The once prosperous port of Guangzhou is no longer as good as it used to be, and it seems that there are still many ships, but the ocean-going trading ships are basically invisible. Those people of all colors who used to wander in Guangzhou are also getting fewer and fewer, and it is rare to see.

These people have not left Datang, but have gone to Haixing, and even the Jiaozhou Bay Port, which has not yet been fully built.

And the root of all this is because of a sea battle last year.

The Lingnan Naval Division, which had hundreds of warships, was wiped out, directly causing Lingnan to lose control of the sea. Since then, all ocean-going ships that go out from places like Guangzhou and Quanzhou have basically been ruthlessly looted by pirates. Unlike the pirates of the past, these new pirates only need money, as long as goods, and do not want to die. After capturing and sacking these ocean-going trading ships, they returned the men and the empty ships.

It doesn't get much more arrogant than this.

In fact, everyone understands where the pirates are! The previous pirates were either killed by the Lingnan Sailor or the Northern Sailor. The guys who fly all kinds of pirate flags on their ships now drive the standard warships of the Northern Naval Division, and they don't shy away from even robbing them.

When they were so successive, those people also understood that Guangzhou Port and Quanzhou Port, where they had done old business in the past, were no longer where they made money, and if they wanted to continue to do these businesses, they could only go to other places.

That is Haixing, Jiaozhou Bay.

The merchant ships off the coast, never the slightest bit of annoyance from pirates, continued their business. Even if the pirate ship met them at sea, the other party would turn a blind eye and let them come and go as they pleased.

To such a blatant point, who doesn't know that these pirates are actually the Northern Sailors?

As a result, all the ocean-going trade quickly shifted to the north in a short period of time, and even Xiang's own fleet could only swallow its anger and anchor in Haixing or Jiaozhou, where to load the goods, where to depart, and where to anchor after returning.

In the past, a large number of merchants in the south who carried goods in these two places had to spend another sum of money to transfer their goods to these two ports first, and then depart from these two ports.

In this way, the money earned will naturally be reduced a lot, but it is better than being robbed by those so-called pirates.

The port of Guangzhou has declined at a rate that is visible to the naked eye.

For the Xiang Group, the lack of income from this piece also made a big gap in the finances, and life naturally became much more difficult.

"It's too much deception!" Xiang Zhen said angrily.

Xiang Xun seemed much calmer, glanced at his son, and said indifferently: "The fist is not as hard as others, and the knife is not faster than others, so you have to accept such an ending." A wise, mature person should think about how to change such an unfavorable situation at this time, instead of roaring and anger, which will not solve anything. ”

"Father taught me a lesson." Xiang Zhen bowed his head and said: "It's that my son's cultivation is not enough." The envoy also sent a letter, saying that Quanzhou is no different from ours, and that the situation in Fujian is even worse than ours, and that without the benefit of shipping, he has problems even maintaining the current size of the army this year. ”

"He's asking me for money!" Xiang Xun shook his head, "Allocate a batch of money and food to him, and tell him that if he persists, everything will be fine." ”

"Father, it's not a way to go on like this! Now our shipping profits, has dropped to the original one-third, there is news, Xu Xiang has been preparing to build another port in Zhoushan, once completed, I am afraid that we are really exhausted. "Speak to the truth.

Xiang Xun laughed hoho: "Let him build it, if you want to build a new port, if you don't have three or five years of work, where can you do it?" Maybe when it is built, it will allow us to reap the benefits of the fisherman. Xu wants to make a lot of money in Liangzhejiang, and now he has a lot of spare money in his hand, so let him do it! ”

"Is my father ready to enter the two Zhejiang? I'm afraid that Rong Hong won't agree easily, let him and Liu Ruyan's army have a hard fight, Rong Hong doesn't have much confidence. Xiang Zhen said: "Unless we send a large army to support." ”

Xiang Xun shook his head: "Liangzhejiang, let Rong Hong take it himself, our main point now is to stabilize Jiangxi, and in addition, we must seize the time to pull Hunan to our side." As long as Hunan forms an alliance with us again, the south will be stable. ”

"Sun Hao is still waiting for the price to sell!" Xiang Zhen was dissatisfied.

"He can't sit still, where is the example of Liangzhejiang and Xuanzhou, only by forming an alliance with us can he maintain his position as a grandson, otherwise, the best result is to go home and become a rich man. Hehe, under Li Ze's policy, even if he is a homemaker, he won't live in peace, right? ”

"Father, although Li Ze's policy is radical, it has made the north a whole, and our side seems to have a large territory and a strong force now, but after all, it is still difficult to achieve unity." Xiang Zhen lamented: "In the future, if the two sides really face each other, I'm afraid that we will also fall behind." ”

"There are some things that can't just be taken at face value." Xiang Xun said: "Under Li Ze's rule, is it really ironclad? Not necessarily. Now let's wait for it, Li Ze is aggressive, we will take a step back first, and when Li Ze takes Chang'an, it will be the day when the trend is really decided. ”

"In my opinion, Li Ze took Chang'an, I'm afraid it will be the moment he ascends the throne and becomes the emperor!"

