Chapter 326 Grand Strategy

Duncan Polo came to Lin'an this time to report on his work, and at the same time, Zhao and Ju also had the same important task entrusted to him.

The assassination of Meng Xisheng by the old man in the mountain, Zhao Heju had already been reported, and Zhao Heju hated the pioneer of terrorists like the old man in the mountain. With the current state of the Great Song Dynasty, it is only a matter of time before he controls the oil-rich Dashi region, and he does not want to have a terrorist group that specializes in mischief with the Great Song Dynasty at that time.

Therefore, there must be a thorough purge of the Great Food area, sweeping away all extremist sects in Islam and leaving them with no soil to sustain.

However, Zhao and Ju didn't want to do it themselves.

"Duncan Polo, do you want to go home?" He looked at Duncan Polo with a smile.

"Aha?"

Duncan Polo's Chinese proficiency allowed him to understand what it meant to return home, and his first reaction was that the Son of Heaven wanted to remove him from his post, so he cried with a sad face: "Your Majesty, what mistake did the minister make, you want me to return to the country to seek pension?" ”

He is only in his early forties this year, he is still early from the age of retirement, he is full of energy, and he has rich sailing experience, so he will not exploit his surplus value, how can Zhao and Ju let him go. Therefore, Zhao Heju laughed out loud: "Do you think what I said about returning to my hometown is a return to the country?" I'm talking about Europa. ”

"What...... What the? Duncan Polo almost jumped, his mind turned, and then he understood: "Your Majesty wants me to go back to Europe?" ”

"Exactly."

"If I don't go, what is there to go to in that dirty, poor and messy Europe!" This is even more uncomfortable than letting Duncan Polo return to seek old age: "The smartest bishop there is no better than a junior student of our Great Song Dynasty, the richest king is just a beggar in front of his ministers, and there are stupid and lazy fools everywhere - Your Majesty, as a Song man, I don't want to go there!" ”

He was in a hurry, his mouth was full of nonsense, which made Zhao Youju laugh, but judging from his reaction, Zhao Youju was very satisfied: he really regarded himself as a Song person, not a European.

"Listen to me." Seeing that Duncan Polo was still talking nonsense, Zhao Heju interrupted him: "I want you to bring a fleet." ”

"Ship ...... Fleet? Duncan Polo opened his mouth wide.

"Exactly, I am going to make a voyage, eight steam-sail ships, to form an ocean-going fleet to find a way to Europa."

Looking for a route to Europe, Zhao and Ju have long been in mind, and now the Great Song Dynasty is trading with Europe, and after a big cannibal in the middle, the big head is occupied by the big cannibal, which originally made Zhao and Ju quite unhappy. And if you want to turn your face with the big cannibals, then this trade route will inevitably be interrupted, so it is urgent to open up a route controlled by the Song people. In the past few years, Meng Xisheng has been operating in the Xilan Ocean, extending his tentacles to the south of Hamir, employing indigenous people along the way, establishing dozens of coal stations, large and small, and has stored a large amount of fuel, and the shipping routes of the Xilan Ocean have also been familiar, and now it is southern Africa and West Africa.

The last time Hu You returned to Lin'an, he accepted the task of manufacturing steam sail dual-purpose ships, and these eight steam sail dual-purpose ships were all about 30,000 Hu (1,500 tons), which should be regarded as a giant among the maritime ships in this era. Each ship is equipped with artillery and steam turbines, which are propelled by steam on the way to the supply of coal stations, and when there are no supply stations, sails are the main ones, supplemented by steam.

"There are three main purposes for this trip, the first is to find out the route, I hope that the Great Song can directly contact Europa, so that the big cannibals can eat sand. The second is to open a trade route, this voyage, I don't want to lose the capital, naturally there are all kinds of goods on the ship, you have to sell these goods to the monarchs along the way. The third is...... Diplomat, Duncan, establish contact with the monarchs of Europa, bribe the churches to organize a new crusade, and tell them that I am willing to fight the Great Cannibals with them, and remove once and for all the heretics who threaten the Holy Land of Jerusalem. ”

"Huh?"

Duncan Polo's mouth opened wide again.

After a brief moment of consternation, he immediately realized that the Emperor was not a devout believer, but on the contrary, from their interactions, he was full of disrespect for that God—in fact, Duncan Polo himself was full of disrespect for God and God's spokesman in this world, otherwise he would not have dared to sell the children into slavery. He knew he was a villain in Europa, and that he could not be protected by that God.

"It doesn't matter, it's enough for me to have the protection of the Great Song Emperor." That's what Duncan Polo had in mind.

