The gods began by supporting Guo Jing to become emperor

Chapter 227: Rest and Recuperation, Mongolia Returns

Mu Huali didn't care about their attitude. It was natural for the weak to submit to the strong. He said, "Oh? Tell me your conditions."

Zhen Dexiu and Qiao Xingjian looked at each other, and then said, "We, the Song Dynasty, are willing to submit to the Mongol Khan and pay an annual tribute of 400,000 taels of silver, plus 300,000 rolls of silk cloth. We only hope that the two dead can live in peace and stop causing chaos."

"not enough!"

Mu Huali didn't even look at them and uttered two words lightly.

"I wonder what the King, the Grand Tutor, thinks. Let's discuss it together." Qiao Xingjian clasped his fists and saluted with a very respectful attitude.

Mu Huali's eyes moved from the imperial seal to them, his voice full of dissatisfaction, "To be honest, the Mongolian tribute issue should be decided by the Khan, I am just acting on his behalf. Logically, you Song Kingdom should send envoys to Mongolia to accept the title and sign an alliance."

"If the Khan had not gone on an expedition to the Western Regions, I would not have met you in Lin'an. This number is too small. You paid more than this as tribute to the Jin Kingdom. Do you think that Mongolia is less important than the Jin Kingdom?"

Before Zhen Dexiu could say anything, Qiao Xingjian gave in directly, "Grand Master, please calm down. If it is not enough, we can still talk. I just hope that both sides can stop fighting, reconcile, and avoid war."

"Well, I'll give you one more chance and give me a satisfactory answer." Without waiting for them to speak, Mu Huali continued, "Come on, show them away!"

Everyone in the hall sighed quietly, bowed again, and turned to leave.

……

Back at the Song army camp, Qiao Xingjian was no longer as submissive as before, and his tone became stiff, "It seems that the Mongolians' appetite is bigger than we thought!"

Zhen Dexiu also sighed, "The current situation is like this, we have no choice but to bow our heads, but as long as we can talk, it's fine."

Now that the Jin Dynasty has been destroyed, the entire Song Dynasty is afraid that Mongolia will attack and repeat the shame of Jingkang. Unlike before, they no longer have the natural barrier of the Yangtze River to protect them, let alone a second Lin'an. If they retreat again, they will probably have to retreat to the sea.

Therefore, they had to negotiate with Mongolia to avoid war.

The war between Mongolia and Jin not only made them see the power of Mongolia, but also made them see their own weakness. They could not even take Lin'an, a city that was fighting desperately, but Mongolia was able to destroy the huge Jin Dynasty in a short period of time. Its strength was evident, especially since the main force of Mongolia was still on the westward expedition, which was even more terrifying.

Then, Zhen Dexiu gritted his teeth, a hint of determination flashed in his eyes, "Even if the annual tribute is doubled, we have to give it to them. At most, we can add some taxes to make the people suffer, and I will bear the blame!"

"You want to increase taxes again? Are you crazy?" Qiao Xingjian looked at him in surprise, with a look of disbelief on his face. Civil unrest had already broken out in various parts of the south. If taxes were to be increased again, who knows what kind of chaos would break out.

Zhen Dexiu looked at him calmly in a calm voice, "If you don't raise taxes, then we'll have to go to war. You have to choose one!"

"Alas, it's a pity that we didn't take back Lin'an, otherwise we wouldn't have to increase taxes."

Zhen Dexiu nodded silently. Lin'an had a very high economic status in the Song Dynasty. Various camps of the imperial court were set up there. This was the imperial capital they had run for a hundred years and could be called the second Kaifeng. Unfortunately, it fell into the hands of the enemy.

"Let's add it. The Ministry of Revenue and the Council of Political Affairs should work together to come up with a charter. No matter what, we have to get through these few years and wait until the military defense is established." Faced with such a situation, even if Qiao Xingjian was unwilling, he had to do it.

If they want to fight, they will definitely not be able to stop it. In this case, they only have one choice.

"Let's go back to Nanchang and report to the government. After some time, we will go to the north in person."

……

Guo Jing didn't care what kind of alliance the Song Dynasty and Mongolia would reach. What he wanted to do now was to recuperate and reduce taxes and levies. After so many years of fighting, the people's strength had been squeezed to the limit and it was time to take a break.

"Father-in-law, how is the report on the land survey going?"

"We should also discuss the topic of the civil servant selection exam."

"The list of people who have been granted land for military merit has been verified. It's time to move on to the next step."

……

In the main hall of the marquis's mansion, Guo Jing and Huang Yaoshi were sitting at their desks, writing furiously. A group of officials were running back and forth in the hall, organizing and transmitting memorials and other materials.

If we were to say who is the busiest person in the Marquis' Mansion right now, it would be Huang Yaoshi. Huang Rong is about to give birth, and he originally came to see his daughter, but was dragged here by Guo Jing to discuss government affairs, and then things got out of control.

