People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1779: Planning to patrol Yangzhou and build an ironclad ship
In mid-November, the snowflakes were falling.

In the Liangyi Palace, Li Xuan, wearing a black robe with gold threads, sat on the imperial couch and calmly looked at Lu Yuanfang, Wang Dezhen and other ministers, as well as Lin Renji and Pei Judao and other ministers, and said, "In two months, it will be the first day of the new year. This year, the governors of the central provinces will come to the court, so next year, the governors of the upper provinces will come to the court."

"Yes!" All the ministers bowed.

The most important places in the world are none other than Shangzhou and Zhongzhou.

As for the lower states, they lack manpower and wealth, and the transportation is bad, so it is difficult to do anything.

All the affairs of the world are now in Li Xuan's hands.

"The Eastern Palace is compiling the Han Shu. By the end of the year, it will be completed. The Crown Prince will present it to me as a year-end gift." After a brief pause, Li Xuan said, "Scholar Kong Huiyuan of the Chongwen Academy has made great contributions to the compilation. I intend to appoint him as Grand Secretary of the Chongwen Academy."

When the word "Grand Secretary" came out, all the ministers couldn't help but be slightly shocked.

Li Xuan had already spread the news about the Grand Secretary half a year ago, so the ministers naturally knew about it.

But Grand Secretary will become the most respected position among the literati in the world.

Lu Yuanfang, Wang Dezhen, Liu Jingxian, Ouyang Tong, Zhang Da'an, Cen Changqian and others all hoped for the same.

"There are four Grand Secretaries in total. Two are from the Hongwen Academy, third rank; two are from the Chongwen Academy, fourth rank." As soon as Li Xuan finished speaking, the ministers reacted and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty is wise."

Li Xuan nodded and said, "At the next New Year's Day, I will appoint the Left Prime Minister as the Grand Secretary of the Hongwen Academy to supervise the national history; Prime Minister Li will also be the Grand Secretary of the Hongwen Academy to supervise the national history; Grand Secretary Kong will be the Grand Secretary of the Chongwen Academy to supervise the national history. You will report to me on who will be appointed."

"We obey your orders." The ministers bowed solemnly.

Li Xuan nodded and continued, "As for the other Grand Secretary of Chongwenguan, let's put it aside for now and wait for later."

"Here!" The officials held their hands in awe.

By now, everyone understands that the so-called Grand Secretary is responsible for supervising the national history.

Lu Yuanfang was the prime minister of the dynasty, so it was inevitable that he would supervise the national history, so he was given the honorary position of Grand Secretary of the Hongwenguan.

Another position of Grand Secretary of the Hongwenguan was given to Li Yiyan.

Li Yiyan was the longest serving prime minister among all the people in the current dynasty. He was the prime minister during the Shangyuan period, and it had been ten years.

He was involved in many events during Emperor Gaozong's reign and was one of the few people who had a say.

Li Xuan looked at the Minister of Personnel Yun Hongyin and said, "Yun Qing, it's the end of the year. The officials of the Ministry of Personnel have gone to the local areas for inspections. The Ministry of Revenue, the three provinces, and the Censorate have all reported their assessments. You should also have results."

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Personnel has completed the review of the first draft, but in order to prevent errors and omissions, it needs to be reviewed twice. After the review is correct, the results will be presented to Your Majesty." Yun Hongyin bowed solemnly.

Li Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good. Let's do this. Ask someone to copy the first draft and send it to the palace. I'll take a look."

"Yes!" Yun Hongyin bowed and accepted the order.

Li Xuan turned to look at Pei Judao and said, "Mr. Pei, the autumn grain has been stored in the warehouse. Although there is an approximate figure, I also need an accurate number. In addition, the Ministry of Revenue needs to clearly state where taxes have been reduced and where taxes have been increased, and the reasons for both."

"Yes!" Pei Judao immediately bowed, with a slight bitterness in his eyes. Now, the Ministry of Revenue had more things to do.

