Li Xiu went to northern Xinjiang this time and suffered a lot, and even almost couldn't come back, Li Shimin was also very concerned about this, and after summoning him in, in addition to discussing government affairs, he also asked a lot about his trapped situation, Li Xiu also answered one by one, but he was now having a headache, thinking about how to persuade Wei Zheng to agree to move the Turks to the south to open up the wasteland, after all, Li Shimin had obviously thrown this problem on him. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

Li Shimin wants to manage such a huge empire, and there are naturally a lot of affairs, especially in the past few years, it is a critical period for the Tang Dynasty, so he is usually very busy, but today he still took half a day to chat with Li Xiu, this kind of treatment in the Manchu Dynasty civil and military, I am afraid that only Li Xiu and the eldest grandson Wuji can have.

"By the way, when the minister entered the city before, he saw a group of envoys from the Wa Kingdom coming to Chang'an, has His Majesty summoned them?" Li Xiu finally suddenly thought of the Japanese people he met on the road that day, and asked Li Shimin very curiously, he didn't want those Japanese people to take advantage of the Tang Dynasty.

"Wolver? I don't have time to see them now, and there are too many envoys from a small country like this, so they usually let them stay in Chang'an temporarily, and then meet them when they have time, but the Wa Kingdom has always been arrogant, and Yang Guang was very angry with them at the beginning, so I don't want to see them for the time being, I guess I won't wait until the New Year! When Li Shimin heard Li Xiu mention the Japanese people, he didn't show any good face for a while, and it seemed that he didn't have a good impression of the Japanese people.

"What Your Majesty said is extremely true, the Japanese people are small and not humble, and they are weak and not afraid of being strong, and they will definitely bring humiliation on themselves in the future, but there is one thing I want to talk to Your Majesty!" When Li Xiu said the end, he also had a solemn expression on his face.

"Oh? What's up? Li Shimin saw Li Xiu's serious expression, and asked for a moment.

"Your Majesty, I would like to ask if the gunpowder formula can be taught to outsiders?" Li Xiu took a deep breath at this time and said.

As soon as Li Xiu's words came out, Li Shimin stood up suddenly, and his face suddenly became very gloomy staring at Li Xiu, and after a long while, he slowly spoke: "Li Xiu, what do you mean, gunpowder is an important weapon of the country, how can it be taught to others?" ”

It's no wonder that Li Shimin has such a big reaction, because gunpowder is too important to the Tang Dynasty, and with the firearms made of gunpowder, the combat power of the Tang army has increased several times, and there is almost nothing to block the attack of the Tang army, which also makes the formula of gunpowder have been kept strictly secret.

For example, now the gunpowder production of Datang is all concentrated in Chang'an, and there are also heavy troops stationed around the gunpowder workshop, no one is allowed to approach, and all craftsmen who know the gunpowder formula are also restricted from the scope of action, so it can be said that the protection measures for the gunpowder formula are extremely strict. However, Li Xiu was the one who invented gunpowder, so when he said that he wanted to teach gunpowder to others, Li Shimin was naturally very nervous, and even if it was someone else, I am afraid he would even have the intention of killing people.

"Your Majesty, don't get me wrong, the minister is just giving an example, just like Your Majesty said, gunpowder is an important weapon of the country, so naturally it can't be easily shown, but in addition to gunpowder, can other things be taught to outsiders at will?" Li Xiu explained with a smile at the moment, and then asked rhetorically.

"What do you mean?" Li Shimin still asked a little incomprehensibly at this time, Li Xiu's thinking jumped too much, and sometimes he couldn't keep up, but it was precisely because of this that Li Shimin could often get some unexpected gains from Li Xiu.

"Your Majesty, agriculture is a country, industry is a strong country, and business is a rich country, these three are indispensable, the reason why my Datang is strong is because these three are stronger than other countries, for example, in the case of work, my Datang not only has gunpowder, but also can smelt good steel, make sharp weapons, and create strong armor, which can make my Datang army invincible, but in this way, these technologies are transmitted to other countries, and they also have sharp weapons and strong armor, what advantages does my Datang have on the battlefield?" Li Xiu said with a solemn expression again.

"Iron smelting and the manufacture of weapons are naturally very important, and these have always been in the hands of the imperial court, so naturally they can't be easily taught to outsiders, but I'm afraid you mean more than that, right?" Li Shimin heard this and said something again, and he finally understood what Li Xiu meant.

"That's true, my Datang is far stronger than the surrounding countries in terms of agriculture and commerce, such as countries like Tubo, and even bartering, not even coins, planting is even more primitive, directly sprinkle a handful of seeds on the ground, and then ignore them, if they learn the planting technology of our Han people, wouldn't it make their grain increase several times? In addition, there are textile, construction, papermaking and other industries, these technologies are our ancestors painstakingly explored, if outsiders are easy to learn, wouldn't it be a pity? Li Xiu finally said what he thought at this time.

