Song Dynasty: Yuan Dynasty, you didn't expect this, did you? I'm still alive.

In the second year of Xingwei (1350), the Great Yuan Dynasty in the north was already in a precarious state.

To fill the fiscal deficit, the Yuan court once again ordered a change in the currency system, minting "Zhizheng Tongbao" coins and issuing a large number of new "Zhongtong Yuanbao Jiaochao" coins.

The excessive issuance of paper money flooded the market, instantly overwhelming the already fragile price system. Grain and cloth prices soared three times a day, causing immense suffering and widespread discontent among the people.

The following year was the third year of Xingwei (1351). Emperor Huizong of Yuan disregarded the suffering of the people and appointed Jia Lu as the chief river defense commissioner to manage the Yellow River, intending to return the flooded Yellow River to its original course.

This river management project mobilized 150,000 laborers and 20,000 soldiers, with the manpower mobilized spanning several provinces.

However, the officials in charge of supervising the project used the guise of river management to exploit and extort money from the laborers, taking everything from the laborers' rations to the funds for river management materials.

The people, already suffering from the effects of the currency system, are now being exploited in this way. Their discontent is piling up like dry tinder, waiting for just a spark to ignite a prairie fire.

This spark was quickly ignited by Han Shantong and Liu Futong, the leaders of the White Lotus Sect.

The two had long seen through the corruption of the Yuan court and secretly contacted their followers, deciding to launch an uprising in May.

Unexpectedly, his plot was exposed, Han Shantong was arrested, and soon executed.

In a rush, Liu Futong led Han Shantong's son, Han Lin'er, out of the encirclement. In order to unite the people, he claimed that Han Shantong was the tenth-generation descendant of Emperor Huizong of Song, raised the banner of "restoring the Song Dynasty", used red scarves as symbols, and officially raised the banner of anti-Yuan.

Subsequently, Guo Zixing and other rebel armies responded one after another, and the flames of the Red Turban Army quickly spread across the northern lands.

Interestingly, according to genealogy, Zhao Yu, the current emperor of the Eastern Song Dynasty, is also a tenth-generation descendant of Emperor Huizong of Song.

In this way, Han Lin'er would have to respectfully address Zhao Yu as "Uncle".

At this time, Zhao Yu had no time to pay attention to the Yuan Dynasty.

He was preoccupied with a "big matter"—how to spend the vast sum of money that his grandfather Zhao Shi and father Zhao Wen had saved for him as quickly as possible.

In his view, it was really unpleasant to see piles of gleaming silver and glittering gold ingots gathering dust in the warehouse.

After much deliberation, Zhao Yu made the decision to build an unprecedented spectacle—a massive zoo encompassing all the rare and exotic animals in the world.

He had long since grown tired of beating the kangaroos he had previously kept in captivity.

A young emperor, determined to challenge all the beasts in the world and become the man at the top of the food chain.

He immediately issued an order to spend a huge sum of money to purchase 200,000 slaves and build the "Garden of Animals" in southeastern Australia.

Southeastern Australia has a unique climate with mild winters and humid summers, which is ideal for most temperate to tropical animals to live outdoors.

The first phase of the Wanshouyuan project is expected to cover an area of ​​five square kilometers, with a length and width of more than two kilometers each, making it a truly magnificent project.

Zhao Yu has always been impatient and couldn't wait for the overall plan to be completed.

He ordered the project to adopt a "partial first, then overall" approach, first building several core areas and quickly bringing in the collected animals for his own amusement.

The Ten Thousand Beasts Garden sounds like a massive project, as big as eight Forbidden Cities, but the actual cost was far less astonishing as everyone had imagined.

The biggest expense was the purchase of 200,000 slaves; the other costs were negligible—grain was already as cheap as dirt for the Eastern Song Dynasty.

Most of the Eastern Song Dynasty's territory was located in the tropics, with fertile volcanic soil covering places like Java. In addition, high-yield crops such as corn and sweet potatoes, introduced from the Americas, were widely cultivated, resulting in a surplus of grain and prices so low that ordinary people could afford to eat their fill every day.

As for transporting 200,000 slaves, it was not a difficult task for the Eastern Song Dynasty, which was a "major slave-producing country"—as long as the money was available, the huge fleet of ships could transport slaves to Australia in a continuous stream.

Such a huge influx of funds into the market was like a fresh spring flowing into a pond, instantly making the economy of the Eastern Song Dynasty more and more active.

Countless merchants sensed the business opportunity and formed guard teams to capture slaves in India, Japan, and even Southeast Asia, reselling them to the government and making a fortune.

Merchants made money and naturally spent it lavishly, which in turn boosted the domestic demand market in the Eastern Song Dynasty, forming a unique "spending industry chain".

There are indeed clear-headed officials in the imperial court.

A censor, deeply worried, submitted a memorial to Zhao Yu, listing dynasties in history that had perished due to extravagant construction projects, and earnestly requesting that Zhao Yu rescind his order.

But they forgot that Zhao Yu had two unique characteristics that others lacked—he was eloquent enough to cover up his mistakes and skilled enough to resist arrest.

This time, he made the most of the former characteristic.

In the imperial court, Zhao Yu directly debated with the censors who offered their advice.

