In the afternoon, snow was flying, and Li Li stayed in the warm warm chalet. Looking at the third snow since the beginning of winter, he suddenly felt a lot of poetry.

I wanted to write poems with my pen, but what I was talking about in my mind was Tang poetry and Song lyrics. After a long time, I didn’t write a word, so I silently put down my pen.

He really does not have the ability to write poetry, nor does he want to deceive himself. There are many ways to vent his good mood. He does not need to "adjust reference" and put a gift on his face.

Next to it, Zhang Lihua is giving.

She carefully took out a piece of gold foil from the box and pasted a model of a large sailing boat.

Gold foil is a new paper product. The "gold" on it is not real gold, but it is like real gold and has many uses.

The golden color is always so dazzling. Li Li looked at the sailboat that gradually turned golden and asked, "It's too vulgar."

"It's not bad, Saburo's ship model always has to be unique."

While Zhang Lihua said, she seriously "does handicrafts" with various gadgets on the table, which looked quite "professional".

Seeing that Li Li looked serious, he stopped insisting.

He could not sail to the sea, but he could look at the ship model ornaments and imagine the future.

In the future, many sea boats will slash through the waves, moving towards the depths of the vast sea, constantly discovering new islands and land until that day...

"Sanlang, are the maintenance costs of these big sea boats very expensive?"

Zhang Lihua asked, and Li Li nodded: "Of course, the boats are like this. After all, they are made of wooden boards and need to be maintained regularly."

"Even the most common canal ship in Yundu, the wood is replaced every year, and the maintenance cost is a considerable expense."

"The maintenance of sea ships is even more expensive. You should know that if these sea ships soaked in the sea for a long time, the bottom of the ship will grow shells and shipworms, which are densely packed, which will not only cause a significant decrease in the ship speed, but also accelerate the decay speed of the ship board."

"For the maintenance of sea ships, it is time-consuming, labor-intensive and manual. After the normal use cycle is over, the total price of the money spent on maintenance is higher than that of the new ship."

Zhang Lihua nodded in a slight sense of understanding. She actually didn't care about any sea boats, she was just trying to find an excuse to chat with Li Li.

Li Li picked up a ship model and continued to explain: "It's okay for the merchant ship, after all, the subsequent cost of use was considered when building the ship, and the warship was just a money-burning thing."

How can copper coins be burned?

Zhang Lihua thought Li Li was a metaphor and listened silently.

"The imperial court established a navy, that is, the navy at sea. Many ministers felt that the expenses were too high. Just looking at the numbers on the books, this view is correct."

Li Li put down the ship model and stood up and walked back and forth: "However, they did not understand the importance of sea power, so they felt that a strong navy was a burden."

"Their eyes were always attracted by the land under their feet, and they thought they would be determined only by stepping on the ground. The vast sea was like the ridge area of ​​the smoky land, and it was a forbidden area."

"So, naval warships that cost more than 100,000 yuan are just giant gold-eating beasts, that is, large Pixiu. Do you know Pixiu?"

Zhang Lihua knew the answer to this "question", so he quickly answered: "I know that Pixiu is a kind of auspicious beast that only enters and does not leave, and is regarded as a wealth-seeking beast by merchants."

Li Li smiled: "Yes, Pixiu only enters and does not leave. In the eyes of many people, the navy that has been formed with huge amounts of money is Pixiu."

"Isn't it?" Zhang Lihua said this on purpose, and Li Li glanced at her: "That depends on how the navy is used."

"If you just use it to show off your power and decorate the imperial court's facade, a naval fleet is indeed a super big toy that burns money. Even if this fleet has been berthed in the port and does not move, it will cost huge sums of money every year to maintain it."

"But, to change the way, this navy often wanders around the coastal areas of other countries, and fights whoever is disobedient, or clears up pirates, protects the safety of the route, and plays a real role. The money spent is worth it."

Zhang Lihua really doesn't understand: "Even if there are some specialties in small overseas countries, it is not worth the imperial court to mobilize troops to conquer them, right?"

"The small tribes on the grassland, whose tribe chiefs are mostly poor people than the owners of the Central Plains manors, but to control the grassland, you have to control these tribes first."

