It was rare for an affiliated country to give up its own kingdom and choose to join another powerful empire without any coercion. Usually, it was a big country that annexed a weak country. No one had ever heard of a weak country taking the initiative to join a big country. Moreover, the queen, who had vested interests in the kingdom, was willing to be an ordinary person. This was even more difficult to understand.
Of course, this might just be a polite remark. Even if Dongnu Province withdrew its title and merged into the Tang Dynasty, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty would not really let it be an ordinary person. At the very least, it should be conferred the title of a marquis or a duke. Otherwise, in the eyes of other affiliated countries and the people of the world, not only should it be conferred the title of a marquis, but it should also be given special treatment. It must not be wronged. This was very useful in improving the image of the Tang Dynasty.
"What? The Queen of Dongnu Province wrote a letter to withdraw her title and is willing to become a county of the Tang Dynasty? Why?"
The Imperial Consort gently twisted her body and asked gently.
Li Longji's face was full of joy. He stroked the beard on his chin and said, "Since Tubo merged into the Tang Dynasty, the east, west, north, and south of Dongnu Province has been the territory of the Tang Dynasty. Only a small part in the south is connected to Nanzhao. It can also be regarded as a country of the Tang Dynasty. Now, the Tang Dynasty is getting stronger and stronger, and the people's lives are getting better year by year. The villages and towns of the Tang Dynasty around Dongnu Province are obviously much richer than those in Dongnu Province. Even the roads are obviously different. If a carriage goes to Dongnu Province on the way, you don't need to open your eyes. As long as you feel the bumpiness of the carriage, you will know you have arrived in Dongnu Province. Hahaha!"
The Imperial Consort walked to Li Longji and breathed softly. She guessed, "So, Dongnu Province wants to withdraw its title and merge into the Tang Dynasty in order to let the people in the territory live as good a life as the Tang Dynasty?"
Looking at the Imperial Consort's graceful body, Li Longji felt very comfortable. He nodded and said, "Yes, after all, Dongnu Province is not the territory of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, even if the road is bumpy, the Tang Dynasty will not spend money to repair it. But if it becomes a province of the Tang Dynasty, it will be completely different. The Tang Dynasty must help Dongnu Province to build roads, or even build one more road to connect the old Tubo in the west with Central Sichuan in the east. In this way, the Central Sichuan Dongnu Province would be more prosperous... Queen.... . and I will never treat her badly. "
Hearing this, the Imperial Consort's expression was slightly dull for a moment. Then, a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. She said with an insincere smile, "Queen. I have seen her before. Could it be that Saburo wants to take her as a concubine?"
Li Longji smiled slightly and did not answer. He enjoyed the Imperial Consort's jealous look very much.
"I don't care. If Saburo wants to take Queen... as a concubine, abolish me!"
The Imperial Consort threw herself into Li Longji's arms and said coquettishly with a sobbing tone.
"Hahahaha! My dear concubine, you don't have to be like this. I said that I will only favor you. I will not change my mind in this life. Moreover, Queen... has already taken someone else. I can only fulfill her wish. "
Li Longji said with a smile.
Hearing this, the Imperial Consort hurriedly snatched the memorial from the Emperor's hand. Although she was not involved in politics, it would not be a problem for her to read it occasionally.
"Queen Dong wants to be Assistant Minister Li's concubine. This … How much does she have to love someone to do this … It seems that this is true love!"
The Imperial Consort said thoughtfully.
This matter shocked her a little. No matter what, Queen Dong was the queen of a country. She actually chose to give up her position as queen in order to be a man's concubine. This was really too much for her. The Imperial Consort felt that she could not do it anyway.
Li Longji also sighed and said, "It seems that Queen Dong is really sincere to Assistant Minister Li! This request is not too much. I have no reason to refuse. But if I give her the title of Marquis, isn't it a little too much to let a Marquis marry someone else as a concubine? "
In the Tang Empire, there were very few people who could be granted the title of Marquis. This was because only the direct descendants of the Emperor, such as the Princes and the Imperial Grandsons, could be granted the title of King. The remaining ministers were at most Marquis. Being granted the title of Marquis was already the greatest reward. It was obviously inappropriate for a woman who had been granted the title of Marquis to be a concubine of someone who had not yet been granted the title of Marquis.
