Chapter 166: The Open-Eyed Player Zhao Yu

…

In the second year of Hongwu, the fourth month.

Zhu Hong, Defense Commissioner of Xiongzhou and Registrar of Dengzhou, submitted a memorial: "Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, two solar eclipses have occurred in the month of Zhengyang; eleven prefectures in Hedong have experienced earthquakes that have not ceased, killing thousands of people. Never in history has there been such a calamity. I dare not shun death—I boldly point out the failures of the chancellors to investigate the cause of these portents. My words are sharp, and even death would not atone for my crime. Yet my lone, devoted loyalty compels me to speak, for I eat the emperor's grain, cherish the state's weight, and dare not think of my own safety…"

Seeing this memorial, Zhao Yu couldn't help thinking, "Sometimes, being a chancellor really isn't easy—any celestial anomaly, and someone blames it on them, trying to bring them down."

Without saying it, Zhu Hong was targeting Zhang Dun again.

At this critical moment of reclaiming Western Xia, how could Zhao Yu afford to lose Zhang Dun, who was directing everything?

Without hesitation, Zhao Yu demoted the troublemaking Zhu Hong to Deputy Defense Commissioner of Xiuzhou, making his stance clear.

At the same time, Cai Jing, Accompanying Tong Guan, and others submitted a memorial to Zhao Yu, suggesting the establishment of manufacturing bureaus in Suzhou and Hangzhou to collect vast quantities of rare and valuable materials—animal tusks, horns, rhino horn, bamboo, wood, rattan, gold, silver, jade, and more—and have skilled artisans craft exquisite ornaments to present to the palace for decorating Zhao Yu's Yanfu Palace.

Zhao Yu not only sternly rejected Cai Jing, Accompanying Tong Guan, and others' "kind offer," but also rebuked them, while praising Su Shi's recent memorial, "Petition to Promote Frugality to Strengthen Military Resources and Pursue Recovery of Western Xia":

"I have heard: a state prospers through frugality and perishes through extravagance. Though our state treasury holds reserves, military campaigns consume vast sums. In the past, Western Xia rebelled against Great Song, causing territorial loss—this is our dynasty's shame and a sorrow for all past emperors.

Today, to reclaim Western Xia's former lands, we must prioritize a strong army; and the foundation of a strong army lies in sufficient provisions. If the court rigorously practices frugality, eliminates wasteful expenditures, reduces useless labor, eliminates redundant officials, and cuts frivolous spending, the saved resources can all be channeled into military readiness. Thus, weapons can be refined, grain supplies secured, and soldiers sustained.

I humbly beg Your Majesty to proclaim this to the realm, lead by example, and promote a culture of frugality. All palace construction and artifact production that is unnecessary must be halted immediately; the attire, diet, and vehicles of all officials must strictly follow established rites and not exceed limits. With the savings from frugality, we train elite troops, prepare military equipment, wait for Song's opportunity, and launch a decisive strike to recover Western Xia, restore our national prestige, and avenge past humiliations—upward, to appease the spirits of our ancestors; downward, to reassure the hearts of the people.

I tremble in awe and dare to speak even at the cost of my life.

Your humble servant, Su Shi, respectfully submits.

In the second year of Hongwu, fifth month, Dingsi.

Seeing that Zhao Yu rejected extravagance and showed remarkable self-restraint, Cai Jing immediately shifted tactics, proposing the establishment of maritime trade offices in Guangzhou, Quanzhou, Mingzhou, Hangzhou, Mizhou, and Dengzhou to manage foreign trade, collect taxes, purchase state monopolies, and regulate foreign merchants—demonstrating his own competence and winning Zhao Yu's favor with tangible revenue gains.

Cai Jing's proposal suited Zhao Yu's inclinations perfectly.

Zhao Yu had long wanted to develop maritime trade, for it was the most profitable.

When writing his novels on the Northern and Southern Song periods, Zhao Yu had specifically researched the relevant data.

According to Zhao Yu's knowledge, in the sixth year of Shaoxing, Quanzhou Port's pure profit reached 980,000 guan; by the end of Shaoxing, it rose to 2 million guan. During Jiading, Quanzhou Port averaged 3 million guan annually. In the late Southern Song, the maritime trade office's annual revenue peaked at 2 million guan, accounting for 20% of total state revenue.

And this was only one source of profit.

Don't forget—the court could also engage directly in commodity trade, yielding equally substantial profits.

For example, Longquan celadon sold in Europe at a price 100 times its cost. Longquan kilns produced millions of porcelain pieces annually; conservatively estimating 2 million per year, over the Southern Song's 150 years, total exports reached roughly 300 million pieces, earning the court at least several billion guan from this alone.

Moreover, ships sailing from Quanzhou to Arabia carried loads of 200 tons—holding 50,000 porcelain pieces and 2,000 bolts of silk—yielding a net annual profit of 1 million guan on this single route alone.

