Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 463: Moving a Home for Guanyin Dragon King
The salary in the Tang Dynasty was not like that in later generations, where people received their salaries once a year. The money they received was not fixed in Tongbao, but was divided into millet, silk cloth, and even clothes.

Therefore, every time it was time to pay salaries, officials would do a thorough cleaning of their homes, tidy up their warehouses, and store a whole year's salary.

Then all the supplies for household expenses are stored in the warehouse.

Li Zhi's confidant, Chen Qingsi, would receive extra rewards from time to time. But most officials did not receive this treatment...

In other words, ordinary officials have no extra income within a year after receiving their salaries, and all their expenses are spent here.

There is a classic saying in later generations: After getting your salary, be arrogant for a week, make do for a week, save for a week, and look forward to a week.

This was totally unfeasible in ancient times. If you wanted to enjoy yourself for a month or so, you would have to starve for most of the next six months.

The value of good household management is also reflected in this environment.

All the household supplies for the coming year are here. How to distribute them reasonably will be a test of the ability of the mistress of the house.

Chen Qingsi's current salary is extremely high, but his expenses are also huge.

Not to mention the gifts exchanged between relatives and friends during festivals, the number of people who spent money on arranging gatherings of the Qingliu Party and outings of Tang Dynasty scholars was not small, and there were also various unexpected expenses. In short, it was not an easy task to manage all of this.

Xiao Miaochen has undergone rigorous training since childhood and is very adept at this aspect.

Li Hongqing's mother passed away early and her father was self-pitying, so no one taught her these things.

The bearded man is a rough guy and he doesn't know how to do it.

Li Hongqing felt dizzy looking at the numbers one by one. He dared not look at them anymore and could not help thinking: "I really can't do this account book by myself, but as long as I study hard, I can learn it well."

Li Hongqing really thought that the mistress of the Chen family only needed to sort out the accounts. However, she didn't know that sorting out the accounts was just the most insignificant thing, the most basic ability.

Chen Qingsi is the Minister of War, a recognized hidden prime minister, and a new upstart in the court.

There were countless people who wanted to curry favor with him and get close to him. It was difficult to make a breakthrough on Chen Qingsi's side, so starting with the woman was the most direct and simple.

Xiao Miaochen receives various banquet invitations every day, as well as many visiting cards.

Whenever Empress Wu and the Princess had a gathering, they would invite Xiao Miaochen to attend.

As long as Chen Qingsi doesn't fall, Xiao Miaochen will be a star among the ladies.

If Xiao Miaochen is not at the party, it means that the banquet is not big enough and he cannot be invited.

This would be laughed at in the upper class society where people pay much attention to their appearance.

This kind of hypocritical social interaction is exactly what Li Hongqing fears the most.

In front of this red heroine, there is no such thing as hypocrisy. If a quarrel breaks out, swords will have to be drawn.

Li Hongqing did not attend any grand event with Xiao Miaochen. She had just seen how Xiao Miaochen dealt with various women who wanted to establish relationships with him at home, and she already felt like running away.

“Maybe I’m really not suitable!”

Li Hongqing couldn't help feeling a little depressed.

Chang'an, Taiji Palace, Chengqian Hall.

Chen Qingsi told Li Zhi about the military situation on the front line.

"Su Xinggong won a small victory and drove the Tubo soldiers to Naluyi. The Tubo Lun Qinling had built a Qiang watchtower at Naluyi a long time ago. The watchtower is not easy to capture. At present, our army and the Tubo are in a state of confrontation."

Li Zhi said: "Nanluyi is already considered a plateau!"

Chen Qingsi said: "It is located in a strategic location on the plateau, about three hundred feet higher than Qinghai."

In his memorial "On Tubo", Chen Qingsi defined the plateau's acclimatization as the plateau climate, and also wrote very clearly about the climate issue.

This situation does exist, and Li Zhi and others also accepted Chen Qingsi's definition of adverse reactions on the plateau.

Li Zhi said: "Can we surround them without fighting? The environment on the plateau is harsh. Surrounding them without fighting can reduce some casualties."

Li Zhi has also recently learned about some military affairs and expressed his own views.

Chen Qingsi said, "In fact, Lord Su Xing had this idea. Since Lun Qinling was holding on at Nalu Station, he would go straight to Wuhai, intercept Tubo's logistics, and trap Lun Qinling in Nalu Station. However, before he divided his troops, Tubo had already transported sufficient food and grass to Nalu Station. Nalu Station now has sufficient food and grass. Even if he cuts off the enemy's return route, it will not work. Instead, it will disperse the troops and give the enemy an opportunity to take advantage."

This is what makes Tubo difficult to deal with.

Whether it is Galdongzan who is in charge of the rear, or Lun Qinling who is at the front line, their abilities are at the same level as those of the Tang army generals.

