Chapter 240 Uncle Xiang doesn't like it (asking for monthly tickets)
Li Jingren organized his words and said, "In fact, the grassland is just like what Secretary Luo said. It is difficult to establish a complete taxation system and then achieve control over the various tribes in the grassland. But in my opinion, this wool is a good opportunity."

"The other day, when I was reading Guanzi, I read the story of Qi's control over Shan State, and I felt that it had some similarities. Now the status of the Tang Dynasty is much higher than that of Qi. If we also follow Qi's example and implement economic policies, can we also defeat the enemy without fighting?"

What Li Jingren was talking about was the story in Guanzi that said that the State of Qi used the method of controlling grain prices to conquer the State of Hengshan without bloodshed.

But then again, much of the book "Guan Zi" is a far-fetched work of later generations, especially the Hengshan Strategy, which is somewhat inconsistent.

The records say that "Qi immediately ordered Xi Peng to transport millet to Zhao, and Zhao bought millet at 15 yuan a month." However, when Guan Zhong was alive, Zhao Shuai, the ancestor of Zhao, was still in exile with Chong'er, so how could he sell millet to Qi?

Even if you sell Zhao Shuai, he is not worth much millet. The Five Goats Doctor is only worth five sheepskins.

Perhaps someone will say, isn’t Zhao one of the six nobles of Jin?
But that can only be realized after Zhao Shuai has made a name for himself with Chong'er and it comes to the time of his son.

The Zhao family could really be considered large and powerful only after Zhao Shuai's son Zhao Dun came to power. However, by the time Zhao Dun came to power, the grass on Guan Zhong's grave was already 15 feet high.

The "in the pen of Dong Hu in Jin" in Wen Tianxiang's "Song of Righteousness" is related to Zhao Dun. It writes that Dong Hu wrote "Zhao Dun killed his king" with his pen.

Zhao Dun had a grandson, the famous "Orphan of Zhao".

Although the story of the Hengshan Plan is fabricated, the idea of ​​economic warfare is indeed noteworthy.

"It's a good idea." Li Xiang didn't mean to discourage Li Jingren. He looked at Li Jingren again and said, "Your idea is not just your own, right? What did you talk about with Ashina Yun?"

"I can't hide it from my brother." Li Jingren said with a smile, "The last time, the Prince of Huaihua led more than 100,000 people and tens of thousands of elite soldiers to cross the Yellow River to Dingxiang to set up a military camp. Unfortunately, he was taken advantage of by the Xueyantuo, and many of his subordinates were disloyal, so he had no choice but to return to the court again."

This actually happened in the 15th year of Zhenguan. Li Simo's original words at that time were, "I have been blessed to be appointed as the head of a village. I sincerely hope that my descendants will be like a dog of the country, guarding the northern gate of the emperor. If Yantuo invades, I am willing to enter and protect the Great Wall."

Translated, it means that it is the greatest honor for me, Li Simo, to be a dog of the Tang Dynasty.

However, the problem was that he was indeed a bit unripe and was chased by Dadushe like a chicken. If it weren't for Li Shiji's divine presence and Li Simo's fast running, perhaps the hundred pounds would have been left behind in Dingxiang.

It is quite interesting to say that the Xueyantuo army of 200,000 was defeated by Li Shiji with 3,000 Turkic cavalry and 3,000 Tang cavalry. Later, Li Shiji specifically said to the Xueyantuo envoy, "Li Shiji only has a few thousand cavalry, and you are already in such a mess!" Return to the Khan: All actions should be taken carefully.

The general idea is that before doing anything, you should first consider your own abilities.

"Miss Yun told me that the Prince of Huaihua actually had his own reasons. Those subordinates who had second thoughts were reluctant to give up the prosperity of Chang'an City." Li Jingren said helplessly, "But the wool business has been booming recently, and the Turkic tribes are gradually getting excited. They are watching the Xueyantuo and other tribes earn the money that should have belonged to the Turks, and they are really envious and jealous."

"In fact, the expenses in Chang'an City are getting higher and higher. Relying on salaries and rewards from the saints, it is always not enough to make ends meet."

"Rice is expensive in Chang'an, and it's not easy to live in a big city." Luo Binwang picked up a spiced broad bean, put it in his mouth and chewed it leisurely.

I heard these words from Lu Zhaolin before, and Lu Zhaolin had also heard Li Xiang say this.

"So, they also want to do this wool business?" Cheng Chubi looked up and asked, "Last time, they were chased back from Dingxiang by Dadushe. If they go again this time, Dadushe may not hold back. After all, they are trying to steal their business. Do they really expect the Tang Dynasty to send troops to protect them again and again?"

