Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World.

Chapter 273 Jiang Zhao: I want to create a prosperous era!
Guangnan West Road, Yongzhou.

Central Army Imperial Tent.

On a long table, about ten feet long, was a map of the southwestern border region. The official, Zhao Ceying, sat with his hands on his knees, his face serious.

On his left and right were two famous generals, Gu Tingye and Wang Shao, both standing respectfully with their hands clasped, occasionally offering some pertinent advice.

From the third person down, civil and military officials were arranged in orderly ranks.

A quick glance reveals that they are either high-ranking officials or famous generals from the frontier, mostly figures with some degree of fame.

Many of them were former subordinates of Jiang Zhao, or had worked with Jiang Zhao and served under him.

Zheng Xiao, Yao Si, Yang Wenguang, Guo Kui, Liang Zhao, Jing Sili, and Zhong Shidao were all prominently listed.

Of course, this is not surprising.

Or rather, this is a natural outcome, a tacit understanding and consensus from top to bottom—whenever it comes to territorial expansion, those who participated in the three expansions of Xihe, Xifeng, and Yanyun should be the main force!

The reason for this is that only the three expansions of the borders of Xihe, Xifeng, and Yanyun truly cultivated a group of brave, capable, spirited, and ambitious border generals and sons of military families.

Other military officers, whether they were generals of the Imperial Guards who commanded troops year-round or generals of the local militia, were far less capable than the generals who participated in the three expansions of the border during the Xihe, Xifeng, and Yanyun campaigns.

This is neither alarmist nor intentional denigration.

This is a fact!

If a military officer of the Imperial Guard has been in command for many years and has not participated in the three expansions of the borders of Xihe, Xifeng, and Yanyun, he is most likely a "fake" officer who has been in command for a long time due to peace and relies on his father's legacy to lead troops, or a mediocre person who has accumulated seniority by relying on his age.

Expanding territory has always been one of the lofty pursuits of military generals, and it is also one of the "shortcuts" to leaving a name in history.

Xihe, Xifeng, and Yanyun had three opportunities to expand their borders. Except for Xihe, which was relatively hasty, the other three opportunities were more "open".

In particular, during the expansion of Yan and Yun, Han Zhang, the Grand Chancellor, took the initiative to serve as the commander of the border generals, assisted by two famous generals, Gu Tingye and Wang Shao, making the lineup essentially the "top-tier" level.

Now that they know where the opportunity lies, anyone who truly intends to go to the border and establish a career will definitely choose to actively go there.

Therefore, those who have never participated in or had any experience in border expansion are simply mediocre and incompetent.
As for the military officers of the Xiang Army, their actual abilities need not be underestimated; they were simply mediocre.

Therefore, whenever a major conflict was to be carried out, those who had participated in the three expansions of Xihe, Xifeng, and Yanyun would naturally be the main force!

Besides the military generals who participated in the three expansions of the border during the Xihe, Xifeng, and Yanyun periods, there were also some "masters" among the other important officials.

There were even two ministers of the second rank.

The first was Xu Hui, the Minister of War, who was in charge of the transportation of military equipment and provisions.

One was Wang Keyan, the Duke of Liang and Deputy Privy Councilor.

This person is one of the representatives of the old-line noble families. His great-grandfather was Wang Shenqi, a famous general who was one of the "Ten Brothers of the Righteous Society". His status was extraordinary.

However, compared to the Zhang family of the Duke of England, the Wang family's influence was far less.

In addition, there is one person who is rather special.

Su Shi, a senior official in the Ministry of Works!
This is the only "penman" personally selected by the emperor to serve in the border region, supposedly to write lyrics by imperial decree.

"In my humble opinion, it would be better to send some scouts to find high, dry mountain paths. Along the way, they should dig wells and distribute areca nuts and artemisia as a precaution."

"Whenever we march, we must wait until sunrise and sunset. This will help us avoid the harmful effects of miasma," Gu Tingye suggested after a moment's thought.

Ancient people already had some understanding of miasma prevention, and mainly focused on dispelling dampness, preventing heat, and drinking clean water.

The book "Pingzhou Ketan" records that people must carry a leather bag to store clean water, or dig a well on the spot to obtain deep well water.

The "Collection of Official Regulations" also records: Avoid damp and stagnant water and dense vegetation.

This method is actually quite effective.

