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

Li Yuanji knew very well that if a war broke out between him and Li Er, he could not predict who would win or lose in the end.

But the reason why he is not afraid is because Lingnan has a rugged terrain and the navy is absolutely the best, so he is not afraid.

But what Cen Wenben said now also opened up a new idea for Li Yuanji. That is, if he really couldn't defeat Li Er, if he didn't take over a piece of land, how could he develop so that he could surpass Li Er again?

Once he is defeated, Persia and other countries will certainly not give up this opportunity. Civil unrest will inevitably break out again in the new places he has conquered, and trade will definitely be affected. Can he really counterattack the Tang Dynasty again relying solely on places like Luzhou, Songzhou, and Yuezhou?

Before thinking about victory, think about defeat first. Li Yuanji undoubtedly agreed with this statement.

But Cen Wenben's voice did not stop and continued to come.

"So I think that the Harsha Dynasty and the surrounding countries must be destroyed! They must be occupied!
I know that doing so will make them unite. I am not well versed in strategy, but I know one thing, as long as we occupy this place, even if the war with the Tang Dynasty later is at a disadvantage.

As long as we move the population to Nanzhou Prefecture, Luzhou Prefecture, Songzhou Prefecture, and the southern part of Yuezhou Prefecture, and connect to this area to the west, the population is still there, there is fertile land, and considerable resources, which can fully support our further development! "

"Your Majesty, even if we start the war with the Tang Dynasty, it will not be over in a short time. Even if the Tang Dynasty is not doing well in the war, the Tang Dynasty has a large territory and even if it gives up some of its territory, it still has the potential and the ability to launch a counterattack against us.

But we are different. If we are not prepared, once Lingnan is lost, it will be extremely difficult to counterattack.

You must make preparations early, Your Majesty. I suggest that after Liu Rengui destroys Srivijaya and other countries, we should immediately send reinforcements to the Harsha Dynasty. We must use tough measures to destroy the Harsha Dynasty and other countries as soon as possible, and at the same time pacify all other places as soon as possible.

Even if the means are more ruthless, I have heard that those people are very different from us. Such foreigners should be killed!

After we kill them, we will relocate the people and stabilize that area as soon as possible. Then we can fully prepare for the war with the Tang Dynasty."

By the end, Cen Wenben gradually calmed down.

“Your Majesty, I am not good at using the military, but I only have this suggestion, which is to destroy the Harsha Dynasty and the twenty or so surrounding countries at all costs!

If Persia dares to send troops, then we will destroy Persia first. At that time, there will be no force around that can influence the king, and then we can turn around and fight a decisive battle with the Tang Dynasty!

Moreover, I predict that the Tang Dynasty will never initiate a war easily. Now the Tang Dynasty lacks too much, with insufficient supplies and food, and backward firearms. It will take three to five years for Li Er to dare to take the initiative to start a war. But the prerequisite is that we are sufficiently prepared against the Tang Dynasty.

As for firearms, I have already asked Liu San from the Firearms Bureau. If the Tang Dynasty wants to develop firearms to our level, without the help of those technologies and drawings, it will take at least several decades to achieve it. It is only possible.

During this period of time, we cannot stand still and will definitely develop better.

Therefore, we will still have the advantage of firearms, and it will always exist!"

After Cen Wenben finished speaking, he quietly waited for Li Yuanji's decision.

In Cen Wenben's eyes, although what he said was of no help in how to win the war against the Tang Dynasty, as long as he did what he said, he would be able to absolutely guarantee Li Yuanji's retreat.

Li Yuanji had his own ideas and thoughts on the war, and as the person Li Yuanji valued the most, he had to plan a way out for Li Yuanji. This was his duty, and he would not let Li Yuanji down.

Li Yuanji listened to Cen Wenben's resolute words and kept thinking in his heart whether it was necessary to carry out this matter first.

He was very clear about the advantages of firearms. Even though Li Er also obtained firearms technology, it was absolutely impossible for him to surpass him.

Including smelting technology, it would be impossible for Li Er to popularize it industrially because Li Er had no idea of ​​industrialization at all.

In addition to this, he vigorously built factories. He established many factories in Lingnan for industrial processing and to increase production capacity. Although the processed products were limited, he still invested.

Li Yuanji was doing all of this to prepare for future industrialization.

Even now, Li Er's Tang Dynasty cannot compare with him in terms of production capacity.

With the same artillery piece, he can produce more than fifty pieces in a month, and Li Er can produce twenty pieces in a month, both of which are excellent.

He agreed with everything Cen Wenben said, but the only thing that made Li Yuanji hesitate was whether he should take over all these places at once.

