Seeing Fang Jun step by step ascending to the center of power in the Tang Dynasty and becoming famous all over the world for his outstanding achievements, even if the emperor wanted to suppress his official position, it was somewhat difficult to suppress him. How could Changsun Wuji not feel jealous?
It is unlikely that the eldest son Changsun Chong will enter the official career again in this life. Even if he makes military exploits in the Eastern Expedition in the future, the emperor will be lenient and allow him to make up for his crimes. Being able to return to Chang'an as a commoner is already a great favor from the emperor, and his official career...
...absolutely impossible.
Glancing at Changsun Huan, this bastard is quite resourceful and resourceful, but his talents are not put to good use. Being the chief official of the Nine Temples is already considered the limit. If he wants to enter the center like Fang Jun, it will be difficult to reach the sky.
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There is never a shortage of smart people in this world, and there are countless scheming people, but not everyone can be a good official.
The most important thing about being an official is to do things. Doing things requires not only intelligence, but also vision, responsibility, and courage. Otherwise, even if you can slander and get into an official position with your little cleverness, there will never be any room for improvement.
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If virtue is not matched, there will be disaster, and in the end it will not end well...
Thinking that his eldest son, Wuji, was an extremely powerful minister and had all the power in the world, but he had so many sons and could not find a single person who could take on the heavy responsibility and shoulder the important task. It was really hard to describe the depression and sigh in his heart.
He and Fang Xuanling have been fighting openly and secretly for half a lifetime. Although he is the winner, he has never completely overwhelmed Fang Xuanling. As a result, when he is old, the competition for the next generation is completely destroyed...
Changsun Huan saw his father frowning and sighing, and he was very curious. Such a depressed look was rare in Changsun Wuji, so he couldn't help but ask: "Why is father sighing?"
Changsun Wuji glanced at him, endured it, and finally did not say "I think my son is not as good as Fang Xuanling's son" to intensify the blow. He just said: "You are now the young minister of Honglu Temple."
, we should pay more attention to the situation of the countries in the Western Regions, and inquire about the situation in the Western Regions from the merchants and envoys of the Western Regions countries. My father always felt that under the tranquility in front of him in the Western Regions, there seemed to be some turbulent undercurrents brewing."
Changsun Huan was surprised: "Father, are you talking about the Arab?"
Changsun Wuji shook his head and said: "It would be better if they were just Arabs. What I am most afraid of is that the Western Turks, who were frightened by the Tang Dynasty, colluded with the Arabs and united with the countries in the Western Regions... If
In that case, I am afraid that the great situation established in the Western Regions at the expense of thousands of tigers will be ruined. As long as the Silk Road is completely blocked, it will be a huge blow to the taxation of the Tang Dynasty."
The existence of the Silk Road has always been equivalent to a river flowing with gold.
Throughout the dynasties, as long as the Silk Road could be opened up so that Eastern porcelain and silk could reach the far West, and Western gold, gems, and spices could also be transported to the East, the countries along its path would gather massive wealth.
Changsun Chong frowned and said: "Nowadays, the navy of the Tang Dynasty is roaming the oceans, and wherever they go, they are places where the commodities of the Tang Dynasty are sold. The profit of sea trade is more than double that of the land route? I am afraid that the taxes on the Silk Road trade will be higher than that of the Tang Dynasty."
The proportion of Tang’s overall taxation has been getting lower and lower, right?”
He saw with his own eyes the merchant ships escorted by the Royal Navy of the Tang Dynasty arriving in Goguryeo. The spectacular scene of the boats with their boats like clouds and their sails lined with rafts was mind-blowing.
Huge merchant ships were loaded with countless goods. Once they docked, they would be divided up by Goguryeo merchants and then sold to various parts of Goguryeo.
It is said that such prosperous scenes occurred in countless countries such as Southeast Asia and the East. If the Silk Road is a flowing golden river, then the various routes on the sea are endless and surging tides!
The scale of the two is completely different.
Just for the business jointly run by the Changsun family and several Jiangnan clans, the annual profits from sea trade can bring hundreds of times the wealth of land lease...
Under such circumstances, why not simply abandon the Silk Road, which requires huge manpower and material resources to maintain, and focus on maritime trade?
Just let those barbarians in the Western Regions fight for it. The entire Silk Road is given to them. Let's see what kind of waves they can make without the huge market of Datang...
Changsun Wuji sighed slightly and said: "Do you think that with the prosperity of maritime trade now, corresponding taxes can flow into the national treasury? You are too naive. The existence of the Shipping Department has indeed forced many hidden profits in the past to be discarded
On the table, this has greatly increased the empire's tax revenue, but in fact, the Shipping Department will never be able to truly and detailedly control the accounts of maritime trade. Corruption and concealment are still the norm."