From a scientific perspective, miasma is actually a disease with malaria as its primary symptom, and the root cause of these diseases is insect vectors that thrive in subtropical climates.

Moisture, heat, and water are all conditions that allow insects to breed.

Dry soil, clean water, and a diet that dispels dampness can naturally help prevent the spread of miasma to some extent.

This is why the army set off in January despite the cold weather.

Of course, this only applies to avoiding miasma to a certain extent.

"In my humble opinion, once we find the whereabouts of the Jiaozhi people, we should deliberately expose our location, take the initiative to provoke them, and lay bombs along the way to provoke them into attacking."

Wang Shao solemnly said, "If we attack several times in a row, we can defeat their morale and break their fighting spirit. After that, we can march south from Yongji Pass, sweep across the land, and achieve a swift victory."

In the southwest corner, Wang Shao did not want to stay long.

The main problem is that miasma is simply too "mystical".

Generally speaking, casualties of one or two out of ten can determine the outcome of a war.

However, in the fifth year of the Taiping Xingguo era, when Emperor Taizong took the throne, the two countries fought a war, and the casualties reached as high as 40-50%!

This does not mean that the people of Jiaozhi were strong fighters or good at fighting.

In fact, due to the influence of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Jiaozhi's fighting strength has never been very good.

In terms of population, Jiaozhi was actually quite powerful, with about a million households, roughly the same as the Western Xia, one of the three major regimes of Liao, Zhou, and Xia. Both were states capable of producing 100,000 soldiers.

However, in terms of combat power, the two countries are not even in the same league.

As a country that "lives in a corner of the country", Jiaozhi was actually a relatively powerful country in the southwest. However, due to its geographical location and the intentional "sanctions" imposed by the Great Zhou, its agriculture, handicrafts, and military weapons were all relatively backward.

This resulted in Jiaozhi having a large population, but its overall combat strength was not very good!

Of course, Jiaozhi could not possibly inflict nearly half of the Zhou's soldiers' losses on their own merits.

The real culprit that caused the great losses to the Zhou Dynasty was actually the miasma.

The problem is that miasma cannot yet be effectively prevented or controlled.

To avoid a setback, Wang Shao naturally preferred to thwart the advance of Jiaozhi and to rely on bombs to push southward from Yongji Pass.

The so-called Yongji Pass is one of the passes at the border between Yongzhou and Jiaozhi, and it is situated in a valley between two mountains.

Both the Han dynasty's conquest of Jiaozhi and the Sui dynasty's conquest of Jiaozhi involved marching south from Yongji Pass.

This road has been developed for nearly a thousand years and is one of the few relatively dry roads with little miasma.

Of course, such a formidable pass would be heavily guarded by Jiaozhi people, making it extremely difficult to capture.

This is similar to the significance of Yanmen Pass to the Great Zhou Dynasty; it could even be the boundary that determines the outcome of a battle between the two countries.

(As shown in the figure: the geographical relationship between Guangnan West Road and Jiaozhi)
(As shown in the picture: Yongji Pass, also known as Zhennan Pass in the Ming Dynasty)
"Ah."

Zhao Ceying stretched out his hands and nodded repeatedly.

Both suggestions are quite reasonable.

In particular, Wang Shao's suggestion to "pull through horizontally" really resonated with him.

Miasma is really too mysterious; it's best to avoid it as much as possible.

“In that case, we should focus on bombs to lure the enemy. Along the way, we should dig wells as much as possible and distribute betel nuts and artemisia as a precaution,” Zhao Ceying said thoughtfully, waving his hand.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Gu Tingye and Wang Shao bowed in unison.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

All the civil and military officials paid their respects.

Zhao Ceying patted his knee and nodded repeatedly, glancing casually at Su Shi, the Vice Minister of Works.

The provisions are in place, the 100,000-strong army is in place, the strategy is in place, and the pens are in place.
They're just one win away from a resounding victory!

Since the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Jiaozhi gradually broke away from the rule of the Central Plains, and even Emperor Taizong's southward expedition ended in a disastrous defeat.

Now, if we could decisively defeat Jiaozhi, and even rule Jiaozhi...
He should at least be a "mini-Taizong," right?

Bianjing, Wende Hall.

Civil and military officials stood in orderly rows.

On the steps of the imperial palace, a long table lay across the floor, but no one was there.

Below it is the imperial altar.

Grand Chancellor Jiang Zhao stood respectfully with his hands at his sides, facing all the officials.

