Man Tanghong

Chapter 686 The Outrageous Battle (34)

The road from Baijiapu to Huai'an is full of ravines and ravines. The army must not only climb uphill, but also go downhill, and walk along winding mountain roads one after another. The cold wind moves forward.

The army developed frostbite within less than a day after walking in the cold wind, and it got worse and worse.

When the number of people with frostbitten noses and fingers and toes reached a thousand, Li Yuanji had to order the army to slow down the journey and collectively prevent the cold.

The army was marching outside, and there were not enough supplies to keep out the cold, and there was no warm kang to help the soldiers resist the severe cold, so Li Yuanji could only use the most primitive and convenient way to keep out the cold.

When thousands of soldiers poured into the forest with only bare branches left, the trees in the forest disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Soldiers with rough work will cut off the trees in half, leaving a stump more than a foot high.

Soldiers with fine hair will dig out the roots of the trees together, and then shake the dry soil and pour oil on it to become something that can burn overnight.

Li Yuanji can't remember how long it has been since he saw someone digging a tree stump. The deepest memory was in the [-]s. At that time, in the countryside, when many people cut down trees, they would dig out the stumps together. .

One is to cut weeds and roots, and the other is to add more firewood to the family.

When people are poor, people will not waste any gift of nature. Even a tree stump buried one foot deep in the ground will be dug out by people, dried and chopped into firewood for home use. .

After being rich, no one will dig tree stumps.

It's not that people are wasting the gifts of nature, or that people are becoming lazy.

It is that people have become smarter, and the way to obtain materials has become easier and more varied.

Therefore, when the time spent is not directly proportional to the income, people naturally give up this more laborious way of obtaining materials with smaller output and harvest.

Therefore, Li Yuanji could understand that the thin-haired soldiers dug out tree stumps to keep warm, but felt quite sad.

They are now fighting for Datang. Although the ultimate goal is to defend their homeland, as their rulers, and those who enjoy their support and occupy most of the wealth they produce, they should give them Provide some serious protection from the cold.

But he didn't.

Part of this is Li Yuan's responsibility, part of it is Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin's responsibility, and part of it is his responsibility.

As the person in power of Datang, after half a year in charge of Datang, he did not discover this problem and solve this problem. That is his responsibility, which cannot be shirked no matter what.

In the name of Xie Shufang, he had dedicated the Tang version down jacket to Li Yuan for two years. Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin had not lost their authority at that time, and they knew about it.

But whether it is Li Yuan, Li Jiancheng or Li Shimin, none of them are equipped with the whole army.

Even Xie Shufang, who is the inventor, only has a dozen or so people, and most of the rest are still wearing the clothes that Datang issued to them three or four years ago.

These clothes are not only simple, but also very light and thin, which can't play a big role in keeping out the cold.

Only when soldiers are exercising or putting their hands in their crotches can they ensure that their hands can move freely and flexibly.

In the past, Li Yuanji felt that putting his hands in his crotch was obscene and disgusting.

But seeing many soldiers put their hands in their crotches to keep warm in order to ensure that they can use their hands flexibly and take up weapons to fight against the Turks at any time, Li Yuanji felt more sad than wretched and disgusting.

"Are you pitying them?"

Li Shimin stood beside Li Yuanji, standing tall, facing the cold wind, pretending to be a big shot.

If it wasn't for him being wrapped in thick fur and holding a hand warmer in his hand, Li Yuanji didn't think he could hold on.

It has always been just a joke to share weal and woe with the soldiers.

High-ranking people, especially noble high-ranking people, in the army, even if they want to share the joys and sorrows with the soldiers, the people around them will try their best to get more preferential treatment for you.

The same is for drinking porridge. When the superiors stay with the soldiers, they are given thick and tasty thick porridge under very fair conditions, while the soldiers can only drink bland thin porridge.

Li Yuanji believed that even if he stripped Li Shimin naked and threw him among the soldiers, it would not be long before Li Shimin would still appear in front of him in the same attire.

Because not only the people around Li Shimin will try their best to get various preferential treatment for him, but even the soldiers will try their best to let Li Shimin get various preferential treatment.

In their minds, they have formed an inherent thinking that superiors should be treated preferentially.

So when facing the superiors, even if the superiors don't squeeze them, they will subconsciously give the best things in their bodies, so that the superiors can enjoy various preferential treatment.

"Did you never treat them as human beings..."

