The news that King Yong Liu Chengxun was going to Nanyang spread quickly, and with the official promotion, it spread quickly. Of course, for the vast majority of officials and people, this is not a big deal, and it does not even arouse the slightest interest among them.
However, for those classes, groups, and individuals with relevant interests, it is an obvious political signal. From the political hall to the navy, from nobles to merchants, and even to the lowest level fishermen and crew, all stakeholders in the huge interest chain of overseas trade were greatly encouraged.
Regarding the Nanyang strategy, there has always been huge controversy. The force of active exploration has continued to grow with the exposure of overseas interests, but the conservative force is also huge. Thousands of years of deep-rooted concepts have caused many people to be biased against the policy of southward expansion. , Regarding unknown things, some people have a positive spirit of exploration, while others are as afraid as tigers and would rather stand still.
The reason why Emperor Liu sent Liu Chengxun south was because, after so many years of development and debate, a conclusion was needed about overseas trade and the Nanyang strategy.
Regarding those conservative voices and forces, Emperor Liu allowed them to exist, and even many of them were the cornerstones of the empire. Their behavior of protecting the plate was also worth understanding.
However, when it comes to national strategy or even line disputes, Emperor Liu still has to resolutely break through those resistances, and sending Liu Chengxun on patrol is the clearest attitude.
King Yong Liu Chengxun, this is the prince of Han Dynasty and the direct brother of Emperor Liu. It can be said that in the Han clan, Liu Chengxun is the first person under the emperor and prince.
His distinguished status, prominent position, and grand prestige all reflect the specialness of Liu Chengxun's southern tour. Compared with this time, the only thing that people can think of in the past is the mission of Duke Liu Yun of Qi to Korea and Japan.
However, although Liu Yun was a prince, his status and reputation were far behind Liu Chengxun. Obviously, in the eyes of Emperor Liu, those foreign barbarians in Southeast Asia were more important than Korea and Japan, the two "friendly neighbors" separated by a strip of water. .
Of course, from the perspective of interests, this is indeed the case. After all, Goryeo and Japan are independent countries with deep political and cultural roots, and they cannot satisfy the Han Dynasty's growing demand for plunder.
At the same time, this southern tour was not only reflected in specifications, but also in scale. Emperor Liu prepared a luxurious team of envoys for Liu Chengxun.
In addition to the representative officials from various ministries and departments of the imperial court, dozens of bachelors and doctors were also drawn from the three palaces, and they brought with them a large number of collections of classics and history and classics from hundreds of schools of thought. Therefore, the composition of the envoy team had political implications. The purpose of cultural promotion.
At the same time, a fleet of twenty warships of various types was drawn from the East China Sea Navy to accompany the escort. The composition of the naval officers was also selected from the Jinming Lake Military Academy, and two thousand soldiers were drawn from the Tokyo Forbidden Army. As a guard of honor, the officers are composed of the Army Officer School and some distinguished children.
Taking into account the special climate in Nanyang, a medical team was specially equipped, and an edict was sent to various bases and strongholds in Nanyang in advance to prepare them for support.
In order to ensure the success of the southern patrol, the Privy Council even issued a military order to the navy in the Southeast Asian region to conduct a cleanup of pirates active in the Southeast Asia, at least to ensure peace on the patrol route.
Regarding this high-level southern inspection mission, Emperor Liu even told Prince Liu Yang privately that he was equipping Liu Chengxun with a small court.
It was not until the autumn of the 21st year of Kaibao, on the third day of July, that everything was ready, Liu Chengxun officially set off from Tokyo and took the accompanying delegation to Michigan. The Michigan military port was also the official starting point.
Emperor Liu personally led hundreds of officials in a very grand formation to see Liu Chengxun off. Moreover, several heavyweights were added to the accompanying mission, the most representative of which were Duke Liu Yun of Qi and grandson Liu Wenhai (the eldest son of King Liu Xi of Jin).
Duke Liu Yun of Qi State was a strange man in the Han clan. He was known to be open-minded and very receptive to new affairs. In the rising overseas trade, the Duke of Qi State was one of the beneficiaries.
The Duke of Qi maintains a fleet engaged in overseas trade and earns a huge income every year. Of course, the original intention is to satisfy Liu Yun's collection of new overseas gadgets. It can be said that Duke Liu Yun of Qi is a member of the Han clan. The most "fashionable" person in the world.
Of course, there were many members of the clan who participated in the wave of sea trade. The one who was more representative than Liu Yun was the ninth prince, Duke of Chu, Liu Shu. Moreover, the fleet under the Duke of Chu's mansion was larger than that of Duke of Qi. The palace is much bigger, the profits are more, the time for doing extraordinary things is more, and the food is uglier. Basically, the blood and sweat of overseas indigenous people are used to satisfy Liu Shu's desires.
It is no secret that Liu Shu loves to enjoy life, and in order to satisfy his extravagant material desires, his expenses are naturally huge, and he needs enough resources to support his squandering.
Emperor Liu taught him a lesson more than once for his tendency to be indolent and greedy for enjoyment. However, he refused to change despite repeated admonitions, which really angered Emperor Liu, and Concubine Fu Hui cried to defend him.
Over time, Emperor Liu gave up. No matter how useless Liu Shu was, he was still his son. Although it was not a good habit to enjoy himself, it was human nature.
Furthermore, what happened to King Qin Liu Xu at that time still pierced a thorn in Emperor Liu's heart. Liu Shu's behavior was not necessarily a bad thing, as long as he did not act recklessly or violate the law in the country.
