The Tang Dynasty started from saving Empress Changsun

Chapter 181 Finally Convinced Li Shimin

The next day, Chen Jingke went to the palace and gave a general account of the results of the negotiations with Longhushan, focusing on the mission to Lingnan and Nanzhong areas.

"It's easy to obey the land, but it's hard to convince the heart. The reason I told you before is cultural identity and interest relationship."

"They have lived there for generations and have their own customs and habits. They are psychologically separated from us, so they are naturally unwilling to accept our rule."

"It's okay to conquer by force, but how many lives will it take to completely conquer the barren land in the south? Even if it is conquered by force, what about the follow-up governance?"

"If we can guide them to change their customs and keep pace with us in terms of culture and beliefs, we can minimize their resistance."

"Just think about it, if they grew up listening to stories about Shennong tasting hundreds of herbs, Huangdi fighting Chiyou, Qinhuang Hanwu, and even Your Majesty, how could they not agree with us?"

"At that time, you don't even need to use real force. As soon as the army arrives, there will be many tribes who admire the prosperity of the Central Plains and eat pots of milk to welcome the king."

What he said was turbulent and passionate, and he spit droplets at the mouth, which looked like a tiger of the Central Plains Dynasty who shook his head and worshiped.

Li Shimin on the side couldn't help but laugh, this kid has been a little swollen recently, and he even drew a big cake for me.

Shaking his head, he said, "Then tell me first, barbarians have their own customs, why would they convert to Taoism for no reason?"

Chen Jingke said: "Because faith is drawing big cakes, and whoever draws big cakes is good, everyone will believe in him. Buddhism can spread all over the world because they are better at painting big cakes."

"All the countries in the Western Regions originally believed in Shamanism, and later the Zoroastrianism, which can draw big cakes, was introduced, and they converted to Zoroastrianism."

"Buddhism, which was able to draw big cakes hundreds of years ago, was introduced, and they converted again. Now the entire Western Regions have turned into a Buddhist country."

"Most of the large and small forces in the southwest of us are also influenced by Buddhism. This is especially true in Middle-earth, which is now the religion with the most believers and the greatest influence."

"All of this is just the spontaneous preaching behavior of some eminent monks. They didn't send out a single soldier, and they didn't give any benefits. They relied on their ability to draw big cakes."

"In the past, Taoism had a huge loophole in this area, but after the innovation, it has made up for this shortcoming. In terms of the ability to draw cakes, it can be said that it is unique in the world."

"Now that we have an organization and a plan to preach, if we have the support of the imperial court, why can't we do it?"

Li Shimin retorted: "It took hundreds of years for Buddhism to spread to China to achieve its current success. How long will it take for Taoism to change Nanman? I can't wait hundreds of years in Tang Dynasty."

Chen Jingke said confidently: "With the support of the imperial court, it won't be too long, because behind Taoism is the Tang Dynasty and the entire Chinese civilization."

"There is no need for the imperial court to actually send troops to protect it, as long as the barbarian tribes are warned not to hurt the Taoist priests who are going to preach."

Li Shimin asked again: "If the Taoist priests go there to misbehave, won't it ruin the reputation of the imperial court?"

Chen Jingke said: "This situation may still happen to the wild Taoist priests, but this time it is an organized operation of the Taoist sect, and they will naturally choose reliable people to go."

"Take Longhushan as an example. Their ancestral home is in the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and they are determined to restore the glory of their ancestors. How could they do such a thing of self-destruction."

Li Shimin was a little moved, but he seemed to have some concerns and couldn't make up his mind.

Chen Jingke didn't urge him either, waiting for his final decision.

After a long time, Li Shimin raised his head, expressed his worries, and said, "If you let the preaching go unchecked, how can you be sure that the old incident of the Yellow Turban will not happen again?"

Chen Jingke was a little surprised. He didn't expect Li Shimin to be worried about this matter. He shook his head and said, "Your Majesty thinks that the Yellow Turban Uprising has something to do with religion?"

Li Shimin asked back: "Isn't it?"

Chen Jingke said affirmatively: "Of course not. How many of those rebellious people really believe that Brother Zhang Jiao is a god? The real reason for their rebellion is that they can't survive."

Li Shimin frowned. He didn't like the word uprising very much, but he didn't refute it.

"The Yellow Turban Uprising is no different from other peasant uprisings. It's just that people who can't survive take risks in order to survive."

"As long as the imperial court can keep the people alive, how can it be possible to persuade them to rebel at the risk of killing the nine clans with the help of a few Taoist priests?"

"If the court made it impossible for the people to survive, wouldn't they rebel even if there were no Taoists?"

"Furthermore, Buddhism is currently the largest sect. There are temples and followers of them everywhere. We should worry about them first and foremost."

"You didn't allow them to preach because you were worried that they would incite the people to rebel. Why do you distrust Taoism so much now? Isn't it too unfair."

"Touch." Li Shimin slapped the table and shouted angrily, "How dare you, are you accusing me of being unfair?"

Chen Jingke could be considered to have figured out Li Shimin's character, and he was not afraid, and said, "This is just reasoning, okay, I did this for the sake of the Tang Dynasty, and for the civilization of China."

