The first prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 143 The Naval Vision

"I think this policy is quite good. The prince is really a great talent. What do you think?" Zhao Kuangyin asked with a smile.

What else can the ministers say besides saying that the emperor is wise?Everyone below is not a mature person, and their hair is empty.

My boss said it was pretty good, how can you say no, you are going against your boss, you can be a person with principles, but you also need to have eyes.

This group of people are all veterans in this field, how can they not understand this, naturally they won't be in trouble at this juncture.

"Brother Guangyi, take a short step." Zhao Pu called Zhao Guangyi who was walking back after the next court.

"Brother Zhao Pu, what's the matter? I have to rush back to deal with political affairs?" Zhao Guangyi has now been appointed as the governor of Kaifeng, so he naturally has things to deal with every day.

"Then I have time to have a gathering at my house in the evening. I have time to discuss with you. We haven't had a good chat together for so long."

Zhao Pu is also busy with his own affairs, so the two agreed to get together in the evening, it seems that there is something to discuss.

"Brother Lai Lai Guangyi drank this glass. I specially prepared it for you. This is a good wine from Taoxianglou, which is hard to buy."

At Zhao Pu's house, Zhao Guangyi and the others enjoyed a few dishes of side dishes and a jar of good wine.

"This wine is really incomparable to ordinary wine. My nephew, how did the current crown prince make such strong wine? It is said that the Khitan people like this wine very much."

Zhao Guangyi was full of praise for this wine, but the following sentence sounded more than just admiration.

Zhao Pu couldn't stop nodding:
"I don't know how he does this kind of spirits. Now I can't see him more and more. For example, the general sentence system proposed by the emperor in the court today, I think it was proposed by the prince."

"I think it's not like the emperor came up with it alone, but this suggestion is still good. It has curbed the expansion of local power to a certain extent. Why didn't we think of it before."

Zhao Guangyi said in an annoyed tone, as if this suggestion was not made by him.

"Brother Guangyi, the most important thing for us now is to help the emperor settle the internal affairs. There are still many problems. The road to unify the world in the Song Dynasty is still very long."

Seeing that Zhao Guangyi seemed a little discouraged, Zhao Pu couldn't help reminding him.

When they supported Zhao Kuangyin as the emperor, they wanted to unify the world one day, but now the Song Dynasty is still in chaos.

Jiedushi still controls the power of the imperial court, and they control everything about military and financial power, and the road to reunification is full of hardships.

"Brother Guangyi, the reason I called you here today is to discuss with you about the military power of the Jiedushi in various places..."

In Yangzhou, Zhao Xu is currently in talks with Song Yanwo. In fact, he is asking Song Yanwo to guard the defense line of the Yangtze River.

"General Song, Jiang Fang is not a trivial matter. You must be careful not to give Nan Tang an opportunity, otherwise it will be too late."

"Prince, don't worry, as long as I'm stationed here, don't even think about going over a suspicious plank, otherwise I'll do whatever you want."

Song Yanwo was equivalent to issuing a military order, but his words revealed a strong self-confidence.

"Hahaha, the general was joking. The emperor and I both trust the general very much. What I said just now is just to remind the general to be careful in everything. Is there nothing wrong with being careful?"

Zhao Xu could also hear that Song Yanwo was full of confidence, but self-confidence must not become conceited, otherwise it would be really troublesome.

If Guan Yu hadn't been conceited back then, how could he have lost Maicheng and become a dead soul under the sword, so Zhao Xu was going to beat him up.

"Prince, don't you worry, I will pay attention to it." Song Yanwo might have heard Zhao Xu's real intention, and promised.

At this moment, a soldier came running outside:
"My lord, we intercepted a large ship on the river, and it was full of cargo. According to our investigation, it was all shipped from the south of the Southern Han Dynasty."

"Okay, I get it, you go down first, detain these boats first, search strictly, don't let go of suspicious things, go."

Following Song Yanwo's order, the soldier withdrew.Zhao Xu was at a loss to hear what a big ship was.

Why were they able to intercept the big ship, and what kind of goods would pass through the Yangtze River? I just heard that they came from the south of the Southern Han Dynasty.

"Master Song, what kind of cargo ship did you intercept, and what was on it?"

Zhao Xu explained Song Yanwo patiently, and Zhao Xu finally understood what was going on.

It turned out that at this time, there were already merchants selling goods over long distances, and they knew the truth that rare goods could be lived in.

For example, merchants in the north can transport goods from the south to the north. For example, lychees from the south are worthless in the south. 'But if it is shipped to the north, it will be a sky-high price.

