I studied in modern times

Chapter 1062 Making a Move in Jiaozhou (1)

Jiaozhou?

Shen Kuo was startled and subconsciously looked up.

Then he saw the young emperor beside him, with his handsome, smiling face.

He immediately lowered his head.

Where is Jiaozhou?
Shen Kuo certainly knew!

Not only do they know, they know it very well!
Unlike the people of Bianjing, the Jiaozhou they saw in the Bianjing Daily was a land full of chivalrous heroes, hospitable chieftains, and opportunities and gold.

He was a top civil official in the Song Dynasty.

He was also a minister in the emperor's inner circle.

Shen Kuo had many friends!

Among them were many who served as officials in Jiaozhou.

For example, Shen Kuo had a cousin named Xie Jiang, and Xie Jiang had a son named Xie Jingwen.

Xie Jingwen was Wang Anshi's childhood friend and also a relative (Xie Jingwen's sister married Wang Anshi's younger brother, Wang Anli).

Meanwhile, Xie Jingwen also served as an official in Jinghu South Road and Guangnan West Road for a long period of time.

In particular, when Zhang Dun opened up Meishan, Xie Jingwen was the person who served as Zhang Dun's logistics manager in Tanzhou.

The two of them enjoyed working together very much!

Therefore, in the first year of the Yuan You era, when Zhang Dun was on a southern expedition, he specifically submitted a memorial requesting that Xie Jingwen be reinstated as the prefect of Tanzhou to be responsible for his logistics.

Therefore, the emperor appointed Xie Jingwen as a scholar of the Longtu Pavilion and concurrently as the prefect of Tanzhou and transport commissioner of Jinghu South Circuit.

Now, Xie Jingwen holds the titles of Chaosan Dafu, Longtuge Daizhi, Prefect of Guizhou, Deputy Transport Commissioner of Guangnan West Circuit, Deputy Pacification Commissioner of Jiaozhou, and Right River Inquiry Commissioner.

This was the arrangement made before Zhang Dun began his mourning period.

He was also the leader of the Zhang faction of civil and military officials in Guangnan West Circuit and Jiaozhou!
Naturally, Shen Kuo was able to learn some of the real inside information through his correspondence with Xie Jingwen.

For example, Jiaozhou today is indeed a place where 'heroes' roam everywhere.

However, these "heroes" were actually "salt smugglers" who used to specialize in the illegal trade of salt on Huainan Road, Jiangnan West Road, and Jiangnan East Road.

Moreover, many people gathered their fellow villagers and marched south in large groups.

When they went to Jiaozhou, they were still doing business that could cost them their lives!

The only difference was that they switched from selling salt to smuggling sugar!

The local chieftain was indeed 'hospitable', and he would 'try every means to persuade people to stay' when they arrived.

There have been several cases of salt smugglers who once dominated the inner prefectures dying in Jiaozhou.

This is only what the government knows.

There are countless unknowns!
Naturally, Jiaozhou in this way was full of opportunities and gold.

However, it depends on whether you're lucky enough to find the opportunity to make gold.

In any case, according to Xie Jingwen, Jiaozhou is now a place where bandits roam everywhere and chivalrous heroes crawl all over the place.

Moreover, it wasn't just the heroes and valiant figures from the Song Dynasty who flocked south.

Strongmen from the five tribes of the southwest, warriors from the Dali Kingdom, and even exiled nobles and warriors from Zhenla and Champa in Southeast Asia all gathered in Jiaozhou.

A gathering of wise men and women, young and old, came together. A vibrant scene of life unfolded, a riot of vitality where all things flourished!

no way!
Who made Jiaozhou, the present-day capital, produce sugarcane that is extremely precious and scarce throughout the world?
Especially the icing!
The profit from just one trip can be several times the initial investment!
Compared to the profits from sugar, the profits from smuggled salt in the past were nothing!

Didn't you see that nowadays, the Ministry of Revenue hardly manages the salt monopoly anymore, and only focuses on the sugar monopoly?
After a thousand thoughts swirled in his mind, Shen Kuo made his decision. He lowered his head and said, "Isn't Your Majesty being too kind?"

Yes!

Jiaozhou is in chaos now.

However, the dispatches from the Jiaozhou Pacification Commissioner's Office were gradually becoming more popular.

no way!
So rich!

Last year, the Ministry of Revenue made a huge profit of one million strings of cash from the sugar trade!
This year it may even exceed three million strings of cash!

