Now Sima Guang has begun to taste the sweetness of developing overseas trade. He really can't imagine what the Song Dynasty would be like if the court had no income from overseas trade. It's not that he didn't know, but he was unwilling to face a half-dead Song Dynasty court.

There was no theory of overall economic effects in this era, but Sima Guang was still keenly aware of the various indescribable benefits of the development of overseas trade in the Song Dynasty. The overseas trade tax of the Shangbo Department and the participation of the Emperor of the Song Dynasty made the court's finances and the emperor's inner treasury able to obtain huge income every time they returned from overseas. It was with these incomes, coupled with the significant reduction of the palace expenses by Emperor Zhao Xu, which had been operating for more than ten years, that was a slight surplus.

More importantly, although Sima Guang did not get involved in the Royal Shipping of the Song Dynasty, he also knew what the background of the main shareholders of the Royal Shipping was - the son-in-law Wang Jinghui used economic means to tie the interests of some small factions in the court, and even the relationship between the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager was not spared. This greatly eased the tense atmosphere in the court, and also made the son-in-law frequently appear as a "good guy", and reconciled the differences between the factions in the court, either openly or secretly.

Sima Guang also believed what Wang Jinghui said to him at the beginning: the development of overseas trade is just the beginning, and the profits in front of him are just small profits. In the future, with the continuous development of overseas trade and the scale of gradually expanding, the Song Dynasty will gain more benefits, and these benefits are not only for money, but also for political reasons!

It is the huge temptation of overseas trade that made Sima Guang so nervous. He also knew that even though the Goryeo people equipped firearms, they did not know that even if they were pirates, they could easily overwhelm Goryeo even if they became pirates or ships. What he was worried about was that although Goryeo was weak, it did not mean that it could not attack the Song Dynasty. Just like Dangxiang in the northwest, the national strength was not comparable to the Song Dynasty. But he had been entangled for decades. In addition to making the Song Dynasty often dirty, military expenditures in the treasury revenue and expenditure were maintained at tens of millions of yuan for many years. If Goryeo also embarked on this path like Dangxiang. Then overseas trade in the Song Dynasty would inevitably be severely tested. Sima Guang was unwilling to see such a thing happen. At least until the court solved the "three redundant" problem, he could not allow such a thing to happen!

Sima Guang's words made everyone think about it. Emperor Zhao Xu's face suddenly became very bad. Zeng Gongliang stood up and said, "Master, why not let the prince consort come here to speak? The prince consort is resourceful. At the beginning, overseas trade and the sale of firearms to Goryeo were particularly facilitated. I think there should be insightful insights on this for the prince to choose!"

After hearing this, the ministers of the Secretariat nodded repeatedly. Even Sima Guang and Wang Anshi also wanted to know the advice of the prince-consort on this matter. After all, overseas trade and firearms exported from the outside were the ones that the prince-consorts should do the job, and the prince-consorts knew the most about these matters. Other ministers did not want to talk more about this matter. Many of them were shareholders of the Royal Maritime Transportation Land of the Song Dynasty. If it was really as Sima Guang said, then overseas trade, which would lay golden eggs, would be very problematic in the future. In this matter, whoever speaks will have to bear political risks, not to mention that it is closely related to his own money bag. When fighting, it is necessary to ask Guo Kui to explain and make suggestions. The prince-consorts' speech at sea is the most authoritative.

Emperor Zhao Xu saw that the ministers around him nodded at the same time and felt that it was more stable to ask the prince-consort about this matter. Although the trade volume of firearms is small, the profit is amazing. It played a great role in using it to equalize the production cost of the Dasong firearm workshop under the Privy Council. In this conflict between Song and Xia, although Han Qi, Duke of Wei won a big victory, he used nearly two thousand pieces of thunder alone in one breath. With such a high cost, even the emperor Zhao Xu, who had no specific concept of money, was extremely explosive.

But if you think about it carefully, the income from the thunder of the firearms exported to Goryeo twice was enough to allow Han Qi to fight another such war. It was the Goryeo people who paid the military expenses for the Song Dynasty. However, it was a matter of squeezing the cost of firearms compared to overseas trade. In addition to the difference between what Sima Guang said, it would be better not to sell firearms to Goryeo. This account was easy to calculate very well. In this way, Emperor Zhao Xu called the eunuch next to him to go to the Prince Consort's Mansion and summoned Wang Jinghui to Funing Palace to discuss matters immediately.

"Sage, I think that selling weapons to other countries or vassal states is determined by the exchanges between the two countries and is constantly changing. The Khitans will not treat their vassal states as in the Song Dynasty. As far as I know, the Liao lord, Daozong, Yelu Hongji, is extremely extravagant and loves hunting. The Liao lord has lost power, and the domestic conflicts are relatively tense. It is precisely because the Liao lord lives a luxurious life and his domestic taxes are also very high. While Goryeo was paying tribute to our dynasty, it also paid tribute to the Liao lord. However, this does not prevent the Khitans from exploiting them. Although there is no major war between the two sides, small frictions are continuous. Most of them are the Khitans that drive the Female Tribes in the northern part of Goryeo to rob Goryeo. It is estimated that after seeing the huge power of firearms, the Goryeo people aroused their revenge."

