Zeng Bu could never understand the Fujianese people's yearning for land.

In addition, Ryukyu is not far away, if it can be developed, it will definitely become the most powerful guarantee for Fujian Road.

Eight mountains, one water and one field, the Fujian people who are always struggling for food rations are the most open-minded group of people. Even if the economy of Fujian Road is very good. But who are the rich people?

The wealthy merchants in Quanzhou were basically Persians, and there were very few people in the Great Song Dynasty.

Quanzhou and Fuzhou are all ports that can be counted in the Great Song Dynasty. However, the trade in these ports was controlled by a small number of foreigners.

For the people of Fujian Road in the Great Song Dynasty, there was not enough land - they could only be reduced to boatmen.

Even Lin Xi was wondering if the family would be able to make the family more stable if they divided some of their people and strength to run the Ryukyus. Relying on shipbuilding and maritime trade, although he feasted on meat when he ate meat, he was not happy. But when he was beaten, it was a boatload of robes.

In the court, there were many officials from Fujian.

The Zhang family, the Cai family, the Lin family...... They are all big families in Fujian Road.

With their support, it is already recognized by more than half of the forces in the court.

At this time, Li Kui, as the advocate of this policy, had to stand up and say his overall plan: "Officials, my lords, I heard that there is nothing else in Ryukyu, but there are sulfur mines. ”

This is not Li Kui's nonsense.

He seemed to remember that there was sulfur on Ryukyu Island, but there was nothing else.

"Brimstone?" No one wanted this thing before, but now it's a rarity. Su Zhe pondered Li Kui's words, thinking about whether Li Kui deliberately said it to arouse people's ideas, or did he say it inadvertently? However, these speculations were useless to him, he glanced at the emperor who had made up his mind, and said secretly in his heart: "That's it! ”

Su Zhe stood up and said freely: "The official, the minister seconded the proposal. ”

Su Zhe's nod already indicated that the Great Song Dynasty had all passed, and it could only go all the way to the dark.

Sulfur is the key raw material of gunpowder, without sulfur, it is impossible to make gunpowder with good performance. Just like today's Western Xia and Liao, the artillery was only after the Battle of Jinmingzhai, and the Western Xia captured two artillery pieces. The structure is very simple, just a cannon barrel, no matter how complex the structure of the craftsmen of Western Xia can make.

However, the craftsmen of Western Xia just did not make qualified gunpowder.

As a result, although the Western Xia had insight into the appearance of firearms, they could not produce qualified gunpowder, and the artillery they made could only be prototypes.

The same is true of the Liao State, after seeing the power of artillery, it also forged artillery by means. However, the result was the same as that of Western Xia, and it could not be used on the battlefield to attack cities.

There are not many sulfur mines in the Great Song Dynasty.

In the past, it was enough, and the sulfur from the cannon battle could still be taken out during the festival. But suddenly, after the appearance of the firearms unit, the firepower of the Janissaries was too fierce, and the supply of sulfur was not available.

Of course, there is another reason. In the days when there were no artillery and muskets, the main use of sulfur was to make medicine. Some hernia diseases may be used, but the dosage is very small, almost like a little fragrant ash, dare not use more. If you eat too much, you can't stand it.

Don't be surprised, the magic of Chinese medicine is beyond the comprehension of anyone outside of China.

Not to mention sulfur, arsenic is medicine.

Children fight roundworms, that is, use arsenic. The dosage needs to be carefully controlled, otherwise, if the insects don't die, people won't be able to save them. Coupled with the fear of arsenic, in the pharmacy, this poison is unsalable.

Like arsenic, sulfur is a slow-selling commodity in pharmacies, and few people buy it.

Because the amount used is very small, no one would have thought that one day the sulfur will be used for hundreds of stones, hundreds of stones, and the gunpowder bureau is not enough, how much to need.

But in the territory of the Great Song Dynasty, there are only a few mines that can extract sulfur, and they are basically ignored. Not to mention exploring new mines, so much so that sulfur is now in great demand in the Great Song Dynasty. The Gunpowder Bureau even scraped the sulfur from the drugstore, but it still couldn't catch up with the consumption of the war.

"Renjie, you go on!"

