Back in the palace, Li Ye had just sat down and before he had a sip of tea, Wei Gao reported at the door: "Your Highness, the Privy Council wants to see you!"
Li Ye still wanted to take a nap, but he had no choice but to nod his head and say, "Announce his presence!"
Prince Li Tan, who was sitting nearby, was about to stand up and leave. Li Ye smiled and waved his hand, "Your Majesty, just sit next to me and listen!"
Prince Li Tan sat down silently again.
Not long after, Duan Xiushi walked in excitedly. Seeing his high interest, Li Ye knew that he was here for the steam engine.
"I am here to see Your Majesty!"
"You're welcome, Mr. Duan, please sit down!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Duan Xiushi then noticed the prince next to him and quickly stood up to salute. Li Ye smiled and asked him to sit down again.
Duan Xiushi sat down and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, transfer the Department of Government and the Department of Firearms and Powder to the Privy Council!"
Li Ye smiled slightly and said, "Don't be impatient, Commander Duan. Let's have a cup of tea first!"
Wei Gao came in with tea. Li Ye took a sip of tea and said calmly: "In fact, I am considering merging these two departments as well as the Vitriol Refining Department, Iron Smelting Department, and Materials Department to form a firearms supervision department. They will
It is indeed very special and has greatly developed. It is different from traditional weapons."
Duan Xiushi bowed and said: "If a Firearms Supervisor is to be established, Wei Chen is willing to be the first Supervisor!"
Li Ye chuckled, "Duan Shijun is the assistant prime minister, and the political affairs are in order, but he goes to serve as the fourth-rank supervisor. This is a demotion!"
Duan Xiushi shook his head, "Your Majesty, why does Guo Ziyi refuse to serve as the assistant minister and lead the troops to fight? He is doing it to realize his ambition, and the same is true for minor ministers.
Your Majesty, Wei Chen passed the Ming Dynasty Classics exam when he was young, but gave up literature and joined the military. He went to Anxi to guard the border at the age of 20, and stayed there for more than 20 years. Wei Chen planned to stay in Anxi for the rest of his life, guarding the border for the country, but what happened?
I never thought I would be able to worship in the pavilion one day.
But this was not Wei Chen’s ambition. In the past few years as Privy Councilor, Wei Chen had been confused. Until Wei Chen saw iron fire thunder, exploding arrows and arrow thunder, Wei Chen seemed to have found life all of a sudden. To be honest with you, Your Majesty.
, Weichen stayed at the Firearms Department after going to court every day, and did not return home until night. Weichen could even make explosives, participate in the improvement of arrows and mines, install wooden handles on arrows and mines, and turn them into hand-thrown mines, which was Weichen's plan
."
Li Ye laughed dumbly, "It turns out that throwing thunder by hand was Duan Shijun's plan!"
"Exactly!"
Duan Xiushi added: "Today Weichen saw the steam engine. Others could not understand it, but Weichen could understand what the steam engine meant to Anxi and what it meant to the Tang Dynasty's overseas expansion. It made Weichen's heart surge, and Weichen even
I am eager to become a technical officer and study new steam locomotives together. Your Majesty, please help Weichen! Weichen's mind is no longer in the Privy Council."
Li Ye stared at him for a long time, and seeing the hope in his eyes, he nodded, "I will give you a month to think about it. If you still don't change your mind after one month, then I will appoint you to form the Firearms Supervisor. Your rank will remain unchanged.
His title remains unchanged, and he will also serve as the dean of the New Military Academy."
Duan Xiushi was overjoyed and bowed: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for making this happen!"
Li Ye waved his hand and asked Duan Xiushi to sit down again.
He pondered for a moment and said: "I am going all out to develop the steam engine, and you understand my intention. Just like you said, what does the steam engine mean to Anxi? What does it mean to open up new territories overseas?
But you don’t understand what firearms mean? This time I want to implement education reform and make every child in the Tang Dynasty able to read and write. The biggest problem is finance.
In order to increase the population, I have completely abolished the household tax. The biggest impact will be on the finances.
The army needs to be equipped with firearms and well-equipped, and the biggest pressure is on the finances.
Therefore, finance will put huge pressure on the court for a long time. In order to solve the problem of finance, I can only take action on the largest financial expenditure, military expenditure. The best way is to reduce the number of troops and maintain an army of 500,000.
But what to do after the army is reduced? Then take the path of elite soldiers. An army of 3,000 people can defeat the enemy's army of 30,000 people. What do they rely on? They rely on firearms, cavalry and heavy-armored swords. The opponent is a hundred steps away.
The bows and arrows could not penetrate the armor of our soldiers, but our arrows and thunder exploded. The enemy's cavalry charged, but among our three thousand people, there were one thousand Modao soldiers to fight. The enemy army fled, and we, one thousand cavalry, chased and killed them."
Only then did Duan Xiushi fully understand, "Wei Chen understands that your Majesty develops firearms for the sake of elite soldiers, but ultimately it falls on finances."
Li Ye nodded, "This attack on Nanzhao is an experiment for me. Li Sheng only brought 50,000 troops, but his 10,000 troops were firearms troops, carrying gunpowder arrows, iron fire thunder, explosive arrows, arrow thunder and
grenades, and fire oil, and Nanzhao's army numbered more than 200,000, and Tubo also garrisoned more than 50,000 troops in the north of Nanzhao. The total strength of the two sides was five times that of the Tang army. I wanted to take a look, and brought the most advanced
With firearms, can 50,000 elite soldiers destroy a medium-sized country?"
