At the end of April of the ninth year of the Apocalypse, just after the northwest side allowed the envoys of Daqin to travel to and from Chang'an, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Department of Science and Technology jointly promulgated a series of lists of scientific and technological technologies and special industries that were prohibited from exporting and prohibiting opening to the outside world. This is a distant thing in the eyes of ordinary people, but it has caused an uproar in the industrial and commercial circles of the empire, because in the past, the industries that were restricted from opening up to the outside world were concentrated in the industrial field and high-tech industries, but this time these large-scale basic industries were also included in the restricted list. Soon after, it was rumored from within the Ministry of Industry and Commerce that the envoy of Daqin was already on his way to Chang'an in the northwest, which made everyone vaguely guess the meaning of this. In particular, for the Yelujia, who concentrated most of their industries in the northwest, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce's directory was on the one hand restricting the leakage of technology from these industries through the border, and on the other hand, it was also helping these industries to monopolize and earn more wealth for the empire from the Great Qin and Great Food. Therefore, after the directory of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce was transmitted to the northwest provinces, not only the governments at all levels under the Northwest Military Administrative Region began to seriously inspect the border ports, but even the Yelujia and these private businesses also began to issue bans one after another, strictly requiring the subordinate branches to implement this order of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

The Tang Dynasty suddenly issued this order when the envoy of Great Qin set foot on Shule, which was obviously aimed at Great Qin, but Tuoba Sizhi looked at the joint official document sent by the cabinet and the General Staff to think about whether there were any new changes in the strategy of the Imperial Chang'an Base Camp for the northwest side. Because of the long distance, even if there is a train from Shule to Chang'an, it will take several days and nights, so whether it is Tuoba Sizhi or Wan Yi, in addition to relying on the official documents sent by the plain text, they also need to rely on the actual situation on the ground to make the most appropriate judgment, so as to make up for the base camp because they do not know the situation on the front line and cannot make the most accurate decision. This is also the reason why there is no fighting in the northwest for the time being, and when all provinces have already divided their provincial boundaries and exercise their functions and powers normally, the establishment of the Northwest Military Administrative Region and the Western Expeditionary Army has not been revoked.

"Dashuai, why haven't you slept so late, come to me?" Tuoba Sizhi saw Wan Yi coming to him at night, and knew that the other party was also thinking about the same thing as himself, so after the two sat down, they didn't say much to each other and said directly: "The envoy of Daqin came from the west, but I am afraid that the big cannibals will find out sooner or later, if the other party makes a strategic change because of this, then our Datang strategy in the northwest will also be changed, and not only the civilian but also your military will prepare in advance." ”

Tuoba pondered the words Wan Yi also nodded for a while, and the base camp agreed to release the envoy of Daqin, but he was afraid that Li Xuanqing would also issue a new order in the near future, and the two of them, as the highest level of military and political affairs in the northwest, must be prepared in advance, so that they can prepare as soon as the official order arrives.

"Generally speaking, if there is a change in the frontline strategy, the emperor will definitely make arrangements in advance, but this time there is no other order from the General Staff, just asking the northwest garrison to raise the alert level of the border by one level, and there are no other instructions for the rest, it should be that the emperor intends to wait until he meets the envoy of Daqin before deciding." Wan Yi said: "However, according to the principle of the supremacy of the interests of the empire, the highest strategy is to let the Great Qin and the Great Cannibal fight in the west, and neither of us will be offended, and then sit back and reap the profits, distribute the war wealth of the other party, and wait until the two sides are exhausted before considering whether to take down the two of them in one fell swoop." The meaning of Wan Yi's words obviously revealed that he had a calm analysis of the struggle between the two great empires in the northwest, and also fully considered what role the Tang Dynasty should play in it, so Tuoba Sizhi took over the conversation and said: "That is to say, if the situation is possible, the emperor's side should also sign a letter of state with the Daqin side, indicating the principle of free trade between our Datang and the other party, and then sit back and watch the success or failure, right?" I'm afraid that I may not be able to get my wish, after all, neither the Great Qin people nor the Great Cannibals are stupid, they beat you to the death, and our Datang is watching from the side, doesn't this make the two sides restless? ”

"What does the deputy prime minister mean is that they will reach an unexpected tacit agreement to pull us into the water, or find a way to divert our attention? Is it better to also get us into the war, so that our strength does not swell too much while they are in the middle of the war? Wan Yi agreed with Tuoba Si's speculation. After all, if you think about it from another perspective, you will think so, but relying on Datang's strength, where is there such a place where you can consume Datang's strength? After a while, both of them seemed to think of a place, and they looked at each other in unison, and both shook their heads.

