Great Song Super Scholar

Chapter 737 Zhu Lou discusses politics
Zhulou, like Zhuji Qianpu, belongs to the overseas assets of the North Island Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber of Commerce still has many assets in the Song Dynasty, such as the docks and warehouses in Yangzhou, several large textile workshops, the Chamber of Commerce in Quanzhou, and other places. land, houses, etc.

It can be said that at present, apart from the newspaper office in the capital, most of the properties of the Zhu family and the Fan family have been merged into the Beidao Chamber of Commerce.

However, even though it was merged into the Beidao Chamber of Commerce, the superficial management has not changed. Zhu Lou is still the big shopkeeper and the bartenders.

At dusk, in the special elegant room of Zhulou on East Street, Fan Ning and Fu Bi were sitting and drinking, talking about the upcoming situation.

Fu Bi laughed at himself and said, "Actually, that defeat wasn't too serious. The key is that your confidence suffered a huge blow. Maybe it's because you have been leading the Song army to win victoriously. Once you leave the post, you will suffer a big defeat. The confidence of the entire government and opposition has collapsed."

Fan Ning took a sip of wine and said lightly: "The battle between Song and Liao is actually a battle of national destiny between the two countries that has lasted for a hundred years, and it is still a continuation of the century-old war. Since it is a century-old war, we should look at it from a strategic point of view. Whether it's my long-term victory or the disastrous defeat of the Song Army, it's all about tactics, if you don't see clearly the direction of the strategy, then you don't know how to fight the next battle?"

"Oh? Tell me, what is the direction of strategic development?"

"It's nothing more than the right time, place and people. When it comes to the right time, the Song Dynasty used overseas expansion to alleviate many deep-seated contradictions, such as the issue of land annexation, the survival of the people at the bottom, the accumulation of wealth by the rich and powerful, and the bloated army. The low-level problem also solved the financial difficulties of the imperial court. This is the time of the Song Dynasty. As the Song Dynasty continues to cultivate overseas, the benefits of the time will become more and more abundant.

But the Liao Kingdom is just the opposite. The extravagance of the upper class in the Liao Kingdom and the emperor Yelu Hongji's excessive worship to the Buddha led to an empty treasury.

Without the old coins of the Song Dynasty, Liao's hostility to the Han people and the plundering nature of the grassland people directly destroyed the Liao's tax base, so that its financial resources dried up.

The disastrous defeat of the two southern invasions made the Liao Kingdom unable to plunder from the Song Dynasty, so it could only plunder from within. Mutual trust, although the Liao Kingdom won a small battle, but it cannot change the nature of the Liao Kingdom's overall corruption. "

"What about the right location?" Fu Bi asked enthusiastically.

Fan Ning knew that Fu Bi was entrusted by the emperor Zhao Xu to ask him about politics, so Fan Ning tried to answer in detail as much as possible.

He smiled and continued: "Geographic advantages are the war capabilities of the Song and Liao countries. The Song Dynasty has the strength of the navy, the powerful weapon such as the iron fire thunder, and the refined steel ballista, not to mention the steel output of the Song Dynasty. It is dozens of times that of Liao, and its population is a hundred times that of Liao. It has abundant food, sufficient reserves of various war materials, tens of thousands of skilled craftsmen, and can mobilize millions of troops at any time.

And what else does the Liao Kingdom have? After the battle of Datong Mansion, the Liao Kingdom had only 20 troops left. Various strategic materials were scarce, and pig iron forging tended to come to a standstill. It’s not that I underestimate the Liao Kingdom. , They can't imitate it, not to mention that the Song Dynasty still has a steam engine. As long as you don't be greedy for merit, don't rush forward, and avoid the cavalry advantage of the Liao Kingdom, I will be sure to destroy the Liao Kingdom in a maximum of two years. "

After a pause, Fan Ning continued: "As for Renhe, I won't say much. Liao has internal and external troubles, and they used force to conquer the tribes. Once the Liao Kingdom declines, they will definitely be backlashed by the tribes. In the war, the three grassland tribes are unwilling to sacrifice their lives for the Liao Kingdom, and I can see this trend."

Fu Bi nodded, "His Royal Highness the King of Chu sees it clearly, and it is the great Song's good fortune to have His Highness here."

He filled Fan Ning's wine and said with a smile: "I heard that His Highness asked the officials for [-] households to immigrate. Is this going to follow Wang Jian's example?"