Su Dingfang's command level on the battlefield may be higher, but the problems he can see are generally not ignored by Lun Qinling.

Brilliant strategies and tactics usually only emerge when the abilities are overwhelming. In such a high-level competition, it is difficult for either side to reveal obvious flaws, giving you the opportunity to perform unexpected tactics.

The weirder the moves, the faster you die.

Li Zhi stopped making a fool of himself and changed the subject, saying: "Our sanctions against Tubo have not been effective."

Chen Qingsi took the initiative to admit his guilt: "I underestimated the ability of Tubo Gar Dongzan, and also underestimated the determination of the Kingdom of Daqin to unite with Tubo."

In order to deal with Tubo and curb its development.

Chen Qingsi took great pains in strategy, and he asked Xi Jun to buy a strict seal on the ancient Tang-Tibet Road.

The undeveloped Ancient Tea-Horse Road also specifically asked local officials to pay attention to blocking smuggling. Even the Six Zhao in southern Xinjiang, Chen Qingsi specifically asked them not to have any dealings with Tubo.

The six kingdoms in southern Xinjiang have not yet been unified, and the Tang Dynasty is now extremely powerful.

The Six Kingdoms dared not rashly disobey the imperial court's wishes...

Even the imperial court in India made some moves.

Tianzhu, ancient India, is also a major birthplace of civilization.

But if you really understand their history, it is truly a depressing history that makes anyone sad and cry.

From ancient times to the present, they are really the type of people who are both naive and playful.

The food is real, and the fun is real.

In thousands of years of history, they have not had a decent great power.

Either there was internal strife or there was foreign invasion, which destroyed the Indian countries.

In short, the history of India is the history of one invasion after another against India.

In one sentence, the weaklings in Tianzhu fought against each other, and then foreign enemies invaded and subdued the weaklings. The foreign enemies collapsed and withdrew, and the weaklings in Tianzhu started fighting against each other again, waiting for the arrival of a new round of foreign enemies, and the cycle has been repeated until today.

India is now in a stage where newbies are fighting each other.

Chen Qingsi found it strange at first. Why did Tubo want to compete with the Tang Dynasty for Qinghai, the Western Regions, Liangzhou and Longyou? There was a weakling like India right next to them that could be bullied. The land of India was not bad and they could still develop by occupying it.

It was not until Chen Qingsi learned about the situation in India in order to deal with Tubo that he realized that it was not that Tubo wanted to compete with the Tang Dynasty, but that it really looked down on the situation in India.

It is undeniable that the land in India is very good, but the people are too bad and too poor.

No matter how good the land is, it still needs people to take care of it. A group of novices in Tianzhu have made the entire land impoverished and the population is sparse. It will cost a lot of money to develop Tianzhu.

The input and income were totally mismatched. Tubo simply did not have enough manpower and financial resources to restore the mess of Tianzhu. On the contrary, the Western Regions, Liangzhou, and Longyou were prosperous areas that the Tang Dynasty had managed for many years...

Under the governance of the Tang court, the countries in the Western Regions made a lot of money. There were 100,000 households in Liangzhou, second only to Chang'an and Luoyang, while in Longyou, the people were close to each other and mulberry and hemp were everywhere.

As long as Qinghai Lake is captured, these three places will be under the sword of Tubo.

It is self-evident which is more important.

Given the current situation in India, it is also a good thing for the Tang court.

A group of Indian chickens could not defeat the regular armies of Tibet and the Arabs, but they were not unable to deal with the merchant caravans traveling between them.

The imperial court encouraged the friendly Indian tribes to harass each other's caravans and blockade Tubo from the west.

After this operation, everything blossomed.

However, the Arabs and Tubo still found a new way.

They opened up the water trade route from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal. During this period, the Arab navy was invincible in the waters of India, and no external force could stop it...

The deterrent power of the Tang Dynasty did not cover the area around Nepal...

With the current strength of the Tang Dynasty, this trade route cannot be cut off.

I can only say that when one's strength is exhausted...

Li Zhi naturally understood that this was not Chen Qingsi's fault. Even though he was the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, there were many things he could not do, let alone Chen Qingsi?

But he still admired Chen Qingsi's attitude.

"My dear minister, you don't need to blame yourself. It's just that they are now too closely united, which is indeed a great threat to the court. If we don't find a way to stop it, Tubo will not sit idly by when we have to fight against the Arabs in the future. He will definitely take advantage of the situation and go south, and the court will face the risk of fighting on two fronts."

"The Arabs are different from the others, and the Tubo cannot be underestimated. By then, the imperial court will inevitably fall into an unprecedented situation..."

The imperial court has recently deepened its exploration of more western Eurasian regions and has gained a deeper understanding of the current strength of the Arab Empire.

Tubo made Li Zhi uncomfortable time and time again. Although the Tang Dynasty had always had the upper hand, the emperor realized that Tubo had become a major rival of theirs, just as Chen Qingsi wrote in his policy paper.

