I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 203 Zhao Yu: My Great Song Empire!
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When Zhao Yu returned in triumph, he should have first shown affection to his Empress Zheng Xiansu to reward her for stabilizing the situation at home.

However, Zheng Xiansu is now heavily pregnant and unable to serve Zhao Yu.

Secondly, Zheng Xiansu privately told Zhao Yu that she and Zhao Shou wanted to keep a low profile and did not want to frequently appear in the public eye because of their regency.

Zheng Xiansu was very clear-headed.

She understood that exposing Zhao Shou to the world too early, allowing others to scrutinize him with a magnifying glass, was not conducive to his growth. Moreover, if Zhao Shou were too high-profile, it might arouse Zhao Yu's suspicion and lead to infighting between father and son. On the contrary, if Zhao Shou remained low-key, he would not give others the opportunity to find fault with him or frame him. Zhao Yu would certainly spare no effort in nurturing Zhao Shou, so that he could grow up smoothly and inherit Zhao Yu's throne.

So does she.

She is now the Empress, and the one whom Zhao Yu has been supporting. The Song Dynasty does not yet have an Empress Dowager, so in terms of power and status, she has reached the pinnacle that a woman can achieve. She has no need to attract attention in a high-profile manner, especially outside the palace, so as not to make too many enemies, harm herself, and also implicate Zhao Shou.

Zhao Yu felt that Zheng Xiansu's considerations were thorough and far-sighted, and that her wisdom and magnanimity were in no way inferior to any virtuous empress in history.

To be honest, Zhao Yu felt that Zheng Xiansu's perseverance and sacrifice for the greater good made him feel that it was his great fortune to have such a wise and sensible wife in the midst of the turbulent power struggles of the imperial court. He had no reason not to protect Zheng Xiansu and Zhao Shou.

Therefore, Zhao Yu decided to fully cooperate with Zheng Xiansu to put Zhao Shou in the shadows from now on, so that Zhao Shou could reappear in the public eye after he had received sufficient training and experience.

Based on the couple's discussion, Zhao Yu did not rest in Kunning Palace upon his return, but instead rested with Wang Yisu and Guo Ting.

That day, Zhao Yu returned from court, and Zhang Chun's five daughters sent Li Shishi and Zhao Yuannu to invite him to their place.

The five women had just given birth less than a month ago and were all in their postpartum period. Zhao Yu really didn't know what they wanted from him at this time.

However, since they were all long-married couples, Zhao Yu guessed they probably weren't contacting him about such trivial matters between men and women. 'The five of them must have something important to discuss with me, right?'

With this in mind, Zhao Yu did not go to Zhang Nan's place as previously agreed, but instead went to Zhang Chun's residence first.

The five women were clearly well-prepared. Yuan Qingcheng, still in her postpartum confinement period, personally cooked a sumptuous meal for Zhao Yu. Ye Shiyun brought a jar of imperial wine. Zhang Chun, Li Lin, and Ma Xiaojiao were also much more attentive than usual.

Upon seeing the five women's posture, Zhao Yu thought to himself, 'Looks like this is a trap.'

Things unfolded much as Zhao Yu had predicted.

The five women took turns pouring a lot of wine into Zhao Yu's cups, as he was not a strong drinker.

Zhao Yu cooperated by getting himself drunk.

Only when he felt he was really drunk did Zhao Yu put down his wine cup and ask directly, "So, what kind of tricks are you guys up to now?"

Zhang Chun knew they couldn't hide it from Zhao Yu, nor did they intend to.

Now that the prelude was almost over, Zhang Chun didn't waste any more words and carefully revealed to Zhao Yu what the five of them had discussed: to encourage Zhao Yu to start the Age of Exploration and to establish overseas fiefdoms in the future.

In fact, the five women had also discussed keeping it a secret from Zhao Yu. They planned to guide Zhao Yu step by step to promote the Age of Exploration, and then push forward the overseas enfeoffment system when the opportunity was ripe.

