Tao Zhe was a brilliant economist and
social reformer who lived in ancient China during the Dong Jin dynasty, when
the country was led by empire and the clans. He was a descendant of Tao Kan and
Tao Yuanming, two of the most respected figures in Chinese history.
Tao Zhe was born into a wealthy and
privileged family, but he was deeply disturbed by the injustices of the Clan
dynasty. He saw how the Clan families exploited the lower classes and
maintained their power through corruption and violence.
Tao Zhe decided to dedicate his life to
improving the lives of the common people. He studied economics and social
philosophy, and he developed a set of theories for creating a more just and
equitable society.
Tao Zhe's theories were revolutionary for
his time. He advocated for land reform, equal taxation, and universal
education.
In his early twenties, Tao Zhe was
appointed as the governor of Yongjia, a small city in Sichuan province. He used
his position to implement his economic and social reforms. He tried to abolish
the old tax system and replaced it with a new system that was based on income.
However, Tao Zhe's ideas were met with
hostility from the Clan families. They saw him as a threat to their power and
privilege and rejected his ideals and social reform in Yongjia.
They tried to silence him through threats
and intimidation, but Tao Zhe refused to be silenced.
He opened a old-fashioned school to teach government
finance, agriculture and accounting.
Although Tao Zhe's reforms were not successful.
The economy of Yongjia grew rapidly because of his ideas and invention of agriculture
tools. The standard of living of the people improved dramatically.
However, Tao Zhe's success also made him a
target of the Clan families.In 1070, Tao Zhe was assassinated by agents of the
Clan families. He was only 35 years old.
Tao Zhe's death was a tragedy, but his
legacy lived on. His economic and social theories continued to inspire people,
and they eventually led to the downfall of the Clan dynasty.
And his accessors continued to fight
against the Clan Dynasty.
Tao Yu
Tao Yu, Taozhe's son, was a carefree and
adventurous young man. He grew up in the clan family of his grandfather and maternal
grandfather , and witnessed the injustices of the Clan dynasty. He was inspired
by his father’s thoughts and determined to avenge his father's death.
After Tao Zhe was assassinated, Tao Yu
gathered a group of gangsters and like-minded individuals to form a secret
society. They called themselves the "Sons of Tao Zhe," and they vowed
to overthrow the Clan dynasty and create a more just and equitable society.
The Sons of Tao Zhe began by carrying out
small acts of sabotage and resistance. They raided Clan caravans, burned down
their warehouses, and rescued prisoners from their dungeons. As their numbers
grew and their tactics became more sophisticated, they began to mount larger
and more daring attacks.
The Clan families were initially dismissive
of the Sons of Tao Zhe, but as the group's attacks became more successful, they
began to take them seriously. The Clan leaders offered a bounty for Tao Yu's
head, but he was always one step ahead of their pursuers.
The Clan families were now terrified of Tao
Yu and his Sons of Tao Zhe. They realized that the dynasty was in danger of
collapsing, and they scrambled to mount a counterattack.
The Clan armies gathered and marched to
meet Tao Yu's forces in a decisive battle. The two armies clashed on a vast
plain, and the battle raged for days. In the end, Tao Yu and his men all died
in the battle. No one survive, they became “ghosts”.
Xiao Yue Shan
Xiao Yue Shan was a brilliant young man
with a passion for mechanics. He was a student of Taozhe's, and he had helped
his teacher to develop agriculture tools to help farmers.
Xiao Yue Shan knew that Taozhe's works were
important, and he was determined to protect them from the Clan families. He
gathered a group of loyal followers and built a secret hideout in the
mountains.
Xiao Yue Shan used his knowledge of
mechanics to build a variety of traps and defenses for the hideout. He also
developed a series of ingenious machines to protect Taozhe's works and data.
The Clan families were desperate to get
their hands on Taozhe's works, and they sent several raiding parties to the
hideout. However, Xiao Yue Shan and his followers were always one step ahead of
them. They repelled every attack, and Taozhe's works remained safe.
They hid in a city called Baidi Cheng, and
used ancient works of Zhuge Liang(武侯八阵) to mislead the
Clan army.
Sun Ling
Sun Ling was Taozhe's foster daughter. She
was a bright and intelligent young woman, and she had learned a great deal
about math and economics from her foster father.
After Tao Zhe's assassination, Sun Ling was
taken in by a Clan family in Suzhou. The families in South was discriminated by
Northern Empire and Western aristocracy , so they protected Sun Ling from the other
Clan families.
Sun Ling continued to study Taozhe's works,
and she eventually became one of the leading experts on his economic theories.
