Chapter 190 Minglan and Mrs. Sheng Return to Their Hometown in Youyang

Even if merchants trade with each other, it is relatively limited.

The real benefit of shipping must be trade between countries.

The maritime tribute regulations between Da Zhou and other countries were compiled by several bigwigs in the court and were newly issued by the court.

It is intended to restrict maritime transport and keep the initiative of maritime transport in the hands of Da Zhou forever.

But as long as Wei Yuan is still in the southeast, in a sense, he has represented Da Zhou with full authority on maritime transport.

So the envoys of various countries did not object to what he said, and in fact, it would be useless if they objected.

There are many countries that want to exchange maritime transport with Da Zhou, and it is harmless to have one or two less.

The battle of Manxianglou was actually a negotiation between Wei Yuan and other countries.

And there is only one purpose, who will control the initiative of maritime transport and most of the benefits.

Da Zhou is considered to be strong compared to other overseas countries, so the negotiation went smoothly.

After the envoys left, Fuzhou Governor Liu Yi, instructed by Cai Xiang, could not wait to ask:

"May I ask General Wei, is it settled that Fuzhou will be the first to start sea transportation?"

Wei Yuan just smiled and did not respond.

Cai Xiang said angrily: "How dare you! Such a matter is not something you, a small governor, can ask about? Why don't you leave quickly!"

Liu Yi bowed and said: "I am the one who said too much, I hope General Wei will forgive me."

Wei Yuan shook his head and said: "Transportation Envoy Cai, you can start preparing for sea transportation."

Hearing this.

All the officials in Fuzhou were delighted.

Especially Cai Xiang and Liu Yi, the former bowed deeply and said:

"Fujian Road has no strategy, and the local people can only live by the sea. I, on behalf of the five million people in Fujian Road, thank you, General Wei!"

Then, officials from both Fuzhou and Fujian Road bowed together and said:

"Thank you, General Wei!"

Wei Yuan waved his hand and said: "This is what you deserve. You have worked hard in Fujian Road to fight against the Japanese pirates over the years."

In public and private, he had no reason not to choose Fuzhou.

In public, Fujian Road has complete coastal defense facilities and a large number of warships.

Although the soldiers of the coastal defense camp of this road do not belong to the navy, but are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War.

But no matter from which angle, all the soldiers of the coastal defense camp in the Fujian Road area can be called navy.

In private, if there is a big problem with the first sea transportation pilot in the Great Zhou Dynasty, Wei Yuan and Fan Chunren will be responsible.

The first place to open sea transportation, Wei Yuan did not ask for how much profit he could make for himself, he only asked for the word "stable".

After leaving Manxianglou, Wei Yuan instructed his personal guard Chai Gong:

"Go to Guangling County on my behalf and tell the local Wei clan members that if anyone accepts gifts from others in the future and something goes wrong, I will not be responsible."

"Go to the Guangling Wei clan ancestral hall to find a few elders and tell them that if I am free, I will return to Guangling to worship my ancestors."

Wei Yuan really has no sense of belonging to Guangling County.

The Wei clan members there are also relatively rare.

But now he has achieved success and fame, and it is time to return home.

Chai Gong clasped his fists and said, "I understand."

Wei Yuan asked again, "How many days has Zhao Yuan been walking?"

Yang Huairen thought for a moment and said, "About five or six days."

Wei Yuan nodded, "According to the schedule, he should have reached the vicinity of the capital by now. If he traveled day and night, he should have reached Bianjing by now."

If an ordinary person rode an ordinary horse, it would take at least seven or eight days to get from Fujian Road to Bianjing.

And there could be no delay on the road.

But the horses of Yang Huairen and others were all top-quality horses picked from a hundred miles away.

Horses could be changed at post stations along the way.

So the speed had to be faster.

Yang Huairen said, "Whether the court wants to form a navy, we will probably have some idea in the next few days."

Wei Yuan nodded slightly, "Our Majesty is more anxious than us about forming a navy."

