Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 284: Requesting Buddhist Scriptures from Monk Tang
Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji sat at the bottom, designing a brand new power structure for the new Ming Dynasty.

Of course, "Da Ming" is just an internal project code name. The three of them just know it in their hearts. In official documents, they still refer to themselves as "Da Tang Northeast".

After all, I believe that the holy dynasty governs the world with filial piety. My father is still hunting in the north, and my son is making trouble for dividing the family. It would not sound good to make it known to others.

Lao Fang and Zhang Sun were both writing with their heads down, and sparks were coming out of the rubbed tips of their pens, as if they were each holding back their energy and engaging in a silent contest.

At the top, Li Ming rested his chin on one hand, staring blankly at the sound of writing.

The technical details were left to his subordinates to handle while he was thinking about the broader strategic direction.

That is, how to pacify the Mohe barbarians in the northeastern forest area.

It is unthinkable to expect them to be as obedient and accept rule as the Goguryeo people, as productivity has not developed to that level.

Goguryeo was able to develop agricultural civilization in the Liaohe Plain, but this was not possible further north.

Even during the interglacial period, the Songnen Plain and Sanjiang Plain where the Mohe people lived were too cold to be cultivated.

Even if we throw an iron-blooded emperor over there, he will become wild and become a pure-blooded barbarian in a few years.

Before the advent of the heavy industrial era, it was difficult to establish effective rule in the frozen swamp areas like that in the Central Plains.

Previously, Li Ming had used copper as a heat dissipation material and had craftsmen build several primitive plumbing facilities, and developed a series of settlements around these central heating systems.

Those settlements were mainly based on timber, ginseng, deer antlers, furs and other wild delicacies, or on mining and smelting industries such as coal and steel. They were able to integrate into the economic cycle and initially acquired self-sustaining capabilities.

This was his attempt to expand northward.

However, these facilities are too expensive, the population they accommodate is too small, and they are currently losing money. And most fatally, their defenses are very weak, and they have almost no ability to fight back when attacked by the enemy.

During this Mohe invasion, the heaviest losses were suffered by the settlements, more than half of which were destroyed.

The settlements were outposts, and without them, Goguryeo's core cities would be exposed to the firepower of the barbarians.

"Are we launching a sweeping attack on the barbarians, with all the plans above the wheels?
"No, no, the cost of fighting in that remote mountain area is too high. My Ming Dynasty cannot follow the same fate as that 'Daiming'.

"To put it another way, even if we really wipe out all the Mohe people, other barbarians will still breed in that place. The problem is not the people, but the geographical location.

"Conquer them to surrender? That's what I'm doing. But the barbarians are not fools. They are fickle and will stab you in the back if you don't give them enough benefits. And their appetite is getting bigger and bigger.

"What's the difference between this and paying the annual tribute..."

Li Ming racked his brains and thought hard.

How did Goguryeo deal with the Mohe barbarians back then?
The answer is, there is no solution.

Goguryeo couldn't even govern its own Buyeo people well. The south was divided into three provinces and six tribes. The Buyeo people living in the north lived an even more primitive life than the Mohe people. From time to time, they acted as guides, leading their poor Mohe brothers to the south to forage for food.

It was in such chaos until the country was destroyed.

"The terrain of the forest swamp is too complex, and the fishing and hunting resources are also rich. It is much more difficult to expel the Mohe people than to expel the Turkic Tiele people in the grassland.

“Thousands of years of rulers have been unable to solve this problem, can I be as smart as my ancestors?
"But I can't just leave it alone. It's bleeding me all the time. And if I raise a Nurhachi or Huang Taiji, it would be a joke in hell."

Just as Li Ming was screaming and scratching, Fang Xuanling casually said:
"Your Highness, why don't you try a marriage alliance? Marrying the children of the barbarians as relatives may not eliminate all disputes, but at least it can keep them quiet for a few years."

Kukuku...Changsun Wuji's shoulders were twitching silently.

Li Ming sneered:
"Minister Fang, are you taking revenge on me for putting you and your nemesis to work together?"

"No way, I have been working hard for our 'Great Ming'." Fang Xuanling said this expressionlessly.

Li Ming just thought it was his fart.

It is impossible to marry a princess to a foreign country. It is impossible to marry a princess to a foreign country in this lifetime.

He doesn't have any princesses under his command, so who can he use as a marriage partner?

Himself?

…………

"Oh my, this is a great idea, Minister Fang. Why didn't you say it earlier?"

Li Ling laughed so hard that his voice turned red and he combed Li Ming's hair with great interest.

"Don't be frivolous. Your brother is marrying for the sake of the country."

Empress Yang severely criticized Li Ling, while happily flattering Li Ming, in a physical sense.

Li Ming: “…

"That old man surnamed Fang was just joking, why did you take it so seriously? I'm so young, how could I fall in love so early..."

"Ming'er, you can't be patriotic only when you enjoy your rights. As a member of the royal family, you should shoulder more obligations." Li Ling, a native of Youzhou, began a long speech:

"Just like I married far away in Hebei and won over the Cui family of Hebei, you should also dedicate yourself to the long-term stability of the country."

