First Minister of the Tang Dynasty

...

Seeing that His Majesty the Emperor's expression kept changing, he seemed to be worried.

Lu Kuan was so alert that he immediately stood down and said: "If your Majesty is sent to you, I will go through fire and water without hesitation."

Li Shimin raised his brows and laughed loudly: "The monks and slaves still know me." He immediately stretched out his hand to help Lu Kuan stand up, "It's not like I have to go through fire and water. It's just that I am true, so maybe you have to do it."

Lu Kuan was overjoyed and said hurriedly: "I can do whatever I want."

Although he had a distinguished family background and had served as a minister for generations, he had no corresponding achievements and was not outstanding among the important officials of the Manchu Dynasty. Lu Kuan was well aware of this.

"I heard that there have been many changes in the Turkic political situation recently. However, our government knows very little about the Turkic center, especially its personnel responsibilities, the nature and strengths of its important ministers. As the saying goes, if you know yourself and the enemy, you will never be in danger in a hundred battles. I intend to send an envoy to the Turkic group to investigate To explore the reality of the high-ranking Turkic ministers, you, the monk, are knowledgeable, talented, and smart, so you are the most suitable person. I wonder if the monk is willing to take this trip?"

Li Shimin thought about it again and again, but finally couldn't help the enthusiasm in his heart and said these words to Lu Kuan sincerely.

Hearing Li Shimin's words, Lu Kuan was shocked. He sent an envoy to the Turks... This was an opportunity, but it was also an extremely dangerous job. If he returned successfully, it would be a great achievement.

But there is also a possibility that they will not be able to come back. The Turks beheaded the envoys, imprisoned the envoys, or even expelled the envoys. Jieli Khan did all these things, especially Jieli Khan in his later years. He ignored etiquette and just acted casually. See He treats people who can catch his eye with courtesy. If he can't catch his eye, he can only act based on his mood.

For example, in the early years of Wude, Li Yuan sent Taichang Qing Zheng Yuanxuan to the Turks. It happened that Chuluo Khan died of illness and Jieli Khan succeeded to the throne. Jieli imprisoned Zheng Yuanxuan all year round and was not allowed to go out.

It was not until three years later that Li Yuan sent envoys again to give generous gifts, and Jie Li released Zheng Yuanxuan.

Li Yuan was greatly moved when he saw the weather-beaten Zheng Yuanxuan, and said bluntly: "It is Su Wu's fault that you have been detained for many years in the imperial court."

Later, when the puppet King Shichong of Zheng was defeated, he also sent his younger brother Wang Wensu as an envoy to the Turks. However, Jieli Khan directly killed the envoy. It can be said that he did it capriciously and completely ignored etiquette. It is very appropriate to call him a barbarian.

It can be seen that in this era, being an envoy is really not an easy job, especially when going to a barbarian land. There is neither reason nor etiquette. One mistake can lead to death in a foreign country.

However, in the face of Li Shimin's words, Lu Kuan could not refuse, and he did not want to refuse. He immediately promised, "I will not disgrace my order." This was his opportunity to clear his name.

"Okay," Li Shimin said with a happy face, "Zheng Defang is here in Xue Yantuo. After the monks and slaves arrive in Turks, they may contact him. Be careful. I'm waiting for good news in Chang'an."

Hongluqing Zheng Yuanxuan, whose courtesy name was Defang, was sent as an envoy to Xue Yantuo a few months ago to carry out the plan of dividing the Turks. He named the leader of Xue Yantuo Zhenzhu Yinan as Yi and lost Yinan as Zhenzhu Piga Khan, or Zhenzhu Khan for short.

Zheng Yuanzhan's mission was not only to confer a title, but also to secretly instigate Yi Shiyi men to rebel and divide the Turks. This purpose can be regarded as a conspiracy.

It is said that Jieli Khan was furious after hearing the news and questioned the Yi man many times. However, the Yi man was vague and did not express his position.

Lu Kuan solemnly promised that he had not understood Li Shimin's true intention until now, and Li Shimin would not make it clear.

