The banquet ended in a joyful atmosphere.

Zhao Jun didn't know why, as if he had opened his mind, he praised the Cao family's excellent bloodline again and again.

Cao Miaoxin became shy, quite a little daughter.

After the banquet, Zhao Zhen asked Zhao Jun what he meant, and Zhao Jun felt that there was no problem.

First, Cao Miaoxin is very beautiful.

Second, age is enough.

The third is the Cao family, who are right and have no sense of difference.

After Cao Cong went back, he naturally asked his niece, Cao Miaoxin was not happy before he saw Zhao Jun, and after seeing Zhao Jun, he was naturally full of joy and shyness.

In fact, it is difficult to engage in marriage in ancient society to talk about free love for a few years, and get married if it is suitable, and it is more about the words of the matchmaker of the parents.

Zhao Jun asked for a blind date first is a relatively advanced concept of love, and it is naturally impossible to fall in love at first sight when you meet each other.

Since the posture is good, the door is good, and the age is enough, of course, there is no problem.

Cao Miaoxin's marriage, as the daughter of the Cao family, could not be decided by herself, but now that she has met her sweetheart, of course it is no problem.

So when there was no objection from both sides, Zhao Zhen and Empress Cao acted as parents, and sent someone to send a dowry to Cao's mansion, and accepted the auspiciousness of the six rites, which was regarded as an engagement and an auspicious day for the zodiac to get married.

In the final analysis, Zhao Jun, as the first generation of post-zero, has traveled to the Song Dynasty for almost five years, just turned twenty-eight years old, and if he doesn't get married, it is indeed a little unreasonable.

However, marriage is marriage, and the right thing to do should not be done.

During this time, he and Lao Fan placed people in various important positions such as the Imperial History Observatory and the Ministry of Officials, which caused the dissatisfaction of Cheng Zheng Jian in the Imperial History.

He thought that Zhao Jun and Fan Zhongyan were interfering with the operation of the Imperial History Observatory by inserting so many cronies into the Imperial History Observatory, so they wrote to impeach.

This person is not bad, but he is a stubborn person, and the history books evaluate that when he governs the place, he "must be resolute in case of trouble, but he is willful and chivalrous, and the law is severe, and most of the people are resentful."

And in history, Zhang Kang was not promoted, also because he arbitrarily believed that Zhang Kang embezzled military salaries and bought people's hearts.

It can be seen that he does not know how to be flexible and is an old-fashioned person.

This kind of person is too rigid in the place and may obviously harm the people, but it is very suitable to be placed in the place of the Imperial Historical Tower, after all, what is required in the Imperial History is iron-faced selflessness.

Therefore, Zhao Jun and Lao Fan did not embarrass him, but patiently did a job for him, telling him that Yushitai would be of great use in the future, and that he would become an important public instrument for national supervision officials, which would require the dispatch of a large number of upright people to calm Zheng Jian's dissatisfaction.

And just when Zhao Jun and Lao Fan were methodically preparing for the new deal, there was good news.

Last year, Zhao Jun told Song Cai to go to Jeju Island and Tsushima Island to establish a stronghold, and this matter was done, and with the defeat of Western Xia and Liao by the Great Song Dynasty, it immediately caused a huge repercussion in East Asia.

Dali came over as soon as possible to send an envoy to confess and express congratulations.

Goryeo was panicked and immediately sent an envoy to restore the long-standing friendship between Song and Gao.

To a certain extent, the international situation during the Northern Song Dynasty was very bad, and the surrounding countries and regions, except for Dali and the Northern Song Dynasty, maintained good relations, and only Qingtang was friendly with the Song Dynasty.

In other places, Japan closed itself off from the rest of the country and did not conduct official exchanges with the Great Song Dynasty.

Since the time of Zhao Guangyi, Vietnam has had many wars with the Song State, except for Zhao Guangyi who took the initiative to attack at the beginning, and later the army was defeated, most of the others were Vietnam took the initiative to harass the border of the Great Song Dynasty.

