Datang: What's wrong with my fief being a billion points larger?

Chapter 178: Expanding Zhenla, Breaking Through One Million Trade Volume
After arranging the affairs of Funan, Li Yuanji felt even better. Now that Yuezhou Prefecture was established, if Funan was added, his influence in Southeast Asia would be completely formed, and future trade would be more secure.

Then Li Yuanji asked Cen Wenben.

"Jingren, what did the envoys from Zhenla and Tangming say? Why did they come here?"

Cen Wenben looked solemn and spoke slowly.

"Your Majesty, let me talk about Tangming first. Tangming's envoys are mainly for seeking help. Tangming is now facing internal and external troubles. As a vassal state of Funan, Funan is now unable to protect itself. Tangming agrees to face the threat of Zhenla.

There are now many voices in the Tangming court calling for surrender to Zhenla, but King Tangming does not want to surrender. He has contacted Funan and Linyi, preparing to resist the attack of Zhenla together.

But Linyi is on the verge of being destroyed, Funan can hardly protect itself, and Chang'an is out of reach. Only the king has become their only savior.

When I learned about this, the Tang Ming envoy had almost nothing to hide, and even said that as long as the king was willing to help Tang Ming, the king of Tang Ming was willing to be the king's vassal state, and Tang Ming could be handed over to the king to station troops and pay tribute every year.

According to the words of Tang Ming's envoy, Tang Ming may be in a very dangerous situation now. In addition to keeping Tang Ming, I am afraid that Tang Ming will agree to other conditions.

Your Majesty, this is a good opportunity. Although money and food are tight now, I believe that Zhenla needs to be contained, otherwise Zhenla will be too strong and will directly affect us.

Moreover, by participating this time, we can also let Tang Ming provide most of the money and food. As long as Tang Ming can make up for the money and food gap, our army can go!"

Li Yuanji took out the map and looked at it carefully. Tangming and Jiaozhou were adjacent to each other, and now he was using troops against the five tribes of Liaoren. Tangming and the Liaoren Jinchi tribe (Mengla, Yunnan) were also adjacent to each other.

Li Yuanji frowned. It was just as Cen Wenben said. Once Zhenla became bigger, it would come into direct conflict with him. As they were close neighbors, he would not be able to easily deal with Zhenla with just a few words.

After all, by then the territory of Zhenla would not be smaller than his fiefdom, and it would have a larger army, so they might even dare to challenge him. Although he was not afraid, with such a bold and powerful Zhenla, it would really cause him trouble.

After a moment, Li Yuanji looked at Cen Wenben.

"We must take care of this matter. Otherwise, Zhenla will become too powerful and the situation will be bad for us. We must contain it. However, we should not occupy Tangming. We should deal with it the same way as Funan.

If we occupy them all, other neighboring countries will inevitably be nervous. Even if we do nothing, they will be extremely wary of us, which will be detrimental to our trade.

You can handle this together. As for manpower, transfer Li Xiang over. You and Li Xiang just need to discuss what needs attention. "

Li Xiang was sent because the situation in Tangming was much clearer than that in Funan, and Tangming's attitude had already been made clear. If he did this, it would make King Tangming grateful and that would be enough for the time being.

As for Li Xiang's ability, he thought it was completely sufficient. After so much experience, he had gained a dimensionality reduction advantage over the countries here in all aspects.

Cen Wenben didn't say anything after hearing this. He was not familiar with some of the people under Li Yuanji, and he had only heard about their abilities. If Li Yuanji thought it was okay, then there was no problem.

What's more, Tang Ming's situation is too simple. As long as the flag is raised well and the military is well understood, Tang Ming's situation can be controlled.

Then Cen Wenben mentioned the Zhenla envoy, and his face suddenly became solemn.

"Tang Ming's arrangements are up to the king, but the Zhenla envoys are not so good. Through my understanding with the Zhenla envoys, I learned that they have already contacted the merchant caravan going overseas.

This time they came here to bring back some goods. In addition to purchasing goods, they also want us not to interfere in the war between Funan and Tangming. As for Linyi, they can be taken over by the king by default, and they are willing to conduct trade with the king.

From the words of the envoy, we can tell that they are afraid of the Tang Dynasty and therefore do not want to fight with the king. In their eyes, their status is equal to that of the king. "

Li Yuanji laughed when he heard these words.

"You mean, they are here to issue an ultimatum this time? If I were to interfere in the affairs of Funan and Tang Ming, would he send troops to attack me?

