The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 262: The Human World (Part )

On the tenth day of the eleventh month in the second year of Qianning, the sage rode out of Tonghua Gate.

The newly appointed Li Zhirou, Li Jiepi and Wang Shenzhi rode on both sides and listened to the admonition.

"The East Pole Road is 9510 miles." The saint glanced at the stone tablet beside the road, and several people strolled down along the Longshou Canal.

"You still need to fight hard when you get to Guangzhou." His eyes fell on Li Zhirou: "You have been an official for decades, I don't have much to say, just a few words of advice."

"Your Majesty, please speak."

"Lingnan has also developed ambitions in recent years. I suspect that Liu Chonggui was murdered. Therefore, you will be in danger. However, with my support and the support of Fujian, they don't have the courage to rebel directly. They will mainly resort to conspiracy. For example, they will let you encounter thieves, let you not adapt to the local climate, and die of a sudden illness. Southerners are insidious and cunning, so you must be 100% vigilant."

"Seize as much military power as possible and cultivate your followers. The court will gradually send officials to help you control the prefectures and counties, but do not clash with the Guangzhou military and local tyrants. If there are signs of unrest, flee and wait for me to deal with them."

"Suppress the influence of Persianism, Manichaeism, and Nestorianism in the area, as well as the excessive expansion of Buddhism and Taoism. Finally, spread the various deeds of the court in recent years and my honorable name, and use private schools and official schools to subtly influence them. Of course, do not involve my privacy."

"Also, remember to research geography, report regularly, and cooperate with the court to rectify the prefectures and counties."

"........."

"I will take your advice." After the sage finished his long-winded speech, Li Zhirou nodded to indicate that he had taken note. Looking back at the capital, he could not help but ask again, "Can I come back?"

It's difficult, he is over 60. I am asking this now because I am worried about my family.

He is the fifth-generation grandson of Li Dan. Li Ye's branch, but after so many generations, the two families have become strangers except that they both have the surname Li. According to the Li family's clan law, after Li Zhirou's death, the Xue Wang branch will be stripped of its title and classified as a commoner, and will fend for itself. This time when he took office, the Xue Wang branch will be separated. The eldest son followed him to take office, and the youngest son stayed in Chang'an. He had three daughters and one son. They were all younger than the saint. But according to seniority, the saint was the eighth generation of Li Dan, and they were the seventh generation, the same generation as the emperor, so what should they be called?
Aunt, aunt, auntie, aunt?
Young aunt......

Yeah.

"Leave the three aunts and the second uncle to me," the saint said.

Li Zhirou nodded and stopped talking. She could not care about other clan members. There were so many clan members, some of them were in a miserable state, and some were beggars. It was enough to get a guarantee that Erlang's family would be safe and sound.

At this time, the saint glanced at Li Jiepi and continued: "After the Xiantong Campaign, the natives of Jiaozhou lay dormant and dared not harm you. As for Nanzhao..."

Is massacring a city and killing people useful? Yes, it does.

The most severe suppression of the monkeys in Jiaozhou was probably in the Tang Dynasty. After entering the late Tang Dynasty, the Central Plains army was still mobilized several times to enforce the king's rule in Jiaozhou, killing many monkeys. Therefore, Jiaozhou is still obedient now, or it can be said that it has the desire but not the courage. It thinks that the court is not doing well and does not take it seriously, but no one dares to take the lead and establish itself, so it is better to wait a little longer.

Nanzhao was also paralyzed.

In the long war with Tang, they fought hard and won - "All men under the age of 15 were sent out, and women worked the fields to support the army."

A typical example of a person who is both bad at playing.

Therefore, even though they are weak now, it does not mean that they have given up. In history, after the Changhe Kingdom took over, it continued to invade Shu and was killed by more than 100,000 people. Only then did they dare not look north and pretended to be nice to the Central Plains and tried to please them.

"I am too far away to reach them, and Shu has not been recovered yet, so please do not take the initiative to provoke a war."

"I have two more tasks for you. The first is diplomacy with the southern countries. Investigate the customs, military and political culture of the countries, confirm their current status, and then compile them into a book and report it once a year."

"The second is to find high-quality grain seeds." The sage recalled his vague memories, his tone full of envy: "The fertile soil of the South China Sea can produce cheap rice and grains by just sowing some seeds. This is of course due to the unique advantages of rain and heat, but high-quality grain seeds are also indispensable. You can pick a few species from each of Jiangnan, Yongliang, and Zhongyuan according to their astronomy and geography and send them back."

Of course, seed selection and breeding is a very systematic and complex project. In this era, it is not that you can just plant the seeds according to the corresponding rain and heat conditions. But, take your time.

“Fruits, vegetables, trees and beans suitable for cultivation in our country will also be introduced.”

"But the process will be very dangerous." The saint was well aware of the hardship and difficulty of this work: "You can refuse, and the reward is a wish."

Li Jiepi thought for a moment and said, "I will obey your order. When we arrive in Jiaozhou and open a government office, I will recruit some local people to handle this matter."

After saying this, he smiled slightly and said, "We are the king and his subjects, and also family members. Why would you want to make any wishes? Your Majesty has risked his life for the country, and it is only natural for us to work hard outside. Forget about the wishes. If what we do can help rebuild the country, it will be the best reward for us."