Otherwise, there would not be such a poem as "a concubine riding on the red dust smiles, but no one knows it is litchi."

The ship intercepted by the Song Dynasty navy was a merchant ship. They were able to run to the south of the Han Dynasty. Zhao Xu didn't know if it was Hainan Island or Vietnam.

As for why their cargo ship was intercepted, it was because someone had boldly sold weapons, which was not allowed by the court.

Since then, they have been ordered by the court to inspect all passing ships without any exceptions.

Zhao Xu was relieved when he heard this. It turned out that there were still people smuggling contraband, which of course had to be investigated.It is not uncommon for later generations to have such means.

"Then do we have to charge merchant ships for passing by us?" Zhao Xu turned around and asked Song Yanwo.

"According to the regulations of the imperial court, we have to collect taxes and fees on passing merchant ships, but this is very small and not heavy."

He didn't know why the prince didn't know about it, so he replied honestly.

Zhao Xu nodded. As he had guessed, although the collection would not be too much, what he cared about was how to use the taxes.

"So what do you do with the taxes and fees you receive?"

"So that the crown prince knows that every month or half a year, your government will come here to transport away the taxes we collected. According to the regulations of the court, they will be sent to the central government."

Old Song paused for a moment: "But as far as I know, most of them were not sent to the court. As for what they did."

Song Yanwo is complaining. It can also be said that they have resentment in their hearts. Think about it, you are responsible for collecting taxes. After the collection, you will have nothing to do with you. Are you willing?
It's like you've worked so hard to talk about a marriage, and you're busy borrowing money to hold the wedding, and the wedding is over, and after the bridal chamber, you have nothing to do, are you willing?
Zhao Xu also heard his complaints, and couldn't help but comfort him:
"Okay, Master Song, I will report this matter to my father when I return to the capital. Don't worry, follow me to see this merchant ship."

After a while, Zhao Xu saw the merchant ship from a distance. It was really too big. It was about thirty feet long and ten feet wide. It was the largest sea-going ship in the world at that time.

Calculated by the current measurement method, it is nearly 50 meters long and [-] meters wide, which was already remarkable at that time.

The ship is divided into three floors, and eight sails can be hung on the six masts on the ship. This kind of power can go to the ocean. No wonder later generations say that the maritime trade in the Song Dynasty was developed.

I knew this merchant ship when I saw it today. Zhao Xu was very excited and said with emotion;
"Wouldn't it be better if it was converted into a warship for ocean-going sailing?"

Song Yanwo was not happy when he heard it. It seems that the prince still doesn't understand their navy, so he said:
"Here, prince, this is just a merchant ship. Our largest battleship is a little bigger than this, and the equipment on it is also many times better than this."

"Well, General Song, you are saying that our navy is bigger than this ship, isn't it?"

Zhao Xu was as excited as a child. He actually grabbed Song Yanwo's arm. He was so excited.

He thought that with such a big ship, it would not be a piece of cake to build an invincible navy, so he was a little excited.

When Zhao Xu reacted, he was somewhat embarrassed:

"Well, General Song, I'm too excited, don't take offense. I can't help but see this big ship."

"En? Why is the prince so excited when he saw this big boat? Is this boat different?" Song Yanwo didn't understand why.

Of course, Song Yanwo would not understand the importance of the ocean, so Zhao Xu wanted to plant a seed of sailing in his heart:

"Haha General doesn't know something. With these big ships, we can equip a powerful navy. Then we will be omnipotent and invincible at sea?"

"Prince, the navy, I know the navy, but I don't know what the navy means. Is it marching and fighting at sea?"

People in the navy now understand it very well, but people in ancient times can't accept it very much, but it is rare for Song Yanwo to think so.

"What General Song said is also close, that's what it means."

"The sea can be as big as it is, and the navy is needed. Besides, what do we need the navy for? Isn't that tasteless?" Song Yanwo muttered.

Chicken ribs are tasteless to eat, and it's a pity to throw them away. Song Yanwo is not from the future generations, and he doesn't know the situation of the future generations. Naturally, he doesn't know how much we have suffered at sea in the future generations.

Not to mention that some countries in the West are relying on this extremely powerful navy to sweep the entire Asia and Africa, what a scene.

You, Song Yanwo, actually said how big the sea can be. I really don’t know that the sky is high and the earth is thick. Is there anything bigger than the sea on this earth?
Why are people at this time so uncivilized?In any case, this navy must be built. Even if it cannot be built now, it must have a prototype.

In the future, I will have to march across the sea, can I do it without a navy?
(End of this chapter)