Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4813 The Power of the Empire
This "Baishuilang" shook his head repeatedly: "Who in the whole Yazhou doesn't know that our governor is a real descendant of an aristocratic family? Since the day he took office, he has rectified the administration of officials and paid attention to people's livelihood. The people of Yazhou feel the same way. This time when building the wharf, the governor has been running around day and night. Not only did he personally send people to monitor our meals and pay wages on time, he even assigned doctors from the state's Traditional Chinese Medicine Bureau to be stationed at the wharf. Anyone who was injured on the job was not only treated in time, but also the necessary medicines were provided free of charge. We, the boat people, are very grateful."

Throughout history, both in China and abroad, most policies formulated at the national level have paid great attention to people's livelihood, safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of the people, and done their utmost to improve welfare benefits. Except for a very few exceptions, the vast majority of monarchs actually love their people like their own children. They are willing to let the people under their rule live a happy life, sing praises of the monarch, and their names are recorded in history as being full of praise and will be remembered forever.

It’s just that although the policy is a good one, it is often tampered with and distorted during implementation, resulting in the grassroots people not only failing to benefit from it, but also increasing their burden. Such old examples are everywhere...

Therefore, there is no need for too much written survey data to determine whether officials are honest and capable. The people at the grassroots level have the most intuitive feeling about this.

Lu Chengqing breathed a sigh of relief, pretended to be calm and composed, and secretly glanced at Su Dingfang's reaction.

He is the eldest son and grandson of the northern ancestor of the Fanyang Lu family. He has received the best education and the greatest support from resources since childhood. Naturally, he has lofty ideals. He absolutely cannot tolerate making mistakes in a place like Yazhou that would tarnish his entire official career with an indelible stain, so he has been conscientious and dedicated to his duties since taking office.

Yazhou is a poor place, and it is extremely difficult to make political achievements. But precisely because of the difficulty, once a political achievement is made, it will be infinitely magnified and become a stepping stone for his brilliant career. From then on, he will go straight to the core and rise to prominence.

It can be said that he poured all his energy and efforts into Yazhou.

There is no room for error.

Su Dingfang smiled and nodded, and continued to walk forward with his hands behind his back. Lu Chengqing followed closely behind him, and they stopped only when they reached the front end of the breakwater that extended into the sea.

The sea breeze made their clothes rustle. Su Dingfang looked at the warships sailing in the distance and said with a smile, "When the navy decided to build a port in the South China Sea as a transit point for the entire South China Sea route, there were actually two options, one in Qiongzhou and the other in Yazhou. More people in the navy and the Ministry of War preferred the former. It was the Marshal who overruled the opposition and placed the port in Yazhou. Ziyu, do you know the reason?"

"Zi Yu" was Lu Chengqing's courtesy name. Now that Su Dingfang addressed him by his courtesy name, it meant that they had changed their relationship mode, from "public to public" to "private to private". The private bond between the two could only be the military leader, Duke Yue, who was far away in Chang'an...

Only then did Lu Chengqing know the twists and turns behind the "big project" of the navy building a port in Yazhou, and he said sincerely: "Duke Yue's support and support will be forever in my heart. Please tell Duke Yue that I will obey his orders and follow his lead from now on."

Given the relationship between the Fanyang Lu family and the Fang family, they are naturally closer than others, and their interests tend to be consistent. Being able to get the full support of this big man in the court is a good thing that others dare not even think about, as he is one of the strongest backers in the court.

Unexpectedly, Su Dingfang waved his hand and said calmly: "The Marshal cares about his country and is of high moral character. Do you think that placing the port under your jurisdiction to gain political achievements for you is just to win you over? You overestimate yourself and belittle the Marshal."

What you mean is, do you think the Marshal did this to pave the way for you and gain your loyalty? Sorry, you are not worthy enough for the Marshal to recruit you, and the Marshal is not acting for his own selfish reasons as you think.

"Ah this..."

Lu Chengqing was very embarrassed and didn't know what to do. Even though he was in his forties, he still blushed.

Fortunately, Su Dingfang was a kind person. He did not make sarcastic remarks, but said generously: "The Marshal will not win over anyone, and will not place such a huge project anywhere just to promote someone to the top. The reason why the port is placed in Yazhou is because the governor of Yazhou is you, Lu Chengqing. The Marshal believes that with your ability, you can build this port and develop Yazhou into a prosperous place on the South China Sea route with this port as the center. Serve as an official, benefit the people, and let the poor people of Yazhou live a good life."

The sea breeze felt hot on his face. Lu Chengqing's heart was beating rapidly, his blood was flowing faster, and his whole body was trembling.

Although he was far from being worthy of being won over by Fang Jun, and the other party was not deliberately trying to please him because of him, nor was he trying to push him to a higher position because of family ties...but this feeling of being recognized made his blood boil.

It was not because of family background or exchange of interests, but purely because of his own ability that he was valued by bigwigs like Fang Jun. This kind of experience was rarely experienced by Lu Chengqing. For a moment, he felt a bit of the heroic spirit of "a gentleman will die for his confidant".

Su Dingfang said: "The original words of the Marshal are that we should strive for the interests that should be fought for and the achievements that should be made, but we should not ignore the people's livelihood for the sake of interests and achievements, and we should not regard the people's livelihood as a way to get promoted. People should still be pure."

