Song Ji directly showed his point of view: "In the old days, Yan Huang expanded the soil and opened my 3,000-year-old foundation in China, and my Yinghua has made unprecedented changes, so I want to set a thousand-year-old industry!" Europeans are located in the west, China is the east, the east of the universe, whether it is the extreme north or the ocean, it should be the land of China, and its benefits should be held in the hands of China! In this way, in this global change, we can leave the due property for future generations. ”

Another voice rang out: "Well said! ”

You don't have to turn your head to hear it, this is the first person in the army, Xiao Sheng, the chief helmsman of the navy.

"A thousand years is too far away, just look at a hundred years, and you must also compete with the Rakshasas for the extreme north. The Rakshasas enter the ocean from the far north, and if they stabilize their position, they are like tigers perched on high rocks, and they may pounce south at any time. This is only the north, the Rakshasa people are still oppressing Dzungar and the old Persian food land in the Western Regions, the Western Regions is the homeland of my Han and Tang Dynasties, it must be restored, and then it will border with the Rakshasa people in the west. ”

When Xiao Sheng said this, Li Kezai was suddenly excited, not only Song supported him, but even Boss Xiao supported him, and it seemed that his plan had been settled.

But he is not an ordinary teenager anymore, his mind turned, and doubts suddenly arise. Xiao Sheng is at the helm of the navy, how can he support the seizure of the Far North? The Navy's interests lie in the West and the Ocean, especially in the Western Ocean, and it competes with the Europeans for Tianzhu and Xizhou (Africa), which is in line with the Navy's position.

Seeing Li Kezai frowning slightly, Xiao Sheng smiled and winked at him, Li Kezai was relieved, it should be Boss Xiao who deliberately wanted to go against Chen Wance. He didn't know that Xiao Sheng really supported the northward expansion plan, because ......

"The expansion of the Anglo-Chinese sea and land is inevitable, and the land route is divided into two directions, one is the extreme north and the other is the extreme west. The far north is easy to take, but the far west is a bottomless pit. After taking the far north, the Rakshasas will definitely fight with us in the extreme west. At that time, if you want to cross the hometown of the Han and Tang Dynasties and fight outward, you must press the power of a country. Whether it is His Majesty or the hearts of a country, they will definitely be reluctant, and the center of gravity will have to fall on the sea route at that time. ”

This is Xiao Sheng's 100-year plan, and it is also the consensus of the Navy Royal Road Society, for the sake of long-term interests, some short-term interests can be sacrificed to promote the Anglo-Chinese to establish a land strategy. And then there's the world of the Navy.

Song glanced at Xiao Sheng, and said in his heart that this strategy of first the sea and then the land was shouted loudly in the publications you run, but at this time it was used to curry favor with the eldest prince. It's really a bully, and the children don't know enough.

Although they are muttering, the opinions of the two are the same, as the imperial court is familiar with the overall situation of the world, and the navy also has a global vision, the future territory of Yinghua in the minds of the two parties is basically similar, that is, the land route ends in the far north and the western regions.

But for Chen Wance, who focuses on the affairs of the country, this territory is too big, and the Western Regions is the homeland of the Han and Tang dynasties, based on righteousness. It must be restored, but there is no need to fight for the far north, or the gains outweigh the losses.

Chen Wance shook his head and said: "What you said may be right, this kind of benefit of the world, and taking it away is a century-old foundation." But don't forget, there's a difference between thinking and doing, not to mention how much it costs to take the Far North. Let's just say that after taking it, can you hold it? ”

"When it comes to land expansion, we have to say Annan. In the past two years, the situation in Annam has become more and more confusing, and the scholars and industrialists of Annam, and even the prince of Dayue are all pleading for the annexation, but not only the eastern and western houses of the country are opposed, but even ordinary people are unwilling to accept Annam. Why? Because after Annan entered the country, the imperial court had to help. In the past two years, due to the help of Jiangnan, the provinces have increased taxes and helped, and the businessmen and people have suffered some losses, and everyone naturally does not want the old things to happen again. And everyone is very worried that after Annan is attached, the way to profit in the past will be cut off. ”

"That's the case with Annan alone. Not to mention the land in the far north, there is no human foundation, there is no stability and profit to be solidified, and I am afraid that it will be lost in an instant. ..., Chen Wance said with emotion: "I founded the country in Yinghua, talking about the integration of public and private interests. Talking about only one side is a loss of morality. In terms of public interests, the foundation established by the first emperor to create a 2,000-year-old Chinese New Era, how great is its benefit? However, this benefit was not combined with the interests of the people at that time, and as a result, the second emperor died. If we only seek the public interest for a hundred years and ignore the private interests of the people, we will repeat the mistakes of the past. ”

