Chapter 69 System Rewards
As the year draws to a close, the court becomes busy. Each department has to make a year-end summary and plans for next year, which is similar to modern companies. After the planning is completed, it will be approved by each level and then submitted to the emperor for review.
Officials in Beijing and other places also had to begin assessments. The assessment process was quite complicated and was conducted jointly by the Jieshi Zhong and Zhongshu Sheren of the Ministry of Personnel.
The Jieshizhong was responsible for assessing the officials in the capital, and the Zhongshusheren was responsible for assessing the local officials. They were divided into three grades according to their performance.
Those who are fair and honest and do their job well are rated as top-notch. Interestingly, appearance of the previous dynasty is also included in the assessment. Emperor Tiansheng likes officials with good looks. Any official with a dignified and handsome appearance, if he has no major mistakes, will be rated as top-notch. This rule was abolished after Song Yuzhu ascended the throne.
Those who are diligent, honest, and have one good reputation are average, and those who have no reputation for honesty and many wrong policies are the lowest.
Officials with top evaluation scores may be considered for promotion and salary increase if their term of office has expired. Officials with average evaluation scores may continue to be employed if there are no unexpected events. Officials with lower evaluation scores may have their salary reduced or be demoted as appropriate.
Officials have been very busy these days in order to get good grades.
Only the emperor was relatively relaxed, as Song Yuzhu only had to be responsible for reviewing the results.
I had nothing to do after court in the morning, so I took some time to go back home.
As soon as I entered the door, I ran into Song Yutang and his brother who came to deliver New Year's goods.
The two were very excited to see Song Yuzhu. Song Yufeng was about to call Yuzhu, but Song Yutang quickly pulled him and he reacted immediately.
The two of them knelt down and kowtowed to the emperor.
"Get up quickly. You don't have to worry about these things at home." Song Yuzhu asked the eunuch beside him to help the two of them up.
It's been almost a year since I last saw him. Song Yufeng has become much more mature than before. He is no longer that silly boy. It seems that his six months of studying in the Imperial College were not in vain.
Song Yutang was more steady. Hearing that he was doing well in the Maritime Customs, Song Yuzhu was willing to promote him if there was a chance.
The two of them were also secretly looking at Song Yuzhu. Although the man in front of them was not as tall as them, the majesty around him was enough to make them feel suffocated.
Song Yufeng felt that his cousin seemed to have become a different person, and people dared not look at him directly.
Song Yuzhu asked, "Have you adapted to Shangjing? How are your uncle and aunt?" Song Yutang said, "They are all fine, but the climate here is much colder than our hometown."
"It's like this in the north. Keep warm when you go in and out, and don't catch a cold."
"Yes." They both nodded.
Song Bai came back from the front yard and saw the three brothers chatting together, so he didn't disturb them.
After chatting for a while, Song Yutang pulled his brother up and said, "We still have to go see our grandmother, so we won't delay you, cousin."
Song Yuzhu nodded: "Go ahead, I'll be there soon."
After the two of them left, Song Bai came over and said, "Last night your mother asked when you would be back, and it just so happened that you came back today."
Song Yuzhu followed her father to the backyard. It was cold and all the flowers and plants in the yard were frozen to death. The maid had nothing to do and cleaned them up. She made many small animals out of the snow, which looked lifelike and quite childlike.
Before she entered the house, she heard a few bell-like laughs. Song Yuzhu hurried in and saw the little sister giggling because of the maid's teasing.
Jiang Rong saw her son coming back, her eyes lit up: "Tongtong, look who's here!"
Song Yutong is already ten months old and can understand a lot of words. She tilted her head and looked at Song Yuzhu with some confusion, as if she couldn't remember who this person was.
Song Yuzhu untied the cloak and handed it to the eunuch, then opened his arms and said, "Tongtong, let big brother hug you."
After not seeing each other for a month, the little girl became a little shy and snuggled into He Xiang's arms and refused to come out.
Song Yuzhu pretended to be angry and said, "You little heartless girl, your brother loves you so much, but you actually forgot about me."
