Chapter 366: A pair of golden hands

As Han Zhongyan reminded, Song Huizong turned to look at Zhao Xing and added regretfully: "I just mentioned Guangdong, and I remembered the Nanyang that I once promised Zhao Qing! My Song Dynasty now needs Nanyang. Nanyang affairs cannot be separated from Zhao Qing, and Southeast wealth cannot be separated from Zhao Qing. Zhao Qing also intends to go south, but the situation in Guangdong is too small after all, Zhao Qing might as well choose another place. I am established in Hangzhou, and you will stay in your hometown in Hangzhou so that I can ask you all the time. How about it?"

Speaking of Hangzhou, Zhao Xing suddenly remembered the character of Zhu Xie. According to time, Zhu Xie, a great businessman, was pleasing Tong Guan at this moment. After Tong Guan brought Zhu Xie into Beijing, Huizong specially established the "Southeast Yingfeng Bureau" for Zhu Xie to plunder the Shi Gang, which gave Zhu Xie the nickname "Southeast King". Later, it aroused Fang La to launch an uprising near Hangzhou and occupy Hangzhou as his pseudo-Beijing.

Since Emperor Huizong of Song made an exception to set up a new yamen "Southeast Yingfeng Bureau", he should also set up one for Zhao Xing. In terms of favor, Zhao Xing thought that he was stronger than Zhu Xie. He supported King Duan with his strength and made more contributions than supporting him. At this time, he did not make any requests. Who is qualified to make requests in the Song Dynasty?

Zhao Xing recalled with leisurely years, reluctance, and a look of cutting his flesh, "Guangdong turned out to be a poor land. After years of governance, it was considered to be rich in the world. I could buy a large mansion in Guangzhou, and then Zou Ran left Guangdong. I was so reluctant to leave!

However, since Your Majesty has just spoken, I will reluctantly make it difficult. In Guangzhou, I often feel that Guangzhou's maritime trade affairs have been limited. For example, in Guangzhou, white foreign merchants like to go to Guangzhou Maritime Trading Department to trade, while Arab merchants like to go to Quanzhou, but Guangzhou and Quanzhou are far away, and it is extremely inconvenient to transport goods to the inland. I suggest that the court open a few more civilian departments, such as opening a port in Hangzhou. In addition, our Song Dynasty should set up a Nanyang Affairs Bureau and completely set a long-term plan to operate Nanyang.

Hangzhou is at the beginning of the Grand Canal. Your Majesty’s suggestion is good. The Southern Affairs Bureau should be located in Hangzhou. It is in charge of the maritime affairs of Quanzhou, Mingzhou, Hangzhou and Guangzhou. In this way, the court can rule the entire southern maritime trade industry, and the silver and money income obtained from maritime trade can also be escorted to Beijing as soon as possible.

At the same time, opening a port in Hangzhou also has another advantage, military advantages. I have read the battle against Goryeo in the Tang Dynasty in the past few days and found that Gaozong finally defeated Goryeo because of the support of naval forces. The reason why Emperor Taizong of Tang and Emperor Yang of Sui repeatedly failed to send Goryeo was because there was no naval force involved. The reason was that the land movement was long and the long road was long. When a pound of grain and grass was transported to the front line, the civil servants alone had to eat half of the food and grass, or even 70% of the food and grass. The navy was different. More than 30 people drove a small boat and could transport twenty food and grass. In this way, providing supplies to the front line soldiers would become convenient.

Now, the Song Dynasty faces the Liao Kingdom. When I was in Mizhou, I once tested the strength of the Liao Kingdom's Linhai Army and found that the Liao Kingdom's fleet was invincible. If our Song Dynasty opened the Northern Affairs Bureau again and secretly developed the navy with Mizhou and Dengzhou as the base, it could suppress the northern navy. Once our Song army invaded the north, it could transport surprise troops and go straight to the Linhai Army. Then it would transport food and grass through water and land. The cost was low, the manpower required was small, and it was convenient and fast.

In addition, our Song Dynasty established the Southern Affairs Bureau and the Northern Affairs Bureau, which can integrate the World Maritime Bureau, and only handle those complicated matters through two departments. With the help of the rich interests of maritime trade, we can cultivate the navy. This will last for ten years. When our Song Dynasty unified the entire Nanyang and supported the development of firearms and navy forces in the north with the financial resources of the South China Sea. After ten years of accumulation, once it explodes, the Youyan will be restored, and I think it will not be far away."

