Chapter 323: Wherever Song Shang goes, wherever he goes

After Zhao Xing was promoted, although he was a third rank, he already had the power to dispatch a large army, which was equivalent to the "Taiwei". Emperor Tiangao in Guangdong was far away, and Zhao Xing controlled the Guangdong-Guangdong area with one hand, and some people privately called it "King of Guangzhou". Since then, Li Gefei's attitude has also changed. He no longer just shirked Zhao Xing's proposal for marriage, but also frequently created opportunities to let the two children get along.

Li Gefei climbed onto Zhao Xing's carriage and emptyed his carriage for Zhao Feng and Li Qingzhao to ride. Zhao Feng had a bitter face and slowly climbed onto the carriage. Li Qingzhao turned over and got into the carriage quickly and reached out to pull Zhao Feng into the carriage. Looking at Li Qingzhao's actions, Li Gefei said with satisfaction: "Zhao Feng is very steady, I like it very much."

"What are you waiting for? I'll go and get a job tomorrow." Zhao Xing sat in the carriage and patted his thighs excitedly. He was secretly amused: "Zhao Tingzhi, I finally pry your corner. Li Qingzhao - I couldn't change the history of the Song Dynasty, but I changed your destiny."

Li Gefei nodded slightly and replied: "My term of office last year has expired. This year, I will serve as Guangdong Strategic Inspector. After this term, I plan to return to my hometown to settle down. If the child's marriage can be settled, I wonder if your child will return to Hangzhou or in Guangzhou?"

"Back!" Zhao Xing was afraid that Li Gefei would regret it: "My manor in Hangzhou should be inherited by his legitimate son. In the future, the big castle will be tossed by your Qingzhao... Speaking of which, it is a Fengshui treasure land that can be attacked and defended, the surrounding Yizhileye village, and the Cheng villages echo each other. The Japanese slaves, Gurkha slaves, and Kunlun slaves in the fort, are soldiers. There are artillery in the warehouse of the castle... When you arrive in Hangzhou, your Qingzhao can do whatever you want, because all the officials in Hangzhou are appointed by me and Mr. Po personally."

Li Gefei nodded: "I don't have much expectations for the career path. I am not like you. I am so powerful and domineering with the mark of the Shu Party. So I have achieved the end of my career. When this term of office is over, I guess I will have enough money for the rest of my life. I plan to settle in Suzhou and go to Hangzhou to see my daughter even if I have nothing to do. I am leisurely and spend my old age in peace."

Zhao Xing sighed regretfully: "Guangzhou is in full swing, it is a period of great development. Why does Brother Li want to leave at this time? Can't he stay for a few more years?"

Li Gefei laughed loudly: "I guess I can't leave after a few years - your business in Hangzhou is getting stronger and stronger. The court will definitely think about deducting your wings next, and I am on the list. If I don't leave then, I'm afraid there will be no good ending, so it's better to leave early."

Zhao Xing wanted to persuade him again, but a voice rang out of the carriage and asked, "Is it Zhao Jingluo's carriage? The officials are going to go with him. Can you get on the carriage and see him?"

Zhao Xing knocked on the wall of the carriage, and the carriage paused. Wenxun lifted the curtain and climbed onto the carriage, and greeted the two people in the carriage.

Zhao Xing's carriage was a four-wheeled carriage. There were originally several maids serving in the carriage, but today it was a banquet in the officialdom, so the maids followed behind the carriage and did not enter the carriage. So the carriage was very spacious. After Wenxun sat down, he stretched his waist and bowed to Zhao Xing: "The officials always wanted to go to the mansion to visit Lord Zhao, but the master was so busy that he didn't touch the ground and often missed it. Speaking of which, I, the diligent official in the Song Dynasty, are rarely as busy as Lord Zhao."

Zhao Xing narrowed his eyes, looking like he enjoyed Wenxun's compliment. He replied proudly: "Mr. Wen should write more of these words in the letter."

What Zhao Xing said about "write more in letters" is to imply Wenxun reports to the young emperor more.

Wenxun immediately replied: "I wrote it - even though we are in the same city, I can imagine seeing Lord Zhao. It's not easy. I ran to the Guangzhou Transportation Office for a visit. I said you ran to the Guangzhou Maritime Warehouse Office and waited for me to chase me to the Maritime Warehouse Office. I also said you went to the Hong Kong Money Cricketing Office... These three places alone made me run thinner, not to mention that adults like to run to Guangxi.

