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

Chapter 274 I don’t believe that my Tang Dynasty is not as good as the fiefdom of King Qi!
Li Er couldn't come back to his senses for a long time. He didn't care whether it was the waterwheel or the curved plow. These two had already been introduced into the Tang Dynasty a long time ago and were now being used by the people in the Tang Dynasty.

But Li Er was really envious of the two-season rice in Nanzhou Prefecture and the three-season rice in Luzhou Prefecture and Songzhou Prefecture.

Two seasons a year were already amazing enough. An isolated island was occupied by Li Yuanji and named Luzhoufu and Songzhoufu. Now, when he was told that the island could grow rice for three seasons, Li Er could not accept it.

It was an abandoned place in the outer sea that he totally despised and never took seriously. Now that he was told that it was a treasure land, how could he accept it?

Li Er was very jealous at this moment. He was jealous of the business here, the technology and craftsmanship here, and the precious land here that could grow two or three seasons of rice.

Li Er couldn't believe it. It was obvious that his Tang Dynasty was the center of the world and the most prosperous place. How could Li Yuanji's Lingnan do so well?

"I don't believe that my Great Tang is not as good as the fief of the King of Qi! My Great Tang is definitely better than Li Yuanji's Lingnan!"

Li Er was a little crazy at this moment, or to be more precise, he was a little defensive. Everything he had seen before was not able to break Li Er's defense, but now, he could not accept it.

You have to know that the Tang Dynasty is now short of food everywhere, and Li Yuanji happens to have such good grain land. How can he not be jealous.

At this moment, the man's voice continued to be heard.

"I heard from merchants from Pyu and Gunda that there is a great dynasty in the west called the Harsha Dynasty. I heard that they can also grow rice three times a year, or even four times a year, there. I just don't know if it's true.

But it doesn't matter whether it's true or not. I heard that the Harsha Dynasty is attacking the Gundam Kingdom. The Gundam Kingdom once supported our king, and the king has already sent a large army over.

Those places will belong to our king sooner or later. When the time comes, you can go there by boat for business. You will know then."

Hearing this, Li Er's eyes suddenly focused. Is there a place where rice can be grown for three or even four seasons?
Li Er was completely obsessed with the Jie Ri Dynasty. He was now jealous of Li Yuanji's fiefdom. Now that such a place appeared, he would not let it go.

Li Er immediately asked the man.

"The Pyu Kingdom and the Gundam Kingdom are so far away from here. Are there many merchants traveling between them?"

The man smiled proudly when he heard this.

"You may not know this, but when the King destroyed Zhenla, the Pyu Kingdom sent an envoy to express its wish to become a vassal state of the King. The King agreed because he felt sorry for the Pyu Kingdom. Otherwise, he would have destroyed the Pyu Kingdom as well.

Now I heard that Xizhou Prefecture has set up a trade fair, deepening trade relations with the Pyu Kingdom, but many people also choose to come here to do business.

As for the Gundam country, there were indeed merchants coming from there. According to them, they all came by boat, which takes more than half a year, so it is indeed quite far.

However, as long as they could make money and deepen their relationship with the king, they came in droves.

If you want to know more, you can ask the merchants outside. I only know these things from what they said.

We don’t care about those news. No matter how they act, they have to behave themselves as long as the king is here.”

Looking at the man's fanatical belief when he mentioned Li Yuanji, Li Er just smiled and said nothing.

He has already felt Li Yuanji's influence and reputation in Lingnan. Anyone here, when talking about Li Yuanji, will be fanatical.

In Li Er's opinion, even if Li Yuanji asked these people to die, they probably would not hesitate.

Although it was a bit exaggerated, Li Er did not underestimate it at all. He knew very well that once he launched an attack against Li Yuanji, he would not only face Li Yuanji's army, but also the common people.

Thinking about this, Li Er was upset. The people in Li Yuanji's fiefdom protected and believed in Li Yuanji, but what about the people of the Tang Dynasty? They said they didn't.

Especially since Li Yi had rebelled before, if he hadn't made arrangements in advance, the North would have been in chaos again.

It would have been fine if there was no comparison, but after the comparison, Li Er found that he was inferior to Li Yuanji in everything.

The only thing that makes him better than Li Yuanji now is that the territory of the Tang Dynasty is larger than Li Yuanji's fiefdom, but Li Er is too embarrassed to compare.

Look at Li Yuanji's fiefdom today. It was originally Lingnan, and now all other places were conquered by Li Yuanji himself, expanding the territory for the Tang Dynasty.

As for him, after he came to power, not only did he not expand the territory, but he signed that kind of treaty with Jie Li. The more Li Er thought about it, the angrier he became.

After chatting with the man for a while, the man was busy doing farm work and was too lazy to pay attention to Li Er.

