Chapter 466: Quarrel between monarch and ministers
The people in the Taiji Hall left in twos and threes. Zhang Yang looked at Li Chengqian walking towards him and said, "Your Highness, are you going to rest?"
Li Chengqian said with emotion: "Many people will stay up all night tonight. I really can't understand why the iron box that the two generals couldn't open with all their strength can be opened easily in the hands of a young slave."
"Because the water can expel the air, the iron box forms a short-term vacuum chamber. Although this opportunity is very short-lived, the small box can be opened by giving a little external force to the vacuum chamber."
Li Chengqian lowered his head and thought, trying to use his only knowledge to understand what vacuum was.
After a moment, Li Chengqian smiled helplessly, "The Tubo Zhuoga lineage has been a wise man for generations. People of their lineage are respected as wise men in the Western Regions and even in Tubo. This is why Songtsen Gampo sent him here."
"During the first battle in Liangzhou, people from their tribe were also helping Songtsen Gampo to organize his troops. That was why Niu Jinda pursued Tubo and was besieged. They lived under the sacred mountains and by the holy lake of Tubo. These people were
Each tribe has a very high prestige, whether it is leading troops to fight, treating illnesses and rescuing people, or even coming to Chang'an City on the order of Songtsen Gampo."
"There are naturally no shortage of strange people in the Central Plains." Li Chengqian walked outside the Tai Chi Hall and smiled, "Zhang Yang, after tonight, you will be famous all over the world."
Listening to the prince's words, Zhang Yang glanced at Li Xiaogong, who was still standing aside, and whispered: "Let's go see His Majesty."
"Come with me."
At this moment, there are still three or five maids left in the Tai Chi Hall who are cleaning up.
When the ministers left, this most noble place in the Central Plains returned to its former silence, even a little eerie.
The infant child fell asleep and woke up again, with drool still drooling from the corners of her mouth. Li Yue held her and took out a handkerchief to wipe away her drool.
Xiao Wu didn't have much energy either. It was late at night and he still had to go to see His Majesty.
When we arrived in front of the Ganlu Hall, there were three or two guards guarding the place.
Li Lizhi pushed the stroller over and said, "The queen has someone draw the picture, and she can make it herself in the palace in the future."
Li Yue put the child in the stroller, and then she relaxed her arms and said, "Li Zhi is so sensible."
Seeing Xiao Wu yawn, Li Lizhi was still very energetic and said, "Let's wait outside the hall."
Two little girls were sitting on the stone steps in front of the palace. Girls of this age like to whisper the most.
The old eunuch stood outside the palace, "His Majesty said, just come into the palace, no need to report."
Li Xiaogong walked into the Ganlu Hall, and the couple followed with their children.
Oil lamps were lit in the Manlu Hall, and Li Shimin was sitting on the throne, holding an iron ingot in his hand.
Sitting aside was Queen Changsun.
"Okay, no need to be more polite." Li Shimin interrupted Li Xiaogong's salute, "The Tubo envoy told me the conditions before, and then he was allowed to enter the Tai Chi Hall."
Li Xiaogong lowered his head and said: "If we lose this battle of wits, as long as His Majesty gives an order, I will be willing to lead troops to Tubo to capture Songtsen Gampo."
Seeing Li Shimin looking at him, Zhang Yang frowned and stared at the iron ingot in his hand, "Your Majesty, it's getting late. Can you talk to me tomorrow if you have anything to say?"
Li Shimin ignored this, but the young minister couldn't help but feel sleepy?
Empress Changsun said to the maid on the side: "Give me a seat and some tea."
After the chair was moved into the hall, Zhang Yang took the tea and took a sip of the hot tea, which made him feel more energetic.
Those present were all members of my family, the Queen and Your Majesty, and the Prince of Hejian County.
To be more precise, the conversation in the palace at this moment should be regarded as a discussion between his family members.
The atmosphere should be more relaxed.
Looking at Li Xiaogong on the side, he did not notice anyone else. He picked up the pastry and started eating it.
"Zhang Yang, the Tubo strategy you told me before has been effective now?"
"The Foreign Affairs Commission has been keeping an eye on the development of the situation."
The emperor's eyes wandered between Li Xiaogong and Zhang Yang. After a while of silence, he stood up and handed the iron ingot to Li Xiaogong, "Look at this."
Li Xiaogong looked at the iron ingot suspiciously and said, "Your Majesty, judging from the quality and fineness, it is a good piece of material."
"Do you know where this piece of iron comes from?"
"If it were forged into a sword, it would be no worse than the horizontal sword in the army today."
Li Shimin put his hands on his back, "This iron material comes from Lishan Mountain, and Qingque had people deliver it."
Zhang Yang replied: "This is one of the processes of our Lishan technology. This kind of iron material needs to be expanded in use."
"But Qingque only showed me the results and didn't tell me how to forge this kind of iron material."
