Shandong West Road, Pizhou.

Early in the morning, before dawn, there would be soldiers knocking down drums to disturb people's dreams.

If it was normal, the sleeping people would definitely curse a few words, but today no one complained.

Since the Mongolian invasion of the south, the people of the Central Plains have been in constant panic, fearing that the Mongolian cavalry's butcher's knife would fall on their heads.

Most of the people in the city followed Zhao Tai from the Central Plains. They actually had doubts about whether Zhao Tai could protect them, and they were worried that Zhao Tai would not have the strength to resist the Mongols.

However, Zhao Tai captured Shandong within this year and drove the Mongols out of Kaifeng. Now that Zhao Tai is leading the army, the people are naturally happy.

The residence of the Zhongyi Army Jiedushi received the news early, and Wang Wentong, the left military advisor who stayed behind, issued an order early for the residents of the city to come out to welcome Zhao Tai's victorious army.

Just after dawn, flags were hung on both sides of the streets in Pizhou City, and there were also huge crowds of people outside the city.

Zhao Tai knew early that the soldiers and civilians in the city were preparing to welcome him. When the army approached Pizhou, he decorated his armor and weapons to make the army neat and uniform.

Zhao Tai also put on a suit of gold lacquer armor and a red cloak, rode majestically on a war horse, and headed for Pizhou surrounded by many generals.

Now that the Kingdom of Jin has perished, the soldiers and civilians in the north are panicking. Zhao Tai hopes to use this method to boost morale, so that the people under his command should not feel fearful of the Kingdom of Jin's demise, and make them think that Zhao Tai has the ability to protect them.

If the people were uneasy and always felt that the Mongols could attack, the people would not be able to farm with peace of mind, the merchants would not be interested in doing business, and the gentry would move with their clansmen and leave this land of right and wrong.

As a result, Zhao Tai's territory will gradually decline and cannot develop stably.

Now Zhao Tai lets them see that the loyal army has strong soldiers and horses, and tells them that the Mongols were repelled by the loyal army, and the soldiers and the people feel at ease, so that Zhao Tai's territory can develop.

At this time, Zhao Tai led his troops and horses, with banners covering the sun and gongs and drums roaring, rolling in. When they approached Pizhou, the people gathered outside the city suddenly cheered.

The common people saw that there were more than a thousand cavalry at the front. They were all wearing battle armor. The infantry behind them were like forests of spears and hunting with flags. Their fierceness could not be concealed.

When the people of Pizhou looked at the powerful army, they felt a sense of security.

"Master Hu Ben." A certain old clan leader shook his head and praised.

Zhao Tai led the army and entered Pizhou City under the welcome of the people. The painter arranged by Wang Wentong in the city drew this exciting picture, which later became the famous painting "Taizu Victory Picture".

Zhao Tai returned to Pi County and showed his strength to the soldiers and people in the city, eliminating the fear of the soldiers and people in the city about Mongolia's destruction of gold.

Pi County, the residence of Jiedushi.

As soon as Zhao Tai came back, he summoned Wang Wentong, who was left behind, to come over and ask.

"I congratulate your Majesty on returning victoriously!" Wang Wentong said with a smile.

Zhao Tai waved his hand, "Although the Mongolian army was driven out of Kaifeng and the threat to the west was eliminated this time, it can't be said to be a victory. For the Mongols, the gains and losses of one city or one place are not important. As long as their cavalry is not severely damaged, they will

The threat to us will not be lifted."

Wang Wentong nodded, "Even so, the King's achievements cannot be underestimated. They are completely worthy of celebration!"

Zhao Tai shook his head and asked about the topic he was concerned about, "How is the situation in Pi, Teng and other prefectures during this time? Have the people who migrated from Hebei been resettled? Have they missed the farming season?"

Wang Wentong said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, people from all over the country have completed farming. Some of the people who moved from Hebei have been placed in the guardhouses, and some are working in workshops and mines. Arrangements have been made, but..."

