Datang: What's wrong with my fief being a billion points larger?

Li Yuanji just smiled as he listened to Li Er's words. The strength of the Tang army today was something that was neither desirable nor attainable in all previous dynasties. It was normal to be strong. If they were slow in defeating these people, that would be a real problem.

"Brother, the army of the Tang Dynasty has all changed. As you can see, these will be the standard equipment of our army in the future.

Especially once there is a new breakthrough in technology, the army’s equipment will only get better and better, and it will only become more invincible.”

This is Li Yuanji's confidence. The Tang Dynasty is so far ahead in technology that no one can catch up with it. The development of the Tang Dynasty in all aspects will only get better and better.

The great battle ended quickly, and Li Junxian and others were brought back. Li Yuanji stopped the attack and began to return to the camp.

Inside the tent, Li Yuanji and Li Er sat facing each other.

"Brother, let's have a good chat. What are you going to do next?"

Li Yuanji looked at Li Er. Although he did not want to kill Li Er, he also had not thought of keeping Li Er in Chang'an and imprisoning him until death. If that was the case, he might as well kill Li Er now.

But if he wants to make arrangements for Li Er, he must be able to know Li Er's attitude. This is the key to his next arrangements for Li Er.

Li Er was also in deep thought when he heard this. Now Li Yuanji had made it clear that he would not kill him.

But just as he had thought before, Li Yuanji now did not need to use him to demonstrate his magnanimity. So if Li Yuanji did not kill him under pressure, he must have other arrangements for him.

In fact, Li Er was hesitating, wondering whether to commit suicide or listen to Li Yuanji's ideas.

Now the Tang Dynasty has become powerful, more powerful than he could have imagined before. Li Er still wants to see it again, but he doesn't want to die like this.

Finally, Li Er looked at Li Yuanji and spoke slowly.

"His Majesty."

"Second brother, please call me Third Brother. Calling me Your Majesty is too distant."

Li Er was stunned when he heard this, and his whole body looked a little complicated. At this moment, he thought of the past, the time when he wanted to kill Li Yuanji, and Li Jiancheng who was already dead.

Thinking of this, Li Er's heart became extremely uneasy, and his eyes were slightly red. He still remembered that when he was a child, his family actually got along quite well.

"Third brother, just tell me how you want to arrange me. I have no objection."

Li Er looked at Li Yuanji and smiled, his smile was so natural and innocent. He was tired of the previous struggles and intrigues, but after listening to Li Yuanji's words, he understood a lot.

Li Yuanji looked at Li Er, who suddenly seemed to be relieved. He was stunned at first, and then he smiled.

"Brother, I'll just say it directly.

Now you can see that outside the Tang Dynasty, there are still many vast territories and many places are very prosperous.

But these lands have their own indigenous people, people who are completely different from us.

In these places, there is not only superficial wealth, but also many mountains of gold, silver and copper, that is, mines. At the same time, there are too many resources on the ground that will be used in the future and will be what everyone will definitely fight for.

Now you may find it difficult to understand why there are so many precious resources underground that will eventually become something that everyone is scrambling for.

I can't explain it to you, but with the advancement of science and technology, those resources will inevitably be used in the future.

Moreover, its preciousness is no less than that of gold mines, silver mines, and copper mines, and may even be more precious.

Do you understand what I mean?"

What Li Yuanji was talking about were natural resources such as oil and natural gas. However, the Tang Dynasty has not yet fully utilized these resources. Only the application of oil has already begun.

Li Yuanji valued these resources very much. As too many of them were needed, he did not want to exploit them too early within the Tang Dynasty. He was well aware that these were non-renewable resources, but he tried to leave as many as possible for future generations within the territory of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Yuanji attached great importance to these resources outside. There were fertile lands and corresponding resources in these places outside. How could Li Yuanji not be tempted?

What Li Yuanji wanted to express to Li Er was the importance of these resources. As for what these resources were, even if he told Li Er now, Li Er still didn't know. He just needed to let Li Er know that they were very important.

Li Er didn't understand what was going on. In his opinion, gold, silver, and copper mines were extremely valuable, including fertile land, which could grow more food.

