"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty."
Wei Zheng responded respectfully.
"Ai Qing is frightened?"
Li Shimin shouted: "Wang De, please give me a seat."
The officials were shocked.
Only those elderly people who have made great contributions to the Tang Dynasty, are in poor health, and have high moral standing can enjoy this qualification.
How can ordinary people enjoy it?
But this knocking post...
never mind.
Can't learn, can't learn...
It’s not like he’s just imitating and hitting the pillars.
But before he could finish his words, he was dragged down and beheaded.
Not everyone is Wei Zheng.
Just one look could make Li Junxian afraid to take action.
Try someone else...
Li Shimin said he would be dragged down and beheaded.
Li Junxian didn't say anything and dragged it on.
"Your Majesty is so kind to me, I am flattered."
Wei Zheng waved his hand and refused: "But this is absolutely impossible."
"I am not sick or disabled, and I am not old. I don't need to sit down."
"The court is a solemn place. Your Majesty must not open the door to grant seats at will for the sake of ministers."
Li Shimin couldn't help but nodded.
The more I look at Lao Wei, the more satisfied I become.
"My dear, what you said is very true, but I was too abrupt."
Li Shimin accepted the teachings with an open mind.
"His Majesty."
Wei Zheng bowed solemnly again: "I sincerely ask Your Majesty to let Shuyu finish talking about his Silk Road."
The ministers were speechless.
Only then did I remember that I had gone full circle, and this was the original cause.
"allow."
Li Shimin returned to the throne: "Shu Yu, your father worked hard for you to speak this time. I hope you will be careful in your words and deeds and think carefully before speaking!"
"If you say something is wrong, I will still refute you mercilessly!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Wei Shuyu bowed respectfully and responded.
Then he took out the wat tablet and read to it: "The Book of Sui Dynasty: Emperor Gaozu Xia" (compiled by Changsun Wuji, Wei Zheng, etc.) records that Yang Guang inherited the Sui Dynasty, which is equivalent to directly inheriting "There is no problem in the world, within the district." Yan Ruye's prosperous political power. "
"The Biography of Pei Ju (compiled by Wei Zheng) records: Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty 'brings Ju to his imperial seat every day to personally inquire about matters in the West'."
"To put it bluntly, the world is too comfortable. Yang Guang wanted to find something to do, and finally set his sights on the Western Regions."
"Why do you think Yang Guang is interested in the Western Regions?"
The ministers listened blankly.
Doulu Kuan took a step forward and responded: "Reopen the Silk Road and expand the territory?"
"That's right."
Wei Shuyu nodded: "But this is just one of them. The most important thing is that Yang Guang wants to make money!"
"impossible!"
Doulu Kuan directly refused: "Yang Guang was so happy that he met with dozens of leaders of the Western Regions and a large number of Hu merchants in Zhangye. The banquet lasted for more than a month."
"Although he opened up the Silk Road, the treasury suffered a lot of losses, and most of the Sui army officers and soldiers also froze to death or received frostbite."
"It can be said that it is a loss to my grandma's family."
The ministers couldn't help but nodded after hearing this.
"The next year, Hu merchants poured into Luoyang, Chang'an in large numbers. In order to show the wealth of the Celestial Empire, Yang Guang exempted the Hu merchants from all food and drink expenses, ordered shops in the city not to accept their money, and the people must wear silk clothes. .”
"Such a foolish move..."
Seeing that Doulu Kuan was getting more and more outrageous, Wei Shuyu quickly interrupted.
"Stop, stop, stop..."
Wei Shuyu waved his hand and said, "Do you think I'm telling you how stupid Yang Guang is?"
Well……
Doulu Kuan's face turned red and he became angry and said: "Then why do you bring this up?"
"What I want to say is..."
Wei Shuyu glanced at the ministers: "Tribute trade!"
"His Majesty!"
Wei Shuyu bowed to Li Shimin and said: "Now the Tang Dynasty is powerful and has conquered many countries."
"They will also pay tribute every year."
"But the question is...will the Tang Dynasty still have surplus after paying tribute?"
What a waste of money...
Li Shimin was extremely speechless.
Do you know why I don’t care about the Silk Road?