After a while, she turned around and looked at Song Yuzhu again, her big eyes full of curiosity, as if she suddenly remembered who he was, and stretched out her two short hands for Song Yuzhu to hug her.
The brother and sister made Jiang Rong laugh so hard that she cried.
The little girl was a little reserved at first, but after a while she reached out to take the shiny golden crown on his head.
Song Bai quickly stopped his daughter: "You can't play with this."
Song Yuzhu took off the golden crown and put it in her sister's hand: "Why not? As long as she likes it, I will pick all the stars in the sky for her."
The couple said in unison: "Just spoil her!"
Jiang Rong was naturally happy about the deep affection between her children, but she was a little worried that her son had not yet gotten married.
"Yuzhu, you will be seventeen years old after the Chinese New Year. When your father and I were your age, you were as old as Tongtong."
Song Bai also said: "Yes, although the state affairs are busy, my lifelong event cannot be delayed."
Song Yuzhu felt helpless, but his parents' words were all for his own good, so he could only shirk and said, "Let's talk about it after the New Year."
At noon, the family went to the old lady's yard to eat. Now Song Yuzhu could not only sit at the main table, but also sit next to the old lady.
However, he didn't want to sit next to his grandmother, so he sat next to Jiang Rong with his sister in his arms, and returned to the palace after dinner.
As soon as he entered the palace, an eunuch came to report: "Your Majesty, Minister Xu just handed in a memorial."
"Show it up."
The eunuch handed the memorial over, and Song Yuzhu flipped it over and his eyes widened instantly.
It reads: King Yang Yuanji of Yunnan went north to surrender, voluntarily gave up his fiefdom, and asked for the protection of Emperor Changzhi.
*
At this time, Yang Yuanji was riding in a carriage, heading north with his family.
Some time ago, he received a letter from Yang Yuanhao asking for help, hoping that he could lead troops to relieve the crisis in Shuzhou.
After reading the letter, Yang Yuanji burned it directly. What a joke! He was just an unpopular and idle prince who was conferred this desolate place by Emperor Longwu.
The area of the fiefdom looks large, but most of it is primeval forest full of miasma. Except for the local barbarians, no one else can survive.
Although he had 10,000 soldiers, he was so poor that he dared not send out troops. Yang Yuanhao was talking without any pain in his waist. He was asking for trouble and he wanted to drag himself into it.
Yang Yuanji ignored him and prepared to pack up and run away.
Originally he planned to build a ship and go out to sea, but he didn't expect Shuzhou to be defeated so quickly. He also heard that the army changed its route and headed south, which frightened Yang Yuanji so much that he took his wife and children and ran to Shangjing overnight.
He voluntarily surrendered and went to Beijing as a hostage, hoping that the new emperor would spare him.
*
At the same time, a cheerful reminder sounded in Song Yuzhu's mind: Congratulations, you have successfully completed the task of unifying the world, please collect the reward for this task.
He quickly closed his eyes and opened the book in his mind. He saw that the task on it turned green and two options appeared in the reward column.
Click on the first reward: return to modern times.
Song Yuzhu looked at the option in disbelief, his mind going blank.
Can I go back?
Thinking of the newly bought house in his previous life, the job he loved, and the convenient daily necessities and means of transportation, Song Yuzhu was so excited that he was shaking all over!
If this reward is given two years in advance, he will definitely choose it without hesitation.
But he soon calmed down: "If I choose to go back, what will happen to me in this world?"
A line of small words appeared on the book: Song Yuzhu of this era will die.
"..." Song Yuzhu's breathing stagnated and he clenched his fists tightly.
What would happen to Zhao Xiao if he died? What would happen to his parents? What would happen to this newly established country?
The people still cannot get enough food to eat, children have no chance to go to school, women are oppressed... He still has a lot of things to do.
"Can we not choose for now and wait a few decades before choosing?"
The words on the book were slowly unpacked and rearranged: The reward is only for twelve hours, and if you exceed the time limit, you will be deemed to have given up.
Song Yuzhu bit her lip and clicked on another option: upgrade the map and open the technology tree.
