Promotion Letter for the Chief Executive

In the autumn of the first year of Anping, after one full year of martial arts classes, Ping An conducted an inspection of the teaching results of this year.

The method of acceptance is of course group simulation confrontation.

The martial arts students were divided into two groups, and each led a thousand guards to conduct actual combat exercises in the mountains on the outskirts of the capital.Ping An requires them to look at the confrontation on the real battlefield and go all out.In fact, except that the weapons were wrapped with thick cloth strips, all other conditions were indeed arranged in accordance with real wartime.

For the convenience of watching, the "battlefield" chosen by Ping'an was at the foot of the mountain, while Zhao Can led all the civil and military officials to watch the battle on the mountain.

This unprecedented pattern made the courtiers very curious.The various methods and strategies used by the two sides during the battle are even more breathtaking.The whole "battle" lasted for three days, and finally the blue army won by a narrow margin.

After the war, all martial arts students were received and encouraged by Zhao Can. ——This is also a small means for Ping An. Since martial arts is the grace bestowed by Zhao Can, it is natural for them to appreciate it.So although Zhao Can usually doesn't care much about martial arts, but at critical moments, he still has to come out to show his presence.

Sure enough, after seeing Zhao Can, everyone was greatly encouraged. In the next period of time, even the training became more proactive.

Ping An couldn't help but sigh, in this era, imperial power is indeed something that everyone can't help but look up to.

So Ping An felt very strange, why did the ancients think that the more stupid the common people, the better the rule?In fact, even in the era of safe life, there are still many people yearning for imperial power.Even those foreign countries that still retain the monarchy are loved by many people.

Of course, when the common people become wiser, they will not be so easy to fool, nor will they be oppressed endlessly.But in fact, a country always needs a political power to rule, and as long as the society continues to develop and the material level improves, there is no need to squeeze and exploit ordinary people, and everyone can achieve a win-win situation.

In the final analysis, it was because the productivity level of the ancient people was low and the means of production were limited. If the ruler wanted to enjoy it, he could only achieve it through exploitation.I don't know if it's because they don't have such a mind or their vision is limited. They didn't even think about developing material production levels, but they took another astray, which is really lamentable.

It's far away, in short, after this match, martial arts has officially entered the sight of all officials.In the past, they always thought that this was just one of the means used by the emperor to show favor and win people's hearts.So even if Ping An is tossing over there, few people care.

But now they know that this martial art has a lot to do!

The means used by the two sides during the confrontation, as well as the various abilities they displayed, have refreshed the cognition of the frail scholars in the court.

Although it is said that reading thousands of books and traveling thousands of miles, after all, reading and seeing with your own eyes are two completely different experiences.Not to mention that many scholars despise warriors, and don't think there is anything to study about wars, and they have little understanding of this aspect.

Seeing it with their own eyes this time, they discovered that this is how wars are fought.

In fact, men are still full of enthusiasm. Although scholars choose another way to display their abilities, and often verbally express their contempt for brute force, in fact, when they see this scene with their own eyes, Still very exciting.

Not to mention that some scholars also attach importance to physical exercise, follow the ancient theory of the six arts, and learn riding, archery and swordsmanship.

Of course, everyone is just refreshing their cognition now, and has no other ideas.Fortunately, Ping An didn't plan to mobilize the army now, but hoped that they would pay attention to martial arts, attach importance to martial arts, and continue to run martial arts.

——Another autumn, martial arts will be able to recruit a new batch of students.

Originally, the officials were quite critical of this thankless practice, and some even wrote to Zhao Can, thinking that this kind of practice was unnecessary.The soldiers stayed in their own territory well, and it was unnecessary to gather people to the capital to receive some training.Don't the army still not know how to train?

But now, they are beginning to feel that a little training is not a bad thing.At least it is a rare thing to be able to see this kind of mighty military might.

And what Ping An wants is their familiarity, and then they will be subtly influenced, and in the end, they will even actively support the changes he proposed.This is not an easy task, but fortunately, it is not enough, and I believe there will be such a day.

Since no one objected, the second batch of martial arts students officially enrolled soon.Because of the experience from last year, it is easy to do this time. Whether it is military training or subsequent courses, Feng Yutang has arranged everything in an orderly manner.

After Ping An went to see it a few times, he was completely relieved.

In the autumn of the first year of Anping, a major event happened, which quickly attracted everyone's attention, and all of them were transferred to the northwest.

Although Great Chu and several surrounding countries have been fighting for years, it is not that there is no diplomatic relationship at all. ——Things between countries are so strange. When they fight, they go all out, hoping to completely wipe out each other, but if they fail, everyone can sit down and talk peacefully, as if the relationship between each other has always been so good.

