At that time, Li Shimin, Li Xiu and Changsun Wuji decided on a three-step strategy to completely resolve the threat of northern grasslands, but in fact, there were only the first two steps. As for the last step of completely annexing the grassland, there was no exact plan, because the three of them didn't know how to annex the grassland at that time, so they could only take one step at a time.

However, as time goes by, the situation between the Tang Dynasty and the grassland has also changed tremendously, and the first two strategies have been completed. Next, the strategy of completely annexing the grassland is implemented. At this time, Li Xiu finally thought of a feasible method, so he wrote his idea into a memorial during this period, named it "Pingbei Ce". Today, Li Xiu dedicated "Pingbei Ce" to Li Shimin.

Li Shimin and Changsun Wuji did not expect Li Xiu to suddenly offer the strategy of annexing the grassland, which made them stunned. Then Li Shimin went up to take the memorial in person, then opened it and looked carefully. As a result, he frowned and was happy. Finally, he slapped the table and shouted: "Okay!"

Seeing the change of expression on Li Shimin's face, Changsun Wuji and Li Zhi also looked at each other, and finally Li Zhi secretly approached Li Xiu and said, "Sir, what did you write in the memorial? This is the first time I have seen my father lose his composure."

"Haha, don't be anxious. Your father will definitely let you see it later!" Li Xiu smiled deliberately mysteriously at this time. It was not that he was unwilling to say it, but that there was too much content in the memorial. I'm afraid it would be impossible to explain it clearly only by relying on his own explanation. It would be better to let Li Zhi go and read it himself.

Li Zhi is a young man. Seeing Li Xiu not saying it, he felt itchy. He finally waited until Li Shimin finished reading it, but he handed it to Changsun Wuji next to him. After all, Li Zhi was just here to learn government affairs. He could only listen to major events like annexing the grassland at most and could not participate in it for the time being. However, at this time, Li Zhi could not suppress his curiosity, so he came to Changsun Wuji to watch with him.

Changsun Wuji was also very curious about Li Xiu's memorial. When he saw Li Zhi coming over, he leaned his body to make it easier for him to watch. When the two of them saw the contents of the memorial, they couldn't help but show a solemn expression.

Regarding the plan to annex the grassland, Li Xiu’s memorial has a lot of content, but in summary, it is just four words, that is, both kindness and power. Of course, these four words are simple to say, but it is difficult to do it.

In the memorial, Li Xiu first analyzed the situation between the Tang Dynasty and the grassland, especially mentioned that with the defeat of Xue Yantuo, the grassland will completely become a mess, and there will be no force that can threaten the Tang Dynasty. Now what the Tang Dynasty has to do is to use both kindness and power, and annex the grassland step by step.

The so-called kindness means that the Tang Dynasty will completely open up commercial exchanges with the grassland. Although there were transactions between the Tang Dynasty and the grassland in the past, some commodities were strictly prohibited from flowing into the grassland, such as iron, grain and other strategic materials. These materials may enhance the strength of the grassland tribes. Therefore, since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, these materials were strictly prohibited from flowing into the grassland.

However, Li Xiu now proposed to open up the transaction of these materials, especially grain. Because the Tang Dynasty had high-yield crops such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn, the Tang Dynasty's grain output rose sharply. There was too much food in the warehouse to eat, and some of the broken ones could only be fed to livestock. Especially in recent years, with the increase in the population of the Tang Dynasty, more and more wastelands have been reclaimed, and grain output has been growing.

Of course, no matter how much food there was in the Tang Dynasty, it could not be traded for no reason. However, Li Xiu had his own reason, that is, he used food as a weapon to annex the grassland. In other words, if the tribes on the grassland want to trade food with the Tang Dynasty, they must submit to the Tang Dynasty. This kind of support is not the nominal support of the past, but the actual support of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty will send officials to manage these tribes.

In addition to business, Li Xiu also mentioned another kind of favor in his memorial, which is to bring sweet potatoes and potatoes to the grassland and select some tribes to cultivate. Although most of the land on the grassland is not suitable for growing grain, some land can still be cultivated, such as some land next to the lake. Even if these lands cannot plant wheat and other grains, it is still okay to grow sweet potatoes and potatoes.

The main reason why the grassland tribes are difficult to eliminate is that they live nomadic and do not stay in one place for too long. In addition, the grassland is vast, it is difficult to find their traces. In this case, if the Central Plains are weak, they will go south in large numbers. If the Central Plains are strong, they will hide deep in the grassland. Even if the Tang Dynasty is strong, they will have no choice but to do anything to them.

It was precisely because Li Xiu saw this above that he decided to bring high-yield crops such as sweet potatoes and potatoes to the grassland. In this way, some tribes can be settled, and even transformed from nomadic peoples into farming peoples. As long as they get off war horses, it will no longer be a threat to the Central Plains.

