Chapter 15 Chapter Fifteen

Feng Deyi died too early, he couldn't see Wei Zheng, and he couldn't see Zhen Guan anymore. Zhenguan is such an era: Officials are more self-disciplined, very clean and upright.In terms of the system, those princes, concubines, big surnames, and wealthy people are all restrained, and no one dares to come out to do evil.As for those who travel and do business, there is no longer any fear of robbers, so that the jailers have nothing to do all day long.At this time, cattle and horses are all over the wilderness, and the gates of farmers' houses are open.A few years of continuous harvest, a bucket of rice is three or four pennies, from the capital to the south of the Yangtze River, from Shandong to the sea, people who travel do not need to bring food at all, every family is very rich, and ordinary people often cross the road, and the family members are afraid that the rice grain will be spoiled It's a pity to throw it away, so I gave it to passers-by.What's even more frightening is that in Shandong, in the villages of Shandong, chickens and dogs hear each other, and when travelers pass by, the villagers will definitely bring out high-quality food and treat them generously, and there are even cases where passers-by are given money when they leave.

The person who wrote the history book wrote here and couldn't help sighing: This is unprecedented in ancient and modern times! Li Shimin worked hard to govern. When he issued the imperial edict, he once said that the people can move around and eat where there is food. The world is severely drought, which is my fault. From the fourth year of Zhenguan, the atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty has nourished everyone, the grain harvest has been bumper, and all disasters have been driven away (Arima Zhou has a credit). What is the concept of Doumi three or four money? Someone once roughly estimated that according to the weight and price of ancient gold, silver and copper coins, one hundred Wen is equivalent to the current twenty yuan, that is to say, one penny is about 20 cents.

In the Tang Dynasty, a bucket of rice was twelve and a half catties, so the twelve and a half catties of rice cost sixty cents to eighty cents.The price of rice today is about two yuan, which seems to be about the same.But what you need to keep your eyes open is that one is two yuan a catty, and the other is twelve catties and eight cents.If you do some calculations, you can know that in the Zhenguan era, a catty of rice cost seven cents.But at this time, there was no situation where low grain prices hurt farmers, because the people had enough food and clothing, and the officials were honest and honest.

Li Shimin can continue to walk in this direction. What is the face of a big country? The face of a big country is to love its own people, love its own people, and be prepared for danger in times of peace.Wei Zheng often said that water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it.This kind of vicious words to persecute the king is the motivation for Li Shimin to be diligent. In April of the fifth year of Zhenguan (631), seeing that the time was ripe, Li Shimin issued an edict ordering the envoys to bring a huge sum of money to redeem the Zhongyuan people who were still exiled in the Turkic tribes, a total of more than 80,000 people.

In August of the fifth year of Zhenguan (631), the envoys were sent to Goryeo with a lot of money to redeem the bones of the fallen soldiers of the Sui Dynasty in Goryeo, and all of them were buried with honor. In October of the fifth year of Zhenguan (631), a seemingly small event happened. Li Shimin is playing in the palace garden. The specific content of the game is to chase a little rabbit.Unfortunately, this scene was witnessed by the Turkic Zhishisili. Zhishili was very angry, and said: "Your Majesty is the parents of the world, how can you take it lightly?" Li Shimin was ashamed and stopped playing.A few days later, Zhi Shili discovered that Li Shimin was not chasing a rabbit this time, but a deer.

He knew that the emperor was disobedient, so he took off his scarf and belt, knelt down and begged for solid advice. Li Shimin was moved by this and stopped playing games. On the first day of November in the fifth year of Zhenguan (631), Linyi offered five-color parrots; On November 12th, Silla presented two beauties. Linyi, today's central region of Vietnam, belongs to the Tang Dynasty; Silla, which is part of today's South Korea, was created by the Park family and belonged to the Tang Dynasty. These are two very interesting countries. The things they presented are all local specialties, the colorful parrots of Linyi and the beauties of Silla.

What is particularly interesting is the five-color parrot, which not only has bright colors, but also learns how to speak.What kind of nonsense the five-color parrot was talking about, there is indeed no record in the historical data, and it is estimated that historians will not be so idle.However, according to my speculation, this parrot is indeed very good at talking. I heard it from a sentence of Li Shimin: "The parrot can still talk about the bitter cold and wants to return to its country, but the second daughter is far away from relatives!" That is to say, the parrot presented by Lin Yijin can still express the misery and helplessness in a strange place (such as cold, bored, homesick, etc.), and clamor to return to its country, let alone two people. A girl far away from her family!So he ordered to resign from Jinfeng, and even the parrots, the beauties and the envoys sent were all sent back to the country.

Okay, now that Linyi and Silla are here, what does Waguo say? Have. In the middle of November in the fifth year of Zhenguan (631), the Japanese sent envoys to pay tribute. In order to express Datang's sympathy and care for neighboring countries, Li Shimin specially sent Gao Biaoren, the governor of Xinzhou, to comfort him. After a hard journey, Gao Biaoren arrived in Japan.After Gao Biaoren, an envoy of the Tang Dynasty, arrived in the island country, the king asked him to kneel down. Gao Biaoren fought with him for courtesy, and the Japanese were furious.But they didn't dare to kill, and they didn't want to listen to the edict. Gao Biaoren was angry and returned without declaring his order.Some people say that the Wa Kingdom has never been able to put itself in the right position since ancient times. In terms of thought, they are arrogant and arrogant.Especially during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, this extreme arrogance was vividly displayed.

A hundred years from now, let's take care of it. At the beginning of December in the fifth year of Zhenguan (632), sixteen prefectures and forty-seven counties were opened up in the land of Dangxiang (southeast of Qinghai). In mid-December of the fifth year of Zhenguan (632), an imperial edict was issued for the death penalty. The three performances are the judgment of the third instance, which is undoubtedly an important contribution in the history of Chinese legal system. In addition, Li Shimin also asked those who thought they had grievances to make self-reports, and a secretary recorded the words and reported them.Later, this three-act form gradually developed into a five-act form for particularly important cases. More importantly, appeals can be made before the final judgment.This approach is extremely advanced and can be described as unprecedented.This method has saved countless people with grievances, so many people survived.

The system also stipulates that on the day of execution in Baisi Prefecture and County, no alcohol or meat can be eaten, and no music can be listened to. Before the prisoner is sentenced, he must be visited by a senior official of the Menxia Province. Those who have grievances can directly appeal to the senior officials of the Menxia Province. Today, many countries are using the system of three final trials, which is surprisingly similar to the system created by Li Shimin during the Zhenguan period. Wei Zheng suggested not to fight, and while Li Shimin agreed, he was also making preparations. This is the smartest way.Changes will happen soon. In the early autumn of the sixth year of Zhenguan (632), a kingdom located in the central region of Xinjiang today sent envoys to Chang'an.The name of this country is Yanqi, the king Tuqizhi, whose surname is Long, so the full name is "Long Tuqizhi".

Aaron was willing to be a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, because the nearby Gaochang State had always treated them very harshly, killing and looting at every turn, and he was not happy to be his grandson. Ever since he followed the Tang Dynasty, Gao Chang didn't dare to make any moves. It was Aaron's whimsical and great initiative that changed everything. Because from Yanqi to Chang'an, the places passing along the way will either have to collect protection fees or encounter bandits.When I really got to Chang'an, there would be nothing left. If I got here alone, I wouldn't be reconciled to it.He sent envoys to suggest to Li Shimin, "Can the road from the Central Plains to the desert be reopened?" This suggestion sounds good, but it is more difficult to actually implement it, because many checkpoints must be set up on this road that stretches for thousands of miles to ensure the smoothness of the road. Li Shimin agreed with Yan Qi's suggestion and resumed the trade that had been closed for a long time. Aaron was very excited, almost overjoyed, and he was determined to send more business groups into the Central Plains to do business. The problem soon appeared, because this road is very long, and if you want to go to the east, you have to pass through the territory of Gaochang. What is more reassuring is that Gaochang was also a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty. Last year, King Qu Wentai of Gaochang went abroad with a delegation of thousands of people to visit Chang'an. After eating and drinking enough, he stayed for several months before he left contentedly, vowed to listen to Tian Khan, and said that Buddhist believers do not like to lie. What is not at all reassuring is that Gao Chang never wanted to be a younger brother behind others, especially Tang Dynasty. Once the road to the Western Regions is opened, an empire like the Tang Dynasty will definitely spread westward to Dashi, and maybe the whole world will be surrounded by them. Based on this consideration, Qu Wentai decided to disgust Aaron, and deliberately refused to let Yanqi's caravan pass through Gaochang territory. Qu Wentai thinks he is merciful enough, after all, if you still have any dissatisfaction, you can turn into a birdman and fly over to tell your Tang Dynasty father. One letter from Aaron Xiu: "This is Tian Khan's idea, you don't want to die?" When Qu Wentai received the letter, he was furious: "King Yanqi, your handwriting is so fucking ugly, you should hit it!" So he led the army to the south, turned Yan Qi upside down, captured countless people, and robbed countless rare treasures. Qu Wentai returned to Gaochang triumphantly, and announced: The Tang Dynasty is too far away, we will mix with the Western Turks in the future. The Tang Dynasty was really far away. The Chuyue and Chumi tribes of the Western Turks successively received letters and contributions from Qu Wentai, and joined forces with him. They also wiped out five cities in Yanqi and took away 1,500 people. Burn the city to ashes. Gao Chang's actions cut off the road from Chang'an to the countries of the Western Regions, and everyone who came and went could only take a detour and travel in a curved line.In a closed environment, there are many people in the Western Regions who do not want to follow the Western Turks. There is a country named Yiwu who cannot bear the arrogance and greed of the Western Turks and turns to the Tang Dynasty. Originally, Qu Wentai had nothing to do with Qu Wentai, but he was very angry about this matter, and he was invited to participate in the Western Turkic performance, beating Yiwu madly. The matter was a sensation. After Li Shimin heard about it, he wrote to Qu Wentai: "Come on, let Ashina come and meet me." Qu Wentai didn't dare to let Ashina go, nor dared not let him go.The reason is too simple, because Ashinaji is the mainstay of Gaochang's military, and if he leaves, Gaochang will be completely finished.The wise Qu Wentai reported: "Ashi Naji is sick, and I will send someone who is not sick." So Qu Yong arrived in Chang'an just like that. He first kowtowed to plead guilty, and then watched helplessly as Li Shimin and his courtiers studied Gao Chang's crimes.Qu Yong, who had been left on the sidelines for a long time, understood that the people of Tang didn't like those chiefs who went back on their promises. At the beginning, Li Jing defeated Jieli, and most of the population of East Turks was arranged to live in the area from Liaoning to Gansu, where they lived together with the Han people.However, many people thought that Li Shimin would settle accounts after the fall, so they fled to Gaochang.It was only later that they discovered that the Tang Dynasty would not slaughter its own people at all, and that the taxes in Gaochang were too heavy, and the king was arrogant and unreasonable, thinking about fighting all day long. They cried and cried, wanting to go to the Tang Dynasty. Someone wrote a secret letter to Li Shimin, saying that we went back with an embarrassing face, it seemed too shameless, Your Majesty needs to say something. So Li Shimin wrote to Qu Wentai: "Return my people!" Qu Wentai wrote back: "Oh... I will definitely return all the Tang people, but I have investigated, there are really no Tang people, only Gaochang natives, as for the Turkic people His Majesty mentioned, you can go to other countries and ask, they may have them." Qu Wentai's remarks showed the dissatisfaction of a monarch who wanted to take over Li Shimin, and at the same time prompted the Tang Dynasty to send envoys to Gaochang for condolences. When the envoys arrived in Gaochang, Qu Wentai neglected the envoys and said to them: "Eagle flies in the sky, pheasant lies in the grass nest, kitten wanders in the hall, and mouse hides in the deep cave." (Eagle flies in the sky, pheasant Fu Yu Hao, cats swim in the hall, rats in the cave.)" The messenger listened in astonishment to Qu Wentai practicing parallel sentences there, wondering what nerve he was wrong.But seeing Wen Tai suddenly speed up his speech: "Each of us has our own way of living. Without you, can we not live?" "see a visitor out!" The envoys left, they may not know that while they were walking on the long road, Gaochang and Western Turks launched a surprise attack on Yizhou in the Tang Dynasty. Li Shimin couldn't bear Gao Chang's arrogance anymore, so he sent Li Daoyu, a doctor of Yubu, to find Qu Wentai and issued a resolution to start war.Li Shimin said: "Seeing that this year is about to celebrate the New Year, I hope everyone has a good New Year. You can also prepare for it. We will beat you as soon as spring is over. During this period, all your crying will be of no avail. You have the right to keep silence." Qu Yong returned to Gaochang with Li Shimin's letter. In March of the fourteenth year of Zhenguan (640), a letter from the Xueyantuo tribe of Chile wrote: "Slave accepts Ensi report, please send your troops as military guides to attack Gaochang." The discussion among civil servants in the Tang Dynasty also came to an end. As usual, they were divided into two categories: the main war faction and the main peace faction.Most of the main combat faction, and in the main peace faction, although the number is small, they are all famous big shots, the most important one is Wei Zheng. What Wei Zheng means is that if they do a good job in defense and construction, they will collapse without fighting.This is not the main thing, the main thing is still on Xue Yantuo. At first, Li Shimin did not adopt Wei Zheng's suggestion, but at this time, Xue Yantuo also came to participate, and Li Shimin pressed their request, ready to reconsider Wei Zheng's suggestion.Wei Zheng is indeed a very smart person. Li Shimin wrote a letter, hoping that Qu Wentai could take care of himself, and patiently explained the current situation to him.The last sentence is the most important: "Wen Tai, if you are afraid, you can go to the court to apologize in person, if you have something to say face to face, the war will be avoided." Qu Wentai was not panicked. His arrogance has prevented him from making any correct judgments. He only knows that if he goes to Chang'an alone, he will die without a place to die.The mere army of the Tang Dynasty, if they come to his territory to make trouble, they will definitely be killed by him.He has a very strong theoretical basis, and he is not a person who is easily subdued. Qu Wentai wrote back: "I'm sick, I can't go!" In December of the thirteenth year of Zhenguan (639), in the cold winter, the vanguard troops of the Tang Dynasty set off. Qu Wentai laughed when he heard the news.