Because of that matter, since Xue Zang's death, only one and a half people in the world know about it. One person is Li Shimin, and the other half is Gao Chong. As for why it is said to be half, because Gao Chong only knows half, or even everything. I don’t know, because it was an unintentional remark made by Gao Chong.

When Li Shimin failed to siege Luoyang, Wang Shichong held on to the fortified city of Luoyang. Dou Jiande from Hebei Province came fiercely and rescued Wang Shichong. Li Shimin had no choice but to order the army to continue the siege of Luoyang. He personally led his cavalry to Hulao Pass to fight against Dou Jiande.

The final result is known to all the world. The Xuanjia cavalry defeated the Zheng and Xia coalition forces. Sima Gaochong of the Prince of Qin, with the assistance of the cavalry generals Yang Wuwei and Bai Shirang, captured Xia King Dou Jiande alive.

But what the world doesn't know is that when Xia King Dou Jiande was stationing troops at Niukouzhu on the bank of Sishui River, Li Shimin only led Gao Chong and Xue Shou to climb Queshan Mountain outside Hulao Pass.

Gao and Xue were two people, one was the arm, the other was the eyes and ears. Li Shimin stood on the top of the mountain, and his words were no longer hidden. He not only expressed his worries about Dou Jiande's army, but also expressed the worries of the northern Turks. At that time, Li Shimin felt for the first time To the point of physical and mental exhaustion.

Wang Shichong occupied the city and defended it. As the largest city in the world, Luoyang City had high walls and abundant treasury. Dou Jiande led the troops from Hebei and Shandong to attack fiercely, and there were Turks occupying the north, watching with eager eyes.

At this time, once Li Shimin's army retreated to Guandong a year ago, the new Tang Dynasty regime would most likely be destroyed overnight. It is self-evident that the pressure would be great.

Gao Chong disagreed with this, because he knew very well at that time that the historical trajectory had not deviated, so he revealed the plan to break the situation, and finally captured Dou Jiande alive in Niukouzhu.

As for the Turks, Gao Chong even said casually at that time: "The Turks act unscrupulously and act as they please. If we can send people to gain their trust and disrupt their national affairs in order to divide the various tribes, then even if the Turks have millions of people, they will not be able to do anything." A plate of loose sand is nothing to fear.”

Gao Chong knew the future outcome of East Turkestan in his heart, so he said this.

Hearing Gao Chong's casual words, Li Shimin's heart trembled. After Gao Chong left, Li Shimin found Xue Shou. The two discussed secretly all night. No one knew what they were discussing that night.

Even Li Shimin had no expectations for this matter. Who is Jieli Khan? He is the hero of the grassland. How could he be easily deceived? This is also the fact. In the following years, Xue Shou failed several times.

However, there is a saying that flowers planted with intention will not bloom, but willows planted without intention will provide shade. When Xue Shou was terminally ill, he succeeded.

This shows Li Shimin's excitement after hearing Xue Yuanchao's words.

After Lu Kuan exited the Manlu Hall, Li Shimin's face was uncertain under the candlelight. He came to the window with his hands behind his hands and stared at the stars in the sky, unable to help but be in a daze.

"who are you?"

Baizhou, Bobai City.

When Gao Chong saw the letter in his hand, he was filled with emotion. Ning Changzhen, who dominated Lingnan, hanged himself. Perhaps this was the best outcome.

Ning Changzhen also knew very well that this so-called self-defense in Beijing was just a matter of honor.

Not to mention whether he can reach Chang'an alive, even if he reaches Chang'an and meets Li Shimin, how should he deal with himself and express his loyalty again?That's a bit of a self-deception. Instead of being humiliated, it's better to get rid of it as soon as possible for the sake of the clan.

It's just that Ning Changzhen was old and confused after all. Perhaps because of his emotions before his death, he actually left a letter with the Qinzhou Ning family, blaming Gao Chong for his death.

Gao Chong felt extremely aggrieved when he saw this.

He immediately wrote a handwritten letter to the court. The memorial stated: Ning Changzhen, the governor of Qinzhou, committed suicide out of fear of guilt on his way to the court to defend himself.

