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

Chapter 581 Conversation between Father and Son in Chengqing Palace (V)
In the Tang Dynasty where Li Yan is now living, the Tang Dynasty plays the role of the Eagle Sauce in the known areas, and he can completely use his methods. On the one hand, it is more suitable for the game between major powers. On the other hand, it can increase the importance of himself and civil officials and weaken the dependence on military generals and military power in the struggle for hegemony among major powers in this era.

Li Yan believed that this must be what Li Shimin hoped to see. In the competition in peacetime, he could play a huge role in the field of civil officials, avoid stimulating the military power that the people in power in this era were very sensitive to, and at the same time subtly expand his influence.

Li Yan knew that no matter how great his influence and power were among the civil officials, as long as he did not touch upon the military power, a native like Li Shimin, who had traditional ideas and attached great importance to military power, would not mind and would support him instead.

Because they always believe that as long as they hold the knives and guns, the overall situation will not change.

How to increase influence in a reasonable manner while avoiding arousing the emperor's fear becomes the basic guarantee for Li Yan's smooth succession.

From the perspective of a country's development, after monarchs like Li Yuan and Li Shimin laid the foundation by expanding the territory, they attached more importance to the ability of their successors to maintain the country and govern the foundation they passed down in a way that ensures peace and prosperity for the people.

In this situation, only the prince who shows outstanding ability in governing the country can gain recognition from more people and be more in line with the general development trend.

Therefore, after sending Yang Ji to Li Shimin and mastering the most core procedure, Li Yan no longer involved himself in other military powers, but focused on how to assist Li Shimin in governing the world.

After all, defending a country is much more difficult than conquering it.

After Li Yan finished speaking, he looked at Li Shimin with eagerness, hoping that Li Shimin would use his "richer" life experience to solve his doubts.

But Li Shimin was a little dumbfounded. He had never thought about the things Li Yan said. This was completely different from the experience he had learned in governing the world. For a moment, he was stuck and stunned for a long time, staring at Li Yan for a long time.

Then he coughed twice and said awkwardly, "Cheng Qian, I am very pleased that you can think of these things. This proves that your study over the years has not been in vain, and you have always cared about the country."

"Father is usually busy with state affairs all day long, and he is exhausted. In addition to dealing with domestic affairs, he has to focus most of his energy on dealing with the Turkic invasion every year. He has no more time to think about how to govern the country."

"However, what you said has also given Father a lot of inspiration. Although it is not very mature, it is still a way. It does not conflict with our current preparations for war. Moreover, it is not only effective in fighting the Turks, but it will also be of great help in governing the grasslands after defeating the Turks in the future."

"In addition, there are the forces of Shiwei, Goguryeo and Silla in the northeast, Tufan, Tuyuhun and Gaochang in the northwest, which can all play a very good role. Therefore, you have to put more effort in this regard and treat these matters as important state affairs."

Li Yan smiled slightly in his heart, so he said seriously: "Yes, father, I think so too, that's why I think about these things."

"But if it's just wishful thinking, no one knows what the effect will be. That's why I dare to ask my father for permission to set up a department under the East Palace. While operating, we can summarize experience and education and observe the specific results."

Li Shimin nodded, and then said solemnly: "If it is really effective, then it cannot be promoted by the Eastern Palace alone, and the entire Tang Dynasty needs to take the lead."

"Your Majesty, what you said is timely. If this is the case, it will change the form of war from the previous purely military perspective to the coordination of military and economy. It really requires the whole court to promote it."

Li Yan secretly complained in his heart about Li Shimin's shamelessness. He was thinking of picking peaches when there was nothing at all?

So he changed the subject and said worriedly, "However, for now, the way led by father is still the mainstream. Historically, radical changes have always caused social unrest. A hasty change can easily cause chaos in the court, and even cause an imbalance of power in the court because too many interests are involved."

"The most important thing is how effective it is, and it's hard to say."

"So, I am thinking that we can do these things without telling anyone, or even limit the knowledge to the two of us, and do it on a small scale, while learning from the experience. When the time is right, we can come up with a mature plan, have a clear idea in mind, and then cooperate with the measures of the emperor to govern the Tang Dynasty step by step, and quietly change the ideas of the ministers in the court. This is the safest way."

When Li Shimin heard this, he thought it made sense. Before today's conversation, he didn't even know that trade economics could be played in this way. If he acted on impulse and used it to change the current policy when no one was familiar with it, it would be too risky.

"Even so, the Eastern Palace is still too weak to handle this matter. How about Father set up a department in the court and let you be in charge?"

Li Shimin was not afraid that Li Yan had too much power. As an emperor on horseback, if Li Yan was afraid and cautious when he was responsible for managing some non-military departments, then he would not be the Li Shimin who looked down on the world.