"First use religion to disintegrate them ideologically, then conquer them by force, and finally assimilate them with culture. This is what I have always advocated."

Sure enough, Li Shimin didn't take him seriously, but said impatiently: "This is the same thing again, I can almost hear the cocoons in my ears."

Chen Jingke said: "You are tired of hearing it, but I still have to say it. You have also seen the true face of the world. With your ambition, you definitely want to conquer these places."

"The world is vast. If we want to achieve this goal, we must immigrate. Only when our Tang people fill every corner of the world can we complete our rule."

"But those people don't even know who they are, how much loyalty can they have after leaving the Middle Earth? How many people are willing to die for Datang when they encounter setbacks?"

"I'm afraid there are many who have milk and are mothers, and they will be loyal to whoever feeds them. Under such circumstances, do you dare to emigrate on a large scale? Can your ambition be realized?"

Li Shimin said a little irritably: "You are a brat who knows nothing about state affairs. If only things were as simple as you think."

In fact, he has been persuaded a long time ago, and there are two reasons why he has been hesitant.One is that this kind of thing has never happened before, and no one knows the consequences. As an emperor, he must think carefully.

The second reason is that the spies he sent out to inquire about the news have not sent back specific information.Unable to confirm the authenticity of what Chen Jingke said, he dared not take action.

Chen Jingke had already guessed his thoughts under Sun Simiao's guidance, and said immediately:
"I know your concerns, but it's not an option to keep hesitating like this. Why don't you find a place to verify the method I said."

Li Shimin said: "Oh, tell me how to verify it."

Seeing him move, Chen Jingke cheered up, and said: "Split the experiment into two places, the army and the civilians, let's talk about the civilians first."

"Choose a county, preferably one with a relatively complex personnel composition. Here we will promote the concept of Chinese civilization and tell about the glorious deeds of our ancestors."

"Wait for two or three years before doing an investigation to see if the local people agree with the Huaxia ethnic group, whether they have become more loyal to Datang, etc."

"If everything is as I said, we will expand the scope and try it in one state. If we can still succeed, we will promote it to the whole country."

Li Shimin was thoughtful, but he still didn't express his opinion, but asked: "As for the army, do you want to choose an army to do the experiment?"

Chen Jingke knew that he didn't make a statement precisely because he was moved, but the matter was important and needed to be carefully considered, and the opinions of important ministers had to be sought.

So I didn't explain too much, but followed his words:

"Your Majesty is wise, and this is exactly what I mean. But the army is the barrier of the country after all, and the content of education needs to be different from that of the people."

Li Shimin asked: "Oh, how is it different?"

Chen Jingke said: "The army is a knife. They must know the meaning of their existence, who the owner of the knife is, who they should cut at, and why they should cut it."

"Only by understanding these, they will not hurt the Lord, and will be more loyal and brave."

This time Li Shimin nodded and said: "Well said, this is the right way, you should compile the required books as soon as possible."

"Ah, I'll write it?" Chen Jingke was a little dumbfounded, and said, "It's not good to leave such a big matter to me."

Li Shimin smiled and said: "You are the one who made the suggestion. You are the only one who knows best. If you don't write this book, who will write it? Write it as soon as possible and bring it to me."

For such a big matter, he naturally wouldn't hand it all over to Chen Jingke, and would ask a think tank to write another set of related books in private.

But as he said, since Chen Jingke put forward this suggestion, he must have a full set of ideas in mind.

Ask him to write all these thoughts down so that he can use them as a reference.If it is useful, it will be kept, and if it is not suitable, it will be deleted.

Chen Jingke was also very happy. He had told Li Shimin about this matter countless times, and he would instill it almost every time he met, and now he finally saw results.

As long as the concept of Chinese civilization is popularized, the assimilation of the tribes conquered by the Tang Dynasty can be accelerated, and the Han people will become stronger after absorbing hundreds of tribes.

Merging hundreds of clans can not only eliminate internal hidden dangers, but also twist all forces into one rope to conquer the world.

However, these are all things in the future, so let's write the relevant books first.

No, almost forgot the original purpose of coming here, Chen Jingke hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, you haven't given us an accurate statement about our mission to the south."

Li Shimin said solemnly: "I can give you a chance, but everything must be based on the imperial court's plan, and you must not act without authorization."

Chen Jingke immediately said: "Don't worry, you can kill anyone who is disobedient."

Anyway, he was not a disciple of Zixiaoguan, and he didn't feel bad at all if he was slaughtered for disobedience.

Li Shimin then said: "I will send an edict to Lingnan and Nanzhong to ask them to give you a certain amount of support."

Chen Jingke said happily: "Thank you, Your Majesty. How about you write a handbook?"

Li Shimin broke his defense in an instant, picked up the paperweight on the table and tried to smash it: "Bastard, you really think I dare not beat you, don't you?"

Chen Jingke turned his head and ran, saying as he ran, "Your Majesty, I'm going to go first, you are busy."

The corner of Li Shimin's mouth twitched, he put down the paperweight and shouted: "Go to the Queen, she has something to ask you."

(End of this chapter)