Great Song Super Scholar

Chapter 583 Vulnerability Reminder
In the afternoon, Fan Ning had another audience with Empress Dowager Cao.

Compared with last year, the relationship between Fan Ning and Queen Mother Cao has changed at this time.

Empress Dowager Cao is quite satisfied with Fan Ning, a niece and son-in-law who is courageous, courageous, and able to accomplish great things. Seeing that his term will expire in one year, Empress Dowager Cao is already considering Fan Ning's next arrangement.

When meeting Fan Ning, the emperor Zhao Xu was also present. Zhao Xu is also 19 years old. According to the usual practice, next year he will formally handle government affairs. Finally, it is time for him to show his strength. When seeing Fan Ning, Zhao Xu was very excited. His expression was already unbearable.

"My humble minister, Fan Ning, sees the Empress Dowager, and sees Your Majesty!" Fan Ning stepped forward and saluted respectfully.

"Fan Aiqing is dead!"

"Thank you Queen Mother!"

Fan Ning took out another report, which was his one-year work report. What he gave him in the morning at Zhizhengtang was the Southern Continent Exploration Record. Although the content of the investigation record was also reported in the work report, the meanings of the two were completely different.

"This is Wei Chen's work report from last year to this year. Please have a look at the Queen Mother and Your Majesty."

An eunuch came over and presented Fan Ning's work report to the Empress Dowager Cao. The Empress Dowager Cao flipped through the report, handed it to Zhao Xu, and said to Fan Ning slightly: "Fan Aiqing has made great contributions to the Song Dynasty's overseas development in the past few years. , and made a lot of sacrifices, I believe the court will not forget, seeing that there is only one year left for the term of office to expire, what plans does Fan Aiqing have for the last year of office?"

Fan Ning bowed and said: "In the last year of Weichen, I mainly wanted to establish a foundation in the southern continent. Indeed, it was the establishment of the first county, and I also got the support of Zhizhengtang. This is Weichen's overseas business strategy. The last step of the tenure is also the first step of the Southern Continent, and I want to do it well, so I will do it practically."

Empress Dowager Cao nodded, "Then the next economic envoy, have you considered who will take over?"

"The minister recommends Li Mu, the deputy envoy, to take over?"

Zhao Xu frowned slightly and said: "Li Mu is more than stable, but he seems to be lacking in pioneering. In my memory, he has only been to Luzon Mansion and Ryukyu Mansion overseas, and he has never been to other places. He will take over the overseas office. Is it a bit inappropriate to be an envoy? I think it is more suitable for him to serve as an internal staff, but he is a little bit worse as an envoy."

Fan Ning calmly smiled and said, "Your Majesty, Li Mu's seldom going to sea is the request of this official. The two of us can't both travel overseas. In fact, these few years, this official has basically ignored The affairs of the Jinglue Mansion were all handed over to Li Mu. He was in Quanzhou to ensure the delivery of a large number of personnel and materials, and the normal operation of the Jinglue Mansion. This is also the embodiment of his success as a deputy envoy. If As an envoy, I believe he will adapt quickly and go to sea frequently, and the overseas strategic envoy should focus on economic strategy. We have almost done the pioneering work, and the remaining thing is to develop and grow. It is the main duty of the Economic and Strategic Envoy, and Li Mu was recommended by Li Mu because he has a strong sense of responsibility and coordination ability, is familiar with overseas situations, and can better adapt to the affairs of the Economic and Strategic Mansion in the later stage."

Zhao Xu nodded, "Aiqing is right, next year I will observe Li Mu carefully."

Empress Dowager Cao glanced at Zhao Xu, but said nothing, and then said to Fan Ning, "What does Fan Aiqing want to do in the future?"

Fan Ning pondered for a while and asked, "Queen Mother, how is the situation in the north?"

Empress Dowager Cao immediately understood that Fan Ning was interested in the north. She had heard from the late emperor that Fan Ning's main purpose of developing Kunzhou was not only to establish a horse breeding base for Song Dynasty, but also to build a horse breeding base for Song Dynasty. Attack the sea base of the Liao Kingdom.

She nodded, Aijia understands Aiqing's wish, and Aijia will consider it carefully.

"Thank you Empress Dowager and Your Majesty for fulfillment!"

The Empress Dowager Cao was a little tired, and then she went back to the palace. Only Fan Ning and Zhao Xu were left in the hall. Zhao Xu then invited Fan Ning to his study. It's too comfortable, there are some things he doesn't want the Queen Mother to know too much.

It has been more than a year since his mother passed away, and Zhao Xu has obviously matured. He is not wary of Fan Ning because he married the daughter of the Cao family. He knows very well that Fan Ning can't be controlled by anyone, including the emperor Queen Mother.

In the study, Zhao Xu asked Fan Ning to sit down, and ordered the maid to serve tea. He was very interested in the New World, and while reading Fan Ning's report, he asked about various situations.

