Chapter 754: Monetary System

The autumn wind blew in gusts, and withered leaves fell with a rustle.

After a period of rest and reorganization in Qinghe County, Zhao Xu returned to Yanzhou with the Prince's Personal Army.

When passing through Rang City, the King of Gaoli, accompanied by ministers and generals, knelt on the ground before the Nanmen to welcome him.

"Congratulations to Your Highness on your triumphant return. Your Highness's brilliance and martial prowess truly make the sun and moon lose their luster..." the King of Gaoli flattered him incessantly.

The Eastern Earth Allied Forces had been defeated, and he had received the news at the first opportunity.

The formidable strength of the Yanzhou Army had deeply shocked him, filling him with fear toward Yan Wang.

"Rise," Zhao Xu said, sitting steadily on his horse, looking down at the King of Gaoli, and added indifferently, "Just don't forget what this Prince once told you."

He did not intend to linger in Rang City; having been away fighting for these days, a significant amount of business had surely accumulated, and he needed to return to handle it.

The King of Gaoli answered in the affirmative, cleared the road, and stood to one side.

Zhao Xu and the main army continued northward.

After another ten days of trekking, Zhao Xu and his party arrived at Yancheng.

"Your Highness..."

Upon returning to the Prince's mansion, before Zhao Xu had even entered the door, Yang Susu came out to greet him, her face full of joy, as if she had a thousand words to say.

A short separation is better than a new marriage; if it were not for the servants nearby, she would likely have thrown herself directly into his arms.

Feng'er, who was usually quick-witted, covered her mouth and laughed for a while, dispersed the mansion servants, and pulled Luan'er away herself.

"This little girl..." Yang Susu was between laughter and tears, her face full of shyness.

Zhao Xu came from the modern era, so he was quite thick-skinned in this regard compared to the ancients.

He picked up Yang Susu directly and walked toward the bedchamber with a mischievous grin, "Separated for over a month, has the Imperial Concubine missed this Prince?"

"No," Yang Susu buried her head in Zhao Xu's chest, feeling incredibly shy.

Zhao Xu chuckled twice, "Heh heh, I'll make you admit it soon enough."

Having said that, he slipped away into the bedchamber.

In an instant, the room was filled with the languor of spring.

After the pleasure, Zhao Xu slept until noon the next day.

Upon waking, he did not immediately summon his ministers to inquire about government affairs.

Instead, he took a walk inside the mansion with Yang Susu and enjoyed the scenery outside the city, resting for a few days.

This period of marching and fighting, along with the jolting on horseback, had left him extremely exhausted.

Once he had recovered his strength, he called Liu Fu, the Prime Minister, to report on the situation in Jiangbei during this period.

"Your Highness has returned at just the right time. The Four Great Banks are set to officially open in two days. During this time, I also had Mi Wen's Propaganda Department promote them extensively through the Newspaper; whether in the commanderies and counties or in the countryside, everyone has gained an understanding of them," Liu Fu said with an excited expression.

He paused and continued, "Many merchants and commoners have even come to inquire about the relevant matters, wanting to deposit Silver in the Four Great Banks or borrow Silver to run Workshops."

Hearing this, Zhao Xu smiled lightly.

Banks are the foundation of the financial system; only by making the banks vibrant can the development of industry and commerce in Dasong be further stimulated.

After thinking for a moment,

He said, "Good. Not only in Yanzhou—apart from the Royal Bank being located only in Yancheng—the other three major banks must blossom everywhere throughout Jiangbei. Every commandery and county must have them to facilitate savings for the commoners."

"I have already given orders for this matter, and it is being implemented," Liu Fu replied. "Besides this, the Yanzhou Daily is also being implemented simultaneously. However, due to the varying distances between the prefectures, I fear the content of the Yanzhou Daily will be delayed accordingly, which is a pity."

Zhao Xu nodded.

Liu Fu now realized the benefits of the newspaper office.

With the newspaper office, the transmission of the Imperial Court's policies would be very convenient.

However, even so, due to communication reasons, the content published by the newspaper office today would likely take ten days or half a month to reach the entire Yanzhou.