For example, after the establishment of the Li Dynasty in Vietnam, from the fifth year of Shuntian, that is, in 1014 AD, to the fourth year of Taining, that is, in 1075 AD, there were more than ten recorded Vietnamese initiative on the border of the Song Dynasty, and it was often "plundering cattle and horses, burning houses and returning".

Among them, the most serious is the Battle of Yongzhou in the fourth year of Taining, the Vietnamese army broke through the city of Yongzhou, "killing more than 50,000 officials, Tuding, and residents", plus the Qin and Lian people killed before, the Vietnamese army killed no less than 100,000.

In the end, Song Shenzong couldn't bear it anymore, so he sent troops to attack Vietnam, and the two sides broke out in the Song-Yue Xining War, which made Vietnam sue for peace, which ended the Song-Yue hostility and reconciled the two countries.

This shows how bad the relationship between Song and Vietnam was before the Xining War.

After the establishment of the Song Dynasty, Goryeo immediately sent envoys to pay tribute to the Song Dynasty, accepted the canonization of Zhao Kuangyin, and adopted the era name of the Song Dynasty.

For more than 20 years after that, the Song Dynasty had frequent contacts with Goryeo, and the relationship was very iron.

However, this friendly relationship lasted until 985 AD, when Zhao Guangyi fought the Battle of the Gaoliang River, shattering the Song Dynasty's dream of recovering the north.

The Liao State sent troops to Goryeo to force it to recognize the Khitan as the suzerain, but at first Goryeo did not agree, but it could not defeat others, so it had to ask the Song Dynasty for help, hoping to get the protection provided by the Song State.

But Zhao Guangyi's donkey cart drifted his brain stupidly, and at this time he was afraid that the Liao State was terribly afraid, so he hurriedly refused Goryeo's request, so Goryeo could only stop paying tribute to the Song Dynasty and recognize the Liao State as the suzerain, and the two countries have since severed diplomatic relations.

Therefore, during the Renzong Dynasty, the international environment of the Northern Song Dynasty was indeed very bad.

Now it's different.

The war between the Great Song Dynasty and the Western Xia can't explain anything, but the battle of Baozhou made a name for itself, and it also recovered hundreds of square kilometers of land, which made the Liao people flee north in panic, and suddenly the momentum was powerful in all directions.

Dali was actually not bordering the Song State at that time, because at that time the border area between Yunnan and Sichuan was entrenched in a large number of southwestern Yi, and the location was probably in Zhaotong, Yunnan, Guizhou, Bijie, Liupanshui, Anshun area, called Shimen Domain, Luo's Department, Luodian Department, etc.

However, these tribes and Dali maintain a fairly prosperous trade with Sichuan, there are ancient tea and horse roads, so the news is very well-informed, Duan Suxing, the head of Dali State, is a man of absurdity, but he is not a fool, and immediately sent an envoy to congratulate.

Goryeo's side first watched the situation for a while, and when the news of the Liao-Song peace talks reached Goryeo in October, Wang Heng, the lord of Goryeo, sent Shangshu Zuocheng Jin Yuanchong to the Great Song Dynasty in December of the first year of Kangding.

In fact, although Wang Heng was a vassal to the Liao State, it is very interesting that as a member of the East Asian cultural circle, the Goryeo people actually looked down on the barbaric Liao people, so Goryeo made offerings to the Liao people while building the Great Wall for thousands of miles to resist, although they couldn't beat you, but they looked down on your attitude.

Now that the true suzerainty of Goryeo has won a great victory, they are naturally very happy, so they come over in the hope of being favored by their previous father.

The envoy Jin Yuanchong set out at the beginning of December, but had to go back due to a sea accident in the middle, and set off again at the end of December with gifts for the Song Kingdom, and it was not until late January that he arrived safely in Bianliang.