Song Huizong was excited when he heard this, Zeng Bu interrupted with a memory look: "I have also served as Privy Councilor. In my spare time, I have also viewed the war against Goryeo in the Tang Dynasty. As Lord Zhao said, when Emperor Gaozong of Tang destroyed Goryeo, there were naval troops participating in the battle. But I did not expect that the key to victory was actually the naval troops."

Zhao Xing nodded: "The people of Guangzhou once wrote a book saying that the capital of the Song Dynasty, Bianliang City, was a city floating on the water. The convenience of the Grand Canal allowed the north and south protection roads to be transported through water and gathered into this world's capital. Now, the cargo from sea and land has been added. However, recently, the northern flow of the Yellow River has begun to dry up and the canal has begun to silt, which has caused the traffic flow of our Song Dynasty to be difficult.

During Huanqing, I observed the local scene in Huanqing and found that the Hundred Years of War between Huanqing and Xixia caused all the local trees to be cut down, and the huge roots of the trees were gone. After heavy rain, the rain washed away the soil and entered the Yellow River with a huge amount of mud and sand, making the river water more turbid.

What I am worried about is that although the Liubeishui River is exhausted, the water volume in the Bian River is still sufficient. According to my observation, due to too much silt and sand in the Yellow River, the government strengthened the embankment every year, which has made the embankment higher than the Bianliang city wall. In the past few years, the weather has been severely drought year after year, which has not been abundant in the Bianliang River. However, last year, the water in the Liubeishui River has re-emerged water, which means that the rain has become richer. If there is heavy rain this year, the water in the Bian River suddenly increases, what should I do in Bianliang City? It is really worth worrying."

When talking about military affairs, the two prime ministers were not qualified to interrupt, but when Zhao Xing talked about the water level of the Yellow River, the two prime ministers suddenly became nervous. Bianliang City has always been a city hanging below the surface of the Yellow River. Although Zhao Xing was vague, the two prime ministers thought that the Yellow River broke its mouth and flooded the capital, and they couldn't stop sweating. Han Zhongyan lost his composure and knocked the inkstone to the ground, and said nervously: "It's spring now..."

Zhao Xing then added: "I think that although peace is being negotiated with Xixia, the imperial court can't stop paying the tea and horse money for Shaanxi every year, so it should be allocated to subsidize seedlings. I once vigorously advocated planting apple trees in Huanqing. This tree is good, it is brittle and fragile. The Xia people used it as a siege ladder, and a stone can be smashed into pieces. Use it as a whirlwind cannon, and the branches cannot withstand the power of the bowstring. However, I, the Song Dynasty, can use it as an arrow shaft and a hand support. On the other hand, it can also be used to fix the soil in Shaanxi.

In addition, the north is bitter and cold, and the Xia people and Liao people are addicted to alcohol. The wine made from apples can be exchanged for horses, cattle and sheep from the Xia people, so as to enrich the national strength of our Song Dynasty. I think we should quickly take remedial measures to allow Shaanxi to plant trees, especially in the north, so that the vitality of the water city of Bianliang can be restored. As long as the capital restores the vitality of the water city, our Song Dynasty will vigorously develop its navy. Every year of development, it will break away from the Liao Kingdom and Xixia for a year, widen the gap between the national strength of the two countries. Ten years later, the Liao Kingdom and Xixia are already rotten, and it is just around the corner to attack Liao."

The little emperor quickly stared at Zeng Bu and Han Zhongyan and ordered: "As we discuss today, the two ministers will sort out the memorials as soon as possible so that..."

Zhao Xing interrupted and interrupted the emperor: "How can we disclose military and national affairs outside?"

Han Zhongyan didn't understand this. Zeng Bu understood that he had served as the Privy Councilor and knew that what Zhao Xing said just now was actually a complete strategic plan to attack Liao and attack Xixia. This plan fell into the memorial and was routinely published in the imperial palace newspaper. For officials from all over the world to read it. The Liao people only needed to get a residence newspaper back, and Zhao Xing's plan to attack Liao was fully exposed. He quickly looked at Han Zhongyan and waited for Han Zhongyan's answer.

Han Zhongyan pondered for a moment and asked back: "What is your Majesty talking about the Southern Affairs Bureau, the Northern Affairs Bureau, or the Yellow River affairs?"

