With the presence of Sayuri as a light bulb, Du He and Chang Le spent the night peacefully.
The next morning, Du He got up early, put on his official uniform, and attended the morning court.
??This status is different, and the treatment is naturally different.
As the youngest Duke of the Tang Dynasty, no one could tell that Du He was walking on a prosperous road. He could hear all kinds of greetings while walking on the road, and even those ministers who rarely interacted with him would chat with him. A few words.
Today¡¯s court meeting is still aimed at the economy of the Tang Dynasty.
The defeat of Goguryeo and the defeat of Tutu was a complete victory. Although it did not take long, the military expenditure of the 300,000 troops before and after, as well as the rewards after the victory, were astronomical figures. After these two battles,
There is no doubt that the Tang Dynasty needed a period of time to recuperate.
How to recuperate and how to regain strength as soon as possible has become the most important key.
In response to this point, the elites in the court each showed their strengths and put forward various opinions based on their own knowledge, and then Li Shimin made the final decision.
While Du He listened carefully, he summarized the historical experience of the Tang Dynasty and considered a serious issue.
After his summary, the Tang Dynasty has been in a stage of vigorous development under the governance of Li Shimin.
But there have always been two serious problems. First, population. In ancient times, population was the primary wealth and productivity. Whether it was economy or agriculture, as long as the population was insufficient, it would be difficult to increase output.
"Humans are not pigs, and they cannot live in a litter for a lifetime. If this problem is to be solved, it can only rely on time. Even if various means are used to promote fertility, it will take eighteen years for the children to reach adulthood before the results can be harvested.
This problem cannot be solved by manpower and must go through decades of development before it can be improved.
Another serious issue is the development and control of the captured territory.
Throughout the ages, the dynasties with the largest territory were the Han and Tang dynasties. But to be fair, this kind of control
It is more of a symbol, a symbol of expanding territory, rather than a real territory.
For example, the Duhufu of the Han Dynasty and the Great Duhufu of the Tang Dynasty. Usually, after the armies of the Han and Tang Dynasties conquered this area, they left the army to establish a Duhufu to rule in a sense. In fact, they still controlled the area. The residents of these areas adopted a laissez-faire attitude and did not really expect these places to bring any benefits to the dynasty. Therefore, when there is any turmoil in the court, these Protectorate Palaces are often thrown away at will, and there is no centripetal force or cohesion at all.
In this regard, Du He summarized some experiences and found that the real reason is still the lack of effective and reasonable control and development. To put it bluntly, the Han and Tang Dynasties did not regard these conquered territories as their own, and the people within them did not regard them as their own people, but regarded them as an honor and a supreme gift. glory.
These areas occupied by the Han and Tang Dynasties only tended to become powerful and had no intention of joining. As long as there was an opportunity, they would break away from the control without any hesitation.
"I have some opinions on the development of the economy." Seeing that the ministers were almost done discussing, Du He had sorted out his thoughts and stood up to speak.
As soon as Du He said these words, the civil and military personnel in the court immediately became silent, and even breathing could be heard.
Those ministers who were discussing with each other in low voices all closed their mouths, waiting for Du He's shocking words.
Even Li Shimin, who was sitting above, his eyes lit up when he saw Du He coming out of the queue, showing a look of anticipation.
"Only Du He is a little confused. It seems that he is the prime minister of the dynasty, so he doesn't have such grand treatment
In fact, it¡¯s not the fault of the ministers being too cautious, but Du He¡¯s performance that forced them to be cautious.
Only he himself knows Du He¡¯s true talents and knowledge. He does have some military talent,
But he doesn¡¯t have much ability in government affairs. Not to mention two hundred and fifty, there is still a huge gap compared with these capable ministers of the Manchu Dynasty. Often when they were having in-depth discussions, Du He couldn't even get a word in, and he just listened on the sidelines, acting like a fool.
But as soon as he speaks, it is a great principle summarized based on historical experience, and it is a major event that will benefit the future and contribute to the country. The Maritime Silk Road, the promotion of sweet potatoes, the two-season rice, etc., all prove Du He's "extraordinary" foresight and rare ability to govern the world.
Therefore, all the civil and military officials in the court felt that Du He was a figure who could make a name for himself even if he did not say anything. His opening of his mouth attracted all the ministers in the court, who were all waiting to see what kind of amazing words he would utter.
