"Lord Protector, you don't need to worry about these things at all."
Seeing Su Chen's unkind expression, Feng An hurriedly explained:
"Compared with the weapons and armors made of fine iron in the Central Plains, these things made of rattan are no different from those made of paper."
Su Chen frowned and asked, "Do you know what they use this kind of rattan armor and rattan shield for?"
Feng An shook his head: "I don't know about that!"
"But those things are of no use at all now. Besides, they have fine iron in their hands, so there is no need for these things."
Su Chen glared at Feng Ang: "No need?
Those rattan armors and shields are indeed incomparable to those made of iron, but they are not useless."
Feng Ang shrank his neck and did not reply.
He has also been a soldier all his life, so of course he knows the usefulness of those rattan armors in certain special scenes.
Fortunately, Su Chen did not take this issue seriously, but took the initiative to change the topic:
"The governor of Fuzhou said that a large number of large ships from the Central Plains have sailed southward in recent months. My subordinates also saw many large ships from the Central Plains in Panyu in the past two months."
"But why have I not seen a single large ship from the Central Plains even though I have been in Panyu for so many days?"
Feng Ang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, "Duke Protector, this old man really doesn't know why."
"Some time ago, there were indeed a large number of new-style large ships. However, since the Lord Protector came to Panyu, we have indeed not seen any of them."
"I have lived in Lingnan for a long time and don't know much about the affairs in the Central Plains. For the specific reasons, it would be better for the Protector to ask someone who is familiar with the situation in the Central Plains."
Su Chen nodded, and then asked Feng Ang about some things about the various ethnic groups in Lingnan, including the recent developments in Linyi, Annan, Chenla and other countries in the Indo-China Peninsula.
Feng Ang answered them one by one, but Su Chen didn't find anything unusual.
"Mr. Geng, I also want to buy some of those rattan armors. I wonder if Mr. Geng has any idea?"
Feng An was startled: "Duke Protector, that thing is not useful at all. What use do you have for those things?"
Su Chen smiled and said: "You don't need to ask about this Duke Geng. I wonder if Duke Geng can get it."
"How much does the Lord Protector want?"
"One or two thousand pairs is enough."
Feng An nodded: "With this number, I should go back and find the leaders of the slang tribe to get it together. It should be no problem."
"Then I'll trouble Duke Geng!"
After chatting for a while, Feng Ang stood up and said goodbye. Su Chen sent a boat back to Panyu.
Li Chengqian walked into the cabin and asked, "Have you found any questions?"
Su Chen said casually: "There are indeed some problems, but they have nothing to do with our purpose."
"First, the remnants of the clan have not sailed southward on a single ship recently. This is a cover-up, proving that they have a big conspiracy in Lingnan, and they are afraid that we will discover any clues."
"Second, they purchased a batch of rattan armors and shields from various tribes in Lingnan, and they obviously want to start a big fight."
Li Chengqian asked: "Rattan armor or shield?"
"Those things have no effect against the weapons of the Tang Dynasty, right?"
Su Chen nodded: "So, they have no plans to rebel within the Tang Dynasty. As for what they want to do specifically, it is none of our business."
"Just report these things to His Majesty, and we will continue to train you."
Li Chengqian nodded. The navy's current task is to seize the time to train and then go to the ocean to eat. Leave other things alone as long as you can.
The reason why Feng An was called over to scare him was to rule out the possibility of anyone targeting the Navy.
…
Chang'an, Taiji Palace, Zichen Palace.
The court meeting has ended, but Fang Moudu Duan, Wei Zheng, Changsun Wuji and others were left behind.
"Yan Wu Xiuwen?"
"Put the weapons in the treasury and release the horses to Nanshan?"
With a sneer on his face, Li Er randomly opened a few volumes of the pile of memorials in front of him.
"The expedition, spanning 30,000 miles across the ocean... is appalling. It is a thousand times more absurd than Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's expedition to conquer the big names for a bloody horse?"
"I don't even know how far the Royal Navy's voyage is this time, but Cui Mingan knows it in detail!"
Li Er sneered and continued to open other memorials,
"Recall the prince quickly and disband the navy?"
"I have raised a bunch of good ministers!"
Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Changsun Wuji and others stood below without saying a word, like old monks in meditation.
Li Er has been back from Guanzhou for some time with his civil and military ministers.
Some time ago, ministers were quarreling over whether to build the Chang'an-Luoyang Railway and when to start building it.
What is strange is that those who proposed building the railway as soon as possible were those who had opposed the railway earlier, while those who opposed the Chang'an-Luoyang Railway were ministers who had previously strongly supported railway construction.
This thing really makes many people feel incredible.
In the end, at the insistence of the new railway superintendent Xu Jingzong and the young superintendent Ma Zhou, the construction of the Chang'an-Luoyang Railway was postponed to next year.
The reasons given by Xu Jingzong are very good. The railway from Guanzhou to Chang'an has not yet been completely completed, and there are still many important data that need to be tested.
These data are related to the construction specifications, safety performance, service life and many other issues of the Luoyang-Chang'an Railway.
The railway incident has just passed, and someone suddenly released news in the past two days: Prince Li Chengqian and Lord Protector Su Chen are leading the Royal Navy on an expedition to eat!
After hearing the news, all the ministers wrote letters one after another to express their support for Li Erlao's expedition!
The civil servants even wrote to Li Er one after another, saying: Now that the world has been decided, we should practice martial arts and cultivate literature, and asked Li Er to put his swords into the treasury and release his horses to Nanshan!
"Cui Minqian and Liu Jie actually asked me to disband the Royal Navy!"
"The Denglai pirates are so rampant, the Laizhou Navy has just been defeated, and they actually want me to disband the Royal Navy!"
Li Er said angrily: "Liu Jie and Cui Minqian had sinister intentions. They took away all their official positions and exiled them to Liaodong..."
"Your Majesty, calm down!"
Fang Mou, who had been pretending to be a fool just now, stopped, and Changsun Wuji and others immediately warned him in unison.
"Your Majesty, Liu Jie and Cui Minqian did not make any big mistakes. Such a heavy punishment may arouse people's criticism!"
"No big mistake?
These two people are so harboring evil intentions, how can you still say that they are not making any serious mistakes?"
Wei Zheng cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the two of you are just opposing the Royal Navy's expedition to the Great Food, and there is nothing else involved."
"If His Majesty is not happy, just issue an order to reprimand him!"
"If a court official is convicted of a crime because of what he said in a letter, then that minister will still dare to speak in the future!"
Li Er said angrily: "Wei Zheng, you are so clever in your rhetoric. The two of them are clearly planning something evil, yet you still excuse them!"
Wei Zheng stiffened his neck: "Your Majesty, I have not exonerated anyone. Since Your Majesty has formulated the court system, you should strictly abide by it!"
When Du Ruhui saw that Wei Zheng was about to fight with Li Er again, he hurriedly stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, handling these two people in this way is indeed detrimental to His Majesty's wisdom. Your Majesty, please don't act like a villain. We will still discuss business matters."