The Tang Dynasty was so poor!
There is not even money to build a palace for the Supreme Emperor...
Because of tribute...
Damn it all is a loss!
If a small country pays tribute, a large country will basically give double the amount of materials in return.
Yang Guang is like this.
The same is true for Li Shimin.
To put it bluntly, it’s just a slap in the face and trying to look fat!
"You mean... you want to make a fuss about the tribute?"
Li Shimin asked with a frown.
"That's right!"
Wei Shuyu nodded.
As soon as he finished speaking, Doulu Kuan's rebuttal came.
"Nonsense!"
Doulu Kuan said indignantly: "We, the Tang Dynasty, are the superior kingdom of heaven. If foreign countries surrender and pay tribute, we, the Tang Dynasty, should give generous gifts in return."
"The Book of Rites, The Doctrine of the Mean, writes: The thickest goes and the thinnest comes, so it's like being a prince."
"Confucius offered wine sparsely: To go thickly means that the princes will return to the country, and the king will repay him with bribes and talents. To come thinly means that the princes' contribution will be made light of. In this way, the princes will submit."
"Paying tribute and giving back has always been like this!"
"How can they really surrender if they don't give generous gifts?"
"If it is not given generously and spreads to foreign countries, wouldn't it make the Tang Dynasty look shabby?"
Behind him, Kong Yingda couldn't help stroking his beard.
Brother Doulu is pretty good. He still remembers to praise us, which is a great comfort to him.
Wei Shuyu was stunned.
I haven’t even started yet. Are you so excited?
Oh, you are the Minister of Rites...
That will make sense.
"that……"
Wei Shuyu said a little embarrassedly: "So all the money in the Tang Dynasty was given away by you, the Minister of Rites?"
"What does sending mean?"
Doulu blew his beard angrily and glared: "This is the rules, etiquette, and style of the heavenly kingdom!"
"Isn't that why you gave away Datang's money?" Wei Shuyu curled his lips.
"you……"
Doulu Kuan pointed at Wei Shuyu, his beard trembling with anger: "You are young and ignorant, I don't have the same knowledge as you."
Doulu Kuan flicked his sleeves.
He bowed to Li Shimin and said: "Your Majesty, Wei Shuyu is talking nonsense in the court. I beg your Majesty to convict him."
Li Shimin glanced at Wei Zheng.
Are you sick or am I sick?
Lao Wei just hit a brick wall, but still convicts his son?
What should I do if I get in a hurry and get hit again?
"Shu Yu, let's talk about the important points!" Li Shimin said avoiding the important points.
"promise."
Wei Shuyu bowed and immediately said: "Why is the Silk Road called the Silk Road?"
"It means exchanging silk for a large amount of supplies!"
"Exchange silk for cattle, horses, mink skins, Persian brocade..."
"It was great wisdom for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to open up the Silk Road!"
"He made silk to feed many people in the Han Dynasty, exchanged it for cattle and horses and other practical materials, and completed the work of opening up the territory!"
"Do you think so or not?"
The ministers couldn't help but nodded.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was the only emperor through the ages, and there is no need to question his achievements.
"What about Emperor Sui Yang?"
"If you think about it carefully, why did he want to open the Grand Canal to connect the north-south corridor?"
"Is there a possibility... just for silk?"
What?
The pupils of the ministers contracted violently.
Jiangnan is the place where silk is most dense, especially Suzhou, which is also known as the hometown of silk.
If that's the case...
"Emperor Sui Yang seemed absurd, but in fact he played a big game of chess."
"The south is close to the sea, and it is very risky to go to sea. There are also a large group of rhinoceros people, so there is no silk to sell..."
"but……"
"He purchased the silk from the south and transported it to the Western Regions..."
"Aren't the cattle, horses and other supplies coming soon?"
All the civil and military officials fell into deep thought.
If it was really done by Emperor Sui Yang, what would happen to the Tang Dynasty?
By then, the Sui Dynasty would have so much money that it would be impossible to spend it all...
Emperor Sui Yang was too anxious.
The people who opened up the Grand Canal were in dire straits.
In the end, various rebel armies revolted one after another, leading to the complete collapse of the Sui Dynasty.
