"Yes, the Liang family has quite a few fleets." Liang Guan, upon hearing Zhao Yao’s question, curiously replied, "Your Highness, what do you need a fleet for?"
"Does the Liang family have a maritime fleet?"
"A maritime fleet?" Liang Guan shook his head, "No. Your Highness, you should know that the prohibition on the sea has been in place since the previous dynasty and Great Zhou still maintains it."
Zhao Yao had not considered this point, "Great Zhou hasn’t abolished the maritime prohibition?"
"No, although those coastal areas secretly interact with those foreigners."
"Why are there so many foreigners in Qingzhou?" Zhao Yao wondered, "How can those foreigners do business in Qingzhou?"
"I’m not sure, to my knowledge, it seems Qingzhou has always been ." Liang Guan said, "Those foreigners can only go to Qingzhou and are not allowed in places outside of Qingzhou."
"What’s going on here?"
"I’ll ask when I return to the palace." Could it be that there’s something special about Qingzhou?
He needed to discuss this with Prime Minister He and Grandmaster Liu, the prohibition on the sea cannot continue; the seas need to be opened so that a fleet can be established and the maritime Silk Road could be developed.
"Uncle, how is the Liang family’s fleet, is it formidable?"
"The Liang family’s fleet is quite reputable in Yangzhou and should be considered quite formidable."
"Does the Liang family have people skilled in shipbuilding?"
Liang Guan replied, "Yes, Your Highness, do you need shipbuilders?"
"I wish to establish a maritime fleet and then trade with coastal countries..." Zhao Yao briefly explained his ambition to establish a maritime fleet to Liang Guan.
Liang Guan, stunned after hearing, said, "Your Highness, Second Brother wasn’t wrong; you are a business genius. If you weren’t the prince, you could definitely make the Liang family’s business the number one in the world." The Prince actually thought of maritime trade, truly astonishing. "However, Your Highness, Great Zhou prohibits sea trade."
"I understand now, I’ll find a way to get Father to abolish the maritime prohibition," Zhao Yao said, "We can first conduct some business in Qingzhou."
"Your Highness, what do you mean?"
"Just like how Second Uncle and them opened shops in Wusun," Zhao Yao said, raising a hand to pat his forehead, "I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of this before, that was really a lapse."
"Your Highness, this is a good idea."
"I’ll write a letter to Grandfather later, and also a letter to Uncle, to arrange it." He had forgotten about the profitable method of maritime trade until now.
"Your Highness, it would be best to have Uncle and them go to the Eastern Wu area to find some people skilled in building ships," Liang Guan suggested, "There are many places by the sea over there, and the people there rely on the sea for their livelihood, often going out to fish; they should be very skilled in building sea vessels."
"You’re right, riverboats and sea vessels are ultimately different; we must find people familiar with sea vessels."
"Your Highness, establishing a fleet will require quite a bit of money," Liang Guan reminded.
"I know, Uncle and Second Uncle should make quite a bit of money by then, we should be able to manage," Zhao Yao said with a smile, "It’s not as if we must immediately build a maritime fleet; this matter requires careful planning."
"As long as Your Highness has a clear plan," Liang Guan marveled secretly, was the prince truly only six years old?
The Prince accomplished so many things, things even someone sixty-six couldn’t achieve.
Zhao Yao spoke no more and continued reading Liang Run’s letter to him.
In the letter, Liang Run wrote extensively about the delicacies of Wusun and other Western Region countries, making Zhao Yao’s mouth water.
He really wanted to visit Wusun, but unfortunately, he couldn’t go before growing up.
At the end of the letter, Liang Run informed Zhao Yao that they had joined up with He Lianfang’s arranged people. Next, He Lianfang’s people would take them to other countries.
He also said that Wusun and other Western Region countries admired Central Plains culture greatly and wanted to learn it. The books they brought were treated as treasures there.
Seeing this, Zhao Yao thought that indeed, his plan would work in the future.
After finishing the letter, Zhao Yao handed it to Liang Guan to read, while he went to write letters to his Grandfather and Uncle. Of course, he also had to reply to Liang Run.
"Your Highness, the cattle, horses, and sheep bought by Second Brother and them, where should we keep them, at the Dahua Village Manor?" Liang Guan said, "The Dahua Village Manor might not be able to accommodate so many cattle, horses, and sheep."
"Not long ago, Father gifted me a manor in the South Suburb of the capital, and all the land and hills are mine." Zhao Yao had originally planned to buy another piece of land, but he didn’t expect the emperor to grant him a manor, saving him the trouble and expense of buying land. "We can directly send the cattle, horses, and sheep there to be raised."
"By the way, you can go and have a look at the manor in the South Suburb."
"Your Highness, are you worried about that place?"
"No, there’s no issue with that manor; I want you to see if there’s anything else we need to add," Zhao Yao said, "All the fields there are mine; aside from growing grain, I want to plant some other things."
Liang Guan understood Zhao Yao’s intention and seriously said, "In a few days, I’ll go and have a detailed look."
Zhao Yao suddenly remembered that he had asked Uncle to have those foreigners search for those items, and there was still no news. When would he be able to find potatoes, sweet potatoes, chili, and such?
Saying no more, Zhao Yao continued writing letters. After finishing, Liang Guan helped him send the letters to the security bureau.
In the reply letter to Liang Run, Zhao Yao asked whether he had bought him a Sea Eagle or a golden eagle; he was still waiting.
Although Lingyun listened to him, Lingyun was Father’s Sea Eagle, and it wasn’t appropriate for him to always trouble Lingyun with sending letters; he needed his own Sea Eagle or golden eagle for sending letters.
He also, in the reply letter, asked Liang Run to look for something called cotton in the Western Regions, and he specifically drew a picture of what cotton looked like.
Cotton is such a good thing, it absolutely cannot be missed.