Chapter 680 The deep meaning of the nobility
The fleet went through hardships and finally passed through the Storm Strait at the cost of nearly fifty deaths. At this time, Lu Wan had already woken up in a coma. However, because of excessive blood loss, he was unable to command the fleet for the time being. It was not until the fleet arrived at the port of Lu Wan in Central America that Lu Wan barely recovered his spirit and took over the command of the fleet again.
At this time, the fleet had already completed most of the itinerary of the global sailing. Next, it would be enough to cross the Pacific Ocean to reach Taiwan. This route was discovered by Lu Wan and the others long ago, and it has now become a very mature route. As long as you don’t choose during the typhoon season, there will generally be no big danger.
In fact, this is true. Lu Wan and his team went west along the route they discovered at the time, and finally arrived in Taiwan more than a month later. They were warmly welcomed by Li Yan and the Taiwanese people. However, because Lu Wan and his team spent more than a year on the Yucatan Peninsula and the time spent bypassing South America, the illusion of missing for two years was created, which made many people think that they had encountered a shipwreck, causing the entire fleet to sink.
However, although Lu Wan's fleet did not sink as a whole, it lost all small and medium-sized ships and a large ship. More than 70 other people died during the voyage. It can be said that this round-the-world voyage was the heaviest loss for Lu Wan, and even others lost a right leg during the voyage.
Although he paid such a great price, Lu Wan and his team completed the first round-the-world voyage in human history, thus proving from facts that the earth was spherical. It is worth mentioning that when all Lu Wanhe crews carried boxes after boxes of gold from the ship that was about to be scrapped in front of the Taiwanese people, the entire Tainan City was the first to boil, and then quickly spread to all directions with Tainan as the center.
Although this round-robin voyage caused a great loss to Lu Wan's fleet. The batch of gold brought back was not only enough to make up for his losses, but also allowed everyone in the fleet to receive a lot of rewards. This news suddenly stimulated everyone, and countless brave young people began to form teams to set out for America, but they were looking for their own golden dreams.
Speaking of whether it is the Tang Dynasty or the Daqi of Li Yan, due to the development of industry and commerce, all walks of life need manpower. As long as ordinary young people work hard, they will definitely have no problem living a rich life. However, people's greed is natural, and everyone has a lucky mentality. When they see others bringing ships of gold back from overseas, those impulsive young people can no longer sit still, and they don't like that kind of boring life, passionate treasure hunting journey, which undoubtedly has the attraction to them. Therefore, no matter where, as long as news such as gold mines are heard, it will always attract a considerable number of people.
However, for those who take risks due to interests, the official Daqi official, including Li Yan, is very supportive of them, and sometimes provides some convenience and security. A few lucky and successful people will also receive strong publicity from the government. It makes Yizhi become a celebrity in society and set an example for others.
Although crimes are easily occurring among these young people who dream of getting rich overnight, this kind of movement of people can accelerate the development of places such as Australia and the Americas, allowing more Han people to go out of their homes and see the wonderful world outside. Moreover, according to official statistics from Daqi, most of those who are looking for treasures but gain nothing will choose to settle in the local area and never return to their hometowns.
First, they failed to realize their previous dreams, so they felt embarrassed to go home. Second, they were already used to local life, and there were more opportunities in the core areas of Daqi such as Taiwan and Nanyang.
In the garden pavilion of the Royal Palace in Tainan City, Li Yan and Wang An sat opposite each other. There was nothing big about today. Even Prime Minister Wang An was idle, so Li Yan was pulled to have tea together.
"Your Majesty, I happened to be not in Tainan when Lu Wan came back last time. Now I heard that he went to Luzon again. I wonder how his health is?" Wang An asked. Compared to more than ten years ago, Wang An was obviously much older. His hair, which was more black and less white, was mostly white, and his figure was a little fatter, but there were more wrinkles on his face, which looked older than his actual age.
After hearing this, Li Yan sighed and said, "I guess Wang Fu already knew that Lu Wan had broken one leg. Now his body has recovered well. However, if you want to recover completely, it is better to rest for a while. The pine plateau on Feng Shijie is a good place to recuperate, and most of their families are there, so Lu Wan and the others all went to Luzon!"
"Oh, Lu Wan's losses this time were indeed heavy, and he lacked one leg, so he probably wouldn't be able to travel on a boat again in the future. This is indeed a great regret for the navigation industry!" Wang An also sighed. As the Prime Minister of Daqi, he naturally knew that Lu Wan's contribution to Daqi. Not to mention anything else, just the routes of Australia and America discovered by the other party can bring huge income to the Daqi treasury every year.
