In the Southern Song Dynasty, I competed with Mongolia for the world

Chapter 570 You don’t want to be the emperor, but someone else does

Jia Sidao's son Jia Yi was only fourteen years old at this time, almost old enough to get married.

He thought, if you don’t marry her, I will let my son marry her.

"Okay, okay, as long as General Meng agrees." Zhao Qi said with a smile.

"A rotten tree cannot be carved." Jia Sidao stamped his feet and sighed, and was speechless about Zhao Qi.

Jia Sidao kept trying to talk to Zhao Qi, but Zhao Qi always avoided the topic and seemed to have no interest in the throne.

The two of them were like this before. Jia Sidao would talk about it whenever he had the chance, and Zhao Qi would always talk about other topics.

He has a very good temper and never gets angry. When he gets angry, Zhao Qi will sigh: "Uncle, I am really not interested in the throne. What I want to do most is to do what my father does, to protect Hanzhou, and to make the people of Hanzhou, Xinma, and Borneo live a prosperous life with enough food and clothing."

When Jia Sidao heard this, he wanted to slap him in the face. You don’t want to be the emperor, but others do. If others become the emperor, how can you still live a good life?

Zhao Qi now owns the most provinces among all the princes, including Hanzhou Province, Borneo Province, and Singapore and Malaysia Province. These three provinces include all of the Philippines, all of Brunei, all of India, all of Malaysia, and Singapore in the future.

You control the most important Strait of Malacca in the area. With such a good geographical location, if you don't become the emperor, will your brother still let you sit in peace if he takes the throne?

He was about to persuade him again when news suddenly came from outside that Governor Qin Chen and the commander-in-chief of Borneo Province Liu Quan were there.

Jia Sidao didn't know what to say, so he followed Zhao Qi out and took the two of them to the shore.

Today, Chen Xiaodao passed by, and Qin Chen went to receive him because he was familiar with Chen Xiaodao and he was Zhao Yi's uncle. Liu Quan was the clerk of the commander-in-chief, and Chen Xiaodao was also the commander-in-chief. The two were colleagues, so of course they had to accompany him.

Jia Sidao could have chosen not to appear at such occasions, but he was Zhao Qi's uncle, so there was nothing wrong with him accompanying his nephew.

When they were halfway there, a group of military officers also joined in. It was said that they were all familiar with Chen Xiaodao, and they came with Liu Quan to pay a visit to Chen Xiaodao.

Zhao Qi readily agreed.

Jia Sidao and Zhao Qi were sitting in a carriage, and he looked at these military officers coldly.

There are not many military attachés, only five or six, but they are basically all at the command level or above.

Chen Xiaodao has been in the army for nearly 20 years and has promoted many of his trusted subordinates.

Jia Sidao secretly calculated in his mind that the entire Borneo garrison, including the navy and cavalry, was no more than three armies, with a total of 18,000 people.

There are more than six commanders who have a good relationship with Chen Xiaodao.

What about Hanzhou Province and Xinma Province?
Hanzhou also has three armies, Xinma has four armies, and in these three places combined, Chen Xiaodao has nearly twenty acquaintances at the command level or above.

Moreover, those below the command have not arrived today, and those above the command, each has his own confidants.

It takes a lot of people to pull it up.

Chen Xiaodao was one of the first group of young confidants of Zhao Yurui when they started their business, and was also the first to be given important positions. He has been in the army, and over the past twenty years, the forces in the army have become intertwined and deeply rooted.

After thinking about it, he felt that he had to remind Zhao Qi, so he whispered: "There are only three armies, six generals, and thirty commanders in Borneo."

"One fifth of them came today."

Zhao Qi smiled and said, "They are all Uncle Xiaodao's good brothers and old subordinates."

"..." Jia Si stared at Zhao Qi and thought, you bastard's uncle.

After a while, everyone arrived at the dock. Chen Xiaodao's boat had not arrived yet, so everyone stood at the dock chatting.

A local official nearby prepared a shelter for Zhao Qi because it was still February. Although Borneo was not very cold, the sea breeze was still quite strong.

Zhao Qi refused and stood with Jia Sidao to chat.

There were several people from his own palace behind him, so he didn't look alone.

He didn't have any ideas, but Jia Sidao was watching. Liu Quan was a little far away from Zhao Qi and was chatting with a bunch of military officers. They were from the same system, which was normal.

But Jia Sidao could see that Liu Quan was a little evasive and didn't seem to want to get too close to Zhao Qi.

Meng Zhijing used to follow Zhao Qi every day, but later on he seemed a little distant.

Jia Sidao could understand everyone's thoughts. As the eldest prince, you don't want to be the emperor, so naturally everyone doesn't want to get too close to you.

Qin Chen was chatting with the dock management staff and occasionally looked at Zhao Qi.

There are so many people at the scene, divided into three groups, which is quite interesting.

"Oh" Jia Sidao couldn't help but shook his head secretly as he watched.