"What Chubi said makes sense. The south of the desert is not our backyard. The Turks can go there and come back whenever they want. If they want to return to the south of the desert this time, they have to reiterate some policies." Li Xiang stroked his chin, "Although the Xueyantuo is no longer the Xueyantuo of the past, the Turks still have to be under the protection of our Tang Dynasty."

Li Xiang now seems to have figured it out. It is somewhat difficult to rely solely on policies to solve the problems on the grassland once and for all.

The best way is to first use gentle control and then slowly develop more advanced weapons.

Each generation has its own wisdom, but it is also an indisputable fact that each generation is inferior to the previous one.

Li Xiang was confident that there would not be any disturbances on the grassland before his death, but that might not be the case for his descendants.

Therefore, the best way is to develop some weapons that can enable the grassland people to sing and dance.

However, the use of force alone is not enough. As the saying goes, the Han Dynasty has its own system, which is a mixture of hegemony and kingly way. How can we use moral education and Zhou politics alone? Moral politics alone is not advisable, and the use of force alone is not enough. We must be inclusive and take a two-pronged approach.

Nowadays, it is better to adopt a conciliatory policy and let the grassland people establish their identity first.

When the time is right, the little elephant's cloth tearing machine or the little elephant's electric saw will sound, and there is no need to worry that the people on the grassland will not bow their heads.

"In fact, my brother misunderstood the intention of the Huaihua County Prince." Li Jingren scratched his head and said, "Miss Yun meant that the Huaihua County Prince actually wanted to move inland. He felt that there was no point in staying on the grassland...but his subordinates, who only wanted to make profits from wool, did not want to submit to the central government."

"The subordinates are not on the same page with him." Cheng Chubi picked up a pistachio. "If you ask me, this Turk is also twisted. If the top and the bottom are not on the same page, what can be accomplished?"

"So what do you think?" Li Xiang looked at Li Jingren.

"I think that since the Turks are torn apart internally, we might as well be a pushover." Li Jingren's state of mind suddenly improved, and he completely forgot that the Turks were the tribe of his beloved Miss Yun: "Since the Prince of Huaihua wants to submit to the country, then allow him to bring his trusted tribesmen to submit; as for the Turkic nobles who hold opposite opinions to him, let them continue to stay in Dingxiang, and use this incident to create a rift..."

Hearing Li Jingren's ideas, everyone couldn't help but stand in awe.

My goodness, he just said he loved Ashina Yun to death, but now he turns around and cheats other people's tribe without even blinking an eye.

"It's a good idea, but it's a little too obvious." Li Xiang patted Li Jingren's shoulder with relief: "Don't forget, you also have a crush on Li Simo's daughter."

"In my heart, the Tang Dynasty is more important than Li Simo's daughter." Li Jingren said with a solemn face.

"I'm glad you have this awareness." Li Xiang said angrily, "But I don't like your rough skills."

"Ah?" Li Jingren was stunned.

"Just wait and see what happens." Li Xiang said with a smile: "The officials in the court will take care of the matter. Your mission is to win the beauty. Do you hear me?"

"Brother, this..." Li Jingren hesitated.

"Okay, do you understand what I just said?" Li Xiang said meaningfully.

"I understand." Li Jingren replied.

"Repeat it!" Li Xiang said with a smile.

"Yes! My mission is to win the beauty! That's all!" Li Jingren answered with his chest puffed out and his head raised. He learned this from Xue Rengui.

"After you go back, talk to Ashina Yun about this matter." Li Xiang pinched Li Jingren's shoulder and said, "Tell her to talk to the Prince of Huaihua. If you need to write a petition, just write one. Don't be shy. There's no need. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, I understand." Li Jingren replied. What Li Xiang did not tell them was that according to history, Yi Nan would be killed this year.

After Yinan's death, his two sons, Bazhuo and Datushe, began to fight for power, and finally Bazhuo won.

In order to divert the conflict within the tribe and to strengthen his own prestige, Ba Zhuo, a very smart man, chose to go to war with the Tang Dynasty...

Although he may not necessarily go to war with the Tang Dynasty now, he will definitely not tolerate the Turks hanging around in his south.

Not to mention that he and the Turks don't get along well, even if these Turks want to raise sheep and steal their business, he, Ba Zhuo, will not sit idly by.

Li Xiang lowered his head and saw Cheng Chubi giggling. He kicked him on the butt: "Laughing, just laugh. Let me ask you, if you run out of food at sea, what will you do?"

