Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 183 Father, how can we manage politics with these insects?

Why is my Tang Dynasty in trouble again...

Li Shimin was too lazy to complain, and just responded with a faint look:

Explain in detail.

“Let’s ignore Li Tai’s correct nonsense.

"Not to mention that distant water cannot quench immediate thirst, the rains in the south have all stopped, the crops have all been ruined, and the children are almost starving to death and don't need milk."

Li Ming seemed to recall painful past events and held his forehead with his hand as if he had a headache.

Li Ming has encountered quite a few such bureaucrats who do not consider the actual situation and talk about big principles at inappropriate times, both in his previous life and in this life in Liaodong.

“Even if the water conservancy project is repaired correctly, what kind of dam can prevent abnormal floods? Even the Three Gorges Dam cannot do it.

"We still need other simpler, more practical and more practical means to assist."

What is the Three Gorges Dam... Li Shimin skillfully ignored the words he didn't understand and nodded slightly.

Everyone can talk the right nonsense, but in the face of disaster, what leaders need is not reason, but solutions.

Li Tai obviously couldn't find a practical solution, so he could only talk about correct principles to cover it up.

Li Ming really hit the nail on the head, pointing out Li Tai's weakness...

"What about the prince? Is Cheng Qian wrong in proposing to build a granary?"

Li Shimin examined the Dao.

"Alas..." Li Ming sighed with disappointment.

“It’s only slightly better than Li Tai.

“It is impossible to build granaries everywhere, and the south is densely populated with rivers and mountains, so it is inconvenient to travel by land, so we have to travel by water.

"If we want to transport the relief food to the affected areas, do we have to rely on the grain transport?"

Li Shimin nodded:

"The granaries were all built beside rivers or canals, making transportation very convenient."

"The problem lies in this year's water transport." Li Ming pointed at the table emphatically:
"Food shortages in the South are expected to occur this fall, but what else is going to happen in the fall?"

Li Shimin was startled, and suddenly slapped his forehead:
"Conquer Xueyantuo! Conquer Xueyantuo also needs water transport!"

The Tang Dynasty was not like the later Song Dynasty, which had the strong trunk and weak branches of the "800,000 Imperial Guards".

The Tang Dynasty's military forces were usually dispersed among nearly a thousand Zhechoufu across the country.

When there is a war, more than a dozen military governors across the country will mobilize troops from the Zhechoufu under their jurisdiction.
The mobilization of troops and horses requires water transport.

Before troops move out, food and supplies must be sent first, and the transportation of food and supplies requires water transport.

In theory, the best source of troops and supplies for the northern expedition against the Xueyantuo was the nearby Shandong and Hebei regions.

However, due to the well-known regional conflicts, Hebei's contribution was limited, and Guanzhong did not even have enough rice to eat.

Therefore, food and fodder still have to be transported from the south.

The South is very large. Although the harvest in Huguang was poor, there was still surplus grain in Jianghuai, Bashu and other places.

"The two things collided at the same time. The southern grain transport had to deal with famine in various places on the one hand, and support the front line in Mobei on the other.

“Traveling back and forth between the north and the south, the pressure is very high.

"If we don't make full preparations in advance, we will be overwhelmed and fall into chaos at the critical moment."

Li Ming elaborated:

“Let’s not even talk about whether there are enough boatmen, canal boats and porters. The river management alone is enough to make us suffer.

"Adding new granaries at this time will only add to the chaos of the grain transport system. Aren't you afraid of repeating the mistakes of Emperor Yang of Sui?"

Li Shimin's eyelids twitched when he heard this.

The so-called mistake of Emperor Yang of Sui was that even though there was a great famine in the world, the government's granaries were always full and the government did not open the granaries to release grain, which led to civil unrest.

Li Ming reminded him that if he rashly adopted Li Chengqian's method, such a scenario might really occur:

In that year of famine, people were cannibalizing each other, and the grain in the charity granaries along the route could not be transported out because of the blockage of the canal transport, so it rotted in the warehouses...

Not only will this be recorded in history books, but it will also be exaggeratingly documented and criticized by people in later generations. It is an act of a tyrant that only occurs once in a thousand years!
Li Chengqian also had only a superficial understanding and was too arrogant.

It seems that among the three brothers born to the queen, the youngest Li Zhi is the most rational.

If you don't understand, don't talk nonsense, you will never be wrong...

"You...what you said makes sense. It makes a lot of sense."

Although he didn't want to admit it, Li Shimin was definitely not someone who would just deny it for the sake of face.

