“Someone!”
“Is there anything the young master needs?”
Upon hearing Han Mo’s call, a maid pushed open the door and walked in.
“Go find Jiang Yan for me and tell him I have something to discuss with him!”
“Yes!”
“The young master is looking for me, is something the matter?”
Hearing that Han Mo wanted to see him, Jiang Yan scurried to Han Mo’s room.
“Go to the shop later and find Manager Zhe, ask him for the whereabouts of those Japanese people, and then deliver this letter to Mr. Yuan!”
“Yes!”
After receiving the letter, Jiang Yan acknowledged and turned to leave Han Mo’s room.
Only after he left did Han Mo let out a long sigh.
Since their country’s merchant ships could reach here, the Song Dynasty’s warships, with their even more advanced shipbuilding technology, could naturally also reach Japan.
Even Zhe Yourong did not expect that her casual question today had truly sparked a crazy idea in Han Mo’s mind.
The entire Great Song Dynasty still used copper coins as its primary currency.
To make up for the shortage of copper coins, many places were even forced to use iron coins and silk as auxiliary currencies.
It was not that the imperial court did not want to use silver and gold as currency, but rather that the annual gold and silver output in the entire Song Dynasty was extremely limited at this time.
Han Mo wanted to expand the sea routes and focus on developing maritime trade, shifting the heavy taxes that had been borne by the people of the Song Dynasty onto overseas countries.
However, the entire maritime trade market had almost been completely carved up by the eight great families.
Taking back the initiative from them was naturally something Han Mo intended to do, but fighting them to the death at the initial stage of this matter was not a good idea for Han Mo.
Overseas trade had always been a highly profitable industry, and backed by the sea for so many years, these eight great families had long been overflowing with wealth.
If Han Mo did not possess enough power, trying to snatch a piece of the pie from them would be akin to seeking death.
And the matter concerning Japan provided Han Mo with an excellent excuse.
Perhaps those Japanese people themselves did not realize that at this time, they were holding a golden rice bowl while begging for food!
Japan was rich in volcanoes, and therefore, the gold and silver reserves within Japan were also astonishing.
Moreover, and most importantly, to this day, Japan had not officially established diplomatic relations with the Song Dynasty.
From beginning to end, they had always refused to acknowledge the Song Dynasty’s suzerain status.
With the current shipbuilding level of the Song Dynasty, if Han Mo could use this opportunity of quelling the rebellion to further improve the combat effectiveness of the Song Navy, perhaps destroying the Japanese with a detachment force was not impossible!
The Japanese people, as a race, possessed strong inherent weaknesses. As long as they were beaten soundly, they would be more devoted to you than to their own parents.
If they could truly conquer the entire Japan, even a few minor officials could acquire countless amounts of gold and silver annually.
If Zhao Zhen could secure such a vast source of wealth, his influence within the entire Song Dynasty would greatly increase!
Zhao Ji truly had no intention of letting Zhao Zhen return to Bianliang City from the very beginning. However, his plan was naturally beneficial to the original Zhao Zhen.
As long as Zhao Zhen’s military power was confiscated after the matter was concluded, he naturally would not be able to cause any significant trouble.
However, if Zhao Zhen held such a vast fortune, the situation would be entirely different.
At that time, the initiative would return to Zhao Zhen, and he could be more at ease whether he advanced or retreated.
This plan was indeed a good plan, but Han Mo also understood in his heart that completing it would require not only a large amount of money but also a bit of luck.
Han Mo was not worried about the money. After all, with his knowledge from over a thousand years, combined with his current status and the influence the Zhe family had among merchants, if he wanted money, a captivating story would suffice.
Compared to wealth, Han Mo was more concerned about whether he had that luck.
Luck was something elusive, but did not Genghis Khan fail due to luck back then?
Of course, Genghis Khan’s failure in crossing the sea also had issues with the timing.
On one hand, the military strength of Japan had greatly increased at that time. On the other hand, Genghis Khan had sent people to cross the sea twice, and both times encountered typhoons.
Compared to him, the Japan that Han Mo was facing now was much weaker.
Han Mo did not remember other things clearly, but he remembered one thing very clearly.
In March of the third year of Tianxi of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, a fleet of over fifty ships of unknown origin attacked Tsushima, Iki, Ito District, Hakata, Nagasaki, and Hizen, plundering supplies and people, and burning down houses.
Later, it was proven that these were just pirates who had been roaming the area.
These people killed more than four hundred people locally in Japan and plundered over a thousand, yet they managed to retreat unharmed in the end.
This showed how poor the combat strength of the Japanese was at this time.
A group of pirates could cause them heavy losses, let alone the well-trained Song Navy.
Although doing so might be considered a departure from the celestial dynasty’s dignity, Han Mo believed that driven by immense profits, many people would be interested in this matter.
The more Han Mo thought about it, the more excited he became. At the height of his excitement, he felt no more sleepiness and directly turned to head towards his study.
“Brother Mo, an old monk is here and says he is looking for you. Steward Liu at the front asked me to inquire how you wish to handle it?”
As Han Mo stepped out of the room, Chun Tao suddenly ran over.
“An old monk? Let him in! Invite him to the study, and have someone send a pot of good tea over later! Also, if there’s nothing important, don’t let anyone disturb him!”
Upon hearing about a monk, Han Mo became even happier.
The old monk coming over at this time could only mean that they could no longer refuse Han Mo.
Otherwise, he would not have needed to make the trip himself; he could have just found an address to send a message, so why bother coming here in person?
They had no initiative in this matter to begin with, and on top of that, they were outmaneuvered by Han Mo during the day!
At this moment, Han Mo was even starting to anticipate what those people would offer to make him shut up.