Drive the RV back to Datang

Chapter 452 Chapter 463: Argument
Li Hao's expression turned serious when he heard the words, he put down his chopsticks and asked, "Does Your Majesty want to ask about military affairs or martial arts?"

Li Shimin said: "You are versatile in both civil and military affairs, so I naturally ask about both."

Li Hao nodded, and said slowly: "The humble minister will answer one by one, let's talk about military affairs first."

Li Zhi and Li Mingda on the side also put down their chopsticks and stared at Li Hao. Li Hao is their idol, and Li Hao wanted to discuss strategies, so they naturally had to listen carefully.

Li Hao tidied up his clothes symbolically, and then said solemnly: "Your Majesty, this time Tubo invaded the territory of our Great Tang and killed the people of our Great Tang. I think that those who violate the might of our Great Tang will be punished no matter how far away they are!"

"Indeed." Li Shimin nodded grimly, "I also have the same intention, this revenge must be avenged!"

Li Hao said again: "However, Your Majesty, now is not the time to attack Tubo."

"Oh? Is it because of this catastrophe that my Tang's national strength has declined?" Li Shimin asked with a frown.

"This is just one of the reasons." Li Hao said leisurely, "The most important thing is that Tubo is located on a plateau, and His Majesty has never been to a plateau, so he doesn't know that the plateau is terrible. The air in the plateau is thin, and most people will experience plateau symptoms when they go there. , The so-called plateau symptoms are caused by not being able to breathe enough air, leading to general weakness, and the most serious ones are that you can’t even walk, and you can’t even lift your chopsticks steadily, let alone fighting.”

"So powerful?" Li Shimin was surprised when he heard this.

Li Hao nodded and said: "That's true, Your Majesty, I dare not lie, so I suggest that we first capture Tuyuhun and build a training ground in Tuyuhun. Tuyuhun is located on a semi-plateau, and the highest place is not much lower than Tubo. Soldiers who can train in Tuyuhun for two years will have a good chance of winning when they attack Tubo."

"Hmm... that's a good idea..." Li Shimin nodded and murmured after hearing the words, then frowned and said, "It's just that Tuyuhun didn't invade us this time, and we suddenly sent troops to destroy Tuyuhun, the teacher came out of nowhere."

Li Hao raised his eyebrows and said, "Your Majesty, when the Seven Kingdoms army invaded Anxi and Beiting, I, General Su and General Xue almost couldn't come back. That time, Tuyuhun also participated."

Li Hao's meaning is obvious, turn over old accounts.

Li Shimin said thoughtfully: "This is a good reason. Naogebo married Princess Honghua. If he was captured in Chang'an, Princess Honghua would follow her. My own daughter should stay here. I am at ease by my side."

"What the emperor said is true." Li Hao nodded, but he was thinking in his heart, your daughter is living a shameless life with Feiying now, and Noge Bo will not come to Chang'an alive.

At this time, Li Shimin asked again: "Shi Kuang, who do you think is the most suitable to send to attack Tuyuhun?"

Li Shimin knew that for a small country like Tuyuhun, there was definitely no need to send Li Hao there.Li Hao said without hesitation: "I think it is most appropriate to send Xue Rengui there."

"En." Li Shimin said happily, "I also see that Xue Rengui is a general, and he needs to be reused and promoted. In the future, the younger generation will depend on you."

Li Hao actually thinks the same way. No matter how powerful he is, he is only one person after all. He must cultivate powerful allies so that he can gain a firm foothold in the court and do things smoothly. As for civil servants, he There are Ma Zhou, military generals, Li Ji, Qin Qiong, and Cheng Yaojin. They are all old, and they must train a newcomer, and they must be absolutely reliable. Xue Rengui is the best candidate. It is precisely because he wants to train Xue Rengui that Li Haocai He tried his best to push the meritorious service of King Qin this time to Xue Rengui, and at the same time, it gave Xue Rengui the opportunity to eliminate Tuyuhun. Take command and go out once, and you must win a big victory before you can gain a firm foothold in the court.

After talking about military affairs, Li Shimin took a sip of wine to moisten his throat, then put down his glass, spread his hands openly and said, "Shi Kuang's discussion of policies is really insightful. Now that the discussion of military affairs is over, Shi Kuang, what's the point of talking about Wenzhi?" Good national policy?"

"Yes." Li Hao said with a confident smile, "Your Majesty, this national policy has been considered by Qiongnan for many years."

"Oh?" Li Shimin raised his eyebrows when he heard the words, and asked expectantly, "What is the national policy?"

Li Hao said: "Returning to Your Majesty, the minister's national policy is to reduce agricultural taxes and increase business taxes."

"Ah?" Li Shimin exclaimed when he heard the words, Li Zhi was also dumbfounded.

Li Hao smiled all over his face, and their surprised reaction was as early as he expected.

After Li Shimin was surprised, he slowly frowned and said, "Poetry maniac, my Tang Dynasty is based on agriculture..."

Li Hao directly interrupted Li Shimin's words, saying: "Your Majesty, it is precisely because the Tang Dynasty is based on agriculture that we should vigorously encourage farming. How to encourage farming is naturally to reduce the burden on farmers, and reducing agricultural taxes is the best encouragement." farming methods."

When Li Shimin heard this, he thought it made sense, but he felt something was wrong. He frowned and thought for a moment, then asked, "How can the national treasury be filled if the agricultural tax is reduced?"

Li Hao said: "Your Majesty, the loss in terms of agricultural tax can be obtained from commercial tax, and even more."

