You have truly caused me great suffering!

When Huineng's memorial arrived in Jinling, half a month had passed since the horrific mob ravages of Heian-kyo.

Chen Shao looked at the cold, cruel words on the report, but his heart remained unmoved.

Actually, he is not a cold-blooded person.

But at this moment, there was indeed no ripple.
It can only be said that some hatreds are intractable knots that cannot be untied even after thousands of years.

Now that the island nation has developed to this point according to its own design, Chen Shao began to plan the next steps.

First, Ise Province needs to be completely Sinicized, while Iwami Province and Tsukushi Province only need to mine gold and silver.

Then, by simply watching the mob spread eastward and northward, Da Jing's role was to sit back and observe the conflict.

Stop supplying and training the mob, lest they become too powerful to control.

Let the people on both sides fight each other fiercely, deepen the rift between their nobles and commoners, and make the powerful families in the east and north come to him to act as his compradors.

This is not a strategy that will be effective in the short term, but it is certainly better than directly sending troops to occupy the territory.

Only after becoming emperor did Chen Shao realize how terrifying a war of pacification could be.

Let alone the current world order, even the United States and the Soviet Union in later generations were incredibly powerful.

They still slunk away from Afghanistan.

Instead of wasting lives and resources to conquer them, it's better to wait a few years and let them come begging to us.

In a way, this is something we learned from them: sitting idly by while others fight amongst themselves and profiting from it, winning over and dividing various warlords to serve their own interests, and forcing trade and the opening of ports.
Chen Shao's policy toward Japan was long-term, so even though the initial goal had been achieved, it did not have much impact on subsequent events.

Just proceed in an orderly manner.

Before the Great Jing's strength reached the Americas, Japan remained the best place to mine gold and silver.

Chen Shao closed the memorial, got up and paced around a few times, feeling a strange sense of excitement.

But he couldn't figure out if this idea was right.

Ultimately, he is a person with very high moral standards.

In short, he was in a very good mood, so Chen Shao once again ordered that all officials be richly rewarded and that a royal banquet be held in Jinling, inviting the elderly in the city to share rice.

Then he generously rewarded the troops stationed overseas, ordering them to receive an extra month's pay in addition to their regular military pay.

Sometimes Chen Shao really wondered what Zhao Ji was thinking. He had plenty of money to reward his close ministers, concubines, and Taoist priests, but he just wouldn't do anything productive.

After I became rich, I never thought of squandering it.

The cost of building two temporary palaces was less than one percent of the cost of Zhao Ji's Zhaixing Tower.

Even with Li Shimin's great achievements, the cost of building the Daming Palace was not even a fraction of what Wu Zetian spent on building the Wanxiang Divine Palace.

The greater an emperor's achievements and the more wars he fought, the more he understood the value of money and wished he could split every penny in half.

"What joyous occasion has Your Majesty had? You've been secretly smiling all day. Tell us so that we servants can share in your happiness."

Li Wanshu came in to pour tea, and seeing Chen Shao happy, she couldn't help but purse her lips.

I reached up and touched my face, realizing I hadn't actually laughed.

"Really?" Chen Shao genuinely didn't realize that he had laughed many times today, all unconsciously. To the palace maids and eunuchs, it looked as if he was secretly laughing.

Chen Shao coughed lightly and said, "Send this to Chen Chong and have him deliver it to the Secretariat and have it copied and distributed to the six ministries."

He wanted to unify the narrative so that everyone in all departments and government offices would be aware of his policies.

When making decisions regarding Japan, one must consider one's own opinions.

Chen Shao was inclined to "burn books and bury Japanese soldiers alive" in Japan, even though much of their writing was in Chinese characters.

Around the 5th century AD, Chinese characters were introduced to the island nation from Baekje along with Buddhist and Confucian classics, and all early official documents were written in Chinese.

Even in the Heian period, they began to develop their own writing system. Although they never broke away from the influence of Chinese characters, they actually had their own writing system.

With writing comes civilization. Island nations are different from Korea. Although they are also influenced by Chinese civilization, they have actually developed into a very independent society.

Culture is a mysterious thing; it may sound grandiose and empty, something you can't eat or wear, and it's not as powerful as guns and cannons. But if a nation has no culture, that civilization is prone to losing its self-identity, to being wiped out, and even to doubting itself.

