Chapter 4814 Seeking Luzon (Continued)

"When your people are being massacred thousands of miles away, what you should consider is not the diplomatic relations between the two countries, nor the magnanimity of a great power, but to retaliate fiercely and warn them, so that they will be terrified and dare not harm the people of the Tang Dynasty again, otherwise they will have to bear the wrath of the Tang Dynasty's 100,000 navy! Instead of issuing so-called notes and arguing in the court to verbally condemn them!"

Su Dingfang waved his hand fiercely: "Remember, condemnation is the behavior of a weak country. If I were the weaker party, I would have to swallow my anger and bear the humiliation. I would remember the hatred and make long-term plans. This is fine, but my Great Tang is mighty and powerful, and my Great Tang navy is invincible in the ocean. Why should I endure it? If you endure it once, there will be a second time. If you endure it twice, there will be countless times, until you have endured it until the blood of the Chinese people is gone!"

"Protecting the country and the people is the duty of the soldiers. Now that the merchants who took shelter under the wings of the navy have been killed, the navy should seek justice even if it is thousands of miles away, and repay blood with blood, and tooth for tooth! The army is not a place for reasoning and does not need reasoning. If you still endure at this time, sooner or later the arrogance of the army will be lost. What is the difference between an army without arrogance and sheep? Can you expect a group of sheep to defeat the enemy chieftain and defend the country?"

"What's more, if we retreat and give in this time in the name of the overall situation, how will those merchants view the navy? They will think that the navy officers and soldiers are cowards and wastes, and they are using the excuse of considering the overall situation but dare not go thousands of miles to fight for the dead and injured Tang people! In this way, the merchants' sense of belonging to the Tang Dynasty will be reduced, and their identification with the navy will also be reduced. If they want to regain this sense of belonging and identification, it will not be as simple as one or two wars!"

"The Tang Dynasty is powerful and invincible. If anyone dares to attack us, we will fight back twice as hard!"

"If we attack the port of Shiloh now and the Arabs refuse to change their minds, what's the harm in attacking Damascus?"

……

Su Dingfang had already left with his personal soldiers. Lu Chengqing stood on the embankment in a daze. Su Dingfang's words had a huge impact on him, and greatly shook the outlook on life that he had formed since childhood.

Isn't it the intention to reform the Hu people?

How can a country of etiquette and propriety be vindictive?

How can we start a war without condemning the Gentiles and giving them a chance to mend their ways and apologize?

They are just merchants, and their status is very low in the Tang Dynasty. How could they travel thousands of miles and send troops to fight just for a few merchants without caring about the risk of defeat?

Everything was contrary to the education he had received since childhood, making it difficult for Lu Chengqing to understand and accept it for a while.

It took him a long while to come to a conclusion.

Times have changed. We have to deal more and more with foreign barbarians who don't understand etiquette and have no morals. The old ways of being gentle, courteous, frugal and modest are no longer effective because you can be reasonable, sensible, honest and abide by the rules, but the barbarians don't care about anything.

They only care about the survival of the fittest and the law of the jungle.

If you hurt him, he will become submissive and wag his tail to beg for mercy. If you cannot defeat him, he will bar his fangs and pounce on you to bite your flesh.

The methods used to govern the people cannot be used to deal with foreign barbarians, otherwise it will only bring trouble to oneself.

……

Su Dingfang returned to the temporary tent and checked the military orders written by the clerks. After confirming that they were correct, he stamped them with his seal and immediately sent them to Da Nang. He then wrote a letter himself to introduce the details and explain the reasons why he issued the order. He then put the letter in an envelope and sealed it with sealing wax. He then sent his personal soldiers to return to Huating Town by boat and deliver it to the capital by express horse to hand it over to Fang Jun.

Although the battle was probably over by then, the necessary procedures had to be followed.

Finally, Su Dingfang considered for a moment and issued another order.

"Order all naval units to dispatch warships, troops, and equipment to Da Nang to assemble in case of a possible naval battle!"

The port of Shilafu was the most important port of the Arab Empire and a transit point for trade with the Tang Dynasty, India and other countries. The fact that such a terrible thing happened in such an important port and such an important trading partner was enough to show that there had been a fundamental change in the Arab Empire's attitude towards the Tang Dynasty.

Who knows whether the Arab Empire was jealous of the Tang Dynasty’s maritime trade, so it wanted to occupy all shipping routes and replace the Tang Dynasty to become the new maritime overlord?

Although this possibility is small, and even if it were so, it would not provoke the Arab Empire to launch an all-out war, the navy must make preparations early.

If the Arab Empire really has coveted our territory, we will use a spectacular naval battle to completely crush their ambitions, and even destroy all of the Arab Empire's warships to completely deprive it of its maritime combat power, so that not a single ship will be able to go to sea!
"Allow the Anxi Protectorate to cultivate land on its own, withhold taxes, and relax restrictions on the settlement of the people?"

After hearing Liu Li's report, Li Chengqian asked back a question and was so angry that he laughed.

"What does this guy want to do? Take the Western Region out of the Tang Dynasty and let it become an independent country? What a jerk!"