Li Zhi, who had been keeping silent all this time, suddenly asked after hearing the words: "Sir, are there really so many merchants in the Tang Dynasty?"

"Yes." Li Hao said, "Most of Tang's money is in the hands of merchants. As for the merchant tax collection system, I think it must be divided into three stages. Small merchants, one of ten taxes, medium merchants, ten taxes Second, large merchants, ten taxes. Third, commercial tax and agricultural tax are merged and collected by local officials. If merchants do not pay, those who delay for one month will close their shops. If the emperor wants to know the details of taxation, the minister can After returning home, write a detailed memorial and submit it to the emperor."

"I dare you to think about these things during your time in Qiongnan." Li Shimin laughed, and then said, "Shikuang, I think your proposal is good, but it may be difficult to implement, after all, your proposal , but it has touched the interests of many ministers in the DPRK, and they will definitely oppose it."

Li Hao said calmly: "Your Majesty, the one who suffers the most from the collection of business taxes is the minister. Your Majesty should know that the business of the minister is the biggest in the Tang Dynasty."

Li Shimin was taken aback when he heard the words, then he burst out laughing, and clapped his hands and said: "Okay, okay, after you go back, prepare a memorial and show it to me, and wait for the next court meeting, you will have a good argument with the ministers, as long as you pass Once this hurdle is passed, I will make this policy a national policy."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Li Shimin smiled and asked again: "Poet Kuang, you can say something amazing every time, and this time you haven't disappointed me. I don't know what other wonderful ideas you have, why don't you say them together."

Li Hao shook his head and said, "Return to Your Majesty, I haven't thought of anything else yet."

In fact, Li Hao has countless changes in the system to talk about, such as the most important land system, as well as maritime trade, but he knows that the time has not come yet, and he will not be fat if he eats it.

"Well, I believe you." Li Shimin nodded and said, "You have never been aimless. Since you are willing to sacrifice your own interests and propose to levy commercial taxes, it must be in the interests of the state."

"Your Majesty Shengming!"

After asking the policy, Li Shimin thought of the recent experience again, and couldn't help feeling emotional, and said slowly: "Shi Kuang, this time King Qin, there are many soldiers wrapped in horse leather, right?"

Li Hao nodded heavily: "Yes, Your Majesty, war... has always been like this. In war, there is no one who is immortal."

Li Shimin sighed: "They deserved their death in order to save the Tang Dynasty. I will definitely provide generous compensation to comfort the souls of the soldiers in heaven."

Li Hao suddenly showed a mournful expression, and said slowly: "Your Majesty, there is a soldier who cannot be comforted by His Majesty. You need His Majesty to personally erect a monument for him and offer condolences in person."

Li Shimin was shocked when he heard the words, and asked in surprise, "Oh? What kind of soldier?"

Li Hao said with a serious face: "It is the five thousand Qiongnan soldiers led by General Xue." He wanted to question Li Shimin, although it was very risky, but he would not vomit, so he must speak out.

Li Shimin frowned and asked, "Why?"

Li Hao asked: "Your Majesty, after General Xue led the five thousand Qiongnan soldiers into Taiji Palace, why did His Majesty order the Xuanwu Gate to be closed and no one will be allowed to enter?"

Li Shimin was embarrassed when he heard the words, he was naturally to guard against Li Hao, but how could he say it, he could only lie: "The situation was critical at that time, I was afraid that the Tubo army would come in from Xuanwu Gate." I don't believe it.

Li Hao didn't go into the details, after all, he wanted to leave a fig leaf for Li Shimin. If he pulled Li Shimin's fig leaf, he was afraid that Li Shimin would become angry. He went out, went straight to Zhuquemen, captured Zhuquemen in one fell swoop, and then cooperated inside and outside to annihilate the Tubo army. However, 5000 troops were blocked outside Xuanwu Gate. Xue Rengui led only 5000 troops and fought bloody all the way. People, Lu Dongzan was cunning, and poured kerosene into the city gate of Zhuquemen. At that time, Chengtianmen had been breached. In order to rescue him as soon as possible, Xue Rengui led people to open Zhuquemen forcibly, and the Tubo army lit the city gate. When the fire ignited, in order to delay Xue Rengui’s opening of the city gate, the group of Qiongnan soldiers lined up in the middle of the fire, using flesh and iron shields to stop the fire from spreading. Nearly 900 people Standing in the fire like this and being burned alive until the last moment of their lives, they have no regrets to be Tang people, and shouted loudly: Long spears will always guard the soul of the Tang Dynasty."

Li Shimin, Li Zhi, and Li Mingda were all shocked after hearing Li Hao's narration, especially Li Mingda, who covered his mouth and exclaimed, his small face was completely devoid of blood, like a blank sheet of paper. Just thinking about it makes her heart tremble.

Li Shimin frowned, bowed his head in silence for a moment, and suddenly asked, "If we let another 5000 people in, wouldn't this be the case?"

Li Hao nodded: "Those Qiongnan soldiers are the elite of the elite, and it is extremely difficult to train them. First, they were burned down to only two thousand soldiers, and then braved the fire to repel nearly ten thousand strong enemies, scaring the Tubo army to pieces. Add another five thousand, and the Tubo army can't fight against it at all."

"I know." Li Hao sighed, "I did something wrong. I will erect a monument for them and go to condole in person..."

He paused for a moment, then suddenly looked serious, and said: "I will still write an imperial edict and read it in front of their stele. This time... I was wrong."

(End of this chapter)