The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 512 Not Wanting to Spend a Single Copper Coin

While the people of the Southern Song Dynasty were trying every possible way to escape to the Northern Song Dynasty.

The Northern Song Dynasty was putting all its efforts into building the "Yellow River defense line".

The most troublesome aspect of fighting against the Jin Dynasty was the harassment tactics of the cavalry.

This has been the most troublesome issue for the Central Plains dynasties in dealing with the northern ethnic minorities for thousands of years.

At this stage, Yue Wenxuan had no better options and could only continue to use Zhu Yuanzhang's secret weapon: building a large number of gray forts to defend against possible raids by cavalry.

In the area north of Kaifeng, along the line of Yangwu, Suanzao, Zuocheng, and Baima, a large-scale construction project is underway, building numerous gray fortresses.

Li Gang, accompanied by a large group of civil officials from the Southern Song Dynasty, was watching the laborers build the Gray Fortress in Baima.

"This gray fortress is truly amazing! There's no need to transport large stones; you just need to mix that gray powder with washed river sand, let it sit for a few days, and it will become harder than stone."

Lu Zai sighed, "Using this method to build Gray Castle is truly twice as effective with half the effort."

Li Gang said, "It's just too expensive. Every time we take back a piece of land from the Jin bandits, we have to abandon all the gray forts we built before and build another gray fort to the north. It's all money, all money is being burned."

Lu Zai: "Brother Li, have you noticed that the Northern Song Dynasty's finances are very powerful, as if they have inexhaustible money?"

Li Gang nodded; of course he had noticed that.

The phrase "too many to use" is a bit of an exaggeration, but it was still far more than in the Southern Song Dynasty.

Li Gang was also quite puzzled, wondering where the Northern Song Dynasty got such a good treasury.

Just then, Yue Wenxuan strolled over from the side with Ma Congyi and Lu You. He was teaching the two children some new ideas when he saw a large group of civil officials from the Southern Song Dynasty standing next to a gray fort construction site, looking at him with strange eyes.

Yue Wenxuan laughed: "Hey, why is everyone looking at me like that?"

Li Gang clasped his hands in a gesture of respect: "We were just discussing the financial problems of the Northern Song Dynasty. I wonder why the Northern Song Dynasty's finances are so abundant. May I ask, did the Northern Song Dynasty levy heavy taxes on the common people? Or on the merchants? Or... did this money come from the officials?"

Yue Wenxuan laughed: "Prime Minister Li, your questions are a little too petty."

Li Gang: "What do you mean?"

Yue Wenxuan: "I'd like to ask Prime Minister Li a question first: which do you think is more important, 'saving money' or 'making money'?"

Without even thinking, Li Gang replied, "Saving money is just cleverness; making money is true wisdom."

Yue Wenxuan laughed: "That's right! What you just said about collecting more taxes and making money from merchants and officials is essentially a money-saving approach, a kind of 'cake-cutting' strategy. What our Northern Song Dynasty was really good at was making money, which is the strategy of 'making the cake bigger'."

Li Gang didn't know what a cake was, but he guessed it was a pastry made with eggs.

After thinking carefully about Yue Wenxuan's words, he suddenly understood.

Yue Wenxuan continued with a smile: "In the past, the various factional struggles in the Southern Song Dynasty all had their reasons on the surface, but when you look into the real reason, it was a struggle for interests. The cake was only so big, and everyone wanted to cut a bigger slice so they could have more bites."

Li Gang nodded and honestly admitted it; he had no choice but to.

Yue Wenxuan continued, "But you never thought that by making the cake bigger, everyone could have a few more bites."

Li Gang: "..." Yue Wenxuan: "If the pie can keep getting bigger, everyone's benefits will keep expanding. Everyone will have a piece of the pie. Although various partisan conflicts and internal conflicts will not be completely eliminated, they will be diluted by the ever-expanding benefits, and internal conflicts will be much smaller."

Upon hearing this, Li Gang felt as if he had been struck on the head with a heavy hammer. He had always wondered why there was no factional strife in the Northern Song Dynasty, and now, after hearing Yue Wenxuan's explanation, he finally understood.

It's not that there were no political parties in the Northern Song Dynasty; rather, every party was able to make a living, so there was no need for people to fight with each other. Instead, they could unite and work together to make progress.

Li Gang asked in astonishment, "What if one day the cake can't be made bigger?"

Yue Wenxuan laughed heartily: "Then let's achieve a technological breakthrough! We need to research new ways to make the pie bigger. If we can't achieve a technological breakthrough, the pie really won't get any bigger..."

His expression suddenly darkened, and he chuckled, "Then we'd be finished, and we'd have to start over with a fresh hand of cards. That's the rule, and no one can break it. I don't have the ability to break this cycle either."

Li Gang: "Huh?"

Yue Wenxuan: "Alright, Prime Minister Li, there's no need to worry about this. I have plenty of ways to make the cake bigger. At least for the next nine hundred years, the cake can continue to grow, but I don't know what will happen after nine hundred years."

Li Gang was greatly surprised: Where did the number nine hundred come from? Why is Young Master Yue so confident in saying this number?
Just as he thought of this, he saw Yue Wenxuan's expression turn strange again, and he muttered, "It may not last nine hundred years. After all this messing around, social productivity has advanced ahead of schedule, so it may not last nine hundred years. Oh well, why worry about the long term? As long as things are done well now, who cares about the deluge after I die?"

Although Li Gang didn't quite understand the first part, he understood the last sentence and couldn't help but protest: "As a scholar, one should strive for lasting peace and prosperity, how can one ignore the devastation after death? Young Master Yue, I cannot agree with your idea."

Yue Wenxuan laughed heartily: "Come on! Eternal peace? From the time Qin Shi Huang unified China until now, thousands of years have passed. How many years of true peace have we had?"

Li Gang: "..."

Yue Wenxuan: "Shouting slogans is useless. Let's be realistic. If I can do my best to bring peace to the world for five hundred years, that would be quite good."

Li Gang: "Huh? Huh?"

As the two were talking, a fast horse came galloping from the north. The rider reached them and shouted urgently, "Big news! Big news! Emperor Huizong of Song passed away in Wuguo City of Jin on the Jiazi day of April this year. Our spies only found out about this several months later."

Upon hearing this, Yue Wenxuan showed no reaction whatsoever, knowing that Zhao Ji would likely die around this time.

However, upon hearing this, Li Gang and other officials of the Southern Song Dynasty felt as if they had been struck by lightning, and their whole bodies trembled violently.

Li Gang looked north and cried out, "Supreme Emperor!"

A group of civil officials behind him all knelt down.

Yue Fei sighed inwardly: Now the idea of ​​welcoming back the two emperors can no longer be mentioned.

Seeing a group of ministers weeping so bitterly, Yue Wenxuan deliberately feigned a sour tone and said, "Oh dear, how pitiful! We can't let his remains be unable to return to the country after his death. We must send someone to bring his coffin back."

Li Gang jumped up immediately: "Yes, yes, we must escort the Supreme Emperor's coffin back to the country."

Yue Wenxuan: "Then...call them to help?"

Li Gang's expression changed slightly: "We just fought a major battle, using countless rounds of ammunition to recapture Kaifeng. How can we immediately resort to force again? Let's send an envoy instead. If we can resolve this with a little money..."

"Spend money? I don't want to spend a single copper coin." Yue Wenxuan: "Send troops! Let's beat up the Jin Kingdom."

(End of this chapter)