Zhao Jun said, "As for the intensity of supervision, I believe that three parties are the most important. First, supervision by local officials, which should be included in the assessment criteria. Second, supervision by the Imperial Censors. Every prefecture and county must have an Imperial Censor inspect and verify every month. Third, supervision by the Imperial City Administration. Starting next year, the Imperial City Administration will be stationed throughout the country!"
The Imperial City Office is stationed all over the country?
Everyone looked at each other, all with helpless expressions.
Zhao Jun had wanted to do this a long time ago, but was always stopped by saying that the court had no money at the moment.
I really don’t have any money.
At present, the court's money is temporarily used to supply the army. Even though the treasury is still relatively rich, it cannot be used for other things. We must first deal with the Western Xia and Liao Kingdoms.
If the Imperial City Administration were to be moved out at this critical juncture, even if we only calculate based on the number of 150,000 Jinyiwei throughout the country during the Hongwu period of Zhu Yuanzhang, it would be a huge expense, and the annual cost would probably be in the millions of strings of cash.
If the imperial court needs to supply money and food for the war at that time, wouldn't that be picking up sesame seeds and losing watermelons?
So Wang Zeng immediately advised, "Shouldn't we put this matter on hold? We're currently at war, and the annual expenditure on grain and money is incalculable. If we send the Imperial City Division out now, I'm afraid it will empty the treasury."
"We can't delay any longer. The Imperial City Bureau is a crucial part of the regulatory process. Moving it to the local level sooner rather than later will facilitate future reforms."
Zhao Jun shook his head and said, "Besides, I predict that the war will end next year at the latest. And there is also good news. We have established trade channels with Japan. We expect that Japanese silver will flow in starting next year."
"Oh? The war will be over next year?"
Everyone was surprised.
Zhao Jun laughed and said, "This kind of large-scale military standoff costs countless millions of dollars every month. We in the Great Song Dynasty can afford it, but the Liao cannot. It will only take a year or two at most. Yelu Zongzhen will either launch a counterattack or withdraw his troops. Old Fan should be back by the second half of next year at the latest."
"That's true."
Wang Zeng nodded in agreement and asked, "What's the situation in Japan?"
"I sent someone there two years ago. His name is Song Cai. He has a friend named Da Baojian Saburo, who is a nobleman in Japan."
Zhao Jun explained, "The Japanese government, intimidated by the Liao's might, chose to be pro-Liao and relatively indifferent to the Song. However, the Japanese people held the Song in great esteem, and Song porcelain, tea, and silk were extremely popular in Japan. Song Cai returned last year and has now established his own power there, supporting the local nobles and discovering silver mines in the Iwami region."
According to historical records such as the Nihon Shoki and Kiryū, Song Dynasty merchants have been conducting trade activities in Japan since the Jianlong period of the Song Dynasty (960-963).
During the Northern Song Dynasty, with the prosperity of the southern coastal economy and the expansion of maritime trade, the number of Song Dynasty merchants in Japan gradually increased.
It is estimated that by the Southern Song Dynasty, there were already hundreds to thousands of Song merchants engaged in trade activities in Japan.
This shows that private trade between Japan and the Song Dynasty was still very frequent.
However, the Song Dynasty at that time mainly lived in Kyoto, Tottori, Yamaguchi and other places, and the Iwami silver mine was not discovered until the 16th century AD.
Before the discovery of the Iwami Silver Mine and the Sado Gold Mine, Japan was actually a poor island country and was not favored or valued by Song Dynasty merchants.
For example, during the Southern Song Dynasty, the goods imported to Japan by the Song Dynasty included copper coins, tea, ceramics, silk fabrics, books, four treasures of the study, spices, medicines, paintings and other products.
The only goods that Japan could import into the Song Dynasty were minerals such as copper and sulfur, as well as handicrafts such as wood produced in the west and Japanese swords.
Therefore, compared with the Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road, which could bring a large amount of gold, silver and copper to the Central Plains dynasty, Japan has not been the main trading partner of the Central Plains dynasty, at least before the Ming Dynasty.
But now that the Iwami silver mine has been discovered, it will completely change the fate of Japan.
From then on, Japan stood up and finally became rich. It went to the Song Dynasty to shop and a large amount of silver flowed into the Song Dynasty.
"Currently, the Iwami Silver Mine is mainly occupied and divided up by the provincial governors and nobles in the Iwami region of Japan. Of course, our Great Song also holds a certain proportion of it."
Zhao Jun continued, "Japan is currently in the Heian period, with local warlords separatist and internal chaos. The governors of various countries have little control. For example, the previous governor of Iwami Province was protested by two county governors in his country against his bad governance. They led 270 peasants to attack the government office and beat him to death. If the news of the silver mine in Iwami is revealed, it is possible that the nobles and powerful people in the neighboring countries of Japan will covet it. If they send troops to rob it, it will inevitably cause losses to us. If the Song Dynasty can station two to three thousand troops in the Iwami area, I think it will be able to calm everything down."
"Speaking of which, we really don't know much about Japan. What are these provincial governors and county governors?"
Yan Shu couldn't help but ask.
"A province is Japan's administrative body, similar to our roads. During the Heian period, Japan was still ruled by the Emperor, who divided the country into over 70 provinces, each of which had several counties. For example, Izumo Province had Anano, Nima, Naga, Ichi, Kanoashi, and Mino counties. A provincial governor was an official sent by the Emperor to govern a province, while a county governor was often a local noble or powerful family."
Zhao Jun explained, "It's simply because the local nobles and powerful individuals have overwhelmed the provincial governor in terms of local power. Therefore, the actual administrative power is in the hands of the local nobles and powerful individuals. The provincial governor's power is greatly reduced, and even completely sidelined. This has led to a very serious division within Japan."
"I see. This country sounds so famous that I thought it was a country."
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