However, this was Queen Dong's own request. It could even be said that Dongnu Province was revoked of its title and merged into the Tang Empire. The Emperor had no choice but to agree. The Emperor was so worried that he was in a dilemma.
"What is Saburo going to do? Do you agree or not?"
The Imperial Concubine asked.
Li Longji smiled and hugged the Imperial Concubine in his arms. He said with a smile, "Dongnu Province voluntarily gave up its title and joined the Tang Empire. How can I not agree? As for letting Queen Dong be Ang Lee's concubine, it's her own idea. I can't control it. But the title of Duke will definitely be given to her."
"Assistant Minister Li is quite capable to make the Queen of a country give up her title and be willing to be a concubine. I really didn't expect it," the Imperial Concubine said with a smile.
Although she was lying in the Emperor's arms, she was thinking about Ang Lee in her heart. The charm of a young man was not comparable to that of an old man in his sixties or seventies. However, the Imperial Concubine had no choice. The Emperor was too powerful. She could only choose to stay by the Emperor's side. The Emperor could occasionally cheat on her, but she could not because she was dependent on him. The Emperor was a person with power. The Emperor could abolish her, but she could not pose any threat to the Emperor. They were not equal in the first place.
Since ancient times, women had always been dependent on men. As a dependent, they had no right to speak. Whether a dependent's life was good or not depended entirely on whether the dependent treated her well or not. She had no right to decide for herself whether the dependent's life was good or not.
For example, if she obtained the Emperor's favor, this concubine would be able to become a superior person. If the Emperor did not like her and she lost his favor, then she would immediately be nothing. She would even be banished to the cold palace and would not be able to see the Emperor for the rest of her life. She would spend the rest of her life miserably.
Many women in the later generations, whether they depended on their husbands to survive or had their own careers, all hoped that they could depend on their husbands. They could do a very easy job and let their husbands handle all the big and small matters at home. This kind of simple life was enough and comfortable enough. However, they did not think that this kind of dependence had a price. Once their husbands were outside and they had no ability to resist, they could only sulk by themselves. Separation meant that they would lose their support, but it was different for women who had their own careers. At worst, they could break up. The old woman could support herself, so why would she depend on a man?
The Imperial Consort's thoughts naturally could not be discovered by the Emperor. She had to always maintain her loyalty to the Emperor. Even if her mind was out of bounds, it was absolutely not allowed. Although it was inevitable that the Imperial Consort's mind would go out of bounds, this was her own inner thoughts. As long as she did not show it, how could the Emperor discover it?
"Hahaha! Li An, this brat, is very cunning. I don't know what kind of trick he used to capture the heart of Queen East. It really makes me look at him in a new light. It's a pity that there is only one East Female Kingdom. The other kingdoms are all ruled by men. Such an opportunity can only be tried once. "
Li Longji said with a smile.
Ang Lee could win Queen Dong's heart through personal charm because he was a handsome young man. However, in other countries, men were kings. Therefore, Ang Lee had no way to use this skill. Although it was possible in the later generations, this was the era of the Tang dynasty. This kind of thinking would be scoffed at. There were not many people with this tendency, at least not among the big shots. The kings of other countries did not like this either. Therefore, there would no longer be an affiliated country that chose to withdraw its title and submit to the Tang dynasty. This was almost unique.
The Emperor naturally had greater ambitions. However, the Emperor also did not want to damage the glorious image of the Tang Empire. He would not deliberately cause trouble for the sake of annexing the affiliated countries. This was not in line with the current policy of the Tang Empire.
However, although the Emperor did not want to cause trouble, it did not mean that his ministers did not want to cause trouble. For example, some ministers who wanted to please the Emperor would deliberately choose to cause friction at the border and then attack part of the land of the affiliated countries. This would be regarded as their own merit and could be promoted.
"Saburo, this is a memorial from Jiannan Province. Can I have a look?"
The Imperial Concubine asked.