When Zhao Qi first arrived, everyone surrounded him like a star.

It's only been a few years? Zhao Qi has already killed many people around him.

After waiting for a while, a speedboat appeared in front. It turned out that Chen Xiaodao had left the big ship and took the speedboat, quickly approaching the dock.

Everyone rushed forward.

As soon as Chen Xiaodao got ashore, he knelt down in front of Zhao Qi without saying a word, showing great courtesy.

"Your Highness, I, Chen Xiaodao, kowtow to His Majesty the King of Han."

"Uncle Xiaodao, please stand up. No need to be so polite." Zhao Qi walked forward with a smile and helped him up personally.

"The weather is cold and the King of Han is in the house. I should go and pay my respects to him." When Chen Xiaodao saw Zhao Qi, a look of kindness appeared on his face. He also watched Zhao Qi grow up, and he still liked King of Han Zhao Qi very much in his heart.

But the damn Zhao Yi actually stole from his house.

He is now in a dilemma and has no choice.

Zhao Qi chatted with him for a while, and then said that he would welcome him in the evening and have dinner together.

If it had been in the past, Chen Xiaodao would have definitely agreed, but this time he barely hesitated and immediately said, "I apologize, but I'm afraid I don't have time."

Chen Xiaodao said that the court had told him to return to Beijing on a certain date, but the wind was against him heading east and he was afraid of being late, so he did not dare to stay. This time he came up to see the King of Han and left as soon as the boat arrived.

Zhao Qi smiled and said it was okay, then he chatted with Chen Xiaodao on the shore.

Jia Sidao sighed again. I'm afraid Chen Xiaodao will stand on Zhao Yi's side from now on?
At this time, Emperor Zhao Yurui was still in his prime, but Jia Sidao believed that as the general situation in the world became clear, the civil and military officials in the court also began to hate and discuss who could be the crown prince.

Not long after seeing off Chen Xiaodao, Zhao Qi summoned the governors of Singapore, Malaysia, Hanzhou and Borneo and some important civil servants to discuss important matters.

In September of the 15th year of Yuanzhen, the Song Dynasty finally pacified the entire Java and completely occupied all the territories in Southeast Asia.

After nearly half a year of statistics and reorganization, we have a rough idea of ​​the main population, materials and other resources in each province.

Zhao Qi sat in the first seat, with three governors on his left.

Du Hu of Hanzhou (nephew of Du Fan), Qin Chen of Pola, and Li Shao of Xinma.

Among them, there was only one governor in Hanzhou and Bora, because these two places each had only one piece of territory, but Singapore and Malaysia were composed of several parts. The imperial court successively set up a governor in each of the Malay Peninsula and Indi.

There were also several governors and prefects of various provinces and important prefectures present.

There was also Jia Sidao, president of the Borneo Bank. The court had only one bank in these three provinces, and Jia Sidao was Zhao Qi's uncle, so he was also called to attend the meeting.

In fact, this was Jia Sidao's own strong request. Zhao Qi couldn't refuse his uncle, so he had to agree.

Of course, according to the current ranks of the Song Dynasty, Jia Sidao is more important than the prefects. If the prefects can participate, he can definitely participate.

In addition, the military pay and salaries of the civil and military officials of the three provinces are now inconsistent with the bank, so it is legitimate for him to participate.

The opening remarks were made by Borneo Provincial Governor Yu Rusun, who mainly introduced various data of the province up to the end of last year.

After each province took its turn, Sima Yuhui from the royal palace finally made the summary.

Yu Hui is the son of Yu Tianxi.

He was considered the general manager of Zhao Qi's palace, held the position of Sima, and received a salary from the court, so he could not be considered Zhao Qi's man.

Of course, he and Zhao Qi also have a good relationship, and he was personally appointed by Zhao Qi.

The other two princes did not hold the position of Sima in the palace.

The Sima of the royal palace in the Song Dynasty was dispensable and not fixed.

Jia Sidao listened very carefully and often took notes. After the entire meeting, Jia Sidao understood everything.

By the end of last year, the total population of the three provinces had reached more than 5.6 million.

Although it is far inferior to Persia and other places, it is still larger than the territory of the second prince Zhao He. Of course, Zhao He was not as good as him in conquering Goryeo.

However, the area of ​​grain fields in the three places is still too small. In recent years, the imperial court has mainly planted economic crops such as sugarcane, spices, and rubber here. The area of ​​grain fields currently covers more than 30 million mu.

You should know that the total cultivated area of ​​these three provinces is more than 150 million mu.

Less than one-fifth has now been developed.

This was achieved only after many years of immigration and promotion after the Song army occupied the city.

Currently, it is mainly concentrated in the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra.

Because the Song Dynasty paid attention to arable land and had special people responsible for teaching farming, and the local area could produce two or even three crops, the yield was quite good.