It is obvious that if he chooses the second reward, he will stay in this dynasty and accelerate the development of the country.
Song Yuzhu no longer hesitated and directly clicked on the second reward. He didn't want to leave his relatives and loved ones, and he didn't want to give up this world.
Suddenly, a golden light flashed before my eyes. After a dizzy spell, the system showed that the map had been successfully upgraded and the technology tree had been opened.
Song Yuzhu quickly clicked on the map to check. After clicking on it, the map was no different from before. It was still a 3D model and the information on it had not changed at all.
He tried to click on the newly opened Yunnan map to check, and the words "Loading" appeared on the map.
After a while, a dynamic video suddenly popped up on the map, and it was exactly the place that Song Yu clicked on casually!
The video is a 360-degree panoramic view, and you can feel as if you are actually there, and look around as he looks.
The azure blue sky, the lush tropical plants, and occasionally a wild animal flying through the bushes, startling a flock of birds.
Song Yuzhu was so shocked that he was speechless. He quickly clicked on the next place, and the scene immediately switched to snow-capped mountains and lakes. A group of antelopes were drinking water by the lake...
This is amazing, it's like a God's perspective! With this function, the whole country is in his sight!
Song Yuzhu couldn't wait to find Zhao Xiao's whereabouts. According to the time when the letter was sent, she speculated that he should have arrived in Yunnan by now.
After searching for half an incense stick of time, they finally found the army. At this time, Zhao Xiao didn't know that Yang Yuanji had surrendered, and was leading his troops to Yunnan to clear him out.
Song Yuzhu enlarged the picture and saw Zhao Xiao riding a horse and hurrying on the road. After walking for a while, he was probably thirsty, so he took out the water bag from his waist and drank a few sips. After drinking, he got off the horse and walked to a patch of weeds to relieve himself.
Song Yuzhu blushed and turned off the screen, then clicked on Shuzhou City.
Previous military records said that Yang Yuanhao ordered the burning of the city, causing heavy casualties among the people.
As soon as the video of Shuzhou popped up, Song Yuzhu saw that the entire Shuzhou city was almost burned to ruins, with only a few houses still retaining their original appearance.
People are clearing the ruins and preparing to rebuild their homes.
When Zhao Xiao left, he left behind 5,000 soldiers to help the local people rebuild their homes. He believed that it would not be long before Shuzhou would be able to return to its original vibrant appearance.
Song Yuzhu clicked on Xuzhou again and took a look. This was the place he had originally planned to go. It carried many memories, and the familiar streets made his eyes warm.
Xuzhou is still cold this year, but because of the mining of coal, every household has installed a small heater. With this thing to keep warm, the winter is no longer cold.
We followed the street and found Louwailou. It was still the same as before. The guests had just finished their meal, the waiter was cleaning the table, and the newly hired accountant was doing the accounts. He told the shopkeeper that he had earned thirty-eight taels of silver today. Xiangyu was smiling from ear to ear as she counted the money.
Song Yuzhu switched the screen contentedly. The outer city of Xuzhou had been built, just as he had planned. There was no difference between the inner and outer cities now. The refugees all had new household registrations and would stay here forever.
After Xu Bing left, Xuzhou City was handed over to Li Yong, who was the magistrate of Jiangyu County who had fled famine to Xuzhou.
He was devoted to the people and had real talent and knowledge, so he was appointed as the prefect by Song Yuzhu to manage the people of this state. Li Yong did not disappoint him and managed Xuzhou in an orderly manner.
After closing the map of Xuzhou, Song Yuzhu traveled around Xizhou, Suning and Xiangzhou one after another. He had never been to these places and didn't know what their specific conditions were like.
After a general look around, I found that the people were living a normal life and there were no unjust cases in the government.
It was not until he clicked on the map of Dongzhou that the smile on Song Yuzhu's face gradually faded.
He randomly clicked on a street and saw several officers dragging a man.
The man hugged the tree and shouted, "Sir, please spare my life and let me go! I won't go to the saltworks, please let me go!"
(End of this chapter)
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