Chapter 202: Zhang Chun

…

"I have a matter of vital importance to all of us that I want to discuss with you."

As soon as the five women were seated, Zhang Chun eagerly revealed why she had summoned the other four.

But Li Lin said: "Wait a moment—what do you mean by naming Wei's son Zhao Gou? Do you want to get captured by the Jin?"

Zhang Chun felt embarrassed and deeply regretted it—but now that it was done, she couldn't say she hadn't thought much about it, that it was just a slip of the tongue.

Zhang Chun could only pretend indifference: "It's just a name—why are you all so shocked? If this child is called Zhao Gou, does that make him the historical Zhao Gou? Different bloodlines—how could he possibly be the same person?"

Feeling this sounded irresponsible, Zhang Chun added:

"Our Great Song has already crushed the Liao and reclaimed the Datong region, and we're about to reclaim Western Xia. Compared to the historical Northern Song, we've removed our greatest constraint and can now develop in peace for ten or twenty years. More importantly—with us leading—the hidden threats to our Great Song will surely be eliminated. How could our national strength weaken? How could the Jingkang Humiliation ever happen again?"

"Even if the Jin also get a cheat code and invade again as in history, with us here, the Emperor won't be like the historical Zhao Huan—vacillating between war and peace, running away one moment, staying the next, letting the Jin trap him like a fish in a jar. If our Song troops truly can't hold back the Jin and retreat southward, we'll have Zhao Yu lead us south. Even that coward Zhao Gou managed to establish the Southern Song—why can't we?"

"And if we can't even hold onto the Jiangnan region, fine—we'll sail out to sea, find a new continent. If we can't beat the Jin, can't we beat the Native Americans?"

Hearing this, the four women thought it made sense: the Jingkang Humiliation happened only because Zhao Huan made every wrong move—if he'd gotten even one right, it never would've occurred.

Zhang Chun continued:

"Zhao Gou became the founding emperor of the Southern Song not because he was capable, but because all of Zhao Ji's other sons were captured by the Jin, leaving only him. Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, Wu Jie, Liu Qi, Zhang Jun, Liu Guangshi, Zong Ze, Li Gang, Zhao Ding, Li Guang—they had no other choice. As long as we prevent this scenario, even if the historical Zhao Gou were reborn, what's there to fear?"

"Crucially, with us watching, if Wanyan Aguda dares to establish the Jin and rebel against the Liao, we'll persuade the Emperor to support the Liao in destroying the Jin."

"Historically, the Jin was able to swallow the Liao whole partly because the Song and Jin signed the Haishangzhi Alliance to jointly attack the Liao, giving the Jin the courage to destroy it."

"As long as our Great Song supports the Liao in quelling the rebellion, we don't even need to send troops—just offer encouragement and supply grain and weapons, and the Jin won't easily destroy the Liao."

"Once the Liao and Jin have bled each other nearly dry, our Great Song will strike—first reclaiming the Five States of Yanjing and the Three States of Pingluan and Ying, then absorbing the entire Northeast…"

After Zhang Chun's convoluted reasoning, no one cared anymore about her careless remark.

Zhang Chun seized the moment to shift topics: "I really have something important to tell you."

Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao still trusted Zhang Chun most; she played along: "What's the urgent matter?"

Zhang Chun said seriously: "The Emperor has too many sons. If this continues, not only will our own sons have no better future or prospects, but if we don't properly settle them, these Imperial Princes may become a heavy burden on our Great Song—or even trigger internal rebellion. Think of the bloody civil wars in history over the throne—wasn't every one of them fratricidal? We absolutely cannot let such a tragedy replay among the Emperor's sons, and we must not let our own sons be dragged into it."

This remark won unanimous approval from the four women.

Zhao Yu already has over thirty sons, and he's only twenty—he hasn't even reached his peak fertility.

If Zhao Yu really pushes himself, he might not surpass Mulai Yisimier, but surpassing Liu Sheng should be no problem.

If so, Zhao Yu's sons could easily become a flood, bringing countless negative consequences.

"What good solution do we have? Can we really perform a sterilization on Zhao Yu?" Yuan Qing Cheng asked.

"Sterilization? Dare you suggest Zhao Yu use musk or fish bladder? Just see if the concubines who haven't yet been bedded or haven't yet borne sons won't beat you to death." Ye Shi Yun said.

