Datang: Ten Years of Proton, Leading an Army of Millions to Return

On the other hand, the envoys from small countries had faces that turned black with fear, and some of the timid ones had their hands soaked with sweat.

They couldn't help but curse in their hearts:
Which bastard is so blind that he would do something else but go and assassinate the emperor of Dayan.

Regardless of success or failure, if they were angered by Dayan, how could their small countries resist the iron cavalry of the Tang Dynasty?
If they knew,

Who sent the assassin? The other small countries first united and eliminated the troublemaker.

Although these small countries had some bad ideas before, after Da Yan destroyed the Turks and defeated Goguryeo, these small countries were very clear about their positions.

Although some monarchs of small countries did not believe in the strength of the Tang Dynasty before, thinking that it was just a boast by the people of Da Yan, after seeing the army of Da Yan, they fully understood the gap between their own countries and Da Yan.

Originally, they had hoped to recognize Da Yan as their big brother, so that they, the small countries, could lean on his shoulders. But now, the only thing they begged was Li Kuan, asking him not to get angry and kill them all.

As long as they are not destroyed, they can hand over any amount of specialties every year.

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Guo Shoujing kept laughing in his heart.

As expected, the solution His Majesty thought of was poison.

Logically speaking, this matter should be Guo Shoujing's responsibility, but such an explanation can not only completely resolve the embarrassment between him and Dayan, but also make these small countries fear from the bottom of their hearts, making them dare not offend Dayan, the big brother.

Although doing so is somewhat immoral, the most important thing in driving a wedge between countries is interests. Whoever is stronger has the final say, and morality is secondary.

When the Chinese land was weakened, the barbarians invaded the Han land without any sense of morality!
The envoys of the small countries were wondering who would do such a stupid thing, and they were also worried that their own king was confused and really sent an assassin without notifying them. At this time, Guo Shoujing suddenly said:
"But this has already been decided, except for the assassin himself. I will not pursue the matter any further, not because I am merciful, but because once the war begins, the people who bleed and get hurt are either the people of my Great Yan or the people of your country, and I cannot bear to see them separated from their wives and children."

"More importantly, all the envoys who come to Yanyun City must abide by the laws of Great Yan and follow the arrangements of Great Yan. During the few days when I lure out the spies, all the envoys must also observe the proper etiquette."

"If not, I would have issued a declaration of war long ago, and I am probably on my way to send troops right now."

"The Prime Minister is wise."

"Dayan, Shengming."

Civil and military officials and envoys from small countries shouted "Long live the emperor" together. The envoys from small countries in particular felt as if they had ridden a modern roller coaster, having reached the highest and most dangerous place halfway through the journey but landing safely in the end.

Having just witnessed the military strength of Dayan, they would definitely not think that this was Dayan's weakness.

Dayan is definitely strong enough to destroy the country behind the scenes. At that time, Dayan was bold and saw that our little brother had a good attitude, so they did not pursue the matter.

"Woo-woo!" A man with a black mask on his head and something stuffed in his mouth was carried up by the soldiers. It seemed that he was the "assassin" without a doubt.

On the way to being carried away, civil and military officials as well as envoys from small countries all spat at him in their hearts.

Of course, in reality this was not an assassin, but a death row prisoner who had committed an unforgivable crime.

After the "assassin" was killed, the envoys from those small countries finally felt relieved and kept praising the wisdom of Dayan.

At this time, an official in red uniform ran up to Guo Shoujing and shouted:
"Master Guo, great joy, great joy!"

"Oh," seeing the official's excitement, something good must have happened. But if there was something more exciting than this ceremony, Guo Shoujing waved his hand.

"Why are you so happy? Please tell me slowly."

"Reporting to Lord Guo, this year the Central Plains region has seen a bumper harvest that is rare in a decade, and other places have also had a good harvest of grain."

"During the few days since the ceremony, the grain is almost ripe. These are the ears of wheat that have just been brought up from the local area. Sir Guo, please take a look."

After hearing what the official said, Guo Shoujing was so excited that he asked the eunuch to bring up the ear of wheat.

Because it grew so well, the entire ear of wheat was completely curved.

