Wu Yue was attacked, and there were not many soldiers and horses in the southern counties and counties. Therefore, Wu Yue King Qian Chu could only send letters to the generals Song Chengli and Sun Chengyou outside Jinling City, ordering them to withdraw to Wu Yue quickly and let King Qin rescue them.

In addition, Qian Chu, the king of Wuyue, also wanted to borrow troops from the Song army, but Cao Bin refused because the Song army attacked the remaining cities of the Southern Tang Dynasty in three directions and had a stalemate with the Tang army at Hongzhou, Xinzhou, and Shezhou, and did not capture it quickly, so

, there were no soldiers to send to aid Wu Yue, so Wu Yue could only save himself.

Therefore, the generals Song Chengli and Sun Chengyou led 50,000 troops and quickly retreated to Hangzhou City.

This news was sent back to Citong City. After Su Chen got the secret report, he smiled slightly and said that he was not in a hurry to go on the expedition.

As the saying goes, anything good in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. This time, Su Chen was not in a hurry to expose himself prematurely and showed his personal abilities, which would easily attract the attention of all parties.

Moreover, Su Chen did not attach much importance to his current military exploits, because he had a further goal and placed his opponents on Cao Bin, Pan Mei and others. Those were the people he wanted to deal with.

As for the Wu Yue soldiers, General Lu and other Heiyun generals were put in charge of dealing with them in the early stage, and the troops were trained at the same time. When it came time to attack Hangzhou City, Su Chen planned to send troops north to capture Hangzhou City in one go, and welcome Yang Ling'er to Hangzhou to restore the country.

The current task is to develop secretly, continue to strengthen, establish systems and systems, and formalize the team, which is conducive to long-term development.

For example, the troops led by Lu Chaoqun, Wei Dongqiang and Qi Ying had unclear orders and were a motley crew. They had few advisers and scholars around them. They did not know how to manage the city after they captured it. They were just looking around and were destined to not last long.

Therefore, Su Chen is not in a hurry to compete with Lu, Wei, Qi and others for military glory. He plans to lead his army northward in the spring of next year to truly unsheath his sharp sword.

…

On this day, after two months of waiting, the sailing fleet finally returned.

The team was led by Tao Lin, the business manager of the Bai family, and several naval officers, Du Yuhou, who went to the Sixteenth Prefecture of Youyun for trade, bringing with them porcelain, tea, spirits, soap, silk, etc., which were scarce in the grassland.

Therefore, the trade went smoothly, and a lot of strategic materials such as horses, cattle and sheep, gold, silver, copperware, wool, and cowhide bands were exchanged.

Su Chen took people to the dock and couldn't help but be happy when he saw the group of strong horses.

Tao Lin saw Su Chen bringing people to greet him, and took the initiative to report: "Tell the general, this time Tao has lived up to his trust and brought back a thousand horses, 500 cattle and sheep, as well as a lot of wool, beef tendons, etc."

, for the general’s review.”

Su Chen heard this and said with a smile: "That's great. It has exceeded my expectations. Can the ship be sent to accommodate it?"

Tao Lin shook his head and said: "Some of them can't be loaded. We bought a few more large ships at the dock in Youyun Sixteen Provinces, and then we brought all these livestock back."

Su Chen was very happy to see a thousand horses driven down in groups, because they could be used as cavalry for the Shence Army.

Cattle and sheep can appropriately improve life, and provide soldiers with regular meals to nourish their bodies.

Wool can be used to make sweaters, and beef tendon and cowhide can be used as bow and arrow materials.

In ancient times, bow strings were often made of beef tendon, raw cowhide, etc.; arrow materials were reed stalks and bamboo; and arrowheads were mostly made of bronze, iron, and waterfowl feathers.

Su Chen asked people to move the supplies and bring them back to Citong City. Most of the gold, silver and jewelry were handed over to the inner treasury for inspection in proportion, and were registered in the book, and everything was done according to the rules.

The success of this maritime trade brought a new trade window to the Restoration Army. When Han Xizai, Xu Xuan and others heard this, they were also extremely surprised. They had never thought that they could still carry out trade even though they were thousands of miles away from the Liao Kingdom.

trade relations.

"Yixuan, this method is great. Through maritime trade, you can trade with the Liao Kingdom, buy war horses, cattle and sheep, and transport porcelain, tea, books, etc. from the south to me. You can make money and exchange for strategic materials.

Secondly, it can assimilate the Khitan people so that they can be more docile and less barbaric, which will also weaken the Khitan people's threat to the Central Plains in the future."

When Xu Xuan saw Su Chen, he couldn't help but praise him.

Su Chen smiled and said: "Well, this is the importance of trade. When it circulates, everyone exchanges what they need. Farming and food are the foundation, and trade and economy are also very important. This time the fleet goes north to the Sixteenth Prefecture of Youyun. It's just the beginning.

, Next, in addition to Liaoning, places like Goguryeo, Nanyang, Tianzhu and other places will also send fleets to trade, using our porcelain, tea, liquor and other daily necessities in exchange for some strategic materials and gold and silver jewelry to fill the national treasury.

To meet military needs."

"This idea is so good, why didn't we think of it before!" Many people lamented that the Tang State had never thought of it this way before, which led to the decline of national power and the emptiness of the national treasury. It could only rely on constantly squeezing the local area, plundering the people, increasing taxes, etc.

, making people’s lives miserable.

In ancient China, it was an official-based feudal society. The fixed idea was that scholars, peasants, industry and commerce had the best future. Studying was the most promising, and one could become an official and lead a successful career. Therefore, everything was inferior. Only by studying well, and passing the imperial examination, one could enter the Hanlin, pursue an official career, and become an official, honoring one's ancestors.

.

Agriculture is the foundation. Without farming, there will be no food and taxes, which can easily lead to famine. Therefore, feudal society is also a farming society, which has remained unchanged for thousands of years. Farmers rely on the old farming methods and stay in their villages for generations.

Relying on COFCO, the upper class officials and dignitaries have been supported from generation to generation.

Business is at the bottom of the list and is not taken seriously, because businessmen give people the impression that they are profit-seeking, speculative, buying low and selling high. This is not really a fair way to make money, but a price difference, or the ability to operate certain special products.

To get rich, if there are too many merchants, the number of people who do not farm will decrease. Once there is insufficient food, many people will starve to death and cause a catastrophe. Therefore, for the sake of stability, the imperial court is suppressing the scale of business and not allowing too many people to become merchants.

.

The relationship between farming and business requires a degree of control and an internal and external cycle. If you don't understand economic principles and only consider the interests on the surface, it will be difficult to play.

Su Chen knew very well that he couldn't just rely on stimulating domestic demand, and he couldn't just rely on local consumption. Because the Zhangquan area had a small population, porcelain, liquor and other daily necessities were limited, and it couldn't be exchanged for war horses and military supplies out of thin air. He could only rely on foreign trade.

, the continuously produced porcelain, liquor, soap, etc. are sent to different places in exchange for local surplus materials, so that the external circulation of the economy can achieve a surplus, which can bring huge wealth.

Now that Su Chen has achieved the first step, he will definitely strengthen the management of the Shipping Department, build more fleets, and then conduct trade with Goguryeo, Fuso, Dongyang, Tianzhu, and Baiyue. On the basis of the navy,

Go ahead and develop the navy!

The navy belongs to the inland rivers and lakes, while the navy goes to the ocean. To truly form an army on the sea is more complicated than the navy, and it requires more knowledge about monsoons, navigation, etc.
Chapter completed!