"In this way, the caravans are in the grassland and in the desert. Don't say that this kind of trade is not profitable. Countless Sogdian caravans travel thousands of miles across the east and west, selling all kinds of goods. If they don't make money, why do they have to work so hard to do business?"

"Similarly, the same is true for maritime trade. Although there have been many maritime merchants in coastal areas since ancient times, most of the time, maritime merchants in the Central Plains are just sitting in business, only moving near the sea, waiting for the merchants to come to the shore to do business."

"Although there are also Central Plains sea ships who have been to the extreme west, and the countries there also know the names of Central Plains sea merchants, this kind of voyage is more of a personal behavior, and the reputation of several large ship owners is only beneficial to their individual and family."

Li Li sat down and unfolded a chart. Although Zhang Lihua couldn't understand it, she still came over: After all, this was her purpose, and she wanted to find a way to chat with the emperor.

"If you are a businessman, you will do business in your hometown, and you will have a smooth connection and are not afraid of someone breaking the situation. But if you want to make the business bigger and increase your profits, you have to be a businessman."

"If you are a businessman, you are busy traveling around and want to ask for some food on others' places, you have to face the local city foxes and clubs."

"If you need to manage, you should share the profit, and if you need to share the profit, you should establish a good relationship with local officials and local officials. This transaction is not impossible."

"When doing business, you seek wealth, and harmony brings wealth, so it is best to be harmonious."

Speaking of this, Li Li's tone became stern: "But there are always people who are in a state of indifference. They get benefits and want more!"

"Seeing that Zhongyuan maritime merchants can endure hardships and make a lot of money, they are jealous. They don't even say they have blackmailed, but they dare to rob them!"

"The pirates in the South China Sea, now seeing the sea ships in the Central Plains, are like hungry wolves seeing fat sheep, screaming and chasing them."

"Those small foreign countries, even though they benefited from maritime trade, began to make things difficult for Zhongyuan Maritime Merchants because of some secretly provoked them. They even deliberately did not sell local specialties such as incense and medicine to Zhongyuan Maritime Merchants, but wanted to get it through."

"Is it because of it? Could it be..." Zhang Lihua pretended to think and said for a moment: "Did they deliberately sell all the goods to maritime merchants in other countries first? This is what they have done?"

"Yes, it's so shameless!" Li Li said, a little annoyed.

Zhang Lihua understood why Li Li was angry because she was at bedtime the night before, and accidentally saw Li Li not having his memorial on the desk.

Although I just glanced at it inadvertently and looked at it for a few paragraphs, I learned something from this:

The officials and men of Shaofu Temple, that is, those big ship owners with official positions, complained to the court, saying that some small countries in the South China Sea were "too bullying."

That's why she deliberately started the topic today.

Li Li used his finger to draw a circle in an area on the chart: "There is no hatred for no reason and greed for money is just one of the reasons."

"These countries were deeply influenced by India. The nobles wrote Sanskrit, spoke Sanskrit, and believed in Buddhism. The monks who invited the sutras were all the monks of India. Most of the merchants in India were the guests of the nobles."

"Central China's maritime merchants have gone from being a businessman to becoming a businessman, and come to grab the supply of maritime merchants from other countries. How can they not attract hatred?"

"They were so angry that they couldn't fight on the outside, so they just played tricks on themselves, using their influence to instigate local nobles, wealthy families, and merchants in the Central Plains, and even incite pirates to rob halfway."

"So many local snakes are ready to move. How can the Zhongyuan Maritime Merchants who fight alone be the opponent?"

"It's also a blessing that the imperial fleet went out to sea to trade regularly, which gave many small sea merchants the opportunity to follow and ensure safety, otherwise the situation would be even more chaotic."

"However, these countries maliciously restrict supply, or constantly asking for prices, are not problems that official trade fleets can solve."

As Li Li said, poking the chart with his fingers: "In the grassland, any tribe who dares to rob a caravan must die, and the same is true in the sea!"

"Go to be so kind, you are so shameless. I will send a gunship to blow your broken city!!"
Chapter completed!