Opening up the seas was arguably one of the fastest ways for the Song Dynasty to accumulate initial capital, and Emperor Zhao Huan placed high hopes on it.

Ceramics, silk, handicrafts, and other products from the Song Dynasty could be sold overseas, and the imperial fleet personally transported them. At that time, China was far ahead of the world in these aspects, and the countries in the Greater China region treasured the products of the Song Dynasty.

In particular, the nobility of various countries were almost obsessed with the handicrafts of the Song Dynasty, just as the wealthy in later generations were obsessed with European luxury goods.

Moreover, Zhao Huan also planned to transport goods from the Song Dynasty to India, Thailand, even Arabia, and Africa.

At the same time, he also wanted to spread the teachings of the sage overseas.

He has only one goal: to make China truly powerful, so powerful that for the next ten thousand years, the rules of this planet will be set by China, whether it be military rules, economic rules, or cultural rules!

It even led people all over the world in later generations to believe that the Chinese are the noblest people in the world!

Ancient China had a bad habit of hoarding the teachings of so-called sages like treasures to distinguish itself from neighboring ethnic groups, while discarding things in the field of science and technology that could truly drive development.

The European Renaissance, on the contrary, was very protective of its scientific and technological achievements and had a very strong cultural export, so much so that wherever the cannons of the gay nation were fired, there were charlatans proselytizing.

This is something that Zhao Huan, this heretic, despises. Anyone who doesn't cooperate with him in promoting cultural export will be targeted by him!

There's not much to discuss about opening up the seas, because the Song Dynasty had maritime trade with neighboring countries since the reign of Emperor Taizu, especially Japan, which treasured everything from the Song Dynasty.

To what extent does Japan admire the Song Dynasty? There are many Su Shi fans in Japan who can recite Su Dongpo's poems by heart, and many wealthy women dream of coming to the Song Dynasty to find Su Dongpo and marry him.

This is just the admiration for Su Dongpo; the longing for the homeland of the Song Dynasty has reached an astonishing level.

Many Japanese women come to the Song Dynasty specifically to sleep with Song men until they become pregnant. Once pregnant, they return to Japan and are considered superior, not for any other reason than that their child carries the blood of a Song man, making their bloodline more noble.

Just a few days ago, the Imperial Guards reported to Zhao Huan that Liu Yanzong was having an affair with several Japanese women, and they were very close. This old ox's strength was not much less than that of a young man.

Therefore, the Song Dynasty had an inherent advantage in maritime trade with foreign countries.

Zhao Huan had already thought about the future Minister of the Navy and decided to let Zhao Gou take the job. Zhao Gou was definitely a very smart man. Although he did not do any good things when he was the emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty, he made the right decision to open up the sea, and he did it very well.

Even if Zhao Gou wanted to find a fiefdom overseas, Zhao Huan would absolutely support him, since in the Song Dynasty, there was indeed no prince who could compare with Zhao Gou.

After discussing the opening of the sea, Zhao Huan believed that the most important part had begun: the establishment of the Royal Academy of Sciences.

The prime ministers didn't seem enthusiastic about this. They believed that the emperor's appointment of scientists was merely to equip the army with sophisticated gear, and had no other purpose. The Imperial Arsenal had been doing this all along.

But Zhao Huan didn't think so. He pointed out that each subsequent industrial revolution was accompanied by the rise of one or two powerful nations that influenced the world. Why did they rise again? Because they mastered science and technology!

A great man in later generations once said: Science and technology are the primary productive forces.

Only science and technology can make human life better and break through bottlenecks in human economic development, ushering in a new era.

If China is to gain control of the discourse for the next ten thousand years, it must revitalize the nation through science and education, embedding science into the very core of every citizen's being.

How can we promote the strategy of revitalizing the nation through science and education?

Europe emerged from the darkness of the Middle Ages thanks to the Ottoman conquest of Byzantium. A large number of Byzantine scholars, scientists, doctors, and other social elites fled to Western Europe, bringing back the ideas and science of ancient Greece. This liberated humanity from its fascination with God, leading to a thorough understanding that humans are the most powerful beings in the world. This direct and objective understanding of human nature enabled Europe to wholeheartedly pursue science.

Therefore, we must reform the education system!

Zhao Huan did not discuss this matter much with the prime ministers; he intended to personally oversee the establishment of the Royal Academy of Sciences.

This discussion finally determined the main goals for the Song Dynasty this year and next year. With goals in place, everyone has the motivation to get things done.

First, Zhao Huan set a target for the Eastern Palace Administration: by December of the second year of the Jingkang era, the domestic fiscal revenue of the Song Dynasty must reach 150 million strings of cash. This was a number that was not open to negotiation. If this number was not reached, the prime minister would be demoted to a commoner, all his property would be confiscated, and he would be banned from holding office forever!

Secondly, Zhao Huan set a target for the Western Palace: the army reform task assigned by the emperor must be completed before March of next year. If it is not completed, the entire Privy Council will be dismissed, demoted to commoners, have all their property confiscated, and be banned from officialdom forever!

This is extremely cruel to these powerful figures who have finally climbed to the position of prime minister; they now have no choice but to accept this task with a heavy heart.

Especially the gentlemen of the Eastern Palace, they were in a real pain. The emperor had forcibly abolished corvée labor, which meant that they could no longer hire people to work for free and would have to spend money. But the emperor was also going to increase taxes by almost double. This was really going to drive people crazy!

In Wang Boyan's words, this is the emperor forcing them to adjust tax rates according to the emperor's wishes. I wonder if those merchants will rebel. The most annoying thing is that the emperor has ordered that officials are prohibited from engaging in business privately. If this is issued, I wonder how many officials will protest in their hearts. If they protest in their hearts, they will inevitably try to make money to compensate for the losses in business.

This would lead to the promotion of corruption. The emperor had just used the heads of more than a thousand people to declare the consequences of corruption throughout the country. This was truly a way to drive people to their deaths.

Zhao Huan was well aware of the immense pressure on the two prime ministers, and he wanted to release all that pressure onto them. Otherwise, if it all fell on him, he might very well end up like Emperor Chongzhen, hanging himself from a tree in the southeast.

Just two days later, the two prime ministers submitted detailed plans for this year and next year. How detailed were they? They clearly outlined all the taxes of the Song Dynasty, the percentage of revenue collected, all the industries the court would manage, the projected revenue for this year and next year, and the monthly targets.

This was a document that the entire Eastern Prefecture worked on for two days and two nights without sleep. Zhao Huan was quite satisfied with it, especially the design of the Royal Bank. The people of the Eastern Prefecture believed that the common people would not believe at first that depositing money in the Royal Bank would not only be free of management fees, but would also generate income.

The best solution is to have all the wealthy people in Tokyo deposit a portion of their money first, thus setting a benchmark.