Chapter 16: Big crisis is always formed by the concentration of multiple factors

In Tai Chi Palace, Li Jiancheng of Xiande Hall brought Li Xiaogong, the Prince of Zhao, to the table.

Li Xiaogong was polite and saw that Li Jiancheng was sincere in his attitude, so he had to accompany Li Jiancheng to sit down.

Li Jiancheng looked at Li Xiaogong and said, "Prince Zhao has been moved to Prince Hejian. This is to return the things that his father owes to you. Since it is my chief, I will definitely give you justice."

Li Xiaogong looked at Li Jiancheng and nodded with a smile.

During the Tang Dynasty, Zhao County was Zhaozhou, with eight counties under the jurisdiction of Pingji, Luancheng, Yuanshi, Yitao, Zanhuang, Baixiang, Lincheng and Zhaoqing. However, Hejian County had twelve counties under the jurisdiction, and Zhao County was far inferior to Hejian County, regardless of population or jurisdiction.

Li Jiancheng thought for a while and said, "This time, I originally wanted to exchange your fief with Uncle Wang of Huai'an, but I was afraid that Uncle Wang of Huai'an went to his father's place to make trouble, so I compromised. The imperial decree will come down in the next two days. You will always be with you, but now, I have something else to send you."

Li Xiaogong waved his hand and said, "I can't do anything except lead troops. I'm an official in the court and I have to make a joke!"

Li Jiancheng said solemnly: "Don't be afraid, I mean, you will be the Minister of the Honglu Temple, and will also lead the General of the Zuo Xiaowei, and take over the Jingzhao military power in Zheng Rentai's hands."

Li Xiaogong was stunned.

Li Jiancheng pondered: "I plan to dismiss the army. What is your attitude towards this?"

Li Xiaogong smiled and said, "Actually, I am about to talk about this. Soldiers are more important than elites, but not many. Li Yaoshi thinks that the Tang Dynasty's army is not too few, but too many."

Li Jiancheng responded little by little and said, "Oh?"

"Three days ago, General Chen urgently trained the twelve armies. I believe His Majesty has heard of it!" Li Xiaogong smiled bitterly and said, "In our Tang Dynasty, there are too many troops that cannot be fought, and there are too few troops that can be fought hard. If you want to train troops, you must be trained like the Anxi Army, Dingyuan Army and the Four Guards of the East Palace. If you want to defeat the Turks, the army must be able to run and fight. The army that cannot be fought, like the current twelve guards, has nearly 200,000 troops on the ground, but there are no more than 50,000 troops in the battle."

Li Jiancheng nodded repeatedly and said, "Very good! Very good! I have something I need to help you now.

Li Xiaogong stood up and bowed and said, "It's all my brothers. Your Majesty, don't be polite, just give me instructions!"

Li Jiancheng sighed and said, "It's a bit unkind to do this, and I can only feel wronged!"

Li Xiaogong is not stupid. He guessed Li Jiancheng's intention from the reaction of this kind man Li Jiancheng.

Li Jiancheng wanted to disarmament, but the resistance was not to the twelve guards' army. Because Chen Ying had performed martial arts in Longshou Mountain and pulled all the twelve guards out, the twelve guards arrived in a whole day, and more than 30,000 troops still did not reach Longshouyuan until dark.

Chen should have decided to lay off all the more than 30,000 soldiers left behind from the 12 Guards.

Li Xiaogong knew that Li Jiancheng replaced King of Hejian with Prince Zhao, with the purpose of compensating him. Li Xiaogong smiled faintly and said, "I will write to Your Majesty when I go back, requesting that half of the guards of the royal palace be lifted out, and suggest that half of the soldiers in the world should be lifted out, eliminate the old and weak, and select elites."

Li Jiancheng was overjoyed when he heard this, and at the same time he felt relieved.

...

Land is an eternal topic. Over the years, countless disputes, bloodshed, countless reforms, revolutions, countless wars from nothing to something, and countless dynasties from prosperity to decline have revolved around this almost eternal topic. Before the rise of industrial civilization, land was almost the only basic resource in human society, the fundamental dependence on the continuation of human civilization, and the culprit for the killing of people for thousands of years.

From a hunting society to an agricultural society, it marks the first step for human beings to enter a civilized society from primitive society. Because of land, human beings begin to carry out more rigorous division of labor; because of land, human beings begin to carry out more comprehensive institutional norms; because of land, ethnic groups are declining, and because of land, countries are beginning to appear.

No matter what historians hold, whether modern society is scientific and objective in terms of the division of the evolutionary stages of human civilization, whether it is Eastern historians or Western historians, they have no objection to affirm that before the emergence of industrial civilization, any so-called recorded history of human political civilization was a history of land distribution and redistribution. For thousands of years, land was the only driving force that promoted the development and progress of human civilization.

Every change of the era is marked by land; every change of the dynasty is measured by land.