She used her knowledge to help the Southern Clan families to improve their
businesses and to make their cities more prosperous.
Sun Ling also taught Taozhe's theories to
others, and she helped to spread his ideas throughout South China and East-south
Asia (南洋、交州).
As a result of her efforts, Taozhe's
economic theories became widely accepted in south east Asia, and they played a
major role in the development of the Asia economy.
Love between Tao Yu and Sun Ling
Sun Ling and Tao Yu were two of the
brightest students at Tao Zhe's Old-style private school on accounting. They
were both passionate about learning, and they quickly bonded over their shared
interests.
Sun Ling was attracted to Tao Yu at first sight.
She was drawn to Tao Yu's intelligence, his passion, and his idealism.
Tao Yu and Sun Ling could have become a
good couple. They were both intelligent, passionate, and committed to social
justice.
However, Tao Zhe's death and Tao Yu
subsequent decision to join the Sons of Tao Zhe created a barrier between them.
Tao Yu knew that his life was dangerous, and he didn't want to put Sun Ling at
risk. He also knew that she would not approve of all his methods to revenge his
father’s death.
So, when Sun Ling proposed to him, he
refused. He knew that it would be unfair to ask her to join him in his
dangerous life. He also knew that she would be better off without him.
It was a difficult decision for Tao Yu, but
he was only 18 when his father died. He is not firm to ask another teenager to
join in this revenge.
Love at First Sight in a Public House
Sun Ling fall in love at first sight to Tao
Yu in a public house. She was sitting in
the corner of the public house, nursing a cup of tea and trying to ignore the
noise and commotion around her.
Across the room, she noticed a young man
sitting by himself. He was dressed in simple clothes, but he had an air of
confidence and intelligence about him.
He was also very handsome, with dark hair
and piercing black eyes.
She watched him for a while, and she saw
the way he interacted with the other patrons. He was polite and respectful, but
he also had a strong sense of justice. He stood up for what he believed in,
even when it meant challenging those in authority, he confronted an officer to
help a mother and her daughter.
She didn't speak to him that day, but she didn’t
forget him. And she wondered if she would ever see him again.
A few days later, Sun Ling was walking
through the market when she saw him again. He was talking to a group of
farmers, and he was defending them from two powerful gentries who were trying
to bully them.
Tao Su is good at martial arts and beats
the gentries very easily. So, the gentries gave up and walked away. The farmers
thanked Tao Yu for his help, and Sun Ling couldn't help but smile.
She knew that she had found the man of her
dreams. He was intelligent, courageous, and just.
On the other day, she heard other students in
the old private school talking about Tao Zhe’s Son and found the young man she
met was her foster brother.
Sun Ling's love for Tao Yu was unspoken,
but it was clear to him that she held him dear in her heart. He saw the way she
looked at him, the way she always volunteered to help him, and the way she hung
on his every word.
Tao Yu also liked Sun Ling. He admired her
intelligence, her compassion, and her courage. He could imagine a life with
her, fighting together for a more just and equitable society.
However, when he decided to join the Sons
of Tao Zhe, he knew that he was putting his life in danger. He also knew that
his involvement in the rebellion would make it difficult for him to have a
normal life.
For these reasons, Tao Yu decided not to
tell Sun Ling how he felt about her. He didn't want to put her in danger, and
he didn't want to give her false hope.
Even though Tao Yu and Sun Ling never
expressed their love for each other openly, their love was real and deep. It
was a love that was forged in the fires of adversity, and it was a love that
would last a lifetime.
Tao Yu was worried about getting Sun Ling
involved in his dangerous life. He didn't want to put her at risk, and he
didn't want to give her false hope.
Sun Ling, on the other hand, was worried
about Tao Yu's safety. She knew that he was putting himself in danger, and she
wanted to be there to protect him.
However, they both made the mistake of
thinking that they could protect the other one by keeping them at a distance.
They didn't realize that their love could have given them strength and courage
to face the challenges together.
If they had been more open and honest with
each other, they might have been able to overcome the obstacles in their way
and build a life together. But unfortunately, they were too young and soft
hearted so their love remained unspoken.
Struggle after depart
In the last fight between Tao Zhe's sons
and the clan families. Tao Yu was sentenced death. However he didn’t really die,
he continued to fight as ghost in 酆都(the nether world).
Tao Yu asked Xiao Yueshan tell Sun Ling and
the whole clan families that he was dead and continue his fight against them in secret.
As a “ghost” , he used his father's
economic skills to build a paradise in the nether world. People in 酆都 call
themselves ghost, but they are not actually ghost, they are prisoners or crimes
who escaped from the government.
