Li Chunfeng looked at Li Hong and strengthened his opinion, but if this happened, he and Cui Zhibian would still be far away from the minimum goal. Originally, according to their plan, they would build at least seven identical ships. The giant ship is coming.
If there are seven giant ships, this can at least guarantee that three will be moored at the dock for renovation, and four will be patrolling the sea to protect the safety of Datang's merchant ships and fishermen.
But now the prince's words have completely nipped their hopes in the cradle, leaving no chance at all. Their originally generous coastal defense plan suddenly became stretched.
Moreover, if Li Chunfeng wanted to go to the ocean, it would not be possible to accomplish it with just one giant ship. At least two giant ships would be needed to cruise together. Therefore, Datang would only be able to use three ships, which could be used for a long time. There are probably only two ships patrolling the sea.
Li Hong naturally knew what they were thinking, and smiled and said: "Sometimes it is not necessary to cruise on the sea every day to scare those foreign countries who have evil intentions towards our Tang Dynasty. As long as we seize an opportunity, we can completely Annihilate them to the bottom, and next time they will not dare to come to the coast of Datang to do whatever they want. In this case, you can drive your giant ship to his door and beat him up. In this way, haha, what do you think? Will they still approach our Datang waters?"
"But if this is the case, Your Highness, it will harm the benevolent governance and virtue of the Tang Dynasty. I'm afraid that in the end, all the countries will only be afraid of the Tang Dynasty and have no respect for it." Cui Zhibian knew that the executor of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's strategy was If nothing unexpected happens, it will naturally fall on him.
But in this case, let alone whether he will be impeached by his colleagues in the court, even foreign envoys will continue to complain to the Tang Dynasty and His Majesty. The ones who will be embarrassed and under pressure will be The prince.
What's more, now that His Majesty has a vague intention of taking the Zen position, at this juncture, should His Highness the Prince adopt a gentle policy as the main policy, supplemented by military conquest and intimidation
Li Hong smiled again and said: "How can respect come from without fear? Do you think that with your broad mind, you can make the barbarians from all over the Tang Dynasty admire me more? If possible, why would the Japanese country send envoys every year, hoping that Why do they send students to study in the Tang Dynasty while harassing the people along the coast? "
"This is not because you have not allowed Japanese students to come to our Datang to study in the past few years." Cui Zhibian muttered, lowering his head.
"Even if I open the country and let them come in to study, it won't change their ambitious character! Let me tell you, the first thing you have to do in two days is to drive a giant ship to the Japanese country to show off your power. , If you can't get back ten million taels of silver, you will keep the giant ship around the Japanese country until they collect ten million taels of silver, and then you will come back." Li Hong put down the teacup angrily and said coldly: "Also, Cui Zhibian, don’t you know how our ship sank? If we had the nautical charts of Japan’s travels to and from the Tang Dynasty in recent years and knew where the reefs on the sea to Japan were located, how could we silence a ship? In exchange for a homemade chart? They kept saying that they would let me follow the benevolence and etiquette of the Tang Dynasty, but the Japanese were stingy and unwilling to give me even a chart of the Tang Dynasty. Why should I pass on my knowledge of the Tang Dynasty to them? You can study if you want, but again, a student will be given one thousand taels of silver, no matter how much food and accommodation he has, he will give him as much as he can!"
Li Hong's angry words left the reprimanded Cui Zhibian speechless, lowered his head and stopped talking. Of course he knew that what His Highness the Crown Prince said was the truth, and he also understood His Highness the Crown Prince's actions, but now His Highness the Crown Prince is in a difficult situation. At the critical moment, we really shouldn’t make enemies everywhere.
Internal and external troubles are coming one after another. If it continues like this, Cui Zhibian is deeply afraid that the prince will make a mistake and miss the overall plan. If everything is lost, the gain will not be worth the loss.
"Your Highness, please calm down. Brother Cui is loyal to you, but I'm afraid that at this time, a little impatience will mess up the big plan. I'm afraid that you..." Li Chongyi saw that the atmosphere was a bit dull because Li Hong reprimanded Cui Zhibian, so he smoothed things over and said .
"A small impatience will mess up a big plan? You have been tolerant, and you are shackled by this sentence. How can we make the Tang Dynasty truly worship all nations? It is because of this bullshit sentence that a small intolerance will mess up the big plan, and it has delayed the Tang Dynasty. How many excellent fighter planes have been missed to level the land of other countries? Do you really think that there are only a few fish in the sea? If it is only a few fish, I will just sit by the West Lake and raise fish. Why should I fight for the sea?" Li Hong shook off Bai Chun's comforting hand and continued to say coldly.
