Northern Song Dynasty: Starting from the son of Song Renzong

Chapter 331 Civilization
The 56th year of the Li Yuan Dynasty.

As palaces began to be built in various places, the voices of the people were gradually fed back to Zhao Xin's ears.

"Some Vaisyas said, 'Those people from the east are the ones who invaded this country, why are you building a palace for them?'"

Zhao Xin also asked: "Then what did they say?"

The person who came back to report to Zhao Xin said: "They said that only the emperor from the East can bring true peace here."

"I think those Vaisyas just want to ridicule the Brahmins and Kshatriyas."

Zhao Xin asked again: "What about the end?"

The official said, "In the end, the man with the bad mouth was whipped and driven away by the Kshatriyas."

Finally, the minister continued, "Your Majesty, the people of these countries are so numb that they don't even resist, and they are laughing about it. I think that even if the imperial examination system is to be implemented, it can only be implemented on the Brahmins and Kshatriyas at most."

"Of course, the Brahmins used to rely a lot on the Kshatriyas. Although the status of the Brahmins is highly respected by the people, this respect cannot directly lead to power."

“And if in the future, Brahmins are introduced into the officialdom, their power will become too great.”

"Therefore, I think it is better to let the Brahmins continue to manage religious affairs, and only let the Kshatriyas participate in the imperial examinations."

Zhao Xin said, "You are right. I was too impatient."

The imperial examination system has not yet been officially implemented.

but……

To be honest, although India has many states.

But there is still some soil for centralization.

Anyway...

What Zhao Xin has to do now is to defeat anyone who wants to be king again.

In that case, once they knew that they could never go back, they could only obediently serve as exile officials for Zhao Xin.

of course!

Once you really get to know this part of India, you'll find out.

In fact...

It needed railroads even more to maintain centralization.

Because the east-west width of India is as long as the length from Youzhou in the Song Dynasty to Guangdong.

The reason why the southern part of the Song Dynasty is easy to manage is that there are fewer people in the south, and even if a separatist force emerges, its strength will not be too strong.

Compared with the regime in the Central Plains, they simply don't have much ability to resist.

But India is different. Both the Ganges River Basin and the Indus River Basin are overcrowded.

Not to mention the rainy season which lasts at least three months every year.

And sometimes, it's not just raining.

It will also cause various flood disasters, damage roads, break bridges, and make traffic unsmooth for a long time.

But Zhao Xin is reasonable and not greedy.

His goal was to firmly bring the people around Solange into the centralized power, which would be good enough.

As for those places further away...

It takes at least half a year to go back and forth. Even if you say you want centralization, that is impossible.

Unless another country is established in the northeast of India.

This way a country is governed halfway.

But that's a bit divisive.

In fact...

Zhao Xin also had a headache.

of course!

It’s not that there is really no solution.

For example, you can move the capital to the center of northern India.

In fact...

Many powerful Indian dynasties did the same.

only……

Considering that their rule is rooted on the edge of the ocean, if you now run to central India with tens of thousands of people, once they cut off your connections with the outside world, won't you become the turtle in the jar?

By the time……

Once a riot breaks out in the country, it will be a question whether your message can get out.

therefore……

Zhao Xin can only wait until the northern part of India is stabilized and the imperial examination system is implemented more stably before he will consider moving the capital.

Now, we can only let them pay taxes first.

First, build a stable port in the northeast of India.

This would make it easier for them to transport their taxes directly to western India via river and sea transport.

Or they could be exported directly to the Song Dynasty and exchanged for other materials from the Song Dynasty.

This year……

Merchant ships from the Song Dynasty brought porcelain, silk, and tea here.

But there is one thing to say.

Zhao Xin felt that no matter what others thought, at least...

Zhao Xin's demand for these things is not very high.

of course!

You say it's of no use at all, that's not true.

It's just like when you make tea, you need a teapot and a cup.

The arrival of the Song Dynasty merchant ship greatly alleviated Zhao Xin's enjoyment of drinking tea.

but……

If you really want to talk about this thing, there is not much difference between having it and not having it for Zhao Xin.

perhaps……

In the Colonization 1.0 era, people relied on selling these relatively high-value items.

These things are only of some use to the aristocratic market.

but……

Zhao Xin himself does not have high requirements for these things, but this does not mean that the third brother, Li Shishi, and other Indian nobles do not have high requirements for these things.

After seeing these things, the third brother and Li Shishi's eyes lit up.

The same is true for the Indian nobles.

After receiving rewards from Zhao Xin, some people couldn't hide the joy on their faces.

Zhao Xin also had to admit that he had more or less transcended the pursuit of material desires.

it's over...

In the end, the merchant ship returned with a large cargo of pepper, various spices, and cotton.

In addition...

There are also some Indian handicrafts.

In terms of value, it's not high, it's just rare. I guess if I can transport it back, I can make some money.

For example, statues of Hindu gods can be used by newlyweds as an enlightenment to their married life.

Zhao Xin also gave the other party a silver medal in his capacity as the Emperor of North India.

If you encounter pirates at sea, or robbers from other countries, you can report Zhao Xin's name.

If the other party continues to rob the merchant ship, it would be disrespectful to Zhao Xin, and Zhao Xin could then attack the other party with reason and justification.

In fact, after these merchants arrived, they also wanted to explore the farther west.

Anyway, here we are.

and so……

He also asked Zhao Xin about the situation in the west.

Zhao Xin could only say that the west was in too much chaos right now, with wars going on everywhere and it wasn't very safe.

For safety reasons, don't go there for now.

in this way……

The merchant returned obediently the next year.

