The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 1072: The Attitude of the Aristocratic Clan (Part )

"Narrow-minded, Mingshan, if you only have this kind of vision and mind, then your future achievements will inevitably be limited."

Wei Dezheng glanced at him and reprimanded him unhappily, then said, "The reason why the noble families are so powerful is not because any one family's power exceeds the imperial power. In fact, no family in the noble family can confront the emperor now."

"Only by uniting together can we influence the imperial power."

"Each noble family has a fiefdom in the Western Regions. If the court loses control, the noble families will inevitably fight each other for territory."

"The situation of the various states competing for hegemony in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty is a lesson for the Yin Dynasty not far away."

"The nobles were worried that Li Shimin was planning to use the Western Regions as bait and sacrifice them to deal with us. That's why everyone agreed to focus on the Central Plains. But now it seems that the court has not given up on the Western Regions."

"They are even using various means to incorporate the Western Regions into the Tang Dynasty."

"This unified currency issuance is indeed conducive to strengthening the court's management and control over the Western Regions. The previous actions of unifying the language, writing, and customs are all truly pushing the influence of the Central Plains outward."

"Mingshan, you must remember that this is the great cause of the entire nation. My clan is also the descendants of Yan and Huang. Anything that is conducive to the expansion of the nation and expands the living space for the entire nation is not just the emperor's business, but the responsibility and obligation of everyone."

Wei Mingshan was shocked, and he quickly stood up and bowed respectfully: "Yes, uncle, I will remember it."

"Well, you need to have a long-term vision and a big picture."

Wei Dezheng nodded in satisfaction: "The struggle between the aristocracy and the imperial power is a struggle for dominance. When it comes to dealing with external enemies, our interests are the same. Don't just see the side of competition and oppression, but also the side of cooperation and coexistence."

"Uncle is right. I, your nephew, understand this as well."

Wei Mingshan said with a worried look: "My nephew is just worried that the feudal states in the Western Regions will sooner or later repeat the situation of the late Eastern Zhou Dynasty and start killing each other."

Wei Dezheng looked at his worried nephew, shook his head and said with a smile: "In fact, everyone knows what you are worried about. It's just that this enfeoffment of the Western Regions is an open conspiracy, and Li Shimin does have the intention of calculating our clan."

"Without affecting existing interests, a piece of land is given to you out of thin air where you can legitimately build a country and raise an army. Who would be willing to give it up? If you don't want it, you won't even be qualified to fight for the world, and you will be out early."

"Of course, there are more than one hundred feudal states in the Western Regions, almost all of which are from the major clans and meritorious officials. Sooner or later, disaster will occur. However, when the Zhou Dynasty was founded, there were more than seventy feudal states. It took Qin Shihuang eight hundred years to unify the seven states."

"How many years will the princes of the Tang Dynasty last?"

"This is not something we should worry about. Even if this is a yellow lotus wrapped in honey, we have to eat it."

Seeing that Wei Mingshan was also speechless and fell into silence, Wei Dezheng brought the topic back: "Issuing treasure notes is a matter of justice, so I support it. I think other clans will also support it."

"What you said about the loss of money bank business is just a small matter."

"From a business perspective, there are so many money houses in the Tang Dynasty now that even if one more is added to the imperial court, it is nothing. Moreover, the Tang Dynasty Treasure Note is a symbol of the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. It is definitely not just a money house."

"As for your concern, maybe the emperor's move is targeting the nobles, right? But we nobles have always been targeting the imperial power. We have our own way, and it's nothing. It's all normal internal fighting."

At this point, Wei Dezheng said with a heavy face: "Changsun Wuji was right to remind you that the Turkic Khanate is eyeing the northern grasslands covetously, which is indeed enough to threaten the stability of the Tang Dynasty."

"On the surface, the current Tang Dynasty looks bigger than before. In fact, it is big but not strong. On the contrary, because of its expansion, the power of the Central Plains has been greatly dispersed to various places, a bit like the situation after the Qin Dynasty unified the seven kingdoms."

"It is very dangerous to have heavy troops deployed on the borders while leaving the central plains empty."

"The court's expenses have been increasing year by year, and it is already a bit out of reach. This is one of the reasons why Li Shimin is anxious to take action against us. If this problem is not solved, the new emperor will sooner or later target us, even if we kill him."

"If we replace him, as long as he is in that position, the same thing will happen. Are we just going to keep killing people like this?"

"Even if we can recklessly oppress each other, can the Turks in the northern grasslands just watch? Once the Turkic army marches south, the situation of the Northern and Southern Dynasties will repeat itself. This is not just a matter for the emperor, but also a matter of life and death for our fundamental interests."

Wei Dezheng's words made Wei Mingshan frown and he felt extremely pressured. This situation was really too complicated.

It is not uncommon for the fisherman to benefit from the quarrel between the snipe and the clam since ancient times. He has personally dealt with the Right Wise King and knows that he is a cunning, treacherous and greedy person. If there is really civil unrest in the Central Plains, he will definitely lead his troops south. Now, there is still a rumor circulating on the grassland that the Right Wise King is the eldest son of Li Jiancheng, and the Right Wise King has not come forward to refute the rumor.

