Chapter 4814: Seeking Luzon (continued)
"When your citizens are massacred thousands of miles away, what you have to consider is not the diplomatic relations between the two countries, let alone the magnanimity of a big country, but ruthless revenge and warnings when you return home, so that they will be terrified and fearful that they will not dare to hurt you again. The people of the Tang Dynasty, otherwise they will bear the wrath of the Tang Dynasty's 100,000 navy troops! Instead of issuing so-called notes and arguing in court and verbally condemning!"
Su Dingfang waved his big hand downwards: "Remember, condemnation is the behavior of a weak country. If I were the weak side, I would have to swallow the humiliation and bear the burden. Keep the hatred in mind and think about it for the long term. This is no problem, but the power of the Tang Dynasty is so powerful that I am the Navy of the Tang Dynasty. The ocean is invincible, so why endure it? If you endure it once, you will have it a second time, and if you endure it twice, you will have it countless times, until the blood of the people is gone.”
"It is the bounden duty of a soldier to protect the country and the people. Now that businessmen who have taken shelter under the wings of the Navy are being killed, the Navy should seek justice even if it is thousands of miles away, blood for blood, tooth for tooth! The military is not a place to be unreasonable. unnecessary Logically speaking, if you continue to endure at this time, sooner or later the arrogance of the army will be gone. How is the army without the arrogance different from sheep? Can you expect a group of sheep to defeat the enemy chief and defend the country? ”
"What's more, if you back down and tolerate the so-called overall situation this time, what will those merchants think of the navy? They will think that the navy officers and soldiers are cowards and wastes. They are excuses for considering the overall situation but dare not go thousands of miles to fight for the dead and injured Tang people! As a result, the merchants' sense of belonging to the Tang Dynasty will be reduced, and their sense of identification with the Navy will also be reduced. To get this sense of belonging and identity back, what is needed is not as simple as one or two wars! "< br>
"We, the Tang Dynasty, dominate the world and are invincible. If anyone dares to attack, we will fight back twice as hard!"
"Now that we are attacking Shirov Port, if the Dashi Kingdom refuses to change its mind, then what's the harm in attacking Damascus?"
……
Su Dingfang had already left with his soldiers, and Lu Chengqing stood alone on the embankment, stunned. Su Dingfang's words had a huge impact on him, and shocked his outlook on life that he had formed since childhood.
Don’t we need to reform the barbarians?
In a country of etiquette, how can we retaliate for our anger?
How can we start a war without condemning and giving a foreign country a chance to mend its ways and apologize?
They were just merchants, and they were very lowly in the Tang Dynasty. How could they travel thousands of miles and send troops without hesitation for a few merchants, regardless of the risk of defeat?
Everything was contrary to the education he had received since childhood, making it difficult for Lu Chengqing to understand and accept it for a while.
It took him a long while before he came to a conclusion.
Times have changed, and we have more and more dealings with the foreign barbarians who do not understand etiquette and morality. Those gentle, courteous and frugal methods no longer work, because you are reasonable, reasonable, honest, and disciplined, but the barbarians say nothing.
They only talk about natural selection and the law of the jungle.
You beat him until it hurts, and he will be submissive and begging for mercy. If you can't beat him, he will open his fangs and pounce on you to gnaw your flesh and blood.
The same methods used to govern the people cannot be used to deal with foreign barbarians, otherwise they will be asking for trouble.
……
Su Dingfang returned to the temporary camp, checked the military order written by the scribes, stamped it with a seal after confirming it was correct, and immediately sent it to Da Nang. Then he wrote a letter in person introducing the details and explaining the reason for the order, and then put it in an envelope. Seal it with fire paint, and send your own soldiers to return to Huating Town by boat and quickly deliver it to the capital and hand it over to Fang Jun.
Although the battle was probably over by then, the necessary procedures must be followed.
Finally, Su Dingfang considered for a moment and issued another order.
"Order all departments of the Navy to mobilize warships, troops, and equipment to Da Nang to assemble in case of a possible naval battle!"
Shirov Port is the most important port in the Great Food Kingdom, and is a transit point for trade with Tang Dynasty, Tianzhu and other countries. Such a bad thing happened to such an important port and such an important trading partner, which is enough to explain the internal affairs of the Great Food Country. There was a fundamental change in the attitude towards Datang.
Who knows if it is because they are greedy for the maritime trade of the Tang Dynasty that the Great Food Nation intends to occupy all routes and replace the Tang Dynasty and become the new maritime overlord?
Although this possibility is unlikely, even if it is so, it will not trigger an all-out war from the Food Country, but the navy has to prepare early.
Once the Food Country really wants to covet it, it will use a vigorous naval battle to completely defeat the opponent's ambitions, and even destroy all the warships of the Food Country, causing it to completely lose its maritime combat power, and no ships will be allowed to go to sea!
"Allow the Anxi Protectorate to farm their own land, withhold money and taxes, and relax restrictions on people's residence?"
After hearing Liu Jie's report, Li Chengqian asked a question and laughed angrily.
"What does this guy want to do? Cut the Western Region out of the Tang Dynasty and make it its own country? What a bastard!"