I originally wanted to give this ignorant little son a lecture.

Unexpectedly, he lectured me instead.

"So what do you think should be done about this matter?"

This time, Li Shimin's question no longer had a testing tone.

He was seriously asking for advice on how to run the country.

First, eliminate the possibility of delaying the war.

If you delay autumn, it will be winter.

Not to mention the severe cold and water shortage, the Xueyantuo area is too far north, and the factor of short days and long nights must be taken into consideration.

The night is good for defense but not for attack. In addition, the Xueyantuo were nomadic people and their main force was elusive.

If the Tang army did not have a good vision, they would be led around by the nose by the enemy and would not even need to fight, as their logistics would be directly damaged.

But the next spring, there were no laborers to be mobilized for spring plowing, and the war horses were too thin and hungry after the winter to run.

It is even worse in the summer. The summer in Mobei during the Tang Dynasty was also very hot. Wearing armor and standing in the sun in the Gobi Desert would really get you dehydrated.

It would be feasible to delay it until the autumn of the following year if we were not afraid that the Xueyantuo would plan another "Taiji Palace Incident" or "Donggong Incident" during this whole year.

Therefore, the weather is the most important thing in fighting a war.

Even if we have to endure possible famine, we must seize the window of opportunity this autumn to launch a northern expedition.

This is how it is when a country becomes big. Once you’ve solved one problem, another one will pop up. It’s impossible for them to wait until you’re fully prepared.

If there is a problem, solve it; if it cannot be solved, overcome it.

"Except for the disaster-hit Huguang region, other places have a bumper harvest of grain this year.

“The problem is not the total amount, but the uneven distribution.

"The solution to the imbalance is nothing but transportation, and transportation is nothing but water transport."

As Li Ming spoke, he walked to Li Shimin's desk without any hesitation and nonchalantly picked up the dragon pen used by His Majesty the Emperor.

Li Shimin moved his mouth but said nothing in the end.

"So the answer is obvious. The canal transportation is the weak link, the lifeline, and the key to solving the famine."

Li Ming picked up a pen and casually drew a picture.

Li Shimin took a closer look out of curiosity.

However, it was not a map of specific matters such as the layout of river banks and embankments.

Rather, it is a functional structure diagram of the three provinces and six departments in Chang'an.

“The dredging of the river and the construction of the dam are in the charge of Xue Wanche from the Ministry of Works and are in progress, so I will not discuss them here for now.

"The inventory of ships can be done in advance. We need to estimate the affected area and the number of victims, work backwards to figure out the total amount of food needed for relief, calculate the shortage of grain ships, and build or purchase them as soon as possible.

“The grain transport is the responsibility of the transport envoys at the provincial level, but this disaster relief involves at least four provinces: Huainan, Jiangnan, Jiannan, and Shannan. The central government needs to coordinate the grain transport dispatch of these four provinces and make plans in advance.

“In addition, the amount of food and money for disaster relief is huge, which is beyond the responsibility of the transportation envoy, and we also need the cooperation of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Warehouses.

"besides……"

Li Ming pointed at the architecture diagram and started talking at length.

The more Li Shimin listened, the more serious his expression became. He sat back on the dragon throne involuntarily, leaning his head on the armrest as usual and stroking his beard.

This is his signature move when he is thinking.

"In summary."

Li Ming promotes traditional art, and the real purpose is revealed:
“Disaster relief is a huge undertaking that spans multiple departments and requires multi-departmental coordination at the next higher level.

"The Minister of the Central Secretariat Yang Shidao should take the lead in organizing and coordinating all departments, and the Minister of the Left Fang Xuanling should be responsible for overall implementation."

It is still the old path provided by Fang Xuanling:
Relieve the king's worries and solve your own difficulties at the same time. Disaster relief should be done, and power should also be grasped. Both hands should be strong, and this is what can be called sound.

Li Shimin nodded his head:

"Yeah, that makes sense...

"Wait, what do you mean kid?"

Yang Shidao and Fang Xuanling, one is Li Ming's uncle and the other is Li Ming's teacher, both are die-hard members of the Fourteenth Party!
He holds the power of water transport and disaster relief, and on top of that, Li Ming's gang is investigating the assassination of the prince and the Dragon Boat Festival incident.

Good man, you are trying to monopolize power!
"I'll take note of the solution you provided, but I'll have to consider the candidate again."

Li Shimin said with a little pride.

Li Ming, however, acted out of character.

She didn't pout angrily to show her disapproval, nor did she complain that she was hungry and wanted to eat with her mother.

