Li Shimin looked at Li You's back and said proudly, how could Li Mu not understand what he meant? Isn't this just bragging about his 'breeding'? Li Mu didn't want to flatter him, but when faced with Li Shimin's gaze, it seemed like this horse
As if something was going to happen, he grinned and bared his teeth and said "from the bottom of his heart": "Your Majesty, there is a proverb among the people, dragons give birth to dragons and phoenixes, and mice can burrow when they give birth. After all, Li You is your biological son.
Isn't it normal for someone to be successful if he inherits your bloodline?"
Li Shimin stared into Li Mu's eyes: "Normal?"
"Of course it's normal!" Li Mu answered firmly and categorically. Li Shimin laughed with satisfaction and sat down next to Li Mu, where Li You had just sat. Li Mu didn't dare to let him sit down, so he quickly gave up his seat.
Come out. Li Shimin sat down without any courtesy. He looked at Li Mu for a while before speaking, "You have lost weight after being at sea for half a year."
"Alas," Li Mu wanted to say something, but for some reason, he was too lazy to say the false flattery. When the words came to his lips, there was only a sigh.
"In the past six months, I have fought a small battle."
"I heard about it," Li Mu said hurriedly.
It was said to be a small battle, but it was actually not small at all. It was just because it was fought too fast, the casualties were small, and the military supplies consumed were small, so it was called a small battle.
It was Tuyuhun who was fighting, and Li Mu had long expected that this battle was inevitable. As early as when the Tang Dynasty and the Turks were in conflict and Tuyuhun stabbed him in the back, Li Mu knew that Tuyuhun was seeking death.
When Li Shimin throws his hand out, he will definitely clean it up.
After the spring plowing this year, it was just right. Originally, Li Shimin planned to attack Goguryeo, and Li Ji's army was transferred there. But Li Mu persuaded him not to do it this year. The war in the east has stopped, and the supplies prepared for this war can be saved.
After summer, Li Shimin asked the Ministry of Household Affairs to make statistics. This year is another good harvest year. There is no need to worry about next year's grain, so what are the remaining materials from last year used for?
So Li Shimin issued an imperial edict and sent all these houses to Li Xiaogong, the governor of Dingxiang.
Li Xiaogong naturally understood what Li Shimin meant. After the supplies were in place, Li Xiaogong worked with, no, should be said to be liaisons. He contacted the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions and asked each country to send troops. He also borrowed 20,000 Turkic troops from the brotherly country.
Gaochang's 5,000 soldiers and horses, together with the 15,000 soldiers and horses he had continuously recruited and trained and organized from refugees, totaled more than 40,000 people, claiming to be one hundred thousand. They found an excuse to start a war with Tuyuhun.
After the Tang Dynasty formed an alliance with the Turks, Tuyuhun had realized that something would happen to him sooner or later. In the past year, he had been more careful, tolerating it when he could, and giving in when he could. He even gave up a piece of grassland on the border of the Tang Dynasty.
, the people of Tuyuhun are not allowed to graze their cattle. They think that they have regressed so much, and the Heavenly Kingdom still wants to face them, so you can’t bully me even if I’m scared, right?
Facts have proved that Tuyuhun overestimated the face of the Celestial Kingdom. Li Shimin has a big mind, but when it comes to war, he is more stubborn than anyone else. If you stab me in the back, I will have to do it to you sooner or later.
Li Xiaogong was even more shameless. Li Shimin asked him to make excuses. He thought for several days and finally told Tuyuhun that the sheep we were grazing in Dingxiang Duhufu were stolen by you Tuyuhun people. Thirty thousand were stolen overnight.
I'll give you three days to either return the sheep or go to war. Take your pick, right?
Is this what people say?
When King Tuyuhun saw Li Xiaogong's letter, he almost suffered a stroke and died on the spot. Not to mention how ridiculous it was that the sheep could be stolen from the heavily guarded Dingxiang Duhu Mansion. Even if it happened, there would be 30,000 sheep!
The sheep in this grassland have been caught and counted. There is no doubt whether there are so many sheep. You Datang people are farmers, not herders. How could you steal so many sheep?
Okay, just admit defeat and give you the sheep. In three days, it’s too late to catch him! Don’t you just want to fight?
If you want to fight, just say it. Is that okay? Isn’t this bullying?
What is unbearable? King Tuyuhun also has a temper. Don’t you want to fight? Then fight!
The battle lasted seven days.
