Admiral's Mansion.
back yard.
Zhongli Qiuyang was also sitting with Li Chenan in the pavilion under the moon, enjoying the coolness and drinking tea.
At this time, he also looked at Li Chenan with great confusion and asked two words:
"really?"
This was his question about Li Chenan's plan to outlaw water transportation and hand it over to businessmen.
Li Chenan took a sip of tea and raised his eyebrows: "It's more real than real gold!"
"Isn't this a mess?"
"Can you tell me what happened?"
Zhongli Qiuyang was speechless, and after a while he found that he couldn't speak.
Li Chenan leaned back lazily on the chair, looked at the stars and moon in the night sky, and said slowly:
"The existence of water transportation has two major functions."
"The first is to generate revenue for the court. The second is to be able to quickly transport troops and food to the front line during wars. Or if a disaster occurs, disaster relief materials can be transported to the disaster area through water transport."
"That's about it."
"But its disadvantages are also obvious, which is inefficiency."
"The goods produced by merchants need to be transported to other places through water transportation. They need approval from the Water Transport Department, need to wait for the dispatch of ships, and also need inspection and release by the Water Transport Department of various places..."
"Leaving the merchant ships to the merchants themselves reduces many intermediate links, and the merchants' goods can circulate faster."
"Of course, liberalizing water transportation does not mean that the court will completely let go. This requires additional conditions."
"For example, in times of war or famine, the court has the power to requisition merchant ships."
Li Chenan sat up straight and raised the corner of his mouth, "Didn't you ask me where the money for the new warship came from?"
Zhongli Qiuyang was stunned, "Could it be that you just had the idea of those businessmen?"
"right!"
Li Chenan leaned over and smiled:
"Bid!"
"…What is bidding?"
"You can understand it as a bid."
"There are many businessmen in Ningguo, and there are also many wealthy families!"
"All businessmen know that water transportation is extremely profitable, and they all know the importance of owning their own fleet!"
"But I only allow three fleets to exist, so the one with the highest price will get it."
Zhongli Qiuyang was stunned for a moment, "To build fifty warships will require at least thirty to forty million taels of silver... They spent so much silver to buy a qualification... A large amount of silver will be invested in the subsequent construction of merchant ships! "
"Which family in Ningguo do you think has such great financial resources?"
"Brother, they can unite in private!"
"If one family doesn't have enough money, wouldn't it be enough for several families to come together and share the convenience of shipping and the profits it creates?"
"Let's not talk about this anymore. Let me ask you, when do you plan to get married to Cheng Yiren?"
Zhongli Qiuyang's face suddenly darkened, he held the tea cup and pondered for a moment, then asked: "What do you think about my grandfather's matter?"
"Small things... are actually nothing!"
"I don't care about the Great Li Empire at all."
"History is always moving forward. The Dali Empire has been destroyed for thousands of years. Although there are still some followers, they are all people who have residual thoughts and luck."
"How many people do you think there are like this?"
"So what if there are really many more?"
"The foundation of a country lies in its people."
"A country often dies because its people are dissatisfied with it."
"Don't think that the people are really ignorant. Although they don't know a word of Chinese characters, they still have a strong sense in their hearts!"
"A court that imposes excessive taxes, even if it uses high-pressure methods to make the people shut up and bend their backs...but that is only temporary."
"Once someone raises their arms and shouts, the resentment in their hearts will rush straight to their foreheads, and the consequences will be chaos in the world."
"This is someone who is barefoot and not afraid of wearing shoes, but is not pushed too hard."
"This is the reason for the collapse of the Dali Empire, and the same is true for the changes in dynasties over the past thousand years."
"So, I don't care about the remnants of the Great Li Empire at all. What I care about..."
Li Chenan stood up, stood by the pavilion, looked at the dark lotus pond and said slowly: "What I care about is whether the people of Ningguo can live a better life!"
"As long as the people's lives are prosperous and their faces are smiling every day, then the foundation of Ningguo will be the strongest."
"Don't say that the nihilistic Great Li Empire is making a comeback. Even if the three countries unite to defeat Ning...what's there to fear?"
He turned to look at Zhongli Qiuyang and said with a smile:
"So, you can rest assured about the matter of Marquis Dingguo."
Zhongli Qiuyang finally felt relieved.
He also looked at Li Chenan, with a smile on his face.
"Why didn't I see that you still had such an opinion when we were in Guangling City?"
Li Chenan came over and sat in front of the table again, raising his eyebrows, "Now and then, at that time, I just wanted to guard the tavern and live a peaceful life with Ruoshui."
"But now that I have changed my mind, it will naturally be a little different."
"This is the path I chose. This path is not as comfortable as being a small boss in a tavern under the banyan tree!"
"Next, I will ask Zou to build the new warship according to my opinions."
"I don't know if you have heard about artillery. I told the craftsmen at the Ministry of Industry in detail when I left Kyoto."
"Even if they haven't figured it out yet, this thing will be available soon when I return to Kyoto."
Zhongli Qiuyang frowned slightly. Since Li Chenan wanted to combine the artillery with the warship, the power of this thing must be greater than the current crossbow.
At present, the naval warships of all countries use a combination of fixed crossbows and archers to carry out battles.
If artillery is more powerful than crossbows...
For example, if it has a longer range and greater lethality, it will naturally be in the most advantageous situation during water battles.
"What on earth is this artillery piece?"
"It's the equivalent of throwing fireworks over a long distance."
Zhongli Qiuyang was stunned. The imperial court had already sent out the battle report of the Wuyaguan battle. The Red Flame Army was able to capture Wuyaguan only by using catapults to throw fireworks from a long distance...
"Is it a catapult?"
"Of course not. Don't worry. After the Ministry of Industry builds the cannon, it will be sent to various armies. You will know by then that the method of training sailors will be completely different."
Zhongli Qiuyang's eyes lit up. Since it wasn't a catapult, it must be more powerful than a catapult!
Once the sailors master such weapons and equipment on a warship, they will be invincible!
"How do you know this stuff?"
Li Chenan laughed again, "Brother, I know a lot of things!"
He looked up at the night. It was already dark, so he stood up.
"You'll find out later!"
"sleep!"
"Tomorrow, when Mr. Zou arrives, we will go to see the dock together and see what the current naval warships look like."
Li Chenan walked out of the pavilion, and Zhongli Qiuyang followed behind.
"Don't give it away. I'm afraid Princess Yunchen is getting impatient waiting for you."
"...Her? I'm afraid she's still chatting with the Fourth Princess and the others."
"Besides, we haven't gotten married yet, so we haven't had sex yet, so why wait for this?"
Li Chenan chuckled and walked under the moonlight with his hands behind his back:
"Brother-in-law...!"
"I advise you not to cherish your gold-threaded clothes.
I advise you to cherish your youth.
Flowers bloom and need to be folded,
Don’t wait until there are no flowers left to break branches! "
Across a wall, several women were whispering.
Li Chenan's little poem reached their ears in this silent night.
Princess Yunchen Cheng Yiren's eyes suddenly lit up and she looked at Ning Chuchu, "Broken?"
Ning Chuchu looked resentful.
"Two are broken, and there are still three!"