The finances, taxes, and population of a place are the basis for the expression of imperial power. The emperor cannot control the amount of tax revenue, nor the population of the people. How can we say that this area is under the governance of the emperor?
Liu Jie also shook his head and sighed: "It is not necessarily true that it can become a country of its own. Ultimately, it is because the imperial court cannot afford the food and fodder consumption of the Anxi Army for a long time. Regardless of whether it is a good or bad method, it must be discussed and discussed. In short The decision rests with you, Your Majesty. Come on, the Anxi Protectorate is the largest consumer of grain and fodder in the Tang Dynasty, and the Royal Navy is the largest consumer of wealth. The east and west, the more and the less, the sea and the land are all considered to be the most troublesome places at the moment. It is quite difficult for the Duke of Yue to hold it up with one hand."
Li Chengqian glanced at him but said nothing, knowing that he must have a purpose since he said that.
Liu Jie didn't want to make any big detours, he just brought up the topic: "Whether the reorganization of the Anxi Army or the establishment of the navy, it was accomplished by the Duke of Yue with countless efforts and strong means. But these two armies deserve it. The Western Region is too special. Due to its geographical environment, it is thousands of miles away from the central city. The navy is floating on the ocean and controls the foundation of maritime trade. Countless people in the government and the public are jealous of the benefits. If things go on like this, there will be complaints everywhere and people will be dissatisfied. "
What is a court?
The court is a colosseum for the distribution of interests. Any interests are placed here and constantly redistributed after a battle. When a certain interest is controlled for a long time and no one else can comment, it will naturally lead to criticism and dissatisfaction from everyone.
I can't grab it, but that's because I don't have the ability. If I can't grab it this time, I'll try to grab it next time, but what's the matter with me not even being qualified to grab it?
This is the case with the current Anxi Army and Navy.
"Especially the navy controls almost all routes from the ports in the Tang Dynasty to the East and Southeast Asia. Even the types, quantities, and prices of maritime trade are within the jurisdiction of the navy. This means endless benefits. You can see Naturally, no one will be satisfied if they can’t eat, which is not a good thing.”
Liu Jie did not pretend to be arrogant. He discussed matters of interest in front of the emperor confidently and without any concealment.
There is nothing to hide about this kind of thing. Who wouldn’t be jealous when looking at the Navy’s huge interests?
That is to say, the navy collects gold mines all over the world and fills the emperor's internal funds with countless gold and silver every year to support his majesty's ambition to surpass his father's achievements. Otherwise, even the emperor may not be able to help but pounce on him and take a bite...
Li Chengqian knew that Liu Jie was telling the truth, so he nodded.
After all, the way to be a king is first and foremost "balance." This is an old saying, but it is also a wise saying.
Now the balance between the Anxi Army and the Navy has been broken. Fang Jun has monopolized the power and kept his word. He swallowed all the profits and didn't even give any dregs to others, which violated the king's way of governing the world.
But he was not willing to take back these benefits from Fang Jun and distribute them to others.
The reason why Fang Jun monopolizes these benefits is because he deserves it after paying for it. Since others have not paid in advance, why should they ask for it?
"What is the intention of Zhongshu Ling?"
"We might as well share some of the interests of the navy. It doesn't need to be too much. It just shows that the Duke of Yue will not object. This way, others will not make trouble. As for how to distribute it, it is up to His Majesty. .”
"If you have any suggestions, just tell me and I will consider them."
"The Navy occupies countless territories overseas, either leasing, purchasing, or occupying them. They are all rich areas of a country. It may be possible to select a minister of sufficient weight to serve as the governor of a place, responsible for local trade and people's livelihood, and letting civil servants We are also involved in the vigorous ocean trade... We can't just let the civil servants only control the land, and the military will rule the sea, right? "
Li Chengqian was silent. This involved a civil-military dispute and had to be taken seriously.
Moreover, I also think Liu Jie's words have some truth. The Royal Navy is now pioneering and advancing overseas. It is occupying land, engaging in trade, and opening mines all over the world. However, it is completely a military behavior, and civilian officials cannot get involved at all. , watching the military gorge themselves on meat but the civilian officials can't even take a sip of soup, how can they not make trouble?
Furthermore, it is indeed not a good thing for the military to dominate overseas. The result of the integration of military and political affairs is the breeding of warlords, which is full of hidden dangers. The most stable system is the merger of civil and military forces and mutual suppression.
However, he also wanted to ensure his interests as the emperor, so he reminded Liu Jie: "Now there are many people in the clan and court who suggest that the princes should be enfeoffed overseas. The places occupied by the navy are very likely to become princes' It is impossible for the fiefdoms to have official positions and be incorporated into the territory like the prefectures and counties in the Tang Dynasty. ”
Liu Ji hurriedly said: "This is an excellent suggestion, and Wei Chen also agrees."
Princes are a very troublesome group. It is not good to be ignored. Others will say that your Majesty is mean and ungrateful, and your treatment is not good. If not, it will lead to the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings", which was left behind by the two emperors Gaozu and Taizong. Almost all of those princes are outstanding, and it is easy to cause waves once they go to a wealthy fief. But if it is entrusted overseas like Li Ke, it is a perfect solution.