He looked at Changsun Chong. Although he knew that his son still could not enter the official career, he was still a little disappointed with the sensitivity to the political situation that he showed at this moment.
"Did you know that Fang Jun has always been a staunch supporter of maintaining his rule in the Western Regions? Why is this?"
"..."
Changsun Chong was stunned for a moment, thought about it, and was quite puzzled.
The rise of sea trade was precisely because Fang Jun single-handedly created the Royal Navy, which wiped out pirates of all sizes in the East China Sea in one fell swoop. Navigation on the sea no longer suffered from pirates and plunder, and only needed to avoid natural disasters. This made
The profits from sea trade increased exponentially, causing the explosion of sea trade.
At the same time, he led the navy to forcibly lease ports in Annan, Japan and other places, delineated free trade areas, and used force to forcefully knock on the doors of various countries, allowing Datang products to flow into the area at extremely low tax rates.
, crazily grabbing profits.
It can be said that the prosperity of maritime trade in the Tang Dynasty was entirely due to Fang Jun.
However, while vigorously developing maritime trade, it still advocates maintaining control over the declining Silk Road. This is really surprising.
"My child is stupid and I hope my father will clarify my confusion."
Changsun Chong couldn't help but ask.
Changsun Wuji stroked his beard, feeling a little disappointed and a little discouraged. He sighed: "My son, think about it, where is the imperial capital of the Tang Dynasty?"
Changsun Chong suddenly realized it and blurted out: "That's it!"
Next to him, Changsun Huan looked confused. Even though he didn't want to admit it, he knew that his brother, who had to go into exile and felt like a bereaved dog, had wisdom and strategies that were not comparable to his own.
It’s inevitable to be depressed…
Changsun Chong said: "The imperial capital of the Tang Dynasty is Chang'an! Qinchuan, which is eight hundred miles away, is the backbone of the empire and the center of the country. If Guanzhong is stable, the world will be safe. Sea trade has brought huge wealth to the Tang Dynasty, but at the same time,
It also caused the wealth in the Jiangnan region to increase suddenly, even surpassing Guanzhong in one fell swoop. If one is allowed to wax and wane, it won't be long before Jiangnan will surpass Guanzhong and become the most important wealth place in the empire. It is top-heavy and is not a long-term solution.
?Therefore, not only must the Silk Road not be cut off, we must even intensify efforts to continuously develop the Western Regions, so as to ensure the status of Chang'an. Otherwise, if you want to maintain the stability of the government thirty or fifty years later, you will have to give up Chang'an.
, moved the capital to Jiangnan!"
When the capital of the empire is located in Guanzhong, but the center of wealth is far away in the south of the Yangtze River, the two are thousands of miles apart. Even the most powerful emperor will inevitably be out of reach. If things go on like this, the ambitions of the Jiangnan gentry will inevitably breed, and turmoil and division will only be imminent.
between.
Therefore, the more prosperous Jiangnan becomes, the more the empire must stabilize the western regions and keep the Silk Road open to ensure that Chang'an remains at the center of the empire.
Changsun Huan was very unhappy. After talking with his father and brother for a long time, he realized that Guanzhong and Jiangnan were actually involved in such competition with each other. Fang Jun had already seen through it all, and strongly advocated that the empire should continue to put pressure on the Western Regions and use troops. Could it be that
Is the gap between you and Fang Jun really that big?
He felt dissatisfied and couldn't help but said: "Sea trade was vigorously developed and advocated by Fang Jun. Could it be that he shot himself in the foot? This puts Guanzhong in a position where it will be overtaken by Jiangnan at any time. How can your Majesty do that?"
Don’t blame him?”
Changsun Wuji sighed in his heart, picked up the tea cup, and lost interest in talking.
This idiot...
However, Chang Sun Chong patiently explained: "I'm afraid my second brother still hasn't seen Fang Jun's strategy. Just imagine, if Jiangnan is allowed to surpass Guanzhong and become the core of the empire's wealth with the profits of sea trade, we Guanlong nobles will
Where to put it?"
Changsun Huan subconsciously said: "Of course one will wax and wane and the other will grow... Oh, that's how it is!"
Once Jiangnan rises and becomes the core of the empire's wealth, the Jiangnan nobles will surely rise with the tide, and instead, the Guanlong nobles will gradually decline.
How can the nobles of Guanlong sit back and wait for death?