"Eating meat is actually the cure for night blindness?"
When the officials heard Li Shimin's explanation of night blindness, they couldn't help but look at each other. As high-ranking officials, they naturally didn't find it difficult to eat meat. However, it wasn't easy to make everyone in the world eat meat.
"This is my fault. The people of the world live in poverty. Everyone lives frugally. They can't even bear to eat meat during festivals, which led to this chronic disease," Li Shimin said solemnly.
Ordinary people didn't even have enough to eat. Every day, they would only eat porridge and the like. If the food in their hands could be inserted with chopsticks and not fall, then it would be dry rice. It would be a first-class meal. This kind of treatment was only given to the male laborers at home during the busy farming season. Eating meat was simply a luxury.
Zhangsun Wuji was the best at guessing the emperor's intentions. He repeatedly advised, "This isn't Your Majesty's fault. Compared to the lives of the previous dynasties, the people of our dynasty are already much richer."
All the ministers nodded in agreement.
Li Shimin shook his head and said, "This is far from enough. Otherwise, most of the people wouldn't suffer from night blindness."
Compared to the poor lives of the people of other dynasties, the stable lives of the people of the Tang Dynasty were a hundred times better. However, it was impossible for everyone to eat meat.
Black Five's discovery this time had raised the standard of whether the commoners were wealthy or not. In the future, it would probably be decided based on the proportion of people with night blindness. Only when night blindness was completely eradicated could the world truly be considered wealthy, and everyone could live and work in peace.
The Minister of Agriculture, Su Lingnong, said proudly, "What's so difficult about eating meat? Now that artificial fish farming and artificial hatching technology have been popularized, there will definitely be flocks of chickens and ducks in the future. Fish and meat will be placed on the tables of ordinary people like food. "
Quan Wanji retorted, "When there are too many chickens and ducks, too much food will be consumed. When that time comes, people won't have anything to eat. How can they raise chickens and ducks?"
Everyone knew that in order for chickens and ducks to grow, it was impossible to rely solely on eating grass and insects. It had to be supplemented with food. The Great Tang didn't have a lot of food, and if there were too many chickens and ducks, they would have to compete with others for food!
Su Lingnong snorted and said, "The Old Man suggested that we should use pesticides to increase food production. Unfortunately, some short-sighted people blocked it. Now, I feel that we don't have enough food."
Quan Wanji groaned. It seemed like he was indeed in the wrong. If the Tang dynasty had more food than they could eat, they would naturally consider raising chickens and ducks. That way, they would no longer lack meat.
Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "Let's talk about this later. Now it's almost the harvest season. This time, all the pesticides used in the Mo Family's experimental field are to kill insects. Let's see the effect first."
All the officials understood that under the threat of the widespread night blindness in the Tang dynasty, it was only a matter of time before the imperial court lifted the restrictions on pesticides.
Su Lingnong changed the topic and said meaningfully, "But then again, raising chickens and ducks in captivity is indeed a waste of food. If the Tang dynasty could have a land with abundant water and grass to specially raise cattle and sheep for the people of the Tang dynasty, I'm afraid that the people's night blindness would be cured without any medicine!"
All the officials in the imperial court were stunned and looked at Su Lingnong in disbelief. Those who could survive in the imperial court were all experienced people. Naturally, they could understand what Su Lingnong meant. No one would have thought that Su Lingnong, who looked like a good old man who never fought in the imperial court, would point his sword at the land of Qinghai.
Li Shimin also looked at Su Lingnong in surprise and said, "Dear Official Su, if you have something to say, just say it."
Su Lingnong raised his head and said, "Although raising livestock can alleviate the problem of the people's meat, it's not good for the people's livelihood. It will also cause the price of food in the Tang dynasty to rise and the people will fight to develop wastelands. This is contrary to His Majesty's policy of controlling the Yellow River. For now, the best way is for the Tang dynasty to obtain the land of Qinghai and imitate the previous dynasty to set up prefectures and counties. The land of Qinghai will be used to raise cattle and horses for the Tang dynasty and provide meat for the people of the Tang dynasty. This way, not only can we save the country's food, but the people will also not lack meat. Isn't it killing two birds with one stone?"
All the officials in the imperial court were in an uproar. No one would have thought that the harmless farmers would propose such a radical proposal to annex the land of Qinghai.
Quan Wanji's expression changed and he said, "Lord Su, our dynasty is a country of etiquette and propriety. This time, we were forced to fight back. How can we annex another country? If we do that, how will our dynasty be different from the tyrannical Sui Dynasty? How will His Majesty explain the name of the Heavenly Khan to the tribes of the Western Regions?"
The group of Confucian scholars couldn't help but agree. Previously, after the Tang dynasty destroyed the Turks, they didn't annex a single inch of the grassland. Historically, after defeating the Tuyuhun, they also allowed the Tuyuhun to restore their country. This was because of the benevolence and righteousness of the Confucian scholars.
Su Lingnong coldly looked at Quan Wanji and said, "This is not allowed. That won't do. Then can your Confucian scholars cure the tens of millions of people of the Tang dynasty with their empty words?"
Quan Wanji and the others immediately choked, and their faces turned green and red.
"The Heavens are watching. Annexing another country is a tyrannical thing. If our Tang dynasty does such a heaven-defying thing, we will be punished by the Heavens," Quan Wanji argued forcefully.
Su Lingnong sneered and said, "The Heavens will punish us. I wonder if the solar eclipse is considered a heavenly punishment. It will be the first day of the fifth lunar month soon. That Old Man will see if the solar eclipse is a heavenly punishment or something that is destined to happen."
The court officials' eyes flashed. When Meton was showing his skills, Meton had announced that there would be a solar eclipse on the first day of the fifth lunar month. However, although it could be calculated according to Meton's theory, many people were still skeptical.
The group of Confucian scholars suddenly felt their hearts skip a beat. If there really was a solar eclipse on the first day of the fifth lunar month, it meant that the solar eclipse could be calculated. The so-called heavenly punishment would be nonsense, and it would be a fatal blow to the Confucian scholars.
"Alright, let's talk about this later. It won't be too late to discuss it after the army returns victorious." Li Shimin waved his hand and stopped the argument. Right now, the army was out on an expedition. The Tang dynasty prioritized stability and fully supported the western expedition. Therefore, the court naturally could not allow chaos to break out.
However, everyone understood that with the continuous overcoming of droughts, locusts, and floods, Heaven's Perception's ability to restrict the imperial power was greatly reduced. If it was proven that the solar eclipse was fake, then the only thing left would be the Earth Dragon Overturning Tide.
However, what they did not know was that Li Shimin had also started to have doubts about the Earth Dragon Overturning Tide. He started to investigate the truth behind the Earth Dragon Overturning Tide.
Only then did the court officials leave. However, everyone's thoughts could not wait to return to the first day of the fifth lunar month.
It was not only in the court, but also among the commoners. Everyone was looking forward to it.
Time flew by like a white horse. As the days passed, the fourth month of the month quietly passed.
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