Chapter 270: Change of Era
the second year.

At the beginning, the first thing the country had to do was to change the era name.

Fu Bi proposed to change the reign title to Zhiping.

However, he was rejected by Zhao Xin. Zhiping sounds good, but it is a bit self-deceptive.

It would be better to just call him Li Yuan.

From this year on, it was called the first year of Li Yuan.

The ministers were helpless as Zhao Xin was so persistent in choosing such an unpleasant reign title.

And this year…

Zhao Xin can also be crowned as queen and concubine.

In fact, it could have been done last year, and no one said Zhao Xin couldn’t do that.

but……

After all, his father had just passed away, and Zhao Xin felt that he should not immediately enthrone a queen or concubine, so it had to be delayed until this year.

In addition to the empress and concubines, there are of course also the crown prince, kings, and princesses.

In the past, the prince would not be so anxious.

But Zhao Xin didn’t know when something unexpected might happen to him, so he simply appointed him as the crown prince right away.

Although the queen, four concubines, crown prince, king and princess were enthroned.

But these people still do not live in the palace.

Instead, he lived outside the palace.

Of course, the ministers were very dissatisfied with this.

They all submitted petitions to Zhao Xin requesting him to properly accommodate the empress, the crown prince and others.

Zhao Xin could only say that this would have to wait until the imperial palace in Youzhou City was repaired.

Then…

This triggered renewed discussion about moving the capital.

People like Sima Guang certainly did not agree with moving the capital. After all, Youzhou was too close to the grasslands in the north.

Besides, the people of the Song Dynasty may not be living a very good life nowadays. Moving the capital would require building palaces, which would inevitably cost a lot of money and labor.

Zhao Xin had no choice but to say bluntly: “The palace is not suitable for raising children. When Emperor Zhenzong came to power, my father died and I was the only one left. This place is not suitable for raising people.”

Zhao Xin was almost about to say that there was a ghost in this place.

For a while…

There are different opinions on Zhao Xin’s statement.

Some people think it is very right!

Some people think that…

Zhao Xin was just making up an excuse.

but……

You have to admit that starting from Zhao Xin’s son’s generation, they did have a lot of children, and they were all raised well.

There have been no cases of premature death, so do you think it is because the feng shui in the palace is bad?

of course!

Zhao Xin’s words naturally attracted complaints from Lady Miao, who said that this place couldn’t support people, causing panic among the people in the palace.

Zhao Xin didn’t explain either.

Anyway…

It would be good to scare the ministers and related personnel, so that the ministers would be willing to let him move the capital.

The original plan was to spend several years building the imperial palace in Youzhou City.

But now, it seems that we can only speed up.

We will try to complete this palace within one or two years.

In ancient times, when building an imperial palace, all the materials, such as wood, were prepared in advance, so the construction was completed very quickly.

The problem now is that since the Han and Tang Dynasties, all the giant trees in the Central Plains have been cut down.

nowadays……

If one wanted to build a palace that matched his status, he could only go further south, such as to the deep mountains and forests of Sichuan, to cut down trees.

But even so, there is nothing we can do!
After all, this represents the face of a country.

It won’t work if you don’t make it tall, majestic and grand.

After dealing with the affairs on the Song side, Zhao Xin still had to deal with the affairs on the Liao side.

Although there doesn’t seem to be much going on in the Liao Kingdom, it cannot be said that there is nothing at all.

Some things still require Zhao Xin to make the decision.

Nowadays, what bothers Zhao Xin most is how to carry out certain reforms to the military system of the Liao Kingdom.

The Liao Dynasty’s military system was actually also managed by the Privy Council.

Today, the Privy Council is almost entirely composed of upper-class Khitan nobles.

If you let the Khitan upper nobles take charge, they will surely rebel again one day if they find an opportunity.

And the key is…

They are all family members and meet each other every day. You can’t guarantee that they won’t unite one day and elect a new leader.

In the past, Yelu Hongji prevented rebellion among his subordinates by keeping ministers and palace soldiers by his side every day.

But the problem is…

Zhao Xin is not Yelu Hongji. He doesn’t have time to wander around the grassland every day like Yelu Hongji.

of course!

It cannot be said that there is absolutely no such possibility.

