Seeing Liu Rengui sitting at his home leisurely tasting tea, Zhang Zong was also furious and rushed forward to question him. But before he could speak, Liu Rengui was the first to smile and said, "Zhang Xiaolangjun, you are finally back. There is news from Liaodong. Silla is indeed a thief who is dying and attacking the defenders of Liaodong!"

When Zhang Zong heard the news from Liaodong, he didn't care about being angry and immediately asked: "What's the situation of the battle? Are we suffering from any losses?"

It’s no wonder that Zhang Zong was anxious. The situation in Liaodong has reached a very critical point. If the Tang army retreated, Silla would definitely occupy the entire Liaodong Peninsula. This also means that the Sui and Tang dynasties consumed huge amounts of manpower and material resources, and eventually defeated Goguryeo's victory fruit, but was stolen by the small Silla. This was something Zhang Zong would not want to see anyway.

Liu Rengui seemed to have guessed Zhang Zong's reaction a long time ago. He calmly took out a memorial from his sleeve and handed it over and said, "Not many people know about the warships sent by Xue Rengui, but they probably will spread throughout the capital tomorrow!"

When Zhang Zong heard this, he eagerly took it and opened it. Unlike the memorials written by civil servants, this victory document is very straightforward. It begins with Xue Rengui leading his army to defeat Silla's 50,000 troops in Mai Xiaocheng. The following is a series of battle results listed, such as how many beheads, how many prisoners were captured, how many materials were seized, etc.

The second half of the victory was about the navy, but compared to Mai Xiaocheng's victory, the navy's results were not very conspicuous, mainly because the Silla navy took advantage of the heavy fog on the sea, but they even succeeded, and eventually burned down hundreds of warships of the Tang Dynasty navy.

Fortunately, General Du Shuang, who commanded the navy, was well-instructed and eventually turned defeat into victory. He defeated the Silla Navy in one fell swoop, and then took the initiative to attack, even the Silla Navy's lair was burned by them.

Compared to Xue Rengui's victory on land, the navy can only be regarded as a miserable victory. After all, the losses of hundreds of warships and their later military achievements were at most considered to be a merit.

"The navy suffered a lot, but this battle must have damaged Silla's vitality. I dare to conclude that Silla will no longer be able to look west within ten years, and it won't take long to send the Silla King's accusation documents to Chang'an!" Liu Rengui said calmly again at this time.

"Can't the court destroy Silla in one fell swoop and completely solve the hidden dangers of Liaodong?" Zhang Zong frowned and asked when he heard this. The small country of Silla is like a cockroach, jumping up and down, which is very disgusting.

"It's not impossible to destroy it. It's less than 60 years since the founding of the Tang Dynasty. I have done a lot of things to destroy the country and massacre the city, not only Silla is missing, but the imperial court has invested too much in the Western Regions in recent years, which has seriously weakened the troops of Liaodong. In addition, the remnants of Goguryeo and Baekje have not stopped, so it is not easy to destroy Silla in one fell swoop." Liu Rengui explained calmly.

Since the destruction of Goguryeo, the upper class of the Tang Dynasty believed that Liaodong had no threat to the Tang Dynasty, so they turned their attention to the farther Western Regions, as well as the grasslands in the north and the Tubo in the southwest. These places are more likely to threaten the Tang Dynasty than Liaodong, so their investment in Liaodong has been reduced a lot, which is also the main reason why Silla had the courage to covet the territory of the Tang Dynasty.

Zhang Zong also understood the above, but he was still a little unwilling to accept it. However, Liu Rengui said again: "In fact, the court has difficulties. Fighting war is nothing more than fighting two things, that is, people and grain. After years of rest and recuperation, our Tang Dynasty has grown very fast in population, but the growth of food is very limited, so the court can only focus its energy on one point, but if there is enough food, it will be much easier to attack Liaodong."

"So that's it. No wonder the Zuo Prime Minister had to personally handle the promotion of Linyi rice." At this time, Zhang Zong also calmed down. As for the anger just now, it was all resolved because of the Liaodong incident.

"Yes, Linyi rice can be ripe two or even three in the south a year. Because it is drought-resistant, I also want to promote it to areas north of the Yangtze River, and it should be able to be planted." Liu Rengui nodded and said.

Linyidao is the main purpose of Liu Rengui coming to Zhang Zong today. He also asked Zhang Zong some questions about the promotion of Linyidao. Zhang Zong also sat down at this time. He naturally knew about these problems. If he didn't know, he would confess directly and would never pretend to understand. After all, this is not a trivial matter. Perhaps because of his own words, Linyidao may take many detours in promotion.

"Is he the left prime minister Liu Rengui?" Not far from the pavilion, Xue Shao also whispered to Shangguan Wan'er. After learning that the other party was Liu Rengui, he did not dare to step forward. He also had a little awe for the left prime minister who used his literature to control martial arts and had great military achievements.