"Your Majesty, I am afraid that the advanced technology will be leaked and soon learned by the enemy. I have a suggestion. Can you set up a special government agency to protect secrets? All secrets will be reviewed by it to prevent leaks!"
Li Ye smiled and said: "There is a secrecy department under the inner guard. It has been working on secrecy for a long time. It must be pretty good. I suggest you not mention the secrecy now until you really take over the firearms supervision."
, then go in deeper and see if there are any loopholes.”
"Wei Chen understands!"
Duan Xiushi immediately stood up and left, and Li Ye smiled at his son and said, "Tell me, how do you feel?"
Although Li Tan is young, he is not an ordinary child. He has received a strict education and is already quite knowledgeable.
He bowed and said: "Reporting to the Emperor Father, my first feeling is that Duan Shijun is a kind-hearted person who pursues his own ideals and does not love power, which is admirable!"
Li Ye nodded, "This is the true backbone of the Tang Dynasty and a true minister. For such an outstanding minister, we cannot just say "admiration" and that's it. We must respect him in action and retain his official position and title.
But this is not enough. Once he becomes the Firearms Supervisor, I will also give him the honor and status of the Third Division of Yitong, Prince Shaobao, so that all officials can see that if they really do things, I will never treat him badly."
"My father's teachings will be remembered by my sons and ministers in their hearts!"
"Then, what else do you feel?"
Li Tan added: "Furthermore, the ultimate goal of the father's elite soldiers is for finance, so that his sons and ministers will have a feeling of enlightenment."
Li Ye laughed and said, "Silly boy, you don't understand this. If you read more history, you will slowly understand."
Li Tan blushed and said, "Father, can you please tell me something?"
Li Ye asked calmly: "Have you ever fought with other children?"
Li Tan thought for a moment and said, "I only fought once with Brother Nan."
Brother Nan is Li Nan, the son of Li Ye's eldest brother Li Huai. He has been raised by his father Li Dai. He is twelve years old and was named King of Huai by Li Ye.
Li Ye said: "Who will take action first?"
"Brother Nan, hit me first."
"Then what? Did you give it back?"
Li Tan nodded, "My son also fought back, and then my grandfather saw us. He made us kneel down for an hour and apologized to each other. We never fought again."
Li Ye smiled slightly and said: "Why would my father ask you this question? In fact, it is the same thing between countries. We raise an army not just to protect our country. If we are invaded by the prairie cavalry, we will drive them away."
Forget it? Who will bear our losses?
Our army must not only defend our country, but also fight back and give back to the opponent twice as much, killing their young men and taking away their treasury wealth. This is what Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty said: Those who attack our Han Dynasty will be killed no matter how far away they are.
punish!
But why do you do this? Is it inconsistent with Confucian governance? The person who says this must not be a ruler if he is magnanimous and persuades others with virtue.
The ruler will never consider morality, he will only consider finances. We do not invade others, but we can create conditions for others to attack us first, so that we will be famous. Remember, the fastest way to improve finances is war.
, plundering the wealth of the enemy country can not only weaken the enemy country, but also enrich the finances, and win the support of the people of the country, killing three birds with one stone."
"But what if the enemy is afraid of us and refuses to invade us? Do we have to take the initiative?"
Li Ye shook his head, "You must remember that any war must be launched with a good reputation, because the foundation of our country is kingship, not hegemony. The kingship must be with a reputation. My father will give you a recent example, Bohai Kingdom, such as
My father decided to attack Japan and seize Japan's wealth, so where is our reputation?"
"Bohai Country!" Li Tan blurted out.
"Yes! It's the Bohai Kingdom. The Bohai Kingdom is our vassal state. It was destroyed by Japan and brutally killed all the royal officials and people in the capital. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed. As the sovereign state, we have the right to send troops to punish Japan.
, demanding compensation from Japan is a sign of success.
However, the Bohai Kingdom will not be rebuilt. The land of the Bohai Kingdom will become Datang Prefecture and County, and the people will become subjects. We can give them tax cuts to buy their hearts, but the wealth obtained from Japan is enough to compensate for a little tax loss.
This is national policy.
If you want to clean up country A, then first become the suzerain of its small neighbor country B, and then encourage country B to seek death to anger country A, so that country A can't help but invade country B. Once the king of country B asks for help, you
You can send troops in the name of protecting the vassal country. It is best to wait for country A to destroy country B before sending troops. This will not only give country A a hard lesson, obtain a large amount of war compensation, and even seize the wealth of its treasury, but also country B’s
The wealth and land will finally belong to you. You are still bright and majestic and have a good reputation. This is the way of kingship."
"But...but that's not very benevolent!" Li Tan murmured.
Li Ye shook his head, "That's why I said you are too young and don't understand yet. There is no morality or morality between countries, only interests. But we will not rob openly like robbers, we will use strategies to rob, let people
The other side must make a mistake first, and then we can make a name for ourselves. This is the difference between kingliness and domineering. One is a brutal and unreasonable grab, and the other is a fight for fame. Otherwise, what are you doing raising an army?"
Li Tan asked in confusion: "Aren't we raising an army to protect our family and country?"
Li Ye glared fiercely, "Then Li Nan punched you, why did you hit him back?"