Wentang

Chapter 784 Ironclad Ship and Killing

In a certain area of ​​the South China Sea, more than a dozen large and small ships were slowly driving on the sea surface.One of them has a big chimney that spews black smoke, which is clearly different from other ships.

Cai Yang and Li Xiaoyi were standing on the deck of this ship.

Li Xiaoyi said in admiration: "Steam engine battleship, even though I already know that Xia Guogong is talented, but every time I see this sharp weapon, I still feel shocked."

Cai Yang said with a smile: "Hehe... Who says it's not, how can the children of the gods be compared to me and ordinary people."

Li Xiaoyi was puzzled again: "It's just that since this ship is so powerful, why not build more? With the national power of the Tang Dynasty, the entire army should be able to replace it with such warships."

Cai Yang said with some disappointment: "The Privy Council, the Navy Headquarters, and even the sages all have plans in this regard, and it is Xia Guogong who disagrees."

Li Xiaoyi said in surprise: "Why? Xia Guogong should be the most supportive one."

Cai Yang glanced at him before saying, "Although these things are not considered confidential, they should not be easily told to others."

"But you and I hit it off as soon as we saw each other. If you are a clan, I will tell you a little bit, but don't tell others."

Li Xiaoyi said sternly: "Xiaoyi has written down the feelings of the governor, and today's words will not reach the ears of third parties."

Cai Yang nodded in satisfaction, he really wanted to make friends with Li Xiaoyi.

The reason is simple, the relationship between this family and Yue Shan is very good.If it weren't for his special status and inconvenient standing in the team, Li Daoyan could be regarded as Yue Shan's staunch ally.

Even though the two have little political connection, everyone knows that they are on the same front.

Cai Yang is also a leader of the Yue family, so he is naturally willing to make friends with Li Xiaoyi, a future star that even Yue Shan praises.

Although they all belong to the same faction, there are also close friends in the faction.

As for Li Xiaoyi, he is naturally willing to make friends with Cai Yang, he has another reason besides the above factors.

Cai Yang is the commander-in-chief of the Nanyang Fleet, and the entire thousands of miles of Nanyang is under his jurisdiction. With his help, the family's feudal council will develop better in the future.

This can be regarded as your love and my wish, and the friendship between the two parties has increased rapidly.

"Xia Guozheng ordered people to study iron-clad warships, and the results have already been achieved. It won't be long before these wooden-clad warships will be replaced."

"Based on the fact that Datang's existing warships are enough to sweep the world, there is no need to spend so much money to build too many wooden-hulled steamships that will be eliminated."

"Now these ships are just for daily training of the fleets, so that everyone can get familiar with how to use the steamships in advance, so that they can use the iron-clad ships in the future."

Ironclad battleship?Li Xiaoyi was dumbfounded, for a moment he didn't know how to express his feelings.

This is too... formidable.

It is estimated that only Xia Guogong can think of such an idea of ​​using steel to build a battleship.According to what Cai Yang said, it seems to be a success.

He couldn't wait to see this kind of battleship.

"Duke Xia really deserves to be Duke Xia, someone who admires him."

Cai Yang showed a mysterious smile, and said, "Did Mr. Liang think about a question?"

"Oh? Please advise." Li Xiaoyi asked.

"If the navy is replaced with iron-clad warships, what about these wooden hulls?" Cai Yang said meaningfully.

Li Xiaoyi was very puzzled, not knowing why he asked himself this question.What to do with these wooden boats is a matter for the Privy Council and the Ministry of War. Ask him what... no.

A flash of light flashed in his mind, and he caught the meaning of Cai Yang's words.

Naturally, these decommissioned wooden warships cannot be thrown away, and it is impossible to let them rot. The best way is to sell them.

The materials and workmanship of naval warships are the best, and these retired warships are even easier to use than newly built merchant ships.

If your family can buy a few ships, whether it is used to arm the fleet of the feudal country, or to be converted into a merchant ship, that would be a great thing.

Thinking of this, he bowed to Cai Yang and said, "Thank you Brother Cai for reminding me, I will remember this feeling."

Cai Yang laughed loudly and said, "Haha...they are not outsiders, why are you so polite."

Li Xiaoyi stepped on the steamboat under his feet, and asked inadvertently, "I don't know if we have a chance to buy this kind of boat."

Cai Yang smiled and said: "The construction speed of the iron-clad ships is a bit slow, and it will take a few years to replace them all. These wooden-hulled steam ships will also need to be used by the navy for a few more years to train soldiers who do not have ships."

Li Xiaoyi was not disappointed either, and said: "That means there is still a chance in a few years. There is no rush, I can wait, I just hope Brother Cai will help you with a few words of kindness."

