Chapter 284 Thirty-two Years Old
Training a prince is really a very worrying thing.

Especially for a time traveler like Zhao Xin, it is even more difficult to cultivate a qualified one that satisfies his or her wishes.

Fortunately, Zhao Xin is still young, only 32 years old this year.

The second is that he is relatively tolerant and open-minded.

Unlike those wise and capable emperors in history, he insisted that his sons be as capable as himself.

therefore……

The training of this prince is also a step at a time.

After discussing with Zhao Zhe how to get along with the other party’s Crown Princess Yelu Saguzhi.

Next…

Zhao Xin then had Zhao Zhe taken to the market.

He wrote a note to Zhao Zhe and said, “When your father was three years old, he learned the prices of all the things in Kaifeng Prefecture.”

“Whether it’s the top-notch restaurant in Kaifeng, Fanlou, or the cheapest midnight snack at the night market, made from unwanted pig and sheep entrails.”

“I know all their prices.”

“What’s the point of recognizing this?”

“One, so that you won’t be easily deceived by your subordinates.”

“You know, a crab on the coast of Guangdong might only be worth a few coins, but in Kaifeng, it costs a thousand coins.”

“And this one thousand coins might have been used by the people who went to purchase goods, and they made a lot of money from it.”

“If you want to learn how to govern a country, you must understand the value of everything in the world.”

“For example, this month the Liao Kingdom’s Chunzhou reported that each bushel of millet was worth seven coins.”

“How does it compare to Kaifeng? How does it compare to Hebei?”

“The price of corn in Kaifeng is often ten times that of Chunzhou.”

“Because of the disasters every year, the people in Hebei rarely have surplus food, so the price is often higher than that of Kaifeng.”

“Some officials, in order to achieve political achievements, might even lie about the harvest, saying that their land yielded less than six cents per bushel.”

“However…if you knew this, you would understand in your heart that the other party is actually talking nonsense.”

“Of course, if there were upright officials in the court, such as Sima Guang, they would have immediately questioned these unreliable memorials.”

“The only thing to be afraid of is that the court is full of people like Zhao Gao of the Qin Dynasty who call a deer a horse. Then you will never know the truth of this matter.”

“The second function of understanding prices is to help you understand how people are doing.”

“For example, the average common people in the Song Dynasty only have an income of two to three thousand coins per month.”

“If the price of rice is 70 coins per dou, a family of five would need at least 1,000 to 2,000 coins just to buy rice to fill their stomachs.”

“In fact, at this rice price, many people can barely fill their stomachs.”

“Some people also have to buy vegetables, oil, and salt, and they also have to buy clothes for festivals. The remaining 1,000 coins, on average, only have 200 coins per person per month, and a total of 2,400 coins per year.”

“So…they can probably only buy a set of summer and winter clothes at most in a year.”

“Linen cloth costs four or five hundred coins per piece, which is the price in Kaifeng Prefecture. Silk costs a little over a thousand coins per piece, which was also the price in Kaifeng Prefecture in the past.”

“It’s no wonder. Once the city is not beautiful, even in Kaifeng Prefecture, some people will freeze to death in winter.”

“It’s no wonder why people want to have girls.”

“Because those who give birth to daughters can go to rich families to help others, or even sell themselves directly as slaves. Some are specially trained to become top cooks. Just by cooking a meal for a noble, they can receive dozens or even hundreds of strings of cash as a reward.”

“Of course! Generally speaking, there are only a few people who can make money like this.”

“And the cook is just the worst of them.”

“For example, those who play with you and are the most beautiful can earn more than a hundred strings of cash.”

“Many ordinary people in the Song Dynasty may work hard all their lives and still not earn as much as they do.”

“That is, the Song Dynasty was blinded by information, and many people in the Song Dynasty still don’t know about it.”

“If everyone knew that officials and rich people spend tens or hundreds of strings of cash to hire a cook to make a meal for them, the labor cost for one meal would be tens or hundreds of strings of cash.”

“If there is a famine and the people can’t fill their stomachs, you can imagine what they will do when they become impulsive.”

“If you understand the prices of things, you will understand the prices of everything in this country, and you can also imagine the life that people are living now.”

“You and I stand at the top of the world, and what we need most is peace and stability.”

