The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 579: Conversation between Father and Son in Chengqing Palace (Part )
Seeing that Li Shimin was listening attentively, Li Yan continued, "As for the grassland peoples, all the people are soldiers. Their herdsmen are almost natural warriors. They graze on the grasslands in spring and summer, and invade the south in autumn when their horses are fat. They all have their own weapons and bows and horses. Jie Li does not need to send out military orders. He will invade our Central Plains from the south. Whoever grabs it will own it, and whoever dies deserves it."

"And our Tang Dynasty has hundreds of thousands of troops on the border, guarding thousands of miles of border. How much money and food does it spend on the military every year?"

"Once the war starts, all kinds of materials will flow onto the battlefield like water."

"If we continue to waste time like this, even though the Central Plains is vast and rich in resources, we cannot outlast the grassland people. They are like weeds in the desert. Even if you burn them all, they will still grow again in spring and continue to drag us down. In the end, they will not collapse, but we will be unable to bear it."

"So, Father"

At this time, Wang De, who was waiting outside the imperial study, came in, bowed, and reported: "Your Majesty, Lord Cen said that Prince Li Ke of Shu is ready to go to Suizhou. Lord Cen came to ask if Your Majesty needs to tell you anything?"

Li Shimin was listening attentively at this time. He waved his hand impatiently and ordered: "Tell Cen Wenben to send Li Ke off. He knows all the details that need to be told. Tell Ke'er not to lose the dignity of our Tang Dynasty."

"Conclude the negotiations as soon as possible and rescue the soldiers and civilians of Suizhou, and I will disappear!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Wang De secretly glanced at Li Yan, lowered his head and retreated.

Seeing Wang De leave, Li Shimin urged: "Well, Qian'er, what you said makes sense. Go on. Where were you just now?"

"Oh, Father!"

Li Yan took a sip of the goat milk on the table and moistened his throat: "Father, instead of going to war, it is better to import some necessary daily necessities to the grassland through normal commodity trade and exchange them for some things that my Tang Dynasty needs."

"For example, we can use salt, iron, grain, tea, cloth, etc. to exchange for cattle, sheep, horses and other things that our Tang Dynasty urgently needs. Horses can be used as military horses, cattle can be used to plow the fields, and sheep can be eaten as meat."

"In fact, not all people on the grassland are willing to abandon their homes and businesses, hold machetes, and risk their lives to plunder. After all, many people will be killed or injured every time. If they can use the cattle, sheep and other livestock that can be found everywhere on the grassland to exchange for necessary daily necessities, who would be willing to go to war!"

"After all, natural-born robbers are a minority. If most herdsmen are unwilling to fight, then even if a Khan like Jie Li has great ambitions and abilities, he will not be able to mobilize a military force that can compete with our Tang Dynasty."

"This is like cutting off the firewood from under the cauldron. It is also another form of war. It does not involve fighting on the battlefield, but quietly weakens the Turkic people's fighting spirit."

With a bang, Li Shimin slammed his palm on the table and said excitedly: "Not bad, not bad, it makes sense, it makes sense."

"I only thought about accumulating strength and competing with Jie Li militarily, but I didn't think that in addition to militarily, there are more ways to attack and weaken the opponent. This way, we can temporarily stabilize Jie Li and buy more time for our Tang Dynasty to recuperate."

"Moreover, we can gradually increase the Turkic dependence on us through the exchange of goods and reduce the confrontation between the two nations. Even after we defeat the Turkic people, we can still rule and manage them in this way."

"Yes, Father!"

Li Yan said with admiration, "When the grassland is in good condition, the grass is green and the horses are fat, the Turks will become stronger and will invade us; but when the grassland is in disaster and people can't survive, they will still go south to plunder in order to survive."

"The conflict between the grasslands and the Central Plains can almost be said to be an unsolvable problem. During the reign of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, the country was strong and it was not that they had not been subdued, but later the Central Plains weakened and they made a comeback."

"I have never doubted that with my father's wisdom and bravery, he can accumulate strength for several years. If he cannot defeat the Turks, no one can guarantee how many years he can last. It is almost impossible to completely eliminate this foreign threat by war alone!"

"If we use economic means, we can still stabilize the grassland. If we are not weak, this is equivalent to solving the problem."

"Through trade, we can use food and cloth to buy extra horses from the grasslands and bring them back to the Central Plains when the weather is good, reducing their fighting capacity and weakening their strength. When disaster strikes, we can also provide them with some food and grass through trade, allowing them to spend the winter safely. Without the crisis of survival, this will also reduce the Turkic aggressiveness."

"After all, you may not win a war, and even if you win, the supplies you get may not be as much as what you get from trading, and there will be many casualties. Instead of this, it is better to conduct normal trade."

Well.
Li Shimin was stunned: "They have all suffered a disaster and have nothing to eat. What else can they trade with us?"