Just the four words "suicide out of fear of crime" have already been determined. In fact, Ning Changzhen is indeed guilty. He supported Ning Daoming's rebellion and attempted to defend himself. This is a serious crime of treason.The kindness of women?Who is the dead one?Gao Chong obviously did not have this awareness. In his opinion, the death of Ning Changzhen was the time to completely conquer the Ning clan in Qinzhou.

After ordering people to send out the report, Gao Chong wrote again and sent a message to Ning Chun.

The letter stated: Gao Chong was ordered to set up a shipping department in Guangzhou, but he was left with nothing. For fear of betraying the emperor's favor, he now ordered in the name of the Imperial Palace to recruit 1000 Qinzhou boatmen, [-] large hawk-headed ships, and [-] ebony logs. , ten thousand catties of madder...

I originally wanted to ask for more, but Gao Chong scratched his nose, but finally gave up and boiled the frog in warm water slowly. Ning Chun had just taken over Qinzhou, so it was better not to push the principal of the Imperial Academy too hard. After all, the clay figurine also had a certain temper. The important thing is to grasp the degree.

After the person on call sent the letter, Gao Chong continued to pick up a brochure and immersed himself in it. On the first page of the brochure, he saw the words "Overview of Lingnan Shipbuilding Industry".

Since Gao Chong wants to set up a shipping company and start maritime trade, he can't get around one means of transportation, which is a ship. To be precise, it should be a sea-going ship.

Since entering Lingnan, Gao Chong paid attention to the complicated situation among local officials and Han barbarians. On the other hand, he appointed his four secretaries to secretly collect information about ships. This booklet was collected by his four secretaries from various states. The information is compiled and edited.

As for the people and things that Yan Ningchun asked for, they were Qinzhou's "specialties".

Qinzhou, especially the Ning family, has an extremely developed shipbuilding industry.

According to Volume 56 of "Book of Sui": "At that time, there was Ning Mengli who occupied the South China Sea in Chenri...".

Ning Mengli, Ning Changzhen's father, was able to roam the South China Sea when he was the governor of Anzhou (Qinzhou) in Nanchen. The South China Sea mentioned here is the Beibu Gulf south of Qinzhou.

Qinzhou is close to the sea, and across the sea are Champa, Linyi and other small countries in the Indochina Peninsula. When approaching the water, you can sail. Due to the unique geographical environment, fishermen in the coastal areas continued to improve their sea boats when fishing for pearls. The largest wealthy family in Qinzhou, the Ning family's ships were particularly large.

In the first year of Daye in the former Sui Dynasty, Yang Guang issued an order to conquer Linyi. Ning Mengli sent his second son Ning Zan to lead the Ning navy to follow the famous general Liu Fang in the expedition to Linyi. As the vanguard of the navy, Ning Zan personally led [-] warships. The big ship went out to sea, and the command ship where Ningzan was located was a large five-eagle ship.

A large ship with a hawk's head is a sea-going ship with a hawk painted on the hull. This kind of large ship can not only carry people, but also race horses. It is very wide. The ship moves in the sea like a red bird skimming the waves.

The kite is a high-flying water bird with white feathers and a broad back.

"Dialect": "Baili, the name of the bird, is the image of the blue bird in front of the boat of the nobles in the east of the Yangtze River today."

"Huainanzi·Benjing": "Dragon boats and hawks' heads are blown on and off for entertainment."

Since the Han Dynasty, there has been a habit of painting big ships with kites, and the more kites, the bigger the ship.

Gao Chong had long heard that the Ning family in Qinzhou had many ships, and he would not let it go easily. He sent people to find out that the Ning family's naval force had more than two to three thousand people and fifty or sixty large ships. Now that he was asking for twenty ships at once, then For Ning, it was also a traumatic experience.

Although Gao Chong didn't see Ning's five-winged ship with his own eyes, he was amazed just by reading the information.

According to the data, when Ning's ship went out to sea, "the boat was like a huge room, the sails were like clouds hanging from the sky, the rudder was several times long, there were hundreds of people in the boat, a year's worth of grain was stored in it, and the pigs were enclosed to make wine."

