I studied in modern times

Chapter 999 Cooperation
With the arrangements for the Yuan You Grand Ceremony finalized, a joyous and harmonious atmosphere naturally prevailed between the emperor and his ministers.

The three elders were all smiles.

Especially Wen Yanbo!

The old Grand Tutor was truly pleased with himself!
"Once the Yuan You Grand Ceremony is completed..." Wen Yanbo thought smugly to himself, "Let alone Sima Junshi..."

"Even Ouyang Yongshu, Han Zhigui, and even Xiwen Gong..."

"I'm afraid even in the annals of history, none can compare to me!"

Just thinking about it made Wen Yanbo feel as if he had drunk fine wine, and he started to feel lightheaded, so much so that his voice became a little louder.

If Wen Yanbo was like this, then the other three were even more so.

no way!
The older people get, the more they care about their posthumous reputation, especially politicians.

The emperor and his ministers chatted and laughed until they arrived at the 'Elephant Shelter' deep within the Jade Garden.

Upon entering the elephant sanctuary, Zhao Xu saw that the several elephants kept in the elephant enclosure raised their thick trunks warily at the arrival of a stranger.

When Zhao Xu saw these elephants, their bodies were gray, hairless, with thick limbs and large elephant ears covering their sides.

A typical Asian elephant!

Upon seeing these elephants, Zhao Xu sighed softly, "I've heard that since our ancestors' time, elephants have been raised in these elephant farms, costing countless millions over the generations, yet not a single elephant has ever survived!"

"Why is that?" he muttered to himself, and asked the elder ministers behind him.

Everyone fell silent for a while.

Because they all knew that Zhao Xu was implying something.

Zhao Xu said softly, "I once read in the history books that Yanzi said: 'Oranges grown south of the Huai River are sweet oranges, but those grown north of the Huai River are bitter oranges!'"

"I think this is probably what an elephant is like!"

"A southerner cannot survive in the north!"

"Your Majesty is wise!" Although Wen Yanbo did not yet understand Zhao Xu's meaning, it did not stop the old Grand Tutor from following the rhythm.

"In my humble opinion, the cost of maintaining these elephants throughout history has exceeded several hundred thousand strings of cash!"

"If Your Majesty were to abolish the elephant pens and use the money and silk from them for the benefit of the people, the world would be blessed! All the people would be blessed!"

The other ministers quickly echoed this sentiment, all requesting that Zhao Xu abolish the elephant pens and use its money and silk for the benefit of the people.

This is something that the civil officials of the Song Dynasty had wanted to do since the beginning of the dynasty, but had never been able to accomplish.

no way!
The Zhao officials were too fond of raising elephants.

Since the founding of the nation, Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong have been raising elephants in this Yujin Garden.

Generation after generation of Zhao emperors, spending enormous sums of money, passed the baton from one another, importing elephants from Champa, Jiaozhi, and even Zhenla and Srivijaya in the south, and raising them in this Yujin Garden.

Although it's a process of raising a batch only to have them die in the next batch.

However, the officials were still enjoying it.

The countries of Jiaozhi, Champa, and Zhenla were also very happy about this.

Offering elephants as tribute was not only extremely profitable, but also very advantageous diplomatically.

For example, during the Yuanfeng era, after Jiaozhi presented elephants as tribute, Emperor Zhao Xu's father not only gave the Jiaozhi people huge rewards, but also agreed to their request to return most of the prefectures and counties obtained during the Xining Southern Expedition.

The people of Jiaozhi not only received the reward of the tribute elephants, but also gained diplomatic advantages!

What a win!
As for Emperor Zhao, his Great Song Dynasty was a heavenly kingdom with mountains of gold and silver that could never be spent!
I love elephants!

What's wrong with spending a little money?!

Even the elephants that Jiaozhi presented as tribute in the first year of the Yuanfeng era only lived for two or three years in Bianjing (Kaifeng).

Zhao Xu's father, the emperor, probably only came here to observe the celestial phenomena about ten times in total, but he still felt it was worth it.

They even planned to have the people of Jiaozhi send another batch of elephants!