"It's just a small matter. My dear concubine, feel free to look."
Li Longji opened the memorial and read it together with the Imperial Concubine.
"The railway has been built to Jiannan Province? If it's completed, we can go to Jiannan Province often to play, right? "
The Imperial Concubine said happily.
Li Longji nodded and said, "Of course. My dear concubine's hometown must be visited several times."
"Miasma. The road builders often lose their lives. Dozens of people have died. The construction has been temporarily suspended. Saburo, why didn't the road builders avoid the miasma when they encountered it?"
The Imperial Concubine frowned as she read the latter part of the memorial.
"Miasma is indeed very common in the south, especially for northerners who don't understand miasma. If they rashly enter the forest in the south, they will easily be killed by the miasma. It's not easy to avoid the miasma. The railway is not like other roads. It must be straight enough."
Li Longji said.
"Saburo, they want to burn the whole forest. Is it really necessary? Is there no other way to eliminate the miasma? "
The Imperial Concubine asked.
Li Longji thought for a moment and said, "This is the most immediate way. As long as all the trees in the area with miasma are burned, the miasma will naturally form. It's just that these road builders don't dare to act rashly and leave this hot potato to me. As long as I order the forest to be burned, it will be my fault if anything happens in the future. It will have nothing to do with them."
The forest was the wealth of the Empire. An ordinary road construction official had the right to cut down the trees he needed, but to burn an entire forest to ashes, he had to consider it carefully. A large forest contained an enormous amount of animal and plant resources. If he burned it all, the loss would not be small. If his superior investigated, it would be enough to make him suffer. Thus, naturally, no one dared to make such a decision.
However, the miasma had already taken the lives of dozens of road builders. If the problem of the miasma was not solved, the road builders would continue to lose their lives. This responsibility was also not something the road builder could afford. Therefore, he could only temporarily stop the road construction and report the situation to his superior. His superior would continue to report it to his superior and finally report it to the Emperor. After all, the Emperor was the highest ruler of the empire. As long as the Emperor ordered the forest to be burned down, there would be no problem.
The Tang Empire had a very large territory and all kinds of natural resources. A forest with a limited area was really nothing for the Tang Empire. They could afford such a loss. Therefore, the Emperor would not hesitate. Since it would affect the road construction, he would burn it down.
"Saburo, they said that there are thousands of square kilometers of forest. Do you really want to burn it all down? Won't the loss be too great? "
The Imperial Concubine asked.
Li Longji thought for a moment and said, "It's just thousands of square kilometers of forest. It's not a big deal. The Tang Empire stretches for thousands of miles and there are forests everywhere. In order to build a safe railway, it's worth the sacrifice. As long as it's for the road construction, I'm willing to burn down thousands of square kilometers of forest."
In order to better control the empire and travel around the country, the Emperor had made a great decision. In the era when there was no railway, it would take a long time for the Emperor to go on a long trip. With the railway, it would not take the Emperor much time even if he went to a very far place. A round trip could be completed in a month. Therefore, in order to facilitate travel and travel in the future, it was necessary to build railways in all the good places in the Tang Empire.
"Saburo is right. If it's burned, then so be it! Only when the railway is built can we go to our hometown in Central Sichuan. I really hope the railway can be built as soon as possible. "
The Imperial Concubine said.
With just one word from the Emperor, several thousand hectares of forest would be burned down. Although this was a great waste of resources, it was very worth it for the safety of the road builders. Otherwise, the road builders would die one after another. That would be a great loss, wouldn't it?
What was miasma? It was actually a disease called malignant malaria. It was an intestinal disease. But why was this intestinal disease called miasma? It was mainly due to the lack of knowledge of ancient people. They thought that it was the poisonous gas emitted by poisonous insects in the mountains and forests that caused problems in people's intestines. In fact, that was not the reason at all. It was a malaria pathogen formed by the special climate of the forest. People were easily infected by this pathogen in the forest. Whether it was by breathing or eating the fruits in the forest, it was possible to be infected and thus suffer from malignant malaria. As long as the forest was burned down, this problem would naturally be solved.
The Apex
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