The real battle ended in three days. In the remaining four days, the Allied Forces of the Tang Dynasty chased King Tuyuhun on the land of Tuyuhun. By the way, they collected the sheep of the Tang Dynasty that they had 'stolen', but 30,000 of these
The number was still a bit exaggerated. The army 'collected' it for four days, but in the end they only managed to collect 10,000.
Three thousand were given to the Turkic brothers, one thousand to Gaochang, and dozens of sheep to each of the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions. The remaining two thousand became the breeding sheep of the Dingxiang Duhufu, and the ones near Dingxiang
The pasture can finally be put to use. The next time I frame someone up, I don’t have to just open my mouth to do it.
Of course, this loot alone was far from enough to satisfy the appetite of the Tang Dynasty. Tuyuhun sent envoys to sue for peace, and finally ceded most of Qinghai Lake to the Tang Dynasty. This matter was settled.
As for the Qinghai Lake matter, Changsun Wuji made great efforts. With Datang Salt Industry here, Changsun Wuji had to make every effort.
With Qinghai Lake, it will be much more convenient to make salt in the future.
Li Mu was also very happy to learn the news. With Qinghai Lake, he would have inexhaustible raw materials for making glass in the future. But now, he has no plans to increase glass production, so he did not mention this matter.
After talking about Li Shimin's affairs, Li Mu also reported to Li Shimin what he had done in Japan.
Li Shimin was not too surprised by Li Mu's support for Shanbei's eldest brother. Obviously he had known it for a long time. Unsurprisingly, in Li Mu's fleet, there were indispensable bad guys and Dongchang's informants. Li Mu actually knew it too, and he pretended
Just don't know, this can be regarded as a tacit understanding between the king and his ministers, no one wants to pierce this layer of window paper.
"I really didn't expect that the small Japanese country would have such a large silver mine. If I hadn't heard you tell me, I would never have believed it." As he said that, Li Shimin became angry again: "The small Japanese country is a tiny place.
You dare to be arrogant and call yourself the emperor! Do they have me in their eyes? If you have done well, you should let such scoundrels bow their heads. If we were not separated by the sea, I would definitely conquer them!"
"There is no need to conquer." Li Mu quickly advised: "Your Majesty, the Japanese are frogs in the well and have no knowledge. What they call themselves behind closed doors is actually just a sign of ignorance. For us, the only thing that values them is the silver.
There is no need to conquer the mines. It is not enough to mobilize the troops and the people. Even if they are conquered, so what, in the end we just want their silver mines."
"I understand." Li Shimin snorted and said, "That's all, you did a good job dividing his clan and watching the tigers fight from the mountain -" He looked at Li Mu deeply and said, "This emperor
It's very difficult for someone at your age to understand the art of mind."
Li Mu smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty, look at me like this. Looking down, left and right, I don't look like an emperor. I don't have any emperor's scheming. The scheming I have is just a little cleverness.
"
Li Shimin smiled, was noncommittal, and immediately changed the subject and said, "You can just go ahead and do whatever it takes about the Japanese country. I will fully support you." After a pause, he added, "What do you think about You'er's matter?
"
"Hmm -" Li Mu pondered for a while and then said: "Your Majesty, what do you think of this score? Is it public or selfish?"
"Does this have to do with publicity and selfishness?" Li Shimin asked with a smile: "Then tell me, what do you mean by work ethic and selfishness?
"Your Majesty, if I am honest, I will support Li You." Li Mu explained seriously: "Originally, I had a lot of doubts about Li You. But after getting to know the crew, I found that Li You is really the material.
"
"Oh?" Li Shimin asked curiously: "How do you say this?"
"When he first went to sea, Li You knew almost nothing. He couldn't read maps or observe waterways. He couldn't communicate with people from other countries when he met them. But when he returned, he could understand them.
He can tell the direction through the stars, judge the weather through the saltiness of the sea breeze, and has learned at least a dozen foreign languages and simple characters——" Li Mu said seriously: "Your Majesty, this cannot be explained by luck alone.
It’s a talent, a rare talent.”
"I often say that there is no waste in this world. Everyone has his shining points, things he is good at, and the most valuable side." Li Mu glanced at Li Shimin's face and said, "I'm not afraid that your majesty won't like to hear it, Li Mu
I really didn’t see any bright spots in this person like You before. But this time when I returned from the sea, I saw it.”
"He is now a young man who has ideals and goals and is willing to fight for them. Such a person can definitely do well. All he needs now is trust."
