Princess Pingyang couldn't help but blush when she heard her father ask her why. She couldn't say that it was because she was in a bad mood, so Li Xiu asked herself to go out for a relaxing time. This was simply acknowledging the relationship between them. Although she knew that her father knew everything, she was still shy and couldn't say it.

"Report to Your Majesty, I have developed a delicacy called canned food, so I specially invited the princess to come and taste it!" Li Xiu also saw Princess Pingyang's shyness at this time, and immediately explained for her first.

"Oh? I'll invite Pingyang to come here just a delicacy. Is Li Jijiu a little bit of a big deal?" Li Yuan glanced at Li Xiu with his eyes and said. After seeing Li Xiu last time, his impression of Li Xiu changed a lot, but later he learned that Li Xiu had some unclear relationship with his favorite daughter, which made him have a bit of prejudice against Li Xiu again.

Since Li Yuan came in, he has been targeting him, which made Li Xiu a little annoyed. At this time, Princess Pingyang wanted to explain for him, but before he could speak, Li Xiu took the lead: "Maybe in the eyes of His Majesty, canned food is just an ordinary food, but in the eyes of Weichen, this canned food is comparable to the millions of troops of my Tang Dynasty!"

"Hmph! Young people should not be too loud. Do you know how many millions of troops are? Even if all the regular troops in the Tang Dynasty are added together, there are probably only one million people. Do you think that a mere food can compare to all the troops in the Tang Dynasty?" Li Yuan snorted coldly when he heard this. He even felt a little funny about Li Xiu's arrogant words.

"Is there a lot of a million troops? Then I would like to ask Your Majesty, if you give you a million troops, without considering supplies, weapons and other issues, can you pacify the grassland in one fell swoop?" Li Xiu smiled confidently at this time. Since he dared to say this, he naturally had his own reasons.

"Don't think that the Turks on the grassland are invincible. Not to mention a million troops, even a half hundred thousand troops, I have the confidence to scatter the grassland in one fell swoop!" Li Yuan said passionately at this time.

As a founding king, he never thought of surviving under the shadow of the Turks. Unfortunately, the reality is that the national strength of the Tang Dynasty was too weak. Even if there were enough troops, there were not enough financial and material resources to launch such a large war. If it was forcibly attacked, it would probably be like the former Sui Dynasty attacked Goguryeo. If the war was not won, it would be dragged down first...

"Haha, Your Majesty may have misunderstood the meaning of Weichen. What I just said was to pacify the grassland, and to keep the grassland under the rule of our Tang Dynasty for a long time. Your Majesty thinks that a million troops can do it?" Li Xiu smiled again. Pacifying the grassland and flattening the grassland are two different things, and the difficulty is one in the sky and the other in the earth.

"This..." Li Yuan couldn't help but feel a little speechless when he heard this, and then said with some annoyance, "It is impossible to completely pacify the grassland. The people on the grassland are fierce and cannot be judged. A conflict may break out if there is a disagreement. Even if my Tang Dynasty can temporarily conquer it, it is impossible to garrison on the grassland for a long time. As long as my Tang Dynasty's troops retreat, there will definitely be another dispute on the grassland. Destroying one Turkic may lead to another rise, and it will inevitably lead to conflicts with my Tang Dynasty in the future!"

As the saying goes, it is easy to conquer the country, but it is difficult to defend the country. Li Yuan knows this more than anyone else. The same is true on the grassland. As long as there is enough troops, it is not difficult to destroy the forces on the grassland, but how to rule after it is destroyed is a big problem. After all, the area of ​​the grassland is too large. If you want to completely incorporate the grassland into the rule of the Tang Dynasty, let alone a million troops, even tens of millions of troops will not be enough. And you also need to have the national strength to support so many troops.

"Haha, Your Majesty is right. The people on the grassland are brave. Even if they are afraid of killing them for the time being, they will form an army again to go south to loot. Can Your Majesty know why this is?" Li Xiusheng asked back with confidence.

"Hmph, no one knows this principle. The reason why grassland people go south from time to time is mainly because they live in difficult life on the grassland. A heavy wind and snow may freeze all the cattle and sheep of a tribe to death. Therefore, every spring and autumn, it is the time when grassland people are most likely to go south. At that time, the soldiers on the border of our Tang Dynasty must wait for the battle to prevent grassland people from coming here!" Li Yuan snorted coldly again. Grassland people are equivalent to a bad neighbor in the Central Plains. Even in his opinion, unless all grassland people are killed, this problem cannot be solved at all.

"Your Majesty's words are very sharp. The reason why the grassland people go south from time to time is mainly because there is a lack of food on the grassland. To put it bluntly, it is actually a poor person. In this case, no matter how much troops are invested, it is useless, but there is no solution. It is like taming a wild horse. In addition to using sticks, you also have to use delicious food to tempt it. Only when you are soft and hard can you tame this wild horse!"

