Chapter 842 The prestige of the Prime Minister needs to be maintained
The prime minister needs to have prestige. Zhao Xi did not say these words in front of the cabinet ministers, but left Wang Anshi to explain clearly alone.
Zhao Xi's rhetoric is actually a covert change of concept.
However, for now, when there is no tariff statement and the concept of country is vague, it should still be convincing.
"Prince Wang, before the political peace, 30% of the country's tax burden came from shipping and related industries."
"The porcelain, silk, and tea produced by the imperial dynasty went overseas, which increased employment and benefited craftsmen in related industries."
"At the same time, when foreign goods enter the country and North Korea are traded, not only the country and North Korea have the income of the shipping company, but also all the due tax burdens..."
"To a certain extent, the contribution of maritime merchants to the court's tax revenue cannot be erased. However, the risks of maritime merchants are borne by them themselves. Even the safety of maritime navigation channels is solved by themselves."
"Under such circumstances, how could the imperial court collect the money that the maritime merchants paid to save their lives?"
Zhao Xi saw that Wang Anshi seemed to be moving, so he continued to talk nonsense to persuade him.
If this view were left to future generations, it would probably be scolded to death.
Because there is a saying in later generations called smuggling...
Wang Anshi always felt that the official's statement was a bit far-fetched, but he really couldn't find anything to refute. He could only stare at the official and listen to it.
"Prime Minister, I believe that the debate on this matter still needs cabinet coordination, and a unified opinion must be reported to me."
"I think that in the future, after the imperial court establishes a navy, maritime merchants will be responsible for the provision of the imperial navy, or charging a certain fee for naval escorts may be a way to compromise..."
"Of course, how to make such a model sound high-sounding and justifiable still requires Wang Xiang to think about it and submit it to me after reaching a consensus in the cabinet."
It's not that Zhao Xi is playing tricks, the cabinet debate, the prestige of the chief minister, and Wang Anshi's character, if there is no such a coordinated wording, this matter will be difficult to handle.
Of course, Zhao Xi would not be polite if he could properly plunder the money of maritime merchants.
Who made Wang Anshi like to do such a thing?
Zhao Xi himself said "let's forget the past", but a debate has already occurred in the cabinet about how to prevent Wang Anshi from losing face as the prime minister without violating the so-called golden words. Zhao Xi believes that Wang Anshi will solve it.
"Prime Minister, if you communicate with each other about everything, there will always be a solution..."
Zhao Xi no longer worries about how Wang Anshi communicates and how to unify opinions in the cabinet. It is a good thing for the cabinet to have disputes, and it is also a good thing for Wang Anshi to be inconsistent with other cabinets. Having such an experience can also help Wang Anshi change his personality to some extent.
Zhao Xi had already told Wang Anshi, both internally and externally, that the chief assistant's responsibility was not to rely on the king to solve all problems. The first assistant's responsibility was to unify and communicate with the cabinet, rather than relying on the king's authority to suppress it.
Zhao Xi is concerned about Gongfang City equipping artillery on sea ships.
Su Song led a group of people from Gongfang City who had been in Dengzhou for a long time, and had been traveling between Dengzhou and Gongfang City, constantly improving the technology of gunpowder bombs to ensure that they could be used normally in naval battles.
"Officials, it is difficult to solve the problem of gunpowder cartridge fuses in a short time. Especially for muskets, it is more difficult to improve the defects of the tunnel firing mechanism. As for artillery... it can be easily solved by blocking the fuse part."
"Veterans from the Privy Council, the Ministry of War and the Pavilion went to Dengzhou for inspection and unanimously agreed that the use of artillery should be able to play a role in naval battles. The key is for soldiers to adapt to fighting on sea ships, which requires training."
Su Song reported on the test of artillery equipment on sea ships in Dengzhou. It can be said that Gongfangcheng has tried its best, but it still cannot solve the problem of the fuse being extinguished when it encounters water.
I have tried using oil-paper leads, and I have also tried setting the leads into official cavities. Oil-paper leads are no different from ordinary hemp paper leads when exposed to water, but with official cavities, soldiers cannot judge the length of the lead, and cannot grasp the launch time and distance.
It doesn't matter whether the artillery is specially modified or not, as long as the soldiers cover the lead of the artillery during use, it can be completely solved.
Time was running out, Su Song, Shen Kuo and others had tried every means, but still couldn't solve it. Su Song had to tell the truth.
"Zirong, in fact, whether it is a naval battle or a land battle, the core issue is still the human issue, that is, the issue of the tactical literacy of the soldiers. Don't worry about it..."
Zhao Xi knew from the beginning that this problem could not be solved in this era. Over the years in Workshop City, the quantitative assembly of ammunition has been standardized, and the fuse ignition, launch and distance, including inclination and height, have also been standardized, which is similar to that of later generations.
There are also gunpowder shells for grenades.
However, steel technology has not made much progress. Not to mention working in water environments, long-term storage of muskets, even if they are packaged in oil paper, requires a large number of craftsmen to maintain the muskets.
Not to mention gunpowder ammunition, preservation and replacement are the biggest problems for new troops stationed everywhere today.
Zhao Xi didn't expect Workshop City to produce any stainless steel, it was simply impossible.
"Zirong, are you still familiar with Shi Li's habits?"
"I know that stone ester will not go out when ignited when exposed to water... The official family, I will arrange a test..."
Stone ester does not burn out when exposed to water, which means that in naval battles, stone ester should be more effective than gunpowder bombs.
"Stone ester has a wide range of uses. If you try the distillation method, there may be other derivatives. I hope you can get something from it."
Originally, Shen Kuo was supposed to be the first person in history to use petroleum derivatives. Unfortunately, he only used petroleum fumes to make ink. Zhao Xi's use of Shen Kuo caused Shen Kuo to deviate from his original trajectory. Without the experience of Yan Yan,
It is impossible for him to use his imagination to make ink from petroleum fumes.
However, it is difficult to say. When Workshop City began to study oil, many things could not be determined.
"Prince Wang, the Gongfang City side needs to make a fuss about the stone ester. The Privy Council and the Ministry of War should be almost ready to select soldiers. Select generals and start training the navy..."
"Navy training can try to use all the armaments of the country and the DPRK on sea ships. It is not only the original naval warfare combat method, but also the use of land warfare equipment, artillery, trebuchets, gunpowder launchers and various crossbows as much as possible.
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"In addition, in conjunction with the Capital Water Supervision, seagoing ships are equipped with various heavy equipment. The structure of the seagoing ship itself must be considered and reasonable arrangements must be made..."
Although Zhang Dun was eager to try, Zhao Xi still issued instructions to Wang Anshi. Some rules must be observed.
Zhao Xi has always believed that a king can have rights but cannot be without rules. Since Wang Anshi is the prime minister of the cabinet, no matter how stubborn his personality is, he is also the chief minister of the cabinet.
Because there are many former ministers in this cabinet and the cabinet ministers have different experiences, Wang Anshi does not have the absolute prestige in the cabinet that Fu Bi did at the beginning. Of course, this is also related to his character.
The more this is the case, the more Zhao Xi needs to maintain Wang Anshi's prestige as the chief assistant to a certain extent.