"What the two ministers said is very reasonable, but I can't give two fiefdoms to one person!" Li Shimin said helplessly.
"The Minister is just a small suggestion, and it still needs Your Majesty to decide." The Zheng Family Head said modestly.
"Meton, where do you think is suitable for my granddaughter?" Li Shimin turned his head and asked Meton. Xiao Rui and the Zheng Family Head's faces suddenly changed. If Meton doesn't want his daughter to be too far away from him, I am afraid that everything they have done will be in vain.
Meton thought for a while and said: "Thank you for Your Majesty's kindness. The Minister thinks that feeding the world's babies is more important. I am willing to choose the north for my daughter."
"Ah!" No one thought that Meton would really choose his daughter's fiefdom in the farther north.
The Zheng Family Head suddenly showed a confident smile. He believed that as long as he instigated a little more, he would be able to make the Mo Family and the Jiangnan Family hate each other.
"Replying to Your Majesty, the northern grassland is vast and sparsely populated, and the princess is shouldering the gospel of the world's babies. The Minister thinks that it can't be done without a fiefdom." The Zheng Family Head said righteously, as if he was thinking for the eldest daughter of the Mo Family.
Xiao Rui on the side suddenly looked gloomy. He originally thought that Mo Jiazi and Jiangnan were close and would choose Song Jiang Prefecture, but he didn't expect Mo Jiazi to choose the north, and let the Zheng Family Head take advantage of the loophole.
"A fiefdom of thousands of hectares!" Li Shimin not only pondered, although a fiefdom of thousands of hectares seems to be a lot, but in the grassland, most of them are deserted, and there are probably not many families, not to mention that this is an experiment to feed babies with milk, which is reasonable.
"No, what the Minister asked for for his daughter is not a fiefdom of thousands of hectares, but a fiefdom of millions of hectares." Meton's voice shocked the whole banquet like thunder.
"A fiefdom of millions of hectares!" In that instant, everyone looked at Meton in disbelief. Not to mention that Meton's daughter was only a princess, even a prince or princess would not dare to ask for a million hectares of land. It should be known that a million hectares of land was equivalent to a country in the Han Dynasty.
"Hahaha! Mo Jiazi is courting death. Isn't it just giving birth to a daughter? He actually dares to ask for millions of hectares of land. Why don't you go rebel? "Zheng Chang laughed wildly in his heart.
No one else dared to lower their heads silently, not daring to look into Li Shimin's eyes.
"Then where do you want to seal these million hectares of land?" Li Shimin asked slowly. His voice was calm and without any ripples.
Meton acted as if he did not notice anything and said, "I wish to enfeoff my daughter's land in Yulin Ancient City."
"Yulin City!" Li Shimin couldn't help but frown. He knew about Yulin, but he couldn't remember where the ancient city of Yulin was in the Tang dynasty.
"Fu Ji, do you know where Yulin City is?" Li Shimin turned his head and asked Zhangsun Wuji. Zhangsun Wuji was Princess Changle's biological uncle. Since Princess Changle's daughter was one month old, he would naturally attend. However, Zhangsun Wuji kept a low profile and didn't show off like the head of the Zheng Family.
Hearing Li Shimin's question, Zhangsun Wuji thought for a moment and suddenly recalled, "Your Majesty, Yulin City was originally in the Maowusu Desert, north of the Great Wall. However, due to the invasion of the yellow sand, it was abandoned. Yulin City has moved south and now Yulin City is surrounded by the desert. It is now a vast desert."
Li Shimin raised an eyebrow and looked at Modun in confusion. "You actually want your daughter's fief to be in the middle of a vast desert. Even if you have a million hectares of land, it's all desert. There's not a single blade of grass, and there's no way to raise cattle! Are you sure you are not wrong?! "
Meton nodded solemnly and said, "Your Majesty, the Minister is not lying. Yulin City was once an important city. During the Han Dynasty, it was a land with abundant water and grass. Now, it has become a vast desert. It is truly a pity."
Yulin City, also known as the Camel City, was also known as the City of the Desert. It was once the most fertile land, but now it had become a ruin.
"The vicissitudes of life are nothing more than this!" Most of the people present were well-read people. Naturally, they knew that Yulin City used to be a land with abundant water and grass. However, it was now abandoned.
Meton shook his head and said, "No, the abandonment of Yulin City was not a natural disaster. It was a man-made disaster."
"A man-made disaster!" Everyone could not help but frown.
Meton nodded and said, "That's right. Yulin City was originally a land with abundant water and grass. However, in a few hundred years, it became a vast desert. This was caused by overgrazing and overdevelopment. If it is not treated, it will continue to expand as the Maowusu Desert continues to erode. According to the Mohist's statistics, the Maowusu Desert will expand by one li every year. At that time, Yulin City will not be able to move, let alone Yulin City."
The current Maowusu Desert had only just formed. It was about a million hectares in size. It was much easier to treat it than in the future. This was also the reason why Meton took the initiative to treat the Maowusu Desert.
"Move Yulin City!" Li Shimin's face darkened. Although Meton's words were shocking, it was not impossible. After all, Yulin City had already been moved once. If the Maowusu Desert continued to expand, it was expected that it would be moved twice.