Li Kui said: "Today's Ryukyu Kingdom, that is, the former Yizhou, does not have many people. The land is fertile, the soil and water are fertile, and three crops of grain can be produced in a year. Food can be grown all year round. As long as the Ryukyus are developed, there will be no need to worry about food shortages on Fujian Road. At the same time, Ryukyu could also be used as a transit port for the overseas trade of the Great Song Dynasty. ”

"Although I have never been to Quanzhou, I have heard that the merchants from all over the world in Quanzhou are Persians. And the farthest that the Great Song fleet could go was to reach Zhenla. Obviously, the Persians controlled our seas, which led to the loss of bargaining power in our Great Song Dynasty. Even if the Persian merchants want to do business with our Great Song Dynasty, they will do business, and once the Persian merchants do not want to do business with our Great Song Dynasty, then the businesses in the north and south of the Great Song Dynasty will be hit. ”

"We should take the fate of the empire into our own hands, and Ryukyu is the first step, followed by the kingdom of Bintong Ryu, the country of Dengrumei, the country of Bagan, and the kingdom of Srivijaya...... These small countries in the South Seas, when we break out, we will no longer have to look at the faces of Persian merchants. ”

"As for Ryukyu, this is a small country with a small population, and it is the most suitable object for my overseas fiefdom of the Great Song Dynasty. At the same time, according to the development qualifications of domestic businessmen, the most suitable businessmen for overseas development are selected. As long as we control the Ryukyus, Bintong Dragon Kingdom, Dengliumei Kingdom, Bagan Kingdom, and Sriwijaya Kingdom, there will be at least thirty or fifty fiefs in Nanyang alone, and each fiefdom only needs to produce two warships, plus the imperial court to form a naval division of a certain size, the empire can have an additional navy with more than 100 warships. ”

"If a warship has only two hundred people, it is thirty thousand troops. If this navy goes north, the entire Liao Kingdom's Zhongjing and Tokyo City will be under the attack of our Great Song Dynasty. Even if the Liao State is determined to go south to fight a decisive battle with our Great Song Dynasty, it must also worry about the safety of the rear. ”

"There is also the policy theory and population theory that I wrote when I took the temple examination. There were more and more people in the Great Song Dynasty, and the land was not enough to support. People who have lost their original livelihoods will inevitably be forced to lose their livelihoods and be displaced. The development of overseas fiefdoms requires a large number of people, and this is also an opportunity to eliminate hidden dangers. The demise of any dynasty is actually more or less related to people. There are more people, the wealth remains the same, and at the same time, the squire and wealthy family control most of the wealth in the world, and there is only one ending, and the people who can't eat will become thugs. ”

"In addition, for my Great Song Dynasty, opening up overseas fiefdoms has another advantage that mobs from all over the country will be recruited by merchant groups one after another to join the ranks of overseas development. For the sake of the present day, for the imperial court, the development of the Ryukyus must allow the merchant group to obtain tangible benefits, whether it is in terms of status or wealth, it should be a good deal. In order to attract more business groups to join in overseas development. I even predict that in the future, the overseas income of the Great Song Dynasty will be one of the most important taxes for the empire. ”

……

Li Kui's words are a completely new concept.

Land operations have become joint operations of the Navy and Army.

Even if the role of the navy is still stuck in sneak attacks, this feeling gives people the appearance that they cannot be guarded against and cannot be cracked at all.

Zhang Dian was the first to show high morale: "For today's plan, relying on the propaganda of the imperial court to let businessmen participate in the auction, I am afraid it is difficult, what is the best way for Renjie?" ”

"Let the money bank publicize it."

Li Kui has already had a belly case: "The people who settle the money are all businessmen, who has money and who doesn't, the money bank knows best." Now there are three largest money banks in the Great Song Dynasty, and letting the money banks spread the news is the fastest and most labor-saving way. ”

Banks?

The largest Huitong bank is still Li Kui's trading.

After Li Kui finished speaking, Zhang Dian was slightly stunned, and looked at Li Kui strangely: "Renjie, you don't want to join the development of overseas fiefdoms, right?" ”

"I ......"

Li Kui pondered, it seems that Oceania is still a borderless land now, if it ...... Hey.

"Renjie, you are an important minister of the imperial court, how can you be so ignorant?" Seeing Li Kui's eagerness to try, Zhang Dian suddenly became anxious. He believes that it is necessary to warn Li Kui that as a scholar, he can't just get into the eyes of money.

