Recreating the prosperous Tang begins with summoning players

Riding on the horse, Fang Guoshou put on a cotton coat as he watched the weather getting colder.

"It's really cold!" said Duan Wenchang, the general who escorted Fang Guoshou to Bohai Kingdom.

Fang Guoshou looked at the rime hanging on the pine tree, and said with a smile: "What is this? The Tang Dynasty was one of the warmest periods in history. If it was placed in the late Han Dynasty or the Ming Dynasty, this time would have been icy and snowy."

Rime is the frost formed by the fog on the trees, but there is no snow on the ground, which shows that the climate in western Liaoning has not dropped below zero.

Duan Wenchang is from the Northeast. If the real world has passed the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Northeast has already started to snow, the winter in the Northeast in the Tang Dynasty is indeed much warmer than in reality.

Temporarily found the edge of a forest, the soldiers chopped some firewood, Duan Wenchang took a lot of effort to light the wet firewood.

After taking off his coat and drying it by the campfire, Duan Wenchang asked:

"Old Fang, how long will it take us to reach Bohai?"

Fang Guoshou opened the electronic map, looked at it for a while, and said: "We have reached the border between the grassland and the forest. This sign has entered the western part of Liaoning. As long as we continue to the east, we will soon enter the northeast region."

Duan Wenchang asked: "Old Fang, is this Bohai country really so important?"

Fang Guoshou said: "Don't underestimate this Bohai country. It is said in Tang books that it is a prosperous country in the east of Haidong. Its territory includes parts of Heilongjiang Province and the Far East. It can control Vladivostok as far as it can."

"So big? But there are so few things about Bohai now, I don't even know about this country."

Fang Guoshou sighed and said: "The Bohai State is a country that completely imitated the Tang system, and it is a very powerful force in the Northeast."

"However, there are still too few records left in the history books for such an important country. At present, we only know that it was built in imitation of the Tang system, and there are not many other materials."

"why is that?"

"The issues in Northeast Asia are inherently entangled, and Balhae covers everything from the Russian Far East to the Korean Peninsula, which is even more sensitive."

"The separatism of the northern feudal towns in the middle and late Tang Dynasty basically cut off the communication between the Bohai Kingdom and the Tang Dynasty, and there is very little information left in the history books."

"So although the Bohai Kingdom is very respectful to the Tang Dynasty and was once very prosperous, there are very few scholars who study this direction."

"Whether it is Tubo, Nanzhao, or Bohai Kingdom, they are all countries established by absorbing the Tang system, and they were all prosperous countries for a while, but they were all destroyed together with the Tang Dynasty in the end. This is also a rather wonderful thing in historical research."

Duan Wenchang asked curiously: "How did Bohai Kingdom perish?"

Fang Guoshou continued: "The nationalities in Bohai are complicated, and they have been competing with Silla and Japan for a long time, and they were finally destroyed by the rising Khitan."

"However, the Bohai Kingdom is now under the rule of King Wen, and it is also the most powerful period for the Bohai Kingdom."

Duan Wenchang said worriedly: "Will the Bohai Congress obediently cooperate?"

Fang Guoshou nodded and said: "After the An Lushan rebellion, he once ordered the Bohai Kingdom to send troops to attack Datang, but was rejected by the King of Bohai."

"Datang also sent envoys to the Bohai Kingdom to ask the Bohai Kingdom to send troops to attack the puppet Yan, but the King of Bohai did not send troops either."

"However, the King of Bohai also sent envoys to Datang to express his obedience. He also raised a large amount of grain to transport grain from northern Liaoning to the south to support Datang's suppression of the rebellion."

"Generally speaking, the current King of Balhae is a wise guy and an ally that can be won."

The Bohai State is an important link in the great detour strategy.

If all the food and grass had to be transshipped from Hexi, then the logistical supply for this battle would be too long.

Therefore, according to the legal plan of the staff office, the expeditionary force must have the support of the Bohai State and the tribes in Liaodong, and can directly supply food and grass in the Liaodong area.

Bohai, the prosperous country in the east of the sea, has become the object that Longyou needs to strive for.

Duan Wenchang asked: "Is Bohai really so rich?"

Fang Guoshou nodded and said, "According to historical documents, the northern region is warm enough to develop agriculture, while the prosperity of Bohai lies in trade."

"trading?"

Fang Guoshou nodded and said, "The weather in the north is very warm now, and the southernmost port of Nanhaifu in Bohai Kingdom is a non-freezing port. Even Vladivostok in the north is open to navigation for six months a year."

"The Bohai State prospered through trade in Northeast Asia, and it is the most important link in the entire Northeast Asian trade."

Duan Wenchang asked: "Northeast Asian trade?"

Fang Guoshou said: "It is mainly trade with Japan and Silla."

"Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the envoys sent by Japan to the Tang Dynasty have actually entered the Central Plains from the north."

