Chapter 3251 Give a little sunshine and it will be shining

Zhao Xing smiled slowly, how could he tell this Lord Edwin that he was talking about Uncle Baldwin in the Edessa Country, because he got the news from the movie "Heavenly Dynasty"? When he first watched this movie, he accidentally studied the "leper king" Baldwin IV in the movie, knew the history of the ancestors of the "leper king", and reported this story in detail in the newspaper without paying attention......

In other words, the "Mr. Wuyou" in the newspaper is Zhao Xing, he is the real knife catcher behind the newspaper, but the truth of the facts is too outrageous, no one will believe this kind of thing, Zhao Xing had to be sloppy: "Your Excellency, my fleet has already broken into the Indian Ocean---- you also know that I have a secret route of my own, which can go directly to Africa, of course I can get news from Africa...... Well, I don't want to discuss this matter. Let us tell you what you are going to do. When are you going to leave? ”

The group of white merchants in Canton, who eventually disappeared in history, responded to the religious call to return to China to participate in the holy war, but their departure was recorded by the Great Song Dynasty, and their arrival was not recorded by any country after that. Their news was silent in the middle of the way, and as a result, Arab merchants took advantage of the situation and filled their vacancies in Canton.

Zhao Xing, who was born in this era, speculated that these people eventually died at the hands of Arab pirates, and at present, he tried his best to keep these people, because he wanted to leave behind the kind of communication between the East and the West, but unfortunately, it seems that his efforts have not been able to defeat religious fanaticism.

"Your Excellency, you asked us to wait for a year, but now that it has been more than a year, we still haven't left, now that your navy has broken into the Indian Ocean. I hope that when the next monsoon blows, you will allow us to leave...... By the way", Edwin raised the newspaper in his hand: "Thank you for bringing us news of our hometown." ”

Zhao Xing shook his head and said with a wry smile: "But how did you leave?" Even if you set foot on the African continent. Nor will you be able to cross that war-torn land, unless our fleet enters the Red Sea and escorts you closer to it. But as you know, the straits of the Red Sea are narrow, and without a strong deterrent to the fortresses on the coast, my fleet will not dare to penetrate at all. ”

"You have a cannon", Edwin replied calmly, "Reverently Zhao Xing, we are not deaf, we have already discovered your weapon." There are also our merchants in the Cham country, and we have witnessed your army attacking the city, and we have heard that the kind of artillery used only five cannons to destroy the earthen walls of the Champa country. My lord, this weapon is capable of breaking through the blockade of the Red Sea and destroying all the fortresses along the coast, and we have more confidence in this weapon than you......"

Zhao Xing said with a bitter face: "Haven't you heard that there are more ants that can bite an elephant to death---- that's right, I have a weapon." It is Thor's weapon. But this weapon only equips the army. It will take some time for my soldiers to get used to it, and besides, this weapon is not as indestructible as you might think.

In addition to this, my fleet was formed with new sailors, naval battles, for our new navy, and even for our nation. All are new subjects that need to be studied. In the past, although we had several naval battles, such as the naval battle in which our Tang Dynasty sailors attacked Goguryeo. But without exception, they did not leave any information for future generations.

New sailors, new sailors, new ships, new weapons...... I need time for everything, Lord Edwin, and perhaps I was a little reckless and over-haste, but I beg you to believe me once more ---- two years, this war will not be fruitful in two years, and in two years I can open the gates of the Red Sea with artillery. Send you directly to the eastern shore of the Red Sea. Let you reconnect with the East-West trade route.

