Princess Consort of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 367 Overseas expansion
Shen Sanwen was very tired of the matter of the two brothers Shen Yi.

In this day and age, if you don't have power in your hands, you will be controlled by others everywhere, and your life may not be guaranteed. If you have power in your hands, it is inevitable that brothers and grandchildren will fight for power and even kill each other. He doesn't want to see any of them.

He took the time to go to see Wu Zetian who was raising soldiers in Shangyang Palace, and chatted with her about these things.

Wu Zetian canceled that he can't see through these trivial matters, he is not suitable for being in the officialdom, he should be a leisure king in a peaceful and prosperous age.

Shen Sanwen smiled and said that if the princess doesn't want to be the emperor anymore, they will travel around the country together, see the beautiful scenery, eat delicious food, and they will be at ease.

The Empress, who had a heart-to-heart with him, heard these words in Wu Zetian's palace.

She also has a lot of beautiful scenery that she wants to see, but it is not in Datang.

She once heard Shen Sanwen talk about the division of the world, seven continents and eight oceans, a vast territory, and the Great Tang is just one of them, maybe the Great Tang can conquer other places.

The princess asked Shen Sanwen for a map, and Shen Sanwen enthusiastically told the princess about the composition of the world and the products of the seven continents.Sea or land, which is the closest route.

Cui Xuan was very worried when he saw this incident when he was working.

No one likes war, but no one can resist the great benefits that war can bring.It's just that Shen San asked whether these places really existed?
The princess ordered people to build a large ship according to what Shen Sanwen said. After Shen Sanwen knew about it, he decided to personally supervise the manufacture of a new type of warship. After the ship was completed, he went to see the land and sea scenery of this era.

After Li He entered the court, relying on his status as the orthodox crown prince, he came and went with Cui Xuandou, winning and losing.

In addition to the power of the Empress, Li He from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Punishment gradually took the lead, and Cui Xuan from the Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of Households was already able to compete with the Empress.

Shen Yi was a mercenary who respected himself, was provoked by many Turkic forces, and was despised by Tang officials, so he gradually developed the idea of ​​becoming a king on his own.But the Turkic land is not good, and he is also seeking a solution.

News came from the capital that the empress and Shen Sanwen intended to open up overseas lands, and Shen Yi was also very concerned about this matter.

If you can have additional spices and food supplies overseas, you can advance, attack, retreat, and defend.

Shen Yi heard from Zhang Yang earlier that many places overseas are still unoccupied lands, as long as the shipbuilding technology is good enough to withstand the storms of the ocean, he can take it for himself.If he is really a place with rich products, it is not impossible for him to lead the Turkic people and some Tang people to emigrate, and he can avoid conflicts with his younger brother.

Due to historical disputes with Goryeo and Baekje in the east, the Wa Kingdom devoted itself to studying the culture of the Tang Dynasty and the Zhou Dynasty, and its shipbuilding technology was relatively developed. Shen Yi sent people to secretly capture and send Tang envoys, and also started shipbuilding.

Shen Sanwen, who was aware of this matter, also passed on a copy of the information and achievements of shipbuilding technology to Shen Yi.

Shen Yi knew that Shen Sanwen's heart was slightly touched, but he had other responsibilities on his shoulders, and he had no time to take care of them.

Li He and Cui Xuan broke out new conflicts over agricultural policies. Cui Xuan, who tended to improve the status of merchants and integrate workers and peasants, and Li He, who advocated that merchants should pay taxes as soon as possible to reduce the burden on agriculture, disagreed, and neither could convince the other.

The two carry out their own policies where they can manipulate.

Cui Xuan was furious at Li He's blocking, and Li He wished he could kill Cui Xuan soon.

The empress allowed their respective actions and waited for the ending.

The shipbuilding business has a clear goal, and Shen Sanwen made favorable suggestions on adhesives and splicing technology and waterproof technology, and it went smoothly.

Three months later, ships capable of carrying large numbers of men and weapons were completed.

The ship was tested on the southern coast and was successful for the first time.

Shen Yi also knew that if he went straight to the west, he could reach a brand new big state, and to the north, it was a land covered with ice and snow. He copied the same large sailboat in the north, and planned to send people to travel far away after success.

The empress summoned a large number of manpower and began sailing westward.

Cui Xuan found Shen Sanwen and explained to him how powerful it was, and asked about the possible consequences of this.

Shen Sanwen was worried that the internally selected scholars would be too black-hearted and black slaves would happen again, so he proposed that Shen Yi and Li He each send some trustworthy black people to watch over them.

Three groups of people boarded the ship with their own thoughts.

After five months of voyage, in a time of despair and sadness for all, after the ship survived a storm and many sea monster attacks, a third of the survivors arrived in South America.

The coastline stretches as far as the eye can see, and the island is densely forested. Everyone seems to be born again.

After disembarking and fighting the local savages, they officially claim their territory.

The people sent by Shen Yi were almost crazy with joy when they learned that the leader's plan could be carried out, which made Li He and Cui Xuan's people notice something strange, and a group of people almost started fighting.

Not long after a few people traveled around the island, the boat was filled with local specialties, and each piece could be transported back and sold for a high price.

Wait until the current changes and the wind direction is suitable for the return trip.

A group of people embarked on their way home with hope.

The three parties had known for a long time that this trip would take a year and a half, but they did not expect that they would come back after a year of waiting.

Except for a small amount of specialty spices left by everyone, all the goods were transported to Luoyang.

Shen San asked to see the high-yielding crops of potatoes and corn they brought back.

In this way, the manpower required for agriculture will be greatly reduced, but on the contrary, everyone will have more and more food.

Shen Sanwen, who planned to share this good news with the Empress, happened to hear the discussion between the Empress and Cui Xuan, Li He, how to firmly control these places in Datang's hands and become a part of Datang.

Today's communication technology is not good, and the overseas enclaves are too far away, which is not conducive to ruling, Shen Sanwen immediately objected.

But the empress and the other three agreed that it was an excellent choice to raise the mainland outside of the country, and overseas expansion was imperative.

At the same time, Shen Yi also received a reply from his subordinates, that the overseas land is comparable to the most fertile place in the Great Zhou, with dense forests and various species.

It’s just calculation that solves the problem of navigation, and the ship is also a dangerous place. Now that you know the direction, you need to be full of energy and have good physical fitness to get through.

Several groups of people are hesitating how to advance.

The Empress is indeed also worried about the selection of candidates. All kinds of operations in the enclave are equivalent to becoming a king on her own. After taking charge of a place far away from the Tang Dynasty, she may not be able to abide by the order as it is now.

Unable to change other people's minds, Shen Sanwen decided to do a good job in local planting and strive to liberate the people from the land.

With many doubts, Shen Yi returned to Beijing to meet Shen Sanwen, asking for more knowledge about navigation and local operations.

Shen San asked what Shen Yi meant, and was worried that he would conflict with Li He or the empress because of this.

While talking, Li He came and Shen Yi hid.

Li He said that he couldn't rest assured that anyone would be king in Xindi, if he could hope to send Li's clan members there, he would count himself as king, and he would also be a brother of Datang in the future.

In fact, it implies that Shen Yi should go, so that everyone can rest assured at the beginning.

(End of this chapter)