This is a repetition of the old tune of the British Confucianism, but Chen Wance's insight obviously does not stop there, he continued: "Even if the imperial court opens up the wisdom of the people and guides the people's knowledge, except for the people in the temple such as us, how many people are willing to see it for a hundred years? Moreover, these hundred years of public interests may not be able to be turned into personal interests, so if the Far North is selfless, it can be taken or not kept, so why bother? ”

This is talking about practical problems, no matter how broad the vision, how thorough the analysis, and how beautiful the planning is, we must always focus on reality.

Li Kezai's heart also became heavy, that's right, if you just look at the great cause and seek merit, but don't care about the people's hearts, not only will you not be praised, but you will have to be infamous on your back, and what Emperor Yang of Sui did back then is not a lesson from the past.

Thinking of this, Li Kezai also began to reflect, is his idea really wrong, there is no need to take the land of the far north?

Song Ji nodded, Chen Wance's realism could not be ignored, but the thinking behind this point of view was still rigid, and he asked rhetorically: "Why can the Rakshasa people do it?" ”

Yes, things are back to square one, why do Rakshasa people go, we Yinghua can't?

Xiao Sheng grinned and said, "Naturally, the Rakshasa people have found a way to have both public and private interests in the extreme north......"

He looked at Li Kezai: "So, Your Highness, if you really want to make a feasible strategy for the North Court, you have to start from here, marching and fighting, but it is just a small section of this matter." ”

Li Kezai groaned weakly, the result is not a problem that can be solved by fighting, it turns out that his father has long understood, so he said that he is not optimistic about the use of troops in the extreme north.

"Governor Xie has also arrived, and everyone is ready to meet you...... Yo, Your Highness, why are you here? ”

Li Can, the political envoy of the Central Court, finally appeared, with a tired look, and he was very surprised to see Li Kezai.

Xie Bachi also entered the palace? Is my father going to hold a pre-imperial meeting? What's wrong?

Li Kezai only noticed one thing, not to mention Chen Wance and Song Ji, even Xiao Sheng, who has been shuttling between Hong Kong and Yingyang Port, appeared here, just after the Lantern Festival, the military, political and foreign affairs, the Hanlin Academy, and the political affairs hall gathered together, and the discussion must be a military affair.

This is not an occasion for him to mix, perfunctory, hurriedly said goodbye, and when he returned to the back garden, he was still thinking, it seemed that he had to find more information and talk to more people. to find the direction.

"Your Highness is still a little impetuous."

"How can this be called impetuousness? It is this courage that can live in the country. ”

"Sure enough, it was the ...... from the concubine"

Seeing Li Kezai leave, several important ministers had their own feelings.

Xiao Sheng said: "The heart is high-minded, but you can humbly ask for advice, Your Majesty should also settle down." ”

Everyone coughed for a while, and they all avoided the topic. Xiao Sheng said very directly, because he felt that the prince should be decided, and the candidate was the eldest prince.

By this time, the princes were getting older. Both the government and the opposition feel that it is time to face the problem of storage location.

It stands to reason that the position of the crown prince should not be too controversial. Although the emperor "acted recklessly" and gave up the position of the queen to Tiandao, Concubine Yan was faintly higher than the four concubines of Xianshu Huide. Later, at the same time, Li Kezai is the eldest prince, from childhood to adulthood, in addition to inheriting a stubbornness from his mother, there is no major problem in his conduct, no matter which side he says, Li Kezai should be the prince.

What's worse is that because the emperor does not establish the emperor, this "nonsense", the principle of "establishing a successor" has no foundation. The two theories of "Lichang" and "Lixian" have risen. Many people think that Li Kezai is both long and virtuous, and he is the only one who has a storage position, but it does not prevent others from thinking that if they can talk about "Lixian", they should be more than compared. The so-called black who is close to ink, what the eldest prince was brought into by the stubborn Princess Xi. Everyone can see that the second prince or the fifth prince should be considered. ..., of course, those who insist on "establishing virtue" have arguments, and those who support the second prince and those who support the fifth prince form a faction. Behind the controversy, of course, there is everyone's concern about whether the emperor's state system can be implemented in the second, the eldest prince is supported by the military, and he will ascend to the throne in the future, and the future is unknown. And the second prince Li Keming was born by Concubine Zhu Xian. Most of the supporters are Yingru, the five princes are from Guan Huifei, and the supporters are all old people.

