Chapter 1701: A Study of Great Han

When exactly Zhao Jin conceived the ambition to seize the realm — from Cathay to every corner of the world, setting aside those untrustworthy myths and legends — everyone is endlessly curious about the truth.

Apart from those emperors who gained the throne through inheritance, heroes and ambitious overlords, no matter how the history books whitewash them, never harbor such colossal aspirations at the very start. It is usually through personal struggle and effort, combined with the fortunes of the times, that when their strength and the moment reach a certain point, they resolve to charge for the summit. This is common sense, the normal state of affairs — whether in the Cathayan world, on the European continent, or even in the wilds of the Americas, it is always so.

But Zhao Jin is different. As for the question of "when," the answer — if we accept that it is an answer — became clear very early on.

Unlike the emperors of past dynasties in the Cathayan world, Zhao Jin did not ban or destroy historical materials from previous eras that were unfavorable to him. It happened that Ming dynasty literati possessed a passion for miscellaneous notes far exceeding that of previous dynasties or other regions. Whether genuine records or rumors and legends, a discerning person can always discover the truth within them, or at least fragments of the truth.

It is simply that the conclusion drawn from this vast ocean of written materials is too incredible. If this is the answer, if this is the truth, then it is far too shocking, far too unbelievable.

The Founding Emperor of Great Han, the creator of this world empire, perhaps, when he was a boy of ten, already harbored the notion of becoming an emperor, seizing the realm, and even seizing this world.

How inconceivable — a youth, a youth living in a remote place, with uneducated parents — how could he have such a notion? One must realize that at the same age, even imperial princes might not necessarily possess such a concept.

Yet this conclusion, this perhaps "answer," has its own matter-of-fact logic. Observing the life of Great Han's Founding Emperor Zhao Jin, before the age of ten, he was as unremarkable as his peers. Zhao Jin's father, in order to temper his courage, took Zhao Jin to watch an execution. He was so frightened that he fainted and hovered near death, and then, by a stroke of luck — though nothing particularly miraculous — he awoke.

From that moment on, everything Zhao Jin did began to show discernible traces, began to be filled with purpose. Yes, it is very difficult for us to imagine that a ten-year-old boy could have such a rigorous and comprehensive plan — if we conclude that this was his own plan, one he devised from the age of ten all the way to adulthood, and every step of the plan succeeded.

First, he selected his companions through a childishly playful martial contest. We need not list those illustrious figures one by one. The existence of these individuals is also considered part of Zhao Jin's "Mandate of Heaven." In the context of the Cathayan world, when a founding emperor is in humble circumstances, there are always obscure talents gathering and following him.

Then, Zhao Jin began to encroach upon the underworld of the Xuzhou region, and his influence and power expanded at a rapid pace. A group of youths confronting desperate, violent thugs — the contrast is absurd. But in reality, well-nourished, trained youths wielding fine weapons, compared to a malnourished rabble, were not necessarily at a disadvantage. Moreover, through his own and his companions' families, Zhao Jin gained the support of the Xuzhou local government and the gentry — this advantage was simply too enormous...

In this process, there is one incident. The reason we must mention this incident is that, for a long time, researchers and the academic community have been deeply divided over it. This incident is the kidnapping of Lady Mu Shulan, the "Second Empress" of the Great Han Empire. Lady Mu Shulan's life is frequently seen in history books and various dramas, so it will not be recounted here.

During this kidnapping, Zhao Jin and his small group killed for the first time and intersected with the underworld forces of Xuzhou for the first time. Many believe this was the very beginning of everything. Perhaps the shock of this killing and the sudden misfortune befalling someone close to him awakened something in Zhao Jin. Others feel that this incident was merely an incident; if not this one, then Zhao Jin and his group would have encountered something similar in their subsequent actions.

Regarding this matter, there has already been a great deal of debate, and this article has no intention of joining it. It merely raises the matter for everyone's consideration.

Next, relying on his continuously expanding power, Zhao Jin began to gradually seize control of Xuzhou's underworld, and step by step shifted this control toward the surface world. This process was very long, and many things happened, but each individual event, when viewed in isolation, was not so important.

Perhaps these events hold this or that historical significance, but upon careful analysis, they are merely certain steps, certain links in a plan. What is truly astonishing is the brilliant foresight, deft skill, and iron-blooded decisiveness Zhao Jin demonstrated in these matters.

He established his own private armed force, but instead of training them like the local militias or even the regular army of the time, he went as far as possible to "regularize" them. In this regard, the academic community holds a relatively consistent view, believing it to be connected to his uncle, Zhao Zhenxing, who died young.

Regarding the person Zhao Zhenxing, we will mention him again later. Here, a brief explanation: Zhao Zhenxing was a professional soldier who experienced many battles. Moreover, judging from the scant descriptions, Zhao Zhenxing had a gentle temperament, was adept at learning, and very likely possessed high military competence and combat skills. These he selflessly imparted to Zhao Jin.