The Xiaguan came this time to say goodbye to the adults. I have been transferred to the Jinghu North Road Inspection Envoy, and the new Zouma will take office at the end of the year. In addition, I heard that the two inspectors in Guangxi, Guangdong will also be transferred to Hedong Road. There will be a major transfer in the Guangdong officialdom next year..."

Zhao Xing and Li Gefei had a good look. They were talking about this just now, but now it seems that Zhang Dun has started to take action.

"Xie Lin, the transferor of Jinghu North Road, Lao Gang, met with me in Yizhang City. Lord Wen is going to Jinghu, so I can just say hello to him." Zhao Xing answered bluntly.

This is a hint, implying that the other party still needs cooperation in the future. Wenxun was not polite, and he said with a smile: "I heard that adults want to build the canal to Yichang and the official road. In the future, I am afraid that I will have to deal with adults when I am on Jinghu North Road."

After Wenxun said this, Li Gefei suddenly remembered that he quickly took out a "Marine News" from under him, shook the newspaper and said, "By the way, the new newspaper published a message saying that it was Shaozhou, Guangzhou, and Jinghu and Chenzhou. Tanzhou merchants invested in establishing a canal company. I was wondering where canals exist in Guangzhou, so that's it."

Zhao Xing smiled very honestly: "Yes, those businessmen have communicated with me. They want to raise money to dig a canal. Because it was the merchants who paid for the land themselves, it was purely a business act, so I did not report to the court.

Anyway, the court does not allocate funds, and they only do business by themselves. Our local officials can only do logistics for them... It is said that after the canal is dug, they are ready to charge the ships on the river, and then use this fee to continue dredging the canal, maintain the operation of the canal, and make some money by the way."

Li Gefei smiled at Zhao Xing with meaningful meaning, and Wenxun was not confused. He said in a bland tone: "I'm afraid it's not a small amount of money! Dongting is rich, and my scattered cargo in Guangzhou can be transported to Dongting by small boats, and the cargo along the Yangtze River, especially the Shujinchuan cargo in Chengdu, can go downstream and transported directly to Guangzhou without changing the ship. I heard that the Shujin and tea in Chengdu are very popular with maritime merchants. In this way, it is difficult for Guangzhou Maritime Shipping Company to not increase its income."

Zhao Xing nodded and admitted honestly: "Recently, the Guangnan Navy has arrived at the former black-clothed food and food, and now the Arab country. I heard that the war horses there are very majestic, each of which is over a thousand pounds, and are tall and big. They run tirelessly and often run in the desert for more than ten days. They are still energetic (in the 18th century desert cross-country competition, only Arab horses can complete the entire journey).

Do you know? Such a majestic horse only needs seven baskets of tea to exchange (there were such historical records in the Port of Oman), and the best-quality war horses are only ten baskets of tea, that is, 150 kilograms of tea, or two Shu brocade... It's cheap. I'm going to exchange Shu brocade for a large number of land war horses for Arabia. But the appetite of those Arab merchants has already been raised, and they have to have real Shu brocade. The brocade with brilliant clouds can induce them to make concessions - concessions to the land.

A Arab king promised that if I gave him a certain amount of Shu brocade, he would sell me a piece of sand by the sea. Although the sand was not produced much, I would name it Kuwait—this is how the locals pronounced it, and then I would use it as a foothold and support it. Our navy can sail further away."

Wenxun asked again: "After you buy this land, will you want to return it to the Song Dynasty?"

Zhao Xing nodded: "Of course, I established the Overseas Affairs Department, and I am also preparing to do this. Overseas Song merchants are lonely and do not have the support of the Song Dynasty. They are just a group of lonely ghosts who are bullied. They must have the official to come forward so that they can stand up and walk on that land."

Wenxun nodded silently and stopped talking.

When the carriage approached the dock area, Yuan Yeping, who had been waiting there, came up to welcome him. He had just arrived from Danluo to Hong Kong, and before he could report to Zhao Xing's mansion, he showed off his war horse at the dock. The tall horse under his crotch was indeed majestic. Seeing Zhao Xing's carriage coming, Yuan Yeping immediately came up: "Sir, look, this is the horse we cultivated on Danluo Island. It is made up of a hybrid of Spanish horses and Arabian horses - look, this bones are thick and strong, with four hooves like flying clouds, walking like dancing, riding on the horse without any bumps...

Such a horse was sold for 80,000 yuan in the capital, and there was still no market price. Sir. Now we have 3,000 war horses on Danluo Island. In total, it is worth 20,400 yuan... The hard work in the past few years has finally achieved results."

Zhao Xing went over, patted the horse's neck, and violently pedaled the ground. Under Zhao Xing's gentle caress, he gradually calmed down.