Zhao Zhen met with Jin Yuanchong and tried his best.

Zhao Jun then held talks with Jin Yuanchong on behalf of the Constitutional Yuan, at which the Song state agreed to an alliance with Goryeo, and the two sides signed the Song-Gao Defense Treaty, stipulating that if the Liao invaded Goryeo for no reason, the Great Song would send troops to protect the safety of Goryeo.

At the same time, Zhao Jun hoped that the Great Song would garrison troops in Tamna (Jeju Island) to protect the Song and Gao trade from being damaged by the Liao navy.

Although the Liao State has a naval army, it is nothing compared to the Great Song Dynasty's naval army, but if the Song State has stationed troops in Tamluo for a long time, it is possible that when the Liao State invades, the Song State army can take a ship north to support.

Therefore, hearing this request, Jin Yuanchong was overjoyed and agreed on the spot.

Under such circumstances, Goryeo recognized his ancestors and returned to his ancestors, and rejoined the arms of his old father, although Wang Heng did not dare to tear up the relationship with the Liao State, but at least the trade between Song and Gao was much smoother.

The Japanese side is playing dead as always.

After all, they had only paid tribute to the Liao State twice, and the Liao State had sent people to urge them many times, so they were reluctant to pay tribute, so naturally they didn't bother to deal with the Song Dynasty.

After all, the current Da Song is no longer the Datang that they longed for before.

But there is no doubt about the strength of the Song Kingdom, not to mention that Song Cai operated in Japan a few years ago, and last year he listened to Zhao Jun's advice, and after going to Japan, he handed over part of the equity of the Iwami Silver Mine to the Japanese royal family, and gained some influence in Japan.

Under the recommendation and persuasion of Song Cai and others, as well as the interests and magnates who owned some shares of Iwami Silver Mine, the Great Song Dynasty sent an envoy to Japan in November last year, and was received by Emperor Suzaku of Japan.

Although Emperor Suzaku did not agree to make Song-Japan relations a vassal like Tang-Japanese relations, and the two sides did not sign any treaties, he allowed the Great Song Dynasty to establish a stronghold on Tsushima Island in Japan, and allowed Iwami Province to establish a treaty port and open the port for operation.

In this way, the trade between Song, Gao, and Japan has basically been implemented.

In January of the first year of Qingli, the Great Song Dynasty encouraged the merchants of the Great Song Dynasty to go to Goryeo and Japan to do business in Hangzhou, Tongzhou, Mingzhou and other cities.

It is hoped that the merchants will sell the culture and handicrafts of the Great Song Dynasty to Japan and Goryeo, so that they can enjoy the influence of Confucian culture that they have not felt for a long time.

In this case, Zhao Jun has truly realized his original idea.

There are five major trade routes.

The first is the trade of the Maritime Silk Road in Central Asia in Guangzhou.

Article 2, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Song, Japan, and Gao Free Trade Zone trade.

Third, the ancient tea and horse road trade between Sichuan and Dali.

Fourth, the Shaanxi Hehuang Corridor and the Silk Road Trade of the Xixia Hexi Corridor.

Finally, there is a northern free trade with the Liao State.

Neighboring countries, including Central Asia, have become trading countries, and the business of the Great Song Dynasty has been going all the way to Europe.

On February 3, after making full preparations, Zhao Jun held the last meeting before the release of the new policy in the Chongzheng Palace.

Zhao Zhen sat on the main seat, Zhao Jun sat next to him, looked around, looked at the many deacons below, and said with a smile: "Everyone, with the signing of trade agreements with Western Xia and Liao, and the trade relations with Japan and Goryeo at the beginning of this year, my idea has been completed!" ”

"The only thing that hasn't been achieved yet is to train Vietnam, Bagan and Angkor to become grain and cotton producers, and let their people grow grain and cotton for us," he said happily. ”

"The Great Song Dynasty does not border Bagan and Angkor, and we have no dealings with them.

