Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 233 Zhao He reports victory, the navy is complete!
On the sixth day of the eighth month of the third year of the reign of Emperor Wuzong of Tang, at Fengyi Gate in Zhongdu City.

Zhongdu City had thirteen city gates, and Fengyi Gate was the main southern gate among them. Once inside Fengyi Gate, one could walk north along the straight and wide Imperial Street to reach the Imperial Palace.

Since the Jin Dynasty established its capital here, it stipulated that only the emperor, members of the royal family, high-ranking officials of the court, and the imperial guards could enter the city through Fengyi Gate, while everyone else had to use the other eleven city gates.

Although Zhao Shuo did not have the title of emperor, he had the power of one, and his regulations for Zhongdu were similar.

However, today is an exception.

As the sun rose, the wide Imperial Street stretched for ten miles south of Fengyi Gate, and was packed with soldiers, civilians, and ordinary people.

These soldiers and civilians included locals from Zhongdu City, people who came from Hebei Province, merchants from afar, and even scholars from all over the country who came to participate in this year's imperial examinations.

Because two important convoys were entering the capital today, Zhao Shuo was very pleased and immediately issued an edict to open Fengyi Gate, allowing soldiers, civilians and ordinary people to enter and exit, and to watch the ceremony.

The first convoy was the one carrying Crown Prince Zhao He's report of victory.

After Baghdad's great victory and the annihilation of the main force of the True God's coalition, Zhao He ordered Yelü Xuan to select all the books in the Wisdom Palace that might be beneficial to Chinese civilization, including those on astronomy, geography, medicine, mechanics, mathematics, and so on.

More than 30,000 parchment scrolls, along with some gold and silver treasures and the heads of nobles seized in Baghdad, were loaded onto thirty large carts and sent from thousands of miles away to Zhongdu to report the victory.

The second convoy was a tribute procession from the Navy's Red Flag fleet.

Now, the Navy's Zhenghongqi has been established for eight years. They have long since built new warships based on the Dutch ocean-going ship designs taught by Zhao Shuo, and have begun preliminary training.

Now, in the midst of autumn harvest, the Navy's Zheng Hongqi loaded their two major achievements onto thirty large trucks as a gift to Zhao Shuo.

The first achievement was a complete whale skeleton.

With the navy having had few battles in recent years, how could it train its combat capabilities? Under Zhao Shuo's instructions, the navy launched a campaign against whales in the ocean.

The second finding was bird droppings from Southeast Asia.

Last year, a large naval vessel finally reached the South Pacific islands and transported a shipment of bird guano to Shandong. This shipment of guano was used as an experimental sample on various grains, vegetables, and fruits, all of which yielded good results.

With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, they loaded some of their harvest onto trucks and transported it to Zhongdu.

The soldiers and civilians were naturally very interested in these two teams that were presenting gifts, and they came in droves, young and old, crowding around them.

In front of these soldiers, civilians, and ordinary people was a procession of officials sent by Zhao Shuo to welcome the two gift-giving teams.

Of course, since it was merely Zhao He's envoy arriving, not even Zhao Shuo, let alone the Grand Secretary Yelü Chucai, would have come out to greet him.

The official in charge of these officials was Zhao Bingwen, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

Zhao Bingwen was known as the literary master of the North, not only for his profound scholarship but also for his considerable ability to govern.

When Zhao Shuo asked Yelü Chucai to compile a list of talented people from Bianliang to request from the Jin state, Zhao Bingwen was the first on the list.

He was seventy-five years old this year, and if history had unfolded normally, he would have passed away a year ago. However, Zhao Shuo changed history, not only destroying the Jin dynasty very quickly, thus avoiding Zhao Bingwen's excessive mental strain, but also because the medical level in Zhongdu was much better than in the original historical period, Zhao Bingwen is still alive.

"Shi Quan pays his respects to Minister Zhao! The Crown Prince led his army on a western expedition, and in the Battle of Baghdad, he annihilated 300,000 troops of the Allied Forces of the True God Cult, captured 13 True God Cult rulers, and seized countless spoils. Therefore, I present to His Majesty and the court a victory gift of 30,000 taels of gold, 70,000 taels of silver, the heads of 83 True God Cult commanders of 1,000 rank or above, and 34,566 volumes of the True God Cult's precious library!"

Shi Tianni's second son, Shi Quan, paid a grand salute to Zhao Bingwen and loudly proclaimed Zhao He's achievements as the heir apparent.

According to the imperial system, the Eight Banners commanders and ministers of various departments were of equal rank, and the commanders of each thousand were only half a rank lower than the vice ministers. Shi Quan only needed to bow to Zhao Bingwen and did not need to perform a grand ceremony.

However, Zhao Bingwen represented the imperial court and King Zhao Shuo. Shi Quan represented the Western Expeditionary Army and Crown Prince Zhao He, so they still had to perform the grand ceremony.

"Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! Commander Shi, you have come a long way and have worked hard. The Crown Prince has also worked hard on his expedition thousands of miles away. On behalf of the King and the court, I would like to express my gratitude to the soldiers on the western expedition!"

