Chapter 727: Dong An's Gift

"Besides that, the Agriculture Bank, Construction Bank, and Commerce Bank must all be established in every prefecture by their respective Prefects. In short, apart from the Imperial Court's central institutions, such as the Royal Bank, whatever Yanzhou has, every prefecture must have in the future. The scale can be smaller, but they cannot be without them..." Zhao Xu said, enunciating every word.

Clearing his throat, he added: "You must also develop the characteristic industries of each prefecture based on their different circumstances. Prefectures suitable for animal husbandry should focus on that; those suitable for cotton should grow it in large quantities. I have already taught you about these things. Previously, there were not many prefectures under our jurisdiction, so it couldn't be reflected, but now we must adapt to local conditions."

At the Government Academy, he had once introduced the geographical conditions of each prefecture to the officials, as well as what they were suitable for doing.

While Zhao Xu was speaking, Liu Fu held a goose feather pen, dipping it in ink and writing on the paper.

He had been somewhat resistant to the goose feather pen before, but as the government affairs grew more numerous.

He discovered that the goose feather pen was much more convenient than a brush, so he gradually started carrying it with him.

After discussing more government matters with Liu Fu, Zhao Xu ordered him to return.

From now on, this Prime Minister of his would have his hands full.

After Liu Fu left, Zhao Xu called Chang Wei over and inquired about the Ma Family Army.

"Reporting to Your Highness, Ma Han has returned the military tally, and there was no trouble. Now the Ma Family Army is officially under the jurisdiction of the General's Mansion," Chang Wei said.

Upon receiving Zhao Xu's order, he had sent a military command to Ma Han.

Ma Han's performance had put him completely at ease.

Zhao Xu nodded in satisfaction; Ma Han had not betrayed his trust.

Then he said: "By the way, you are to dispatch fifty thousand troops to Jincheng in these few days to create the appearance of a Northern Expedition."

This was his deal with Ivan, intended to prevent the further expansion of the Eastern Land Alliance.

"Yes, Your Highness." Chang Wei gave a military salute to Zhao Xu.

In truth, he actually wanted to launch a real Northern Expedition.

However, he was no longer the little Commander he once was, acting only on hot-blooded impulse.

As a Great General, he had to think about the overall situation just like Yan Wang.

Just as Yan Wang had analyzed for him.

They could not get bogged down in a war with the Northern Di or Wu for the time being.

Because the Eastern Land Alliance, with the Eastern Japanese and Britain at its core, was watching like a tiger eyeing its prey.

If they were dragged into any war, they would provide blood transfusions to the other side.

The most important thing was to establish Yanzhou's maritime hegemony through a naval battle.

As the two were talking, Feng'er suddenly arrived outside the door, "Your Highness, Dong An requests an audience."

"Let him in... Dong An!" Zhao Xu didn't react at first, but when he came to his senses, he was suddenly startled.

Feng'er laughed, "That's right, it is Dong An. He said he wanted to give Your Highness a surprise, so when he arrived at Jinghai, he didn't have anyone notify Your Highness in advance."

"That scoundrel!" Zhao Xu cursed, but he couldn't hide the smile on his face.

His dispatching of Dong An to sea this time was no different from the Han Emperor Wu of the contemporary era sending Zhang Qian to the Western Regions.

The most important purpose was to understand what the current world looked like through his eyes.

"Tell him to roll in here," Zhao Xu called out.

Feng'er nodded and turned to leave.

Before long, Dong An arrived at the door of the study and made a gesture as if to roll onto the ground.

Because Feng'er had relayed Zhao Xu's words to him without missing a single one.

He also intended to play a joke on Yan Wang.

Seeing this, Zhao Xu walked forward two steps and, before he could roll, kicked him in the backside, "Cut the act. Tell me, what exactly have you been doing all this time?"

"Hehe..." Dong An straightened up, revealing a row of white teeth against his dark, tanned face, "Going south this time, this subject truly had his eyes opened, and I even brought back quite a few good things for Your Highness."

Only then did Zhao Xu see Dong An's face clearly.

The wind and sun at sea had turned his fair skin almost as dark as Bao Gong.

Moreover, the big belly he used to have was gone; he had lost a lot of weight.

He pointed to two stools, letting Chang Wei and Dong An sit down separately to hear about Dong An's experiences during this period.

"Following Your Highness's instructions, I first went to Yajia City to explain the attack on the merchant ship to the Stedan people. But the Stedan people were half-believing and half-doubting, so I scared them by saying that Your Highness, Yan Wang, had hundreds of warships, which bluffed them enough that they didn't dare send warships to Dongying."

"It wasn't until a month later, when the Folangji envoy arrived, that they believed us. That Stedan Governor even gave the Eastern Japanese a good scolding."

"During that month in Yajia, I became quite familiar with the Stedan people, and through them, I learned a lot about the Western Lands."

"Afterward, I kept sailing east until I reached the Australia Your Highness mentioned, then returned from Australia sailing west, went to the Jiaozhi Kingdom, the Siam Kingdom, the Piaoman Kingdom, and finally arrived at the Tianzhu Guo."

"However, in order to gather intelligence, after arriving in Tianzhu Guo, I had the two warships hide. I went to Tianzhu Guo only as an ordinary merchant, and I even saw Britain's steamship."

"It wasn't until Britain's steamship headed north that I learned about the Eastern Land Alliance, so I hurried back, wanting to send the intelligence back to Yancheng. Unfortunately, our Yanzhou warships couldn't keep up with them; I only arrived two days ago," Dong An finally said.

"Although you make it sound simple, you must have suffered a lot during this time." Zhao Xu looked at the scar on Dong An's hand, a mark left only by being hit by a lead bullet.

Dong An scratched his head, "The sea is full of pirates and privateer ships everywhere. If it weren't for the two warships Your Highness sent to protect me, I fear I truly would have died at sea."

"However, I'm no pushover. They wanted to rob us, so we robbed them back. We became pirates too; who's afraid of whom?" Dong An slapped his thigh.

Seeming to remember something, he hurried to the door and brought in a bamboo basket.

Grabbing a handful of red things from inside, he said to Zhao Xu: "When I left, Your Highness asked me to collect crops that the Great Song does not have. These are what I found."

Zhao Xu looked, and what was in Dong An's hand was a handful of red chili peppers.

In the contemporary era, this thing was also an exotic item; likewise, the Great Song did not have it.

With joy in his heart, Zhao Xu came before Dong An and peered into his bamboo basket.

Besides the chili peppers, there was a pile of yellow grains in the basket; it was corn.

There was also a shriveled tomato on top of the corn, and even some tobacco.

Like the potato, this plant, tobacco, also came from South America.

"Your Highness, these are just for you to see. As for the potatoes and sweet potatoes that Zhou Yi found on the Eastern Japanese warship last time, I also brought back quite a lot this time; they are all on the warships and merchant ships in Jinghai," Dong An added.

Hearing this, Zhao Xu felt even more energized.

Developing industry requires a large population.

But if the population is put into industry, agricultural output will decrease; this is a very contradictory problem.

Therefore, after finding the Potato and Sweet Potato, he has been having the Official Manor cultivate the seedlings.

Now, Dong An has brought back quite a few more crops.

Among them, the Chili Pepper can be used as a condiment, the Tomato can be used as a dish, and the Tobacco can be used to produce cigarettes.

But the most important one among them is the Corn.

Corn is very drought-resistant, and in ancient times, fields not near a river were not considered fertile land and had very low yields per mu.

With Corn, places with water can be used to plant rice and wheat.

And places with little water can be used to plant Corn; in this way, the grain production of Jiangbei can be greatly increased.