You have truly caused me great suffering!

In Chen Shao's plan, Goryeo was a country that would not be conquered; he indeed did not intend to send troops to attack Goryeo.

Regardless of other aspects, a country like this will always be competent in its attitude towards its suzerain state.

If you send troops to attack it, you will be destroying the tributary system yourself, and no one will believe your theory anymore.

However, we can gradually infiltrate and then peacefully acquire territory. My vassal states all voluntarily surrendered and submitted; I have never sent troops, except for the Ly Dynasty of Jiaozhi, which initiated the provocation.

If hundreds of thousands of laborers can be left on the land of Dajing in advance, this will be an extremely beneficial force when the bidding is held.

These laborers who remained in Daegeong could help the people of Goryeo quickly integrate into Daegeong.

Moreover, the Dingnan Army, which was enfeoffed in Liaodong, and the local small landowners were his own loyal followers, who had been with him for more than ten years.

Their current situation is indeed bad; no one is helping them cultivate the land, so what's the use of allocating more land?

Are you suggesting that the whole family should work together? Unless we have fully mechanized farming tools now, no matter how hard a family works, they can't grow much.

Many estate owners have already started planting trees.
In fact, as long as they have manpower, farmhands, and tenant farmers, all problems will be solved.

Liaodong is close to Korea, which in turn is close to Japan.

Further east are the Shiwei, Khitan, Bohai, and Xi people. As long as you have manpower and produce goods, you won't have to worry about selling them.

Chen Shao had to keep these people in check; he couldn't let the soldiers lose heart.

Chen Shao couldn't come up with a good solution to Goryeo's opposition. If all else failed, he would try to compensate from other sources.

The Xijing Incident shows that their country was not a monolithic entity.

Perhaps I can also try to win over and divide them.

Cui Shunting wanted to come to Jinling, but by the time the imperial edict arrived, plus the time he would spend on the journey, it would probably be New Year's Day.

Chen Shao thought to himself, "This year is really lively."
Envoys from all over the world gathered in Nanjing, which was actually a way of establishing a new order.

Meanwhile, Dajing is rebuilding a new order.

Among the many established policies, Chen Shao first targeted the Engineering Academy, because the Academy was promoted by Chen Shao himself and was most likely to accept his reforms.
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At Yuwen Xuzhong's prompting, Chen Shao also began to notice the standardization of the weapons used by the Engineering Academy.

If the dimensions are not standardized, it may cause problems in future joint operations.

At that time, there were firearms workshops in Taiyuan, Datong, Yanjing, Luocheng in Annam, and Jinling.

Chen Shao ordered the Nanjing Institute of Technology to come up with a standard, and that all regions should manufacture firearms according to this standard.

The artisan system is where Chen Shaozheng's orders are most effectively implemented, and his word is law there.

The main reason is that the artisans previously had a low social status, which was elevated by Chen Shaosheng, and the treatment they received was also provided by Chen Shaosheng.

Whoever feeds you, you have to listen to them – this has been an ironclad rule since ancient times.

Seeing that the matter was proceeding so smoothly, Chen Shao got carried away and issued an edict summoning Bai Shizhong to see him.

Bai Shizhong, who had been keeping a low profile and diligently completing his tasks, was somewhat surprised to hear the imperial edict.

After arriving at the hot spring palace, Chen Shao and he talked for a long time.

Finally, he proposed that he wanted to reform the imperial examination system.

The most notable characteristic of Pai Shih-chung is that he has no principles.

Although he himself rose through the ranks through the imperial examinations, he had no objection to His Majesty's plan to reform the examination system.

Then, under Chen Shao's instructions, Bai Shizhong submitted a memorial proposing to reform the imperial examination system.

Bai Shizhong, a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) of the Zhengtong era, suddenly became a pioneer of the new system, advocating for the addition of subjects, emphasis on policy essays, the addition of mathematics, and the introduction of practical subjects.

But as expected, Bai Shizhong's memorial went through several twists and turns, from the Emperor's presence to the Secretariat, then to various government offices, and finally back to the Emperor's presence. Chen Shao asked everyone to discuss it, but the officials collectively pretended not to see it, as if they hadn't seen it at all.

