Chapter 111 War is a profitable business
In the final analysis, it was caused by lack of money. Modern people may not understand why the Tang Dynasty wanted to get married because it was so powerful. Only after arriving in this era did Li Xiang finally see clearly.
The total annual tax revenue of the Tang Dynasty is about 12 million guan, which sounds like a lot, but if you break it down from all aspects, you may only have a few hundred thousand guan left every year. Now that you have to send troops to Tuyuhun, it is just the initial cost. It would be more than 1.5 million dollars. If the entire war was to be fought, it would even cost millions of dollars.
"Your Majesty, I think this time Tuyuhun invaded the border is different from the past. If we adopt the method of marriage, it will affect the prestige of the Tang Dynasty..."
After much hesitation, Li Jing finally stood up. Since the end of the Turkic War, Li Jing had not spoken much in the court, mainly because he was afraid that others would say he had taken power. Once the war breaks out, Li Jing may rise in power and achieve great success. host.
But now, this matter is different from before. If you can get married at other times, but now the army is at the door, if you get married, you will be ridiculed by the world, and everyone will think You are forced into helplessness.
"Li Xiang, what do you think?"
Li Shimin was originally waiting for Li Xiang to come out on his own, but who knew that this kid was just standing there, showing no intention of coming out to speak, so Li Shimin could only call his name, and this little naughty boy became more and more slippery.
"When I return to the emperor, I have a very clear intention. When my friends come, there will be fine wine. If the jackals, tigers and leopards come, I, the Tang Dynasty, will destroy his whole family."
Li Xiang used a phrase familiar to modern people and won the applause of the generals.
"Well said, this is my good son of the Tang Dynasty."
"His Royal Highness Changsun said this just to boost his temper. Who does Tuyuhun think he dares to lead troops to threaten us?"
Looking at these howling generals, Li Shimin was also speechless. If you have money, I will send you all to the battlefield and let you show your strength on the battlefield. But it is hard for a clever woman to make a meal without rice. Now there is only one left in the treasury. Two million dollars.
"This is simply grandstanding. Do you have any other abilities besides shouting slogans here? Do you know how much money is left in the treasury now? If we resort to force, do you know how much it will cost?"
What Li Tai disliked the most was Li Xiang being in the limelight, so this guy stood up immediately and jumped on his feet and shouted. He didn't have the demeanor of a prince at all.
"My nephew doesn't know how much it will cost, but the car has been installed at my nephew's house. The emperor fined Wei Chen's father a million pounds the day before yesterday. Not only did I just make some money, everything has been installed on the car. Waiting for a word from the emperor, it can be transported to the treasury at any time."
Li Xiang said lazily, but these words were very lethal. Li Tai, who was hanging in the air, suddenly felt that he was reckless again. Didn't he say it silently just now? When this kid spoke, he had to think through it in his mind before coming out to refute him, but Li Tai couldn't hate the way Li Xiang had a long face just now, so he jumped right out, and he didn't expect to be humiliated by him again.
Hearing Li Xiang's words, everyone started whispering again. The emperor was really cruel to the prince. He fined him two million yuan. Is it possible that your son and grandson are not biological?
Of course, some people think so. They all feel that His Highness Changsun has made a lot of money. It turns out that the largest part of the money has been earned by the emperor. This means that this transaction belongs to the emperor. If you are jealous in the future, you have to look at yourself. Is your neck hard enough? Do you dare to worry about the emperor’s money bag and not want to live?
"Your Majesty, isn't this rich? What are we waiting for? Can we let these clowns sit on our necks and shit? His Tuyuhun's bad skills are not enough for several of our counties! You have to fuck him!"
"Lao Cheng is right. How old is this? Tuyuhun dares to threaten us? Your Majesty asked me to be the commander-in-chief and Lao Cheng to be the deputy-general. We two brothers are going to set off now. Can we kill him?"
Yuchi Jingde also stood up immediately. As long as they have money, then this battle will definitely be inevitable. They can no longer stay in the capital, but they also know the real situation, that is, too many generals may not be able to It was their turn to go to war.
"Old Yuchi is right, isn't he? Why the hell should I be a deputy general? Why am I worse than you? Why don't you go out and have fun?"
Cheng Yaojin almost fell into the pit. Li Xiang did not expect that these generals could usually cover up. If they really had the opportunity to go into battle to kill the enemy, they would not let anyone go. No wonder the military in Li Shimin's period The strength will be strong, but with such a general, will the soldiers under him be inferior?
Ahem...
Li Shimin coughed speechlessly, and the people below also hurriedly returned to their original positions. If Li Shimin had not said anything, several people would have tried it, especially Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Jingde.
"Xuanling..."
Fang Xuanling stood silent all the time, and Li Shimin also started to call the names.
"Even with His Highness Changsun's one million yuan, I still think that we can't go to war."
Fang Xuanling didn't say much, but he also sealed the deal. One million dollars sounds like a lot, but you have to look at what you are doing. If there is a war with Tuyuhun, this amount of money is really not enough. of.
"Did you hear that, kid?"
Li Shimin also had the same idea. If he had followed his own temper, he would have destroyed Tuyuhun long ago, but now he has no money and can't fight a war even if he wants to.
"Calling you."
Li Tai added angrily, but when he saw Li Shimin's eyes, the guy shrank back in fear.
"Your Majesty, I think this one million yuan is enough. The combat effectiveness of Tuyuhun's army is far behind mine. We have many good men in the border area of Tang Dynasty. We can recruit troops locally. Once we enter Tuyuhun's territory, , do we still need to spend money? Maybe we can still make money. Did the court lose money when General Li Jing went on an expedition to the Turks? "
When Li Xiang said these words, everyone present suddenly realized that war is not a matter of losing money, but a matter of making money!
Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji also looked at each other. Now that they have had more time for peace, they have forgotten some things about the war. When General Li Jing went to conquer the Turks in the north, he brought back countless cattle and sheep. The horses and the treasures of the Turkic royal court not only did not cost a penny, but also made a lot of money. Tuyuhun guarded the business line between Tang Dynasty and Tubo. How could he be poor?