And at that time, the influence of the Ming Empire's great military strategist Qi Jiguang still remained. All true men of insight held him in the highest esteem — though, of course, very few actually put his ideas into practice.

(The assessment of Qi Jiguang should not be clouded by the Ming Empire's poor performance both before and after his appearance. He was a reformer, a revivalist of classical militarism, and a true innovator, much like Prince Maurice of Nassau in the Netherlands. And by coincidence, their military philosophies were astonishingly similar.)

Among Zhao Jin's companions, many had the experience of learning from Zhao Zhenxing. We can conclude that it was precisely this learning and the intentional or unintentional training that made Zhao Jin's small group invincible from the very start. Of course, this unbroken string of military victories was also related to Zhao Jin's own talent. He made improvements and innovations, and finally established the most powerful and terrifying armed force since the dawn of humanity. Similar examples can be found in history — Alexander, for instance, or Genghis Khan...

However, Zhao Jin's considerations and developments in the economic sphere deserve even greater attention. He improved the production process for grain liquor, yielding a white spirit more suited to the tastes of the northern populace of the Cathayan world — or rather, one beloved by the northern provinces of the Ming Empire and the various tribes beyond its western, northern, and eastern borders — and earned enormous sums of money from it.

Research has verified that this improvement in the production process was very likely Zhao Jin, or the Zhao family, obtaining a secret method from a certain brewer in the Xuzhou and Pizhou canal basin. One must understand that, because vast quantities of grain were transported along the canal, the areas along its banks, especially the Xuzhou-Pizhou region which served as a transit hub, had always been an important production area for white spirit. This improvement, moreover, was not a fundamental revolution of the craft, so it was very likely an occasional discovery by some folk artisan that, by chance, fell into the hands of the Zhao family.

This improvement in the craft is indeed worthy of being recorded in great detail. The profits it brought and its subsequent influence, whether political or economic — all high praise is well-deserved.

But what truly deserves attention is the act itself. Military geniuses, though rare, are not unheard of. Yet a military genius who understood economics — and observing his later performance, one could even say was a master of economics — is unique. He could supply his own armed force and continuously strengthen it, while simultaneously using that military strength to earn himself even greater profits. This was a self-consistent cycle, a cycle that would cause Zhao Jin's power to grow like a rolling snowball.

Regarding Zhao Jin's economic talent, the academic community — and not just historical academia — has produced various studies. However, there is another matter worthy of attention, and that is Zhao Jin's sense of rhythm in his actions.

In the growth process of Zhao Jin and his affiliated group, we can observe a nearly perfect rhythm, doing what needed to be done at each step. Perhaps the dispatch of troops to Liaodong is still debatable, but before that, every step Zhao Jin took was for his own expansion, and moreover, for his expansion to proceed unnoticed. Even when conflicts later arose with the Ming Empire, each conflict was never blindly escalated. Although people of the time and later generations could see that, at those moments, taking a slight risk might have allowed him to enjoy the fruits of victory sooner, Zhao Jin remained consistently cautious.

This caution itself further illustrates Zhao Jin's planning and sense of purpose. Yet, it is still very difficult to imagine how, when Zhao Jin's direct armed force numbered only two hundred or three hundred men, he could have possessed such grand ambition, such confidence to confront enemies nearly ten thousand times his number. We can only explain this as the grand ambition of a hero...

During the period the official history of Great Han calls the "Hidden Dragon" phase, Zhao Jin experienced countless storms and also one true crisis and setback. No research from any side denies this setback, but no one believes this setback had any particular impact on the Great Han Empire or on Zhao Jin himself.

Sun Dalei, posthumously honored as a Prince of the Great Han Empire. His younger brother was Zhao Jin's personal guard. His family occupies the last seat among the Great Han Empire's most eminent houses and the first seat among the secondary eminent houses. The shipbuilding, textile, and mining industries controlled by the Marquis Sun family have influence spanning the entire world. I believe everyone has seen the deeds of this family in many places.

This prince, honored after death with his entire family bathed in wealth and rank, was in life merely an ignorant and timid youth. But this youth, during an ambush, threw himself in front of Zhao Jin without regard for his own life and was shot dead by the ambushers' arrows. In the memoirs of many founding dignitaries of the empire, this scene is mentioned, and they all mention Zhao Jin's grief at the time and his inability to control his emotions during the meeting afterward. Naturally, they also mention the sorrow and recollections of the empire's founders: Chen Sheng, Wang Zhaojing, Shi Manqiang, Dong Bingfeng, Ji Xiang, Liu Yong, and others.

For true researchers of historical materials, the vast majority of these memoirs are nothing more than strained associations meant to elevate their own status. Only Marshal Zhang Hubin's account is credible, because he was a firsthand witness and the sole surviving soldier at the time...

For many veteran readers of history, I am paying homage to the fragments of "New Shun." Thank you, everyone.