"Cui Zhibian, you are the only serious naval commander in our Tang Dynasty after Zhang Liang, Duke of Yun. The commerce and trade on the sea is as prosperous as the Hexi Corridor and Anxi, which is called the Silk Road. There are huge business opportunities in Dengzhou, Quanzhou and Guangzhou. You don’t know the value of the commercial goods shipped from the sea every year. How many imported goods are shipped to our Datang every year, and how many goods from our Datang depart from the ports and are sold to Other countries? Have you ever calculated the total amount of money? If the offshore and distant seas surrounding our Datang are controlled by our Datang, and all waterways are patrolled by our Datang ships, how much wealth will be added? ? With the accumulation of wealth, let alone anything else, I can build a fairy palace for the West Lake at my door! The people in Hangzhou who live in dire straits can also live a prosperous and healthy life because of the blessings of the Tang Dynasty. days. You are short-sighted and only know about etiquette, but you don’t know that the people are in dire straits. If you continue like this and remain a frog in the well, sooner or later, someone else’s powerful ships and guns will hit our land!"
At this time, Cui Zhibian was no longer the only one frowning. Even Li Chongyi, Li Chunfeng, and Bai Chun looked calm and listened to the instructions.
There was a brief silence in the tea room. Li Chunfeng and Cui Zhibian did not dare to speak anymore. Bai Chun also became well-behaved because of Li Hong's anger. Naturally, he leaned to one side and did not dare to speak at will.
Only Li Chongyi squeezed out a smile on his face and said in a dry tone: "Your Highness, calm down, you are talking about a problem that I have never thought about. For a moment, I can't make a decision, but I believe that Your Highness is like this." I insist on doing it, obviously not for myself, but for the future generations of our Tang Dynasty. I admire you, as your highness said, there is no respect without fear. I deeply agree. I will definitely remember your highness’s reprimand today. mind."
"Your Highness, it is true that I have short-sightedness. Your Highness's words today have awakened my heart and made me understand that on the sea, where should I, the Tang Dynasty, stand in it? I have been lucky enough to do so in the past two years. I have seen merchants from the Great Food Kingdom land in our Tang Dynasty from Guangzhou. I had already recognized their strength at sea, but I never took it into my heart. I thought that as long as my Great Tang Cavalry was strong, the Great Food Country would not dare to attack me. The Tang Dynasty had some wrong ideas, but now that I think about it, I thought it was too simple." Cui Zhibian stood up sincerely and saluted Li Hong, and said seriously.
Li Chunfeng also sighed and said seriously: "What Your Highness said is true. If Japan hadn't been stingy, I wouldn't have silenced a giant ship because of the distance to Japan. If we could get Japan's chart, we would have sunk." The four giant ships are heading south in unison, and they may even reach the continent that your highness mentioned."
"It's early. I want to get there. With today's sailing speed and the unfamiliar waterway, I won't be able to get there for three to five months. However, this matter is neither urgent nor urgent. There is a kind of rubber tree there. I want to get there. It is necessary to further improve the items necessary for the balloon, so in a few days, you can set off. The two giant ships are under your full command. On this trip, you, Li Chunfeng, want people to give people and money to give money. I, Li Hong, fully support You!" Li Hong took the tea poured by Cui Zhibian and said lightly.
"Thank you for that, Your Highness. It's just that there are currently five giant ships and two more are being installed at the Quanzhou dock. I'm afraid it will have to wait for a while." Li Chunfeng said with a regretful expression.
"Isn't this difficult to handle? You and Cui Zhibian will command one ship each and go to Japan to ask for travel expenses and compensation. After going back and forth like this, after returning to Quanzhou, you think the two ships will be able to leave the dock? By then Cui Zhibian Just rest for two months and then continue south." Li Hong found that after being reprimanded by him, the minds of these people became a little sluggish because of his anger.
When Li Chongyi and Bai Chun heard Li Hong's words and asked for some money for travel expenses when going to Japan, they couldn't help laughing, but Cui Zhibian and Li Chunfeng seemed a little embarrassed.
The prince's words are undoubtedly like those of a robber. Although the truth is this, because the Japanese country made Tang Dynasty silence a giant ship in vain, it is time to get some money, but don't say it so straightforwardly, okay
Just like everyone is cautious when they go to the market to do business for the first time, before the first shout is shouted, there will be a trace of embarrassment in the heart and on the face, and it is difficult to open the mouth to shout.
But when you muster up the courage to shout out the first shout, then this person can truly enter the market, integrate into the market, and become a qualified vendor.
But now, Cui Zhibian and Li Chunfeng are like traders who walked into the market for the first time and were ready to shout, but they were just short of shouting at the top of their lungs.
So the two of them looked at me and I looked at you, and they all saw His Royal Highness in each other's eyes. This was "forcing a good girl into prostitution"! But what can be done? What His Royal Highness the Prince said is true, it just sounds a bit unpleasant.
Think about the Japanese pirates who robbed and plundered the wealth and fishermen of the people along the coast of the Tang Dynasty from time to time. If you personally came to ask them for some money to spend, there was no way they wouldn't give it, right
If you don't give it, as His Royal Highness the Prince said, then you can drive around the Japanese country in a boat until you give the money and then come back.
(End of chapter)