Cai Yang did not refuse: "If the higher authorities really have plans in this regard, I will do my best to help Duke Liang."

Li Xiaoyi smiled and said: "Thank you, Brother Cai, I will write down what you said, in the future you can't renege on your debt."

Just as Cai Yang was about to say something, he saw a fast boat speeding towards them in the distance, so he asked people to ask what was going on.

It didn't take long for the Clippers to have a person on board the steamer, a messenger.

"Brother Cai has business to deal with, so I won't bother you. I'll go down to see what's the difference between a steam engine for a boat and a steam engine for a train." Li Xiaoyi said tactfully.

"Okay, I'll go find Duke Liang later." Cai Yang didn't keep him either.

After he left the messenger, he told Cai Yang the news he brought.

General Yunhui Wang Dahu instigated Wang Biao, the steward of the Wang family who was entrenched in Ling Yamen, obtained evidence of the Wang family's crimes, and arrested Wang Yingyuan who was about to escape at night.

Seeing the news, Cai Yang showed a ferocious smile: "I finally caught a big fish. I have been frustrated for so long. This time, let's settle the old and new scores together."

"Go, ask Mr. Liang to come over, and tell him that I have good news to tell him."

Li Xiaoyi came back soon: "I wonder if Brother Cai has any good news for me?"

Cai Yang handed him the letter written by Wang Hu and said, "Take a look and see if it's a good thing."

Li Xiaoyi took it over and took a look, and couldn't help showing joy: "It's really great news, thank you in advance to the governor and the soldiers of the Nanyang Fleet."

"I took the place of my elder brother to make the decision. All the properties of the Wang family will be converted into money and food, and half will be donated to the brothers of the Nanyang Fleet."

Cai Yang couldn't help but be moved, that's at least a dozen or 20 yuan in money and food, so he will give it if he says it?
"Mr. Liang's words are serious?"

Li Xiaoyi said seriously: "Don't dare to lie to brother Cai. I have been in Nanyang for more than two months, and I have seen the hard work of the soldiers."

"I am very grateful for your dedication, and I have always wanted to do something for everyone. It's just that my ability is limited, and I can only think of this way after much deliberation."

Cai Yang laughed and said: "Good brother, it's no wonder Duke Xia praised you so much. Now I finally understand a little bit. Thank you on behalf of the soldiers."

Li Xiaoyi said: "I should thank you all."

Cai Yang said: "Let's not thank you anymore, just keep it in mind. What do you think we should do next?"

Li Xiaoyi knew that the other party was testing him, so he pondered for a while and said, "Wang Yingyuan shouldn't be the only one who escaped, right?"

Cai Yang said: "It is true that he is not alone, but he is the first one with such a deep background."

Li Xiaoyi said: "Collect evidence and send it to the capital together with personal evidence and physical evidence. We must send the reason for raising the knife to the hands of the saint."

"Then blockade Nanyang and wipe out all forces entrenched on the Nanyang islands."

Cai Yang seemed a little hesitant, and said: "Without the court's will, it's not good to do this."

Li Xiaoyi said sadly: "It's not good for us to start a war on our own initiative, what if someone else took the initiative to rebel."

Cai Yang suddenly realized, he raised his thumb and said, "Gao, you really deserve to be the great talent praised by Duke Xia, really tall."

It is not a joke that Cai Yang has been operating in Nanyang for several years. He has done a lot of things in his official capacity.

For example, I have a very clear grasp of the situation in Nanyang. There are several sea owls entrenched on a certain island, how strong they are, and who is behind them.

The information is all clearly grasped.

Only some of them were sent to the capital by Li Xiaoyi's hands, and some of them were not sent out.

Because these things involve some relatively low-level means, it is not convenient for too many people to know.

For example, he used some means to instigate a certain sea owl's confidant, such as having contact with some indigenous people on the island.

These things are usually done quietly and are not known to outsiders. Now is the time for these secrets to play a role.

A native tribe on a certain island suddenly emerged from the deep mountains and old forests to besiege the sea owls entrenched on the island.

When the fierce battle between the two sides was in full swing, the Datang Navy happened to patrol here, heard the sound of fighting, and came to stop the killing and inquire about the situation.

The local people began to accuse Hai Xiao of crimes, and the navy checked them one by one, which turned out to be true.

Well, don't be shy, grab it.

There is also a report by a certain sea owl's confidant that he secretly hid armor, bows and crossbows to train dead soldiers, and clearly stated the location and number of people.

There was even news that they deliberately created hatred and encouraged the natives to attack the navy ashore.

After Cai Yang heard about it, he just said one word, check.

As a result, needless to say, I caught it.

It didn't take long for the first batch of people sent by the princes and the court to take over the fief also arrived.