"I understand what you mean, but my Datang does not prohibit the entry of Yi people from all directions, and my Datang territory is vast, and it is impossible to take care of all aspects, I'm afraid it will be difficult to prohibit these amateurs from learning some things from my Datang, right?" Li Shimin also frowned at this time and said, he agreed with Li Xiu's suggestion very much, but it was too difficult to implement.

"Your Majesty, the minister also knows that it is impossible to block all the advanced technologies of my Datang, but I just want to suggest that Your Majesty try to keep some important technologies secret, including gunpowder, smelting, armor making and other technologies, not to mention, in addition to textiles, planting, and even shipbuilding, papermaking and other technologies, also try to let the government control, not allow outflow, so as to maintain my Datang in all aspects of agriculture and industry is more advanced and powerful than other countries!" Li Xiu spoke again at the moment.

In fact, Li Xiu also knew that in a huge country like the Tang Dynasty, and the control of the ancient government over the local area was not as strong as in later generations, it would definitely not be able to prevent the outflow of some technology, but he just wanted to remind Li Shimin that he would not send some craftsmen, books, etc., as if he didn't want money.

For example, in history, when Li Shimin married Princess Fang Cheng, he gave it to countless craftsmen in Tubo, which made Tubo's productivity rise by several steps, and also gave Tubo the strength to fight against the Tang Dynasty later. In addition, there are Tang envoys sent by the Wa State, in fact, not only the Wa State, the Tang Dynasty is too open in this regard, and the surrounding countries have sent many people to study in Chang'an, and as a result, they have learned a lot of things from the Datang, although this has greatly promoted the cultural exchanges between the Tang Dynasty and the surrounding countries, but also enhanced the strength of the surrounding countries, which is not what Li Xiu wants to see.

Don't say that Li Xiu is selfish, if Datang wants to remain strong, it must suppress the surrounding countries, just like the United States in later generations, in order to maintain global hegemony, the United States also suppresses countries in the world that may pose a threat to it, even if there is no reason, you can find a reason to send troops, just like the unlucky Saddam, said that he has weapons of mass destruction, then he must have them, even if he did not find them later, but the goal of the United States has been achieved.

"Gunpowder and smelting are really important, but is it necessary to control technologies such as shipbuilding and papermaking?" At this time, Li Shimin pondered for a moment and asked again, he just felt that some important technologies, especially military-related technologies, needed to be controlled, but there was no need to spend effort on some less important technologies.

"Your Majesty's words are wrong, some things seem to be unimportant, but in fact they will have a far-reaching impact, such as taking papermaking as an example, with paper, we can more conveniently record the wisdom of our predecessors, summarize experience from these wisdom, learn from the lessons of our predecessors, improve all aspects of technology, etc., Your Majesty should be able to think of these."

When he said this, Li Xiu paused for a moment and then said: "In addition, there is shipbuilding, which is also very advantageous, the Wa Kingdom was originally located in the northeast of our Datang, adjacent to Silla and Baekje, but Your Majesty can know why the envoys sent by the Wa State have to land in the south of our Datang every time?" ”

"This ......" Li Shimin was also stunned when he heard Li Xiu's words, he really hadn't thought about this problem, with the location of the Wa State, they landed directly from Shandong and only recently, but whether it was this time or before, the envoys sent by the Wa State could only land from the southern coast, could it be that the Wa people liked to take a long detour?

"Hehe, Your Majesty doesn't know, the shipbuilding technology of the Japanese people is very simple, and after the ships they build go to sea, they can only sail with the monsoon blowing, so if they want to reach the Tang Dynasty, they can only take advantage of the autumn when the north wind blows, start from the Japanese country to the south, and finally happen to land in the south, it can be said that they have to walk thousands of miles to reach Chang'an!"

Li Xiu paused when he said this, and then spoke again: "In contrast, our Datang shipbuilding technology is far more advanced than that of the Wa Kingdom, some maritime merchants often go to the Wa Kingdom with full loads of goods to do business, and a piece of cloth can even be sold for ten times or a hundred times the price, and the money earned will also be brought to our Datang to increase the wealth of our Datang, and if there is a conflict between the two countries, my Datang Navy can also go north to attack the Wa State at any time, compared to above, it is even more difficult for the Wa State to attack our Datang!" ”

Hearing Li Xiu's explanations, Li Shimin also showed a contemplative look, he really didn't think about it so much before, but he can't be blamed for this, after all, the scholars in the Central Plains have always despised industry and commerce, Li Shimin was born in the aristocracy, so he was naturally affected by some influences, and he never thought that these seemingly inconspicuous technologies could have such a big impact on a country.

Looking at the pensive Li Shimin, Li Xiu did not bother anymore, Li Shimin needs a change in thinking, and as the ruler of the Tang Dynasty, every thought he has made will have a profound impact on the Tang Dynasty, which is also the direction that Li Xiu has been working towards.