In the afternoon, Li Ye met with Du Huan. Du Huan was about forty years old, with a medium build, dark skin, and very bright and lively eyes.
Du Huan had met Li Ye. He was only in his early twenties when he joined the army under Gao Xianzhi. During the Battle of Talos, he met the brave young Li Ye.
Unexpectedly, fifteen or sixteen years later, Li Ye would become the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.
"Have Du Canjun been to Baghdad?" Li Ye asked with a smile.
Du Huan nodded, "I can speak Persian and Sogdian. I went to Mulu first. Later, Datang and Dashi signed a formal agreement, clearly using the Amu Darya River as the boundary. I went to Baghdad on the order of General Gao."
Meet their Caliph Al-Mansur and submit a formal agreement."
"What's your impression of Baghdad?"
"It's very luxurious. There are huge and splendid buildings everywhere, and the buildings are very dense and layered. What should I do if I am worried that they will catch fire? Later I figured out that their buildings are not wooden structures."
Li Ye chuckled, "That's right!"
After a pause, Li Ye asked again: "Then why did you leave Anxi Jiedu Mansion?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing were transferred by the imperial court, and Bian Lingcheng recommended Bi Sichen to take over. This man was narrow-minded and had offended him in his humble position, so he resigned from his official position and followed a caravan to the Great Qin Kingdom.
I have a strong interest in the West and want to increase my knowledge."
The Great Qin State was Byzantium and the Eastern Roman Empire. Li Ye smiled and asked again: "Have you ever been to the west of the Great Qin State?"
Du Huan nodded, "I met several Western envoys in the Great Qin Kingdom. They met people from the Tang Dynasty for the first time, so they invited me to go to their country. I took a boat to Athens, Naples, Rome and Genoa, and then
I didn’t go to the west. It is said that there are many small countries in the north. When I came back, I went to Egypt. I rode a camel from Egypt to Baghlan, and then took a boat from Baghdad to Basra, where I transferred to the Tang Dynasty’s boat and returned home.”
Li Ye was surprised and said: "There are still ships from the Tang Dynasty in Basra?"
"Yes, they are all sea-going ships with ten thousand stones. Their drafts are very deep. They cannot enter the Euphrates River and cannot reach Baghdad directly. Food merchants like our ships very much. They are big and very safe. The food merchants in Guangzhou and Quanzhou all use large ships.
Tang’s ships came here.”
Li Ye was very impressed. He was indeed the first Chinese in history to travel around the Mediterranean. Li Ye thought for a moment and said, "You passed by Tianzhu when you came back. Did you stop in the Zhuluo Kingdom?"
Du Huan nodded, "I have supplied supplies twice in the Chola Kingdom. It is a very ancient dynasty. There are too many low-level people, just like ants, feeding the upper-level dignitaries. This country is heavily militarized. The army is very large. There are large flat-bottomed boats that can accommodate four hundred people.
Soldiers can also release Greek fire. This country is also rich in pig iron, which is of high quality. Iron cans and swords are sold everywhere in the market, and are sold to food."
"Did Du Canjun go out again later?"
"After my humble post, I went to Nanyang three times and also went to Lugong Island."
Li Ye took out a large map from the bookcase and spread it out on the table. On it were the Tang Dynasty, Nanyang, Indochina, Tianzhu, Persia, Dashi, Egypt and the Mediterranean countries.
Du Huan was extremely surprised when he saw this, "Your Majesty, where did this map come from? It's exactly the same as the route of the humble post!"
Li Ye smiled slightly and said: "I drew this based on many maps. I printed many copies with engravings. Du Canjun, I want to give you a task!"
Du Huan was excited and immediately bowed and said: "I am willing to share your worries for Your Majesty!"
Li Ye pondered for a moment and said: "I have a five-year plan. The first step is the Zhenla Kingdom and the Champa Kingdom. Have you been there?"
Du Huan nodded, "I went to Zhenla Country two years ago, where food is abundant."
Li Ye said slowly: "The first step is this year. I want to buy a batch of grain from Zhenla and Champa, about 500,000 dan, to alleviate the drought in the Central Plains. However, I heard from Zhang Boyi, the governor of Jiaozhou, that pirates often attack Jiaozhou.
