Doctor of the Great Song Dynasty: In the beginning, Li Qingzhao and Li Qingzhao made a private decis

"Tong Guan has returned from his voyage to the West!"

Before Tong Guan returned, the news had already spread throughout Kaifeng City. What's more, the first batch of Western treasures had appeared on the market in Kaifeng, arousing the pursuit of Kaifeng's powerful people.

Not to mention the six million pounds of goods brought back from the voyage to the West, which amazed countless people.

"Six million strings!"

All the people in Kaifeng couldn't help but be shocked and marveled at the huge profits of the Maritime Silk Road.

"Six million guan is nothing. The next voyage to the Western Ocean will be followed by more ships, probably more than tens of millions of guan."

"It's not surprising that Tong Guan brought back so much money. What interests me is that Tong Guan also captured a Western king."

A group of Kaifeng citizens gossiped.

"What, captured the King of the West!"

As soon as this statement came out, Kaifeng City was in an uproar.

Although there were King Qingtang and Duan Zhengchun, King of Dali, in Kaifeng City, Zhao Xu personally ordered the troops to attack them, while Tong Guan was just a eunuch who went to the West to promote the country's prestige and open up the Maritime Silk Road. He actually captured one of the opponent's kings.

"I heard that this king was motivated by wealth. When he saw the millions of dollars in Tong Guan's merchant ship, he became greedy and wanted to seize the ship to make money. As a result, Tong Guan noticed him, broke into his country, and escorted the king back. To the Song Dynasty." A scholar clicked his tongue.

"He deserves to be arrested. He dares to steal the wealth of the Song Dynasty! It is simply an unpardonable crime."

"Fortunately, Fan Taicheng was wise and had foreseen this situation a long time ago, so he asked Tong Guan to lead the Song Dynasty navy to the West. If it were an ordinary Song Dynasty merchant ship, wouldn't it be a disaster, the money would be robbed, and the life would probably be lost."

………………

One by one, Kaifeng citizens were filled with indignation.

After successive great victories in the Song Dynasty, the people of the Song Dynasty had long been proud and erect, and their backbones had long been straightened. Today, the Song Dynasty is not even afraid of the Liao Kingdom, even a small Western country.

"I am guilty of destroying the country without permission from Wang Zhao!"

In the Chui Gong Hall, Tong Guan respectfully apologized.

At this moment, Tong Guan felt uneasy. Although there was a reason for the incident, he was a eunuch after all, and it was a bit too much to escort a king back.

The other ministers also frowned. It was okay for Tong Guan to lead the soldiers to fight against the small Western countries. However, it was inappropriate to take the initiative to escort the king of a country back. After all, the scholar-bureaucrats of the Song Dynasty were strong and adhered to the principle of king as minister. The king of Nanyang After all, you are also you!

Not to mention, Tong Guan was a eunuch, and his identity was even more sensitive. In addition, Tong Guan was now in the limelight due to his voyages to the West. Many scholar-officials did not like Tong Guan and wrote letters to impeach Tong Guan.

"The purpose of Eunuch Tong's trip is to promote the prestige of the Song Dynasty, and secondly to escort the country. The small barbarian country in Nanyang is not civilized. Although it has offended, it can only be taught a lesson, but how can it be possible to capture the king back? This makes the Nanyang countries How does the country view our country, the Song Dynasty?"

"Tong Guan is a eunuch. It is a taboo for eunuchs to have the power to imprison the emperor. Tong Guan acted so boldly and should be severely punished."

"I sincerely request that Tong Guan be removed from his post as a soldier on his voyage to the West, and that someone be replaced by someone who is loyal to the emperor and patriotic."

..............................

Many scholar-bureaucrats have impeached Tong Guan. Now that the benefits of going to the West are too huge, Tong Guan's position is too conspicuous, which naturally arouses everyone's jealousy.

Tong Guan's expression suddenly changed. He did not expect that he would be besieged by the court.

If he had not been afraid before, however, he had been wandering overseas for these years and was somewhat alienated from the official family. Not to mention that if he secretly captured the Western King, he might have violated the official's taboo. This time, he might not be able to escape.

At this moment, Fan Zheng stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, I believe that Eunuch Tong not only has no fault, but has made meritorious deeds."

"Oh! What do you mean by this?" Zhao Xu asked calmly when he saw Fan Zheng's words.

The other ministers also frowned. Tong Guan's move violated the taboos of the emperor and scholar-bureaucrats. In addition, Tong Guan had been alone overseas for these years and needed to be beaten. However, Fan Zheng actually defended Tong Guan in public. This made Tong Guan All the scholar-bureaucrats were very dissatisfied.

Fan Zheng solemnly said: "This small country is called Ceylon. It is a small island country, and it is also a foreign country. It does not understand etiquette and fears power but not virtue. If it is not severely punished, other countries will follow suit in the future. Eunuch Tong brought the culprit back to the country and handed it over to the officials for trial. On the one hand, it can frighten the Western countries, and on the other hand, it is a reflection of his loyalty to the emperor."

Zhao Xu suddenly fell into deep thought.

