Tibet

In the afternoon, Li Ye met with Du Huan. Du Huan was about forty years old, with a medium build, dark skin, and a pair of bright eyes.

Du Huan had met Li Ye. He was only in his early twenties when he joined the army under Gao Xianzhi. During the Battle of Talos, he met the brave young Li Ye.

Unexpectedly, fifteen or sixteen years later, Li Ye would become the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

"Du Canjun has been to Baghdad?" Li Ye asked with a smile.

Du Huan nodded, "I can speak Persian and Sogdian. I went to Mulu first. Later, Datang and Dashi signed a formal agreement, clearly using the Amu Darya River as the boundary. I went to Baghdad on the order of General Gao." Meet their Caliph Al-Mansur and submit a formal agreement."

"What's your impression of Baghdad?"

"It's very luxurious. There are huge and splendid buildings everywhere, and the buildings are very dense and layered. What should I do if I am worried that they will catch fire? Later I figured out that their buildings are not wooden structures."

Li Ye chuckled, "That's right!"

After a pause, Li Ye asked again: "Then why did you leave Anxi Jiedu Mansion?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing were transferred by the imperial court. Bian Lingcheng recommended Bi Sichen for the position. This man was narrow-minded and his humble position had offended him, so he resigned from his official position and followed a caravan to the Great Qin Kingdom. I have a strong interest in the West and want to gain more knowledge.”

The Great Qin State was Byzantium and the Eastern Roman Empire. Li Ye smiled and asked again: "Have you ever been to the west of the Great Qin State?"

Du Huan nodded, "I met several Western envoys in the Great Qin Kingdom. They met people from the Tang Dynasty for the first time, so they invited me to go to their country. I took a boat to Athens, Naples, Rome and Genoa, and then I didn’t go to the west. It is said that there are many small countries in the north. When I came back, I went to Egypt. I rode a camel from Egypt to Baghlan, and then took a boat from Baghdad to Basra, where I transferred to the Tang Dynasty’s boat to return home.”

Li Ye was surprised: "There are still ships from the Tang Dynasty in Basra?"

"Yes, they are all sea-going ships with ten thousand stones. Their drafts are very deep. They cannot enter the Euphrates River and cannot reach Baghdad directly. Food merchants like our ships very much. They are big and very safe. Food merchants in Guangzhou and Quanzhou all use large ships. Tang’s ship came over.”

Li Ye was very impressed. He was indeed the first Chinese in history to travel around the Mediterranean. Li Ye thought for a moment and said, "You passed by Tianzhu when you came back. Did you stop in the Zhuluo Kingdom?"

Du Huan nodded, "I have been to the Chola Kingdom for supplies twice. It is a very ancient dynasty. There are too many low-level people, just like ants, feeding the upper-class dignitaries. This country is very militaristic. The army is very large. There are large flat-bottomed boats that can accommodate four hundred people." Soldiers can also release Greek fire. This country is also rich in pig iron, which is of high quality. Iron pots and swords are sold everywhere in the market, and are sold to food. "

"Did Du Canjun go out again later?"

"After my humble post, I went to Nanyang three times and also went to Lugong Island."

Li Ye took out a large map from the bookcase and spread it out on the table. On it were the Tang Dynasty, Nanyang, Indochina, Tianzhu, Persia, Dashi, Egypt and the Mediterranean countries.

Du Huan was extremely surprised when he saw this, "Your Majesty, where did this map come from? It's exactly the same as the route of humble post!"

Li Ye smiled slightly and said: "I drew this based on many maps. I printed many copies with engravings. Du Canjun, I want to give you a task!"

Du Huan was excited and immediately bowed and said: "I am willing to share your worries for Your Majesty!"

Li Ye pondered for a moment and said: "I have a five-year plan. The first step is the Zhenla Kingdom and the Champa Kingdom. Have you been there?"

Du Huan nodded, "I went to Zhenla Country two years ago, where food is abundant."