"I want them to shed blood among themselves." Zhao and Ju gently patted Duncan Polo's arm: "They are all stupid and barbaric people, who do not respect heaven and earth, but believe in evil gods, and do not love the world, but love ghosts." Duncan, you have a heavy responsibility, and I will let Yu Zhu assist you. ”

The appointment of Duncan Polo as the Governor of the Expeditionary Fleet and Yu Zhu as the Deputy Governor was the result of Zhao Youju's careful consideration, and he was assured of Duncan Polo's loyalty, in this era, the national consciousness of Europeans was far less strong, especially for people like Duncan Polo. Duncan Polo's familiarity with Europe and linguistic talent made him an indispensable part of the expedition. However, out of prudence, he still arranged for Yu Zhu to accompany him, Yu Zhu has accumulated rich experience in the Yellow Sea for several years, and now that Meng Yuan is peaceful, he can just take a break. As for Yu Zhu's position, it can be handed over to Ouyang Yingfeng, who was born as a pirate, so that this murderous guy is also very suitable for suppressing the Goryeo and the Japanese.

"Your Majesty, the minister must have completed the entrustment of the chrysanthemum bow and hammer." Duncan Polo said a series of loyal words, after all, these idioms, he is not proficient in saying them, and it is inevitable that they will be absurd.

"After the New Year, you will set off, and now I have summoned you to train a group of soldiers who can fight both naval and land battles, and you have such a side in your hands when you arrive at Europa, if any of them dare to be disrespectful to the Great Song Dynasty, they will destroy it directly."

Zhao Youju is not boasting, eight ships, he is ready to send 1,500 people out in his heart, and these 1,500 people will be the so-called marines in the future. At this time, there were many small countries in Europa, and with 1,500 marines, it was easy to destroy a few small countries.

Europa was ignorant, savage, ignorant and greedy at this time, and when the Great Song Expeditionary Fleet arrived, he would have to be coveted, and he would be much more relieved to have such an amphibious force to protect him.

This matter was thus decided, and compared to it, the Legion system was the trouble.

After three months of arguing between the government and the opposition, brilliant articles sprung up in various newspapers, and thousands of articles quoted from the scriptures. Zhao and Ju were anxious at first, and tried to use their authority to force it several times, but later he found that the clever texts that kept appearing in this controversy were really helpful for political reform in the long run, so he put it down.

Suzhou, not far from Lin'an, Jinling and Huating, has developed rapidly over the years, and has become a large city with a population of more than 100,000 households, but the limelight is far less strong than the three surrounding cities.

Zhang Duanyi sat gloomily in front of the door, looking up at the gloomy sky, only to feel that his mood was as gloomy as this sky.

"Can officials make a profit if they sit here?" His wife pushed open the door and saw him sitting on the stool in a daze, and couldn't help but start nagging: "Which man in this world is not a breadwinner, how many people are like you, and they have to rely on their wives to support them?" ”

Zhang Duanyi studied when he was young, and learned a martial arts, and always boasted of his civil and military skills, but now he is poor, nearly half a hundred years old, but he has achieved nothing, and he has to rely on his old wife to work in the weaving factory for a living. If he wants to be an official, it is not difficult in the first place, he has an old relationship with Wei Liaoweng, if he goes to his door, there is no problem with mixing up with an official position or something, but Zhang Duanyi always feels that this is not his way out.

A manly man, he must rely on himself to become famous and dedicated, is it the right way?

"What about you, don't move here, won't you be more comfortable?"

It's no wonder that Zhang Duanyi's wife lost her temper, at her age, when she changed to a family with a decent family background, she was originally a useless person like Zhang Duanyi when her children and grandchildren were enjoying her family around her knees. She was the oldest in the factory where she worked, and although she had lost the position of steward, she felt a sense of crisis when she saw those young female workers who were quicker and clearer than her came to her. She knew that sooner or later, the chief steward of the factory would ask her to retire, although there would be some pension at that time, but it would be much less than now, and how to support her family would be a big problem.

Zhang Duanyi silently moved to the side, a blank paper sandwiched under the ribs fell, Zhang's wife almost stepped on it, she hurriedly stopped her feet, and picked up the blank paper, but it was her husband's manuscript for the past two years.

"Keep your treasure away, and someone else will publish it in the newspaper, and you can get some polishing pens, but you write some boring legends...... Hit a wall again? ”

The old wife said it politely, but she was very careful when she handed over the manuscript, for fear of tearing it up a little. Zhang Duanyi smiled bitterly and said, "I've hit a wall......"