Seeing this, Tong Guan quickly took the opportunity to argue: "The officials have learned that the ministers shoulder the important task of promoting the prestige of the Song Dynasty. If they are cowed by the small country of Ceylon, wouldn't it be a loss of face for the officials? However, after all, the King of Ceylon is Sir, I don’t dare to make decisions privately, so I will capture him and let the officials handle it.”

Zhao Xu's expression softened slightly. What Tong Guan followed was the emperor's etiquette for visiting various countries, which represented the majesty of the Song Dynasty. If the Ceylon country dared to offend, it would naturally be severely punished.

"We, the Song Dynasty, are a country of etiquette. You, Tong Guan, wantonly destroyed the country and captured its king, especially the right way to promote the country's prestige. Wei Chen believes that although there is a reason for this, Tong Guan is also responsible, and I sincerely ask the officials to choose another good person. I just went to the Western Ocean." Yang Wei said proudly.

Fan Zheng sneered and said: "Master Yang is too naive. What Tong Guan leads is worth millions of property. Not to mention the small country of Ceylon, I am afraid that even the powerful Bagan dynasty will not be tempted. Now If the matter is not punished severely, this will not be the first attack on the Shenzhou. From a humble perspective, Tong Guan has merit and fault."

Tong Guan looked at Fan Zheng and suddenly felt like a confidant. He also knew that his behavior would be controversial at the beginning, but he understood that he was alone overseas. If he could not take a tough stance, he would have endless troubles in the future.

He traveled through various countries and saw countless greedy eyes staring at Song Shenzhou.

Zhao Xu nodded solemnly. The Song Dynasty had now won consecutive victories. He had already developed arrogance and did not have much reaction to destroying Ceylon. After all, Ceylon was only a small island country. Compared to the Great Song Dynasty, Song's enemy, Liao Xia, is not worth mentioning at all. The so-called king is probably not much better than the chiefs of the thirty-six tribes in eastern Yunnan.

All the ministers immediately looked at Fan Zheng unkindly. This was a great opportunity for them to intervene in the Western voyages, but now they were disturbed by Fan Zheng.

"Secondly, there is another important reason why Fan thinks that Eunuch Tong has merits and demerits, and that is that this incident gave the Song Dynasty a God-given opportunity to establish a foothold in the West." Fan Zheng said solemnly.

"Meeting in the West!" The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty frowned and stared at Fan Zheng in confusion.

"The West is thousands of miles away from the Song Dynasty, so why did the Song Dynasty base itself on the West?" Fan Chunli frowned. Fan Zheng said solemnly: "On this voyage to the West, Eunuch Tong brought back six million guan of wealth. Next time, it may reach tens of millions. In the future, it may increase day by day. I'm afraid it is not impossible to reach tens of millions guan in the future. "

"Wanwanguan!"

All the officials in the Manchu Dynasty couldn't help but hold their breath. Although Fan Zheng's statement was an exaggeration, it was not impossible. After all, according to the sea map presented by Tong Guan, the land and countries in the West were much larger than those in the Song Dynasty, and there were even many powerful countries. .

"The so-called huge wealth is no less than that of a child holding gold bricks walking in the bustling city. It will definitely arouse a lot of covetousness. I heard that on the Silk Road, the armies of many small countries turned into sand pirates, and this was the case when sailing to the West. With such huge wealth, I am afraid that the Western countries will turn into pirates and rob the merchant ships of the Song Dynasty." Fan Zheng said solemnly.

"He dares!" Zhao Xu angrily yelled.

Fan Zheng shook his head and said: "The King of Ceylon is a lesson learned from the past, and the countries in the Western Regions are thousands of miles away from the Song Dynasty. Even if the officials have the intention, they are unable to maintain the Silk Road of the Song Dynasty."

Zhao Xu was immediately discouraged. According to the nautical chart presented by Tong Guan, the Western Ocean was too big and too far away. Information was blocked and the Song Dynasty was beyond its reach.

All the officials in the court also frowned. The Maritime Silk Road would definitely bring huge benefits to the Song Dynasty, and they could not give it up no matter what.

Fan Chunli knew his son very well and said rudely in front of everyone: "Sir, what evil methods do you have?"

Hearing his father's merciless words, Fan Zheng couldn't help but smile bitterly and said: "According to the chart presented by Eunuch Tong, Ceylon is an island country. Eunuch Tong even broke through its country and captured its king. He treated his children as children. , If you want to do it, do it absolutely, and the Song Dynasty took the opportunity to occupy Ceylon Island. "

"What, occupy the island of Ceylon!"

All the officials in the court couldn't help but were in an uproar. No one thought that Fan Zheng would be even more daring. Tong Guan only captured the king of the other party, but Fan Zheng wanted to directly occupy his country.

Even Tong Guan couldn't help but look at Fan Zheng in astonishment. He originally thought that he had reached the limit in capturing the King of Ceylon, but he did not expect that Fan Zheng would be more ruthless.

"Fan Taicheng is addicted to destroying the country. He is so murderous that he even wants to destroy the country of Ceylon, which is thousands of miles away." Cai Jing sneered.

