Ayina happily looked at the latest edition of Datang Daily.

As a former Turkic nobleman, Ayina can now be regarded as literate, can read newspapers, and can clear account books.

"Chief, last month's shipments of headline stones in the workshop were more than last year, and for the first time in so many years, the sales of strip stones exceeded that of crushed stones."

Aguno reported on the situation in the workshop with a smile on his face.

As Ayna's faithful servant, Aguno's fate is entirely tied to Ayna.

At the beginning, Ayina spent a lot of money, coerced and intimidated almost monopolized the stone business around Chang'an City, thinking that he could make a windfall in the construction process of Daming Palace, but he was severely injured by the introduction of cement.

Fortunately, Datang continued to build cement roads in the future, which required a large amount of gravel, and those workshops in Ayina adjusted their direction in time to focus on the production of gravel, which could be regarded as barely relieving this breath.

However, there is definitely no way to compare the profit of crushed stone with that of strip stone, and there is more than one workshop that can do crushed stone business, so it can barely be regarded as a good life in the past few years.

However, since the Tang Dynasty began to build monuments, His Royal Highness the King of Chu, who was responsible for the overall coordination, has undergone a major change in style, almost abandoning the use of cement, and turning to a variety of strips and boulders.

Ayina's workshop is simply lying down and making a windfall.

"Aguno, don't be too happy, that is, the imperial court has been building monuments and surrounding buildings in the past few months, so there will be so many stone orders, and there will be no such good things in the future."

Although Ayina was in a good mood, there was a rare humility in his mouth.

However, what he said is also true.

Although Li Kuan chose to use a large number of stones in order to keep it intact after a thousand years, the Tang Royal Military Academy, which was built at the same time, was as always a reinforced concrete and soil structure, and almost completely abandoned the stones.

"Having said that, but this single business will at least let many people in Chang'an City see that the stone still has its own advantages compared with concrete. These days, some other merchants come to buy stones, and there are obviously more than in the past. ”

"Well, fortunately, I didn't have trouble with the Chu Wangfu at the beginning, otherwise I wouldn't have a comfortable life today. I can see it clearly, in Chang'an City, who you can't get along with, and don't get along with His Royal Highness the King of Chu, it's equivalent to getting along with money. ”

"That's true, I heard that those people who immigrated to Gangnam Province from the Yunzhong Governor's Mansion last year are living a good life now. I read the last edition of Datang Daily, and it also specifically mentioned the situation of those brothers living in Yuzhang County, and it seems that they are living a much better life than before. ”

Datang Daily has been reporting on the happy life of immigrants in Gangnam and Shannan provinces for several days in a row, and it is impossible for anyone in this newspaper to completely fail to see it.

"Well, I heard that this immigration strategy is still effective this year, I hope those tribesmen who are still on the grassland can seize the opportunity in time."

……

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the King of Chu asks to see you!"

In the Xuanzheng Palace, Li Zhong hesitated for a while, but still interrupted Li Shimin, who was reviewing the recital.

"Oh? He was finally willing to come to the palace to see me. ”

Li Shimin thought that some people had raised the matter of opening and closing the middle way of cotton planting from time to time at the recent court meeting, and probably guessed the purpose of Li Kuan's meeting today.

However, he was a little curious about what proposals Li Kuan would throw.

"Let him in!"

After several years of construction, the Daming Palace has been completely built.

Due to the use of many later building techniques, this palace is very different from the Taiji Palace next to it, but it does not lose its majesty at all.

Fortunately, it is not the first time that Li Kuan has entered the palace, and he will not have any sense of oppression because of these things.

"Wechen has seen Your Majesty!"

When Li Kuan, under the leadership of the little eunuch, came to the Xuanzheng Palace, Li Shimin was still reading the recital with his head down, and ignored Li Kuan.

Get!

It's this set again!

Li Kuan doesn't care anymore.

I stood there and waited for a while.

"Tell me, what are you looking for me today?"

About a quarter of an hour later, Li Shimin put down the pen in his hand and stretched his waist.

"Wechen came to Your Majesty today for the long-term peace and stability of the grassland."

As soon as Li Kuan came up, he let out a big sentence, and Li Zhong, who was standing on the side, trembled in fright.