But I have already made my contribution. It was 996 before the time travel and 007 after the time travel. I might as well not have traveled through time... Li Ming's protest was quickly drowned out by the women's enthusiasm.

Dressed up like a doll, Li Ming sat on the blind date table again after many years.

At the other end of the table was a big Turkic lady.

The eldest sister is the daughter of a Khan. To be fair, she is very pretty. After all, her father the Khan is not blind, and Qahdun (the Khan’s wife) is a beauty with good genes.

It’s just that the eldest sister was a little casual, picking her teeth with her fingers carelessly, and it was difficult for Li Ming to associate her with words like "girl" or "lady".

The tribe that my eldest sister belongs to once belonged to the three khanates of Turkic, Eastern Turkic and Xueyantuo. Now, they have surrendered to Li Ming and are standard slaves of the four surnames.

"Her tribe is the most powerful tribe under our command. You can decide for yourself."

The Queen Mother whispered in Li Ming's ear, like a devil's whisper:

"First, practice on the tribal princesses that you have a good relationship with, and then gradually challenge more difficult ones."

Li Ming: “???”

Mom, do you know what you are saying?!
Yang patted Li Ming's shoulder meaningfully, then sat aside and watched with a smile.

"%^&$#@!" The Turkic elder sister spoke in a loud voice, mumbling something.

"What? Uh, hello?" Li Ming used all the foreign language skills he had learned in his life, but still couldn't understand a single word.

Unlike his knowledgeable father and brother, this kid is only obsessed with power and has never learned Turkic.

Fortunately, no one knows a son better than his mother. Queen Yang was thoughtful enough to leave a maidservant to act as an interpreter for him.

After translation, Li Ming finally understood what his fiancée (Chou) meant:
"Little brother, where is your father? I am married to your father, right?"

Li Ming opened his mouth, not knowing where to start complaining.

No, sister, could it be that Ning is not very smart?
Even the maid who was interpreting couldn't stand it anymore and took the initiative to explain for him:
"This little prince is your father Khan's master."

"a ha ha ha!"

The Turkic elder sister laughed cheerfully, wiping her tears and saying:

"It's not appropriate to marry the Lord himself. It's better to wait until you get married and have children, then let your son marry me."

Li Ming opened his mouth, but finally decided not to complain, and whispered to his mother:
"I think marrying her is a disaster for the country. All the offspring will be mentally retarded."

Queen Yang nodded:
"I found out too. Return this item in exchange for a Khitan princess."

"besides?!"

Li Ming was about to cry.

…………

The noisy "marriage" ended hastily, and the little piglet Li Ming has not yet been eaten by any wild boar of another race.

Things have returned to the starting point. Apart from allowing Fang Xuanling to vent his anger, there is still no perfect solution to the barbarian border threat.

Li Mingsheng sat at the top seat with a helpless look on his face, looking at the two old foxes, Lao Fang and Chang Sun, who were shaking their shoulders with the sound of "ku ku ku" below him.

Damn it, I even gave up my virginity to deal with the barbarian threat, and you two are still watching the show down there. I have to find a house to give you two a military training...

A powerful roar interrupted his thoughts.

"Your Highness! I really can't stand that bald donkey! Please issue an order to drive him away!" Li Ming looked up and saw a sloppy Taoist priest who was glaring at him angrily.

Who else could be the Taoist priest who could enter his office without knocking except the "mineral prospector" Yuan Tiangang?

Because of long-term exploration in the wild, the old Taoist's skin was tanned and cracked, and his hair was a mess, but his spirit was much better than when he stayed in the Taoist temple to study "The River Map and the Luoshu".

Li Ming gathered his scattered thoughts and comforted the science and engineering boy with a pleasant expression:
"Master Yuan, please calm down. Who dares to make you angry?"

Under the attitude of "neither understanding nor respecting" of Li Ming, a staunch materialist fighter, Buddhism tended to recede in the hot land of "Great Ming".

Even the Buddha statues in many Buddhist temples were dragged out and changed into the images of "Little Li Ming" as a small mascot that is purely for the purpose of happiness and auspiciousness rather than a spiritual belief.

Therefore, the status of monks is naturally much lower than before.

Which monk is so bold as to climb over the head of our Ming Dynasty's chief scientist and act wildly?

Yuan Tiangang glanced at him angrily and pointed at Zhangsun Wuji:

"he!"

Zhang Sun Wuji, who was just watching the whole thing, was lying down after being shot, and was touching his hair in surprise.

No shaving of the head.

"It's the monk he brought with him. He is temporarily staying in my Taoist temple. I felt sorry for him and took him in out of kindness." Yuan Tiangang roared with his throat hoarse.

"I didn't expect that bald donkey would be so ungrateful and catch me and say that I am a person of great merit."

When Changsun Wuji fled Chang'an, he did bring a monk with him.

Pingzhou did not pay any attention to the passerby character, nor did they inform Li Ming. Based on the principle that they were all religious people, they sent him to a Taoist temple to stay temporarily.

Li Ming naturally didn't know about this, he just felt that there was nothing wrong with what the monk said.

