Li Xiang knew very well that this mode of watching each other would definitely bring about various disadvantages. For example, they would not be able to work properly and would have to be on guard against their colleagues.
But there was nothing he could do about it. Looking at the people before him, who could Li Xiang truly trust? If he gave all the power to them, Li Xiang would probably be unable to sleep at night.
Fusang is very important to Li Xiang. If he wants to march to the continent across the Pacific Ocean in the future, then Fusang will be a frontier position, so there must be no chaos here. However, the Tang Dynasty officials cannot fully control this place, so they can only let them manage themselves, and we will supervise them from the side. This is the best way.
"Please rest assured, Your Highness. I will do my utmost to complete your instructions."
Taro Watanabe said excitedly, "Just now you guys were all showing off in front of me, as if you had already reached the pinnacle of power."
Little do you know that the person His Highness trusts the most is me, the one you look down upon. In the days to come, no matter what you do, you must report it to His Highness.
"Don't try to stand out in anything you do, whether it's in the officialdom or the military. Don't deliberately cultivate your own power. I won't treat you unfairly later. If you do, it will resent the three of them. Once they become wary of you, it will be difficult for them to investigate."
Li Xiang lets the other three take the path of competing for hegemony. The three of you will compete with each other in various fields and can also restrain each other accordingly.
But it is different for Watanabe Taro. Watanabe Taro takes the path of forbearance and development. This old guy stays honestly in his Fukuoka and Nagasaki and does not interfere in other things, making those three people think that he has lost confidence in competing for hegemony, and then they will pay less and less attention to him.
It was at this time that Taro Watanabe was able to take advantage of the social situation that they were not paying attention to, and frequently sent his men to inquire about their news and investigate their assets. In short, as long as there was something that was not reported, it could be counted as Taro Watanabe's achievement.
This task is actually very easy to accomplish. Not to mention high-ranking officials like them, even ordinary people, can't they hide some private money?
After resolving this matter, Li Xiang once again inspected the navy stationed in Fuso.
Ding Kui was still in charge of the naval squadron stationed in Fuso. Originally, this guy was the admiral of the Dengzhou Navy. The naval squadron of Fuso was only 1/5 of its original size, so there was no difficulty for Ding Kui.
"I know you've just stepped down from your position as Admiral, so I'm sure you'll feel a little uncomfortable. But you should also understand that this is all for the better development of the Tang Dynasty. You should also take good care of yourself. You must watch me lead you to conquer the world."
Standing on the largest warship of the Fuso Navy fleet, Li Xiang could feel that Ding Kui felt a little uncomfortable, as if he was at the end of a hero's life.
In fact, Li Xiang did not leave Ding Kui idle, mainly because he had to give young people some opportunities, and the older generals were very conservative in their fighting style and could not keep up with Li Xiang's pace.
In addition, Fuso's governor also needs a capable person, and Ding Kui happens to be recuperating on land, so this is killing three birds with one stone.
"Your Highness, rest assured. I am also a veteran of the imperial navy. Although I am a little confused at the moment, I will figure it out in the future. Moreover, I also have my own navy in Fusang. I have already sent people to check the ships. There are many big trees in Fusang, and they also have many carpenters. I plan to sort it out. I can't build the largest warships, but small and medium-sized ones should be no problem."
After hearing Ding Kui's words, Li Xiang smiled and nodded. This is the best admiral of the Tang Dynasty Navy. No matter where he goes or what position he holds, if he can promote the development of the navy, he will do it immediately. This is what it means to truly keep the Tang Dynasty Navy in his heart.
"You really treat the navy as your own child. Don't worry, if you have any difficulties in the future, you can write to me directly. I will support you as before."
With Li Xiang's promise, Ding Kui smiled even more brightly. Dengzhou Navy could have achieved what it has today, but if Li Xiang had not been allocating funds, where would they get so many large ships? Moreover, many people working in the navy could not even support their families. It was Li Xiang who doubled their salaries, otherwise there would not even be enough soldiers now.
"There's one thing you must remember. Although Fusang has its own craftsmen, when building naval warships, they must be completely separated. Each person only builds a part, and someone must be assigned to strictly monitor them. All the assembly work must be done by people from the Tang Dynasty. The people of Fusang must not learn anything. Anyone who dares to spy on the secrets will be killed."
Li Xiang must formulate the most stringent criminal law for the Fuso nation. Once someone violates it, no matter what merits you have made in the past, you must be killed, and everyone else must be punished.
"I understand. We need to treat these Fusang people with more care than the Goguryeo people."
Ding Kui nodded. In fact, officials like them had already discovered that Li Xiang divided foreigners into different levels when treating them, and the Japanese should be ranked lowest.
The Tibetans and Tuyuhun people were all able to integrate, including those on the grassland, but the Goguryeo and Fuso people were different. Li Xiang treated them very strictly.
Not only were they not allowed to intermarry with the Han people, but the boundaries had to be strictly drawn. If anyone violated this rule, the court would impose severe punishment.
In addition to this, there is a policy of keeping the people ignorant. At present, there are no schools in the entire Fusang, and Li Xiang is ready to destroy all of their previous writing systems.
This policy was opposed by many people, but Li Xiang didn't care about that. He had already ordered officials from all over the country to suppress it. Although those officials were dissatisfied, when they thought of Yasukawa Fukuda and Taro Ito, they suppressed their dissatisfaction in their hearts.
This kind of high-intensity rule might not necessarily be correct, but as long as it persists, after a few decades, perhaps the people here will have forgotten the former Fusang...
