After the award ceremony, Linghu Defen, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, stepped forward and said, "After Fu Yun was executed, Your Majesty's fame as the Heavenly Khan has spread far and wide in the Western Region. All the countries in the Western Region have asked for Your Majesty's benevolence and have come to pledge their allegiance. This is a memorial to the Tang dynasty from Yu Tian and other countries. Your Majesty, please read it!"
"Yu Tian!"
Li Shimin's eyes flashed. Yu Tian used to be Tuyuhun's hardcore supporter, but now it was also under the feet of the Tang dynasty. How could Li Shimin not be satisfied? Not to mention, other countries in the Western Region had also come to pledge their allegiance.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty. Yu Tian and other countries have pledged allegiance to you. The Silk Road will be unimpeded." Fang Xuanling's face was full of joy. After this battle, the influence of the Tang dynasty had extended to the Western Region.
Even Li Shimin couldn't help but smile. In the past, Tuyuhun not only kept invading the border, but also threatened the Silk Road. Now that cotton in the Tang dynasty was about to be popularized, the silk of the Tang dynasty would definitely be piled up like mountains, and the price would plummet. If it was not handled well, it might cause a great disaster. To solve the problem of silk in the Tang dynasty, opening the Silk Road was only the first step. More importantly, the Tang dynasty had to firmly control the Silk Road in its own hands.
"Tell the emissaries of Yu Tian and other countries that the Tang dynasty is a country of etiquette. If any country is on good terms with the Tang dynasty, the Tang dynasty will naturally return the favor and be on good terms with them," Li Shimin said happily.
Linghu Defen nodded and said, "The countries in the Western Region will definitely thank Your Majesty for your kindness."
Meton couldn't help but sigh in his heart. When Tuyuhun was strong, these small countries in the Western Region were not as enthusiastic as they were today. Sure enough, war was the most direct way to show a country's strength. If it weren't for the battle of Tuyuhun, the Tang dynasty wouldn't have been able to open the Silk Road, let alone the Western Region.
"Your Majesty, in addition to Yu Tian and other countries, Tubo has also sent an emissary to Chang 'an to ask Your Majesty to grant them horseshoes, well digging, silage, and other ink skills," Linghu Defen said with a strange expression.
"Ink Technique?" Li Shimin could not help but look suspiciously at the indignant Merton in the last row. "If you want to use the Ink Technique, why don't you look for the Mo Family? Why look for me instead?"
Gao Shilian hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty may not know this, but the Minister met Tubo's special envoy, Lu Dongzan, on the day of Mo Jiu's ascension to the throne. This person personally offered a thousand fine horses and ten thousand taels of gold to Mo Jiu in exchange for the use of this ink technique. However, he was rejected by Merton in public, saying that this matter requires Your Majesty to make the decision."
"A thousand fine horses, ten thousand taels of gold!"
The officials couldn't help but click their tongues. Even they couldn't help but be tempted by such a huge amount of wealth, but Mo Jiazi had rejected it without hesitation. Just this point alone was enough to make everyone look at him in a new light.
Even Li Shimin's expression towards Meton couldn't help but soften a little. As long as Meton nodded, the betrothal gift would naturally be within his reach. However, he had resolutely rejected it, allowing the Tang dynasty to take the initiative in diplomacy.
"Your Majesty, this is a great thing. With just a few public ink techniques, you can be on good terms with Tubo without spending a single copper coin. This is a great thing!" Quan Wanji immediately agreed.
The other officials also couldn't help but agree. Tubo was also a big country in the southwest. Its strength was not weak. If they could win over Tubo, it would obviously be beneficial to the Tang dynasty.
Meton's expression immediately turned ugly when he heard this. He couldn't help but step forward and say, "What mere ink techniques? This is a strategy to strengthen the country. Tubo is located on a plateau, and it is easy to defend but difficult to attack. If we can obtain these ink techniques, wouldn't we be like a tiger that has grown wings?"
Quan Wanji sneered and said, "Isn't it you, Mo Jiu, who spread such a strategy to strengthen the country? If that's the case, aren't you suspected of helping the enemy?"
