Chapter 292: Conferred Duke
Spring, the eleventh year of Li Yuan.

The Goryeo Kingdom was destroyed.

However, capturing the capital and the king was just the beginning.

Moreover, the officials and people on the Korean Peninsula have rich experience in fighting against the Central Plains.

Even if a country is destroyed, as long as the people of this land are still there, they may rise up in rebellion.

It can be said that it is not easier to rule than the grassland.

The key is that they still have a strong sense of cultural identity.

Even though they still use Chinese characters.

But they all spoke Korean.

And what they spoke was not Chinese at all.

This also means that even if you defeat them today, they may still rebel if you don’t rule them well.

At this time, all the Song Dynasty could control were a few large cities in Goryeo.

It is also far from being able to control the entire territory of Goryeo.

Even in the southern regions, people may not know that the Song Dynasty had destroyed Goryeo.

can only say……

Taking it down is just the beginning.

Once there is something that makes the nobles unhappy, they will definitely rebel.

Therefore, after capturing Kaifeng, the next step was to send people to various places to persuade them to surrender.

At the same time, soldiers must be strictly disciplined and not allowed to loot everywhere.

Once the looting begins, there will be no hope of ruling this area peacefully.

It was the end of May of that year.

Gradually, peace finally settled down in all parts of Goryeo.

of course!

During this period, a meeting was also held with Goryeo’s ministers.

So who will be the king next?

Zhao Heng also recommended himself, he thought he was pretty good.

Ask if there is any objection.

at this time……

Someone stood up and expressed his opposition.

Zhao Heng was not angry either.

after all……

Before coming, he knew that there would definitely be opposition.

Zhao Heng said to the other party: “This Kaijing was still part of the Han Dynasty. Have you heard of the four counties of Liaodong? There was no Goryeo at that time.”

“This was originally where the Han people lived.”

“Of course, some people might say that the Han Dynasty actually gained these four counties by attacking the local ancient Liaodong tribal leaders.”

“But now, those ancient Liaodong tribes are long gone.”

“This Wang family, if we talk about their ancestors, they are also from Silla.”

“But this place didn’t originally belong to Silla.”

“Who can explain the chaos in history?”

“My father once said that all the people on this earth were transformed from monkeys.”

“Does that mean we should return this place to those monkeys who lived tens or hundreds of thousands of years ago?”

“So, I thought, it’s better to look forward!”

“Let the past be the past, and the right thing to do is to live a better life in the future.”

“Many of you are studying Confucianism.”

“You all have the idea of ​​being loyal to the emperor.”

“Of course that’s right!”

“But Goryeo, as a vassal state of the Song Dynasty, did not obey the orders of the Song Dynasty.”

“Is this also considered loyalty?”

“It’s no wonder that the Song Dynasty sent me to attack you.”

“Go back and think about it carefully. Was it Goryeo that was wrong from the beginning, or was it the Song that was wrong?”

“Tomorrow, if you have figured it out, come to court.”

“If you still think it’s the Song Dynasty’s fault, then you should stay in your own homes and live a good life as a civilian from now on.”

……

Finished talking.

the next day.

Any fool knows how to choose.

They immediately began to pay respects to the new king.

These Confucian scholars all speak with a righteous tone.

In fact…

It’s because I want to be an official and be a superior person.

Be reasonable!
His father had seen through these people long ago.

of course!

If you want to persuade them to surrender, you can’t just talk to them directly.

We still have to explain the truth to them.

As long as your truth can make them put aside their self-esteem, they will naturally come to you on their own initiative.

Take the fact that Goryeo was a vassal state of the Song Dynasty. If you don’t obey the orders of the Song Dynasty, it is a sign of disloyalty, and it is not normal to be beaten.

Naturally, this disloyalty is not what Confucianism requires of the character of its scholars and officials.

In fact…

Just give them a way out.

Smart people know what to choose at this moment.

Is it possible…

Do you really want to be a commoner?
On the second day…

Almost everyone who was there the day before has arrived.

After all, the former king has become a thing of the past. He has been sent to Youzhou and will probably be locked up in Bian Jing. Now, the most important thing is how to maintain his wealth and glory.

……

And at the same time…

On the Song Dynasty side.

Military training must also continue.

