I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 166 The Player Who Opened His Eyes, Zhao Yu
...

April of the second year of the Hongwu reign.

Zhu Gong, the Prefectural Defense Officer of Xiong Prefecture and Military Advisor to the Prefect of Deng Prefecture, submitted a memorial stating: "Since Your Majesty's ascension to the throne, there have been two solar eclipses, both occurring in the middle of the month; earthquakes have struck eleven prefectures in Hedong, and the damage continues to this day, with thousands of people killed. Never before in history have such calamities occurred. I, your humble servant, disregard death, have presumptuously pointed out the shortcomings of your advisors in order to investigate the cause of these calamities. My words are sharp and incisive, and I deserve more than death. However, I am deeply loyal and dare not remain silent, for I receive Your Majesty's salary and, mindful of the nation's importance, dare not consider my own interests..."

Upon seeing such a memorial, Zhao Yu couldn't help but think, 'Sometimes being a prime minister is really tough. When some unusual phenomenon occurs, people blame it on them, trying to use it to bring them down.'

Needless to say, Zhu Gong was after Zhang Dun again.

At this crucial moment of recovering Western Xia, how could Zhao Yu possibly be separated from Zhang Dun, who was in charge of everything?

Without further ado, Zhao Yu directly demoted Zhu Gong, who had been causing trouble for no reason, to the position of Deputy Defense Commissioner in Xiuzhou, thus demonstrating his stance.

At the same time, Cai Jing, Tong Guan and others submitted a memorial to Zhao Yu, suggesting that a workshop could be set up in Suzhou and Hangzhou to collect a large amount of rare and precious materials such as animal teeth, horns, rhinoceroses, bamboo, wood, rattan, gold, silver and jade, and to order various craftsmen to make various exquisite handicrafts to be presented to the palace to decorate Zhao Yu's Yanfu Palace.

Zhao Yu not only righteously rejected the "good intentions" of Cai Jing, Tong Guan, and others, and reprimanded them, but also highly praised Su Shi's recent memorial, "Advice on Frugality to Supplies the Army and Plan to Recover Western Xia."
Your Majesty has heard that a nation prospers through frugality and perishes through extravagance. Although the national treasury has reserves, military campaigns and conquests consume enormous resources. In the past, the Western Xia rebelled against our Great Song, causing the loss of our territory. This is a disgrace to our dynasty and a regret of all previous emperors.

Given the current state of affairs, if we wish to recover the lost territories of Western Xia, a strong military is essential. The foundation of a strong military lies in sufficient provisions. If the court practices frugality, eliminates extravagant spending, reduces unnecessary labor services, dismisses redundant officials, and cuts back on wasteful expenditures, all the savings can be used to supply the army. In this way, weapons can be of high quality, provisions can be sufficient, and soldiers can be well-fed.

Your Majesty, I humbly request that Your Majesty proclaim to the world that you should set an example by promoting frugality. All construction of palaces and production of utensils should be halted unless absolutely necessary; the clothing, food, and carriages of officials should all adhere to established regulations and not deviate from them. With the funds saved through frugality, we should train a strong army, prepare weaponry, and seize the opportunity presented by the Song Dynasty to launch a swift attack, recapture Western Xia, restore national prestige, avenge past humiliations, comfort the spirit of the late Emperor in heaven, and reassure the hearts of the people.

Your humble servant is filled with trepidation and fear, and I am willing to risk my life to report this.

Your subject, Su Shi, respectfully submits this memorial.

In the fifth month of the second year of Hongwu (1367), on the day of Ding Si.

When Cai Jing saw that Zhao Yu was not swayed by extravagance and was able to control his desires, he immediately changed his suggestion to set up Maritime Trade Offices in Guangzhou, Quanzhou, Mingzhou, Hangzhou, Mizhou, Dengzhou and other places to manage foreign trade, collect taxes, purchase goods reserved for the court and manage foreign merchants, so as to demonstrate his own ability and win Zhao Yu's favor with real achievements in increasing revenue.

Cai Jing's suggestion was quite to Zhao Yu's liking.

