Chapter 1116 Qin Lang
"The Eastern Expedition has begun? Who will be the commander?"
Qin Lang smiled and took Xu Luoren's hand to enter the Banshan Manor. Old Xu was fully clothed just now and wanted to stab Qin Lang twice, but now that Qin Lang came out and made out with him in a pleasant manner, he would not hesitate Immediately, he went down the donkey along the **** and started talking cordially with Qin Lang.
"When I came out of the Heilongtan station in Licheng, Qizhou, the Eastern Expedition had already officially begun. The holy man led the imperial conquest, and the holy man was heading for Youzhou. Cheng Yaojun was named General Zuowuwei and led the Liaodong Road. The chief commander of the march, commanded 60,000 elites from the land route and the Longhu people from Heshuoguan to conquer Liaodong, Niu Jinda was named the right leading general, led the marching commander of Pyongyang Road, and commanded 50,000 elites from Jianghuai Lingxia and Qi Zhao to attack Pyongyang by sea!"
Old Xu held Qin Lang's hand, like an old friend they haven't seen for many years.
"Originally the saint wanted to worship you as the commander in chief, but you have been staying here in Wu'an and refused to return. The saint is also helpless."
Qin Lang hurriedly said, "It's not because I don't want to share my worries for the king, and to fight thieves for the country, it's because my body has been unwell before."
Xu Luoren laughed.
Entering the manor, Xu Luoren didn't mention anything about Qin Lang making him wait here for half a month.
"The crown prince has already returned to Luoyang. The sage ordered the left servant to shoot Fang Xiang and Zhimen's provincial governor Wei Gong to stay behind to assist, and Qin Xiang, you to review the school's book order. This time, you will also return to Luoyang to stay behind and preside over it. The saint is very dependent on Qin Xiang. Ah, the secretary of the school and the prince of the East Palace, Zhan Shi, is still the governor of Luoyang, and he is in charge of the prince Zuowei."
Qin Lang just smiled slightly.
The war has already begun, a few years earlier than in history. In history, Li Shimin personally conquered Goguryeo and failed to succeed in the first battle. He captured Liaodong and other cities, but finally stopped at the city of Anshi and retreated before the cold winter.
According to historical records, Taizong’s conquest of Liao Dynasty was very fruitful. He captured several famous cities, beheaded tens of thousands of Goguryeo troops, and captured tens of thousands of prisoners. .
Although the historical record is good, it still failed to meet the expectations of Li Shimin's expedition.
After that, Li Shimin did not conquer Goguryeo in person, but instead adopted the minister’s suggestion to harass the Goguryeo court. After that, the Tang army also sent troops to Goguryeo twice, but it was mainly harassing.
Until the period of Gaozong Lizhi, Goguryeo was exhausted by the long-term harassment and blockade of the Tang army, and then Datang adopted a new tactic of uniting Silla, first destroying Baekje, and then destroying Goguryeo.
The defense line of the Liaodong Great Wall built by the Goguryeo people with the whole country was bypassed and became the Goguryeo Maginot line of defense, which was finally destroyed by the Tang Dynasty.
"Is the Bohai Sea route blocked? Has everyone stopped?"
Xu Luoren nodded with a smile, "Once the war broke out, the smuggling would naturally have to stop. No matter the trade on the surface or the smuggling in private, all of them have stopped now."
"No one dares to continue smuggling secretly, right?" Qin Lang asked.
Xu Luoren is both General Zuo Yulin and the commander of the Baiqisi, and the Baiqisi under his command is an existence that makes people turn pale.
"No one would dare, and no one would be so stupid."
Besides, who is really smuggling with Goguryeo and Baekje in the past few years? The firm, but behind which stand the top honors and dignitaries in the court?
In fact, each smuggling ship has obtained a business license specially issued by the imperial court. Without this license, it is impossible to sail safely on the Bohai Sea. Datang’s North Sea Fleet is not a vegetarian. The North Sea Fleet has Bohai Sea and For the two squadrons in the Yellow Sea, their sea power is an insurmountable and insurmountable existence for smuggling ships.
Although the benefits of smuggling are great, this is the imperial court’s strategic arrangement for the Goguryeo people, and it is approved by the imperial court. Many ships and smuggled materials are even provided by the imperial court.
For example, a large number of so-called Uzi steel ingots smuggled into Goguryeo were produced in Foshan. Before leaving the port, each piece of steel was inspected, registered and recorded by the Guangzhou Shipbuilding Department.
The grain shipped to Goguryeo is also recorded for each ship.
The smuggling of Goguryeo in the past few years is actually just called smuggling on the surface. In private, the taxes that each family should pay are not small at all, but the relative profits are relatively high, and everyone is indeed making a lot of money.
"Wei Gong is a bit reluctant?" Xu Luoren knew that the smuggling was originally planned by Qin Lang, so many smuggling ships on the bustling Bohai Sea route these years actually belonged to the Qin family, and the Qin family accounted for a large part of it. big one.
It is said that there are three major smuggling ports in Goguryeo, Anshi, Dahangcheng and Pyongyang. The number of smuggling ships of the Qin family and the amount of smuggled goods occupy the first place.
Among the top eight goods, iron, grain, salt, sugar, wine, tea, silk, and porcelain, the Qin family has more resources than anyone else.
"It stopped suddenly, I feel a little bit reluctant." Qin Lang replied with a smile. "However, after so many years of raising pigs, now that the pigs have fattened up, it's time to kill them for meat."
"Why is Duke Wei unwilling to take command of the Eastern Expedition? This is a rare opportunity?"
Qin Lang looked at Xu Luoren.
Xu Luoren smiled, "It's just my personal curiosity, nothing else."
