:dingdiange:
In mid-April, the Song Dynasty delegation crossed the Strait of Malacca and headed towards the Chola Empire on the Indian Peninsula.
During the Han Dynasty, kings in the Western Regions often colluded with the Xiongnu and killed Han envoys.
So Zhang Qian, Fu Jiezi, Ban Chao and others were sent as envoys to the Western Regions, where they formed alliances and defeated the countries in the Western Regions, uniting them under the leadership of the Han Dynasty.
Now, Srivijaya has attacked the Song Dynasty navy, expelled and even wanted to kill the Song Dynasty envoys, which has aroused the wrath of the Song Dynasty.
However, the Song Dynasty envoys had other important matters to attend to and had no time to join forces with Brunei, Java and other countries to encircle and suppress Srivijaya.
So I have to do it myself.
Just as King Sirichi of Srivijaya thought.
The Strait of Malacca is the farthest distance that the Song Dynasty Navy can currently reach.
Logistical supply is difficult and costly.
If he could destroy the Song army in Pu Luozhong, the main force of the Song army in the South China Sea would launch a large-scale attack, which would cost a lot of money.
If Srivijaya is not destroyed, the Song Dynasty navy will not be able to come here often.
The Song army in Puluozhong is currently building fortresses, houses, and ports, and every three months, supply ships are sent from Guangzhou to Puluozhong to transport various materials and people willing to settle there.
Even the soldiers in Pu Luozhong had to grow vegetables and cultivate the fields themselves to reduce the cost of transportation to this side by the court. This shows how difficult it is to expand into the Malay Peninsula.
But despite the difficulties and expenses, the only thing that Xilichi did not calculate correctly was that the fighting power of Srivijaya and the Song army was not proportional at all.
There is no need to even deploy the navy on a large scale. The firepower of the Guangzhou alone is enough to destroy them.
Simply put, Xili Chi underestimated the combat effectiveness of the Song Dynasty delegation and thought he could easily defeat the entire delegation.
But the problem is that the King of Loulan and the King of Gaochang thought the same way back then. What was the result?
With just one ironclad ship, the Guangzhou, and hundreds of soldiers, they bombarded the Srivijaya army with muskets and cannons, killing thousands of them in an instant.
Afterwards, the Song army rushed into Palembang, captured the Srivijaya king Sirichi alive, and captured all of their close associates.
Pu Jin was originally a powerful businessman in Srivijaya. He naturally had the support of tribes and confidants in his own country. With the help of the Song army, he easily stabilized the situation and became the new king.
Although the metaphor is a bit inappropriate, the fact that the Qing Dynasty, despite its huge size, was unable to stop the British and French forces from Tianjin all the way to Beijing shows how big the gap was.
Under such circumstances, the Song Dynasty envoys took less than two hours to destroy a country with a capital of more than 100,000 people and a national population of over one million, which was no less than the size of the Western Xia country.
Pu Jin, who was originally the translator and guide of the diplomatic delegation, became the new king in a daze. When the diplomatic delegation returns in the second half of the year, he will follow the diplomatic delegation to the Song Dynasty to participate in the New Year celebration.
The diplomatic corps, hiding its merits and fame, crossed the Strait of Malacca and then the Great Strait, sailing nearly 2,000 kilometers across the vast ocean towards Sri Lanka.
The Chola Empire was a kingdom in southern India that owned half of Sri Lanka, which was the next destination of the Song Dynasty delegation and was expected to arrive in early May.
The vast ocean is boundless. While the fleet is sailing, apart from encountering Middle Eastern merchant ships from time to time, it is difficult to see even an island.
Most of the time, they could only see blue sky and white clouds, and occasional storms.
While the Song Dynasty envoys were sailing alone on the Indian Ocean, more than 4,000 kilometers away in Kaifeng City, Bianliang Prefecture, Henan Province, the Song Dynasty, the Political System Council was discussing new matters.
In midsummer of May, the temperature in Kaifeng gradually rises, and the temperature outside remains around 30 degrees Celsius all year round, making people feel stuffy and uncomfortable, with sweat pouring down their backs.
Factories outside the city stopped production, and schools were closed at noon and in the afternoon. Classes were changed to after six in the morning and evening, lasting until ten o'clock.
This is also a disadvantage of rapid industrial development.
During the more than one hundred years of development of the Western Industrial Revolution, with the advancement of physics and chemistry, various industrial products appeared one after another.
For example, air conditioners compress chemical synthetic gases to create cold air, and since then humans have gradually gotten rid of the scorching heat.
However, the Song Dynasty's industry was concentrated, with textiles and transportation being the primary industries. Chemistry also focused on agriculture, with the Academy of Sciences' School of Chemistry currently focusing on the development of fertilizers.
There is almost no research on household appliances such as refrigerators, televisions, washing machines, or even on communication phones.
After more than ten years of development, the accumulation is far from enough.
However, Zhao Jun knew that this was only temporary. As education became more and more popular, various inventions would emerge sooner or later.
The wisdom of the Chinese people is never inferior to that of others.
"Economic and political stability ultimately depends on strong military capabilities. Everyone used to criticize the Song Dynasty for prioritizing culture over military power, and for emasculating itself. I understand why, but I still criticize it."
Inside the Constitutional Court, the temperature was slightly lower than outside by seven or eight degrees, because there were ice cubes and basins of water in every corner of the room, which were constantly emitting cool air.
Zhao Jun knocked on the table and said, "You can do this at the beginning of the Song Dynasty, but not after that. Too much is as bad as too little, and it will only backfire on you."
"Well, what about the list sent by the Ministry of War?"
Fu Bi asked, "Should we send it back and ask them to redo it, or should we give our approval and issue it directly?"
"Hmm"
Zhao Jun looked at the list in his hand and pondered for a moment before saying, "The list is generally reasonable, but Zhang Kang and Di Qing are only major generals, which is obviously abnormal. Everyone's rank should be promoted two levels."
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