However, Li Yuanji told him that there were many resources that were more precious and more important than these. Although Li Er didn't know what they were, he could tell that these were very important, more important than the gold, silver, copper mines and fertile land that he thought were important.

Li Er nodded to Li Yuanji and asked tentatively: "You mean, there are absolutely important resources under these lands, right?"

Seeing that Li Er understood what he meant, Li Yuanji's face was full of a teachable expression, which made Li Er couldn't help laughing.

"Okay, I understand. Just tell me what you want me to do."

Li Er didn't know what the underground resources that Li Yuanji said were more precious than he thought were, but he believed what Li Yuanji said.

Everything in the Tang Dynasty today was brought by Li Yuanji. The current prosperity of the Tang Dynasty was also created by Li Yuanji. It can be said that Li Yuanji knew a lot, but he did not know that Li Er had a very clear understanding.

He didn't understand science and technology, but Li Yuanji did, so he believed what Li Yuanji said. Since Li Yuanji said those things were more precious, then in Li Er's eyes, those things were more precious. It was that simple.

Seeing Li Er being so sensible, Li Yuanji put away his smile and spoke solemnly.

"These important resources include gold, silver, copper, and some other minerals that you still don't know about, as well as fertile land. It would have been fine if they hadn't been discovered before, but now that they have been discovered, it is very necessary to incorporate them into the Tang Dynasty.

This is my idea, what do you think, brother? "

"Third brother, since there are so many good resources out there that have no owner, we in the Tang Dynasty should occupy them and incorporate them into our territory.

If we don't take it, it will only benefit those alien races in the future. When these alien races become powerful, they will bring great harm to the Tang Dynasty.

Danger should be eliminated in the bud!"

Li Er roughly knew what Li Yuanji was thinking, and he agreed with what Li Yuanji said. If the Tang Dynasty was still weak, they could only watch and do nothing, but now that the Tang Dynasty was strong and its army was invincible, why should they give away such good things to those foreign races?
Li Er looked down on the barren areas from the bottom of his heart. After conquering the barren areas, he would have to spend money, food, and a large amount of manpower to govern them, which would increase the burden on the imperial court.

But for rich places and places with precious resources, it is worth sending troops, even if it requires a lot of money, food, manpower and material resources afterwards, it is worth it as long as it can be beneficial to the Tang Dynasty. This is the premise.

Why didn't the dynasties expand outwards in the past? Did every dynasty and every period lack the ability to do so?
In fact, they do have this ability in most cases, but the rich areas around them have been conquered, and the rest of the places are considered barren, poor, smoky, cold, etc. by the Han people. In short, they look down on them.

Moreover, the expedition would require a huge amount of money and food, the mobilization of a huge amount of manpower and material resources, and the organization of a large army. If the investment could be recovered and the country became prosperous, that would be fine. The emperor would be willing to fight, but his ministers would not agree to fight.

If we send an expeditionary force to attack a place like that, everyone in the world will write to the emperor to accuse him of militarism. Who would be willing to do something that has no benefits and is opposed by the whole world?

It’s different now. Li Yuanji has developed technology. We now have cars and trains, but these are secondary. The main thing is the development of technology. No one has more say than Li Yuanji.

Li Yuanji said that those places outside had extremely precious resources, and if they wanted to develop better, they must get them. No one would doubt it, and everyone would take the initiative to persuade Li Yuanji to send troops.

After all, it is a good thing. We must take it down as soon as possible and get it as soon as possible so that everyone can feel at ease.

Although it is not yours, everyone has already regarded it as theirs. If you cannot get it, it will be your loss.

Li Yuanji saw that Li Er had the same idea as him, so he was relieved and continued to speak.

“However, these places are far away from the territory of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty is now too large, and it is difficult and laborious to manage.

In addition to this, there is another very important reason, that is, these places are inhabited by ethnic minorities, and there are no Han people. If they develop, only these ethnic minorities will benefit, which is very bad for the Tang Dynasty.

How do you think we should deal with this difficult problem, second brother?"

Li Yuanji already had ideas about these two issues. Although the technological strength of the Tang Dynasty was improving, its territory was too large and it would be impossible to manage it all if it was directly governed by the imperial court.