Han Zhongyan meant that the court suddenly wanted to set up a new bureaucracy, and if it did not tell the court ministers why they did so, they would promulgate and implement it. This violated the convention of "scholars and officials to rule the world together" - that is, the current "republican thought".

"I can't say anything," Zhao Xing quickly added: "The bank of the Yellow River is half in me and half in Liao. If the people of Liao know about it and threaten us by threatening the Yellow River, then I will inevitably throw myself into trouble when doing things in the Song Dynasty - using water as a soldier. There are many precedents in all dynasties, so everyone should be vigilant."

Han Zhongyan immediately stood up and suggested: "Send an inquiry immediately to investigate along the Yellow River. In addition, he still allocated tea and medicine money to Shaanxi in the name of kindness and reward, saying that His Majesty would pity Shaanxi for years of war and the people were poor. He specially allocated internal coins to help the people of Shaanxi restore their vitality - but the court had just breathed a sigh of relief and wanted to increase their expenditures. I wonder how much financial resources could the Southern Affairs Bureau of Lord Zhao increase for the Song Dynasty?"

Zhao Xing answered decisively: "If the imperial court set up a Southern Affairs Bureau and minting a piece of money, the Dali area in Guangnan can reach 3 million guan a year, and the Maritime Bureau is expected to reach 20 million guan a year. In addition to the tea tax and salt tax, the Southern Affairs Bureau alone can pay 40 million guan a year."

Han Zhongyan shook his head: "I heard that in addition to minting copper coins, Guangnan also minted silver coins and gold. If these three million guans are just copper coins, it is not enough. Two million guans of silver coins are required. As for gold coins, there is no limit on how much, how?"

Zhao Xing gritted his teeth and replied: "Yes!"

Han Zhongyan added another sentence: "Recently, the court is discussing overseas trade responsibilities. The government plans to plan our dynasty. Ma Yi is renamed 'Luzon' and Bo Ni is renamed 'Jin Song' to commemorate the planning of the two places. But I heard that these two places are fertile. Originally, your goal of establishing a land financial quota for the two places was 1.5 million yuan per year. If both places are classified under the jurisdiction of the Nanyang Affairs Bureau, and with the more than ten overseas trade quotas you have made, can you pay land taxes by another 20%?"

Zhao Xing reported the amount of 40 million guan. If two levels were added, it would be close to 50 million guan. However, the young emperor was still unwilling to give up. He interrupted: "Twenty percent is too small. I thought the total amount reached 60 million guan. It is expected. What does Zhao Qing think?"

Zhao Xing now understood that the young emperor asked him to come to the Ban Zhong to give a banquet in front of the two prime ministers to discuss his future work placement, but 60 million guan was not much in his opinion. When he completed the development of the Indian and Arab markets, he estimated that the annual income of the sea trade would be hundreds of millions of guan. This is a conservative figure calculated based on the productivity and trade volume of this era.

But he couldn't agree too happily, so he muttered bitterly, muttering in a low voice, just to let the few people in the house hear it: "Pity my house in Guangzhou, I spent 300,000 yuan, 30,000 real stonemasons, and took five years to build a gorgeous house, Meiyang Lunyang..."

Han Zhongyan stood up and pretended not to hear it. Zeng Bu was a good man and said to Xi Ni: "Li Ren felt so sorry for him. That house must be beautiful. If you can't get rid of it for a while, I will make the decision and ask the Guangdong government to consign it - 300,000 guan, a small amount of money. If you promise a tax amount of 60 million guan, the court will spend 300,000 guan to buy your house, and the court will not lose."

The little emperor was just having fun. After hearing Zhao Xing's words, he turned his mind excitedly and asked Zhao Xing: "That house costs 300,000 yuan. What house costs so much money? Let's hear it?"

Zhao Xing was happy to talk about the little emperor thousands of miles away. He quickly raised his finger and said enthusiastically: "Your Majesty, you know that I am not resistant to heat, and the temperature in Guangzhou is suitable for winter. Summer is unbearable, so I have copper pipes buried under the floor of the house I built, so that I can flow continuously to remove the hot air of the room. In addition, under the sea breeze, the winter in Guangnan is relatively wet and cold. Therefore, the copper pipes under the floor of me need to be heated in winter, and in summer, cold springs are poured into it.

