The imperial court is filled with scholars, while the talents for construction projects originate from the common people.
Qin Hui's words opened a window for Zhao Huan. In essence, Confucianism is more inclined to subjective thinking, while engineering is more inclined to come from practice. This is the case with the Mohist school of thought among the Hundred Schools of Thought.
Lu Ban and Mozi were essentially craftsmen, and naturally nobles during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. However, by the time Confucianism became dominant in the Song Dynasty, they were considered lower-class citizens.
Why? You're just a carpenter, a craftsman. How can you compare to me, a scholar? Can your family's traditional craft books compare to the Four Books and Five Classics? I drink tea, what do you drink? I recite poetry, what are you doing? I wear a long robe and gracefully enter a brothel, what are you doing? I have an elegant temperament, with the lofty aspirations of a solitary plum blossom in the snow, while you keep your head down and obediently carve your wood!
The scholars of that era had not yet heard the classic saying of later generations: "Empty talk harms the country, while hard work builds it."
Even though this saying is quite popular on the internet in later generations, it can't stop those keyboard warriors who get their heads inflated after reading a little information online and think they know everything from the top of their heads, pontificating about everything!
What about those Confucian scholars of the Song Dynasty who were thrown into the heavens?
Zhao Huan felt a great weight lifted from his heart and asked, "How should we search among the common people now?"
Qin Hui said, "Among all the schools of thought in the world that are good at construction, none is better than the Mohists. They have a vast collection of books and classics, which have been secretly passed down. However, the Mohists also disturbed the world with their theory of non-aggression, so the First Emperor eliminated them! Your Majesty can establish a department to gather all the talents in construction from all over the world, take the strengths of the Mohists' construction methods, and discard their weaknesses in non-aggression, and use them!"
"You are very much to my liking. How about you take charge of one of the construction projects for me? I've already thought of a name for it: the Royal Academy of Sciences! Give me a plan within three days, specifying how much money is needed and who the personnel will be. I will borrow people from the two ministries for you! But I'm giving you a time limit: I want to see the Royal Academy of Sciences take shape within six months!"
Qin Hui understood immediately and bowed, saying, "Your subject is willing to follow the Emperor's lead!"
After meeting with Qin Hui, the emperor finally met with Zhao Gou, who had rushed back from Hangzhou, in the afternoon.
"Ninth Brother, you must be exhausted from your journey. Come and try some pastries made by the Empress herself."
The handsome young man standing before Zhao Huan was Zhao Gou. A few months ago, Zhao Huan had just transmigrated and was unfamiliar with everything about the Song Dynasty. When he first met Zhao Gou, he seemed very distant. But now it was different. The northern border of the Song Dynasty was now surrounded by Zhao Huan's powerful army, and Zhao Huan was gradually beginning to have real initiative and strong voice.
Now that he saw Zhao Gou, he felt much better and no longer addressed him as Prince Kang, but instead addressed him as a brother.
In the Song Dynasty, there were no terms like "brother" and "sister." Regardless of age, men were called "brother" and women were called "sister."
"It is my honor to share the burdens of Your Majesty."
"Tell me about the interesting things Ninth Brother did in Hangzhou. I've heard there are many beautiful women in Hangzhou. Did Ninth Brother take a fancy to any of them there?"
As he spoke, the emperor gave Zhao Gou a knowing look that any man would understand. Zhao Gou smiled shyly, his smile clean and refreshing.
"Your Majesty is too kind. Your humble brother went to Hangzhou to preside over the Maritime Trade Office and brought you good news."
"Oh, what's the good news?"
"The Japanese king recently purchased 200,000 kan of silk and ceramics from our country in one transaction, and the king of Goryeo also made a transaction of 150,000 kan."
"Good! I am very pleased that Ninth Brother is sharing my burdens in Hangzhou."