His Royal Highness the King of Chu, when did he speak so unreliable?

Can you say this kind of thing casually in front of Your Majesty?

"The crime of bullying the king is not a joke."

Li Shimin stared at Li Kuan for a long time before he burst out of nowhere.

The long-term peace and stability of the grassland is a dream of all the Central Plains dynasties, and Li Shimin does not know that he has lost sleep because of things on the grassland.

And on this topic, countless ministers have put forward their own suggestions, and even Li Kuan himself has told him about the grassland strategy before.

Now that the old words are recalled, Li Shimin will not be as excited as if he was doing something when he heard a sentence.

"Your Majesty, Wechen has always been loyal, honest and simple, and the crime of bullying the king, how can this matter have anything to do with Wechen."

"That's a nice word, so I'll just listen to you and see what difference is made in your long-term strategy."

Although Li Shimin didn't care about it, he was actually looking forward to Li Kuan coming up with a different proposal.

Li Kuan has always been able to surprise everyone, and if there are surprises in this matter, it would be great.

"The relevant buildings of the Tang Dynasty Monument are expected to have a preliminary appearance this month, and Weichen feels that His Majesty can consider the reward of the heroes in advance."

"What, do you think I've treated the heroes badly?"

Li Shimin didn't know what Li Kuan was doing and talked about the monument again, but it made people feel uncomfortable no matter how they heard it.

"No, Wechen never meant that. However, Chang'an City is now full of nobles, and the land that can be planted is ownerial, but in the central and northern parts of Hedong Road, there are still a large number of fertile fields that are barren, not to mention the Yunzhong Governor's Mansion, although it is close to the Yellow River, there are not a few acres of fertile land, which is a complete waste of the good environment given by God. ”

Li Shimin: "What do you want to say?" ”

"Weichen proposes that His Majesty can take the opportunity of the completion of the Tang Dynasty Monument to reward a large amount of wasteland and grassland in the Yunzhong Governor's Mansion and the northern part of Hedong Province to the meritorious heroes, and refer to the policy of Nanyang rice planting and promotion, give all the people who are willing to go to the Yunzhong Governor's Mansion and the northern state capital of Hedong Province with 100 acres of Yongye land, and exempt them from tax for three years."

Li Kuan did not directly say how he made the grassland stable for a long time, but said his proposal step by step.

"In that place of the Governor's Mansion in the clouds, even if I reward tens of thousands of acres of land to each meritorious person, what is the point? Who would actually go there? ”

Li Shimin couldn't help but be a little disappointed when he heard Li Kuan's words.

It's not a very innovative idea to immigrate to the sidelines, and many dynasties did it hundreds or thousands of years ago.

If it were so easy to do, we wouldn't have solved the grassland problem by now.

"Your Majesty, simply rewarding tens of thousands of acres of land to meritorious heroes, naturally no one is interested, after all, in a place like the Governor's Mansion in the clouds, there are grasslands as far as the eye can see, and it is simply the world of those Hu people. However, the benefits generated are very small, and the gains outweigh the losses. ”

"If you know, why do you make such a suggestion? Do you think I'm just as idle as you are all day? ”

Li Shimin glared at Li Kuan dissatisfied.

"The input and output are disproportionate, so whether the previous immigrants filled the border or rewarded the land of the frontier, they did not really solve the problem of border stability. However, if the land output of the frontier far exceeds that of Chang'an City, and whether it is a noble or meritorious person, or ordinary people, can get a lot of benefits, will this still be the case? ”

Seeing that Li Shimin was still expressionless, Li Kuan had no choice but to continue.

"In recent years, many nobles in Chang'an City have made a lot of money by starting workshops or expanding trade. If there is a 50 percent profit, it will take risks, if it has a 100 percent profit, it will dare to trample on all the laws of the world, and if it has a 300 percent profit, it will dare to commit any crime, even at the risk of being beheaded. It is not so difficult to get the noble and wealthy businessmen to invest the money they have earned over the years in the border areas, provided that they can earn more money. ”

Although he was a little disgusted with Li Kuan's opening and closing his mouth to money, Li Shimin still nodded and approved of Li Kuan's words.

