New Shun 1730

In the Academy of Sciences, Liu Yu was pouring out his heart to his wife, and his heart was full of passion.

Inside the Forbidden Palace, the emperor was slightly moved by the thought of "all of them are laughable" that Liu Yu said.

However, if you want to say it, you can't blame the emperor for being narrow-minded.

Just looking at the more than 50 "people who went to Nanyang and made contributions" kneeling below, at a glance, almost all of them were brought by Liu Yu.

According to the feudal sayings, this and Liu Yu both have "teacher-student relations". Judging from the feudal era's heaven, earth, monarch, parents, and teacher etiquette, the relationship with Liu Yu is not far away.

After all, during the imperial examination, the chief examiner of the year was always regarded as the teacher of the examinee, and he was also the real teacher.

In this way, Liu Yu, who was in charge of Jinghai Palace at that time, was the teacher of these meritorious officials who went to Nanyang at this time, and it was absolutely correct.

According to the feudal etiquette, if the teacher gets into trouble in the future, the students have a similar norm of "protecting relatives". Those who take the initiative to expose and accuse the "teacher" will be criticized.

Although such righteousness is nonsense, few people in the court and in the political struggle will really care.

However, the more than 50 people who have made contributions in the Nanyang and are slightly qualified to meet the emperor are all taught by one person. No matter who becomes the emperor, it is inevitable that they will have some different thoughts.

The key is that if you really want to continue to go to Nanyang and seize India, these people must be used. It really won't work if you change others.

There are many people who are good at fighting in Dashun. But the emperor also knows that the affairs of Nanyang are different from others, and they are not just military affairs.

One part military, three parts politics, and six parts economy, and the system and customs are mostly different from those in the Celestial Empire. Whether it is politics or economy, it is different from the situation in China, and it is still very different.

If you don't use these people who are familiar with those things, it will be difficult to deal with it.

Listening to these people presenting their resumes, the emperor still had some thoughts in his heart.

He thought that the Nanyang Protector, several major military commanders, and even the main generals who would attack India in the future were all brought up by my Jinghai Marquis.

Fortunately, this matter happened in Nanyang. If it happened in the northwest and southwest, it would really make people tremble with fear and sleep uneasy.

Jinghai Marquis is a pure and loyal minister, but people will inevitably change.

Even Cao Cao, when he was the Northern Lieutenant of Luoyang in the past, wasn't he a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty? When Zhao Kuangyi was working in the imperial army, wasn't he also loyal to Chai Shizong?

People's hearts will change, and treacherous ministers are probably not born at the beginning. It's just that as the power in their hands grows, they gradually lose their way. How can they be sober at that time?

If Jinghai Marquis is really too powerful, it's me who is harming him.

When the power is big, they may have other thoughts. If they do something domineering, it will implicate the whole family and even descendants. Isn't it my fault for not suppressing them in advance?

Looking at his son Li Li who was in front of these people, the emperor couldn't help but think of the advice of some ministers a few days ago.

When the Nanyang incident had just been resolved and Liu Yu had not returned, a minister advised the emperor that the navy was full of whales, which might be detrimental to the country.

Although it was not so clear, it was roughly saying that as an important military force of the country, and a powerful military force that has demonstrated its great power several times and can attack Dagukou and Beijing at any time, all the officers in it are convinced by one person. What if this person rebels in the future?

This navy and the marines were able to raid the Japanese landing and directly landed to besiege the city the day before yesterday, and they were able to go straight to Batavia yesterday to force Batavia to directly lower its resistance. How can we know that they will not harass the southeast in the future, cut off the canal transportation, and become a separatist situation?

Originally, the south was richer than the north, and now there is the South Sea, and the navy. If the grain transport is cut off, wouldn't the world be cut off directly?

To the emperor, this remonstrance was inevitably a bit of a rehash, quite like the route that Liu Yu used to scare the emperor about the Westerners attacking with fleets, which he had heard long ago.