But this time it was Zhao Xin’s youngest son, Zhao Xi.

This time the target is Japan.

Therefore, these trainees are also a group of navy personnel.

To be precise…

It can actually be used on land and sea.

At this time, Japan had already learned from the Goryeo envoys that the Song Dynasty was attacking Goryeo.

only……

Japan must be a bit tired of this coming and going.

I even don’t know whether I should trust the other person.

Because I always feel that the other person is deceiving me.

but……

Considering the urgency of the matter, what if it is true?

At last……

After some discussion between the Japanese emperor and his ministers, they planned to send people to Goryeo to find out the news first. If the news was true, they would send troops.

result……

It would have been fine if I hadn’t asked about it, but after asking, I found out that even the capital of Goryeo, Kyoto, had been captured by someone.

What kind of support is that?
Then, he abandoned the Goryeo envoys, ran back, and informed Emperor Shirakawa of the news.

But the whole trip took at least twenty days, and a month passed.

When Emperor Shirakawa learned about this, he knew that Goryeo was basically hopeless.

After all, even the royal capital was captured by others.

I just thought, why not just let it go!

after all……

Instead of running so far, it is better to let your people stay in the country to fight, so as to avoid running back and forth.

Afterwards, he ordered people to strengthen defenses in the Kitakyushu area.

Prevent Song Dynasty ships from landing on their territory.

at the same time……

Send someone to collect intelligence about the Song Dynasty.

although……

In fact, they can’t collect it at all.

After Zhao Heng took control of Goryeo, the next step was to control Goryeo’s navy.

It’s a small amount, but it’s still there.

Then they deployed it to the south of Goryeo, and at the same time, let Goryeo soldiers prevent the Japanese from landing on the island.

We learned from local officials that they once had an envoy who had been to Japan and brought back the Japanese envoy.

only……

After the Japanese envoy learned the news, he immediately fled back.

Zhao Heng knew that Japan might go to war with them next.

But Zhao Heng still had a lot of relationships to sort out, so he didn’t have time to pay attention to the other party.

No matter what… let’s get married first.

Following his second brother Zhao Hongxue, he married one wife and took in four.

All I can say is that it was dazzling.

at the same time……

Zhao Heng also reported the news to his father.

After Zhao Xin learned that the other party had already made all the arrangements, he didn’t care about anything else.

this year.

The Song Dynasty built the first medium-sized steamship suitable for inland shipping.

It is about seven zhang long and two zhang wide.

but……

It doesn’t seem to be very practical.

How to put it, the amount of coal used is a bit too much, while the amount of goods transported is a bit too little.

From an economic point of view, it does not seem to be very affordable.

Then, all the craftsmen naturally gathered together to discuss what to do.

Even though it’s done, it’s already pretty good.

But if it is just made but has no practical value, that won’t work either.

then……

Everyone started to make various assumptions and discussions.

One thing to say!

Zhao Xin couldn’t help them in any way.

Because he didn’t know much about the ship’s data.

but……

He felt that this paddle wheel had little future and it would be better to change it to a propeller.

It is said that the speed of a propeller is at least two to three times that of a paddle wheel.

If it can be two to three times faster, it would be equivalent to saving two to three times the amount of coal.

After that, everyone started to study how to make the propeller.

There is a propeller driven by gears, so you don’t have to worry about the boat not being sealed properly and water entering after using the propeller.

However, this type of propeller driven by gears is definitely not as direct and efficient as directly pressing the propeller onto the connecting rod driven by the engine.

After some improvements.

This side of Xuchang.

really!

The steamships that were built were much faster than was first visible to the naked eye.

only……

In this way, the propeller can easily get entangled by water plants or something.

and……

Your propellers, gears, etc. are often soaked in water and will rust easily.

The lifespan of this doesn’t seem to be very long.

Unless you can change it directly after using it for a period of time.

But this will make the cost high.

All kinds of problems need to be solved by craftsmen.

this year.

Due to the accelerated construction speed of the railway, by June, almost two-thirds of the railway from Kaifeng to Youzhou City was completed.

If things continue like this, it will probably take another two years at the latest for the entire line to be open to traffic.

