful doctors will be hated?

The most terrible thing is that the emperor actually agreed on the spot and immediately issued an edict.

And this edict, coupled with Wang Ju's previous actions, will also make people think about it.

What do you think? Now is the business tax, will it be all taxes in the future? Two taxes are included.

And Wang Ju has a similar practice.

After the tax is removed, will it be on the ground?

Zhang Zai has said many times before that the ancient well field system was implemented. Moreover, Wang Ju implemented a tough policy of changing the land and returning it to the people in the south, and suppressed Haoqiang and the barbarian chieftains, and then confiscated their family property, and all the houses and fields were divided equally among the common people.

If you think about it this way, what will you think of Wang Ju?

At that time, Wang Ju will inevitably be demoted from the court because of strong opposition.

"Prince, since I came back, some people have been hiding in the shadows to do anything to deal with me, assassinating and slandering me...... But it's not completely groundless. Over the years, because of me, the aliens who have died directly or indirectly at my hands, including the Tanguts, the Jiaozhi, the Champang, the Zhenla and the overseas natives, will be counted in millions. Maybe a thousand years from now, future generations will reflect on me and still have the title of a butcher. At least the aliens would have given me this title. But so what? For the sake of the Great Song Dynasty, for the sake of this group of people, if I don't go to hell, who will go to hell? ”

If the Western Xia did not invade, the Jin people did not go south, and later the great powers also did not invade or suppress China, Wang Ju did not want to do so.

But the truth is...... People eat people.

It's like the U.S. imperialism, while shouting about humanitarianism and the China threat, but because of oil and other resources, how many wars have been launched!

In fact, sometimes Wang Ju can't bear it, but there is no way.

The opportunity is only once, and if you miss it, you will miss it forever. For example, on the other side, only three or four hundred years later, the Europeans had to pay attention to that land, and since then, the white race has gradually become the first race.

Wang Judu said this, and Wang Jue couldn't persuade him anymore.

Sure enough, countless voices of opposition came out.

Euphemisms such as Lu Gongshu and others said that they would harass the people and break the peace that the court had won so hard.

The radical argument is that Wang Ju often moves people with benefits and moves the court with benefits, which will drag the Song Dynasty into a utilitarian era and morally degenerate.

There are other inexplicable reasons as well.

Even Sima Guang was in Luoyang and wrote three letters to Zhao Ji in a row.

It is not known whether he wrote letters to Lu Gongshu, Feng Jing, Sun Gu and others.

Even Zhao Niannu sent a maidservant to the door and secretly informed that Gao Tao was also lobbying in the palace to persuade Zhao Xuan to give up this terrible practice.

Forced by this situation, Wang Ju had no choice but to explain at the court meeting: "Ladies and gentlemen, there are many people who oppose the matter of Qi Shang tax. However, I would like to say only two things, the first of which I have not said until last year, when I received a large source of gold, that I reported my thoughts to Your Majesty. As you probably know, the future initiative is the Banking Division. There are two sources of it, the difference between deposit and loan interest. To stimulate the development of industry and commerce, so that many people could become richer, and the imperial court would also receive a large amount of commercial taxes. Once the banking department is established, this commercial tax income even exceeds the interest income from deposits and loans. And I am also sending people to arrange for a large amount of gold and silver to be raised, and the more the quantity, the greater the effect. It is possible that in the future, the imperial court will receive more than 20 million. Even more than 30 million, 40 million. But this basis is that the commercial tax must be maximized. ”

"Ladies and gentlemen, if the imperial court could make so much profit, and it was obtained without raising taxes, what kind of change would it bring? Not only is the treasury more abundant, but many people have benefited from it. And when the finances are more abundant, the imperial court can ban the green seedling law, the hand practice method and the leniency of surplus money. As for the Baojia Law and the Baoma Law, which many people opposed, as long as the finances were well-funded, the imperial court distributed all the armor to Baoding free of charge. And to exempt Bao Ding from half a year's related taxes, so will it disturb the people? Not only does it not disturb the people, but on the contrary, its role is infinitely magnified, such as preventing theft, allowing the people to have a martial spirit, and the imperial court can immediately select a large number of soldiers to assist in border security under special needs. ”

"There is also the Horse Protection Law, as long as the finances are generous, the imperial court does not need to pay a small amount of money. The people were forced to buy their own horses, and they would take the initiative to buy a large number of horses from all over the country. and then give it to the people to raise. Will the people still be burdened? Then its role is also magnified, if you can train more people to ride horses, reserve a large number of cavalry for the imperial court, and at the same time the number of horses will be expanded, which can be used for transportation and can be used to cultivate land......"