"Overseas fiefdoms are just an expedient measure, and when my Great Song Dynasty solves the threat of Liao and Western Xia, attacks Tibet in the west, and goes south to Jiaozhi and Dali, after the four seas are decided, they will inevitably be ......left out in the cold."

Zhang's idea is still to stay in the Central Plains is the center of the world, except for the Central Plains, can any rich land be compared with the hinterland of the Central Plains of the Great Song Dynasty?

He couldn't say anything, Li Kui actually had this thought.

But Li Kui said-for-tat: "Zhang Xiang, if a national policy is good to deduce and use, then it should be implemented, instead of using it when it is needed, and throwing it away if it is not needed." The order of the court is changed overnight, and it is not the strategy of good ministers. ”

Zhang Dianxin said: "Little thief, I can see through you, but I didn't expect you to have the intention of betraying the Great Song Dynasty." ”

In order to cut off Li Kui's halfway official and run to be a pirate leader, Zhang Dian simply set up a rule: "Officials are not allowed to leave the country." ”

"Zhang Xiang, you are treating it differently." Li Kui was not convinced.

Li Kui really wanted to resign and go to fight the sea of stars, but Zhang Dian had no way at all.

But without Li Kui, what would he do to deal with Liao?

Zhang Kai's Western Army was also equipped with a large number of cannons, but the campaign commanded by Zhang Kai was not as free and easy as Li Kui, chasing the party and fighting them.

Su Zhe and the others looked confused, they couldn't guess anything, they had originally discussed the matter of overseas fiefdoms, but in the end it turned into a shocking case in which Li Kui wanted to run away.

The saddest is probably Emperor Zhao Xu. He couldn't figure it out, as soon as the overseas fiefdom came out, wouldn't the official body of the Great Song Dynasty be fragrant?

Fortunately, these are not immediate problems, and Zhang Dian can still fight with Li Kui.

However, another incident made Cai Bian nervous.

Cai Jing was determined to devote himself to the development of the Ryukyu business, and he came to show his loyalty, and he wanted to unconditionally support Li Kui's proposal. Secondly, if the development of the Ryukyus is really as good as Li Kui said, it will definitely be a big business.

This caused Cai Bian's boss to be dissatisfied.

"Brother, the purpose of this overseas fiefdom is to give merchants a chance. You are an official of the imperial court, why do you have to wade into this troubled water? Cai Bian was puzzled.

However, Cai Jing was worried: "I have eight sons, and I don't expect them to be noble in front of each of them, but at least I have to give them a legacy that can be passed down for hundreds of years." If overseas fiefdoms are really available, it may not be an option. Besides, Ryukyu and our hometown are separated by the sea, and it only takes a few days to travel back and forth, which is not too far. ”

And so it really is.

Cai Bian had no choice but to affirm: "This matter only represents you, and I am not involved." ”

The corners of Cai Jing's mouth were raised high, and he said disdainfully: "You want to participate, can you afford to pay the fiefdom purchase fee?" If you don't have money, you can only live a hard mouth, like a duck, and only have the share of calling! ”

Cai Bian turned his head angrily and left, he was determined to move, move immediately, otherwise he would be angry with Cai Jing sooner or later.

And among the chambers of commerce and money in the capital.

Once again, the merchants drove up the price of the Oiran in the capital.

The main thing is that there are more banquets for merchants than one, and for high-end banquets, if there is no long-faced Oiran appearing, the host's face will inevitably be gloomy.

Don't look at the merchants in the capital, most of them have no status.

But the capital concentrated more than half of the wealthy merchants of the Great Song Dynasty.

The combined wealth of these people can definitely fill the treasury of the Great Song Dynasty, and they are rich.

Faced with the problem of the embarrassing identity of the businessman, although the Great Song did not discriminate against the businessman. But this is only in the people, not in front of the officials.

When the merchant faced the officials of the Great Song Dynasty, he was shorter from beginning to end and became the object of suppression by the bloodline.

Now that there is a great opportunity in front of them, can you not be impressed?

"Brother Hui'an, I heard that there are five titles in Ryukyu alone this time, I don't know if you and I have a chance to ......"