Unfortunately, his plan had barely begun when he fell ill and was bedridden, and soon passed away.

As for the elephants currently in the elephant sanctuary, they were a tribute from Li Gande of Jiaozhi last year.

So, it looks quite robust and healthy.

Zhao Xu chuckled and said, "I wholeheartedly agree with what the three elders and Prime Minister Su have said!"

"only……"

"Did our ancestors raise elephants here just for their own observation?"

Zhao Xu looked at them, his gaze finally settling on Zhang Fangping behind Wen Yanbo, and asked, "Commander Zhang, are you familiar with the history of our dynasty and know the stories of past emperors..."

"I wonder if the military governor has ever seen the ancestral instructions and commands regarding elephant raising among the ancient bamboo slips in the Chongwen Academy?"

Zhang Fangping shook his head and honestly replied, "Your Majesty, this old minister has not seen him..."

Zhao Xu listened, feeling somewhat disappointed.

But Wen Yanbo, standing beside him, rolled his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, this old minister vaguely recalls that Emperor Renzong mentioned the establishment of the elephant shed to Fan Zhongyan in this Yujin Garden. It was actually a policy set forth by Emperor Taizu, which Emperor Taizong followed, and Emperor Renzong truly continued the work..."

Zhao Xu immediately asked, "Oh!"

"Is there such a thing?!"

"May I ask, Grand Tutor, do you still remember what Emperor Renzong said to Fan Zhongyan back then?"

"What were the strategies set by Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong?"

Wen Yanbo, at the opportune moment, trembled slightly, feigning old age and senility, and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. This old minister is old and my memory is not what it used to be. For a moment, I cannot recall the events of that year..."

"Please allow this old minister to return home and review the notes from previous years..."

Zhao Xu listened and mentally gave Wen Yanbo a thumbs up.

Then he looked at Zhang Fangping and thought to himself, "Look at him, why doesn't he learn anything?!"

"No wonder he was always crushed by Wen Yanbo his whole life!"

In terms of talent and political achievements, Wen Yanbo could hardly match Zhang Fangping.

They can talk about understanding and speaking about politics.

Zhao Xu felt that even ten Zhang Fangpings wouldn't be enough to defeat Wen Yanbo.

Just like now, Zhao Xu made a slight gesture with his lips, and Wen Yanbo immediately understood.

They immediately fabricated a story on the spot that "Emperor Ren once visited Yujin Garden with Fan Zhongyan and mentioned that the elephant shed was an ancestral institution".

He was even so considerate that he could use the excuse that "this old minister is senile and cannot remember what happened back then," but he had a notebook at home that recorded what happened back then.

Thus, a complete story that Zhao Xu could use was born.

Moreover, the story is very complete, and as long as he presents it and doesn't go too far, the government and the public will accept it.

At the same time, this story is further enhanced by the presence of Emperor Renzong and Fan Zhongyan, and by the endorsement of Fan Zhongyan, a veteran of four dynasties.

Once it's used, it's enough to bring some things to fruition.

And what about Zhang Fangping?
He clearly had a much greater advantage than Wen Yanbo—he was known as the walking archive of the Song Dynasty.

My mind was filled with the documents from the Chongwen Academy.

If he were to step forward, the story would be far more credible than Wen Yanbo's notes.

Unfortunately, even when Zhao Xu fed him right to his mouth, he still couldn't catch it.

It can only be said that being an official and playing politics definitely requires talent.

Setting these thoughts aside, Zhao Xu pretended to recall something, paced back and forth a couple of steps, and then suddenly said, "Now that you mention it, Grand Tutor, I seem to have remembered some things as well..."

"I remember my late father once said something to me..."

"It seems to be related to the tribute system!"

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Xu slapped his thigh, as if he had remembered something: "I remember now!"

"When my late father mentioned the elephant pens, he instructed me—"

"When Emperor Taizu established his dynasty, he surveyed the four corners of the world and said to Emperor Taizong: 'I have heard that the barbarians fear power but do not cherish virtue, and pursue profit while distancing themselves from propriety. If I wish to subdue the four barbarians and stabilize the world, I must proclaim my power and lure them with profit. Only then will the barbarians come!'"