"If it's that simple and crude, it's not necessarily a bad thing for us." Xiang Xun said lightly. "Will Northeast Zhang Zhongwu be willing? Xue Ping of the Western Regions will definitely not do it. ”

"Did Zhang Zhongwu reply from somewhere?"

"A man like Zhang Zhongwu, who is willing to lie under Li Ze's obscenity all the time, has been recuperating in the past few years, and has vigorously expanded his armaments in the northeast, and his reply to me is that once Li Ze usurps the Tang Dynasty and becomes independent, he will inevitably raise troops in the northeast. Over the years, he has accumulated a lot of money and food, and he thinks that confidence and courage have returned. The original Lu Longjun was famous for his bravery and good fighting, and once he killed it again, it would be enough for Li Ze to have a headache. Now that Li Ze is in the northeast, there is only one Xue Chong, and with Xue Chong's ability, it is absolutely impossible to resist Zhang Zhongwu. And Li Zeji's army and the Central Plains, when the time comes, it will be difficult to transfer troops and send generals. ”

"At that time, we can still contain his main forces, and once there is chaos in the north, the foundation of Li Ze's rule will be greatly shaken." Xiang Zhen nodded repeatedly.

"It's not just the Northeast!" Xiang Xun continued: "In the northwest direction, Li Ze is worry-free for the time being, but what about Shuzhong!" Even if Li Ze takes Chang'an, but Zhu Youqi dominates Shuzhong, this is a good place, he becomes a family behind closed doors, attacking and defending freely, Li Ze destroyed the beam of his Zhu family, Zhu Youqi will definitely not give up, just see if he Zhu Youyu dares to take in Zhu Youyu's wife and children and strategists, you know that this guy is still planning bigger things. So when the time comes, this is also a powerful force that is enough to contain Li Ze. ”

"In that case, there is still a lot to be done." Xiang Zhen was a little excited.

"Wayfarer, half ninety also. Things that fall short, I don't know the general! Xiang Xun said: "The current Li Ze is full of flowers and brocade, cooking oil in a blazing fire, seemingly prosperous, but crises are also accompanied by crises, any wrong step will lead to chaos in the whole situation." ”

"It would be better if Li Ze suddenly fell ill and died." Xiang Zhen smiled.

"Don't always think about these shortcuts." Xiang Xun glanced at Xiang Zhen with some dissatisfaction, "If everything is pinned on the sky, then it is better to return to the old countryside and become a farmer, maybe you can die well." ”

"Father taught me a lesson!" Xiang Zhen, who was in his thirties, was blushing and quickly bowed his head to admit his mistake.

When the father and son returned to Lingnan Jiezhen Mansion, they unexpectedly saw that Jiang Guo had returned from Wuyi.

"Jiang Guo, is there anything worth it for you to run back from Wuyi in person?" Xiang Xun was a little surprised, Jiang Guo was originally his right-hand man, and his granddaughter Xiang Lan went to Wuyi, and he specially sent Jiang Guo to grasp the overall situation, for fear that his granddaughter was too young to grasp the situation.

"Back to Dashuai, this time, Jiang Guo has to come in person, whether it is to write a letter or bring news, it is not very appropriate, and a slight mistake is a big disaster." Jiangguo Road.

"Mr. Jiang came all the way, but it was still smooth?" Xiang Zhen smiled on the side and asked.

"That's fine." Jiang Guo said with a smile: "Now that the Tang army has taken Gunhai, Wuning, Huainan and other places, it has been smooth sailing all the way, without the slightest hindrance." ”

"Liangzhejiang and other places, can they still be calm?"

"It's not peaceful." Jiang Guodao: "Xu wants to carry out land reform in the two Zhejiang universities, and I don't know how many landlords and gentry have been forced to ruin their families, and many people have simply fallen into the grass, but it can't become a climate." It was only a matter of time before Xu Xiang was exterminated. ”

"Those landlords and gentry have intertwined relationships and great local power, so easy to take down?"

"The key is Xu Xiang's land reform, which is to really distribute the land of these landlords' families to those extremely poor households." Jiang Guo shook his head and said: "There are benefits to take, and they are taken for nothing, how many people will still help the master family in the past?" However, there are many people who have reported to the officers and soldiers. The wealth accumulated by many landlords over several generations has been reduced to others overnight, which is sad and lamentable! ”

"How many main forces of the Tang Army are there in Liangzhejiang?"

"It's not much, the main force of the Tang army is heading north one after another, and it seems that it is indeed preparing for the attack on Henan, and Liu Ruyan's general Xingyuan has left Yangzhou and is ready to move to Huai'an. The next step is definitely to join forces with You Yong to attack the Xuanwu region. "Jiang Guodao.

Xiang Xun nodded: "What is the big deal when you come back this time?" ”