Bai Shizhong wasn't afraid. He was acting on orders to submit the memorial, and if anyone was the mastermind, it was His Majesty.

When colleagues questioned him, he would pretend to be stupid or shut himself in his residence and refuse visitors.

Since returning from Annam, Pai Shih-chung has always held the belief that if he listens to Chancellor Tsai and His Majesty in everything, he will never make a mistake.

Given this situation, the positions of the court officials were indeed very complex. The situation was not as simple as the political disputes between the old and new parties in the Song Dynasty. There were many who strongly supported Chen Shao, but also many who opposed the new policies, as well as many who tried to smooth things over.

Chen Shao did not continue to probe this. If each reform was regarded as a small monster, the imperial examination was undoubtedly the most difficult one to overcome.

If people's mindsets have not changed, and a radical reform of the imperial examination system is rashly implemented, it is very likely to have negative effects.

Not only will it fail to achieve its original purpose, it will also cause chaos.

What Chen Shao needed to do was to get people like Bai Shizhong to submit memorials one or two more times.

Let everyone get used to it first.
Jinling.

A large crowd of people waited in front of a temple.

Today, the current prime minister, Li Tangchen, will bring his family to offer incense.

The city of Jinling is filled with temples, including ancient temples from the Six Dynasties period as well as newly built temples from the Southern Tang and Northern Song dynasties.

However, this Fengyou Temple is somewhat special. It was first built in the second year of Xingning in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and was a royal temple of the Six Dynasties. Gu Kaizhi once painted the "Vimalakirti Image" here.
Despite being repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt, it remains a gathering place for literati, and the temple contains the "Three Perfections Stele"—painting by Gu Kaizhi, sculpture by Dai Kui, and calligraphy by Wang Xizhi.

When the Southern Tang Dynasty built the Shengyuan Pavilion here, it was 240 feet high, about 70 meters, making it an instant popular spot for climbing in Jinling.

Fine snowflakes were falling from the sky. It snows in Nanjing almost every year, but it's rare for the snow to accumulate.

After disembarking outside the temple, the boats moored on the river were barely visible in the mist. A group of people, carrying green umbrellas, entered the ancient-style temple.

At this moment, the abbot personally came forward to greet them, bowed, and said "Amitabha".

After exchanging greetings, everyone went straight to the main hall. Although there was a donation box in front of the Buddha statue, the Li family had donated a little more money, so they gave it to a monk at the door and added it to the donation book.

With a "ding!" sound, as if the monk was reminding the dozing Buddha, everyone stepped forward to pay their respects to the Bodhisattva.

Since the rise of Chengtian Temple, no other temple as colossal as the Xiangguo Temple has appeared in the Great Jing.

The donations from each temple must be settled, taxed, and recorded, and the amount received in the end will be reduced by half.

This is why many monks want to return to secular life; they can't earn money, yet they have to travel far and wide to spread the Dharma, teach people to be good, and monitor local cults.

This job is just like any other job; it's all about cost-effectiveness. If the effort and reward are severely disproportionate, then naturally fewer people will be willing to do it.

Li Tangchen's identity is very special. In addition to being the prime minister of the court, he was also a professor at the prefectural school.

Therefore, in the eyes of the civil officials, Li Tangchen should be their leader and the banner against the imperial examination reform.

Chen Guoting was a man in his fifties, with a very refined appearance, a typical scholar-official.

He and Li Gang were close friends. Because Li Gang accepted the official position in Da Jing, Chen Guoting, who originally wanted to resign, also stayed in Da Jing.

And with the relocation of the capital by the Great Jing Dynasty, he also came to Jinling to serve as an official.

His official rank was not high; he served in the Imperial Academy, but he was very senior and highly respected among scholars.

Especially after the Yintian case, the Luoyang case, and the Wei Li case exiled most of the famous officials left behind by the Song Dynasty to the frontier, Chen Guoting's status rose sharply.

Li Tangchen didn't know why he had asked to meet him at the Buddhist temple, but it happened to be the end of the year, and his elderly mother was a Buddhist, so he brought his family to offer incense.

Several people entered through the back door behind the Buddha statue. The abbot said, "Please rest in the dining room, esteemed benefactors. At noon, I will have someone prepare some tea and vegetarian food."

