Troubled times: Start practicing spiritual practice by taking care of your sister-in-law.

Chapter 637 Six Eight Five:
Hearing this, Chen Mo could only say "good guy".

All expenses required for going to sea were paid by the national treasury, but the money earned from overseas trade all went into the emperor's small treasury. It would be strange if the civil and military officials agreed to this, no wonder they kept submitting petitions.

"What do you think, Prime Minister Geng?" Chen Mo asked.

"During the reign of Emperor Ling, Maritime Customs Offices were established in Chuanhai and Cangzhou, and a total of four ports were built. Now, all of them have been closed. Only if the prince asks His Majesty to issue an order to reopen these four ports, re-establish the Maritime Customs Office, and hand it over to the Yuling Guards for control, within a year, the national treasury will be full, and there will be enough money to build the north and restore people's livelihood in the north." Geng Songfu said.

Chen Mo thought about it for a while. The current internal situation no longer requires the navy. It is indeed a good idea to transfer the Fish Scale Guards to the north to go out to sea. He said, "Okay, let's do it. Prime Minister Geng, you write a memorial and I will go to the palace to hand it over to His Majesty later."

"I have already written it." Geng Songfu took out a memorial from his bosom and handed it to Chen Mo, and then said, "I have heard from General Nangong Xian that the Nangong family opened a new port in Chaoping County, Chuanhai, but did not report it to the court. It was built privately, and they also opened up overseas routes, guarding the vast ocean, and making more than a fortune every day.

If the prince can ask the Nangong family for help, perhaps in just half a year, the national treasury will be full."

Chen Mo understood what Geng Songfu meant, which was the accusation that the Nangong family built a port privately. The imperial court could not do anything about it during the turbulent times, but that did not mean it could not do anything about it now.

And if this reason was not used, and the news of the Nangong family's "cooperation" spread out, people would think that the court was bullying them.

After all, fighting a war requires a legitimate reason.

If you commit a crime, the court will naturally have a way to punish you.

The reason why Geng Songfu did not say it explicitly was that he was somewhat concerned about the relationship between the Nangong family and Chen Mo.

Chen Mo nodded, and after thinking it over, he said, "I understand."

After talking about opening the sea, Geng Songfu did not leave.

Chen Mo asked: "Anything else?"

"Is there indeed something about the Ministry of Households?" Geng Songfu said, "Lord Zuo said that during the reign of Emperor Ling, there were 18960032 households, and the population was estimated to be around million. However, during the reign of the previous emperor, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Households, the population was less than million.

As of now, nine out of ten houses in the north are empty, and although the south has not been affected much, the population has decreased by at least 30%, and the population is dwindling."

Chen Mo's face was slightly solemn. In his previous life, he had read a record on the Internet that the population was 5600 million at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, but by the Three Kingdoms period, it was less than 800 million, a decrease of more than %. What kind of concept was this?

He had been to the north, where corpses were everywhere and bones could be seen on the roadside. I wonder if the population of the Song Dynasty is still 20 million now.

"Lord Zuo means to restore the population?" Chen Mo roughly guessed Zuo Lianglun's thoughts.

"Yes, Lord Zuo was going to tell you personally, Your Highness, but when he learned that there was no money in the treasury, he stopped for the time being. But I feel that I should still tell you, Your Highness, about this matter." Geng Songfu said.

"Did Lord Zuo ever tell me about the solution?" Chen Mo took it seriously.

The population issue cannot be taken lightly, as it is the foundation of the feudal dynasty.

"Lord Zuo has mentioned this to me. He said the court could enact a law requiring women to marry when they reach the age of 16. If a woman is still unmarried at the age of , the court would impose heavy taxes on the woman and her family.

At the same time, the people were encouraged to have children, and it was stipulated that as long as there was a newborn in the family, the family would be exempted from corvee labor and taxes for one to two years.

Finally, the common people were allowed to take concubines."

In the Song Dynasty, ordinary people did not have the right to take concubines. This was a privilege only for the aristocracy. Of course, although there was this rule, it was not strictly enforced among the people. As long as you were rich and did not make a fuss, you could still take concubines. It all depended on whether the local government wanted to control you.

Now people are allowed to take concubines, which means they are free to do it and no longer have to do it in secret.

Of course, if the common people have no money, even if they can take concubines, they do not have the capital to do so.

After listening, Chen Mo rubbed his brows with his right thumb and index finger, and then said: "Okay, formulate it first, and then promulgate it after officials from all places take office."

"promise."

……

After returning to Prince Wei's Palace, Chen Mo asked Sun Meng to call his brother-in-law Wu Changlin, who was now the Prime Minister of the Yulin Guard.

In the hall, Wu Changlin bowed to Chen Mo and said, "This humble general greets His Majesty."