Meton's expression immediately turned ashen when he heard this. He boldly said, "Lord Quan, please don't slander me. This junior once said that the Mo Family is the Mo Family of the Tang dynasty. If it weren't for our Tang dynasty defeating the Turks and Tuyuhun, we would be invincible in the grasslands. This junior would rather rot in his stomach than spread the secret techniques of the Qingchu Fodder."
With Meton's refusal of Lu Dongzan's gift, Meton's words were enough to convince the officials. Moreover, once the secret techniques of the Qingchu Fodder were released, the Tang dynasty would indeed benefit the most.
When Quan Wanji saw that many officials were on Meton's side, he couldn't help but say contemptuously, "Mo Jiu has already announced this secret technique to the world. I'm afraid that even if His Majesty doesn't allow it, Tubo will still use it. Since that's the case, we might as well do him a favor."
Meton sneered and said, "This junior once set a rule in Tuyuhun that we, the Han people, could use this secret technique for free. If the Tuyuhun wanted to use it, a tribe would need ten horses, ten cows, and a hundred sheep. Tuyuhun only exchanged it with Chaka Salt Lake under His Majesty's special permission. Under the might of the Tang dynasty, if Tubo dared to use it without permission, he wouldn't have obediently given thousands of horses and tens of thousands of taels of gold. He also wouldn't have taken the initiative to come to Chang 'an City to ask for His Majesty's permission."
The officials couldn't help but nod. The reason why Tubo took the initiative to come to Chang 'an City was because of the Tang dynasty's great victory over Tuyuhun. If Tubo used these techniques without permission, the Tang dynasty would have a diplomatic hold on them.
Before this, Tubo naturally didn't care about the attitude of the Tang dynasty. However, now that the Tang dynasty had destroyed Tuyuhun and was bordering Tubo, Tubo couldn't help but be frightened. He didn't want to give the Tang dynasty any excuse or hold on them. Since money couldn't solve the problem, he obediently came to Chang 'an City to ask for Li Shimin's reward.
Quan Wanji retorted, "I'm afraid that no matter how much the Tang dynasty asks for, it's not as important as the silage to Tubo."
Even Li Shimin refuted this point. His expression couldn't help but become heavy.
Meton shook his head and said, "These secret techniques can certainly improve Tubo's strength, but they can also benefit the Qinghai Prairie and the Northern Prairie more. In contrast, the Tang dynasty will benefit more. Of course, we can't let Tubo grow stronger recklessly. We have to restrict Tubo."
Quan Wanji couldn't help but sneer, "Does Mo Jiu have a brilliant plan to restrict Tubo? I'm all ears."
The other officials couldn't help but shake their heads and chuckle. In their opinion, even if Meton had some strange techniques, the game between countries still had to rely on these old officials.
Meton said proudly, "Of course, I can't do anything to the huge Tubo by myself. However, when I went to Tuyuhun, I found that food is the most important thing for a country to be strong. It's even more precious to the prairie tribes."
Many of the officials nodded. Food was the foundation of a country. This was the iron law of every dynasty.
"Although Tubo's main business is animal husbandry, they can produce a lot of sorghum every year. This is Tubo's strong foundation. If our Tang dynasty consumes most of Tubo's sorghum, how can a prairie tribe be a match for the Tang dynasty? "Meton continued.
"Consume Tubo's sorghum?" Li Shimin couldn't help but be tempted. If that was the case, Tubo wouldn't be a problem.
"What's the plan?" Linghu Defen quickly asked.
"Brew wine!" Meton said solemnly.
"Brew wine?" The officials couldn't help but look at Meton in shock. Even Li Shimin couldn't help feeling disappointed. He thought that Meton had some brilliant plan.
Quan Wanji and the other officials couldn't help but look at Meton with ridicule. It was as if they were looking at a clown.
Meton didn't seem to notice the mocking gazes of the officials and said angrily, "When I returned from Tuyuhun, I heard the Mo Family's villagers complaining to me. Now, not only have their secret winemaking technique been leaked, they've also been slandered for using poisonous grains to brew wine. The sales of Xie Qianchou have plummeted, and we've been suffering continuous losses."
