The hustle and bustle of the world is for profit, and the hustle and bustle of the world is for profit.

Now Li Zhi does not want to interfere too much in the officialdom.

Therefore, the advantage he can give to the officials is that money is the most suitable.

Besides, now the title of Datang can only be inherited by the eldest son.

And with the exception of a few who have received hereditary awards, the titles of others will gradually decrease as they are passed down from generation to generation.

In this way, Li Zhi took these people to make money, but it seemed more affordable.

Li Zhi, Feng An, and Duan Zhixuan began to drink and eat with a group of officials after determining the cooperation project during the banquet.

As for the follow-up details, it is natural that they cannot be discussed in front of outsiders.

Li Zhi's estimated time is still very accurate.

Half a month after he arrived in Guangzhou, Datang's fleet had returned to Southeast Asia.

All the merchant ships returned to the trade without any problems.

The merchants on the ship made a lot of money.

Even the Tang Dynasty sailors led by Zhang Lei harvested a lot of gold, silver, jewelry, and goods because they eliminated a powerful Persian pirate.

They sold the goods directly under Li Zhi.

The money and goods exchanged for it filled two thousand-material warships.

At this time, the caravan was sailing near Linyi.

There is a small country here called Cham.

In the past year, small merchant ships of Datang have come and gone here three times.

Commodities such as rhino horn, ivory, aloe vera and oud agarwood, which have been stored here for many years, have been sold out.

The king here saw that he could no longer make a profit by trading the commodities of the Tang Dynasty, so he was a little anxious.

At this time, the king's subordinate ministers advised him: "Your Majesty, the merchant ships of the Tang Dynasty are not protected.

On this vast sea, it is like duckweed.

Why didn't Your Majesty form a strong army to raid passing ships? ”

In his early years, Fan Fan, the king of Cham, was sent into the capital by Emperor Yang of Sui because he offended the Sui Dynasty.

In the end, it took a lot of money to settle the Sui Dynasty.

Therefore, he sent an envoy to Chang'an as soon as he established the Tang Dynasty to pay tribute.

Although the prime minister's proposal made him very excited, the experience of being driven out of the national capital made him feel uneasy.

So he spoke: "At the beginning, I was driven out of the national capital by someone who offended the Sui Dynasty that was about to perish.

Now that Datang is a time when the army is strong, wouldn't it be self-defeating for us to act like this? ”

The prime minister spoke: "Your Majesty, this coastal land has many countries and islands, as long as we don't raise the national flag, who will know that it is our country's doing?" ”

Fan Fanzhi said hesitantly: "That Datang's caravan ships are huge and never act alone, I'm afraid it is difficult for any warship in my country to compete with it!" ”

The prime minister said: "Your Majesty, although our warship is small, it is full of sergeants after all.

When the time comes, how can we be an opponent with only a group of merchant guards on the other side? ”

Fan Fanzhi was still a little hesitant after hearing this.

The prime minister continued: "Your Majesty, there are countless treasures on the Tang Dynasty merchant ship, and if we don't grab it sooner or later, we will also be cheaper for others. ”

When Fan Fanzhi heard this, the scene of trading with Datang Merchant Ships immediately appeared in his mind.

Silk, porcelain, glass, tea and other things suddenly appeared in his mind.

After thinking of this, he could no longer suppress the greed in his heart.

So he immediately clapped his head and said: "This matter will be handed over to you to act secretly, and you must not let Datang know that this matter is our doing." ”

And just like that, a pirate contingent consisting of the Cham army began to appear above the vast sea.

When Zhang Lei and the others returned, the pirates had successfully robbed three ships bound for Datang.

The soldiers who acted as pirates also made a lot of extra money as a result.

At this time, these people have become more and more emboldened.

Therefore, when they saw the huge fleet escorted by Zhang Lei and others, they didn't have a trace of fear.

Especially when they found out that Zhang Lei and others came from the direction of Persia, they were even more naïve to think that this was a Persian caravan.

The size of this pirate force was more than 5,000 people.

It has hundreds of warships.

Although these ships can only barely be considered small boats compared to the ships of the Datang fleet.

But these pirates did not consider themselves at a disadvantage at all.

The leader of the pirates is named Huang Shiren.

obviously can't even write his own name, but he learns the words of those big officials every day.

At this time, he was on an island giving a lecture to his men.

I only heard him speak: "Brothers, the day before yesterday, the sentinel had already detected that a large caravan was coming.

As long as I stop it, I can eat and drink spicy food and clothing for the rest of my life.

I wonder if you dare to vote with me? ”

When the more than 5,000 younger brothers heard that they would be able to live without food and clothing for the rest of their lives, they immediately shouted excitedly: "Do one vote, do one vote." ”

Their two previous successes have already made them love this exciting life.

Therefore, at this time, these people did not consider how huge the opponent's fleet would be.

And even more so no one will think about whether there is an army escort or not.

After hearing the answers of his subordinates, Huang Shiren immediately revealed his prototype.

I only heard him speak again: "Although the other party's ship is very large, Huang believes that the brothers are definitely not afraid."

As long as I robbed this wave, my brothers and I will be very rich! ”

After saying this, he immediately laughed excitedly, and even led his five thousand people to laugh together.

At this moment, there was only greed in the eyes of these people, and everyone was laughing as they ran towards the warship on the seashore.

The escort formation of the Datang Navy Division surrounded all the merchant ships in the middle.

Seeing that they were about to enter Datang's own sea area, the soldiers were very excited at this time.

After wandering outside for nearly a year, he finally returned to Datang.

Even Zhang Lei and others couldn't suppress this mood.

Zhang Lei's flagship was at the forefront of the fleet at this time.

The soldiers on the watchtower were holding binoculars at this time, trying to see the coastline of the Tang Dynasty.

Just as he shifted his gaze to the left-hand side with some disappointment, he suddenly saw countless small black dots on the water moving in the direction of the fleet.

So he quickly adjusted his focus, and soon found that the black spots turned out to be small ships.

The soldier hurriedly shouted at Zhang Lei, who was standing at the bow of the ship: "General, a large number of unknown ships have been found on the left side of the fleet heading towards us, and the distance is about sixty miles. ”

After listening to the report, Zhang Lei was a little puzzled, how could so many unknown ships suddenly appear in the Datang Sea area, which was about to enter the Datang Sea now?

So he immediately spoke: "Inform the entire fleet to be on alert and continue to observe the other party's movements." ”

The soldier received the order and immediately began to raise the flag.

At this time, Zhang Lei was still guessing the other party's origin.

He had no idea that the other party might be a pirate.

It's so close to Datang here, isn't it the birthday boy hanging himself and living impatiently to rob here?