Chapter 5099 Battle of the Great Power
Zhang Xingcheng thought for a while and nodded and replied: "Yes!"
In principle, this matter is almost impossible. How could the central government hand over the country's minerals to the local government office for mortgage? After all, the risks are extremely great. If Zhang Xingcheng takes action and gains his personal pockets, and eventually, hundreds of thousands of yuan of assets are completely lost and disappears, wouldn’t the center take the blame?
The loss of money is second to the next. Who would bear a charge that could affect his political career for nothing?
Zhang Xingcheng's confidence comes from the failure of the Jin King's mutiny, the Shandong family flatly bowed down and surrendered to the center in terms of measuring land, imperial examination reform, commercial tax collection, etc.
Whether it is to give compensation or stabilize the place, he, a banner figure in the Shandong family in the court, still has some say.
Li Tai was overjoyed and raised his glass to greet him: "In this way, I wish you this to accomplish this!"
He can't spend all his money now, so he took out part of it to "lend" it, and while reaping favors, he can also collect a considerable long-term investment. It's the best of both worlds.
Zhang Xingcheng was also very happy. He just needed to manage the troubled Henan Prefecture properly and returning to the center was just around the corner.
...
After the banquet, the banquet was removed, and the maid prepared a small stove, a kettle, a bucket of spring water, tea sets and other items, and was scolded by Fang Jun.
Only a tea table was left in the pavilion, and Fang Jun personally boiled water and brewed tea.
At this moment, the moon is in the middle of the sky, and the cool breeze is blowing. The river water introduced into the garden flows slowly, gathers into a pool and flows out from the culvert, with lotus leaves and candlelights shining.
Drinking tea after drinking can quench your thirst.
The four of them sat around the table, and their conversation was very pleasant.
Li Tai took a sip of tea and asked, "Erlang plans to stay in Luoyang for a while?"
Fang Jun shook his head and held a pot of tea and poured tea: "I stayed for a few days and returned to Chang'an. Before winter, I would go to Hexi and even go to Fuqi City to take a walk. The battle of Tubo lasted for a long time. The Tang Dynasty supported the Gar family. Over the past year, the food, fodder, weapons and other materials were consumed greatly. Many people in the court complained about this and encouraged public opinion. If the battle of Tubo cannot be ended as soon as possible, there would be great resentment from the public."
Those officials who are deeply influenced by Confucianism openly "anti-war" and "will be destroyed if they are wary." Since the country is booming at the moment, they wish they could quickly let the army enter the warehouse and put their horses into the south mountain, and use all resources to build internal affairs.
It is both a struggle between civil and military affairs, and it is also an inherent thinking.
During the Qin and Han dynasties, Confucian thought was proactive. However, since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, with the peace of the country and the peace of the people and the sea, a thought of "enjoying wealth and not fighting for it" emerged and gradually occupied the mainstream.
How could officials and great scholars not understand the significance of the "Tubo Strategy" to the Tang Dynasty?
But they didn't care, they just focused on their own academic, ideological and power, and strongly opposed the use of a lot of resources to assist the Gar family...
Li Tai sighed and said, "Your sentence 'national interests are above everything else' is easy to say, but it is difficult to do. There are mostly mediocre people in the world, and there are many people who fight for power and profit in the officialdom. How many people are loyal to the country and loyal to the country? But most of them are just official traitors."
Ashinazhong drank a little too much, and then he also took over the words: "Isn't there a saying, 'If a man does not do anything for himself, heaven and earth will be punished.' It is natural that secular people will find it difficult to get rid of the utilitarianism of the world. Therefore, those who are dedicated to the country and the people, and do not do their own good will be recorded in history and famous in history. If everyone can regard the country as their family and be selfless, how can there be loyal ministers who are diligent in national affairs and heroes who are in the horse and corpse?"
Fang Jun continued tea for Ashinazhong and praised: "Duke Xue's words are extremely insightful!"
What is a "hero"?
Those who can do what ordinary people cannot do are "heroes", so they will be passed down in history and be remembered forever.
If there are "heroes" everywhere, "heroes" will be worthless...
After all, "those who are capable of what they cannot do" are "heroes". "heroes" are always mavericks, with high moral character and few...
Ashin Zhong was flattered, stroked his beard and laughed, "The Duke of Yue praised the words after drinking!"
Fang Jun looked at him with a smile. This guy had a typical Turkic appearance, strong bones and burly body, especially a big bearded man with a strong aura. Although his lower abdomen was bulging and he had been distant for a long time, anyone who looked at this appearance would have to praise the "great man". Unexpectedly, it was a silver-like gun tip that was not good.
Ashin Zhong once again appreciated Fang Jun's inexplicable eyes: "..."
What are you laughing at? !
Zhang Xingcheng held the teacup and slowly said, "Who doesn't want to be a famous minister who is loyal to the country and the country? Who doesn't have a dream of making achievements and becoming famous in history? However, people are often involuntarily in the officialdom and officialdom. The personal abilities, family bonds, and situations are like huge nets, which can't be broken free. Every step is spent on a huge effort. If you want to serve the country and the people and be selfless, you have the will but lack the ability."