The benefits of doing so are obvious. Cen Wenben has made it very clear. It is to ensure that even if he is defeated in the war with Li Er, he can still make a comeback and he still has hope of destroying the Tang Dynasty.

If he doesn't do this, once he is defeated, he will only have the power to protect himself, and he will be powerless to counterattack the Tang Dynasty again.

Of course, this is from the perspective of defeat. If he could defeat Li Er, he wouldn't have to consider all this.

But now that this issue is on the table, Li Yuanji has to be cautious.

The Tang Dynasty had too much depth. Even if Li Er suffered a series of defeats in the early stages, they could still launch a counterattack against him. However, once he fell into a disadvantage, it would be much more difficult for him to turn the tables.

Li Yuanji pondered for a long time, and finally looked up at Cen Wenben.

"Jingren, your suggestion has troubled me for a long time.

This time you are right and thoughtful, so I will do as you say.

After you go down, start preparing. I will lead the troops there personally later.

This matter is of great importance. I cannot rest assured if I don’t go there in person. Especially, it must be concluded as soon as possible. The longer we delay, the more passive we will be in the battle with Li Er later.”

Li Yuanji thought very clearly that if Li Er wanted to restore the vitality of the Tang Dynasty and prepare for the war, it would take at least three years.

There are many problems in the Tang Dynasty now. If Li Er wants to solve these problems, it will take more than three years, even if he is Li Er.

In the war against the Jie Ri Dynasty, as long as he can end it quickly enough, his preparations will not be worse than Li Er's.

Li Yuanji then called Yang Jianhe.

"Send a message to Yu Minghe, tell him to focus on defense and not to start a war. If it is really impossible, then retreat to Dongyi Prefecture."

"Order Feng Ang to step up the administration of Dongzhou Prefecture, Andong Prefecture, and Dongyi Prefecture, and at the same time prepare the army for war and be ready at all times to prevent an attack from the Tang Dynasty or Goguryeo.

After switching to defense, 20,000 troops were transferred from Feng Ang to Quanzhou Prefecture. "

“Send a message to Liu Rengui and tell him to capture Srivijaya as soon as possible. If the troops are insufficient, just let me know and I will send troops to support them.

If it is enough, then let me see the destruction of Srivijaya as soon as possible!"

"Order that all existing Type B troops be incorporated into Type A troops, half of the reserve forces be incorporated into Type A troops, and the other half be directly incorporated into Type B troops.

In addition, we will recruit another 100,000 reserve troops. After the recruitment is completed, we will immediately conduct drills so that they can be deployed in battle at any time."

"Pass the order, anyone who wants to join the Tang people and receive the same treatment as the Tang people can join the army. As long as they have made military achievements and made significant contributions, one of their families can be allowed to obtain Tang citizenship!" "Jingren, you will personally preside over it later. All prefectures should speed up the storage of food and various materials for use.

Then send orders to the Firearms Bureau, Ironware Bureau, Navigation Bureau, and all the factories that have been established to increase production capacity and produce at full speed, especially firearms, and popularize firearms to all the troops as soon as possible! "

Li Yuanji's face was full of determination. Now that he had made the decision, he would not hesitate at all.

Since the focus will be on the west in the future, the wars in other places must be settled as soon as possible, and adjustments must be made as soon as possible. All places must be prepared for the future battle with the Tang Dynasty.

As for foreigners, they are mainly targeted at the newly conquered prefectures. Many of those people have not yet been registered. What they are doing now is to create a mercenary force to enhance their own strength.

Even if this group of mercenaries suffered heavy casualties, it was still better than the heavy casualties suffered by the Han people under his command. If one group died, another group would rise.

The price he paid was only to register those people according to their merits. This treatment alone was enough to make those people fight for their lives.

Yang Jianhe kept recording Li Yuanji's orders, and after finishing recording he went down to convey them.

Cen Wenben on the side was also recording, and after recording, he looked at Li Yuanji.

"Your Majesty, in addition to these, I suggest that the expansion of the navy can be accelerated. Our finances can still support it now. The profits brought by trade in recent years, as well as the excavation of silver mines in various places, and our reserve silver can also support the expansion of the navy by another 50,000 troops.

Even if the navy expands, it will not affect the progress of other affairs.”

Li Yuanji looked at Cen Wenben in surprise.

"Jingren, when you first proposed expanding the navy, you held on to the money tightly, but now you're actually bringing it up on your own initiative."

Cen Wenben also smiled helplessly.

"My lord, the times are different now. If we keep the money now, it will be a burden. Now that we have decided on the strategy, we must spend the money as soon as possible.

