Let me start with the usual report on the progress.

I just checked the backend, and before the new chapter was released, the average order was 11976. It didn't reach 10,000 immediately upon release; it took a week or two to catch up. In other words, it increased by two thousand in two months? Rounding up is a bit of an exaggeration because there was a dull period in the middle. I'm quite encouraged by this result.

The 24-hour follow-up order is very exaggerated. Although I took a leave of absence for the last chapter, and I don't have the latest exact data, I observed that even during the dull period, it was more than 7,000. Then, the climax plot of the second half of this volume increased very quickly. In the previous chapter, the 24-hour follow-up order was already around 8,500, approaching the exaggerated figure of 9,000. However, the follow-up order within a week was still less than 10,000.

What does this mean?

It means that this book, like the previous one, may not be a super hit overall, but once people get into it, they can all get into it. The so-called reader stickiness is quite high.

Having finished talking about the achievement, naturally I want to apologize for it.

With this achievement, this follow-up order, in theory, any trash writer should update ten thousand words a day and die in front of the computer to repay the kindness of the readers... But in reality, I am still the same as during the previous book, unreliable, rushing to code at night, and occasionally when my routine collapses, things go wrong.

Now it's during the pandemic, and the capital is still on Level 1 response. Companies that want 996 like iQIYI are fined for wanting to go to work, and Didi is also rotating work from home, so there's no need to talk about others. Therefore, my broken job allows me to continue to stay at home all day. But one thing I know for sure about working from home is that my routine collapses daily because I often compulsively stay up late with a compensatory mentality.

For example, this recent leave of absence... There's nothing to say about the responsibility. It's just that I'm too lazy and can't control myself.

My routine was reversed, so I wanted to adjust it. I updated a chapter in advance, and then in theory, everything should have been fine. I should have rested early, relaxed for a day, and had a good state to end this volume. But in reality, that night I browsed Zhihu, caught up on new anime, and the most despicable thing was that I bought "Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord" at dawn under the recommendation of a boss in the group, and then played it all night.

After waking up from a nap, which was the evening of the day I took leave, I was in a daze. I sat for a while and my occipital bone hurt... Obviously, my body and mind were not right, and I couldn't think straight. I wrote more than a thousand words and stopped there. When I opened my eyes, it was two o'clock in the morning, and then I posted a leave request.

To be honest, it's very bad, bad for my health, maybe it will really lead to sudden death, and it hurts the feelings of those who follow the update very much.

But I just can't control my lazy personality.

Before getting the big shot's appointment, I had even started trying to get laid off from the company during the pandemic. But to be honest, let alone the final result, if I were to go full-time, I'm afraid I would be even more lazy.

In short, first of all, I apologize to everyone. This update and these leaves, and my laziness, are letting down everyone's follow-up and everyone's achievements for me.

Then, back to the content.

What is this volume about?

It's very simple. If the first volume is about the protagonist's foothold as a person, this volume is about the protagonist's foothold as an 'official'... There is a difference between the two.

The former is a person, the latter is an identity.

Therefore, the first volume, apart from the unpopularity of this time-traveler identity, has a lot of sense of immersion and excitement in itself. However, the second volume focuses more on the current situation, which leads to the first half of this volume being slightly dull when a large amount of space is used to describe the protagonist's interaction with the Nanyang bureaucracy.

But this is necessary and justified, because as an official, the bureaucracy naturally revolves around the protagonist, and it is the most capable of highlighting the identity of the emperor... Especially the people inside, each of them is talented and speaks nicely... It will bring the protagonist an extreme sense of security and accomplishment.

Therefore, at first, Zhao Jiu naturally chose to rely on this closest and seemingly powerful bureaucracy, and pinned his hopes on the reform and good operation of the bureaucracy.

Even now, we cannot deny the rationality and presence of the bureaucracy... Because compared to Han Shizhong's large-scale bloodsucking of soldiers and lust, Zhang Jun's insatiable greed, and even Fan Qiong's skinning, the personal moral level of civil officials is relatively very high... In fact, the Great Song Dynasty was so bad that it couldn't be as simple as a civil official misleading the country. If we really talk about the average quality, the performance of the generals who abused force without restriction under the great defeat was even worse, and even more thorough. It's not like civil officials who still look good when they are picked out individually.

It can only be said that Han Shizhong, who is slightly worse in character but still has the ability and is willing to serve the country, is indeed a rare animal. Even Zhang Jun, who is greedy for money but willing to listen, is considered a remarkable general.

As for the anti-Jin heroes of the Tokyo Garrison Command, they are also a very complex group.

In the conventional historical view, because of Zong Ze's protection of them and Du Chong's suppression of them, and the added bonus of Yue Fei's comrades-in-arms, they entered a positive narrative state... Of course, the fact is indeed like this. At that time, when the Song army's war was the primary contradiction, those who could resist the Jin were of course heroes.

And then?

If you know a little bit, you will know how excessive these people are when they lose their restraints... When a swarm of Zhang Yu drove the old people to be soldiers, they forced them to fight each other. This is the typical character of the Tokyo Garrison Command.