It is projected that by next year, the revenue from the salt monopoly will surpass that of the past! With such substantial profits from sugarcane, officials are naturally eager to act.

What is the meaning of Jiaozhou being a place of miasma and fever?
What is the reason for the long journey and the remote location?

These conditions, which had deterred countless officials in the past, are now insignificant in the face of money.

Officials without powerful connections or backgrounds would go to Guangxi and Jiaozhou to serve as officials, seeing it as a shortcut to break through their limitations and advance further.

The sons of officials in Bianjing (Kaifeng) also regarded the sugar trade as their treasure trove.

They dared not go to Jiaozhou or Guangxi—they were afraid of the heat and also afraid of dying.

However, they were very enthusiastic when the sugar cane transport officials sent to the capital were dispatched.

The fact that the number of privileged children living along the Grand Canal has increased several times over in the past two years is clear evidence of this.

In this situation, why would Wang Zijing, a tainted official, go south to Jiaozhou to become the main local official?
Shen Kuo felt that the possibility was probably even lower than that of Prince Jing returning to the capital!
After all, Jiaozhou at present is only possible because Lü Jiawen has Wang Anshi's backing and the emperor's appreciation.

I'm afraid Lü Jiawen's position as the Pacification Commissioner of Jiaozhou was already untenable.

Zhao Xu chuckled and said, "Dongfang Shuo of the Han Dynasty once said: 'If used, it is a dragon; if not used, it is a worm!'"

"The people's commands are determined by me!"

He looked at Shen Kuo and asked, "Then, Director, tell me, is Prince Jing willing to go south to Jiaozhou?"

Besides being a sugarcane producing area of ​​the Song Dynasty, Jiaozhou was also a major sugar-producing region.

At the same time, it was still the Song Dynasty, controlling countries such as Jiaozhi and Dali, and then extending its reach into the footholds of the Indochina Peninsula and the southwest region.

Therefore, it is necessary to place a capable and shrewd official in Jiaozhou who can keep the situation under control!

At the same time, this person should ideally be immoral and not be bound by the moral superiority complex of the Song Dynasty's scholar-officials.

He's ruthless and willing to do any dirty or hard work!
In addition, this person must be good at uniting the chieftains and know how to balance the interests of Jiaozhou.

To put it simply, the Jiaozhou Pacification Commissioner that Zhao Xu wanted was actually named Ban Chao, courtesy name Dingyuan.

At the very least, he should have the surname Wang, the given name Shao, and the courtesy name Zichun.

Unfortunately, Zhao Xu now lacks both Ban Gu and Wang Shao!
In many ways, Lü Jiawen from Jiaozhou could never satisfy Zhao Xu—Lü Jiawen was good at everything.

They're just too focused on economic benefits!

During his two years in Jiaozhou, he only cared about making money for Zhao Xu's packaging warehouse.

The local chieftains have already expressed some opinions.

Most importantly, he actually joined forces with Gao Zunhui to crack down on sugar smuggling in Jiaozhou.

This shows a lack of understanding of Zhao Xu's intentions.

Can we crack down on sugar smuggling in Jiaozhou?
of course can!

But we can't illuminate the entire area!
You absolutely cannot use area-of-effect attacks (AOE), or you'll wipe out everyone!
For example, smugglers from the Dali Kingdom and the five southwestern tribes should not be targeted.

We also need to select a few obedient ones to support and protect.

Let them grow and thrive!
In this way, the Song Dynasty would have stable partners and guides in the southwest region in the future.

In this way, whether it is to use troops to invade the southwest or to infiltrate and control it in the future, there will be a means to do so.

The same principle applies to Jiaozhi!

This is the experience and insights summarized by Amilica United Fruit Company after many years of practice in Latin America.

This is truly a unique skill for subverting and infiltrating backward regions!

A fortress is not breached from the outside.

The dam was not destroyed by the flood.

Furthermore, those salt smugglers who went south from the inner prefectures of the Song Dynasty cannot all be condemned.

If they're all killed, who will go south?
This is just like Zhao Xu opening up the Denglai gold mine—if no one finds gold, why would heroes and powerful figures from all over the world flock there?

If these people don't go to Dengzhou and Laizhou to pan for gold, where did the cheap labor force for dredging and road construction in Hebei and Jingdong come from in the past two years?

(End of this chapter)