"Earlier envoys sent to Tang Dynasty all set out from Fukuoka County, arrived at the south coast of the Korean Peninsula, went north by boat along the west coast of the Korean Peninsula, then traveled westward along the Liaodong Peninsula, crossed the Bohai Sea and landed on the Shandong Peninsula, and then arrived in Chang'an by land. "

"In fact, this is a very safe plan, so the early Japanese envoys to Tang Dynasty could arrive in Datang very safely, and Datang will also send officials to send off Japanese envoys to Tang Dynasty in the early Tang Dynasty."

"The other route is the South Road. Go south from Kyushu, pass through a series of archipelagos into Jiangnan or even further into Hainan, and then find a way to enter Chang'an."

"This road is much more dangerous. With the current shipbuilding technology, only one out of ten ships can reach the Central Plains."

"From now on, Datang will no longer send troops to escort the Japanese envoys sent back to Japan."

Duan Wenchang asked suspiciously: "Since the North Road is safer, why not take the North Road?"

Fang Guoshou sighed and said: "Since the reign of Emperor Taizong, the northern part of the Tang Dynasty has been very restless. After the Anshi Rebellion, the northern part entered the stage of separatist regimes. Xianbei, Khitan, Xi, and Goguryeo ethnic groups fought in the north, and the North Road was cut off."

"The envoys sent to the Tang Dynasty after this all have to take great risks to go to Datang from the South Road. It can be said that it is only a narrow escape to reach the Central Plains."

"So much so that during the period of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty officials no longer supported Japan's sending Tang envoys."

"It can be seen from this that the commercial routes in Northeast Asia still rely on the northern route."

"The prosperity of the Bohai Kingdom is actually the triangular trade between the Tang Dynasty, Japan and Silla."

Duan Wenchang asked curiously: "What triangular trade?"

Fang Guoshou said: "Both Japan and Silla are in great need of Datang commodities. The big ships of Bohai State go south to Qingzhou or Yangzhou along the coastline, and Datang's commodities are transported to Japan by sea. That is to say, relying on the maritime trade in Northeast Asia, Bohai Sea Only then will the country develop into a prosperous country in the East of the Sea."

"So in fact, the Bohai Kingdom is obedient to the Tang Dynasty and refuses to rebel against the Tang Dynasty with An Lushan, not because the leader of the Bohai Sea is loyal."

"It's because the development of Bohai country relies on the triangular trade of Datang's products. Datang has no demand for products from Bohai, Silla, and Japan, but Bohai, Silla, and Japan all need products from Datang."

"If Datang cut off trade in Northeast Asia, the biggest loss would be the Bohai State, which makes money from triangular trade."

After hearing Fang Guoshou's analysis, Duan Wenchang couldn't help but said: "There are only eternal interests between countries."

Duan Wenchang's eyes lit up and he said, "Mr. Fang, since Datang can control Bohai State through trade, and our products in Longyou are better than those of Datang, can we also control Bohai State through trade?"

Duan Wenchang continued: "If you can control the Balhae Kingdom, will you be able to take over the Korean Peninsula and control Silla? Or just cross the sea and attack Japan?"

Fang Guoshou smiled and said, "You kid, are you thinking of attacking Japan? Let's get Bohai's support first!"

Fang Guoshou nodded and said: "However, you are right in one point. We still have to start with trade this time to win Bohai over!"

Duan Wenchang had a new idea.

Japan and Silla!
Although Japan and Silla are very obedient to Datang, after the Anshi Rebellion, Japan also actively requested to send troops to help Datang suppress the rebellion.

Nowadays, in the Tang court, there are also Japanese envoys who stayed in the Tang Dynasty and served as high-ranking officials.

But for players, colonizing Japan is already a daily slogan on the forum.

What's more, Japan has Jinshan!
In this era when precious metals are money, owning gold and silver mines is naturally the original sin.

Japan's Jinshan is enough to support players clamoring to send troops overseas to colonize Japan.

But originally Longyou was very far away from the sea, and it should be a matter in the middle and late stages of the "game" to want to colonize Japan.

But Duan Wenchang saw another possibility.

The big detour strategy is to occupy Liaodong. If Liaodong is occupied, wouldn't it be possible to go to sea to occupy Silla and Japan?

Duan Wenchang immediately became excited.

The current Tang Dynasty is a rare warm period in history, and many ports in Liaodong will not freeze in winter.

As long as you take the northern route and use Silla as a springboard, you can directly enter the Japanese archipelago.

There was something wrong with this plan, and Duan Wenchang immediately buried this idea in his heart.

If the big detour strategy can successfully gain a foothold in Liaodong, Duan Wenchang is ready to recruit a few like-minded players to develop the navigation industry in Liaodong!
However, the most urgent task is to contact Bohai State first.

Fang Guoshou said: "According to the news from Pang Yawei, the Khitan tribe in the Songmo Protectorate has been oppressed by the puppet Yan for a long time, and the eight Khitan tribes are also vassal states loyal to the Tang Dynasty, and they can also be won over."

"The Eight Khitans and the Bohai Kingdom should be connected. We advanced to the Songmo Protectorate, and then contacted the Bohai Kingdom through the Khitan people."

Duan Wenchang nodded, escorting Fang Guoshou to continue eastward, the vast golden grassland has gradually disappeared.

Looking at the fertile black land under their feet, the group finally set foot on the land in the northeast.