noveltune Chapter 5508 Who is the Emperor?
Chapter 5508 Who is the Emperor?
Chapter 5508 Who is the Emperor?
The snow fell heavier and heavier. Camel bells jingled in the West Market, and shouts of vendors and haggling filled the air. All sorts of strange and unusual goods were piled up everywhere. The taverns were filled with the aroma of meat and wine. Lun Qinling drank wine and ate meat, asking Ciji for more news about Tibet.
After drinking half a jar of barley wine, Ciji's dark red face showed no signs of anything amiss, but his eyes gradually became glazed, and he started talking more.
Lun Qinling asked him, "The Tibetans must hate the Gar tribe to the bone now, right?"
In his mind, the reason why Tibet had declined from its peak and fallen to its current state was due to the rebellion of the Gar tribe. This tragedy of fratricide and brothers fighting each other filled him with unbearable guilt.
Unexpectedly, Ciji shook his head and said, reeking of alcohol, "At first, some people hated you. After all, why would the Tibetans fight for the Tang Dynasty and counterattack Lhasa? But after the ceasefire, people didn't feel that way anymore."
Lun Qinling raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
Ciji said, "It's because Zanxiruo signed a treaty with Lhasa under the mediation of the Tang Dynasty! In the past, there was very little arable land on the plateau, and the barley produced was used by chiefs and nobles to brew wine, leaving everyone starving!"
Few Tibetans realized that the popularity of barley wine was a deliberate scheme by the Tang Dynasty. They only saw that the meager amount of grain was used by tribal chiefs and nobles to brew wine and sell to the Tang Dynasty to make money. The grain they bought was stored in granaries and they preferred to feed it to mastiffs rather than give it to slaves.
The starving dead filled the fields, and people even resorted to cannibalism – this was the tragic state of affairs faced by various Tibetan tribes a few years ago.
"Fortunately, Prince Zanxiruo signed a treaty, allowing Tibet and the Tang Dynasty to trade through Fusi City. We can not only sell the products produced on the plateau to the Tang Dynasty to make money, but also get more cheap grain from the Tang Dynasty."
Tsering raised his wine bowl and let out a burp: "Homage to the Gar tribe!"
Lun Qinling silently raised his bowl, clinked it against his cup, and drank it all in one gulp.
Who would have thought that the Gar tribe, which was once persecuted by the Tang Dynasty's "counter-espionage" and forced to turn against the Zanpu, would now become a "peace envoy" in the hearts of the Tibetans?
Thinking back to the Tang Dynasty today, a realization dawned on me: only by working for the well-being of the people can one gain their support.
As Emperor Taizong of Tang once said: "The people are the water, and the ruler is the boat; water can carry the boat, but it can also capsize it..."
The once highly respected and revered king is now a traitor to Tibet, abandoned by all.
Even his own people were full of complaints, let alone other tribes that had long suffered oppression.
The Tang Dynasty's strategy against Tibet has been a complete success. Tibet is in chaos and its people are scattered. As long as the right opportunity is found, Tibet will be defeated one by one. The Tibetan Empire, which once stood on the plateau and looked down on the Tang Dynasty, will collapse and vanish.
There is sorrow over tribal chaos and national decline.
There are also those who are secretly delighted that they have chosen the right path and have a bright future.
A multitude of emotions were mixed together in the snow falling in Chang'an.
Mountains and rivers lie ahead, snow and wind rage, homes and country are thousands of miles away, all that remains is helplessness.
*****
While Lun Qinling lamented the distance between his homeland and his country, the journey to and from which was fraught with hardship and danger, a group of people in the Zuixianlou restaurant in Pingkangfang were filled with longing and hope for the land thousands of miles away.
Inside the most spacious private room on the top floor, Fang Jun and Li Ji sat by the window, leisurely sipping tea, while outside, pavilions and towers stood amidst falling snow. On the inner wall hung a large map, depicting the mountains, cities, and terrain of the Hezhong region. A group of people gathered around the map, discussing and debating it in a lively atmosphere.
Li Ji gestured with his teacup to the commotion over there, and asked in confusion, "Now that the Hezhong region and the Seven Rivers region are under the control of the Anxi Army, why are the best lands being offered up to the imperial family, nobles, and powerful clans?"
Today's Anxi Army is no longer the small force that once guarded the Western Regions, but a formidable military force with over 100,000 elite troops and jurisdiction over territory encompassing the entire Central Asia. The sheer size of this organization naturally requires countless supplies, yet now they're offering up the best land to distribute among everyone. What kind of scheme is this?
Since there was no one nearby, Fang Jun did not hide anything or make a big fuss when Li Ji questioned him.
“That place is too far away. The supplies transported by the Guannei Road have to travel over mountains and rivers to get there, and they suffer great losses along the way, so they cannot last long.”
Li Ji was puzzled: "The river there is crisscrossed and the water is plentiful. We can settle down there and cultivate the land to be self-sufficient."
Fang Jun shook his head and said, "The soldiers are very simple and honest. When they go to war, they listen to whoever feeds them. If this continues, it will inevitably breed warlords."
When an army can be self-sufficient and isolated, how can it possibly obey the orders and commands of the central government? So, although the Anxi Army seemed to have a very high self-sufficiency rate, the hidden crisis was even greater. He had gone to great lengths to suppress powerful clans and reform the military system to eliminate the hidden dangers of military governors and garrisons. How could he be willing for the Anxi Army, which he had created with his own hands, to repeat the same mistakes in the future?