Instead, he stared at his father calmly.

"What's wrong with you?" Li Shimin asked in some confusion.

"Grandpa." Li Ming said seriously:
"I want to go back to Liaodong."

Li Shimin almost fell off the dragon throne.

"Ahem!" He cleared his throat and said seriously:
"I just said we'll discuss it later, I didn't say no, why are you trying to force me to abdicate?"

Li Ming shook his head slowly:

"No.

“I just feel that there is nothing left to do in Chang’an, so I might as well go back early to deal with some matters.

"Sun Fujia and his men can handle the investigation."

He originally returned to Beijing to resolve the misunderstanding with his father.

Now that the misunderstanding has been resolved, there is no need for him to stay. "What do you mean by 'return'? You were born in Chang'an, you are a Beijing master! Not a Liaodong barbarian!"

Li Shimin was puzzled and angry:
"And you're leaving Beijing now? At this critical moment in the fight for the throne?
"While your three brothers are trying every way to get close to me, you want to stay away from me?"

Li Ming is quite open-minded:

"Let Fang Xuanling and his men deal with the political struggles in the court. I have a lot of things to do, so I want to focus on Liaodong."

Who would care about palace fighting after traveling through time? You slutty bitches, please don’t disturb me while I’m governing the country.

Li Shimin's anger suddenly rose, and he slapped the armrest in anger:
"Do you think it's a waste of time to be with me?"

If it were an ordinary person, he would have knelt down and apologized if questioned by the emperor like this.

Of course, His Highness Li Ming is not an ordinary person, and he directly retorted:
"Does Your Majesty want the successor to be the same as my two brothers?
"They are good at political manipulation and conspiracy, but they can turn even the most basic disaster relief work into a disaster?"

"..." Li Shimin didn't know how to respond, so he changed the question:
"Why are you in such a hurry to go to Liaodong?"

Li Ming said bluntly:

"Goguryeo's layout is almost mature. I should stay in Liaodong and take it into my pocket."

"…Then let me ask it another way."

Li Shimin got down from the dragon couch, walked up to Li Ming, and asked condescendingly:
"Why are you in such a hurry to leave Chang'an at this time?"

Li Ming looked up at his father, was silent for a while, and finally spoke out the real reason:
"I don't think Taiji Palace is safe."

Insecurity has been with him since the day he was born.

After the assassination, he became even more concerned about "safe production".

The atmosphere in the palace now made him feel a little uneasy for no reason.

I always feel that... someone is secretly preparing some exciting program.

Suddenly give everyone a surprise (scare).

Li Shimin snorted softly from his nose:
"Don't be too..."

Before he finished speaking, he thought about it and suddenly realized:
Just a month after Li Ming returned from Liaodong, he had encountered two fatal incidents in succession.

Once he was assassinated, and once his two aunts died tragically in front of him, and both incidents were utterly incoherent...

This worry is not entirely groundless...

"Don't be in a hurry to leave. I will strengthen the guards of Lizheng Hall, the Imperial Palace, and the entire capital."

Li Shimin's tone softened:

"Besides, I am here in Chang'an, as are your mother, aunt, brothers and sisters, and all your friends.

"Why are you the most precious and the only one who wants to escape?"

Li Ming looked up at Li Shimin with a puzzled look:

"Grandpa, you really didn't notice...

"My royal brothers are weird?"

Li Shimin was stunned, and couldn't help getting angry:
"What's so strange about it? In your eyes, is it strange that a father is kind to his son and a son is filial to his son, or that brothers are friendly to each other and respectful to each other?"

"I suspect they are doing something behind your back, but I have no evidence," Li Ming said confidently.

Li Shimin was so angry that he laughed and pointed to the map behind him.

There was no need to look back, as his finger pointed precisely to the direction of Liaodong:

"I don't know who did this behind my back, and it almost caused chaos in Yanshan!"

Li Ming stared at his father for a long time. He looked away first and smiled without any smile:

“My daughter… A friend of mine has a daughter who, when she was little, liked to hide from adults and urinate anywhere.

"One day, she suddenly became very obedient and stopped hiding from adults. She just stood there obediently.

"Do you know why?"

Li Shimin didn't know what Li Ming wanted to say, so he just followed his thoughts and guessed:

"Because the child has grown up?"

The corners of Li Ming's mouth deepened:
"Because she quietly took a big shit in her pants."

Li Shimin's face suddenly changed, his body trembled, and he growled in a low voice:

"Get...get out!"

