In the Song Dynasty, there was no law or order.

After the meeting at the Political System Institute in the morning, Zhao Jun took a nap at noon and went to see Song Cai in the afternoon.

He was supposed to go to the Chongzheng Hall for a meeting, but he was too lazy to repeat what he said to Zhao Zhen in the morning, so he asked Lu Yijian and others to tell Zhao Zhen.

Anyway, it doesn't matter whether he tells Zhao Zhen about this kind of thing or not, because even Lu Yijian and others think that Zhao Jun's reform measures can be promoted.

In the final analysis, it's still the same sentence. Except for the Imperial City Bureau, the methods he chose are all moderate and conservative reforms.

As for some of the radical measures he prepared, he didn't mention them.

Because some of these radical measures were figured out by him at the grassroots level, and some were based on the conservative methods adopted by our army in later generations when establishing bases.

For example, for the family, the status of patriarchal management under the semi-feudal system is still recognized, but it must be carried out in accordance with the laws of the court. It is not allowed to set up courts privately, and the personal freedom of clansmen cannot be restricted. Concubines enjoy the same land rights, inheritance rights and education rights.

This strategy is a typical way to break the patriarchal system of the ancient feudal system, and it belongs to the conservative strategy used by our army in the base area before the Long March in later generations.

Their radical way is to destroy the feudal patriarchal system, eradicate all feudal ideas, completely personalize production and life, and encourage people to break away from the feudal blood ties, etc.

However, the conservative strategy of the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China was obviously a bit radical in the Song Dynasty. Therefore, Zhao Jun did not mention it, but planned to discuss it with Fan Zhongyan after he came back.

However, breaking the feudal patriarchal system is still imperative, but Zhao Jun believes that it cannot be implemented in the south after research, but should be promoted in the north.

Because the clan concept in the north is actually relatively weak, due to the two large-scale northern wars of the Five Barbarians and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the situation of one village and one surname is almost rare, and it is difficult for clan elders to intervene.

The clan power in the south is extremely strong, especially in Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Hunan and other regions. The more closed, the stronger the feudal patriarchal system, so it is an inevitable trend to reform the north first and then slowly radiate to the south.

Anyway, the southern ocean trade will be more developed in the future. As long as the government encourages young people to go to sea, this feudal system will be forcibly broken. The government can play a driving role and let everything take its course.

In addition to the family, Zhao Jun also has some conservative methods in the military, official system, economy, public security, agriculture, and grassroots management, which are radical methods now.

But I don't plan to mention it to Lu Yijian and others for the time being. After careful discussion with Fan Zhongyan, I will carry out large-scale rectification.

What Zhao Jun and Lu Yijian have done in recent years is just the preparation for the future major reforms. They have already established a bureaucratic interest group, and naturally they will make good use of this group in the future to strive to complete their own Qingli New Deal.

After coming out of the palace, the carriage slowly drove to Hongqiaozi Street in the outer city, where Song Cai now has a shop in partnership with Dabaojian Sanlang, specializing in selling some Japanese handicrafts.

But in fact, since the Song Dynasty did not have much demand for imported handicrafts, and its own handicraft manufacturing industry was the best in the world, unless there was a lot of money to burn, and to buy some new foreign toys as ornamental toys, there was really no need to buy such imported goods at a high price.

So Song Cai's shop can be said to be deserted and no one cares.

Zhao Jun's carriage stopped at the door of the shop. Since he came back, there was still an endless stream of people who wanted to see him. But he has always adhered to the principle of not seeing guests and never allowed others to come to him.

Including the area near his door, all the soldiers of the Imperial City Department were guarding it tightly. Those who wanted to give gifts to him and get in touch with him through the back door would almost never meet him.

However, he would definitely meet the people he took the initiative to meet. Li Di wanted to meet him before and also passed the message to him. Song Cai sent a letter to Zhao Jun through the Imperial City Department last year. When he learned that Zhao Jun was back, he asked through the Imperial City Department this morning. Now of course, he still had to meet him in person.

At this time, Song Cai and Da Baojian Sanlang had been waiting at the door of the store. Zhao Jun had sent someone to tell him in the morning that he would come over in the afternoon, so he didn't dare to leave for a moment. When the carriage slowly approached, he hurried up to greet him.