Hundreds of mighty ships, large and small, carrying nearly 10 people and various supplies arrived, making up for the shortage of Nanyang Navy's manpower.

And these people also brought the imperial court's decree to thoroughly investigate the traitors in Nanyang.

The two sides hit it off and cleaned up the entire Nanyang.Anyone who has not been registered with the Nanyang Fleet will be wiped out.

The principal offender was executed on the spot, and the assets were sealed and handed over to the princes and kings.

The land sealed off in Nanyang is only a small part of it. What about the sea owls on the land that has not yet ushered in their real masters?
same kill.

Half of the property is turned over to the national treasury, and the remaining half is shared equally among all contributors.

Knowing that there is such a good thing, the princes and kings should not be too active.If you are worried about the lack of resources, there are ready-made cheap ones.

Moreover, they are the least interested in money. All the gold, silver and jewelry seized were given to the Nanyang Fleet. They only need resources and population.

Both parties take what they need, and the cooperation is not to mention how happy they are.

Some people laughed while others cried, and the sea owls entrenched on the Nanyang islands became frightened birds, thinking of various ways to escape.

But it was futile in the face of the absolute strength of the imperial court.

Once the butcher knife is raised, it is easy to lose control.Originally it was just to kill sea owls, but the Nanyang Fleet was also full of hatred for some natives, so they slaughtered them along the way.

At first, the princes and kings were a little unhappy, thinking that this kind of killing was too heavy, it was unlucky, and it was not good to spread it.

But when they found a large amount of gold and silver from some of the natives, they shut up.

What, unlucky?We have to believe in science.

Bad for reputation?If you offend me in the Tang Dynasty, you will be punished even if you are far away.

All of a sudden, the whole of Nanyang fell into a bloody storm, and this round of killing lasted for more than half a year.

No one knows exactly how many people died, and those who know will always bury the truth in their hearts. If everyone doesn't know, it means they didn't kill.

But one thing has changed significantly, that is, the number of natives who used to spread all over the island suddenly decreased a lot...to be precise, less than one-fifth of them remained.

In the joint report of Cai Yang and the princes and kings to the court, these local people did not die, but were bullied by Haixiao and hid in the deep mountains and old forests.

Of course, these people didn't just kill without thinking, all kinds of hard evidence were collected very neatly.

Conspiracy, murder, tax evasion, assaulting officers and soldiers... Anyway, no matter how serious it is, each family is charged with dozens of crimes of beheading.

Not only that, they also dug out the people behind these people, and sent the evidence to the capital together.

When they set off a bloody storm in Nanyang, the capital was not peaceful.

The imperial court first announced the second batch of awards list half a month in advance, and sure enough, as said before, all the nobles of Marquis and above who did not hold important positions were all included in the award list.

This is a shot in the arm, making these dignitaries more fiercely attack the Nanyang sea lord forces.

As one piece of evidence came out, more and more dignitaries and aristocratic families hiding behind the scenes were uncovered.

The arrow is on the string and has to be fired, and the matter has come to this point and there is no turning back.The princes and kings turned their guns and began to attack these behind-the-scenes forces.

The Langya Wang family, a huge family that has been passed down for thousands of years and has produced hundreds of celebrities and dozens of queens, was the first to be overthrown by the princes and kings.

Moreover, more evidence of violations of law and discipline in the Wang family was found, so that those who wanted to speak for them did not know how to speak.

In the end, the prince felt that he should not be involved too much, so he only killed the chief culprit, and let the rest of the world forget the past.

But the capital crime can be avoided, and the living crime cannot escape. All the privileges of the Langya Wang family were taken back, most of their property was confiscated, and only a small part was left for them to use for their livelihood.

Under the prince's repeated pleas, the emperor had to change his mind.However, another penalty was added, that is, the Langya Wang family was split into several branches and moved to various places in the world.

This incident gave Li Chengqian a huge reputation. The government and the public all praised him as a benevolent king, and it is a blessing for all people to have such a prince.

The Millennium Family like the Langya Wang Clan was overthrown without any resistance, once again let the world understand one thing:
The imperial power has completely overwhelmed the family.

This was a fatal blow to the family's prestige.

And those who have something to do with the Nanyang Sea Owl can no longer sit still, running around looking for life.

Yue Shan has also been paying attention to this matter, and he is not surprised by this result at all.

With the imperial power and the powerful class working together, it would not be easy or difficult to clean up the aristocratic and powerful families.

At the same time, he also accelerated the promotion of imperial examination officials from humble backgrounds, and asked them to join forces in private to prepare a letter to the imperial court to abolish the tax-free privilege and instead increase their salary + reward money.

Before he knew it, time had entered June. The busy Yue Shan put down all the work in his hands and stayed at home with Li Lizhi.

A child is about to be born.

(End of this chapter)