Fu Song

Chapter 693 The Fear Hidden Deep in My Heart

Chongmingniao No. 48's paddles plunged into the water, and with a heave, the three-story ship jumped forward a long way.

He is one of the four main battleships of the Yangtze River Navy.

The entire ship carried more than [-] sailors and sailors.

There are a total of twelve cannons on both sides of the first and second floors of the ship, and two cannons at the bow and two at the stern. The entire battleship is equipped with sixteen cannons.

Looking at the Chongming Bird at this moment, there is no great threat. The artillery on the two floors has been retracted into the interior of the ship, the gun doors are tightly closed, and the two thicker artillery at the bow and stern are also closed It was tightly bound with felt cloth, and it looked like two big boxes were placed in it. If you are not a knowledgeable person, you will never see the clue.

There are four such warships in the Yangtze River Navy, Jiangxiong's flagship Bifang, the Second Fleet Chongmingniao, the Third Fleet Sanzuwu, and the Fourth Fleet Lovebird.

The Yangtze River Navy, composed of nearly [-] large and small warships headed by these four main battleships, is now firmly controlling the entire Yangtze River, Han River, and the Jianghuai River Basin.

In order to give full play to the advantages of the south over the navy, the Jiangning court spared no effort in building the navy.

These four giant warships were all launched within the past two years, and the artillery just manufactured by Jiang Ning was equipped on these four main battleships for the first time.

Think about it, even Thunder Tiger's sea long-range fleet is only equipped with two main guns at the bow and stern until now!
Because at sea, Lei Zhihu's fleet basically has few opponents that can compete with it, but now in the Jianghuai River Basin, the Liao people are also desperately developing their navy.

Liu Zheng and his son, former commanders of the Hanjiang Navy in the Song Dynasty, were appointed as the Grand Marshal of the Navy by the Empress Dowager Chengtian, and made every effort to form and integrate the water forces of the Liao Kingdom.

The Liu family and his son are experts in water warfare.Thanks to their efforts, the strength of Liao's navy is growing rapidly. Although it is still unable to compete directly with Jiang Xiong's navy, there are endless attacks and attacks.

Moreover, according to Zhiqiuyuan's estimation, according to the current development speed of the Liao State Navy, within one to two years, they will inevitably pose a threat to the Yangtze River Navy in the Huaihe River Basin.

Unlike the navy of the Song Dynasty who pursued giant ships and cannons, the navy of the Liao Kingdom is currently pursuing a small, fast and smart style of play.

Of course, this is also a helpless move.

Because of the current stage, it is completely impossible for the Liao Kingdom to compete with the Southern Song Dynasty with giant ships and cannons.

Their shipbuilding industry simply cannot meet such requirements.

The shipbuilding industry that was painstakingly managed in Goguryeo has been completely destroyed by Lei Zhihu's navy.

However, this kind of small and quick-witted tactic still has certain advantages on local battlefields in the south where the water network is developed. If you hit and run, the big ships in the south really have nothing to do with him.

Of course, although such a tactic seems to be able to achieve good results one after another, it is still irrelevant to the overall situation. Once they encounter a large-scale assembly of warships in Song Dynasty, they can only retreat.

And now, the tactics of the navy in the Southern Song Dynasty have also begun to change.

The task of the giant ship and cannon is to block the key river mouths and key points, and then the Zhong family in Nansi Lake will fight against the Liao Kingdom in the complex water network of the Jianghuai River with small to small teams. After capturing the opponent, the big ship followed up and wiped them out.

Generally speaking, the Southern Song Dynasty still has an absolute advantage in water.

This time Chong Mingniao returned to Jiangning, but it was because of transporting several important people back.

Jiang Xiong, the commander of the Yangtze River Navy, dispatched the Chongming Bird of the Second Fleet, which is second only to his flagship in combat capability, which shows the importance he attaches to the people on board.

Because the surname of the people on board is Xiao, Xiao Jing.

Another surname is Tuoba, called Tuoba Yangwei.

Xiao Jing slowly put down the Jiangning Weekly in his hand, and looked at Tuoba on the opposite side.