In other words, they are afraid of the Tang Dynasty, not me. Do they want me to see the situation clearly?"

Li Yuanji was really amused. How could Zhenla be so arrogant now? Even the unified Angkor Dynasty in the back didn't dare to speak like this to the Central Plains Dynasty. How could a Zhenla dare to speak so arrogantly?

Now that his strength has not been revealed, do these people really treat him as a soft persimmon to be bullied?

Upon hearing this, Cen Wenben also laughed.

"Your Majesty, the Zhenla envoy said that they have an army of 300,000 soldiers and 100,000 war elephants. In his words, he was trying to show off his strength. It seemed that he was saying this on purpose for us to hear."

Li Yuanji really laughed. This was a blatant threat to him, but he had no way to deal with it for the time being because the army had already been deployed to the battlefield.

However, Li Yuanji remembered this matter in his heart. Dare to threaten him? When he stopped the war between Linyi and the five tribes of Liaoren, he would gather an army to destroy Zhenla.

What's the point of keeping such a fool around when he can't figure out his position? Especially when he dares to threaten him, the great King of Qi of the Tang Dynasty. The reasons have been given to him. If he doesn't take action, he will be sorry for Naerman's painstaking efforts.

"Jingren, this Erman is really arrogant. He doesn't take me seriously and wants to be on an equal footing with me. He even threatens me with force. This matter cannot be tolerated.

I have to get rid of this Zhenla envoy, otherwise I am afraid I will not be able to help but mobilize troops directly, which will benefit Funan and Tang Ming for nothing. When you give instructions, let Zhidai and Li Xiang use the people of Funan and Tang Ming to deal with the Zhenla army.

You go meet this Zhenla envoy and only discuss business matters with him. As for Funan and Tangming, tell him that we will not send a large army. As for the rest, let them guess for themselves and let them put their minds at ease! "

Li Yuanji sneered. He would not send troops, but it was reasonable to use the troops of Funan and Tang Ming to teach Zhenla a lesson. When the battle of Linyi was over, if Narman still had no brains, he would lead the armies of Funan and Tang Ming to fight together.

They are just some elephant soldiers. There are many ways to counter them. I really think Mann is capable of doing that.

Cen Wenben thought about it and agreed immediately.

“Don’t worry, Your Majesty. I know what to do. However, after the battle of Linyi is over, Your Majesty can let Xi Junmai lead the army to stay there to put pressure on Zhenla, thereby reducing the pressure on Funan and Tangming.

Later, when Zhi Dai and Li Xiang have control over the situation in both countries, we can directly send troops to destroy Zhenla and let other small countries around know that if they dare to disrespect the king, they will be destroyed. Only in this way can we stand firm here, avoid frequent wars, and ensure the continuation of trade. "

Although Cen Wenben is a scholar, he also has a ruthless side, especially the situation here and the Tang Dynasty are facing now. The Tang Dynasty is facing pressure from the Turks and Tuyuhun, and the surrounding countries do not treat the Tang Dynasty as they did during the heyday of the Sui Dynasty, only because the Tang Dynasty is now in a civil war.

We have not yet shown our strong side to the outside world. Only by showing our strong side will those people feel fear in their hearts.

Listening to Cen Wenben saying what he was thinking, Li Yuanji also smiled.

"Okay, let's arrange this. You have to pay attention and make sure it's completed.

Now let’s go talk to the Zhenla envoy directly, and let the Tangming envoy come in to settle this matter.”

Later, envoy Tang Ming arrived and the progress was very smooth. Envoy Tang Ming was almost moved to tears. Not only did he do as Li Yuanji said, he also paid tribute to Li Yuanji every year.

That’s right, they paid tribute to Li Yuanji instead of to the Tang Dynasty or Chang’an, making it clear that they wanted to follow Li Yuanji.

After talking with the Zhenla envoy, Cen Wenben found Li Yuanji again.

"Your Majesty, Zhenla not only has its eyes on snow salt, Drunken Immortal Wine, and colored glaze, but what they want most is our large ships, especially our military equipment. They are also asking about it. The ministers of Snow Salt have agreed, but the large ships and military equipment have not yet been agreed.

Your Majesty, I suggest that all the large ships should be sold. Now that we have sailboats, we will have to discard the large ships later. As for the weapons, although we have to eliminate them and some of them are damaged, I suggest that we still don't sell them.