Be reasonable!
The merchants who can come to the northwest of India have great perseverance.

At the end of this year, Zhao Xin once again partially assembled the Kshatriyas in the area around Solangi.

Conduct a democratic vote.

As a result, more than half of the Kshatriyas began to support the imperial examination system.

Without him!

It is simply because the original beneficiaries were only a small group, and now, the Kshatriyas also have many sons, and these sons do not want the power to be passed down from generation to generation through the direct lineage.

As for the Brahmins...

It cannot be said that they are completely excluded.

In fact, originally, they could only serve as advisors to the emperor.

Zhao Xin can also arrange this for them.

This consultant!

Just give him a small official position and let him stay by your side, that would be enough.

The Brahmins take the Brahmin examinations, and the Kshatriyas take the Kshatriya examinations; they are all the same.

even……

With this, Zhao Xin might be able to gradually intervene in religion and gain some power over religious personnel arrangements.

This year came.

Those who originally opposed the proposals for a unified centralized government and the imperial examination system have slowly begun to waver.

of course!

This was also because Zhao Xin asked them to debate continuously and finally came to this conclusion.

Is it better to have only one king or multiple kings?
At that time, there will be frequent wars. Is it better to be in a wartime state, or to live a peaceful and stable life?

Zhao Xin also plagiarized a sentence from a Western philosopher, "Without countries and governments, the world would be a war between everyone and everyone."

These are the original words.

But Zhao Xin added another sentence after the original words, "Even if there are countries, it is not good to have too many countries."

Zhao Xin's words were truly eye-opening.

As for where to sit, this statement is undoubtedly correct.

The reason why some people are still unwilling to agree is simply because the benefits they can gain are really too great.

After more than half of the Kshatriyas around Solange agreed.

Zhao Xin also began to implement a unified centralized system around him, and selected talents through imperial examinations.

First, absorb some of the people who cannot get high positions in their own country into their own governing team.

By the time……

These people will also attack and persecute those who disagree for their own benefit.

in fact……

If you really want to say it, Zhao Xin's attempt to enlighten the people is actually not a good thing.

after all……

A fragmented India would certainly be more conducive to his rule.

If he is doing this only from the perspective of gaining benefits from India, then of course there is no problem.

But if you want to use this as a frontier against the West, you can't just leave it that simple.

to be frank!
Even Zhao Xin didn't know what kind of changes this would cause in the local area.

What if the Indians wake up, unite and drive them away, and even build a centralized state that is stronger than any in history or in the future?
This is not completely impossible.

only……

The main reason why unified centralization is necessary is that Zhao Xin feels that having to guard against these people all day long, like guarding against thieves, is very tiring.

This is just an attempt to promote a unified and centralized system.

Like the later Britain, which only set up a commodity trading station at the port terminal, then of course, the more scattered India is, the better.

But they wanted to relocate the people from the Central Plains and other people here.

Don’t let it happen that you just moved your entire family here and then everyone was killed because of the war.

After some reorganization by Zhao Xin.

soon.

In the Sindh region, the Five Rivers region, the Chauhan Dynasty, the Gushiro region, and the Baramala region, the relevant national policies were first tried out.

of course!

You said that there is absolutely no one opposing it, but that is not true.

only……

Since these places are relatively close to Zhao Xin, Zhao Xin can attack them at any time if he wants to. Therefore, for now, most of them can only accept it.

It is not ruled out that there may be some forces that want to restore the country.

but……

When attacking these dynasties, Zhao Xin also searched their entire families in advance. It can be said that he did not necessarily do it 100%.

But at least, 90% of it has been achieved.

There are also some distant relatives that Zhao Xin has not had time to deal with.

only……

They are all distant relatives, so it doesn't have much to do with the succession to the throne.

By the 57th year of the Yuan Dynasty, this unified and centralized country had taken shape.

At this time, North India was also full of talented people.

The only thing to worry about now is not being assassinated.

Because people here always like to do things like this.

Then things like the tax system and various other systems were also discussed and improved.

But in this way, Zhao Xin would not be able to simply take money from the national treasury to subsidize his own people.

It's not a good idea to place your own people in any official position.

However, in the military and political fields, Zhao Xin still retained considerable power.

In addition...

Prime ministers and the like are definitely mostly Han people, but others can also join in the discussion.

As such reforms became more and more in-depth, Zhao Xin also discovered that, damn, he had really brought light to India.

But in fact, before Zhao Xin, places like Solange had administrative settings similar to counties.

therefore……

Zhao Xin couldn't say that he could take all the credit.

Because even if Zhao Xin didn't come, they believed that they could still get a clue.

only……

With the arrival of Zhao Xin, everything seems fairer.

The reformed laws soon spread to other parts of northern India that had not yet been reformed.

This time...

Seeing that Zhao Xin even restricted his own power, those people were also shocked.

However, reforms are reforms, and for the Vaishyas and the lowest-level Shudras in north India, this matter has little to do with them.

In addition...

Of course, this imperial examination system cannot exist without academies.

therefore……

The trend of establishing schools also started.

But this is all routine operation.

Let alone Zhao Xin, even the unremarkable Ghazni, a Turkic regime of nomadic mercenaries, had tens of thousands of scholars in its capital.

even……

They also have people who specialize in studying astronomy.

This is enough to show that when a regime wants to achieve internal peace, whether you like it or not, you have to do this and will invariably take this path.

In fact, the same was true of the Liao Dynasty before.

The only question is what should be taught in this academy.

Zhao Xin also had to think together with the third brother and those Han officials.

(End of this chapter)