Looking at one side, they are heroes. Looking at the other side, they deserve to be cut into pieces.

There is also an army that does not belong to the Tokyo Garrison Command, but is even more typical... Shao Qing.

If you only look at one historical record of this person, you will be moved to tears... In history, when the Jin army crossed the river, Shao Qing, as the surrendered naval commander, only had one ship, and it was a small ship with only eighteen boatmen. Then, facing the Jin army's thousands of troops, he, with only one ship, went out to fight the enemy alone, and only returned after all the arrows were exhausted... Compared with Du Chong, Wang Xie, and other spineless civil and military officials of the same period, he is simply a great hero!

Based on this, who would dare to say that he is not an anti-Jin hero?

And then? If you carefully check the information, you will find a historical record in some corner, recording that when he was a thief, when attacking a city, he coerced all the people in the surrounding villages together, forced these people to fill the moat with knives, and by the way, he had to find the pregnant women among them and dissect their abdomens in front of everyone to take out the fetuses... What for?

Not to eat, but to use for divination.

Based on this historical record, who would dare to say that he is qualified to be a hero? Could the Jin army be more cruel and barbaric than this? Even Fan Qiong, who represents the lowest level of degenerate generals, skinning people is more high-end than him!

But this person was eventually recruited and became a commander, and then he went forward without hesitation...

Of course, Shao Qing is an extreme example, so extreme that I dare not write about him, I only dare to write about Fan Qiong.

But most of the righteous soldiers and military bandits are complex, and there are really all kinds of people mixed in... I only started to contact Song Dynasty historical materials when I started writing the book, and I belong to the kind of person who only prepares at the last minute. But in terms of my historical view, I have come to the conclusion that, on the whole, these unconstrained righteous soldiers and military bandits are really more degenerate than the official army.

Why? It's not because the official army is so great, but because one side is the unrestrained abuse of force, and the evil of human nature is rampant in the chaos; the other side has some restraint, and there are dynasties and systems to restrain these people.

So at that time, it was really reasonable for Han Shizhong, who was full of five poisons, to look down on these people and often deceive them to kill them. It was also reasonable for Li Yanxian to desire to be recognized by the court as a regular army from the beginning... Who wants to be regarded as this kind of person?

It is even more reasonable for civil officials to hate these people.

Of course, Yue Fei, who is roughly the same as these people and is also a soldier who fled from Hebei, is a special case and cannot be compared with others. This person can become a model for Chinese soldiers for thousands of years because he has his own uniqueness... I often debate with people in the group, saying that Yue Fei has two points, one is simple and great patriotism... that is, the shame of Jingkang has not yet been avenged, and the minister hates it, when will it be destroyed; the other is a breakthrough in the era of simple bottom-level perspective feelings, he really treats the bottom-level people as human beings... that is, he would rather starve to death than plunder, and he would rather freeze to death than tear down houses.

Either of these two points can allow a person to break through the shackles of the times, let alone two? And with these two points, what are squinting eyes and getting drunk and hitting people? They are just elements that make him come alive from God and become a person.

In fact, the name Yue Fei itself already has a certain specific context in Chinese culture. Similarly, it seems insufficient that Gandhi and Saladin actually need to share the title of 'Mahatma'.

When a person is great to a certain extent, just saying the name has a lyrical feeling.

However, we cannot think too well of the people around him who are similar to him because of his halo... Back in the historical context, we must avoid this situation.

In short, back to the present, after so much emotion, we have to say it again. No matter how complex the composition of these people is, no matter how degenerate they are, you have to admit that the situation has become like this in those years. If you want to clean up the situation militarily, you must unite, and then restrain and use, all the remaining troops, righteous soldiers, and all objects that can be united militarily. Only in this way can you win as early as possible.

And as Zhao Jiu questioned Du Chong, only when the war is over will these things that destroy humanity disappear, and people will be qualified to be a person.

In fact, this is precisely the greatness of Zong Ze. He sees more clearly and understands the deep-seated contradictions or the root of the contradictions. He knows the necessity of this power.

Relatively speaking, the people in the bureaucracy are all decent people when picked out individually, but after becoming a system together, it is impossible to become an efficient machine in the short term. What's more, the Jin army will not give the protagonist the opportunity to integrate the bureaucracy... Or, fortunately, the Jin army came quickly and did not let him be assimilated by the bureaucracy's comfort zone.

Therefore, in the second half of this volume, facing the real military difficulties, the protagonist who has woken up will either die in silence, or he will have to go to Liangshan in the snowy night in silence.

So there is the sudden excitement of the plot in the second half.

But there are two things that must be said here... One is that from the plot point of view, the protagonist is taking the credit of heaven. He is actually using Zong Ze's legacy and remaining prestige to complete his redemption. Without Zong Ze cleaning up so many people for this country, the protagonist would not even have the capital, so he completely woke up when facing Zong Ze, and then wrote that poem, because he found the other leg he lacked and a real path in Zong Ze's here;

On the other hand, from the author's point of view, I want to say that this section is actually not well written... Because it could have been better. Everyone knows that the continuous and punctual updates during that period were done very well, so well that I am a little proud myself. But in fact, many times at very late points in time, I only wrote half or two-thirds of a chapter. At this time, I often rush to spend only half an hour or an hour to write the last one-third or even half of the chapter. It is dry and unpolished, which makes the original climaxing plot feel that the climax is not in place at the end of the chapter.