"Ah, this..." Cheng Chubi was at a loss for words. After struggling for a long time, he asked hesitantly, "Then... fishing?"

Li Xiang said nothing, but kicked Cheng Chubi on the butt again.

"You're so stupid for sailing. When you run out of food at sea, you can just go ashore to resupply, right?" Xiao Shoudao said with a sneer, "If you're sailing near the coast, the distance to the coast is not far. If the fleet is short of food or fresh water, they can go ashore to resupply at any time. Generally speaking, they will confirm it two or three days in advance. Don't you care about anything and don't ask anything, and only think about resupply when the food is finished?"

Cheng Chubi scratched his head. He really hadn't learned about this aspect of the problem yet.

"Then why don't you bring enough food on the boat?" Wei Daijia asked cutely on the side.

Not only Xiao Shoudao, but even Yuchi Xunyu slapped his forehead and said, "Fuck you, waiter, don't you know that food will start to rot if it is stored for too long?"

"Oh." Wei Daijia said, he had never observed such things before.

Hearing this, Li Xiang suddenly had an idea and a light bulb popped up in his head.

If he hadn't said it, he would have actually forgotten that if he wanted to develop an ocean-going shipping business, he also needed to prepare good food rations for the crew.

When it comes to solving the food problem, he actually has quite a few good ideas.

It can not only be used to supply crew members, but also to supply the army or civilians, which is a great achievement.

That afternoon, Li Xiang did not go to the stadium to watch the game, but went to the Science and Technology Research Institute.

When sailing near the coast, nutrition issues are easy to solve because there are sufficient supplies.

But now that the shipping industry has been developed, we certainly cannot forget ocean voyages.

When drifting on the ocean, common symptoms are beriberi and sepsis. The former is caused by a lack of vitamin B, and the latter is caused by a lack of vitamin C.

Generally speaking, symptoms of scurvy will not appear until there is an extreme lack of vitamin C for more than three months.

For ships sailing along the coastline, scurvy would not spread and pose a threat to all crew members unless there was a major mistake in the type of food supplies.

There is a misunderstanding that a foreigner once made a radical statement, saying that Zheng He relied on growing bean sprouts to prevent and treat scurvy during his voyages. This is pure nonsense.

Some people also suggested that bean sprouts were used to prevent porcelain from being damaged, which is actually a very outrageous statement.

Later, some people simulated the storms on a ship and used bean sprouts to conduct an experiment to see if the bean sprouts could protect the porcelain from shaking. It turned out to be useless. The bowls smashed into each other, the baskets fell apart and the rest were smashed, and the bean sprouts were crushed.

In fact, the most fundamental problem is that the space on a ship is limited and it cannot carry too much fresh water, so it is impossible to waste fresh water to grow bean sprouts.

As for tea, that's even more nonsense. The vitamin C content in tea is limited. If you only rely on chewing tea leaves to supplement vitamin C, how much would you have to chew in a day?

It is impossible to make tea by boiling it. It is common sense that high temperature will destroy vitamin C.

After all, the little elephant came from later generations, and it is easier for it to solve problems by standing on the shoulders of giants.

You should always carry citrus fruits and grapefruits, as these two fruits are rich in vitamin C and are easy to store.

In addition to these two fruits, canned foods also need to be developed, not only to enrich nutrition, but more to improve the meals for the crew members.

Think about it, an ocean voyage would take several months on the sea, which would cause great physical and mental torture. If the crew could eat some delicious food, they would be in a good mood.

Every experienced sailor is a valuable talent and should not be treated as a consumable.

Li Xiang felt that not only for ocean voyages, but also for marching, it was necessary to develop canned food.

There are many ways to make canned food, including ceramic cans, iron cans and glass cans.

Using glass cans these days is a bit of a luxury...

It is not impossible to make iron cans. The production technology of tinplate is not difficult. In fact, it is just tin-plated steel plate. The technology of metal tin plating was mastered by my country as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty (Note 1).

But if we talk about cost-effectiveness, it must be the cheap ceramic jar.

For iron cans, the shelf life is slightly longer, generally more than two years; while for ceramic cans, the shelf life is much worse, which is only a few months to a year.

But if it is used to supply the fleet, the clay pots are enough.

Sealing cans is not difficult. You can use insect wax or some other techniques to seal them.

As for the types of canned food...

Don’t ask, the answer is Dengzhou canned fish.

In addition to fish, you can also make other things, such as luncheon meat.

Thinking of luncheon meat, even though Li Xiang had no shortage of food, he still felt a little greedy.

(There will be another one later)
(End of this chapter)