Chapter 866: Changing with Each Passing Day

The sun rose above the willow branches.

Zhao Xu slept until he woke naturally, then got up to wash and dress.

Yang Susu had risen earlier than him and was currently chatting with Feng'er and Luan'er.

Seeing Zhao Xu, Feng'er and Luan'er covered their mouths and giggled, while Yang Susu rolled her eyes at him.

Having been in the south for a long time, he was like a long-parched land meeting sweet rain, and last night he had played the role of a "nine-times-a-night man."

After eating breakfast, Zhao Xu chatted with the three of them for a while.

The gate official of the Prince's Mansion reported that Liu Fu and Yang Feng had arrived, so Zhao Xu got up and walked toward the front courtyard.

"Your Highness, we are going to the Yancheng Women's Academy." Yang Susu and the other two also got up at this time and walked toward the front courtyard.

Zhao Xu nodded, revealing a smile.

Yang Susu was both a student and a teacher at the Women's Academy.

Since participating in this matter, she, Feng'er, and Luan'er had been very attentive.

Zhao Xu was naturally happy to see this.

For one thing, having something to do was much better than a few women staying cooped up in the Prince's Mansion, talking about trivial domestic matters.

For another, although the situation of young girls entering school had improved, the road ahead was still long and arduous.

Improving the enrollment rate of women concerned the future comprehensive national strength of Great Song, so it could not be taken lightly.

Otherwise, it would be equivalent to Great Song losing nearly half of its high-quality labor force.

Upon reaching the front courtyard, the three women left on their own, while he met Liu Fu and Yang Feng in the Council Hall.

"Congratulations, Your Highness, on the great victory in Jiangnan. This time, the places where the powerful clans are entrenched are limited to Bazhou, Yizhou, and Yunzhou; they are at the end of their tether. Your Highness's civil governance and military achievements are truly peerless in this age; from ancient times to the present, no one can compare to them even slightly..."

As soon as Zhao Xu arrived, Liu Fu immediately beamed, followed by a round of intense flattery.

Yang Feng shook his head, feeling inferior.

Back when he was in front of Zhao Heng, he did not know how to flatter, and now serving Yan Wang, he still did not know how to flatter.

Moreover, he had always been extremely disgusted by those who were good at fawning and flattering.

But toward Liu Fu, he could not feel disgust.

Because he knew that Liu Fu's flattery was almost like joking with Yan Wang, not real flattery.

Furthermore, Liu Fu was also a Prime Minister who did things in a down-to-earth manner.

During the time Zhao Xu was in the south, he had handled the various affairs of Jiangbei very properly.

"That's enough." Zhao Xu smiled lightly, "Since you are here, let's talk about business. Report on the affairs of Jiangbei during this period."

Liu Fu was responsible for government affairs, and Yang Feng was responsible for military logistics.

The two of them coming together was naturally to make a small report and, at the same time, to pick out difficult problems to discuss with him.

Hearing this, Liu Fu stopped, held a document in his hand, and said: "During Your Highness's time in the south, all affairs, big and small, have been proceeding according to Your Highness's plan. The excavation of the Yan-Fan Canal has been completed for two hundred li, and there are still eighty li left to connect to the Fanyang Canal. I have ordered them to complete it before November."

"The Yan-Jin Railway has been laid to Ning City and is being laid toward Jinzhou. I have ordered them to complete it before March next year. The Yan-Jin Railway has passed Feihu Pass and is still five hundred li away from Jincheng; it will be open to traffic before December. The railway extending southward has reached Pingyuan City, but had to be interrupted due to the Jin River,"

"and it is being laid southward from Qizhou on the opposite bank, waiting for the Steam Locomotive Ferry."