Gao Chong called him a good guy. He could store a year's worth of food and raise pigs to make wine. This material reserve could already support a long sea voyage.

The other two items on the list are Qinzhou's unique "specialties". Shipbuilding must have high-quality wood. Qinzhou shipwrights used local materials and found a tree called Urumu in the mountains. This kind of mountain tree It is more than five feet long, has a fine texture, and is extremely strong. It is used as a rudder on a large ship, which is "the most wonderful thing in the world."

When sailing on the sea, the rudder is extremely important. The other wood is basically two or three feet long and is used as a rudder. If it encounters strong winds and waves, it will often break. Only the Qinzhou ebony wood can be used as a rudder. "Although there are evil The wind is raging and the waves are completely motionless.”

Qinzhou was remote and supplies such as iron nails and tung oil were limited, so the shipwrights used their wisdom to drill holes in the ship planks and then tied them with vines from the mountains, which were still strong. As for the gaps between the ship planks, the craftsmen filled the gaps with a kind of madder. .

The madder is dried in the sun and stuffed into the cracks. When exposed to water, it swells and becomes watertight. This is the wisdom of the local shipwrights.

The big hawk-headed ship, the ebony tree, and the madder. These three things are the secret to the strength of the Ning family's fleet, and they are also the basis for the Ning family's dominance of Lingnan for many years. Even the large ships of the Gaozhou Feng family are inferior.

If we are in troubled times now, then Gao Chongda can tear off the mask and directly lead the army to rob. The big fist is the last word. Now that the world is unified, he represents the court and the great righteousness, that is, the justice.

Even if Ning Changzhen died, he could not snatch it because he had to take into account the face of the court. He could only uphold justice and continue to recruit Ning Chun, an honest man, in the name of justice. He believed that Ning Chun would definitely not refuse.

When the news of Ning Changzhen's death spread, there was no doubt that it caused an uproar.

Pang Xiaotai was both excited and afraid, so he quickly found Gao Chong and said, "Jing Lue, Ning Changzhen is dead. Wouldn't the Ning family..."?
"What don't you know?" Seeing Pang Xiaotai hesitating and looking indecisive, Gao Chong was helpless.

Pang Xiaotai wanted to escape from the control of the Ning family, but he was also afraid of the Ning family's revenge. He had the courage to betray the Ning family before, but now that Ning Changzhen is dead, he is still worried about the Ning family's revenge?
"You shouldn't take risks, right?" Pang Xiaotai finally found a word to express it.

Gao Chong immediately laughed when he heard this, "How else can he take risks? If he fails to rebel again, Ning Changzhen, his father and his son will die. What do you mean about Ning Daowen?"

Pang Xiaotai paused after hearing this, scratching his head and feeling a bit at a loss. When he thought about it carefully, it was true that Ning Changzhen, Ning Huizao, and Ning Chu, the three most prestigious people of the Ning family were dead. Now the Ning family is led by Ning. If you are purely in charge, what kind of disturbance can others such as Ning Daowu and Ning Jing make.

Thinking of this, Pang Xiaotai felt at ease and said with a smile: "That's finally safe."

"Then did Liu Yanchang do anything strange after he returned?" Gao Chong knew what he was thinking, so he didn't reveal it. He just asked about Liu Yanchang.

"No," Pang Xiaotai shook his head, "I also sent last month's military affairs early this morning. There is nothing unusual about it."

Gao Chong nodded, "He won't dare to show off. By the way, you can draw up a notice that the Guangzhou Shipping Department is recruiting a large number of shipwrights and shipbuilders. The pay will be generous. Let's see if anyone comes."

"What's your job of recruiting ships?" Pang Xiaotai asked in shock.

Gao Chong had a very thorough understanding of Pang Xiaotai's consciousness.

If his cousin Pang Xiaojie were here, he would have immediately understood that this was preparations for Shibo Division, so why bother to ask more questions?

"Well, the specific treatment will be based on the market price. Let's check the situation first and let's talk about it later if anyone comes." Gao Chong waved his hand and said.

"Yes," Pang Xiaotai immediately agreed, "I'll do it right away."