“And how can we maintain peace and stability?”

“It’s all in the price.”

“In history books, there are always references to stabilizing prices, but most people don’t think much of it after reading such references.”

“But once you understand commodity prices, you will understand what these four words ‘stabilizing commodity prices’ in history books mean and how heavy they are.”

“Behind it, there may be people who are about to starve to death, or even a sign of a rebellion that is about to break out, or the beginning of national unrest.”

“Of course! In the past, when prices needed to be stabilized, merchants often hoarded goods and manipulated prices.”

“Also, although some places have a good harvest, the grain cannot be transported out, and some places have suffered a disaster, but they cannot get help from other places.”

“If you want to govern the country, you have to start from these places.”

“Why did your father let Wang Anshi build granaries and railways in various places?”

“Because doing these things can help stabilize prices, help allocate food, and help people live a normal life.”

“Only when the people live well can you sit on the throne securely.”

“The emperor and the people are like fish and water. Fish cannot survive without water.”

“But the water doesn’t need to support you, the fish.”

“Throughout the ages, there have been so many dynasties. If you don’t care for the people, then the people will naturally not support you.”

“Let’s call this lesson love the people.”

“One day, I will grow old. I hope to pass on all my experiences to you for reference, so that you can ride the wind and waves and have everything go smoothly in your future life.”

“——Love your daddy.”

……

Looking at the note in my hand…

Zhao Zhe had a complicated expression.

in fact……

Apart from these few years, he really didn’t spend much time with his dad.

You say that I have a special affection for my father. Indeed, when I was a child, they often played together.

only……

That “often” is only two or three months.

Compared to his entire life, it was like a moment.

And when I grow up, it doesn’t feel so familiar anymore.

after all……

He is no longer at the age where he needs adults to play with him.

The guards beside him saw Zhao Zhe standing still with the paper ball in his hand, and they stepped forward and asked, “Your Highness, what’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

Zhao Zhe said, “No. What does your father usually say to you?”

The guard beside him said, “This… is about right. Bring some wine. I’ve already told you whether you behaved well in front of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince today. If you insist… I’ll beat you to death.”

After that, he also asked: “What’s the matter? What’s the problem with the official?”

Zhao Zhe replied: “It’s just that there are some words that I’m not used to suddenly. Will your father say he loves you?”

The guard said, “It’s good that he doesn’t beat me. Why? Did the emperor say he loves His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?”

Seeing the other person’s gossipy look, Zhao Zhe simply patted the other person on the head.

“Let’s go! We still have many places to go.”

Chen Yuanyuan had also read the note written by Zhao Xin, so she said to him, “Sir, don’t you find it corny?”

Zhao Xin said, “It was because I, Emperor Taizong Wen, did not love you, but only educated you, that I ended up with the disaster that happened to Crown Prince Li Chengqian.”

“I have to prevent this from happening, right? Fortunately, my sons are still relatively normal people.”

“Unlike those in the Tang Dynasty, who cause trouble everywhere.”

Say it.

Zhao Xin hugged Chen Yuanyuan again and said, “I love you, too.”

Chen Yuanyuan quickly gave him a look of disdain. “What’s that expression on your face?”

“Alas, it was a wrong decision after all!”

Although she is already 34 years old, Chen Yuanyuan does not look aged at all because she pays great attention to maintenance.

On the contrary, as she grows older, she becomes more and more mature, and now she increasingly has the aura of a queen that intimidates all the palaces.

Every time Zhao Xin holds him, he can hold him for the whole day.

……

This winter.

Ryukyu, far to the southeast.

After more than a year, less than two years of development, thousands of people have reclaimed nearly 100,000 acres of land.

Originally, the weeds were as tall as humans, and some were even taller than humans, but now they have all been cleared away.

In order to increase the efficiency of land reclamation, Zhao Xin also incorporated steam engines into the process.

A total of more than 5,000 people went there.

Since the medical care was good and they even sent doctors and medicines, not many people died due to land reclamation.

of course!

This newly reclaimed land is often not able to produce much food.

It is expected that it will take some more time to complete the task.

The end of this year.

Zhao Xin also began to arrange for some people to settle down.

As for the 5,000 people in front, they continued to move forward.

