I was worried at first, but ended up feeling relieved.
Beiliao is no longer the original Beiliao.
Since Xingzong of Liao came to the throne, the power of the Liao Dynasty has been declining day by day. During the reign of Xingzong of Liao, traitors were in power, politics was corrupt, the people were in poverty, and the army was weak.
Faced with the declining national power, Emperor Xingzong of the Northern Liao Dynasty fought for years and conquered Xixia many times; he forced the dynasty to pay more annual coins. However, these made the people of the Liao Dynasty complain and live in dire straits. The kings of the Northern Liao Dynasty also believed in Buddhism and lived in extreme luxury.
After Yelu Hongji succeeded to the throne, Yelu Chongyuan listened to his son's persuasion, launched a rebellion, and proclaimed himself emperor. However, it was quelled, and Yelu Chongyuan committed suicide. However, he re-employed Yelu Yixin and other traitors and ignored the government affairs.
Because of this, Yelu Hongji killed the queen and the prince one after another, causing chaos in the entire Northern Liao court.
The two generations of kings of the Northern Liao Dynasty created good conditions for the country to regain Yanyun. This may be a bit awkward to say, but it is the fact.
Although the matter of the Liao envoy passed away like this, Zhao Xi did not really take it seriously.
There have been many crafts sold in Workshop City in recent years. Although they do not involve armaments, there are still matters of commercial espionage that need to be considered.
In the early years, the barter between the Northern Liao and the Guochao was probably just to earn back the annual gifts through commercial means. In these years, the merchants of the Guochao were purely making money from the Northern Liao.
Northern Liao almost became the raw material production base of the imperial dynasty.
From wool to cow and sheep skin, they were sold to the merchants of the Kingdom of China at extremely low prices, and then they bought the finished wool textile products of the Kingdom of China and leather boots of cow and sheep skin at high prices. As for cotton clothing, glass cement, daily necessities, etc.
Wait, this is completely the initiative of the merchants of the country and the dynasty.
In terms of commerce and trade, Bei Liao had no rights and was completely controlled by the state.
Of course, the merchants of the Guochao Dynasty still knew how to make money, and they did not do anything to take advantage of the lake. What they gave to Beiliao was considered a conscientious price, they did not say anything, they did not cheat, and they traded with integrity.
Even so, so-called trade is still one-sided.
There were no tariffs at this time, which naturally led to de facto exploitation in commerce and trade.
From a purely commercial perspective, it was the Guo Dynasty that took away everything, and the Northern Liao Dynasty left nothing behind. It was quite a sense of accomplishment.
In fact, as long as the craftsmanship sold in Workshop City is not a threat to Zhao Xi or the imperial court. This is just a matter of money.
The fact that Bei Liao is poor and the craftsmanship that local forces sell to the workshop city are the focus of the conflict. Similarly, a poor Bei Liao is conducive to the country's recovery and rule, while a wealthy Bei Liao will naturally
Increase the difficulty of recovering the country.
In Bei Liao, it is better to be poorer. It is only right that the imperial court takes charge of the Gongfang City in the local state capital. But Zhao Xi is more worried about Gongfang City.
"Zirong, Ziyuan, the newly hired workers in Gongfang City must be screened in detail. Let's do an investigation on the craftsmen from Hedong and onwards."
"This time Northern Liao sent envoys, it gave us a reminder that the Northern Liao court still had pragmatic officials who knew the core of the gap in strength between the two countries. This inevitably made them target the craftsmen."
Although Zhao Xi knew that Gongfang City had done a good job in this regard, he still mentioned it carefully to show his attention.
"Officials, following the old rules, the craftsmen in Gongfang City are mainly retired soldiers, and they investigate three generations to ensure that there are no bad records and that they are sons of good families."
"Gongfang City is almost the first choice for retired soldiers, so there is no need to worry about the source."
The person who answered was Su Ziyuan, who is now the owner of the workshop city and can be regarded as Zhao Xi’s elder brother-in-law.
"It's different, big difference. The reason why Gongfang City was established in the early years and mainly used soldiers from the imperial army was because the soldiers in the early years of the dynasty were chaotic and they were not recruited as professional soldiers."
"So, in the imperial army, all kinds of craftsmen are common. But now, with the implementation of the military service system, soldiers are given priority in terms of combat ability, and soldiers are trained according to the standards of professional soldiers. Today's retired soldiers may not be able to become
Good craftsman."
"Xiao Gonghao said that for those great craftsmen, I still suggest that Gongfang City should recruit them from the private sector and do a good job of investigating them."
"If we simply select the craftsmen of the Workshop City from the army, I am afraid that the Workshop City will not be competitive with the workshops in the local state capitals in the long run. You should consider this carefully."
"I remember that there are regulations in this regard in the charter of the workshop city, right?"
There are specialties in the arts. Zhao Xi does not believe that those who can be selected as soldiers of the new army must be good craftsmen. Good soldiers and good craftsmen are two concepts, or a problem in two fields.
"Officials and ministers also feel this. Although there are also retired scholars and soldiers in Gongfang City, overall, the level of craftsmen is declining year by year."
"Just because of the special nature of Workshop City, I dare not change the recruitment method at will. I have thought about a problem. Workshop City should eventually form a model of group development between master craftsmen and small workers. And master craftsmen are by no means retired soldiers.
It’s something a soldier can do.”
"In the past, the generals and supervisors of the imperial dynasty came from a wide range of sources, and they were almost selected from all over the country. I believe that Gongfang City should restore the selection method of the master craftsmen in the early years..."
"At the same time, I believe that we can set up a training institution in Gongfang City based on the methods of the old guard camp or the martial arts hall, and select a certain number of children and teenagers among the children of Gongfang City, and even select those who are interested in becoming generals from the public first.
Young people, teach craftsmen skills and mathematics, and reserve talents for the workshop city, so as to ensure the long-term leading position of the workshop city."
That's right. What Su Song said is exactly what Zhao Xi hopes to achieve.
The martial arts hall has now been basically recognized in the court. Whether it is a civil servant or a military general, it has almost become a consensus that it is difficult to become a prime minister without the experience of the martial arts hall.
Think about the current cabinet. Zhang Dun, Su Che, Lu Gongzhu, Han Zhen, and Su Song all came from the Jiangwu Hall. What's more, the senior officials of the Ge Laoyuan all served in the Jiangwu Hall...
···
As for the Workshop City, Zhao Xi wanted to make it the origin of the country's technological development from the beginning. However, in recent years, due to problems with armaments and new technologies, there were confidentiality restrictions, making it difficult to target the entire country.
When the foundation of Gongfang City has accumulated to a certain extent and the country has certain recognition of Gongfang City, it is the time for Gongfang City to recruit talents from the entire country.
"What Zirong said is true. Let's do this. You first convene the workshop city and the Ministry of Industry to draw up a charter with the supervisors, water supervisors and other yamen, with the purpose of reserving talents, and submit it to the cabinet for review."
"It may be difficult to promote it in the imperial court at the moment. After all, we need to consider that Northern Liao is eyeing it... It won't take a few years, but it can always be pushed away."
It is still difficult to implement Su Song's idea now. The recognition that Gongfang City is used in the court is the foundation of the country's prosperity. Under the current situation, it is difficult for the courtiers to agree.