Yang Huairen asked with a smile, "If the navy is established, has General Wei thought of the name of the navy?"

Wei Yuan said, "Our army is called the Danglu Army, and the navy is called the Danghai Army."

Danghai Army?

Yang Huairen murmured for a while, and couldn't help but praise, "This name is domineering enough."

Wei Yuan looked at Xiao Yuming behind him,

"You can write a letter to Guo Hao and ask him to prepare. When the order to build a navy comes down, I will immediately report to the emperor and let him become the commander of the navy."

Yang Huairen said puzzledly, "Isn't this a bit anxious?"

Wei Yuan sighed, "Merchants from all over the country are eager to go to sea. If they don't hurry up, I'm afraid there will be trouble."

——

As Wei Yuan expected, Lin Zhaoyuan has indeed entered Beijing.

He also handed over the two books he compiled to Zhao Zhen intact.

On the way to the capital, Lin Zhaoyuan could feel that someone was watching him.

But those people didn't dare to show up and could only hide like turtles.

At this moment, in Xuanzheng Hall.

Zhao Zhen looked at Han Zhang and others in front of him and laughed heartily:

"Wei Qing has been in the southeast for only two months, and he has already won such a great victory!"

"What a magnificent army!"

After saying that, perhaps because he was too excited, he coughed several times in succession.

General Manager Zhu was about to remind Zhao Zhen not to get excited and to take the dragon's health first.

Zhao Zhen waved his hand and said, "My health is old, it's okay."

Han Zhang, Fu Yanguo and others standing in front of him said one after another:

"It is a blessing for the country that the new army can wipe out the Japanese pirates so quickly. I just don't know if Wei Yuan and Lord Fan have decided to open the sea transportation first?"

"It has been three months since the court opened the sea transportation. If it is delayed any longer, I am afraid there will be chaos."

"This matter should be decided. Wei Yuan has a full 80,000 soldiers. Isn't it enough to ensure the safety of sea transportation?"

"."

In their opinion, if the new army can't even defeat the Japanese pirates, then it is too useless.

The elimination of the inland Japanese pirates can only show that the new army's combat effectiveness is not bad, but it is far from being able to reflect the new army's combat effectiveness.

His Majesty the Emperor was too excited about this matter. I am afraid he wants to record this matter in the history books and then write a big feature.

So that future generations will know that he, as an emperor, has left behind some things in terms of martial arts.

The better the new army performs, the more excited Zhao Zhen will be.

Han Zhang and others know Zhao Zhen very well, and they don't want to spoil his fun. After all, the problem is that the new army can't eliminate the Japanese pirates.

"Wei Qing reported that although the Japanese pirates in the inland area have been completely eliminated."

"But there are still countless bandits on the sea making trouble. For the safety of sea transportation, he wants to ask for permission to form a navy."

After Zhao Zhen finished speaking.

Han Zhang and others were instantly upset.

"Your Majesty, the number of troops in our Great Zhou is as high as one million. If we have to build a navy, I am afraid that the court's finances will be difficult to maintain."

"General Wei does not know the court's hardship. He wants to build a navy. It is much more difficult to maintain a navy than ordinary soldiers."

"If the navy is established, the cost of repairing warships every year will be unknown. I don't understand why General Wei wants to write to the court to build a navy when the new army can obviously eliminate the Japanese pirates?"

"I really can't agree with this. The court can finally take a breather with sea transportation, but it has to spend money to build a navy before it sees any benefits?"

"."

Zhao Zhen had guessed that they would say this.

"Don't worry, Wei Qing not only submitted a report to me, but also personally compiled two books."

"According to the soldiers who came to deliver the report, these two books are of great significance and can be regarded as military classics."

"You may as well take a look."

After speaking.

Han Zhang and others picked up the two books and read them. They were shocked as they read:

"The impact of the Japanese pirates on the coastal areas is so far-reaching?"

"This is a coastal defense illustration drawn by Wei Yuan. If we build bunkers and other facilities along the coast according to his ideas, we can indeed keep the coast peaceful."