Who knows, this is not his way of laying the foundation for invading the Central Plains and confusing the public in the future.

The kings on the grasslands, who had the final say, might not be able to adapt to the complex power game in the Central Plains. However, the slaughter and devastation caused by their southward march had to be borne by the people of the Central Plains themselves, and at worst they could just withdraw to the grasslands.

But what should their noble family do? Are they going to bear these losses in vain?
According to Wei Mingshan's understanding, if the Right Wise King followed his usual practice, he would not think of occupying the country when he led his troops south. He would most likely fight into the interior of the country, plunder with heavy troops, extort huge amounts of wealth, and then leave.

Who will pay for this money? Isn't it their aristocratic family?

Even if these losses eventually fall on the common people, everyone knows that half of the people in the Tang Dynasty are tenants of the nobles, so they are actually the ones who have to pay.

Wei Mingshan secretly blamed himself. His uncle was right. The world was still far from being ruled by only the royal family and the aristocratic families. No matter what he did, he had to consider the ferocious wolf in the north.

"Uncle said that the new emperor's move is also intended to deal with our family. Have you figured out anything, uncle?" Wei Mingshan asked humbly.

Wei Dezheng took two sips of the teacup, thought for a while, and then explained: "Changsun Wuji said that the Finance Temple that the emperor wants to establish has two major functions. One is to issue and manage the Tang Dynasty's treasure notes, and the other is to bring the business of the Eastern Palace back to the court."

"In this way, the court will have the Tang Dynasty's industry in the future. These two items can increase the court's strength."

"As one rises, the other falls. The strengthening of the imperial court's power means that if the nobles want to suppress the imperial power, they will have to pay a greater price."

At this point, Wei Dezheng couldn't help but reveal a hint of admiration: "This is also an upright conspiracy. The new emperor is not simple! Although his tactics are not as tough as Yang Guang and Li Shimin, he is a man of many talents. He is soft but strong, and has infinite stamina."

Wei Mingshan's heart tightened, and he asked anxiously, "Uncle, since this move threatens the nobles, and you said it cannot be stopped, what should we do? Just sit there and wait for death?"

"Haha, actually there are still many ways."

Wei Dezheng's eyes sparkled: "First, Li Shimin has already thought of a way out for us, which is to vigorously develop the feudal state from now on. We, the Wei family, have a large piece of land in the Western Regions. There, we can establish our Wei family's kingdom."

"We can deploy manpower and material resources to establish a small court with our own official system and train an army. These will become the Wei family's confidence and are legal actions. Why should we give up?"

"From now on, you should focus on the vassal state, develop the strength of the vassal state with all your strength, and transfer the financial and material resources of the Wei family in the Central Plains to the vassal state. This is the best strategy."

Seeing that Wei Mingshan wanted to argue again, Wei Dezheng's face was very serious, and he said in an unquestionable tone: "Before, everyone was reluctant to go to the Western Regions. On the one hand, it was to put pressure on the court, and on the other hand, it was also to paralyze other meritorious officials and relatives."

"In fact, the far-sighted families are secretly transporting supplies and developing desperately to buy time for the subsequent annexation of other forces."

"If we don't move, once the other families' power in the Western Regions increases, we, the Wei family, will be lambs to be slaughtered."

Wei Mingshan's heart shuddered and his face changed drastically. Thinking of the terrible consequence, he nodded quickly and made up his mind to speed up the construction of the feudal state in the Western Regions.

Seeing that his nephew had listened, Wei Dezheng said, "Secondly, the forces remaining in the Central Plains should get closer to the imperial power and show goodwill. Wei Ting's granddaughter has already married the emperor, so our relationship with the emperor will be even closer."

"This way, we can attack when advancing and defend when retreating. Even if the emperor attacks the nobles, we won't be the first to bear the brunt. If we see the situation getting bad, we can turn around in time."

"The best scenario is, of course, that the strength of the Central Plains remains intact, while the Western Regions can gain a powerful external aid. Even if the noble family loses in the battle with the imperial power, we still have the Western Regions to retreat to, so that the family will not be completely defeated."

At this point, Wei Dezheng said with admiration: "In fact, I admire Li Shimin very much. He sent us to the Western Regions not because he wanted to harm us, but because he really wanted us to gain a foothold in the Western Regions."

"Completely digest this place that has never been swallowed up since ancient times and make it a part of the Central Plains."

"The Western Regions are far from the Central Plains, and can only be controlled by a feudal state. In the past, there were 36 large-scale countries in the Western Regions, and countless small forces. Rather than letting those foreign races establish their own countries here, it is better to let us take advantage of it. After all, we are also a branch of the Central Plains."

"From this point of view, Li Shimin is worthy of being the Khan of Heaven. He has a very broad mind and a broad vision!"

"This policy is no less effective than the Enfeoffment Order of the Han Dynasty, and even more ambitious and beneficial. It targets the aristocratic families while taking into account the interests of the nation. It has not been seen for thousands of years."

(End of this chapter)