Honor Edwin, Jerusalem is there. I don't think the Crusaders will be able to take Jerusalem in two years, but I can make a promise to you, allow you to form a small mercenary army--- limited to 500 people, and when this army is trained, I believe that in the siege, you can also contribute to Christ. ”

Edwin straightened up and asked in surprise, "My lord, do you mean that I can summon the locals in Guangdong and train an armed guard---- can I confirm this?" Can you allow me to have a musket? ”

"Absolutely not!" Zhao Xing made a serious face: "Not only muskets, but even artillery are not allowed to be owned by you." I think this is also an international practice, and every country will not allow others to possess their most powerful weapons. ”

Edwin bowed and continued to ask, "So, can I expect your musket artillery brigade to escort me ashore?" ”

Zhao Xing grinned: "People often say that money is not everything, but I like to say that no money is everything, all problems boil down to one problem, the problem of money." ”

Edwin replied, "So, how much will it cost me to get your lord's musket artillery team to help me fight?" ”

Zhao Xing touched his chin and replied thoughtfully: "We have to establish a standard, the cost standard of each gun and each gun...... Let me calculate: how much it will cost to transport my Great Song soldiers to such a distant place---- this cost will be calculated back and forth; Also, how much did it cost to transport the gunpowder in my land...... I believe that my gunpowder will not be replenished by you, so I must send two powerful earth fleets at the same time, one to guard the entrance to the Red Sea Strait to prevent others from sealing the strait, and the other to penetrate deep into the strait.

Badly, no matter which fleet was in a hard battle, once they had half depleted of gunpowder, they had to return as soon as possible, because they could not find supplies in the vicinity, and in case of empty shells, they would have to fight with their teeth.

It's too dangerous to have a reasonable price to get me going, and I think you can't afford it. But I can agree to your credit, but you must have collateral and promise us a payment method.

If you come tomorrow, or ten days later, my non-commissioned officer will calculate a price, and of course we can't go to the battlefield and charge you for every shot, so we have to calculate a gun base in advance, which is a troublesome thing......"

Edwin bowed. He replied softly, "My lord, as long as we can catch up with the battle of the Holy City, we are willing to abandon all our possessions." You can do it, whatever you want. We pay for it. ”

Zhao Xing shook his head, stared at Edwin seriously for a long time, and replied slowly: "You fancy the glory of the Lord, but I hope that the trade between the East and the West can continue for a long time---- Your Excellency, my country is also at war, you know, in order to cope with the war, we have to speed up the payment, and once the trade between the East and the West shrinks." It would be impossible for us to afford that war. It is for this reason that I have satisfied you, hoping to escort you, the precious seafarers, safely to the Holy City, and then let you return to the Great Song Dynasty alive.

I have a crush on trade, and if you promise to return afterwards, then I can send you into Jerusalem in advance---- I believe it will not be difficult to do, as long as you are willing to sacrifice. I will force my way into the Red Sea straits. As for you, as long as you promise to return to the Great Song Dynasty and continue to trade, even if the ship I sent you to is completely wiped out, you will not be afraid, because it takes you time to participate in that war, and when the war is over, I will develop another fast ship again. However. You and I cannot afford such a loss---- and I fear that if the ship's weapons fall into the hands of the Arabs, your fate will be even more unpredictable. Therefore, there is no certainty of victory. If our fleet does not manage the situation strongly, even if I send you into Jerusalem, it will not necessarily be a good thing for you, but more likely a disaster. With artillery as a weapon, the Arabs can destroy you even if you hide under thick walls.

So I suggest that you and I be patient, and that you give me two years to train sailors. training of gunners; I'll give you two years. Train a mercenary army and wait for two years to come. We set out together, believing that we were in a hurry to participate in the battle of the Holy City.

The war was a long affair, and the Arab state had 600,000 troops, and the Sisseljuk state still had hundreds of thousands of troops despite the fall of the capital. We Chinese have dealt with the Seljuks, and we know that this group of nomads has the habit of being a soldier for all people. It's a swamp of war, and it's going to be a flesh millstone that won't stop grinding, no matter how many lives it fills. So this war will be fought for a long time, I predict it will be centuries.

Gentlemen, centuries of war, we spent years preparing for it, do we still feel slow? ”

"Centuries? Do you really think so, my lord? Edwin asked incredulously.

"The Turks, it took us three hundred years to drive them out of the Western Regions. But now that they have no way out, where do you let them move again? As far as I know, the African continent is full of countries, and the opposite side is the same as Europe; Arabia is still strong...... So the Crusaders destroyed a nation founded by the Seljuks. But this is not the end, and the desperate Seljuks will fight desperately.