Li Ming took his leave calmly and went back to Lide Hall for dinner.

Li Shimin was left alone in the study, sulking.

Damn, this naughty kid makes me both happy and disgusted with him!
First, he planned new ideas for disaster relief for the country.

However, he turned around and slandered his own royal brother in a roundabout way!

What does Li Ming mean by this?
Aren't they just insinuating that the prince has changed so much and is so well behaved, and that he might have done something big in the dark?

"Is it jealousy? He is jealous that the prince has turned over a new leaf and received too much love, but he dares not slander him directly, so he is so sarcastic?

"No, he is not that bad yet."

Li Shimin shook his head.

The Fourteenth Brother’s problem is much more deep-rooted than superficial reasons like “jealousy”.

“It’s his personality.

"That little brat has been suspicious by nature since he was born, and he always suspects that his brothers and sisters are trying to harm him.

"He doesn't want to believe that there is a kind of feeling called 'brotherhood' in this world?"

Li Shimin, who was annoyed by his brother's death, muttered angrily, and finally slammed the table hard:
"No! I really can't swallow this anger!

“This is intolerable!

"If I can't even tolerate a brat riding on my neck and peeing on me, what kind of emperor am I? What kind of supreme ruler am I?"

He strode out of the study and left the Lizheng Hall.

He is going to Lide Hall!

Find Yang's for a meal!
Mixed doubles with the Yangs!
…………

The East Palace is separated from the Taiji Palace by a wall.

The dim sunset slowly faded away from the empty Temple of the Guardian.

Li Chengqian sat abruptly on the lonely main seat.

He listened attentively to the void, with a warm and happy smile on his face, nodding from time to time and saying:
"Yes... you are right. We should be patient and move forward slowly...

"The next step is to invite him to stay in the East Palace for a while...

"Mei Niang, do you know what ridiculous things he did today?"

In the deserted main hall, Li Chengqian's mumbling voice echoed.

…………

The next morning, Li Ming and his family had breakfast in the side hall of Lizheng Hall as usual.

After a long talk between his father and Aunt Yang (in the sense of etiquette and law) all night long, Li Ming deeply realized the error of his delusion of being persecuted.

He stopped in time and gave up the immature idea of ​​returning (crossed out) to Liaodong.

As for why he was kneeling to eat in the morning, don't ask.

The answer is a classic reproduction.

"Brother Xiao Ming, do you really not want me to help you apply medicine on your butt?"

Sister Li Mingda asked with concern.

"Hey, hey, hey...what a spanking, so vulgar! I wasn't spanked!"

The emperor's new clothes were suddenly stripped off, and Li Ming was panicked for a moment and kept denying it stubbornly.

Resolutely defend your last fig leaf as a pre-adult.

"But you..."

Li Mingda wanted to say something else, but Brother Shan Ji Li Zhi patted her on the shoulder and taught her earnestly:

"Men are all concerned about their reputation. Some things should not be exposed."

"Oh~ So that's how it is. Ah Sizi has learned it." Li Mingda nodded obediently.

Li Ming: "..."

Brats, what have you learned!
"Ha." Li Shimin sipped the cabbage porridge and smiled lightly.

Let you run away, let you forget your roots, let you throw dirty water on your brothers.

Let’s see if you can still be so arrogant?
At this moment, the attendant came to report:
"Your Majesty, the King of Wei requests an audience."

King Wei? Li Tai? Requesting an audience at this time?!

Not only Li Shimin, but also Li Ming and Li Zhi were surprised.

Li Tai is such a versatile person and he is very good at flattering his father.

How could you not know that your father is having a meal right now and it is not convenient for you to meet him?
"Fourth brother is here? That's great! Has he eaten yet? Let's eat together."

Li Mingda said cheerfully.

Her smile was like sunshine, melting the ice on Li Shimin's face.

"Yeah, just let him come in and eat something."

Under the guidance of the eunuch, Prince of Wei Li Tai moved his fat body and walked in respectfully.

Li Shimin sat in the main seat with a pleasant expression.

The three younger brothers and sisters, Li Ming, Li Mingda and Li Zhi, all put down their chopsticks obediently and stood up to greet their elder brother.

Have you eaten? If not, have something to eat... just before Li Shimin was being polite to his son.

Li Tai suddenly fell to his knees.

When everyone was stunned, Li Tai burst into tears:

"I am an unfilial son and I am afraid I can no longer serve my father!
"I beg you, Father, to allow me to go to Luoyang... to be a vassal."

(End of this chapter)