Zhao Bingwen was now extremely agitated.

He was a true Confucian scholar, upholding the principle of loyalty to one's master. He was a leading figure in the northern literary world and a man who valued his reputation above all else. Although he surrendered to Zhao Shuo, he still felt somewhat uneasy.

But now that awkward feeling has completely disappeared.

It's a very simple principle. It's one thing for Zhao Shuo to be invincible, but even the Crown Prince Zhao He is so brave.

In the Battle of Baghdad, Zhao He, the eldest son of the Khans, distinguished himself with the greatest military achievements. As a result, the wealthy and prosperous Ayyubid dynasty fell into the hands of Zhao Shuo.

What does this mean?
The newly established nation to which Zhao Bingwen surrendered had at least two wise rulers, ensuring its prosperity for decades to come!

The Qin Dynasty perished after only two generations, and the Sui Dynasty also ended with its second ruler. The reason was simple: when a dynasty reaches its second generation, the people's hearts remain restless. If the second ruler is not a wise and capable monarch, the dynasty is very likely to collapse after only two generations.

Only when it is steadily passed down to the third generation can the foundation be considered established.

It now seems that this nascent nation will have no problem passing on to the third generation. Given Zhao Shuo's great achievements, this dynasty should at least be comparable to the Han or Tang dynasties.

What's shameful about him surrendering to such a dynasty?

That's called abandoning darkness and turning to the light!

Although he cannot compare to Wei Zheng of the Tang Dynasty, the principle is the same!

Then, Zhao Bingwen turned to the soldiers and civilians and said, "Your Majesty is invincible, expanding the territory by 20,000 li and benefiting hundreds of millions of people. Not only has the Crown Prince achieved a glorious victory, but he has also brought the essence of civilizations from various countries to Zhongdu. With such civil and military achievements, Your Majesty has a worthy successor! We congratulate Your Majesty! We congratulate the court!"

"Congratulations to the King! Congratulations to the court!"

"With a worthy successor, our king has even greater hope!"

"I am willing to die for the King! I am willing to die for the Crown Prince!"

"Long live the King! Long live the Crown Prince!"

……

The soldiers, civilians, and local people around cheered loudly!
Even now, although Zhao Shuo has not declared himself emperor, the custom of addressing the people as "Long live the King" has become widespread among the soldiers and civilians under his rule.

It's impossible for Zhao Shuo to live to be ten thousand years old.

However, the crown prince's bravery signifies a stable succession for the nation. Based on the experiences of the Han and Tang dynasties, there should be at least a century of peace to enjoy.

The people were even happier than Zhao Bingwen.

This is one of the reasons why they all came to attend the ceremony today.

The arrival of the convoy behind them also greatly excited the people.

The whale skeleton was so enormous that it filled ten large carts. The people of Zhongdu had never seen such a huge creature before; they were truly astonished and discussed it animatedly.

"I'd only ever heard of whales before, never actually seen one. Wow, this whale is huge! It must weigh tens of thousands of pounds!" "Hehe, it weighs way more than tens of thousands of pounds! I heard from my relatives in Shandong that the whale was cut up and weighed, and it was a whopping 107,468 pounds and 3 ounces!"

"So many? Isn't that enough to feed two or three hundred people for a year?"

"Isn't that right? In years of famine, our navy's whale hunting alone can solve a lot of food problems. I've heard that this year alone, forty or fifty whales have already been sold in Shandong. But this whale is big enough that we specially brought its bones to present to His Majesty as a gift!"

"The navy is that powerful? I thought they only caught one whale! Now it seems whaling is a piece of cake for them. Wow~~"

At this point, the man suddenly gasped and said, "Didn't Li Bai have a poem that says, 'How I wish I had a sword that could reach the heavens and slay the whale across the sea?' Now, Your Majesty doesn't have a sword that can reach the heavens, but you have the navy's red flag, making whale hunting a piece of cake. If you were to attack the Song navy, wouldn't it be an easy victory?"

"You just realized that? The most important factor in His Majesty's conquest of Song is the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, which means a naval battle between the two countries. Now that the navy is flying its red flag so majestically, it seems the day of Song's destruction is not far off, haha!"

Since Zhao Gou implemented Qin Hui's strategy of "southerners returning to the south and northerners returning to the north," the Han people in the north had long since lost all affection for the Song Dynasty.

The king intends to destroy the Song dynasty, and everyone is happy to see it happen.

However, the Song Dynasty's navy was powerful, which caused some concern. The Eight Banners army was invincible on land, but they might not be able to succeed on the water.

Now that I've seen these enormous whale bones, even that worry has completely vanished.

Of course, compared to the fish skeletons that could only be admired from afar, the large trucks in the back were much more welcome!
"Next, try the pears fertilized with guano from Southeast Asia!"

"Don't grab it! Don't grab it! This big apple is for whoever catches it!"

"Let me tell you, fruit treated with bird droppings not only yields more, but is also sweeter than before! Everyone should try some!"

……

The caravan had already received Zhao Shuo's orders, and as they continued to move forward, they threw the fruits, pears, and apples from their carts into the crowd.

