"It's good that Master Li wants to open it," Li Rui arched his hand, "Congratulations." ”

Zhao Xingde shook his head with a wry smile, and didn't say anything, only sighed slightly.

"Why," Li Rui asked, "is there something discordant?" ”

"It's fine." Zhao Xingde shook his head slightly, his face slightly pale.

Li Rui nodded and didn't ask any further. When it comes to family matters, classmates and old friends, it is inconvenient to get to the bottom of it.

When old friends meet, they will always find out the changes of each other over the years after having a good conversation.

At this point, no matter how intimate the past was, the atmosphere will always become a little awkward, but for true friends, this awkwardness does not last long. As we get acquainted with each other again and share different experiences after parting, we will gain more from each other. Zhao Xingde and Li Rui are like this, after the two reunited after a long absence, they were elated at first, to find that they were different from each other and were a little embarrassed from time to time, and then to the 'friendship' was even deeper, but it was only a dozen days.

In the past ten years, Li Rui's life has been, simply put, to watch the sky at night and make up for sleep during the day.

Living in the cave stone chamber of the 'cave' on the viewing roof, his time is not enough to deduce calculations, and the calculation manuscripts in the 'cave' are piled up, but there are fewer and fewer 'dealings' with people. His mentor Zhou Jipu was worried that he would follow in his footsteps and lose his eyes before he was fifty years old, so he vigorously supported the Military Intelligence Department's plan to survey and map the nautical charts, and took the opportunity to let Li Rui leave the observation deck and make a little repairs. This matter has been planned for a long time, Zhao Xingde was detained by the Guangzhou Mansion, but Li Rui's itinerary was advanced, and there was an observation team of more than 20 people, most of whom were from the Bachelor's Mansion, and they were hurrying over.

During this time, Li Rui introduced the situation in Dunhuang and Luoyang to Zhao Xingde as much as possible, although Zhao Xingde had a newspaper and a military newspaper to read, but it was not as clear as Li Rui, and many things seemed to be seen with his own eyes. This is the benefit of friends, Zhao Xingde has all kinds of friends, and almost all the officers and soldiers of the Navy Division are used to this. Li Rui does not have the arrogance of ordinary Qingliu, and her temperament is more like a kind squire. After getting along, the officers and men felt that it was not a bad idea for the observation team to go to sea with the sailors.

Zhao Xingde also said something about what happened after leaving Dunhuang. For Li Rui, these experiences are also very interesting.

His deeds were spread everywhere in the Kanto and Kansai regions, and Li Rui had also heard about it. However, how much can the scholars of Tianji Academy know about the inside story? There was foam splashing, describing Zhao Xingde as if he was not like a human being, so that Li Rui often turned his head and left, and he was embarrassed to admit that he and Zhao Xingde were 'friends'. Now that Zhao Xingde himself has told it, it is inevitable to get to the bottom of it. Zhao Xingde arranged everything, the officers were busy 'drilling' the recruits, and they didn't bother him, Li Rui finished the first draft of the chart, and it was also when he was in a relaxed mood, so the two of them drank tea and chatted at the same time.

From noon until dinner. Finally, the conversation returned to the upcoming expedition to the Great Eclipse.

"It is also a common thing for soldiers to surrender and accept rebellion," Li Rui persuaded him, "If you become elbows and armpits, you will regret it too late." ”

The South China Sea Navy forced the landing of more than 50,000 pirates, interrogated and killed more than 10,000 people, collected nearly 20,000 "elite" strong prisoners, and handed over more than 20,000 useless people to the Guangzhou government for disposal. Zhao Xingde's 'handover' to the officers was to strictly control the prisoners, and to let them integrate into the sailors as soon as possible. He himself set an example by selecting a hundred-man squad from the camp to serve as the ship's guard together with the Ya barracks. This was originally a way to put his heart into his heart, however, there were many vicious people in the Hanhai camp, and if there were cunning and repeated people among them, instead of protecting Zhao Xingde's safety, they became a stinger around him.

After Li Rui learned of this, she always felt that it was inappropriate, and after thinking about it again, she still persuaded Zhao Xingde not to take risks.

"It seems that there is nothing you don't know." Zhao Xingde said with a smile, it seems that his old friends and the subordinates of the sailor get along very well, he groaned for a moment, and said in a deep voice, "Most of the 20,000 captives were forced to join the gang, and you also know." He remembered all kinds of appalling coercion during the interrogation of pirates, and his brows couldn't help frowning slightly. The victim was humiliated by this, and had nowhere to live in the place, so he had to drift with the thief. Some pirate leaders burned entire fishing villages to the ground in order to stop the hopes of those who were forced to join the gang.

"I know some." Li Rui nodded and said, "But the people in the Hanhai camp are not simple thieves, right?" ”

He looked at Zhao Xingde with an open smile and asked for advice, and at this time, Du Fujiao walked in and handed over today's 'drill' report, and 'interjected': "Who said it wasn't?" He naturally picked up the teapot on Zhao Xingde's table, poured himself a cup, raised his neck and drank it, spit out, and said in a muffled voice, "Many guys are very murderous and have a lot of hearts, so if you want to clean them up, you can waste your strength." He paused and grinned, "It's a pity that they met my Lao Du, even if it was a steel stone, they also rounded and pinched him flat." ”

After Du Fujiao finished speaking, he put the teacup on the table and went out with his fists clenched.