Guo Shoujing put his hand on it and felt that the grains of wheat were full and thick, as if they had extremely strong vitality.

You have to know that there were no chemical fertilizers and not so many messy things in the Tang Dynasty.

If there hadn't been a bumper harvest, how could these ears of wheat have grown?

Guo Shoujing was very excited. You know, only when the grain is found can the people have enough to eat, and only when the people have enough to eat can the country be prosperous and the society be stable. A good grain harvest is indeed a great joy.

The envoys from the small countries below were also whispering. Although they did not understand the culture of the Central Plains very well, they could tell whether the crops were growing well or not.

Now that Da Yan has defeated Goguryeo, we have another bumper harvest of grain.

Doesn’t this just prove that Dayan is the chosen place, and Li Kuan is the chosen person?

Seeing Guo Shoujing so excited, Heshen quickly stepped forward and said:
"Lord Guo, a good harvest is a blessing for Great Yan. The envoys have come to Yanyun City. Can you let them share this joy?"

"What you say makes sense, sir. It makes sense," Guo Shoujing laughed. At that time, the world as a whole was still based on agriculture, and not having enough food was a big problem.

Fertile land and abundant food are not only resources that countries compete for, but also a weapon for one country to intimidate another.

"The harvest is good, this is a sign of good fortune from heaven, my dear ministers, would you and the envoys come with me to check it out?"
"I am willing to follow Lord Guo." For the officials of Dayan, this is an opportunity to gain face, and for the envoys, this is an opportunity to broaden their horizons.

So the group of people came to the outskirts of Yanyun City in a mighty manner.

It is the eighth month of the lunar calendar, the time when most crops are ripe.

Even though Guo Shoujing and his companions were far away, they could still see the golden color of the ground and the fragrance of wheat.

When the people saw Guo Shoujing, they hurried forward and knelt down. Guo Shoujing helped them up and asked one of them:
"Old man, how is the harvest this year?"

"Sir Guo, the harvest this year is very good. After paying taxes, we will still have a lot of money left for ourselves." The old farmer answered truthfully.

"Oh, I remember you suffered a locust plague, but it didn't have much impact on you. I saw these crops, they are growing really well." Guo Shoujing said with a smile. You know, the reason why Goguryeo dared to attack Da Yan was largely because Da Yan suffered a locust plague. They thought they were good enough and Da Yan had an opportunity to take advantage of them.

Although Li Kuan's plan was indeed involved, the locust plague did happen in reality.

"Master Guo, we did suffer some losses when the locusts came, but we were well prepared because the government notified us in time."

"In addition, the imperial court has built water conservancy projects for us over the years. We also work hard all day to avoid starvation, so basically there are no major problems."

"And strangely enough, since the locusts, there have been basically no major disasters. And, Your Majesty, the food that we have is not only abundant but also growing well. This year's grain harvest is so good."

Guo Shoujing then remembered that when he first met Li Kuan, the boy hid in the yard and refused to come out, saying that he had something important to do.

Although many people thought that he was not doing his job properly at the time, the jar of potatoes really shocked Guo Shoujing.

Thinking about it this way, the contribution of that boy to Dayan’s bumper grain harvest cannot be underestimated.

Li Kuan went to the fields to check. Although not all the wheat ears were as plump as the one handed in by the official, most of them had full grains. So Guo Shoujing smiled and said:
"I suddenly want to eat new rice. My Lord, please arrange to buy some from the people, and we will go back and have a good banquet."

"Okay." With Heshen's ability, he was extremely efficient in handling this matter.

The group quickly returned to the Daming Palace, and the banquet that had been prepared many times for the ceremony officially began.

What does it mean to have a vast territory and abundant resources? The food at the banquet fully reflects this.

Potatoes and peppers are things that these small countries have never touched before.

If they had not tasted some of Dayan's delicacies at the inn, they would have burst into tears after tasting this.

If they hadn't come to Dayan, they would probably have always thought that eating was just to fill the stomach and have the energy to work, and it was not an indispensable enjoyment.

/
Of course, singing and dancing are also indispensable during banquets, although in the late dynasties, singing and dancing were often associated with the rulers' extravagance and the country's failure.