But this matter is far too big, so big that even if Zhao Yu stands on their side and pushes it in this direction with all his might, whether he can succeed is still unknown. What's more, Zhao Yu is either kept in the dark by them or stands on the opposite side of them.

More importantly, if they don't tell Zhao Yu, and he finds out about it on his own, he might become their biggest obstacle.

After much discussion, the five women concluded that the only way to succeed was to gain Zhao Yu's unwavering support; otherwise, it would be impossible.

That's why we have this play today.

After the five women finished expressing their thoughts one by one, Zhao Yu fell silent.

Just as Zhang Chun predicted, Zhao Yu didn't need to expand too much. As long as he could take back the territory that the Han people had always owned, he could be on par with Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Taizong of Tang. Further expansion might backfire and leave him with a reputation for being ambitious and eager for quick success.

And that's still a good thing.

If, due to unforeseen circumstances such as landslides, tsunamis, or plagues, Zhao Yu were to be defeated by the Crusaders, his reputation would certainly not be higher than that of Li Longji. He would most likely receive a similar assessment: "Overseas, I only hear of the Nine Provinces; my next life is uncertain, this life is over. I only hear the tiger-like troops sounding the night watch, no longer the rooster crows at dawn. On this day, the six armies halted their horses together; on that day, on the seventh night of the seventh month, they laughed at the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. How could I, after four decades as emperor, not be as fortunate as the Lu family with their carefree joy?"

To be rational, Zhao Yu's smartest move would have been to reclaim the former territories of the Han and Tang dynasties, at most extending the territory of the Song dynasty to the level of the Qianlong era of the Qing dynasty. This would have meant westward across the Pamir Mountains, northwest to Lake Balkhash, north to Siberia, northeast to the Outer Khingan Mountains and Sakhalin Island, east to the Pacific Ocean, southeast to Taiwan and its affiliated islands, and south to the South China Sea islands, totaling approximately 1316 million square kilometers. This would have been comparable to the territories of Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Taizong of Tang.

If Zhao Yu had been even more greedy, he could have expanded the territory of the Zhao Song Dynasty to the level of the Yuan Dynasty, which was from the Sea of ​​Japan in the east to the Tian Shan Mountains in the west, Lake Baikal in the north, and Siam in the south—a little larger than during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty.

If it were larger, it would be beyond the control of a feudal dynasty.

Unless Zhao Yu can develop advanced technologies that can greatly shorten distances, such as trains, cars, ships, or even airplanes and telephones.

Well, since Zhao Yu has Ma Xiaojiao, it's not impossible.

However, there are still huge uncertainties and even risks involved.

The key is that if you want to achieve great things, especially the kind of momentous events that Zhang Chun and the others talked about, you can only go with the flow, not go against the tide even if there are thousands of people against you.

But after thinking about it carefully, Zhao Yu realized that what Zhang Chun and the others said made a lot of sense in the eyes of these time travelers.

First, Zhao Yu did indeed have many sons. And by treating all these sons in the same way that the Song Dynasty currently treats its members of the imperial family—that is, confining them all in the capital, limiting their power, giving them preferential treatment, and strengthening their education and supervision—it was indeed effective in preventing internal strife caused by power struggles within the royal family, avoiding the emergence of separatist forces in the regions, thus maintaining the stability of the Song Dynasty's ruling order and, to a certain extent, ensuring centralized power.

However, on the other hand, doing so would also make it difficult for members of the royal family to play their due role in protecting the royal family and supporting the court when the country faces a crisis. In addition, some members of the royal family are prone to corruption and complacency, indulging in pleasure and making no contribution to the development of the country and society, which may also cause social discontent. Furthermore, excessively strict restrictions on members of the royal family's political participation may also prevent some talented and ambitious members of the royal family from displaying their talents on the political stage, resulting in a waste of political talent within the royal family and being detrimental to the governance and development of the country.