"That's the Emperor's forbidden subject—anyone who dares to propose it is asking for death, like an old man hanging himself because he's tired of living." Li Lin said.

"My point is, from now on, we must instill the idea of feudal enfeoffment in the Emperor—have him enfeoff all our sons as kings. Then our sons can each pursue their strengths instead of being raised like pigs. We might even achieve greater things ourselves."

Upon hearing this, the four women, who had been lounging, sat up straight.

What Zhang Chun proposed was too important—it directly concerned all four of them and their sons' futures.

How could they not take it seriously?

Li Lin spoke first: "Feudal enfeoffment? Our Great Song's territory isn't nearly enough to divide among Zhao Yu's many sons. Do you still think this is the Warring States period, where a palm-sized patch of land could become a state?"

Ye Shi Yun added: "If we turned our Great Song into the Warring States period, we'd be at war every day—purely reversing history. Even if Zhao Yu agreed, the ministers would never allow it."

Zhang Chun said: "You don't understand. I mean we keep China's territory unchanged and enfeoff other regions—like the Indochinese Peninsula, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Europe, Africa, and Meizhou. The world is so vast—don't be like natives staring only at this tiny patch of land. Open your horizons!"

She paused, then added: "Just Meizhou alone could be split into a hundred or two hundred small states with no problem."

The four women grew more interested.

"Are you saying we should have Zhao Yu send people to find the New Continent?" Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao asked.

"That's exactly what I mean," Zhang Chun said.

Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao thought for a moment: "Song Dynasty shipbuilding technology wasn't much worse than the Ming's. The Ming built Treasure Ships—so why couldn't the Song? From what I know, southern regions already have two-thousand-dou passenger ships, built entirely of massive wooden beams layered together, flat on top like a balance, sharp below like a blade, divided into three holds, with the middle hold split into four cabins. If they can build two-thousand-dou ships, they can build twenty-thousand-dou Treasure Ships—just find the right keel. And with Treasure Ships, we can send fleets to explore Southeast Asia, even farther regions, just like Zheng He did."

Ye Shi Yun added: "Sailing westward requires building ships, organizing crews, and preparing supplies—all enormous expenses. Take the Treasure Ships: historical records say the largest were about 148 meters long and 60 meters wide. Building such massive vessels required complex craftsmanship, vast quantities of timber, iron nails, tung oil, and countless skilled artisans, at enormous cost—ultimately leading the court to burn the Treasure Ship blueprints and enforce strict maritime bans."

She paused, then continued: "So purely sailing westward for the sake of sailing westward is economically unprofitable and won't drive shipbuilding development."

Zhang Chun asked: "Is there any way to promote shipbuilding and economic growth at the same time?"

"Yes—besides opening the seas to vigorously develop maritime trade, we can shift from relying on inland waterways to prioritizing sea transport. That gives us reason to develop ocean-going vessels and train maritime talent," Ye Shi Yun said.

Over the past few years, Zhao Yu has been actively opening the seas—establishing maritime trade institutions, setting trade policies, encouraging merchants to trade with foreign regions, and welcoming global traders to the Zhao Song Dynasty. Significant progress has been made: major southern ports now host many Arab and Indian merchants, and court revenue from maritime trade has already multiplied several times over.

Though this area still needs strengthening, Zhang Chun didn't press—she simply asked: "What advantages does sea transport have over inland water transport?"

Ye Shi Yun answered immediately:

"Ocean-going ships are larger and have far greater carrying capacity—they can transport thousands of shi, even tens of thousands. Take the Fuchuan: it can carry several thousand shi, even over ten thousand. In contrast, inland river vessels are much smaller. Our current standard Gangchuan, for example, has a maximum capacity of only five hundred shi—far too little for large-scale logistics."

"Sea routes are more direct and less restricted by geography. Our inland transport relies on fixed, winding routes like the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River. Sea transport can choose optimal routes based on wind and currents, directly linking major coastal ports, reducing transshipment, and improving efficiency."

"Although initial shipbuilding and maintenance costs for sea transport are high, long-term unit transportation costs are lower for large-scale shipments. Inland transport requires massive manpower for towing, dredging rivers, and more—its overall cost is much higher."

"Sea transport also expands trade to overseas nations. Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and Arabia all have abundant luxurious goods and strong trade demand. Inland transport is limited to domestic waterways; sea transport lets our Great Song establish direct trade links abroad, promoting economic prosperity."

