Chapter 164 What do you think His Majesty said? (Seeking monthly votes)

Before setting off to the navy, he also had to discuss some matters with Feng Qing.

"Mr. Feng...Mr. Feng."

Li Xiang was suddenly promoted from county magistrate to chief secretary, and it took him a while to get used to it.

"I'm here." Feng Qing bowed in response.

"Who can take over as the county magistrate in Wendeng County?" Li Xiang asked.

Seeing Feng Qing's hesitation, Li Xiang reassured him and said, "If there is a suitable candidate, just recommend him. Don't ruin the great achievements you have made in Wendeng County over the years just because you feel embarrassed."

Since Li Xiang had said so, Feng Qing could only reply, "Replying to the Prince, Sun Delong, the lieutenant of Wendeng County, can be the county magistrate."

"In that case, let Sun Delong take over." Li Xiang said with a smile: "I will take a few days off with you, go home and settle down, and then come to Penglai to take office in five days."

"Thank you, Prince!" Feng Qing bowed to express his gratitude.

After seeing Feng Qing off, Li Xiang brought his men to the navy.

Su Dingfang was still training, but when he heard that Li Xiang had arrived in person, he immediately pulled Pei Xingjian over.

"Prince!" Su Dingfang and the other two greeted Li Xiang.

"No need to be so polite." Li Xiang motioned for the two of them to stand up, glanced at the navy that was still training over there, and asked, "Are they training using land warfare methods?"

"Yes." Su Dingfang replied, "It's unbearable... Duke Yun was suspicious of me and Shouyue, so he sent us to the navy. I was so angry that I wanted to train the navy to look good and let him see it!"

"You want to talk about that guy, right?" Li Xiang asked with a smile.

Su Dingfang choked for a moment, nodded and said, "That fellow!"

"That's right. Let him see how blind he is." Li Xiang patted Su Dingfang's arm. "Also, the way you train the navy is like you're using them as the army. But just train them. It doesn't make much difference anyway."

Su Dingfang didn't quite understand what Li Xiang meant, so he asked, "May I ask, Prince, isn't the navy supposed to fight on land?"

"There's nothing wrong with your understanding now." Li Xiang nodded and asked, "How many people have you recruited so far?"

"We recruited a total of 5,000 people. When we heard that we were recruiting soldiers to attack Goguryeo, the people were very enthusiastic." Su Dingfang replied with some joy.

Li Xiang nodded and said, "How can it not be high? Farming at home doesn't require so many people, and fishing is just a way to make a living. Isn't it better to join the army to find a way out?"

He saw it very clearly, and Su Dingfang and Pei Xingjian understood it as well.

But you still have to say some polite words.

"What the prince said is very true," Pei Xingjian continued, "In fact, many of them joined the army because their families could not afford food, just to make a living."

"Not only do we have to provide meals, but we also have to pay military salaries," said Li Xiang.

"Still paying salaries?" Su Dingfang was stunned.

It’s not that he was stingy, it’s mainly because the Tang Dynasty implemented the military system at that time.

As a soldier in the early Tang Dynasty, he could be allocated land. On average, each person could get one hectare of land, equivalent to one hundred acres, of which twenty acres were permanent land and eighty acres were land for each household.

Permanent land can be inherited, but household land must be returned to the government after death.

The amount of land allocated varies depending on the location. In Gyeonggi Province, where there are many people and little land, only 20 to 30 acres of land are allocated; in places with fewer people and more land, more land is allocated, up to several hundred acres.

To put it bluntly, it is the same as now: in places with good economic conditions, civil servants have good benefits; in places with poor economic conditions, civil servants can only receive basic wages. But in the Tang Dynasty, it was the opposite: in places with good economic conditions and a large population, the land that the soldiers could be allocated was insufficient.

The land was used to pay the soldiers' salaries, weapons and equipment, so the government did not pay them salaries. The soldiers also had to provide their own weapons and food for the front lines, which greatly saved the government's expenses.

Of course, it doesn't mean that you buy things as you need them. It means that you pay for the purchase of things yourself, and the money is managed by the government. You get them when you need them, and you have to return them after the war.

For example, in the "Ballad of Mulan" that we learned in school, it says "go to the east market to buy a bridle, and go to the west market to buy a long whip", which is talking about the government soldiers purchasing their own weapons and equipment.

Not only him, but even the soldiers who came to the navy felt that giving them food was a favor from the court.

Li Xiang was certainly aware of this, but the money still had to be paid. After all, the navy was different from the government soldiers. They were all recruited and were considered conscripted soldiers.