Zhao Tai couldn't help but ask, "But what?"

Wang Wentong said: "However, our workshops continue to expand production, and goods have accumulated."

Zhao Tai said: "Can't you eat from the south?"

Wang Wentong said: "Things are rare and valuable. Although the market in the Southern Song Dynasty is huge, we invest too much in goods, which will definitely affect the price. If the price is reduced, we will not make much money!"

Zhao Tai frowned slightly, "Have you ever thought about finding other sales channels?"

Wang Wentong said: "I have considered selling the goods to Goryeo, but we don't have enough fleet!"

Zhao Tai now occupies Shandong, and it is more convenient to go to Liaodong, Goryeo, and Japan from Shandong.

The route Zhao Tai followed was to use industrial production to create products and then sell them to the outside world in exchange for the money and food needed.

This route has a fatal flaw, which is that it requires a stable and large market. If there is a problem in the market, goods cannot be sold, and food and materials cannot be bought back, then the regime will immediately risk collapse.

In order to reduce this risk, Zhao Tai has been encouraging farming, hoping to be self-sufficient in food, and the second is to find more markets.

At this time, the Zhongyi Army's economy was highly dependent on the Southern Song Dynasty, and Zhao Tai currently did not have an army strong enough to control and influence the Southern Song Dynasty's decision-making. So once there was a problem in the Southern Song Dynasty, the Zhongyi Army's economy would suffer a huge blow.

This time in the Southern Song Dynasty's three-pronged Northern Expedition, only the Huaihe River sent troops, which reminded Zhao Tai that the internal struggle in the Southern Song Dynasty was relatively fierce, and the peace faction might come to power again at any time.

Zhao Tai and Zheng Qingzhi are so close. Once the main peace faction comes to power, they will definitely not allow Zhao Tai to easily make money from the Song Dynasty.

Therefore, it is necessary for Zhao Tai to find several more markets to share risks.

Wang Wentong mentioned Goryeo, which made Zhao Tai feel that it was a good choice.

Compared with the Southern Song Dynasty, Goryeo was a small country. After Zhao Tai opened their market, if Goryeo made any decision that was not conducive to Zhao Tai, Zhao Tai could raise troops and directly make the King of Goryeo change his mind.

Thinking of this, Zhao Tai couldn't help but nodded, "Selling the goods to Goryeo is a good idea!"

Haizhou, Donghai Island.

After Zhao Tai moved a large number of workshops to Haizhou, it developed further.

At this time, Haizhou's population had reached 500,000, of which nearly 30% were engaged in the two major industries of whaling and soap manufacturing.

In addition, with the development of these two industries, industries such as leather processing, whale oil refining, fish pickling, and shipbuilding have also emerged in Haizhou City.

Outside Haizhou City, Haizhou County Magistrate Zhou Rong pointed to a field and said: "Your Majesty, that area was originally abandoned, but now it has been reclaimed and planted with wheat."

After Zhao Tai controlled several states in the southeast of Shandong, his power gradually became stronger, and many people came to join him.

Zhou Rong was one of them. He was originally a county magistrate of the Jin Kingdom. After the Mongols took control of Shandong, he abandoned his seal and returned to his hometown.

After Zhao Tai issued the order to recruit talents, he came out from the countryside, took refuge with Zhao Tai, and was appointed as the magistrate of Haizhou County.

Zhao Tai looked along the large farmland he pointed at and saw a large green wheat field. There were farmers in twos and threes busy in the field. He nodded slightly and said, "Well done!"

"Reporting to your Majesty, Haizhou is close to the sea, and a lot of land within the territory is affected by sea water. Now I am organizing people to manage it. When the land is managed well, there will be more land that can be cultivated!" Zhou Rong said.

Areas close to the sea or flooded by rivers have problems with salinization of land.

Haizhou has not experienced major wars, and Zhao Tai has moved in a lot of people, so the land is not enough.