The water has to flow continuously, so the pen washing uses a windmill to drive the water power, and the hot water room needs to be repaired to heat it in winter... This cost alone cost me more than 100,000 yuan.

Your Majesty should know that I like strange flowers and plants overseas, and my wives and concubines are idle in Guangzhou. They also like to grow flowers and entertain themselves..."

The young emperor rolled his eyes regardless of the two prime ministers and clapped his hands and said, "I know, I know, you promoted the 'Grass and Trees Plan' in Huanqing, which was all due to your personality of liking flowers and plants. In your letter, you often said, 'Plants change the world'. My Song Dynasty tea and Sang Chan exchanged countless wealth for me, and the input of spices in the South China Sea also changed people's eating habits. In addition, the input of rice, cotton, mochi, and these things made me eat grains and wear clothes in the Song Dynasty. The Guanzi said: If the granaries are full, we know etiquette. Enough food and clothing is the merit of education. Therefore, the first priority for those who rule the rule is to make the people under their rule have enough food and clothing and live a worry-free life. Therefore, Zhao Qing sent several groups of people overseas to search for overseas species, hoping to be beneficial to my Song Dynasty. Let me tell you, what are the strange and wonderful plantings in your garden."

The "Strange and Wonderful" mentioned by Zhao Ji is the name of the four pigments produced by the Zhao Xing family. As a master of painting, Zhao Ji admires the four pigments produced by the Zhao Xing family very much and unconsciously uses the name "Strange and Wonderful" to call the strange flowers and plants of the Zhao Xing family.

Originally, Han Zhongyan's expression was very disdainful and impatient. When he heard the little emperor's words, he stood up and bowed and said solemnly: "I am congratulating you to your Majesty and to the people--I do not agree with Guangdong's 'demonic studies'. I am deeply concerned about the words of Your Majesty just now. 'The input of rice, cotton, mochi, these things made me eat grains and wear clothes in the Song Dynasty', 'If the granaries are full, we know etiquette. If we have enough food and clothing, we are the achievements of education. No matter how strange the theory of Lord Zhao's theory is, just this sentence will make me feel ashamed of the Song Dynasty. The old minister should also be ashamed of the Song Dynasty."

The little emperor's thoughts were further distant by Han Zhongyan's words. He turned to look at Han Zhongyan and asked gently: "Zhao Qing is in the south, and advocates the unity of knowledge and action, and advocates the establishment of one's own virtue and speech, and the new interpretation of the "Six Arts of Gentlemen". Although that statement is strange, I know that the original population of Guangdong's pointing place was only about 1.7 million. During the period between Zhao Qing and his wife, the population increased to three million. It was not possible to achieve such an effect by relying solely on natural childbirth. This is not the achievement of "integration of knowledge and action"?

I know that in recent years, Zhao Qing's theory has been criticized a lot in the capital, but the reason why the old emperor allowed Zhao Qing to be demoted and established a sect in Guangnan was because Zhao Qing's words were reasonable: let the numbers speak.

Guangnan Dingkou increased, wealth increased, common people were happy and prosperous, Guangnan soldiers pacified Nanyang for me, and they were invincible. This was not the credit of the new school, but who else could it be?”

Zeng Bu was so upset that he saw that the little emperor and Zhao Xing were intimate. The two often talked about private messages. This flattery job actually made Han Zhongyan, who had always been honest, take the lead. It was really not right. At this moment, he finally found the opportunity to interrupt and said with a smile: "Everything can be driven into a soldier. I guess it doesn't matter what Lord Zhao put forward. The key is that Lord Zhao is skillful and clever."

Speaking of his clever and clever methods, Zhao Ji's thoughts were pulled back. He said thoughtfully: "Zhao Qing talked to me a few days ago about some methods to implement new methods. If the two dear friends have time, we might as well discuss it..."

Han Zhongyan didn't like to listen to the new law. He hurriedly pulled the topic back to its original place and started the report: "Your Majesty, in this way, I will issue an edict with a clear edict to establish the Nanyang Affairs Bureau and the Northern Affairs Bureau, how about?"

The little emperor nodded happily: "I like the strong man under Zhao Qing, Fan Shuai Zilian, I really like him. Why haven't I seen him these days?"