As for the Navy…

Dozens of ships were also built this year.

We can do navigation training now.

At this time, the Song Dynasty already had compasses, sextants, and clocks.

Even if we are a little more adventurous, going to the open sea is not completely impossible.

only……

These dozens of ships are far from enough.

After all, Zheng He brought more than 20,000 or 30,000 people with him, so he would need more than 200 or 300 ships.

Therefore, in the next two years, we will have to continue to build larger ships.

Instead, it immediately boosted employment in the surrounding areas.

The cost of building a warship is now about one thousand strings of cash.

These three hundred ships are worth only three hundred thousand strings of cash.

It is not as much as the annual tribute that the Song Dynasty paid to the Liao Dynasty.

At least……

In Zhao Xin’s opinion, this price is still acceptable.

of course!

This may be a bit exaggerated.

Because the average civilian merchant ship only cost six or seven hundred strings of cash each.

Zhao Xin’s sons are now all in Fuzhou. During the hot autumn and summer of this year, they also learned to swim from the locals.

After an autumn and summer, at least, it’s no problem to make yourself look beautiful.

As for whether you swim fast or not…

As long as you don’t sink, you are considered qualified. Whether you are fast or not is a matter of personal technique.

In terms of military training.

It is almost a replica of Zhao Xin’s Li Yuan army.

But this time it is the naval version of Li Yuan’s army.

Wen Yanbo was fortunate enough to witness the entire process from the selection to the training of soldiers.

I finally understood why the Li Yuan army was always invincible.

Even if they discarded those muskets and cannons and replaced them with the original swords and arrows, the spirit and energy that they deliberately created was unmatched by any ordinary army.

However, after being equipped with muskets and cannons, the Li Yuan army became more vulnerable.

This year……

There was also artillery training at sea.

after all……

By then, it is inevitable that we will have to fight a battle with Jiaozhi at sea.

The main reason is that there are a lot of businessmen coming and going in Fuzhou and Quanzhou.

If you suddenly conduct large-scale military training in Fuzhou and Quanzhou, the merchants will definitely know who the Song Dynasty is going to fight next.

If the intention was to attack Goryeo, then military training would definitely be conducted in Dengzhou, Laizhou and other places.

Now, you are training troops in Fuzhou and Quanzhou, so you have to be careful in Jiaozhi.

Fortunately, some local businessmen have not yet gone so far as to sell out their country.

but……

In Fuzhou and Quanzhou, there are not only local merchants from the Song Dynasty, but also some foreigners.

Although the frequency of these foreigners coming to the Song Dynasty may not be as high as that of local businessmen.

of course!

In Zhao Xin’s opinion, it doesn’t really matter whether Jiaozhi knows about it or not.

after all……

Even if Jiaozhi knew, could it still defeat your artillery?

As for the navy, if things go smoothly, it is expected that the ship will be able to set sail as early as next winter.

However, defeating others by force is just the beginning.

The most important thing is how to take Jiaozhi back and prevent the local officials and people from betraying us.

Zhao Xin therefore wrote letters to several people, asking them what to do next after winning the battle.

The staff of several people were all soldiers in the army, and there were also some veterans of the Li Yuan Army.

It can provide them with some reference.

only……

Zhao Xin felt that there was no point in copying other people’s answers without thinking about them himself.

The answer Zhao Xin wanted to hear more was what kind of benefits they could get if they did something from the perspective of their own rule.

Instead of just copying other people’s answers.

Nowadays, officials in Jiaozhi also wear fu hats and boots.

Almost the same as the Song people.

The only thing Zhao Xin is worried about now is that after they capture the capital and even the other party’s leader, the ministers in Jiaozhi will not be very satisfied with them directly arranging someone to be the emperor.

After all, you are not a local!
And the sudden change of His Majesty feels too sudden.

We have to explain the legal principles to them and prepare our arguments in advance to persuade them to surrender.

For example…

This Jiaozhi originally belonged to us during the Han and Tang dynasties.

So your surrender is not really a betrayal.

Instead, it can be regarded as a return to the Central Plains and a return to orthodoxy.

Let several people prepare more reasons like this.

Find someone with good writing skills and eloquence, so that the other party can be convinced when the time comes.

(End of this chapter)