What was originally just a casual act of dismissing the fourth prince has now become a serious matter for the court.
The fourth prince was very disappointed. As long as the court took it seriously, he would no longer be qualified or suitable to get involved. This feeling was very unpleasant. After all, he was the one who initiated Takumi's journey to the east, but now he was being ignored.
He could only feel unhappy in his heart, but he didn't dare to express it... Not only did his father know about his little tricks in the past, but it was also his first failure in Takumi.
Not only could they not express anything, but they did not dare to pay too much attention to asking how the imperial court was currently preparing for Tuohai.
The prince feels a bit sorry. The fourth brother has been going to Ciming Palace to pay his respects to the empress more and more frequently these days...
"Dad, once the imperial court's Tuohai affairs are ready, do we still need my fourth brother to take the lead?"
"Did you ask this yourself, or was someone asked you to ask?"
"Back to daddy, is it the child who wants to ask?"
The prince asking himself and someone provoking him to ask are two different concepts.
"Now it's not just Takumi's problem, it's the imperial court that is preparing a navy. Do you think your fourth brother can be in charge of the imperial navy?"
In order to avoid the situation of mortuary corpses and regardless of the situation, Zhao Xi, after confirming the crown prince, basically prevented other princes from taking charge of the main yamen of the court, let alone the military.
However, Zhao Xi does not restrict other princes from doing business, traveling around the country, or criticizing the government. Even the Gongfang City and the Martial Arts Hall are open to the princes.
Denying power does not mean that the princes should be mediocre and ignorant.
"Dad, I think whether the fourth brother is in charge of the navy or not has no impact on the country."
When the prince said this, Zhao Xi became a little interested and waved his hand casually, signaling the prince to continue talking.
"Dad, as for my second brother, the most important reason why five thousand people in Annan were able to conquer a territory and persist until now is that they relied on the new military equipment of the state to survive against the hundreds of thousands of Annan troops."
Although the prince's statement was a bit exaggerated, it was indeed true. Annan's hundreds of thousands of troops did not devote all their efforts to annihilating the second prince's team. In addition, the mountains and dense forests bordering Annan and the country were more suitable for small forces to fight.
The most important reason why the second prince was able to survive was that the country's border was open to the country. Allowing the second prince's team to enter and exit would avoid the possibility of being annihilated by the Annan army.
This is not because of any order from the imperial court, but because the local officials on Guangnan Road used it for certain purposes to speculate on the official's intentions.
On this issue, everyone from Zhao Xi to the cabinet, and even the entire court, has a vague attitude, just to make excuses on the issue of diplomatic relations.
"The fourth brother went east to explore the sea and failed for the first time, and the imperial court is about to improve the entire naval warfare equipment. This means that no matter who ends up taking charge of the navy of the imperial court, he will be dependent on the imperial court for survival just like the second brother."
"So, I think that after the navy is equipped with new firearms, whether it is under the control of the fourth brother, it will have little impact on the country. In the end, it will still rely on the support of the court, or on the workshop city, or even without the court.
It will be difficult to survive.”
During this time, Zhao Xi was really impressed by the prince.
Since the last communication after helping him get on the horse and giving him a ride, the prince gradually dared to express his opinions on government affairs.
"This is indeed the case, but rules are rules. Since I have ordered that the prince shall not be in charge of the imperial court, this cannot be changed."
"However, I don't want to take away Lao Si's idea of expanding the sea. The purpose of the imperial court's plan to build a navy is to escort maritime merchants, or to put territorial sea rights on the agenda."
"As for the fourth child's intention to invade Goryeo and Fusang, I will not stop him. The country is selecting navy soldiers and is also conducting standardized training... Well, I will give you a pardon to allow the fourth child to
Recruiting manpower and allowing limited use of the relevant regulations for imperial naval training..."
The preparation of the navy does not happen overnight. Even if it is established, the establishment of the navy will not be too large. And Zhao Xi does not expect the navy to make great achievements as soon as it is established. To a large extent, it is still inclined to escort. This will also allow the navy to be more capable.
It can be self-sufficient to a certain extent.
The combat capabilities and defense scope of the new navy are also limited. What the prince said makes sense, but he did not consider the risks once the fourth prince becomes powerful.
As for whether to incorporate Goryeo Fusang into the territory of the dynasty, Zhao Xi thinks it is too early. Zhao Xi will not think too high before regaining Yanyun and annihilating the Northern Liao Dynasty.
The road must be walked step by step, and the meal must be eaten one bite at a time. Whether the country will expand or not depends on the actual situation of the country, not only the military strength, but also the ideological trend of the entire country.
Communication is a necessary method to get things done, and many obstacles are caused by poor communication.
The cabinet's original debate on the issue of maritime merchants reached an agreement after Zhao Xi guided it. Wang Anshi still withheld the benefits from the maritime merchants.
After the cabinet's decision, the imperial edict of letting things go is implemented. However, as for the part of the goods that support the pirates to evade the country's tax, they will be paid at a rate of 30% of the country's domestic trade tax rate.
Although this is a mutual compromise, Zhao Xi is still satisfied with the result. Although the tax rates for domestic trade and shipping companies are different, some losses can be recovered to some extent.
When he saw the huge amount of barter by the maritime merchants, Zhao Xi actually regretted his so-called edict of letting things go by the wayside.
Wang Anshi is quite capable.
At this time, the Imperial City Division also obtained information about the distribution of forces in the Liuqiu area. Although it was obtained from the outside, it may not be detailed and accurate, but it was enough for the imperial court that was not prepared to treat pirates differently.
"People from the Qin Dynasty? Persians? Kunlun slaves? Koryo, Fusang, and Northern Liao forces are also in Liuqiu? Even those small countries in the south actually have forces in Liuqiu."
Zhao Xi had already read the report and was not as surprised as the cabinet, but a little disappointed.
The maritime transport of the Song Dynasty was so developed, or in other words, the maritime transport of this era was quite developed. According to the report of the Shipping Department, the navigation of the Song Dynasty could already reach the east coast of Africa.
In Zhao Xi's impression, Persia or Dashi seemed to be the first to use star-pulling techniques, and their navigation skills should have reached a certain level. There is even a saying that Quanzhou in the Song Dynasty rose because of Dashi or Persian navigators.
.
Dashi, Persia, should be the same thing in Zhao Xi's concept, but the customary names of the country and the dynasty are always different, and Zhao Xi doesn't even know what the difference is.
Zhao Xi originally thought that there should be some unexpected events or events during the voyage, but there were no records in the history books, accidents lost in the long history, such as the discovery of the New World.
If such an accident occurred, it would most likely have occurred among the pirates, rather than being recorded in the records of the Shipping Department.
It's a pity that from the report of the Imperial City Division, at least there is no mention of Indians within Liuqiu's sphere of influence...