In regions with their own independent cultures, unless we eliminate the entire population at any cost, suddenly bringing a mature civilization under our rule will inevitably lead to endless troubles.

The Heian period was a historical period in ancient Japan in which Heian-kyo (present-day Kyoto) was the capital. It began in 794 when Emperor Kanmu moved the capital to Heian-kyo and ended in 1185 when Minamoto no Yoritomo established the Kamakura Shogunate (or officially received the title of "Sei-i Taishogun" in 1192).

This era, lasting nearly 400 years, was the golden age of Japanese national culture (wafu culture), and also an era of aristocratic politics, the flourishing of Buddhism, and the high development of literature and art.

It is now 1132, the tail end of the Heian period, and these things are about to take shape.

If we break their backbone at this moment, history will not give them another chance.

Looking at the closed report, Chen Shao took out his notebook, specifically chose the page recording his own achievements, and wrote down:

In the third year of Jianwu, the lineage of the Japanese emperor was destroyed, and his descendants were wiped out.
-
Having grown accustomed to the incessant chirping of cicadas and the sweltering heat of midsummer, Chen Shao moved into the Summer Palace with his harem in early July.

This time, the preparations were much more thorough, and Chen Shao had given advance orders for the Construction Bureau to help him renovate the Tangshan Hot Spring Palace.

So that we can go directly when the weather gets cooler.

The imperial carriage emerged from the north gate of Jinling, its banners obscuring the sun, and its ceremonial procession stretched for three miles.

More than 300 people, including empresses, princes, princesses, female officials, and eunuchs, accompanied the procession, their carriages rumbling along the bluestone imperial road, heading straight to the eastern foot of Zhongshan Mountain.

Because Chen Shao and Zhong Lingxi often took them out, the women in the harem also got used to going out for fun.

However, arriving at the Summer Palace still brought great excitement, as no one wanted to endure the high temperatures.

In a place where a mountain stream flows gently, a small building was built, which was the bedroom that Chen Shao chose for himself.

The Cuiwei Palace Summer Resort is built against the mountain, backed by Zijin Peak and facing the living water of Pipa Lake.

The palace walls were not high; instead, they were protected by bamboo groves and pines and cypresses.

The palaces are all made of local fir wood, covered with blue tiles, and have no painted decorations, only a simple and elegant appearance.

Copper bells hang from the eaves, chiming like chimes in the wind; a stream flows down the steps, cutting through the stones, its sound as clear as a zither.

Looking out over the Qinhuai River, it resembles a ribbon, while the city of Nanjing is shrouded in mist.

Chen Shao lay comfortably on the small building, thinking to himself that the things made by Chinese civilization were indeed beautiful.

Whether it was architecture, porcelain, or silk, before the Qing Dynasty was poisoned by opium, this land made Western economists grit their teeth, yet they were helpless.

They could only watch as countless amounts of gold and silver flowed into this land.

In the sweltering heat of July, His Majesty once again graced the imperial palace with his presence, yet not a single official offered any remonstrance or advice.

Who dares to say that His Majesty went to enjoy himself?

He was clearly contemplating the country.

His Majesty not only leads everyone to make money, but also rewards officials lavishly from time to time. More importantly, His Majesty's army is invincible, and as far as the eye can see, no one knows where the enemy is.

This kind of enjoyment was to be expected of an emperor.

These large scholar-official class in the Central Plains were never ignorant; whatever they promoted was ultimately based on their own interests.

When competing with the emperor for profit, they can spout any grand principles and do anything.

But if they really encounter a wise ruler, they are happy to assist and serve him, and they are very adaptable.

If they happen to encounter a wise and virtuous ruler, they will be even more obedient, and brilliant ministers and capable officials will emerge in an explosive manner.

First of all, many people believe that the literati class is all about rote learning and dead knowledge.

This is actually a huge misconception; it's very difficult for a true bookworm to pass the exam.

Those who can thoroughly understand the books and stand out in the imperial examinations are mostly truly intelligent people.

However, just because someone is talented does not mean they will necessarily have a positive impact on the dynasty. If such a person's mind is crooked, the harm they cause can be greater than that of an ordinary person.

Whether they chose to work diligently or engage in rampant corruption depended largely on the emperor and the political situation at the time. (End of Chapter)