Xu Luoren laughed, this answer can only be said to be a scene.
Many people in the DPRK could not wait to conquer Goguryeo, and the most important thing was profit.
In recent years, Datang has still pursued a series of strategies for Goguryeo, which Qin Lang formulated. On the surface, he maintained normal exchanges with Goguryeo, secretly smuggled through maritime merchants, and was actually fighting an economic war without gunpowder.
This kind of economic warfare is too advanced for the Goguryeo people. They have not discovered it at all, or even if someone has discovered it, but from the king to the big opponent Lu Quangai Sufang and other nobles, they are all in the present day. Who is willing to stop this kind of trade opening or smuggling to make a lot of money?
And many of them also firmly believe that the smuggling by sea merchants is only driven by profit, and it cannot be controlled by the Tang people, and they don't think that the Tang Dynasty can control such a large-scale smuggling.
If Datang really wants to control and dominate, why smuggle? Wouldn't it be better to control official transactions by directly liberalizing trade?
Interests often blind people's eyes, especially when the interests are too heavy.
As for Datang, smuggling in the Bohai Sea has been booming in recent years. Those who seized the opportunity to get in at the beginning made a lot of money, but there were only so many permits issued by the imperial court at the time, and other people later wanted to join because of jealousy. It is also difficult.
Even if the license can be obtained, the market is still limited. From the supply of raw materials to maritime transportation, and then to the market in Koguryo, they are relatively fixed.
It is difficult for them to get in.
So some people couldn't get a share of the pie, so they thought about overturning the table and shuffling the cards again.
The military generals in the court have always been looking for opportunities to make meritorious service, and Goguryeo is a good opponent.
As a result, the imperial court is now calling for the Eastern Expedition. The military generals want to make meritorious service by destroying Goguryeo, and many wealthy families want to divide up more benefits after destroying Goguryeo.
Xu Luoren is a well-known horse dealer in the Tang Dynasty. His family accounts for at least 20% of the annual horse transaction share. Although compared with the Qin family, which is involved everywhere, and even monopolizes many profitable transactions, it is incomparable, but this horse dealer The business is also very profitable.
More than half of the horses in the emperor's stable were bought by Lao Xu.
Throughout the Tang Dynasty, the most high-end horse trade was in the hands of Lao Xu. Those polo fields, racetracks, and expensive mounts of nobles and relatives all came from the Xu family.
Goguryeo is a half-cultivation and half-grazing country. Although Liaodong horses are far less tall than Hetao horses, Qinghai horses are strong, Turkic horses have strong endurance, and Yunnan horses are suitable for mountainous areas, but Liaodong horses are cold-resistant and there is still a market in the north.
Zhang Chao brought a piece of fresh tuna.
Qin Lang picked up a folded and forged Uzi steel knife with beautiful patterns, and began to operate, cutting the fish skillfully and gracefully.
"The locals call this fish Big Eye, also known as Short Pier, Big Eye Tuna. Look at its tall eyes and big eyes, doesn't it fit the name Big Eye?"
"The meat of this fish is delicious, very suitable for making sashimi. You are lucky today. A fishing boat just docked. This fish is very fresh. The fish is more than five hundred catties, and it is called the King of Big Eyes. It is seven feet long. How long. This piece of meat is the most tender piece of fish."
The precious knife is sharp, and the tuna is fresh and tender.
Bigeye tuna is not the top-ranked tuna, but the top-ranked bluefin tuna, while bigeye tuna has more water in its meat, a lighter taste, and a slightly lower fat content, making it a lean meat. , but still a top sashimi ingredient.
"Taste?"
Xu Luoren looked at the small plate of sashimi pushed in front of him. The slices were extremely thin, and the pieces of the fish were bright red and tender, which looked very good.
"I heard that Mr. Wei doesn't like fish crawfish?"
"I don't eat sashimi from inland rivers, because there may be parasites in the fish, and the worms may not die after eating them, which will endanger health. But this kind of raw fish is made of sea fish tablets, even if worms eat them, they cannot continue to survive in the human body..."
"Knowledge has increased again." Xu Luoren laughed, picked up the big-eyed tuna slices to taste, and was amazed after eating.
"Could it be that Saburo is so happy that he doesn't think about Shu and doesn't want to return to the court. If I stay on such a beautiful island, I also don't want to go back."
"However, although this place is good, there is still a beautiful and virtuous Princess Changle in Luoyang waiting for Wei Gong to go back to get married. Let's leave for Beijing tomorrow, shall we?"
The sashimi of bigeye tuna is indeed delicious. This fish is worthy of being the king fish of five hundred catties. It is even more rare and extremely fresh. The meat quality is much better than the Yellow River carp fillets he ate, but he did not Forget about this errand.
"Mr. Xu, the sage has already gone to Youzhou. Now that I return to Luoyang, I can't marry the princess, right?"
"The sage said that this marriage cannot be delayed any longer, so Duke Wei went to Youzhou first after receiving the decree. The princess is now accompanying the saint, so Duke Wei married the princess in the palace of Youzhou, and then returned to Luoyang with the princess. Assist the crown prince in overseeing the country, accompany the newlywed wife! It is best to give birth to a baby early, the saint is waiting to hold a grandson!"
Not only did Qin Lang cut the fish fillets gracefully, but he also tasted very aristocratic, which made Xu Luoren, who was eating large pieces of fish, feel a little embarrassed. Compared with the upstart Qin Lang, he looks more like a nouveau riche.
He couldn't help sighing in his heart, how could this Qin Lang have such a good life, the beautiful princess was waiting for him, and he was not in a hurry, instead he had to work hard to come and invite him back. For a while, he lost his appetite.
(end of this chapter)