"What's more, when the Maowusu Desert spreads to the bottom of the Great Wall, the sand will cover the Great Wall under the influence of the wind. The natural barrier of the Great Wall will become a flat road. At that time, the natural barrier of the Tang dynasty will be destroyed in a day," Meton said proudly.
"The natural barrier of the Great Wall will be destroyed in a day!" Everyone could not help but gasp. The Great Wall was the most important barrier of the Tang dynasty. If it was really buried by the sand, the grassland cavalry could easily pass through the natural barrier of the Great Wall and head straight for Chang 'an. This was a great threat.
"Marquis Mo, you're exaggerating!"
The head of the Zheng family said disapprovingly. Although Meton's words made sense, in his heart, he believed that Meton's actions were to cover up for the millions of hectares of land that he mentioned. Moreover, this was something that would happen four hundred years later. The Tang dynasty might not even be four hundred years old yet!
Zhangsun Wuji shook his head and said, "I'm not exaggerating. Yulin City is less than four hundred miles away from the Great Wall. Moreover, it's a flat road. According to the speed of the desert's expansion, it will reach the foot of the Great Wall in less than four hundred years. With the power of the wind and sand, it's not impossible to bury the Great Wall."
Zhangsun Wuji was indeed a famous minister. He was indeed far-sighted. In the Ming Dynasty, the Great Wall being buried by the sand was the most troublesome problem for the Ming Dynasty. They spent a large amount of the Ming Dynasty's finances to dig up the sand.
Meton cupped his hands and said, "Indeed. Moreover, the Maowusu Desert happens to be in the bend of the Yellow River. There are many tributaries of the Yellow River, most of which flow into the Yellow River. As long as we can control the Maowusu Desert, it will be very beneficial for the project of controlling the Yellow River."
To control the Yellow River, control the sand first. Once the Maowusu Desert is controlled, the Yellow River will reduce a lot of sand, which will be of great benefit for controlling the Yellow River.
"Since Merton wants to give the Yulin City as his beloved daughter's fief, does it mean that he already has a way to control the desert?" Xiao Rui said incredulously. That is a desolate desert. Not a single blade of grass grows. Birds and beasts are extinct. Although there are millions of hectares of land, it is not a fief. There is only investment and no benefit. This is an extremely heavy burden. Just like the Mo Family Village in the past, I'm afraid that sooner or later, it will be dragged down by the Mo Family.
Meton nodded solemnly and said, "Yes, the Maowusu Desert is not like any desert that I have encountered in the Western Expedition. It is the desert closest to the Central Plains. It has a lot of precipitation, even more than the grasslands of the Turks in the north. As long as there is precipitation, there will be plants. In this way, the difficulty of controlling the Maowusu Desert will be much lower. As long as we persevere, wind resistance, sand fixation, and grass planting, sooner or later, the Maowusu Desert will disappear and become an oasis that spreads over millions of hectares."
"The desert will disappear! Millions of hectares of oasis! " Suddenly, everyone couldn't help but be fascinated. What a magical thing it would be to be able to change the world and turn the vast desert into a lush grassland.
Li Shimin was no longer as calm as before, but he couldn't help holding his granddaughter and said with a solemn face, "Do you know what a crime it is to deceive the Emperor?"
Meton said solemnly, "As a father, the Minister naturally has to give his daughter the best. The control of the Maowusu Desert is the greatest blessing that the Minister has saved for his daughter. In three years, the Minister can guarantee that the Maowusu Desert will not expand. In five years, the Maowusu Desert will advance and the sand will retreat. In ten years, the control of the Maowusu Desert will begin to show results. The rest is for my daughter to return a million hectares of green land to the Tang dynasty in her lifetime."
Suddenly, everyone's eyes were fixed on the small body that Li Shimin was holding. It was rumored that Mo Jiazi doted on his daughter the most. Now it seemed that the rumors were true. Once the eldest daughter of the Mo family had the achievement of controlling the Maowusu Desert, as long as she didn't commit a heinous crime in the future, no one would be able to touch her. This was the greatest protection for his daughter.
Li Shimin's eyes softened. Meton may lie to him, but he would never do anything that would harm his daughter's future. From this, it could be seen that Meton was sincere in controlling the Maowusu Desert and had considerable confidence in it.
"Has she named it?" Li Shimin looked at his granddaughter and asked softly.
Meton nodded and said, "The Mo family has always been named after the object. Since my daughter's future is to control the desert, then she will be named after sand. She will be named Mo Sha!"
"Mo Sha. How can a girl have such a rude name?" Li Shiming glared at Mo Dun with displeasure. He thought about it carefully and said.
"Sha, Tong Shayin, it just so happens that my granddaughter also wants to plant grass on the desert. Why don't we add the word grass and call her Mo Sha!" Li Shimin's eyes lit up.
"Your Majesty is indeed extraordinary!"
"Your Majesty is brilliant!
… … …
Immediately, the officials began to flatter.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for bestowing a name!" Meton thanked on behalf of his daughter.
Li Shimin thought of a good name and heard the flattery of the people. He was delighted and said, "Mo Sha is my granddaughter. Today, I will bestow upon you the title of Princess Jinsha with a million hectares of land."
Everyone looked enviously at the Infanta of Jinsha, who was still in her swaddling clothes. In less than 20 years, a new noble in Chang 'an had risen.
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