Looking at history, the Jingkang Incident occurred largely because all members of the imperial family were trapped in Bianliang (Kaifeng), the capital of the Song Dynasty, which made the catastrophe so devastating and nearly wiped out the bloodline of the Song imperial family.

Imagine if the members of the Zhao Song dynasty's imperial family had all been outside, instead of just the cowardly Zhao Gou who fled. If they had organized an effective resistance, how could the Jin army have possibly made such a deep advance?

Even if the Jurchens still reached the gates of Bianliang (Kaifeng), or even breached the city, the presence of numerous members of the imperial family outside would prevent them from going too far. They would at least have some restraint and it would be unlikely to reach the level of the Jingkang Incident.

From this perspective, completely imprisoning members of the imperial family and raising them like pigs was not a wise move. In comparison, the Qing Dynasty, at the peak of feudal society, clearly had a more sophisticated and flexible approach to managing and utilizing princes.

The princes of the Qing Dynasty had to receive rigorous education and training from a young age. They not only had to excel in poetry, literature, etiquette and music, but also in horsemanship, archery and martial arts, in order to cultivate their all-round talents and tenacious will.

Unlike the princes of the Song Dynasty who were confined to the deep palace, they were given more opportunities for practical experience, such as accompanying the army for training or participating in court affairs, in order to hone their ability to govern the country.

Many of them, through their outstanding performance in military and political affairs, gradually became the emperor's capable assistants in governing the country.

For example, before Yongzheng ascended the throne, he participated in important matters such as investigating the Ministry of Revenue's treasury and managing floods, accumulating rich experience in government affairs; Prince Yi, Yinxiang, was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue and the military logistics in the Northwest during Yongzheng's reign, which greatly improved the efficiency of the court's administration and the level of financial management, making the imperial rule more stable.

In contrast, during the Song Dynasty, even if outstanding members of the royal family or imperial clan emerged, they were unable to fully utilize their talents due to institutional restrictions.

If Zhao Yu's sons had participated in military affairs like the princes of the Qing Dynasty, playing a role in border defense and military training, they might have been able to quickly organize troops from various regions to resist or provide relief when foreign enemies arrived, instead of being trapped in a lonely city and helplessly waiting for death, as was the case during the Jingkang Incident in history.

What Zhang Chun and her group wanted was to enfeoff some of Zhao Yu's sons outside of China. If you think about it carefully, isn't that just the tributary system of the Yuan Dynasty and the four Khanates?

The advantage of this was that it could both expand the influence of the Zhao Song Dynasty and alleviate the pressure of internal power struggles.

Moreover, by enfeoffing their sons overseas, they would establish vassal states based on their suzerain state, actively spreading Chinese culture, institutions, and advanced production technologies. This made Chinese characters, Confucianism, porcelain, and silk objects of emulation and admiration in overseas vassal states, thus spreading the prestige of the Song Dynasty far and wide and building a vast tributary trade system centered on the Song Dynasty.

From a strategic perspective, these overseas vassal states could serve as strategic footholds for the Song Dynasty. In the event of a foreign invasion of the homeland, these vassal states could exert pressure on the enemy from the flanks and rear, such as harassing enemy supply lines along the coast or cooperating with the Song Dynasty's navy to launch a pincer attack. Furthermore, if the vassal states possessed abundant resources, these resources could be continuously transported back to the Song Dynasty through trade, replenishing the national treasury and strengthening the nation.

For Zhao Yu's sons, being granted fiefdoms overseas provided them with ample opportunities to expand their territories and achieve great things, freeing them from the infighting within the imperial city and allowing them to fulfill their political ambitions.

In this way, Zhao Yu, as a father, can be said to have done right by his sons and fully fulfilled his responsibilities as a father.

Most importantly, if Zhao Yu's descendants were scattered all over the world, no matter what historical changes occurred, Zhao Yu's bloodline would not be cut off.

