Zhao Zhen stood on the flagship ferry of the Fujian Navy, and his sharp bow slashed the waves, passing through the "shallow strait".

Arriving from Hangzhou to Guangzhou is a long journey and the carriages are bumpy. Even if there is a road along the way, it is a very difficult journey. Zhao Zhen himself doesn't care, but he doesn't want Wang Yuyan and other women to suffer.

The southern tour was not fun. Although Zhao Zhen took three beauties to enjoy the scenery of Hangzhou, he did not stop his local inspection and walked south along Hangzhou. After inspections along Mingzhou, Taizhou, Wenzhou and Fuzhou, there were no illegal or disorderly events.

This is mainly due to the opening of ports, the increase in merchants and the construction of factories, which gives people more choices.

The wealth and goods brought by the increase in merchants also sold things produced by local factories. The factories absorbed a part of the population, giving people who did not want to farm more choices.

Farmers cultivate land, workers work, and a large number of service industries also require various talents. Of course, if you have some skills, it is also excellent to run a business independently or work with others.

Although Zhao Zhen was not prosperous after the inspection, he was much better than that of the past. If he just visited some people, he could hear words such as "The country is prosperous and the people are safe, and there is no need to worry about food and drink."

Yes, in the eyes of the people of the Song Dynasty, eating and drinking is not a worry, and the country is prosperous and the people are at peace. The expectations of the people are actually very simple. To meet the needs of living in this world, and then to enjoy a little, all of this is a perfect prosperous era.

When the emperor arrived in Fuzhou, the three girls could no longer bear the fatigue along the way. Seeing the port in Fuzhou pleading with Zhao Zhen, this kind of thing could not be refused. Zhao Zhen ordered the Fujian navy to escort him.

This is the benefit of the emperor. When you should cherish the beauty, you can use the most luxurious things to show off...

The Fujian Navy was the strongest naval fleet in the South China Sea of ​​the Song Dynasty and one of the most expensive fleets in the imperial court. Of course, with the current maritime strength of the Song Dynasty, it can safely beat all "children".

When Zhao Yun went to Fang Abbott Province, he took away a formation of the Fujian Navy.

The Song Dynasty never stopped the development of sea ships. This was Zhao Zhen's will and the future development direction. No matter how powerful the court officials felt that the Song Dynasty's navy was, they submitted a memorial to Zhao Zhen and suggested reducing the investment in a large amount of military spending to develop sea ships and equipment on board, but Zhao Zhen did not agree.

In Zhao Zhen’s view, the ocean is the battlefield of the future and the direction of the development of the Song Dynasty. All opportunities, challenges, and even threats come from the sea.

The Song Dynasty did not take advantage of this period of rapid development to make progress, and after it stabilized, it would lie on success and reap the old capital.

The strait seemed very wide, but on the map of the Song Dynasty there was a narrow thin belt. Zhao Zhen floated on the sea, looking at the Liuqiu Island that appeared and disappeared in the distance, and sighed a lot.

When Zhao Zhen was alone at the bow of the boat, "Homesickness is a shallow strait...", a heavy cannon sounded suddenly.

Sancai was like a clever octopus that instantly threw Zhao Zhen down.

However, the navy soldiers next to him did not move, but instead looked at Sancai in shock, all of them were stunned.

The chief general of the navy quickly stepped forward to apologize: "I am disturbing the sage, and I am Zhang Gui, who died! The official family does not need to worry, this is a signal cannon..."

Zhao Zhen stood up calmly and kicked Sancai with his feet: "This time, I don't care about it because you are eager to protect your master... What is a signal cannon?"

Seeing that the official did not blame him, Zhang Gui bowed and explained: "The sea route is not as good as land routes. The navy sent orders to each other, the flags were spoken in the daytime and the lights were dark, but the flags could only be used in closer places.

A navy gunner, suddenly had a whim and reported to the navy governor Zhang Ling: "I don't know if you believe it as a cannon?"

The governor asked what he was doing and replied that he was originally a gunner in the Divine Guard Army. Because he was skillful in using artillery, he was far apart during the day, and the sound of artillery sounded ten miles, which could be an urgent message! The governor was very happy and ordered people to try it out, which was a wonderful method!"

Zhao Zhen suddenly turned his head and looked at Zhang Gui and said, "That's what it means to be an emergency military situation?!"

"This..." Zhang Gui hesitated: "There are certain rules in the army. If there is military information, the surrounding warships must go immediately no matter what. If they do not follow, they will behead the chief general! Because Your Majesty is on the ship, we put Your Majesty first..."

"Zhang Gui listened to my order and immediately led the fleet to find out where the cannon sounds. It is not delayed to find out the military situation!"

"The last one will receive orders!"

Zhang Gui patted his chest and sent the fleet excitedly to go. In his opinion, this was an excellent opportunity. An opportunity to show it in front of the emperor is that everyone has ambition, and even more so for military generals.

The huge fleet is like a giant beast on the sea, but it is a giant beast with agility.

After a graceful sharp turn of the flagship, the fleet turned around and headed towards the coast. Zhao Zhen glanced at the "Treasure Island" that was emerging in the distance, and suddenly felt in his heart.

The island was not developed much in the Song Dynasty, but in this era without sea ban, it had already carried out large-scale trade with the mainland. The court also set up the yamen on Liuqiu Island, but it did not send many officials, only one commander and one few army.

These people are not managing Liuqiu Island, they are just protecting the interests of local Han people. Although Liuqiu has been assigned to Jinjiang County, there are not many Han people on the island, but the number is increasing year by year.

Zhao Zhen planned to formally classify Liuqiu as Penghu Road Administration when the Han people on the island surpassed other ethnic groups.

The cannon sound did not stop, but rang every quarter of an hour, eight times in an hour. Fortunately, Zhao Zhen's fleet had just gone out to sea not long ago and soon found the direction.

The sound of cannons on the coast cannot be transmitted to the distant sea, but there are countless cannon ships that pass through flowers like drums.

Before the fleet arrived at the coast, a ship was coming quickly.

There was a man on the bow of the ship, wearing an official uniform, who was Zhang Ling, the governor of the Fujian Navy.

When he got on the boat, he knelt on one knee without any time to greet him: "I Zhang Ling, please see Your Majesty! An emergency military information came from the Shendu City, and the northwest of Khotan is in danger!"

Khotan?!

The safety of this distant land made Zhao Zhen feel nervous. In fact, the country of Khotan lasted for a thousand years. It has been interconnected with the Central Plains since the Western Han Dynasty. By the Song Dynasty, it even regarded the Central Plains dynasty as orthodox.

The following year when the Song Dynasty was established, the envoys sent to pay tribute and established contact with the Song Dynasty.

The reason why Zhao Zhen cared about Khotan so much was mainly because this country, which was originally ethnic minority, had basically been sinicized, and most of the customs continued the Tang style. In addition, there were a large number of descendants of the Guiyi Army in the Shazhou Kingdom.

In other words, the Kingdom of Khotan has become a part of the Han family. Regardless of whether it is recognized or not, it is the blood of the Central Plains dynasty.
Chapter completed!