You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chen Shao led his guards to the small garden.

For convenience of meeting, the three Maode sisters' small garden was not far from the imperial city, near Qingxi on the east side.

Soon the group arrived at the small courtyard, where the guards on duty opened the door to greet them.

As soon as he entered the inner courtyard, he heard laughter coming from inside, and Chen Shao knew that Maode was definitely not the only one there tonight.

Sure enough, upon entering, one could see Li Qingzhao with her sleeves rolled up, revealing her fair and plump forearms, and a plain white silk skirt tied underneath, as she was gambling with cards in a boisterous manner.

The autumn wind was chilly outside, but she wasn't afraid of getting cold; her tall, swaying white breasts were faintly visible.

Hearing footsteps, everyone turned around and saw that it was Chen Shao.

She then restrained herself, blushing as she quietly lowered her sleeve.

Maode had already come to greet him, taking his arm. "Why are you here? Have you had dinner yet?"

"I came here specifically to ask for a meal. I wonder if you two ladies would be so kind as to grant me one?"

Maode rolled her eyes and said with a coquettish smile, "Whether you agree or not, I've made you eat a lot anyway."

Li Qingzhao and Maode were the opposite; they were very relaxed when playing with each other, but became somewhat reserved when they met Chen Shao.

She glanced at him secretly, and she had to admit that Chen Shao now possessed a certain charm that was very attractive to her.

Although he was dressed rather simply today, he still possessed a neat and upright demeanor. His brown robe was made of silk and was very smooth, with even the lining peeking out from the collar being spotless. He wore no ornaments, yet he exuded an air of nobility.

Li Yi'an secretly despised herself, thinking that he must have thought the emperor was noble just because he knew his identity as the emperor.

While she was still lost in her own thoughts, she suddenly felt her body sway, and couldn't help but let out a soft cry as she was pulled onto one of Chen Shao's legs.

She shifted uncomfortably, only to see that Maud had already wrapped his arms around her neck.

Li Yi'an felt somewhat embarrassed and annoyed. Despite being much older than him, she was being held on his lap like a junior.

On the other side, Maode had already started to act coquettishly, pouting and shaking her head. Anyone who didn't know better would think she was really a little girl in her father's arms.

Good heavens, does he like this? I could never do that!

Red candles burn high, and the warm tent is filled with fragrance.

Chen Shao leaned against a scarlet python-patterned pillow, his undergarment half-open, revealing a small patch of his chest.

He was used to a life of luxury and exercised regularly, so he looked fair-skinned and robust.

The two women, both wearing only bodices, stood on either side of him, leaning against his strong, warm body, sandwiching him between them.

Li Yi'an was limp and listless, her eyes fixed on the top of the tent, her rosy cheeks filled with a satisfied look.

Because of her pregnancy, Maode didn't have this blush; she just lay on Chen Shao's chest, occasionally letting out a soft giggle.

She rested her chin on Chen Shao's chest, yet spoke of her divorce from Cai Tiao, causing Li Yi'an to feel a surge of shame.

Fortunately, she was a widow, which is how she got together with him. Li Yi'an secretly comforted herself.

However, seeing Maode's nonchalant attitude, she felt that she was being too cynical.

She was so captivated by the taste that she didn't want to lose it.

Oh well, whatever. With that thought, she quietly shifted her position again.

Upon sensing this, Chen Shao reached out and put his arm around her waist, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Her skin, like ice, was as smooth and fragrant as snow, shimmering with the thin threads of crimson silk." As soon as Chen Shao finished speaking, Li Qingzhao's face flushed crimson.

She twisted her body to get out of bed, but Chen Shao wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back.

Seeing a tear on her cheek, Chen Shao felt he had gone a bit too far. This line of poetry was unusually straightforward and explicit, describing the intimate moments they shared during their honeymoon.

Being mentioned by Chen Shao at this moment made her feel extremely ashamed.

Chen Shao pressed down on her arm, leaned down, and looked into her red eyes, saying, "Life is but a fleeting moment, nothing more. Don't be bound by those rules and regulations. Isn't it better to enjoy the present?"

"In my heart, you are one of a kind."

After saying that, Chen Shao kissed her on the cheek.

A warm feeling welled up in Li Yi'an's heart. She believed that Chen Shao treated her very differently because she could feel it.

Since you can't quit or avoid it, just like Maode, and only care about your own happiness!
She gently wiped her eyelids and whispered, "My dear love: Tonight, the curtains and pillows are cool."
-
In the early morning, Chen Shao felt that he was surrounded by an artistic aura.

After washing up, he ate a quick breakfast, said goodbye to the two men, and hurried to the palace.