"The construction of Workshop Districts in the various commanderies of Jiangbei is also proceeding normally. For example, in the Workshop Districts of Lu City, Jincheng, Luocheng, Xiangcheng, etc., they basically have the workshops that the Yancheng Workshop District has. At present, the Prefects of these various states are planning the workshops for the commandery seats and various counties. During this period, the production of goods in Jiangbei has increased greatly, not only satisfying the needs of the people of Jiangbei, but the goods exported to Gaoli and Dongying are also constantly increasing."

He paused and said, "However, according to the current trend, I am afraid that the markets of Gaoli and Dongying will be saturated in less than two years, and we need to find the next market."

Zhao Xu nodded frequently at first, very satisfied with the achievements of this short period.

Hearing this, he furrowed his brows slightly.

Liu Fu's meaning was very clear: the expansion of the Steam Industry had greatly increased the production capacity of goods.

Due to the market issue, overcapacity would become a matter that needed to be solved in the future.

This was also a problem that all industrial countries in this era would face.

Therefore, they would fight to the death for colonies.

"This Prince has just conquered a large market. After solving the powerful clans, this Prince will find more outlets for the goods." Zhao Xu said.

The large market he spoke of was naturally Jiangnan.

This market was even larger than Gaoli and Dongying combined.

It was enough for the workshops in Jiangbei to thrive for a period of time.

However, once workshops also blossom everywhere in Jiangnan, especially after the popularization of Electricity, the explosion of industrial capacity would soon saturate this market as well.

By then, the trade of Great Song must extend to even further places.

Next, Liu Fu spoke of other government affairs.

Generally speaking, Jiangbei, after the war, was healing its wounds, and due to the development of the Steam Industry, it was even more prosperous than before.

After all, for agriculture, as long as the people could farm with peace of mind, it could recover in a year or two.

Added to that was industry, which was like adding wings to a tiger.

However, what Zhao Xu cared about most was the wealth extracted from the outside.

Internal commerce, after all, was earning the Silver of the people of Great Song and spending it on the people of Great Song.

This was a closed loop.

Only by obtaining wealth from outside Great Song could Great Song get rid of internal involution and move toward true prosperity.

So he said, "What is the profit of the trade with Gaoli and Dongying during this period?"

"Up to now, according to the accounts, there is a net profit of twelve million taels of Silver," Liu Fu said.

"Hmm, not bad." Zhao Xu nodded with satisfaction.

He had completely controlled Gaoli and half of Dongying for only about half a year.

Thus, there should be no problem in earning more than twenty million taels in profit a year.

And in the past, the annual tax revenue of Great Song was only about sixty million taels.

Of course, if it were normal trade, he would not be able to obtain such large profits from Gaoli and Dongying.

Mainly, the contracts he signed with the domain lords of Gaoli and Dongying basically controlled their economies.

That is why there are such lucrative profits.

Liu Fu reported his own matters, then stood to one side, yielding his position to let Yang Feng speak.

There are not many affairs in the military, nothing more than the equipping of Artillery and muskets during this period, and miscellaneous tasks like grain and fodder transport.

Among them, the most critical is mainly the sale of the Front-loading Rifled Musket.

This was a matter he had entrusted to Yang Feng before heading south.

"After negotiations between your subject and the Gaoli envoys, they have purchased eighty thousand Front-loading Rifled Muskets; the cost for purchasing the rifled muskets will be paid in Silver, grain, ore, silk, and so on," Yang Feng said.

Clearing his throat, he added, "As for the Four Domains of Dongying, they have purchased a total of one hundred and sixty thousand Front-loading Rifled Muskets; most of what they are paying is in cash Silver, with some grain and expansion production used as offsets."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xu revealed a satisfied smile.

Dongying in this period is rich in Silver, so it is normal for them to have plenty of Silver.

In this way, the Front-loading Rifled Muskets that were replaced due to the equipping of the Qin-style Rifle have basically been sold off.

The remaining fifty or sixty thousand Front-loading Rifled Muskets can just be handed over to the Village Soldiers and the Constables who maintain public order.

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