Since you don't grant them land and don't let them go home to farm, of course you have to pay them wages.

Fortunately, Li Xiang is not short of money now, so he can still afford this salary.

Of course... the matter of salary payment was discussed with Li Shimin, and he still understood these basic taboos.

"Of course we have to pay them. If you don't grant them land, how can you not pay them money?" Li Xiang smiled and said, "Let's use my inner treasury to pay for it. After all, I have made a lot of money in the past six months. At least I can afford to support the navy."

"This..." Su Dingfang asked hesitantly: "Of course there is no problem with the prince paying, but the saint..."

"Don't worry, I have asked for instructions on this matter." Li Xiang looked at Su Dingfang and Pei Xingjian: "Guess what His Majesty said?"

"Then...what does Your Majesty say?" The two looked at each other and asked.

Li Xiang imitated Li Shimin and said, "Your Majesty, I have money, why do I need you? Since you dare to ask me for this navy, you must be able to get military pay, otherwise you should return to Luoyang as soon as possible and stop embarrassing me here!"

Of course...he made that up, but that's what he meant.

Li Shimin really missed Li Xiang at that time, so he wanted to use this method to force Li Xiang to come back.

I never expected that Li Xiang is really rich!
Selling sugar and oil, plus the restaurant business, made him the richest man in Chang'an.

Even if three Yuchi Gongs were put together, they would not be as rich as Li Xiang.

Su Dingfang smiled. As smart as he was, he knew that Li Shimin wanted Li Xiang to give up.

But who would have thought that this prince really was a man with the world in his heart.

Li Xiang stretched his arms and said, "Of course, I have also secured a lot of autonomy for our navy. At least we don't need to ask the court for instructions on actions."

"Your Majesty agreed?" Pei Xingjian asked in astonishment.

"Of course." Li Xiang smiled and said, "I told His Majesty at the time that I could raise my own military pay and support the army, which is of course no problem, but you can't restrict me too much, right? You have to give me some autonomy, right? You can't let my good grandfather take over everything, right?"

"You want me to make money on my own, but you also want me to be a good kid. That's unreasonable."

Pei Xingjian couldn't help laughing out loud: "Well, what did the saint say?"

Li Xiang waved his hands and said in a very impatient tone: "The sage said, go away, go away, I don't care about anything, I don't ask anything. I warn you, Li Xiang, don't bother me with these trivial matters!" "The Prince is really favored..." Su Dingfang couldn't help but sigh.

Pei Xingjian also looked at Li Xiang with approval, thinking in his heart that he had really followed the right person.

"So our navy must not only conduct land combat training, but also go out to sea." Li Xiang began to set the tone: "Going out to sea to fish is also a form of maritime training, and by the way, you can also have an extra meal for yourself."

"Is this really possible?" Pei Xingjian was a little skeptical.

"Don't worry, it's no problem." Li Xiang nodded, "Also...how is Yan Lide's warship?"

"Yan Zhongjian has delivered 400 warships," Su Dingfang said, "and another 100 ships are on the way."

"So fast?" Li Xiang was a little surprised. Isn't Yan Lide too fast?
On second thought, it makes sense, this was the speed Yan Lide used to run in history.

Considering that Li Shimin did not punish Yan Lide afterwards, it means that at least in terms of shipbuilding, Yan Lide's quality was guaranteed.

"We need to continue recruiting soldiers. Hmm..." Li Xiang thought for a moment and continued, "Although we won't be given land, we will still have to pay them. Let's recruit another 5,000 to make up 10,000. These 10,000 sailors will be used as standing troops. Also, when the conditions for drying salt are ripe, we will recruit another 10,000 to 20,000 and distribute salt fields as their pay."

"Yes, Prince." Su Dingfang said immediately.

"How about this new ship built by Yan Lide?" Li Xiang asked again.

"The soldiers all praised the new boat for its speed and stability." Su Dingfang replied, "They said it was much more stable than the boats they had taken before."

"Yes." Li Xiang nodded and said, "We should not only train the soldiers in land warfare, but also in water warfare."

"Our navy is not only facing landing operations, but also the navy of Baekje and Goguryeo. We must not take it lightly. Do you understand?"

"I understand!" Su Dingfang immediately clasped his fists and said.

Li Xiang was naturally relieved to know that Su Dingfang was doing the job.

Pei Xingjian stood there, hesitant to speak, and didn't utter a word for a long time.

"Shou Yue, is there anything I can help you with?" Li Xiang asked.

Pei Xingjian then said, "Ah, nothing, my sister just asked me to ask if your socks are comfortable."

"Very comfortable." Li Xiang affirmed with a smile.