"Our General Wei is not thinking about a temporary solution, but to make our Great Zhou Dynasty completely free from the threat of Japanese pirates and keep the coastal areas peaceful forever!"

"These two books are more than just military classics. They can be called holy books!"

"Jixiao New Book. Another method of training soldiers? This Wei Could it be that the general is the reincarnation of the military saint? First, a record of military training is enough to make people amazed, and now he has written a military book to train the navy and resist overseas enemies. It is really amazing. "

"Sometimes I really want to see what is in General Wei's head? It is enough for an ordinary person to write a comprehensive military book in his lifetime, but he wrote two in less than a year?"

"And this sea defense atlas, its value is far better than the city defense maps of various places in my Great Zhou!"

"."

In the book "Preparing for the Compilation of the Sea Map", Wei Yuan wrote about the threat of Japanese pirates harassing the border.

In time, it will inevitably affect the long-term stability of the Great Zhou.

He was afraid that these scholars and officials would have no idea about the threat of Japanese pirates after reading it, so he wrote it in great detail.

Han Zhang felt that all their praises were not to the point.

After a pause, he slowly said: "If it is not unexpected, these two books should be written by General Wei at the same time."

Written at the same time?

After hearing these four words, these scholars who could turn the Great Zhou like a dragon by stamping their feet could no longer suppress their surprise.

Regardless of whether they were written at the same time or not, Han Zhang's words reminded them.

How long has Wei Yuan been on the expedition?

In such a long time, he has created two military classics?

Especially the new book Jixiao, which is far superior to Chou Hai Tu Bian in terms of strategic significance, and is equivalent to Lianbing Shiji.

With these two books alone, Wei Yuan can also enter the Martial Temple in the future.

But how long has it been?

Isn't Wei Yuan too talented?

In terms of the way of military strategy, even Zhang Fu is not as good as Wei Yuan!

It is true that the disciple is better than the master.

"It's really amazing."

"Given time, General Wei will surely become a military saint of the time."

"General Wei's research on the art of training soldiers has surpassed most people in the Martial Temple."

"."

Instantly, they couldn't help but exclaim again.

Those words were really exclamatory, but also meant to flatter, after all, they were said in front of Zhao Zhen.

In addition, if Wei Yuan didn't write these two books when he went on the expedition, it can only be said that Wei Yuan had anticipated the current situation a long time ago.

If this is true, then this boy's meticulousness is really frightening.

If not, then Wei Yuan can be called a monster!

Military strategists have not produced a general who has made a name for himself in history for nearly a hundred years. Is there going to be one now?

Even compared to Wei Yuan, Duke Wuxiang has many shortcomings!

How old is this Wei Yuan?

Hearing that they have been praising Wei Yuan's talent.

Zhao Zhen suddenly smiled,

"I asked you to read these two books because I want you to say whether the navy should be built, not to listen to you praising Wei Qing here."

Hearing this.

Everyone was stunned.

If according to what is written in the Chou Hai Tu Bian, the Japanese pirates will affect the shipping of the Great Zhou for thousands of years, then it is indeed time to build a navy.

Not only should the navy be built, but also the coastal defense measures in various places should be reformed.

But the question is

Where does the money come from?

Han Zhang said: "Your Majesty, building a navy and strengthening the coastal defense in various places are indeed good things that benefit the country and the people."

"But now, the court has a set of regulations for various expenses. If the navy is built again, the Ministry of Revenue will inevitably have some difficulties in financial resources."

Building the Suppressing Enemy Army is at most spending money.

Building a navy and consolidating the coastal defenses of various places is a waste of money and effort.

Zhao Zhen said: "What if the Ministry of Revenue pays first, and then fills this hole after the shipping is profitable?"

He had already read the Chou Hai Tu Bian.

To be honest, he was very excited now.

If it was really as Wei Yuan said, and the navy was established and the coastal defense was strengthened, then he thought that his martial arts would be almost perfect.

Isn't this what he wanted when he was old?

Han Zhang and others all frowned slightly.