Li Yuanji asked in a hoarse voice.

It wasn't that he was angry, or that his mood fluctuated violently, but that he got angry.

I got angry two days ago, and the doctor in the army prescribed a decoction to reduce the fire, but it didn't have much effect.

Li Shimin was obviously stunned for a moment, frowned and said, "Why do you say that?"

Li Yuanji looked at the soldiers who were curled up into a ball, shivering from the cold, but said nothing.

Li Shimin frowned all of a sudden, and said angrily, "Why didn't we treat them as human beings? When we were in power, we did our best to help them improve their armaments!"

Li Yuanji turned his head and glanced at Li Shimin, and said without any emotion, "Really?"

Li Shimin heard a lot of disdain and ridicule from it, and said even more angrily: "Then tell me, why don't we treat them as human beings?"

Li Yuanji said without any emotion in his tone: "I have dedicated Yuanyi to my father for two years, and my father praised Yuanyi as a good thing to keep out the cold.

But two years have passed, and the soldiers in the army have not yet been equipped.

Don't tell me that Datang doesn't have enough cloth to make clothes for them, and don't tell me that Datang spends a lot of money to collect those bird and animal feathers. "

Datang is actually not short of goods now, but only two things are missing, that is, population and food.

In fact, there is no shortage of food, but most of the food is in the hands of a few people, and it is not allocated by Datang.

Therefore, Datang may not be able to distribute food to the soldiers in the army, but Datang will definitely be able to equip the soldiers in the army with yuan clothes.

From the troubled times at the end of the Sui Dynasty to the present, the population of the Central Plains has dropped from tens of millions to 1000 million.

However, the accumulated goods are only handed over a few times, especially the goods that can be stored for a long time, such as cloth, have accumulated more.

Datang did not have the possibility of releasing cloth to the people for no reason, so most of the cloth seized in the past was either included in various treasuries, or rewarded to civil and military officials, and cloth was even used as salary.

Therefore, the Tang Dynasty did not lack cloth, nor did it lack the feathers of birds and beasts.

Therefore, in the past two years, Li Yuan, Li Jiancheng, and Li Shimin were absolutely responsible for not providing Yuanyi to the soldiers, causing the soldiers to suffer from the cold here.

Li Shimin had no way to refute, nor did he intend to refute, but just clenched his fists angrily.

He is not Li Yuan, nor Li Jiancheng. He will introspect and admit his mistakes, and will not try to find reasons for himself.

Li Yuanji couldn't understand what he had said so clearly. If he refused to admit it and defended himself, he would be deceiving himself and others.

Li Yuanji continued: "It's easy for you to do this, you can save the soldiers from the severe cold with ease, but you didn't do anything.

You are just busy fighting for power, taking profits, and trying to kill each other.

Haven't you thought about it?

The stronger they are, the stronger you will be. Even if you don't fight for power, you are the most noble people in Datang.

If they become weaker and weaker, even if you win the power, you may not be able to secure the most honorable position. "

Li Shimin said with a sullen face: "I admit that what you said is reasonable, but there are some things that need to be decided first, and then other things can be considered."

Li Yuanji looked sideways at Li Shimin and asked, "Now that the winner is decided, can you take care of other things?"

Li Shimin's face suddenly became more serious.

Li Yuanji continued: "Before, I wasn't interested in that position, not at all. If I wasn't afraid that you and my eldest brother would kill me when they took the position, I wouldn't even want to participate in the fight between you.

The life I wanted most in the past was wine pools, meat forests, idle clouds and wild cranes.

But now it's different, now I want to sit in that position.

However, I won't pick it up myself, I'll just wait for my father to hand it over to me.

If my father doesn't give it to me, I will support the elder brother's son to take the position, and when the eldest brother's son gets tired of staying at the top, I will support your son to take the position.

If possible, I hope that our sons can take turns to sit, and each of them will sit for 20 or [-] years.

As long as everyone has a chance, no one will fight for it.

Besides, if the retired emperor can join us in advising the current emperor's gains and losses, and keep a close eye on the infighting in the clan, then I think, what happened between you, my elder brother, and me will never happen again. Will appear.

Although doing so will wrong the reigning emperor, and even the reigning emperor may become a puppet of the retreating emperor.

But to be an emperor, you have to suffer a little bit of grievance, and you have to pay a little bit.

If you don't want to suffer any grievances and don't want to give anything, then why should you be an emperor? "

(End of this chapter)