In the previous war, after Xirong and Beidi were defeated, they both sent people to Dachu to seek peace, so after the war ended, Dachu also received a small amount of compensation.It is really that the vitality of the two places has been greatly damaged, and there is nothing good to give.

In the following years, they were very harmonious with each other.Even on the northwest border, few prairie people came to plunder.

But this is also because the weather has been good in the past few years, and the population on the grassland has dropped sharply, so there is no need to worry about not having enough food.

However, last year's severe drought in the north caused a large reduction in grain production in Dachu, and Xirong and Beidi were naturally also affected.But now they are worried, and they don't dare to come to the border to fight the grass valley casually, lest they anger Da Chu and lead to another war.

But people always have to eat, and if one way fails, they will naturally come up with other ways.

Not to mention, Xirong and Beidi did think of a good solution. ——If you can’t play Grass Valley, can you still spend money to buy it?

Although there has never been any trade between Da Chu and these two countries.But that is only the official statement, and it may not be the case among the people.After all, not only did Dachu have the food they needed, but Xirong and Beidi also had a lot of things that Dachu needed.

Fur, medicinal materials, minerals and other special products can all be sold at a high price in Da Chu.

So, in fact, since a long time ago, there have been businessmen on Dachu's side secretly selling goods on the grassland for profit.As long as you don't sell those things that are explicitly prohibited by the imperial court, and build a good relationship with the generals on the border, you can ship the goods out without anyone noticing.

After all, although there is a border between the two countries, and there are even patrols every day, the two sides are not separated by walls, so it is not difficult to cross the border.

Not to mention anything else, when Ping An was outside, he had sneaked into the territory of the Changhe Tribe in Hebei!That didn't go through formal channels, but slipped through privately.

Businessmen chasing profits, this kind of thing has actually existed for a long time, but it has had little impact so far, so the official side simply turned a blind eye.

It is much better to conduct business and trade exchanges between the two sides than to fight wars, right?

So this time, Xirong and Beidi simply urged the merchants to transport more grain to the trade. In this way, they don't need to come to harvest grass and grain, and they can still have enough food.

As a result, luck went wrong.

Previously, the quantity of goods was small and it was not easy to be found, but now the quantity is too large, which arouses suspicion.So a businessman was arrested in the northwest, and after asking about the situation, he reported to the capital and asked Zhao Can to make a decision.

——Of course, these situations are from the eyes of outsiders.

But in fact, without official acquiescence, although these merchants are courageous, it is impossible to increase the goods at will.Secondly, the transaction has been going on for so long, why didn't they catch it sooner or later, but they were caught by the government at this time?

All of these were arrangements made by Feng Yutang in Northwest China in the first place, in order to draw out this matter and pave the way for what will happen later.

Therefore, although the act of secretly selling goods violated the law, but because there were no prohibited materials, this matter was only lightly let go in the end.It's just that the imperial court has repeatedly reiterated that merchants are not allowed to enter the grassland to do business, otherwise they will be caught next time and all family assets will be confiscated.

This order looks very severe, but in fact it is just a cover.

Because Zhao Can immediately brought up this matter in the early court, thinking that it was a welcome change that Xirong and Beidi could think of buying grain instead of coming directly to snatch it.

Some of the courtiers agreed with this statement very much, and felt that the power of the Great Chu Heavenly Dynasty deterred those barbarians, so that they did not dare to commit crimes easily, but wanted to spend money to buy it. This is a very huge improvement. .

However, some people think that the barbarians should all starve to death. People who are not of our race will have a different heart. The greater the loss of the other party, the less able they are to wage war against the Great Chu. If things go on like this, the Great Chu will definitely be much stronger than them. When they understand that they can't resist, they will naturally submit.

This idea is of course not unreasonable.

It's just that people have self-esteem. If the people of Xirong and Beidi have to submit to Dachu at that point, they may not be blessed in their hearts, so they always remember that they will rebel again when they become strong.

——Actually, in the history before today, this kind of drama of surrender and rebellion, rebellion and surrender has been staged for an unknown number of years.Not only the Great Chu Dynasty, but also the previous dynasties were all like this.

Is it because the Tianwei of the Central Plains Dynasty is not enough?Obviously not.Otherwise, they would not be able to surrender voluntarily.But in fact, if they can't win people's hearts, these aliens will naturally have different intentions and cannot integrate into Dachu.

So Zhao Can thought that it was just a wrong use of the previous method.