Even though we can't use it, it's better to sell it to Funan and Tangming. Giving it to Zhenla will only strengthen their strength, and Funan and Tangming will be even more dangerous."

Li Yuanji nodded after hearing this.

"Jingren, what you said is exactly what I thought in my heart. We will give them the big ships. The more they want, the better. Although we have to sell all the weapons, we can only give them to forces and people who are on good terms with us.

These weapons, no country in the world is better than the Tang Dynasty in smelting, we are going to be eliminated, but for those countries, they are top-notch and can dominate the balance of the battlefield, so there is no need to rush. "

Li Yuanji had a smile on his face. Although the obsolete ones had to be sold, it was very easy to sell off such weapons. After understanding this, he was not in a hurry at all. What's more, it would take some time for his army to replace their equipment.

After hearing this, Cen Wenben laughed immediately.

"Your Majesty, I know what to do. Let Zhenla pay for these purchases with money and grain in half. What do you think?"

Li Yuanji agreed without even thinking about it.

"That's it. You go and arrange this."

After the matter was settled, Li Yuanji felt even better.

However, on that day, a big order was concluded. Five large ships were sold at a price of 100,000 guan each. The large ships alone cost 500,000 guan, not including those purchased by Funan.

The trade with Zhenla, plus other items, reached a turnover of 800,000 guan. The trade volume with Funan and Tang Ming added up to 300,000 guan. This time, the total trade volume with the three countries exceeded one million guan.

According to the current tax revenue of the Tang Dynasty, it directly accounts for almost a quarter of the total tax revenue of the Tang Dynasty in a year.

Although the money and grain from Funan and Tang Ming need to be gradually brought over later, at least the total amount is a huge breakthrough, especially the money and grain from Zhenla, which directly alleviated the pressure of development here.

Li Yuanji, Cen Wenben and others all smiled happily when they saw the trade volume this time.

"Your Majesty, trade is indeed the right way to go. If we rely on our own development, we will never be able to earn millions of dollars in grain if we rely on taxes. But this time, we have achieved it directly through trade.

Your Majesty, when Pei Xuanyan comes back, you must let him take the sailboat out to sea and visit as many small countries as possible. They must like our products, and then let them buy a lot of them, and this place will soon become prosperous."

In the past, Cen Wenben only knew about the benefits brought by Li Yuanji's vigorous trade from the literal meaning, but this time he felt it directly and truly. The benefits brought by trade far exceeded his usual cognition.

When Xie Shufang and Su Dingfang saw the total amount of this trade, both of them were delighted.

"My king, expand the army! You see, we don't have enough troops here. The war on both sides has almost drained our resources. Now that there are many people here, I suggest expanding the army by 100,000!"

After Xie Shufang finished speaking, Su Dingfang also spoke.

"Your Majesty, it's time to expand the army. Apart from the necessary garrison troops in Lingnan, the army we can mobilize is 80,000 soldiers, and the navy is only about 40,000. If we encounter a strong enemy, our manpower will be extremely stretched!"

Li Yuanji looked at the two of them and was speechless.

"You two have made a good calculation. In addition to the 80,000 troops we have mobilized, Feng Ang still has 30,000 troops, and the other three prefectures have 10,000 troops in total. Not only do we have 3,000 troops here, we have also recruited 15,000 new troops.

Our army's total strength is almost reaching 140,000. If all of these 140,000 troops are equipped with new weapons, then 10,000 troops can defeat an enemy force of more than 30,000. In addition, we still have 40,000 naval forces. Now you want to expand your army by 100,000?
Why, are you just trying to get this money and grain? Are you not going to develop Lingnan anymore?"

In Li Yuanji's eyes, the current army is completely sufficient. As long as the equipment is replaced, 50,000 troops will be able to pacify Zhenla. The only thing that needs to be developed is the navy.

There were only nearly 40,000 people, and Li Yuanji really felt that this force was too little. There was no other way. In addition to his own ocean-going plans, his trade exchanges also required a powerful navy to deter others.

Especially now, his territory is almost entirely by the sea, not to mention Nanzhou Prefecture, which is surrounded by the sea. Other places have extremely long coastlines, from Chaozhou to Yuezhou. If Funan is controlled, the coastline will have to be extended to Funan. If Zhenla is attacked later, Zhenla will also be by the sea to the west.

With such a long coastline, what else could he develop if not the navy?
Although the army also needs to be developed, Xie Shufang and Su Dingfang are simply going too far.

(End of this chapter)