"The emperor should be very insightful about this, so he has not used the army to go south, and he must have carefully calculated the current national strength of our Tang Dynasty's external expansion." Wan Yi thought for a while and said: "No matter how powerful the navy is, it can't hit the land, so if you rely on the erosion of the marines, it's not a big problem, and cutting meat with a blunt knife is actually the best strategy for the current empire." ”

"However, whether it is the army or local civil affairs and foreign trade in the northwest, it needs to wait for Chang'an to meet with the envoy of Great Qin before it can be determined. However, I plan to ask Qin Kong to send someone to Baghdad to spread some news, and first go to explore the road to see the reaction of the big cannibal. Wan Yi thought for a while and said: "Whether the big cannibal knows whether the Great Qin Dynasty sent an envoy to our Tang Dynasty, I have to let him know, so that I can force the Baghdad side to show his hole cards." ”

"That's okay, the civil affairs need to lag behind, so I'll wait for you and the news from the base camp before taking the opportunity." Tuoba nodded in thought.

When the top military and political leaders of the Northwest reached an agreement to go to Da Shi to explore the way, the envoy of Daqin was also stunned by the train that traveled thousands of miles from the northwest to Chang'an, so that when the accompanying soldiers of the Tiance Army informed the other party that Chang'an had arrived, these people felt dizzy and unbelievable, and they had arrived at the heart of this huge empire in just a few days.

Responsible for receiving the envoy of Daqin is the commissioner sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after arriving at the post house with these people, the people of Chang'an are also a little curious about these Taixi people who look completely different from the Central Plains race, although these years because of the popularity of foreign trade, Chang'an can be said to be the coming of all countries, but the first time I saw this strange-looking white Chang'an people still couldn't help but talk about it in private, and even some of the old people began to recall the Hufu scenes that could be seen everywhere in Chang'an City during the heyday of the Tang Dynasty in the Kaiyuan Dynasty.

However, after Wang Shoutian held the first meeting with the envoy of the Great Qin on behalf of the Tang Empire, the news brought back was as expected by Li Xuanqing and others.

"Does this Great Qin really plan to rely on a paper covenant to win us over and fight against them against the Great Eclipse? They don't know that in fact, the big cannibals have also submitted their credentials to us? "Cen Tianshi hadn't participated in that meeting before, so his thoughts about the Great Qin people were a little strange, for him, it was best for the Tang Dynasty to make a fortune left and right, and then come out when necessary, to see if it was to make a fortune or to extort some territorial interests or something, and suddenly formed an alliance, I am afraid that the peace and stability in the northwest side for two years will break out again overnight.

"What Mr. said is, so both the General Staff and Xuan Yingwei have received the latest report from the Northwest from Senior Brother, and Xuan Yingwei plans to take the initiative to spread the news of the Great Qin's envoy coming to the Tang Dynasty to Baghdad, and then see the other party's reaction." Hu Xiaosi had a smile on the corner of his mouth when he said this, "I have a gut feeling, no matter whether Baghdad's external strategy will change, they will definitely send people to Datang as soon as possible, after all, although the Dashi army is now offensive, its sharpest elite troops are equipped with musket teams, and the latest news has also come from the export artillery equipment department, I think this time the logistics department's income this year is about to be good." ”