Even if you take Jerusalem, you will not end the war. Don't you think that it would be a long chore to keep the fruits of victory in Jerusalem, because the land of Jerusalem was arid and barren, and it was impossible to feed a large army, and this small city happened to be surrounded by the surrounding Arab countries? ”

Edwin thought silently for a while, then leaned over and bowed: "My lord, you are the most broad-minded person I have ever met, I can't imagine that you are in the far East and can predict the situation of the war on the African continent. I'll admit you're right, it seems that we are overly anxious. According to you, if we can connect the trade routes between the East and the West, so that the isolated Holy City can become a transit point for goods from the East and the West, perhaps the flow of huge amounts of money will allow it to hold on and survive the storm. ”

Zhao Xing smiled and said softly: "I'm only worried about corruption, in case a huge amount of money causes corruption in life, then, the ending is still unchangeable." ”

"Anyway, we tried, yes?" Edwin smiled and bowed in farewell.

A few days later, in anticipation, the second issue of "Maritime News" was finally released.

The cover of this Maritime News newspaper is a large map with a few black dots on it. Other than that, there is not a single word in the entire layout.

The puzzled reader continued to open the second page of the newspaper and found that the newspaper explained the drawing. It turned out that Zhao Xing marked the Song Mall distributed in the South China Sea. These include the Song Mall in the country of Boni, the Song Mall in Chenla, Bagan and Srivijaya Mall, the Song Mall in Cochin, the Song Mall in the Cham Kingdom, and the Lion City (Singapore). It even includes the village of Kirimaius in Africa, the Chola Kingdom (Goa region) in India, and the Songshang village in the port of Oman in Arabia.

In the second edition, Zhao Xing explained the origin of these Song malls and the powerful Song merchant families in the city. Immediately in the third edition, a decree was promulgated: wherever Song merchants gathered, it was allowed to establish autonomous ports, autonomous trading domains, and republics.

Yes, the republic, Zhao Xing mentioned the title of the republic for the first time here. According to his explanation, the Great Song Dynasty ruled the world with local merchants. The merchants of the Great Song Dynasty elected the heads of each autonomous port, autonomous trade lord, and republic by themselves in accordance with the method of ruling the village elders stipulated in the "Lantian Township Covenant", and the Guangnan East Road Coastal System Division sent a governor to recognize their local jurisdiction on behalf of the Great Song court.

This governor sent by the imperial court did not interfere in local affairs, he was only an idle position similar to a modern "consul", mainly "existing" in the local area, in order to reflect the ruling power of the imperial court. In addition to this, the governor was also responsible for diplomatic matters with the local princes.

For this governor, Zhao Xing explained that he embodied the existence of the Song court. Because of its overseas location, in order to allow the local governor to have enough authority, Zhao Xing stipulated that the governor's official character was equivalent to that of Zhizhou, and that each term of office would be five years, and he would be rotated every five years, and he would not be allowed to be re-elected.

In a subsequent article, Zhao Xing clearly declared:

"The boundaries of the Great Song Dynasty do not lie in the land. It lies in the people, where the Song people take root, there is the domain of China. ”

"All the Song people in the South China Sea are protected by the Great Song Dynasty and are protected by our land!"

"Within the range of my cannon, the Song people are protected by the laws of the Song State, and all trials must be presided over by my Song officials. Those who dare to lynch the Song people in other countries are challenging the majesty of the Great Song Dynasty! I don't dare to reason with him with a cannon! ”

"Whoever bullies Song Shang is declaring war on me! Those who offend me Song Shang are like offending me in Huaxia! Killing my elders is like killing my father and brother! Those who harm the young of my people are like hurting my hands and feet! ”

In order to reflect the identity of Song Shang. Zhao Xing then abolished the maritime trade permit system, but re-established the "national certificate" system of the Great Song Dynasty, stipulating that all Song merchants who went overseas could go to the Guangzhou Shipping Division to apply for a national permit. This national card adopts the most admired color of the Great Song Dynasty---- red. It is covered with a thin layer of Vietnamese mahogany, and the contents of the interior are in the style of a modern passport for going abroad, with exit records, entry records, and so on.