"Zi'an. But what about the horses? Lu Gongshu asked on the west side.

"Lu Gong's worry is reasonable, but today is not the same as in the past, this profit may not be until a few years later, a few years later, I believe that Zhang Zhifu has already completely pacified Dali, and then you can get a large number of Dian horses, Tengchong horses, and Wuman horses from Dali. You can also get a large number of war horses from the Tibetan Plateau from the tea horse road. And the sea transportation is developed, the sea ships have become larger, and they can also make a detour to the rear of the Liao State and trade war horses with the Jurchens. And there is another place, on the largest island on the other side, there is a large number of pastures suitable for grazing, which not only raise a large number of cattle and sheep, but also many horses. It's just that the rate of reproduction of horses is relatively slow, but after a few years, the number of horses on the other side will inevitably increase. Although the distance is long, and it is not easy to transport war horses by ship, it is also possible to provide thousands of war horses to the imperial court every year. And these war horses, some of which were deliberately bought from Da Shi, were far taller than the Jurchen war horses. ”

"The actual horse protection law should be outlawed," Mr. Feng said.

"Feng Gong, if the imperial court provides war horses, there is no need to ban them, and raising war horses in large quantities will not only benefit the country, but also benefit the people. Not only horses, but also all kinds of large livestock are seriously lacking. In fact, if it were not for the financial considerations, I would like to propose that all large livestock, as I have governed at the local level, should not be counted as property and households, and then the people would dare to raise livestock. ”

That's going to cost money.

If large livestock were not counted in the household level, many people in the Song Dynasty would immediately be downgraded to their households, which meant that the tax would be rapidly reduced at the same time.

This is the first loss, and there is another loss.

The main income of the treasury of the Song Dynasty is the two taxes, the four major (salt, wine, tea and alum, and incense are the income of the inner treasury, which has nothing to do with the treasury), and various commercial taxes and tariffs, not only the past taxes of trade, but also the income of "state-owned enterprises" such as house property tax, homestead transaction tax, and various pit and mine supervisors, do not underestimate these incomes, it is also a large income household in the Song Dynasty, just like the amount of pit mines, the annual volume of various metals has reached almost 50 million catties!

Land rent, why does the state also collect rent? In fact, there were many official fields in the Song Dynasty, some of which were used for officials' professional fields, some for school fields, and some for camp fields and archer fields for officers and soldiers, and some of them were rented to the common people for farming.

There are also some invisible incomes, such as science and distribution, which are not only to suppress prices, but they are also making profits. and all kinds of exorbitant taxes such as depreciation and apportionment......

There are also some incomes that no one can think of, such as cattle rent, and the people no longer raise cattle, so the government raises cattle and rents them to the people to facilitate planting and increase grain production.

The intention is good, but the implementation is another matter, often the cattle have been dead for twenty or thirty years, and the government continues to collect cattle rents from the people.

This income is also hundreds of thousands of yuan a year.

Once it is not counted in the household class, this income is also gone.

Of course, from the perspective of ordinary people, that is undoubtedly good governance.

However, from the perspective of the state, it may not like it, so Wang Ju said that he must wait until the fiscal situation is further liberalized before the policy of excluding all large livestock from household is officially introduced nationwide.

Doesn't it mean that you love the people?

Feng Jing had no choice but to retreat.

Wang Ju continued: "Your Majesty, ladies and gentlemen, let me give you another example. The other side. Everyone is starting to care. Last year, the other side's fiscal revenue was more than 3.8 million yuan, but its revenue was only two taxes and two commercial taxes. Because the number of people is still relatively small, and the land is vast and sparsely populated, the price of grain is very low, so low that you can't imagine. Generally, a bucket of wheat rice beans is only 15 yuan, and the low one is only a few yuan. Plus the tax rate is also very low. On average, it is only 20 levies and 1, which is a real 20 levy and 1, without any harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes. Therefore, it is converted into a single dollar, which is actually less than 300,000 yuan. The remaining more than 3.5 million guan is completely commercial tax. But you also know how many people there are on the other side. ”

In their hearts, on the other side are more than two million people, that is, evenly apportioned, and one person has to be apportioned to the usual half of the commercial tax.

If it is evenly distributed to the Song Dynasty according to this ratio, there will be at least 1780 million yuan of commercial tax.

