That the Tang Emperor wished to assemble a fleet and sail overseas met with no opposition in the Ganlu Hall.
"Even if later generations possess breeding and selection methods, scientific fertilizers, and new farming techniques…"
Du Ruhui paused briefly, organizing his words before continuing,
"…even if none of those existed, corn alone already yields more than double that of rice or wheat per mu."
For an agriculture-centered empire, this single fact alone was already temptation enough.
Moreover, calculated carefully, there were now canned provisions and maps. The five-toothed tower ships were praised even by later generations; their combat capability was assured. Add to that cautious coastal navigation, and the risks should not be too great.
The only real issue was that a round trip might well be measured in years.
But—
Volunteers will not be lacking.
Li Shimin therefore hesitated no longer and made his decision on the spot.
Once today's affairs were concluded, he would pull Liu Ren'gui aside for a heart-to-heart talk, assign him to the naval forces, and have him assess the feasibility of going to sea.
If feasible, they would assemble a long-distance expedition fleet:
to explore the West,
to seek The Elements,
to recruit talented foreigners,
to proclaim Tang's prestige,
and to gather intelligence on the Americas.
If the return were swift, perhaps when passing through India they could even give Xuanzang and his party a ride back.
Having settled his mind, Li Shimin glanced back at the term "Malthusian Trap."
On this matter, he had thoughts of his own.
As an emperor, the issue of land annexation directly affected imperial interests. Thus, Li Shimin felt this "trap" keenly, almost viscerally—and understood it more deeply by the moment.
The longer an era of peace lasted, the more severe annexation would become.
When the descendant had earlier said that feudal society was a cannibalistic one, Li Shimin deeply agreed.
The Wang, Xie, and Sima clans of the Wei–Jin and Northern–Southern Dynasties were vivid examples still before his eyes.
"Bleeding the realm dry to fatten one's own household" was the most accurate description of those great families.
They were like a herd of gluttonous pigs that knew only how to eat—first devouring the villages, then the prefectures—until the state weakened and they themselves could no longer survive.
Yet Li Shimin also knew clearly:
no matter how prosperous learning became, it was impossible for everyone to become a sage.
The "eating of people" spoken of by later generations could not truly be eliminated.
If that was the case, then letting them go eat outsiders was still better than letting them eat Tang's own people.
Of course, all of this still depended on how the opening of the seas turned out.
[Lightscreen]
[Beyond the mere twenty-odd characters recorded in historical texts about the Battle of Baekgang, there is another related artifact: the "Tang Stele Commemorating Liu Renyuan."
This stele's story itself is full of twists, because Liu Renyuan's final fate was exile to Yunnan—and after that, his name never again appeared in the historical record.
However, if one follows the laudatory inscription on the stele, another possibility emerges:
Tang's loss of the Korean Peninsula was very likely connected to Liu Renyuan's exile.
After the Battle of Baekgang, on one hand Tang's strength was stretched thin; on the other, there was a need to appease Baekje as a show of goodwill.
Thus, officials of the Ungjin Commandery were largely Baekje natives, and signs of indirect "loose rein" governance had already begun to appear.
The choice of the commandery's supreme governor was particularly delicate.
Liu Ren'gui had rendered outstanding service. Therefore, after Baekje's second destruction, Liu Ren'gui remained to garrison the region, while Liu Renyuan returned to the capital.
In 664, Liu Renyuan received Gaozong's order to return to Ungjin and replace Liu Ren'gui as governor. This should have been a routine rotation—but the two old comrades ended up arguing before the emperor.
Liu Renyuan held Gaozong's edict and insisted on the transfer.
Liu Ren'gui argued that the peninsula still had many unresolved problems—Baekje was not fully pacified, and Silla's ambitions were obvious—making a rotation a poor choice.
Both men were right.
So the matter reached Gaozong.
Ordinarily, this would have been resolved by simply choosing one position. Instead, Gaozong performed a truly high-level maneuver:
Liu Renyuan was recalled.