The finances, taxes and population of a place are the foundation for the demonstration of imperial power. The emperor has no control over the amount of taxes collected or the population of the people. How can it be said that this area is under the emperor's governance?
Liu Li also shook his head and sighed: "It is not necessarily true that it has become an independent country. In the final analysis, it is because the court cannot afford the long-term consumption of food and fodder for the Anxi Army. No matter whether it is a good method or a bad method, it must be proposed for discussion. In short, the decision is in your hands, Your Majesty. But then again, the Anxi Protectorate is the largest consumer of food and fodder in the Tang Dynasty, and the Royal Navy is the largest importer of wealth. These two are the most troublesome places at the moment, one in the east and one in the west, one more and one less, one on the sea and one on the land. It is not easy for Duke Yue to handle it alone."

Li Chengqian glanced at him and said nothing, knowing that he must have a purpose for saying that.

Liu Li didn't intend to beat around the bush, he just wanted to bring up the topic: "Whether it's the reorganization of the Anxi Army or the formation of the navy, it was all accomplished by the Duke of Yue with countless efforts and strong tactics. It's natural that the two armies are affected by it. But these two armies are too special. The Western Region is thousands of miles away from the center due to its geographical environment, and the navy is floating on the ocean to control the fundamentals of maritime trade. Countless people in the court and the public are jealous of the benefits. If this continues, there will inevitably be complaints and dissatisfaction among the people."

What is the court?

The court is the arena for the distribution of interests. Any interests are placed here and are constantly redistributed after a struggle. When a certain interest is controlled for a long time and others are not allowed to interfere, it will naturally arouse criticism and dissatisfaction from everyone.

It’s okay if I can’t grab it, that’s because I don’t have the ability. If I can’t grab it this time, I can try again next time. But how come I don’t even have the qualifications to grab it?

This is the case with the current Anxi Army and Navy.

"Especially the navy, which controls almost all the routes from ports in the Tang Dynasty to the East and South Seas. Even the types, quantities, and prices of maritime trade are under the jurisdiction of the navy. This means endless benefits. Naturally, no one would be satisfied if they can see it but cannot enjoy it. This is not a good thing."

Liu Li did not pretend to be noble. He talked about matters of interest in front of the emperor with confidence and without any reservation.

There is nothing to hide about this kind of thing. Who wouldn't be jealous of the huge profits of the navy?

That is, the navy is all over the world searching for gold mines. The gold mines provide the emperor with countless gold and silver every year to support your majesty's ambition to surpass the achievements of his fathers and ancestors. Otherwise, even the emperor would be unable to resist taking a bite...

Li Chengqian knew that Liu Li was telling the truth, so he nodded.

After all, the first thing to do as a king is "balance". This is an old saying, but it is also a true saying.

Now the balance between the Anxi Army and the Navy has been broken. Fang Jun has monopolized power and his words are law. He has swallowed up all the benefits and does not give even a single bit to others, which goes against the way a king governs the world.

However, he was unwilling to take back the profits from Fang Jun and distribute them to others.

The reason why Fang Jun monopolizes these benefits is that it is the result of his efforts and he deserves it. Since others have not paid anything in advance, why do they demand to get it?
"What does the Secretary-General want to do?"

"Why not share some of the profits taken by the navy? It doesn't have to be too much. I think Duke Yue will not object if it's just for show. This way, others won't make a fuss. As for how to distribute it, it's up to Your Majesty to decide."

"If you have any suggestions, please tell me. I will consider them."

"The navy has occupied countless territories overseas, either by leasing, purchasing, or forcibly occupying them. They are all rich areas of a country. Perhaps we can select a minister of sufficient weight to serve as the governor of a place, responsible for local trade and people's livelihood, and let the civil officials also participate in the vigorous ocean trade... After all, the civil officials can't only be in charge of land, and the sea is the world of the army, right?"

Li Chengqian pondered in silence. This involved a dispute between civil and military officials and he had to take it seriously.

Moreover, Te also felt that there was some truth in Liu Li's words. The Royal Navy was now pioneering and advancing rapidly overseas, occupying territories, engaging in trade, and opening mines all over the world. However, these were entirely military activities, and the civil servants had no say in them. How could the civil servants not make a fuss when they saw the military eating big mouthfuls of meat while they couldn't even have a sip of soup?

Furthermore, it is indeed not a good thing for the military to dominate overseas. The result of the integration of military and politics is the breeding of warlords and numerous hidden dangers. The most stable system is the merging of civil and military forces and the mutual checks and balances.

However, he also had to ensure his own interests as the emperor, so he reminded Liu Li: "Now many people in the royal family and the court suggest that the princes be enfeoffed overseas. The places occupied by the navy are very likely to become the princes' fiefdoms. It is impossible to set up officials and incorporate them into the territory like the prefectures and counties in the Tang Dynasty."

Liu Li hurriedly said: "This is an excellent suggestion, and I agree with it."

The princes are a very troublesome group. It is not good to neglect them, as others will say that Your Majesty is mean and ungrateful. It is also not good to treat them well, as it may lead to the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings". Almost all the princes left by the two emperors Gaozu and Taizong are outstanding. Once they go to the rich fiefdoms, they can easily cause trouble.

But if they were to be enfeoffed overseas as Li Ke did, it would be a perfect solution.