Princess, he is rich enough to rival the country

If someone else said these words to Gu Yanshu, Gu Yanshu would inevitably flirt with that person:

If his little deer doesn't like him, who else can he like?

However, when these words came out of the emperor's mouth, Gu Yanshu not only dared not speak up, but even began to think quickly in his mind:

When the emperor said this, did he express emotion from the heart, or did he want to beat him to something?

However, before Gu Yanshu could figure it out, the emperor changed the subject and talked about something else:

"Recently, I asked the people below to measure the fields within the jurisdiction of various places, did you tell me?"

"I did hear about it."

Gu Yanshu nodded slightly. This matter was published in the Kyoto Daily on the day the emperor ordered it. Even ordinary people knew about it. If Gu Yanshu said he didn't know, it would be too hypocritical.

Then the emperor asked again:

"Then you should also know the meaning of my actions?"

Gu Yanshu nodded slightly:

"In order to recommend a stall into the mu?"

Although it was a question, his tone was full of certainty.

"That's right, it's indeed for the purpose of recommending a family member into the mu."

The emperor nodded slightly, gave Gu Yanshu an affirmative answer, and then said with emotion:

"I'm not afraid of your jokes. A few days ago, I had a headache because of the thin population of Tianqi in recent years, and the tax revenue has been falling year by year. There is no one who can share my worries. Who knows that it will only take a few days. Wen Si then handed over the method of getting a lot of money into the mu, and solved this trouble."

With that said, the emperor glanced at Gu Yanshu again:

"Wen Aiqing said, you gave him this method?"

Gu Yanshu was not sure about the intention of the emperor's words, so he could only follow the emperor's words and say:

"It was given to him by my son."

Unexpectedly, the moment Gu Yanshu nodded his head, the emperor over there praised him a lot:

"It's a good idea, and the plan is very detailed. It's much better than those gangsters under my command."

The emperor could say this, but Gu Yanshu couldn't answer it, and quickly replied in a low voice:

"...Father, the emperor has won the prize. Compared with the adults in the court, the minister is still far behind."

"Where is the difference? If you want me to tell you, all the people under my command are not as good as you."

Unexpectedly, the emperor waved his hand indifferently, and continued without waiting for Gu Yanshu to refute:

"Whether it's the small gadgets like glass soap you took out, or the movable type printing of the telescope, or the vaccinia vaccine a few days ago, or the method of distributing money to the mother these days, it is to give these people under my hands ten With a brain, they may not be able to figure it out."

Gu Yanshu couldn't answer these words:

These things, even if Gu Yanshu had ten heads, he couldn't think of them either.

Being able to take it out so easily is just a matter of knowing the experience of the predecessors hundreds of thousands of years later than the natives of Tianqi.

In the end, I can only reply dryly:

"Father is too much, and son-in-law just came up with these things by luck."

Although Gu Yanshu hadn't met the emperor a few times, he understood the emperor's temperament from the descriptions of Xiao Lu, Wen Qingxiao and others.

Know that the emperor will never do useless things.

Just when Gu Yanshu was thinking about why the emperor said these words to him, he heard the emperor's voice again:

"I called you here today, and I have another matter. I want to ask your opinion."

Gu Yanshu lowered his eyes slightly, and replied:

"I also ask my father to order."

Unexpectedly, the emperor did not directly express his question, but asked Gu Yanshu another question:

"If you think about it, you also know that Tianqi's frontier has never been very stable. What do you think is the main reason?"

"The sky is vast, the land is vast, the resources are abundant, the terrain has natural advantages, the water and soil are fertile, and there are many species, but the army is weak, and the persimmons are naturally to be picked."

Even Tianqi's three-year-old child can give the correct answer to this question.

"That's right, persimmons should be picked softly."

The emperor nodded, repeated in approval, and asked again:

"Then do you know when my Tianqi border was the most unstable?"

"17 years ago?"

Gu Yanshu replied with some uncertainty, and when he spoke, he did not forget to look up at the emperor's expression.

After seeing the affirmative expression on the emperor's face, he knew that he was right.

Afterwards, Gu Yanshu received a "continue" look from the emperor, so he could only speak and continue:

"Seventeen years ago, a once-in-a-century drought occurred in the western region, and there was no harvest in the western region. In the autumn of that year, Xi Rong joined forces with the three countries in the western region to wage war against the sky."

Because of Qin Lu, in the study of Prince Li's Mansion, there are detailed records of all the wars that have happened in Tianqi in recent years.

When Gu Yanshu was free, he would occasionally look through Qin Lu's handwriting in his study.

The war that Gu Yanshu is talking about now is the first and largest war that Qin Yuan has encountered since he came to power.

At that time, Xirong and other countries were almost starving because of the drought.

For hundreds of years, other countries have already developed the habit of grabbing everything they lack.

That year, Tianqi had another rare bumper year, and the grain in the autumn harvest was much more than in previous years, which stimulated the fragile nerves of Xirong and other countries.

So that time, Xirong and other countries came extremely crazy, and there was a sense of immortality in their movements.

In the end, the war ended when Tianqi gave up half of the country.

And it was also that year that Xirong's commander-in-chief and Tianqi's most outstanding general at that time died together on the battlefield.

Perhaps it was the determination of the general to die with the commander of Xirong that scared off the people around who were ready to move, or maybe it was because the small half of the country that Tianqi gave up was enough to support several small countries in the west.