The other three were silent because this made sense.
Many times, it is the "heroes created by the times". If the same person is placed in different environments, his choices and actions may be completely different.
Heroes are not born, and treacherous officials are not all. They are just in such an environment and have different mentalities, so they make the choice that is most in line with their own interests.
In history, how many people can do whatever they want and follow their original hearts?
Most people just go with the flow.
Loyalty, treason, good and evil do not all come from the heart...
Several people sighed, and Zhang Xingcheng asked again: "I heard that the situation in the Western Regions is not stable, and the Dashi Caliph dispatched troops and generals, intending to invade the Western Regions again?"
Fang Jun nodded: "This battle is inevitable."
Li Tai said depressedly: "Are the big cannibals idle and feel uncomfortable? Before, their caliph was personally in the army, and you beaten them to throw away their armor and run wildly. Why did they come again?"
Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty and the destruction of the Turks, although the Eastern Expedition to Goguryeo was successful, it was a big victory and annihilated the enemy. It was precisely such great achievements that Fang Jun became a new generation of leading figure after the Zhenguan minister.
Last time, Muaweiye sent troops from Damascus and mobilized 200,000 troops to invade the Western Regions. The losses were extremely heavy. How could he remember to eat but not to fight?
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Fang Junyouran drank tea and explained: "This is not a question of whether the Great Food Kingdom wants to fight, nor is it even whether our Tang Dynasty wants to fight. It is because when the interests of the two superpowers are bound, there must be a battle. Between countries, either the east wind overwhelms the west wind or the west wind overwhelms the east wind. Even if there is a short-term peace, it is just that each of them is planning and accumulating strength. The war will inevitably break out."
Due to the differences in culture between the East and the West, the evolution paths produced are also very different. Relatively speaking, Eastern Confucian culture pays more attention to "internal affairs" and achieves the progress of productivity by exploring its own potential; while the West is just the opposite, taking the route of "neighbors storing grain and I storing guns", ignoring production at all, and just robbing others...
Even after the initiation of the Industrial Revolution, the productivity level of the West jumped to ten or a hundred times that of the East, but the thinking pattern in its bones remained the same.
After all, how can we grab construction quickly?
Historically, the Great Food Kingdom used desperate expansion to accumulate wealth and plunder the population to achieve the goal of stable rule. When their expansion reached West Asia, they inevitably had a war with the Tang Dynasty.
The surface result of the "Battle of Henglus" seems to have been defeated by the Tang Dynasty, but it also prevented the Great Food Kingdom from expanding eastward.
Nowadays, with the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty's sea trade, Tang ships traveled smoothly above the ocean, and the trade surplus with the big food countries has increased year by year, and the dispute over interests between the two countries has become irreconcilable.
Although some people from the Great Food Country may not be able to explain the "trade deficit", their country is full of commodities produced by the Tang Dynasty, including porcelain, silk, glass, bamboo paper, cotton cloth... and the huge amount of money lost, resulting in a money shortage.
Expansion is blocked, trade dumping... How can you do without war?
Even though the Battle of the Western Regions and the Navy Battle of the Shirofu Port were defeated one after another, the Great Food Kingdom still had to bite the bullet and continue the war.
After all, Europe is wilderness at this moment and there is no way to grab it. If the passage to advance eastward cannot be opened, how can it maintain its huge domestic consumption?
Li Tai said depressedly: "So as long as it develops, you have to fight?"
Fang Jun nodded: "If you don't hit others, others will come to hit you."
Ashin Zhong drank a little too much wine, so he said something unscrupulously: "Just like us Turks... the Han people always complained that we Turks went south from time to time, and they were going to walk south from time to time, and they were riding on the Great Wall and drinking on the Yellow River. They burned, killed, looted and robbed, but we had no choice! We don't know how to farm, nor would we go to farm, after all, how could we rob the land quickly? When Jie Li Khan drank horses and the troops came to Chang'an, he forced Emperor Taizong to sign the "Wei River Alliance" and emptied the entire Guanzhong treasury. The capture of that battle was even if all the Turks could not save the land for a hundred years!"
This is true, but he forgot that there were three Han people here, one of whom was the biological son of Emperor Taizong...
Li Tai stared at the eyes, slapped the table hard, and cursed: "Barriages, animals are worse than animals, and they can be killed!"
When people talk about the "Wei River Alliance", they always exaggerate His Majesty Li Er's "harsh and bold" and "outrageous" in their eyes. However, they were regarded as a great humiliation by His Majesty Li Er himself. Otherwise, there would be no longer the fact that the national strength had just recovered and several armies could not wait for the conquest of the Turks.
As the son of His Majesty Li Er, he was furious when he saw the Turkic man in front of him talking about the "Wei River Alliance".
If Ashi Nazhong had not been loyal to the Tang Dynasty and was half his brother-in-law, he would have drawn his sword to face him... Ashi Nazhong was startled and knew that he had made up his words. He quickly stood up and explained, "I have not had any disrespect in my opinion. I just talked about this, and I felt something for a moment, so I spoke without saying anything... Your Highness forgives me!"