Chapter 701: Too Much Change
Yang Xingyun was delighted to have Zhao Yulin's support. He nodded continuously and said that the Japanese pirates were too despicable, brave and aggressive, and they deserved to be punished by the Koreans.
At the beginning, when the Japanese pirates were in our concentration camps, they refused to listen no matter how hard the guards tried to reason with them. They acted arrogantly and even complained about the poor living conditions, such as the bad housing and food.
After being transferred to the concentration camp in Goryeo, they immediately realized how good we were.
But it's too late, we won't serve.
Zhao Yulin smiled and said to him: Although our Shenwei Army has iron military discipline, everything has its source, and we must be reasonable, well-founded and restrained. If anyone does not follow the rules, we will not tolerate it. In the future, when we fight against the Japanese pirates, we can formulate special strategies for the captives, and even do the same as the grassland people, if they dare to resist, we will chop off all men above the height of the wheel.
That’s all for now.
When the two men saw that he had ordered them to leave, they immediately stood up and said goodbye.
After coming out, Yang Xingyun was very happy and said with a smile: Lord Li, this is a scholar meeting a soldier, why should he care about the envoy from Japan?
When have they ever listened to the advice of our New Song Dynasty?
If I were to deal with a foreign envoy, I would just tell him to get out of the way.
Li Liang was an extremely elegant man, how could he stand such provocation? He wanted to nag Yang Xingyun with trembling lips, but he couldn't find the right words, so he could only spit out a few words: How can the relationship between two countries be like what Yang Gong said, like a market.
Yang Xingyun didn't care. It was none of his business anyway. As they were almost reaching the office of the Ministry of War, he smiled and bowed to Li Liang to say goodbye.
When Zhao Yulin returned, he saw Shunzhidi chatting with Duan Xiaolin and his sister Zhao Sihan.
Duan Xiaolin happily called him "Third Brother" and told him that Yunnan Road was stable and had undergone many changes this year, and the people now had hope for a better life.
Zhao Sihan told him: The first thing she and Xiao Linzi did was to crack down on corruption. Under the rule of Xiao Linzi's father, the Dali Kingdom was a place where each party acted on its own and corruption was rampant.
She and Xiao Linzi divided the responsibilities according to before and after the surrender, and required officials from all regions to hand over the illegal gains before the surrender, and they would not be held accountable if they handed over the money.
However, after surrendering and merging into the new Song Dynasty, if they commit crimes again, they will be severely punished.
They soon received large sums of money, including aristocratic families such as the Gao family and the Chai family, which handed over large amounts of money, land and property deeds. They used the seized properties to resettle the homeless people in the city, and to settle the court offices and military garrisons, and they had not yet used up all of it.
Zhao Yulin lamented that these corrupt officials were so good at making money that they were able to plunder such a huge amount of wealth.
Duan Xiaolin said happily that after the army was in his hands, powerful families and nobles like the Gao family and the Chai family were like tigers with their teeth pulled out, which looked ferocious but were weak inside, and they immediately became well-behaved.
Even so, many corrupt officials were arrested, and Yunnan's prisons were still overcrowded. During the transition from the old to the new regime, many people took advantage of the situation. The people had sharp eyes, and after the court encouraged people to sue officials, these people could no longer hide.
Zhao Yulin nodded and told him: The next step is to make sure the people have enough food and get rich. Dali was renamed Yunnan Road and merged into Xinsong to become one family. What benefits will the people get?
They want to see something tangible.
Zhidi believes that Yunnan's officialdom is clean and honest, and that impartial law enforcement is the greatest benefit for the people.
Zhao Yulin laughed when he heard this. He nodded and said that this was one thing, but enforcing the law impartially and treating everyone equally is the duty of us officials and is what the people deserve.
He said: Yunnan is mountainous, the roads are difficult to travel on, the land is barren and the harvests are low. We should think more about how to build better roads for the people and earn more money.
Zhao Sihan asked him to allow banks to be opened in Yunnan. All the roads, prefectures and counties of Xin Song had opened Xin Song banks. Now Cao Ying had opened new postal banks in various places. Banks in Thang Long Prefecture were lending money to merchants in Dali to make a living.
We in Yunnan need to raise funds to build bridges and roads, and we need money to open workshops. Opening a bank is the best way to find money . Brother San, just approve it, and keep it safe.
Zhao Yulin smiled when he saw his sister's anxious look and said to her: Is it okay? It needs to be decided by the Transportation Department. He would not stop her and told her to go to Cao Ying for consultation. He believed that Yunnan had just completed currency exchange not long ago, so it was not appropriate to open a bank immediately. If it was to be opened, it would be best to open it in a large state capital. Only after all government orders were smooth and public security was completely stable could we consider rolling out the construction of bank branches.
Zhao Sihan was unhappy, thinking that her brother didn't believe her. She stared at Zhao Yulin with a dark face and lowered her head to drink tea.
Duan Xiaolin nodded seriously, thinking that Zhao Yulin had hit the nail on the head. He said to Zhao Sihan: The huge amount of money we confiscated from corrupt officials is enough to last for a while. We are not short of money right now, so there is no rush.
Let's do as Third Brother said and first get all places in order, open pilot banks in major state capitals, and proceed step by step.
He told Duan Xiaolin: Yunnan has been in a state of war for a long time, the people are living in poverty, and banditry is very serious in various places. These cancers must be completely eradicated.
He believed that both the corrupt officials and the bad apples in the government had to be eliminated, and the people had to see that the government was working for them and that they could turn to the government when they encountered difficulties. Only then would the people feel they had someone to rely on.
