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

Chapter 1139: Each Has Its Own Plans (Part )

As soon as Changsun Wuji finished speaking, Lu Chengqing, the Right Assistant of the Ministry of Personnel, immediately stood up and said with a stern face: "Although Lord Changsun's strategy is sound, it is too slow to take effect. You should know that the Turks have an army of 300,000, and they are all cavalry that come and go like the wind."

"Let's not talk about the fact that these 500,000+ are infantry. When will they be able to get to their respective positions?"

"Even if they surround the Turks, can 500,000 infantry surround 300,000 cavalry? You have to know that on the plains, 10,000 cavalry will require 100,000 infantry to deal with them, and there is no guarantee of victory."

"After all, cavalry have strong surprise attack capabilities, and if they are defeated, they can retreat calmly. How can these two-legged people outrun four-legged beasts?"

Changsun Wuji frowned when he heard this. He certainly knew how much the Turks' action of dividing the land in Youzhou would irritate these noble families.

In fact, even he was trembling with fear when he first learned about it.

The Changsun family rose rapidly after following Li Shimin, the Prince of Qin. After Li Shimin ascended the throne, the family went from being a poor family to a first-class noble family. Of course, this was not just a name, but also the rapid development of the power of the Changsun branches in various places.

Among them, the large-scale acquisition of land is the fundamental guarantee for the survival of the family.

Zhang Sun Wuji knew very well that the official position belonged to the court and could be taken back at any time. No matter how high the official position was, it would be useless if he offended the imperial power or failed in the struggle. The emperor could take it back with an imperial decree. Only land was the eternal and unchanging foundation of his family.

However, the Central Plains has always been the inherent territory of various forces. As new nobles, there is no territory for them to occupy. If there is only power in the court but no local foundation, the prosperity of the Changsun family is just a floating tower on the sand, which may fall at any time.

Only by having power deeply rooted in the land at the local level can one, like other old aristocratic families, remain secure in the face of storms.

After taking over the Liaodong Peninsula, Changsun Wuji set his eyes on this new piece of cake. He gave up competing with other clans in the Central Plains and decisively shifted his focus. He recommended his uncle Changsun Shunde to serve as the head of the Liaozhou Grand Marshal's Office and to be in charge of the peninsula.

Over the years, various aristocratic families have flocked here to 'share the benefits', and the biggest beneficiary is still the Changsun family. Half of the land on the peninsula was quickly annexed by aristocratic families, and more than 30% of them belonged to the Changsun family.

Don't underestimate this 30%. With this gain, it is enough to fill the grassroots strength of the Changsun family and truly become a first-class family worthy of the name. Even if Changsun Wuji loses his position, or Changsun Wugou is no longer the queen mother, the Changsun family can still be safe.

The Five Surnames and Seven Families all have their own inherent territories, such as the Longxi Li family, the Taiyuan Wang family, the Boling Cui family, the Xingyang Zheng family, etc. It is not that they are the only ones with influence in these places, but that their influence is dominant here. Even if other clans have industries, they are just guests and have to act according to their wishes.

Without their consent, other aristocratic families who want to enter here to make a living will be suppressed.

After the painstaking efforts during the Zhenguan period, Zhangsun Wuji devoted himself to the development of the peninsula, and some people in the upper echelons privately called him the Zhangsun family of Liaodong.

This was basically impossible in the past, but adding territory before a surname is almost a label of a first-rate force.

When Shi Luodie went south this time, Changsun Wuji was very nervous.

He was glad that Shi Luodie did not attack the peninsula, otherwise his family would be the first to bear the brunt. He felt the same fate as Hebei, but he stayed out of it. Hebei was the gathering place of Shandong's old aristocratic families, and even if Changsun Wuji was powerful, he could not get in.

However, Hebei is the former territory of Eastern Wei and Former Qi.

Among the three major clan groups in the whole world, the Guanlong nobles are the core, the Shandong nobles are the wings, and the Jiangnan Chinese are the bottom. The latter two are often used by the royal family to balance them, and they are both targets that the Guanlong nobles have to guard against.

Among the three circles, the Guanlong nobles had the strongest military force, the Jiangnan Chinese had the most financial resources, and the Shandong nobles were the most stubborn and had the deepest foundation. Whenever there was a great turmoil in the world, Hebei was the main force that could compete with Guanzhong for the world.

The Changsun family was a member of the Guanlong nobility, so they were naturally wary of the second-rate Shandong clans.

I would rather die than die with my friend. Changsun Wuji was somewhat gloating over the Turkic invasion. In fact, this was not just his idea. The entire Guanlong force held this mentality.

The continuous flow of military reports from Hebei quickly attracted the attention of the major factions in the court. Although the troops were not deployed, the game between the various forces against the chaos in Hebei suddenly began, and many bigwigs came out one after another, hoping to play a game in such a chaotic situation to gain benefits for their own side.

Therefore, although the court seemed calm on the surface, endless undercurrents had already begun.

