Duke of Zhenguan

"The territory of the Turks was so vast?"

After looking at the map for a while, Li Shimin asked with a gloomy expression.

"Your Majesty, although the territory of the Turks is vast, the further north you go, the colder the weather becomes. Here, it is almost completely covered by snow, and not a single blade of grass grows, making it impossible to survive."

"Once a snow disaster strikes, the Turks' cattle and sheep will freeze to death in large numbers. In order to survive, they will have no choice but to plunder the borders of our Great Tang!" Lin Chuan said softly.

These things were also written in the spies' intelligence reports, but the dividing line wasn't as clear as Lin Chuan's. Li Shimin nodded, pointed to Tibet again, and asked in a deep voice:

"Wow, the territory of Tibet was so vast!"

"Your Majesty, although Tibet's territory is also vast, it is different from that of the Turks. The Turks' territory is expansive, and most of the area consists of endless plains and grasslands. Tibet, on the other hand, has little flat land and is mostly mountainous! Moreover, it is arable!" Lin Chuan explained.

Li Shimin nodded, gazed at the map for a long time, and sighed softly:

"Giving you the position of Assistant Minister of Works is a waste of your talent!"

If this were said by someone else, it would at most be considered an expression of appreciation, but when it comes from the emperor, the meaning is quite different.

The eyes of everyone in the room fell on Lin Chuan. Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and others who were not familiar with Lin Chuan subconsciously scrutinized him, because a map alone could not prove anything.

Many disciples from military families have been influenced by their surroundings since childhood, so they may not be unable to do it.

Lin Chuan himself didn't feel he had done anything particularly significant, and bowed to Li Shimin with his hands clasped in greeting:

"Your Majesty, I am of limited talent and learning, and do not deserve such praise!"

Li Shimin waved his hand and said with a smile:

"You don't need to be modest, kid. The other day when I was chatting with Yan Qiju, he said that you have reached the level of a master in mathematics, and even he is ashamed of himself."

I originally intended to appoint you to the Ministry of Revenue, but Yan Qiju said you were also accomplished in various crafts, so I sent you to the Ministry of Works! Now it seems I should send you to the Ministry of War instead!

As soon as Li Shimin spoke, the scrutiny in the eyes of Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and others vanished. The job of the Imperial Diarist was to record Li Shimin's every word and action, and not just anyone could be appointed to that position.

In other words, historical records were written by the Yan family in a certain sense, so there is no need to doubt what Yan Xiangshi said.

Lin Chuan then realized that the reason Li Shimin had made an exception and appointed him as an assistant minister of the Ministry of Works was because Yan Xiangshi had vouched for him.

But Yan Xiangshi never mentioned it to him, and the debt of gratitude he owed him only grew stronger with each passing moment...

Before the ministers in the room could recover from Li Shimin's words, Cheng Yaojin's eyes darted around, and he chuckled:

"Your Majesty, why not send Lin Chuan to the Right Martial Guard?"

Li Shimin remained noncommittal, and asked Lin Chuan with a smile:

"Lin Chuan, what do you think?"

"Your Majesty, I will obey your command!" Lin Chuan replied obediently.

Li Shimin chuckled twice, waved his hand, and said:

"Then you can serve as an Assistant Minister of Works for now, but I grant you the power to submit memorials, and allow you to offer suggestions, impeach officials, and recommend officials!"

Is this considered reaching the ears of the heavens directly?

Lin Chuan was taken aback for a moment, then quickly stood up, bowed, and replied:

"yes!"

"sit!"

Li Shimin waved his hand and said to everyone in the room:

"Let's continue discussing what we discussed this morning!"

"Your Majesty, I believe that with the Turks in such internal strife, and that brat Jieli being tormented by his uncles and brothers, I think that even if we cannot invade the Turkic territory, we should take this opportunity to send troops to drive the Turks out of Shuozhou!" Li Jing said, bowing.

"Your Majesty, although the Turks are experiencing some internal strife, they are still a strong and well-equipped army. If we rashly send troops, even if we win, it will likely be a Pyrrhic victory. I believe we should consider this carefully!" Fang Xuanling voiced his opposition.

