The prince came with three or two guards, and they worked together to carry a large pot with boiling broth.
Set up the pot and light the fire.
Li Shimin smelled the broth with enjoyment, "In your village, I eat chicken, duck, fish, and pork every day. I haven't eaten such delicious venison in a long time."
When the prince smiled, his old face was filled with wrinkles, "General Niu Jinda and his men were stationed outside. He said he shot a deer for free."
Li Shimin picked up a piece of venison with chopsticks, put it into his mouth and tasted it carefully. His mouth felt a little hot, "You can try it too."
Zhang Yang looked at the pot of venison and said, "I don't know how to eat it."
The prince poured two bowls of wine and said, "There will be more ale this year. His Royal Highness the King of Wei specially arranged it."
The emperor liked to bring ice cubes when drinking ale, and drank it in one sip, "I will never allow those nine surnames of Zhaowu to cause trouble in the Western Regions."
Zhang Yang stood with his hands folded, "I think sometimes living people are more useful than dead people."
Li Shimin rolled up his sleeves and sat eating meat, "Tell me more."
"Then I will explain in detail. We can kill half and keep half, and imprison the remaining half alive. The art of war says that the enemy must be surrounded."
The emperor looked at him without saying a word.
Zhang Yang's words continued, "When His Majesty kills all their people, if he is the only one left alive, he will fight to the death with the enemy. This is a fight to the death."
"It is a wise saying that when you are in poverty, don't force the enemy. Do you also know the art of war?"
"Back then, His Majesty asked his ministers to read books from time to time, and I saw them all in books."
Li Shimin was still chewing venison, "I often read military books, but I didn't expect that there were also military books in the former Sui Dynasty's treasury."
Seeing that Zhang Yang was just standing there without using chopsticks to take out the meat from the pot, Wang Gonggong asked someone to get a bowl, knowing that Zhang Yang had always had strange hygiene rules.
Scoop out a few pieces of venison, put them in a bowl, and place them on the table aside.
Zhang Yang smiled and said: "Thank you very much, Eunuch Wang."
"You're welcome, Marquis of the County, this is what I should do."
The old eunuch next to His Majesty is very considerate. This kind of talent should come to Lishan to handle affairs. What Lishan lacks is good management and co-ordination.
"Your Majesty, despair is not painful. Hope is the most painful thing. If you give them despair, they will fight back. If you give them a glimmer of hope, this vague hope will suppress them, and they can be obedient."
Li Shimin wiped his mouth and said, "You are a vicious person."
Zhang Yang smiled and said: "Your Majesty is overly complimentary."
Li Shimin added: "I thought that instead of arresting all their clan members and killing one every month until he obeys me, I don't need to kill half of them at once."
Taking out the fan from his waist, Zhang Yang kept fanning himself, "Your Majesty is more vicious than me."
Li Shimin smiled and said: "Didn't your teacher teach you that those who achieve great things cannot be benevolent as women?"
"You will be scolded by others. They will say that Your Majesty is not a human being."
The prince whispered: "Don't worry, the county prince. I will arrange this matter. No one will know that it has anything to do with Tian Khan and the county prince."
A gust of summer wind blew by. It was a hot summer day and I felt a little bit cold for some reason.
This is the result of discussions with the emperor. For Tian Khan, all factors that are unstable to the country must be eliminated.
The monarch and his ministers discussed again.
After Zhang Yang left, Li Shimin looked at his bowl. He still didn't take a bite of the venison in the bowl.
The prince quickly saluted and said, "Your Majesty, the skills of the officers and men in the army are too poor. I'm afraid they may not be to the taste of the county prince."
After eating two more mouthfuls, Li Shimin was full, "The rest will be distributed to the soldiers outside the village."
"Here."
Standing up again, Li Shimin burped, "Follow me to see the newly built factory in Lishan."
The prince followed quickly.
In fact, His Majesty has just been there this morning and is leaving again now.
No matter what Your Majesty wants to do, as a chamberlain serving His Majesty, you must let it go and never interfere. This is your duty. Every word of Your Majesty is your will.
At this moment, the new factory in Lishan is still under construction. Li Shimin will always stand not far away and watch with fiery eyes as the bricks and tiles are being built here.
The house at the foot of Lishan Mountain.
The daughter-in-law is teaching the children at home.
Seeing the teacher trying on the wheelchair, Zhang Yang hurriedly walked out and asked, "Is this wheelchair still easy to use?"
Zhang Gongjin nodded slowly, "I can't leave for long now. If I want to see more of the scenery outside, I can only rely on this thing. I won't be convinced."
Although the condition has not worsened, this disease will eventually wear down the body day by day, just like a cardiovascular failure, which will often drag down other organs of the body.