, every time they go ashore, they suffer heavy losses of people and property. These pirates mainly come from the Chola Kingdom and the Champa Kingdom. They use the Champa Kingdom as their base and continue to invade the north. But they are not actually pirates. They are regular troops disguised as pirates. The same goes for the Champa Kingdom.
It is a wolfish ambition. I heard that the Tang Dynasty was in civil strife and wanted to take the opportunity to annex Jiaozhou, so they condoned fake pirates, so I decided to crack down on the pirates, destroy the Champa country, and rule it under the governor's office of Jiaozhou. I am planning to set up the West China Sea Trade Office in Champa just for this purpose.
To transport grains from Zhenla and Champa continuously to the Tang Dynasty, you will be responsible for the Trade Department."
Du Huan bowed and said: "I must do things well in my humble position!"
Li Ye nodded, "You must remember my principles. I generally will not exploit the lower class people. They are already poor enough and have nothing to exploit. What I will destroy are the kings and nobles and take away their wealth and land.
Leave it to local farmers for cultivation, and half of the food obtained will go to them, and half of the rent will go to the court. However, in the Chenla Kingdom, we rely on trade for the time being, exchanging our goods for their food."
The Champa Kingdom is today's central Vietnam. The Champa Kingdom is just a springboard. Li Ye's goal is still the Mekong Delta and the Tonle Sap Plain. The food here is harvested three times a year and there are enough people to cultivate it. As long as the Tang Dynasty brought advanced agricultural technology
In the past, coupled with strong military control, the land of the nobles and kings was gradually eroded, and a large amount of food was shipped back to the Tang Dynasty, which could make up for the food gap of the Tang Dynasty.
After a pause, Li Ye pointed to the Zhuluo State Road on the map: "After controlling Zhenla, the second step is the Zhuluo State. Probably starting from the third year, I need two things from the Zhuluo State, one is iron ore, and the other is Zhuluo State.
Population, I need the population of the Zhuluo Kingdom to develop Lugong Island, but I don’t need them to stay. They will be replaced after five years, so I must recruit young and strong men with families. I only need three hundred coins per month. For them, that’s it.
High income.
The second is iron ore, which is my top priority. You need to build a smelting plant in Zhuluo and transport the smelted pig iron to Datang Trading City."
Du Huan was startled, "Excuse me, Your Majesty, where is Datang Trading City?"
Li Ye pointed to the location of Singapore today and said, "This is where Datang will buy a piece of land, build a trade city, and build a large number of warehouses."
Du Huan thought for a moment and said, "I have a suggestion!"
"What do you suggest?"
"If the Tang Dynasty wants the Choluo Kingdom's iron mines, it will inevitably go to war with the Choluo Kingdom. Only by defeating the Choluo Kingdom can it be possible to seize their iron mines."
Li Ye nodded, "What then?"
Du Huan pointed to Sri Lanka on the map and said: "This is called the Sinhala Kingdom. It believes in Buddhism and is very different from the Chola Kingdom. The Sinhala Kingdom has been occupied by the Chola Kingdom, but the local people have been resisting. We can help the Sinhalese people."
If the country is restored, this can be used as our transit and supply place. A large amount of Chola iron ore can be transported here and smelted here. In this way, we can transport a large amount of iron ore away in a short time."
Li Ye thought for a long time and nodded, "You are right, take the Sinhala Kingdom first and use it as a logistical garrison for our attack on the Chola Kingdom."
Li Ye immediately appointed Du Huan as the doctor of the Ministry of War, with the title of supervisory censor, as the governor of the Annan Protectorate and the director of the Xihai Trade Department. He immediately went to Nanzhao and set out from Nanzhao to Jiaozhou. At the same time, he transferred three thousand troops from Nanzhao.
Head to Jiaozhou.
After Du Huan completes the Zhuluo Kingdom plan, he will go to Hezhong to replace Li Chenghua and serve as the Hezhong ambassador and be in charge of Hezhong affairs.
Li Ye also ordered the navy commander Li Chengshi to lead 20,000 Tang Dynasty navy troops from Quanzhou Port to Jiaozhou, preparing to attack pirates and launch a war to destroy the Champa Kingdom.
Since ancient times, rulers have suffered from food shortage anxiety, and Li Ye was no exception. He launched the Annan War. He wanted to obtain millions of dan of grain before the end of the year to make up for the losses caused by the great disaster in the Central Plains.