"Your Majesty, the Xia and Yan prefectures are currently unstable, and there are also signs of unrest in Lingnan. I believe that we should prioritize internal stability and deal with the Turks gradually!" Changsun Wuji said.

"That brat Liang Shidu is nothing but a worthless scoundrel! Your Majesty, I request permission to lead troops to eliminate him!" Cheng Yaojin shouted.

"Your Majesty, I request permission to lead troops to eliminate them!"

"His Majesty……"

"..."

A subject dies when his lord is humiliated. A few months ago, the Turks approached the Wei River. Emperor Li Shimin lost face, and naturally, the generals leading the troops also lost face.

However, everyone knows that the Tang Dynasty is still licking its wounds, and no one has much confidence in attacking the Turks.

There was no guarantee of victory against the Turks, but there was little pressure in dealing with Liang Shidu, the Turk's lackey. Moreover, Li Shimin was inclined to eliminate Liang Shidu first.

As soon as Cheng Yaojin spoke, five or six more generals immediately volunteered to fight.

Seeing that one general after another was volunteering for battle, and Li Shimin seemed quite tempted, Dai Zhou, the Minister of Revenue, quickly spoke up:

"Your Majesty, last year's autumn harvest was poor. During this period, various places in Guanzhong have submitted petitions to the court requesting the allocation of grain for disaster relief. The price of grain in the capital region has increased several times compared to previous years. If grain is not allocated soon, the tragic scene of selling children may reappear in Guanzhong!"

Your Majesty, now is truly not the right time to send troops!

Looking at the assembled officials, each holding their own opinion, Li Shimin's gaze fell on Lin Chuan. Suddenly, he felt the urge to test him and asked in a deep voice:

"Lin Chuan, what do you think?"

"Your Majesty, the people are the foundation of the Tang Dynasty. I believe that Liang Shidu is not important compared to the people's livelihood, nor are the Turks," Lin Chuan said in a deep voice.

Lin Chuan spoke with absolute certainty, and as soon as he finished speaking, the room became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"What a profound statement: the people are the foundation of the Tang Dynasty!"

A moment later, Li Shimin, who was wavering between disaster relief and sending troops, praised loudly.

After saying that, he said in a deep voice:

"The matter of sending troops will be postponed; today we will discuss disaster relief instead!"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"..."

The people in the room were all Li Shimin's confidants, and they immediately began to flatter him.

The imperial court conducts disaster relief work almost every year, and there is already a well-established procedure. Lin Chuan and the other military officers have no say in such matters and can only listen silently.

Grain was released from granaries across the country to subsidize farmers for growing grain, water conservancy projects were built as part of work-relief programs, and people were sent from Chang'an to inspect the local areas and strictly investigate corrupt officials...

There's only one set of procedures for disaster relief, so the real discussion is about how to determine the extent of the disaster and carry out relief efforts according to the severity and urgency.

Li Shimin was not only skilled in military affairs, but also adept at domestic politics. After listening to the opinions of his civil officials, he already had a plan in mind. Looking at Lin Chuan, who was huddled behind Cheng Yaojin deep in thought, he smiled and asked:

"Lin Chuan, is there anything you'd like to say?"

Lin Chuan did indeed have one. He listened to a group of people say it once, and found that they only said one thing about raising grain prices: Merchants in all regions are strictly prohibited from raising grain prices, and those who disobey will be executed!

That won't do. Merchants in different places are also local landowners. In years of disaster, it is the common people who suffer, but the local landowners will not.

On the contrary, they prefer years of famine. Many people do not have much food stored at home. When famine strikes, people do not have enough food to eat. In order to survive, even if they are reluctant, they have no choice but to exchange their land for food.

They barely survived, but then they lost their land and had to rent land from others to farm.

If another year of famine strikes, and they lose all their land, they will have no choice but to sell their children.

This cycle repeated itself, and in less than a century, all the land was in their hands.