The current Anxi army is strong and well-equipped, with formidable fighting power. If it were to rebel and march into Yumen Pass from the Western Regions, it would be far more formidable than any of the rebel armies during the An Lushan Rebellion in history...
"So they sold off the land in the Seven Rivers and Transoxiana regions, thus binding the interests of the royal family, nobles, and powerful clans with it?"
"Isn't it good?"
Fang Jun poured Li Ji a cup of tea and said, "There is nothing more stable in the world than interests. Whether it is the Western Regions or the lands further west, they are the best strategic buffer zones for the empire. However, they are too far away for those who hold the power of the empire. Once the interests of protecting these lands outweigh the interests they gain from them, they will abandon them without hesitation and will not care about national strategy at all. On the contrary, if their interests can be tied to these lands, then as long as the Tang Dynasty still has imperial families, nobles, and powerful clans, they will cry out generation after generation that those are the territory of the Tang Dynasty."
This is not some shady scheme, but a well-laid-out plan, so it is not hidden from others.
For example, Linghu Defen, who came over at this moment, sat down next to the two of them, took the tea that Fang Jun handed him, took a sip, and exclaimed, "The Grand Commandant's methods, magnanimity, and spirit are truly rare throughout history!"
The total cultivated land in the Seven Rivers region and the Transoxiana region combined is no less than 100 million mu. After deducting the land to be reserved for some tribes that have submitted to the Tang Dynasty, the land available for the Tang Dynasty to control is no less than 50 million mu.
Of these 50 million mu, 20 million mu were used to grow grain, while the remaining 30 million mu were all used to grow cotton. Growing grain was to maintain the Tang Dynasty's rule in the region, while growing cotton was for higher profits. After all, the cotton cloth woven by the Tang Dynasty was already sold all over the world and in short supply. Moreover, the climate and soil of the Hezhong and Qihe regions were even more suitable for growing cotton than Liangzhou.
Twenty million mu of grain and thirty million mu of cotton—what a huge fortune that is!
Logically, all of this should be under the control of the Anxi Army, and Fang Jun could have included it as his private property, but now he has taken it all out to sell.
Of course, the land in the Seven Rivers and River Valley is very valuable, but this is a highly profitable business!
In order to bind the interests of the imperial family, nobles, and powerful clans to that land, Fang Jun gave up far too much...
Li Ji sipped his tea, watching the noble families and powerful clans arguing heatedly, and shook his head, his mind filled with complex emotions.
What a feast of wealth!
Each family and household receives millions of acres of land. Although some of it is barren and requires some initial investment, it is a wealth that can be passed down through generations. Who wouldn't flock to it?
For the current royal families, nobles, and powerful clans, this is an opportunity they absolutely cannot miss.
Two consecutive mutinies completely shattered the military backbone of these families, wiping out almost all the private armies they had built up over generations. They were no longer the powerful force they once were, capable of easily raising flags, rallying followers, and dominating local areas. Although they still had the imperial examination system in politics and maritime trade in wealth, they never regained that sense of stability.
During the process of measuring the fields, a large amount of hidden land was discovered. Although some of it was bought back, the difference was still huge.
Now Fang Jun is using land in Hezhong and Qihe to compensate.
No matter how lucrative maritime trade may be, land remains a deeply ingrained attachment for the Chinese people...
Li Ji said with a smile, "Although the Linghu family has acquired a lot of land this time, they have also paid a considerable amount of money and silk."
Since Fang Jun was in charge of selling the land in Hezhong and Qihe, how could it be sold cheaply?
These noble families and powerful clans will definitely be bled dry...
Linghu Defen stroked his white beard and said solemnly, "Lord Ying, you are mistaken. Although we spent a lot of money to sell those lands, nearly half of them will be used to grow grain. Once the development of Liaodong and Dongting Lake is completed, along with the overseas vassal states... the Tang Dynasty will no longer have to worry about food shortages!"
He looked at Li Ji with a solemn expression: "I have studied history since I was a child, and from those historical records of rise and fall, I can only see one word: hunger! The people of the Shang and Zhou dynasties were hungry; the people of the Qin and Han dynasties were hungry; the people of the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern dynasties were hungry; the people of the Sui dynasty were hungry! When our dynasty was founded, the world praised the 'Reign of Zhenguan' as an unprecedented golden age, but seven or eight out of ten people in the country were still starving and hungry!"
He took a sip of tea, caught his breath, and sighed, “But now, with the construction of water conservancy projects, the laying of roads, and the breeding of superior varieties, as well as the import of rice from overseas, the vassal states, Liaodong, Dongting Lake, and the Yellow River and the Seven Rivers... this is the first time in history that we have seen the hope that all the people can have enough to eat.”
Those who were arguing and shouting heard his words and all looked over.
Linghu Defen, his beard and eyebrows flying, the seventy-year-old man was full of vigor: "What is a prosperous age? What is a strong country? Whether it's sealing the wolf's lair or inscribing the Yanran Mountain, none of it can compare to ensuring that all the people have enough to eat! From now on, no matter how China rises or falls, our descendants will remember the era we live in! Qin Shi Huang called himself emperor, but Your Majesty is the one whose virtue surpasses that of the Three Sovereigns and whose achievements surpass those of the Five Emperors, the true 'Emperor'!"
Fang Jun and Li Ji exchanged a glance and both laughed.