Li Yuanji laughed and said, "You are flattering me."
Su Dingfang laughed and said, "What I said is true."
Li Yuanji glanced at Su Dingfang with a dumbfounded look and said: "Okay, let's stop flattering each other and take your soldiers into the city. I have already ordered people to prepare food and wine to welcome you.
When you have eaten and drank to your heart's content, we will return to the court."
Su Dingfang quickly agreed, then knelt down on one knee again and presented the handsome seal.
Seeing this, Li Yuanji did not refuse, and asked Li Shentong to be the middleman. After inspecting the seal, he took it back.
Su Dingfang then got up and accompanied Li Yuanji back to Huai'an City.
Although there are no lights and colorful decorations everywhere in Huai'an City, there is a feeling of joy everywhere.
After experiencing the ravages of the Turks, this was the first time it was rejuvenated.
In the eyes of the people in Huai'an City, Master Wang not only drove the Turks out of Huai'an, but also chased the Turks all the way out of Qingzhou and to the edge of the Great Wall. This was to avenge them.
So when the army returned, even though they were sad in their hearts and did not let go of the pain of the death of their loved ones, they still gathered together in small groups and used their own way to give their own sacrifices to the army that had avenged them.
gratitude.
Of course, the most important thing is that Li Yuanji ordered people to slaughter thousands of cattle and sheep at one go. In addition to supplying the army, each family can also get some minced meat and big bones. Some families with elderly people can also get some.
, you can also get six taels of wine and ten kilograms of meat.
So the people can't be happy even if they don't want to.
After the whole city celebrated for three days and killed nearly 10,000 cattle and sheep, Li Yuanji couldn't wait to issue the order to return to the court.
Tens of thousands of soldiers, as well as the soldiers and horses of the Twelve Guards, totaling nearly 90,000 soldiers and horses, plus hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep captured by the Turks, and tens of thousands of horses, poured into Chang'an in a mighty manner.
The entire team is dozens of miles long.
When the leader of the team had already traveled dozens of miles, the tail of the team started to move forward.
Passing through Ningzhou and Pizhou all the way, we entered the boundary of Gyeonggi Province.
After the soldiers and horses from the four states in Hanzhong entered the borders of Gyeonggi, they did not return to Chang'an with the army, but turned south and returned to Hanzhong. Only some soldiers with outstanding merits were eligible to go to Chang'an to receive rewards.
The same goes for the soldiers from other places. They turned around and returned to their respective states on the way.
Therefore, after the army entered the territory of Gyeonggi Province, only the twelve guards and horses, the local warriors recruited from Gyeonggi Province, and other miscellaneous soldiers and horses were left.
The queue was still very long, stretching for more than twenty miles.
Li Yuan specially sent Li Gang and Xiao Yu as angels to set up a banquet in Liyuan Village to entertain the soldiers who returned from the victory.
In this battle with the Turks, Datang mobilized a lot of troops, consumed a lot of money, and suffered far greater losses than before, but the results this time were astonishing.
Not only did they repel the Turkic invasion, they also recovered six and a half states, recaptured an important military barrier such as the Great Wall, and captured a Turkic khan alive.
It can be said to be the greatest victory against the Turks since the founding of the Tang Dynasty.
Therefore, even though the effort was huge, no one in the government or the public made any comments. Instead, there was a lot of celebration and joy.
From time to time on the road, you can meet people who greet you on the street. From time to time, you can also meet people who straighten their backs and brag to their fellow villagers.
The battle was won, and the powerful enemy that had bullied the Tang Dynasty for many years was defeated. This undoubtedly declared to the people the power of the Tang Dynasty, and also declared to the people that under the protection of the powerful Tang Dynasty, they could straighten their backs and conduct themselves as human beings.
, raising his head and facing all the people outside the territory.
Good times are coming soon, and even if the people are hungry, their faces are filled with bright smiles.
When Li Ligang and others held a banquet in Liyuanzhai to entertain the soldiers who had returned from the victory, the people spontaneously formed a team of laborers, led by village officials from various places, who presented wine and straw balls to the soldiers.
, dry goods and other precious foods they accumulated in winter and collected in spring.
The soldiers almost refused to come and celebrated together with the people.
Li Gang held up the wine cup and toasted Li Yuanji from afar. He looked at the soldiers who were celebrating with the people, drinking together, eating meat together, and bragging together. He said with sincere emotion, "Such a grand scene, my lord.
I haven’t seen it for decades.”
In the eyes of others, a grand party with dazzling flowers, colorful clothes, and endless wine and meat is a grand scene.
However, in Li Gang's eyes, the soldiers worked hard with their lives and the people worked hard, working together for the court and celebrating the upcoming prosperity of the country and the country. This was the real grand scene.
"Me too……"
Li Yuanji didn't want to have a deep conversation with Li Gang, so he tasted the Sanle juice in the wine cup and then agreed.
It's not that Li Yuanji didn't want to chat with Li Gang, but that the old man Li Gang kept nagging, talking about feelings, poetry, and preaching.
If that was all, Li Yuanji could still endure it.
The key thing is that after the old man talked a lot, his final goal was to beat the autumn wind.