The eunuchs Zhang Chong and Chen Sigong stood at the entrance of the Funing Hall.

They all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw him come in.

They were also afraid that with the emperor not present, they would have difficulty answering the officials' questions.

Fortunately, although the current emperor occasionally stays out overnight, he always returns quickly.

Chen Shao sat on the dragon throne and glanced at the memorial, which wasn't very thick.

After the intense processing of the past few days, there is not much government work left.

Duan Zhengyan from Dali, however, requested an audience several times.

In fact, Chen Shao also knew that Duan Zhengyan was just a puppet. Even if he wanted to see him, it was Gao Siyuan who made him ask on his behalf.

When we meet, Gao Siyuan will definitely be there.

He wasn't in a hurry about things in Dali; he was focused on procrastination.

The longer the situation drags on, the more people in Dali will seek refuge with them, making it easier to deal with.

With such a neighbor who has already subtly expressed his desire to merge with you, and you being a powerful figure in Dali, will you choose to live and die with the Gao family, or will you seek a way out as soon as possible?

The events of the Li Dynasty happened right before Dali's eyes, and many Dali tribes even spontaneously transported supplies to the Jing army along the Red River in the early days.

They knew the scenery along the way better than anyone else.

After tossing Duan Zhengyan's memorial aside, Chen Shao said to Duan Chong, "From now on, all memorials from Dali requesting an audience with me need not be sent to me. Have the Court of State Ceremonies decline them and wait for me to summon them."

Duan Chong bowed and said, "As you command."

Looking at the next document, which was from Japan, Chen Shao smiled and said, "Bring all of these from Japan to me. I am very interested in dealing with them personally."

After he finished speaking, he opened the memorial, which was presented by Huiming, the newly appointed Deputy Commissioner for the Pacification of Japan.

This is a memorial that was sent without prior notification; the Jing Kingdom's navy is currently in Iwami Province, slaughtering the local powerful Masuda clan.

At this time, Iwami Province was nominally under the jurisdiction of the Kyoto Imperial Court, but in reality, it was autonomous.

Iwami Province was a "country" under the Ritsuryo system, belonging to the Sanyindao region, but it was too remote. At that time, silver mines had not yet begun to be mined, and there was little arable land. It was poor and remote, and was Japan's own Fujian, a place that military strategists did not contend for.

In addition, the roads in Japan at that time were extremely difficult to travel, as the area was mostly mountainous and there were no roads built at all.
How poor is this place?
Even Buddhist temples are too lazy to come here to exploit and plunder.

The imperial court appointed local officials (who were often concurrently held by officials in the capital), but they often did not take up their posts due to being appointed remotely, and the administration was controlled by their deputies or local powerful families.

When Toba's edict arrived, they not only ignored it but also tried to expel the miners.

After reading it, Chen Shao wrote a four-character reply: "Increase efforts."
-
Sanyin Road, Iwami Province.

On the steep beach, a boy in his early teens, his arms covered in blood, was clinging desperately to a vine.

His eyes darted around nervously.

Suddenly, he was horrified to discover that an old fisherman below was looking up at him.

The boy wanted to wave to tell him not to look.

However, he could barely hold onto the vine with both hands; if he let go of one, he would definitely fall.

Looking down at the sharp rocks, he could only silently plead, the pursuers unaware of the old man's gaze.

A surge of malice welled up in the boy's heart. If it were before, he would have ordered his men to beat the old man's entire family to death.

Unfortunately, today is different from the past.

A head wearing a red-tasseled helmet popped down.

The boy desperately let go, wanting to fall and die, but his wrist was grabbed.

The man pulled him up with a strong effort; a group of tall soldiers surrounded him.

They glanced at the boy, then stepped forward in unison. Someone kicked him in the back, and the boy fell to the ground in pain. The person then crouched down and swung a knife.

"This is the eldest son of the Masuda family? He can run fast enough. Their samurai are really going all out to protect this little brat."

The person who spoke covered his head, preparing to take it back to claim the reward.

The army of Da Jing is searching the mountains and seas to wipe out the Yitian clan and exterminate its descendants.

Anyone associated with the Masuda clan, regardless of age or gender, was to be executed without mercy.

On the barren land, the ragged, savage people of Iwami Province stared in astonishment as groups of tall, burly warriors chased their noble lord into a corner.

Corpses were scattered all over the roadside.

Later, it came to the point that anyone dressed smartly and with fair skin was identified as a member of the Masuda clan and was killed.

Actually, there's nothing wrong with that. At this point, there are no ordinary, smooth-skinned people in Iwami Province.
The warriors of the Great Jing Kingdom were even more oppressive in the Kingdom of Ishimi than the Jurchens were in the Kingdom of Liao.