This is the true perspective of Under One Person!

Beside him stood a small stool, where King Jing, Zhao Shen, scooped up some honey water and sipped it slowly.

The entire hall was silent.

"His Majesty is commanding troops in the field, and has appointed me, Jiang, to temporarily oversee all affairs of state. If any official has any concerns, he may submit his advice."

Jiang Zhao lowered his hands and looked down calmly: "If there are any military or political matters, or matters concerning agriculture, grain, or other general administration, you may submit your reports first."

"The Privy Council has said..."

In just a moment, Marquis Zhongjing, Zheng Shun, came out.

This senior deputy privy councilor did not accompany the emperor on the southern expedition.

Firstly, Zheng Shun was already fifty-nine years old, nearing sixty.

The veteran, nearing sixty, was already physically unable to withstand the strain of battle, and for the sake of his life, he had to stay in the capital.

Secondly, his youngest son, Zheng Xiao, has gradually distinguished himself and taken over some of his connections.

If father and son fight together, the father might overshadow the son's brilliance, which is not conducive to the family's succession.

Marquis Zhongjing bowed and reported: "Two military reports have come from the border army, both of which are good news."

"With the Emperor's wisdom and the assistance of Generals Gu and Wang, a great victory is only to be expected."

Jiang Zhao nodded calmly and waved his hand, saying, "Have someone write it and show it to all the officials."

As the "temporary ruler of the state," Jiang Zhao was in charge of everything, and naturally had already read the two military reports.

The purpose of having Marquis Zhongjing publicly report this was essentially to announce the good news and boost morale in the court.

"Yes, sir." Marquis Zhongjing clasped his hands in a salute.

Then, with a wave of his hand, imperial guards carried in two large military reports, each about ten feet long.

A wooden frame lay across the room, military reports hung down, and all the civil and military officials turned their attention to it.

Both major victories employed similar tactics.

They planted a bomb to lure the enemy into a trap.

One battle resulted in the annihilation of two thousand enemy soldiers, and another in the annihilation of three thousand enemy soldiers; both were remarkable achievements.

Many people secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Hope everything goes smoothly!

"Has anyone else submitted a petition?" Jiang Zhao continued to ask.

Wang Cun, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, came out.

"The Ministry of War has stated..."

All the civil and military officials turned their attention to the past.

Wang Cun, holding his tablet, bowed and slowly said, "According to the report of the censor of Lingfang County and the investigation by the soldiers, Chen Yong, a clerk in Lingfang County, conspired with a merchant to steal three thousand shi of grain from the granary. The man and the stolen goods have been caught red-handed and are awaiting further action."

Lingfang County is one of the counties that are adjacent to Yongzhou.

Starting in the fourth year of the Xifeng reign, the Ministry of War transported large quantities of grain and fodder to the border regions and stockpiled them in some prefectures and counties.

Lingfang County was one of the stockpiling sites.

"Have someone submit the charges to the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review for a second review."

Jiang Zhao raised an eyebrow, not surprised at all.

Some people are just willing to "seek wealth and fortune in danger".

"If the verification is correct, then confiscate their property and exterminate their entire clan."

Jiang Zhao's face turned serious, and he waved his hand, saying, "From the moment a criminal is brought up, along with the prefectural and county officials, they will all be considered to have failed in their governance."

"As for the censor who made the accusation, promote him one rank and transfer him to another place."

"Yes, sir." Wang Cun bowed respectfully and withdrew.

The execution of the entire clan—the superior is to blame!
Such a sentence is quite severe.

However, no one expressed opposition.

They even dared to steal grain when the emperor personally led the expedition, which shows how rampant they were on a daily basis. They deserved to be punished.

"Is there anything else to say?" Jiang Zhao asked, looking down.

"Wu impeached one person"

"Who?"

"Impeach."

Zhaowen Hall.

A small wooden table, about ten feet long, was set up with dozens of documents laid out one by one.

Jiang Zhao and Zhao Shen, one older and one younger, took their seats.

"My lord, would you like some honey water?" Zhao Shen asked softly, chewing on a rice dumpling.

"No."

Jiang Zhao spread out a sheet of white paper and shook his head.

Honey water?

That's just something to coax kids!

Adults drink tea!

A sheet of white paper was laid out, a cup of goji berry tea was brewed, and Jiang Zhao picked up a vermilion brush, pondered for a moment, and slowly wrote a few words.