Li Er looked around again, and after getting to know the situation, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It’s not for any other reason, it’s just because there are not many places here that can grow two crops of rice, and most of them still only grow one crop of rice.

Only in Nanzhou, Luzhou and Songzhou were double and triple rice crops achieved respectively.

Li Er was secretly concerned about these places, especially Luzhou Prefecture and Songzhou Prefecture. He really had no information about these two prefectures.

After walking around, Li Er had a pretty good understanding of the place, and his heart felt even heavier.

He asked a lot of people, but he didn't find even one person who was dissatisfied with Li Yuanji. As long as Li Yuanji was mentioned, these people would stop what they were doing and praise him for a long time, saying all the good things about Li Yuanji.

Especially the lives of these people. After Li Er got to know them better, he felt that these people were not ordinary people at all. Which family could have surplus food throughout the year?

In addition to having a surplus of food that was more than enough to eat, every household actually had some spare money, such as buying one or two new pieces of clothing a year or buying toys.

Thinking about the life that the people of the Tang Dynasty lived, let alone the common people now, after hearing this, he wanted to move here.

Li Er was walking back in a depressed mood when he suddenly found an old man resting in the field. Apart from this old man, there was no one else to help him. Li Er walked over immediately.

"Old man, why are you farming here alone? Where are your family members?"

The old man looked at Li Er and the people around him, and there was no change at all.

"You young man, you look down on me, an old man. Let me tell you, even though I am old now, I have no problem tilling this field.

The third and fifth sons in the family are taking care of the farmland at the foot of the mountain, and the old woman is at home raising silkworms with her daughter-in-law and cooking for them."

As the old man spoke, a happy smile appeared on his face.

Li Er then laughed and said, "Why are your fields divided so far apart? Why don't you ask the government to give you fields closer together?"

The old man shook his head and laughed several times.

"You don't understand this, right? The fields at the foot of the mountain are newly reclaimed. The government said that due to insufficient sunshine, only one season of planting is allowed.

Our village is the nearest one. Each family contributes a little and crops the fields together with those others. We cannot cause any trouble to the king.

In front of you, those three plots of land were originally mine, but now there are only me, the third son, the fifth son, and a few grandchildren in my family. We can’t cultivate so much land, so the government took it back and redistributed it.

The remaining fields, if planted well, will be enough for our family to eat.”

Li Er was stunned. The common people actually took the initiative to give the land to the government and let the government redistribute it? Did this tell him that he was a common people?

Then Li Er suddenly thought of something.

"Even if you can't cultivate this land, you can keep it. If you give it to the government, you won't be able to get it back in the future.

Why are there only the third and fifth children at home? Where are the first, second, and fourth children? Aren’t they at home? "

Upon hearing this, the old man looked at Li Er with contempt.

"You merchants don't understand. The king has given us land. If we can't plant it, won't we be wasting the good land? If we do that, we will be struck by lightning.

These fields were reclaimed over the past two years with great effort and time from all of us under the guidance of government officials. How can we leave them abandoned now?

Since we cannot grow so much by ourselves, we must report it to the government in advance and not miss the farming time.

Only in this way can we be worthy of the king. The king has done so much for us. If we don’t know how to be grateful, then we are not worthy of being human beings.

If you need farmland in the future, you can follow the government to open up wasteland. The farmland you open up can be exchanged here later."

"As for the eldest brother and the others, the three of them went to reclaim wasteland and build post roads for the king.

Originally, only two people from my family were needed to go, but since this was to do things for the king, two were not enough. I originally wanted all five of them to go, but the government didn't allow it, so in the end only three went.

Alas, the king really cares about us poor people. In the past, working was what we were supposed to do, but the king also paid them wages, fed them three meals a day, and gave them a new set of clothes every year.

Because of this, not only our village, but also people from several surrounding villages went to the government together. In fact, we don't want the wages, we don't want clothes, even food, we can prepare it ourselves, we can't let the king spend money on us anymore.

But the government didn't listen, and I was very angry. You don't know what kind of life we ​​lived in the past. However, in just two years, our lives have changed so much. You don't know how grateful we are to the king.

If there were no king, there wouldn’t be so many grandchildren in the family, and the fifth brother would probably not be around anymore.

I tell you, if you want to do business here, then do it honestly. If you dare to do anything bad to the king, let alone the government, we will not let you leave this place. "

Li Er was suddenly embarrassed. He thought he could get some black material, but he was overthinking.

Li Er believed the old man's words very much. He had also discovered that the people here, in every village, were very united. Li Er lost interest in continuing the conversation, so he said goodbye and left.

Li Er felt very upset. What the old man just said was equivalent to corvee labor, wasn't it?
Think about the conscription and labor service in the Tang Dynasty, and the people didn't want to do it at all. However, here, these people are eager to make contributions to Li Yuanji. Li Er felt a pain in his heart just thinking about it.

