"Kill! All these people should be killed. I, Dasong, treat them well, but these people are ungrateful. They actually... they actually..." Zhao Zhen's face became very ferocious when he looked at the content on his phone.

Before the demise of the Southern Song Dynasty, Lu Xiufu and others fled south with the little emperor. They wanted to enter Quanzhou and use the Quanzhou naval soldiers to block the Mongol cavalry. However, Pu Shougeng, who was the Fujian pacifier at that time, colluded with the Yuan people and refused to enter the city. They even massacred more than 3,000 Zhao Song royal family and ministers in Quanzhou city. This was a huge crime. The Pu family also controlled the sea trade business for the Yuan Dynasty.

Pu Shougen was not a Han Chinese. Their family was a Dashi merchant who fled from Central Asia to the Song Dynasty. Not only did the Song Dynasty not refuse these merchants outside the territory, but also allowed them to settle in the port. Pu Shougen was even given an official position by the Song Dynasty. However, this guy had a bad ambition and stabbed the Song Dynasty at the last critical moment, which could indirectly lead to the demise of the Southern Song Dynasty.

What's even more hateful is that although Pu Shougeng did bad things, he did not receive the punishment he deserved. Instead, he was prosperous and prosperous for his whole life. His descendants also controlled the maritime trade in Quanzhou. It was not until Zhu Yuanzhang expelled the Mongols to establish the Ming Dynasty that the Pu family was completely liquidated. Pu Shougeng was also whipped out of the tomb. All the descendants of the Pu family were also imprisoned, and they were never allowed to study, let alone participate in the imperial examination.

Li Zhang had long heard that there were many overseas Hu merchants in Quanzhou and Guangzhou. If these people were just legal merchants, Li Zhang would not bother to pay attention to them. However, these people were legal merchants on land, but when they arrived at sea, they turned into pirates and looted merchant ships everywhere. Of course, many Han merchants were the same, but they were not as bold as these Hu merchants, because when they could not survive in the Song Dynasty, they could go to sea, but Han merchants had to worry about their families.

"Your Majesty, you must kill, but you can't kill them all. After all, Haimao is a treasure pot and can bring huge profits to our Song Dynasty. However, Haimao was too chaotic before, and there was no effective supervision, so I think it is necessary to send someone to rectify Haimao and make it under the control of the court!" Li Zhang said again immediately.

The ocean is the future of the empire. However, there were too many crises in the Song Dynasty before, which made Li Zhang no longer have time to pay attention to the sea affairs. However, the external threats are temporarily lifted and internal reforms are underway, so he was also considering the sea affairs during this period. As a result, he happened to encounter Dong Qing's affairs, so he took advantage of the issue to lead to the sea trade.

"Marine trade is indeed a rich industry. It is said that generally, goods can be transported to Southeast Asia to exchange for more than ten times the profit. If transported to further afield, the returns will be greater. However, the danger of wind and waves on the sea is also extremely high. If you accidentally encounter a ship, there will be a danger of death. And cousin, you have also said that the area of ​​the ocean is several times that of land, and there are many islands on the sea that can hide. Even if the court wants to supervise, it is probably powerless, right?" Zhao Zhen pondered for a moment after hearing Li Zhang's words, and then said with some doubts.

Li Zhang had told Zhao Zhen some common sense about geography before, so Zhao Zhen knew that the world was a big ball, and that the area of ​​the ocean was far greater than that of the land. He even knew that there were seven continents and four oceans in this world. However, as a person who grew up on the Central Plains, he had never seen the ocean at all. In addition, Li Zhang's description of the ocean was too unpredictable, so he was also a little respectful of the ocean in his bones.

"In fact, the supervision of the ocean is not complicated. The key is to build an elite naval force. I originally thought that I would consider the naval matter when I had the opportunity in the future, but the case that happened in Quanzhou this time was a good opportunity, so I wanted to just use these Hu merchants to attack and then take the opportunity to rectify the naval force!" Li Zhang immediately spoke again.

The Song Dynasty did not have a special navy. All the troops on the sea, river and lake were collectively called the Navy. Although the sea trade in the Song Dynasty was very prosperous, they did not pay much attention to the Navy. Even because of the long-term peace, the southern army was even more corrupt than the northern army. Even if the navy is now a good product, even pirates cannot defeat them. In the past two years, pirates have repeatedly landed and robbed along the southern coast.

Hearing Li Zhang's words, Zhao Zhen nodded slowly. He also felt that Li Zhang's words made sense. With the recovery of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, the power of the Song Dynasty greatly boosted its military power, but this was limited to the north, and the military system in various parts of the south had long been corrupt. A few years ago, rebellions occurred in the south. The southern garrison, several times the enemy, were defeated by the rebels composed of mobs. In the end, they could only mobilize the army from the north to suppress the rebellion.

"If Your Majesty thinks it's good, why not let me go here in person this time, go to Quanzhou to find out the case of the Dong family, then take a look at the situation of the coastal naval army with your own eyes, and come back and discuss a feasible strategy with Your Majesty." Li Zhang said again with a self-recommendation at this time.

"Cousin, do you want to go in person?" Zhao Zhen asked with a surprised expression when he heard Li Zhang's words.

"If you are not a race, your heart will be different. There are more and more Hu merchants in Guangzhou and Quanzhou, and they are extremely powerful at sea and have even extended their hands to the officialdom. This situation must be curbed, and it is not convenient to hand over this kind of work to others, so it is better for me to go there in person!" Li Zhang also said solemnly again at this time.

Zhao Zhen also showed a hesitant expression when he heard Li Zhang's words. Although he also knew that Li Zhang's best choice to go to Quanzhou, he is now reforming the country, so he hopes that Li Zhang can stay and help him, even if Li Zhang does nothing, as long as Li Zhang is in the capital, he will feel that there is a support behind him.

Li Zhang could see what Zhao Zhen was thinking at a glance, and he couldn't help but step forward and pat his shoulder again and said, "Your Majesty, since you defeated the Liao Kingdom and recovered Yan Yun, you have become a talented and wise emperor. I believe that nothing in this world can do to ruin you!"

Li Zhang's words also brought great trust and support, which made Zhao Zhen feel a little confident. He immediately nodded and said, "Okay, cousin, you're better off going to Quanzhou, but Quanzhou is not as good as Luoyang, and it's far away from the capital. The local garrison may not be of great use. So for your safety, it's better to draw a team of troops from the imperial guards to go with you with your cousin, so that it's more convenient for your cousin to use people."

Li Zhang did not refuse Zhao Zhen's suggestion. After all, he may have to overturn most of the local officialdom when he goes to Quanzhou this time. If someone is anxious, he may really encounter danger, especially those maritime merchants are even more desperate at sea, so they have to be careful.
Chapter completed!