The emperor likes to give others questions to think about. If there is something in his words, he just wants to tell the court about the forging method of this kind of iron material.
Li Tai was right to show Li Shimin the results. Hematite was related to ordnance manufacturing, and letting the emperor see the results would also reassure him about Lishan.
Zhang Yang bowed and said: "The materials used by Lishan Foundry are only used for manufacturing and will not be used to cast weapons. We also rely on His Majesty's promise to Lishan so that our Lishan casting technology can reach a higher level."
Li Shimin looked out the window and said nothing.
This is obviously not the answer Tian Khan wanted.
Li Xiaogong took a step forward and said, "Your Majesty, the people employed in Lishan are nothing more than villagers farming."
Seeing that Li Shimin still didn't speak, Zhang Yang said again: "Lishan can hand over the casting method of this iron material to the DPRK, but I have conditions."
Li Shimin sat down again and said, "You and I are a family, and you still want to negotiate terms? When you came to pay New Year's greetings, you said you would share the achievements of Lishan with the DPRK and China."
"Do people in the DPRK have to be trustworthy? Will the technology that Lishan finally developed with great difficulty not be leaked out?"
"Are you questioning my intentions?"
Seeing that the tone of the conversation between Weng and his son-in-law became more and more serious, Empress Changsun held her forehead and was very troubled. They were both monarchs, ministers, and Weng's son-in-law. The relationship was complicated and the interests were even more complicated.
Li Xiaogong kept eating, thinking it was a midnight snack, and he didn't interrupt.
The laughter coming from the stroller didn't know what the child was laughing about.
Li Shimin's face was livid. He also hoped that the weapons of the Tang Dynasty could be sharper. With the casting technology of high-quality iron materials, it was inevitable to obtain them now.
"I'm not questioning your intentions. I hope that technology can be safer. There are hundreds of people in the Ministry of Industry, Ministry of War, and even production supervisors. Can these people keep it completely confidential?"
Empress Changsun knew very well that what made His Majesty angry was Zhang Yang's conditions. Every time she talked to this son-in-law, as long as the conditions were mentioned, she was not extremely harsh.
This made His Majesty feel that Zhang Yang used the negotiation methods of the Foreign Affairs Council on himself, the Tian Khan.
I often get angry because of this, and I smash a lot of things. The first time I mortgaged the entire Lishan Mountain, I exchanged it for Gaochang.
That transaction was worth it for the DPRK. At least Lishan would not escape in Guanzhong, and only by acquiring Gaochang would we have the opportunity to hold Tibet hostage and even send troops to the Western Regions.
Empress Changsun sighed: "Your Majesty, you might as well listen to the conditions."
Li Shimin waved his sleeves and said, "Speak."
Zhang Yang crossed his legs, leaning back on the chair and holding his temples with one hand, "Lishan handed over the secret technical recipe to Your Majesty. Your Majesty can only see it but not use it for casting, and you cannot give it to anyone."
After the words fell, Li Xiaogong sighed.
Li Shimin immediately stood up and said, "You might as well not give it to me!"
Zhang Yang stood up and replied: "Then if weapons made of this kind of iron material appear in Guanzhong, has your Majesty thought about who we Lishan will complain to?"
"I..." Li Shimin was so angry that the Three Corpse Gods jumped, "You are using your strong words to make excuses."
Zhang Yang drank the tea in the bowl and said, "This is a guarantee for the future. I am doing it all for the Tang Dynasty."
"Don't you just want to make money?"
Late at night...
The quarrel between His Majesty and Zhang Yang was heard outside the palace, and even the guards in front of the palace who were dozing off became more energetic and curious about what was going on.
Xiao Wu and Li Lizhi were sitting on the stone steps in front of the palace, leaning against each other and falling asleep.
The palace maid thoughtfully put some thick coats on the two of them. Xiao Wu was also the adopted daughter of the queen, not to mention Princess Changle.
I don't dare let the two girls catch a cold.
Hearing that the noise was getting louder and louder, the two guards lifted their belts and walked into the hall with renewed vigor.
Seeing the guards approaching, Li Shimin shouted loudly: "What are you doing here?"
His Majesty cursed him so much that he was spitting. At this moment, Zhang Yang was standing in the palace, with only three or two steps between the monarch and his ministers.
The guard glanced at the situation in the palace, lowered his head and stammered: "I'm humble... I'm here to protect you."
Li Shimin waved his sleeves and said, "Why are you protecting me? Get out of here."
"Here!"
The two guards left in a panic again.
The quarrel in the palace continued. Li Yue held her forehead and was speechless for a while.
Whenever my husband gives in, my father will not be so furious.
It is related to the interests of Lishan and the future security. Husbands have their own principles.
The Queen and Princess Runan have a very tacit understanding and do not speak together. This kind of thing does not help anyone.