"Zhiyuan!"

Song Cai and Da Baojian Sanlang, whose Chinese name was Su Jian, stepped forward and saluted.

Zhao Jun got off the carriage and said with a smile: "Brother Song, I haven't seen you for nearly three years. I hope you are well. I see that you are quite proud of yourself."

He glanced inside the store. Several beautiful Japanese women wearing clothes that looked a bit like kimonos but with slightly different styles stood inside and bowed respectfully in the direction of the door.

Zhao Jun had seen such clothes during the Jiangsu and Zhejiang period, which were somewhat similar to the Wufu worn by local women.

In fact, the kimono was originally from the Nara period. Japanese envoys to the Tang Dynasty came to China many times. In addition, the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions had close ties with Japan, and the Wufu in Jiangdong was improved.

However, the kimonos in the Heian period of the Song Dynasty were also different from the kimono styles he saw in later generations. At least there was no pillow at the back.

"You are joking, Mr. Zhi."

Song Cai laughed awkwardly, then bowed her waist and extended her right hand to the house, saying, "Come in, please."

Zhao Jun smiled and walked into the house.

Several women in kimonos in the shop bowed to him.

Zhao Jun nodded slightly, then followed Song Cai and Su Jian into the backyard.

The backyard is quite spacious. It seems to be the kind of U-shaped courtyard in later Japan, with trees and some flowers and plants planted inside, and the ground is covered with pebbles.

But in fact, this kind of courtyard is still passed on by the Han people, probably the courtyard style of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and the southern part of the Tang Dynasty.

In the Song Dynasty, there are still such courtyards in the south, but they are much less, basically all gardens and waterside pavilions, while in the north, there are large gardens and courtyards, and this kind of small and exquisite design is abandoned.

The three people came to the inner room facing the entrance to the backyard. The inner room is not the common style of the Han people, but the bottom of the house is built with wood and bricks, about one foot above the ground, still the architectural style passed on to Japan by the Wei and Jin Dynasties.

There are no tables and chairs in the house, but mats, which are laid on the wooden floor. There is a mat in the middle, and a large stove is placed on it. There are three maids kneeling next to them, and there are three small stoves beside them. When they see people coming in, they start to use the stove to warm water to prepare tea.

This is a fancy thing.

Zhao Jun said with a smile: "This is the feature you brought back from Japan, right?"

Other things are fine, but the key is that the three maids are beautiful, wearing tube tops inside and gauze clothes outside, dressed like pure Song Dynasty brothel girls, and they often throw him a wink and send him a secret glance.

Song Cai winked and whispered: "These are all the tributes given to the governor by the governors, county governors and local nobles of Iwami Province. Although they are Japanese girls, they are actually the children of local dignitaries, and they all learn Chinese, and they are all virgins."

"Cough cough cough cough"

Zhao Jun rolled his eyes and said: "This governor is a decent person, how can this be done? Isn't this tarnishing this governor's innocence out of thin air?"

"Yes, yes, yes."

Song Cai hurriedly said: "The governor is naturally a decent person, but there is not even a maid in his family, and no one serves him on weekdays, so it is always deserted in front of the bed. . It would be great if I could have a few close friends around to take care of my daily life. "

"Oh, forget it, since you are so kind, I can only do it reluctantly."

Zhao Jun sighed, "Send a carriage to my house later. I am the only one at home, so I do need a few maids."

Then he looked at Song Cai, pointed at him and said with a smile, "You can always come up with some new tricks for me."

"Hehehehehehe."

Song Cai and Su Jian both showed a mysterious smile that everyone understood.

"Okay, let's talk about business first."

Zhao Jun said seriously, "How is the trip to Japan this time?"

Song Cai actually mentioned it in the letter to him, but the letter was not detailed after all. It just talked about the local situation and their discovery of the Iwami Silver Mine.

But the specific situation naturally requires a face-to-face meeting.

"At the beginning of the year before last, not long after Zhiyuan left Bianliang, I officially set off with Saburo and returned to Japan."

Song Cai said: "Saban's family warmly entertained me. We looked around the local area, hired some farmers, and searched in the local mountains for about four months before finding the silver mine deep in the mountains."

"Well, it seems that things are going well."

Zhao Jun nodded and said: "How did the Japanese locals arrange this silver mine?"

