After learning of Li Shimin's decision, Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji had only one thought in their minds: the emperor was old and no longer in the prime of his life. If it were in the past, the emperor would never have chosen such a safe ratio...
In fact, this is also a very normal thing. Li Shimin was a prince in the past, and he only needed to consider the people under his command when doing things. But now he is the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and he needs to consider the entire Tang Dynasty. If any mistakes occur, his throne will be unstable.
When Li Xiang received this letter, the weather had already turned cold. Of course, Li Xiang was very happy, because only when the weather was cold could the Taedong River freeze and we could reach the south bank smoothly.
Warships have already appeared in Li Xiang's system, but unfortunately, this is on the river, and the water supply is obviously not enough. Moreover, if the warships are to be brought out, some small boats must be available, otherwise the soldiers will not be able to board the ships. So Li Xiang simply waits until winter to attack. It just so happens that we have not yet fully occupied the vast land north of the river.
Li Xiang wrote another letter to Li Shimin, saying that 500,000 strings of cash would not give him much, and he could only give him 8% every year. Li Shimin asked for 10%, and Li Xiang thought that the proportion was too high. The 8% was only given because of their relationship. If the land here was mined in the future, the 8% would not be a small amount. This was a place where one could farm, and it would be profitable every year.
The most important thing is that labor is free. There are so many ordinary people in Goryeo. When the time comes to pull more over, we just need to give them a meal. As for their working hours, it is best to let them work fifteen hours a day. There are no labor union regulations here. Even if there were, would you dare to interfere with His Majesty the Crown Prince? Are you trying to save your life?
When Li Shimin announced this matter to the world, the river water was already covered with a thin layer of ice. Many wealthy people across the country felt as if a layer of flesh had been cut off. Previously, the court announced the auction of the land in Liaodong, but none of them went. Now that they heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had sold it, they all felt that they had lost out.
Although they didn't know what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was going to do with it, they were very clear about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's abilities. Looking at the businesses he was doing, they found that most of them were making a lot of money. However, it was too late to regret now. They also asked people about it, but it was basically impossible for this to happen. The court had closed the purchasing channels. If they wanted to buy it in the future, they could only buy it from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
Nowadays, one acre of land only costs one string of coins, which can almost be said to be given away for free. If these people buy it, they can easily buy tens of thousands of acres of land. Unfortunately, they are reluctant to spend the money, always feeling that the future is not obvious. Now all of them have been bought by Li Xiang, and they feel that they have lost money. Li Shimin sent people to educate those who talked nonsense in Chang'an City. Since they don't have the spirit of adventure, they should not be jealous of others making money.
When Li Shimin sent someone to issue the imperial edict to them, he actually asked himself: in recent years, he has become less and less pioneering spirit. If he had an open-minded spirit, why did it account for such a small proportion? He should have invested all the 1.5 million strings of money.
When the temperature in Chang'an City was felt dropping, the first snow had already fallen in Liaodong. Li Xiang asked people to test the ice on the river. At present, people could walk on it without any problem, but if the army wanted to cross the river, they would have to continue to freeze for a while.
However, Li Xiang had already ordered Niu Jinda to lead a small number of soldiers across the river. Of course, they were only going there at night to gather intelligence and come back before dawn. Goguryeo had deployed more than 100,000 troops on the riverside. They were guarding the river strictly and would not let Li Xiang and his men cross the river. But as the river water became thicker and thicker, these people began to get anxious.
"What's the situation on the other side?"
On a dark and windy night, Niu Jinda led a group of people across the river and came back from the other side after four hours of crossing.
"The defense over there is quite tight. There's a tower every few hundred meters, and they've dug trenches all over the riverbank. If our cavalry were to go through like that, they'd probably be overwhelmed."
Niu Jinda took a sip of hot wine to warm himself. On such a cold night, this sip of strong liquor was his favorite.
During this period, Li Xiang and his men were busy taking over the land north of the Yangtze River, and the people of Goguryeo were also busy. Of course, they had to purchase one defense line after another in the south of the Yangtze River. The Tang Dynasty had already closed the door to negotiations, so these people no longer had any illusions. They wanted to use the last line of defense to resist the Tang army.
"How's the morale of the soldiers?"
Su Dingfang thought of another aspect. It was normal to build fortifications. Many fortifications had been built for many years, but they had never been used.
"Where's the morale? I saw the soldiers defending several towers, and most of them were just hanging on. They were also short of winter clothes. In such weather, many people were wearing only thin layers. They used all the wood to build fortifications. There were very few fires at night, and ordinary soldiers could only huddle together to keep warm."
Speaking of this, Niu Jinda was happy. Many soldiers couldn't sleep at night because of the cold. Some of them wandered around in the tents, hoping to get a little warmer. The weather would definitely get colder in a few days. With the thin clothes they wore, no matter how many leaves they stuffed into their clothes, they probably wouldn't be able to survive this winter.
"There's another important piece of news. I heard that their Prime Minister Gai Yuansuwen has personally arrived at the front lines..."
When Niu Jinda was about to take a sip of wine, he suddenly remembered that he had intercepted an important clue before leaving. The front-line defenders now had little fighting spirit, so the Prime Minister of Goguryeo was preparing to go to the front line in person to command the army to fight the last battle.
Li Xiang's eyes lit up when he heard the name. Most of the people in Goguryeo were idiots, but this guy was the only one who had some ability. If he were on the front lines, we might run into trouble when we cross the river. He was also well-versed in military books, especially those in our history. Of course, Li Xiang didn't dare to speculate about what the situation would be in practice...