These three people gathered together and chatted, but they couldn't escape the scope of political affairs.
Li Yuan liked to invite people into the palace to drink and have fun with him, while his son Li Shimin liked to invite people to talk about the past and the present. That was real gossip.
But they all came from great aristocrats and received a complete aristocratic education.
Not only are you proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, but you are not lacking in appreciation skills, and nobles will also develop some interests from childhood.
For example, Li Yuan likes hunting, while Li Shimin likes reading history. At that time, it was a hobby reserved only for nobles. Common people wanted to like it, but he didn't have the conditions.
Of course, both Li and his son also like women, and their family genes are also very strong. They are the kind of guys who have many children and grandchildren.
Li Po also has a hobby, which is eating. He is the kind of person who would like to try something if it tastes good. As for whether it suits his taste, he can't decide.
Many people have this hobby, but they are really not very good at it.
When you are with people like Wen Yanbo and Xiao Yu, you have no common language.
In addition, Li Po had no interest in prying into people's privacy and asking about other people's family affairs.
In this way, it is easy to understand the process when they drink together, and complicated political affairs are the best topics to talk about.
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When talking about the East China Sea, the topic quickly turned to shipbuilding.
There is a lot of knowledge here, and neither Wen Yanbo nor Xiao Yu know much about it.
As for Li Po, he only knew a general idea. In other words, he knew the general direction, but when it came to how to do it specifically, he was still blind.
However, the news from the south of the Yangtze River was aggregated into the DPRK, which could also give the courtiers some support for their decisions.
From the third year of Yuanzhen to the current seventh year of Yuanzhen, it took about two to three years. It was also because of the continuous war in the East China Sea and the introduction of many policies by the DPRK and China.
Therefore, the shipbuilding industry in Jiangnan, Shandong and other places is developing very rapidly.
But time is still short, and it is impossible to restore the grandeur of the Sui Dynasty.
The reason why the shipbuilding industry was relatively developed in the pre-Sui Dynasty was because Emperor Wen Yang Jian and Yang Emperor Yang Guang were digging canals. Water transportation gradually became more convenient, so the shipbuilding industry would inevitably rise accordingly.
Later, people understood this truth. Large projects often benefit a series of industries.
For example, Yang Jian and his son also built many Chidao, so various civil engineering industries flourished, and a large number of engineering talents emerged. He Chou, Yu Wenkai and others were the best among them.
The impact brought by this is not limited to these. The progress in production technology is also commendable. Once similar projects are completed, it will also have great benefits for political centralization.
Of course, the final consequences were very bad, because the social structure and productivity at that time were not enough to support such many and large projects.
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The restoration of the shipbuilding industry in the Tang Dynasty was also a long-term effort. For example, it is extremely difficult to build the kind of high-rise ships that Yang Guang took when he went to Jiangdu three times.
The Tang troops used in the East China Sea War were all old ships collected by Wu King Du Fuwei after he occupied Jiangdu. They sailed on the sea without restraint.
In another time and space, the reason why it was so difficult for Li Shimin to lead his army to attack Goguryeo was probably because he burned all of Du Fuwei's old friends when he was putting down the Pugongtuo Rebellion.
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Nowadays, what the Tang Dynasty can successfully build are actually small boats used for water transportation. After receiving some shipbuilding craftsmen from Japan, Baekje, and Silla, the shipbuilding technology has improved.
It is actually a matter of time to complete the construction of the building ship. After all, the drawings of the building ship are preserved in the Guanwen Hall in Luoyang, but there is a lack of experienced and skilled craftsmen.
But Li Po wanted more than that. The building ship was too bulky and expensive to build. It was good for showing the country's prestige, but it had many shortcomings for sailing on the sea.
Moreover, they were very different from Li Po's impression of the sailboats built by humanoid creatures in the west. It had to be said that those sailboats looked more suitable for sea navigation.
Li Po didn't believe that the craftsmen who could build a building boat couldn't build such a dexterous sailing ship. This, like other things, needed his supervision and setting a general direction.
He believed that it would not take long, with the manpower and material resources of the Central Plains, to achieve this goal, and it was not just about asking everyone to build steam engines...
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When it comes to shipbuilding, Wen Yanbo and Xiao Yu also have a headache. They are not familiar with it and can only talk in general terms, but their vision is very comparable to ordinary people.
For example, Xiao Yu suggested, "Warships, cargo ships, and water ships have different craftsmanship, so I thought they should be separated. Now the canal channel has been cleared, and it will be completed soon. At that time, there were more and more goods shipped from the north to the south, and the court needed many water ships to transport grain and other supplies."
, should everything else be slowed down first?”
Without Li Po needing to speak, Wen Yanbo shook his head and said, "This needs to be carefully considered. The East China Sea is now level, and there are not many warships left. Cargo ships that can travel on the sea must be what merchants urgently need."
I don’t know about shipbuilding, but I also know that if it is used for business, even if the ship is not used, it cannot be small, right? Otherwise, the journey on the sea is long and difficult and dangerous as much as traveling to and from the Western Regions. If the ship is small,
, isn’t it unprofitable?