By the time……

If the railway schedule is planned reasonably, it will be able to provide the Song Dynasty with an annual transportation volume of about 4 million to 5 million shi. If it is the limit, it may even be able to reach 6 million shi.

And I believe that by then, the transportation efficiency of steam locomotives will definitely be greatly improved. Maybe even more cargo can be transported.

This year……

Ouyang Xiu was old and asked to retire.

Besides, the prime minister of the Song Dynasty could not serve for more than four years, or so many years.

Generally speaking, when that time comes, someone will impeach the person and he cannot continue to hold office.

only……

Since Zhao Xin had always been using it smoothly and trusted the other party, he did not replace him.

Ouyang Xiu also recommended someone to Zhao Xin.

It is said that Zeng Gong is good.

At this time, Zeng Gong was already the Secretary of the Central Secretariat.

after all……

It’s a bit too much that he has followed me for so many years and has not been promoted.

In addition…

In addition to Zeng Gong, Ouyang Xiu thought that Wang Anshi was actually quite good.

However, Zhao Xin was reluctant to let Wang Anshi return to the court.

Zhao Xin felt that Wang Anshi was pretty good at financial management.

He was able to manage his granary and young seedling business in an orderly manner, so naturally he had no intention of letting the other party come back.

to be frank!
Zhao Xin was also a little reluctant about Ouyang Xiu’s departure.

There is no way!
They are so old now, and their hair is all gray.

It can’t be said that we are completely inconsiderate of others.

Besides, Zhao Xin had already been mentally prepared for this.

therefore……

I just acted with the other party for a while.

Let the other party work for another half a year, and we can talk about retirement next year.

Don’t kick the other person out as soon as he or she mentions that he or she wants to retire. That would seem a bit too cold-blooded.

In addition…

In addition to Zeng Gong and Wang Anshi, there is another one named Han Jiang.

Many people say that the other party has the bearing of a prime minister.

to be frank!
The other person’s temperament is indeed like that.

However, what Zhao Xin is more optimistic about is that the other side likes to attack the strong.

When he was in office at a local level, he fought against local tyrants and wealthy businessmen more than once.

Moreover, it has also made some contributions to punishing corrupt officials.

The only one who was a little risky was another young man.

Although he is not young anymore.

But he does look quite hateful of evil.

Such a person only believes in what he thinks is right, and at that time, he may not be able to get along with others.

and so……

After some thought, he decided to choose Zeng Gong.

At least Zeng Gong has been trained by me and listens to me.

As for Han Jiang, let’s send him to Xingqing Prefecture in Western Xia.

Let him manage the people’s livelihood affairs there.

In addition, call back Zhao Xun.

It is said that peace is decided by the general, and the general is not allowed to see peace. Zhao Xin felt that he should give Zhao Xun some peaceful days.

After Zhao Xun learned the news, he also submitted a memorial to Zhao Xin, saying, “Your Majesty, I do not need to rest.”

Zhao Xin replied: “If you say so, I will really abandon you there forever. You’d better come back. You have fought for a lifetime, don’t you want to take a break? I will give you another title of Duke!”

Speaking of which…

Zhao Xin rarely conferred the title of Duke on others.

Because Zhao Xun had already been conferred the title of Army Marshal.

Therefore, it is really difficult to give this Duke a nice name.

Considering that Zhao Xun has worked diligently over the years and Li Ji has made great contributions in guarding the border, how about…giving him the title of Duke of Ying?

It feels a bit repetitive though.

It feels like I’m just repeating what others have said.

simply……

Then let’s confer the title of Duke of Yingwei on him.

The Duke of England was completely satisfied, but the Duke of Wei felt that something was still missing.

The news is out.

Zhao Xun should be the only duke ever conferred upon Zhao Xin.

At least……

This was the case during Zhao Xin’s reign.

As for whether Ouyang Xiu and others should also be conferred the title of Duke.

Be reasonable!
Even if they have no merit, they have worked hard and you really deserve to give them the title of Duke.

However, thinking of a country name gave Zhao Xin a headache.

Besides, even Ouyang Xiu has been conferred the title, so do others want it?
therefore……

Let’s talk about it later.

There are plans, but they are not in a hurry to be implemented.

and……

The rest of his seventeen generals have not been named yet.

(End of this chapter)