"Why did Fan Aiqing put the early stage management of the Southern Continent in the southeast of the mainland, wouldn't it be farther away from the Song Dynasty? Why not put it in the north."

Looking at the northernmost peninsula on the map of the Southern Continent, Zhao Xu felt a little strange. It is close to Nanyang and only separated by a strait. Why not build a county here, but run to the farther south to build a county?

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I mainly consider the climate and terrain. The climate in the north is dry and hot, with little precipitation, and it is difficult for people to adapt. Moreover, the sea is full of coral reefs, which stretch at least thousands of miles, which is extremely unfavorable to shipping. Secondly, the soil quality is not good. Well, not good for farming.

Although the Dingnan River Estuary where we landed for the first time is very good, the climate is still a little bit worse, but we must be familiar with it, so Weichen put the first county there, and the second county is several hundred miles to the south. , where the climate is cooler, the precipitation is also abundant, and the soil will be better, which is more suitable for immigrants to survive. "

Zhao Xu nodded, "You mean the Southern Continent is still hot?"

"Exactly, everyone knows that the hottest place is the Nanyang region. The further north or south you go, the cooler the climate will be, and the more suitable for people to live in. Our Lingnan region is also very hot. It is best to go to the south of the Yangtze River. , moderate heat and cold, people do not feel uncomfortable, but also conducive to the growth of crops, and Dingnan River Estuary is equivalent to Fujian Road, which is the area of ​​Quanzhou and Fuzhou, and thousands of miles south, it is equivalent to our Jiangnan area."

Fan Ning further explained with a smile: "July and August are our summer, but it is winter in the Southern Continent. Their seasons are exactly opposite to ours."

Zhao Xu asked with interest: "This is the first time I've heard of it, what's the reason?"

"This should be related to the distance of the sun. Simply put, the cathode is yang, the anode is yin, and the coexistence of yin and yang is natural."

Although he still doesn't understand it very well, Zhao Xu doesn't want to make a fuss about it.

He was silent for a moment and said, "Do you think there will be a battle between Song and Liao in the next few years?"

After Fan Ning knew that he had expressed to the Queen Mother that he would pay more attention to the north, Zhao Xu was also touched.

Fan Ning smiled slightly, "Your Majesty should understand the situation in the north better than my minister!"

Zhao Xu nodded, "Last year, the Liao Kingdom asked us to abandon Jingzhou, and we agreed to this condition. Later, they asked us to withdraw our troops from Kunzhou. Zhizhengtang took the overall situation into consideration and withdrew the army to Akita. As a result, they intensified their efforts this year. Last month, they requested to amend the Tanyuan Covenant, changing the silver 10 taels and 20 pieces of silk for the year-old coins into one million taels of silver and 200 million pieces of silk, or 30 taels of gold, a tenfold increase. The court flatly refused. , the envoy of the Liao Kingdom threatened that if the revision is not accepted, the covenant will also be voided, obviously threatening Song with war."

"And then?" Fanning asked again, "Is there any movement on the border?"

"This is the strange thing. Not long after the Liao envoy returned, the [-] Liao troops stationed at the border of Bazhou, but they suddenly withdrew soon after. The reason is unknown."

Fan Ning pondered for a moment, then asked again: "Is there any movement from the Xixia Army?"

The reason why Fan Ning asked the Xixia Army was because Xixia has always cooperated with the strategy of the Liao State, and sometimes the situation of the Liao State can be seen from the Xixia Army.

Zhao Xu shook his head, "There is no movement from the Xixia Army."

Fan Ning thought for a while and said, "Weichen reckons that the Liao Kingdom is just trying to test it out, and they probably aren't ready yet. However, the growing strength of the Song Dynasty has indeed changed the strategic balance between Song and Liao. Sooner or later, there will be a battle between Song and Liao."

After a pause, Fan Ning said again: "I have always been worried that the Liao Congress is also developing warships. It stands to reason that since they know Kunzhou and the threat Jingzhou poses to them, they cannot remain indifferent. Would it be suspicious to deploy troops on the front line of Yanshan Mansion? To attract our attention to Yanshan Mansion."

Zhao Xu frowned, "You mean, the Liao Kingdom is probably building ships?"

"I'm just guessing. In fact, before the Bohai Kingdom was destroyed by the Liao Kingdom, its shipbuilding capabilities were not weak. It once sent a fleet to visit Japan, but the Liao Kingdom did not pay attention to navigation, and the shipbuilding capabilities of the Bohai Kingdom disappeared. But if Liao The country has begun to attach importance to navigation, and the goal must be to point to Kunzhou, Your Majesty, we have to be on our guard against this."

Zhao Xu took a deep breath, it seemed that no one in the civil and military circles had thought of this, and it was really possible.

"I will pay attention to this matter, thank you Aiqing for reminding me!"

Fan Ning bowed and said: "If the court needs it, I am willing to serve the court at any time!"

Zhao Xu said with a smile: "I also expect Aiqing to play a greater role!"

(End of this chapter)