Lu Chengqing bowed to the ground and said respectfully, "I am grateful for your advice."

Is this how people at that level view things? Is it that the higher one's position, the less conspiracies and schemes one has and the more one pays attention to the most basic and pure things? Or is it that it is precisely because of one's lofty ambitions that one can transcend vulgar schemes and possess a noble character?
In short, at this moment, Lu Chengqing was full of respect for the Duke of Yue, whom he had never met before.

The sea breeze was very strong, and the warship's sails were inflated, riding the wind and waves like an arrow. It arrived at the dock in a short while. Before the gangplank was set up, several soldiers jumped off the side of the ship, steadied their center of gravity while stepping on the ground, and then ran straight to the temporary naval tent set up at the dock without stopping.

He then came out of the tent again, and under the guidance of the other soldiers, ran quickly towards Su Dingfang's location.

Su Dingfang had noticed these ships long ago, and when the soldiers ran up to him, he asked, "Why are you in such a hurry? What happened?"

The soldier took out the battle report from his bosom and handed it to Su Dingfang with both hands, saying loudly: "Report to the governor, on September 18th in the middle of last month, the governor of Shilafu Port ordered to impose a tax of half the value of all goods brought by Tang merchant ships. The Tang merchant fleet naturally disagreed. The Shilafu Port Guard refused to allow Tang merchant ships to enter the anchorage for trade, but also refused to allow them to replenish fresh water. The two sides clashed and dozens of Tang merchants died. Because the sea route was long and difficult, they could not transport the goods back. In the end, they had to endure the harsh conditions and pay the tax before returning to Tang. Now they are gathering in Da Nang, and we beg the navy to mediate."

Since its founding, the Tang Dynasty has been dominating everything. As the country's strength grew and its army became stronger, almost all of the surrounding enemy countries were destroyed. As a result, the Tang people had a high opinion of themselves and often acted arrogantly overseas. Such an unreasonable temporary increase in taxes and dozens of casualties were almost unheard of.

This is a big deal.

Lu Chengqing said hurriedly: "Please do not make hasty decisions based on emotion. We need to be cautious in this matter. After all, we still do not know whether this sudden tax increase is a national policy of the Arab Empire or the personal act of the Governor of Shilafu Port. Different natures require different methods of handling. We might as well pass the news back to China and have the Honglu Temple issue a note to the Arab Empire's envoys in Chang'an, ordering them to explain and properly resolve the issue."

The navy is not only the founder of maritime trade caravans, but also their protector. The "protection fees" collected from major caravans every year are an extremely large number. Now that a Tang Dynasty merchant has encountered an accident thousands of miles away, the navy will probably not let it go given its traditionally overbearing style.

But the Arab Empire was not some nobody, nor was it a tiny country that could withstand a single blow. Instead, it was a behemoth that dominated the West and the only superpower in the world that could be compared with the Tang Dynasty. If the Tang Dynasty were to be put at a disadvantage in public opinion because of the retaliatory actions of the navy, the loss would outweigh the gain.

Su Dingfang disagreed: "The civil servants' note is just a protest, which is useless. Moreover, how long will it take to resolve the issue? Whether it is the national policy of the Arab Empire or the personal behavior of the governor of Shiloh Port, since Tang merchants have been killed or injured and maritime trade has been affected, the Arab Empire must be responsible for it and pay the price."

Ignoring Lu Chengqing's changed expression, he turned around and asked a general who was following him: "Who is in Da Nang now?"

The deputy general replied: "Deputy General Yang Zhou, who just returned from Luzon, is currently in Da Nang."

Su Dingfang stood on the breakwater and said calmly, "Send an order to Yang Zhou. All Tang merchant ships passing through Da Nang to Silaw Port should change their course to Basra. Order Yang Zhou to command all warships in Da Nang to weigh anchor and sail to Silaw Port immediately. If the Arab Empire has not compensated and apologized for this matter by the time they arrive at Silaw Port, you can attack Silaw Port to deter the enemy chieftain."

"Here!"

The lieutenant general quickly ran back to the tent and together with the clerk wrote the military order, stamped it with Su Dingfang's seal, and then sent a boat to deliver it to Yang Zhou who was far away in Da Nang.

Lu Chengqing slapped his thigh anxiously: "It's not that I'm meddling in military affairs, it's really a matter of great importance. How can the governor make such a hasty decision? It concerns the diplomatic relations between the two countries. Rashly attacking the enemy's territory is tantamount to declaring war without declaration. It really loses the bearing of a great country!"

"What a great country's bearing!"

Su Dingfang straightened his back, his beard flying in the wind, his eyes wide open, his momentum suddenly changed, no longer gentle and elegant, but domineering: "When your people are being massacred thousands of miles away, what you should consider is not the diplomatic relations between the two countries, nor the magnanimity of a great power, but to retaliate fiercely and warn them, so that they will be terrified and dare not harm the people of the Tang Dynasty again, otherwise they will have to bear the wrath of the Tang Dynasty's 100,000 navy! Instead of issuing so-called notes and arguing in the court to verbally condemn them!"