"Since the Ministry of Foreign Affairs arranges the time, let's formally meet with the Great Qin envoy and see if this Great Qin person is superior or inferior compared to the Great Cannibal." Li Xuanqing was actually very curious about what stage the Great Qin Empire was at this time after being overturned by the Great Food Empire and splitting into two Western Empires. However, what soon made Li Xuanqing and Qiaoxi notice was that the Great Qin Empire at this time should be the Eastern Great Qin Empire in later generations, and after the division of the west, it was no longer possible to compete with the Great Cannibals, if it wasn't for the Great Cannibals themselves, they were also divided into three branches, and they were afraid that Western Europe in the future would become part of the Great Food in White. After getting this news, Li Xuanqing quickly determined the national policy of the Tang Dynasty, and he did not interfere in the open and secret struggle between the two empires in the West for the time being, but in addition to being unwilling to form an alliance, Li Xuanqing almost met the other party's other requirements put forward by the envoy of Great Qin, including exporting military equipment such as breech guns like the Great Cannibal. In addition, in order to apologize, Li Xuanqing also rewarded all the members of the other party's mission with rich gifts, and the gifts such as glass, silk, porcelain, tea and even bicycles purchased by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also opened everyone's eyes. These members of the mission even began to inquire about how these exquisite gifts were made in the Changqing Palace, and coupled with the shock of the previous train, the envoy of Great Qin immediately asked Li Xuanqing to see if he could export these things to Great Qin.

For these tentative topics, Li Xuanqing didn't pay attention to them, and directly pushed them directly to Wang Shoutian and Murong Hanhai, I believe that these two people had already looked at each other's pockets, and their eyes were shining. After this incident was over, Li Xuanqing immediately summoned Cen Tianshi, Xu Tianxiang and other military and political leaders to hold a special meeting.

"The emperor means that the foreign trade artillery will be suppressed first, and it will not be included in the trade list of Daqin for the time being, right?" Because Zuo Tiancheng of the logistics department is now on business in Fengzhou, Wang Houchun replied on his behalf: "That's fine, once the cannibal artillery shows its might on the battlefield, then we will immediately increase the price, so that the income of the artillery will not be worse than the musket." ”

"Inform the Equipment Department and the subordinate private weapons factories that in the future, remember to sell weapons and ammunition separately, and make enough efforts to prevent imitation, so as not to be imitated by the other party." Li Xuanqing continued: "As soon as the cannon goes off, there are ten thousand taels of gold. This sentence should henceforth not only be our own war motto, but should also be the war motto of the entire arms trade. The arms business is the most money-grabbing business. ”

"The emperor can rest assured, Murong is more shrewd than anyone else in business, and with Wang Shoutian, I think these two people will definitely be able to dig out no less wealth from Daqin's side than Dashi's." Cen Tianshi said with a smile: "This year's foreign trade will definitely rise a lot." ”

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is ready, the Great Qin people are here, and they want to form an alliance with us, and the Great Cannibals will not be indifferent, so they will definitely send them over again, and when the time comes, they will put the artillery on our shelves as sincerity." Li Xuanqing nodded and said, "But in exchange, should the big cannibal express it?" Let Wang Shoutian think about how to talk to the big cannibal. ”

"Your Majesty, your blackmail skills are really powerful." Xu Tianxiang followed with a smile: "But according to the news from Xiao Si, the big cannibals have been on the offensive recently, wouldn't it be even more arrogant for us to sell the cannons to them at this time?" Even if it is a foreign trade type artillery, the shells are filled with black powder, but its power is not comparable to their cold weapons, I am afraid that the opponents in Baghdad will not be able to withstand this kind of blow. ”

"The more fierce the offensive in Baghdad, the more important it will be, and it will allow the Great Qin people to contact more allies to the greatest extent, and the battle between the two empires will be more intense in the future, and the consumption of their national strength will be more intense, and this time will be the most beneficial to the Tang Dynasty." Li Xuanqing said with a smile: "Once the big war is beyond the control of both sides, this kind of hatred is engraved into the bones of both sides, and it will inevitably inspire both sides to do everything possible to win this battlefield, and that is our best chance." Li Xuanqing didn't say which direction the opportunity was, but the people present were all at the top of the empire, so how could they not understand Li Xuanqing's thoughts, so Cen Tianshi, Xu Tianxiang and the others all nodded secretly after looking at each other.

After deciding on the policies toward Daqin and Dashi, the Cabinet and the General Staff also sent official documents to the Northwest Military Administrative Region and the Western Expeditionary Army Headquarters as quickly as possible. At this time, the General Staff was already planning to take advantage of this rare free time to take all the territory in the other direction to its own.