"It's hard, it's hard! The baron is already equivalent to a fifth-rank official, and the competition is fierce! "The title of the Great Song Dynasty is actually determined according to the official position. The most superficial truth is that this is a means for the imperial court to increase the income of officials. For example, if you are a straight bachelor in the Sanpin main hall, you can get the title of earl. After Su Zhe was promoted to the bachelor of Longtu Pavilion that year, he immediately obtained the title of marquis, and he made 1,000 households in the city, and he could get an additional 3,000 catties from the household department every year.

This is an additional subsidy for officials by the imperial court.

Of course, low-level officials don't have a share. The lowest baron can only be obtained if you are a fifth-rank officer or above. Moreover, not every official who reaches the corresponding rank will necessarily receive a knighthood. It depends on the mood of the emperor and the degree of favor he has for the officials.

It's like Li Kui has the title of an earl. But this title can only be used for money, and nothing else. And it can't be hereditary.

The one who spoke shook his head, and the god muttered: "Brother is the news from the Military Command Bureau, I heard that Your Majesty even changed Zongzheng to the House of Nobles in order to let the merchant get a matching identity. In the future, overseas aristocrats will be more popular than the nobles of the Great Song Dynasty, because it is hereditary, as long as they occupy the status, their descendants will be nobles. ”

"Silk—isn't this going to break your head?"

"Not only that, but there is also a private army that can be recruited, although the private army cannot enter the Great Song Dynasty, it can only stay in the fiefdom, but this is an army, and the merchant has an army, I can't even think of it! As long as you have enough money, you can also recruit displaced people, if you are really in the near sea of Ryukyu, it will only take a few days to travel to and from Fujian. If you go to the fiefdom, it will be a big ...... You can't say it, you can't say it. ”

"Oops, hateful. In this way, the competition will inevitably be fierce, and the younger brother will definitely have no chance to do so. Originally, the younger brother still wanted to lay down this foundation for his children and grandchildren, but it seems that the little brother's fortune is shallow and he can't hold it. ”

"The point is that you don't have enough money!"

"If only I could take it apart ......"

"That's right! Brother, this news is now flying all over the capital, but the most reliable is the Military Command Bureau. Why don't we pay for the officials of the Military Command Bureau to talk to everyone? ”

……

Beep beep beep –

Cai Jing was surprised to find that he had become an authoritative mentor for the interpretation of the Great Song Dynasty's overseas fiefdom policy. Every time I sat down, it was a group of big Song businessmen with fat brains.

Every time I give a lecture, I can even earn a considerable amount of money.

He has an advantage as a person, an opportunity to earn money, and does not pick.

Always money, he wants to earn, a hundred guan, ten thousand guan is the same.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this official suggests that you go to the bidding in a group, after all, the Ryukyu country is as big as three states, and the land is rich and producing. If developed properly, it can become a permanent family business. ”

Cai Jing preached the benefits of the Ryukyu Kingdom one after another.

But such a big excitement actually forgot about the people of the Ryukyus country alone.

No one in the Great Song Dynasty asked the people of the Ryukyu Kingdom if they were willing?

And the crown prince of the Ryukyu Kingdom happened to be in Kaifeng Mansion...... It's just that the prince of the impoverished Ryukyu Kingdom can't afford to live in an inn in the inner city, so he can only rent an inn in the outer city, and the news comes slowly.

On this day, his guards heard the rumors on the streets, and immediately went back in horror to report to their prince: "Prince, it's not good! The Great Song Dynasty is going to attack our Ryukyu Kingdom! ”

The prince of the Ryukyu Kingdom was stunned for a moment, and then his face was panicked and excited, he grabbed the arm of his guard, and said in surprise: "In this way, we are going to become a Great Song Dynasty!" ”

The people of the Great Song Dynasty could not understand the joy of the prince of the Ryukyu Kingdom, and his expression was very similar to the joy of the demolition households in later generations.

The guard was stunned, he couldn't turn around.

Why is the prince so happy...... That's not right. You are the hope of the Ryukyu Kingdom, and you can't abandon the people of the Ryukyus because of the origin of a great Song Dynasty. Immediately, Prince Zhengse yelled: "Prince, you are the hope of my 20,000 people in the Ryukyus!" ”