The new policy did not abolish the system of temporary appointments inherited from the Song Dynasty.

The Song Dynasty was notorious for its temporary appointment system; for example, there was no supreme leader in Liaodong.

Li Gang's appointment as judge of Liaodong Prefecture was actually a temporary assignment to take charge.

Qin Hui was the same; he was in charge of the affairs of the South China Sea Kingdoms, but his status was more like that of the emperor's special envoy.

He had command and deployment authority over the army, but he did not manage the army's pay.

Military pay was specially transported from Guangnan New Prefecture to various parts of the South China Sea.

Moreover, his temporary appointment as the governor of the South China Sea countries will end after his five-year term, after which he will return to Tokyo.

This means that the officers under his command cannot rely on him indefinitely.

The officers were naturally not determined to remain loyal to him forever.

Qin Hui was aware of this as well. After all, he was a civil official, and in the future, he needed to reach the central government to truly influence an era.

He is doing these things in the South China Sea not to seize power, or to play games that will become too big to handle.

Rather, it was paving the way for his future political career.

After reading Qin Hui's memorial, Zhao Huan indeed chose to turn a blind eye.

He neither blamed Qin Hui nor offered encouragement or praise.

Everything seemed perfectly normal.

In Zhao Huan's eyes, the South China Sea was still too primitive, and he did not want to spend too much energy paying attention to it.

His time was limited, and he wanted to use it all on the westward expedition.

The South China Sea has been divided up; let them do what they want, let Qin Hui do what he wants.

In short, paper money must be poured into the countries of the South China Sea as soon as possible, the more the better.

The more ports the countries in the South China Sea have, the better.

However, Zhao Huan felt that one point in Qin Hui's memorial was very correct and also demonstrated Qin Hui's superb governing ability.

While the court officials believed that establishing kingdoms in the South China Sea should be achieved through education and economic support, Qin Hui had already begun encouraging childbirth there.

The South China Sea countries have one major pain point, which is also an economic bottleneck: population.

Population represents both consumption power and labor force.

Qin Hui's strategy can be described as very bold and bizarre. He did not promote childbirth through punishment, but through rewards.

He knew that the people of the South China Sea countries were penniless, and there was no way they could be punished.

But everyone craves a full stomach, so the incentive of a reward is certainly stronger.

Moreover, Qin Hui was also influenced by Zhao Huan and remained steadfast in his belief in channeling wealth into the private sector.

However, the Song Dynasty relied on civilian labor to drive the economy and improve people's income levels.

Qin Hui relied on having children!

Why couldn't this kind of thing be done in the Song Dynasty?

First, there is no shortage of population. Second, in China, childbirth is a sacred matter. New life represents inheritance and the future, and is even tied to filial piety. It should not be measured by money.

But those wild children in the South China Sea who climb trees and enter the sea from a young age, without fathers or mothers, don't have so many definitions about reproduction.

Qin Hui's policies have been very effective in the South China Sea; in the past two years, the number of newborns has increased dramatically.

To reduce infant mortality, Qin Hui also used a portion of the tax revenue from the vassal states to build clinics and hired a group of doctors from the common people of the Song Dynasty at high salaries.

This is actually one of the reasons why the feudal lords and nobles hated him.

All that good money went to those ordinary people.

That bastard Qin Hui really was the emperor's dog.

I thought that once I got to the South China Sea, I would be rid of that dog emperor.

Unexpectedly, the emperor's outrageous act was replicated by Qin Hui in the vassal states.

Do you think Prince Xu hates him or not?

But there's nothing we can do; these days, those with soldiers are the bosses.

The soldiers of the countries in the South China Sea are limited in number and their physical fitness and tactics are terrible.

In front of the Song army, they were nothing more than being pressed to the ground and rubbed back and forth.

Two weeks later, at the port of Hong Kong Island on Kwong Nam East Road, a small warship docked.

Star banners fluttered atop the warships, and beneath the Purple Star, swords and knives clashed.

This is to tell people that the emperor, wielding swords, was protecting the Song Dynasty.

Hou Jingting saw a young man, surrounded by naval personnel, walk down from the warship.

I heard that the port is closed today, and only officials appointed by the imperial court are allowed to enter.

It seems a very important person has returned.

Hou Jingting couldn't help but be curious. This time, he was ordered by the Censorate to go to the South China Sea to investigate Prince Xu and inspect various countries, and he kept a very low profile all the way.

Even He Yongzhi, the prefect of Guangnan New Prefecture, did not know that he had arrived.

Who is that person?

Hou Jingting asked casually, and the junior officer of the customs office next to him replied, "Reporting to my superior, that man is none other than Marquis of Fusang, Lord Shen Lang."

"It's him!"

Shen Lang's name is naturally well-known; his name has even been written into elementary school textbooks.

Many students in the Song Dynasty now admire him greatly and yearn to go to sea like him and explore a wider world.

Hou Jingting led a few people over, but the junior officer from the customs office behind him quickly called out to him, "Sir, you can't go."

He didn't know Hou Jingting's identity, only that this person had an official rank, and that he could tell from his accent that he was from Tokyo, which was why he called him Shangguan.

But Hou Jingting ignored him and walked straight over, only to be stopped by the navy.

"stop!"

A naval officer shouted.

"Sir, we are welcoming the Marquis of Fusang. Please excuse us, everyone!"

The naval officer was quite polite, after all, those who could enter today were all officials appointed by the imperial court.

"Please make an exception; I wish to pay my respects to Prime Minister Shen."

"I'm sorry, Master Shen won't see anyone."

"Just say that Hou Jingting of the Censorate wants to pay a visit to Minister Shen."

The officer immediately perked up when he heard that the man was from the Inspectorate.

The Censorate, the Supervisory Commission, and the Imperial Censorate were all well-known judicial departments in the Song Dynasty. Unlike the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review, the people in these departments were specifically there to cause trouble for officials.

Therefore, the people in these departments wielded considerable power and influence in the Song Dynasty.

Of course, it's also very annoying.

Fortunately, Hou Jingting was not from the Control Yuan, and the military and the Control Yuan's military police were mortal enemies.

"Please wait a moment, sir."

The officer jogged to the side and said to Xiao Yi, the commander of the Guangnan East Road Naval Force, "Commander Xiao, there is a man over there who claims to be Hou Jingting from the Censorate and wants to pay his respects to Lord Shen."

Shen Lang was slightly taken aback, then turned his gaze over: "Hou Jingting, what is he doing here?"

Xiao Yi asked, "Do you know Lord Shen?"

"He's also an old friend of mine."

"Then let him come over."

"Um."

Xiao Yi asked, "What is this person's official rank?"

"Fifth rank, Omniscient Inspector."

"His official rank wasn't high, but the position itself was quite prestigious."

The Omniscient Inspector can now handle cases involving officials from the Six Ministries.

"Yes, he's always been decisive and efficient."

Hou Jingting led his men over, bowed, and said, "Commander Xiao, Marquis Chen."

"Brother Hou!"

"I never expected to run into Marquis Shen here. It's been three years since I last saw him, and he's still the same as before."

Shen Lang joked, "Your murderous aura has only grown stronger, Hou Jingting."