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

Chapter 1780: Navy Guards, Ironclad Ships, and Cannons
Under the night sky, Snowman Palace.

Li Xuan walked calmly on the palace road, with someone holding a lantern in front to lead the way, and someone following behind to protect him.

Sounds could be heard from all directions from time to time.

Li Xuan suddenly felt a little funny.

In the past few days, Pei Feishu found many ancient documents from all over, but he could not find any mention of ironclad ships.

He went to Li Xuan, but Li Xuan didn't care and let him figure it out on his own. He could only try little by little.

As they walked, Li Xuan's expression became serious.

Ironclad ship, ironclad ship, this is not something that can be built casually.

But once this thing is created, it will immediately bring about earth-shaking changes.

Apart from anything else, the gunpowder that Li Xuan had been hiding could come in handy at sea at this time.

Gunpowder and artillery, once used on the battlefield, these things will definitely bring overwhelming advantages.

Especially when facing the Silla people.

Li Xuan had his own plans for attacking Silla.

If cannons and gunpowder were transported over by land, how could the Silla city walls withstand the artillery attack?

In those days, Emperor Taizong and Yang Guang were both defeated by the strong city of Goguryeo. With cannons in Li Xuan's hands, it would naturally be much easier to capture the capital of Silla.

Of course, there is a great possibility that the artillery will threaten Li Xuan himself.

But it doesn't matter too much. As long as the formula of gunpowder is kept secret enough, it won't be easy for others to develop it.

other people.

Thinking of this, Li Xuan's expression couldn't help but become solemn.

Hebei Road.

Li Xuan has been gradually resolving the issues in Jizhou. It was nothing more than the noble families oppressing the common people. He found those who were oppressed and could not survive, made them into death squads, and came to Chang'an to file a complaint. But after that, Li Xuan wanted to see which high-ranking official would be directly punished.

He had given them enough warnings, but if they still insisted on seeking death.

There is nothing anyone can do.

The snow under his feet made a "crunching" sound. Li Xuan turned sideways and said, "Send a message to the Queen. I will also stay the night at Wang Zhaoyi's place."

"Yes!" Xu Lu immediately bowed.

Li Xuan raised his head and walked towards Shujing Palace.

……

In Shujing Palace, Wang Jianniang lay in Li Xuan's arms, sweating profusely and breathing heavily.

Li Xuan gently stroked Wang Jianniang's jade back and asked softly, "Jian'er, what happened tonight? She doesn't look like you at all."

Wang Jianniang was a daughter of the Wang family, a lady from a prominent family. Normally, she was extremely gentle even in bed. But she didn't know what happened tonight, she seemed a little obsessed and a little crazy.

After calming down a bit, Wang Jianniang looked at Li Xuan with resentment on her face and said, "Sister Xianfei, and the two sisters from the Liu and Zhao families, they all entered the palace last year. They were already pregnant within a month or two, and they all had children this year. Only I have nothing yet."

In the middle of this year, Concubine Zheng gave birth to Li Xuan's sixth son, Prince of Xing Li Zhilang.

Wu Niang Qiong Yu gave birth to Li Xuan's seventh son, Chen Wang Li Zhijing, in August of this year.

In September of this year, cousin Zhao Huan gave birth to Li Xuan’s eighth son, Prince Ji Li Zhifu.

The bright and clear sky will always bring you great blessings.

All eight sons have been born.

Except for Wang Jianniang, all of Li Xuan's concubines in the palace had their own children, and they were all sons.

Now in Li Xuan's palace, the concubines only pay half of their attention to Li Xuan, and pay more attention to raising their sons.

After all, only their son is the real guarantee for their future.

But Wang Jianniang had been married into the palace on the sixth day of the first lunar month, and it had been eleven months now, mid-November. And yet, there was still no sign of pregnancy in her belly. How could she not be anxious?

Li Xuan couldn't help but smile softly, then he took Wang Jianniang's arm and asked softly, "Jian'er, I want to ask you, how old are you now?"

Wang Jianniang was slightly stunned, but still replied: "Fifteen years old."

"Then let me ask you again, how old is the virtuous concubine who is the only one older than you in the palace now?" Li Xuan looked straight at Wang Jian's mother.

Wang Jianniang didn't quite understand what Li Xuan meant, but she still said carefully, "You'll be eighteen soon."

"Yes, Concubine Xian will be eighteen soon, but you are only fifteen." Li Xuan shook his head gently, looked at her and said, "You know, for women giving birth in the world, the older they are, the safer they are, and the younger they are, the more dangerous they are, especially if they are under sixteen."

"Ah!" Wang Jian's mother widened her eyes in disbelief. She had never known there was such a saying.

Li Xuan gently held Wang Jianniang in his arms and comforted her gently, but he was thinking about other things.

The women in the Wang family seemed particularly anxious about having children.

This was the case with Queen Wang back then. Because she had no children, she even adopted Li Zhong as the crown prince.

You know, he is the crown prince of a country and the future heir to the emperor.

Which emperor doesn't want his crown prince to be more like himself? Every emperor has his own set of plans for the training of the crown prince. There is no doubt that Li Zhong is definitely not Li Zhi's ideal crown prince.

He was not even on Li Zhi's list of crown princes.

However, Queen Wang was anxious because she had no children. So, no one knew who gave her a bad idea, but she adopted Li Zhong as her son and finally made him the crown prince.

From Li Xuan's perspective, he can be completely sure that the moment Queen Wang proposed to make Li Zhong her heir, she was already dead in Li Zhi's heart.

Prince, prince, that is the prince, he is the crown prince, not a tool for you to use to consolidate your position.