"Uncle Wei, the Jiangning Weekly News said that in the first quarter, Da Song's wealth income has exceeded 3000 million copper coins. Do you think this is credible? This is the first quarter. Normally speaking, the next three Every quarter will be stronger than the first quarter, so their annual income will be unbelievably high. Last year, it was just over [-] million."

It has been nearly two years since the Jiangning Weekly was published, and it could be seen in Xingqing Mansion in the past, but it was brought by the caravan, and it was basically out of date for a few months or even half a year.

But this time, they saw the latest weekly report, which happened to include the first quarter financial and tax news released by the Ministry of Households of the Great Song Dynasty.

"Since the political reform in the Song Dynasty, the statistics on taxes and taxes are generally reliable." Tuoba said proudly: "Because your second uncle turned all the country's income into copper coins. Discount, no longer accepting everything in a mess like in the past. In this way, the caliber above the statistics is unified. This number should be credible."

"But Uncle Wei, the relevant tax policies of the Song Dynasty collected by Jing'an Division, generally speaking, the tax burden of their people is only half of ours. It may be so much more than us!" Xiao Jing was a little shocked.

The wealth income of the Western Army last year was 2000 million copper coins. Although it was affected by the confrontation with Yelumin and the severance of the commercial road to the west, compared with the Song Dynasty, it was still far behind.In the first quarter of this year, there were only 400 million guan, and the income continued to decline.

Anyway, Zhang Yuan was so worried that his hair and beard turned gray again.

Tuoba smiled majestically, looked at Xiao Jing and said, "Jing'an, have you carefully studied your second uncle's political reform?"

"of course."

"Then do you think we can change like him?"

Xiao Jing sighed: "It's hard."

"Yeah, it's hard. We can all see the benefits of this, but we can't learn from him. Those tribal leaders under the Western Army and those local tyrants, you let them pay taxes in a proper manner? Then It's going to cause trouble." Tuoba spread his hands and said. "And what I have to say is that in terms of making money, I'm afraid that no one in this world can compare to your second uncle. He belongs to the kind of ruthless character who can extract oil from a rock. Often things that seem unremarkable to us can always be refurbished to get money from him. This time, I also want to discuss with him how to improve the economic situation of the Western Army."

"Second uncle is known as a money maker!" Xiao Jing couldn't help laughing.

"This is not a derogatory term!" Tuoba said proudly: "Without money, nothing can be done, but with money, everything can be done easily. Your second uncle is younger than me, but I respect him , but I am so impressed. I still remember when I first met him, when he was only 16 years old, younger than you now, at that time, he made me willing to bow my head and listen to him."

"Second Uncle is really that powerful?" Xiao Jing knew that the man in front of him, called Uncle Wei, was a well-deserved No. [-] figure in the Western Army, but only second to his own father and Zhang Yuan, the long history. .

"How many images do you have of him?" Tuoba asked with a pretentious smile.

"I don't have many memories. When we parted, I was only four years old! The deepest memory is that the second uncle cooks good food. Even my mother always said that she learned a lot of new dishes from the second uncle. He even said that he didn't know how Second Uncle, who was a scholar, was able to cook a dish and was so proficient in it."

"Knowledge is bestowed by God!" Tuoba Yangwei sighed: "For a person like him, no matter what kind of knowledge, if he delve into it a little bit, it will be like others who have been immersed in this way for half a lifetime. It is really scary."

"Uncle Wei, are you afraid of Second Uncle?" Xiao Jing asked in a low voice.

Tuoba Yangwei sighed: "A person like your second uncle, when you first meet him, is like a spring breeze. He is polite to everyone, even if it is a beggar on the road, he will not despise him in the slightest. He always Let those who are with him feel comfortable and treat him as a friend. But over the years, every time I recall my relationship with your second uncle, I can't help but feel scared. There is a feeling that is getting clearer and clearer, that is, your second uncle Uncle looks at us with condescending eyes with scrutiny, it seems to be a kind of arrogance, and it seems to be a kind of pity, this feeling is hard to explain clearly, Jing An, whenever this feeling appears, I feel that your second uncle is like a god looking down on the world."

"Is that so mysterious?" Xiao Jing laughed.