"It's winter now." Li Xuan looked at He Yiqiu and Xiao Siye who had just returned from Jiangnan, and said, "The Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple should speed up the review of criminal cases, but there should be no false or wrongful convictions, especially for the death penalty. Those who can be exiled should not be sentenced to death as much as possible. Be careful when killing!"

"We obey your order." He Yiqiu and Xiao Siye stood up and bowed at the same time.

Li Xuan raised his head, looked at the ministers and said, "My Lords, I hope that I will not change the reign title casually in my lifetime. If the two words Kaiyuan can accompany me throughout my life like Zhenguan, I will be satisfied... But this will cause a problem. There won't be too many amnesties."

All the ministers bowed solemnly and listened to the emperor's teachings.

When the emperor changes the reign title, it is always accompanied by a general amnesty.

"I also came from the local areas." Li Xuan sighed and said, "Local criminals are mostly from aristocratic families. The clerks collude with each other to oppress the people. In the end, the people are left with nowhere to go and have to take a gamble... I will not change the year name too frequently, which is equivalent to taking away their livelihood, so the various departments should be extra cautious when reviewing death sentences."

"Here!" The officials held their hands in awe.

They had been officials for many years and naturally knew that the emperor's general amnesty was actually intended to give ordinary people a way out.

Although a general amnesty will inevitably allow some real criminals to escape, it is indeed the last way out for those people who have been wronged or even cannot find any reason for the injustice.

"It is precisely because I will not grant amnesty frequently that you, your family members, and your clansmen, must be disciplined by me. If they rely on your power to oppress the locals, commit crimes, or even kill people, and then implicate you, don't blame me for being too harsh."

"We, the ministers, will obey your Majesty's instructions." All the ministers bowed their hands in unison, their expressions solemn.

"Okay, let's adjourn the court. It's snowing heavily today. I have ordered the inner court to distribute charcoal firewood. All officials above the ninth rank, regardless of rank, will receive 30 kilograms of charcoal each." Li Xuan waved his hand and said, "You all should find a way to take it home, or hire the people in the city. Go ahead."

"Here!" The officials held their hands in awe.

……

"Your Majesty is diligent in his work and loves his people. You are a model for the world." He Yiqiu stood behind Li Xuan and bowed seriously.

Li Xuan stood in the Liangyi Hall, looking at the snow all over the place, shook his head gently and said, "Brother He, you know me. When it comes to reform, I have ten thousand ways of reform in my mind, but now I dare not use any of them easily. I am carefully piloting them and will only use them after they are perfected as much as possible. So now the dynasty system is still mainly based on the Gaozong period. I have no plans to make major changes within three years." "Your Majesty is born intelligent and wise. If it were someone else, I would have found it difficult to restrain himself." He Yiqiu sighed softly.

"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's talk about what happened in Yangzhou." Li Xuan turned around and walked back to the imperial desk, then asked solemnly, "As for the training of the navy, where do you think we should start?"

"Your Majesty." He Yiqiu bowed and said seriously, "I have been traveling along the way and have seen Dongting Lake, Panyang Lake, and even Yangzhou. Dongting Lake is as vast as Panyang Lake, but it is too far from the estuary, and it is difficult to hide from there; Yangzhou and Dengzhou are actually places where the internal and external barbarians often arrive, and it is difficult to keep it secret if we train a new navy."

"So it's still Panyang Lake." Li Xuan nodded slightly.

"At present, Dongting Lake is indeed the most suitable place. It is of course the place where Emperor Taizong trained the navy to attack Silla. The mountains are high and the water is vast. It is not difficult to find craftsmen to build warships. Therefore, at present, it is indeed the most suitable place." After a brief pause, He Yiqiu said, "However, there is also a problem."

"Speak!" Li Xuan raised his hand slightly.

"Water quality." He Yiqiu sighed and said, "Warships built in Dongting Lake are most suitable for river and lake water quality, but the sea water quality is completely different from river and lake water quality. Once the navy is built in Dongting Lake and trained in Dongting Lake, it is inevitable that there will be a period of discomfort when it finally goes to sea. The time involved must also be taken into account."