The current territory of the Tang Dynasty has reached its historical maximum, and its extension in four directions has already exceeded the limit of control.

However, the expansion of the Tang Dynasty could not stop, because Li Yuanji really did not want to let go of those natural resources. Now these two problems have become issues that must be solved at the moment.

Li Er listened to the two questions, frowning and thinking. Although they were two questions, Li Er was really considering only one, which was how to deal with aliens.

As for the first territorial issue, Li Yuanji did not ask. He knew that Li Yuanji must have an idea. Even for the second one, in Li Er's opinion, Li Yuanji should have an idea.

Now that Li Yuanji came to tell him, it was obvious that he needed to be the one to solve this problem.

Because of this, Li Er was confused for a moment. Should he solve it? How should he solve it?

Li Er thought for a long time but still had no clue. However, he was an emperor after all and had extraordinary knowledge. He soon came up with an idea and immediately looked at Li Yuanji.

"Third brother, we should just kill those foreigners, or let them build roads or mine. If they are not from our tribe, their hearts must be different. Keeping them will only bring trouble. It is better to deal with them directly!"

Li Er had a murderous look on his face. In his eyes, if he didn't kill the aliens, what was the point of keeping them alive?
Li Er has never been a kind-hearted person and he also has a ruthless side.

Li Yuanji listened to Li Er's words and shook his head slowly.

"Second brother, you are right, but also wrong. These aliens should indeed be killed, but not all of them should be killed.

If you kill them all, there will be no one left, which will also be bad for us.

The best way is to kill some and keep some, that is, to solve some problems and keep some, and at the same time migrate some people from the Tang Dynasty.

As for the people who stayed behind, they needed to work, so that they would know the treatment that the Tang people can enjoy. Then, they would be given several sets of requirements to make certain contributions. After making the contributions, they could become naturalized and become Tang people.

At the same time, we should try our best to maintain differentiated marriages among these people, that is, after they become naturalized Tang people, they can marry the people who migrated there from China.

For those who are not naturalized, their birth rate also needs to be restricted. The number of people must be controlled within a certain range to prevent the population from increasing too much and becoming inconvenient to manage.

All those who join the Tang Dynasty must be treated equally without any discrimination. Only in this way can they be integrated.

In addition, language teaching must be carried out. Before they are admitted into the Tang Dynasty, we just need to make sure that what they say is consistent with what we say. Only after they are admitted into the Tang Dynasty can they enjoy the teaching of the academy and even enter the official career.

In short, it’s still the same as what I said before, once you join the Tang Dynasty, you are a Tang person.

The people of the Tang Dynasty in the future will not only be people of the same skin color as us, so we must be prepared for this in advance."

Li Yuanji patiently explained to Li Er that there was no way the Tang Dynasty could occupy the resources and fertile land on the planet.

Just compress those ethnic minorities as much as possible and gradually transform them into Tang people. After several generations, the number of those people will naturally decrease as long as the population ratio is not unbalanced.

To put it bluntly, it is to use the population base of the Tang Dynasty to assimilate those people. Although there will still be differences, they will never be so obvious.

As long as the Tang Dynasty expanded outward, it would inevitably have to accommodate all rivers. However, Li Yuanji also had a certain limit to this accommodation.

When Li Er heard this, he understood what Li Yuanji meant, which was to separate and differentiate those ethnic minorities on the basis of the Tang people as the dominant force, and finally integrate them into the Tang people.

And this thing is obviously not something that can be accomplished in a short period of time, but it can almost be achieved after just a few generations.

However, Li Er immediately began to doubt and looked at Li Yuanji.

"If we move people from the Tang Dynasty, will the people agree?"

When Li Yuanji heard this, he immediately laughed.

“They will agree, because after migrating there, they will be able to enjoy and gain more.

Nowadays, the population of the Tang Dynasty is already too large, growing by tens of millions every year. As long as the imperial court takes the lead, not only the common people, but even the gentry and businessmen will want to migrate there.

Because even if they went, they would be in the Tang Dynasty, and they wouldn't have to pay anything." (End of this chapter)