Also because of Emperor Liu's relationship, although Liu Shu did a lot of ridiculous things at home, he did not dare to do anything random, especially if it touched the court's legal system, but he really had no pressure to exploit external parties.
From the affairs of the Dukes of Qi and Chu, it can be seen that in the process of the rise of overseas colonization, the gluttonous interests involved were not only the low-status maritime merchants, but also the noble class who gradually became the dominant force.
If we want to suppress them, wouldn't we be suppressing people like Liu Yun and Liu Shu, which would affect their interests, and they would also jump in. Therefore, some nobles are also the core force supporting overseas development.
Returning to Liu Yun, over the years, he still has not been able to be his Xiaoyao Gong easily. Even if he wanted to, Emperor Liu could not do as he wished. Emperor Liu would encourage his son who was fond of making salted fish from time to time, hoping to use his intelligence to benefit the country.
Therefore, in recent years, Liu Yun was assigned by Emperor Liu to be in charge of the affairs of the Municipal Shipping Department. Over the years, the Han Dynasty established ten municipal shipping departments in coastal and river areas. The fiscal revenue obtained by the imperial court through the municipal shipping departments has also become larger and larger, and it has attracted more and more attention.
In the eighteenth year of Kaibao, they were simply integrated and established a separate department under the Finance Department to uniformly manage the shipping departments of all states in the world. Liu Yun was the first city shipping envoy.
This time, Liu Chengxun was sent to inspect Nanyang. Liu Yun was probably very quiet and restless, and his mind became active. He had been to Korea and Japan, and he was also very curious about Nanyang. With a layer of fog.
Therefore, he took the initiative to ask Emperor Liu for orders, and was willing to accompany his uncle to go south to spread the glory of the Han Dynasty. It was rare to see Liu Yun being so active, so Emperor Liu was naturally happy to accept it, and soon issued an edict with Duke Liu Yun of Qi as his deputy envoy.
Liu Yun fulfilled his wish, and at the same time gave up the errand of the City Shipping Envoy, which triggered a fight for the City Shipping Envoy. Even Liu Hui, Duke of Wu, and Liu Shu, Duke of Chu, disliked each other. The princes all had their thoughts in mind, but of course, they were all rejected by Emperor Liu.
Emperor Liu knew these two princes very well. Liu Hui was good at writing articles and doing knowledge. He was very famous in the literary world, and his poems were ranked alongside Li Yu by his contemporaries. But the styles of the two are two extremes. Li Yu is extremely bitter, and Liu Hui is extremely flashy. This is also caused by their status and fate.
But in Emperor Liu's view, this seventh son, who he used to admire and praise as the Royal Wenquxing, had become a bit flashy. Therefore, he supported cultural undertakings and wanted to participate in specific affairs of the court, especially Financial power is unacceptable.
As for Duke Liu Shu of Chu, there is no need to talk more. Emperor Liu basically gave up on his son. It was okay to be Duke Anle. If he wanted to do something, the first thing to doubt was his ability and intention. He might also put Shibosi, an important member of the imperial court, into consideration. The financial department was handed over to him.
In the end, the post of city shipping envoy was awarded to Zheng Qi, the transfer envoy between the two lakes, who was nominated by the financial envoy Wang Zhu. Zheng Qi was a surrendered minister of the Southern Tang Dynasty. He once served as the Jinling Order and the Jiangning Magistrate. Wang Zhu valued him very much when he took office in Jiangnan. In his early years, he was a well-known strong leader. His characteristics were that he was honest and self-sufficient, and he asked for orders for the people. Afraid of the powerful, he asked a well-known honest official to manage the Shipping Department, and since it was recommended by Wang Zhu, an old official, there was no reason to refuse.
And because of Liu Yun's request, Emperor Liu had another idea, and planned to select one person from among the emperor's grandsons to be included in the southern patrol team. In this way, the three generations of old, middle-aged and young, grandfather, uncle and grandson would be complete.
Among the emperor's grandchildren, there were not many people to choose from. Most of them were not of the right age. After many choices, Liu Wenhai was the only one. Among the emperor's grandchildren, the oldest one should be Liu Wenyuan, the eldest son of King Qin Liu Xu. He is now eighteen years old, but he is working hard in Anton with his father. The same goes for sixteen-year-old Liu Wenyuan.
Therefore, only Liu Wenhai, who was fostered by Liu Xi in the palace to accompany Concubine Gao, angered Concubine Gao because of this incident. She was so protective of the calf that she even forced her way into the Chongzheng Palace to question Emperor Liu's intentions.
Although Emperor Liu was strong, he couldn't bear to get angry when facing Concubine Gao who loved his grandson so much, and he couldn't bear to blame him. He told some truths that "princes and grandsons cannot be raised in the hands of women", which made Concubine Gao become so powerful that she burst into tears. It became her sharpest weapon.
The logic did not make sense and the edict could not be changed. Emperor Liu finally chose to retreat and avoided seeing Concubine Gao for several months.
Of course, Concubine Gao is not an unreasonable woman, but her love for licking the baby outweighs everything else. After all, Liu Wenhai, who was born in the eighth year of Kaibao, is only fourteen years old. Seeing that he cannot change Emperor Liu's decision, he can only hold his nose. I accepted it and made more preparations and warnings for Liu Wenhai’s safety.
(End of chapter)