"Sir, is this your evil recipe?" Fan Chunli suddenly frowned. The Ceylon Kingdom was thousands of miles away from the Song Dynasty. Even if it was captured, how would it be governed? It was simply a random evil recipe.

Fan Zheng calmly pointed to the nautical chart presented by Tong Guan and said: "Officials, please look at the nautical chart. Ceylon is an island country, but it is located in the center of the Western Ocean, adjacent to Tianzhu, and it is only one month away from Champaign and Johor. The sea route is roughly the same distance from the country in the far west. Once the Song Dynasty takes Ceylon, it will be enough to reach the entire Western Ocean, ensuring that the Song Dynasty merchant ships will have no worries. "

Zhao Xu immediately looked sideways. When he saw Ceylan's position, his eyes froze.

He was a rare hero in the Song Dynasty, so he naturally saw the importance of Ceylon at a glance. The merchant ships of the Song Dynasty were alone overseas. Without Tong Guan leading the Shenzhou escort, carrying such a huge wealth would only become fish on the chopping block of other countries.

If the Song Dynasty occupied Ceylon, it would be different. Just letting the Song Dynasty Shenzhou be stationed in Ceylon would be enough to ensure that the entire Western waterway is unobstructed.

The officials of the Manchu Dynasty were not stupid. After Fan Zheng's reminder, they naturally realized the importance of Ceylon.

"But this is too far!" Fan Chunli frowned.

Ceylon in the Song Dynasty had thousands of miles of sea routes, and it took two years to go back and forth, so it was impossible to control.

"It's a little far, but it's not without a solution. At the southernmost tip of Johor, there is also a small island called Singapore. It's only one month away from Ceylon by sea. The Song Dynasty can take advantage of the situation and occupy it." Fan Zheng clicked. Point, a slightly invisible island on the chart.

"Singapore!"

All the ministers frowned, Fan Zheng was not satisfied with occupying Ceylon, he even wanted to occupy Singapore Road.

Fan Zheng continued: "It also takes one month to reach Qiongzhou Island by sea from Singapore. Similarly, it also takes one month to reach Dengzhou Port by sea from Qiongzhou Island. In this way, the Maritime Silk Road of the Song Dynasty was connected by a number of islands. , the Song Dynasty established ports on various islands at the same time, and the turnover of goods was enough to shorten the original two-year Silk Road to three months. "

"Three months!"

The officials couldn't help but take a breath. At this moment, they finally faced Fan Zheng's evil plan to occupy Ceylon.

Once the Song Dynasty can use Ceylon Island, Singapore Island, Qiongzhou Island, and even Ryukyu Island in the north, a complete island chain can be formed. The original biennial voyage to the West can continue to pass through Ceylon Island. The island chain was transported back to the Song Dynasty, and at the same time, goods from the Song Dynasty were continuously transported to various countries in Southeast Asia and the West.

If the Song Dynasty can really realize this, Fan Zheng's dream of a Silk Road is not impossible.

"Besides that, the most important point is safety. There are many Western countries. Even if they rob the merchant ships of the Song Dynasty, we will not be able to send troops to attack. And if the Song Dynasty occupies Ceylon Island and Singapore Island, if our arms are Stretching long into the Western Ocean, facing the invasion of other countries, the Song Dynasty will no longer be beyond reach and can threaten the coastlines of the Southeast Asian countries, and the tragedy of Ceylon will never happen again. "

"And in the future, the Song Dynasty will go south to attack the Kingdom of Bagan and open up the western sea. The warships of the Song Dynasty on Ceylon Island and Singapore Island can go directly north and attack the Kingdom of Bagan from both sides in the direction of Dali. They will definitely win in one battle."

Fan Zheng said again.

Suddenly, all the officials in the court fell into silence, and there was no more accusations made before.

The benefits of occupying the Island of Ceylon are really great. Everyone knows it, but who knows that the benefits of the Maritime Silk Road are constantly increasing, and the attack on the merchant ships of the Song Dynasty will definitely happen again. Only by occupying the Island of Ceylon can the Song Dynasty truly safeguard the Silk Road. The security of the Silk Road has greatly increased the turnover speed of the Silk Road.

Not to mention the benefits of gaining access to the Western sea in the future, the economic and political benefits are so great that even the most stubborn scholar-bureaucrats can't help but be tempted by them.

"Just follow this method!" Zhao Xu said decisively.

Ceylon is just a small country and an island country, so there is nothing to fear. In addition, Singapore is a desert island. There is no risk in the Song Dynasty occupying it. However, it can safeguard the interests of the Maritime Silk Road. Among them The huge benefits were enough to make Zhao Xu make up his mind.

"The officials are wise!"

Fan Zheng and Tong Guan bowed in unison.

All the officials in the court looked at each other, and no one objected. As for the pitiful King of Ceylon, according to the past traditions of the Song Dynasty, they might reprimand and release him in order to promote the kindness of the Song Dynasty.

But now that the Song Dynasty has decided on the island chain and occupied Ceylon to maintain the Silk Road of the Song Dynasty, naturally no one pays attention to the poor King of Ceylon. (End of chapter)