But after hearing this, Li Yan shook his head with a smile and said, "Wang Fu doesn't know that although Lu Wan suffered a huge blow this time, he did not give up his dream of sailing. When I invited him to the banquet last time, he had already said that after he took care of his health, he would lead the fleet to sea again. Although he lacked one leg, his mind was still there, and there was no problem in commanding the fleet to sail."
After hearing this, Wang An also showed an expression of admiration and exclaimed: "Okay! What a persevering Captain Lu, no wonder he was able to fulfill His Majesty's instructions repeatedly and discover several new routes. His spirit alone is not comparable to ordinary people!"
Li Yan nodded slightly and said, "Lu Wan is indeed a rare navigator. When he and his third brother went to Rome last time, we had not established a country yet, and it was not easy to give him any great rewards before. However, just by discovering the routes between Australia and America and bringing back many cash crops back as soon as possible, it is enough to win the title. But I have not been sure now. What kind of title should I award him?"
"Granted the title?" Wang An was stunned after hearing this, and then a look of shock flashed across his face. After the founding of the Great Qi Kingdom, Li Yan imitated the title system of the Tang Dynasty and established the fifth-rank titles of Duke, Hou, Bo, Zi, and Male. Then, according to the merits, he divided his ministers under his command, such as Wang An, Lu Hong, Lu Qing and Su Dingfang, and all got the Duke.
There is another throne above these fifth ranks, but the throne can only be granted to the prince. Among Li Yan's sons, only the eldest son Li Qi was at the age of being the king. In addition, his nickname was Australia, so he was named King of Australia. However, the throne of the Great Qi was similar to that of the Tang Dynasty, and the implementation of the virtual king system, unlike the throne of the Han Dynasty, holding local military and political power. For example, the King of Australia, like Li Qi, was nominally his fiefdom, but in fact he was not in charge of the affairs. Australian government affairs were also managed by government officials at all levels.
"Your Majesty, since ancient times, titles have been generally granted to ministers in the court. Although Lu Wan has made extraordinary achievements, he is not an official of the court after all. If he is granted a title, the old minister is afraid that once this precedent is opened, any person who may be granted a title in the future will be awarded a title. Will this cause the consequences of excessive titles in our Great Qi?" Wang An advised Li Yan with some caution.
However, Li Yan waved his hand and said indifferently: "Wang Fu's words are wrong. In fact, in my eyes, whether it is the officials in the court or the common people who abide by the law, they are all members of my Daqi. Although their positions are different, they are all making contributions to my Daqi. As long as they make great contributions, they are qualified to be awarded titles."
When Li Yan said this, he glanced at Wang An and then said, "For example, like Lu Wan, he found that the routes between Australia and America opened up the channel between the Da Qi and these two continents. Such contributions are so great that only a few people in the martial arts of the court can compare with him. Therefore, I will not be stingy with a small title. If other people can compete with Lu Wan in their contributions in the future, I will also grant a title to the other party!"
Hearing that Li Yan not only decided to grant Lu Wan a title, but also planned to expand the scope of awards to the title, and no longer limited to officials, Wang An was at a loss for a moment. After all, since ancient times, titles have been symbols of aristocratic status. Now that Li Yan has given titles to ordinary people, wouldn’t that be a mess?
However, Wang An is worthy of being the prime minister of Daqi, and is also the closest person to Li Yan in his thoughts. It took only a moment to calm down and also understood the profound meaning of Li Yan's move. Daqi is a country built by commerce. In this country, the great industrial and commercial lords occupy an important position. Li Yan no longer sticks to officials. In this way, a considerable number of the great industrial and commercial lords will become the nobles of Daqi in the future, which will surely greatly inspire the enthusiasm of those industrial and commercial lords, and at the same time tie their interests to the chariot of Daqi.
Thinking of this, Wang Anchang sighed and said: "Your Majesty is very thoughtful, and it really makes the old minister admire him. The fact that the title of title for those who are not officials is really a big impact. It is estimated that only a founding king like Your Majesty can continue to be promoted. However, at the beginning, it is best to choose carefully for the candidates for titles. Otherwise, if some people with bad records are allowed to get titles, it may be a blow to Your Majesty's reputation!"
"Well, I naturally understand that titles are different from official positions. They are just honorary titles of social status. Although they do not have real power, they pay more attention to personal reputation and prestige than official positions. Therefore, I will let people check them well. At the beginning, I will only choose a few people like Lu Wan who are top in various industries to give titles!" Li Yan nodded with gratitude when he saw Wang An understand what he meant.
Chapter completed!