Du He said: "The territory of our Tang Dynasty is far wider than that of previous dynasties. Every place is covered by water.They are different and have their own characteristics. For example, the agriculture in the south, the textile industry in Shu, the salt industry and animal husbandry in Qinghai all have their own characteristics. After thousands of years of development, the economic direction of the Central Plains region has basically been finalized, and it has been developed reasonably and effectively. No matter how much attention is paid to it, the achievements gained are limited. As Wei Xiang said, vigorously develop ceramics,
Textile industry. Prime Minister Wei summarized the economic trend of the Tang Dynasty and found that ceramics and silk fabrics were sold well in foreign countries and were particularly popular in the far west. Often a piece of cloth or a piece of porcelain could be sold for a sky-high price in the West. Focusing on this industry, fully opening up ceramics and textile trade with the West, and accelerating our economy, this proposal is very good, but I would venture to ask, is the effect really great? "
He asked himself and answered: "I don't think that the ceramics and textile industries of the Tang Dynasty have certain regional characteristics. For example, Shu brocade has prosperous cases, fine textures, elegant colors, and unique style. Colorful brocades with national characteristics and local styles are unique in the world. Nowadays, the development of Sichuan is mainly based on the textile industry. No matter how the textile industry in Sichuan is developed, the results are limited. The same is true for porcelain. They all have a certain regionality. In addition, there is a very serious problem here, which is numerous and miscellaneous. Ceramics and textiles are both fine and slow work. They pay attention to technology, stitch by stitch, and each step cannot be rushed. Once the quantity is If there is too much, fierce competition will make local people give up quality in order to pursue the best interests. In addition, some people who are not skilled in craftsmanship will fish in troubled waters, which will cause the quality to drop significantly, and the gain will not be worth the loss. Wei Xiang¡¯s proposal , it can make Datang profitable, but the degree of profit is limited."
Wei Zheng was upright and nodded without any displeasure. It was true that he had not considered this.
"So what Xiao Du Aiqing means is to develop places we haven't touched yet?" Li Shimin was alert, and with a change of thought, he understood the intention of Du He's words and revealed the secret.
Du He praised: "Your Majesty is so quick in thinking, I admire you.
During this southern expedition, I discovered that Nanzhao is rich in copper, tin and other ferrous metal minerals. The reserves in the area are even greater than those of the largest copper and tin mines in the Tang Dynasty. If properly developed, this It will be an extremely huge profit. There is also Tubo. Tubo also contains huge mineral resources. They have a special climate and are especially rich in grapes. They can pay attention to it. Making wine and developing the wine industry can also be a source of income. "
When Du He said this, Li Shimin's eyes lit up. Wine was his favorite, and there were many jars of wine he brewed in the palace cellar.
Du He continued: "I don't know much about Goguryeo in the northwest. But I have heard that the Changbai Mountain there is a natural treasure, and there are rich resources hidden in the mountain. Since Nanzhao, Tubo, and Goguryeo are already our The territory of the Tang Dynasty and the subjects within it are all the people of the Tang Dynasty. Why don't we develop these places and contribute to the Tang Dynasty? I think that the profits gained from opening up these undeveloped places will be great. , will be far better than continuing to develop where we have already developed.¡±
These information were discovered when Du He was sorting out the government affairs of Nanzhao and Tubo when he conquered Nanzhao and Tubo. There are extremely rich mineral resources hidden under Nanzhao, but they don't know how to exploit them and they have been abandoned. After Tubo and Nanzhao made friends, Songtsan Gampo was jealous of those mineral resources, and he worked with Meng Nan to develop them together.
The plan was all prepared, but before it was officially implemented, it was attacked by Du He. The plan
The book happened to fall into Du He's hands.
Du He worked in the Shangshu Province and had some understanding of the economy of the Tang Dynasty. At that time, he discovered the undeveloped mining industry in Nanzhao, which was larger than the largest known copper mine in the Tang Dynasty.
Du He¡¯s words brought silence to the Tang Dynasty.
Chu Suiliang said: "What Mr. Xiao Du said is not unreasonable, but the most important point is that they are not the real people of the Tang Dynasty. We cannot confirm whether they have returned home. If Tubo, Nanzhao, and Goguryeo are developed, they will When you become rich and powerful, but you rebel, what should you do?"
Chu Suiliang¡¯s words hit the most critical point. In fact, the Han and Tang dynasties were not without capable people, and they might not be unable to see how much benefit they would gain from developing these lands.
The key lies in the inner resistance and distrust of those who are not orthodox Han people. If you are afraid of thankless efforts and help them develop, you are feeding a tiger into trouble.
Du He also considered this matter and nodded: "Master Chu's concerns are not unreasonable, but I have a question. If we just leave them indifferent, can we ensure that they will serve Datang wholeheartedly in the future? When I arrive, I feel that as long as their lives get better and their living conditions improve, they will know how good our Tang Dynasty is and will not feel resentful. Develop Nanzhao, Tubo, and Gaogu.It may make these three places richer, but due to tax issues, Datang will benefit the most. As they become rich, our Datang becomes even richer. If we, the Tang Dynasty, can destroy them the first time, we can destroy them the second time.
I believe that if we want to truly make Japan and Yunnan our territory of the Tang Dynasty, there should not be any specialization. If we treat them as our subjects of the Tang Dynasty and treat them equally, someone will definitely understand.
Didn¡¯t Mencius say something like, ¡°If a king treats his ministers like his hands and feet, then his ministers will regard him as his heart and soul; if his ministers will regard his ministers as dogs and horses, his ministers will regard him as a fellow countryman; if his ministers will regard him as a piece of earth and mustard, then his ministers will regard him as a bandit.¡± If this is the case, let alone the common people?¡±
When Du He said this, he thought of the stupid policies of the Celestial Empire. The Celestial Empire cared for his people as if they were parents, but how many of them really returned home? Specialization not only fails to bring them home, but also alienates their own people.
You can¡¯t be indifferent, nor be too partial: the best way is to treat everyone equally, remove those who resist favoritism, and the remaining obedient ones will naturally be able to truly integrate into the nation. ! .