Lu Yijian shook his head and said, "The relationship with us is not harmonious. ”

"It's okay, that's also a matter for the future, and if they don't get along, they will be in harmony in the future. If it weren't for the hot climate and miasma in Southeast Asia, although the battle of Xining fought by Song Shenzong in history was won, but because of the epidemic, more than half of the casualties were lost, and it was difficult to destroy the Yue country, I really wouldn't have let go of Vietnam. ”

Zhao Jun said: "At present, our goal is to strengthen the country first, and after commerce and trade, the people will be rich, and then we will slowly abandon the agricultural tax, and it is enough to maintain the commercial tax revenue." As for the Vietnamese side, in the future, they will have to obediently use us as a raw material producer after a few artillery shots. ”

"Well, let's talk about the New Deal."

Wang Zeng changed the topic and said: "Now it is determined that the new policy is mainly based on the examination of the law, and the rule of officials is rectified, and then what? ”

"Then there is economic and agricultural reform going hand in hand."

Zhao Jun explained: "After the economy is good, through foreign trade to feed the country, Japanese silver inflow, gold, silver and copper from other countries will also flow into the Great Song Dynasty, the shortage of money can be solved, all parts of the country Jiaozi spread out, completely solve the problem of commodity trade difficulties, economic prosperity, can cancel a large number of agricultural taxes, with commercial taxes to make up for the treasury." ”

This is also the path taken by the Southern Song Dynasty, don't look at the Southern Song Dynasty, but the relationship with Japan during the Southern Song Dynasty has grown greatly, and trade exchanges are also very frequent, plus Guangzhou and Central Asia, the Southwest Tea Horse Ancient Road, just relying on three trade routes, it has made a lot of money, and the commercial tax accounts for more than 80%.

At present, the Great Song Dynasty not only has two more trade routes than the Southern Song Dynasty, but also because of the discovery of large-scale silver mines in Japan, the trade volume will inevitably grow explosively.

Although the abolition of the agricultural tax has greatly benefited the landlord class, which has been seriously annexed with land, the prosperity of the commodity economy will inevitably attract a large number of young and strong laborers to engage in handicraft manufacturing.

"This is a strategy that we are going to implement this year, and if there are no problems, let's officially start promulgating it in a few days."

Fan Zhongyan took out the reform plan that he had discussed with Zhao Jun for a long time these days, and one for each person.

In fact, Zhao Jun and Fan Zhongyan discussed much more deeply, at least the matter of the peasant association was not revealed to these old men at all, otherwise it would definitely be upside down.

At present, what is taken out is something that everyone can accept for the time being, although it is good to reform this kind of thing in one step, but it is estimated that it is no different from Wang Mang if it is too radical, so it must be done step by step, and continue to trial and error.

In later generations, China's reform and opening up was also gradual step by step, rather than fully opening up at the beginning, so Zhao Jun was ready to fight a protracted war.

He's young anyway.

In his twenties, he carried out some reforms, in his thirties and then partially, in his forties, in his fifties, year after year, one day Da Song would be able to reach the level he expected in his mind.

Everyone took over the plan, and everyone looked at it seriously.

In fact, the content is not much, first of all, we should continue to clarify the functions of officials at all levels, and determine the work content of the principal officials at the county, prefecture, and road levels.

The Beijing officials on the side of the imperial court had already cooperated with the Criminal Department to formulate rules and regulations in their own departments after Jing You's reform.

In this way, the work of all officials has been clearly arranged in the general direction.

Then the next step will be the state government to the county government, the road government to the state government, the court to the road government and many departments at all levels of officials to inspect.

See if these people have completed their own work on time every month, and whether they have lazy government, adultery, corruption and other behaviors.

At the same time, in addition to the verification of the work of officials at the upper and lower levels of various localities and many departments, there are also inspections carried out by the Imperial Historical Observatory of the Imperial Court and the local left-behind Imperial History Division.