The teacher's wife pushed the wheelchair and scolded, "Back then, I advised you not to go to the north to conquer the Turks, but you insisted on going, and now you are like this."
Zhang Yang took the wheelchair and said, "Mrs., I will accompany the teacher for a walk."
Zhang Gongjin’s wife nodded sadly, “That’s fine.”
When the sun was shining on his body, the teacher closed his eyes. He enjoyed this feeling very much.
"I just heard from people in the village that you are going to see His Majesty again?"
The village is very small, and you can find out who did what today.
Zhang Yang pushed the wheelchair, "Your disciples control the diplomatic relations between the Tang Dynasty and other countries. Even if I continue to ignore government affairs, I still need to discuss it with His Majesty. Moreover, these matters are also related to the future development of Lishan."
"Is it still a matter of the Western Region?"
"Does the teacher know the nine surnames of Zhaowu?"
"I've heard of it, but I've never seen anyone from this clan. Since the chaos in the Central Plains of Han Dynasty, I thought their lineage had been cut off."
"Actually, people from their lineage are still there, and they have become merchants in the Western Regions. I need to open up the Western trade routes. At present, the Silk Road only runs through the Western Regions. I want this trade route to go along the Persian coast. To the west, bringing more wealth from the other side of the world.”
Zhang Gongjin suddenly smiled, "I never thought you were a person who does great things before."
"It feels a bit embarrassing to talk to the teacher about these ambitions." Zhang Yang pushed his wheelchair on the village path.
The villagers along the way bowed and saluted, and there was goodwill in their simple eyes.
Zhang Yang added: "Let's just talk about it right now. I want to control them, and Your Majesty wants to kill them all."
"Your Majesty has great ambitions. He has been criticized and criticized since the Xuanwu Sect incident. Thanks to his perseverance, he endured these accusations and only wanted to create greater achievements and prove to the world that he is more suitable to sit in the Tai Chi Hall than Li Jiancheng. .”
"Because of this, His Majesty needs to take the overall situation into consideration and dare not slack off. He treats the old ministers under Li Jiancheng like Wei Zheng kindly, and treats the former Sui clan ministers like Yang Shidao kindly."
Zhang Gongjin put all his body weight on the wheelchair, "I have done light corvee and small taxes to cultivate people's strength. I have been patient for many years. Now the court has stabilized. After Gao Shilian left, the power in the court truly fell into the hands of His Majesty."
"When His Majesty no longer tolerated it, he conquered the Turks in the north, established the imperial examination, and revised the clan annals. Every time he swung his sword at the enemy of the year."
Listening to the teacher's words, Zhang Yang sighed: "It wasn't easy for teachers back then."
Zhang Gongjin nodded, "Yes, it's not easy. Prince Yin Li Jiancheng still has many remaining forces. His Majesty had not yet ascended the throne. We, the people, killed a lot of people in order to eradicate these forces."
Elderly people like to talk about the past, and they can talk about it for a long time.
Zhang Yang listened quietly without interrupting the teacher.
Zhang Gongjin frowned and said, "How do you plan to settle down the people with the nine surnames of Zhaowu with Your Majesty?"
After a moment of silence, he picked up the water bag hanging on the side of the wheelchair and handed it to the teacher. Zhang Yang said worriedly: "Your Majesty has a plan, and it is beyond my control."
"If you don't surrender, it's okay to kill him." Zhang Gongjin explained: "Tubo can have governors but not Zanpu. As long as Songtsen Gampo still rules Tubo, Tubo cannot be included in the Tang Dynasty in a true sense. , do you understand?"
"What the teacher said is that even if the people of Tubo are now dispersed, Songtsen Gampo is still the legal monarch of Tibet. Since it wants to become a state and county of the Tang Dynasty, there cannot be a monarch."
Zhang Gongjin looked at the scenery in the distance, "Actually, His Majesty has been restraining himself. Your Majesty wants to be a wise king. If you didn't think that you still have mercy in your heart, you might have killed Songtsen Gampo."
Looking at Zhang Yang behind him again, Zhang Gongjin said: "Looking at you now, I finally understand why Your Majesty did not kill Songtsen Gampo."
The authorities are obsessed with the onlookers. After hearing what the teacher said, Zhang Yang suddenly realized, "The damn Khan is using me after all!"
Zhang Gongjin suddenly smiled, "You are still young. His Majesty has so many advisers around him. With your age and mind, you can't defeat them."
Compared with Tubo, the Western Regions were originally small, idle countries. When the Central Plains was strong, these small countries would rely on them, and when the Central Plains was in charge of affairs in the Western Regions, these small countries would also stick together.