"Most importantly, by developing sea transport, the Emperor gains justification to expand shipbuilding. Over time, this can usher in the Age of Exploration and enable us to seek the New Continent."

Yuan Qing Cheng added: "Meizhou has high-yield crops like sweet potatoes and corn, plus vegetables like tomatoes and chili peppers. If we can bring these back, it'll be worth it."

Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao also said: "And rubber—if we transplant rubber trees to Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, and Yunnan, our Great Song won't lack raw materials for tires, and our technology will make great leaps forward."

Li Lin concluded: "So we must urge the Emperor to vigorously develop shipbuilding and open the Age of Exploration."

Zhang Chun added: "Besides instilling these ideas in the Emperor, we must also convince him to lift restrictions on the Imperial Princes. Don't let him listen to ministers and treat our children like pigs. We must train them from childhood—send them out for experience by their teens, then enfeoff them when the time comes."

All four women nodded in agreement.

Yuan Qing Cheng was puzzled: "Why involve us? You alone could speak to the Emperor about this."

Zhang Chun shook her head: "You underestimate how difficult this is. The Seven Kingdoms Rebellion, the Eight Princes Rebellion, the Xuanwu Gate Incident—all these happened before. Our ministers are constantly guarding against this. We must all unite to persuade Zhao Yu to decisively lift the seals on our sons. If all five of us together can't convince him, we'll bring in other concubines who have sons—join forces to persuade him. No matter what, we must make this happen."

After these past three or four years of training, Zhang Chun had matured considerably.

She knew very well that while this matter sounded simple, carrying it out would be fraught with immense difficulties.

Leaving other factors aside, historically, the Northern Song never even completed unification, and the Southern Song was merely a rump state clinging to one corner—this was certainly due in part to the formidable strength of Song's enemies: the Liao, Xia, Jin, and Mongols—but did the Song's own internal forces of conservatism and obstruction not also play a massive role? In such a dynasty, how great would the resistance be if you asked them to launch wars to conquer the entire world?

Let me put it this way: the Ming and Qing dynasties were both unified empires, yet later, without any prior coordination, both imposed maritime bans.

First, the Ming.

The Ming regarded agriculture as the foundation of the state; its rulers believed commercial activity would destabilize society, and overseas trade would lure the populace into chasing profit, undermining agricultural production—thus they enforced maritime bans to restrict commercial development.

Moreover, Ming rulers upheld the traditional notion of Han versus barbarians, viewing China as the Celestial Kingdom, needing no extensive trade with foreign lands; the maritime ban was, to some extent, an expression of this worldview in foreign policy.

Now, the Qing.

Qing rulers feared that coastal populations interacting with foreigners might incite anti-Qing sentiments and threaten the stability of their rule. A maritime ban could reduce Sino-foreign exchanges and lower this risk.

Furthermore, the Qing economy was dominated by natural farming; feudal rulers believed domestic resources were abundant and no reliance on overseas trade was necessary—this policy aligned with the ruling needs of such an economic structure.

Today, centuries earlier than the Ming and Qing, feudal forces would be even stronger; under such conditions, lifting the maritime ban entirely would already be difficult, let alone launching continuous foreign wars.

Therefore, this is a grand game—a game requiring long-term strategy—and it must begin now, or success is absolutely impossible.

And the first step is to convince Zhao Kuangyin and ensure he remains unwavering on this path.

This is not easy, for once Zhao Kuangyin completes unification, he will rank as the second greatest emperor of the Zhao Song dynasty, after Zhao Kuangyin himself, placing him among China's most accomplished emperors—he truly has no need to go through such turmoil.

After all, if Zhao Kuangyin takes this step, he may not be seen as accomplished, but as reckless and glory-seeking.

Moreover, along this path, he will face countless resistances—resistances so great they may unite the scholar-official class, the majority of officials, the imperial clan, the Crown Prince's faction, and other feudal forces to block them entirely; it is even possible these feudal forces will join forces to overthrow Zhao Kuangyin's rule.

Yet, as always, crisis and opportunity coexist.

Where there are opponents, there must also be supporters.

If Zhang Chun creates sufficient momentum, beyond Zheng Xiansu, every concubine of Zhao Kuangyin—and the power behind them—will support Zhang Chun.

Then, Zhang Chun will possess formidable political power, at which point she can stir up storms and even stand on equal footing with Zheng Xiansu…

…

(End of Chapter)