Master Yuan Tianshi has donated so many mines to the motherland and benefited so many people. Isn’t this a great merit?

He wanted to persuade her, but the angry Taoist didn't give him any chance to intervene.

"Isn't he obviously trying to trick me and recruit me into his religion?!"

"I am so angry! That bald donkey actually preached to a Taoist priest like me!"

Li Ming listened from beginning to end and finally understood it.

Yuan Tiangang was tricked into coming to Liaodong with the intention of establishing a sect and gaining followers.

As a result, he didn't fool any believers. Although he had a lot of engineering teams under him, they failed to open the sect and just worked in the wild.

There is a sense of dislocation that comes from working hard to prepare for the college entrance examination and finally becoming a top racing driver. I don't even know who to vent my anger on, and I have accumulated so much depression in my heart.

As a result, a friendly competitor came and he vented all his frustration on that unlucky guy.

"Okay, okay, don't be angry, Taoist priest. It's not a big deal. I'll just ask him to move out."

After finally persuading the angry Yuan Laodao to leave, Li Ming gave Changsun Wuji a cold look:
"My uncle is so kindhearted that he even took others with him when he was escaping.

"Then I'll leave the monk to you. If you can't find a temple to house him, you can let him stay at your house."

Chang Sun Wuji smiled bitterly:

"Okay. That monk was unlucky. He traveled a long way to India to seek Buddhist scriptures, but he didn't get any. He was also dragged to a place where people don't believe in Buddhism."

"Hmm... hm? Going to India to seek Buddhist scriptures?"

Li Ming heard a string of familiar yet unfamiliar keywords.

Zhang Sun Wuji did not stop writing: "Yes, Your Highness, the monk claimed that he violated the charter and went to India secretly more than ten years ago. He called, called..."

Li Ming blurted out: "Tang Monk Tang Sanzang?"

Zhang Sun Wuji recalled for a while:

"Is that the name?"

Li Ming couldn't wait any longer:

"Hurry up and bring Master Sanzang up here. I want to talk to him alone."

Having said that, he ran out of the study happily, leaving Lao Fang and Chang Sun looking at each other in bewilderment.

What's wrong with Your Highness? Why are you interested in Buddhism?
…………

Li Ming sat in the reception room excitedly.

He was still very excited to see the well-known mythological figure in person.

I wonder what kind of sparks will be created if Tang Monk and Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, are put together.

"I, Xuanzang, pay my respects to Your Highness."

After a while, the prototype of the legendary Monk Tang was brought in.

Of course, he was not the delicate and tender pretty boy in the story who could gain immortality by a bite, but a bald and rough man with a weather-beaten face.

Like a bald version of Yuan Tiangang.

Indeed, it is impossible to cross the Pamir Plateau physically unless you are a rough and strong man.

"Are you Master Xuanzang?" Li Ming looked at him curiously.

"I am Xuanzang. I am deeply terrified to have troubled Your Highness and all the nobles."

Xuanzang apologized sincerely.

Having traveled in the Western Regions for many years, he had certainly heard of the great name of His Highness Li Ming.

He saved the emperor from the Jiucheng Palace, fought against Goguryeo alone, and solved the money shortage with his wisdom... He was simply a prodigy sent from heaven.

After entering the territory under Li Mingzhi, Xuanzang personally experienced that this little prince was worthy of his reputation.

Your Majesty's Tang Dynasty has surpassed countless countries in the Western Regions, and Li Ming's governance skills are even better than before.

But he didn't understand how he had offended that strange Taoist priest, and he didn't understand why that strange Taoist priest sent him to the young prince.

In short, when in doubt, apologize first. This is the survival wisdom he summed up after traveling tens of thousands of miles.

"You left the country without any documents. Did Monkey King somersault and carry you out?" Li Ming asked.

Xuanzang was stunned: "Your Highness, what did you say?"

"Cough cough."

Li Ming coughed dryly.

Stop arguing, stop arguing, let’s get down to business.

"You have traveled thousands of miles across the mountains and rivers to reach Tianzhu alone. I believe you have gained a lot from this trip, right?"

As expected, this little prince is no exception. He wants Buddhist scriptures. The rulers will do anything to achieve immortality...

"I am extremely ashamed. I have gained nothing in more than ten years." He refused straightforwardly.

Li Ming folded his arms:
"Really? I don't believe it. You've passed through so many countries and dealt with so many alien races. Don't you have any feelings at all?"

"Huh?" Xuanzang was stunned.

He had met many nobles who wanted to see the true scriptures, but the only noble who wanted to hear his thoughts along the way was Prince Li Ming.

"I've also been dealing with foreigners recently, and to be honest, it hasn't been going very smoothly. The reason is that I've always lived in Han territory, and I know very little about the foreigners' food, clothing, housing, transportation, and their thoughts and ideas."

Li Ming scratched his head in annoyance and said very frankly:

"Therefore, I would like to learn from you. How can I completely conquer the body and mind of an alien race?

"You have been dealing with all kinds of alien races for more than ten years. You are also a religious person. I believe you must have a lot of experience in this area."

(End of this chapter)