He was interested in the hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep captured from the Turks, and wanted to take advantage of these cattle and sheep before they were transported to Chang'an, and then distribute them to the prefectures and counties that were tortured in the war.
This was not something Li Yuan told him to do.
Although Li Yuan visited Tai Chi Hall again, he still ignored government affairs.
It just acts as a humanoid mascot and humanoid seal.
Let everyone know that even though the Prince of Tang Dynasty, King Qi, and the deposed King of Qin all went to war, the Emperor of Tang Dynasty was still there.
You can feel free to do whatever you need to do.
So the idea of scraping off a layer of cattle and sheep first was the old man's own idea.
The old man adhered to his idea that this was also for the benefit of the Tang Dynasty, and took action directly without consulting anyone.
"I wonder how your Highness has considered your proposal to me?"
After Li Gang looked away for a while, he looked back and asked.
Li Yuanji put down his wine cup and said angrily: "These cattle and sheep need to be escorted back to Chang'an and handed over to the Ministry of Civil Affairs for distribution."
The Minbu is also the Hubu, but at this time it is not called the Hubu, but the Minbu.
Historically, after Li Zhi came to power, in order to avoid Li Shimin's name, the Ministry of Civil Affairs was changed to the Ministry of Household Affairs.
Li Gang sighed and said: "Your Highness should know very well that if these cattle and sheep are taken back to Chang'an and handed over to the people for distribution, they will then end up in the homes of various powerful people, and the people will not get any benefits.
Maybe you’ll still suffer for it.”
Many times, good things can easily turn into bad things after going through countless twists and turns.
Especially when it comes to matters like national decrees, the decrees issued by the imperial court are often good things, but after being misinterpreted by the yamen at all levels, they turn into bad things.
This is just like Confucianism. When it first developed, almost all the classics of the various scholars were good. However, because there were no punctuation marks to break sentences, they were misinterpreted by later scholars. In the end, many of the contents in the classics of the various philosophers were misinterpreted.
It has been misinterpreted beyond recognition.
Even the meaning is very different from the original meaning.
This is also the reason why Zhu Xi was highly praised after he was born.
Because he set a standard meaning for the classics of various scholars according to his thoughts.
Latecomers only need to learn according to his meaning and do not need to pay attention to other meanings.
Li Gang said that after the cattle and sheep were handed over to the people and distributed to the powerful, the people would not get any benefits and would probably suffer.
This means that the influx of so many cattle and sheep into Chang'an City will not only lower the prices of cattle and sheep raised by the common people, but will also easily prompt the powerful to enclose land for grazing or occupy people's fields.
Although the land in various parts of Chang'an City could be allocated to the dignitaries and common people for farming, no amount of land would be enough once the land was enclosed and built for pasture.
"If Mr. Li is worried, how about letting Mr. Li keep an eye on this matter after returning to Chang'an City?"
Li Yuanji stared at Li Gang and asked.
Li Gang sighed and asked, "Why does Your Highness insist on escorting these cattle and sheep back to Chang'an City? Doesn't His Highness know that after escorting these cattle and sheep back to Chang'an City, the losses along the way will be a huge number?"
Dead cattle and sheep are far less valuable than alive cattle and sheep, and living cattle and sheep need to eat grass.
Hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep consume a huge amount of fodder every day.
Although it is early spring, everything is recovering, and grass and trees have begun to emerge. If hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep can eat them all, they will still turn many places into white ground.
If you don't have enough to eat and have to rush every day, you will lose meat and fat, and eventually you may even starve to death.
These cattle and sheep have just experienced a cold winter, and the autumn fat on their bodies has been almost used up, and they can no longer afford to use it up.
Li Yuanji sighed and gave his answer, "I need to use this to inspire people and inspire the people of the Tang Dynasty. More than ten years have passed since the chaos of the late Sui Dynasty.
During this period, conquests continued in various places, and the people were exhausted and suffered terribly from the torment.
So I have to tell them that the war is over.
No military disaster will harm them again in the future.
They can take care of the crops and have children with peace of mind."
Li Gang was stunned for a moment, lowered his head and thought for a moment, then moved his lips to refute.
Li Yuanji continued: "In the Tang Dynasty, there are now less than 15,600,000 Dingkou, and there is hardly much food and grass in stock. It is precisely because of this that after we defeated Jieli this time, we were unable to take advantage of the victory and pursue it.
We can only chase after Jie Li, and while Jie Li is unable to stop his troops from blocking us, we can regain all the territory south of the Great Wall.
If our Tang Dynasty had a large population and abundant food and fodder, we would not need to do this at all. After defeating Jieli, we could attack the Turks without hesitation and drive them all out.
Turn the Turkic cattle, sheep, horses, and territory into our place.
Therefore, I must encourage the people to have children as soon as possible, expand the population of my Datang, and plant more fertile fields."
Li Gang opened his mouth, but finally said nothing, just let out a long sigh.
Compared with the loss of hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep rushing to Chang'an City and the harm caused by allocating them to the powerful, motivating the people is obviously more important.
Although the human heart is something that cannot be seen or touched.
But being motivated and not being motivated are completely different things.
An inspired heart can move mountains and accomplish all the difficult things in the world.
People's hearts that are not inspired are just a mess, unable to do anything, and may even cause chaos.