However, the reason was a rehash, but the solution proposed by this minister really made the emperor "fresh and refreshing".

He thought that since the South Sea was conquered, there would be no more major events in the world and no external threats, so why not dismantle the navy?

First, it can save money and food. Even if ships are not built, the annual maintenance, training, upkeep, and military pay of the navy are a large amount.

Disbanding the navy and using this money to exempt the world from money and food is the way of benevolence and righteousness.

Second, it can also prevent the navy from being used by others to rebel. If the navy really cuts off the grain transport and raids the capital, who in the world can resist?

Third, since ancient times, the Celestial Empire only had a navy during the Yongle period of the previous dynasty. In other times, there was no navy. Didn’t the other dynasties live well? Which dynasty was destroyed because of the lack of a navy?

Since ancient times, we have never heard of a country being destroyed because of the lack of a navy, but we know that there are many countries that have been destroyed because of excessive taxation, excessive conquest, and excessive military aggression.

Now that we have conquered the South Seas, we have achieved the great cause of expanding the border that has never been achieved in previous dynasties. This is far beyond the Han and Tang dynasties.

But the warlords and vassal states of the Han and Tang dynasties were also caused by the large territory of the Han and Tang dynasties.

It would be better to dismantle most of the warships, turn the sailors into garrison troops, place the iron cannons on the ships in the artillery platforms, melt the copper cannons to cast coins, and save the navy military expenses to exempt the world from taxes and grain.

For this remonstrance, the emperor neither scolded the ministers for their stupidity nor praised the ministers for their foresight. Instead, he handled the matter in a very low-key way.

He was not stupid enough to tear down the navy that he had built with great effort. But he did not want to stir up a hornet's nest in the court with a bunch of politically incorrect words.

He thought well, thinking that things were different now, the navy was different from the army, and Nanyang was not the Western Regions, Northeast, Southwest.

Even Liu Yu, who had made outstanding contributions, actually had no power in the court. He was simply a soft persimmon that could be squeezed and kneaded at will.

Liu Yu's power, or direct lineage, was a group of special officers, and most of them were in the navy.

To outsiders, he was promoted step by step, participated in military affairs, and was trusted by the emperor. He was already a marquis and prime minister; and his direct lineage was also promoted step by step, filling the sea and land.

But in fact, he seemed to have fished the fish out of water.

Several major direct lines were either stationed in Nanyang, Korea, or Japan.

And these "direct lines" were promoted to high positions, but they had no warships.

It was like the emperor had already decided on the candidates for the governor of Ceylon or the protector of Nanyang, all of whom were well-known direct descendants of Liu Yu.

It sounded like the emperor's grace was really great.

They had the army and even had certain powers to obey the orders of the emperor, but they had no navy.

This was different from the Xijing garrison and the commander of the Western Expedition Army when the Dzungar Khanate was not destroyed.

These governors, protectors, and governors-general of Nanyang had to obtain permission from the court if they wanted to do big things, and they could do small things at will.

As long as they didn't have a fleet that could completely destroy Weihaiwei, Dagukou, and Lushun Port, the emperor wouldn't worry.

In the Privy Council, the people Liu Yu brought out were all a group of staff officers.

They had the opportunity to participate in strategy, but it was a bit like the cabinet before the previous dynasty changed. The official positions were not high, the staff had big things to do, but they couldn't mobilize half a soldier.

If someone carefully observes the officialdom of Dashun, they will find that the people of Liu Yu's faction are all arrogant and powerful, thinking about how to destroy Vietnam today and how to attack Myanmar tomorrow.

But there are almost no people who have personnel power.

Moreover, the chiefs of staff of each unit do not have real command power, but only the right to make suggestions. The real command power is always in the hands of the commander-in-chief, and any order must be issued by the commander-in-chief.

Liu Yu, the "faction leader", did not initiate the dispute of "whether the military power belongs to the staff or the commander-in-chief", so naturally he could not stir up any waves.

