Chapter 726: Pattern Replication

Early morning.

A ray of sunlight shone through the window onto the bed curtains.

Amidst the hazy, golden-red light, Zhao Xu woke up.

Propping himself up, he looked toward Yang Susu, only to see she was still in a deep sleep.

Perhaps it was Zhao Xu's movement that disturbed her in her sleep.

She turned over unconsciously and continued to sleep soundly, the thin red silk blanket sliding off her body, revealing a large expanse of snow-white, jade-like skin.

Zhao Xu felt a slight warmth in his lower abdomen, but he simply watched the scenery before him quietly.

A young body has boundless energy, and last night had been too exhausting.

Considering the Beauty had just tasted the dew of love and could not bear more affection, he would let her be.

With a light smile, Zhao Xu lay back down, looking at the roof beams, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

Now, he sat in possession of half the Great Song's territory and had obtained a Beauty like Yang Susu, who was second to none in Jingshi.

It could finally be called waking up to hold the power of the world, and falling asleep on the knees of a Beauty.

However, to him, this was far from enough; what did half the territory count for?

He wanted the entire Great Song, and he wanted to make the world see that even the places that could not be seen would become the territory of the Great Song.

After thinking for a while, Zhao Xu fell into a deep sleep again.

Not knowing how long he had slept, he was pushed awake by Yang Susu.

With a chuckle, he thought Yang Susu was playing with him, so he prepared to pounce on her again.

"Your Highness, we still need to pay our respects to the Emperor and the Empress this morning. If we go late, I will be called a lazy wife," Yang Susu said, catching Zhao Xu's mischievous hands with a coquettish look.

"Then I shall spare you for now; I cannot let my Princess be branded with a bad name just after entering the household," Zhao Xu laughed.

After a night of intimacy, he had gained a preliminary understanding of Yang Susu.

She was a woman who was both internally wise and lively.

Her inner wisdom was naturally due to her reading from a young age, and her liveliness was perhaps due to her background in a family of military generals.

Influenced by her environment, she possessed a certain heroic spirit, not as pedantic as traditional noble ladies, and had more agility.

This made her both virtuous in managing the household and passionate and bold in the bedroom, which deeply pleased Zhao Xu.

Having said that, he called for Feng'er and Luan'er.

The two had long been waiting outside the hall and walked in upon hearing his voice.

Feng'er carried the Princess's daily attire, and Luan'er carried Zhao Xu's clothes.

After washing and dressing, Zhao Xu introduced Feng'er and Luan'er to Yang Susu.

"Feng'er has a fiery temperament and is capable of managing affairs; in the future, you can leave the miscellaneous chores of the Prince's Mansion to her. Luan'er has a gentle temperament and is meticulous; she is a good companion and can keep you company to relieve your boredom," Zhao Xu said.

Yang Susu wore a faint smile; from the moment Feng'er and Luan'er entered, she had been observing the two.

At this moment, she took Feng'er and Luan'er's hands and said, "As expected of those who serve His Highness, each one is a Beauty. Who knows, perhaps in the future, you will be my sisters."

As she spoke, she looked toward Zhao Xu, meaning she understood the relationship between the two and Zhao Xu.

During the preparations for the wedding, her grandfather had mentioned Feng'er and Luan'er.

He meant that the two had stayed by Yan Wang's side during his most difficult times, never leaving him.

They had also fought alongside Liu Fu and Chang Wei to build such a great foundation for Yan Wang, so they could not be treated as ordinary maids; he told her to treat them like sisters.

Zhao Xu was speechless; as a newlywed, he had not been in a hurry to mention this to Yang Susu, but he had not expected her to bring it up herself.

After thinking about it, he felt relieved.

Yang Feng was, after all, a veteran general of three reigns and still had some foresight; he must have cleared the path for Yang Susu in advance to prevent her from offending people upon entering the mansion, causing trouble in the backyard, displeasing him, and ruining her reputation.

Feng'er and Luan'er were startled.

They had grown up in the deep palace and were accustomed to the infighting between concubines.

They were deeply afraid that Yang Susu would loathe them because of their intimate relationship with Yan Wang.

The two said in unison, "We are of lowly status, how dare we call the Princess sister."

