Great Tang Southern Emperor

"I'm going to visit Lingnan myself."

The middle-aged man showed a smile. Seeing everyone's puzzled faces, he explained with a smile: "Isn't it always rumored among the people that Li Zhen is the God of Wealth, and that wherever he goes, he will prosper? Now Lingnan is his territory. I believe that whether it is for For the development of his own power, or to protect the name of the God of Wealth, or for his own ideals, Li Zhen will do a big job in Lingnan-and this is our opportunity.

Because doing a big job means that there will be many, many opportunities. Nowadays, many dignitaries and wealthy families in Datang have followed in Li Zhen's footsteps, and we can't fall behind for too long—since the wealthy families can follow Li Zhen's drinking Soup, why can't we?

Although we have obtained the treasure of our grandfather, our money is still too little compared to the great project of restoring the country.I am going to go to Lingnan to inspect it myself. If it is feasible, I am also planning to form a fleet and follow Li Zhen's footsteps to do business. On the one hand, I want to make money. Zhen interior. "

Speaking of this, the middle-aged man saw that everyone was a little depressed, and knew that his truth might hurt everyone's confidence, so he quickly said: "Why do you all look like this? What's wrong with the time? As long as we persevere, we will succeed in the end , the Li family's country is ours after all. What's more, our actions this time are not fruitless, at least, in the hearts of the people, we have already planted a thorn in Li Zhen."

According to the meaning of this middle-aged man, he is the grandson of Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty, but he is not sure which branch he belongs to, but no matter which branch he is, their purpose is the same, that is to overthrow the Dalai Lama. Tang, rebuild the Sui Dynasty.

"Your Highness is wise, it's because your subordinates are thinking too much." The faces of everyone looked a little better now.

At this time, the people were already panicking because of the news of Li Zhen's rebellion. After all, this is a major matter that concerns themselves. If the court does not respond properly, it may be another big war. Not long after leaving, the price of goods in Chang'an City quietly rose to a higher level—especially food and other materials related to people's livelihood, the price more than doubled.

At this time, "Datang Daily" and many other newspapers stepped forward to refute the rumors.

"It's been less than a month since His Royal Highness King Yue came back from Nanyang, and the troops are still in Nanyang. He didn't bring any soldiers with him when he came back. Where did the troops rebel?"

"Everyone, don't be fooled. The newspaper you read before was just a conspiracy by some people with ulterior motives. While discrediting His Highness King Yue, they were also wreaking havoc in Chang'an City."

"All these are rumors. His Highness the King of Yue has never issued a so-called edict, let alone rebelled."

"..."

After various explanations from court newspapers, the common people finally understood that everything was caused by the enemies of the Tang Dynasty, and His Royal Highness Yue Wang did nothing at all.

But just like what the middle-aged man said, this incident left a thorn in the hearts of the common people—yes, the rebellion of King Yue this time was indeed a rumor.But King Yue has so many territories and holds a lot of power. What if he really rebelled one day?You must know that he is backed by the whole of Lingnan and Nanyang. If it really develops, the potential for war is great, and it is very likely that it will be evened with the imperial court. A protracted war will definitely lead to loss of life. The people are in dire straits.

As a result, some strange voices gradually appeared among the people.

"People's hearts are unpredictable. Who knows if the rumors this time will become true next time?"

"It's better for King Yue to return to Chang'an. Anyway, no one is competing with him for the crown prince. Why do you have to be outside?"

"The king of Yue should have come back to defend himself after such a big incident happened in Chang'an City, but now there is no news at all. It can be seen that he may not have the idea of ​​treason in his heart."

"..."

Of course, most of this kind of public opinion is secretly promoted by people with good intentions, but it has to be said that this has indeed aroused the worries of some people-after all, if you don’t shoot [-], you are afraid of what happens, what if King Yue really swells up? ?

Chapter 556

Chapter 21 Taifu, King of Yue, Changsun Wuji

However, Li Shimin doesn't care about some people's tricks. He is currently interviewing Wei Zheng.

"What's the matter? Did the other party show his feet?"

"The other party is much more cunning than I imagined. After seeing our move, he immediately withdrew his claws and acted very decisively." Wei Zheng shook his head and said, "Originally, we found out the newspapers they printed by following clues. But we went one step late, the place was already empty, and even the printing equipment was neatly packed, looking calm...Your Majesty, this is for us to see, this is for us Silent ridicule, Your Majesty, we must get this place back."