Wang Jinghui stood in the hall and talked, but the worst thing was that he was not very clear about the history between Goryeo and Liao. Fortunately, he had learned a lot from many ways to develop overseas trade. However, people in this era had the habit of traveling around the world, and most of them were just heard of it. After two or three merchant ships traded back and forth, they had a clear understanding of the current situation of Goryeo, and they were just used to show off at this time.

"Well, my dear, think whether the purchase of firearms by the Goryeo people has an impact on overseas trade?" Emperor Zhao Xu asked, and this issue was also something that everyone cares about.

"Your Majesty, I am not easy to judge this, but I can be sure that Goryeo will not be unfavorable to me in the next few decades. As long as the Liao Kingdom still exists, Goryeo will not offend me in the Song Dynasty. There is also the problem of storage of firearms. Firearms cannot be stored for too long. If it takes a long time, the filled gunpowder inside the firearm will slowly absorb water, which will greatly reduce the power of the firearms. It cannot even explode, and it is not easy to transport firearms on the ground.

It would be fine if the Goryeo people were used on land, but they used firearms to fight in the ocean. This was more strict in the storage of firearms. My Song Dynasty was the only one who could make firearms. We could replace the escort ships in the sea fleet with firearms. However, Goryeo did not have this condition unless it could master the production of firearms, which was not something that could be done in a short time. So the Master and all the adults did not have to worry that my Song Dynasty firearms would fall on their heads!" Wang Jinghui said with a smile.

Emperor Zhao Xu and all the ministers felt it was reasonable after hearing this. After all, they had just tasted the sweetness of overseas trade and arms trade. It was really embarrassing that they had to give up one between the two.

Wang Jinghui said: "For small countries like Goryeo, the most important thing is to use both kindness and power. We cannot think that tolerance and tolerance. We must hold sticks and desserts tightly at any time. This 'dessert' is the benefit - we all have a common enemy. And trade between both sides is beneficial to both sides, which is profitable, which is safer than anything else. But this is not a writing for me, I, the Song Dynasty, will not use sticks to entertain Goryeo. Overseas trade is very profitable, and the people of Goryeo will also be jealous. There will always be people who want to do the robber's unsubstantiated business. If this happens, whether they are instructed or not, I, the Song Dynasty, will do this to eradicate the cancer to shock them! In fact, there are only four words to obey between the two countries. If these four words are removed, even the brotherly countries will fight."

Zeng Gongliang asked curiously: "The prince consort, what are the four words?"

Wang Jinghui smiled and said, "It's nothing more than 'interest' and 'force'. Only with interests can we promote cooperation and friendship between the two sides; but it is precisely because of interests that there is a fight. It depends on who has more force and whose fist is bigger. Only the interests protected by force are the safest! Just like between Song and Xia, now that our fist is big, the Dangxiang people must sit down and negotiate with us Song Dynasty. Although it cannot be said that they do whatever they want, as long as they are above the bottom line they accept, what we want, the Dangxiang people must give!"

Aren’t the great powers doing this in a thousand years? But now the Liao Kingdom is an empty shell, and the Western Xia is about to be disabled. Although there are still various internal troubles within the Song Dynasty, Wang Jinghui believes that this is just a temporary difficulty. As long as the emperor Zhao Xu is still alive and his words can be listened to and implemented by the rulers, these difficulties will not be impossible to solve. The Song Dynasty is undoubtedly the number one power in the East. After waiting to settle the Dangxiang people and the Khitans, it will be a new era! Such a big country must have its basic principles for its actions, and the old rules in the past are too pedantic. After thinking about it, it is more appropriate for the Americans in the future to attack their opponents and strengthen themselves. Only in this way can the impact of war on the Song Dynasty and the war can produce dividends. Otherwise, like Emperor Wu of Han, the poorer they are, which Wang Jinghui doesn’t want to see.

Although Wang Jinghui's words were true, after all, it was based on his world's principles a thousand years later. In this era, the ministers who grew up with Confucian education felt that it was not a good feeling. Especially Sima Guang, his heart sounded particularly unpleasant. In his heart, he needed to spend money to fight, and spending money was unbearable for the Song Dynasty today. The Song Dynasty was far from as strong as Emperor Wu of Han. Even after Emperor Wu of Han fought a war, he defeated the Han Dynasty so poor that it was crazy, let alone the Song Dynasty?!

Emperor Zhao Xu pondered for a moment and said, "How should I deal with Goryeo?"

"Sell! Don't they want firearms? Then we sell them, and we sell as much as they want! When the Song Dynasty and the Western Xia Dynasty had a military conflict, the Khitans would disrupt the situation, and then blackmailed the Song Dynasty to blackmail us, either asking for land or asking for an increase in annual monies. This time, the Battle of Bao'an City in the Song Dynasty was quick, and the Liao people had not yet reacted, and the Dangxiang army was wiped out. The Khitans were helpless. The so-called feng shui was turned around. If Goryeo could incite Goryeo to harass the Khitans, the Song Dynasty would not only gain rich benefits from the firearm transaction.