Zhao Xing announced that when overseas Song merchants arrived in Waifu, they could apply to the local governor's office for landing registration. Of course. The Great Song Dynasty was a free country, and merchants could not be registered. But if the merchant is treated unfairly. Or if your life is threatened, you can apply to the local governor's palace for protection---- "This is what my cannon does", Zhao Xing announced through gritted teeth on the third edition.

As soon as this decision came out, it immediately caused an uproar in the Liangguang area, and the maritime merchants of the Great Song Dynasty applied to the city department for national certificates. As the "Maritime News" spread to the surrounding areas, even maritime merchants from Quanzhou, Mingzhou, and Mizhou also came to Guangnan to apply for national certificates.

Just kidding, with this certificate, from now on in the South China Sea, only I, Song Shang, am allowed to bully others, and no one else is allowed to bully me Song Shang, this is simply a talisman. For this reason, businessmen from all over the Great Song Dynasty set off a southward fever, whether they are engaged in sea trade or not, they also have to go to Guangdong South Road to another national certificate---- anyway, Zhao Xing will be issued as long as he applies for it, regardless of whether you are willing to operate sea trade or not.

According to the local laws and regulations of Quang Nam, it protects the holder's copyright, invention rights, and patent rights, as well as the sanctity of the holder's private property, and in addition, it also guarantees the holder's right to freedom of belief. In the unlikely event that the holder commits an act in a foreign country, having this certificate means that the foreign country has no right to judge you, and can only be tried by the autonomous port stationed abroad, the autonomous trade territory, and the government of the republic. According to Zhao Xing, even if these overseas government agencies make a judgment, as a Song businessman, you still have a right to appeal, and you can ask to return to your hometown and appeal to the hometown government.

As long as the author on trial appealed, according to Zhao Xing, the only thing the local governor's office could do was to put the guilty Song Shang on the ship and deport him back to China.

This back is simply unscrupulous favoritism, but the merchants of the Great Song Dynasty like it. As this newspaper spread, the greeting of the merchants of the Great Song Dynasty has become: "Have you applied for a certificate today?" "If one of them doesn't have a national card, they will be embarrassed to greet each other.

This newspaper was transmitted to the palace, and the palace was nervously preparing for the ceremony of presenting the prisoner to the temple, Zhao Xu finally saw the newspaper he was looking forward to, and immediately couldn't sit still, he waved the newspaper to the political affairs to find a seal. shouted excitedly: "This is the expansion of the territory, look, Zhao Liren has added seven overseas territories for me in the blink of an eye, how can this not be regarded as the expansion of the territory...... And so it goes. My exploits can also be regarded as catching up with His Majesty the Emperor Shenzong. ”

Before Zhang could answer, Cai Bian also held a newspaper in his hand, and he arched his hand and said: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid that if it is not to expand the territory, it is quite difficult to govern overseas enclaves...... Your Majesty should issue an edict and rebuke it tactfully. ”

Zhang didn't like to hear this, he wanted to curry favor with the little emperor. He stroked his beard and replied proudly: "Anyway, this sincerity is an unprecedented initiative in ancient times, the boundary of the Great Song Dynasty is not in the land, but in the people, where the Song people take root, there is the domain of China---- this is good." In one fell swoop, Zhao Liren brought seven overseas cities into the jurisdiction of our Great Song Dynasty, and these seven cities should have half of Hangzhou's tax revenue, and our Great Song Dynasty is equivalent to adding three and a half Hangzhou.