Looking at the shiny skin of the war horse, Zhao Xing nodded with satisfaction and said, "I remember that not all land horses are suitable for war horses. We also need to train to make them accustomed to the sound of gunfire. Unfortunately, this horse is too expensive..."

Li Gefei echoed: "I heard that if a war horse wants to go to the battlefield, it must reach the age of seven. For every qualified war horse training, you must lose at least three horses during the training process - such an expensive war horse is only suitable for wealthy people to play with. Ordinary soldiers are not willing to ride it onto the battlefield."

Yuan Yeping crossed his hands, bowed, and replied: "Mr. Li, however, excellent war horses are still excellent. This horse is very sensitive to the owner's movements. With a little training, it will react to the owner's tiny movements, such as sprinting and crossing obstacles. However, it takes more than ten times the time to train, and it may not be trained. Because those horses are dull, they have to be driven by whipping.

For excellent horses, the whip is just a look. They don’t need the whip to fall on their bodies to understand their master’s meaning. This is the case with this war horse. It runs fast and steady. Appreciating its running is like appreciating a dance. Lord Li, if you have time, let’s enjoy the running posture of this horse.”

During the time when Yuan Yeping talked to Li Gefei, Zhao Xing had turned his gaze to the carriage behind. On the carriage behind, Li Qingzhao took Zhao Feng's hand and jumped out of the carriage. Zhao Feng, the little brother, had a bitter face and directly looked at Zhao Xing for help. Zhao Xing quickly turned his face aside and pretended to ask Yuan Yeping: "Have you seen Chen Buqun? His fleet entered the port yesterday and said he was busy collecting sails and didn't come to my house. It's time to finish the work now."

Yuan Yeping replied: "I have met him at the dock. He has arranged the unloading matters and then went to Guangming Tower by himself."

Zhao Xing immediately answered: "Then what are we waiting for? Go to that tower of light."

In front of the Guangming Tower, officials from relevant places in Guangzhou were all here. They surrounded the tower and evaluated the thirteenth-level pagoda made of cement stone.

There are often typhoons and heavy rains in Guangzhou. Under this climate, Indian-style eaves and pavilions have become less adaptable to harsh climates. The stone tower built by Zhao Xing completely abandons the high eaves and uses pure stone to build a short eaves similar to Kaifeng Iron Tower, but its style is closer to the Mediterranean building.

What is slightly different from Kaifeng Iron Tower is that this tower is a hexagonal tower. The five sides of the tower face the sea, each floor is inlaid with huge glass windows, but the only side facing the land is a closed stone wall, and only the top layer is six-sided inlaid with glass, transparent and bright.

Such a high tower was generally called the "Butu Tower" in ancient China.

This tower has been built for two years in total. When it was just laid, Zhao Xing asked Su Shi to write the inscription "Guangming Tower".

The unveiling ceremony of the stone pagoda in the Song Dynasty was similar to that in modern times. Guangzhou officials who came "dian" sang and danced, and presented a perfect set of "roadshows" of the Song and Song dynasties to attract the attention of passers-by. After the singing and dancing performance was completed, Zhao Xing cut the ribbon and walked into the Tower of Light with the officials. Follow the stairs to the twelfth floor of the tower.

On the twelfth floor, Chen Buqun was holding a telescope to observe one by one on five windows inlaid with glass. At this time, the sun was gradually setting, and the sunset was red, which also dyed Chen Buqun red. In the red light in the sky, Chen Buqun first bowed to Zhao Xing, then put away the telescope and flashed silently to the side.

Li Gefei drew a candle. He lit the torch in Zhao Xing's hand. Zhao Xing was about to use the torch to light the light on the tower. Suddenly, he paused, waved to Li Qingzhao, and said with a smile: "Today, this honor should be given to the Li family's little lady. You may not know yet. I had already made a marriage with Lord Li on the road just now. I will go to propose marriage tomorrow. So, today, I will be the honor of lighting the torch today, and I will be prepared by my future daughter-in-law."

Zhao Feng's face was so bitter that he could flow into the water, but Zhao Xing found that the child's eyes were full of smiles, and the corners of his eyes were bent, and he could not hide his happiness. Zhao Xing was so happy that he stuffed the torch into Li Qingzhao's hand without saying a word. He also pointed Li Qingzhao forward and lit the wick with the torch.

The thirteenth floor of this tower is a large oil platform. After the wick is lit, the entire thirteenth floor is illuminated. After a while, the geothermal steam generated by baking begins to rotate the metal silver cover on the thirteenth floor, and the silver cover makes a rumbling sound.