Song Cai looked at Su Jian.

Su Jian hurriedly said: "Report to the court, my father has united with the local governor, county governor and local nobles to block this news. Now he is recruiting people to mine. I believe that a large amount of silver ore has been mined."

"Didn't you notify the Japanese emperor?"

"No."

"That's not right."

Zhao Jun frowned and said: "After all, this is Japanese ore. If it is not recognized by the Japanese court, it may lose its righteousness. In this way, the Japanese emperor will send troops to encircle and suppress it, which will be a big trouble for you locals."

Su Jian smiled bitterly and said: "But the emperor has not submitted a letter to the Song Dynasty for many years. Instead, he paid tribute to the Liao Kingdom in the past few years, so we dare not report this to the emperor."

Japan has always been a country that admires the strong. In the late Tang Dynasty, due to the decline of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang envoys were officially abolished in 895 AD.

Since then, even if the Song Dynasty was established, Japan has completely closed its doors to the outside world and has not established diplomatic relations with the Song Dynasty.

The Song Dynasty was not very interested in the impoverished Japan, so although the two countries were separated by the East China Sea Strait, there was almost no official interaction during the entire Southern and Northern Song Dynasty, except for private economic and trade exchanges.

On the contrary, due to the strength of the Liao Dynasty, the Liao emperor also attached importance to sea power and road rights, and had frequent exchanges with surrounding countries. On land, Goryeo was included as a vassal state, and on the sea, letters were submitted to Japan. Although Japan's response was not as frequent as in the Tang Dynasty, it sent Tang envoys, but also expressed its submission to the powerful Liao Dynasty.

"It doesn't matter, it should be reported."

Zhao Jun said: "At that time, Song Cai will not need to use the name of the Song Dynasty court, just say that it is the name of Song Dynasty merchants. I think Iwami also needs the smelting and forging technology of the Song Dynasty to smelt the ore into silver."

"That's right, although Japan's forging technology is also good, it is certainly not as good as the Song Dynasty in smelting technology."

Su Jian nodded repeatedly.

Zhao Jun thought for a moment and said, "Well, I think after you go back this time, you can redistribute the production ratio of the silver mine and pay tribute to the Japanese emperor in exchange for the support of the Japanese court. Then you can recruit warriors and build an army to guard against the covetous people from the surrounding countries."

Although the best way is to take that silver mine as your own and directly ship a large amount of silver ore to the country. But from a practical point of view, it is still difficult to achieve.

Emperor Mildew can steal oil in the Middle East, that's because he has enough strength.

Even though the Song Dynasty was not far away from Japan, the problem was that the southeastern coastal areas at that time were roaring with typhoons. Even Mongolia tried to invade Japan several times, but they were blown away by the hurricane. It was not easy to cross the strait perfectly and safely to the other side.

If the Song Dynasty wanted to forcefully occupy it, the cost would be very high, and the Liao Kingdom was always a hidden danger.

There may also be a confrontation within Japan. In order to compete for their local silver mines, the Emperor of Japan may call on the country to send troops. At that time, it will be an endless struggle, which is not cost-effective in terms of cost and mining.

Therefore, the best way is for the Song Dynasty to provide smelting and forging technology in the name of private traders and trade, and to purchase shares in the ore at a certain price.

The Emperor of Japan benefited by allowing Song Dynasty merchants to cooperate with them in mining, and even most of the silver mine profits could be kept in Japan. The Song Dynasty only needed to ensure a trade route that could transport goods to Ishimi Country in exchange for their silver.

This is normal private trade, and the Liao Kingdom will not notice it, and Japan will not have much resistance.

"I see."

Song Cai heard Zhao Jun's words and said seriously: "At the beginning of next year, I will take a large amount of goods and set off for Japan again. Then I will do what the Zhiyuan said."

"What route are you taking to Japan now?"

Zhao Jun asked.

"Take the southern route."

"It's not peaceful on the south road."

"There's nothing we can do about it."

At that time, there were three routes from Japan to the Tang Dynasty: the North Route crossed the Yellow Sea via the Korean Peninsula to the west, landed in Dengzhou, and then reached Luoyang and Chang'an from Qingzhou, Jizhou, and Bianzhou.