The method of first robbing Peter to pay Paul is feasible, but at the beginning, didn't the court plan to fill the treasury through sea transportation?

This allowed the court to accumulate some wealth so that it would not be at a loss when encountering wind and waves.

After all, the salt system had just been changed, and it was still uncertain what the situation would be this year.

After a pause, Wang Anshi, who had been silent all the time, suddenly spoke:

"Your Majesty, I think this method is feasible."

"Since all the ministers think that forming a navy is a good thing for the country and the people, if it is not formed because of money, then who dares to guarantee the safety of sea transportation?"

"When the general returns in triumph, who can guarantee the stability of the southeastern coastal area?"

"If the Japanese pirates seize the opportunity and take advantage of it to grow, won't it harm the people along the coast?"

Wang Anshi asked three questions in a row, and everyone was silent immediately.

Han Zhang and others hesitated mainly because of money.

In addition, they were also happy to see that the coastal area was worry-free, and they were not strongly opposed to the formation of the navy.

After all, Da Zhou did need a navy.

But does it have to be this year? Wang Anshi had already written the answer in his question.

"Your Majesty, did General Wei tell us how many people are needed to form the navy, and how much money is needed to consolidate the coastal defense in various places in order to stabilize the situation in the southeastern coastal area?"

Han Zhang asked.

Zhao Zhen said: "Wei Qing said that the navy needs at least 30,000 people, not including the coastal defense soldiers in various places."

"At least 3,000 warships are needed. As for the money needed to consolidate the coastal defense and form the navy, the preliminary estimate is that it may take one million taels of silver."

One million taels? Or a preliminary estimate? Hiss!

Everyone couldn't help but take a breath.

Even Wang Anshi's expression was a little uneasy.

The expenditure of one million taels is a big burden for the court.

How much silver will it cost to maintain it in the future?

What if it is a bottomless pit?

They have to be cautious.

Minister of Revenue Ouyang Yongshu gritted his teeth and said:

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue can pay for this one million taels of silver."

"But how long will it take to see results? How much silver does the Ministry of Revenue need to invest in the coastal defense of the southeastern coastal areas every year in the future?"

Hearing this, Zhao Zhen said: "Wei Qing has provided a method for the coastal towns to maintain the prosperity of the coastal defense and the navy."

"The premise is that 20% of the maritime tax revenue should be left to the local government every year."

"I think it is feasible."

Ouyang Yongshu, Wang Anshi and others all breathed a sigh of relief.

If this is the case, the navy can be established!

After a detailed discussion by a group of scholars and officials, Zhao Zhen finally made the final decision. From now on, the Great Zhou will begin to form a navy.

Wei Yuan was temporarily appointed as the commander of the navy, in charge of the navy and coastal defense construction.

This news soon spread to the people, and quickly attracted countless people to discuss it.

At this time, Sheng Hong learned that the court was going to form a navy, and Wei Yuan was in charge of this matter, and his mind instantly became active.

As soon as the court was dismissed, Sheng Hong hurried back home, went to Shou'an Hall to see Old Lady Sheng, and smiled:

"After coming to the capital in person, mother should not have gone out for a long time, right?"

"I heard that my aunt's birthday is coming soon, mother should not have seen my aunt for a long time, right?"

Hearing this, Old Lady Sheng first took a sip of tea, and then asked calmly:

"You want me to go to Youyang? Why?"

Sheng Hong said with embarrassment: "Sure enough, no matter what, I can't hide it from my mother. Kiss your eyes. "

"The imperial court has just issued a decree to form a navy in the southeast, led by Brother Yuan."

"He is now a provincial governor of two routes and three prefectures in the southeast, with great power. The imperial court suddenly announced that it would form a navy, which should be the official start of sea transportation."

"I believe that Suzhou and Hangzhou must be very busy these days. If you have nothing to do, you can go shopping in the southeast with your aunt."

"I will let Changbai and Ming girl accompany you."

Hearing this, Mrs. Sheng couldn't help but groan.

This abacus is about to hit Wei Yuan in the face.