"I have a suggestion!"

Seeing that the time was almost right, Chen Qingsi took the initiative to step forward.

Li Zhi sat up straight involuntarily and said, "My dear, please tell me."

Chen Qingsi said: "Build a navy that can sail far into the ocean."

"Ocean-going navy?"

Li Zhi said to himself.

"That's right!" Chen Qingsi nodded heavily and said, "A navy that can sail far into the ocean."

He bowed and said, "Please give me paper and pen!"

Li Zhi waved his hand to let the eunuch prepare, and he also considerately brought a desk.

Chen Qingsi is painting at his desk.

Li Zhi was curious and walked down from above. He came to Chen Qingsi's side and saw Chen Qingsi drawing a rough map of the south...

The painting is rough, yet very detailed.

There have always been merchants from the Arab world doing business in Guangzhou on the Lingnan Road in the south. Li Zhi knew the general topographic map of the south.

Chen Qingsi just briefly mentioned it on the map, but drew some key places that he didn't know in detail...

After finishing the painting, Chen Qingsi saw Li Zhi standing beside him. He thought for a moment and pointed to the South China Sea, saying, "Your Majesty, please give this sea area a name."

Li Zhi smiled and said, "Isn't this the South China Sea?"

Chen Qingsi thought that the Guanyin of the South China Sea could be moved to a new home. It is clearly in the southeast, so how can it be called the South China Sea?

Chen Qingsi said: "That's because the ancients didn't understand the sea. This is the southeast, which is not the South China Sea. I think the South China Sea Minister should be here..."

As he spoke, he drew a circle on the map with his pen tip, including the Indian Ocean, and said, "South China Sea Dragon King, it's a bit shabby for Avalokitesvara to live in this southeast corner. This is the South China Sea."

Li Zhi thought about it carefully and felt that it made sense. He said, "Then this place should be called Lingnan Sea, the Lingnan Sea of ​​the Lingnan Protectorate of the Tang Dynasty."

Chen Qingsi liked this name very much and said, "There are many countries in the southeast, but the truly wealthy ones are all on the coast. The southeast is mountainous and forested, and the miasma and marsh gas are worse than in Lingnan. Therefore, their core towns are all near the coast..."

"As long as our navy can roam the Lingnan Sea, they will respect the imperial court more and we will be able to strengthen our control over them."

"The Arabs are good at business. They live on the coast and have a better understanding of maritime trade than we do. The land route connecting the Western Regions brings great profits to the court. However, most of the profits from this maritime trade route go into the pockets of the Arabs. This is very disadvantageous to us."

"If we have a navy that roams the Lingnan Sea, we can share the profits of maritime trade with the Arab Empire."

"If our navy can drive from the Lingnan Sea to the South China Sea, we can snatch food from the mouth of the Arab Empire and block the Arab Empire's funding to Tubo..."

His brush pointed at the Bay of Bengal...

Li Zhi said: "Is it a little late?"

"Not too late, not too late, the time is just right!"

Sailing on the sea is not something that can be achieved overnight; it requires a lot of experience.

The development of the Tang Dynasty has always been mainly based on land, while the economy of the Arab Empire has been centered around maritime transportation since the beginning because of the Mediterranean Sea.

In this respect, we are indeed ahead of the East...

Directly competing with the Arab Empire in this regard was almost the right move.

However, Chen Qingsi had formulated a strategy in Baekje in the East China Sea, forming a set of maritime trade routes through Liaodong Bay, Bohai Sea and Iwami Silver Mine in Japan.

Iwami Silver Mine is a big profit. Over the years, a large amount of silver has been transported from Japan via Liaodong Bay and Bohai Sea to Dengzhou Port.

If there is profit to be made, some people will devote themselves to research and thus improve their skills.

Liaodong Bay and Bohai Sea are feasible, and so is Lingnan Sea.

Once we truly conquer the Lingnan Sea, we will naturally have the power to conquer the South China Sea.

Taking too big a step will indeed lead to failure. Now that we have the experience in Liaodong Bay, Bohai Sea and Japan, it is the right time to try it in Lingnan Sea.

You can take this step.

"We have gained a lot of experience in Liaodong Bay and Bohai Sea over the years, and we can try to develop it in Lingnan Sea."

"There is another advantage now. The merchants of the Arab Empire have not yet realized our actions. We can find an excuse to detain their people and cargo. We can learn from the barbarians to defeat them... With the development experience of the East China Sea and the experience and technology of the Arab Empire, we can lay the foundation for conquering the Lingnan Sea in the shortest possible time."

"Three years, five years... I can't say for sure when the war will come, but if we have a navy that can roam the South China Sea, it will also be a thorn in the side of the Arabs and Tubo."

(End of this chapter)