Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1305 Status
Yuan Xi pulled Mrs. Mi to sit down, took the list from her hand, and found that these were various types of minerals mined in the northern part of the Four Islands by Mi Tai and Mi Fang in cooperation. The most eye-catching of them was the gold sand mined from the river valley in the northern part of the Four Islands.

Until the 8th century AD, Japan was still regarded as a barren and wild land by the Tang Dynasty at that time. However, in the following hundreds of years, with Jianzhen's voyage to the East, he brought many technologies that were strictly prohibited from being passed on to Japan during the Tang Dynasty, leading to rapid development of Japan's mining and smelting technologies.

In the years that followed, with the discovery of a large number of gold, silver and high-quality copper mines, Japan became the largest producer of precious metals in the Far East. It produced a large amount of minerals in the past thousand years. Until the Qing Dynasty, Japan became the main raw material provider for the issuance of precious metal currencies by the Qing Dynasty.

Due to its vast territory and large population, China needs a huge amount of monetary raw materials. For copper coins alone, the Qing Dynasty needed more than 5 million kilograms of copper a year. At that time, Yunnan, the main copper producing area, produced only 400,000 kilograms a year.

The huge gap forced the Qing Dynasty to engage in foreign trade, especially with Japan, which was the closest and had the most convenient water transportation. It is estimated that between 300 million and 1 billion kilograms of copper flowed into the Qing Dynasty in the two hundred years from the 17th century to the mid-19th century.

In addition to copper, Japan also had more than two million taels of gold and more than 30 million taels of silver enter the Qing Dynasty. This shows the mineral potential of Japan. The abundance of monetary resources was also one of the factors that contributed to the Kangxi and Qianlong prosperous eras.

Of course, Japan used this huge amount of precious metals to exchange not only for large amounts of raw silk, sugar, and handicraft products, which were scarce in Japan, but also for a large amount of China's then-leading process technology. This allowed Japan to be technically prepared to embrace modern technology before the Black Ship Incident, thus making a breakthrough in one fell swoop and becoming increasingly powerful. In turn, it became a powerful foreign enemy of the Qing Dynasty, which was clinging to precious metals and was not enterprising and was conservative.

Yuan Xi, who was well aware of the history, understood that the sooner such hidden dangers were resolved, the better. If the four Japanese islands could be incorporated into the territory of China, all future problems would no longer exist, and the Jin Dynasty would be able to develop the mining industry without scruples, replacing copper metal that consumed a lot of manpower and resources with precious metals such as gold and silver, and use them in production and manufacturing, while freeing up more labor.

He put down the list and said to Mi Zhen, "Did Madam and her brother bring any private messages to you?"

Mi Zhen shook her head and said, "He brought me a letter from home, which was all about family matters, but didn't mention anything else in particular."

"Second brother and Mi Tai have been cooperating well recently, and the price of ore they offer is much lower than that in China. Is there anything that worries my husband?"

Yuan Xi nodded and said, "Your second brother owes me for saving his life, so there should be no problem while he and I are alive. But a hundred years later, if our descendants disagree, what will happen? Madam should be able to imagine it."

Mi Zhen's heart sank, "My husband is so worried about Mi Guo, then..."

Yuan Xi shook his head and said, "That's not what I meant."

"I am just speculating on the worst-case scenario, which may not happen in the future. I am just preparing for a rainy day and don't want to pass the problem on to the next generation."

"You also know that the value of the mineral resources of the four islands may not be clear to others, but the Mi family, as a wealthy merchant in the East China Sea, especially Zifang, the helmsman of the Mi family caravan, must know it."

"He is cooperating with me to mine low-priced ore now because of my face, but this is not a long-term solution. So after much thought, I think that Mi and Jin will eventually merge into one."

"When I unify the world in the future, it will be no problem for me to make Zifang a king of a different surname. However, the four islands are far away from the mainland. If Zifang's descendants want to rebel, it will be very easy. I believe he knows this, so he has not found a suitable opportunity to ask me for a title."

"I have to bring this up first, but I've also been thinking about how to have the best of both worlds."

"I have also discussed this matter with the military officers, and later an idea gradually took shape."

"The four islands of Wa Nu are not small. If there is only one king, there will be many accidents, so I plan to appoint two kings."

"One is Zifang's Mi State, which can be a vassal of the Jin Dynasty in the future. The other one is that I will send one of my descendants there and make him a local prince, and we will become one with the Mi State."

"This is another way of guarding the country. If the Mi Kingdom wants to cause trouble in the future, they will have to kill my descendants. Regardless of whether this will succeed or not, the Jin Dynasty will have a legitimate reason to send troops."

Mi Zhen said: "Then your husband's offspring is in danger of death."

Yuan Xi said calmly: "If you want to take the position, you must first bear the responsibility. If you don't even take this little risk, how can you be qualified to be king?"

This is the best solution he can think of at the current historical stage. Although the dual monarchy also has many drawbacks, the two restrain each other. As long as stability is maintained for hundreds of years, science and technology will have great development. If mature steam engine supporting mechanical technology is developed in the future, the time of ocean voyages will be greatly shortened.