Crucially, the ships did not return empty. They carried back full cargoes of goods—spices, jewels, and other luxuries.

These luxuries also had a strong market in the Zhao Song dynasty, yielding enormous profits.

When importing goods, the court levied a 10% in-kind tax.

——Beyond official revenue, private trade amounted to roughly 20 million guan annually.

Estimates suggest that over the Southern Song's 152 years, the dynasty accumulated at least 9.828 billion guan—nearly 10 billion guan.

Today, the Zhao Song dynasty controls more resources than the historical Southern Song did, and it faces no constraints from the Jin in the north.

Moreover, Zhao Yu has introduced glass, soap, and other luxuries, and Ma Xiao Jiao will surely develop even more goods in the future.

Under these conditions, opening the Maritime Silk Road will make Zhao Song's revenue far exceed that of the historical Southern Song.

Cai Jing understood Zhao Yu. Though Cai Jing was corrupt and greedy, he truly possessed talent in financial management—unlike those empty-talking, incompetent Confucian scholars.

Thus, Zhao Yu approved the proposal and issued an edict establishing maritime trade offices in Guangzhou, Quanzhou, Mingzhou, Hangzhou, Mizhou, and Dengzhou, appointing Cai Jing as overall supervisor to ensure the Maritime Silk Road remained unimpeded and the state treasury filled.

Cai Jing breathed a sigh of relief! He confirmed once again: dealing with Zhao Yu required only demonstrating ability—no need for underhanded schemes…

…

At the same time, while Zhao Yu had vigorously developed the Zhao Song dynasty since ascending the throne, the Liao emperor Yelu Yanxi, soon after his accession, indulged in sensual pleasures and adored hunting.

Just as Zhao Yu inherited a crumbling Zhao Song dynasty, so too did Yelu Yanxi inherit a Liao dynasty riddled with problems.

Unlike Zhao Xu, who was a relatively capable ruler, Emperor Daozong of Liao, Yelu Hongji, was far from a competent emperor—during his reign, the Liao dynasty had already shown signs of decline.

Though Yelu Hongji had been wise and diligent in his youth, as he aged, he became obsessed with Buddhism, building countless temples, draining state resources, burdening the people with heavy taxes, and weakening border defenses.

At the time, corrupt ministers like Yelu Yixin and Yelu Yixun seized power, purged dissenters, and destabilized court order. Loyal officials were either exiled or died unjustly, leaving the court in turmoil.

When Yelu Yanxi first ascended, he had a chance to reverse the decline and restore order. Yet he drew no wisdom from his grandfather's mistakes. Instead of reforming governance or restoring strength, he sank into personal indulgence, pouring all his energy into hunting—daily lost in forests and grasslands, chasing beasts, reveling in pleasure. His palace echoed with music and dance; his court, however, was filled with idle ministers and neglected state affairs.

Crucially, after ascending the throne, Yelu Yanxi should have purged Yelu Yixun's faction, eliminated the court's parasites, and prolonged the Liao dynasty's survival.

But Yelu Yanxi cared only for hunting and his own amusement. He casually ordered the Northern Court Chief Secretary Yelu Asu and Deputy Chief Secretary Xiao Delaidai to punish Yelu Yixun's faction, then ignored the matter entirely.

The relevant departments, seeing Yelu Yanxi's utter indifference to such a major issue, grew lax and slow, taking a long time to even compile the case files.

Seeing that Yelu Yanxi cared nothing about whether Yelu Yixun's faction was punished, Yelu Asu accepted bribes and reduced the criminals' sentences; Xiao Delaidai, unable to stop him, followed along.

Court ministers and wise men grew desperate, repeatedly submitting memorials urging Yelu Yanxi to prioritize state affairs and not let his ancestors' legacy be destroyed.

But Yelu Yanxi not only ignored their loyal advice—he treated it as wind in his ears—and even punished those who spoke sharply, as a warning.

Soon, honest counsel was silenced, villains rose to power, and Liao's political ecology deteriorated further, while the people suffered unbearable hardship.

As for Li Qianshun's request to ally with Yelu Yanxi?

First, Yelu Yanxi looked down on Western Xia—he thought using it was fine, but allying with it was foolish.

Second, he did not wish to provoke the Zhao Song dynasty, which now appeared powerful.

Third, he deliberately wanted Zhao Song and Western Xia to exhaust each other, so he could reap the benefits.

Fourth, in recent years, Liao had been plagued by repeated internal rebellions, and its own troubles were substantial.

Thus, Yelu Yanxi never agreed to Li Qianshun's request, despite Xiao Sese's mediation.

Toward the Zhao Song dynasty, Yelu Yanxi could neither bring himself to show weakness and seek friendship, nor dare to offend Zhao Song, which had taken a stance of readiness for war—he could only resort to delay, as if dragging his feet might make Zhao Song's recovery of Western Xia vanish on its own.

In short, since ascending the throne, Yelu Yanxi neglected state affairs, pursued such foreign policy, and spent his days immersed in hunting.