"Therefore, an observatory was set up to lure the countries of Jiaozhi, Zhenla, Champa, and Srivijaya to pay tribute!"

Within the dynasties of feudal society, there were certain hard indicators that needed to be assessed.

Since the Han Dynasty, the arrival of all nations to pay tribute has been a key performance indicator (KPI) for Chinese dynasties.

Wang Wei's poem reads: "The palace gates open to the heavens, and the officials of all nations bow before the emperor!"

Even modern readers will feel proud to read it!
As for the emperors and ministers of the Song Dynasty?

That's something I've always dreamed of experiencing, to witness such a prosperous era.

Unfortunately, in reality, it's simply impossible to do that.

Then they can only seek a sense of existence from the Southeast Asia, the Western Regions, and the Tibetans.

Thanks to the Tang Dynasty, the Song Dynasty still held some prestige in these areas.

At least, people still acknowledge the official in Bianjing as their maternal uncle.

Of course—some people also recognized the Khitan emperor in the capital as their Han uncle.

As the saying goes, the more you lack something, the more you want it.

This Song Dynasty is just average.

Therefore, the countries of Southeast Asia, the Black Khanate of the Western Regions, and even the distant Abbasid Caliphate and the Eastern Roman Empire all knew about it.

A sucker has appeared in the East; he's gullible and rich, hurry up and go!

Once you arrive in Bianjing and enter the palace of Emperor Zhao, say a few auspicious words, and you will receive great rewards!

If it can bring rare and exotic animals, it can fetch an astronomical price!
However, neither the Song Dynasty court nor officials had any objections to this.

Many times, even knowing that the other party is just there to freeload, we still happily accept it.

So much so that they were exploited and fleeced to the point that they couldn't stand it anymore—for example, the Black Khans, who once entered the court seven or eight times in three years under the names of Kucha and Khotan.

Every time, they come to buy his family's fragrant herbs at high prices.

Therefore, Zhao Xu's father had no choice but to issue an edict requiring the Black Khans to strictly abide by the rule of paying tribute once every three years.

Furthermore, an imperial edict was issued to Xihe: no delegations from Kucha and Khotan, except those that attend court every three years, should be allowed to enter the capital!
Many people in modern times might not be able to accept such a thing.

I felt like they were putting on a brave face.

However, similar things also happen in modern times.

Moreover, it has also occurred in Europe and America.

Poor African countries and small South American countries often go to Europe, the United States, and Southeast Asia to plead for aid because of their poverty.

Although, what we get is little.

But if you ask, you can always get something.

Moreover, if these small countries are lucky, they may have a head of state who can add emotional value to others.

Then you can get a lot more!

Zhao Xu remembered that there was a small African country called Rwanda, which was known for its adeptness at social maneuvering.

It can be said that they can go to Europe to get aid, go to the Beacon of Light to ask for support, go to the University of Tokyo to attract investment, and even get money from the stingy Jews.

Why are they so skilled?

A: He speaks to people in a way that suits them, and he always says things that his financial backers want to hear—for example, to make it easier to extract money from the left in Europe, Rwanda even created a highly politically correct parliament!
Once this emotional value was established, how could Europeans sit idly by? Various forms of aid immediately followed.

In addition, Rwanda is a small country; even a tiny bit of food leaked from the fingernails of larger countries would be enough for them to eat!
This is something that no modern nation can escape.

The Song Dynasty in the Middle Ages was even more unable to avoid this.

Even if Zhao Xu didn't want it, the court officials would still want it.

Therefore, Zhao Xu only mentioned that the elephant breeding institute was a design by Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong to lure Southeast Asian countries into the court.

Zhang Fangping, Feng Jing, and Su Song immediately offered their congratulations.

Everyone says it's the wisdom of our ancestors, and that we're too narrow-minded to understand it, and so on.

As for Wen Yanbo, he immediately "remembered" it, repeatedly saying that Emperor Renzong had spoken to Emperor Wenzheng in the same way back then.

(End of this chapter)