As Zhao Huan sipped his tea, he looked at Tang Ke's plans for this region.

This area is sparsely populated, and the main cities are only Shangjing, Shenzhou, and Fengzhou. Xianzhou in the south is just so-so.

The most important issue is the small population.

In the era of low-end economy, people are the greatest dividend for economic development.

Tang Ke's ten-year plan, which mentioned migrating people from within the Great Wall in its fifth year, was a correct decision.

However, Zhao Huan felt that five years later was too long.

Tang Ke was worried that since the northern region had just been pacified and the barbarians had not yet truly accepted the king's rule, a large influx of people would inevitably lead to widespread suffering if war broke out.

Zhao Huan agreed with this point, but five years was indeed too long. Zhao Huan could not wait five years. The southwestern barbarians of the Great Song Dynasty and the Gaochang Uyghurs in the northwest of the Great Song Dynasty were Zhao Huan's next targets.

The Northeast is one of the iron ore centers of the future empire, and its development must be accelerated.

It is also necessary to stabilize the situation in advance.

No matter what method is used, even if it means bleeding again temporarily, it is worth it.

Tang Ke felt a chill run down his spine. The emperor was far too brutal in solving problems; he brought up killing as the most urgent matter, even one that required a little time.

On this point, Tang Ke could never agree.

The traditional scholar-official class tended to be much more moderate in their approach to things.

Just like the concept of traditional Chinese medicine, but when a person gets sick, it's not about removing something, but about conditioning the body.

Illnesses can be cured through gradual conditioning.

However, Zhao Huan could not completely agree with this view.

Some illnesses can be treated, but others cannot.

In Zhao Huan's view, many problems were caused by the complex web of various forces.

These problems, aside from murder, are essentially unsolvable, and will only worsen as new resources and interests emerge.

Starting over after a complete overhaul may seem crude, but it won't leave you with too many problems later and is more efficient.

Zhao Huan did not directly refute Tang Ke's "Ten-Year Plan of Shangjing Prefecture".

For example, Tang Ke's ideas for reforming Shangjing Prefecture from three major aspects—political reform, cultural reform, and economic reform—were well received by Zhao Huan.

In short, it's just transplanting the system from the Song Dynasty.

What nonsense about acclimatization? What nonsense about adapting to local conditions? Do you think my things need to be adapted to you barbarians from beyond the borders?

All I need to do is put the things here, and everything will be done obediently according to my wishes.

Those who break the rules should just die.

"Minister Tang, do your best. I support you!"

Tang Ke smiled broadly: "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will do my utmost."

Support me? Your Majesty, don't you have a conscience?!

You deliberately put Li Chongguang here to disgust me, and you still say you support me!

Fine! Who told me I'm the subject and you're the ruler?

Zhao Huan suddenly said, "I intend to bring the Shi family and the Han family to the capital, Dongjing. What do you think?"

"Your Majesty, this is not advisable. If the Shi and Han families are forcibly relocated to Tokyo, trade in Liaodong will likely be stagnant for a long time," Tang Ke patiently explained to the emperor, inwardly groaning.

His own interests clearly conflicted with the emperor's ideas.

If the Shi and Han families were indeed forcibly relocated to Tokyo by the emperor, the entire commercial system of Liaodong would collapse by at least half instantly.

This was entirely detrimental to Tang Ke, who bore heavy responsibilities.

The emperor will surely be furious. He won't listen to your explanation and will likely give you a good scolding, followed by your demotion.

In this way, Tang Ke became the one who got ripped off.

Tang Ke felt that his position was really a pain in the ass.

I just protected Wanyan Qi a few days ago, with the aim of dealing with the Shi family and the Han family.

Now we must turn around and protect the Shi and Han families.

In short, being caught in the middle means you can easily get into trouble if you're not careful.

Tang Ke's words were certainly reasonable; the trade here relied too heavily on the Shi and Han families.

These two merchant families, which grew up under Wanyan Zongpan's new policies, controlled various industries, including iron, coal, silk, tea, grain, and transportation.

This is also why Zhao Huan was determined to kill them.

Under a strong central government, local governments are not allowed to have their own separate systems and forces.

Zhao Huan pondered for a moment.

In fact, he had been struggling with the two approaches to this issue for some time.

Forcibly taking people to Tokyo will inevitably cause chaos in Liaodong and create further complications.

I don't feel at ease if I don't keep it under my nose.

Ultimately, Zhao Huan decided to take Tang Ke's advice.

With a ruthless general like Li Chongguang here, even if the Shi and Han families try to cause trouble, they can just chop them into pieces.

Aside from giving Tang Ke more time, the emperor basically agreed to Tang Ke's suggestions.

For example, within two years, three primary schools were built in each of the cities of Shangjing, Shenzhou, Xianzhou, and Fengzhou, and each city was established under the jurisdiction of a prefect. Merchants were recruited from Youzhou Prefecture to fully develop trade between the interior and exterior of the pass, and policy support was provided to merchants who went to Shangjing, Shenzhou, Xianzhou, and Fengzhou to do business.

To address the emperor's concerns, Tang Ke suggested that the mining operations in these areas be brought under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Works, and that a strict order be issued prohibiting the smuggling of salt and iron by private individuals, as well as rigorously investigating the qualifications of commercial companies.

As a result, all sorts of troubles naturally came to the Shi and Han families.

From the very beginning, they were able to peel off a layer of skin from the Shi and Han families.

After the imperial court took over, it set up a special state-owned trading company in Liaodong to support the imperial trading company and to restrain the Han and Shi families.

Once the trade is successfully connected, it won't be too late to take action against the Han and Shi families.

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!