After broadcasting the ancient times live, I handed the system over to the state.

Similar to the salt trade, the trade with the Western Xia was also volatile. In the early Song Dynasty, when Li Jiqian rebelled against the Song and established his own regime, he mostly traded salt to accumulate strength.

In order to curb the growing power of the Western Xia, Emperor Taizong ordered that salt not be allowed to flow in. Later, this gradually evolved into the rule that not even a bushel of grain was allowed to flow out.

However, during the reign of Li Deming, relations between Western Xia and Song improved somewhat, and trade between the two sides was opened up again. But when Li Yuanhao declared himself emperor and the Song-Xia war broke out, relations tightened again.

Although official trade is volatile due to the relationship between the two sides, the people of both sides have actually become intertwined in their daily lives and have been influenced by each other's habits, which is why smuggling is so difficult to eradicate.

"The huge smuggling trade also reflects the huge demand for trade between the two sides," Lu Rao summarized. "The main industries in Western Xia were animal husbandry and salt production. Even if there was agriculture, it was impossible to grow crops stably due to frequent natural disasters within Western Xia."

"They lacked food and many daily necessities, while the Song Dynasty's economic structure was more balanced. They did not lack things from the Western Xia, but the Western Xia needed things from the Song Dynasty even more. Therefore, closing the border markets only made the Western Xia more eager to invade and harass the border people."

The people below nodded in agreement, but for them, it was a helpless and desperate measure.

The Western Xia were disobedient; should they be left without any punishment? What would that make the Song Dynasty? A pushover?

Therefore, trade between the Song Dynasty and the Western Xia Dynasty would fall into a cycle of invasion, sanctions, and then more invasion.

Lu Rao quickly explained how changes in trade relations with Western Xia affected the livelihoods of people on the border, which in turn affected the economy of the Song Dynasty and even the rise of the neighboring Jiao Si Luo regime.

It is described in great detail.

Zhu Qinggu below also felt as if he were listening to a story, and after listening, he was deeply impressed.

I used to find history classes to be torture, but some teachers' lessons are clearly different.

Now she listens to it with great feeling.

……

The text then discusses the impact of the Song-Xia relationship on the overland Silk Road.

There were originally several overland Silk Roads, but due to changes in relations with the Western Xia, the Xiazhou Road and Lingzhou Road, which were occupied by the Western Xia, gradually fell into disuse, and people began to travel along the Qingtang Road on the other side of Jiaosiluo.

Gradually, the Qingtang Road became the best alternative to the traditional Silk Road.

Overall, however, the volume of trade is decreasing year by year, with more foreign trade gradually being undertaken by the Maritime Silk Road.

Lu Rao summarized the impact of the Song-Xia relationship on the fiscal policy and economy of the Northern Song Dynasty, which shows that the tension in the Song-Xia relationship over the past hundred years has had a huge impact on the Northern Song Dynasty from top to bottom.

Especially after the Song-Xia War, in order to provide a large amount of military expenditure, the Song Dynasty had to change more of its economic policies to serve the military, which led to many economic problems.

If it weren't for the Song-Xia War, which led to a thaw in relations between the two countries, and the subsequent gradual repair and modification of these economic policies that eased social tensions, the social divisions might have been even more pronounced.

……

Lu Rao's concluding remarks sent chills down the spines of those below.

Throughout several dynasties, it was basically a major war that brought an end to the dynasty's prosperous period, and then it gradually declined from its peak.

For example, the An Lushan Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty, the Tumu Crisis in the Ming Dynasty, and the Song-Xia War in the present day.

Even though the Song Dynasty made repairs later, it did not fully recover to its former state. Its national strength was still somewhat diminished, and the domestic economy was in complete chaos.

You can imagine.

Lu Rao's lesson not only failed to resolve many of their doubts, but also served as a wake-up call for those below him.

He didn't offer many solutions, and even the solutions he did offer were based on the perspective of later generations and their economic policies. However, at that time, the Song Dynasty was at the forefront of an economic boom due to its cooperation with later generations.

Moreover, the Song Dynasty had so many talented people; they didn't need him to offer any economic policies or for Lu Rao to dictate the course of the country.

Therefore, Lu Rao mainly guided them by telling them things and reminding them to pay attention to certain places and directions.

Seeing the slightly thoughtful expressions on the faces of those below, he knew he had achieved his goal.

He didn't drink a drop of water during class this afternoon, but started chugging it down after class ended.

People gradually left the area. Lu Rao arrived at Mao Hexuan's place. Zhu Qinggu saw Mao Hexuan and the others chatting quietly behind him, but overall he was satisfied.

The officials left one after another, some of them greeting her. Zhu Qinggu nodded with a smile, and once the road ahead was a little clearer, she headed towards Mao Hexuan and the others.

When Zhu Qinggu arrived, Mao Hexuan only had a few things left to explain, not many, which Zhu Qinggu overheard. It was nothing more than discussing where the content could be expanded horizontally and where it could be expanded vertically.

Mao Hexuan only said a few words, and these people all have rich lecturing experience, so there is no need to elaborate too much.

After they came out, the others outside had not yet left. Zhu Yuanzhang, Li Shimin, and others greeted Zhu Qinggu and his group before leaving with a few of their ministers.

Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Jiong are still alive.

"Fighting a war is really costly," Zhao Kuangyin said with a wry smile.

Zhao Kuangyin himself was originally a general, so how could he not know what was needed for war? He just didn't expect that the cost of war would increase as the Song Dynasty progressed.

Even though the Song Dynasty was economically prosperous, it was almost destroyed.

Zhao Kuangyin finally understood why they dared not fight and preferred to exchange tribute for peace.

It just goes to show that everything has two sides.

If it were Zhao Kuangyin himself, he would definitely still fight, and he would also reorganize the military system and streamline the troops.

Of course, the further we go, the more difficult it becomes to reform. Everything is interconnected, and the interests of many people are intertwined. If you want to take care of one thing, you can't take care of another.

Reform requires bloodshed!

But look, how many of the emperors of the Zhao family had such a tough hand?

As if sensing his hesitation, Mao Hexuan said, "If you're going to do something, do it as soon as possible. Don't hesitate. If you think that these policies will become harmful in the future and don't do them, then you'll never do them."

"Let's do it first, and then adjust it if there are any problems later."

Zhao Kuangyin wasn't so indecisive; he nodded in agreement.

Not long after, they took their leave.

I've scheduled my class for the day after tomorrow.