The core of the feudal system established in the Western Zhou Dynasty was the hierarchical distribution of land ownership from top to bottom. All the land under the world is the king's land; all the land in the world belongs to the emperor, and the emperor is the largest landlord in the world.

This is an ultimate landlord. Generally speaking, everything that is too absolute is often the most unaffordable. Therefore, the emperor actually owns very little land, only a little bit around the capital. Most of the other lands are distributed to his family, ministers and nobles by the emperor in the "feudal" mode.

The families, ministers, and nobles who were granted by the emperor were called Gong, Hou, Bo, Zi, and Nan. These royal ministers and nobles who received the imperial concubines were now called "princes" by us.

Below the princes, there were scholars and officials who were divided into feudals, and they were also scholars. At the beginning, they were all disciples of the princes and were also a complete proletariat. The ideal of the scholar was to redistribute the land of the world, use a more reasonable model and a more scientific system, so that limited land could protect the interests of more people.

Therefore, Shang Yang's "twentieth-class military merit system was established.

Whether it is the 20th-class military title system of the Han Dynasty, the Cao Wei military farming system during the Three Kingdoms period, and the current military system of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, they are actually military title variants based on Shang Yang's twenty-something military achievements.

Whoever can allocate land more reasonably and scientifically is what the people want.

The leaders of the peasant uprising who shouted "equal land" countless times will never understand that the average is not always reasonable. Only by allowing their soldiers to gain benefits through war and only by allowing their people to obtain land through military service can they sacrifice their lives to create a red country for the leaders.

Because the Qin Dynasty could not guarantee that military titles could be granted land, the army of millions of tigers and wolves allowed Liu Bang's soldiers to enter without bloodshed. The Tang Dynasty also had no land to reward the soldiers of the palace, so the Anshi Rebellion, Huang Chao Rebellion, and the separatist rule of the vassal states.

Chen Ying was very clear that if any dynasty cannot properly solve the historical problems left over from the founding period, then future generations will never be able to solve them.

The most intuitive problem faced by the Tang Dynasty was that Guanzhong was too small and the land was limited. Within 40 million mu of land, even if it relied on the grain output of later generations, it could only feed more than 20 million people. However, the land in Guanzhong was only half in the hands of aristocratic families, and the remaining land was not left with much land that could be dominated by the soldiers except for self-cultivated farmers.

To maintain 200,000 permanent troops in Guanzhong like the Tang Dynasty, at least half of Guanzhong’s land rewards were required.

What Chen Ying can do now is to reduce the population concentration in Guanzhong, the Tang Dynasty, otherwise this thunder will explode sooner or later.

Therefore, Chen Ying took advantage of the opportunity of food shortage and appropriately suggested that Li Jiancheng migrate the population outside the pass.

Whether it is the abolition of the government troops or the migration of the population, it is actually a treatment of the symptoms rather than the root cause. To solve this problem, the easiest way is to move the capital. Move the capital to Luoyang or Yecheng, even Bianliang is better than Chang'an.

In an era without railways and highways, the transportation of food and daily necessities alone would oppress the Tang Dynasty and exhaust them.

When Chen Ying returned to Chenjiabao, Xu Jingzong was waiting for Chen Ying with the file.

Xu Jingzong handed the thick file in his hand to Chen Ying, and smiled and said, "Master, the matter has been negotiated. We will lend a total of 1.5 million yuan to the grain merchants, and all their pledges are here!"

Chen Ying glanced quickly and found that the pledged property on it was severely suppressed.

Chen Ying smiled and said, "Why should they be drinking and having fun now?"

Xu Jingzong nodded.

Chen Ying was still in a very heavy mood.

Xu Jingzong said in great confusion: "Master, we plan to buy the bottom of Guanzhong grain merchants. The grain prices will definitely fall sharply. Why are you worried about it?"

"I don't know when this drought in Guanzhong will be relieved!" Chen Ying sighed and said, "No matter how high the price is, you can't cut off food in the capital; the second is to transport grain from the Jianghuai River to Beijing; the third is to transfer the people of Guanzhong to the riverside areas where grain is easy to obtain, so as to alleviate the pressure on grain supply in the capital..."

Speaking of this, Chen Ying's eyes were fixed on the direction from Tongguan to Hanguguan.

There was a severe drought in Guanzhong and the Wei River could not be navigated. For more than 600 miles from Luoyang to Chang'an, all of them needed to be transported by land, which was too expensive.

Chen Ying looked at Xu Jingzong and said, "Jingzong, you go down and take a break!"

After Xu Jingzong left, Chen Ying lay on the soft couch with a tired look on his face.

Time, the Tang Dynasty lacks the most time now.

As autumn is approaching, once autumn comes, the Tang Dynasty will not only face irreconcilable internal contradictions, but also bear military pressure from the Turks.