Chen Guoting said, "Thank you for your trouble, Master."

The Song Dynasty was a highly developed cultural and educational society, so monks were generally very cultured, and many talented monks emerged from among them. They also maintained close relationships with the literati.

Almost every great scholar who became famous in later generations had one or two monks as his literary friends.

The two entered a simple meditation room, while their attendants remained in the courtyard outside, patrolling the eaves. Inside the meditation room was a wooden table and a futon on the floor. Li Tangchen and Chen Guoting exchanged pleasantries and sat down opposite each other. The temple was not very quiet; the bustling Longjiang Port was too close, only six or seven miles away, and the noise from the distant official road could be faintly heard in the air, as if enveloped by a subtle "buzzing" sound.

Since the capital was moved, there have indeed been few quiet temples in Nanjing. Perhaps only Qixia Mountain is somewhat better, but it is also crowded with tourists, making it difficult to find peace and quiet.

Li Tangchen was very polite. He picked up the teapot, poured two cups of tea, and handed one to Chen Guoting.

Chen Guoting quickly bowed and received it with both hands. People like Li Tangchen were highly regarded by the scholar-official class.

Most of the officials in Dajing were former subordinates of Chen Shao, some were military officers, some were peasants, and some were merchants.

Only the prime minister was a professor at the prefectural school, the scholar of the purest blood in the land, and the face of Confucianism.

Chen Guoting began, “Recently, Bai Shizhong submitted a memorial proposing to reform the imperial examination system. We scholars study the classics and value policy essays to preserve the literary tradition.”

Li Tangchen waved his hand and said, "This is a matter of state, and should be discussed in the court or reported to His Majesty in writing. Do not make a fuss about it in a Buddhist temple."

Chen Guoting had always been outspoken, and seeing Li Tangchen's attitude, he immediately became somewhat angry:
"From the very beginning of our dynasty, the emperor has had the sole authority to make decisions on national policies. Even on such a major matter as moving the capital, the ministers had no chance to interfere. No matter how many people opposed the move, their opposition was ultimately futile."

Li Tangchen frowned slightly, stood up, and left with a flick of his sleeve.

Chen Guoting stood in front of the hall, helplessly turning his back and looking up at the sky.

The officials of the Song Dynasty were used to sharing the world with the imperial family, and they were deeply uncomfortable facing a powerful emperor.

When I have a little free time, I feel uncomfortable and itchy all over.

But Li Tangchen was different; he had already reached a tacit understanding with His Majesty.

This prosperous era of Dajing will have its own name in the history books a hundred years from now.

How could he oppose His Majesty?

In Li Tangchen's mind, whether he was the leader of the Hedong faction or the leader of the Shilin faction was not important.

His position has allowed him to see a broader world and more ambitious aspirations.

He himself must be the prime minister of this great and prosperous era, and the most important thing is that the history books record the unity of the emperor and his ministers, and the great governance of the world.
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Beneath the calm surface, beneath which undercurrents surged, the third year of Jianwu officially entered its final month.

In mid-December, envoys from various countries arrived in Nanjing one after another.

This year, the King of Goryeo, disregarding the objections of his ministers, insisted on coming to Jinling to offer congratulations.

He'd had enough of Kaijing; on the contrary, there were still many places in the Central Plains he wanted to visit.

In Goryeo, his power was not actually that great. Before the Daejeong army was stationed there, he might have had the ambition to fight for it.

Even if we manage to win it now, it's not very meaningful.

Sovereignty has been largely lost.

A ruler without military power is essentially without everything.

More importantly, he had already trusted Emperor Jing's character and knew very well that the Jing Emperor would not detain him.

As a result, the number of kings who personally came to Jinling reached an astonishing eight.

They were the rulers of the three kingdoms of Japan—Iwami, Tsukushi, and Ise—the rulers of the three kingdoms of Ryukyu, and the rulers of the two unconquered kingdoms of Goryeo and Dali.

In addition, Chen Shao specifically named the tribal chiefs of various tribes in southern Mongolia.

This year's Nanjing will surely be recorded in history.

On the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, Chen Shao set off from the Hot Spring Palace, returning to the Jinling Imperial City alone with the imperial regalia.

That night, they stayed overnight at Baozhen Temple.