The Turks' rampage in Hebei was undoubtedly a disaster for the Shandong clans, but it was a great thing for the other two major forces. Perhaps this was an opportunity for them to infiltrate Hebei.

Some people would even secretly hinder the actions of the court to allow these Turks to expand their military achievements.

In the eyes of knowledgeable people, the Tang Dynasty is as stable as Mount Tai, with a rising young emperor, assisted by wise ministers such as Zhangsun Wuji, Cen Wenben, Xiao Yu, and Ma Zhou, and protected by three major forces. As long as the Right Wise King does not move, a small Shi Luodie will not be able to make much of a fuss.

Now that he has entered the heartland of the Tang Dynasty, no matter how capable he is, he will die sooner or later.

However, now that he is here, it might be a good opportunity to take advantage of the Turks' rampage and break up the Shandong nobles who usually stick together.

The latest military report about the Turks dividing the land made Changsun Wuji nervous for a moment, but the overall situation remained unchanged and the Guanlong nobles did not show up, so Changsun Wuji did not change the strategy he had planned before.

But he didn't expect that he would be criticized by the court officials as soon as he said it.

If the hundreds of years of foundation of the Lu family had not been destroyed in one day, Lu Chengqing would have suffered a severe blow. It is possible that Changsun Wuji, as the Prime Minister, would have taught him a lesson about court etiquette.

Seeing the other person's young and sad face, Changsun Wuji hesitated for a moment and did not bother with him. Even if it was a court dispute, this person was not qualified.

If you do it yourself, it would be unjust if you win, and it would be embarrassing if you lose.

Besides, this was a plan that had been discussed by several prime ministers and approved by the emperor, so it would not change because of Lu Chengqing. Even if the Hebei nobles and even the Shandong wealthy families joined forces to attack, they would still have to see the attitude of the Guanlong forces.

Sure enough, Lu Chengqing seemed to have opened the way, and soon after, Cui Benshan, the new Minister of Rites, also stood up and said, "Your Majesty, my Lords, this is not an ordinary invasion by nomadic peoples of the grasslands. They are also dividing up the land in Hebei."

"The land is the foundation of the country. If the Turks disturb the land, they are digging at the foundation of our world and the Tang Dynasty."

"The previous method of taking things step by step and slowly working things out is no longer feasible. Once the Turks divide up the land and gain the support of the people, it will not be so easy to get rid of them."

"So I suggest that the court should use more powerful means to put out this evil trend in the shortest possible time, to prevent the Turks from continuing to deceive the ignorant civilians. And don't let it spread and become a prairie fire."

As soon as Cui Benshan finished speaking, officials from the three provinces, six ministries and various temples and offices knelt down on the ground and agreed with him.

These officials were from wealthy families in Hebei or Shandong. They were the ones most worried about the rampage of the Turks. Although those people did not do anything extreme, what was the point of living after they took away the wealth and land they had accumulated over generations?
They were all well-read people, and they knew that the wealth that fell into the hands of the Turks would never be recovered. The land distributed to the people must be taken back as soon as possible, otherwise it might be impossible to get it back.

Even those servants and tenants who were loyal in the past might not be willing to return the benefits they had already received.

What was even more terrifying was that if the Guanlong nobles and Jiangnan wealthy families took advantage of their misfortunes, they would be in real danger. They were also members of the nobles, so of course they knew what those people were thinking. If they were in their place, they would not miss this opportunity either.

Although the Turks are ferocious, they are not as cruel as these former friends.

Li Yan frowned. He was very satisfied with the steady but time-consuming encirclement plan proposed by the Central Committee. If this plan is to be implemented, it will take at least two months. During this time, the Turks may have taken over the entire Hebei Province.

However, in this situation, Changsun Wuji did not come out to refute, so he had no choice but to ask: "All the ministers, please stand up. Lord Lu, what is the 'more powerful way' you mentioned? If you have a better method, you can also propose it."

"Let's discuss it together. If it is feasible, the court can consider it."

Li Yan pretended to be inexperienced and had no opinion of his own, just to withdraw and let the three major forces in the court fight each other.

Seeing the Jiangnan nobles staying out of the matter, the Guanlong nobles' ill intentions, and the Shandong wealthy families in danger, Li Yan, who was sitting high on the dragon throne, felt very comfortable. Usually, these three forces were of the same mind, huddled together, and tried their best to squeeze the imperial power.

Li Shimin's exit was inseparable from the tacit cooperation of these three major forces.

Li Yan is not capable of dealing with any one of these people at the moment, let alone the three of them secretly joining forces to put pressure on Emperor Li Yan, who is unable to break the deadlock except to attack his brothers like Li Ke and Li Zhi.

The Turkic invasion to the south easily broke this balance.

Li Yan diverted the trouble to others, and the Shandong nobles became the whales being bled. The other sharks decisively turned their targets to them and no longer cared about oppressing the imperial power.

Li Yan's pressure suddenly eased, and he could truly sit on the mountain and watch the fight between two tigers.

(End of this chapter)