They build a thriving community in the
nether world, without the deprive and violence from the Northern Empire and
Clan families.
The nether world was not a place of
punishment, but rather a place of transition and the family of low class people
who were called crimes by the Empire.
Hear, people from all walks of life came
together, regardless of their social status or wealth. He decided to use his
father's economic skills to build a new world in 酆都.
Tao Yu began by teaching the crimes in the
nether world about economics and finance. He showed them how to produce and
distribute goods and services efficiently. He also taught them how to save and
invest their money.
At first, these low-educated people could
not understand Tao Yu's ideas. They had never thought about economics before,
and they didn't believe that it was possible to create a better world in the
nether world.
However, Tao Yu was persistent. He
continued to teach and mentor the people, and he eventually won them over. They
began to see the potential of his ideas, and they started to work together to
build a better future.
Results
Over time, Tao Yu's paradise began to take
shape. The souls in the nether world-built farms, factories, and schools. They
created a system of government that was fair and just. They also created a
culture of cooperation and mutual respect.
Another Struggle
Sun Ling was an intelligent and courageous
girl. She knew that Tao Yu was still alive, even though she had been told that
he was dead. She also knew that he had a good reason for not wanting to see her
face to face.
Sun Ling decided to continue the struggle
in her own way. She began to speak out against the Clan Dynasty and their
corruption. She revealed the truth about their economic exploitation of the
people in open speech and free argument.
Sun Ling's speeches were met with great
enthusiasm by the people. But there are also low-class people how don’t understand
Sun Ling’s struggle and she is fighting for their rights.
They think they live in an affordable life
lead by the Clans and doesn’t know their profits were take away by economic policies
by the Empire.
The Clan Families were furious with Sun
Ling for speaking out against them and reveal the fact of their deprive through
economic analysis. They declared her a wanted criminal and offered a reward for
her capture.
However, Sun Ling was not afraid. She knew
that she was fighting for a just and right cause, and she was willing to
sacrifice everything for Tao Zhe’s theories and spread the truth to the public.
Lu Kai and Sun Ai
Sun Ling's capture by the guards was a
major setback for the rebellion. The Clan Families were determined to make an
example of her, and they sentenced her to public execution.
However, Lu Kai, a member of the Lu family,
had taken a liking to Sun Ling. On the day of Sun Ling's execution, Lu Kai
disguised himself as a guard and infiltrated the execution grounds. He found
Sun Ling in her cell and helped her to escape.
Sun Ling was grateful to Lu Kai for saving
her life. She knew that she was in debt to him, and she promised to repay him
one day.
Lu Kai was the leader of the Lu family, one
of the four most powerful families in Southern China during the Eastern Jin
dynasty. He was also the agent of the four families, which meant that he was
responsible for coordinating their activities and representing their interests.
However, the southern families were
discriminated by the Northen Empire, so Sun Ling used the time in hiding to
write about Tao Yu's economic theories and his ideas about social justice and
equality to improve the wealth and military of the 4 powerful Southern Families.
Sun Ling is very like Sun Ai, Lu Kai’s ex-girlfriend.
Sun Ai, the descendant of Sun Quan, was thought of as a barbarian by the gentry
of the Eastern Jin dynasty. This was because the Sun family was originally from
the south of China, which was seen as a less civilized region by the gentry,
who were from the north.
The Sun family had also come to power
through military means, which was also seen as barbaric by the gentry. The
gentry believed that power should be gained through scholarship and civil
service, not through military conquest.
Despite the gentry's disdain for the Sun
family, Sun Ai was a popular and respected figure among the people of Southern
China. Sun Ai was also a skilled poet and scholar. Growing up in Fu Chun, the beautiful
village where 富春山居图 was drawn, she’s also interest in art
and literature. She wrote extensively about the history and culture of Southern
China, and he helped to promote the region's culture and traditions.
In many ways, Sun Ling and Sun Ai can be
seen as two sides of the same coin. They are both intelligent, courageous, and
descendants of Sun Wu. They also both have a gift for economic strategy and
military tactics.
Meeting Sun Ling reminds Lu Kai of Sun Ai, so
he protected as an complement to his beloved women.
Lu Kai was a brilliant strategist and a
skilled negotiator. He was also a master of diplomacy and intrigue. He used his
skills to help the four families to maintain their power and influence in
Southern China.
Lu Kai was a loyal and devoted servant to
the four families. He put their interests above his own and always worked to
further their causes. He was also a wise and compassionate leader. He cared for
the well-being of his people and always strived to make their lives better.
