Chapter 13 Meeting Li Shimin ()

Li Shimin has been ascended the throne for almost a month, and he still uses the Wude reign title without changing the country's name to Zhenguan because this war happened when he ascended the throne and he had no time to take care of this matter.

Li Ke went to the gate of Ganquan Palace and followed the eunuch Wang De's publicity, he came to the imperial study where Li Shimin often corrected memorials. Li Shimin was reviewing the memorials, and Li Ke stepped forward and bowed: "My son, Li Ke, pay homage to the father."

Li Shimin looked up at him, put down the memorial in his hand and said, "Get up and sit down, your health has not recovered, you don't need to give this great gift." Then, he pointed to the sign on the shore and said, "The country is full of wars, I am busy with government affairs, and I don't have to go to see you. I want to wait until I've been busy for this period of time before going to see you. Since you come to pay my respects to me today, it means that your health is not seriously damaged, and I don't have to worry about any accidents you have."

When Li Ke heard Li Shimin's words, he was filled with a father's concern for his son and said, "Thank you for your concern. My son's health has been cured. However, the father is working hard for state affairs and needs to pay attention to his health at all times."

When Li Shimin heard Li Ke say something so concerned about his body, the fatigue that had covered him in the past few days also swept away, and a sense of father-son family affection surged into his heart.

Li Shimin looked at Li Ke, who was only twelve years old in front of him, and felt mixed feelings. It was time for him to have never thought about so many things before he became an emperor. Now that he became an emperor, he suddenly found that the burden was heavy, and his position on thinking about problems had also changed. The first thing he thought of was the country, and the second was his own children.

He stood up and walked to Li Ke, sighing, "I have to work hard. Nowadays, the Tang Dynasty is full of holes, and the people live a hard life, and there are still many things to do. To make matters worse, it has just made a covenant with Jie Li, and it is necessary to pay annual monies every year, which is even more burdened by the people."

He walked to the window and sighed tiredly: "This is the shame of the Tang Dynasty, and it is also my shame."

Li Ke remembered Li Shimin in history, who defeated the Turks in the fourth year of Zhenguan and captured the Turkic Khan Jie Li, so he said with certainty: "The father and emperor are rare among the emperors of all dynasties. He is a nomadic people. It takes less than five years for him to sweep the northern grasslands, capture Jie Li, and wash away the blood shame."

When Li Ke heard what Li Ke said so affirmed, Li Shimin's face turned surprised, wondering how Li Ke could feel that he could pacify the Turks within five years? Did he have any strategy in his mind? He couldn't help but want to teach him some ideas.

Since he ascended the throne, although Luo Yi rebelled and the Turks attacked, many of the ministers still suggested that he had already been in the throne at such an extraordinary moment.

Since ancient times, it is a tradition of imperial families to enthrone the crown prince and establish the legitimate and chief. However, there are still some people in the court who have suggested that Li Ke, who has a strong personality, be the crown prince more than once. He is too clear about his son's character. Because today he did not seem surprised that he said that he could have been determined to be a Turk in five years. Because he has been fighting for a long time, he rarely taught his son's knowledge. Today he is just here to take this opportunity to teach, and see if he has other advantages besides the strong personality mentioned by everyone.

If Li Ke was really talented, he should have carefully considered the establishment of a crown prince. He should not ruin the foundation of the Tang Dynasty for hundreds of years because of ancient laws.

After thinking about this in his heart, Li Shimin asked: "Since you are so sure that you can destroy the Turks within five years, you might as well talk about your thoughts."

When Li Ke heard Li Shimin ask him such a sharp question, he felt nervous. He knew that anyone who accomplished great things must have the determination to sleep on firewood and eat gall, and be persistent, not the kind of man who can show off his life heroes. In the future political battle formation, all he had to do was to fuel the fire and reap the benefits of the fisherman, so that Li Chengqian and Li Tai fought until both sides were injured and took action and took the position of prince in one fell swoop. It was not that he had made his mark as early as now, so that everyone would start to be wary of him.

However, now the arrow is on the string, which forces him to fire.

He knew that Li Shimin had not made a decision on the matter that everyone suggested to be a crown prince, which means he was still hesitant, which means that Li Chengqian had not seen what he thought was the conditions he had as a crown prince.

Therefore, he could not be too mediocre, which made Li Shimin completely disappointed him without paying attention to it. Therefore, he was very conflicted.