The second is to get rid of all bullies and bandits, so that merchants can come and go and do business with peace of mind, and ordinary people can sleep with their doors open at night. With a sense of security, they can focus on developing their livelihoods.
If you can do these two things, you will surely gain the support of the people.
We can use the money and grain collected from confiscated items to provide food for the poor people. The people can build roads and bridges, work and earn money, and their lives will gradually get better.
Zhao Sihan said lazily that they were already doing it and that’s how they did it.
He nodded and asked for tea, tasting the Jinhua Fuzhuan tea.
Zhao Yulin took a sip and said: Jinhua Fuzhuan Tea is exported to the Western Regions. It is said that the Western Yuan Empire regards it as a tribute tea. He thought that Yunnan could also make use of the Tea Horse Road and encourage the caravans to engage in long-distance trade in the Western Regions.
Zhao Sihan felt unhappy and asked him coldly what to do.
The caravans couldn't even afford horses, so they had to carry everything on their shoulders to the Western Regions? In Shaanxi, oxen and horses were pulling carts to do business. If Yunnan was asked to carry tea to the Western Regions, it would be a huge loss.
Zhao Yulin knew that his sister was angry and ignored her.
Then he said: We invest money to support peddlers. When they grow stronger, the amount of goods they carry will increase. The more the merchants sell, the more we earn.
Duan Yu should have a foundation in making tobacco leaves, but don't underestimate it, it is definitely a highly profitable business. After Yunnan expands its tobacco leaf business, money will surely flow in.
In addition, the general of Baiyue is about to defeat the Zhenla invaders of Champa and return. Let him drive away the Pagan people and completely control the jade mining area, which is another major source of income for Yunnan. With these businesses in hand, are we still worried about lack of money?
A smile appeared on Zhao Sihan's face, but she still said disdainfully: All this was part of her plan. Yunnan Road is so big, and money is needed everywhere. It's so worrying.
Zhao Yulin knew that she was crying poor and still wanted support from the court.
He asked Duan Xiaolin to go to the Ministry of Revenue to discuss adjusting the administrative jurisdiction, allowing Chengdu Prefecture to withdraw from the prefectures and counties south of the Jinsha River, and first transfer the taxes to Yunnan. Is that okay?
Duan Xiaolin was surprised, looked at him excitedly and said: That’s great, Dashan, are you serious?
Zhao Sihan immediately said affirmatively: "Your Majesty's words are golden, how can you make us, your subjects, happy? My brother has long said that he would return Zhenwu Mountain to Dali, and now he has fulfilled his promise."
Girls are really extroverted. Zhao Sihan was afraid that her brother would change his mind, so she brought up all the old things.
He said that they were all family, and who the land should be assigned to was just a matter of settling accounts. It was convenient to divide the country according to history. Yunnan could then set the railway administration in Kunming, save up money and build a new city. It would be busy enough.
Duan Xiaolin was already excited after hearing this, and his sister Zhao Sihan's face was also full of smiles.
Zhao Yulin looked at Sihan with a smile and said: I have no objection now.
Zhao Sihan immediately went over to massage his shoulders and neck, and said with a smile: I knew that the third brother would not abandon her. She wanted Zhao Yulin to rest assured that she would definitely get things done properly.
He said it was all the court's business.
Our family has no worries about food and clothing, and we all want to do something practical. When the railway is built to Dukou Town, we will start to build it to Kunming, and then build it section by section to Shenglong Prefecture, and Yunnan will be alive.
Zhao Sihan and Duan Xiaolin were both full of anticipation. They thanked the third brother repeatedly and decided to book a table at Wenjun Restaurant to entertain him.
Zhao Yulin waved his hands and said, "Just eat at home."
He asked Sihan to go to the study because he had something to give to his sister.
The two sisters walked over hand in hand. Zhao Yulin took out a stack of manuscripts from a brocade box and told Sihan that it was a new way to make Jintuan tea. He wrote it based on the method of Jinhua Fuzhuan tea. Take it back and try it.
Jintuan tea is the predecessor of Pu'er tea. Because it needs to be transported long distances to be sold in the Western Regions, it has a mellow taste after being aged in the sun and rain, which is very good.
The Jintuan tea made according to his method will grow golden flowers like Fuzhuan tea, which has a good regulating effect on laxative and moisturizing the stomach. The Jintuan tea delivered to the destination has dense golden flowers and is fresh and fragrant when consumed. It will definitely be a big hit.
Zhao Sihan was very happy and said happily that when Yunnan produces a new tea in the future, she would name it Sanshao Tea so that the people of Yunnan would remember the contribution of our third brother.
Zhao Yulin immediately asked her to stop. The tight-leaf tea came from Yinsheng Prefecture. In the future, this tea would definitely become a common practice among many tea farmers and would be called Yinsheng Tea. Let the new Song people make Yinsheng Tea, a unique brand in Yunnan, famous.
Zhao Sihan was so happy that he took his brother to the restaurant for dinner.
Three days later, Duan Xiaolin and Zhao Sihan obtained various approval documents from the court and boarded the ship to return.
Xiao Linzi held Sihan in his arms and stood at the bow, looking at the majestic South City Gate with deep emotion, muttering: "It seems that the city gate has been repaired again, and it is even taller and stronger. Third Brother is really straightforward and keeps his word. He returned all the counties in Zhenwu Mountain that paid the most taxes to us."
Zhao Sihan said with a smile: It’s just like handing it over from the left hand to the right hand, they all belong to the New Song Dynasty court.