The South Road goes directly across the sea from Japan to the west, landing at the Yangtze River port and the northern Jiangsu coast, entering Yangzhou and Chuzhou, continuing through Hangou and Tongji Canal, and passing through Bianzhou and Luoyang to Chang'an in the west.

There is also a South Island Road, which crosses the East China Sea from Japan, goes south to Mingzhou (now Ningbo) and lands on the coast of Zhejiang, traces the Qiantang River or Zhejiang Canal, passes through Yuezhou (now Shaoxing) to Hangzhou, and then passes through the Jiangnan Canal to Yangzhou. Then follow Hangou and Tongji Canal to the west to Chang'an.

Both the Nandao Road and the South Road pass through the Grand Canal. After the mid-Tang Dynasty, Japanese people who came to China always took the Nandao Road or the South Road and entered the mainland of China and the capital along the Grand Canal.

It's just that this is a cross-sea crossing without any supply stations in the middle. It will be very dangerous if it encounters a typhoon.

Therefore, according to statistics, from the beginning of the Tang Dynasty to the end of the Tang Dynasty, Japan sent nineteen envoys to the Tang Dynasty over two hundred years, but almost no one could return safely. The number of shipwrecks reached twelve times, and thousands of envoys died.

Even the famous Abe Nakamaro encountered a shipwreck on his way back home. There were more than 170 people on the ship. He was the only one lucky enough to survive. This led Li Bai to think that his good friend was dead and wrote a poem "Crying Chao Qingheng" to commemorate it. , which shows how dangerous the sea crossing between Japan and China was at that time.

“Why not go to Tamna (Jeju Island)?”

Zhao Jun asked again.

"Tamna is now a vassal of Goryeo. They have always been at odds with Japan, so naturally they don't want the Japanese to get close."

Song Cai replied: "But we Song people are fine, and Lord Danluo doesn't dare to offend the Song Dynasty."

"Um."

After Zhao Jun pondered, he said: "This time you go to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, prepare ships, hire a large number of craftsmen, I allow you to purchase a batch of weapons and equipment, including armor, and recruit a group of young men to go to Japan. This time I only give you two a task.”

"Please inform the court to make it clear."

Song Cai said hurriedly.

"First, go to Tamluo to establish a stronghold, recruit a group of people to stay here permanently, and build wharves and docks."

Zhao Jun said: "Second, go to Tsushima Island to establish a stronghold. Just like Tamna Island, it also needs a wharf and dock. You can hire local people to help you work, and claim to the outside world that it is a merchant from the Song Dynasty in order to trade with Goryeo and Japan. , come for friendly cooperation. You can give some gifts to the Lord of Tamluo and the local dignitaries of Tsushima Island, have a good chat with them, and try to buy a piece of land."

Song Cai scratched his head and said: "What's the use of this? In fact, the Song Dynasty is not far from Japan. Although it is a little more dangerous, that's because the Japanese ships are not very good. The ships of the Song Dynasty are much stronger than the Japanese ships. , Except for special circumstances, most wind and rain will not pose any threat to our Song Dynasty ships. "

In fact, this is the case. In ancient times, it was so dangerous for Japan to send envoys to the Tang Dynasty because the Japanese ship technology was not good enough. The quality of Chinese ships during the Tang, Song and Ming dynasties was definitely the best in the world. There was no problem in going anywhere, otherwise there would be no Maritime Silk Road.

The reason why there was no trade with Japan during this period was simply that until the middle and late Ming Dynasty, before Japan discovered the Iwami Silver Mine and the Sado Gold Mountain, the Chinese ruling class during the Tang, Song and Ming Dynasties were not interested in Japan, a small and barren island country. Otherwise, if these two good places had been discovered earlier, trade between China and Japan would not have started until late tomorrow.

But not now.

Zhao Jun said with a smile: "That's because you underestimated the future trade volume. The Song Dynasty is a peace-loving country and hopes to establish good commercial relations with Korea and Japan. At the treaty ports of Tamna and Tsushima Island, it will only deal with There are advantages and no disadvantages between the three parties.”

After that, he looked at Su Jian meaningfully and said, "This is also to make Japan develop better. After all, Japan's national strength is not strong now. If it can trade with the Song Dynasty for a long time, it will surely change the current situation of poverty and weakness for Japan."