As long as you keep the normal part for reserve, the other money you spend can increase your strength.

If we don't spend the money now, when the war starts and we can't stop it, it will be a bit late to spend the money then.

The most important thing now is to continuously strengthen ourselves. As long as the next war goes smoothly, the money can be made up later.

I can tell the difference between draining my wealth to strengthen my power and leaving it there for no use. "

Li Yuanji was also happy to hear this, and felt extremely relieved.

How could Cen Wenben not be relieved when he could think like this? Now the war was imminent. After defeating the Jie Ri Dynasty and the surrounding countries, the next battle would be with Li Er, a battle that would completely determine the outcome.

If this money is not used and stays in the treasury, it will be of no use. Now that we can take it out and continuously strengthen our strength, we will have a greater chance of winning.

Just as Cen Wenben said, as long as the next war goes smoothly, what we invest now can be taken back by becoming the victorious party.

"It's great to have such an idea. We have made a lot of money through trade in the past. Let's use it all this time to strengthen our military. At the same time, we should send orders to all prefectures to prepare for war so that the people can be prepared."

Even though people outside have made a lot of money from trade in these years, as the person who started the trade and this place is the place where trade started, how could he have made less money?

Li Yuanji was not a good man. Those people who came to do business from outside did make money, but the money earned by all those who came to do business combined was not as much as what he earned.

Although each prefecture was investing money and grain in development, in fact, the prefectures in Lingnan, including Yuezhou Prefecture, were also developing rapidly, and the money allocated from the prefecture treasury was mainly concentrated in other places.

Although there are expenses, the money saved every year is considerable. Even if the navy is expanded by another 50,000 troops this time, the treasury will still have sufficient money.

As for supplies, if it were still the original five prefectures of Lingnan, there would indeed be a shortage. But now, his fiefdom has expanded so much, and the various prefectures have developed ahead of time, so he no longer needs to rely on imports from the Tang Dynasty.

Li Yuanji then said: "Next we will focus on armaments. In addition to expanding the army, weapons and equipment must also be implemented as soon as possible.

We must fully support the Iron and Steel Bureau, Firearms Bureau, Navigation Bureau, and the Research Institute. We can increase the number of factories again, and firearms equipment must cover the entire army as soon as possible."

"By the way, how is the construction of the Heroes' Mausoleum that I asked you to build going?"

After Cen Wenben wrote it down, he immediately said, "Your Majesty, I have already had people start building the Heroes' Mausoleum. Now it has started in full swing and will be built thirty miles west of Haikang City.

In addition to the construction in Haikang, I also plan to have each prefecture start building a certain scale of mausoleum for heroes and martyrs.

I think that relying solely on the one built by Haikang may not be enough in the future. Building by various prefectures can share the pressure here.

Moreover, some of them were placed in the tombs of heroes and martyrs in various prefectures, which can be regarded as allowing them to return home, and at the same time they are respected and worshipped by more local people.

At the same time, it is also to encourage everyone not to be afraid on the battlefield, even if they die in battle, they can return home and be buried in the cemetery of heroes. "

Li Yuanji's eyes suddenly lit up. Construction began in all the prefectures, and more people knew about it. Moreover, the names, hometowns, achievements and other information would be engraved on the tombs of heroes and martyrs and sent back to their hometowns. This would not only be passed down through the ages, but also serve as a symbol.

"Your idea is feasible, so let's start implementing it as you said.

Remember, if you are going to build it, build it grandly so as not to disappoint the dead soldiers, their families, and the common people.

In addition to the mausoleum of heroes and martyrs, the pension system must also be effectively implemented. Only in this way can we avoid making things worse.”

"Also, assign more people to the construction of these heroic tombs and complete them as soon as possible. Don't delay!"

After Cen Wenben agreed to everything, Li Yuanji suddenly thought of something.

"There is one more thing, go down and start arranging it now.

The four prefectures of Dongzhou, Andong, Luzhou, Songzhou, and Xizhou must have a population of 50,000 in their capitals as soon as possible.

If it is insufficient, then people will be migrated from surrounding areas to fill the gap in the shortest possible time.

This king has only one request, within two months, the population of these cities must reach 50,000!"

Li Yuanji can't care about so many things now. He must speed up the completion of the system tasks and exchange the things he wants as soon as possible.

Li Yuanji also calculated that if he wanted to redeem the contribution points he needed, he would need at least a few tasks, and the contribution points had to be more than 200,000.

At this point, all other developments have to give way.

Although he left a way out, he really didn't want to be defeated. (End of this chapter)