In the past, the leaders of the factions had to fight for benefits and official positions for their own people. Because in the past, there was one place for each person, and it was best for the people in their own family to occupy more places.

But Liu Yu was trying hard to dig carrots outside. Positions like the Governor of Ceylon did not exist before.

This also led to the faction leaders like Liu Yu being different from the past: to say that he had no faction, he certainly had; to say that he was busy fighting for power for his faction, he did not; to say that his faction’s people did not believe in him and felt that he did not bring any benefits, but that was not true.

For such a person, calling him a powerful official seems to be an insult to the word "powerful official".

In short, rationality made the emperor clear in his mind that Nanyang was different from the mainland of the Celestial Empire, and the navy and army were also different in form, and he could not think about current affairs with the past thinking.

But as a pure political animal on the other side of the emperor, the emperor was also uneasy when he saw a bunch of people who were all from the Jinghai Palace, some of whom even had Liu Yu's direct lineage written on them, filling Nanyang and the navy.

If there have been some actions in the past few years: the navy is under the control of the civilian officials of the Navy Department, some affairs are decentralized, young people who graduated after Liu Yu left are reused, Liu Yu's direct lineage is resolutely not used in personnel power, Liu Yu's direct lineage is openly sent to Nanyang to wait for promotion and reward, and their naval power is secretly deprived of all their garrison troops who have no ships and can only sit on the island...

But now, at this moment, looking at the dark group of people, whether they keep their mouths shut or open their mouths, the inner taste is really understandable.

The key is that this group of people can still fight.

Not only can they fight, but they also have some understanding of diplomacy, politics, civil affairs, and economy, and their methods are not low.

Among them, there are those who can command the navy fleet to win, those who can command the marines to attack cities and capture strongholds, those who can go deep into the slaves to instigate uprisings and gather in the mountains, those who are proficient in foreign languages ​​and can contact the Western Barbarians, and those who can propose methods for the civil affairs of Nanyang...

If it comes to naval battles, who in the court can beat these people in front of them? If we talk about economy and trade, how many people in the court who are not brought up by Liu Yu can speak clearly?

But if we don’t use these people, who else can we use?

Use those who have passed the imperial examination to deal with Westerners and do trade? Use a group of imperial examination students who don’t know geometry, can’t read sea charts, and can’t calculate wind direction to command naval battles and battleships? Use a group of people who only know how to say that the interests of small farmers cannot be taken away to manage plantations, sugar factories, and cinnamon workshops?

Looking at the people kneeling in front of him to receive the merits, the emperor couldn't help but sigh in his heart, thinking: "Don't be impatient, don't be impatient. Just do it slowly. In the future, all his direct descendants will be transferred back to the capital and away from the navy. Now it seems that the world is peaceful, but in fact it is the time to use people. Don't destroy the Great Wall on the sea."

Badly suppressing the dirty thoughts of the political animal in his heart, the emperor first turned to Li Xi in front of the crowd and asked with a smile: "My son, what did you see and hear when you went to Nanyang this time? How does the navy trained by the Whale Marquis compare to the Westerners? Since you personally participated in the war, you must know the details of the Westerners, what do you rely on?"

Li Xi hurriedly said: "Father, the first thing I saw and heard when I went to Nanyang this time was about war and economics and taxation."

"If you want to expand, you can't do it without money; if you want to expand, you must make a profit. In the past, the Whale Marquis once told me this truth. I was still young at that time and it was difficult for me to understand the deep meaning. This time I went to Southeast Asia, I finally understood the truth, and I realized that the Whale Marquis was very wise, which was beyond my reach."

"As for the navy, the Holy Dynasty Navy... Please forgive me for being frank. In terms of drills, it is not inferior to the Westerners, and is even slightly stronger; but in terms of the number of ships, it still lags behind the Western powers."

"In this naval battle, although the Dutch had small ships and weak guns, they have been roaming the sea for more than 200 years, and their foundation is still there. When the battle came, they had a good dispatch, dared to fight, and the captain was aware of it. If it weren't for the wisdom of my father and the strong support of the Whale Marquis, the number of ships of the Holy Dynasty far exceeded that of the Dutch East India Company, and the outcome would be unknown."

