"Yes, Your Majesty!" Changsun Moli bowed his hand to Zhao Si, then glanced at his colleagues and said loudly.
"The former Han Dynasty opened the border to the Western Regions and established the Anxi Protectorate. The first thing it wanted to achieve was the military goal - to unite with the Dayue clan and jointly attack the Huns, the enemy in the north. After decades of management, the Anxi Protectorate was established, and also brought
As an additional benefit, we can trade with other countries in the Western Regions and bring a lot of wealth to the former Han Dynasty."
"The primary purpose of the former Tang Dynasty in rebuilding the Anxi Protectorate was also a military purpose, to deal with the Western Turks so that they would no longer pose a danger to the western frontier of the former Tang Dynasty. Rebuilding the Anxi Protectorate and reopening the trade routes to the Western Regions also brought great benefits to the former Tang Dynasty.
Countless wealth..."
Zhao Si interrupted at this time.
"According to the preliminary research results of the Western Regions Science and Culture Joint Investigation Team, the countries in the Western Regions in the pre-Tang Dynasty were much richer than those in the pre-Han Dynasty. Moreover, the exchanges between the countries in the Western Regions in the pre-Tang Dynasty and Byzantium, Persia, Tianzhu and other countries were much higher than those in the pre-Han Dynasty.
The former Han Dynasties were also much closer."
Changsun Moli waited for Zhao Si to finish speaking, paused for a moment, and then continued.
"As your Majesty said, the trade between the former Tang Dynasty and the Western Regions brought far more wealth than the former Han Dynasty, so it had the motivation and financial resources to station troops and immigrate to the Western Regions, and expand its territory on a larger scale."
"Since the Song Dynasty regained Hexi and resumed trade with the Western Regions, the benefits brought by it are obvious to all. Even in just a few years, due to the strong demand in the Song Dynasty, Yinwu and other places in the Gaochang Uighur Kingdom began to carry out large-scale
Plant cotton instead... The first and most important task of the Song Dynasty's Western Expedition was to protect Hexi and the flanks of Mobei and Jinshan. It involves the national security of the Song Dynasty and should not be underestimated."
"Safety? Why do I remember that only the White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Xuanwu Banners can attack others? Who dares to mess with them?" the Xie Ke family retorted unceremoniously.
"The Kara Khanate, which belongs to the Taliban religious forces, has been pressing forward step by step with the support of the Turks, and is about to swallow up Qiuci and Gaochang. Once these two countries are destroyed, the Western Region will be full of Taoist forces.
They will be directly bordered by Jinshan, Mobei and Qingtang. These people are religious fanatics and will crazily preach to these three places... Everyone knows the missionary ability of Christianity. Especially for people in the bitter cold.
The spread is particularly rapid in the land. I am afraid that by then, the Song Dynasty will be surrounded by them."
"This involves overall strategy, you should be able to figure it out." Changsun Moli said bluntly.
The Xie Ke family was silent. Zongze, Guo Yong and others, who had been secretly supporting him, looked at each other in confusion and did not raise any objection on this point.
No matter how great the differences between each other are, when it comes to important national affairs such as national security and people's well-being, there is no room for emotion. Facts must be the criterion and the overall situation must be taken into consideration.
This may be Zhao Si's biggest gain from his more than ten years of subtlety to them.
Seeing that there was no objection, Changsun Moli continued.
"...The rest of the benefits from trade can bring one-sixth of the Song Dynasty's annual commercial tax. The Ministry of Planning has detailed data, so I won't go into details here -"
As soon as Changsun Moli finished speaking, the Xie Ke family asked unconvincedly.
"It's enough to recover the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains and rebuild the Anxi Protectorate. Why should we set up the Congling Xuanfu Division to manage the Congling and Hezhong areas?"
On the surface, he was asking Changsun Moli, but in fact, he was asking Zhao Si. Because it was Zhao Si who made the final decision on all these strategies.
The Xie Ke family also took this rare opportunity to issue a "question" from a certain group he represents.
Zhao Si didn't mind the Xie Ke family's interrogation, which seemed to be the above.
The monarch and his ministers also need to communicate with each other. They need to fully understand their true intentions, and they also need to resolve their doubts and dissatisfaction. Otherwise, if you say your thing and I do mine, you will be deaf and dumb, and the monarch and his ministers cannot get along, and they will start a fight.
wool.
