The road from Baijiabao to Huai'an was filled with thousands of ravines. The army not only had to climb uphill, but also had to go downhill. They also had to follow winding mountain roads one after another, braving the pressure that could blow into the cracks of a person's bones.
The cold wind moves forward.
After walking in the cold wind for less than a day, the army suffered from frostbite, which became more and more severe.
When the number of people with frozen noses and fingers and toes reached a thousand, Li Yuanji had to order the army to slow down their journey and collectively protect themselves from the cold.
The army was marching outside, and there were not enough supplies to prevent the cold, and there was no warm fire bed to help the soldiers resist the severe cold, so Li Yuanji could only use the most primitive and convenient way to keep out the cold.
When thousands of soldiers poured into the woods with only bare branches left, the trees in the woods disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The soldiers who worked rough would cut the trees in half, leaving a stump more than a foot high.
The hard-working soldiers would dig out the roots of the trees, shake out the soil, and pour oil on them to make them enough to keep out the cold for a whole night.
】
Li Yuanji couldn’t remember how long it had been since he saw someone digging tree stumps. The deepest memory was in the 1990s. At that time, in the countryside, many people would dig out tree stumps when they cut down trees.
.
Firstly, it has the effect of removing the weeds, and secondly, it is to add more firewood to the family.
When people are poor, they will not waste any of nature's gifts. Even tree stumps buried a foot deep in the ground will be dug out with great effort, dried, and chopped into firewood for home use.
.
After you become rich, no one will dig tree stumps.
It’s not that people have started to waste the gifts of nature, or that people have become lazy.
But people have become smarter, and the ways to obtain supplies have become easier and more diverse.
Therefore, when the time spent is not proportional to the income, people naturally give up this more laborious way of obtaining materials with smaller output and harvest.
Therefore, Li Yuanji could understand the fact that the thin-haired soldiers dug out tree stumps to keep warm, but he found it quite sad.
They are now fighting for the Tang Dynasty. Although the ultimate goal is to protect their homeland, as their rulers, as well as those who enjoy their support and occupy the vast majority of the wealth they produce, they should give them
It would be better to provide some serious things to keep out the cold.
But he didn't.
This is partly the responsibility of Li Yuan, partly the responsibility of Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin, and partly his responsibility.
As the leader of the Tang Dynasty, he did not discover this problem and solve it even after being in charge of the Tang Dynasty for more than half a year. That is his responsibility, and he cannot shirk it no matter how hard he shirks it.
He had already dedicated the Tang Dynasty version of the down jacket to Li Yuan in the name of Xie Shufang for two years. Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin had not lost their authority at that time, and they also knew about it.
But neither Li Yuan nor Li Jiancheng nor Li Shimin equipped the entire army with it.
Even Uncle Xie, the inventor, only has a dozen people in Fangjun, and most of the remaining people still wear the clothes that Datang issued to them three or four years ago.
These clothes are not only crude, but also very thin and do not have much effect on keeping out the cold.
Only when soldiers exercise or put their hands in their crotches can they ensure that their hands can move freely.
In the past, Li Yuanji felt that the behavior of putting his hands in his crotch was very obscene and disgusting.
But when he saw many soldiers putting their hands in their crotches to keep warm in order to ensure that they could use their hands flexibly and be able to pick up weapons to fight the Turks at any time, Li Yuanji felt more sad than vulgar and disgusting.
"Are you pitying them?"
Li Shimin stood next to Li Yuanji, standing tall and facing the cold wind, pretending to be a big shot.
If he hadn't been wrapped in thick fur and held a hand warmer in his hand, Li Yuanji didn't think he would be able to fit it in.
Talking about sharing weal and woe with the soldiers has always been just a joke.
When a person in a superior position, especially a distinguished one, enters the army, even if he wants to share the joys and sorrows with the soldiers, the people around him will try their best to get more preferential treatment for you.
It's the same as eating porridge. When the superiors stay with the soldiers, they are given thick and flavourful porridge under very fair conditions, while the soldiers can only drink the thin porridge that is bland.
Li Yuanji believed that even if he stripped Li Shimin naked and threw him among the soldiers, Li Shimin would still appear in front of him in the same outfit before long.
Because not only the people around Li Shimin would try their best to help him obtain various preferential treatment, but even the soldiers would also try their best to let Li Shimin obtain various preferential treatment.
In their hearts, they have formed the inherent thought that those in superior positions should be treated favorably.
Therefore, when facing a superior, even if the superior does not exploit them, they will subconsciously give their best things to the superior to enjoy various preferential treatment.
"Have you never regarded them as human beings..."