"The only thing I see is that if you have money, you have a strong navy. If you don't have money, you can't dominate the seven The 200-year-old foundation of the sea is still not good enough. "

"Land warfare says: the quality of soldiers is more important than the number."

"Naval warfare says: strong ships, powerful guns, and many sailors will be invincible. A famous general may be able to defeat 1,000 with 800, but he can never defeat 3,000 with 800."

"If the Holy Dynasty has 100 battleships, and the emperor will lead an unknown person, even if the Western Navy God of War De Ruyter is resurrected, he will be invincible."

"I, the son of the governor of the navy, always think about this, and feel that the navy is the most suitable gift from the Emperor of Heaven to the Celestial Dynasty. As long as the finances are returned to the central government, the Celestial Dynasty is so vast and rich, and there is no need to worry about the disasters of the vassal states and the dangers of the generals, it is really time to build a navy, compete for hegemony in the seven seas, and gain great benefits!"

Thinking about what Liu Yu and Nanyang discussed with him, Li Li took the opportunity when the emperor asked about Nanyang's experience and said directly that he wanted to get more military funds and more warships for the navy.

The emperor was not upset by Li Xi's words "Open your mouth and say Whale Marquis, close your mouth and say Whale Marquis", but he could not help but sigh, thinking that whether the navy should be cut or expanded, it might cause another big storm in the court.

On the one hand, it is stupid to cut and save money, exempt taxes and grain, but it is politically correct.

On the other hand, it is right to expand the army and ships, compete for hegemony in the seven seas, and reap the benefits of trade. This is right, but politically wrong.

If the emperor himself is politically incorrect, militaristic, expand the army and prepare for war, and spend money to build ships, in the eyes of Confucian officials, what is the difference between him and barbarians? But if it is politically correct, dismantle the warships and exempt taxes and grain, in the eyes of these new learning officers, what is the difference between him and a tyrant?

Originally, the emperor was very happy these days. Even Liu Yu's words that day about the "sorrow of the universe" and that no one can escape the cycle law in the end, and that they are all making wedding clothes for others, did not make the emperor feel unhappy.

Thinking about the quarrels in the court meeting today, I suddenly felt unhappy. I thought to myself that the tree wanted to be quiet but the wind did not stop. Before the southern tour, I wonder how many court meetings like the vegetable market I have to go through?

In addition, the affairs of Nanyang are not under the jurisdiction of the six governments, and the officials are all Liu Yu's direct lineage. There will definitely be people who will take advantage of this to cause trouble. When admonishing, I am afraid that any unpleasant words will be said. Some words, if not said, will always be better in the future; if they are said, or even a few more heart-piercing words, I am afraid that Liu Yu will avoid disaster again, and then throw the mess of Nanyang and trade away, and make a fuss. How will it end?

But at this time, facing Li Li and a group of naval officers, the emperor couldn't say that these things you think will cause trouble.

I had to smile and praise him: "You are my son. You know that fighting a war is about fighting finance and taxation, which shows that you have indeed been trained. As for the navy's seven seas profit, don't rush. The Nanyang issue has not been resolved yet. The ancients said, if you get Long, you can look forward to Shu. Long has not been settled yet, how can you talk about taking Shu?"

"Or, Nanyang is profitable, and there is no need to increase taxes on the common people, and it can be sufficient. But, can the profits of Nanyang be seen now? Has it been turned into silver and money and entered the treasury? Since it has not, then nothing can be said to be enough."

"In the past, Wang Jinggong also said that the people did not increase taxes and the country had enough money. What he said made sense and sounded true, but what was the result?"

"It is difficult to refute only when things have been done. If things have not been done, the reason is not hard."

"You all have meritorious services and have been selected for your talents. I am just going to test you. How should we make profits in Nanyang? When can we see the profits? How much profit is there?"