Zhao Yu had always wanted to engage in maritime trade because it was the most profitable.

When Zhao Yu wrote his novels about the Song Dynasty, he specifically researched relevant data.

According to Zhao Yu, in the sixth year of the Shaoxing era, Quanzhou Port's net profit was 98 strings of cash; by the end of the Shaoxing era, it had risen to 200 million strings of cash. During the Jiading era, Quanzhou Port's annual profit averaged 300 million strings of cash. In the late Southern Song Dynasty, the annual revenue of the Maritime Trade Office reached a peak of 200 million strings of cash, accounting for 20% of the total fiscal revenue.

And this is only one aspect of the profit.

Don't forget, the imperial court can also engage in commodity trade, and the profits from this are also quite considerable.

Taking Longquan celadon as an example, its price in Europe was 100 times its cost. Longquan kilns produced millions of pieces of porcelain annually. Conservatively estimating an average of 200 million pieces per year, the total export volume during the 150 years of the Southern Song Dynasty was approximately 3 million pieces. This alone could have earned the Southern Song court at least several billion strings of cash.

In addition, on the route from Quanzhou to Arabia, the ships had a carrying capacity of 200 tons and could carry 5 pieces of porcelain and 2000 bolts of silk. This route alone could generate a net profit of 100 million strings of cash per year.

The key point is that the ships that went out didn't return empty. They came back laden with goods, such as spices and jewelry.

These luxury goods also had a large market in the Song Dynasty, making them extremely profitable.

When goods were imported, the imperial court levied a 10% tax in kind.

—In addition to official revenue, private trade amounted to approximately 2000 million strings of cash annually.

Some estimates suggest that the Southern Song Dynasty accumulated at least 98.28 billion strings of cash over its 152-year reign, which is nearly 100 billion strings of cash.

Nowadays, the Zhao Song Dynasty certainly possesses more resources than the Southern Song Dynasty in history, and it is not subject to the restrictions imposed by the Jin Dynasty in the north as it was during the Southern Song Dynasty.

Furthermore, Zhao Yu has also created luxury goods such as glass and soap, and Ma Xiaojiao will definitely create even more products in the future.

In this context, opening up the Maritime Silk Road would have ensured that the Zhao Song Dynasty's revenue far exceeded that of the Southern Song Dynasty in history.

Cai Jing understood Zhao Yu, and although Cai Jing was cunning and greedy, he was indeed capable in financial management, unlike those corrupt scholars who only knew how to talk nonsense and ruin the country.

Emperor Zhao Yu granted the request and issued an edict to establish Maritime Trade Offices in Guangzhou, Quanzhou, Mingzhou, Hangzhou, Mizhou, Dengzhou, and other places, appointing Cai Jing to oversee the affairs, ensuring the smooth flow of the Maritime Silk Road and replenishing the national treasury.

Cai Jing felt a sense of relief! He was once again certain that dealing with Zhao Yu only required demonstrating his abilities; there was no need to resort to underhanded tactics...

……

At the same time, unlike Zhao Yu, who vigorously developed the Zhao Song Dynasty as soon as he ascended the throne, the Liao emperor Yelü Yanxi indulged in sensual pleasures and hunting soon after taking the throne.

On the other hand, much like the Song Dynasty was a mess when Zhao Yu took over, the Liao Dynasty, which Yelü Yanxi took over, was also riddled with problems.

Moreover, unlike Zhao Xu, who was a capable monarch, Emperor Daozong of Liao, Yelü Hongji, was hardly a competent emperor. During his reign, the Liao Dynasty had already shown signs of decline.

Although Yelü Hongji was wise and diligent in his early years, as he grew older, he became superstitious about Buddhism and built many temples, which led to the depletion of national strength, the people's exhaustion from taxes, and the gradual loss of stability on the borders.

At that time, treacherous officials held power in the court, such as Yelü Yixin and Yelü Yixun. They seized the opportunity to manipulate power, eliminate dissidents, and the government was in disarray. Loyal and virtuous officials were either demoted or died unjustly, and people throughout the court and the country were filled with fear.