Li Rui looked at his back and said suspiciously: "Brother Zhao's original intention is to keep these proud soldiers by his side?" ”

"Commander Du has been knighted by the Marquis of Baicher, and when he comes back from this expedition in the South China Sea, he can't run away with the title of a doctor."

Zhao Xingde smiled slightly and said more, disapproving at Du Blowhorn's supreme behavior.

Li Rui nodded, but she didn't seem to understand. He came from Kanto and has been studying astronomy in the academy, and he is not too clear about the relationship between the upper and lower sergeants of the Xia Kingdom. Over the past 100 years, the military system has gradually improved, and each sergeant has his own foothold. During the military discussion, it is even more common for the captain to confront the general, because the captain directly belongs to the Protectorate Mansion, and the general belongs to the General's Mansion. Without the approval of the captain, the general could only mobilize his own soldiers. And the captain's mastery of the battalion, in the final analysis, lies in the promotion and in the heart of the army. Therefore, in the battalion, between the sergeants, the superiors and subordinates are mostly in a relationship of solidarity and solidarity, rather than as the clear distinction between respect and inferiority in the Song army. Du blew the horn and behaved casually, in the eyes of the sergeant, he saw that he was close to Zhao Xingde, without any arrogant and domineering meaning.

"The people who were put in the camp to defend the sea have committed a capital crime, but their circumstances are understandable."

Zhao Xingde said slowly, he looked at Li Rui, remembering that he would go to sea on a boat, and sooner or later he would have to deal with the people of the Haiying Battalion, his heart flashed, and he said lightly, "These people, I plan to be officers of the detachment." So keep it close to you for easy inspection. ”

"Huh?" Li Rui looked at him in surprise, "But, it's not like you don't have no one else?" ”

"But you have to pick up the burden of the detachment," Zhao Xingde said in a deep voice, "You have to use them." ”

"Why? They are born as thieves, and they may not be loyal to their hearts, nor are they loyal to the court. Li Rui said.

"Homecoming? Loyal to the court? Zhao Xingde's face 'revealed' a strange look, and he said with a smile, "Are you like Lu Mingyu, Luo Xianshi, and Deng Yuanjue?" He shook his head and sighed, "If dedication and loyalty can solve the problem, then there will be no problem that the Great Song Dynasty can't solve." He looked at Li Rui, saw that his face was still suspicious, and said slowly, "For thousands of years, don't say that the southwest sea, that is, the island in the southeast, has always been a pirate's nest, and all dynasties and loyal generals cannot change it." Am I not able to do any tricks? Relying on dedication and loyalty alone, can the Haiyan River be clear, and the world will be peaceful from now on? ”

"But?" Li Rui asked, "What about it?" ”

"It's better to return to the heart than to follow the rules." Zhao Xingde said softly, as if he had said something meaningless.

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"Of course it's not the same thing." Zhao Xingde said indifferently, "Heaven is reasonable, thieves also have ways, even birds and beasts have their own rules." He looked out the window at the recruits who were '' the exercises, "Although the people of the sea have always been outside the law of the imperial court, the people of the sea also have the rules of the people of the sea, if the people of the sea have no rules, there will be no groups of pirates in this world who 'disturb' the coastal people." And the rules of the sea are closely related to the weather, water and soil, and human conditions at sea. The Zhou people said that virtue is matched with heaven, but they know that the original rules of the sea are not the rules developed by the people who have lived at sea in the past generations in order to adapt to the environment at sea, such as "weak" meat and "strong food"? Zhao Xingde had a sarcastic smile on the corner of his mouth, and Li Rui looked at him in surprise.

Some people may say that the so-called return to the heart, the so-called kingization, is to make China's rituals widely spread all over the world. This is also the greatest purpose of the expedition of the South China Sea Naval Division. No looting, no indiscriminate killing, everything should be done in accordance with the Great Song Dynasty etiquette. But is that really the case? Zhao Xingde said a little meanly, "The person who said such a thing may be loyal." But if he really wanted to do this, the strength of the sailor was reduced tenfold, and the strength of the enemy was increased tenfold. ”

"But how? Isn't the principle of heaven universal? ”

"Is the law of etiquette a heavenly principle?" Zhao Xingde shook his head and said, "It's just not, etiquette is just virtue, not reason." For thousands of years, the rules on the sea are different from those on the land of the Central Plains, so it is not a kind of etiquette on the sea, and it is a etiquette that matches the heavenly principles on the sea. If we want to use the etiquette of the Central Plains Continent to forcibly implement it to the islands of the ocean, wouldn't it be against the sky? Throughout the ages, how many people have been able to act against the odds and succeed? He looked at Li Rui's surprised look, and said in a deep voice, "Take 10,000 steps back, we can strive to spread the Great Song Dynasty ritual law all over the world, and consider everything very carefully and 'finely', however, manpower is sometimes exhausted, and there has been a complete set of rules at sea for thousands of years. He shook his head and sighed, "I don't think so." The wisdom of one person can rival the wisdom of thousands of people, and it may be even more unbearable than the original. ”

Dawn of the Empire:

Chapter 138 Cutting and Chiseling Bamboo and Stone Open-3: