Zhao Shen snapped back to reality, pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No, invite them in. They’re requesting good seeds, prepare some to send to them."
Chief Secretary Zhang’s mouth gaped as he said, "Did you not previously say that one day we would lead troops to flatten Jiaozhi?"
Zhao Shen has been in office for three years, and in the neighboring places to Jiaozhou, from the commandery to the counties, down to the villages, skirmishes occurred now and then.
Larger skirmishes involved nearly a thousand people, smaller ones involved twenty or thirty people, especially the small skirmishes, which happened frequently; Zhao Shen’s temper couldn’t be restrained several times, and he had to deliberately lead people to fight back at the border.
Once, he directly led people to fight through Jiaozhou, leaving a group of Jiaozhou natives chasing after them.
Eventually, the always-independent Jiaozhou Governor, who never took the initiative to contact the court, sent someone to Luoyang to complain to Zhao Hanzhang for the first time, questioning and demanding her to severely punish Zhao Shen.
Jiaozhou and Guangzhou both belonged to Wu Yue, but during Wu Yue’s time, due to the southern Lin Yi Kingdom’s expansion, control over Jiaozhou was gradually lost, and during Cao Wei’s time, control was not restored either.
By the time of the Jin Dynasty, the Sima family couldn’t even control Jiangnan, let alone the southern Guangzhou and Jiaozhou.
Guangzhou has always enjoyed semi-autonomy; although the court sent a governor, the governor came here merely to oversee Guangzhou, engaging in a battle of wits and courage with Guangzhou’s tribal natives.
Jiaozhou is even less controlled, with the governor being self-appointed, completely out of the court’s control.
The current Jiaozhou Governor inherited the position and only sent a letter of congratulations when Zhao Hanzhang ascended to the throne, expressing their recognition of Zhao and the Jin Dynasty’s replacement, and then nothing else.
Although Your Majesty didn’t believe Jiaozhou’s slander and punish Zhao Shen, Zhao Shen still held grudges against Jiaozhou, claiming more than once that he would lead troops to flatten Jiaozhou one day.
The Chief Secretary is a local with a fierce personality; Zhao Shen worked hard to subdue him after a long effort, and at this moment, he looked at Zhao Shen with incredulity, deeply feeling that Zhao Shen had betrayed their former vow.
Weren’t we supposed to fight together?
Zhao Shen glanced at him and said, "Is this an envoy from a commandery of Jiaozhi, or an envoy from Jiaozhou? Regardless, since they sincerely request it, we shall generously give it to them. They ask for good seeds, not copper or iron; it’s all for a better life."
"We’re siblings separated by a narrow body of water, and we’re not the kind to hold grudges," Zhao Shen snorted, "We’re all Huaxia people, all Hua citizens; for the sake of Your Majesty, there’s no need to fuss with them—invite the envoy in, I want to have a good talk with him."
But your expression doesn’t exactly indicate that, the Chief Secretary silently noted his face; though he did not know what blow Zhao Shen had suffered to say such magnanimous words, he felt relieved inside.
It’s fine as long as the Governor hasn’t suddenly lost his mind.
The Chief Secretary withdrew.
Jiaozhou is a place more suitable for rice cultivation than Guangzhou; the climates are similar in both places, but Jiaozhou’s land is flatter, its water resources more plentiful, and it’s hotter; this results in Jiaozhou’s rice not only having a higher yield but also tasting better.
While Guangzhou has only a few areas where two crops of rice can be grown per year, Jiaozhou can do so throughout its territory.
Truly, upon understanding this, Zhao Shen really wants to kick the neighboring Jiaozhou Governor out and replace him.
Several times, he considered secretly writing to Zhao Hanzhang, expressing that he doesn’t need any favors; with people like Dai Yuan having already conquered places like Guangzhou, he could actually go to the yet-to-be subdued Jiaozhou.
He particularly wants to see the face of the Jiaozhou Governor when he arrives in Jiaozhou with the appointment letter.
But it stops at a mere thought—neither Zhao Hanzhang nor he himself would do such reckless things.
Really just bringing an appointment letter over would be fatal.
One would have to bring a grand army along.
But taking Wu Yue and experiences from the Han and Qin Dynasties into account, one shouldn’t rashly deploy troops to places south of Lingnan, as the returns are far below their efforts.
In Zhao Hanzhang’s words, while this area belongs to Hua Country, it also belongs to the local natives; as long as they live well under the Tusi and chieftain, they should adhere to their traditions, allowing them autonomy.
Education is a subtle transformation; when they learn propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame, they will naturally follow the law.
Only the locals can truly understand what they want and ensure their rights.
At this moment, Zhao Shen isn’t thinking about returning to Luoyang; his heart is full of defiance against his father’s evaluation, but his mind thinks calmly about these issues he genuinely has.
Thus, he must achieve something great, allowing his father and Zhao Hanzhang to see it; once he returns to the capital, he must win their wholehearted approval!
Walking along, Zhao Shen said to the Chief Secretary, "I want to establish another school."
Chief Secretary: "The school opened by the government for three years hasn’t even filled up with students."
"That’s why I want to open a school specifically for teaching the offspring of the Tusi and chieftains, and have all Tusi and chieftains attend classes for a month at the start and middle of each year. Those who can come and receive a good or above rating will have a year’s miscellaneous service exemption for their tribe, and those with outstanding performances can even have one-tenth of their taxes reduced."
The Chief Secretary’s heart skipped a beat, repeatedly asking, "Can you make such a big decision, Governor? What if Your Majesty doesn’t agree?"
Zhao Shen: "Your Majesty is benevolent and already allows local authorities the power to exempt miscellaneous duties. As for tax reduction, I will petition for it. Currently, all tax revenues from Guangzhou remain for local finances, and Your Majesty shouldn’t refuse."
The Chief Secretary’s eyes crinkled in laughter as he loudly volunteered, "Governor, what about me? I also want to join the school."
Zhao Shen just glanced at him and said, "Didn’t you pass the position of Tusi to your younger brother? Let your brother come; since you’re the Chief Secretary, you should participate less in tribal affairs, or if other tribes accuse you of favoritism, I wouldn’t be able to judge accurately nor speak on your behalf."
Chief Secretary: The path is blocked.
But that’s fine—he plans to write to his brother, asking him to immediately buy Han people’s books and start reading; he’s visited the school opened by the government and knows it teaches Han people’s sacred books.
Previously, they wanted to learn too, as there were many profound truths in them—but Han people’s books were too expensive; a tribe’s yearly surplus would only afford two books. Things improved only after Zhao Shen arrived.
Encouraging him on the side, the Chief Secretary said, "Governor, though books and paper are much cheaper now, each purchase requires a long journey to Jingzhou and Yangzhou, which costs considerable travel expenses; don’t you often say that having one’s own is better than relying on others? We have plenty of trees, bamboo, and straw in Guangzhou, which are all materials for making paper, so why can’t we produce it ourselves?"
Zhao Shen has actually applied for craftsmen long ago, but craftsmen are currently scarce, and there’s no personnel available, so Zhao Shen hasn’t announced it.
He glanced at the Chief Secretary and said, "You sure know how to think. The construction of a paper mill must be very careful; currently, the Observing Things Department has strict requirements. A paper mill cannot be built upstream; it must be as far from the water source as possible, bring in water for use, and treat the used wastewater with several procedures—different craftsmen are needed to oversee the process from start to finish."
"Now is different from earlier years when one or two craftsmen could set up a paper mill; now the court requires strict measures—a paper mill must have craftsmen gathered at each step before it can commence operation."

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