But the problem is…

Even then, it’s not safe.

Think about it, if you wander around the grassland all day and someone wants to attack you, isn’t that as easy as eating vegetables?

therefore……

After changing the era name and enthroning the empress, crown prince and others.

What Zhao Xin needs to do next is to quickly return to Youzhou.

Further consultations were conducted with the ministers of the Liao Kingdom.

They did not stop until they reached a solution acceptable to both parties.

In February of that year, Zhao Xin went north again.

Zhao Xin’s initial idea was to keep the families of the Liao Kingdom’s upper-class nobles in Youzhou City.

Then it doesn’t matter what those men do outside.

But this doesn’t seem to work.

Is it humane that you separate people from their wives and children?
In fact, it would be best if they gave up their military power themselves.

All the people in the Liao Kingdom’s Privy Council had to be summoned. Zhao Xin promised to give them wealth and honor, but from then on, they would no longer be involved in military affairs.

It would feel safer if he sent someone else to take over.

March.

When Zhao Xin proposed this to the officials of the Privy Council, these people did not object much.

after all……

Strictly speaking, most of them are just stamping.

Just like his teacher Yan Shu, they didn’t actually have to lead troops. They were just civil servants who were specifically responsible for stamping documents and deploying and organizing personnel.

However, it is easy to deal with these people, but how to deal with those soldiers and their leaders?

In fact, those are the people who actually lead the troops.

And I don’t know how many people there are with the surname Yelu and Xiao.

to be frank!
Zhao Xin felt a little regretful.

If he had killed all these people at the beginning, he wouldn’t have the troubles he has today.

This year……

Zhao Xin also brought himself and Yuanyuan’s daughter to Youzhou City.

Since I have said that I want to become a relative of Yelu Hongji, then of course I cannot go back on my word.

But there is a premise.

Zhao Xin is not the kind of person who likes to force others to do things.

Moreover, Zhao Xin was very willing to listen to Yelu Jun’s opinions.

therefore……

When he brought his daughter to Yelu Hongji, Xiao Guanyin, and Yelu Jun, he also said clearly: “I think that marriage is not happy if it is forced. Even if I really want to become relatives with the Yelu family, if the two little ones don’t want to, then I think there is nothing I can do.”

This year, Yelu Jun was just seven years old, while Zhao Xin’s own daughter was already nine years old. Yelu Jun was different from the Khitan people who were considered unlearned and only knew how to ride horses and shoot arrows.

He was studious and well-versed in literature, and was actually no different from the Han Chinese scholars.

“What do you think, Juner?”

Yelu Jun was still hiding behind Xiao Guanyin.

It’s not that I’m shy, I’m just a child after all.

As for Zhao Xin, her daughter is also pretty good-looking.

Also hiding behind Zhao Xin.

In fact, the Yelu family has been intermarrying with the Xiao family for generations.

If Yelu Hongji married Zhao Xin, it would be tantamount to throwing the Xiao family aside.

This is of course very disadvantageous to the entire Xiao family.

But now, the situation has become like this, and it seems that there is no need to insist on the marriage between the Yelu family and the Xiao family.

In the past, it was for the unity of the two major tribes.

nowadays……

If Yelu Hongji did not surrender, it would be a question whether the two major tribes would still exist.

Fortunately, Xiao Guanyin is not that kind of political woman.

Her idol is actually Xu Hui from the Tang Dynasty.

Seeing the two little ones, they hid.

Zhao Xin also said: “In fact, I love peace very much. What I hate most is war. Since ancient times, very few people have been able to truly make the people of the Central Plains and the people on the grassland live in peace. I am a little overconfident, but I hope to make this happen. If you have any good ideas about the republic of the two ethnic groups, you can also tell me. I plan to let you be the prime minister of the grassland and specialize in managing the government affairs of the grassland. What do you think?”

Yelu Hongji did not expect that Zhao Xin would do this to him.

Could it be that this person wanted to trick him back and then kill him if he rebelled?

Of course, Yelu Hongji had no interest in this at all.

in fact……

He also thought that if he could really return to the grassland, then there would be a possibility of turning things around.

But the problem is…

It seems that even if I go back, the chances of turning things around are unlikely to be very great.

