Great Song Super Scholar

Chapter 700 Convince the Queen Mother
Fu Bi and Wen Yanbo left, and only Fan Ning and Zhao Xu were left in the imperial study. Zhao Xu walked a few steps with his hands behind his back and said, "Fan Xianggong said just now that it will take two or three years for fine steel to be used in the army on a large scale. Finally, will this affect our current battle with the Liao Army?"

Fan Ning bowed slightly and said, "Your Majesty, it will take at least eight to ten years for refined steel to completely replace ordinary pig iron in the army, and the production of refined iron needs to be large enough. At present, the production of refined iron on the North Island can meet the needs of the Nuyuan Academy." The key is for the court to make up its mind to develop the Southern Continent."

Zhao Xu said: "Just now Mr. Fu also said that the development of the Southern Continent requires a large amount of initial investment, and the current imperial court cannot afford such a large amount of financial resources."

Fan Ning said with a slight smile: "Fu Xianggong's unexpected intention is to imply that the minister should persuade the queen mother to spend money from the internal treasury to invest in the Southern Continent. They have no objection. If the financial resources are insufficient, the minister can persuade the queen mother .”

Zhao Xu pondered for a moment and said: "Now the population of the Southern Continent has reached 20, can we mine iron ore in advance, start smelting, and then gradually increase the output as the population increases?"

"It's okay to mine the ore in advance, but to start smelting, I'm afraid you need the cooperation of artisans."

Fan Ning paused and continued: "If the Southern Continent is to become the permanent source of wealth of the Great Song Dynasty and not be occupied by outsiders, there needs to be at least 500 million people there, divided into two provinces, and ten prefectures will be established. It will take 30 years To complete it, His Majesty's pioneering work will surely last forever and be admired by hundreds of millions of Han people."

After all, Zhao Xu was young, and after being encouraged by Fan Ning, his blood boiled, and he nodded slowly, "This is also my wish!"

Coming out of the Imperial Study Room, just as Fan Ning walked out of the Ziwei Hall, an eunuch who was waiting here stepped forward and saluted: "Fan Xianggong, the Queen Mother has summoned you!"

Fan Ning originally planned to see the Queen Mother, but not now, he needed to go back and think about it, but the Queen Mother Cao wanted to see him.

Fan Ning had no choice but to follow the eunuch to Ci'an Palace.

After a while, Fan Ning was brought into the side hall. Empress Dowager Cao sat behind a bamboo curtain and had been waiting for him for a long time.

Fan Ning knelt down and paid respects, "Fan Ning, my humble minister, greets the Queen Mother!"

"Mr. Fan is free from courtesy!"

"Thank you Queen Mother!"

Fan Ning got up and stood aside, Empress Dowager Cao smiled again: "Mr. Fan, we haven't seen each other for a long time, but Concubine Zhu often comes to the palace to accompany Ai's family."

"It's my negligence, I should always come to greet my elders."

Empress Dowager Cao smiled and asked, "What is Mr. Fan doing these days?"

"Reporting to the Queen Mother, I am busy preparing for the battle against the Liao Kingdom, and at the same time planning the affairs of the Southern Continent."

"The Ai family has been reading the newspapers. Regarding the situation in the Liao Kingdom, there are various opinions in the newspapers. The Ai family is a little confused. What does Mr. Fan think?"

"Queen Mother, the current relationship between Song and Liao can be understood as the calm before the storm. Both sides are accumulating strength and waiting for the final decisive moment."

"The calm before the storm, isn't this metaphor a little scary, so serious?"

Fan Ning smiled slightly and said, "The Empress Dowager didn't really believe the newspaper articles, did she? The Liao Kingdom was frightened and gave in, but they didn't dare to beg us for mercy because of face?"

"A lot of newspaper articles think so."

Fan Ning shook his head, "That's because the people who wrote the article don't know the Liao Kingdom, nor the Khitan people. They are wolves, they will bear it, hide aside, attack us at any time, and maybe they will be forced to leave because of failure. homeland, but they will never surrender."

"Then what should we do about it?"

"Queen, only by actively preparing for the war and developing better and more powerful weapons, I believe that within two years, Song and Liao will fight to the death."

After a moment of silence, Empress Dowager Cao said slowly: "You should be right. You have made the Ai family very pleased. At least there are still people who are sober in Song Dynasty."

Fan Ning hesitated for a moment, and Empress Dowager Cao sensed it immediately, and said with a slight smile, "If you have anything to say, just say it."

"Queen, about the expenditure of the internal treasury."

Empress Dowager Cao laughed, "Does Mr. Fan need money from the internal treasury to prepare for the war?"

"Reporting to the Empress Dowager, there is Zuo Zangku's support in preparing for the war, and there is no need for internal treasury support for the time being, but the development of the Southern Continent requires a lot of initial investment, and the imperial court's finances are tight."

Empress Dowager Cao pondered for a moment and asked, "Is it really so important to develop the Southern Continent?"