The sage nodded. People like Cui Anqian and Li Jiepi have strong wills and principles. Once they have made up their minds, they will not change. I really don't need to say any more words to win them over. It will only make people look down on me and treat me as a pushover. Riding side by side, the sage patted his horse's back gently. He also has a lot of wind and waves to deal with. What else can I say? Let's work hard! Then he waved to Wang Shenzhi and drove his horse a dozen steps forward.

Wang Shenzhi followed and looked at the saint intently.

The saint fell off his horse.

Seeing this, Wang Shenzhi also dismounted. The saint sighed, stretched out his right hand, and naturally pulled Wang Shenzhi's left hand. Feeling the rough and warm palm, Wang Shenzhi blushed and his heartbeat accelerated. He didn't want to let go, nor did he want to force it. He just let him pull gently.

The saint strolled along while lowering his voice: "…………I really like you. I don't want you to stay in the court for a reason. I have no shortage of loyal and capable court officials or imperial guards. But I lack loyal and capable military governors. I often tell my wives and concubines that the only people south of the Huai River who can be entrusted with important matters are the Wang Chao brothers."

"Your mission is to ensure the stability of Fujian. On this basis, provide military support to the two kings Xue and Yan to prevent them from being overthrown. It would be best to send a letter to Jiao and Guang in the name of the military government to let them know what's going on."

…………Wang Shenzhi frowned, puzzled. Telling the Jiedushi to improve internal affairs was like telling an ordinary person: your mission is to live well. However, he still said: "These are what we want to do, don't worry."

"In addition, we should improve agriculture and foreign trade." The sage said, "As Jiangnan becomes more stable and the influence of Huang Chao's massacre in Guangzhou gradually fades, trade will flourish again, so we must pay attention to it. For this reason, Wang Chao will appoint you as the Maritime Envoy of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou, and you as the deputy envoy. The court will also send officials who specialize in this field to assist you one after another."

"Also, Fujian has a geographical advantage. We can collect more intelligence from Ryukyu and Izuo and find out the situation across the sea. We should report it once a year."

"The barbarians in Fujian are rampant. It is actually quite dangerous to encircle and suppress them. Even if you are powerful, you must pay attention to your own safety."

"Let's go back and let Wang Chao recover from his illness."

"You must always be alert in the vassal state, and you must not be negligent day or night. When you live in Luocheng, you must always pay attention to the movements around you. If you need to avoid meeting with your subordinates, the guards must not be too far away. In this world, many princes are drunk and dreaming, day and night. You must get up early, drink less, and eat on time... When I settle the towns in the south of the Yangtze River, I will summon you back to the court."

Between the lines, there are some reminders to friends.

Wang Shenzhi was immediately confused and didn't know what to do. After a while, he whispered, "Your Majesty, please be careful when you are in Chang'an or on the march. I heard that Concubine Shu, Concubine Xian, Concubine De, Lady Luo, and the Privy Envoy all love to eat lychees. From now on, I will try to send more fresh lychees to you every year during the harvest season."

The saint shook his head and said, "I have spoiled my beautiful wives and concubines. The people are struggling, so there is no need to deliberately send them. When it comes time to pay tribute, just send a batch along. If you are interested, you can send more dried sea fish."

"Okay." Wang Shenzhi bit his lip, trying his best not to look at that charming expression and smile: "Your Majesty, rest assured, even if I risk my life, I will definitely protect the two kings. I will do my best to handle everything you tell me."

The saint paused, looked at Wang Shenzhi, patted the back of his hand, and then slowly released it: "I will leave the two kings and the ministers sent to the two governments to you. Their safety and the peace and order of Lingnan are in your hands..."

Wang Shenzhi's eyes suddenly felt hot and his throat felt salty. He lowered his head, held the saint's hand and pressed it tightly against his forehead: "...... Your Majesty will definitely become a king like Yao and Shun."

The guards, concubines and ministers behind Longshou Canal witnessed silently, and the historian picked up his pen to write down this sad scene.

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Shenzhi let go of his hand, turned his head, ran away, and climbed onto the horse's back. It seemed that if he looked at him one more time, he would be unable to resist turning back and flying into the saint's lap.

Wang Shenzhi was stunned for a long time before he suddenly realized that for the first time in many years, he was so eager to serve someone.

The saint walked into the team under the gaze of everyone.

His eyes swept over these carefully selected ministers who were about to travel five thousand miles away for him.

Suddenly spoke loudly.

"Even if no one can tolerate such people, I will always be your emperor. As long as I am here, the sun will not set in Chang'an. Even if we are thousands of miles apart, I will still be your shield and umbrella. If anything happens, I will send someone to rescue you as soon as a memorial arrives. The mountains and rivers are long, and the southern country is hot and rainy. After many years, take care of yourselves... I wish you all a smooth journey!"

"The tide is flat and the two banks are wide, the wind is right and the sails are hoisted! Now we should leave, why worry too much!" Under the leadership of Li Jiepi and Zhao Chong, the deputy envoy of Jiaozhou, hundreds of officials shouted together, took off their hats and bowed to Emperor Li. After getting up, they did not look back and left. In the team, the last few horses kept stopping, and several pairs of eyes, some cloudy and some clear, kept looking back.

The sage led the horse, with only the lonely Concubine Shu, Zhao Ruxin, Zhu Xiewusi, and Liang Xiaoyao by his side, but his heart was full of twists and turns. Just for these Mao Awls who risked their lives for the king and gambled everything on their lives, he could never fall down and leave them helpless!

The next step is to deal with floods and plagues.

The abnormal heavy rain and the plague were like two loud slaps in the face, making Emperor Li see stars.

(End of this chapter)