Chapter 151: Chronic Ailments Call for Gentle Remedies

Wei Renshi nodded and continued, "Indeed. Your Highness, if we scale this concept up and apply it between nations..."

"Our Great Tang is rich in resources and produces many goods that neighboring countries cannot manufacture yet desperately need, such as silk and tea. These neighboring nations rely almost entirely on trade with Great Tang merchants to acquire them. This is precisely our advantage."

"By utilizing Great Tang's abundant goods and wealth, we send merchants deep into these surrounding countries to trade. If they lack salt, we sell it to them; if they lack silk, we sell it to them; if they lack grain, we sell it to them on even more favorable terms. We can even guide their economic ecology through trade. For instance, if they wish to buy my grain, tea, and silk, I will not demand currency; I will only accept cattle, horses, and sheep in exchange, and I will offer them a preferential rate. If a man works hard all year to harvest a thousand catties of grain, well, let him bring a few hundred cattle, horses, and sheep to trade, and I will give him two thousand catties! Your Highness, if you were the one conducting this business, would you choose to grow your own grain or choose to trade cattle, horses, and sheep with me?"

"The grasslands are unsuited for cultivating crops, whereas horses, cattle, and sheep thrive best there. Naturally, I would choose to trade cattle, horses, and sheep with you," Li Song replied after a brief moment of thought.

"Precisely, Your Highness. Grain can be traded this way, and so can salt, wine, tea, and silk... Even those very cattle, horses, and sheep can be processed by us and sold back to them."

"The lifestyle of the nomads is crude and rough, while the life of the Central Plains people is refined and meticulous. We can keep the horses, turn the beef into jerky, weave the wool into fabric, and then sell these finished goods back to them," Wei Renshi continued, his voice laced with a seductive persuasion. "It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but difficult to go from luxury to frugality. When they grow accustomed to wearing silk and can no longer bear to wear animal pelts; when their palates grow used to millet and meticulously prepared meats and can no longer stomach boiled food with mere salt; when they become accustomed to refined salt and can no longer tolerate bitter brine; when they grow used to drinking tea and can no longer bear mare's milk!"

"And yet, these very things are unobtainable to them unless they trade with the Great Tang. In this way, we gradually control the commerce of these nations. By then, everything they need can only be purchased from the Great Tang merchant shops established there. Great Tang merchants will completely root themselves in their lands, and the commercial networks and material wealth of their entire country will be controlled by us!"

"Your Highness, by that time, they will be entirely at our mercy. Disobedient? Wishing to provoke a war? Splendid! The imperial court need only issue a single command to cut off all economic ties, close the markets to merchants, and halt all trade travels. Their grain, their salt, their clothing, the tea for their nobility—everything in their daily lives—will vanish completely, leaving behind nothing but vast grasslands and some livestock. Yet they will have grown accustomed to the deliciously prepared beef and mutton we provided. They will have nothing left, while their people will already be habituated to this lifestyle. Those who attempt to start a war will face only the grievances of the common folk for ending their comfortable and prosperous lives. Your Highness, would a Tuban or a Huigu like that still pose a threat to us?"

The men in the room were all left staring dumbfounded by Wei Renshi's words, feeling as though a colossal gate had swung open before their eyes, revealing countless possibilities and strategies beckoning them forward.

Then, Wei Renshi smiled again and said, "Going a step further, we won't even need their cattle and sheep anymore; we will demand only pasture grass. In exchange for grain, tea, and cloth... their entire population will be put to growing and mowing pasture grass, trading it to the Great Tang for all their necessities. As long as they remain obedient, so be it. But should they one day harbor disloyal ambitions toward the Great Tang, the court need only issue a single command to halt trade, and they will be left with absolutely nothing. Even if they wish to go to war, to plunder as they once did, they will have spent all their time growing, mowing, and selling pasture grass. Their soldiers will have abandoned training, their horses will have forgotten how to gallop, and even their pasture grass will have been harvested clean. What will they have left besides a herd of livestock? Can they possibly ride cattle and sheep into battle against the Great Tang? In truth, such a precedent has already occurred in history, Your Highness—have you never heard of the 'strategy of buying deer'?"

As Wei Renshi spoke, a look of yearning gradually filled the eyes of everyone present, as if they could visualize a scene where the Great Tang held the whip while the surrounding barbarian nations obediently fell into line.

***

Had this been said before anyone else, Wei Renshi certainly would not have spoken at such length.

However, the Chongwen Pavilion existed to serve the East Palace and the crown prince. Since Li Song was currently the master of the East Palace, Wei Renshi naturally did not need to overly conceal his talents before him. Thus, he had spoken with greater candor.

Moreover, Wei Renshi needed Li Song to look upon him with a fresh perspective.

Only then would he gain Li Song's importance, secure opportunities for frequent contact with him, and subsequently pave the way to approach Li Chun—oh, for now, still named Li Chun.

Immediately following this, Wei Renshi shifted the tone of his conversation. His voice grew calm and quiet as he neutrally stated, "However, naturally, all of this is built upon the premise of national wealth and internal stability. After all, to pacify external threats, one must first secure the internal realm."

"To pacify external threats, one must first secure the internal realm?" Li Song was startled once more. He repeated the phrase in a low murmur, then suddenly slammed his hand down on the table in excitement, exclaiming, "Wei Sheng's insight is truly extraordinary! Do you have a strategy for securing the internal realm?"

"Since Your Highness asks this, I presume you already have the answer in your own heart," Wei Renshi said, looking up at Li Song and then at Wang Shuwen.

After a moment of silent thought, he sighed inwardly and added, "This subject only wishes to add one more word—deep-seated ailments should not be treated with harsh potions, and chronic illnesses require slow remedies."

Upon hearing these words, whether it was Crown Prince Li Song, Wang Shuwen, or Wang Pi, everyone in the room shuddered.

A long silence ensued within the chamber.

After a long while, Li Song suddenly forced a bitter smile, shook his head, and said, "My health has never been very good..."

***

Wei Renshi remained silent, lowering his head and standing quietly.

Suddenly, Li Song smiled again and took the initiative to change the subject. "By the way, when I asked to see Wei Sheng today, I had another matter in mind."

"Please give your instructions, Your Highness," Wei Renshi replied.

"It can hardly be called an instruction," Li Song said with a smile. "My seventeenth daughter, Princess Daizong, mentioned that when she was strolling at Leyou Plain the other day, she saw you using a barbecue apparatus that was extremely convenient, and she wishes to have a set made for herself. Since she could not explain it clearly to a blacksmith, she begged me to ask Wei Sheng to have a set crafted for her. Would it be too much trouble?"

"So that is it," Wei Renshi answered. "Please rest assured, Your Highness. Several of my friends have long desired this and asked me to forge a few sets for them. I happened to have a few extra sets made at home, and I will present them to Her Grace the Princess tomorrow."

"Then I thank Wei Sheng in advance." Li Song's attitude toward Wei Renshi became even more approachable. Whether genuine or calculated, it certainly made one feel well-treated.

In his heart, however, Wei Renshi was thinking—*Ah, it seems that feeding that little princess well at Leyou Plain the other day paid off; she didn't go back and complain.*

*Thank goodness, thank goodness.*