This silver cover is made of Song Dynasty revolving lamp technology and is stamped with a very thin silver plate, which splices a huge rotating lampshade. The hot air after the burning lampstand rushes to the top of the lampshade, and the airflow naturally drives the lampshade and rotates like a revolving lampshade.

The revolving lantern is drawn with traditional stories and characters, but this lampshade is not a lamp that is tightly stitched. It has a gap on one side, and silver reflections on all sides. The light can only pour out from this gap. Once the lampshade rotates, the ships on the sea in the distance will find the flashing light emitted by the lighthouse, and then the course can be corrected based on the flashing light. Crews who know the trigonometric function can even calculate their own speed of the land and the navigation angle between the ships and reefs based on the gap between the flashing ground... But these are all ground knowledge required by senior crew members.

After the lights on the thirteenth floor were lit, Zhao Xing led the officials to climb up to the thirteenth floor to see the view. He stood by the glass window on the thirteenth floor and observed the rotation of the lantern shade. The stamped thin silver plate was very bright. When the gap was facing everyone, everyone felt that there was a bright light in front of them, and the thorns couldn't open their eyes.

After seeing the working condition of the lanternshade, Zhao Xing turned his head and walked to the glass window and looked down at the city of Hong Kong. At this time, the people of Hong Kong also lit candles and oil lamps in front of the window to respond to the lighthouse. The ships sailing on the sea also lit the lights to congratulate the lighthouse on the ignition. Soon, the whole world became a sea of ​​lights. The lights continued, as if one shone into the sky.

Zhao Xing turned his head and said to the silent Chen Buqun: "A Westerner once told me that when most cities in the world are dark, the city of Song Dynasty was bright, because I, Song Dynasty, was the only country in this era that did not have a curfew - look at the city of light under our feet. Its lights can always shine to the end of the world."

Li Gefei clapped his hands: "City of Light - this word is very appropriate. Today I finally know why you call this tower the 'Tower of Light'."

Chen Buqun nodded silently and immediately said: "Teacher, there are more than Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and all cities in my Song Dynasty are not curfews, and all our cities are 'City of Light'."

"Yes, all cities in this country are bright, this is a country of light. At the same time, except for my Song Dynasty, cities in all countries around the world are dark at night."

Chen Buqun shook his head: "Not only, in the Nanyang area, all cities with my Song Shang are also 'light'. As long as there is a place where I Song Shang gather, even in the middle of the night, there are lights and singing and dancing."

Zhao Xing then added: "Yes, this is the spark of civilization. We spread light to the world, and you, my master and disciple are the ones who ignite the fire of light... I know, you are very dissatisfied with my handling of you in the matter of Dali. But what's the use of those false names?

When I saw a "Jade City" crawling at my feet, I knew that it was me who could conquer this city - no, our master and apprentice. Zhang Tian captured that city, but everyone knew that without me, he could not do all this.

Zhang Tian was successful, and he was transferred. He was transferred to the capital to Rong and raise him, but I don’t want you to be transferred at that time. Our road is still long, and the world is right in front of us, waiting for us to open the door, light the lights, and bring lights - we have a broader world to conquer, why bother to Dali?

What is the return of Xianglin County? What is the achievement? Conquering the homeland is not our pursuit. Our pursuit is to explore and open up a road facing the sea.

Buqun, you and I have been to the West. You know, my Song Shang’s footsteps are already spread all over this Western business road. Now, my Song Shang has gone to the sea. What is missing is only official recognition, and what is missing is only someone coming forward and twisting them into a rope - this is what I need you to do. I hope that you and my master and apprentice are named after the Ocean Trail Blazers and are engraved in their hearts by the Song people.

Not a group, the official recognition is not worth mentioning, only the monument in the hearts of the people is permanent.”

Chen Buqun lowered his head, thought for a moment, apologized to Zhao Xing: "Teacher, I had figured it out when I arrived in Jinlan City. Originally, I, the Song people, were like a betrayal dog in Southeast Asia, and could be bullied, but now, each of them had a smile on their faces - what the teacher said: a confident smile.

Seeing their smiles, I already understood everything. The teacher’s ambition is not in the mainland, but in the sea. My responsibility is to follow the teacher’s footsteps and allow us Song people who are in foreign lands to have a pride that is commensurate with our civilization. Even if we are in a foreign land, we can feel the protection of the court.

The reason why I dare not see the teacher this time is because I have no shame to see the teacher. I suffered a great loss in Arabia and was burned by the Arabs with a "fire attack ship", two of which were of giant boat level... Teacher, when I close my eyes now, I can see the naked Arabs holding torches and rushing towards us...
Chapter completed!