Even in Iwami, their home ground, they don't have the advantage in terms of numbers.

The civilians don't count as fighting force; there are only a few people who can fight, and they don't even add up to eight hundred.

Such barren land cannot support many soldiers.

As the Jing army passed by, the people in the fields or by the roadside all lowered their heads, or simply knelt by the roadside. They didn't harbor much hatred, because these nobles, especially the Masuda clan, had done them no favors whatsoever.

These powerful figures in Japan truly don't treat ordinary people as human beings, but rather as beasts.

A beast that can work.

In the Central Plains, there are still some enlightened gentry who repair bridges and roads and provide relief to the poor, but here, everyone is a devil.

Ultimately, it all comes down to those two words: barrenness.
Huiming knew that Dajing had to establish its authority here, otherwise, who knew what other monsters and demons would come to disturb the mining and transportation of silver in the future.

In today's world, these boatloads of silver ingots are money.
Its importance goes without saying.

He deliberately drew a line, temporarily sparing the indigenous clans in the eastern part of Iwami Province, including the relatively weak Yoshimi clan.

First kill them to show them, then drag them out to maintain local order.

Five days later, Huiming received a reply from Jinling. Looking at the four red characters, Huiming was first amazed not by His Majesty's attitude, but by the speed at which the imperial edict was delivered.

A favorable wind provides support.

It seems like things are going well right now.

Huiming carefully put the imperial edict away.

Because half a month had passed since he submitted his memorial, during which time the small province of Iwami had been slaughtered repeatedly.

Huiming ordered people to pile the heads under the hot spring temple, and then sent someone to deliver a message, asking the head of the Yoshimi clan to come for a meeting.

Upon receiving the news, Yoshino froze in shock, having witnessed Jingjun commit murder firsthand.

These days I'm staying home, terrified they'll break in and wipe out my whole family.

"Call all the children out."

Yoshimino knelt in the room, with the ancestral tablets of his family placed in front of him.

His brothers and nephews arrived one by one, and seeing his appearance, they were all somewhat frightened.

"The Jing people want me to go to a meeting."

"Father!" His eldest son, Ji Jianben, burst into tears.

The older folks were all crying and wailing, while the younger ones, not understanding what was happening, huddled together, trembling.

They all felt that after killing the Masuda clan, it would be their turn.
They weren't even bothered to run away.

There is absolutely no escape.

It is said that these Jing troops were also stationed in Kyoto.

Some members of the Masuda clan had fled to a small island in the north, but they were all captured and brought back.

Yoshimino wiped away her tears, filled with despair, and with the feeling of visiting a grave, she went to the Onsen-ji Temple.

This is a dilapidated little temple, because Iwami Province is a barren mountain village, with no daimyo vying for power, and no temples involved.

There are only two monks here, one old and one young, who depend on each other for survival.

He was then ordered to be killed by Huiming.

They were able to survive because of donations from the Tian family.

When Yoshimi arrived at the Onsen-ji Temple and saw the pile of heads under the mountain gate, he suddenly felt a strong urge to vomit.

I forced myself to come to the temple.

Rows of Jing soldiers stood on both sides.

He shakily entered the room and saw a monk, dressed in a robe, sitting cross-legged, chanting incantations as if reciting scriptures.

Huiming had already learned Japanese, and after staying here for so long, he spoke it fluently.

"sit."

Yoshimi knelt on the futon below and said very respectfully, "Yoshimi, greetings to the master."

“No need to be so polite,” Huiming said. “I have come here on the orders of His Majesty the Emperor of Dajing to bring you prosperity and wealth. The Masuda clan was barbaric and rude, offending the Emperor’s majesty, and has already been punished.”

Yoshimino quickly said, "The sins of the entire Masuda clan are higher than mountains and deeper than the sea. Master, you did a good job killing them!"

“I will ask Toba for a letter of appointment. From now on, you will be the governor of Iwami. I hope you will restrain the local people and eliminate the mountain bandits and sea pirates.”

Upon hearing this, Yoshino was overjoyed, his forehead touching the ground and his hands prostrating himself, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, Master. I will certainly serve you and His Majesty the Great Jing Emperor."

Huiming looked at him without a trace of disdain, or rather, without any emotion at all, and said calmly, "The land in your Iwami Kingdom is barren, and farming is a poor strategy. It's better to graze horses on the land. Recruit some miners to do the work of transporting and refining. As for the grain, we will transport it; there will be enough for you to eat."

"Once you've secured your position, recruit civilians, build fortifications, and station troops. In a few days, the Jing army will also come to garrison here."

Upon hearing that Jing Jun was also coming, Yoshino was terrified.

