"Zhijie, you are familiar with Hexi. Have you heard about the salt mine?"
Li Shimin asked.
"ah?"
In the audience, Cheng Yaojin and a group of generals rarely saw the civil servant group suffer a setback, and they were enjoying themselves eating melons. Unexpectedly, they ate on their own heads.
"I...I don't know."
Cheng Yaojin answered honestly.
"..."
Li Shimin's face was ashen, but he couldn't say anything.
In the face of such a piece of meat, beating and scolding is basically useless.
After decades of coming here, he is used to it.
"Back to Your Majesty, this is indeed the case in the Hexi Salt Mine."
Hou Junji stood up. As the Minister of the Ministry of War, although he couldn't stand Cheng Yaojin, he had the obligation to stand up and rescue him at this time.
"It's just that the salt in Hexi cannot be used for food. When I led my troops through there, my officer accidentally took it once. In less than an hour, he turned purple all over his body and had diarrhea for three days. At least he could not be saved."
Nonsense, if you eat the salt from the salt mine without purification, it's pretty good if you can save it.
Li Ke rolled his eyes.
Salt Mine Salt Mine contains not only salt, but also other minerals.
Among them, the most abundant ones are nitrate, phosphorus and potassium.
It's okay to eat saltpeter. I'm very strong and can survive.
Phosphorus and potassium are not for human consumption and are industrial materials.
Have you ever heard that fertilizer mixed with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium can increase wheat yields to 1,800 per acre?
"Hou Gong, the salt in the salt mine cannot be consumed directly. It must be purified."
Li Ke planned to give him some basic science knowledge.
"Purification, what is that?"
Hou Junji frowned.
"What's more, every time you eat salt, it is purified. Isn't the cost going to be sky-high?"
Yes, that's totally bullshit.
Li Ke was a little helpless, but he had forgotten that most of the generals of this era were those who had fought with Li Shimin to conquer the world.
If you don't know a word of Chinese characters, let alone popular science, you can't even understand the reasoning.
Li Ke straightened his clothes, took three steps forward, and knelt down on one knee.
"Your Majesty, I would like to issue a military order!"
The huge court hall was suddenly in an uproar.
"Nonsense!"
Li Shimin shouted loudly.
"Do you know what you're talking about?"
Hou Junji also put away the look of contempt on his face and said seriously.
"Your Highness King Wu, your military orders are like mountains. This military order is no joke."
"Give me two months, and I will bring back at least 100,000 jins of refined salt from Hexi."
Li Ke said loudly.
He naturally knows what a military order is.
Throughout history, the fortunes of countless emperors, generals, and ministers all started with this small military order.
There is no free lunch in the world, and this principle also applies in military camps.
What should I do if I want to make great achievements, but I don’t have enough positions and don’t have many available soldiers?
It's very simple, just issue a military order.
Of course, high returns often come with high risks.
The ancients valued credibility, and a promise worth a thousand pieces of gold is a good example of this.
But in the army, no one cares about your few taels of money.
If you want soldiers, you can, risk your life as a guarantee.
If you win the battle, you will achieve success; if you lose the battle, even if only a few people die. You, the general, will also lose your head.
"Father, since my third brother insists on doing this, why not let him try?"
Li Chengqian, who was listening to the government, suddenly spoke.
He looked at Li Ke and smiled.
"Since my third brother dared to issue a military order, I must have made enough confidence in my heart, right?"
"What the elder brother said is absolutely true."
Li Ke also laughed.
However, only the parties involved know what the smiles of the two people mean.
"Auxiliary engine, what's your opinion?"
Li Chengqian's words really shook Li Shimin's heart.
But he was still somewhat skeptical about what Li Ke said.
After all, this is an important issue throughout history. What can a child who is not yet a minor do about it?
"In my opinion, His Highness King Wu's issuing of military orders is still too reckless."
Changsun Wuji thought for a moment.
"But the salt issue is also urgent. If His Highness King Wu really brings back enough salt, it will be a great achievement."
In terms of Tai Chi skills, none of the people in the court could take advantage of Changsun Wuji.
What he said was the same as what he didn't say.
Whether Li Ke completed the task or not in the end, it had nothing to do with him.
However, these four words of "imminent" did speak to Li Shimin's heart.
"How many people do you want?"
Li Shimin asked in a deep voice.
A military order is not a panacea, just like a loan from a bank.
The more assets you have in your name, the more money you can lend.
If a corps commander asks ten thousand people to fight, it will be fine if the general doesn't break his legs.
Although Li Ke is the third prince of the Tang Dynasty, he cannot sway people without limit.
If the manpower he brought would have an impact on the guards of Chang'an City, then Li Shimin would not agree to his request.
"Five hundred elite soldiers are enough!"
Li Ke replied without hesitation.
In fact, five hundred people is considered too much. The ancient method of making salt does not require so much manpower.
He wanted five hundred just to get the salt and transport it after completion.
"I'll give you eight hundred."
Li Shimin was a little surprised that Li Ke actually wanted such a small number of people, but he nodded and agreed.
A few hundred people would not have an impact on the defense of Chang'an City.
Besides, it was not a war and there was no loss of personnel, so with a wave of his hand, he gave half as much.
"But I want to see enough salt within two months. If not, you will go to Dali Temple without saying anything. Do you understand?"
"I will definitely live up to His Majesty's trust!"
…
After the court, Li Ke was preparing to leave.
"His Royal Highness King Wu."
Zhang Liang's figure came over and bowed to him.
"It turns out to be Mr. Zhang."
Li Ke nodded.
"anything?"
He had no intention of interacting too much with Zhang Liang.
Historically, Zhang Liang's evaluation was not good.
Yu Gong, there is nothing outstanding about him. This time the salt ship was robbed, which can be seen.
Personally speaking, this person has extremely no position. In layman's terms, he is just a wallflower.
Hou Junji regarded him as a brother. Some time before the rebellion, he tried to get him on board, but he refused.
If that's it, it's not a big deal.
After all, it was a major matter concerning his family and life. Li Er treated him well, and he had no reason to rebel.
But the problem is that Hou Junji didn't wrong him, but he sold her back.
On the night I got the news, I went to tell Li Shimin.
This is not the funniest thing. The funniest thing is that after Hou Junji's rebellion failed, Li Shimin promoted him because of his meritorious service.
But he didn't know which one was wrong. Three years later, he organized another rebellion.
The strength of this rebellion was even worse than that of Hou Junji.
Before I even left the house, someone took it down.
Of course, the final result is also inevitable death, and also involves family members.
Even if Li Ke had read all over Chinese history, this person would still be among the best in terms of weirdness.