Another point was that Li Shimin asked him about the Turks. This question was something he had not considered and did not know how to say it for a while. So he explained the method of how Li Shimin destroyed the Turks in history that he knew in combination with his own views: "Father, the Turks are nomadic peoples on the grassland. They have their own advantages and weaknesses. We can only defeat the Turks in one fell swoop."

Speaking of this, Li Ke looked up at Li Shimin and saw Li Shimin nodding. He continued: "Nomadic peoples have a natural advantage over farming people, that is, they are maneuverable and flexible, so that even their production and living materials can be moved.

If an army is sent to attack them, they will disappear without a trace, and the place where they originally lived is just a grassland and there is no way to destroy it. If they pursue it closely, the entire army will often be dragged down by supplies and food, and sometimes they will be ambushed.

Therefore, if we want to pacify the Turks and clear the threat to the northern border: First, the will and ability of the country are the most important. What we can learn from in foreign wars is the Han Dynasty. In the initial stage of the Han Dynasty, the national strength was very weak and was completely passive in the relationship with the Huns. However, in the efforts of the kings and ministers to govern, they changed from weak to strong, and when the national strength was strong, they carried out continuous attacks on the Huns, which ultimately forced the Huns to move westward and defended the security of the Han Empire. Therefore, strengthening national strength is the primary issue and the top priority."

When talking about his issues with the Turks, Li Ke forgot to keep a low profile and keep a low profile in his work, and talked freely: "The second is to focus on political attacks on the heart, find out the contradictions in the Turks, disintegrate the unity between the various Turkic tribes from within, and reduce the difficulty of the battle."

"Third, the Tang Dynasty must have an iron cavalry that is comparable to the Turks. When the supply and geographical environment are not very beneficial to us, go deep into the desert to find the location of the Turkish royal court, and defeat the confidence of the Turks in one fell swoop. In this way, the Turkish alliances will be defeated without conquering them. They can wipe out the Turks and the desert in the north."

After hearing Li Ke's words, Li Shimin pondered for a moment and said solemnly: "You want to follow the example of the champion Hou Huo Qubing, and go deep into the enemy's hinterland, give the enemy the most fatal blow, and destroy the confidence of the Huns. This is a way to deal with the Turkic cavalry." Then he asked: "Then do you think we should develop the economy, enrich our national strength, and improve the lives of the people of the Tang Dynasty?"

Li Ke didn't expect that after Li Shimin finished teaching the Turkic problem, he would have to teach him how to develop the economy and improve national strength after teaching the Turkic problem. He felt hesitant. Did he pretend that he didn't know? Or would he tell the policies that Li Shimin implemented in the early Tang Dynasty in history? He looked up at Li Shimin who was waiting for his answer, and pondered for a moment and said, "My son has also been considering this issue these days. If there is any inappropriateness, I hope my father will correct me."

Li Ke's analysis of how to win the future war against the Turks was reasonable and evidenced, which made Li Shimin look at him differently. That's why he asked Li Ke how he could strengthen national strength and improve people's lives and other strategies to govern the country. He really hoped that Li Ke would have any outstanding strategies in governing the country, and said, "Let's talk about it."

Li Ke rectified his thoughts and said: "First, exempt the rent and regulation of six states including the Guanzhong and Puzhou for two years, and the remaining states for one year are exempted from rent and regulation, which can greatly stimulate the development of agriculture in Puzhou and other places.

2. For areas severely damaged by Turkic invasions, the state will distribute relief products according to the number of people per household; for royal relatives who are named kings, the standards for their fiefs will be greatly reduced to reduce the burden on local farmers."

Speaking of this, he looked up at Li Shimin, saw Li Shimin nodding in agreement with his opinion, and continued: "Three, the country advocates frugality: if you want to be prosperous, you will have a wide range of expenses, and if you want to be rich, you will have a heavy tax. If you have a heavy tax, you will have a worry, and if you have a worry, the country will have a danger."

After hearing Li Ke's three-point strategy for governing the country, Li Shimin fell into deep thought. What Li Ke said was indeed a problem that the Tang Dynasty must face and solve now. He could not eat or have peace of mind because of this. After Li Ke said this today, the worries in his heart over the past few days were wiped out, and he felt that the three points that Li Ke should solve the most in the Tang Dynasty were the three points mentioned by Li Ke.

After some thought, Li Shimin looked at Li Ke who was still a child in front of him and asked in a deep voice: "Li Ke, I asked you, you must answer truthfully, what you said today is what you think, or is it something others asked you to convey to me on your behalf?" Li Shimin was still confused about Li Ke who was strong and courageous and said such a realistic strategy. Therefore, this question was caused.
Chapter completed!