When he said this, Li Xiu paused for a moment and then said, "Of course, there is no need to say about the hard side. If they are not convinced, then they will use the army to fight them. However, in addition to war, they also need to strengthen trade with the grassland, control their salt industry, iron smelting, commerce, etc. When the grassland people want to rebel, they will find that there is no salt in the food they eat, and the weapons in their hands cannot be repaired after being damaged. The cattle and sheep they have raised cannot be exchanged for anything they need. What big thing do you think their rebellion can accomplish?"

"It's easy to say. Even if the grassland people are ignorant, it's not easy to control their business. For example, the grassland is so poor that it is probably all kinds of cattle and sheepskins that can be taken. This single goods cannot attract many merchants at all. If the merchants don't go, how can they control all walks of life on the grassland?" Li Yuan said angrily again. Everyone knows the truth, but whether it can be done is another matter.

When he said this, Li Yuan suddenly realized that he had been taken a deviant by Li Xiu. He immediately glared at him and said, "What's the matter on the grassland that has something to do with your canned food? Do you think this small canned food can help me calm the grassland?"

"Haha, Your Majesty is really right. If you use it properly, cans will really help me to pacify the grasslands of the Tang Dynasty!"

When Li Xiu said this, he picked up the can and showed Li Yuan and said again: "Your Majesty, please see, this is the staple food of mutton on the grassland. Put it in cans and can be stored for at least half a year or even a year. And not just mutton, almost all food can be preserved in cans. If someone is sent to buy beef and mutton on the grassland to make canned food, it will add a kind of tight goods on the grassland and allow the people of the Central Plains to eat meat."

"What did you say? This canned food can actually keep meat for half a year to a year?" Li Yuan couldn't help but screamed in shock when he heard this. However, he was the king of a country after all, and his reaction was better than Princess Pingyang.

"Yes, if you want to make canned food, you need to build a canned workshop, and it also requires a lot of fuel. If you set up a canned workshop on the grassland, you can recruit some Han or grassland people to work in the workshop or even settle nearby. As for fuel, you can also use carbonite. As far as I know, the carbonite reserves on the grassland are very amazing, and many of them are open-pit, which is more convenient for mining. In addition, the use of carbonite is not just for heating. The refined coke can also be smelted, but not all carbonites are suitable for coking. The carbonite on the grassland is very high in quality, and you should find carbonite suitable for coking. These are strategic resources, and the imperial court must not miss it...

Li Xiu was also very excited about the development of industry and commerce on the grassland. As the saying goes, one industry prospers and all industries prosper. Only one or two industries are needed as the leaders will drive the development of the entire grassland. With the development of industry and commerce, it will definitely attract more and more Han people to live on the grassland, and at the same time drive more grassland people to settle down. And under the control of the court, they will slowly grasp the economic lifeline on the grassland. Even if some grassland people want to rebel, they may be powerless.

"Of course, the process I mentioned above cannot be completed in a short time, and it may even take dozens or hundreds of years. However, as long as it can reach the level I mentioned, the grassland will be firmly in the hands of the imperial court, thereby completely solving the problems of the northern grasslands and even promoting the economic development of the Central Plains. It can be said that it is a killing number of kills!" Li Xiu finally concluded that pacifying the grassland is a century-old plan. It may be a bit early to say this now, but the imperial court must have this awareness and plan!

After hearing this, Li Yuan couldn't help but show a thoughtful expression. He knew that there were some exaggerated elements in Li Xiu's words, especially with just one can, it was difficult to reach the level of mastering the grassland that Li Xiu said. However, Li Xiu could make a can today. God knows what new things he would create tomorrow? It doesn't even need too many. Only three or five things like cans are needed, so what Li Xiu said is very likely to become a reality.

Thinking of the above, Li Yuan couldn't help but look at Li Xiu again. In the past, he just thought that Li Xiu was just a talented young man, and even had a criminal record of "seducing" his daughter. However, when he carefully recalled Li Xiu's deeds from beginning to end, Li Yuan suddenly realized that from greenhouses, water wheels, charcoal, reading glasses that he couldn't live without, bean sprouts that he often ate in winter, etc., all came from the hands of this energetic young man in front of him. It is no exaggeration to say that Li Xiu seemed to be slowly changing the livelihood of the entire Tang Dynasty.

"Li Jing gave birth to a good son, no wonder the King of Qin values ​​you so much!" Li Yuan suddenly praised Li Xiu without any hesitation, then stood up and looked at Li Xiu, then turned his head to look at his favorite daughter Pingyang, but his eyes were full of complicated expressions! (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!