"Of course this matter can't be ignored, but you don't need to worry about it. You should be in charge of the newspaper. I will arrange someone to investigate this matter." Li Shimin took a sip of tea slowly: "However, now Some folk rumors make me a little uncomfortable, do you have any ideas?"

Wei Zheng naturally knew what Li Shimin was talking about, and heard the words: "I... do have some ideas. I feel that the public opinion is hard to violate, but the king of Yue can't let him come back at this time, so what I mean is... we How about sending another important official to Lingnan? On the one hand, it is to appease the worries of the people. On the other hand, Nanyang is the territory we have just conquered. King Yue... What I mean by this minister is that if there is an experienced and prudent minister to assist me, the next work may be smoother."

"Hmm..." Li Shimin tapped his fingers on the table lightly, thinking about Wei Zheng's words in his heart.

To be honest, Li Zhen is becoming more and more powerful now. Although Li Shimin still believes in him very much, it is possible to say that he is not worried about Li Zhen in his heart.

This is not to say that Li Shimin became suspicious of Li Zhen, but this is the quality that a qualified king should have—that is, to reasonably doubt anyone, no matter who the person is, even if it is your own son, you must never Trust him completely.

And this is what Wei Zheng wanted to express—you can pamper your son, but as a subject, I must remind you that your son is getting bigger and bigger, it's time to put a shackle on him, otherwise you really have to Let him go wild and you won't be able to hold him back.

What's more, Li Zhen's current power is indeed too great. If there is no confidant to look over, not only the common people will talk about it, but even some ministers will not feel at ease.

Therefore, Li Zhen had to be restricted a bit in terms of emotion and reason. After thinking about it, Li Shimin raised his head and asked, "Then what Xuan Cheng means is, who is more appropriate to send?"

"What does your majesty think of Wei Guogong?" Wei Zheng suggested: "The pharmacist is the number one god of war in the Tang Dynasty. Helping the King of Yue govern Nanyang, and because of the friendship between the two, His Royal Highness the King of Yue will not have any grudges."

"The pharmacist is indeed a good candidate." Li Shimin nodded in agreement at first, but then shook his head and said, "But the pharmacist can't move lightly. He does seem to be at home now, but he has always maintained a deterrent to the northern countries. Attitude, it is because of his presence that the Goguryeo, Silla, Baekje and other countries in the north dare not act rashly, and if he is sent to Nanyang at this time, there is no guarantee that the northern countries will not have a different heart."

"Your majesty is wise, but I have taken it for granted." Wei Zheng bowed and said, "Then I don't know which of your colleagues in the court is more suitable for this important task?"

"The candidate..." Li Shimin's mouth suddenly turned into a smile: "What do you think of the auxiliary machine?"

"Auxiliary machine?" Wei Zheng said in surprise: "Your Majesty, I am naturally assured of the ability of the auxiliary machine, but the auxiliary machine and His Royal Highness the King of Yue, he... uh... have different political views, you should know that if the two of them meet together If so... I'm afraid it will..."

"It doesn't matter, I know the character of the auxiliary machine very well. Although it is a bit more power-hungry, I still know the importance of it, and I won't do it deliberately because of political differences." Li Shimin's mouth curled into an inexplicable smile, recalling In the past two days, Changsun Wuji's performance has obviously changed... He probably planned to compromise, and that's good.To be honest, Li Shimin really didn't want to see Li Zhen and Changsun Wuji fighting each other. After all, one was his own son and the other was his brother-in-law. No matter who overturned the car, he didn't want to see it.He was even more unwilling to let Li Zhen inherit the throne in the future, so he asked Changsun Wuji to trouble him.

Well now, Changsun Wuji has compromised. If he is sent to Li Zhen at this time, the relationship between the two parties is likely to be eased. Even if Li Zhen inherits the throne in the future, he will not use Changsun Wuji as a knife, maybe it will be serious. Reward him—after all, Changsun Wuji was his playmate since childhood, and married his younger sister to him. As long as Changsun Wuji doesn't behave too much, Li Shimin still doesn't want to see Changsun Wuji being beaten by Li Zhen. Damn it.

"Yes, I'm overthinking it." Wei Zheng said with a sneer. He also noticed the state of Changsun Wuji these days, and it can be said that he completely fell to Li Zhen's side. Although Li Zhen still didn't want to see him, he didn't. Give him a face, after all, Changsun Wuji is also a powerful person, and he has a very high weight in the court. Although he doesn't like it, he won't offend him.

