Chapter 721: The Power of Minting Currency

Yancheng.

The Prince's Mansion.

The news that the Steam Engine had appeared in Lincheng, and that the Rich Clans had retreated south of Jiujiang under the cover of the Joint Fleet of Britain and Wu, was delivered to Zhao Xu one after another.

Two days later, Chang Wei sent another battle report: the Prince's Personal Army had taken control of Yangcheng.

Immediately, Zhao Xu issued an order to Chang Wei, telling him to return to Yancheng.

Besides this, he also called Zhou Yi back.

Sun Zheng had basically achieved his goals on this diplomatic mission.

Next, he would follow the agreement with Wu to temporarily divide and rule along the river, and would not continue to fight a bitter war against Wu, which had joined the Eastern Land Alliance.

After all, while he was fighting, the participating countries of the Eastern Land Alliance were continuously transfusing blood to Wu.

This was equivalent to having a healer in a game constantly healing the opponent's health; no matter how long one hacked away, the opponent remained full of vigor.

In the end, both sides would fall into a war of attrition, and what would be consumed in the end was the national strength of Great Song.

This was absolutely not something he wished to see.

Of course, the fact that the fleet composed of Britain and Wu had blockaded Jiujiang was also an important reason.

The Yanzhou Navy might be able to defeat the British fleet by virtue of numbers, but it was clearly unable to defeat the Joint Fleet of Britain and Wu.

Moreover, Sam Country was also involved in this.

Once a naval battle broke out, their warships would certainly not be absent.

Therefore, facing the current situation, his optimal solution was to stabilize the North Territory.

In this way, he would control nearly half of the territory of Great Song and a population of about forty million.

Land meant resources, and population meant labor.

Resources plus labor was the foundation for an industrial takeoff.

Furthermore, these forty million people were themselves a consumer market, a consumer market completely unaffected by the Rich Clans.

Within a few days, Chang Wei and Zhou Yi arrived in Yancheng.

At this time, Zhao Xu summoned his ministers to the Council Hall to discuss matters.

"Your Highness, currently Lv Chang's offensive is going smoothly; he has basically taken the commanderies and counties of Ningzhou and is advancing toward Bozhou and Yuzhou."

The civil and military officials stood on both sides, and Chang Wei stepped out to brief Zhao Xu on the current state of the war.

Zhao Xu nodded; the main forces of the three Rich Clans had retreated south of Jiujiang, and Bozhou and Yuzhou were merely occupied by some remaining Rich Clans.

To deal with these Rich Clans, the thirty thousand troops led by Lv Chang were more than enough.

However, based on experience from the modern era, these unwilling Rich Clans would turn into bandits once defeated, stirring up banditry.

Therefore, he said to Chang Wei: "When capturing cities and seizing territory, pay attention to clearing out the remnants of the Rich Clans hiding in the deep mountains and old forests, so as to prevent them from harming the local people."

"Yes, Your Highness," Chang Wei replied.

Zhao Xu then looked at Liu Fu: "The Prince's Personal Army only manages the captured cities on behalf of the administration; in the end, it is still up to you officials to govern locally. A few days ago, I asked you to draft a list of officials; have you made any progress?"

Liu Fu stepped out.

He bowed and said: "Reporting to Your Highness, I have selected seven outstanding candidates from the Commandery Governors of Sizhou, Jinzhou, Yanzhou, and Ningjin Dusi, prepared to serve as Prefects of Qinzhou, Yongzhou, Qizhou, Ningzhou, Bozhou, Yuzhou, and Jingzhou."

"I have also selected officials from various counties to fill the positions of Commandery Governors, County Magistrates, and below; the Yanzhou officials lacking due to external assignments will be selected and supplemented from the students of the Government Academy."

Hearing this, Zhao Xu looked satisfied.

Experienced officials going to these places could restore local livelihoods more quickly.

Although, the Jingzhou that Liu Fu mentioned was still in the midst of war.

But once the Prince's Personal Army advanced toward Jingzhou, that would only be a matter of sooner or later.

