Upon hearing this, Chen Mo could only say, "Goodness gracious."

The cost of going to sea would be covered by the national treasury, but all the profits from overseas trade went entirely into the Emperor’s private treasury. It was no wonder the civil and military officials couldn’t agree and kept submitting memorials.

"What does Chancellor Geng think?" Chen Mo asked.

"During Emperor Ling’s time, the Maritime Trade Bureau was established in the River Sea and Cangzhou, with four ports constructed. Now all of them have been closed. If Your Highness could persuade His Majesty to issue a decree to reopen these four ports and re-establish the Maritime Trade Bureau, placing it under the control of the Fish Scale Guard, within a year, the national treasury would certainly be flush, and there would be enough funds to rebuild the North and revive the northern livelihood," said Geng Songfu.

Chen Mo pondered for a moment. Given the current internal situation, the navy was no longer necessary, and it would indeed be a good choice to deploy the Fish Scale Guard to the North Sea. He said, "Very well, let’s do it this way, Chancellor Geng, please write a memorial, and later I will present it to His Majesty when I enter the palace."

"I have already prepared it," Geng Songfu said, taking out a memorial from his sleeve and handing it to Chen Mo. He then added, "I once heard from General Nangong Xian that the Nangong Family has privately established a new port in Chaoping County of the River Sea, without reporting it to the Court, and has opened overseas routes, reaping vast profits daily from the vast sea.

If Your Highness could get help from the Nangong Family, the national treasury might be filled in just half a year."

Chen Mo understood Geng Songfu’s meaning—using the private construction of the port by the Nangong Family as leverage against them. Even though the ruling court during chaotic times might overlook such matters, it didn’t mean it couldn’t be managed now.

If they didn’t use this reason, asking the Nangong Family to "cooperate" might be perceived as the Court bullying them once word spreads.

After all, in warfare, there is a principle of ’just cause’.

If you commit a crime, the Court naturally has ways to handle you.

Geng Songfu didn’t explicitly say it, likely out of consideration for the relationship between the Nangong Family and Chen Mo.

Chen Mo nodded, contemplating for a moment, and said, "I understand."

After discussing the matter of opening up the sea, Geng Songfu did not leave.

Chen Mo asked, "Is there anything else?"

"Indeed, there is a matter regarding the Ministry of Revenue," Geng Songfu said. "Lord Zuo mentioned that during Emperor Ling’s time, there were a total of 18,960,032 households, with an estimated population of about 120 million. Yet, during the previous emperor’s time, based on the Ministry of Revenue’s statistics, the population had already decreased to less than 100 million.

Now, the North is practically emptied, and although the South has been less affected, the population has reduced by at least thirty percent; the population is declining."

Chen Mo’s expression slightly tightened. In his previous life, he had read an account online stating that the population at the end of the Eastern Han period was 56 million, but by the Three Kingdoms period, it was less than 8 million, a decrease of over eighty percent. What a concept.

He had been to the North, where corpses lay everywhere, and skeletal remains dotted the roadsides. Now, he wondered if the population of the Great Song were still 20 million.

"Does Lord Zuo intend to restore the population?" Chen Mo roughly guessed Zuo Lianglun’s intention.

"Indeed, originally Lord Zuo wanted to discuss this personally with Your Highness, but upon learning the national treasury was empty, he decided to hold back. However, I thought it necessary to mention this to Your Highness," Geng Songfu said.

"Did Lord Zuo mention any solutions?" Chen Mo became more attentive.

The population issue must not be taken lightly; it is the foundation of a feudal dynasty.

"Lord Zuo discussed some ideas with me. He suggested that the Court could issue laws stipulating that girls must be married by the age of sixteen, and if not, the Court would levy a harsh tax on the girl and her family.

At the same time, encouraging childbirth by allowing households with newborns to be exempt from corvée labor and taxes for one to two years. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Finally, to permit commoners to take concubines."

In the Great Song Dynasty, ordinary people did not have the right to take concubines, a privilege reserved for the nobility. Of course, this rule wasn’t strictly enforced at the local level—if you had money and kept it low-key, you could still take concubines, depending on whether the local government office cared to enforce it.

Now, permitting commoners to take concubines means they no longer have to do so in secret.

But, of course, if a commoner lacks the financial means, he still wouldn’t have the means to take concubines, even with permission.

Upon hearing this, Chen Mo rubbed his temples with his right thumb and forefinger and then said, "Very well, draft the laws, and we will issue them when officials are appointed across the provinces."

"Yes, Your Highness."

...

Returning to Prince Wei’s Mansion, Chen Mo had Sun Meng summon his brother-in-law, Wu Changlin, who is currently a Minister of Fish Scale Guard.

In the hall, Wu Changlin saluted Chen Mo, saying, "This subordinate pays respects to Your Highness."

Chen Mo quickly supported Wu Changlin’s arm and warmly said, "Brother-in-law, you truly humble me."

Being Wu Mi’s elder brother, and Wu Mi having borne a son for Chen Mo, in private, Chen Mo naturally dropped formalities and referred to him as ’brother-in-law’—a term of endearment and respect for talent.

Wu Changlin’s face bore a flourishing smile. Initially, he strongly opposed Wu Mi’s marriage to Chen Mo and had even plotted against him. However, as time passed, he became exceedingly satisfied with his brother-in-law and said, "This subordinate dares not accept such praise."

"Why shouldn’t you? You are Mi’Er’s brother and Jia’Er’s uncle. You have always been in Jiangnan and haven’t yet seen Jia’Er, have you?" Chen Mo said.

Wu Changlin, who had heard that his sister had given birth to a nephew, nodded and smiled, "Jia’Er is already a year old, I believe."

"He’s already one year and two months old." Chen Jia was born on February 23, The Second Year of Yong’an, and it is now late April, The Third Year of Yong’an.

"How quickly time flies."

"Indeed." Chen Mo smiled, but he did not long for the past—it was too difficult. He continued, "Brother-in-law, I have a task for you."