So I still have to apologize.

But no matter what, Zhao Guanjia found his place where the lights were dim, and also issued so many Life and Death Talismans, so let’s not talk about any sentimental analysis.

Let's talk about a few small plots as usual.

In history, Zhao Gou did rely on raising Su Shi, using Su Shi as a starting point, to publicize his political stance, and then roughly inherited the old party attitude of Emperor Qinzong of Song, but in a more vague and euphemistic way, to show it.

In addition to the political gesture of posthumously awarding Su Shi the title of Grand Tutor, he did have historical anecdotes of expressing his thoughts in inscriptions on Su Shi's authentic works.

In history, after Zhang Jun was dismissed as prime minister, there was also an anecdote about recommending someone. At that time, Emperor Gaozong of Song wanted him to recommend Qin Hui. As a result, Zhang Jun, who had a very good relationship with Qin Hui in the past, had already discovered that the other party was a bad person at this time, so when Emperor Gaozong of Song asked, he immediately bluntly said that this person had no virtue and could not be the prime minister.

Then Zhao Gou asked again, actually wanting him to recommend Zhao Ding again. As a result, Zhang Jun knew the other party's intentions, but remained silent because of the opposing situation between the two.

So Zhao Gou appointed Zhao Ding, but Zhao Ding could no longer have a tacit understanding with Zhang Jun. The group of people who had escaped from the Taixue during the Jingkang Rebellion separated.

Then came Zhao Zhang's entanglement, and Qin Hui took the opportunity to rise... It can only be said that civil officials, their thinking within this system is very excessive...

But on the other hand, Zhang Jun's final recommendation of Hu Yin, who had a fierce contradiction with him, before leaving the book, is actually a reversal of the anecdote... At least the protagonist confided in him and trusted him, so he still blindly chose to follow Guanjia's wishes.

The ten commanders' sworn brotherhood does not have a historical prototype, but in history, after the collapse of the Tokyo Garrison Command, there were indeed scenes of forming gangs and then forming sworn brotherhoods, and there was more than one place.

Even after forming gangs, several groups of warlords had infighting with each other.

Among them, in history, after Ma Gao, as a representative figure of loyalty to the Great Song, was killed by other rebellious commanders, One Zhang Qing should have defected to Lv Qin, because Lv Qin recognized her as a goddaughter, and through marriage, she married her to Zhang Yong. Later, Lv Qin was also defeated or died in battle. Zhang Yong and she became wandering military bandits. Yue Fei recruited them as husband and wife, which can be considered a good result. And from the historical narrative, it can also be seen that people like Ma Gao, One Zhang Qing, and Zhang Yong have some bottom lines. It is inevitable to coerce the old people to be soldiers, but they still have a simple sense of morality compared to others.

However, what is interesting is that One Zhang Qing still called herself Madam Ma after remarrying, and went to battle under the banner of Madam Ma, claiming to be loyal... Anyway, Zhang Yong should have no opinion.

Wang Shan is also a very interesting person. In that chaotic stage, he had the most troops in the early stage, and his power was once the largest. Zhang Yong also depended on him, and many so-called righteous brothers followed him. And he also said the words 'redetermine the poor, rich, noble, and lowly' when attacking the city defended by the Great Song official army.

And this person has never surrendered to the Jin army and the puppet Qi during the active period in the early stage, and he has insisted on the bottom line while trying to climb up.

However, later, his mother accidentally fell into the water and died during the process of following him, which immediately made Wang Shan, who was originally very ambitious and capable, lose his motivation to struggle, and finally gave up completely and surrendered to the Jin army or the puppet Qi, and disappeared from history ever since.

And these people, Wang Shan, Li Kui, Sick Guan Suo Li Bao, the remarried One Zhang Qing, oh, and Hu Cheng, and even Shao Qing, who killed pregnant women to take fetuses for divination, but bravely resisted the Jin, should be the inspiration for the later "Water Margin".

They are an extremely complex group that is generally more degenerate, but degenerate for a reason (forced by the world to choose to abuse force).

Therefore, the key here is that the reason why they are generally and holistically degenerate is only because they lack a person to replace Zong Ze to restrain and organize them.

And the protagonist in the book appeared and also issued the Life and Death Talismans.

Then, because of the protagonist's presence, the people who originally regretted it can leave with relief, the innocent people who would have been degenerate are spared from degeneration, and the people who would have been obvious to everyone... then it goes without saying.

This is the fundamental refreshing point of historical time-travel novels. It should be the result of a resonance between everyone's deep-seated simple and positive moral sense and history and novels.

Last but not least, I want to make an advertisement.

Everyone might as well take a look...

I unknowingly wrote so many words. Why don't I have this energy when updating?

Good night.