Whenever Guo Jing encountered something he was unsure about, he would consult him. Sometimes he would deliberately avoid him, but the countermeasures Guo Jing came up with would make him shake his head. In the end, he could not help but step forward to correct them.

For this purpose, Guo Jing specially appointed Huang Yaoshi as the Grand Tutor, and participated in decision-making together with the Chief Secretary, Prime Minister and others. As for other officials in the Marquis' Mansion, they could not participate in decision-making and were only executors.

At the same time, he integrated the military's political system with the shogunate to form a complete leadership system and achieve separation of military and political power.

In the garden, Guo Jing was drinking with Su Ming.

He held the wine glass in his hand, his voice full of emotion, "Teacher, this time I awarded several million acres of land. Most of the land around Henan and Luoyang was distributed to them, which can be regarded as stabilizing the morale of the army. With these soldiers, even if the nobles rebel, I am not afraid of them at all."

As early as when he started his career, he established the system of military service. Even though it was just in its infancy, he still persisted in the face of various difficulties. Until now, the lands of the military service are scattered throughout Guanzhong and the Three Jins, dividing the power of the wealthy families and expanding his base. Almost every county has military service scattered throughout it.

The government soldiers were the basis of his rule. Having government soldiers in local areas could also intimidate the powerful families a little. Today's aristocratic families are no longer the same as they were in the past. They do not have a monopoly in politics, and their voice in the military has been greatly reduced. They only have an advantage in economy.

"Although Song was weak, its taxation system is worth learning from. It is amazing that they could collect so much tax revenue with half of the country."

Hearing this, Su Ming's brows were filled with joy, "Very good, you thought of this and you have remembered everything I taught you."

Compared with the Ming Dynasty which did not understand economic principles, the Song Dynasty was far superior in terms of money economy. Jiaozi survived for many years in their hands, but the Ming Dynasty abolished Baochao, and the later Qing Dynasty picked up the silver notes and made them powerful, reaping countless benefits.

Money is undoubtedly important to a country. However, most of the money of a country comes from taxes, and the mining of precious metals in the north and south of the Central Plains has been mostly exhausted after thousands of years. This is also the historical background for the popularity of Jiaozi. There is little circulation of copper coins and silver in the market, so there must be a substitute.

"Salt Jiaozi will eventually have to be linked to money. You must remember this. If Jiaozi is issued indiscriminately and the amount far exceeds the delivery of salt, the consequences will be disastrous. You must grasp the balance in between. Measuring the land is not an easy task. You must prepare early." To be honest, he was very surprised that Huang Yaoshi and Guo Jing could think of linking Jiaozi and salt.

The North lacks money and copper. In addition, the area is vast and the terrain is complex. The issuance of paper money requires not only stable rule but also market confidence. Having salt as an anchor is like an extra layer of insurance.

Guo Jing nodded, "Jing'er understands, but the officials in the government are not very useful. We need a large number of officials to survey the land and settle the land. I have expanded the official selection system, but it is still not enough. I have promoted arithmetic in the school. In a few years, there will be a group of students who are proficient in arithmetic. I hope they can be put to good use."

"Of course we need to have enough manpower, but there is one thing you have to understand. Since ancient times, if the imperial power did not go down to the countryside, it would be difficult for local rule to gain popularity. The shogunate can certainly place officials on the payroll, but it will take a long time to truly bring them under its rule. Do you have any solutions?" Su Ming picked up the wine glass, took a sip, and posed a difficult question.

Since ancient times, it has been easy to conquer a country, difficult to keep it, and even more difficult to rule it.

"Teacher, please teach me."

"As the saying goes, there is no order without rules. If you want to maintain long-term rule, you must have effective systems, whether they are good or bad."

Hearing this, Guo Jing's face turned serious and he fell into deep thought.

There is no doubt that the reason why the current shogunate can maintain its operation is that it has a unified organizational structure. This structure originated from the royal shogunate of previous dynasties. Only by perfecting the structure can it rule.

The emperor's power does not only come from his own rights, but also from the system established by rites and laws. Each system is the authority of a ruling system. If the system collapses, power will naturally collapse, and the resulting power vacuum will naturally be seized by others. At that time, the court will lose its majesty, and it will be the beginning of a great change in the world.

At this time, Guo Jing thought of the Song Kingdom in the south. There was no doubt that Emperor Zhao in the south had lost his majesty, the emperor's power had fallen into others' hands, and treacherous ministers came one after another, which led to the country's increasing decline and loss of power and humiliation.

In contrast, in the early Song Dynasty, emperors after Renzong successively carried out reforms and even reorganized the army for war, which almost destroyed Western Xia. However, when Huizong ascended the throne, the country was prosperous and mighty, but the country was not in a good position to rule. Although the internal rule was stable, it was unable to cope with the military strength of the enemy.