However, when the country was prosperous, singing and dancing could not only add to the atmosphere of prosperity, but also reflect the customs and culture of a nation. The gorgeous clothes, beautiful dance moves, and rich music made the foreign envoys marvel.

Even though some of the envoys did not have the artistic aesthetic level and did not know much about the Central Plains culture, they still spoke in reluctant Chinese:

"Oh my god, this Da Yan food is so delicious."

"Dayan's dance is so beautiful too."

"It would be nice if we in Baekje also had these."

Today, Guo Shoujing was in a good mood. He held up his wine glass without affecting his health. You know, a country's strength has two kinds, soft and hard.

Hard power is visible.

The cavalry and bows and arrows of Dayan have already told these foreign races the consequences of invading Han territory.

And soft power.

In fact, it is the power of culture, which is subtle.

Although these envoys from small countries did not have much contact with the Central Plains, they were also fascinated by the Great Yan culture.

This kind of "implicit submission" is not achieved by putting a knife to the neck, but is determined by the thousands of years of heritage and wisdom of Han culture.

Just when everyone was having a great time, the palace maids quietly came out from the back and brought flowers to everyone present. After some explanation, the envoys happily put the flower ribbons on their heads, shouting "Long live Great Yan".

Now that the envoys from these small countries have witnessed the power of Great Yan, and they have also felt the favor, Guo Shoujing felt that the time had come, so he turned to Heshen next to him and said:
"Okay."

So Heshen opened the imperial edict, the dancing girls quickly withdrew, the court officials and the civil and military officials stood up in a moment, Fang Xuanling's eyes swept around, and then
He opened the imperial edict and read:
"The Emperor of Great Yan proclaimed: Great Yan is vast in territory, majestic in spirit, and embraces all rivers. Moreover, I love both the Chinese and the barbarians."

"Since all the envoys have come to our Yanyun City to pay homage, Great Yan should also treat them with courtesy. They are willing to submit to our Great Yan and obey our Great Yan Emperor. Those who are the Emperor will receive the grace of our Great Yan and will be protected by our Great Yan with all our strength."

"Those who are friendly to us, we will be treated well by Da Yan. Those who offend us, we will punish them even though they are far away! Drink this."

"We, Silla, are willing to honor Da Yan as our Lord, and we offer Da Yan a hundred boxes of treasures and ten thousand ounces of gold."

"I, the King of Kucha, wish the Emperor of Great Yan great blessings and longevity. I have specially sent you five thousand camels and five hundred fine horses."

The envoys rushed to pay tribute, and Guo Shoujing accepted all of them, enjoying this once-in-a-century event.

On the last day of the ceremony, Guo Shoujing specially ordered the lifting of the curfew so that people could celebrate together.

The people were overjoyed and took out the best wine and meat from their homes, ready to share in the joy of the ceremony.

Li Kuan finally found an opportunity. He put aside all the things he was doing and accompanied Yuanyuan, the little ancestor, out of the house to stroll on the streets of Yanyun City.

Guo Shoujing remembered Li Kuan's helpless look: "The reward your majesty wants is to go home and live a leisurely life for a few days. I never thought that the emperor of Great Yan would be such a person who pursues leisure."

"Now that Great Yan is strong and powerful, and all four seas are conquered, it is natural for me to return home. Besides, I am not going back this time to be a lazy person, but to see how the Institute of Gewu is progressing."

"Also, the work of the Royal Military Academy needs to be started. I must start immediately to recruit more talents for Da Yan."
"In my opinion, Your Majesty, I'm afraid you can't leave your little ancestor. But, Your Majesty, just have fun tonight."

"No, there is also the Military Academy. Your Majesty, you must recruit talented people for Dayan."

Although Dayan attaches equal importance to civil and military affairs and there is more than one place to train military talents, but in Li Kuan's mind, this Royal Academy is definitely a place that integrates the strengths of ancient and modern China, has a very complete system, and can truly recruit and train military talents.

The specific way to build it still needs to be explored in specific practice, but who cares about it now? I finally have a day off, and the most important thing now is to accompany Yuanyuan, the little ancestor, to have a good stroll in Yanyun City.

(End of this chapter)