The Lantern Festival in the seventh year of Zhenguan is more lively than in previous years.

Li Zhi deliberately took out tens of thousands of pieces to celebrate the festival for the departing victims.

The entire settlement is filled with all kinds of lanterns.

Li Zhi also asked people to write many simple lantern riddles for the children here to guess.

Anyone who can guess will not only be able to take the lantern but also get some sweets and pastries and other rewards.

The liveliness of the entire resettlement site is not inferior to that of Chang'an City.

The victims of Li Zhi's three-day long vacation all ran to the streets to enjoy the wonderful lion dance performance.

Li Zhi also arranged for many officials of Jingzhao Mansion to shuttle back and forth on the streets, and from time to time they would distribute some candy to the victims.

This group of victims can be said to be very happy.

Not only did they not go hungry, but they were able to live in beautiful houses.

In addition, each house is equipped with a honeycomb stove.

Not only that, Li Zhi also prepared the grain seeds cultivated by Sinong Temple using the latest methods for the victims.

They saved a lot of money on borrowing to buy food.

What Li Zhi has done makes the victims extremely grateful.

Therefore, when Li Zhi led a group of officials from Jingzhao Prefecture to appear at the resettlement site, all the victims knelt on the ground and thanked them loudly.

Li Zhi replied with a bowing and persuaded loudly: "The people please hurry up, this king does not deserve such a big gift from you." ”

Li Zhe on the side saw such a scene and admired Li Zhi very much.

Since the founding of the country, the Tang Dynasty has encountered countless disasters of all sizes, and the imperial court has summed up a lot of disaster relief experience.

However, in the past, no matter where disasters occurred, the people were barely able to make ends meet, if not most of the dead and injured.

Now, His Royal Highness the King of Jin's method not only saved the lives of the people, so that everyone could be fed and clothed, but also lived in a warm house.

Although it seems that the investment is huge, not only has the investment been recovered by using the workshop, but the road has also been renovated for the entire Chang'an City.

The most important thing is that the money spent by His Royal Highness King Jin was exchanged for such a large piece of industry.

I am afraid that there will be no investment in the world with such a good return.

Li Zhi didn't know what Li Zhe was thinking, but there were a lot of things in his mind at the moment.

Since the implementation of the commercial law, Datang's business environment has improved a lot.

However, in Li Zhi's view, this is far from enough.

At present, although Datang has trade with many countries, large transactions are still carried out in the form of tribute.

It is said to be tribute, but in fact it is nothing more than a form of commodity exchange between the rulers of the Tang Dynasty and other countries.

Other countries offered some of their precious goods to Li Shimin, who in turn gave them some silk, porcelain and tea.

Not only were the number of goods scarce in the private caravanserais, but the time it took to travel back and forth between countries often took years.

Not only that, due to the large number of foreign merchants coming and going to the Tang Dynasty, many Tang Dynasty merchants were reluctant to take risks to explore overseas markets.

As a result, although the current treaty ports seem to be very prosperous, most of the materials actually traded are still the Tang Dynasty's own goods.

Li Zhi felt that the current situation needed to change.

It was up to the state to form a large sea caravan to trade with the various nations.

The state's military could protect the merchants, and the state could collect a large amount of taxes from it.

In this way, the price of goods can be effectively reduced, so that more ordinary people can afford expensive imported goods.

The most important thing is to develop the shipbuilding industry of Datang and then cultivate a strong navy.

Li Zhi, the first court meeting after the Lantern Festival, put forward this idea.

When his idea was proposed, the ministers quickly split into two factions.

Wang Jue was the first to stand up and speak: "Your Majesty, now that my prestige is rising, and people from all over the world come to make the Hajj, why do you need to take the initiative to cater to other countries?" ”

Before Li Shimin could answer, Fang Xuanling said: "Wang Shizhong's words are wrong! Since my Datang can open the door to the world and let merchants from all over the world come and go at will, why can't I go to other countries? ”

Hou Junji opened his mouth and said: "Even if you encourage me to do business with merchants all over the world, why do you need my Tang soldiers to escort you along the way?" ”

Li Jing said: "Most of the people around me are barbarians, if there is no strong force to deter them, how can we ensure the safety of merchants?" ”

Dai Guan, the head of the household department, said: "The cost of forming a fleet is huge, how to solve this money problem?" ”

Li Zhi said: "A momentary expense can be exchanged for endless wealth, and there will be countless businesses willing to participate in such an investment." ”

Hou Junji opened his mouth and said: "Where will the food and salary of the ships consumed by the army be solved?" ”

Li Zhi said: "The fleet escort should be the income of the escort fee, and since the merchant ships have benefited, they will naturally not hesitate to pay. ”

Wang Jue opened his mouth and said: "If there is a conflict with another country due to business dealings, won't it damage my image of the Tang Dynasty?" ”

Li Zhi opened his mouth and said: "I, a Tang businessman, should abide by the local laws when traveling to and from various countries, and if there is any violation, I should be solely responsible, but if other countries deceive me at will, Datang should teach me a hard lesson." ”

Hou Junji said: "In this way, wouldn't it be possible for my Datang to make enemies everywhere?" ”

Li Zhi said: "All countries call my father the Khan of Heaven, how can they not know that the thunder and rain dew is Jun'en? ”

Speaking of this, he proudly raised his head and said to Hou Junji: "If all countries abide by the rules, I Datang should have more dealings with them, and if not, I should use thunder to make them afraid." ”

Li Zhi's words can be regarded as speaking to Li Shimin's heart.

His greatest pride is this Tian Khan, who has just had less than two years.

And the reason why he received this title was precisely because of the extermination of the Eastern Turks.

Therefore, he really never feared war in his heart, and even thought that it was an important means to maintain his dignity.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent the Dragoons out just after the New Year.

After listening to Li Zhi's words, Li Shimin opened his mouth and said without waiting for others to speak again: "Although I have contacts with neighboring countries, I don't know much, and now I can use this to improve this matter." ”

Speaking of this, he sat up straight and said, "Let's discuss specific matters according to the opinion of the King of Jin, in order to prepare for the construction of my Tang Dynasty sea caravan as soon as possible." ”

Li Shimin's words are equivalent to the final word.

Then the group began to discuss the specifics of maritime trade.

This includes retracting coastal defense obligations that were originally local and building a state-led navy.

Encourage private capital to invest in the shipbuilding industry and build more ocean-going cargo ships.

Collect charts from coastal areas and caravans to prepare trade routes.

Among them, Li Zhi also proposed to gather the country's shipbuilders to jointly study the advantages and disadvantages of ships in various countries, so as to improve Datang's shipbuilding technology.

Li Zhi did not have professional knowledge in this regard, but he knew that there was no shortage of excellent craftsmen in Datang.

Therefore, as long as these people are brought together, then a spark of wisdom will surely burst out.