Sun Ai and Lu Kai were attracted by each other.
However when Sun Ai and her family was discriminated by the Northern gentry, Lu
didn’t support her because he has to stand for the profit of the four families.
He cannot confront the Northern Empire in public.
They quarreled and break up. But as patriarch
of their family, they cannot compromise for love.
Sun Ai was really hurt in this argument, so
she went to 交州, a remote province in Southern China,
where she started her exploration of 南洋(Southeast Asia)
through economic and trade.
Sun Ai find the rich natural resources and
its growing importance as a trade hub of Southeast Asia.
Sun Ai quickly identified a number of
potential trade opportunities between Southeast Asia and China. She saw a
demand for Chinese products such as silk, porcelain, and tea in. She asked young talents in the Sun Family to join
her in this global trade.
Sun Ai also saw an opportunity to introduce
new technologies to Nanyang. The Sun’s family brought with her a number of
skilled artisans and craftsmen who could teach the people of Nanyang new skills
and technologies. She also helped to establish new trade routes between Nanyang
and China.
They are alike, But they also had different strengths and weaknesses.
Sun Ling was a remote branch of the Sun
family. She was wanted by the Northern clans because she tried to reveal the
truth of their deprive and violence.
Sun Ling and Lu Kai met when Sun Ling was caught
by the Empire. Lu Kai was in the team of guards. He talked to Sun Ling for curiosity
and he quickly realized that she and Sun Ai had a lot in common. They were both
passionate about justice and equality, and they both wanted to make the world a
better place.
Sun Ling reminded Lu Kai of Sun Ai, the
woman he had loved and lost. Before the northern lords came to take Sun Ling,
Lu Kai released her, knowing that she might be a valuable asset to Jiang Dong.
Sun Ling was grateful for Lu Kai's help,
and she wanted to repay him. She began to train with the soldiers of Jiang Dong,
and she quickly became one of the most skilled swordswomen in the army.
Sun Ling and Lu Kai worked together to
promote justice and equality in Jiang Dong. They helped to establish schools
and hospitals for the poor and oppressed. They also worked to improve the lives
of farmers and merchants. Sun Ling and Lu Kai also worked together to defend Jiang
Dong from the Northern clans. They raised an army and trained the people to
defend themselves.
Lu Kai knew that Sun Ling was different
from Sun Ai, but he could not stop everyone from gossiping. The people of Jiang
Dong were still grieving the loss of Sun Ai, and they were hesitant to accept
Sun Ling as a replacement.
Lu Kai tried to explain to the people that
Sun Ling was her own person, and that she should not be compared to Sun Ai.
However, the people were not convinced. They continued to gossip about Lu Kai
and Sun Ling, and they wondered if Lu Kai was ever truly over Sun Ai.
To South
Sun Ai was known for her beauty and
elegance, while Sun Ling was ordinary appearance and rude demeanor. However,
Sun Ling was also a skilled swordsman and strategist. She studied hard on兵法 (military strategy) and武术 (martial arts) in
order to fight against the enemies of Jiang Dong. And she used her economic theories
to improve the wealth of Jiang Dong through better delegation.
Sun Ling and Sun Ai are both the posterity
of Sun Wu, the famous Chinese military strategist and author of "The Art
of War". However, Sun Ai was born in Fu Chun, where the main branch of the
Sun family lived, while Sun Ling was a remote branch and an orphan. Sun Ling
learned martial arts from low-class workers, which is why she is not as skilled
as Sun Ai.
Despite her lack of formal training, Sun
Ling is still a skilled and formidable warrior. She is also a brilliant
strategist, and she has a deep understanding of Sun Wu's military teachings.
Sun Ai was born into a wealthy and
privileged family. She had access to the best teachers and training facilities.
She was also able to learn from her ancestors' military knowledge.
Sun Ling, on the other hand, was born into
poverty and hardship. She did not have access to the same resources as Sun Ai.
She had to learn martial arts from low-class workers, who did not have the same
level of skill and experience as the teachers at the Sun family's training
facilities.
Sun Ling's lack of formal education made it
difficult for her to learn at first. However, she was determined to learn
everything she could about military strategy and economics. She studied Sun
Wu's "The Art of War" and other military texts. Tao Zhe’s education
of finance and accounting also helped she to analysis military in mathematics.
She also learned about trade and economics from the merchants in Su Zhou.
She realized that economic plays an
important role in military and used this in brilliant strategist. She also
developed a deep understanding of the true life of the low class and the
exploitation of the northern empire.