Zhang Yang put down the tea bowl in his hand, "I only have money in my heart? If I didn't care about the country, I would not hand over Gaochang to the court."
"I want you to treat Yue'er well and tolerate you in every way."
"Your Majesty does not understand technology and has no common sense, and he still wants to point fingers at Lishan. I have tolerated it for a long time."
"Tell me again!"
Seeing that his anger was getting bigger and bigger, Li Xiaogong quickly stopped him, "Your Majesty, you have finally recovered your health. Lu Zhaolin has told you not to be angry again."
"Teach me how to cultivate myself, such a rebellious child!"
"I have hundreds of households in Lishan and thousands of people to take care of. How can I not be careful?"
Li Shimin opened Li Xiaogong's hands and said, "When I killed the enemy on the battlefield, the blood on the sword was not yet dry. Today..."
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" Li Xiaogong stopped in the middle, "This time when the Tibetan envoys made things difficult, it was Zhang Yang who came to the rescue. I think it's because of his merits."
Seeing the emperor's red and white face, Li Xiaogong gritted his teeth and said: "Your Majesty! I would like to go to Lishan Mountain and watch the casting at Lishan Mountain! Anyone who steals iron materials will be killed."
Finally Li Shimin calmed down.
The emperor does not trust his son-in-law, and the son-in-law does not trust the emperor even more.
The two of them had been suspicious of each other for a long time, and the anger in their hearts had been suppressed for a long time.
Li Xiaogong bowed and said: "Your Majesty, Zhang Yang has been neglected since he was a child. He is a country boy. Why bother with him? I will teach him how to be a courtier in the future."
Li Shimin snorted and sat down.
Queen Changsun signaled the maid to pour more tea.
The quarrel in the palace was over. They were a little energetic because of the quarrel, but after a while they started to feel sleepy again.
Weng and son-in-law looked at each other, then looked away with a bit more disdain.
Queen Changsun smiled and said: "The lake salt from Tubo has arrived, and it will be sent to Lishan early tomorrow morning."
Li Yue stood up and saluted, "Thank you, Queen Mother, for the arrangement. Lishan is indeed short of salt."
Empress Changsun held her hand and said, "Queen Mother should also think more about you."
The queen and princess were still talking in low voices.
Li Shimin took a big sip of tea, and most of the anger in his heart disappeared.
Li Yue added: "It doesn't matter if you let your husband and your father have a quarrel. The monarch and his ministers should also be frank. Once they understand, they can get along better in the future."
Empress Changsun smiled and nodded, "Yueer's words are exactly what the mother wants."
The harmony between the queen and the princess formed a huge contrast in the Manna Palace at this moment.
Zhang Yang and His Majesty looked at each other with disgust.
"Is the only technical solution you, Lishan, talk about right now is this iron material?"
Li Shimin finally spoke again.
"The development of technology can affect all aspects of life and production..."
Li Shimin's eyes were still looking out the window, and Zhang Yang's words were heard in his ears.
"Judging from the development process in ancient times, the ancients drank hair and blood for thousands of years, from hunting to farming to making living utensils. I call this the Stone Age. In these thousands of years, until the emergence of iron tools, civilization also formed
A huge transformation.”
"Yao and Shun became the leaders of the people, and then Emperor Zhou established the calendar and national system. The civilization and prosperity of the Central Plains reached a new level. The world was divided and reunited again under the First Emperor. The chariots were in the same track and the books were in the same text. In the Han Dynasty, the people of the Central Plains
We have a common identity and that is Han people."
"At this point, the people of the Central Plains have a very strong cohesion and the concept of unifying the world. This is another big leap. Both etiquette and official system have reached their peak."
"Have you noticed, Your Majesty, that from the ancient times when we were just standing still for thousands of years, with the application of iron tools and the rapid change of dynasties, within a short period of nearly a thousand years, we have created a series of magnificent eras?"
Listening to these words, Li Shimin felt his blood boiling inexplicably, and his ambition was burned again. I also want to build a magnificent era.
"The period of Ru Mao Yin Xue lasted for thousands of years, and the bronzes lasted another thousand years. However, it only took a few hundred years for cast iron technology to make a leap. Each time the change happened, it became shorter and shorter. I call this a technological leap, and Lishan is now
What we are doing is to make technology leap forward again.”
"My teacher at Qinling once said about the concept of technological explosion. When theoretical knowledge is continuously popularized in practice and all creations are integrated, it will not be measurable by leaps and bounds. It will be possible to cross one peak after another.
creativity."
"Do you really have such a teacher in Qinling?" Li Shimin's faint words came.
It felt uncomfortable to be interrupted. Zhang Yang took a deep breath to recover his thoughts, "Your Majesty, don't you believe it?"
The emperor still responded with silence.
Zhang Yang also fell silent, drinking tea and thinking that it would be dawn if he continued like this.