If it were places like Ningzhou, there would be further delays, and it would take even more time to reach the countryside of Ningzhou.

"This Prince has a way to solve this problem," Zhao Xu thought of something and smiled brightly.

"Your Highness has a way?" Liu Fu shook his head. "Your Highness created the Telescope and gained the 'thousand-mile eye'; could it be that you can create something else that has the 'wind-following ear'..."

He was just joking, but seeing the confidence on Yan Wang's face, his heart skipped a beat. "It couldn't be."

Zhao Xu chuckled twice, "Just wait for the good news regarding this matter. Let's continue talking about government affairs."

Hearing this, Liu Fu calmed his mood and continued to report on the changes in Jiangbei during the time Zhao Xu was fighting.

"The eight thousand Dongying prisoners brought back from Gaoli have been handed over to the Ministry of Works. The Ministry of Works has put them in handcuffs and shackles and taken them to lay the Railway from Yancheng to Jinghai," Liu Fu said. "There is also the first batch of thirty thousand able-bodied men from Gaoli. According to Your Highness's instructions, although they are not treated as criminals, they are not given monthly wages, only food, and they have also gone to lay the Railway."

"Mm, another twenty thousand Dongying prisoners will arrive in Yanzhou soon. Hand them over to the Ministry of Works as well to repair the Railway. As for the remaining two hundred and seventy thousand people from Gaoli who will arrive in Yanzhou in the form of corvée labor, once there are enough people to repair the Railway, have them repair the cement roads and dig water channels," Zhao Xu said.

In the final battle of Gaoli, many Dongying soldiers who could not escape chose to surrender.

As for the surrendered soldiers of the Dasong powerful clans, the old policy remained.

First, let the Propaganda Department correct their thinking; those who do not wish to stay are allowed to leave on their own.

Through these few battles, this policy has proven effective.

Once the war suffers a setback, there are still many soldiers from powerful clans willing to surrender, which saves them a lot of effort.

Next, Liu Fu spoke about the land distribution in Jiangbei.

At present, land distribution in all prefectures has largely concluded.

According to the feedback from the Prefects of each prefecture, the commoners who received land are very grateful to the Prince's mansion, and their trust in the Prince's mansion has risen to an unprecedented height.

Besides this, there is the construction of Workshops in each commandery and county.

Each Workshop in Yanzhou has dispatched a group of veteran craftsmen to each prefecture to be responsible for guiding the construction of Workshops, while simultaneously recruiting Workshop craftsmen in each prefecture to teach the crafts.

Afterward, Liu Fu reported on the production and sales situation of the various Workshops in Yanzhou, the animal husbandry and farming situation of the Official Manors, as well as the construction progress of the Agricultural Machinery Workshop and the Engineering Machinery Workshop.

Although some of these matters fall under the direct jurisdiction of people like Yang He and Wang Chong,

He is the Prime Minister, so when they are away, he must report to him.

After listening to Liu Fu's report, Zhao Xu was generally very satisfied.

Everything was proceeding according to his plan, and nothing had been delayed because he went to Gaoli to fight a war.

Letting Liu Fu leave, Zhao Xu called Yang He over.

After the war in Gaoli, Gaoli officially became a vassal state of Great Song.

Next, he would completely control it from three aspects: politics, military, and economy.

There is no need to mention politics and military; the King of Gaoli and Yin Boming were his puppets, and for the military, two thousand garrison troops were left behind.

Economically, Yang He could now openly and confidently export Yanzhou's goods to Gaoli.

Not only that, but the Gaoli Imperial Court also had to provide all kinds of conveniences.

"From luxury goods like Fine Wine, Perfume, Pocket Watch, and pendulum clocks, down to cloth, cement, Soap, and so on, sell everything over there," Zhao Xu instructed.

"Your Highness, just watch me," Yang He said with a grin.

In the past, Gaoli was like a woman hiding behind a lute for the trading firm, but now it was stripped bare, so naturally, they had to go and make a huge profit.

Zhao Xu nodded; this was still just the first step.

His true killer move was actually in the Royal Bank.

Soon, he would have the Royal Bank launch a currency system, and at that time, he would also have Gaoli join this system.

He would control it through finance.