Zhao Can felt that Ping An's gentle policy this time was very feasible. This kind of subtle influence would not even be felt by the affected party until the time came. There is something better and less effortful than this. way?

So although some of the courtiers objected, Zhao Can still put forward his own ideas, "Since the Rong people and Di people are willing to spend money and property in exchange for food, I think it's okay to exchange them. For them, if they can eat enough , No one would want to come to my Great Chu to rob again. Such peace can be expected.”

"Your Majesty, no!" A courtier resolutely objected, "Xirong and Beidi have a sworn enemy with our dynasty, so selling grain to them is no different from being an enemy?"

This kind of radical thinking doesn't even need Zhao Can to step in. Naturally, some people will retort, "Master Lin's words are wrong! They are not giving them food for nothing, but in exchange for property. The land in Xirong and Beidi is barren. , the production is limited, if these things are used to exchange for rations, naturally they will not be able to develop other things. How can it be useless to me?"

For example, in minerals, the iron smelting technology of these two countries is not as good as that of Dachu. If the minerals are still used to exchange for food, then there is no need to mention it.

At that time, even if they have a different heart, the big Chu soldiers are strong, the horses are strong, and the armor is complete, but they can't even make weapons, so why fight?

As long as Da Chu tightens his grip on strategic materials and only sells insignificant things, if things go on like this, Xirong and Beidi rely on Da Chu for food, which is tantamount to being pinched by the lifeline. Doesn’t Da Chu say what he wants?

There are quite a few smart people. When Zhao Can mentioned this, they all thought of the key point. They were very happy to hear Zhao Can's plan.

After all, even if Da Chu's military strength is stronger, no one likes war.Because that means more money, food and population will be consumed. ——Since food is consumed anyway, why not sell it to grassland people?

Of course, those who oppose it also have good reasons: "My Dachu has been hit by natural disasters, and now the domestic reserves are only enough for the people of Dachu. If it is sold to grassland people, do I have to count it when there is no harvest?" Thousands of people are hungry?"

As soon as this statement came out, those who had previously agreed with it fell silent.

Objective conditions are indeed important.Although trade with the grasslands is a big deal, we can't deduct the domestic grain because of this, otherwise, if the people get into trouble because they don't have enough to eat, what good will it do for Da Chu?This is not necessary in war, so many people are silent.

Zhao Can said, "Don't worry, gentlemen, I naturally care about this matter. These tens of millions of people are my people, how can I abandon them and ignore them?"

Then, Zhao Can threw out a news that stunned the officials, "My Chu Navy fleet has already gone to Nanyang to buy grain. I heard that the local temperature is hot and the seasons are like spring. The grain can be harvested twice or even three times a year, and the output is quite high. Abundant. As long as you can buy food from there, you don’t have to worry about the lack of food in the country.”

The courtiers were stunned by the news.They had heard a little bit about what happened in Nanyang, and it was indeed what Zhao Can said.

It's not that no one thought of going there for trade before.But not to mention the difficult mountain roads in the southwest, the further south you go, the more miasma in the mountains.This is the case in the country of Great Chu, and there is no way to go out.After losing a lot of people, everyone gave up the idea.So it is very difficult to trade from land.

No one expected that Zhao Can could think of a way to get there by sea.That's all for thinking about it, he has already started to do it, and even sent out the fleet.And this matter has been kept from everyone from the beginning to the end!

Now the ministers looked at Zhao Can differently from before.

This His Majesty's means and courage are more powerful than what they thought.For such a big matter, I did it as soon as I said it, and I didn't discuss it with anyone.In other words, he did not use money from the national treasury, and only used his own internal treasury to support it!

Now that the matter is done and the news is thrown out, what else can the courtiers say?

In the end, those who agreed with this idea took the lead. Seeing that the situation was good, Zhao Can made a final decision, "From now on, we will set up a market in the northwest to trade with the grasslands. Domestic merchants who want to trade must do so." You can go there. But the goods sold must pass the inspection of the government, and there must be no materials such as salt and iron."

As for valuables, luxury goods, and even the poems and songs of the Four Books and Five Classics, the more of these, the better.I heard that many grassland tribes admire my Central Plains culture. It would be a good thing if I could educate them with these books.

After the matter was settled, the news quickly reached the ears of the businessmen.

For those merchants who originally secretly traded and monopolized this business, this is bad news. After all, there will be more people competing in the future.But other businessmen are happy to hear it.After all, the goods in the Northwest are novelty, and Da Chu may make a fortune if they get them.And the price of the things that Da Chu stepped over here naturally couldn't be lowered.