And last year's national fiscal revenue plus the new two roads. However, 190 million, of course, compared with previous years, this shows that in recent years, the country has gradually begun to lean and thin, otherwise the number of two roads will exceed 200 million. But this more than 190 million yuan is bundles, stones, horses, guan, jin, two, and pieces, and it is actually converted into money, but it is only more than 140 million yuan.

As for business tax income. Including the newly increased commercial tax driven by Wang Ju, it is only 10 million.

It's scary to compare it to.

But it's not over. Wang Ju continued: "In addition, in order to prosper the economy of the other side, the maritime merchants only began to implement the policy of tax exemption for one to three years for various industries on the other side, and now more than eighty percent of the industries on the other side have not been formally taxed. Therefore, in the next three years, the commercial tax on the other side of the strait may double. ”

Cai asked with concern: "What is the tax rate?" ”

"They copied the tax rate of our dynasty, and it was no different. The difference. It is a real Qi business tax. Therefore, if it were not for the threat of the natives on the other side, and some of them were not adapted, it can be said that the people on the other side of the river, compared with the ordinary people of our dynasty, they are living in heaven. ”

This is one of the most important roles of the other side.

Compared to the Song Dynasty. The countries of the entire earth can only be regarded as barbarians, uncivilized countries.

So no matter how you do it, there is no good example to compare it with.

But now there is.

That's the best rebuttal.

However, this rebuttal was only a temporary suppression, and even the cities and squares in the capital began to have some rumors.

Han Yun said with emotion: "This is public opinion." ”

"It's not just public opinion, it's everyone's perception."

Therefore, Wang Ju cooperated with Zhang Zaixiu in Hengqu to improve Guanxue.

This cognition is really important, just like the evaluation of Shang in ancient times, there are very few positive sides, and most of them are derogatory sides. Why, Sima Qian is also.

Taizu read the Zizhi Tongjian seventeen times, so he repeatedly tried to help his friends.

Some people say I've seen it too, but do you have the patience to look into it? I'm afraid I won't even look at that large section of Chenguang.

After watching it so many times and seeing it again, then it will be somewhat affected by it, including Sima Guang's cognition of power and conspiracy and the rise and fall of past dynasties.

Cheng's Confucianism influenced Zhu Xi, and Zhu Xi's Confucianism influenced the Ming and Qing dynasties, so how much did it change?

Again, this perception influences public opinion.

However, knowing Wang Ju's plan, Han Yun was not worried.

Continued......

But this incident did not happen in the capital, but in Mizhou.

Wang Ju has always been worried about the nostalgia of the Han people for their homeland, and it can't be said that it is wrong, but it is not entirely right. For example, in the later wave of migrant workers, if the hukou in the capital is liberalized, I believe that half of the people will choose to move away from their homes and live in the imperial capital.

The reason why the ancient people were reluctant to migrate is very simple, most of them lived in a closed environment, so they did not understand the situation in a foreign land, so they would be afraid of other places. Therefore, in the early Tang Dynasty, the people migrated to Kuanxiang many times, but the people were unwilling to cooperate.

However, after Wu Zetian moved the capital to Luoyang, many people in Guanzhong spontaneously went to the Central Plains, so the population in Luoyang quickly became dense.

Now, too, with the establishment of the Post Division, letters have been exchanged, and even many people have remitted money to relatives and relatives in their hometowns.

In addition, there are so many people living in extreme poverty.

I can't even eat enough, and the other side is indeed a good place, will I still miss my homeland?

In addition, the government is no longer blocking it, and it is the season when the summer wheat is not yet ripe and there is a spring famine, so a large number of people began to flock to several major ports.

But it's different from the previous two. The first large-scale migration was an unprecedented drought, and the second was presided over by the government, and this time there was no disaster and no government to presiding over it, so some people who owed usury also secretly fled to several ports overnight.

And it came to pass, and the people came to you. We have no right to object, this is allowed by the imperial court. But these people still owe us usury, and they must pay us back.

Some large families sent servants to find people to arrest them.

At first, several stewards did not interfere. However, this grasp could not avoid the occurrence of many tragic things, and they were even tied up on the spot and beaten to death.

These stewards are now better off, and most of them are from poor families. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I whispered to the people who were temporarily resettled, and the one of you who owed the usury to the master's family should immediately get on the ship, of course, there was limited space for activities on the ship, and he didn't even dare to go on deck, and the ship would not return immediately. It means months of sin, but it's better than being caught.

So the people got into the boat. Some of the main households had to go on the boat and arrest people.

We have no right to interrogate on shore, but why do you board our ship to search for and arrest people? And there was no armed escort on that ship?