Li Ye said slowly: "The first step is this year. I want to buy a batch of grain from Zhenla and Champa, about 500,000 dan, to alleviate the drought in the Central Plains. However, I heard from Zhang Boyi, the governor of Jiaozhou, that pirates often attack Jiaozhou. , every time they went ashore, they suffered heavy losses of personnel and property. These pirates mainly came from the Chola and Champa countries. They used the Champa country as their base and continued to invade the north. But in fact they were not pirates, but regular troops disguised as pirates. The same was true of the Champa country. It is a wolfish ambition. I heard that the Tang Dynasty was in civil strife and wanted to take the opportunity to annex Jiaozhou, so they condoned fake pirates, so I decided to crack down on the pirates, destroy the Champa country, and rule it under the governor's office of Jiaozhou. I am planning to set up the West Sea Trade Office in Champa just to It is up to you to transport grain from Zhenla and Champa to the Tang Dynasty."

Du Huan bowed and said: "I must do things well in my humble position!"

Li Ye nodded, "You must remember my principles. I generally will not exploit the lower class people. They are already poor enough and have nothing to exploit. What I will destroy are the kings and nobles and take away their wealth and land. Leave it to local farmers for farming, and half of the food received will go to them, and half of the rent will go to the court. However, in the Chenla Kingdom, we rely on trade for the time being, exchanging our goods for their food. "

The Champa Kingdom is today's central Vietnam. The Champa Kingdom is just a springboard. Li Ye's goal is still the Mekong Delta and the Tonle Sap Plain. The food here is harvested three times a year and there are enough people to cultivate it. As long as the Tang Dynasty brought advanced agricultural technology In the past, coupled with strong military control, the land of the nobles and kings was gradually eroded, and large amounts of food shipped back to the Tang Dynasty could make up for the food gap in the Tang Dynasty.

After a pause, Li Ye pointed to the Chola Kingdom on the map and said, "After controlling Zhenla, the second step is the Chola Kingdom. Probably starting from the third year, I need two things from the Chola Kingdom, one is iron ore and the other is population. I need the population of the Chola Kingdom to develop Lugong Island, but I don't need them to stay. I will replace them after five years, so I must recruit young and strong men with families. Only three hundred coins a month is a high income for them.

The second is iron ore, which is the top priority of my attention. You need to build a smelter in Chola and transport the smelted pig iron to the Tang Dynasty Trade City."

Du Huan was stunned, "Excuse me, Your Majesty, where is the Tang Dynasty Trade City?"

Li Ye pointed to the location of Singapore today, "It's here. The Tang Dynasty will buy a piece of land here, build a trade city, and build a large number of warehouses."

Du Huan thought for a while and said, "I have a suggestion!"

"What suggestion do you say?"

"If the Tang Dynasty wants the iron ore of the Chola Kingdom, We will inevitably go to war with the Chola Kingdom. Only by defeating the Chola Kingdom can we seize their iron ore. "

Li Ye nodded, "Then what?"

Du Huan pointed to Sri Lanka on the map and said, "This is called Sinhalese. It believes in Buddhism and is very different from the Chola Kingdom. The Sinhalese Kingdom has been occupied by the Chola Kingdom, but the locals have been resisting. We can help the Sinhalese people restore their country. This place can be used as our transit supply place. A large amount of Chola iron ore is transported here and smelted here. In this way, we can transport a large amount of iron ore in a short time. "

Li Ye pondered for a long time and nodded, "You are right. First, take down the Sinhalese Kingdom as a logistics garrison for our attack on the Chola Kingdom. "

Li Ye immediately appointed Du Huan as a doctor of the Ministry of War, with the title of Supervisory Censor, and served as the chief of Annan Protectorate and the director of the West Sea Trade Bureau. He immediately went to Nanzhao and set out from Nanzhao to Jiaozhou. At the same time, he transferred 3,000 troops from Nanzhao to Jiaozhou.

After Du Huan completes the Chola plan, he will go to Hezhong to replace Li Chenghua and serve as the Hezhong envoy to take charge of Hezhong affairs.

Li Ye also ordered the naval commander Li Chengshi to lead 20,000 Tang naval forces from Quanzhou Port to Jiaozhou to fight pirates and launch a war to destroy Champa.

Since ancient times, rulers have had food shortage anxiety, and Li Ye is no exception. He launched the Annan War to get a million shi of grain before the end of the year to make up for the losses of the Central Plains disaster.