"Father, even if we don't have it, we can still take the land, or owe it first and pay it back when the harvest is good next year. It's better than forcing them to rob directly, right? If it doesn't work, we can still pay them money and ask them to send manpower and hire them to help us fight against the Gaochang countries in the Western Regions, the Xiwei and Goguryeo, and other enemies that have always been against our Tang Dynasty!" Li Yan raised his eyebrows and said meaningfully, "Father, if the Turks suffer a disaster next year, we will take out one million dan of grain and ask Jie Li to exchange it for the entire Goguryeo. What do you think, when our military is strong, will Jie Li invade our border towns that are well prepared, or bully the weaker small countries on the border?"

'hiss'

Li Shimin took a deep breath. If he put himself in his shoes, Jie Li would most likely attack those small countries. Not only could he rob them of their supplies, but he could also use the remaining population, cities and land to exchange for huge amounts of food, cloth and other supplies from the Tang Dynasty. This would be tantamount to diverting disaster away and letting the enemy consume the enemy, while all he would have to do was pay some supplies.

"And the effect of economic means is far more than that. For example, in a normal year, a cow on the grassland costs ten strings of cash, a sheep only two strings of cash, and a horse costs fifty strings of cash. However, our Tang Dynasty has a vast territory and a relatively high grain output. We can exchange a large amount of grain and cloth for cattle and sheep, and less for horses."

"Then, in order to obtain more food and cloth, the herders on the grasslands will raise more cattle and sheep and fewer horses. As a result, the more cattle and sheep there are on the grasslands, the fewer horses there are for war. Wouldn't that weaken the Turkic strength?"

"If we can use the worthless cattle and sheep on the grassland to exchange for materials that cannot be obtained even through bloodshed in war, then who would follow Jie Li and risk their lives to attack the strong cities on the border?"

"Furthermore, if they could obtain grain worth one million dan by harassing the border towns of the Tang Dynasty, and they could also obtain the same amount through trade with the border towns, would the Turks still choose to shed blood and die and pay such a huge cost?"

"But in reality, every time the Turks invaded, they took one penny, which resulted in a loss of ten pennies for the Tang Dynasty. Most of the losses evaporated into thin air. The Turks didn't get it, and we didn't get it either. All of it turned into food, fodder, weapons, horses, towns, houses and property destroyed in the war."

"There are also huge amounts of supplies to help the people survive the winter, and for subsequent post-war reconstruction, as well as cattle and seeds for next year."

"If they consume one point through war, we will consume ten points."

"Instead of doing this, we should give some to the Turks through trade. If they gain one point of strength, we will have to pay nine points less. If we use these saved resources to equip our army, we will be many times stronger than the Turks."

"After years of this and that, the prices have gone up and down. In the end, are we still getting a good deal?"

At this time, Li Shimin suddenly interrupted and reminded: "You have forgotten to calculate the huge annual military expenses of the extra soldiers we recruited to guard the border in order to defend against the Turks, as well as the medical expenses and pensions for the soldiers who died or were injured in the war."

"Your Majesty is right," Li Yan quickly agreed.

As Li Yan calculated the economic accounts, Li Shimin couldn't help but fall into deep thought, walking around in the imperial study anxiously, looking a little uneasy. He had never thought that helping the enemy could actually save him so much strength. In fact, the savings were equivalent to the strength gained.

Li Yan explained it very clearly and Li Shimin could understand it easily.

It was just a short while ago. With the old way of thinking, Li Shimin couldn't get over it. How come attacking the enemy would only cause his own side to suffer greater losses, while helping the enemy would allow him to defeat his old enemy faster? How was this account calculated?

Could it be that all the measures I believed in before to defeat the enemy were wrong?
But Li Shimin instinctively wanted to resist and refute the accounts presented by Li Yan, but he didn't know where to start. Should he ignore the economic accounts and purely calculate the emotions and national hatred and family feuds, which would obviously not be cost-effective?

No wonder I have to live frugally. The whole Tang Dynasty has tightened its belt, but the country is still so poor. Did I miscalculate?

Thinking of this, Li Shimin couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. Could it be that instead of saving money, he would be better off helping the enemy so that he could become stronger faster and widen the gap in strength between himself and the Turks?

At this time Wang De came in again. When Li Shimin had no important matters, he usually handled official business in Chengqing Hall. If any minister in any department had important matters, they could come directly to report. Li Shimin could even call a few ministers to discuss in Chengqing Hall.

And now it was morning office hours, so ministers came to pay their respects to Li Shimin from time to time. In this way, Wang De knew that Li Shimin and the prince were discussing something, and he had taken the initiative to push forward many unimportant officials.

But when he met some important officials in the court, he did not dare to make decisions on his own.

Look, Duke of Song, Imperial Censor Xiao Yu wants to meet Li Shimin. Xiao Yu is a veteran minister of three dynasties, an upright man. Despite several ups and downs, he still holds an important position in the court. Wang De dare not stop him and has to come in to report.

"Your Majesty, Lord Xiao Yu Xiao requests an audience."

(End of this chapter)