When the Central Plains was in chaos, these small countries in the Western Regions lacked rulers.
They will separate themselves and divide and conquer, and this is how long-term chaos comes.
"I learned a lot from talking to the teacher today." Zhang Yang pushed the wheelchair back to the door of the teacher's house.
Zhang Gongjin stood up slowly, "It doesn't matter, I can just go back by myself."
Watching the teacher smoothly walk into the courtyard and return to his wife, Zhang Yang went home. The children were still playing in the yard, and Li Yue was sorting a pile of papers.
Zhang Yang asked curiously: "Isn't this Liaozhai all printed?"
"I saw that these stories are selling very well, and the scholars in Chang'an City are going crazy." Li Yue sorted out page by page, "I want to keep some and sell a few of them every day. This will increase our printing The factory can also come back to life.”
Zhang Yang stood there, "I have been writing these stories for half a month."
It's a good thing that the printing factory in the village can survive. The soap and cloth business are both good, but the printing factory has never been profitable, and it was once suspended.
"Qingque has been making paper, and it has not stopped for the past three years. There are piles of paper in several warehouses, and there is not enough paper to be used by the people in the village."
Xiao Wu served the tea sensibly.
Zhang Yang drank sip after sip, "Store these papers first after they are produced. They will be of great use in the future."
Li Yue nodded, still arranging her hands, "I understand my husband's intention. I have calculated that one volume of Liaozhai will only use a few pieces of paper, and the scholars in Chang'an City will buy the second volume after buying one volume. There are so many stories. It’s all money, and the money earned will replenish the printing factory.”
The daughter-in-law holds the financial power of Lishan. She is very careful with her budget. As a hostess, she does manage things wisely.
"What story do you want to write next, husband?" Li Yue's bright eyes flashed with expectation.
"If you don't write anymore, your talents will be exhausted."
These words were like a bucket of cold water poured on Li Yue's fiery business heart. After a moment of loss, she smiled again, "What my husband said is that stories are precious, but the final song is more expensive."
For some reason, Zhang Yang felt a burst of bitterness in his heart. It was a good thing that his wife could feel this way, as she had a longer-term vision.
No one can stop her passion for making money.
The emperor's summer vacation is still going on, this is already the second month.
In Chang'an City at this moment, Sun Fujia has been fulfilling his duties since he took up the post of Shaoqing of Dali Temple and has never given up on those unsolved cases.
It was with this persistence that Dali Temple finally made a breakthrough, and they caught a person at the city gate.
Sun Fuga was sitting in the hall, with a witness in front of him and a strong man being escorted into the hall.
"In February this year, the Western Turkic envoy Anyan Yan disappeared. Dali Temple has been investigating for half a year and found some clues. There are seven people who committed the crime. I also have the confession of the post office clerk." Sun Fuga walked forward as he spoke. "This has made our Dali Temple investigation very difficult. I don't understand why I came back after I was able to escape."
"My mother is sick at home, so I naturally want to come and see her." The strong man's voice was loud.
"Where are the rest of your men, and where is the Western Turk envoy? You are so brave!"
The strong man stared with big eyes, "A certain family did not kidnap anyone or commit any crime. They left Chang'an City to go to Luoyang to earn hard money."
Sun Fuga nodded and said: "You are still making excuses! The witness is in the hall!"
This witness was a beggar in front of the envoy's post house. He was glared at by the strong man, trembling and lowering his head, "Back to Shaoqing, I was sleeping on the street that day and saw with my own eyes this strong man carrying the envoy from the Western Turks. leave."
Sun Fujia said again: "You said you were in Luoyang, is there anyone who can confirm it?"
The strong man remained silent and did not answer.
Sun Fuga added: "You said you did not commit the crime, but you left Chang'an City the morning after the Western Turkic envoy disappeared. Is it such a coincidence?"
The strong man still lowered his head and said nothing.
Sun Fujia shouted again and asked: "How many accomplices are there behind you? Who instigated you!"
After the words fell, Sun Fuga was still silent in response.
"Come here, capture this thief and interrogate him."
"Here!"
The prisoner was captured, and there was finally some breakthrough in the case. Sun Fujia sat down in the main hall again. The case that had been pending for a long time finally came to light, and he lived up to his majesty's heavy responsibility and trust.
A clerk came in a hurry, "Sun Shaoqing! Sun Shaoqing!"
It seemed that everyone was in a panic. Sun Fuga looked unhappy and said, "What's wrong?"
The clerk turned back and looked outside Dali Temple, "It's Xu Jingzong, the Minister of Rites, who is here with Anyan Yan, the envoy from the Western Turks."
Sun Fujia stood up suddenly, "What did you say! Say it again!"
