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

Chapter 340 The Promulgation of the Heavenly Book, Kublai Khan's Shock!
The first year of the Zhiyuan era was a year of favorable weather, peace, and prosperity for the country.

The drought on the grasslands continued, but it was much less severe than in the previous two years. Zhao Shuo mobilized craftsmen from the Central Plains to go to the grasslands to dig wells, which further alleviated the drought.

Furthermore, since the Khan had just ascended the throne and was establishing his authority, the Nayan people, having received subsidies, did not dare to levy taxes, and the herders of the grasslands finally got a rare chance to catch their breath.

The grassland herders directly under the Yuan Dynasty not only did not have to pay taxes, but also received ample relief, and their lives became even more comfortable.

The Zhao Shuo Khanate's army has always had ample supplies, and this year they began preparations for their conquest of Europe five years later, selecting 50,000 men as the first batch.

These 50,000 men were all equipped with a single Dongfeng warhorse.

A skilled rider can, of course, engage in battle as soon as he mounts his horse. But to unleash his full potential, he must first train well with his warhorse, and that process begins now.

In addition, although warhorses can be used from the age of three and above, riding training should begin at the age of two.

Otherwise, "it has never done any work since it was a puppy", and the training will be twice as difficult when it grows up, and it will be hard to achieve the best results.

It's impossible for the vast territory of the Yuan Dynasty to be without any disasters. Besides the Mongolian grasslands, there were a few other places that suffered small-scale floods and droughts, which were easily quelled by the imperial court.

In the provinces outside the Great Yuan Dynasty, even people of foreign ethnicities were exempted from 10% of their land taxes this year, and they felt the joy of the founding of the Great Yuan Dynasty.

The development of the various provinces within the Great Yuan Dynasty was progressing rapidly.

With virtually no disasters, and Zhao Shuo even exempting land taxes for a year, the money that ordinary farmers could freely spend more than doubled. Their willingness to spend further boosted the prosperity of all industries.

Zhao Shuo also collected taxes on industry and commerce, so in a sense, the exempted taxes returned to the hands of the imperial court.

Free education will begin next year, so shouldn't the schools start being built? Clearly, those slaves from Southeast Asia and Europe are not enough.

The state exempted all corvée labor in the north this year and half of that in the south. Large sums of money were distributed to hire people to build schools, giving the people another source of income.

Those most affected were the scholars in the general public.

With three years of free compulsory education, at least enough teachers should be recruited for the first year this year, right? In the past, scholars who could not pass the imperial examinations could only make a living among the common people. Now, scholars have a huge new way out, and those who failed the imperial examinations can finally earn a living from the government.

After they pass the exam, they will undergo standardized training.

There's not much to teach in the first grade of elementary school. However, Zhao Shuo's promulgation of "science" is something that absolutely must be taught.

This text not only explains the cosmology and worldview appointed by Zhao Shuo, but also teaches the great principles of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, which is the most important part of the three years of free education.

Paper money quickly became popular in the provinces and spread to other provinces.

Originally, within Zhao Shuo Khan's territory, there was already a considerable amount of bills of exchange, which had built up credibility for the Yuan Dynasty.

Who would worry now that the Yuan Dynasty is issuing paper money to amass wealth rather than to benefit the people?
What are those overseas gold and silver mines used for?

If the Yuan Dynasty was really short of money, how could it still offer such a large-scale tax exemption and corvée exemption?
Besides, this is the paper money from the founding of the Yuan Dynasty!
Even if the Yuan Dynasty banknotes depreciate in the future, these founding banknotes will still have great collectible value, and their prices will only rise!

In the first year of the Zhiyuan era, another major measure taken by the Yuan Dynasty was to reorganize the "Huimin Pharmacy" and establish hospitals in provincial capitals, county towns, and prefectural capitals.