When it comes to war, Chen Yingzhen is not afraid. But the key is that the border between the Tang Dynasty and the Eastern Turks was too long and there were loopholes everywhere.

Just when Chen Ying was in a daze and was about to go to bed, suddenly a pair of soft hands pressed on Chen Ying's swollen forehead and started to massage gently.

Chen Ying felt very comfortable and was almost moaning.

Just then, a voice sounded behind Chen Ying.

"In fact, to solve the food crisis in Guanzhong, apart from the three strategies mentioned by Fang Xuanling, there is no better way to solve the food shortage in the capital..."

Chen Ying was shocked when he heard this voice.

Sure enough, Chen Ying stood up and turned around, looking at Changsun Wugui with a panic on his face, and didn't know when he appeared in the study.

Chen Ying shouted coldly: "What did you say?"

Changsun Wuguiqi Ai Ai said: "Time is really urgent, and the grain storage in Jingjin may only last until mid-next month. Every hour must be fought for. It will be delayed for one day. I don't know how many people will starve to death. During the current drought in Guanzhong, I think that people should immediately organize people to clear the Eight Rivers, broaden the river channels, and improve the navigation conditions from the eastern capital Luoyang to Jingjin... In addition, we must immediately build a large granary in Luokou and Liyang to prepare for the storage of grain. The grain transported by water is in Luokou Warehouse, and the grain and grass from Jinhaifang are stored in Liyang Warehouse. Anyway, the Luokou Warehouse is only 700 miles away from Chang'an. Whether it is changing a boat or a carriage or horse to travel to Chang'an, it is much easier..."

Hearing Changsun Wugui's words, Chen Ying was secretly surprised.

He didn't expect that Changsun Wugui had such a layer of knowledge. No wonder Li Shimin was extremely wise when Changsun Wugui was alive, but after Changsun Wugui died young, he began to lose his tricks. I'm afraid that half of Li Shimin's contribution was because of Changsun Wugui's masterpiece.

"That's it!" Chen Ying knew that this was not a memorial to solve the problem. He had to meet Li Jiancheng, stop all other things in the court, concentrate all the resources that could be mobilized to broaden the Wei River channel, build grain transportation post roads, and build large grain storage warehouses.

To make such a decision, of course there are political risks. Similarly, you must have the courage to make decisions when doing big things. It is naturally not in vain that Chen Ying can rise up at the age of a weak crown.

Chen Ying pondered for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll draw a memorial!"

The food shortage in the capital was not just a shortage of 10,000 stones or 20,000 stones, but a shortage of millions of stones. The capital was responsible for solving the problem of nearly 150,000 troops and more than 50,000 war horses for food. Just maintaining such a large army, one year of military food and transportation losses would require more than 3 million stones of grain.

Three million grains require 300,000 large carts, 600,000 mules and horses, and 300,000 coachmen to transport them. Such a huge cart is lined up in a long line. Walking on the post road, a long line of about five or six thousand miles will be formed. In terms of inland canal ships carrying 200 stones, three million grains require 15,000 ships, 30 to 60,000 boatmen, and perhaps hundreds of thousands of trainers, a long line of nearly a thousand miles in front and behind.

Major crises are always caused by the concentrated outbreak of multiple factors.

...

In Chang'an City, Li Yuanji walked to the backyard with a dark face. Seeing Li Yuanji's bad face, Uncle Xie leaned over and asked with a scalp, "Your Highness, what happened to you?"

Li Yuanji's face was as gloomy as water, and he said with anger: "Prince Zhao Li Xiaogong, I submitted a letter in the morning to request the abolition of his royal guardians, and suggested that the soldiers in the world should be lifted out half, eliminate the old and weak, and select elites."

Uncle Xie angrily cursed: "Is this Prince Zhao crazy about gaining and losing his heart, right?"

Li Yuanji cursed: "What does Li Xiaogong know? Your Majesty is confused, and he also makes trouble!"

Just then, Yu Wenji smiled and said, "Isn't this better?"

Li Yuanji was stunned and suddenly realized.

Immediately, Li Yuanji looked at Yu Wenhua and said, "Have you found out about the food matter?"

Yu Wenhuahe nodded and said, "It has been cleared that this batch of grain was collected from Tongli Money House last year, with a total of one million stones!"

Li Yuanji exclaimed in surprise: "One million stones? So much?"

Yu Wenhua and smiled faintly, "Is one million stones more than? Even if you have two million stones of food, you can't fill the stomachs of the people in Guanzhong!"

Li Yuanji frowned and said, "It may be quite difficult for us to eat all this batch of food!"

Li Yuanji is not sure about calculating the accounts. The price of grain is now close to 90 cents of rice, and one million stone of grain costs about 900,000 cents.

Yu Wenji sighed and said, "It's not easy, but it's not impossible. Now we have borrowed 1.5 million chunks of debt from Tongli Money House, and we can completely take down this grain!"
Chapter completed!