In the next few years, Tianqi ushered in a rare truce.

What was the situation of the war at that time, Gu Yanshu had no way of knowing.

But just from the study room, Qin Lu's handbook records Tianqi's sacrificed soldiers and the territory ceded out, which is enough to make people feel shocking.

Even though the emperor concealed it well, Gu Yanshu still saw a lingering fear from the emperor's eyes at this time.

In this regard, Gu Yanshu thinks it is not difficult to understand.

After all, at that time, Tianqi's century-old foundation was almost destroyed. As the emperor of Tianqi, it was difficult for the emperor not to leave a psychological shadow.

Suddenly, Gu Yanshu thought of the book that Wen Qingxiao showed him when he first met Wen Qingxiao, which recorded all the important actions since he took office.

Gu Yanshu's memory is good, even if more than half a year has passed, Gu Yanshu can still remember the contents of the handbook.

Up to now, Gu Yanshu still remembers that there are two important time nodes.

One of them was two or three years ago, when the emperor's actions became more frequent and his ambitions were gradually revealed.

There is another one, which was 17 years ago.

In the first few years when the emperor came to power, the emperor's performance in all aspects could even be called "salted fish", with a sense of passing by.

However, 17 years ago, the emperor suddenly became serious. The time of going to court was getting earlier and later, and the time of going to court was getting later and later, and the days of rest and bathing were becoming less and less.

At that time, Gu Yanshu even teased Wen Qingxiao, "Why does this feel like a salted fish turned over?"

Now, combined with this time node, Gu Yanshu seems to understand something:

I think this should be the war 17 years ago, the influence and changes brought to the emperor.

"That's right, the biggest crisis I've encountered since I took office should have been the one 17 years ago."

Just when Gu Yanshu was thinking, the emperor agreed with Gu Yanshu's statement.

Here, Gu Yanshu was just pulled back from his thoughts by the emperor's voice, when he heard the emperor's next words:

"A few days ago, I suddenly received news that the western border...has been plagued by locusts this year."

"What?" Gu Yanshu suddenly raised his head to look at the emperor.

"Not long before the harvest." The emperor gave Gu Yanshu a positive look.

Gu Yanshu is a smart person, he can understand the emperor's meaning almost without the emperor's words:

Seventeen years ago, several countries in the western territory launched a war against Tianqi in the same year due to drought.

In that war, several countries in the west came with the determination to never end.

This year, another plague of locusts occurred in the western border.

Although the emperor did not explain the extent of the locust plague, the sentence "shortly before the harvest" was enough to cover everything.

Compared with the situation in several countries in the West this year, it will not be much better than 17 years ago.

Seventeen years ago, because there was no food for the winter in the western region, troops came to Tianqi to plunder.

What about this year?

I'm afraid it will be the same as 17 years ago, right?

"A few days ago, the spies in the western border spread the news that Xi Rong and other countries have already started recruiting troops."

Just when Gu Yanshu was thinking this way, the emperor gave Gu Yanshu an affirmative answer.

It is self-evident for what the countries in the west are now deploying troops for.

Gu Yanshu's heart tightened at first, and then he quickly realized something was wrong:

If Xirong wanted to do something to Tianqi at this time, and the emperor had already received the news, what should be done at this time, shouldn't he tell his Xiaolu the news, so as to find a countermeasure?

But why did the emperor call him to the imperial study alone today?

Just when Gu Yanshu was thinking this way, the emperor stated his purpose:

"Tianqi has always been unafraid of war. He was like this before, and now that he has the third child, it's even more so."

"But once a war starts, it will waste people and money. Although Tianqi's situation has improved in recent years, it cannot withstand too much trouble."

Then, the emperor seemed to have thought of something, was silent for a moment, and added another sentence:

"The weather in Tianqi is good this year, and people from the Ministry of Industry say it will be a good year."

As soon as the emperor said this, Gu Yanshu understood the meaning.

A good year, 17 years ago, Tianqi also had a good year.

At that time, the emperor and the people of Tianqi thought they would have a good year.

But the actions of Xirong and other countries broke everyone's illusions.

That year, the countries in the western region that suffered from drought and no crops had a rare bumper year, but Tianqi, who obviously had a good harvest in autumn, could only tighten his belt to live.

The emperor mentioned the word "good year" at this time, obviously because he didn't want Tianqi to repeat the history of 17 years ago.

Thinking of this, Gu Yanshu couldn't help persuading him in a low voice:

"Father, don't worry too much. Today, Tianqi is no longer the Tianqi of 17 years ago."

Gu Yanshu's words were not just consolation.

Since the incident in 17, Tianqi has not suffered any major disasters. Although wars, large and small, have not stopped, there has been no successive loss of territory.

Not to mention that Qin Lu was born later and regained a lot of territory, Tian Qi also got a good recuperation.

It can be said that the current Tianqi is fully capable of competing with the Western Region.

Gu Yanshu understands this truth, and so does the emperor:

"Of course I know that Tianqi is not what it was 17 years ago, but there are too many wars, so it's not good."

Gu Yanshu had a vague guess in his mind, but he was not quite sure:

"Then Father means..."

But the emperor's next sentence directly affirmed Gu Yanshu's guess:

"What I mean is, is there any way you can make Xijing stop thinking about invading Tianqi?"