There is also a newspaper in Suzhou, called "Gusu Anecdotes", Zhang Duanyi went to give him his manuscript today, but the polite "Anecdotes" chief writer only looked at it twice and returned the manuscript to him, Zhang Duanyi saw a look of disdain in his eyes: This thing also wants to be published in the newspaper?

"The husband and brother are talented, and the writing is talented, which is needless to say, but the most popular one today is the current commentary, not this legend. With the ability of a righteous husband and brother, why not write some sharp and spicy miscellaneous comments, such as the hottest system of the Honors and Councils today, why not publish it? Wouldn't it be nice to be lucky enough to get the honorific title of 'everyone' and 'professor' when you're lucky, and you can get both fame and wealth? It is to write legends, and the husband and brother should also write some talented and beautiful women and the like, that talent must be delicate and gentle, and it is best to be weak, that beauty must be the only daughter of a rich family, or the daughter of an official eunuch, and it is better to be a talented person, the number of beauties is not limited, and then add some glamorous spring affairs, why worry about not looking at the officials? Secondly, the husband and brother can also write about the gods and monsters, and they are omnipotent in heaven and earth, such as the "Tang Sanzang Commentary", naturally, there are few banshees and demons here, and they are all amorous. No matter how bad the husband and brother are to write the legends of wild history, the Sui and Tang dynasties of the Three Kingdoms, the plots and tricks of fighting for hegemony and power, all have a lot to do - but the husband and brother want to write about the reality of my Great Song Dynasty! It's okay to write about realistic things, but the husband and wife can't let go of the pedantic spirit of the people, but they still want to add some subtle words, what is the use of you writing about some textile women, could it be that those textile women workers will pay for this newspaper to read your articles? ”

The string of words of the main writer made Zhang Duanyi's head lower and lower, and finally ran back in frustration.

He understands what the main writer said, in fact, there is something more scathing than what the main writer said, Zhang Duanyi has heard others say it. For example, the text is vulgar and elegant: in this manuscript, he uses all the colloquial language and slang, which are used by everyone in the shop, but it is a little strange when it is written, neither the gaudy and flashy of the Six Dynasties, nor the simplicity of the ancient literature advocated by Han Yu. Another example is the tragic ending: in his manuscript, the three female textile workers, one died of illness due to overwork, the other was forced by his father and brother not to marry the son he liked, and had to use all his income to subsidize his brother, and the last one met an unladylike person, sold into the hook column for the negative person, and committed suicide.

These are unpleasant, and the readers of the newspaper do not like to read them. Zhang Duanyi tried in many ways, but there was still nowhere to publish.

"Alas, let's go, I won't write a word again." He was angry in his heart, and he threw the manuscript into the hearth.

"You old ghost, two years of hard work just threw it away?" The old wife snatched the manuscript from his hand, and when she saw him like this, she couldn't bear it after all: "You wait!" ”

After a while, the old wife came out of the room and took out a small cloth bag, which contained a small stack of banknotes, and the old wife held it tightly and spread it out in front of him: "Take it!" ”

"How?" Zhang Duanyi looked at these scattered banknotes, the old wife looked at every penny, and it was not easy to save some of these scattered banknotes on weekdays - the ones stored in the bank were not counted, but they had to prevent old age. This stack, to say the least, has more than 30 times, and Zhang Duanyi suspects that all the rest of the money saved over the years is here.

"Tomorrow, you buy a ticket to Lin'an, I know, we go to Lin'an train fare is 12 per person, the rest is your expenses in Lin'an, this small place in Suzhou, no one can understand you, no one can read your book, I don't believe that Lin'an and no one understands you!" The old wife gritted her teeth, staring at the money in her hand, obviously showing reluctance: "Lin'an is the place where the literary style is most prosperous at the feet of the Son of Heaven, and there are newspapers, so no one can take a fancy to you?" ”

"This ...... This ......" Zhang Duanyi was heartbroken.

"I told the little lady and daughter-in-law of the weaving factory what you wrote in the book, and no one listened to it without crying, hmph, what do those main writers know, and what qualifications do they have to teach my officials how to write essays?" The old wife said again, but Zhang Duanyi grabbed her hand, she was startled, and the old face couldn't help but fly red pills: "Old ghost, what are you doing, this is broad daylight!" ”

Note 1: Zhang Duanyi was born and died in a year without examination, but he should have written three times in the Duanping period (1235), so this time should be in the prime of life. Again: One says that he lived around 1179 to 1248. In the article, he lives in Suzhou, which may not be a historical fact, and the Fang family should not be embarrassed.