In the ninth year of the Xining era of Emperor Shenzong of Song, Chancellor Wang Anshi implemented new policies, establishing the "Prepared Medicine Bureau." This bureau unified the preparation, sale, and distribution of medicines, ensuring their quality. Furthermore, during epidemics, medicines were provided free of charge to the poor.

This pharmacy even has a medical assistance function, providing free medical services to impoverished patients and setting up a fixed location for medical activities.

Later, "Shu Pharmacy" was renamed "Huimin Pharmacy".

Of course, ideals are often grander than reality. The Song Dynasty's tight finances directly impacted the operation of the Huimin Pharmacy. Frequent funding shortages led to a decline in the quality and quantity of medicinal herbs, causing many pharmacies to gradually fall into disrepair and become mere shells.

However, its form and name as an "official pharmacy" were retained until the end of the Southern Song Dynasty.

After the Yuan Dynasty took control of the Central Plains, it even directly inherited this medical system, and there were also public pharmacies during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

No matter how ineffective this system may be, at least the framework is there, and something is better than nothing.

Zhao Shuo unified China and established a nationwide medical system based on the Song Dynasty's system of public pharmacies.

The nationwide smallpox vaccination program was based on this medical system.

Now that the Great Yuan Dynasty has been established, these "benefit-the-people pharmacies" have been officially reorganized into county hospitals, state hospitals, and provincial hospitals, and there is also the Imperial Hospital in Zhongdu.

Each hospital not only faces patients independently but also receives guidance from higher-level hospitals and regularly organizes further training for its doctors.

In addition, starting this year, the county hospital has a task: to train barefoot doctors.

These barefoot doctors were made up of ordinary people who were willing to learn medicine. The training period was only one year, and they only had simple medicines such as aspirin, allicin, malva nut, and isatis root to treat people's headaches and fevers.

These barefoot doctors also had two major tasks. One was to popularize hygiene and epidemic prevention knowledge: kill rats and mosquitoes, wash hands frequently before meals and after using the toilet, drink hot water and sun-dry quilts, and change people's hygiene habits.

After all, science states that there are many tiny organisms in the world that are invisible to the naked eye. Many diseases are caused by these tiny organisms.

Science comes from Your Majesty, and Your Majesty's knowledge comes from the Supreme God of Heaven.

Don't you believe in the Jade Emperor?
Secondly, it was to monitor the epidemic situation and report it to the imperial court immediately upon discovery.

In addition to training barefoot doctors, the county hospital also trained midwives in various villages, taught them various hygiene knowledge, and popularized forceps delivery tools to reduce the mortality rate of women during childbirth.

In addition to their own income from serving the villagers, these barefoot doctors and trained midwives also received certain subsidies from the imperial court.

The barefoot doctor earned 300 coins a month, and the midwife earned 100 coins, which provided a small supplement to their lives.

As for the first year, what impressed the people most was the change in social order. The saying that people didn't pick up lost items on the road and didn't lock their doors at night might be an exaggeration, but there had never been such a stable situation before.

On the one hand, economic development has eliminated the need for illegal or criminal activities.

On the other hand, there's immigration.

The better the lives of the Chinese people, the less willing they are to emigrate. However, the annual emigration targets must be met!
The government panicked. What used to be severe punishment of exile was now being reduced to exile to Australia or the Americas, even for lighter punishments.

Petty theft, fraud, adultery with married women, gambling, extortion, assault causing injury... once caught, they are immediately added to the immigration list.

If you can't even go overseas to strike it rich, you might as well go overseas to farm!

In fact, Zhao Shuo originally didn't want to do this; he didn't want so many criminals to join the immigration ranks and stigmatize overseas immigrants. However, given how things had developed, he had no other choice.

We can't just leave the Americas to Zhao Yun or Kublai Khan, can we?
On August 13, 1250, Kublai Khan arrived at Quanzhou Port with Liu Bingzhong and more than 3,000 others.

When the Kurultai ended, Kublai Khan was already thinking about exploring the Americas, and he received Zhao Shuo's permission and support.

However, as mentioned before, it was Möngke Khan, not Kublai Khan, who was in charge of Tolui's faction. How many people Kublai Khan took to the Americas, who they took, and how much material and financial support Tolui's faction provided were not matters for him to decide; only Möngke Khan had the final say.

So, after much delay, it has only just arrived at Quanzhou Port.

They will be received here by the Navy in Plain Blue and head to the Americas.

However, Quanzhou was a hub of maritime trade, and Kublai Khan obtained the latest intelligence about the Americas there, which made him somewhat hesitant.

Ships to the Americas could only make one round trip a year, and sea voyages were fraught with risks, to make matters worse.

The natives of the Americas were not to be trifled with either. Although they did not have iron weapons, they possessed weapons made of obsidian and bronze.

The natives didn't have horses, but even Kublai Khan couldn't take many horses on his long ocean voyages! And when they reached the Americas, those horses would be lost in the fighting!
Most importantly, of his three thousand men, there were farmers and various craftsmen, but the actual combat personnel numbered less than two thousand.

Can they really make a breakthrough when faced with the vast ocean of indigenous people?

Yes, Zhao Yun made inroads in the Americas, but at the cost of losing over ten thousand men. Could Kublai Khan afford such a loss?

What made Kublai Khan hesitate was that the Plain Blue Banner of the Navy offered him two options.

One was the sea route to Mexico explored by Zhao Yun. The other was a new sea route explored by the Navy's Zhenglanqi.

This sea route, aided by the northwest monsoon, enters the East China Sea, enters the Kuroshio Current, and sails northeastward with the Kuroshio Current, passing through the sea south of Japan. After entering the vast Pacific Ocean, it uses the North Pacific Current and the still-present westerly winds to sail eastward all the way to the west coast of America (California).

Should they develop alongside Zhao Yun, or open up new opportunities independently?
Developing near Zhao Yun would facilitate cooperation with him, securing food supplies and military support.
However, every move they made was also under Zhao Shuo's control. Moreover, Zhao Yun's territory was mountainous, which was not conducive to the Mongol cavalry's movement and their ability to completely overwhelm the natives.

Should we develop our forces away from Zhao Yun? Are these three thousand people really up to the task?
Although Kublai Khan gained more support from Möngke after opening up the situation, it would take more than a year for the round trip to arrive, and even if reinforcements were sent, it wouldn't be quick.

Kublai Khan hesitated.

"Four Kings! We've bought them back! We've bought them back!"

Just as Kublai Khan was deep in thought in his military camp outside Quanzhou Port, Liu Bingzhong hurriedly walked in with a book in his hand.

What Liu Bingzhong bought back were, of course, the science textbooks for the three years of compulsory education.

Because Zhao Shuo claimed that it was transmitted by the Jade Emperor, it was called the "Heavenly Book" by the people.

The textbook will be used on a large scale next year, so there's nothing to keep secret about it. Today is the day it's being released in Quanzhou.

Kublai Khan was certainly aware that Zhao Shuo claimed to have received a revelation from the Jade Emperor when he ascended the throne.

Although he himself did not believe in it, he was indeed very curious and ordered someone to bring it to him as soon as they bought the book.

Before long, the central command tent was completely silent, with only the sound of Kublai Khan and Liu Bingzhong turning the pages of their books.

Liu Bingzhong also took out a book from his bosom and carefully read it—it was a mass-produced book, not one that could only be bought once.

"Hmph, what a charade." Kublai Khan muttered to himself as he flipped through the cryptic book.

Kublai Khan was completely oblivious to the preceding content regarding the origins of the universe and its impact on reality.

Liu Bingzhong, however, did not think so.

Every religion and even every school of thought, including Confucianism, explores this question. For example, Confucianism's Neo-Confucianism believes the world is composed of *qi* (vital energy) and *li* (principle). *Li* is the *dao* (the Way), the law governing the operation of all things. *Qi*, on the other hand, manifests as all things in the world.

This is very similar to Zhao Shuo's theory, and they share a similar approach.

However, Zhao Shuo's theory is essentially a unity of "qi" and "li," and it is combined with the concept of the Supreme God of Heaven, which is quite unique.

However, both Kublai Khan and Liu Bingzhong were taken aback by what they saw next.

In the next part of the Heavenly Book, Zhao Shuo said that the earth beneath their feet was also one of the stars!

Stars are actually just spheres moving in the void.

This explains the astronomical phenomenon of "Mercury retrograde."

It's a very simple principle: Mercury retrograde doesn't mean that Mercury's actual direction of motion is reversed. Rather, it's a visual change in trajectory caused by the difference in the ecliptic angle between Mercury's orbit and Earth's rotation.

Mercury, in fact, has always been moving along its fixed orbit!

Most importantly, Zhao Shuo proposed that the Earth, where humanity resides, is also a sphere!
As long as you keep walking in one direction, you can return to the starting point!
"Sigh~~"

Kublai Khan gasped, "Liu Bingzhong, tell me, is this celestial book real or fake? Uncle Zhao Shuo, how could you utter such heretical words! The earth beneath our feet is a sphere, what about the people on the other side of the sphere? Won't they all fall down?"

Liu Bingzhong read faster than Kublai Khan and said, "Fourth Prince, look at the back. The Heavenly Khan explained that it's because of the law of universal gravitation. Everyone thinks that the ground beneath their feet is below, but we are actually being pulled in by the earth. The specific details of the law of universal gravitation will be taught at the provincial school."

"So, you think this celestial book is real?"

"Perhaps," Liu Bingzhong said thoughtfully. "Fourth King, when we look out to sea from Quanzhou Port, do we see the sails first and then the hulls? This shows that the sea surface is actually curved."

Kublai Khan took a deep breath and said, "So it's possible that starting from one place and walking straight ahead will lead back to the original place? Did Uncle Zhao Shuo really receive a divine revelation?"

Liu Bingzhong smiled wryly and said, "I don't know whether the Heavenly Khan has received divine revelation or not. But, given his wisdom and insight, how could he announce it to the world if he wasn't certain? Once someone actually completes a global voyage and returns to the starting point, who can say that the Heavenly Khan hasn't received divine revelation? Even if it's fake, it will become real."

"That's it..."

Kublai Khan frowned deeply, his heart turning cold.

Kublai Khan was dissatisfied that the position of Great Khan of the Mongols had fallen into the hands of Zhao Shuo's faction. He wanted to expand his influence in the Americas and one day return the Khanate of the Great Mongol Empire to the Borjigin clan, preferably to himself, Kublai Khan!
But Zhao Shuo received a divine revelation!
They've all presented empirical evidence of circumnavigation!

Once he has truly completed his circumnavigation of the globe, his position as Khan will be so secure that Kublai Khan's opportunities will be nowhere to be found.

However, he was a man of strong will, and soon burst into laughter.

Liu Bingzhong asked, "Why is the Fourth Prince laughing?"

Kublai Khan said, "What I'm laughing at is that my uncle Zhao Shuo, who was wise all his life, has made a foolish mistake this time! If he were to claim that he has received divine revelation, making him and his descendants the masters of the entire world, what chance would I have?"

"In the end, he only claimed that the Eternal Heaven had recognized him. After Uncle Zhao Shuo passes away, won't my opportunity come?"

In truth, Kublai Khan vaguely felt that Zhao Shuo's reluctance to speak in this way was to ensure the absolute accuracy of the divine book. What dynasty in the world lasts a thousand years?
But isn't this just encouraging himself and Liu Bingzhong?

If Kublai Khan didn't say it this way, what else could he say?
After a pause, Kublai Khan gently slapped the table and said, "My mind is made up. I will not expand with Zhao Yun, but will build a foundation on the American continent on my own! One day, I will give my brother Zhao He a big surprise."

Kublai Khan was determined to achieve his ambitions!
(End of this chapter)