Li Chunfeng on one side and Cui Zhibian on the other were talking earnestly along the way. They wished they could get into the carriage and persuade His Highness to agree to allocate funds to them again.
But no matter what they said, Li Hong opened the curtains, smiled and shook his head, but refused.
The two of them had to look at each other. Could it be that His Highness the Crown Prince had changed his mind, could no longer stand the pressure from the court, and was no longer interested in the vast sea
Hangzhou was one of the few large cities in the history of the Tang Dynasty that had a population of one million during its most prosperous period. Compared with Yangzhou, its city size was naturally much larger. Its city walls and towers were all built in After combining the practicality of northern military offense and defense, the architectural style of Jiangnan is added, and the overall look is not out of place.
The large city gate had been guarded by soldiers for a long time, and carriages, cavalry, infantry, etc. escorted several carriages into Hangzhou City quickly.
The people on both sides of the street, blocked by soldiers, watched with eager eyes as several carriages filed in, but because the curtains were lowered, they could not peek at which dignitaries were sitting in the carriages.
At this time, the West Lake was not as crowded as it was during the Song Dynasty, because some famous buildings in later generations had not yet appeared at this time. Therefore, when people went to the West Lake, they often only went boating to have fun, or were celebrities. The perfect place to have fun.
What is shocking is that there are many painted boats on the West Lake, but the people can turn a blind eye and paddle across the West Lake in small boats and boats to the foot of the West Mountain, and then continue to go up the mountain to worship Buddha.
The land of fireworks and the holy land of piety can live harmoniously in the mountains and rivers without any conflict, which is beyond Li Hong's expectation.
At the entrance of a mansion that looked like an ordinary mansion on the edge of the West Lake, several carriages slowly stopped. The mansion was surrounded by soldiers holding weapons, and the mansion was completely surrounded.
Li Hong swatted away Li Chunfeng and Cui Zhibian, who were plastered like flies. Under Li Chongyi's smile, he slowly walked into the mansion with Bai Chun.
According to Li Hong's request, Li Chongyi felt that it couldn't be easier. In Li Chongyi's view, such a small three-entry courtyard was completely inconsistent with Li Hong's status as the Tang prince. However, this was Li Hong's request, so There was nothing he could do.
Now walking in the mansion, looking at everything in the newly renovated mansion, the colorful flowers cluster together, forming a rather elegant and pleasant small garden.
The green trees on the outside cover a small pond and pavilion. The trees are green, the birds are singing and the flowers are fragrant. A poetic courtyard with a unique Jiangnan flavor is presented in front of people's eyes.
On the periphery, there are naturally residences for slaves, servants, guards, etc. The entire house is not very big, and what makes Li Hong satisfied is that compared to the Manjiang Garden provided by Li Jingye, this place is more suitable for self-cultivation, not to mention the current West Lake. There are not many buildings nearby, making this place more like a residence built by a wealthy merchant, suitable for him to stay here for a longer period of time.
The small mansion was immediately taken over by two hundred personal guards led by Wei Tuqi after Li Hong moved in. The entire mansion no longer contained anyone from the Hangzhou government and became completely like Li Hong's private residence. generally.
The guards outside the door were also ordered by Li Hong. After Li Chongyi repeatedly admonished them several times, they all withdrew helplessly.
A banquet featuring Hangzhou cuisine ended in a happy and joyful atmosphere, followed by various officials bidding farewell one by one. The gate of the originally overcrowded mansion, after the Hangzhou city gate had been closed for an hour late at night, It also became deserted.
After the last official, Wei Siwen, the governor of Hangzhou, left, the remaining three people, Li Chongyi, Li Chunfeng, and Cui Zhibian, led by Li Hong, came to an elegant tea room.
A maid was obviously arranged by Li Chongyi a long time ago, but she obviously did not know Li Hong's identity. After seeing the four people coming in, she just saluted according to the etiquette of master and servant, and then began to perform for the four people. Now it is spread from Chang'an to Hangzhou , Jiangnan tea art has evolved over the past few years.
The four people sat down with their dignity different. The maid was also dismissed by Li Chongyi, so among the four of them, it was Li Hong who was making tea for the three of them. However, because it was Li Hong's intention, the three of them did not The only solution was to respectfully take the tea that Li Hong poured for them, which exuded a light fragrance.
Needless to say, Li Chongyi has been a local official for many years, but his relationship with the royal family has always been harmonious. In addition, he is loyal, has great political achievements in the local area, and is quite popular among the people. His title of Duke is It is very likely that he will become a county king again within a few years.
Cui Zhibian had an encounter with Li Hong in Liaodong, and as the naval commander, after seeing these giant ships, he immediately stayed in Quanzhou, so he is now considered a loyal minister and an important minister.
Needless to say, Li Chunfeng, who used to call himself a poor man, has become a minister. Obviously, the attraction of sailing on a giant ship is too great for him.