Chen Mo quickly supported Wu Changlin's arm and said gently, "Brother, you really embarrassed me."

Wu Changlin was Wu Mi's elder brother, and Wu Mi gave Chen Mo a son. Privately, Chen Mo naturally did not need to put on airs and addressed Wu Mi as his brother. He was not only intimate but also respectful.

Wu Changlin had a bright smile on his face. He thought that he had been very opposed to Wu Mi and Chen Mo getting married, and even plotted against Chen Mo. However, times had changed, and now he was extremely satisfied with this brother-in-law. He said, "I don't deserve the title."

"There is nothing to be ashamed of. You are Mi'er's brother and Jia'er's uncle. You have been in Jiangnan for a long time and have not met Jia'er yet." Chen Mo said.

Wu Changlin had naturally heard that his sister had given birth to a nephew. He nodded and said with a smile, "Jiaer is already one year old."

"It's been one year and two months." Chen Jia was born on February 23rd of the second year of Yong'an, and now it is the end of April of the third year of Yong'an.

"Time flies so fast."

"Yes." Chen Mo had a smile on his face, but he did not miss the old days. It was too difficult. He then said, "Brother, I asked you to come here because I have a task for you."

"I'll follow your orders, Your Highness." Wu Changlin said.

"I plan to appoint you as the prefect of Chuanhai, in charge of the military and political affairs of Chuanhai state." Chen Mo said.

"In charge of the military and political affairs of a state, Your Majesty, this..." Wu Changlin widened his eyes slightly.

You know, Chen Mo had already carried out internal reforms a long time ago. The military and politics were separated. The prefect of a state was only in charge of the internal affairs of that state, and the army was under the command of the commander. But what does it mean now?

"Brother, listen to me." Chen Mo put his hands behind his back, facing the outside of the hall, and said: "I plan to reopen the two ports of Chuanhai and set up a customs office, and you will be in charge.

If you don't know how to start, you can ask the Nangong family for help. If they don't cooperate, you can use the excuse that the Nangong family secretly built an opening in Chaoping County and seal off the Nangong family's port."

Wu Changlin widened his eyes slightly. You know, the Nangong family and Chen Mo have a marriage relationship, and now Chen Mo actually wants to take action against the Nangong family.

Although he refused to cooperate, his intention had already been moved, which showed that Chen Mo was dissatisfied with the Nangong family.

"It just so happens that I plan to go back to Linzhou tomorrow. I will have to pass through Linzhou on my way to Chuanhai. You can come with me. After arriving in Xiangyang, you can also visit your nephew." Chen Mo turned around and patted Wu Changlin on the shoulder, saying, "Remember to bring the Fish Scale Guard with you."

"What about General Nangong?" The General Nangong Wu Changlin was referring to was Nangong Xian, Nangong Ru's father.

"He will also set off with us. He will be in charge of the two ports in Cangzhou. You will lead 8,000 Fish Scale Guards and he will lead 2,000." Chen Mo said.

The reason for this arrangement is that the situation in Cangzhou is not as complicated as that in Chuanhai.

In addition, Nangong Xian is a member of the Nangong family after all, so suspicion must be avoided.

"Yes." Wu Changlin replied.

...On the eve of leaving Beijing, the Queen Mother seemed to have heard the news and invited Chen Mo to the palace, but Chen Mo refused.

The wife is the wife, the lover is the lover, Chen Mo can still tell the difference.

I will probably not be back until August or September this time when I leave Beijing, leaving Yue Ruyan in Tianchuan. Of course, I will spend some time with Yue Ruyan this night.

In the wing room.

Chen Mo did not ask Xia Zhining to accompany him tonight. After dinner, as soon as the door was closed, Chen Mo hugged Yue Ruyan's slender waist, lowered his head and captured her lips, greedily searching her mouth.

Before dinner, Yue Ruyan vaguely guessed that something like this would happen tonight, so she took a shower in advance and changed into a slim white dress.

Yue Ruyan's skin color is wheat-colored, which is darker than Xia Zhining's. Wearing a white long skirt can brighten her skin tone, making her swan neck look particularly slender and white. She also wears the gem necklace that Chen Mo used before. With the embellishment of the gem necklace, her large area of ​​snow-white skin and the squeezed depth are particularly seductive.

While kissing, Chen Mo's hands were also not honest. His big hands covered half of Yue Ruyan's buttocks, causing the latter's body to tremble and her heartbeat to suddenly accelerate.

Chen Mo did not keep kissing Yue Ruyan's lips. Soon his lips moved down from Yue Ruyan's lips, from her chin to her neck.

"Itchy" Yue Ruyan just felt itchy. She raised her head and wrapped her hands around Chen Mo's neck, biting the corner of her mouth lightly, with her little mouth slightly pouted.