But now the Xie Ke family is questioning Changsun Moli, as well as the Shangshu Province and Privy Council he represents, so the one who answers is Changsun Moli.
Everyone knew in their hearts that what Changsun Moli said was actually speaking on behalf of the officials.
"The purpose of passing through Congling and Hezhong is to ensure the safety of the north and south roads of the Tianshan Mountains. As long as you look at the map, Congling is located high up, overlooking the north and south roads of the Tianshan Mountains. In addition, it is connected to the Qingtang Snow Region in the south, so its strategic location is very important.
, if it is allowed to be occupied by the enemy, it will be a thorn in the side of the Song Dynasty."
"The land in the river is directly bordered by the Qihe area and the Chuhe area on the Tianshan North Road. The terrain there is flat and there are not many natural obstacles to block it. Once the Qihe and Chuhe areas are lost, it can reach the Jinshan area in the east and suppress the northern Tianshan area in the south.
Road, and thus endanger the entire Western Region. The Song Dynasty must control these two places."
Xie Kejia was speechless and a little discouraged. But Zongze spoke calmly.
"Today, in order to ensure the safety of the north and south of Tianshan Mountain, we need to pass through the Congling and Hezhong areas. Tomorrow, in order to ensure the safety of Congling and Hezhong, we need to go through the Khorasan and Shenhe areas? And the day after tomorrow, for the sake of Khorasan
Does the safety of the Heshen River area require a visit to Persia and Tianzhu?"
His question was very sharp and to the point - after all, he once patrolled the Sixth Route of Shaanxi Province under the orders of the late emperor and helped the officials to win over the Western Army. His understanding of war far exceeded that of the Xie Ke family.
The eldest grandson, Moli, was speechless for a moment.
Guo Yong took advantage of the victory to pursue him and said loudly: "Yes, if this continues, the world is so big, how can there be an end? But the Song Dynasty's financial resources and people's power are limited, and they cannot afford such expenditure."
This was equivalent to a severe blow to Changsun Moli. He opened his mouth, but in the end he did not speak.
There were some reasons that were inappropriate for him to speak out, and it was Zhao Si's turn to speak out.
Zhao Si winked at Li Fang who was standing next to him, and Li Fang said.
"Gentlemen, please be quiet."
The venue had been quiet for a long time, and everyone was staring at Zhao Si.
"Xuan Ming didn't tell the whole story. The former Han and Tang Dynasties opened up territory and set up the Anxi Protectorate for another important reason: to show their power and show their favor. This is the stubbornness of the Celestial Kingdom. In their hearts, all the overseas territories are barbarians.
.”
Zhao Si spoke slowly.
"Raise troops, declare power and intimidate, and when the foreign vassal countries surrender, they will also give a large amount of money and silk and benevolence. This concept is especially persistent in the hearts of some pedantic Confucians. In their eyes, this is the education of benevolence and virtue.
.”
"Absurd!" Zhao Si denied it unceremoniously.
"You can't help the people at home, but you still go to foreign countries with your people's wealth and anointing. If you get a few words of flattery, you think you have benefited the world and everyone is convinced. Bullshit! They just want your money and coax you.
Playing with you, treating you like a fool, and taking advantage of you!"
Zhao Si continued to point out pointedly: "Such an expansion of territory and such an Anxi Protectorate will definitely not last. Without hematopoiesis, survival depends entirely on blood transfusions from the people in the mainland. That would be a huge waste of money and a waste of people and money. The Song Dynasty can no longer uphold this tradition.
Such a Hutu strategy.”
Having said this, Zhao Si's right hand moved downwards fiercely, as if carving out a road in the vast land, a straight path from the Central Plains to the Western Regions.
"The strategy of the Song Dynasty to expand territory was to occupy a land and digest it. The land belongs to the Song Dynasty, and the people are the people of the Song Dynasty. Farming, grazing, business and trade, everything is based on the counties of the Song Dynasty. First, be self-sufficient.
This is our strategy to expand the country and expand our territory to make the Song Dynasty strong and its people prosperous."
Having said this, Zhao Si paused for a moment, as if he was organizing words in his mind to express his thoughts more clearly.