This stirred the Yelu and Xiao noble clans to conspire, believing such a Son of Heaven was unnecessary.

Under this backdrop, the Liao general Xiao Haili was also drawn into rebellion.

Xiao Haili was a Liao noble; his sister had married Yelu Yanxi. He abused his imperial kinship, acted arrogantly and lawlessly, and was repeatedly impeached by ministers. Yelu Yanxi reprimanded him, but Xiao Haili showed no restraint—ultimately, he rebelled, leading troops to raid the southwestern arsenal of Ganzhou for weapons and armor.

Yelu Yanxi ordered Beimian Linya Hao Jianu to suppress the rebellion.

Xiao Haili fled afterward to the Adian tribe of the Jurchens.

Xiao Haili knew the Jurchens were fierce fighters, so he sent his clansman Woda Ci to contact Wanyan Yingge, offering to assist him in attacking the Liao.

Unexpectedly, Wanyan Yingge immediately arrested Woda Ci.

At that moment, Yelu Yanxi had just ordered Wanyan Yingge to recruit troops to punish Xiao Haili.

Wanyan Yingge quickly recruited over a thousand soldiers.

Wanyan Aguda, Wanyan Yingge's son, seeing the thousand Jurchen warriors, was greatly pleased and said that with such strong soldiers, they could surely defeat Xiao Haili.

By the Hunchun River, the army led by Wanyan Yingge and Wanyan Aguda met Xiao Haili's forces, and a Liao army of several thousand sent to pursue Xiao Haili also arrived.

The Liao army failed to break through Xiao Haili's defenses.

Seeing this, Wanyan Yingge asked the Liao general to withdraw, allowing the Jurchen forces to attack alone.

Wanyan Aguda was extremely valiant; he rode ahead, charged into Xiao Haili's ranks, and Xiao Haili was struck by an arrow and fell from his horse. Wanyan Aguda seized the opportunity to capture and kill Xiao Haili, crushing his army.

Through defeating Xiao Haili, Wanyan Aguda gained a clear understanding of the Liao army's strength and realized it was weak and easily defeated.

Logically, this was the perfect moment for the Jurchens to rebel against the Liao.

But over the past two years, the Raw Jurchens—especially the Wanyan-line Raw Jurchens—had grown rapidly, so rapidly that only recently Wanyan Yingge had successfully persuaded Hu Shi, chief of the Pusan tribe in Yili Guling north of Helan Dian, to submit, and the Wanyan clan's influence began seeping into Helan Dian.

Now, the remaining Jurchen tribes in Helan Dian were all inclining toward submission to the Wanyan clan.

But Goryeo had long coveted Helan Dian; how could it allow these tribes to submit to the Wanyan clan?

Added to this were the machinations of certain schemers.

King Su Zong of Goryeo, Wang Yong, ignored the advice of his Zhuhe Sect and insisted on launching war against the Wanyan clan over Helan Dian.

A great battle between them was imminent.

This left the Jurchens with no attention to spare for their overlord, the Liao, let alone the tensions between the Liao and the Zhao Song dynasty.

In truth, the Jurchens were not yet fully unified; even if they had learned the Liao and Zhao Song were on the brink of war, they could not intervene—after all, their greatest enemy at present was Goryeo…

From this, it is clear that all parties now faced similar circumstances: each had both crisis and opportunity.

Zhao Yu, Yelu Yanxi, Li Qianshun, and Wanyan Aguda—all were no different.

Now it comes down to which of them can see potential clearly, seize the moment, turn crisis into opportunity, and lead their respective forces to glory.

Zhao Yu understood this clearly.

Therefore, since his transmigration, Zhao Yu had walked on thin ice, seizing every chance to grow stronger, focusing on internal reforms, and constantly monitoring subtle shifts in the surrounding situation, like a master strategist—no, he was an awake player, quietly laying his plans, waiting for the right moment.

To be honest, compared to Yelu Yanxi, who only knew hunting and cared nothing for governance, Li Qianshun, trapped in the bleak northwest and being slowly devoured by Zhao Yu's advances, and Wanyan Aguda, who still had years before becoming Jurchen leader, Zhao Yu was undoubtedly far ahead.

One could say that as long as Zhao Yu made no grave mistakes, not only would Yelu Yanxi—the historical failure—not be his match, but even Wanyan Aguda and Li Qianshun, both highly regarded in history, would certainly not stand against him.

Yet, no matter what, one must eat one bite at a time.

For Zhao Yu, the first priority now was to resolve the Western Xia.

The sooner he resolved the Western Xia, the greater the advantage the Zhao Song dynasty would gain.

Once the Western Xia was subdued, with unparalleled prestige, Zhao Yu could either launch sweeping internal reforms or lead troops northward to reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun—no one could stop him.

Zhao Yu gazed toward the northwest: "Victory or defeat rests on this battle; in a sense, this is also a battle for the nation's fate…"

…

(End of Chapter)