In addition, the internal picket departments of each department are not responsible to the department's squire and Shangshu, but directly to the Constitutional Yuan.

In this way, the Constitutional Yuan supervises the 21 main departments under the Constitutional Yuan through the picket departments of various departments, as well as more than 20 sub-departments, such as the Guozijian, the Shaofu Supervisor, the General Supervisor, the Ordnance Supervisor, the Metropolitan Water Supervisor, the Liunequan, the Third Class Procuratorate, the Judge's Chamber, the Character Procuratorate, the Firearms Bureau, the Creation Bureau, the System Bureau, the Living Bureau, and the Etiquette Bureau.

Through the supervision of the local government from top to bottom, coupled with the dual supervision of the central and local governments by the Imperial Historical Observatory, a perfect supervision chain has been formed between the central government, the local government, and the Imperial Historical Observatory, which has greatly increased the supervision of the imperial court and the rectification of the rule of officials.

After everyone saw the whole set of plans, Lu Yijian was greatly admired: "This is the test method, it is simply ingenious, and Zhang Juzheng of the Ming Dynasty is also a generation of strange people." ”

Zhao Jun showed Fan Zhongyan the test method, but he didn't show them it.

Wang Zeng also praised: "It's really good, this law is interlocking, and it puts an end to the protection of the upper and lower levels." ”

"Well, this set has been improved on the basis of the test method to adapt to the system of my Great Song Dynasty."

Zhao Jun smiled: "Do you remember what I said before I didn't have good eyes? The Great Song Dynasty should formulate a KPI assessment system and kill these bureaucrats. Anyway, there is a serious redundancy of officials, and there is a shortage of others in the Great Song Dynasty, that is, there is no shortage of officials. ”

"I haven't canceled the entry of the door, but it is within the officials' duty to do their jobs well, and you won't stop it this time."

Fan Zhongyan looked at Lu Yijian vigilantly.

Historically, the failure of his Qingli New Deal was to eliminate a large number of officials who had entered the office, which naturally offended interest groups, so he was dismissed.

But now he didn't do this, but asked the officials to complete the tasks where their duties lie, and if they don't meet the requirements or find out that there is a problem, it means that you are not capable enough or a corrupt official, and it is natural to be dismissed by the court.

To a certain extent, the Qingli New Deal belongs to the barbaric forced change of the system, and the law of examination is to reason and talk about the law, although the purpose is the same, but the means are completely different, and the latter is much gentler.

Lu Yijian, Wang Zeng and the others looked at each other, and after a long time, they all nodded slightly and said, "This law is very good!" ”

As long as they don't exempt the door from entering the office, and don't block their descendants' ascending path, it naturally doesn't matter. As for whether the descendants of the younger generations will be eliminated because of their bad political performance, then they will definitely make a move and let them roll up to increase their political performance.

Therefore, the new policy of government officials is naturally unimpeded.

Seeing that it was passed at the level of the Constitutional Yuan, Zhao Zhen was also relieved, and said happily: "That's great, in this case, I announce that from today on, Fan Qing will officially start to preside over the Qingli New Deal, and all the personnel of the Constitutional Yuan must obey the dispatch of the eldest grandson and Fan Qing and implement the new Deal!" ”

"Yes!"

Lu Yijian and the others had no objections, and stood up and bowed.

The first chapter of the Qingli New Deal was officially launched.

The last few chapters are indeed foreshadowing and transitioning, which may make people feel a little watery, but there is no way, otherwise many things are difficult to explain. For example, if you don't talk about the content and the trade situation, everyone doesn't know what the reform has changed, so the explanation still needs to be explained.

As for the heroine, anyone who has seen me and the silver fox knows that I am not good at writing emotional dramas, basically bury a small foreshadowing in the early stage, there is a heroine and then it will pass, and there will be no scenes in the future, everyone rest assured.

(End of chapter)