"Then I feel relieved." Pei Xingjian finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Xiang also has his own ideas about the spiritual civilization construction of the army.

Of course, these cannot be accomplished overnight. The most important thing now is to get the salt fields ready and to organize fishermen to go out to sea to fish.

After wandering around the military camp for a while, looking here and there, Li Xiang set off for the shipyard where Yan Lide was.

After Li Xiang left, Su Dingfang announced the issue of salary payment to all the officers and soldiers of the navy.

When they heard that in addition to being able to serve as soldiers and eat food, they could also receive Kaiyuan Tongbao coins, the officers and soldiers' enthusiasm for training immediately rose to a higher level.

Talking to the soldiers of this era about defending the country and talking about ideals is all empty talk. As long as their stomachs are filled, they are willing to fight for their lives.

If we can fill their stomachs and give them a little salary at the same time, they will be the most loyal of the loyal ones.

What's more, the military salary paid by Li Xiang was not small. Even if he went to work in the county town, he would not get so many copper coins.

Thinking of this, the soldiers also felt grateful to Li Xiang in their hearts.

The Prince’s kindness is higher than the sky and deeper than the sea!
Yan Lide's shipyard was quite large. He recruited almost all the craftsmen from Henan Province and nearly 10,000 civilian laborers. In short, when Li Xiang arrived at the shipyard, he understood why he built ships so quickly.

We have put all our efforts into supplying and allowed Yan Lide to build ships in large quantities. How can the speed be slow?
After meeting Li Xiang, Yan Lide was very enthusiastic and repeatedly praised the excellent performance of the new ship to him.

"This pointed-bottom boat that the prince mentioned is really amazing!" Yan Lide praised: "Ordinary ships are very bumpy when sailing on the sea; this pointed-bottom boat is not only stable, but can also perform various actions that flat-bottomed boats cannot do, and can also sail steadily in the waves. It's really magical!"

"Pointed-bottom boats do have limitations. They are not as good as flat-bottom boats in shallow waters," said Li Xiang.

Yan Lide smiled and said, "What the prince said is true, but after all, we are fighting at sea, so we naturally have to build ships based on the premise of adapting to the wind and waves at sea."

"You are right." Li Xiang nodded, then looked at him and asked, "Can the shipyard still build ships now?"

"It's still okay." Yan Lide looked at Li Xiang and asked in confusion: "But I think these 500 ships should be enough for military supplies, right?"

"We are not building military ships, but we are asking you to reduce the size of the ships a little bit." Li Xiang said with a smile: "We should not only build military ships, but also some civilian ships for fishermen to use, so that fishing at sea will be convenient and safe."

"So that's how it is." Yan Lide suddenly realized and said, "I understand."

"Just build it with peace of mind. I won't let you lose money." Li Xiang comforted Yan Lide and said, "The ships built for the army will be taken care of by the court. But the ships built for the people will be paid for by me. You can tell me how much it costs when the time comes."

"Then, Prince, how many ships should we build?" Yan Lide asked.

Li Xiang pondered for a moment, then said: "Let's build a hundred ships first, and then we can do it when we don't have enough."

"I understand." Yan Lide bowed.

After returning to the Governor's Mansion, Li Xiang began to recall the details of drying salt.

In fact, sea salt has been used since the Western Zhou Dynasty. The State of Qi became one of the most powerful countries at that time because of its "convenience of fish and salt".

Not only Qi, but also Wu, a vassal state in the Western Han Dynasty, was close to the ocean. The reason why it had the confidence to challenge the imperial court was because it could cut mountains for copper and boil the sea for salt.

But the salt-drying method... there is no exact time of its invention. However, according to Li Xiang's observation, this method was not mastered at least during the Zhenguan period.

If you want to dry salt, you need to choose a large, flat seaside mudflat in an area with a mild climate and plenty of sunlight to build a salt field.

Salt fields are generally divided into two parts, namely evaporation ponds and crystallization ponds.

First, introduce the seawater into the evaporation pond. When the water evaporates to a certain extent through sunlight, pour it into the crystallization pond and continue to be exposed to the sun. The seawater will become a saturated solution of table salt, and the salt will gradually precipitate out through further exposure.

The crystals obtained at this time are the coarse salt we commonly see.

After Li Xiang wrote down this general principle, Feng Qing happened to come to the Governor's Mansion with his family.

Dengzhou’s road to wealth is about to begin!

(Second update is here. I haven't been feeling well recently, and the plot is difficult to write, so I'll keep updating twice at least. When I feel a little better, I'll update three times, or one more chapter.)
(End of this chapter)