The land under our feet turned out to be a sphere called a circle. Both this sentence and Li Chunfeng's inferences in the past few years have long confirmed its authenticity, but even so, he still wanted to sail once and see this sphere. How round is it? As His Highness the Prince said, there are other vast and abundant lands on this earth, as well as creatures that have never been seen before.
What's more, sailing itself is related to image, which is a fatal attraction for Li Chunfeng, which also forced him to start surrendering when facing Li Hong.
Li Hong was about to cut to the chase when he heard a knock on the door outside. After he responded, Bai Chun walked in quickly, holding a note in his hand with an excited expression. The moment he closed the door, there was a faint sound. It can be seen that in the night, a huge bird is standing on a branch not far from the door, looking at the room with the door open.
"What's wrong?" Li Hong motioned for Bai Chun to sit down next to him, and then poured a cup of tea for Bai Chun himself and asked.
"Your Highness, I found it." Bai Chun held the note and looked at Li Hong excitedly.
"What did you find?" Li Hong looked at Bai Chun up and down, feeling that she was a little nervous.
"Chen Qinghan! Chen Jingzhi's daughter has been found." Bai Chun raised the note in his hand and handed it to Li Hong.
Li Hong took the note and glanced at it, then handed it to Li Chongyi. Li Chongyi thought for a moment, took the note, looked at it, and gave it back to Li Hong again.
Then he said solemnly: "Your Highness, if you want to rescue Chen Jingzhi's daughter in the name of the government, you must first have the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Punishment, especially the Yangzhou Prefecture, to stop questioning Chen Jingzhi..."
"Li Jingye's disobedient heart is now known to everyone in Jiangnan Province, don't you think? If he knew that I knew that Chen Jingzhi was not dead, would he directly execute Chen Jingzhi without following the laws of the Tang Dynasty? "Li Hong lowered his head and said calmly.
"But if we forcibly rescue this woman, the risk is also extremely high. It may accelerate Li Jingye's rebellious heart..." Li Chongyi hesitated for a moment, but still expressed his worries.
"Forget it, you don't have to worry about this matter. You just need to keep an eye on Zhechong Mansion, which is now under his control. As for rescuing Chen Jingzhi's daughter, let her handle it with full authority." Li Hong held up the note in his hand. He gave it back to Bai Chun and made a final decision.
"Yes, Your Highness." Li Chongyi saluted and said.
"If this is the case, wouldn't it mean that Your Highness would have to delay going to sea for a few days?" When Li Chunfeng heard that Li Hong asked Bai Chun to rescue Chen Jingzhi's daughter, wouldn't it mean that Your Highness would have to delay going to sea for a few days
"Three to five days are enough. I don't think it will take long. If Chen Jingzhi's daughter can be rescued, it would be a good thing to give Li Jingye a warning and force him to get into trouble. In addition, after Chen Jingzhi's daughter was rescued, I'm going to sea again, I think Li Jingye will be more or less relaxed, which will also help Li Chongyi to fight for the wavering Zhechong Mansion," Li Hong thought for a moment and said.
"But..." Li Chunfeng still wanted money, but was interrupted by Li Hong.
"No, within ten years, I will not build these ships again. If they are smaller and cost less, we can consider building a few more ships. As for such large ones, we can no longer build them." Li Hong said seriously.
As soon as these words came out, not only Li Chunfeng was confused, but also Bai Chun was confused. He had always been a staunch advocate and supporter of the so-called maritime power. Why did he veto his own decision now
Seeing everyone stunned on the spot, Li Hong shrugged helplessly and said: "There is no way, I have to use this expense elsewhere. If something can be achieved in ten or twenty years, then your sailboats will be the best in the sea." Waste, in the eyes of future ships, is like paper, so in order to support those plans, I have to give up the reduction on your side. "
Li Chunfeng looked at Li Hong doubtfully, then scanned the faces of Bai Chun, Li Chongyi, and Cui Zhibian, thought for a moment and asked: "Your Highness, are you concerned about the student from Chongwen Hall who made it a few days ago?" What high hopes does the air-spin ball have?”
Li Hong glanced at him in surprise, nodded lightly and said nothing.
The power that the pneumatic ball can provide is too tempting to him. If the pneumatic ball can really develop a steam engine after ten years of improvement, then wouldn't ships be able to emerge as the times require? By then, Qiantang When facing real ships at Jiang Pier, isn't it just like paper
But now all this still remains in imagination, not to mention that Li Chunfeng still needs to sail across the ocean to bring him some materials needed to build a steam engine, etc.
But these five giant ships are already far ahead of other countries in this era. At least within ten, twenty, or even thirty years, no other country will be able to build them with their own strength. The huge sailing ship owned by the Tang Dynasty today.
(End of chapter)