Last year's output was about 80 million shi. The Song court collected 30% in rent. Zhao Qi repeatedly asked to reduce it to 20%. Later, father and son each took a step back and Zhao and Rui reduced it to half.

The imperial court collected about 20 million shi in taxes.

At this time, Jia Sidao was calculating quickly with his pen.

The total population of the three provinces was about 10.7 million, and the output was million shi. After deducting taxes, there were still million shi, an average of shi per person.

On average, each person only has 3.5 kilograms of food per day.

This amount of output is just enough for the people in the three provinces.

Of course, the people in these three provinces may not have had so much food to eat every day before.

But now they not only have enough food, but almost every family grows cash crops such as sugarcane, rubber, spices, or helps the Song army.

Even if there is a slight harvest shortfall, as long as cash crops have yields, local people can still ensure food and clothing.

In addition, these places are island countries where fishing and seafood can be sold, so the output is enough to operate the three provinces.

However, after talking about all the data, Yu Hui said that more farmland needs to be cultivated to prevent natural disasters and man-made disasters from causing food shortages.

Yu Hui also calculated that the average grain yield per person was a little over three kilograms, so he felt that there were not enough grain fields in the three provinces at present.

But some people at the scene objected, believing that there were enough local grain crops and that the court had just planted sweet potatoes. Because they had only started to promote them last year, the yield had not yet increased. After one or two years of promotion, when the yield increased, there would be enough to eat.

Those who opposed the plan also took into account the local cash crops, believing that the local people had surplus food and money.

The people at the scene were divided into two groups, one in favor and one against.

Those who agree with this think so because the Song Dynasty has been trying to find ways to immigrate people from within the country to these overseas countries over the past decade. The population of the three provinces has been increasing year by year, and the local growth is also not slow. The court is now focusing on cash crops, fearing that there will not be enough food in the future.

Those who oppose it believe that there is a severe shortage of labor. Among the more than five million people, the young and strong still account for a minority. The imperial court is now building and expanding everywhere, planting various cash crops, and various projects all require labor.

If you want to expand farmland, you also need labor, so they think that there is not enough labor for the time being, and they will expand farmland when the population increases and there is more labor.

Neither side could convince the other, and finally they looked to Zhao Qi to see the opinions of the eldest prince, Prince of Han.

Of course, Zhao Qi did not have absolute power on earth. According to the general order of the court, for such major events, the governor and the governors had to achieve a balance first. If there was no balance, they had to discuss it with the vassal kings. If the two sides disagreed, they could vote and report to the court for confirmation by the emperor.

When Zhao Yurui used this system to govern overseas colonies, most of the disagreements were resolved by voting, because once reported to the court, it would be tantamount to turning against the local princes and not giving them face.

If the emperor denied the prince's opinion, it would be tantamount to denying the prince's claim.

Of course, among all the princes, only Zhao Qi was not afraid. Three years ago, his request for tax reduction disagreed with the local governor and the governor. He wrote three letters in succession and was rejected twice. The third time, it was agreed, although the reduction was not what he expected.

Zhao Qi is not afraid of being slapped in the face by his father, and will argue for his rights whenever there is something going on.

Therefore, within the Han King's fiefdom, people were usually unwilling to fight him to the death.

All officials knew that even though Zhao Qi seemed to have little interest in the throne, his starting point was usually for the people of the Song Dynasty rather than for his own political achievements.

This time the problem came to Zhao Qi again.

Both sides looked at Zhao Qi.

In fact, Zhao Qi had just been counting the number of people on both sides in his mind. If they were to vote, without himself, the former would be at a slight disadvantage. But if he was included, since he was a vassal king, one person would have three votes, and the former would have a chance to overtake.

"Hmm..." Zhao Qi thought about it and was about to speak.

"King of Han, I would like to say a few words first." Jia Sidao suddenly interrupted him.

Zhao Qi was stunned. It was still very awkward for a bank president like Jia Sidao to be in the Song Dynasty. Although he was not considered a formal official in the Song Dynasty, he did enjoy the treatment of an official. At the same time, he did not participate in local management, but the local government's salaries were all related to the bank.

Jia Sidao was his uncle. Zhao Qi knew that almost all of Jia Sidao's actions were for his own good. He didn't even think about it and nodded immediately: "Uncle, please speak."

Jia Sidao smiled and immediately said, "That's what I think."

“It can give people autonomy.”

"The court issued an order to let the people choose for themselves. If they have laborers at home or feel they have the time and energy to plant a few more acres of land, they can plant a few more acres."

“Whether it’s grain fields or cash crops.”

"As long as it is newly cultivated land, it belongs to them."

"In the three provinces of Xinma, Borneo, and Hanzhou, our Great Song has hundreds of millions of acres of arable land, but only more than 30 million acres are cultivated now, so there is still a lot of room for development."

"As long as the people have the energy and ability, we should encourage them to plant more fields. Anyway, no matter how much they plant, they have to report it to the court, and then we will collect taxes. Why not do it?"

(End of this chapter)