Zhao Xing smiled bitterly and replied: "There is a population of 2 million in the capital. It is too difficult to find Shuai Zilian among the two million people. This guy has never been to the capital. When he entered the city, he vowed to see all the flowers in Bianliang in one day. Now he doesn't know which flower street or alley to hang out in, and I don't know his whereabouts."

The little emperor replied: "I plan to send my son-in-law to guard Hedong Road and guard the northern gate for me. Are you willing to give up?"

Zhao Xing bowed and said yes, and the little emperor continued: "In this way, the candidates for the Northern Affairs Bureau have also been decided. What do you think Fan E?"

Zhao Xing nodded: "Fan E is very suitable!"

The young emperor continued to ask: "I issued an edict the day before yesterday, and ordered Li Zhiyi to enter the Hanlin Academy. Recently, I learned that Li Zhiyi refused and wrote a letter to ask for retirement. I planned to place this person in the Mizhou Maritime Warehouse. Unfortunately... let's do this first, and ordered the Southern Affairs Bureau to be promoted by Zhao Qing and command the Nanyang Navy of the Song Dynasty..."

Zhao Xing hurriedly corrected: "It's not the Nanyang Navy, but the South China Sea Fleet, with its anchorage in Guangzhou. It is divided into four major squadrons in Hangzhou, Quanzhou, Mingzhou and Guangzhou, plus the first, second and third fleets in the ocean."

Zhao Ji looked at Zhao Xing with a smile and said, "I'm a briefing this time. It turns out that there are three fleets in Guangzhou. In addition to the Guangzhou Navy, I can also use ships to organize the first, second and third fleets of the ocean. Are these ships also useful?"

The last sentence of the little emperor was obviously to cover up Zhao Xing. Without the permission of the Privy Council, he privately formed an army, which was a serious crime of treason. But the two prime ministers present knew that when the little emperor was Duan, even the fief of Duanzhou was entrusted to Zhao Xing to take care of him. The two men sent private messages to each other. The little emperor excused Zhao Xing like this, and even if the two prime ministers in the venue had to admit their accounts.

Sure enough, Zhao Xing said with the trend: "Those utility fleets must be fully supported by the court, which is really costly. I will turn them into armed merchant ships, which can carry goods and store a group of skilled sailors for the court. I suggest that the court will also imitate this measure in the future and continue to adopt the "half-army and half-mart" method to support the navy."

The little emperor was also readily and frankly admitted that the utility ships had some connection with him. He replied: "Since I have done the world, I will not be able to trade the land in the future. However, the navy's transportation capacity is idle and it is also useless to consume money and grain. What do you think you should do?"

"Transportation—" Zhao Xing replied without changing his expression: "Ocean trafficking is not a simple matter. First of all, you need to have a ship, secondly, you need to have a chart. Secondly, you need to have a group of skilled sailors. Everyone can afford the ship, but sailors may not be able to find it. Moreover, it is also a troublesome to operate an ocean ship. When I was in Guangzhou, I tried to separate the ocean ships from the sea merchants and form a ship. These ships rely on the cabins of the rental ships to support themselves, while the sea merchants entrust the ships to transport goods to gain benefits.

Now, the world is changing faster and faster. Learning a professional knowledge may take a lifetime of energy. I think that only professionalism can be excellent in the future. After the shipyard is separated from the business bank, the shipyard only maintains the route, and the business bank only cares about purchasing goods. The division of labor between the two is getting more and more detailed, so that things can be done well and strengthened. The navy must also take this path in the end. For the time being, the navy's cabins must be filled with cannons and gunpowder, and when cruises normally, there is no need for full equipment, so that some of its cabins will be idle.

This is what I did in Guangzhou. I delivered tasks to the ship bank through the Navy. The ship bank was responsible for organizing the cargo source. After the cargo filled the vacant cabin of the warship, the warship carried out its own cruise mission, while escorting the caravan to the destination. After delivering and unloading the cargo at the destination, regaining the supplies and continuing to sail...

As we all know, the sea trade is profitable. The average profit margin of our Song Dynasty's sea merchants is seventy times, and less than seventy times. The sea merchants are unwilling to do business, and they find it troublesome. Therefore, helping sea merchants transport goods and protecting sea merchants' ships safely pass through the pirate sea areas is also a matter of rich profits. This is how I used this method to slowly separate the fleet from the merchants, convert those fleets into armed merchant ships, and use them for my Song Dynasty..."
Chapter completed!