At the beginning of his reign, Yelü Yanxi had the opportunity to turn the tide and revitalize the court. However, he seemed to have learned nothing from his grandfather's lessons. Instead of reforming the court and restoring national strength, he indulged in personal pleasures, pouring his passion into hunting. He spent his days chasing wild animals and indulging in sensual pleasures in the mountains and grasslands. In his palace, there was constant singing and dancing, and the sounds of string and wind instruments filled the air; but in his court, his ministers were negligent, and state affairs were neglected.

Crucially, after Yelü Yanxi ascended the throne, he should have purged Yelü Yixun's faction, eliminated the corrupt elements in the court, and extended the life of the Liao Dynasty.

However, Yelü Yanxi was only concerned with hunting and his own enjoyment. He casually ordered Yelü Asu, the Privy Councilor of the Northern Court, and Xiao Deledai, the Associate Privy Councilor of the Northern Court, to punish Yelü Yixun's faction, and then ignored the matter completely.

Seeing that Yelü Yanxi was so careless and slow in handling such an important matter, the relevant departments did not take it seriously and it took a long time to sort out the case.

Then, seeing that Yelü Yanxi didn't care about anything or whether Yelü Yixun's faction would be purged, and that Yelü Asu had accepted bribes and mostly reduced the crimes of the treacherous party, Xiao Dele Dai couldn't stop him and followed suit.

The court officials and insightful people were extremely anxious and repeatedly submitted memorials to advise Yelü Yanxi to prioritize national affairs and not let the foundation laid by their ancestors be destroyed.

However, Yelü Yanxi not only refused to heed loyal advice, but also ignored it, and even severely punished those who spoke harshly as a warning.

For a time, honest advice was suppressed, and sycophants prospered, further deteriorating the political climate of the Liao Dynasty, and the people suffered immensely. As for Li Qianshun's desire to ally with Yelü Yanxi?

Firstly, Yelü Yanxi looked down on the Western Xia, thinking that it was okay to use the Western Xia, but it would be too foolish to ally with the Western Xia.

Secondly, Yelü Yanxi was unwilling to provoke the Zhao Song Dynasty, which at the time appeared to be quite powerful.

Thirdly, Yelü Yanxi intended to let the Zhao Song Dynasty and the Western Xia Dynasty wear each other down so that he could reap the benefits.

Fourthly, in recent years, the Liao Kingdom has been plagued by internal rebellions and has its own considerable troubles.

Therefore, Yelü Yanxi never agreed to Li Qianshun's request, even with the mediation of Xiao Sese and others.

When it came to the Zhao Song Dynasty, Yelü Yanxi was unwilling to show weakness and befriend it, yet he dared not offend the Zhao Song Dynasty, which was showing a willingness to fight. So he could only use the tactic of "delaying," as if he could drag out the matter of the Zhao Song Dynasty's recovery of Western Xia by delaying it.

In short, after Yelü Yanxi ascended the throne, he neglected state affairs and diplomacy, indulging in hunting all day long.

This made the Yelü and Xiao clan nobles restless, believing that such an emperor was unnecessary.

Against this backdrop, Liao general Xiao Haili was influenced and also joined the rebellion.

Xiao Haili was a nobleman of the Liao Dynasty. His sister married Yelü Yanxi. Relying on his status as a member of the imperial family, he acted recklessly, becoming arrogant and lawless. Ministers impeached him one after another, and Yelü Yanxi tried to reprimand him, but he did not stop. In the end, he rebelled and led his troops to plunder the armory in the southwest of Qianzhou.

Yelü Yanxi ordered Hao Jianu, the northern guard, to quell the rebellion.

Xiao Haili then fled to the Jurchen Adian tribe.

Xiao Haili knew that the Jurchens were strong in battle, so he sent his clansman Woda to contact the Jurchen leader Wanyan Yingge, expressing his willingness to help Wanyan Yingge attack the Liao Dynasty.

Unexpectedly, Wanyan Yingge decisively detained Woda Ci.

Just then, Yelü Yanxi ordered Wanyan Yingge to recruit troops to attack Xiao Haili.