After thinking about it, I decided to give up!
He said calmly: “Thank you for your kindness, Emperor, but I no longer plan to become an official. From now on, I will concentrate on studying Buddhism.”

Zhao Xin could only say: “Okay!”

After that, he said to his daughter and Yelu Jun, “Let’s go play together.”

However, Zhao Xin was really a little worried that her daughter would laugh at Yelu Jun for having a bald head.

can only say……

The road ahead for national integration is long and arduous.

After meeting Yelu Hongji.

Next…

Zhao Xin also studied with the craftsmen how to build the palace in Youzhou City.

Feel……

The original Youzhou City was still too small.

This would have to be expanded at least three or four times to be enough.

of course!

At this time, some houses and other things can be built.

For example, the places where the palace maids live do not require too many large pieces of wood, so construction can begin right away.

In addition…

Things like the gardens in the harem can also be designed and constructed now.

While there is no palace gate yet, we should get everything inside ready. That way, we won’t have to carry fallen dirt along the way, or some things will be difficult to carry in.

Zhao Xin asked the glass craftsmen to do some research on the glass used for windows.

The key technical point is to master the production of “float glass”.

Zhao Xin only knew that tin liquid could be used.

The principle is that the density of glass liquid is lower than that of tin liquid. When the glass liquid is placed on the tin liquid, the glass will float on the tin liquid.

It’s like a layer of oil floating on the molten tin.

Then, after annealing and other steps, a whole piece of transparent glass with a relatively smooth surface and a large area can be produced at one time.

After it was made, of course it was used to decorate the windows of the imperial palace and harem.

You can also sell it.

In this way, the lighting of this wooden building will be greatly enhanced in the future.

The essential……

Since you can see the garden outside directly from the house, it also gives people a feeling of being close to nature.

It can be used for enjoyment and to make money.

Simply perfect.

Since the ancients had known about tin, it didn’t take long. It only took two or three months to resolve the issue.

Then it was immediately used by Zhao Xin.

Even the craftsmen in charge of traditional carpentry were dumbfounded when they saw it.

After all, they thought such a large piece of colored glaze was colored glaze, but it is really rare.

Fix the glass with wooden frames.

From inside the room, one can see all the scenery outside, and even the most experienced craftsmen can’t help but marvel at it.

In fact, things like glass have been present in the Central Plains since a long time ago.

After all, in the tombs of many nobles, one can find a lot of glassware that was transported thousands of miles from the West.

only……

Nowadays, glass is mostly used in the production of bottles and jars.

However, very few are used as windows.

This gave the craftsmen a refreshing feeling.

of course!

This glass window actually has advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage is that it is light-transmitting, and you can appreciate the beautiful scenery outside with your naked eyes. The disadvantage is that people outside can see the people sitting inside at a glance, which means that the privacy may be a bit poor.

However, Zhao Xin also arranged this for use in the garden, so it doesn’t matter.

The construction of the palace was in full swing.

This year……

Basically it is building a palace.

However, in the autumn, the Western Xia also sent troops to invade Qinfeng and Hengshan areas several times.

Zhong Yan then submitted a petition to Zhao Xin, requesting that he be allowed to lead the soldiers to destroy Western Xia.

Zhao Xin could only reply, no rush.

So what’s the rush?

If someone comes to attack you now, and you want to kill him immediately, then wouldn’t he have been prepared?
You have to let him continue to be arrogant for a while, and then you can catch him when he is off guard.

In fact…

Zhao Xin is still waiting and watching.

and……

He had some hope that tribes like the Zhubu tribe could unite with the Western Xia and invade the Liao Kingdom together.

In this way, Zhao Xin could, on the one hand, weaken the strength of the Liao Kingdom to the greatest extent, and on the other hand, see who in the Liao Kingdom was truly loyal and who was unwilling to submit.

really!

By October of that year, things turned out just as Zhao Xin had expected.

The Zhubu tribe soon reached a cooperation with Western Xia.

Taking advantage of the fact that the Liao Kingdom had just been conquered and the country was inevitably unstable, they wanted to gain some benefits.

of course!

Xixia definitely put a lot of effort into this.

and……

At this point, Xixia has no choice but to struggle.

If you don’t struggle, you will just have to wait for death.

(End of this chapter)