Seeing the fearful expressions on Feng'er and Luan'er's faces, Yang Susu could not help but pause.

Immediately, she realized something and said softly, "I am by no means a jealous person; you need not worry. Besides, isn't His Highness still here to protect you?"

Zhao Xu laughed softly, "Since the Princess has said so, you can put your hearts at ease."

Feng'er and Luan'er nodded.

Seeing Yang Susu's friendly expression and pure eyes, without a trace of malice, she seemed to be an easy person to get along with, so they could not help but smile and become much more cheerful, chatting with Yang Susu.

Before long, the three had completely forgotten his existence, until Zhao Xu reminded Yang Susu that it was time to pay their respects; only then did she walk with an unnatural gait, following Zhao Xu.

Feng'er and Luan'er could not help but cover their mouths and laugh.

They were both experienced, so they naturally understood why Yang Susu was like that.

Last night, the commotion in the bedchamber had not been small...

Another busy day passed.

Zhao Xu and Yang Susu first went to the Imperial Villa to pay their respects to Zhao Heng and Mi Fei.

Then, he personally went to the Yi State Duke Mansion to visit Yang Feng and Yang Zhen.

According to the etiquette for an Imperial Prince's wedding, he needed to visit them on the second day after the wedding.

It was not until the third day that he finally became free.

In the following days, he and Yang Susu were almost inseparable, often appearing together.

But leisure time passes easily, and in a flash, half a month had passed.

Liu Fu came to him again, carrying a thick stack of Memorials.

Before the wedding, Zhao Heng and Mi Fei had told Liu Fu to give him half a month of leisure, which was equivalent to his wedding leave.

Now, his marriage leave had ended.

However, the current situation truly did not allow him to relax.

After all, the shadow of the Eastern Land Alliance still loomed over the Great Song.

"Your Highness, these are the memorials from these past few days." In the study, Liu Fu placed the memorials on the desk with a lewd grin on his face, "Your Highness has grown quite haggard these days; for the sake of your health, it would be best to show some restraint in certain matters."

"Go, go, go, stop with the glib talk; this Prince is as vigorous as a dragon and a tiger." Zhao Xu rolled his eyes at him, "How have you handled the administrative tasks I arranged for you a few days ago?"

Liu Fu chuckled twice and replied, "The officials approved by Your Highness have all now departed to take up their posts in the various prefectures and counties, and at the same time, various administrative decrees have been issued, basically replicating the Yanzhou model."

Zhao Xu nodded, "As a matter of expediency, let them recruit scholars locally in their own prefectures to fill the Government Office, and hold an Official Examination next spring; order these scholars to participate, and those who pass shall remain, while those who do not shall be dismissed and replaced."

The officials sent by the Imperial Court to the various prefectures this time were only the primary officials, and the positions in the Government Office remained largely vacant.

Holding an Official Examination now to select officials was clearly too late and would only delay the development of the various prefectures in Jiangbei.

"Yes, Your Highness." Liu Fu acknowledged.

After some thought, Zhao Xu continued, "The various prefectures we have just captured are in ruins and waiting to be rebuilt; you go to the Mineral Prospecting Department, then to the Ministry of Works, and order the Mineral Prospecting Department to locate mineral resources in each prefecture, and have the Ministry of Works establish state-run Workshops in the prefectures and counties."

In the current North Territory, apart from Yanzhou having industry, all other prefectures remained stuck in the primitive feudal era.

Therefore, besides replicating the agricultural model of Yanzhou, what needed to be replicated in the various prefectures next was the industrial model of Yanzhou.

Aside from military industry, all civilian industries could be established, such as the Glass Workshop, brick kilns, the Cement Workshop, the Spinning Mill, the Weaving Mill, and so on.

Then, use the state-run Workshops to drive the development of local private Workshops.

In this way, the material goods of each prefecture would become as abundant as those in Yanzhou.

If the Government Office of each prefecture wanted to carry out construction, they would need green bricks, red bricks, cement, and the like, and there would be no need to buy them from Yanzhou.

After all, transporting cement from Yanzhou to places like Ningzhou and Jingzhou would cost far more in shipping than the cement itself.