Prince of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 527 Grassland Strategy

Under Li Shimin's expectant eyes, Gao Ming saluted him first, and then grinned at him again.

"If you want those tribesmen to be obedient, the method is very simple. To put it bluntly, it is two words - benefit!"

"Benefits?" Hearing Gao Ming's words, Li Shimin frowned again: "What benefits? Do I have to give them benefits to buy them?"

Seeing Li Shimin frowning, Gao Ming smiled and shook his head immediately.

"It seems that you didn't understand what I meant. The reason why a tribe is a tribe is because they are a community of interests. But what the tribe can give, we can also give, and what the tribe can't give them, we can also give."

Having said that, Gao Ming walked slowly to the side, found a chair and sat down, then raised his head and smiled slightly at Li Shimin.

"Of course the benefits must be given, but it's not as complicated as you think. You only need a word, and they will be obedient."

"Huh?" Hearing Gao Ming's words, Li Shimin's eyes lit up immediately: "Don't be tricky, tell me quickly, what exactly do you want me to do?"

"Give them identities!"

Speaking of this, Gao Ming immediately stood up with the chair again, and then raised four fingers towards Li Shimin.

"Old man, do you still remember? The citizenship levels we set together at the beginning were divided into four levels: A, B, C, and D under the nobles. People from these tribes, I will all divide them into the C level." !"

"C and so on?"

Originally, when Li Shimin heard Gao Ming talking about the citizenship class, he thought that Gao Ming would give these grassland tribes the first-class citizenship, but now that he only gave the C-class status, Li Shimin frowned immediately.

"Isn't class C the same class as slaves? Does this count as benefiting them?"

Seeing Li Shimin's puzzled expression, Gao Ming nodded immediately.

"Of course it's an advantage, because even if they are Class C, they are still citizens of Datang, and they have the right to get paid for their labor, and if they do not make any mistakes within 20 years, they can be promoted to Datang with the consent of the local Dudufu. Second class citizen!"

"Ok?"

Hearing Gao Ming's words, Li Shimin thought for a while, and realized the benefits of doing so, because the Governor's Mansion has a rating function, and his influence can easily be expanded to the maximum.

But soon, Li Shimin thought of an important question again, and he turned his head to look at Gao Ming.

"Gao Ming, you said earlier that people from these tribes have the opportunity to get paid through labor, so where do these rewards come from?"

Hearing Li Shimin's question, Gao Ming immediately smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

"As expected of my old man, he sees the problem straight to the point. Indeed, if the reward is not enough, then everything will become empty talk, but think about it, old man, what are the herdsmen of these tribes most afraid of?"

Li Shimin obviously couldn't be bothered by this question. As soon as Gao Ming's voice fell, he gave the answer without hesitation.

"Winter! What they fear most is winter. Because there is no pasture in winter, many cattle and sheep die due to lack of food. Every time this time comes, the Turkic people will go south to grab food. If they can't get it, they will starve to death in groups. So for them, winter is the hardest!"

Hearing Li Shimin's words, Gao Ming nodded immediately.

"That's right, for the people of these tribes, winter is the most difficult, but if we give them a chance to survive in winter, do you think they will be obedient?"

"Do you even need to ask? Of course!"

As soon as Gao Ming finished speaking, Li Shimin glared at him immediately.

"But do you know how much food is needed to feed the entire grassland tribe? Even if our treasury is abundant now, we can't waste it like this!"

Seeing Li Shimin's miserly appearance, Gao Ming couldn't laugh or cry.

"Who said you should pay for it? Of course the herdsmen have to earn their own food. We just give them a platform!"

"Platform? What platform?"

Hearing Li Shimin's words, Gao Ming didn't say much, just took the pen and paper from Li Shimin's desk, and started to draw, explaining to him while drawing.

"Look, old man, this is Guannei, and this is Saibei. In the past, we had to fortify the walls and clear the wilderness, so they were extremely short of supplies. Now all we have to do is open the gates of the city and let merchants transport salt, iron, grain, cloth and other supplies to the city. Go to the Governor's Mansion in the grassland, and then bring the cattle and sheep back!"

"Ok?"

Hearing Gao Ming's words, and looking at the sketch he drew, Li Shimin immediately frowned and became thoughtful.

Soon, he came to his senses, and looked at Gao Ming with surprise.

"I understand. What you mean is that I sent people to establish the Dudu Mansion on the grassland, not only responsible for controlling the soldiers and horses of the grassland, but also responsible for purchasing the cattle and sheep of the tribe. Whichever tribe is obedient, the cattle and sheep of that tribe will be taken!"

"bingo!"

Seeing that Li Shimin understood, Gao Ming gave him a thumbs up again, and then grinned.

"That's it. The grasslands are short of grain, but our Tang Dynasty has no shortage of cattle and sheep? Now that our Tang Dynasty has introduced a commercial tax, we no longer need farmers' grain. Moreover, if there is more grain, the price will definitely drop. Why don't we take it away?" The exchange of cattle and sheep on the grassland not only solves the circulation of supplies, but also brings the grassland tribes back to their hearts, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone!"

Hearing Gao Ming's words, Li Shimin nodded immediately.

"Well, you're right. This is indeed a good idea, but who is going to do it? Merchants are after profit, and I'm worried that they will drive up prices, which will add to the trouble."

Having said that, Li Shimin frowned again, seeing his hesitation, Gao Ming immediately smiled and waved to him.

"You don't have to worry about this. Of course, this matter is done by the Commercial Bureau. The trade between the grassland and the Central Plains is a cornucopia. The Commercial Bureau has already returned to the inner government, and it should be their contribution at this time. It's time, don't you think?"

"Business Bureau?"

Hearing this name, Li Shimin suddenly remembered that he did agree with Gao Ming to set up this department last year. Although the officials in it were not of high rank, they were real court officials.

Thinking of this, Li Shimin nodded happily immediately.

"Well, I remember that the people in the Commercial Bureau used to be big businessmen in Chang'an. It's really appropriate to entrust this matter to them. However, trade in the grassland can really make a lot of money?"

"Of course, at least this amount a year!"

Speaking of this, Gao Ming immediately raised five fingers towards Li Shimin. Seeing this scene, Li Shimin's eyes widened.

"One million pennies?"

"Uh……"

Seeing Li Shimin's shocked expression, the corners of Gao Ming's mouth couldn't help twitching.

"The cattle and sheep in your grassland are made of gold? I mean 50 guan, what's wrong? Too little? Don't give it to me!"

"Humph!"

Hearing Gao Ming asking for money, Li Shimin immediately snorted coldly, and then waved towards him.

"Okay, I have to deal with political affairs, you go back first!"

"Uh……"

Seeing Li Shimin's disgusted expression, the corners of Gao Ming's mouth couldn't help twitching again.

"Old man, you're just killing a donkey, isn't that unkind?"

"Ok?"

Hearing Gao Ming's words, Li Shimin raised his head again, and raised his eyebrows at him.

"Who's the donkey?"

clever:"……"

(End of this chapter)