Chapter 717 - 19: The Dawn of the Tongyuan Era and Maritime Exploration Five Hundred Years Early

Unlike every other great victory before.

This particular battle—

Clearly brought far more to the Song Dynasty than ever before, but neither for the Song court nor for Gu Jin.

The aftermath of the war did not bring celebration.

But rather the most somber national mourning.

...

Kaifeng.

Gu Jin returned here almost immediately to take control of the situation.

Zhao Dezhao was indeed not up to the task.

He was too honest.

This was evident from various historical events, even before Zhao Guangyi personally acted against him, he had already died by his own sword.

Such a person can be called a noble and righteous gentleman.

But cannot become a great emperor.

Fortunately, Zhao Kuangyin had arranged everything well, leaving nothing for Zhao Dezhao to do, just waiting for Gu Jin to return personally.

It is worth mentioning that Gu Jin entrusted the entire frontline military to Yang Ye.

He was the general most familiar with Liao.

Even though Gu Jin was unwilling, he had no choice but to return to the court to stabilize the situation and to arrange rewards for the battle.

Kaifeng City was filled with desolation.

As the founding emperor, Zhao Kuangyin’s influence on the entire Great Song far exceeded others’ expectations.

Especially in these years as Gu Jin once again carried out reforms throughout the Song territory, elevating the lives of the people of Great Song.

These various efforts made Zhao Kuangyin even more adored by the people.

Now that the emperor had fallen, the impact was naturally immense.

Gu Jin was continuously stabilizing the situation.

Not only the court but also the hearts of the people all over the country.

Through the Imperial Censorate.

He spread the results of this battle across the nation, hoping to wash away the great sorrow of the emperor’s fall with this great joy.

This indeed had some effect.

Especially upon hearing that the Gu Clan was once again in sole control of the government, the people throughout the territory of Great Song were overjoyed.

That was a fear arising from Zhao Kuangyin’s death.

This fear grew weaker under such circumstances.

And Gu Jin did not hesitate, under these circumstances, he personally arranged Zhao Dezhao’s enthronement ceremony.

He did not treat the ceremony lightly as previous members of the Gu Clan had done.

On the contrary—

This time, the enthronement ceremony he held far exceeded those before.

Not for appearances.

The real reason was still because of Zhao Kuangyin’s death, besides, he needed to show the world that the Song Dynasty was the legitimate Huaxia.

The situation had changed.

Gu Jin had clearly realized this.

The conflict between the Song Dynasty and Liao was definitely not going to end in a short time.

Because the national strengths of both countries were rising steadily.

And the rulers of both countries were competent.

The contention between the two countries was just like in the Warring States period, with Qin Kingdom rising while the other states gradually weakening, fighting six generations to finally blossom and bear fruit.

At least in the current situation, he still couldn’t see a chance for war between the Song and Liao!

And this was also in preparation for the future.

Zhao Dezhao naturally wouldn’t refuse what Gu Jin arranged.

Not just him.

Even Zhao Guangyi was completely cooperative.

Under such circumstances.

In the ninth year of Kaifeng, in March.

Zhao Dezhao officially ascended the throne in Kaifeng, changing the era name to "Tongyuan".

Meaning—"Unify the world, govern the four seas".

A pardon for all, rewards for the ministers.

...

Time flies.

The winds of change continued to sweep across the land.

——The news of the Northern Han war had spread completely.

The efforts of the Liao generals beforehand ultimately backfired under such conditions.

Not only did it not affect the situation of this battle.

It also allowed the reputation of the Song Army and the Gu Clan to rise to a new level.

Yet despite this, it was useless to the current situation.

Wang Yingchen had heavily fortified Yanmen, preventing the Song Army from crossing it.

He could indeed be considered one of the beneficiaries of this battle.

Although Liao suffered significant losses.

Wang Yingchen had completely seized control of power, concentrating all power in Liao at the court, which was indeed an enormous benefit for him and even Yelv Xian.

For an empire.

——The unification of power symbolizes the unification of decrees.

And Wang Yingchen’s next target was also singular.

That was Liaodong.

This was also an inevitability of the era.

Actually, between the Song Kingdom and Liao today, both sides were like two extremes.

The difference in terrain brought completely different system methods to the two countries.

The Song—naturally focused on commerce.

The long-standing commercial foundation of the Jiangnan region destined this, including the prosperous maritime trade between the two provinces.

While Liao greatly developed agriculture with its vast territories.

This was completely different from historical records.

Actually, considering current productivity levels, if things continued like this, Liao’s model was more suitable for development.

Because commerce has a limit.

And in the current era, agriculture remained the foundation for survival for the people.

The Song Kingdom also needed grain.

At least with the current land area, in the long run, the arable land was far from enough.

But after conquering the Northern Han, there was no need to worry about this anymore.

In the short term, these problems need not be a concern.

And Gu Jin could take advantage of this period to develop the Northern Han region, letting the local people recover, and achieve economic circulation domestically while cultivating the land.

Similarly—

He could also compete with Liao for Liaodong through maritime trade!