"That's not very appropriate." Li Xuan frowned slightly. In his expectation, the Tang Dynasty's war against Silla should be quick. They should rush into the Silla territory as quickly as possible before the Silla people could react, establish a stable landing point, and then use it for future generations to land.

"Then it would be best if the soldiers were trained in Dengzhou, and then the ships were built in other places, so that the soldiers could adapt to the warships in the shortest possible time." Li Xuan's eyes couldn't help but become serious.

Building ships on the seashore is almost inevitable, because only warships suitable for the water quality of seawater can last longer on the sea.

"Fuzhou!" Li Xuan figured out these two words, then raised his head, looked to the side and said, "Order Chen Yuanguang, the commander-in-chief of the Lingnan Road, to enter Chang'an to attend the New Year's Day court."

"Yes!" Chen Ziang immediately stood up and ran out of the hall quickly.

It is now November, and the New Year's Day court is less than two months away. This requires Chen Yuanguang to reach Chang'an from Fuzhou within two months.

"That's it for now." Li Xuan looked up at He Yiqiu and said, "You should go back and have a rest. Let Yao Chong take care of the Dali Temple's affairs first. You and the Dushuijian should think more about the Fuzhou affairs."

"Yes!" He Yiqiu bowed solemnly.

……

As the director of the construction, Li Xuan walked in calmly.

The officials and craftsmen on both sides immediately bowed. Li Xuan waved his hand slightly and went straight into the duty room of the chief architect.

When Pei Feishu heard that Li Xuan had arrived, he hurried out to greet him and said, "I, Pei Feishu, did not know that Your Majesty was coming. I failed to welcome you from afar. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

Li Xuan waved his hand slightly and said, "Stand up, I'm just walking around and come to take a look."

"Yes!" Pei Feishu stood up immediately.

Li Xuan walked into the duty room. The old mechanical man was no longer in the courtyard. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh.

"Pei Qing." Li Xuan raised his head and looked at Pei Feishu.

"I'm here." Pei Feishu bowed solemnly.

"I know that you are quite talented in military writing, so I have a question that I need you to answer." Li Xuan leaned forward slightly.

"His Majesty's order." Pei Feishu's heart immediately skipped a beat.

When the emperor says something like this, he'd better be careful, because it's never an easy thing to do.

"When Yang Guang toured Yangzhou, he built a large ship that was luxurious and magnificent. Can it be built with the current standards of the Tang Dynasty?" Li Xuan looked at Pei Feishu with a serious look.

Pei Feishu's expression suddenly became solemn. He carefully cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, when Yang Guang went south to Yangzhou, he indulged in extravagance and built ships so large that they could cover half of the canal, thus blocking the river and delaying water transportation..."

"I am not Yang Guang, and I don't have a heart for extravagance and luxury. I just wonder if the warships of our navy are too small, especially in the sea." Li Xuan's last word pointed out his intention: the sea.

The sea, Silla.

Pei Feishu immediately understood that what the emperor wanted to do was to attack Silla, which was another matter.

"That's the matter of Yangzhou." Pei Feishu's thoughts jumped and he immediately thought of Yangzhou. The former chief architect Yang Wulian seemed to be in Yangzhou...

At this time, Li Xuan interrupted Pei Feishu and said, "I plan to inspect the canal next year, from Luoyang to Yangzhou, and then return from Yangzhou. I need a large ship that can reach Yangzhou as quickly as possible without affecting river transportation, and then return as quickly as possible. Is there a way?"

"This, I need to think about it." Pei Feishu hesitated for a moment, then looked at Li Xuan carefully and said, "I'm afraid this will require the mobilization of a large number of craftsmen."

"Very good." Li Xuan nodded with satisfaction and said, "Just do as Pei Qing said."

"Yes!" Pei Feishu couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Li Xuan stood up and walked out, saying, "I heard that in ancient times, there was a kind of iron-clad ship with a very thin layer of iron sheets on the bottom of the warship, which could resist the invasion from the seabed to the greatest extent?"

Ironclad ship?
Pei Feishu was confused. How come he had never heard of an ironclad ship?

(End of this chapter)