"That's good." Li Shimin nodded and said, "I can give him trust. Just like I trust you, just let him go and do it. Why is there such a thing as selfishness?"
Li Mu laughed and said, "Selfishly, the place he chose was originally what I wanted to choose."
"Huh?" Li Shimin frowned and said, "What do you mean?"
"Your Majesty, that is the escape route I prepared for myself."
After Li Mu said this, he didn't explain any more. Li Shimin was stunned for a moment, his expression a little frozen, and it took him a long time to say: "Have we, the emperor and his ministers, become so suspicious?"
"Your Majesty, I don't know how to express it -" Li Mu pursed his lips and said: "If you ask me, at this moment, do you believe in your Majesty? I can say with certainty that I believe in your majesty. But things in this world are not
It depends on one person's wishful thinking or not. At this moment, I and Your Majesty trust each other. But what about another time? Maybe there will be a sycophant around Your Majesty, or maybe one day I will rebel because of my ambition. This is all uncertain.
thing."
"I do not want to do anything to disgrace His Majesty out of my true heart. But I cannot do nothing. As long as I do something, I will surround myself with a group of people. What if one day, these people force me to do something?
"Li Mu shook his head and said: "I'm afraid that I can't help myself, so what I can do is to prevent things from getting to that point."
"So, I am careful every step I take now. I want to do more for the Tang Dynasty, but I am afraid of doing too much." Li Mu sighed and said: "Your Majesty, your Majesty knows my temper.
Yes. I am a lazy person. I always look for trouble in my face. When did you find me in trouble?"
"I have thought carefully about it. I will take a rest after finishing what I am doing." Seeing that Li Shimin was about to speak, Li Mu interrupted him first and said: "It doesn't matter whether I want to leave a way out or retire after my achievements. This
That’s what I really think in my heart.”
"I still have two things to do. The first is to open up the sea route. Your Majesty, the real wealth lies in the sea. After the sea route is opened up, the cheap goods in the Tang Dynasty can be resold at a profit of ten times or even a hundred times. How many times?
Within ten years, Datang’s economy will no longer have to worry.”
"Also, regarding the use of troops against Goguryeo, I will definitely do what I promised to Your Majesty. I will make all preparations at the earliest next year and the year after next at the latest so that Your Majesty will have no worries when using troops against Goguryeo."
"After completing these two things, the escape route I have arranged for myself is Jiaozhou." Li Mu smiled and said: "Jiaozhou has two advantages. First, it is far away from the Central Plains and the climate is suitable. I can take care of myself in Jiaozhou.
, and can also contribute to the Tang Dynasty. Moreover, since the mountains are high and the emperor is far away, the ministers can feel more at ease."
"Another advantage is that Jiaozhou is not on the island. It is connected with the Central Plains. If one day, I die of old age, my children and grandchildren can come back if they want."
"The most important point is that Jiaozhou does not have the conditions for rebellion. Your Majesty and the princes of the court will never have to worry that Li Mu will use Jiaozhou as his base camp and rebel one day. This is impossible."
What Li Mu said is absolutely true. No matter how rich Jiaozhou is in the future, it is impossible to defeat the Tang Dynasty. There are several reasons. First, the people of Jiaozhou live in the tropics all year round. If the northern expedition is carried out, the climate will not be able to adapt. The people of Jiaozhou will not be able to adapt to the climate.
He was short in stature. Unless Li Mu made a gun across the ages, it would be impossible to beat the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty. The last and most important factor was geographical determinism.
Throughout China's 5,000-year history, battles fought from north to south have always been won, but battles fought from south to north have never been won. Whether it was the King of Chu's aspiration to win the throne or the Song Dynasty's fight against Liao and Jin in later generations.
, or the Northern Expedition in modern times, has never been successful. This is a matter determined by geographical factors and cannot be resisted by human power.
Li Shimin was the most outstanding general in the world, and he certainly understood what Li Mu was talking about. Li Mu's meaning was very clear. He wanted to 'exile' himself somewhere to protect himself, his family, and future generations.
Li Shimin was silent for a while and said: "I know that no matter how much I promise, you will never believe it - but I can't promise you this. You are a minister of the Tang Dynasty, and you should do things out of public interest. Since you think
If Li You is suitable, then let Li You do the work in Jiaozhou. What if your escape route is gone?"
"It's okay." Li Mu smiled nonchalantly: "I don't just have this escape route, I can just find another place."