After Meton finished speaking, many of the officials couldn't help but feel guilty. They couldn't escape the responsibility of the secret winemaking technique being leaked. The wineries under their names would take advantage of this opportunity to make a huge profit.
"Now that things have come to this, I'll prepare to find the best raw material for brewing wine for Xie Qianchou — Tubo's sorghum. Sorghum is the best raw material for brewing wine, and Tubo's sorghum is located on a plateau with ample sunlight. It's the best raw material for brewing Xie Qianchou. In this way, not only will we be able to consume Tubo's grain, but we'll also be able to get rid of the misunderstandings the commoners have about Xie Qianchou. Furthermore, we won't be wasting too much of the Tang dynasty's grain. We'll be killing three birds with one stone. We'll be able to unknowingly weaken Tubo's strength without alerting Tubo," Meton explained.
Transporting sorghum from Tubo cost a lot and increased the cost by several times. However, compared to Xie Qianchou's terrifying profits, these losses were almost negligible.
The officials who owned the wineries couldn't help but feel sad. They originally thought that Xie Qianchou wouldn't have a chance to make a comeback, but they didn't expect that Tubo's sorghum would definitely bring Xie Qianchou back to life.
"With Xie Qianchou's production, how much sorghum can you consume?" Quan Wanji asked.
Meton immediately looked at Quan Wanji as if he was looking at an idiot. "Lord Quan, do you know that the secret winemaking technique has already been leaked? Who knows how many wineries in the Tang dynasty know about the secret winemaking technique? With the Mojia Village taking the lead in using Tubo's sorghum, I'm afraid that there will be many others who will follow suit. Besides, won't we secretly pass the secret winemaking technique to Tubo? I believe that once the new Xie Qianchou recipe is released, the wine brewed from Tubo's sorghum will definitely be popular."
Li Shimin's eyes immediately lit up. If that was the case, this plan was very feasible. Once Tubo consumed a large amount of sorghum, even if they obtained the silage method, their national power would definitely decline instead of rising.
Dai Zhou frowned and said, "If that's the case, wouldn't a large amount of money be earned by Tubo?"
Meton said indifferently, "When I buy Tubo's sorghum, I can take the opportunity to sell my Tang dynasty's luxurious jewelry to Tubo. Exquisite porcelain, smooth silk … I'm afraid that it won't be long before the money comes back."
"Mo Jiazi is still the same old Mo Jiazi!" All the officials stared at Meton with their mouths agape. They didn't expect that such a large country like Tubo would be so quietly weakened by Meton.
Li Shimin immediately said without hesitation, "Minister Linghu, go and tell Tubo's envoy that we pity the people of Tubo and allow them to use the secret winemaking technique. The only condition is that Mo Jiu requests Tubo to supply a large amount of sorghum to Xie Qianchou for the sake of making wine."
In this way, the Tang dynasty's excuse of needing Tubo's sorghum was perfect.
"Yes!" Linghu Defen said solemnly.
Meton quickly seized the opportunity and said, "It would be even better if they could supply the sorghum for free. I can also make up for some of the losses."
At this moment, Meton couldn't help but feel heartache when he thought of the thousands of fine horses and ten thousand taels of gold. How could he not take the opportunity to ask for benefits?
Li Shimin couldn't help but look at Meton with a headache. This kid was simply too greedy.
"Use the sorghum in exchange for the ink technique. This way, Tubo won't be suspicious." Meton felt guilty and muttered.
Li Shimin said angrily, "Then let's order ten thousand dan of sorghum."
Ten thousand dan of sorghum was naturally not as valuable as the gift Tubo had provided before. However, if they asked for more, it wouldn't show the Tang dynasty's elegance.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Meton suddenly looked like a villain intoxicated by success, changing from his previous decadent appearance.
The officials couldn't help but stare at this pair of father and son-in-law in shock. They didn't hold back at all when they joined forces to trick Tubo.
"No one is allowed to leak today's matter. Otherwise, they will be severely punished." Li Shimin suddenly shouted.
"We understand!" The officials immediately shouted in unison.
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