"Maybe it was his plan back then that surprised me?" Tuoba shook his head majestically and said, "At the age of sixteen, he organized us to destroy the Weiming Department with ease, and beat the mighty Li Xu to ashes. This incident forced Ma Xing, the appeasement envoy of Shaanxi Road back then, to endorse. With the power of the imperial court, he opened the Western Regions and visited Qingtang. Things that the imperial court had not done for hundreds of years, in his hands, the situation was turned upside down in just a few years. ...And according to your father, this is just part of your second uncle's plan. Including Kaibian Southwest later, it is also part of his overall situation, if there is no accident later..."

"So the second uncle is a human being and not a god. If he is a god, why would my grandfather die? How could my aunt go to the Liao Kingdom?"

"Do you think Empress Dowager Chengtian is doing well now?" Tuoba Yangwei asked back.

Xiao Jing was startled, it was really difficult for him to answer this question.

At that time, my aunt was forced and robbed into the Liao Kingdom, but now my aunt is the No. 1 in the powerful Liao Kingdom. Not to mention her strength crushing the Western Army, even the second uncle was forced to be out of breath by the aunt.

So is she doing well or not?

"Don't mention this matter in front of your second uncle! I'm afraid this is the pain of his life!" Tuoba Yangwei sighed: "I also talked about this matter with your master. I have a deep understanding. He said that a good planner seeks the general trend of the world and the foundation of the world, but he often ignores his surroundings and himself. Is this probably the case with your second uncle? To be honest, we didn't even think of the situation at that time .”

"So, Uncle Wei, apart from your father's opposition to the independent establishment of our Western Army, you have not made a clear statement. Is it because of Second Uncle?"

Tuoba Yangwei nodded: "When your second uncle planned the Western Army to control the Northwest, break the Western Regions, and visit Qingtang, he had a detailed discussion with me. In your second uncle's plan, these territories were all in his mouth. An inalienable part of the Great Song territory."

"An inseparable part?" Xiao Jing narrowed his eyes.

"That's right, so once the Western Army establishes its own country, it will definitely become your second uncle's enemy." Tuoba said arrogantly: "Jing'an, I'm afraid of becoming your second uncle's enemy."

"Uncle Wei, don't forget, there is Daliao!"

"Your aunt will allow us to be independent?" Tuoba Yangwei sighed: "When I went to Hengshan, that girl was a follower of your second uncle, and she was taught by your second uncle. You saw her all these years Have you made any moves in the Liao Kingdom? From her actions, have you not made a judgment? That is your aunt, just like your second uncle, who is obsessed with the unification of the world and will never allow the world to have a shortage. "

"If the second uncle and aunt can't decide the outcome in their entire lives? Then don't we have a chance? We are the chips that can determine the outcome. Whoever is biased will be stronger. We have always stood On the side of the weak, so they will never be able to decide the winner, Uncle Wei, although this is a tightrope walk, I think it is very interesting."

"Your master told you, right?" Tuoba smiled and said, "It's really interesting, but this year, your master has become more honest and stopped advocating such remarks. Do you know why?"

"do not know."

"Because your master suddenly found out that your aunt is a person who cannot be judged by common sense. If he can still guess some of your second uncle's actions, what your aunt did will make your master be at a loss." Tuo Ba Yangwei spread his hands and said, "Actually, it's not just your master, I'm also at a loss."

"What's the matter with Auntie?"

"In the past ten years or so, your aunt has behaved exceptionally well. She is completely a politician with a heart and a heart. If you really want to say, even Yelujun fell into her hands. Lin Ping, Yeluxi, etc. People even lost their lives. But when your aunt took power, she behaved like a gambler."

"gambler?"

"Yes, a gambler. She can't wait to bet all her chips on the poker table at once, and wants to fight with your second uncle to decide the outcome!" Tuoba said arrogantly: "Such a crazy way The consequence of the action is that either your aunt wins everything, or your second uncle wins everything."

"Will it be so?"

"This is my judgment together with your master. This time I came to see your second uncle, and I also want to get evidence from him. If your second uncle thinks so, then our Western Army must make a choice. Very One or the other, if you want to be a fencer, want to be the grass on the wall, it is completely impossible."

(End of this chapter)