Zheng Renkai, the Dengzhou shipbuilding ambassador who was favored by Li Er, turned out to be an extremely die-hard reactionary of the Zheng family in Xingyang, and he robbed all the few shipbuilding craftsmen in Li Er's hands!
According to Fang Xuanling, since Su Chen set sail for Dashi last year, Dengzhou Shipyard has changed three shipbuilders, and it was not until this summer that a usable naval gunboat was built.
It can be said that the Royal Navy of the Tang Dynasty was equipped by Su Chen.
After all, Su Chen has limited resources at his disposal, and training high-level technical craftsmen requires time.
Even with the privileges given by Li Er, Su Chen could only build a few dozen warships.
Before Su Chen's shipyard appeared, 70% of the shipbuilding craftsmen and various material materials in the Tang Dynasty were in the hands of the Zheng family in Xingyang and the Xiao family in Lanling.
Later, the craftsmen in Li's second hand were tricked by Zheng Renkai.
This resulted in the Tang Dynasty's shipbuilding capabilities being very low.
As for the remnants of the family, Su Chen estimates that they have at least two large shipyards overseas, which are no smaller than Su Chen's Fuzhou Shipyard.
The various resources accumulated by the family members for thousands of years are immeasurable. Who knows how many resources and populations they have transferred overseas?
Moreover, there are still a large number of Tu residents in Southeast Asia for them to plunder and drive.
A very powerful enemy suddenly appeared in Datang.
This powerful enemy also knew a lot about the entire Tang Dynasty. There were countless traitors in the Tang Dynasty and other places who colluded with this powerful enemy.
Moreover, from the perspective of maritime power, the single warship of the remnants of the clan may not be as good as the Tang Dynasty Navy, but their number is greater than that of the Tang Dynasty Navy.
Su Chen still doesn't know what Zhang Liang is doing with the new naval fleet training in Dengzhou.
But judging from Fang Yiai’s contemptuous attitude,
Maybe the Tengzhou Navy has more people than the Royal Navy, but its combat effectiveness is probably not as good as the Royal Navy.
Under such circumstances, relying solely on the naval fleet to suppress the rampage of the remnants of the clan would be somewhat ineffective.
Su Chen still doesn't know much about the changes that have taken place in Datang over the past year.
It is still impossible to make a specific analysis and prediction of the current situation, so I didn't say anything about Fang Xuanling's words.
…
The sudden encounter with human-trafficking pirates was just a minor accident and did not change the army's itinerary.
Early the next morning, the fleet set sail at high speed towards Ryukyu Island.
Penghu was only a hundred miles away from Liuqiu, so the fleet sailed at high speed and arrived there in two hours.
With the prisoners captured yesterday leading the way, the naval fleet headed towards the southernmost port of Liuqiu where the remnants of the clan were staying.
Su Chen compared the place names of later generations and found that the place where the remnants of the clan gathered at the southernmost end of Liuqiu should be called Pingtung.
The prisoner told Su Chen that the remaining members of the clan named this place Langqiao.
Let Langqiao be Langqiao, not to mention that these remnants of the wealthy family are literate, and the names they get sound quite elegant.
As the prisoners confessed yesterday, the remnants of the clan did not leave much military force to garrison in Liuqiu.
There were quite a few ships staying at the shore port, but when they saw the navy coming from a distance, they dispersed and fled southward.
Cheng Chubi and Liu Jingren led part of the fleet to pursue the fleeing ships.
Yuchi Baolin and Xue Rengui led the Marines to the island.
The remnants of the clan built some simple fortifications on the shore, but there were no personnel to defend the shore. They probably escaped with the ships fleeing south.
The Marines easily occupied the port, and Su Chen, Li Chengqian, and Fang Xuanling also landed on the island.
Su Chen went ashore and looked at the buildings on the shore. Most of them were low and simple, probably used as warehouses.
But what Su Chen didn't expect was that the most impressive building on the shore turned out to be a temple.
A temple covering an area of more than ten acres is quite exquisitely built. Regardless of the Buddhist hall, monk's room, or guest room, the interior decoration can be called luxurious.
All living utensils were neatly packed away, but there was no one in the temple.
It seems that the monks and pilgrims also escaped by boat.
Someone asked the prisoners captured yesterday and they said that the temple was built with money from the Xiao family.
"Xiao Yu is a very strange old man. He vigorously promoted Buddhism in the court and was reprimanded by both the Emperor and His Majesty. He also had a grudge against Fu Yi and other ministers for this reason."
"In such a desolate place, there is also such a luxurious temple built by his family. How much he respects Buddhism!"
"When his ancestors were members of the Nanliang royal family, they even sacrificed their country to cultivate Buddhism. This is really weird!"
Su Chen sighed as he looked at the magnificent temple.
Fang Xuanling glanced at Su Chen: "The Protector has always been smart, why don't you understand this?"
Su Chen was stunned for a moment, then he cupped his hands to Fang Xuanling and said, "Please give me some advice from Fang Xuanling!"
Fang Xuanling looked at the tall Buddha statue in front of her and said quietly: "When Xiao respected the Buddha, he respected himself!"
"Does the Lord Protector know how much influence Buddhism has among the people and how much wealth it has amassed?"
"Emperor Wu of Liang sacrificed himself in the temple, which tied the Xiao family and Buddhism together. As long as Buddhism is there, he and the Xiao family will be there. This is much better than his shaky Nanliang Guozuo who was in a corner!"
Su Chen's eyes widened: "Is there any other explanation?"
Fang Xuanling: "I am not familiar with the Duke Protector and the aristocratic family, and some of the inside stories are not clear. All the heads of the Xiao family have been the protector kings of Buddhism!"
Su Chen: "Damn it, the family members really know how to play!"
During the feudal era, especially during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Buddhism was very powerful.
Although Su Chen didn't know exactly how powerful Buddhism was and how much wealth it had amassed,
But he knew that Buddhist forces had threatened national rule in history, which triggered the Sanwu Extermination of Buddhism incident, and the rulers had wiped out Buddhist forces on a large scale several times.
Those Buddhist forces are not a pure religion that eats fasts and chants Buddha's name, but a social force that involves a large number of powerful people colluding with Buddhism to seize power and wealth.
The Xiao family built such a luxurious temple here, of course, not for the purpose of worshiping Buddha, but as a rest and gathering place for the remaining members of the family who passed through this place.
Su Chen shook his head: "I don't know about these dirty things!"
Ignoring the temple, Su Chen walked outside and looked at the deserted fields and simple houses on the shore in the distance.
"It seems that the remnants of the clan have no intention of occupying Liuqiu for development."
Fang Xuanling: "Liuqiu is too close to the mainland, and they know they can't defend it."
"But this should be an important way for them to reach Luzon from the mainland. This line must be cut off in the future!"
Su Chen nodded: "Liuqiu is only more than three hundred miles away from Fuzhou. From here, going straight south, you will reach the Luzon Islands less than a thousand miles away."
"Liuqiu heads north, and there are island chains connecting it all the way to the Japanese country. The strategic location is very important!"
Fang Xuanling: "This place is less than a thousand miles away from Luzon Island?"
Su Chen: "Yes, there is a big strait between Liuqiu and the Luzon Islands. Do you not know?"