These people have already fought so fiercely that the world is in chaos. Who are they going to kill next?
Fortunately, I'm already one of them. Yoshimi, I should be able to survive, right?
The mining efficiency of Iwami Silver Mine has fallen far short of Chen Shao and Xiao Ting's expectations.

Because they only saw that the Iwami basin was small and the silver veins were large, but they didn't know how barren the place actually was.
The roads alone are a huge problem.

Fortunately, things are now on the right track. The search for silver and gold veins has not stopped, and they continue to explore in Korea and Japan.

At this time, silver mines were also discovered in Jiaozhi (present-day Vietnam).

Mining in Jiaozhi went much more smoothly. With Zhang Boyu's cooperation, the construction of factories, mining, excavation, refining, loading, and transportation could all be completed quickly.

It is expected that silver ships will arrive in Jinling in less than a month.

The number of tourist tickets issued in various places is also increasing, and the revenue from commercial taxes has become unimaginably abundant.

Chen Shao ordered the construction of large warehouses throughout the country, especially in the capital city of Jinling. In prefectures and cities with coal mines, local government offices recruited displaced farmers and unemployed vagrants to work in coal mines, washing coal, and coking.

This winter, all officials and wealthy families will use coal and will be prohibited from burning charcoal.

With winter fast approaching, the transition from winter to spring is the perfect time to repair rivers and dig irrigation canals.

Chen Shao then ordered the Ministry of Works to draft a plan to start digging a reservoir to store water next year, as if the money was poisonous and had to be spent early.

Officials privately joked that His Majesty seemed to have a grudge against money.
Chen Shao looked up at the plaque; the two characters "Cai Mansion" were still shining brightly.

In recent years, Cai Jing has once again gained a firm foothold in the imperial court.

His act of voluntarily donating 500,000 mu of fertile land, in particular, instantly washed away the bad reputation he had held during the previous dynasty.

The old steward of the Cai family stood respectfully at the front and led them to the guest hall.

Cai Jing was old, and Chen Shao gave him special permission not to go out to greet him.

He was supported by two grandsons standing in the guest room. When Chen Shao entered, he bowed slightly in greeting.

After taking his seat in the main seat, Chen Shao smiled and said, "I think the Grand Tutor has a knack for maintaining his youthful appearance; he looks younger and younger!"

"Your Majesty is making a joke."

"Winter is just around the corner. Does the Grand Tutor have a clear idea of ​​this year's financial plans?"

Cai Jing breathed a sigh of relief. He admired Chen Shao from the bottom of his heart; he had never heard of such a financial scheme before.

The Han and Tang dynasties prospered for a time due to the Silk Road.

Today, the grand landscape features three Silk Roads: Qinghai-Tibet, Hexi Corridor, and Grassland.

In addition, the trade route between Korea and Liaodong;

The Dali Tea Horse Road;

And then there was the boundless trade that followed the opening of the seas.

The current imperial court is truly wealthy. Cai Jing even has the feeling that even if the current emperor is as extravagant as the foolish Duke Hun De, the court can still afford to support him.

Speaking of which, the Emperor Hun De has been living a very successful life in Japan recently, making the atmosphere of the Japanese court extravagant.

I don't know if he deserves credit.

Unfortunately, the current emperor isn't one to spend money on himself; he wants to spend it on water conservancy projects.
Cai Jing dares not imagine how wealthy the country will be in a few years.

During the prosperous Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty, it was said that both public and private granaries were full. However, just a few years later, during the Tianbao era, the youngest son of Du Fu, an official, starved to death.

The Tang Dynasty devoted all its resources to supporting Chang'an, while the Song Dynasty devoted all its resources to supporting Bianliang.

His Majesty the present is the one who truly enriches the people.

This golden age is unstoppable and will surely shine for eternity.

Cai Jing was extremely fortunate that he had made it in time.

If I had arrived a year or two later, and died then, the difference in my posthumous reputation would have been enormous.
These days, he had already planned out the direction of Chen Shao's spending and how to spend the money efficiently.

As he explained, Chen Shao rarely interrupted, simply listening attentively.

Sometimes, if he really didn't understand something, he would interrupt Cai Jing and ask him to explain it again.

Cai Jing's understanding of the bureaucratic system has reached a level of perfection.

His experience is priceless.

Chen Shao used people in this way: if you were really capable, whether it was Li Gang or Cai Jing, whether it was Wang Bing or Ma Kuo, they had all opposed him, but it didn't matter.

The Great Jing Empire doesn't care.
But if you're like Wang Fu, Liang Shicheng, Zhu Mian, or Cai You, then I'm sorry.

The empire does not raise insects. (End of Chapter)