As a queen, haven't you ever thought about what you will do if you have children in the future?
Will Li Zhong, who has become the crown prince, be deposed?
If a country's crown prince can be deposed and enthroned at will, then in the future, will the emperor also be deposed and enthroned at will?

Li Xuan could imagine Li Zhi’s refusal back then, but in the end, Li Zhi compromised, and at that time, the only one who could make him compromise was Changsun Wuji.

So, Queen Wang was deposed and Zhangsun Wuji died.

The emperor has a line in his heart that no one can cross, not even the empress or his own uncle.

There is also a line in Li Xuan's heart, that is Liu Jinyu, there are some things she doesn't know either.

For example, gunpowder and the steam engine.

……

As the end of the year was approaching, Li Xuan flipped through the memorial in his hand while looking at Chen Yuanguang standing in the hall and said, "The New Year's Day court session is about to begin. In addition to all the governors of the upper states, there are also foreign envoys, including the Uighur Khan Yaoluoge. They have always occupied the northern desert, but in recent years, they have gradually shown signs of invading the southern desert."

"Your Majesty is wise and powerful, and you will surely be able to tame this man." Chen Yuanguang bowed solemnly.

Li Xuan smiled and waved his hand, saying, "The Huihe people are indeed a threat to the Tang Dynasty, but not now. For at least the past twenty years, they have not had the opportunity to threaten the Tang Dynasty, especially without the Turks as their vanguard. It will be difficult for them to threaten the Tang Dynasty again. If they show their head, they will be beaten back. I will even dismember their tribe."

"Your Majesty is a man of great vision and strategy." Chen Yuanguang bowed solemnly, full of respect.

"Tell me about your business." Li Xuan retracted his gaze and said seriously, "The court has already decided to establish Zhangzhou with Zhangpu and Huai'en counties. You will be the governor of Zhangzhou, the general manager of the army in Lingnan Road, and be awarded the title of Zhengyi Dafu, the inspector of the navy guard, and be responsible for building sea vessels in Chaozhou and the coastal areas. All matters will be coordinated by the Yangzhou Navy Guard."

"I accept your order." Chen Yuanguang bowed solemnly, but then he asked, "What about the matter of cultivating the deep mountains in Fujian?"

Chen Yuanguang and his troops entered Fujian for the purpose of civilizing it.

"Take your time." Li Xuan waved his hand and said, "To civilize Zhangzhou, we need to make Zhangzhou rich, support the army, and educate the people. Now, let's build ships. We need to make Zhangzhou rich first. With this foundation, we can attract the barbarians to submit voluntarily. Don't be too hasty. We should focus on defense."

"Yes!" Chen Yuanguang breathed a sigh of relief. Since Li Xuan had made the conclusion, he would no longer insist.

"You will be responsible for handling the affairs of Zhangzhou. If there is anything insufficient, you can seek help from Liao Ming, the governor of Fuzhou. I will give him instructions." Li Xuan raised his head slightly and added the last sentence.

Chen Yuanguang's expression suddenly became solemn, and he bowed and said, "I accept your order."

"During the shipbuilding period, the Ministry of Works, the General Supervisor, and the navy will arrive one after another. Don't treat them too well. Shipbuilding is the priority." Li Xuan knocked on the table lightly and said solemnly: "If the navy is successful, your Chen family can also transfer children to participate in the attack on Silla. If not, your Chen family will stay in Zhangzhou forever."

"Yes!" Chen Yuanguang bowed solemnly. He was not surprised that Li Xuan finally mentioned the matter of conquering Silla.

The Tang Dynasty is now at peace, so there is no need to raise a navy.

After counting, there is only one place, Silla.

Moreover, all the emperors of the Tang Dynasty had the habit of conquering Silla, and their new emperor was no exception.

Just this battle...

Li Xuan looked up and saw the worry in Chen Yuanguang's eyes. Li Xuan waved his hand and said, "I am a very patient person. I will use three years to supervise the construction of sea vessels, and another two years to slowly increase troops on the border. During the three years, I will look for opportunities to fight. Once there is an opportunity, I will immediately attack the capital of Silla and then surround and attack the reinforcements."

"Your Majesty is wise." Chen Yuanguang's eyes suddenly showed endless admiration.

Whenever the Tang emperors attacked Silla, they all wanted to capture the capital of Silla as quickly as possible. Once the capital of Silla was captured, the former Silla generals would immediately hide in the mountains and rivers, and then wait until the Silla generals were weak, and then rush out from the mountains and forests in one fell swoop, driving the Tang Dynasty out of Silla and even the entire land of Andong.

Now, Li Xuan has focused on destroying the Silla people's manpower from the very beginning. So even if the Silla capital is still there in the end, it will only be an isolated city.

"Mr. Chen, you are the first person to know my plan to attack Silla. Remember to keep it secret." Li Xuan spoke calmly, his eyes quickly scanning Chen Yuanguang.

Extremely cold.

Chen Yuanguang immediately bowed and said, "Yes!"

"Yes!" Li Xuan nodded and said, "These days, you should take a good rest in Chang'an, see the scenery of Chang'an, buy some things for your family, and then set off back to Zhangzhou after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. If there are any seeds of learning in your family, they should be sent to the Imperial College, send them to the Imperial College."

"I thank Your Majesty for your grace." Chen Yuanguang kowtowed heavily to the ground again.

"Go."

"I resign!"

……

Taking a deep breath, Chen Yuanguang walked out of the Liangyi Hall, feeling a lot more relaxed.

The reason why the Chen family chose to flee to Fujian was because they stood on the wrong side regarding Li Chengqian.

If Li Zhi's descendants always sit on the throne, then people like them will never have the chance to return to Chang'an.

But now, things have changed.

Their chance has come.

They will never let things go back to the way they were.

(End of this chapter)