Back to the Beginning of Ming to do Charity

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.

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——

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!