The word "side by side" king of the Tang Dynasty

The Youzhou that Wang Gui refers to is Beijing. Although Li Changqing has renamed Youzhou, Li Shimin obviously does not recognize this title.

Youzhou is located in the north, with barren land, and suffers from years of war and plunder by barbarians, so its economic development is very slow.

But later Li Changqing arrived in Youzhou, pacified the Turks in three battles, surrendered to Tibet, and made all barbarians surrender. He also opened hundreds of colleges, encouraged commerce, and reduced taxes. Various measures made Beijing's economy develop rapidly.

The royal newspapers, books, etc. printed and sold by movable type printing were cheap and exquisite, so the sales volume was very good. It is not an exaggeration to describe it as making a fortune every day, which made Li Changqing's funds in his hands unusually strong.

After hearing what Wang Gui meant, Li Shimin also thought of this, his expression changed slightly, and said:"You mean, Li Changqing will let people go to other places to purchase grain and grass?"

Wang Gui nodded and replied:"If If my guess is correct, King Wu will purchase grain and grass from the Jiangnan area.

Jiangnan has been the center of economic gravity since ancient times, with highly developed agriculture and commerce. King Wu wants to obtain grain and grass that can supply an army of 410,000 people for a long time, and only Jiangnan can provide it."

Wang Gui is indeed Li Jiancheng's most trusted confidant. He has unique vision and can hit the nail on the head.

Li Shimin was not a fool. After a little thought, he agreed with Wang Gui's conjecture and frowned tightly.

If Li Changqing can even solve the food and grass problem, then he really has no chance of winning, even with Li Ji in charge of Chang'an.

Although he resented Li Changqing, he had to admit one thing.

No one in the world can resist the 410,000 elite army personally led by Li Changqing who has sufficient supplies of food and grass.

"Adjusting grain from the Jiangnan area, haha... Since I have guessed what you are thinking, how can I let you get what you want?"

Li Shimin narrowed his eyes slightly and murmured to himself.

Wang Gui on the side glanced at Li Shimin, who exuded a dangerous aura like a poisonous snake. His heart trembled involuntarily and he quickly lowered his head.

……

As early as the pre-Qin period, a large number of Han people went south to avoid war and settled in the area south of the Yangtze River.

Because Jiangnan and other places were nourished by the water sources of the Yangtze River Basin, coupled with the pleasant climate, fertile land, and abundant resources, they developed quickly, and Jiangnan became the economic center of gravity of past dynasties.

When it comes to Jiangnan, we have to say that Suzhou and Hangzhou are the top priorities of the entire Jiangnan region and are known as the land of plenty. Suzhou is rich in aquatic products, and Hangzhou is rich in grain.

After Li Changqing negotiated with Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui, he sent people to Hangzhou with the imperial edict to purchase grain and grass.

Qiantang, Hangzhou Governor's Office.

In the lobby of the mansion, Zhou Gongxuan, the governor of Hangzhou, looked at a richly dressed man sitting next to him after the maid had served tea, and asked curiously:"Master Wang, I wonder why you have come to this mansion?

" The man Zhou Gongxuan called Mr. Wang was taking a sip of tea. After hearing Zhou Gongxuan's words, he put down the tea cup in his hand and said with a slight smile:"To be honest with you, Mr. Zhou, I came here in compliance with King Wu's imperial edict and with the king's mandate." Come here."

This middle-aged man's name is Wang Daowen, and he is the person in charge of the grain purchase in Hangzhou sent by Li Changqing.

Zhou Gongxuan's expression suddenly changed when he heard this, and he said in shock:"King Wu? Mr. Wang is from Youzhou...oh no, Beijing?"

After realizing the gaffe, he quickly changed his words, but he could not hide the shock in his heart.

He couldn't help but be shocked. Nowadays, the two emperors from the north and the south are fighting for the world. This is already known to everyone. Among them, the most powerful King Wu sent people to his jurisdiction. What on earth is going on? Could it be to win over him!

Seeing Zhou Gongxuan's surprise and panic, Wang Daowen smiled and said,"Master Zhou, don't panic. Your Majesty ordered me to come here just to get food and grass."

When he heard that it was just to get food and grass, Zhou Gongxuan felt like this. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Two kings fighting for the world is an extremely dangerous thing. Although many officials and generals have chosen their respective camps early for their future, these people do not include state officials like them.

The status of the governor of a state is not low. There are only a few governors in the entire Tang Dynasty. Each one of them is a local official and a high-ranking official.

Nowadays, except for the governors of Bingzhou and Jizhou, no governor has indicated which side he will join.

Wang Daowen was originally the governor of Youzhou, but after Youzhou became Li Changqing's fiefdom, he naturally became a member of Li Changqing's command.

The reason why the governors of various states remained neutral was simple. If either King Wu or King Qin was a traitor, it would be fine. They had to join the imperial court.

But Wu King Li Changqing was named the King of Yizi, and he held the jade seal passed down from the country in his hand, with unparalleled achievements. Li Shimin is also a direct descendant of the royal family and has now proclaimed himself emperor.

Both occupy orthodoxy!

They, the state officials, do not want to join either side, so they remain neutral. Otherwise, if one side is defeated and becomes a rebel in the future, they will also suffer.

Therefore, Zhou Gongxuan breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that Wang Daowen was not here to win over him.

"So that’s it, if it’s for grain adjustment, of course it’s okay. Hangzhou is the rice warehouse in the world, and the most indispensable thing is grain. Zhou

Gongxuan smiled and asked casually while picking up the teacup and drinking tea:"I wonder how much grain and grass King Wu wants to prepare?" Wang

Daowen smiled and spit out a number:"Two hundred thousand stones, this is the first batch, and more will be needed in the future.""

"puff——"

After hearing this, Zhou Gongxuan squirted out the tea, then coughed violently, his face turning red.

After coughing for a while, he recovered. He wiped the tea from his beard and said with wide eyes:"Why does King Wu want to prepare so much grain? As far as I know, although Beijing is not as wealthy as Suzhou and Hangzhou, it has not been as wealthy as Suzhou and Hangzhou in the past." There is a need for grain relief from various places, but there have never been so many people. Could it be that there is a drought or an insect infestation?"

Wang Daowen guessed that Zhou Gongxuan would ask this question, and replied:"King Wu wants to lead his army to conquer Chang'an and kill the traitors. Emperor! The food left in Beijing is not enough to supply the army for a long time."

"Trample, trample Chang'an...kill the false emperor! This this!"

When Zhou Gongxuan heard this, his face immediately turned pale, and his eyes were full of horror.

At the same time, he cursed in his heart and felt extremely embarrassed.

He didn't think that two hundred thousand stones of food and grass was too much. Hangzhou is the granary of the world, not to mention two hundred thousand stones. Stone, even if it is doubled again, he can come up with it.

What he is embarrassed about is whether to obey Li Changqing's imperial edict to transfer grain. If Youzhou suffers from a severe drought, he will definitely agree readily.

But this batch of grain and grass must be provided to Li Changqing. The army conquered Chang'an!

If he agrees, it will be tantamount to helping King Wu deal with the emperor!

This is not asking him to adjust food, this is clearly forcing him to take sides! If he takes the wrong side, he will be shattered to pieces!