Zhao Tai asked: "Has that land been managed?"

Zhou Rong nodded, "It used to be very barren. I organized the people to spread the sludge from the ditches on top and made some improvements."

Zhao Taidao: "Is there much land that can be transformed?"

Zhou Rongdao: "There are many more, and most of them are unclaimed lands, but it is very difficult to transform them!"

Zhao Tai looked in the direction he pointed, and saw the sea in the distance, an endless expanse of land.

Zhou Rongdao: "If your Majesty can allocate a sum of money and food to me, I am confident that I can manage that area well too!"

Zhao Tai nodded in approval, "Food is the first priority for the people. Food is related to national security and is also the foundation of the army. Only with sufficient food can the people be stable and the army strong. You have done well, County Magistrate Zhou, and you will have a bright future in the future!"

Zhou Rong was overjoyed when he heard this and said, "Thank you so much for your praise, Your Majesty."

Zhou Rong was greatly encouraged by Zhao Tai's words and wanted to do something big, so he said: "I sincerely ask the king to allocate more manpower to me. I promise to make Haizhou achieve self-sufficiency in food within three years, and to pay more to the vassal every year."

The government will hand over 50,000 shi of food!"

Zhao Tai was very satisfied with Zhou Rong's enthusiasm, but he was not here to inspect Haizhou's agriculture.

There are large areas of unclaimed wasteland in Pizhou and Tengzhou, which can be cultivated with a little tidying up, without having to put in as much effort as in Haizhou.

In Zhao Tai's plan, Haizhou was mainly based on handicraft industry and import and export trade. It was the main port for Zhao Tai to make money from the Southern Song Dynasty, Goryeo, and Japan.

Zhao Tai smiled and said: "You should put aside the matter of land reclamation for now! I come here this time and I have something else to tell you!"

Zhou Rong said doubtfully: "Whatever your Majesty orders, I will definitely do it!"

Zhao Tai asked: "I want to see the shipbuilding workshop in Haizhou!"

If Zhao Tai wants to develop overseas trade, he will need a large number of sea-going ships. In addition, the Haizhou whaling and fishing industry will also need a large number of fishing boats.

Haizhou's fishery and foreign trade are developed, with hundreds of fishing boats going out to sea every day, and more than a dozen merchant ships entering and leaving the seaport.

Seeing this, a businessman saw a business opportunity and built a ship repair workshop in Haizhou. Later, he even started building ships.

Many of the fishing boats currently sailing on the sea were built by this shipbuilding workshop.

At this time, Zhou Rong led Zhao Tai to the shipyard. The owner got the news and led a group of people to greet him.

"Sun Baili, a common man, pays homage to the king!" A middle-aged businessman with a slightly fat figure saluted.

Zhao Tai looked at him and waved his hand, "No need to be polite, Mr. Sun, where are you from and why are you setting up this shipbuilding workshop in Haizhou?"

"Reporting to your Majesty, I am from Taizhou. I came to Haizhou to do business last year. I found that a merchant ship coming to Haizhou for business was damaged and there was no place to repair it, so I set up this shipbuilding workshop!" Sun Baili said.

Zhao Tai nodded slightly, thinking that the fat man in front of him had good eyesight and mobility.

Zhao Tai asked: "Can you show me your shipyard?"

Sun Baili immediately turned sideways and led Zhao Tai into a shipyard consisting of several lonely large wooden houses and a simple dock.

Zhao Tai walked around. The shipyard was not large in scale, and the walls were filled with various shipbuilding materials. It should be capable of manufacturing large ships.

Zhao Tai was quite happy to see this and asked: "You have piled up so many materials here, it is possible to build a large ocean-going ship."

Sun Baili shook his head and said: "Reporting to your Majesty, I mainly repair ships here, and then make some fishing boats for offshore fishing. I have never made a large ship."

Zhao Tai frowned slightly, "Can't you build a big ship here?"
To be continued...