The shorter the distance and time of transportation and communication, the stronger the central government's control over the local areas, and the closer the exchanges in culture and customs. As long as there is enough time, the four Japanese islands will sooner or later be fully integrated into the Chinese cultural circle.

However, according to the current development momentum, the trend of the four Japanese islands being integrated into China is inevitable. After all, after Mi Fang went there, the Mi Kingdom used Chinese characters, spoke the Central Plains Mandarin, and the system was based on the Qin and Han styles. There was no need to create another system.

Mi Zhen listened and said in admiration: "My husband really has a brilliant idea, but after thinking about it carefully, I can't find a better way."

"But in this way, it is like my husband sent the child over there as a hostage. It is a weak country sending hostages to a strong country, but this one is released. I believe that my second brother can also understand my husband's painstaking efforts."

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. As long as we are loyal to China and are united, maybe sooner or later, Mi will perish, and Jin will also perish. But as long as the Chinese people can become one clan, regardless of differences, and embark on a path of common development, I will be satisfied." "I will have someone give Zifang some letters in the next few days and have someone send them to him. After all, the gold and silver system must be established as much as possible. This is related to the circulation stability and prosperity of Jin in the next few decades."

Madam Mi asked mischievously, "Which child are you going to let go, my husband?"

Yuan Xi said jokingly, "Anyone is fine, except you, my lady. After all, there may be a possibility of marriage in the future."

"But I will find a good place for the lady and the children."

Madam Mi shook her head and said, "No, what's the point of being crowned a king? It's just a lot of worries. It's better to be a rich man. Otherwise, if you hold military power, you will worry about yourself and others too."

Yuan Xi laughed and said, "Madam is quite open-minded."

He lowered his voice and asked, "How about having a few more children?"

Mrs. Mi was almost one of the first women to know Yuan Xi, but she got up early and arrived late, and had never gotten pregnant before.

Hua Tuo diagnosed that Mrs. Mi had difficulty conceiving, so she had been taking medicine to regulate her health. In addition, Yuan Xi was busy fighting in various places, so the two of them were rarely together. It was not until last year that Mrs. Mi recovered and gave birth to a child.

When Madam Mi heard Yuan Xi's words, her pretty face turned red. She lowered her head and hummed, then quickly raised her head to look and said hurriedly, "It's still daylight."

Yuan Xi's hands were already starting to get a little dishonest. "It's okay. Who would come over at this hour?"

But at this moment, Master Bu Lian came in with a tea bowl. Seeing the two people's actions, she hurriedly wanted to leave with a red face, saying, "It's an unfortunate time for me to come."

Yuan Xi stood up and pulled her back, closing the door behind him. "No, you're just in time."

In the small courtyard separated by a wall, Fu Shou was lying on a bamboo chair under a phoenix tree to enjoy the cool air. There were still many gold needles inserted on her face and body. Now she was quite skilled in treating herself. Her body had recovered a lot and her hearing and eyesight had become sharper.

She listened to the faint laughter and panting coming from the next room, and couldn't help but spit in her heart. This Prince Jin was good in every way except that he was too lewd and shameless!

She shook her head vigorously, trying to drive out the annoying noises from her ears, but for some reason, she unconsciously thought of the scene when she married Liu Xie.

At that time, she was still an ignorant little girl. She didn't know whether she could become the queen, and she never expected that she would be involved in the stormy sea, escaping death and being almost beaten to pieces.

Her thoughts flooded in like a tide. How is His Majesty doing in Xudu? Is he living well?

Fu Shou just lay there quietly. A warm breeze with the scent of summer grass blew over, gently lifting the hem of her clothes. The sunlight shone through the gaps between the lush green sycamore leaves and fell on her body, alternating between light and dark.

The yellow oriole was jumping among the branches, and its clear chirping sounded like her laughter when she first married Liu Xie. At that time, she could still circle and dance like a bird, but now she could only stagger. Shouchun and Xudu were less than a thousand miles apart, but it seemed as if there were thousands of mountains and rivers in between, as if one could never reach them in a lifetime.

She couldn't help but burst into tears. Your Majesty, will I be able to meet you again in this life?
Yuan Xi stayed in Shouchun for some more time, during which time news of what happened in Xudu finally reached him.

All of a sudden, officials in Yuan Xi's territory wrote letters to congratulate him. Officials from Shouchun, including Liu Ye, came to congratulate Yuan Xi. When Yuan Xi met them, he smiled bitterly and said, "This is just the emperor's final counterattack against Wei. I was just used by him to fight Wei to the death. Is it worth being happy about?"

Liu Ye and others were excited, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this is not important?"

"This is a righteous title, a title personally acknowledged and passed down by the Emperor of the Han Dynasty!"

"From now on, Your Majesty and I, your subordinate officials, are no longer the traitors that the people of the world privately criticize, but the objects of abdication that the emperor of the former Han Dynasty has recognized with his golden mouth and jade words!"

"This is the Emperor of Han personally handing the country over to the King!"

"The emperor's words are equivalent to labeling the King of Wei as Wang Mang, who usurped the Han Dynasty, and the Han and Jin dynasties as Yao and Shun, who abdicated the throne!"

Yuan Xi smiled bitterly. He suddenly realized that no matter how powerful the military force was, the common people still valued the legitimacy of their status.

(End of this chapter)