I, the military god of the Tang Dynasty, have risen since I destroyed the Turks

Chapter 537: The Return of the Tang Fleet
If the water is clear, there will be no fish.

for this.

Li Zheng was very clear about this.

As for the past events, as long as they did not take human lives lightly and were not too corrupt, Li Zheng could still forgive them.

After all, Li Zheng would not be like his father, who used his own personality to demand that all his subjects be the same as him, as if he had no emotions.

This is impossible.

The people standing in this court have all been carefully examined by Li Zheng for a long time. They are loyal to the court and have capabilities.

If such matters involve too many people, it will be detrimental to the stability of the country.

Li Zheng didn't want to experience the massacre like Emperor Yang of Sui in the previous dynasty. He killed too many people and implicated too many people, which eventually caused the entire court to cease functioning and the world to change drastically.

"Read the imperial edict."

Li Zheng waved his hand and said to Wang Dedao beside him.

Wang De stood up and opened an imperial edict.

All the civil and military officials in the court looked at them in confusion.

Directly reading the imperial edict meant that Li Zheng had already prepared it.

But no matter what the matter involved, the ministers were naturally curious.

"It is destined to be carried by heaven, the emperor decreed."

"Since the founding of the new dynasty in the first year of Jianwu, all officials have worked tirelessly for me and helped stabilize the Tang Dynasty."

"I see everything."

"In order to make all officials peaceful and prosperous, the treasury is now full and the salaries of all officials will be raised by 50%."

"Appreciate this."

Wang De read loudly.

Hear the words.

All the civil and military officials in the court had happy expressions on their faces.

Increasing their salaries means real money, and they can live a more prosperous life.

"The Emperor's Holy Might."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness."

All the civil and military officials in the court knelt down and shouted in unison.

This concerns the interests of all their subjects, and even all the subjects in the world. How could they not be excited?

"In addition to the salary increase for officials throughout the country."

"The salaries of the soldiers in the army must also be increased."

"I bless the whole world with my grace, and the same applies to the soldiers who serve the Tang Dynasty," Li Zheng said in a majestic voice.

"Your Majesty is wise." All the civil and military officials in the court said in unison.

There are also salaries for promoted officials and military personnel.

Li Zheng also thought about it for a long time. Compared with previous dynasties, their salaries were indeed not high.

Today the treasury is full.

Business tax changes.

These can all be converted into money and allocated by Li Zheng.

In addition, there were Beijiang Prefecture, Jiaozhou Prefecture, and Goguryeo received even more tax revenue.

In these three places.

Their tax revenue was much higher than that of the Tang Dynasty's hinterland. However, the Ministry of Revenue did not reflect these three parts of tax revenue in the national treasury, but directly reported it to Li Zheng and sealed the documents.

“It’s been almost two years now.”

"I don't know where Liu Sheng and his fleet are." Li Zheng suddenly said.

Hear this.

All the civil and military officials in the court remained silent.

This time the official ship sailed directly into the sea, so it was impossible for the civil and military officials in the court to contact it. After all, there were no telephones, let alone mobile phones, at that time.

at this time.

"Report."

"The fleet that sailed to the west, led by Generals Liu Sheng and Du Zhenlun, has returned to the court and is now outside the palace gate."

"Your Majesty, please give me your instructions."

Wang Hao's voice rang out outside the hall.

Hear the sound.

Li Zheng, who was originally hesitant, immediately smiled.

"Xuan."

Li Zheng shouted loudly.

echoed.

Wang Hao ran out quickly.

The eyes of all the civil and military officials in the court were focused outside the hall.

Every look was filled with anticipation. Going to sea for the Tang Dynasty.

Liu Sheng and Du Zhenlun are the only two people.

Except for them, no one in the court, civil or military, had ever been there.

Now they have been at sea for almost two years and finally returned.

After sailing for so long, I still don’t know where I am.

Not only Li Zheng was curious, but all the civil and military officials in the court were equally curious.

In the expectation of everyone.

Liu Sheng and Du Zhenlun, excited to return to Chang'an, hurried into the hall.

"Your servant Liu Sheng."

"Your Highness Du Zhenlun."

"See the Emperor."

"Long live my emperor."

After the two entered the hall, they knelt down in front of Li Zheng excitedly.

Li Zheng looked at the two of them with a smile on his face, and also had a happy look on his face, "Stand up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

The two of them immediately thanked him and slowly stood up.

Seeing Li Zheng again and returning to Chang'an again, they both showed excitement on their faces.

They were especially excited to see the emperor who trusted them again.

"It's been almost two years of sailing."

"You're all tanned."

Li Zheng looked at the two of them and said with a smile.

"Return to the Emperor."

"The sun is shining brightly over most of the sea, but we, as ministers, are carrying out the emperor's orders, so we dare not enjoy it." Liu Sheng said respectfully.

"Tell me about the situation of the fleet." Li Zheng nodded and asked directly.

"Return to the Emperor."

“This time, our ministers are going out to sea with a total of 8,300 people, including all the owners of 130 warships.

"Although there were many doctors and various medicinal herbs on board, some people were still infected with marine plague during the voyage and eventually died."

"But the emperor mentioned beforehand that he had brought a lot of fruits and so on. There were only more than 30 crew members who died of the disease. In addition, there were 13 crew members who died due to acclimatization."

"That's all the deaths in the fleet."

"Except for them, all other crew members who went out have returned."

Liu Sheng said respectfully.

"This number has greatly prevented plague at sea."

"good."

Li Zheng nodded, and naturally understood that this number of dozens of people was truly rare and precious.

"go on."

"I also want to know where you went and what you did." Li Zheng smiled and waved his hand.

"Start playing to the Emperor,"

"This is a nautical chart drawn by the two of us. All the Western countries and regions we visited this time are marked on it." Du Zhenlun directly took out a carefully preserved map.

Hold it up respectfully.

Wang De immediately stepped forward, picked up the map and handed it to Li Zheng.

The latter took it.

Open it and take a look.

It was indeed a very detailed nautical chart, which showed the location of the Tang Dynasty as well as the locations of the Western countries visited during this voyage.

Even many islands are marked.

"You two dear ministers have done a great job."

"This nautical chart is also very well drawn." Li Zheng praised with a smile.

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty."

"This time."

"Everywhere we sailed is marked here, and many uninhabited islands are also marked on this nautical chart."

“We encountered quite a lot on the sea route this time.”

"There are many pirates in the Western Ocean."

"Wherever our Tang fleet passed, we killed more than four to five thousand pirates. They all deserved it."

"With the Emperor's grace, sea transportation has been opened. When merchants from the Tang Dynasty went out to sea to do business, they were also targeted by pirates."

"Using the blood of pirates to intimidate the West also saved many merchants in my Tang Dynasty from being slaughtered."

Liu Sheng, with a serious face, reported the pirate incident in the Western Ocean.

(End of this chapter)