The south is a little better, especially the port of Mizhou, and it belongs to the north, the core area of the Song Dynasty, so these people found Zhou Xun, the governor of Mizhou.

Zhou Xun is on the side of the old party. But he also has no way, in case these seafarers do not cooperate, then this forcibly sending officials to arrest people may not only cause trouble, but even break the agreement of the imperial court. The smuggling began again, and the gold was gone, and the responsibility was great. So in the face of this group of "uncles", he has nothing to do.

Just when he was helpless, he got a chance.

The seafarers Tibetans, and some of the fugitives also saw the opportunity, so they owed usury to the stewards, and we also owed usury. Then get on board.

This is harboring criminals, and Zhou Xun immediately wrote to the court.

In fact, Wang Ju also repeatedly emphasized the role of migrating people.

This migration was different from the later Celestial Empire, most of them were immigrants from corrupt officials and wealthy people, and it didn't matter if they left, but they also took away a large amount of money from the country, so the whole country hated it.

However, now this migration has almost reached more than ninety percent of the people living in extreme poverty.

Therefore, Wang Ju said that it could somewhat alleviate the pressure of the rapid population growth in the Song Dynasty, force the main households not to abuse the tenant farmers anymore, and relieve the pressure of society. And in gratitude, the seafarers also took the initiative not to smuggle, and donated so much gold, which is almost equivalent to two and a half times the amount of coins given by the Song Dynasty to Liaoxia and Xia.

It's a win-win-win-win move.

But at this juncture, Zhou Xun's book once again caused an uproar.

Wang Ju had no choice but to deliberately say this matter at the Chang Dynasty meeting, it is possible to take in some fugitives, but this number will not be much, and how many fugitives can be involved? All of them fled to the ship, and there would not have been more than one or two hundred people.

However, he also said that he would write to the stewards of the various seafarers, asking them to search the ship themselves. And it's easy to screen, what kind of good life can the people who want to owe usury can have, most of them are yellow-faced, hungry and thin. But many of those who fled were extremely vicious, and most of them were oily because they had eaten well.

And most of the ordinary people fled with their families, and the fugitives may have several gangs, but there will not be a family.

These two items basically screen out the fugitives and then hand them over to the government.

"But what about the people?" Sun Gudao.

"Sun Gu, what is usury, you really don't know, give them a way to live. They are all the people of the Great Song Dynasty, and they are all the subjects of His Majesty! Wang Ju said impatiently.

Kill people to pay for their lives, pay off debts, but what kind of debt do you owe!

The strange thing is that Sun Gu didn't speak again this time, but soon a rumor spread in the market, saying that Haike openly took in the debtors, which was instigated by Wang Ju.

But when it came to this, Wang Ju also ignored it.

But another wave has risen......

Cheng Fang's death, firstly, is that he is old, but he has built so many water conservancy, not only to work hard, but also to brain, especially to deal with the cultivated land encroached upon by water conservancy. The second is the impeachment of the imperial historians and the intimidation of Wen Yanbo.

The two combined, and he was depressed and finally died.

But Cheng Fang also has relatives. All in Kaifeng City.

When a person dies, there is no need to whip the corpse anymore, although the court did not make any posthumous gifts, but Zhao Ji remembered that Lao Cheng had worked hard, so he gave his son (nephew) some compensation.

However, the envoy's decree arrived, but the compensation was never seen.

It just so happened that Wang Ju was in the palace and was slightly upset for Lao Cheng. Somehow it came out, Lao Cheng's nephew thought in his heart that my uncle had a good relationship with the new prime minister.

So he beat the drum and sued the dead Li Shizhong, saying that Li Shizhong was instigated by Wen Yanbo, and then withheld the bereavement pension issued by the imperial court.

Li Shizhong, Wen Yanbo, and Lu Gong...... Wait, these people are all old party bigwigs, and the relationship has always been very good.

The official in charge of the Drum Temple was frightened when he heard it, was it true or false?

Moreover, the impact of Chen Shiru's murder of his wife has not completely subsided.

This one. not only brought out the dead Li Shizhong, but also the old-school bigwig Wen Yanbo, and maybe Lu Gong's writing.

So he immediately reported it to Zhao Ji.

Zhao has two choices, one is to investigate seriously, and the second is to punish him for defaming officials. But these two choices are not good choices, the previous implication is too great, and Wen Yanbo still has influence no matter what. And the ministers of the New Party may take advantage of this to make trouble again, and new controversies will occur again. The latter is a little sorry for Lao Cheng. At least Cheng Fang's subordinates came to complain, I am afraid that the court's bereavement pension has indeed not been issued.