What's the idea of ​​drawing five from five? He did it without thinking. But the government didn't agree. Li Er felt a little annoyed for a while. It was really infuriating.

On the way back, Li Er called Li Junxian into the carriage.

"You have seen what happened today. Let the Hundred Cavalry Division step up its efforts to investigate Luzhou Prefecture and Songzhou Prefecture. Check whether the three-season rice planting is true, and the situation of these two prefectures. We must find out everything."

Li Er was very tired. He was very glad that he came here this time. No one reported these things to him. If he had not come, he would not have known that such big changes had taken place here.

At the same time, he regretted coming here. After coming here, he couldn't be happy for a single moment and only felt heavier.

After a long time, the carriage suddenly stopped and Li Er lifted the curtain.

"What happened?"

Li Junxian hurried to the front of the car.

"Boss, the grain that the group of merchants ahead of us pulled was not tied up properly and is scattered on the ground. The grain in the bags is scattered all over the ground. They are picking it up. It may take a while before we can pass."

Li Er got off the carriage immediately.

"Call someone to help."

Li Er came to the front and saw more than ten people cleaning up the food spilled on the road and refilling them into sacks.

Li Er immediately brought people to help.

"Thank you, sir. How can this be possible? Please wait a moment. We will be able to clear it up soon and will not delay your passage."

Just as Li Er's men began to help, a middle-aged man came towards them, kept apologizing to Li Er, and asked someone to bring a silver ingot, a total of ten taels.

"My dear, please take this money and buy some food and drinks for these guards. I'm really sorry, but please accept it and don't refuse it."

Li Er was a little surprised again. This man's words and this ingot of silver really made it impossible for him to have any other thoughts.

"It's okay, I'm just helping out, you keep the money, I can't take it.

May I ask, brother, are you transporting grain to sell outside?"

Li Er was a little confused for a moment. According to what he knew, there should be no shortage of food here, but this man seemed to be doing food business.

Seeing that Li Er refused to accept it, the middle-aged man had to take it back.

“These grains are indeed for sale, but not to the outside world, but to the government here.

The Prince of Qi's Palace issued a notice that due to food shortages in six prefectures including Xizhou Prefecture and Yunzhou Prefecture, food was temporarily difficult to supply and the government was collecting large quantities of food. So I went to the Tang Dynasty to buy a batch of food and brought it back. I happened to sell some goods there, so I didn't have to return with an empty ship.

Sir, you should be from the Tang Dynasty, right?
You can seize this opportunity. Although you won't make much money from the grain, the government will remember this favor, and it will be more convenient for you to get goods later.

Next, I plan to go back to Funan and bring some food from my hometown."

Li Er was immediately shocked. Li Yuanji actually had six prefectures short of food?
Afterwards, Li Er was filled with excitement. This time he finally encountered some news that was unfavorable to Li Yuanji. God knew how long he had been waiting for this news.

As long as things were not going well for Li Yuanji, he would feel particularly happy.

Moreover, Li Er knew very well that although there was a shortage of food in Xizhou Prefecture and other six prefectures, he could guarantee that Dongzhou Prefecture established by Li Yuanji in Japan would also be short of food.

Li Yuanji's seven prefectures were short of food. Even with two or three seasons of rice, it was still not enough to meet the huge demand, so he started purchasing food in such large quantities.

Lingnan had always been short of food in the past. He had thought that the days of food shortage in Lingnan would be gone forever in the past two years, but he had not expected it to come so soon.

He was almost familiar with the arable land here. A lot of the arable land was obtained by reclaiming wasteland. This further proved that Li Yuanji encountered difficulties in reclaiming wasteland in Nanzhou Prefecture, Luzhou Prefecture, and Songzhou Prefecture. The lack of arable land affected the grain harvest.

At this moment, Li Er had already thought of an excellent idea. If he sold the Tang Dynasty's grain to Li Yuanji at a higher price now, and then bought the grain back from Li Yuanji at a lower price later, wouldn't he be able to make a lot of money for free?

Although Li Er was tempted, he did not make up his mind easily. He knew very well that this matter still needed a detailed investigation before a decision could be made.

The identity of the person in front of him also made Li Er a little suspicious. He was a Funan person, but his accent didn't sound like a non-Han Chinese at all. It really surprised him.

"You are from Funan? Not Chinese? You speak so fluently, I never thought you are not Chinese."

Looking at Li Er's surprised expression, the middle-aged man looked lonely.

“I am indeed a Funanese. I would like to become a Tang citizen and be registered under the king’s household registration. However, after applying for naturalization several times, the government said that Funan and the king are friendly neighbors and they cannot agree to our naturalization, so as not to affect the relationship between Funan and the country.