"In the past, the land in the Yunzhong Governor's Mansion could only be used for grazing, but we Tang people are not very good at grazing, and there is no guarantee of safety, so even if these lands are given to everyone, no one will really send their families to manage them, and ordinary people are even more unwilling. However, the situation is different now, and for a short time, at least the northern part of Hadong Province is very safe. ”

Li Shimin: "This alone should not be enough for everyone to spend their energy in the border areas. ”

"Of course, there are not enough benefits, and no one will go to it no matter how safe it is. However, if you plant one acre of land over there, the income is ten times that of the Guanzhong area, then who else will go? ”

"Ten times?" Li Shimin's eyes widened, "Is the income from cotton planting so high?" Or do you want to grow sugar cane there? ”

The crops that Li Kuan has been tossing in the past year are none other than Nanyang rice, cotton and sugarcane.

Obviously, on the side of the Yunzhong Governor's Mansion, planting rice is not so reliable, even if it is planted, it is impossible to grow two crops a year, and the income is far less than ten times.

In this way, cotton and sugar cane are left.

"Your Majesty, sugarcane likes a hot growing environment, and the north of the Yangtze River does not have the conditions for planting, so Wechen is promoting sugarcane planting in Lingnan Road."

"So, do you want everyone to go to the northern part of Hedong Province and the Yunzhong Governor's Mansion to grow cotton? Does this cotton really have ten times the yield of corn? ”

Li Shimin suddenly understood why so many courtiers proposed to relax the restrictions on cotton cultivation in Guanzhong Province during this time.

Not to mention ten times, even five times, no, as long as there are two or three times, there will be countless people who will switch to cotton.

"There is a tenfold income in the first year, and this Weichen is basically guaranteed. There are also many families in Chang'an City who have planted some cotton this year, and as long as they inquire a little, they can also know the income of these cotton fields this year. Now Chang'an City has a cement road leading directly to Shuozhou, and it is very convenient for immigrants to go to Hedong Road, and it is not troublesome to go to the Yunzhong Governor's Mansion. The cultivation of this cotton, the requirements for irrigation are relatively low, these places are basically plains, as long as a fire, a large amount of land can be cleared out, a little tidying, can be turned into cotton fields. ”

"Ten times the profit in the first year, but what about after that?"

"Naturally, it can't be so high in the future. Now the yield of cotton is relatively low, so the price of cotton products will be relatively high. Once the planting area of cotton increases significantly, the corresponding price will definitely slowly decline, but as long as the imperial court limits the cotton planting area, the income of cotton fields in these places can be two or three times more than that of corn planting, and there is still no problem at all. ”

These days, it's not like people can plant whatever you want.

If the imperial court restricts which state capitals cotton can only be grown, then its income can be relatively easily controlled, and it will not have too much impact on the grain output of the Tang Dynasty.

"Although the benefits are very attractive, it should still be very difficult to get ordinary people to take the initiative to immigrate there."

Li Shimin basically agreed with Li Kuan's point of view, but still felt that large-scale immigration was very difficult to implement.

"If it is simply to reward the land to the meritorious and noble, and no one cultivates it, it is meaningless."

"When ordinary people emigrate, the most troublesome thing is the long journey, in this regard, the imperial court can consider assisting in solving it, of course, let more people realize the benefits of immigration, realize the true meaning of the tree to die, people to live, presumably there will still be people willing to take this risk."

"Trees die, people live?" Hearing Li Kuan say this, Li Shimin suddenly thought of the Datang Daily's article during this time, "You made that Datang Daily, wouldn't it be just to fool the people to plant cotton?" I wonder why the last few editions of the newspaper are all about the happy life of immigrants from Gangnam Province and Shannan Province, and you have a trick waiting for them. ”

"The content of the Datang Daily is also true and reliable, and it is not fabricated out of thin air. Let everyone fully realize that the policy of the imperial court is actually very good, and this is more important than the policy itself. ”

"I understand your idea of promoting cotton planting. But what is the direct relationship between the long-term peace and stability of this grassland? ”

Li Shimin ignored Li Kuan's explanation, but turned the topic back to the original topic.