Li Yuanji asked in a hoarse voice.
It's not that I'm angry, or that my mood has fluctuated violently, but that I'm angry.
I had a fever two days ago. The doctor in the army prescribed a decoction to reduce the fever, but it didn't have much effect.
Li Shimin was obviously stunned for a moment, frowned and said, "Why did you say that?"
Li Yuanji looked at the soldiers who were huddled in a ball, shivering from the cold, and said nothing.
Li Shimin's brows suddenly furrowed even more tightly, and he said angrily: "Why don't we treat them as human beings? When we took power, we did our best to help them improve their armaments!"
Li Yuanji glanced sideways at Li Shimin and said without any emotion: "Really?"
Li Shimin heard strong disdain and ridicule from it, and said even more angrily: "Then tell me, why don't we treat them as human beings?"
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Li Yuanji's tone still contained no emotion: "I have dedicated Yuan Yi to my father for two years. My father even praised Yuan Yi for keeping out the cold.
thing.
But two years have passed, and the soldiers in the army have not yet been equipped.
Don’t tell me that the Tang Dynasty didn’t have enough cloth to make clothes for them, and don’t tell me that the Tang Dynasty spent huge financial resources to collect those bird and animal feathers.”
The Tang Dynasty actually does not lack wealth now, it only lacks two things, namely population and food.
There was actually no shortage of food, but most of it was in the hands of a few people and was not uniformly distributed by the Tang Dynasty.
Therefore, the Tang Dynasty may not be able to provide food to the soldiers in the army, but it can certainly do it if it provides Yuan robes to the soldiers in the army.
From the chaotic times of the late Sui Dynasty to the present, the population of the Central Plains has dropped from tens of millions to 10 million.
However, the accumulated wealth has only been passed down a few times, especially for goods such as cloth that can be stored for a long time, and the accumulation is even greater.
It was not possible for the Tang Dynasty to release pieces of cloth to the common people for no reason, so most of the pieces of cloth seized in the past were either classified into various treasuries, or were rewarded to civil and military officials, and even the pieces of cloth were used as salaries.
Therefore, the Tang Dynasty did not lack cloth, nor did it lack feathers from birds and beasts.
Therefore, in the past two years, Li Yuan, Li Jiancheng, and Li Shimin were definitely responsible for not equipping the soldiers with Yuan Yi, causing the soldiers to suffer from the cold here.
Li Shimin had no way to argue, nor did he want to argue. He just clenched his fist angrily.
He is not Li Yuan, nor is he Li Jiancheng. If he makes a mistake, he will reflect on himself and admit it, and will not try every means to find excuses for himself.
Li Yuanji has made his words very clear. If he still refuses to admit it and defends himself, he will be deceiving himself and others.
Li Yuanji continued: "It was obviously easy for you to do this, and it was obviously easy for you to save the soldiers from the severe cold, but you did nothing.
You are just busy fighting for power, busy grabbing profits, and busy trying to kill each other.
Haven't you ever thought about it?
The stronger they are, the stronger you will be. Even if you don't fight for power, you are still the noblest people in the Tang Dynasty.
If they become weaker and weaker, even if you win power, you may not be able to secure the most honorable position."
Li Shimin said solemnly: "I admit that what you said makes sense, but there are some things that need to be decided first before we can take care of other things."
Li Yuanji looked sideways at Li Shimin and asked, "Now that the winner has been decided, can you still take care of other things?"
Li Shimin's face suddenly became darker.
Li Yuanji continued: "In the past, I had no interest in that position, not at all. If I weren't afraid that you and my eldest brother would kill me quickly after taking over, I wouldn't even want to participate in the fight between you.
The life I wanted most in the past was a place filled with wine ponds, meat forests, idle clouds and wild cranes.
But it's different now. Now I want to sit in that position.
However, I will not pick it up myself, I will only wait for my father to take the initiative to give it to me.
If the father doesn't give it to me, I will help my eldest brother's son to rise to power. When my eldest brother's son gets tired of being there, I will support your son to rise to power.
If possible, I hope our sons can take turns sitting, each sitting for ten or twenty years.
As long as everyone has a chance, no one will fight for it.
Moreover, if the retired emperor can work with us to discuss the gains and losses of the reigning emperor, and keep an eye on the internal fighting within the clan, then I think what happened between you, my eldest brother, and me will never happen again.
Will appear.
Although doing so would wrong the reigning emperor, the reigning emperor might even become the puppet of the retired emperor.
But to be an emperor, you have to suffer some grievances and give something.
If you don’t want to suffer any grievances and don’t want to give anything, then why should you be the emperor?”