Aside from Jingzhou, there were basically no major problems with the war in the North Territory.

Liu Fu was also prepared to take over the various prefectures.

At this time, Zhao Xu looked at Zhou Yi: "How are things in Ryukyu?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, since the Dongying soldiers in Ryukyu were annihilated by the Marine Corps, Shang Bin has basically controlled the three islands of Ryukyu, and because of the benevolent governance implemented, he has gained the support of the people of the three islands of Ryukyu," said Zhou Yi.

After a pause, he continued: "In addition, this subordinate is training soldiers for Ryukyu. When this subordinate returned, Shang Bin hinted that he wanted the Ryukyu army to be equipped with the firearms of our Yanzhou, and I hope Your Highness will decide."

"It is not impossible to want our firearms, but they cannot be given away for free. Let them buy them with silver. The firearms currently used by the Prince's Personal Army can all be sold to him," said Zhao Xu.

Establishing a Ryukyu army could still reduce the pressure on Yanzhou.

Otherwise, they would have to leave behind a large number of Marine Corps soldiers to protect Ryukyu.

And once the Ryukyu army training was completed, they could withdraw most of the Marine Corps soldiers, leaving only a portion to supervise the Ryukyu army.

"Yes, Your Highness," Zhou Yi replied, then his brow furrowed: "Your Highness, this subordinate heard that there are twelve British Steamships currently in Wu. This subordinate is worried that Dongying will incite the British to help them retake Ryukyu. In that case, with the current warships of the Yanzhou Navy, I fear it will be difficult to protect Ryukyu."

Zhao Xu gave a light hum: "Enough, do you think I don't know your little schemes? By the end of the year, our Steamships will be able to launch, but before that, if Ryukyu is occupied by the Eastern Land Alliance, you can jump into the sea yourself and feed the sharks."

Zhou Yi's eyes immediately lit up, and the look of a wronged little wife vanished completely.

He knew the Shipbuilding Department was building Steamships, but he did not know the launch date of the Steamships.

Now that the Yan Wang had spoken, he immediately felt at ease.

Zhao Xu could not be bothered to pay attention to him and said to Chang Wei: "Leave thirty thousand troops in Yangcheng, and have the remaining troops head to Xiangcheng to rendezvous with Ma Han's army and take Jingzhou. It is time for this Jiangbei to be peaceful."

"This subordinate obeys," Chang Wei replied.

Having decided on the priority tasks, Zhao Xu continued to discuss other reform matters with the ministers.

After all, the Imperial Court would soon be taking over half of Great Song.

It needed to be more perfect in all aspects.

In terms of government affairs, Zhao Xu requested Liu Fu to expand the Education Department, which would henceforth specialize in the Official Examination.

At the same time, laws were to be established to severely punish officials who cheated in the Official Examination, with the death penalty for the most serious cases.

Participating students would be banned from the examination for life and never employed.

In terms of the officialdom, a triennial performance review shall be implemented, with officials promoted or demoted based on the results.

At the same time, every five years, officials must rotate, meaning they shall be transferred from one prefecture, commandery, or county to another.

This is to prevent officials from building power bases locally, engaging in soft resistance against the Imperial Court, and becoming local emperors.

Most importantly, the powers of the Prefect, Commandery Governor, and County Magistrate shall be curtailed.

Henceforth, the Prefect shall only be responsible for administrative affairs, while the prefectural soldiers and County Soldiers of each prefecture shall be directly commanded by the Prince's Personal Army.

The Martial Marquis responsible for public security shall be under the jurisdiction of the Martial Marquis Office, which is directly managed by the Imperial Court.

"In addition to this, the Imperial Court shall establish four major banks: the Commerce Bank, the Construction Bank, the Agriculture Bank, and the Royal Bank, with the Royal Bank overseeing these three banks," Zhao Xu said slowly.

For cloth, there are cloth shops; for rouge, there are rouge shops; and for managing Silver, there are naturally banks.

He had long been calculating the matter of the right to mint currency in his heart.

It was only because the scale of Yanzhou was too small that it was dispensable.

But now, the time has come.