"Well, I thought he was a liar just now, but I just asked him to come in to serve tea, but I didn't expect that he was really the famous left prime minister." Shangguan Wan'er also replied in a low voice. Although she had heard of Liu Rengui's name for a long time, she had never seen him.

After Shangguan Wan'er said that, she brought the snacks to the front, and the tea was boiled. Then she poured tea for Zhang Zong and Liu Rengui who were talking, and then she stepped back very sensible.

Liu Rengui glanced at Shangguan Wan'er who was leaving at this time, and then suddenly laughed: "It is human nature to be young, but it is still very rare to steal people from the palace like you!"

"I'm not robbing people, but saving people. I can't explain this to you!" Zhang Zong said to the other party after hearing this, "Don't say that he has no selfish intention to save Shangguan Wan'er, even if he really has selfish intentions, Liu Rengui, you are already in his seventies and eighties, and he is still concerned about such things?"

"Haha, you don't have to explain to me. Although I am old and my eyes are blurred, I still don't care about my ears. Naturally, I know about this Shangguan Xiaoma. However, just because of a few encounters, you take such a great risk to save people. Even if the eldest princess helps you, if you are not careful, you may be implicated. Are you not afraid at all?"

"I'm afraid, so I immediately went to the coal mine and asked the court to let Wan'er and I go together. It seems that it is very effective now." Zhang Zong knew that the guy in front of him was so old that he was too lazy to lie and told the truth.

"I have seen many talented people, but like you, I always take out a person who can influence the court's political achievements, but this is the first time I have met him. Now I am really curious. How many things do you know about Linyi rice, printing technology, and coal?" Liu Rengui's eyes were full of curiosity when he spoke at the end.

Zhang Zong gave Liu Rengui a very different feeling. He clearly felt that he had seen through the other party, but Zhang Zong often did unexpected things, which made him more and more curious about Zhang Zong.

"It's gone, it's completely gone. I handed over everything I know. Now I just want to live my own life!" Zhang Zong shook his head and said.

He didn't know anything else, but Zhang Zong knew that if Liu Rengui knew what was in his mind, he would definitely try his best to let him pour out all the knowledge in his mind and future generations, so that he would not be able to calm down.

Seeing Zhang Zong's resolute deniability, Liu Rengui smiled again and said, "You don't have to rush to deny it. I know you don't want to be an official, and I won't force you for the time being. When you figure it out, the prince will naturally make arrangements for you!"

When Zhang Zong heard Liu Rengui mention his relationship with Li Hong, his face turned dark, which made him think of the previous incident of being tricked by the other party. However, the anger is not something that can be found if you want. As the saying goes, "If you do something in one go, you will lose again and lose three times." He can't even get angry now.

When their main business was over, Xue Shao looked for an opportunity to salute him. Liu Rengui seemed to have known Xue Shao's identity for a long time, so he was not surprised. Instead, he chatted with Xue Shao very kindly, which made Xue Shao feel flattered. Although he was of noble origin, he was still a little bit confident in the face of a powerful minister like Liu Rengui.

"It's getting late, so I won't bother you today. If you have any other questions another day, I'll ask you for advice!" Liu Rengui finally stood up and said goodbye.

"Your Majesty is so polite, I'll take you out!" Xue Shao said for Zhang Zong with a flattering look on his face, and after saying that, he pulled Zhang Zong very attentively to send him to the door.

After Liu Rengui got on the carriage and left, Xue Shao then curled his smile and said, "People say that the left prime minister is very old-fashioned and has always been rude to outsiders, but I think he is quite kind. As expected, the rumors from the outside world cannot be believed!"

"Gentle? That's because you didn't provoke him. If you don't believe it, let the eldest princess arrange for you to go to the Secretariat to do things. Then you will know how kind this left prime minister is!" Zhang Zong said with a blank look at Xue Shao.

However, when it comes to the Secretariat, Zhang Zong suddenly thought that Luo Binwang had been to the Secretariat for many days and had never seen him again during this period. He didn't know how he was now? He forgot to ask Liu Rengui just now.

"Brother Shi, I won't go back tonight. Let your Wan'er customer clean up!" Xue Shao said indifferently. He didn't care what Liu Rengui did to others.

"When you live in the guest room, you can only live in the right wing room." Zhang Zong said with a blank look at Xue Shao again. He found that this guy was not only greedy, but also had short-sighted shortcomings.

The next morning, Wan'er also prepared breakfast for Zhang Zong and the others. Xue Shao praised Wan'er's craftsmanship, and then again suggested taking Zhang Zong to other places to taste delicious food. After all, Tokyo is so big, he knows a lot of delicious food. It is estimated that he can't finish it for ten days and half a month.

Zhang Zong had nothing to do, and was about to agree, but he didn't expect that a guest would come to his house suddenly. It was not one, but two guests came to his house to visit him at the same time.
Chapter completed!