Wanyan Yingge quickly recruited more than a thousand soldiers.

Wanyan Yingge's son, Wanyan Aguda, was overjoyed to see a thousand Jurchen warriors and said that with such strong soldiers, they would surely be able to defeat Xiao Haili.

On the banks of the Huntong River, the army led by Wanyan Yingge and his son Wanyan Aguda encountered Xiao Haili's army, while a Liao army of several thousand men sent to pursue Xiao Haili also arrived.

The Liao army attacked Xiao Haili's army for a long time but could not defeat him.

Seeing this, Wanyan Yingge asked the Liao general to withdraw his troops, allowing the Jurchen army to attack alone.

Wanyan Aguda was extremely brave. He took the lead and charged into Xiao Haili's formation. Xiao Haili was hit by a stray arrow and fell from his horse. Wanyan Aguda seized the opportunity to kill Xiao Haili and inflicted a great defeat on his army.

Through the pacification of Xiao Haili, Wanyan Aguda figured out the Liao army's strength and weaknesses, realizing that their fighting power was not strong and they would not be difficult to defeat.

Logically, this should have been a good opportunity for the Jurchens to rebel against the Liao.

In the past two years, the Jurchen people, especially the Wanyan Jurchen, have developed very rapidly. So rapidly that just recently, Wanyan Yingge successfully recruited Hu Shilai, the chieftain of the Yiligu Ridge Pusan ​​tribe north of Helandian. The influence of the Wanyan tribe has begun to penetrate into the Helandian region.

The current situation is that the remaining Jurchen tribes in the Helandian region also tend to submit to the Wanyan tribe.

However, Goryeo had long coveted the Helandian region, so how could it allow these tribes to submit to the Wanyan tribe?

This was compounded by the instigation of some individuals with ulterior motives.

King Sukjong of Goryeo, ignoring the advice of the peace faction within the country, insisted on provoking a war with the Wanyan tribe for control of Helandian.

A war between the two sides is about to break out.

This meant that the Jurchens could no longer care about their suzerain state, the Liao, or the conflicts between the Liao and the Song dynasty.

In reality, the Jurchens were not yet completely unified. Even if they knew that war between the Liao and Song dynasties was imminent, they would have no time to participate. After all, their biggest enemy at the moment was Goryeo...

It is not difficult to see that the current situation of each company is actually quite similar, with both crises and opportunities.

Zhao Yu, Yelü Yanxi, Li Qianshun, and Wanyan Aguda were all like this.

Now it remains to be seen which of them has the foresight to recognize talent, seize the opportunity, turn crisis into opportunity, and lead their respective forces to glory.

Zhao Yu was well aware of this.

Therefore, from the moment he transmigrated here, Zhao Yu had been walking on thin ice, seizing every opportunity to grow stronger, devoting himself to the reform of internal affairs, and paying close attention to the subtle changes in the surrounding situation. Like a skilled chess player, or rather, a player with his eyes open, he was quietly laying out his plans and waiting for the right moment.

Frankly speaking, compared to Yelü Yanxi, who only knows how to hunt and doesn't think about governing the country, Li Qianshun, who is trapped in the harsh northwest and is being gradually devoured by Zhao Yu, and Wanyan Aguda, who will not become the leader of the Jurchen for a long time, Zhao Yu is undoubtedly much faster.

It can be said that as long as Zhao Yu did not make any major mistakes, not to mention Yelü Yanxi, a historical loser, even Wanyan Aguda and Li Qianshun, who were highly regarded in history, would certainly not be a match for Zhao Yu.

However, no matter when, you have to eat one bite at a time.

For Zhao Yu, the most pressing issue now is dealing with the Western Xia.

The sooner the Western Xia were dealt with, the greater the advantage the Song Dynasty would have.

Once the Western Xia is dealt with and Zhao Yu gains unparalleled prestige, he will be unstoppable, whether he is carrying out sweeping reforms domestically or leading his troops north to reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.

Zhao Yu looked northwest, 'Victory or defeat hinges on this battle; in a sense, it's a battle for the fate of the nation…'

……

(End of this chapter)