New Shun 1730

It was almost never the case before that a warship was used as a messenger ship to Ryukyu. The imperial court still wants to save face. The small country of Ryukyu has always been submissive on the surface. Sending warships seems like bullying the small country.

But what Liu Yu meant was that the warships sent this time were not to scare the Ryukyu people, but to give Ryukyu a gift, letting Ryukyu know that China could still rely on them to complain about grievances and complain.

If two normal large ships were sent, the Ryukyu people thought about it and felt that the Japanese were more terrifying, and it was impossible to tell the truth.

Satsuma must have eyes and ears in Ryukyu, and there may be a chance of a fight by then. By the way, if the King of Ryukyu complains loudly, he can directly abolish the Satsumato organization in Ryukyu.

Anyway, if the troops are deployed in September and October, Japan will not have much reaction time. It is equivalent to going to Ryukyu for a formality. While the imperial court has made a famous move, the army has already assembled at Weihai and other naval bases.

By May or June, there will be no need to consider keeping it secret at all. The few soldiers on Japan's Kyushu Island did not resist the attack at all, and the shogunate probably did not dare to fight. After all, they still had to learn the lessons of the Kamakura shogunate.

The emperor thought to himself that when he sent you to Ryukyu this time, you were just looking for trouble. If there really was a conflict between the Satsuma people and you in Ryukyu, wouldn't it be a good time to send you a pillow when you are sleepy?

"Very good. I agree. As for integrity, you are the chief envoy, and if you don't take the money, how dare the deputy envoy take it? I can also send an edict to Ryukyu. There are rules for hospitality in the future. If the rules are exceeded, you will be severely punished. But Allow him to go to Beijing to file a lawsuit."

"As for the warships, how can the Celestial Empire only have grace and glory but no thunder? I also agree. The warships are envoys. If there is any conflict in the Ryukyu Kingdom, you can also make a decision. Don't you hear that the general is outside and your order is not accepted?"

Liu Yu felt completely at ease now. Since he said that he was going to be outside, the king's order meant that the war would inevitably begin. Giving myself the power to make decisions on the spur of the moment will naturally make this matter completely solid, not even leaving a chance for quarrels in the court.

If it was just for switching trade, Liu Yu felt that the Navy could handle it on its own. But the emperor wanted to intimidate Japan, and asked Japan to pay tribute and pay compensation. The navy really couldn't do this on its own, and had to rely on the army.

But the emperor gave him the power to make decisions on the fly. How to deal with Ryukyu is another matter. The Navy has Marines, but the Army does not have battleships.

The emperor further inquired about many situations on the Ryukyu side, and after confirming that China's dispatch of troops this time was definitely "the divisions are famous", he also asked the Privy Council about the deployment of troops.

Which troops will be mobilized, in what month will they start to be assembled, and what follow-up reinforcements will be prepared for emergencies? These are all the powers and responsibilities of the Privy Council.

Under Japan's national lockdown, there is really no way to send spies on what is going on inside. The Dutch may have detailed maps of Japan, but they really don’t have them here in Dashun.

Even though the navy had great advantages, the emperor was worried about problems with the army.

Jiang Chen from the Privy Council is quite confident. He has led soldiers for many years, and he has an idea of ​​what the level of the Dashun Army will be after the military reform.

He repeatedly assured the emperor that as long as the navy could suppress the Japanese navy and send the army ashore, there would be no problem.

After being completely reassured, the emperor asked everyone to disperse.

After everyone left, the emperor sat there alone, took out a book he had written, and looked at the few lines on it, in a daze.

Conquer Japanese. Nanyang. Shipping. Huanghuai. Divide into acres. The gentry received food.

Here’s another sentence: Don’t be impatient.

After looking at it for a long time, he asked the eunuch to get a mirror, stared at the few white hairs on the temples, and sighed.

"I'm sorry for this moment of my life!"

…………

When Liu Yu returned to Weihai, he was accompanied by a seventh prince as a burden.

After arriving in Weihai, he took Li Huan around.

"Is this the Newcomen steam engine mentioned in Yingsaobo's book? It is indeed magical."

"Is this the hydraulic sawing wood mentioned in Ying Suobo's book? It's really magical."

"This is..."

After walking around in a circle, there were exclamations of wonder everywhere, until Liu Yu led him to see the salvo drill of the newly launched sixty-four-gun battleship, and the miraculousness in the exclamations turned into surprise.

He had read the introduction of warships in books, and he also knew the methods of combat, and even the approximate dimensions were recorded on them.

But even with such detailed records, when I actually saw the scene of smoke filling the sky after a salvo of more than a thousand tons of warships, I was shocked by this unimaginable scene.

Any fantasy people have must be based on things they have seen before. People who have never seen green will never be able to imagine what green looks like. No matter how detailed it is, it will be difficult to understand. This is the same reason.

The salvo of battleships was really the most spectacular sight on the sea at this time. Li Hao thought to himself, these hundreds of thousands of taels of silver were indeed not wasted.

Even your father has never seen such a shocking scene, right?

After the smoke cleared, Li Han couldn't help but ask: "Uncle Ying Suo, if there are only a few ships like this in the Celestial Empire, who can make waves in the East China Sea?"

Liu Yu looked at the battleship and sighed slowly.

"Seventh Prince, to be honest, this battleship is not good, and it is not what I want. It is too slow and sluggish. It may not even be used in a lifetime and can only cruise in the Weihai and Bohai Seas."

"A hundred thousand taels of silver are actually just to buy experience so that there are craftsmen who have built battleships."

"If the seventh prince takes charge of the navy in the future, remember one thing: don't be reluctant to spend money. Without money, the navy cannot be built."