If it is placed in the old days, the disputes between these factions are afraid that they have formed groups, and they are fighting openly and secretly from the court to the locality, and even evolve into a battle of life and death. But under the national system of a country of Britain and China. The central and local governments shared power with each other, the two courts divided the power of the imperial court, and the political hall divided the power of the emperor.

It's just that others have no taboos, and everyone present is an important minister, and the position is related to the country, so everyone is reluctant to speak easily, echo or refute Xiao Sheng.

was snubbed by everyone, Xiao Sheng didn't care, shrugged his shoulders and smiled, and said in his heart that this storage position is like the Yinghua National Body, unless someone turns the sky upside down, it will be difficult to break out of the cold.

In the government hall, Li Shi looked at himself in the mirror, and sighed in his heart, twenty years with a flick of his fingers, he is no longer a flute boy, and in the past few years, the mother-in-law can sometimes find out the white hair from his head, when can I enjoy the emperor's leisure time, come to the holy road...... No, it's on Gangnam.

"Your Majesty, all the princes have arrived......"

Yang Shi, the secretary and supervisor, reminded softly, he also felt Li Shi's mood, but his mood diverged to a completely different direction. More than ten years ago, he was still studying in Li Zhuang's Yixue, and at that time he wanted to get a good job as an adult and support his parents who had worked hard for half his life. And now, he followed the emperor's side, and when he saw a country rising from the ground and thriving, he felt that his busy work was particularly meaningful, and he felt uncomfortable when he was free one day.

The emperor is not busy, the secretary is naturally idle, of course Li Xi does not know, his old clerk's mind is turning the "vicious" idea of "the emperor is better like an ox like a horse, every day", he hummed, stepped out of the side hall, and greeted him with dozens of important ministers bowed deeply and shouted in unison: "Knock on Your Majesty, long live - long live!" ”

After sitting down, Li Xian waved his sleeves and flattened his body, and then a smile bloomed on his face, and after all the ministers sat in the hall, they all chuckled.

After the Lantern Festival in the fifteenth year of the Holy Dao, the first imperial government meeting was full of joy.

Li Xian said: "Fan Cifu is in front of the canal, and General Manager Liu is working in the back, the two of them are in great merit, and the officials and the ministry are discussing and expounding their merits together!" ”

Fan Jin and Liu Xingchun got up and bowed again, with a look of relief, and everyone applauded and congratulated.

Li Shi said again: "Jiangnan affairs, although it will take time for the roots to be integrated, but I Yinghua can finally look outside......

Although the battles of Ejina and Jiyanbao were victorious, what made the monarchs and ministers rejoice was another thing, that is, Jiangnan was finally no longer a burden, at least not financially.

The national tax inventory of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Anhui provinces made at the end of the year was confirmed the day before yesterday, and in the 14th year of the Holy Dao, the total national taxes of the three provinces such as corporate tax, financial tax, and customs duties have exceeded 8 million taels, which is double that of the 13th year of the Holy Dao. The central government's investment in subsidies such as Jiangnan Caoyun is 5 million taels, and now the revenue is greater than the expenditure.

Jiangnan is no longer a financial burden, and the Anglo-Chinese country can naturally turn its head to look out.

This is two or three years ahead of estimate, for a number of reasons. First of all, when the British and Chinese "colonized" Jiangnan earlier, they had messed up the original layout of Jiangnan, Jiangnan Shilin was swept away, and the big landlords also turned to the north and south because of the bleak prospects. During the Yangtze River War, the old pattern was further smashed, and the new interest pattern built by Yinghua was based on the Shang Dynasty that was supported.

With a good layout, the Jiangnan camp headed by Liu Xingchun is also quite sharp in line. With Fan Jin's guidance, Xingying paid special attention to Juntian in Jiangnan. The Manchu Qing Dynasty's official fields in Jiangnan became an excellent resource to stabilize the hearts of the people in the south of the Yangtze River, and the action of turning tenants into property won the hearts of countless tenant farmers in the south of the Yangtze River.

In the past two years, all industries in Jiangnan have flourished, especially the weaving, dyeing, and grain processing industries have flourished, and industrial and commercial taxes and tariffs have naturally increased rapidly.

Li Xi set the tone, and everyone spoke enthusiastically, and this meeting was to share the cake. In the past, because Jiangnan dragged a country, many affairs were postponed because of Jiangnan, and everyone was in charge of a share of things, so they naturally had to claim the right to do things for themselves.