"Zhi Ning hasn't practiced for more than two months. If the method Miss Nalan said is useful, after the domestic situation stabilizes, Ruyan, you should also give me a child." Chen Mo said.

Yue Ruyan didn't say much, just said "OK".

She didn't mind having a baby for Chen Mo. In fact, she was happy about it. However, with her ability, she could help Chen Mo a lot, so it was okay to have the baby later. But if Chen Mo wanted her to have a baby for him now, she would also be willing.

Chen Mo held her slender waist tightly and held her in his arms, but her upper body leaned backwards, causing Yue Ruyan to bite her lips.

He is like a greedy child.

Two blushes appeared on Yue Ruyan's pretty face, which looked particularly conspicuous under the candlelight in the house. Her eyes became as charming as flowing water. She raised her neck high, circled Chen Mo's head, and turned into hugging his neck.

After a while, Yue Ruyan's eyes became silky and slightly narrowed, and a soft hum came from her mouth.

When Chen Mo heard this, it was like a catalyst, making him even more greedy, with a hint of madness and fiery passion accumulating deep in his pupils.

Chen Mo put his left arm around her slender waist and hugged her back through her armpits, while his right hand lifted up her skirt and kept stroking her long and strong legs.

"Well"

Yue Ruyantan opened her mouth slightly, already moved, and couldn't help but say, "Go to the couch."

"What should you call me?" Chen Mo raised his head and kissed Yue Ruyan's lips.

"Husband, go to the couch." Yue Ruyan said with a seductive look.

She didn't understand what Chen Mo had done to her. She felt that her body was more sensitive than before.
The ambiguous and charming atmosphere reached a peak in the room.

Chen Mo pinched her chin and raised it gently: "I've wronged you to stay in Tianchuan. Your husband must reward you well tonight."

How can I go to the couch during the first round of training?

Chen Mo lifted up Yue Ruyan's beautiful and perky buttocks. She also clearly raised her feet and hooked her arms tightly around Chen Mo's neck, hanging on Chen Mo's body like a sloth.

The two of them kissed passionately as they staggered to a table.

Chen Mo gently placed her on the table, and then did not rashly peel off her eggshell and taste the deliciousness. Instead, he supported his hands on her head, stared into her eyes lovingly, and remained silent for a long time.

"what happened?"

Yue Ruyan did not turn her head away out of shyness because of being stared at, but instead looked at Chen Mo.

She was just a little confused, because hadn't he already started practicing before?

"Ruyan, you are so beautiful."

Chen Mo gently stroked her face. There was still a lot of time tonight, so Chen Mo planned to savor it slowly.

At this moment, Yue Ruyan's face turned red, and she finally turned her head away shyly. She was caught off guard by such a sudden love remark, and she felt quite embarrassed.

"Isn't it enough?" Yue Ruyan covered her face with her hands.

"A lifetime is not enough."

Chen Mo gently took away Yue Ruyan's hands that were covering her face, and leaned over to savor the delicious food in front of him.

The cheeks are flushed like drunkenness, the earlobes are delicate and small, and the lips are delicate and beautiful.
Yue Ruyan hugged Chen Mo's neck tightly, love surging in her heart. For some reason, she felt that Chen Mo seemed to love her more tonight.

As Yue Ruyan frowned slightly, Chen Mo also explained to her the things she should pay attention to while staying in the capital.

"Other matters can be discussed, but outsiders are not allowed to interfere in military affairs." Chen Mo must keep the military power firmly in his hands.

Yue Ruyan nodded. She naturally understood this.

Before marrying Chen Mo, Yue Ruyan was the "leader" of the Yue clan, and she managed Longyou in an orderly manner. She was not only good at commanding the army, but also knew something about internal affairs.

Chen Mo said no more and started practicing.

……

The next day, at dawn.

There were several carriages parked outside the Prince of Wei's palace, and the streets were full of armored soldiers.

At the gate, Chen Mo hugged Yue Ruyan, then took Xia Zhining and Nalan Yiren into the carriage.

Sun Meng led his personal guards in front, escorting the convoy slowly towards the city gate.

With Chen Mo's current status, even if he was not leaving the capital for some important matter, all the officials would take the initiative to come to the city gate early to see him off.

At the city gate, Geng Songfu, dressed in official uniform, stood on the side of the bluestone street. He saw Chen Mo's motorcade coming from afar, straightened his clothes, stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Your subordinate Geng Songfu is here to see the King of Wei off."

After them came Zuo Lianglun and other civil and military officials.

Chen Mo got off the carriage, nodded to them, and without much conversation, left the city.

Outside the city, Nangong Xian, Wu Changlin and their Fish Scale Guards had been waiting for a long time. After Chen Mo's convoy passed in front of them, they followed closely behind.

(End of this chapter)