Run can also alleviate the pressure on the Khitans on us. Anyway, there are two other countries fighting, one is our enemy country, and the other is the fence-riding faction that they are swaying left and right. Their life and death are not important to our Song Dynasty. What is important is to create an external environment that is beneficial to our Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty can take advantage of their internal changes to deal with the bad policies left over from the court for a hundred years. All of this requires external stability, and the Dangxiang people are temporarily crippled. If the Khitans are entangled by the Goryeo people, it will definitely be good news for our Song Dynasty!" Wang Jinghui said with a smile.

"I also agree with the advice of the prince-consort, but the production of firearms is complicated. Especially some of the raw materials in them cannot be solved by money. Since the court intends to recover Xihe, there are also many firearms needed. Although the court has inventory, it always seems to be a little insufficient!" Wang Anshi said.

"For the raw materials of firearms, I have prepared some preparations. This time, the Royal Southern fleet will have twenty ships sailing towards the sulfur ball. In addition to the conventional load of goods to trade with sulfur balls, the most important task is to purchase sulfur and saltpeter from the sulfur balls. These two minerals have rich storage in sulfur balls and are easier to mine than in the Song Dynasty. And the price is much cheaper. These two minerals are an important part of the manufacturing of gunpowder, and the reason why gunpowder is expensive is high.

Not less, the important reason is that these two minerals have too little production and are too expensive in our Song Dynasty. Now, through overseas trade, the import of these two minerals from sulfur balls will inevitably greatly alleviate the raw materials and costs of firearms. Moreover, sulfur balls are in the range that can be reached by sea fleets north and south routes. They are convenient for transactions and can be exchanged multiple times a year. If this path is successfully explored, then large-scale production of firearms will not be a problem in the future!" Wang Jinghui said with a smile.

"Is this what I have told me to reduce the production cost of firearms?" Emperor Zhao Xu asked with a smile. For him, the ability to produce firearms on a large scale is undoubtedly a sound of nature. If the Song Dynasty had abundant firearms storage when defending the city, it would be the biggest nightmare for its opponents, and the Song Dynasty's city would be as solid as a soup.

"Yes, Master, although overseas countries like sulfur balls are located in remote and long distances, each country has different products. Many of these products are extremely lacking in the Song Dynasty. While I am also conducting overseas trade, I have installed various talents in the fleet to draw accurate maps and understand local products at the same time. As far as I know, sulfur balls are rich in saltpeter, and sulfur is enough to meet the manufacturing of firearms in the Song Dynasty. However, we can buy these raw materials from there, I believe that other countries can also buy them. The gunpowder formula started from the Tang Dynasty. It is difficult to guarantee that no one in the Khitan knows that it is constantly improving the gunpowder formula to reach the level of our Song Dynasty. Therefore, it is imperative for the sulfur transaction of monopolizing sulfur balls to be true for our Song Dynasty!" Wang Jinghui said.

"Oh? What are your good plans?"

"The sulfur ball is not Goryeo, it does not border the Khitan on land. Even if the Sulphur Ball master is in a foul relationship with the Khitan, he doesn't have to worry about being attacked by the Khitan immediately. However, he dare not offend me, because the Song Dynasty has more advanced navigation technology than him, and there is no suspense to the whole country with the national strength of the Song Dynasty. We proposed to restrict the trade between sulfur balls and saltpeter with other countries. The Sulphur Ball master must not refuse to agree, but at the same time, this requires the Song Dynasty to provide protection for it. If it is different from land on sea, it is necessary to ships rather than horses. The existing naval ships of our Song Dynasty are enough to take on this task. This is just a verbal agreement for our Song Dynasty. Besides, except for the Sulphur Ball master, it is not a horse.

In addition, there were many island countries on the southern route of the Song Dynasty. They were ignorant and backward, and they were just tribes. However, their land was fertile and suitable for the growth of crops such as rice. They could be ripe three times a year, and there were rich minerals. As far as I know, there were abundant copper, gold and silver ores overseas. Among them, the copper ores were collected several times that of the Song Dynasty, and it was easy to mine. The Song Dynasty now requires a lot of copper coins, and a large amount of copper coins were cast every year. Sometimes, some areas lacked copper and used iron to cast coins. The Ma Yi was not half the size of Huainan East Road, and was not very far from the Song Dynasty. It could completely occupy the copper ore there for my Song Dynasty to use!"

The South Ocean country produces a lot of rice and other crops, which has long been learned by ministers of the Song Dynasty. During the overseas trade last year, many ships transported a large amount of rice and grain, which caused a slight drop in the south of the Song Dynasty to drop. However, what attracted them more was that Wang Jinghui said that there were a large amount of copper ore on Ma Yi, which was what they really needed urgently.
Chapter completed!