After Wang Ju learned about it, he said that no one Yanbo or Li Shizhong would do such a useless thing. Most of the officials in charge of Kaifeng Mansion at that time thought that many scholars were dissatisfied with Cheng Fang, so the Cheng family could be deceived. The pension was embezzled.

There are many such examples, just like when Wang Jucai came back, Li Laohan's son was sacrificed, and the bereavement was also deducted. In the end, many officials were implicated, and almost all the officials in Yizheng County were wiped out.

The same is true of Wang Ju's cheap father.

Therefore, Wang Ju suggested that this official should be found out and severely punished. Then the imperial court made up some pensions, and the matter was changed from big to small, and from small to small, and it was forgotten.

As Wen Yanbo's political enemy, it is still easy for Wang Ju to say this.

However, as his political enemy, he didn't think so, but thought that the Cheng family's troubles were secretly instigated by Wang Ju, and used it to slander the reputation of Wen Yanbo and the dead Li Shizhong, and even the drunkard didn't mean to drink, maybe he would deal with Wen Yanbo and Lu Gongshu.

In fact, this is Wang Ju's last test for Zhao Ji.

Whatever the ministers say, you have to have a sense of judgment for yourself.

Wen Yanbo will not be implicated, at least compensate Lao Cheng for a posthumous gift now. It is not necessary to posthumously give away Lao Cheng, but a recognition of himself.

Maybe Zhao Ji didn't think much about it, so he didn't think of this section. I just did what Wang Ju proposed, and sure enough, it was found out that it was done by a Xu official surnamed Li. Then let the Kaifeng Mansion send someone to inform the Cheng family, it has nothing to do with Li Shizhong and Wen Yanbo, don't make any more trouble, this pension court will give it to you.

Darkness begins......

A eunuch who had been dead for several years turned out, and perhaps this finally made some people angry.

They also concentrated their efforts on dealing with Wang Ju, including various investigations, and then discovered an astonishing truth.

I don't know where Wen Yanbo heard the news, but he didn't come forward, but secretly sent servants to inform some officials. These officials didn't dare to determine whether it was true or false, but this matter was a big deal, and some officials were dissatisfied with Wang Ju, so they wrote a book and said it vaguely.

That is, Wang Ju had an affair with the eldest princess, and that Zhao Tianci was the biological child of the two.

The time is also right, it just so happened that Wang Ju was in the capital at that time and had not yet gone to Gyeongju. Then Wang Ju went to Gyeongju, and Zhao Niannu went to Hangzhou, and it was in Hangzhou that the child was born. Then Zhao Niannu returned to the capital, and then sent the maid of the house to bring the child back and put it at the door of her house, so she adopted it naturally.

But isn't that the case?

In fact, Zhao Ji was suspicious in Zhao Niannu's mansion that day.

And yet let him say what?

So when he received these recitals, Zhao Ji was silent.

The matter was leaked, Wang Ju couldn't deny it, and he was silent after hearing some rumors.

In fact, this silence already represents a kind of recognition. Later, in front of the ministers, Sun Gu sharply scolded Wang Ju: "It is rumored that you have an affair with the eldest princess, but there is such a thing." ”

Wang Ju thought for a while and said, "Yes." ”

One word caused an uproar among all the ministers.

"Your Majesty, this is a scandal that has never been seen in the ages." Sun Gu roared almost hysterically.

"Sun Gu, don't be so heartbroken, why are you doing, since I did it, I will be responsible. Isn't it just that I don't like it, isn't it just that I make you unhappy with the business tax, you can mobilize so many resources, and even this hidden matter has been investigated! Wang Ju sneered, and then said to Zhao Ji: "Your Majesty, the minister has a negative expectation of Your Majesty." ”

After speaking, leave the court.

Zhao Ji's mouth opened, and he wanted to say something, how could you admit it.

Not to mention anything else, the banking department must be inseparable from Wang Ju, and Zhao Ji's treasury has accumulated various wealth worth more than 100 million yuan, as well as a large amount of grain, for what? It's not really to collect money, to deal with Western Xia. This is even more inseparable from Wang Ju.

But this matter, how can he speak.

Those who are happy may not be happy to the end, and they may cry in the end.

Those who leave may not really leave, and they may laugh in the end...... And this has become the biggest and most bizarre mystery in the history of the Song Dynasty. (To be continued.) )