My dear, you don’t know that we, the people of Funan, not only Funan, but also people from Tangming Kingdom, all want to join the king and become his Tang people.

Moreover, our two countries, Funan and Tangming, have also written to the kings several times, begging them to incorporate their fiefdoms into the king's. The kings have personally gone to Haikang to meet the king and explain the matter.

But the king ultimately disagreed and said that the relationship with Funan and Tangming would not change.

When we found out, we were all very disappointed, but the truth is so cruel. Now we are waiting every day, waiting for the king to merge Funan and Tangming into his fiefdom. No matter how long it takes, we are waiting all the time. "

Li Er was filled with surprise when he heard this, but he could also somewhat understand it. When he learned that Li Yuanji had destroyed Zhenla and his fiefdom completely surrounded Funan and Tang Ming, he knew that this day would come.

Li Yuanji did not agree. He could guess the reason. It was simply that Li Yuanji still wanted to expand, and he did not annex the two countries in order to give himself a good reputation.

Otherwise, if the news of the annexation of Funan and Tangming gets out, which small country Li Yuanji wants to control in the future, will other small countries be willing to believe it?

As long as Funan and Tang Ming were still there, Li Yuanji could at least tell the outside world that Funan and Tang Ming were right in front of him, but he did not move, which made other small countries believe in Li Yuanji's sincerity.

When it comes to choosing between destroying a country and its urgent need to survive, even a fool knows which choice to make.

Just hearing this, Li Er was still shocked. These people actually wanted to register as local residents so actively. Especially those who called themselves "Tang people". Li Er suddenly felt a sense of pride.

Although the Tang people are also Han people, calling them Tang people represents the recognition of the true meaning of the Tang Dynasty.

At this moment, Li Er suddenly agreed with what Li Yuanji had done here.

No matter what happened between him and Li Yuanji, at least the reputation of the Tang Dynasty had spread to the surrounding countries, even if it was only the recognized Lingnan, because Lingnan was also a part of the Tang Dynasty.

Despite this, it is impossible for him to say that he does not feel jealous. He is obviously the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, but in the eyes of people in those small countries, there is only Li Yuanji and not him as the emperor at all.

Looking at the man who was somewhat angry about this, Li Er had to speak with a smile.

“Perhaps the King of Qi has his own difficulties. Just keep waiting. I believe that one day, Funan and Tangming will really be incorporated into the fiefdom of the King of Qi.

By the way, you bought food from the Tang Dynasty this time. There isn't much food in the Tang Dynasty now. Can you still buy some? The noble families in the Tang Dynasty should have a lot of food, right? "

The man shook his head when he heard this.

“I’m not very clear about the aristocratic families in the Tang Dynasty, but they should have some food.

However, in the Tang Dynasty, many more people are buying grain now. Many people are actually unwilling to do so, but many people who collect grain are buying it at a premium, and there are also many people selling grain."

At this time, the man's guards came up to him. After he could move forward again, the two said goodbye.

Watching the man go away, Li Er fell into deep thought.

There were many more people in the Tang Dynasty who paid a premium to buy grain. He couldn't understand why those merchants were willing to build a good relationship with Li Yuanji for this. But wouldn't the price be too high? And weren't there too many people?
He knew very well how much grain the noble families in the Tang Dynasty had stored, plus there were also some grain merchants. The Tang Dynasty was short of grain before, and although these people took out a lot, they still had a lot of grain in their hands.

As long as Li Yuanji buys these grains, they should be able to last until the autumn harvest of the following year. As long as it reaches the following year, this problem will be greatly alleviated.

But Li Yuanji is still increasing his efforts to purchase grain. Do these six prefectures, no, seven prefectures, really need so much grain?
There are already food supplies from several prefectures here, so he thought that they shouldn't need that much food.

Then why did Li Yuanji do this?
Li Er knew by instinct that this matter was very unusual and strange. From what the Funan man had just said, the number of people buying food suddenly increased.

Li Er frowned. He suddenly wondered if there was something wrong with this, especially buying food from the people at a premium. The people of the Tang Dynasty had just finished their autumn harvest. If they sold all the food they had, the people would have money. But where would they get food from in a few months? Where would the people buy food?

Suddenly, Li Er's pupils shrank. That was the grain stored by the imperial court. Was it being sold?
If someone buys it at a premium, and the court is short of money right now, will it sell some grain in exchange for money?
Li Er was filled with fear for a moment. He could even imagine that if all of the Tang Dynasty's grain was bought by Li Yuanji, what would the people of the Tang Dynasty eat in a few months?
Li Er then wrote two letters and gave them to Li Junxian.

"Have someone deliver this letter to Fang Xuanling in person, and this letter to the Queen.

Hurry! It must be delivered as soon as possible!"

Li Er now just hopes that he has not discovered it too late, otherwise, it will be really bad.

(End of this chapter)