Soldiers lined both sides of the road to maintain order and prevent stampedes.

These fruits are naturally very sweet because the guano from the South Seas contains not only a large amount of nitrogen fertilizer but also sufficient potassium fertilizer, which not only increases the yield of the fruits but also increases their sweetness by a full 30%.

"They're so sweet! They're definitely much sweeter than the pears we have here! If more and more guano from Southeast Asia are shipped over, we'll be able to eat such sweet pears more often. Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty!"

"Yes! I heard that the king's large ships can carry a million catties of bird guano in one trip, which makes the transportation cost incredibly cheap. I'm afraid that bird guano from Southeast Asia can be used in the river basins, and naturally, there will be more and more delicious fruits."

Suddenly, someone interjected, "You two are far too narrow-minded! What are some delicious fruits compared to this? The greatest use of Southeast Asian bird guano is as fertilizer, increasing grain production. My cousin's father-in-law is the magistrate of Mianman County. He read in the imperial gazette that fields treated with Southeast Asian bird guano yielded at least 50% more than those not treated! At least 50%, and some even doubled their yield!"

"So much? Then all those boatloads of bird droppings that were brought back were grain!"

"Heavens! If the land area increases by 50% across the board, how much more can be stored up? I'm afraid there will be no more famine in the world!"

A 50% increase in production doesn't mean a 50% increase in reserves; it means at least a doubling!

After accumulating savings for several years, even if the people encounter two or three years of major disasters, they can easily weather the storm. Moreover, there are also relief supplies from the imperial court.
They talked excitedly, their eyes practically shining with the thought of never having to worry about hunger again.

"There will be no more famine in the world... In such a glorious and prosperous age, it would be a real pity not to go out and make a difference!"

A young man of about seventeen or eighteen years old in the crowd, after hearing this discussion, secretly made up his mind.

His surname was Wen, his given name was Yi, and his pen name was Gezhai. He was from Luling (present-day Ji'an, Jiangxi) in the Southern Song Dynasty.

If history unfolds as expected, he will marry Zeng next year and have a son two years later, named Yunsun.

This Wen Yunsun later became the top scholar in the imperial examination and changed his name to "Wen Tianxiang".

Of course, Wenyi had no idea that her future son would be so amazing.

His trip to Zhongdu this time was not to participate in Zhao Shuo's imperial examination. Rather, although he had no intention of entering officialdom, he was an avid reader.

It is said that Zhao He transported the precious Persian books to Zhongdu. Zhao Shuo decreed that they be stored in the National Library for the Chinese people to study, but copying them was forbidden, and they were also prohibited from being taken out of the library.

Wenyi then arrived in Zhongdu, intending to see classics from outside China.

No matter how Zhao Shuo expanded the territory, Wen Yi remained unmoved. No matter how valiant Zhao He was, and how Zhao Shuo had a worthy successor, Wen Yi was still unmoved.

However, the miraculous effects of these Southeast Asian bird droppings, which could make it possible for the world to be free from famine, truly tempted Wenyi.

He realized that a great era, far different from previous dynasties, was about to begin. If he couldn't participate in it, he would be wasting his life.

……

……

Three days later, at the Imperial Palace, in the Da'an Hall.

"Hmm? Meng Zhijin didn't register?" Zhao Shuo looked at Xin You.

Meng Zhijin is Meng Gong's second son, fourteen years old this year, and has been known as a child prodigy since childhood. According to intelligence from the Black Ice Guard, he arrived in Zhongdu with a few followers.

Zhao Shuo had initially thought that Meng Gong intended to surrender and wanted his son to participate in the imperial examination. Unexpectedly, it turned out that Meng Zhijin might have only come to Zhongdu to broaden his horizons and had not actually registered for the examination.

Xin You asked, "Should we keep him here?"

“No need,” Zhao Shuo shook his head and said, “If Meng Gong changes his stance because of his son’s life, then he is not worthy of my high regard.”

Seeing that Zhao Shuo was in low spirits, Xin You said, "Although Meng Zhijin did not register, a child prodigy from the State of Song has registered. His name is Wen Yi and he is from Luling."

Wenyi? A native of Luling?

Could he be Wen Tianxiang's father?
Zhao Shuo only knew that Wen Tianxiang was from Luling, but he didn't know much about his father's name.

However, given that Wen Yi was from Luling, had the surname Wen, and was known as a child prodigy, these factors combined make him very likely to be Wen Tianxiang's father.

Swords and spears have no eyes. If Wen Tianxiang's father had died in the war, there would have been no Wen Tianxiang, which would have been a great pity.

Unexpectedly, he took the initiative to go north and register for the imperial examination.

Although Zhao Shuo had decided to attack the Song Dynasty and announced it to the world, his navy was not yet ready. He continued to deploy troops and accumulate strength, holding back his attack.

Now, the navy has been trained and is well-established, and even Wenyi has taken the initiative to participate in Zhao Shuo's imperial examination.

Everything was ready for this war to destroy the Song Dynasty; all that was left was to send out the troops.

(End of this chapter)