In addition to the above, there are other strategies in the memorials, mainly to strengthen the connection between the Tang Dynasty and the grassland in terms of economy, agriculture and population. These are the one aspect of grace, and the next is power.

The so-called power is not to oppress the tribes on the grassland, but to strengthen the rule of the Tang Dynasty over the grassland, so as to actually control the grassland, rather than implementing the throne strategy like before. To completely control the grassland, the first step is to send officials on the grassland, so that those tribes can take over the jurisdiction of the Tang Dynasty.

Of course, the tribes on the grassland are used to being free, and they will definitely not easily accept the rule of the Tang Dynasty at the beginning. Even if they have the "grace" side of the above, it will be difficult for them to be obedient people of the Tang Dynasty to be honest. Therefore, in addition to dispatching officials, they also have to garrison troops. Any tribe that dares to resist or cause trouble will be wiped out by the army, and strict criminal laws will be implemented on the grassland. After all, heavy punishments are used in troubled times, and there is never any royal law on the grassland. If you want to govern, you must use heavy punishments.

Of course, these above are just a rough summary of Li Xiu’s memorial. There are many specific implementation rules, such as getting closer and far, slowly moving north, and building roads, building cities, and future ruling methods of grassland people, etc., which are detailed descriptions above.

It is worth mentioning that the memorial also mentioned a very terrifying method, which is to use religion to control the population of the grassland. At that time, Li Xiu suggested suppressing the two religions of Buddhism and Taoism. Many of the monks opposed it, but were exiled to the grassland by the court. This policy has never stopped. As long as the local Buddhist power is too large and the number of monks exceeds the presupposition of the court, the court will send people to exile these monks to the grassland.

These monks are not only proficient in Buddhism, but also many of them are proficient in medical skills. In addition, there are natural disasters and man-made disasters on the grasslands, and the grassland people are very ignorant. As a result, in just over a decade, Buddhism has blossomed everywhere on the grasslands. Many large tribes regard the monks exiled from the Tang Dynasty as guests and take the initiative to pay for the construction of temples for them. Many grassland people also devoted themselves to the temples to serve the Buddha, which also made Buddhism on the grassland even more prosperous.

The reason why Li Xiu suggested suppressing religion was not only the threat of religion to the Tang Dynasty, but also the idea of ​​disaster in the east. Now Buddhism is booming on the grassland, which is exactly what he wants. Therefore, in his memorial, he suggested encouraging the grassland people to become monks, and each family was allowed to leave only one male. This is almost a copy of the way to deal with the Mongolians in the Qing Dynasty in the later Qing Dynasty, and the effect is significant. The Mongolians have dropped sharply from three million in the early Qing Dynasty to less than one million.

The method of controlling the population of grassland by religion is recorded at the end of the memorial, and is marked as a "hidden strategy", that is, a shameful method. This method can be done, but it cannot be admitted. In addition to religion, Li Xiu has other methods, such as forcing the grassland people to change their surnames, speak Chinese, wear Hanfu, etc., and there is no difference between household registration and Han people. In addition, the Han people are encouraged to move to the north to settle down. As long as they are willing to move, they will be rewarded with fields, pastures, etc.

After Changsun Wuji and Li Zhi finished reading Li Xiu's memorial, both of them couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, especially Li Zhi looked at Li Xiu with a strange look. After a while, he seemed to want to ask something, but he was embarrassed to speak.

Li Xiu also noticed Li Zhi's strangeness at this time. After thinking about it, he understood it. So he smiled and said, "Prince, do you think my strategies are too cruel?"

"This..." Li Zhi hesitated for a moment when he heard Li Xiu's words, and then finally plucked up the courage and said, "For the sake of my Tang Dynasty, it is necessary to annex the grassland. However, the people who control the grassland with Buddhism, use heavy songs and perform Han rituals to the students' eyes are indeed a bit cruel."

"Haha, Chingnu, you must remember that as an emperor, your kindness can only be used to the people of the Tang Dynasty. Those grassland people are not the people of the Tang Dynasty for the time being, so there is no need to be merciful to them. Only after decades later, after they truly integrate into the Tang Dynasty, it is not too late to be kind to them!" Before Li Xiu could speak, Li Shimin said at this time.

"What Your Majesty said is that if our Tang Dynasty wants to annex the grassland, it is definitely not OK to not shed blood. Instead of shedding the blood of our Tang people, it is better to shed the blood of those grasslands from different races. As the saying goes, if not our race, their hearts will be different. The fewer people in those grasslands, the easier it will be to integrate into the Tang Dynasty in the future!" Changsun Wuji also smiled and said. In his opinion, Li Zhi was still a little too tender and had a kindness in his personality. This is not a good thing for an emperor.

Hearing his father and uncle's words, Li Zhi seemed to understand a little, and nodded and apologized to Li Xiu. However, Li Xiu waved his hand indifferently, and then took out something from his sleeve and said, "In addition to Pingbei Ce, I have something to offer!"
Chapter completed!