"The most important skill for commanding the navy is not a decisive battle at sea, but how to get money and how to make money. If the navy doesn't use it, it will be a money-loser. After all, the navy can't even suppress civil unrest."

The first lesson for Li Li was to tell him to fight for military funds for the navy in the future, and to tell him that hundreds of thousands of taels of silver were just a small amount of money to buy experience in the navy.

Li Xi hurriedly said, "I understand what Lord Ying Suo said. Lord Ying Suo's pamphlet also talked about the Anglo-Dutch War. No one in the palace cared about it, but I read it with great interest. A small country can sail the seven seas, become a hegemon, occupy the South China Sea, and attack Penghu."

"The scriptures say that war is a war. After reading about the Dutch national affairs, I felt that the Dutch were merchants and naturally sought profit. If there was no profit, how could they support such a navy?"

"Lord Ying Suo was so nervous, and it was easy to imagine that there must be dozens of such large ships in Western countries."

"Asking for money and making money are two sides of the same coin. Only when you can make money can you ask for money."

Li Xi thought to himself that I have read a lot of the pamphlets you wrote, and the rest of the palace just read them casually, but I have read a lot.

This navy is your hard work, and you must be afraid that the navy will be abandoned after you leave.

Liu Yu glanced at Li Xi and said with a smile: "Seventh Prince is living a life of luxury, but he also knows that money and money are two sides of the same coin?"

Li Xi smiled awkwardly and said helplessly: "According to the system of this dynasty, before being crowned as a king, the salary is just so-so. After being crowned as a king, it is forbidden to swallow up land. You can only live on the salary of the court and live in the capital. You are not allowed to be crowned outside to prevent the vassal kings of the previous dynasty from swallowing up land. If you have other positions, you can get more. Being a prince may not be better than the lives of you nobles. Do you think that you don’t need money in the palace?"

"Since my father asked me to follow Ying Suo to gain experience, Ying Suo must not be embarrassed. I know that to be a naval officer, you must be a graduate of the Jinghai Palace Official School. Now I have seen everything I should see. Please allow me to enter the school?"

He seems to be honest and well-behaved, but in fact he thinks very clearly in his mind that the emperor asked him to come to take over the navy in the future.

Although he was a prince, he was a defective one and had no chance of inheriting the throne. The emperor would not treat him like his brothers who had the possibility of inheriting the throne.

If he followed Liu Yu for a long time and didn't learn any skills... let alone taking over the navy, he would probably be scolded when he returned, and even forget about being crowned a king.

As for Liu Yu, seeing how much he loved the navy, if he couldn't learn it, Liu Yu would think that he was not the right person to take over. With his temper, he would definitely write a petition to stop him from taking over.

Li Xi felt that Liu Yu was definitely capable of doing this. This could also be inferred from some of the deeds he had heard over the years.

Although he was a prince, he had not yet been crowned a king, so he had to behave himself in Weihai.

Thinking about what Liu Yu liked, it was natural that he would behave himself honestly and learn real skills, and then he would naturally cater to his preferences.

Liu Yu also understood Li Xi's thoughts, and thought to himself that I was very busy during this period, so I threw you to Jinghai Palace to learn navigation technology, which was just right to avoid being a burden.

However, what was learned in Jinghai Palace was not the most important. It was a technique, not a doctrine.

The successor who would take charge of the navy in the future might not necessarily represent the interests of the navy, but would definitely be a supporter of trade and colonial policies.

Although these things were subtly instilled in the textbooks of the Jinghai Palace official school, Liu Yu felt that they might not be enough.

"The Seventh Prince is indeed diligent and studious. The official school of Jinghai Palace is not busy for the time being. The next term will not start until March. If the Seventh Prince is interested, why not try the entrance examination?"

Li Xi smiled and said, "Very good! I have learned a lot in the palace, and I just want to know how my level is among the heroes of the world."

Seeing him eager to try, Liu Yu thought to himself that your level is certainly good. After all, the construction of practical learning here has just started, and it is too early to wait for the first batch of graduates to apply for the Jinghai Palace. Now the number of applicants is small, and the level is also average.

The education level in the palace must be high if you really want to learn, which is just right for you to have a good time and cater to the nature of children.

"In that case, I wish the Seventh Prince a successful start and win the first place. But before you take the Jinghai Palace exam, I have a question for you."

"Please speak, Lord Ying Suo."

Liu Yu supported the side of the warship with both hands, looked at the boundless ocean in the distance, and asked casually, "What does the navy do?"

This question seemed simple, but Li Li's heart skipped a beat, knowing that Liu Yu was testing him.

The simpler the question, the harder it is to answer.

If it is to defend the sea border, it is correct, but this may not be what Liu Yu wants to hear.

After a moment of silence, Li Xi thought about the elements of "commanding the navy" that Liu Yu had just told him, and recalled some worldviews that were almost shaped by reading Liu Yu's pamphlet. He said with a frown: "Ying Suobo's question reminded me of something in your book."

"The war between Britain and Spain. Britain wanted to sell goods to Spain, and Spain didn't want British goods. I think the role of the navy is to make a country have the ability to force others to buy, or to make others want to sell but can't."

"The dilemma of the Celestial Empire is that there is no competition for Celestial Empire's goods, but Western countries are closed and have high taxes, so the Celestial Empire wants to sell but can't."

"The navies of Western countries are for the "mercantilism" mentioned in Ying Suobo's book; the Celestial Empire's navy is for the "free trade" mentioned in Ying Suobo's book."

"As for defending the sea borders, it's just a matter of convenience. Ying Suobo thinks, am I right?"