"Then appoint the auxiliary machine as the King of Yue Taifu and the Order of the Kingdom of Yue to assist the King of Yue and govern Lingnan." Li Shimin gave the order with a smile.Although Yue Wang Ling is only a small official from the seventh rank, he is completely unworthy of Changsun Wuji, but Yue Wanglin is in charge of the general secretary of the state, which means that with this position, he is basically qualified for all matters of Yuezhou. Putting a hand in, especially Changsun Wuji and the position of Taifu, the Taifu has the right to supervise the prince. With this status, Changsun Wuji can surpass Li Zhen. When the two are combined, they are actually with a prince. The real power governor is almost there.

"By the way, I have one more thing here, about you, Aiqing." Li Shimin suddenly remembered something: "Nanyang has just been occupied. It may not be enough to find a sufficient number of officials. It just so happens that your Shuyu is not young this year and has no suitable errands. I am going to let him go to Nanyang for training. I wonder what you mean, Xuan Cheng?"

"I thank the emperor for his kindness." Wei Zheng immediately knelt down excitedly: "It's a dog's honor to be valued by the emperor, and I have no objection."

Chapter 557

Chapter 22 Tier III Sail Battleship

In fact, Wei Zheng was also a little depressed. At that time, Li Zhen had just been appointed General of Tiance, and Li Shimin had packed many sons of princes and nobles in Tiance's mansion, in order to increase Li Zhen's influence and change some people's attitudes towards him.

However, what is regrettable is that, whether Li Shimin forgot or for some other reason, Wei Zheng's son was missing among these people, which made Wei Zheng uneasy for a long time.

Not only because he felt that he was no longer trusted by Li Shimin, but more importantly, when Li Zhen was in Chang'an, Wei Shuyu and Li Zhen were just casual acquaintances and did not have a good relationship.

This was not a problem at the time. After all, it was to avoid suspicion. Not only Wei Shuyu, but also the descendants of Li Jing and Li Ji were not very close to Li Zhen at that time.But with Li Zhen being established as Tiance Admiral, it is almost certain that he will be crowned prince next time. Now things will be troublesome. Once Li Zhen succeeds to the throne in the future, the Wei family will almost be pushed to the edge.

It's not unreasonable for Wei Zheng to think so.First of all, Wei Shuyu and Li Zhen are not close friends; secondly, Wei Shuyu did not help Li Zhen much before he succeeded to the throne; thirdly, Wei Shuyu himself is only a mediocre talent, and he does not have much ability—— Then why do people reuse you?If they are not reused by the king, the Wei family will definitely be marginalized, so how can the glory of the Wei family be passed on?

Therefore, Wei Zheng was quite nervous during that period of time. It just so happened that you couldn't recommend yourself for such a thing, which made him depressed.

Now it's all right, it's finally my turn, and the matter has finally been resolved, the crux of Wei Zheng's pent-up heart has finally been resolved.Although Wei Shuyu didn't enter Yuewang Mansion or Tiance Mansion, but he was working under Li Zhen's command, so he can be regarded as his subordinate. After completing a few tasks in the future, it is no problem to enter Li Zhen's eyes. As for whether he can earn glory and wealth in the future , then it depends on his own ability.

"That's it, you step back."

"My minister retire."

Li Zhen, who is far away in the south of the Lingnan, still doesn't know about the turmoil in Chang'an City, let alone that Li Shimin has cast a spell on him. He is currently visiting the shipyard with great interest.

He was very happy today, because just today, Datang Yuezhou Shipyard finally produced an epoch-making thing—a three-tier sailing battleship.

Class III sail battleship, two to three gun decks (mostly two floors), 64~80 guns, 490~720 people, displacement 1300-1800 tons, this class of warship was the most perfect firepower, speed, and cost at that time Combinations are generally used as the main battleships in the fleet, and they are the intermediate force in the battle line.

Tier [-] battleships may be far inferior to Tier [-] battleships in terms of displacement and gunfire intensity, but in terms of cost performance, they are the highest Tier [-] battleships, and they were also among the main battleships that were manufactured the most at that time, and most of them were flagships with Tier [-] battleships In comparison, Tier [-] battleships are the backbone of naval warfare.