Fan Ning sighed, "The Empress Dowager also saw the changes in the Song Dynasty with her own eyes. A large amount of overseas wealth reversed the financial crisis that had lasted for many years, and overseas food changed the living conditions of the people at the bottom. If you really can't survive, you can at least emigrate to overseas Landlords, and no one is willing to rebel, the Southern Continent is a rich and vast land, if it is developed, it can continuously provide wealth to the Great Song Dynasty for hundreds of years, so as to ensure the long-term stability of the Great Song Dynasty."

Empress Dowager Cao was not immediately convinced, she thought for a while and said, "If you want to get hundreds of years of income, then investment should also be a long-term process, shouldn't it?"

"The Queen Mother is right, but the high-quality iron ore in the Southern Continent can produce the sharpest steel weapons, and now it is a top priority. I hope the Queen Mother will trust me and fully support the development of the Southern Continent."

Empress Dowager Cao pondered for a long time, "Let's do this! You write a complete investment immigration plan. If the plan is feasible, Aijia will consider it."

As soon as Fan Ning returned to the mansion, the butler greeted him and said, "Master, Mr. Zhu San sent someone over this afternoon, please go over if you have time."

"Did he say anything?"

"It seems that someone from Bei Dao has come."

Fanning nodded, "I see!"

The butler saluted and left. Fanning came to his study, took a roll of jute paper, pondered for a while, and started to write.

He has been vigorously promoting the development of the Southern Continent these years. Compared with Luzon Mansion and Baozhou, the progress of the Southern Continent is still too slow. The distance may be one reason, but Fan Ning believes that Zhizhengtang’s lack of attention is the main reason. The mainland can't see immediate results like Kunzhou and Luzon. They will soon have a steady stream of silver and gold, which requires long-term investment and a long wait. How can Zhizhengtang, which has always been stingy in terms of financial resources, be willing to spend such a large investment.

It was very easy to convince the Son of Heaven today. Under the oppression of the Son of Heaven, Zhizhengtang was also forced to agree to increase and speed up the development of the Southern Continent, but the financial resources required for investment are still a big problem. The large amount of wealth accumulated in the library is used to invest in the development of the Southern Continent, which is the most important thing in the development of the Southern Continent this time.

Fan Ning actually knows how to persuade Empress Dowager Cao. Empress Dowager Cao strongly opposes the reform, so the development of the Southern Continent can weaken the foundation of the reform; Empress Dowager Cao cares about the long-term stability of the Song Dynasty, so the wealth of the Southern Continent can support the stability of the Song Dynasty; Common people, then the development of the Southern Continent can give the low-level people a way to survive, etc. These are all business affairs, but for personal feelings, Fan Ning can also touch the softness in Empress Dowager Cao's heart.

For example, it is difficult for the Empress Dowager Cao to care about the development of the Cao family, so the development of the Southern Continent is crucial to the support of the South Island. At least the South Island can receive strong support from the Southern Continent when a crisis occurs.

In both public and private matters, Fan Ning believed that his report could impress the Empress Dowager Cao.

Then there is the preparation of the investment plan. The early investment in the Southern Continent mainly focuses on resettlement, labor recruitment and long-term supply of daily necessities. Fan Ning has calculated that a Japanese laborer needs 300 yuan a year, and [-] laborers a year Just [-] million guan, if it is mining, a large mine with [-] miners is the minimum.

There are also immigrants. The imperial court has to pay a one-time settlement fee of 200 yuan for each family. If the first phase is 800 households, it will be 1000 million yuan. , This is another big expense, so Fan Ning considered immigrating [-] households and recruiting [-] Japanese miners in the first year, which would require at least [-] million to [-] million kan.

At this time, the door opened, and Jupe came in with a cup of tea.

"My husband is writing a memorial?" Zhu Pei put the teacup on the table and asked with a smile.

Fan Ning put down his pen, picked up his teacup and said with a wry smile, "The queen mother gave me a test paper, asking her to use money from the internal treasury to support the development of the Southern Continent, it's not easy!"

"No way! The Queen Mother told me herself that she is very supportive of the development of the Southern Continent. She also said that the development of the Southern Continent is too slow."

Fan Ning was taken aback, and quickly asked, "When did you tell me?"

Zhu Pei thought for a while, "It was more than a month ago! At that time, my husband was still fighting in Youzhou."

"Are you sure she didn't mean the South Island, but the South Continent?"

"Husband——" Jupela said with a long voice, "Of course it's the Southern Continent. I wouldn't even be able to tell the difference between the Southern Continent and the South Island!"

"That's strange. Since she supports the development of the Southern Continent, why is her attitude so vague this afternoon?"

"Actually, there is no contradiction!"

Zhu Pei glanced at the report on the table, and said with a slight smile, "Since the queen mother gave you the test paper, it has already shown her attitude."

Fan Ning scratched his head and smiled, "That's right, if she hadn't been interested in the Southern Continent, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to sit here and do the test."

Fan Ning got up and said, "I have to go to the third grandfather's place. It seems that someone from Beidao has come."

(End of this chapter)