In short, although Zhang Chun and the others' proposal was somewhat far-fetched and might even lead Zhao Yu to become a tyrant, Zhao Yu was still moved by their suggestion.

After a long silence, Zhao Yu, under the worried, anxious, and expectant gazes of the five women, finally said, "This matter must not be made public, otherwise it will surely ruin its success."

The five women were overjoyed! They knew that Zhao Yu had agreed.

Zhang Chun pressed on, saying, "A few of us are thinking of first shifting inland waterway transport to sea transport to promote the development of ocean-going vessels. What does Your Majesty think?"

Zhao Yu understood immediately: Zhang Chun and the others wanted to change the way grain was transported from the south to the north every year.

This may seem like just changing a flight path, but it actually involves many things and interests.

Let’s not talk about anything else.

The Zhao Song court set the grain tribute quota for the six southeastern routes at six million shi (a unit of dry measure). Based on the standard of one boatman for every forty shi of grain actually transported, and according to the relevant systems of the Zhao Song dynasty's grain transport, it was estimated that transporting this grain would require a total of 151,430 boatmen along the Huainan Canal, Bian River, Liangzhe Canal, and the Yangtze River.

In addition, the transport of grain along the Guangji River and Huimin River also required boatmen, which added at least 34,500 people to these two routes.

The total number of boatmen required for transporting grain to and from Bianjing was approximately 190,000. This does not include the boatmen needed for transporting grain from various prefectures to the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River. Therefore, the actual number of boatmen required for transporting grain would exceed 200,000.

Besides the boat trackers, there were also boatmen who worked as helmsmen. If we calculate based on the historical ratio of 1:8.5 between boatmen and trackers (sailors) on the 700-ton horse-drawn boats of the Southern Song Dynasty, the number of boatmen in the Zhao Song Dynasty was quite considerable.

Furthermore, this also takes into account the personnel of official and civilian vessels not involved in the transportation of goods, as well as boatmen engaged in commercial transportation, fishing, and other industries.

The total number of people involved here should be in the hundreds of thousands, or even millions.

If inland waterway transport is changed to sea transport, even if these hundreds of thousands or even millions of people do not lose their jobs, their income will be affected.

If this is not handled properly, it will not only affect the survival of hundreds of thousands or even millions of households, but may also lead to popular uprisings.

Another problem is that the Yellow River was diverted three times during the previous dynasties, causing the lower reaches of the Yellow River to split into two channels, north and south, before flowing into the sea. The river channel shifted greatly and siltation was severe, making it impossible to navigate. Therefore, there is actually no waterway that can reach Kaifeng Prefecture by sea, so it is impossible to transport grain tribute by sea.

Zhao Yu shared his views with the five women.

Unexpectedly, the five women had already prepared a plan.

Zhang Chun smiled slightly and said, "We can leave the existing grain transport system untouched for now. We only need to open up a new sea route directly to Jizhou to conduct maritime trade with the Liao Kingdom, which will promote the development of seagoing vessels..."

Zhao Yu quickly realized that what Zhang Chun and the others were really after was the promise he had made to sell no less than two million shi of grain to the Liao Kingdom every year.

Clearly, these two million shi of grain could also be transported from Jiangnan to Yanjing.

This raises the issue of transportation.

Currently, since the Song and Liao dynasties were still two separate countries, there was no direct inland waterway from Jiangnan to Yanjing (Beijing).

The real Grand Canal, the section from Jiangnan to Yanjing (Beijing), was only opened up during the Yuan Dynasty.

Sea transport undoubtedly became the best option for transporting grain to the Liao Kingdom.

Of course, there is a premise here, which is that no grain is transported from Hebei and Yunnan to Yanjing.

This is the area where Zhao Yu needs to make a decision.

Looking at the five women, Zhao Yu thought, 'These five women are not only good at causing trouble, but they can also really solve problems. Hmm... With their help, perhaps my Great Song Empire might not be inferior to the Great Mongol Empire and the British Empire...'

……

(End of this chapter)