On February 15th, Li Bao replenished many supplies in ancient Siam, including a large amount of medicinal materials.

Medicinal materials, frankincense and other items are the main products of the South China Sea.

These things were exported to the West and the Song Dynasty in large quantities.

At noon that day, Li Bao walked around the royal capital of ancient Siam.

Prosin accompanied him.

Pu Luoxin said: "General Manager Li, if you have to go out for a walk on such a hot day, why not go to the pond in the back garden of the palace to escape the heat? The ancient king of Siam has said that General Manager Li can go there at any time, and there are many beauties there."

Li Bao wiped the sweat from his forehead. During these years in the South China Sea, Li Bao's skin was rough and tanned.

He sighed and said: "The imperial court asked us to fight Sriwijaya. To be honest, my understanding of Srivijaya is very limited now."

Pu Luoxin said: "Srivijaya is the strongest country in the South China Sea. It has been established for 400 years. Except for the army of Zunian who defeated Srivijaya in a surprise attack a hundred years ago, Srivijaya has not been defeated since then."

Li Bao said: "I know all these, and they are all recorded in the official historical materials of our dynasty. Pengfeng, Tengganong, Linggaska, Kelantan, Fuluoan, Riluoting, Qianmai, Bata, Shanma

Ling, Jialuoxi, Balinfeng, Xintuo, Jianzhi, Lanwuli, and Xilan (Sri Lanka) are all its tributaries."

"General Manager Li knows more than me." Prosin said, "Is General Manager Li worried that we will not be able to defeat Sriwijaya?"

"I have never fought against Srivijaya before, so I say that my understanding of them is limited. This refers to my understanding of their army."

"There has only been one powerful country in the South China Sea, Srivijaya, but it has been established four hundred years ago. Under the attack of Zhu Nian a hundred years ago, the country's power has declined slightly. We only need to defeat it. The countries in the South China Sea are

There is no room for resistance."

Li Bao said: "I am confused about this. Why are there not many powerful countries in the South China Sea?"

Prosin could not answer this question.

But it is true that for a long time before Srivijaya appeared, there was no strong power in the South China Sea.

Most of the countries in the South China Sea are located in the tropics and are close to the sea.

The air is humid, it is summer most of the year, and there are many tropical rainforests.

With abundant sunshine and sufficient rainfall, of course there will be more fruits.

In addition to the endless amounts of fruits that people eat, the rotten ones also have a certain fertile effect on the soil.

Unlike places like the Loess Plateau, the tropics are a gift from nature.

Once there are too many natural resources around us, it is easy for the entire society to become unprogressive.

People in the tropics don't need to think as hard as they do in the Central Plains to weave cloth, engage in various farmland, build roads, dig canals, build bridges, and use various technologies to survive.

And human society has a characteristic: the power of individuals is so small, and the power of organizations is so magical.

In the long primitive era, due to survival problems, individuals had to unite with others and form organizations to fight against the dangers of nature.

Since people in the tropics have relatively less resistance to life, the internal drive to form organizations is naturally also relatively small.

This is also the fundamental reason why the South China Sea countries in this era had no shortage of population, but no big cities were born.

For example, the royal city of Bo Ni Kingdom had 10,000 people.

In the Song Dynasty, any small county town on the 18th line would have a larger population than this.

In an era of limited productivity, without the internal drive to form an organization, it is impossible to master the experience of managing a large empire.

Without a large organization, tax collection would be a big problem for the rulers. Without a large amount of tax sources, it would be impossible to build a strong army.

This is the fundamental reason why there has been no power in the South China Sea over the past long years.

Until the appearance of Srivijaya.

Srivijaya also has a good geographical location and controls the strategic location between the east and the west. Businessmen from the east and west must pass through his territory if they want to do business.

According to Arab historians, a Jewish merchant ship passed through Malacca and had to pay a road tax of 1,000 guan at a time before the Jewish merchant ship was allowed to go to the coast of the Song Dynasty.

It was necessary to pay so much at one time. A large number of Guangzhou and Quanzhou merchants wanted to go west, so naturally they had to pay a lot.

With such a generous income, there is naturally no shortage of military spending.

As an ancient person, it is normal for Li Bao to be unable to see through the nature of the development of human civilization.

Of course Pu Luoxin didn't know.

Prosin said: "Even if we cannot defeat Srivijaya this time, we can retreat to the ancient Siam Kingdom or the Bo Ni Kingdom."

At this moment, Pu Shouchong hurried over and shouted: "There is news from Lingya Gate."

"Keep your voice down." Pu Luoxin lowered his voice, "Are you afraid that there are no eyes and ears from ancient Siam around?"

"Ling Yamen suddenly gathered a group of Sriwijaya navy seven days ago."

"So fast!" Li Bao said in surprise, "Can you confirm the other party's purpose?"

"It cannot be determined in a short period of time."

If the navy suddenly gathers, it will either go to Bo Ni Kingdom or ancient Siam Kingdom.

Li Bao returned to his residence and began to urge the Intelligence Department to collect more intelligence.

On February 23, a young businessman got off the ship at the ancient Siam seaport and went all the way to Li Bao's residence.

"Your Majesty Tang Zijian is here to see Mr. Li."

"You are Tang Zijian." Li Bao asked, "Dr. Cai mentioned you many times in his letter. What is your position?"

Li Bao still asked tentatively.

"Xiaguan is the head of the Intelligence Department of the Nanhai General Trading Company. He is responsible for collecting intelligence from the countries in the South China Sea. He usually reports to Mr. Cai."

The Cai doctor he was talking about was named Cai Jingfang, who was the head of the Quanzhou Shipping Department and the head of the Nanhai Trading Company of the Song Dynasty.

Cai Jingfang and Lian Nanfu, the envoy of Guangnan East Road, are both very proficient in the South China Sea.

As the largest external seaport in the Song Dynasty, Quanzhou had a large number of Western ships, so the intelligence department was naturally located in Quanzhou.

These are reported uniformly to Qian Yuqing.

Tang Zijian was an official in the trading company line, and Li Bao was a military and political official. The two usually had no direct intersection.

But at this time, the South China Sea has entered a wartime state.

All intelligence departments of the Song Dynasty Nanhai Trading Company must start serving the navy.

"What information did you gather?"

"Nine days ago, a large number of Srivijaya navy suddenly gathered in the Lingya Gate area. We collected detailed information that this batch of navy was going to Balni Kingdom. The news that our army captured Balni Kingdom has spread in the upper level of Lingya Gate.

"

"How did you learn this information in such a short period of time?"

"As early as the year before last, the trading company has invested a lot of money in the past two years. Our people have already penetrated into the upper echelons of Lingyamen and made friends with some powerful people."

"How many Srivijaya troops are there in Lingya Gate now?"

"There are twenty Srivijaya warships stationed at Lingya Gate. There are about twenty ships sent to the Bangni Kingdom this time. Srivijaya will not fight a losing battle. After fighting in the Bangni Kingdom,

By the way, they will use force and diplomacy to collect heavy payments from the country of Fanni, and may station troops permanently in the country of Fanni to seek relief."

"Srivijaya's appetite is really big!" Li Bao said, "If there are only twenty permanent warships, it is not a big concern."
Chapter completed!