Education, roads, steel, science and technology, the Silk Road.

About ten breaths later, a few more words were added.

The Age of Exploration!
Every year has its own policies and goals.

Since the second year of the Xifeng reign, the three major problems of redundant soldiers, redundant officials, and redundant expenses have been resolved to varying degrees.

From then on, simply maintaining the relevant government orders was enough to completely "eradicate" the problem of excessive bureaucracy.

However, resolving the three redundancies does not mean we can "lie back on our laurels" from now on.

The problem of redundancy mainly boils down to solving the "money" problem.

However, solving the money problem only reaches the "passing grade" level of a normal country.

A normal country should not have the problem of excessive bureaucracy, extravagance, and redundancy. The reason why the Great Zhou Dynasty seemed so powerful was simply because the Liao and Xia dynasties were relatively weak.

The road ahead is long and arduous; reaching the passing grade does not mean one should stop there.

People should still have some aspirations.

To govern the world, one must not only find ways to "make money," but also find ways to "spend money."

Now, naturally, it's time to "spend money".

What are you going to do with the money?

To enrich the country, strengthen its military, and improve people's livelihoods.

This is what is known as creating a golden age!
It has been more than a hundred years since the founding emperor Taizu established his dynasty.

A century is a rather special number of years.

For the Western Han Dynasty, this was the reign of Emperor Wu of Han.

For the Eastern Han Dynasty, this was the reign of Emperor Ming and Emperor Zhang.

For the Tang Dynasty, this was the Kaiyuan Golden Age.

Every country, after nearly a century of development, will eventually reach a peak of national power.

This is the perfect era to create a golden age, and also the perfect era to prolong the life of a dynasty!

Jiang Zhao, naturally, also wanted to create a prosperous era!
People's livelihood is a core element of this.

Education, roads, steel, science and technology, the Age of Exploration!

Among them, education mainly refers to semi-free education.

What is semi-free education?
Students receive free books and food, but tuition fees are still provided to the teachers.

This is mainly due to feudal ideology; it's impossible to abolish the custom of paying tuition fees all at once.

It's not difficult!

In fact, the difficulty of semi-free education is not as high as imagined.

A student's annual expenses for books and food amount to only about one or two strings of cash.

Even if there are three or four million students, it would only cost five or six million strings of cash a year.

If we take into account the teacher's salary, it's estimated to be around seven or eight million strings of cash.

Given the taxation level of the Great Zhou Dynasty, it would be no difficulty at all.

If this is handled well, it will be at least half a golden age!

Roads, that is, the construction of official roads.

The existence of official roads is actually quite significant.

Whether it was doing business, traveling with a large army, or using official post stations, official roads were involved.

The main purpose of steelmaking was to smelt iron and make ironware available to the general public.

Compared to conventional farming tools, the vitality that iron tools bring to productivity is self-evident.

The Silk Road, also known as the Maritime Silk Road and the Land Silk Road.

The Maritime Silk Road, however, was never truly interrupted.

The overland Silk Road had previously been controlled by the Western Xia dynasty.

Now that the Western Xia has been defeated and is in a state of despair, the Great Zhou naturally has the right to continue along the land-based Silk Road.

Technology primarily encourages artisans to innovate, creating tools that enhance productivity, or to deduce scientific knowledge.

Just like the cotton that is about to be promoted, it will definitely involve innovation in textile machinery.

Jiang Zhao doesn't understand this either, but there will definitely be someone who does!
As for the Age of Exploration, it could be considered a strategic move, mainly for the purpose of obtaining corn and sweet potatoes.

Both of these products are typical high-yield crops.

Once corn and sweet potatoes are available and widely available, ordinary people at the bottom of society can at least achieve a level where they "don't go hungry".

This is already a rare level of prosperity!

However, corn and sweet potatoes are not from Central China, but from the Americas.
The key point is that Jiang Zhao didn't know how to get to the Americas either; he only knew that Columbus circled the Earth and found the Americas, proving that the Earth is a "sphere".

Therefore, the Age of Exploration was largely a matter of luck.

If we could run into each other, that would be the best.

If we don't run into each other, we can just consider it as a maritime trade trip, so it won't be a wasted journey.

"Um--"

After pondering for a moment, Jiang Zhao put down his pen.

We must take things one step at a time. Success depends on human effort. Who knows whether we can achieve a prosperous era?
(End of this chapter)