Similarly, Guo Jing thought about himself. He could conquer the world now and rule the world in the future. He never doubted this.

But can his sons and grandchildren be good emperors? Can they control the imperial power?

Thinking of this, his heart gradually became heavy. After thinking for a long time, he still couldn't come to a conclusion. After thinking it through, he sighed deeply and bowed deeply to Su Ming, "Teacher, I will teach you."

"Go."

"Farewell, disciple!"

In the following period, Guo Jing ordered the Marquis' Mansion to issue official documents to various places, reducing taxes and levies. At the same time, he arranged officials in the vicinity of Luoyang to build water conservancy projects, dredge canals, and carry out a series of projects.

……

In the autumn of 1223, Luoyang held an official selection examination. This time, the marquisate not only set up examination halls in the northern prefectures and counties, but also in Huai and Jiangnan. When the news spread to the south, the scholars in Jiangnan were immediately excited.

In the past, they hated the Jin people but had no choice. Now, the Marquis of Han held an official selection examination, and they had one more choice.

Facing the Jin Kingdom, the Song Dynasty was submissive and suffered repeated defeats. However, Guo Jing, Marquis of Han, led his army to destroy the Jin Kingdom, ending the humiliation of the past century. All along, Guo Jing, who held high the banner of anti-Jin, became more and more famous in the south.

Therefore, for this official selection examination, many scholars who were originally going to take part in the imperial examinations of the Song Dynasty went north to take part in the examinations in Huai and Jiangnan. The scene was very spectacular, and there were even rumors in Jiankang city that tens of thousands of people had crossed the river.

At the beginning, when Guo Jing wanted to set up an examination center in Jiangnan, many people in the shogunate opposed it. They thought that there were only so many official positions in total, and the northerners did not have enough to go around, and now the southerners were trying to snatch them. How could they be happy?
However, no one in the shogunate could resist what Guo Jing had decided. Even though Jiangnan had just been settled and people's hearts were not yet stable, he still implemented the official selection examination, not only to recruit talents, but also to win people's hearts.

In the future, these people will serve as officials under the shogunate, and will be a considerable help when attacking the Song Dynasty. They will also be able to balance the power within the shogunate in the future. This can be said to kill four birds with one stone.

Everyone knows that the official selection examination is called official selection, but in fact it is a formal imperial examination. Although the examination questions are quite different from those of the imperial examination, both the results and the system are very similar to the imperial examination.

Also, in this year, the group of young people for whom Guo Jing built the school also officially entered the examination hall.

……

"Guo Jing will definitely be the enemy of our Song Dynasty in the future!" Passing by Jiankang, Zhen Dexiu looked at the grand examination in the city and said to the accompanying officials beside him.

In this world, people are important and unimportant; talents are important, but consumables are unimportant. Guo Jing held examinations in the south, which was undoubtedly a competition with the Song Dynasty for talents. Throughout history, this was not something a mere king could do, but he did it, and did it for a long time.

After crossing the Yangtze River, they arrived in Huai area. After the war ended, the place still could not recover its former prosperity because the Jin people killed too cruelly.

In order to restore prosperity as soon as possible, Guo Jing moved 20,000 households near Kaifeng to Xuzhou City. While Guo Jing took over the Huai area, Yan Jiaozi was gradually replacing the position of Song Jiaozi.

Zhen Dexiu sat in the carriage, holding two different sized Jiaozi in his hands. Recalling the situation in the southern market, his heart was full of complicated feelings. "This Jiaozi method is almost the same as that of our Song Dynasty."

In the past, the Song Dynasty looked down on Guo Jing, thinking that he was just a marquis and a military man who was no match for the Grand Tutor and the King. However, during this expedition to the south to destroy the Jin Dynasty, Guo Jing's performance shocked the entire Song Dynasty.

But at the same time, Guo Jing's series of measures also caught their eyes. The official selection examination, Jiaozi, government soldiers... and a series of other policies made the officials of the Song Dynasty feel unfamiliar yet familiar.

This is clearly something that only the imperial court can do, but it was actually done by a marquisate!
……

In the same year, the Mongols fought against the Russian and Cumans coalition forces east of the Kalka River. Because the Russian princes were not united and could not fight together, they were eventually defeated one by one by the Mongolian army. Subutai and Jebe led their troops to plunder southern Russia and then returned eastward, passing the Volga River and attacking the Bulgars again.

This great victory made Mongolia famous in the West. At the same time, Genghis Khan felt that they had fought for too long and decided to return to the capital. So, tens of thousands of Mongolian cavalry escorted the spoils back to Mongolia from the north of the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea.

This absence lasted for more than a year.

(End of this chapter)