He began by explaining his reasoning: "Those dynasties in history that engaged in large-scale construction projects and ultimately perished did so because they conscripted their own people without providing them with sufficient food and wages, which forced the people to rebel."

I built the Garden of Ten Thousand Beasts using only slaves. Even if all 200,000 slaves die, I can just capture another batch.

As for slave rebellion, that's utter nonsense—first, if they're exploited to the point where they don't even have the strength to stand, the possibility of rebellion is naturally eliminated; second, just sending five thousand musketeers to garrison them would easily suppress two hundred thousand unarmed slaves, so what's there to fear?

After explaining his reasoning, Zhao Yu changed the subject and directly accused the censors: "What are you trying to achieve by comparing the short-lived Qin and Sui dynasties with our Great Song?"

Do you think I am a foolish ruler, and that my Great Song Dynasty is destined to follow in their footsteps?

Back then, when our Great Song Dynasty was defeated by the Yuan invaders and was reduced to only one city, we were still able to regroup and create new glories. Now that our national strength is at its peak, what is building a zoo?

I can tell you have ulterior motives and can't stand to see the Song Dynasty prosper!

"Speak! Did you take money from the Yuan traitors and deliberately come to disrupt the court?"

That censor had never even seen a Yuan person in his life, let alone been to the northern border. How could he possibly accept silver from the Yuan bandits?

He was only offering a loyal piece of advice, but Zhao Yu seized on it and berated him for over an hour.

The censor was so berated that he felt dizzy and his blood was churning. He suddenly blacked out and fainted.

This scene instantly reminded the court officials of the troublemaker who ran rampant in the streets of Xinxiang a few years ago.

These days, Zhao Yu is busy hunting kangaroos while staying deep in the palace, which has given them the illusion that "the current emperor is a stable and secure ruler."

After this incident, no one dared to discuss the construction of the Ten Thousand Beasts Garden anymore—since it was using the Royal Merchant Guild's money and not touching the imperial treasury, the officials could spend it however they wanted, so why risk this trouble?

Several shrewd officials even approached Zhao Yu privately, cautiously suggesting that they also had channels to acquire slaves and asking if the emperor would be willing to purchase from them.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yu's eyes lit up. Instead of refusing, he asked directly, "How much kickback can you give me?"

He had always thought that only officials embezzled the emperor's money, but he wanted to experience what it was like to be corrupt himself.

The officials exchanged glances, then quickly understood and declared, "If Your Majesty is willing to purchase our slaves, we are willing to offer a 10% kickback!"

Zhao Yu was overjoyed and immediately agreed.

These officials, of course, did not personally go to remote areas to capture slaves. Instead, they resold the qualifications to supply slaves to the Beast Garden, making a considerable profit.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it was the fourth year of Xingwei (1352).

The simplest Australian animal area in the zoo was completed first.

The park is home to dozens of unique Australian animals, including kangaroos, koalas, wombats, Tasmanian devils, anteaters, platypuses, echidnas, emus, kookaburras, lyrebirds, saltwater crocodiles, and frilled lizards.

To ensure the animals' survival, the craftsmen went to great lengths, not only simulating various terrains such as grasslands, forests, and wetlands in Australia, but also going to great lengths to regulate the heat with ice and ward off the cold with ovens. After several adjustments, the animals were finally able to adapt to the park environment.

Whether this kind of survival can last long remains to be seen and requires a period of adaptation.

The moment Zhao Yu stepped into the Australian animal enclosure, her eyes were opened to a whole new world.

For the first twenty years, under the strict discipline of his father Zhao Wen, he had almost never stepped out of Xinxiang. Only now did he truly understand how vast the world was and how many strange creatures existed in it.

In the fifth year of Xingwei (1353), animals from all over the world were successively sent to the Wanshouyuan (Village of Animals), including the legendary "Qilin".

When this news spread, even some of the court officials couldn't help but become curious—what kind of divine creature is the legendary Qilin?

Seeing this, Zhao Yu generously declared, "Good things should be shared!"

He immediately issued an imperial decree granting the court officials a two-week vacation, allowing them to travel together to Australia to visit the Zoo.

Many officials were stunned when they first saw the "Qilin" (actually a giraffe) with a neck taller than several buildings, and exclaimed, "The world is full of wonders!"

In truth, these court officials were not much better off than Zhao Yu. They were usually preoccupied with official duties and rarely had the opportunity to come into contact with the rare and exotic animals of these remote places.

Most of the civil officials who enjoyed traveling and sightseeing were either demoted or felt their talents were not appreciated. How could high-ranking officials have the leisure to go to those remote and desolate places?

Seeing the enthusiastic response from the crowd, Zhao Yu then proposed: "From now on, if any of you ministers wish to visit the Ten Thousand Beasts Garden, you are welcome to come at any time, and I will never charge you a single penny."

Even so, he still felt unsatisfied—the Garden of Ten Thousand Beasts was so magnificent and unique, yet only the royal family and court officials could view it; it was simply too boring.

After much deliberation, Zhao Yu made up his mind: once the Ten Thousand Beasts Garden was fully completed, it would be officially opened to the people of the Eastern Song Dynasty, allowing everyone in the world to witness the splendor of these rare animals.