The boats are not big, right? They can't withstand the wind and waves on the sea... It's okay not to mention it, but in this case, you need to think about it carefully. "
Xiao Yu looked at Wen Yanbo, but he didn't feel that this guy was giving him eye drops, and since the Minister of Finance was involved in practical matters, he should know more about shipbuilding than he did.
"According to what Pu She said, there will be a lot of ships to be built in the next few years. Will the shipyards in Jiangnan be enough? I'm afraid there aren't that many craftsmen, right?"
Wen Yanbo nodded helplessly, "Last year, there were 68 ships built there, all of which were warships. Well, that's not right. Most of them were grain-carrying ships, which were simply not enough for the army.
Therefore, many Silla people, as well as captured Japanese and Baekje ships were recruited. Originally, those small ships were intended to be converted into canoes.
In the past, when the army was in urgent need, they were simply handed over to the army, but several naval vessels that patrolled the Yangtze River back then could be used as cannons in an emergency."
Xiao Yu said: "Then for the army commander, will the boat be enough?"
Wen Yanbo, "If those ships are used by him instead, the navy officers and soldiers may not agree, and it would be a pity..."
After Wen Yanbo finished speaking, he and Xiao Yu looked at each other, and both saw a look of embarrassment in the other's eyes, so they both turned to look at His Majesty the Emperor.
Li Po looked at his two smart subordinates with a headache, "You've already said all the damn things you should say, what else do you want me to say?"
But his mind worked quickly, and after thinking about it for a while, the idea came to him.
"Are there any merchants building ships today?"
Wen Yanbo smiled bitterly, "Your Majesty, it's not unusual for merchants to build ships, but in the past few years, who dared to build ships without authorization? Isn't that tantamount to treason?
Moreover, how can the imperial court allow people to run amok and kill each one if they are caught? They are afraid that they will not be able to kill them cleanly and that others will follow suit."
Xiao Yu and Wen Yanbo gradually came to the same front, and immediately agreed: "There is indeed no precedent. The court will not take care of the ferry boats, but the fishing boats must be registered with the government, otherwise they will be exiled thousands of miles away at least if they are caught.
Warships and cargo ships have always been government-owned properties, and even aristocratic families would not dare to get involved easily.
The fleets that Yang Guang traveled with back then were all built by brothers Yu Wenshu and Yu Wenkai. If a merchant builds a big ship, it would be a sin to confiscate his family and destroy his family."
Wen Yanbo saw that the emperor's expression was not right, and secretly thought that Xiao Big Mouth was coming again, so he had to change his words and said: "Your Majesty wants to use businessmen to make up for the needs of the court?
I think it is absolutely impossible for merchants to pursue profits and have no integrity. Let them master the art of shipbuilding, which will definitely lead to disaster. However, I can let them supply the court with wood, tung oil and other materials to save some time."
Li Po knew right away that his idea would definitely not work.
Shipbuilding, weapon manufacturing, horse breeding, and even salt production, etc., were all technologies monopolized by the government at that time, and merchants just ran errands and drank some leftovers.
They want to be the protagonist and are waiting.
This is obviously not something that Emperor Chrysostom can do right away. If you make a decision as soon as you slap your forehead and carry it out forcefully, not to mention what will happen to the businessmen, the nobles will give you a hundred thousand ways to play.
The tricks come out.
Now the imperial court does need merchants, so Wen Yanbo and Xiao Yu talked about cargo ships, but that is different. The imperial court builds ships, sells them to merchants, and then lets the merchants go to sea to do business, and they have to pay taxes when they come back.
This is the process of today's world, and you can't go wrong. Businessmen are just tools, and they cannot be the protagonist...
Li Po touched his chin. He didn't trust merchants either. It was just because of his inertia of thinking that when he encountered a shipbuilding problem, the first thing he thought of was to bring in merchants to solve it.
Other industries may be feasible, but once the core interests of the government are involved, officials will instinctively exclude businessmen as a group.
In fact, this can be seen as a struggle between two classes, the nobility and the merchants.
Li Po pondered for a long time and then said: "As the saying goes, there is no business without treachery... You are right. You really can't use them for business. Otherwise, for the sake of personal gain, you will inevitably cut corners and subtract good ones, harming the public and enriching yourself.
Even so, we can only open a few more academies and try our best to cultivate as many talents as possible. This is a long-term plan and we should seize the day.
The army's headquarters is right in front of us. The top priority is water transportation. There are more and more people in the capital, and the same is true in the big cities everywhere. If the water transportation cannot be sorted out within two years, a lot of money and food will be consumed in the treasury.
This is a big deal. Everything else should be put on hold. When the navy squadron returns to the court, all the small boats that can be used for water transportation should be mobilized. Anyway, there are no opponents at sea... It is still a little early for merchants to go to sea.
Zhongshu will draw up a charter and first decide on taxes, ship sizes and uses."