Considering this kind of competitive relationship, Zhao Can has asked someone to draw up a price list.These are relatively common commodities. After pricing, there will be no vicious competition. If the price is lowered in order to sell things, the meaning of trade will no longer exist.If it's an item exclusive to merchants, let them set their own price.

Since it was targeted, the news naturally spread to Xirong and Beidi. After serious consideration, they all sent envoys to Dachu to thank Dachu for opening up trade and restoring diplomatic relations, and secondly to hope Their people can also bring goods to the market to sell.

That's what Da Chu meant, so naturally he wouldn't refuse.

What they didn't expect was that the Changhe tribe in the north also heard the news, and also sent envoys to Dachu, hoping to conduct mutual trade.

Zhao Can didn't know what they were thinking, whether they wanted to spy on Dachu's reality, or whether they had other purposes, but Hebei was originally in his plan, so there was no problem in agreeing to a mutual market.

Of course, although both parties have intentions, it is not so easy to settle the matter, and it will take a long time of negotiation (challenge) and negotiation (skin).

Anyway, it will take some time to prepare the location of the mutual market on the border, formulate rules, etc., which is just used to discuss these, and there is no delay on both sides.

To negotiate with the prairie people, it is natural to choose a suitable candidate.

Now that Da Chu is taking the initiative, not to mention Zhao Can, even the six important ministers don't need to go out to do these things in person, they only need to appoint a few subordinate officials.But the leader is more troublesome.

This person must be proficient in grassland affairs, and be flexible and articulate, so as to not lose the wind in the negotiation and win enough benefits for Da Chu.

There are many capable people in Dachu, but the civil servants have only heard about the grassland tribes, and basically have no contact with them.Whether it can be done well is really worrying.

Just when everyone was worried, Zhao Can appointed Feng Yutang to take charge of the matter.

Feng Yutang originally started to be in charge of martial arts after returning to the capital, and he was still Kaiyang's deputy. Although martial arts had begun to gain the attention of the courtiers, even within martial arts, he himself was quite famous, which made the generals Blessing, but outsiders don't know his name.

So Zhao Can called his name. At first, everyone didn't even know who this person was, and they were a little confused for a while.

After knowing who it was talking about, I couldn't help but whisper in my heart.

It is not a secret that Feng Yutang has stayed in the Northwest after a little research.But even so, he is still too low-key and unknown. Can such a person handle this big event?

However, the facts proved that Zhao Can's eyesight was never wrong.After Feng Yutang took over the affairs of the mission, he quickly figured out the other party's bottom line and got the best treatment for Da Chu.

When the envoys from Xirong and Beidi were sent away, the people from the Changhe tribe came again.

It was Feng Yutang's reception as usual, and he still successfully took off a large piece of meat from the Changhe Tribe, which made people talk about it.

After this battle, Feng Yutang himself has completely established his reputation.Working with him, the officials in charge of receiving the mission spared no effort to publicize him, and soon let people know what happened in the process. Feng Yutang's adaptability and flexible response are naturally admirable.

Although no one knew that he was in charge of the Northwest Mutual Market from the beginning to the end, Feng Yutang still gained a great reputation.Even the people in the capital knew his name.After hearing that he has not yet married a wife, the matchmaker broke the threshold even more.

——Well, this is just a false finger, because in fact, although the ice men in the capital are eager to move and want to protect Feng Yutang, but he has been living in martial arts, that is, living in the palace. It is impossible for others came in.

When Ping An heard the news, he just laughed it off.

He already knew Feng Yutang's ability.However, after being buried for eight years, it is also a very happy thing to finally come to the fore.

However, the matter of marriage still depends on Feng Yutang's own opinion.

Although in the eyes of ancient people, Feng Yutang is really not young at this age, and he should have started a family long ago.But from Ping An's point of view, he is clearly just a good young man, and he is not in a hurry even in a few years.What's more, Feng Yutang's reputation is good now, and he will naturally be able to marry a better wife after being promoted to a noble in the future.

This is the trouble in ancient times. If it is in modern times, it doesn't matter about the background, as long as the girl herself is good.But in ancient times, this was impossible. Excellent girls could only come from the families of officials. Girls who did not go to school for a day in the countryside and started helping with housework at a few years old were virtuous, but they inevitably could not support the scene.

However, this situation will not always exist. Pingan believes that one day, even the girls who come out of the village of Dachu will have the ability and insight to support half of the sky in Dachu.

Of course, the arrival of that day also depends on the continued efforts of him and others.

However, hope is in sight, and Ping An is full of confidence that that day will come.