Liu Ren'gui continued to garrison the area—but was stripped of the title of Governor of Ungjin.
Then Gaozong issued an edict: the pleasure-loving Buyeo Yung, lounging in Chang'an, became Governor of Ungjin—utterly bewildered.
Buyeo Yung refused to go even unto death.
Food, drink, and entertainment were plentiful in Chang'an; Baekje was a wretched, freezing place—even dogs wouldn't go there.
What should have been a situation where everyone was satisfied somehow ended with everyone irritated.
After this incident, Liu Ren'gui, lacking the governor's authority, found everything he did in Ungjin constrained. Less than a year later, he voluntarily requested to return home.
Buyeo Yung still refused to go.
Thus Liu Renyuan set out once more, replacing Liu Ren'gui to garrison Baekje.
Liu Renyuan worked diligently without complaint. Over three years, his achievements were remarkable. The local Baekje people even spontaneously erected a stele in his honor—this was the "Tang Stele Commemorating Liu Renyuan" that survives to this day.
What followed was simple.
In 667, Tang launched its campaign to destroy Goguryeo. Liu Renyuan, stationed in Ungjin, naturally needed to coordinate troop movements.
However, there was a delay in mobilization. Though it did not ultimately ruin the campaign, the matter was reported upward.
By then, Li Zhi's health had deteriorated severely. His weakening body made Gaozong increasingly irritable. Upon seeing the report, he recalled rumors that Liu Renyuan was "plotting to carve out an independent domain in Haedong."
Under imperial suspicion, Liu Renyuan was quickly escorted back to Chang'an on the charge of "loitering and failing to advance."
With grievances in his heart, Liu Renyuan argued his case directly before Gaozong. This only enraged the emperor further, who ordered Liu Renyuan's execution.
But almost immediately, Gaozong came to his senses.
No matter what, Liu Renyuan had destroyed Baekje, stabilized Ungjin, and campaigned against Goguryeo. Executing him outright was inappropriate.
Thus the sentence was changed to exile—to Yao'an in present-day Yunnan, a truly remote place. Liu Renyuan vanished from history thereafter.
Under these circumstances, Buyeo Yung—the incompetent who had held the governor's title for four years—was forcibly sent back to Ungjin to "inherit the family estate."
From that point on, every official in Ungjin was Baekje-born. The commandery fully transformed from direct rule to loose rein governance.
And so Silla soon struck, impatiently.
After all, attacking Ungjin while Liu Ren'gui or Liu Renyuan was present would have meant directly attacking the Tang Empire.
But now, with not a single Tang man left in Ungjin, Silla's attack was merely "vassals quarreling with vassals."
What was there to fear?
The outcome matched Silla's expectations.
Over four years, although Tang eventually slapped them hard across the face, Silla did in fact swallow Baekje whole.
That slap was taken willingly.]
This time, the light screen's narration was quite straightforward. There was no extraordinary technology involved, yet it still drew a sigh from Li Shimin.
"Zhinu…"
From events, one could see the man.
Li Shimin seemed to glimpse an emperor gradually walking down a divergent path.
Though no one dared say it aloud, throughout his life people would inevitably compare this emperor with his father.
If Li Shimin were to judge: Zhinu did not perform well as emperor—but then again, thinking of Guangshen… well, he could hardly be called bad.
And besides—
Zhinu had not even been raised as a crown prince from the beginning.
The madly oppressed Chengqian was deposed and exiled in the eighteenth year of Zhenguan.
Yet the one who ultimately became crown prince was not Qingque, the second son of Guanyin Maid, but the third son—Zhinu.
Clearly, the selection of a crown prince was no simple matter.
How old was Zhinu at the time?
Sixteen?
From the deposing of the crown prince to the death of Li Erlang himself—only five years passed.
Li Shimin let out a heavy sigh.
Time…
was simply too short.