Zhao Gou smiled mysteriously, took out a map he had prepared, spread it out, and said, “Your Majesty, please look. This is what I found in Hangzhou. As early as the reign of Emperor Taizu, some people sailed out to sea and traveled all over the world. They also drew maps based on the places they went. This place is the island of Nanyang. Among them, Srivijaya is the most powerful. To the north of Srivijaya are Angkor, Cochin, Champa (now central and southern Vietnam), Chenla (Cambodia), Bagan (Myanmar), and Brunei (northern Kalimantan).”
"In Java, Arabia, and further afield, there is Chöpel (meaning the Black Country, located on the east coast of Central Africa) and so on."
"Your Majesty, the people in these places are very eager for the silk, tea and ceramics of the Great Song Dynasty. I heard that more than a hundred years ago, someone from the Hangzhou area brought back some people from the Great Qin Kingdom. They had ruddy complexions, thick hair, and blue or green eyes, which were very different from the people of our Great Song Dynasty."
Zhao Huan was slightly taken aback, thinking about the Great Qin that Zhao Gou had mentioned. Damn, it seemed to be the Eastern Roman Empire!
Aren't they Indo-European Aryans? They came to Hangzhou as early as the time of Emperor Taizu!
Zhao Gou continued, “The people of Daqin had exchanges with the Central Plains during the Han Dynasty, but the exchanges were very weak. It was not until the early Tang Dynasty that exchanges with Chang’an became more frequent. They also liked our country’s goods very much, especially the nobles, who were willing to pay higher prices to buy our country’s silk and other items.”
Zhao Gou spoke with great enthusiasm, clearly demonstrating his innate passion for maritime trade.
"Your Majesty, if our dynasty were to unite the commerce of all the maritime nations, billions of strings of cash would surely flow in every year. At that time, the imperial treasury would be overflowing, and Your Majesty's worries would be easily resolved!"
Zhao Huan seemed to have been inspired by Zhao Gou's words, which suggests that the keyboard warriors weren't entirely talking nonsense. At least during that era, people all over the world were indeed very fond of Chinese silk and ceramics.
In later generations, Japanese craftsmanship was considered superior, reflecting the spirit of craftsmanship. In fact, Japan largely inherited the culture of the Tang and Song dynasties, embodying the spirit of the Tang and the refinement of the Song.
The handicrafts of the Song Dynasty are unparalleled in Chinese history. They possess a spirit that is almost a pursuit of perfection, and everything about them is magnificent and timeless.
This is truly a great hand for Zhao Huan. In the present Song Dynasty, folk handicrafts are very developed, and there is a wealth of talent.
Bian embroidery, along with Suzhou embroidery, Hunan embroidery, Guangdong embroidery, and Sichuan embroidery, is known as one of the five major embroidery styles in China, a style that later dynasties could not match.
There are also five famous kilns: Chai, Ru, Guan, Ge, and Ding kilns. These represent the pinnacle of Chinese craftsmanship, and later generations' handicrafts simply cannot compare with them.
In later generations, the things sold to China from Europe and Japan were considered luxury goods, and countless women were obsessed with them. But what they didn't know was that in the Song Dynasty, the situation was the opposite.
Zhao Huan began to think about exporting luxury goods, which would inevitably be a violent industry. He entrusted this task to Zhao Gou, but he could not give him the position of Minister of the Navy. This was because Zhao Huan had set a very high target for the Minister of the Navy, and if he failed to achieve it, he would be deposed and reduced to a commoner. If Zhao Gou failed to complete the task, Zhao Huan would not be able to take action against him, since it was not easy for the royal family to find someone who was even slightly capable.
After receiving good news from Zhao Gou, Zhao Huan actively began to adjust the top-level structure of the Song Dynasty.
The two prefectures remained the same, and Zhao Huanxian did not intend to make any changes for the time being. The two prefectures in the east and west continued to carry out their original tasks, being responsible for civil and military affairs. However, the Royal Academy of Sciences, the Royal Bank, and the Minister of the Navy were separated and reported directly to the emperor.
The Royal Trading Company is affiliated with the Eastern Prefecture and is managed by the Council of State Affairs.
When the Ministry of Revenue approved funds, the emperor's signature was required, which meant that the emperor essentially took back half of the financial power.
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