He was really worried at this time that the power of the Eastern Palace was too weak. If he operated bit by bit like this, it would take a long time to see the results. Li Shimin was in a hurry to govern the world and was afraid that there would not be enough time.

He wanted to make the Tang Dynasty peaceful and prosperous in the shortest possible time, and make it a great country that looked down upon the world. The Tang Dynasty was not like the rabbits of later generations, which emphasized the supremacy of the emperor. All under heaven belonged to the king, and all the people were his subjects!

The national strength of the Rabbit far exceeds that of the Tang Dynasty, but its ambition and aspiration to dominate the world is still far from the unified dynasties of ancient times.

The position of the Supreme Being is not just a dregs of feudal society, but a kind of glorious honor that places one above everyone else and attracts all nations to pay tribute.

"No!"

Li Yan flatly refused, "Father, this economic war involves countless scouts sent into the grasslands, and not everyone in the court is on the same page with us. If Jie Li knew about this, he would know that doing so would weaken the grasslands, and would deliberately obstruct us, which would add a lot of trouble to the next operation."

"So, it would be best if this matter is handled in the name of the Eastern Palace and in private."

Seeing Li Shimin's puzzled expression, Li Yan asked back: "Father, when Jie Li's army was approaching the Wei River, and you learned that the Turkic Khan Tuli and Qibiheli and other leaders were not on the same page with Jie Li, what did you do?"

Li Shimin was stunned for a moment. Li Yan did not wait for Li Shimin to answer and said, "You subconsciously want to bribe Tuli, or even support him to restrain Jie Li. People have the same mind and the same reason. If Jie Li knew that the caravan we sent to the grassland was a caravan of the Tang Dynasty, he would definitely impose various restrictions and be careful to prevent it."

"But if Jie Li knew that these caravans were all owned by the Tang prince, who was greedy for the profits from border trade and was short-sighted, he would do this secretly behind the back of the emperor and the court."

"What do you think Jie Li would do?"

Li Shimin straightened his expression and said thoughtfully, "A prince who is short-sighted, greedy, sneaky, and willing to sell out the interests of the Tang court for personal gain meets Jie Li's requirements."

"If I were Jie Li, not only would I not stop you, but I would open the door wide and help you, so that your power in the Tang Dynasty would grow stronger and stronger, preferably to the point where you could challenge the emperor and cause chaos within the Tang Dynasty, so that I could take advantage of the opportunity."

Li Yan smiled slightly and said cunningly: "If Jie Li has this idea, then the caravan in the name of the East Palace can naturally run rampant in the grassland without restraint."

"Even, the East Palace caravan can provide some more profitable contraband that other caravans cannot provide. This way, Jie Li can be more determined to create conflicts between my father and me, and use our discord to buy time and get to know the grassland better."

"Of course, even if we don't trade these things on the grassland, there are still nobles in the court and civilian caravans who risk their heads to send them to the grassland due to the huge profits. Moreover, the more it is prohibited and the more strictly the border is guarded, the higher the price of these things will be, and the greater the profit will be. In the end, it will benefit those caravans and the wealthy in Guanzhong, and indirectly corrupt the army."

"If we were to do it, we could control the types, quantities, and directions of materials flowing into the grasslands. For example, we could import more luxury goods that are used for enjoyment and corrupt people's will, and import less strategic resources."

"For example, we can send more troops to the large tribes such as Tuli, Qibihebi, and Chuluo that Jieli secretly dislikes, and send less troops to Jieli's diehard tribes. By doing this, we can narrow the gap in military strength between them and Jieli and create conflicts and confrontations between evenly matched tribes."

"If that's the case, Jie Li would be powerless just to deal with them, so how can he have the energy to invade our Tang Dynasty?"

"Although the influx of these materials will indirectly boost the strength of the Turks, relatively speaking, the strength of our Tang Dynasty will increase more, so the gap between the two sides will be further widened. When the time comes, father can mobilize the elite troops in the north and defeat Jie Li with a strong attack."

"Perhaps one day, Father will be able to easily control the situation of the grassland tribes by relying solely on economic strategies. If economic means are ineffective, he can use the army and cross-use multiple methods to keep the enemy out of the country without having to resort to such large-scale warfare!"

Li Yan's analysis made Li Shimin nod frequently.

Yes, the prince is right!
If we allow those merchants to smuggle indiscriminately, they will become rich and we will become poor, and their troops on the border will be corrupted. It would be better for us to do this business ourselves and lean a little towards the Tuli people.

Wouldn't it cause huge trouble to Jie Li? On the other hand, the 'Prince smuggling' specially supported by Jie Li indirectly helped him to go deeper into the grassland, understand the details of the grassland better, and also facilitate the creation of conflicts between the tribes.

In this way, the war against the Turks would not have to wait until the military was fully prepared or a disaster occurred on the grassland.

In fact, you can start now!

(End of this chapter)