"Fu Xianggong can think this way, but it's not entirely true. After finishing the affairs of the king and winning the fame before and after his life, I will return to Beidao sooner or later. This is the best result for me and the officials. Otherwise, our army is too powerful. Sooner or later, I will repeat Di Qing's end."

"Di Qing broke the rules of civil servants in the Song Dynasty because of the military general's appointment."

"That's nonsense, promoted to prime minister, secretly seized military power, who is suppressing Di Qing? Fu Gong, you and I know it well."

Fu Bi laughed and said, "We won't talk about these sensitive topics, come on! Let me toast you."

The two drank a few glasses of wine, Fan Ning stopped the glass and asked: "There is one more thing, I want to ask Fu Xianggong, that is, what does the court say about overseas fiefdoms?"

This is also something that Fan Ning attaches great importance to, that is, the status of Bei Dao. This is not something that Zhao Xu can decide alone, but it is related to the interests of the court civil servants and powerful groups. In short, it is the attitude of the entire ruling class of the Song Dynasty.

As Fu Bi is the right minister, he should be able to weigh the attitudes of the emperor and the civil servants. As for the powerful group, Fan Ning is not worried at all. Overseas fiefdoms are originally dominated by the powerful group.

Fu Bi understood Fan Ning's meaning, and he pondered for a moment before saying, "The Zhizheng Hall communicated with the emperor about this matter two months ago, and our attitude is to confer titles on the basis of titles. It is impossible for everyone to be overseas kings. Basically, the name of the country is recognized, but this country is an overseas country, with the same status as the Western Regions, and it is subdivided into five classes, the first is the kingdom, the second is the principality, the third is the prefecture, the fourth is the county, and the fifth is the township. , For example, your North Island is the Kingdom of Chu, and the South Island of the Cao Gao Family is the Principality."

"What's the difference between these five countries?"

"Of course there are differences. Population, taxation, the number of militias, building specifications, and the number of cities will all have clear regulations. For example, in your kingdom, the emperor's attitude is that the population should not exceed 300 million. The kingdom can be exempted from taxes, but tribute is required. The number of militiamen should not exceed 3, the building specifications should be equal to the Prince’s Mansion, and the number of county towns should not exceed a hundred cities. You must have a hostage in Beijing. Of course, you are not a hostage, but you must have a son who is an official in the court. The eldest son must be canonized by the Son of Heaven to inherit the throne. , and the appointment of the Prime Minister has to be filed with the imperial court, etc., Your Highness, you just need to remember one thing, the Kingdom of Chu is a vassal state of the Song Dynasty, so don't overstep this position."

"What about the Principality?" Fanning asked again.

"The population of the principality must not exceed one million, and the head tax must be paid to the imperial court. At the same time, tribute must be paid. The maximum number of militiamen should not exceed [-]. The building specifications are the same as those of the principality. The number of county towns must not exceed [-] cities. Protons must also be in Beijing. Although the county state, county state and township state do not need hostages in Beijing, but the imperial court wants to garrison troops in these three countries, their numbers and the number of counties are much smaller. wait."

"Then how do you upgrade? For example, the principality is promoted to the kingdom, and the county is promoted to the prefecture. Are there any conditions?"

Fu Bi shook his head, "Once the initial confirmation is made, it will be very difficult to upgrade in the future. Only by making great contributions to the imperial court will there be a chance. There is no clear regulation yet, but we can use an analogy, for example, the county government once gave the imperial court a chance. If you pay 300 million taels of silver, you may have the opportunity to be promoted to a county.

In addition, there are still many businessmen who bought small islands and land overseas. They should not expect to seal off the country, but to call it a self-government, called a lord, which is no different from buying a manor in the Song Dynasty. The only benefit may be It's just that the emperor is far away, and the court doesn't have the energy to take care of him. "

"When will the overseas fiefdom rules be promulgated?"

"After the formulation is completed, it will first be discussed at the court meeting, then voted by the Zhizheng Hall, and finally approved by the emperor before it will be officially promulgated. I estimate that it will be in June and July at the earliest."

Fan Ning got up and saluted, "I'm leaving for Laizhou early tomorrow morning, please ask Fu Gong to help supervise the emigration to Beidao."

Fu Bi chuckled, "Don't worry! The Ministry of Household Affairs has already made a preliminary plan. This year, [-] households will be relocated from Bashu to the North Island, and there will be [-] households in the South Island. You just need to be ready to receive them."

(End of this chapter)