The next day, he summoned his ministers and held a banquet in the palace to entertain the envoys from various countries.

Looking at the faces of the foreigners below, seated at small tables in the style of the Central Plains, with antique tableware and wine vessels set on them, Chen Shao felt somewhat dazed. Perhaps only Li Shimin could truly empathize with him at this moment.

The gifts from various countries this year were exceptionally generous, and Chen Shao's return gifts were also calculated by the Ministry of Rites to maintain a similar value.

Although they could not gain any benefits from the Great Jing royal family during their tribute mission, the large delegation could still make a considerable profit through trade along the way.

Hurza, the chieftain of the Kereit tribe, looked at the young Emperor of the Great Jing Dynasty, rose and stepped forward to pay his respects.

Chen Shao invited him to come closer and treated him with great courtesy.

Hurzha was used to being scolded by the Liao and Jin dynasties, treated like servants, and was now somewhat dazed.

He stepped forward and said, "Your subject Hurzha pays respects to Your Majesty the Emperor!"

Chen Shao did not say anything harsh like "I am not your ruler, and you are not my subject."

In fact, the four major tribes of southern Mongolia had already submitted a petition to submit to the emperor.

Chen Shao said, "I am very pleased that you have come in person."

"I am even more delighted to see Your Majesty!"

The Kereit tribe was undoubtedly the number one tribe in southern Mongolia.

It was one of the strongest tribes in the mid-12th century, later becoming an early ally and adoptive father of Genghis Khan, before being destroyed by the Mongols.

They controlled the Tuul River basin, located in the heart of the Mongolian Plateau, bordering the Mongol tribe to the east, the Naiman tribe to the west, the Dajing border to the south, and the Merkit tribe to the north.

It is well-connected and allows for easy movement in and out.

The tribe was known as "70,000 tents" (approximately 350,000 people), far exceeding the Mongol tribes of the same period (less than 10,000 people), making it the first echelon of power in the northern desert.

The tribal chief before them, Hurjahus, was revered as "Gur Khan," which in Mongolian means "Khan of the World." Although not the ruler of the entire desert, he already possessed the demeanor of a hegemon.

His personal visit this time demonstrates his sincerity and shows that he genuinely wants to continue his good life and exchange goods with Da Jing.

For him, trade was more profitable than plunder, enough to sustain the tribe's survival, so who would want to fight?

However, the Great Jing army stationed troops in the Hetao region and launched continuous attacks. Although they were attacking the northern desert, many tribes in the southern desert also suffered undeserved disasters.

More than one tribe has approached Hurza, hoping he will lead all the tribes to fight against the Great Jing.

Hurzha rejected them all.

In his view, the gap in strength between the two sides was too great, and neither side had any chance of fighting.

After arriving in Dajing, he became even more determined in his decision.

He just wanted to gain some benefits and, incidentally, test what Da Jing was up to.

Based on past experience, they were considered to have already submitted, and he also strictly disciplined his subordinates, forbidding them from harming the Jing people in trade or intercepting caravans.

He also personally led cavalry to sweep away bandits entrenched in the desert, ensuring the smooth passage of his territory—the steppe Silk Road.

Like Wanyan Balisu, who was entrenched in the Blackwater, their tribe only wanted to do business and live a good life.

Although the Kereit tribe was very strong, their ambitions were never actually that great. They were the first to rebel against the Khitan, but unlike the Jurchens, after defeating the Khitan, the Kereit tribe immediately withdrew and returned to their own small territory.

This may be related to their religion. The Kereit tribe has been a Nestorian Christian tribe since the 10th century, making them a rare Christian tribe on the steppe.

The Nestorian Christian network enabled it to maintain indirect contact with Central Asia, Persia, and even Europe. In Europe, there was a popular saying that "John the Priest King was in the East," which was based on the Kereit tribe.

This made them less warlike, expansionist, and plundering than traditional tribes; instead, they preferred to act as bridges for trade between East and West.

Chen Shao had his seat moved to the front and gave him the wine from his own table.

Hurzha knelt on one knee to express his gratitude, then returned to his seat, but his expression was not very relaxed.

Because he was in the Great Jing Dynasty, he had already vaguely heard many rumors about the conquest of the desert. (End of this chapter)