Overseas territories don't need to worry much, do you hear that, autonomy. This means that our court does not need to pay too much attention, and only needs to send gunboats to show the existence of our court from time to time. Deterring the local natives, this is enough---- three and a half taxes in Hangzhou are collected in vain, all that needs to be done is to register the Song merchants who enter and exit. Fat difference! ”

Zhang inadvertently told the truth, and Cai Bian knew that he was talking about the rank of governor established by Zhao Xing. The official product is equivalent to Zhizhou, that is, the fifth grade official, and the worst is also from the sixth grade, this official has reached the threshold of a senior official, and his task is not heavy, it is nothing more than staying overseas, reflecting the existence of the Great Song Dynasty official mansion, and there is nothing to help people remember their names. Occasionally proclaim the majesty of the Celestial Empire to the local natives.

Maritime trade is a profession that makes you rich. Staying overseas, the emperor is far away. Although he is not very in charge, he is equivalent to a soil emperor, and when he returns to the Central Plains for five years, he belongs to the senior officials of the imperial court, and if he wants to continue to work hard in his career, he can move forward to a higher level. Even if you don't have a career, you can follow the regulations of the Great Song Dynasty to make a child and make a foot valley by yourself--- which is to set up a family business for Sun Zhi.

Cai Bian blinked and said thoughtfully: "Lingnan was originally a place for shooting, and isn't it even more of a place for shooting overseas." Zhao Liren has always been protective, this is his backyard, I'm afraid he won't let others interfere. ”

Zhang smiled and continued, "You don't know Zhao Liren's temper, but I know that as long as the imperial court doesn't make him too ugly, he will choose to back down." He prides himself on being the guardian of the rules rather than the destroyer, so as long as the court follows the rules, he will be obedient. But this guy is also a good person who takes advantage of the air, and he is a guy who shines when he gives a little sunshine. Whenever there was a gap in the court, he would dig out a big hole in the crack so that the big ship could pass through.

Well, as long as there is such a big matter as building overseas territories, if the imperial court does not interfere in supervision, won't it all become the credit of Zhao Liren...... Your Majesty, my child has just passed the imperial examination and is waiting to be sent. The minister thought that it was bitter cold overseas, and he should let the child go out to exercise. In addition, Zhao Liren's methods are brilliant, and the minister plans to let the child learn a few tricks from him, so as to create a foundation for His Majesty. ”

Cai Bian understands this, the little emperor is a little suspicious of Zhang, and he is old, seeing Zhao Xing's prosperity in the south, that guy is still young, and he will inevitably become an important minister of the country in the future. When Cai Bian heard this, his heart moved, and he also suggested to His Majesty: "The minister's brother Cai Yuanchang (Cai Jing) lives in Hangzhou, and he has a friendship with Zhao Liren, so it is better to let him go south to Guangdong ......"

The little emperor didn't like to listen to the words of these two people, he waved the newspaper with a red face, and said loudly: "I need to appoint and dismiss officials in the South China Sea---- since all the countries in the South China Sea have returned to the Great Song Dynasty, they can allow my Great Song Dynasty to set up official offices on their territory, why don't they come to pay tribute." Zhang Qing, you tell Zhao Liren, it's too late this year, let Zhao Liren order the king of the South China Sea to come to the court to pay tribute on the first day of next year, and I want to reproduce the divine light of all countries to come to the earth, the heavens, and the heavens. ”

Zhang smiled bitterly, he shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, if the minister wants to issue this edict, I'm afraid that Zhao Liren will seal and return the edict, and that guy won't do such a thing, I know that he won't do it, because it's too expensive." ”

Zhao Xu didn't listen to this, he said in a deep voice: "I should write a letter to comfort Zhao Qing, by the way, opening up the territory is also a great achievement, since Zhao Qing has made such a great contribution in Guangdong, he will still be in charge of the South China Sea in the future, the imperial court should discuss it, give him the title of inspector Tai Lieutenant, so that he can move troops randomly." ”

Zhang rolled his eyes and shook his head to veto: "Your Majesty, Zhao Liren has been promoted to the third rank, so if he lets the king of Nanyang come to the court for pilgrimage next year, how should he be rewarded?" ”

When the little emperor heard this, this truth was reasonable, he nodded and replied: "Since this is the case, tell him that once he realizes my ** and reappears in a foreign country, I should make him a lieutenant of the school, and I will live up to him in this life." ”

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