Zhao Song: My father was Emperor Taizu of Song

Chapter 30 Making Money

As dusk settled, the sky began to glow with the colors of sunset.

A layer of hazy golden gauze was laid down, making every glazed tile of the Kaifeng Imperial Palace seem to be plated with a layer of gold, which was so beautiful that people could not take their eyes off it.

Several burly eunuchs carried a sedan chair and slowly moved it toward Kunning Palace.

Zhao Dezhao sat in the sedan chair, his brows lowered in deep thought.

Although he cannot leave the palace in the short term, Ludoson has already been put to his use, and he can finally extend his reach beyond the palace.

His next task was to figure out how to accumulate a considerable amount of wealth before getting married.

Undoubtedly, in this era, those who hold military power will rule the world. If he wanted to firmly suppress Zhao Guangyi, it would be difficult to do so through political strategies alone.

Moreover, Zhao Er's political acumen was not low, and Zhao Dezhao was not confident that he could definitely defeat him.

Therefore, military power becomes extremely important.

But having soldiers alone is not enough; you need money to support an invincible army. The reason why the Great Zhou Imperial Guard was invincible for five generations was because millions of strings of gold and silver were invested every year!

What Zhao Dezhao wanted was to build a fierce and loyal army after leaving the palace.

Therefore, it is very important to plan ahead.

"I never imagined that a prince would ever be short of money."

Zhao Dezhao gave a wry smile.

Logically, as a prince, he shouldn't be short of money, but that wasn't the case.

During the early Song Dynasty, shortly after Zhao Kuangyin ascended the throne, the country was still in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, marked by frequent wars, a sharp decline in population, vast tracts of land lying barren, and a desolate landscape where no one could hear the crowing of a rooster for miles around.

The imperial court had very little fiscal revenue.

In the sixth year of Xiande, the annual revenue of the Great Zhou Dynasty was only a few million strings of cash.

After deducting the expenses for the Imperial Guards' pay, officials' salaries, and a small amount of water conservancy projects, there was hardly any surplus left.

"The reed curtains in the palace were lined with blue cloth; the clothes worn as everyday garments were washed twice."

Even Emperor Zhao Kuangyin strictly prohibited extravagance in the palace in order to reduce expenses.

It wasn't until the Song Dynasty conquered the Southern Tang that the court's annual revenue increased, thanks to the support of the wealthy Jiangnan region.

At this time, Zhao Dezhao, as an unmarried prince, had his food, clothing and daily necessities provided by the imperial clan. Apart from that, he could only receive about 10 strings of cash and goods each month.

Ten strings of cash may not sound like much, but it's a year's salary for an ordinary soldier, and he doesn't really have any expenses.

But even if you save this much money for ages, it won't be enough to support a small army.

"At this time, all the world's wealth is in the hands of warlords and some powerful families. We need to find a way to extract some money from them..."

"The key question is... how do we apply it?"

"Soap? Glass? Gunpowder? I don't know how to make any of those things..."

Zhao Dezhao muttered a helpless complaint.

The common time-travel money-making tropes found in online novels don't seem to apply to him.

That makes sense. After all, who in their right mind would spend all their time figuring out how to make money in ancient times by producing soap, glass, gunpowder, and the like?

The sedan chair slowly came to a stop at the entrance of Kunning Palace.

With a worried expression, Zhao Dezhao furrowed his still-growing brows, jumped down from the sedan chair, looked at Zhang Dejun who was bowing respectfully, and gently patted his shoulder:

"You did a good job today."

This gesture flattered Zhang Dejun, who quickly bowed respectfully, saying, "Your Highness is too kind. This is nothing more than what I should do."

"Logically, I should reward you, but recently my father ordered a reduction in palace expenses, and I am currently quite strapped for cash. I can only save it for later..."

Zhao Dezhao looked embarrassed and then quickly said:

"Rest assured, I will remember to give you the reward you deserve; I will not forget."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dejun showed no displeasure whatsoever. He didn't even straighten up, remaining bowed respectfully with his hands clasped, and resolutely repeated:

"It is my duty to share Your Highness's burdens."

Having spent so many years navigating the treacherous waters of the palace, he had long since developed the ability to see through people's hearts and could naturally distinguish between truth and falsehood.

But compared to material things, Zhang Dejun appreciated Zhao Dezhao's sincere and heartfelt words even more.

Zhang Dejun's words warmed Zhao Dezhao's heart. Regardless of whether the words were truly from the heart, they were like a timely gift to Zhao Dezhao at the moment.

No wonder most emperors in history trusted the eunuchs around them. There was no other way; for these princes who had no contact with outsiders since childhood, the eunuchs who had served them since they were young were the most intimate people.

But that being said, the money issue still needs to be resolved. Otherwise, if we can't even afford to reward our servants, how can we win their hearts?

He sighed inwardly, patted Zhang Dejun's shoulder gently again, and whispered:

"Today we share hardship, tomorrow we will share wealth."

"To have received Your Highness's promise today is enough for me."

Zhang Dejun bowed again and took his leave.

……

Inside the Kunning Palace.

The air inside the palace was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood, and the charcoal in the small red clay stoves sizzled, warming the entire hall.

Only Empress Wang was inside the palace. Zhao Defang had been taken away by her wet nurse, but she had not yet recovered from her cold and therefore did not go with them.

At this moment, Empress Wang was holding a book and leaning against the window, reading with great interest. Only after hearing the door open did she reluctantly put down the book.

"Zhao'er is back?"

"Greetings, Mother."

Zhao Dezhao bowed respectfully, then glanced at the scroll in Empress Wang's hand and asked curiously, "What book is Your Majesty reading, so engrossed in it?"

"Have you ever heard of 'The Search for the Supernatural', Zhao'er?"

Empress Wang smiled gently and handed over the scroll in her hand.

Zhao Dezhao took it, opened it, and after flipping through a few pages, he understood what this "In Search of the Supernatural" was.

This book originated in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and is a kind of supernatural tale, which records some gods, ghosts, strange events, and folk legends.

Zhao Dezhao looked thoughtfully at the book in his hand, and after a long silence, he suddenly smiled.

He seemed to have figured out how to extract money from those regional warlords...

……

The outer court of the imperial palace, the area of ​​the Inner Palace Administration.

Zhang Dejun, returning from the inner palace, walked towards his bedroom with a joyful expression, constantly repeating Zhao Dezhao's words along the way.

"Today we share hardship, tomorrow we will share wealth."

Zhao Dezhao is already the eldest son of the emperor, so his future wealth and honor are self-evident.

As he recited those words, the brilliant images of many sages from the past instantly came to mind.

Zhao Gao, Zhang Rang, Gao Lishi, Yu Chaoen...

Even though Zhang Dejun tried his best to restrain himself, he still couldn't suppress the upward curve of his lips.

While dreaming of future success, Zhang Dejun's steps never faltered, and before he knew it, he had walked onto a path that led to his dormitory.

All was quiet when a tall figure suddenly blocked his way.

"You're Zhang Dejun?"

"It is indeed I, sir. I wonder who this general is..." Zhang Dejun looked at the man in the Imperial Guard armor in front of him with surprise and suspicion.

He remembered that he didn't know anyone in the Imperial Guard.

Upon hearing this, the Imperial Guard man did not immediately introduce himself, but instead took out a heavy silver ingot from his pocket and handed it over.

Then, he smiled gently and said:

"My name is Shi Zaixi, and I wish to become friends with Zhang Zhongguan."