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

Chapter 834: Changsun Wuji Arrives
Hou Junji's nerves suddenly tensed up, and his heartstrings were lifted. Looking at Tang Jian's extremely solemn expression, the letter in his hand suddenly became heavier. He became curious about the contents of the letter, and opened his mouth hesitantly, as if he wanted to ask something.

"Go quickly. There is no time to lose. I will tell you in detail when you come back."

"You are so mysterious."

Hou Junji immediately put on a gentle smile: "Okay, I'll prepare a few jars of good wine later, and we can have a good chat in the evening."

Seeing Hou Junji's departing back, Tang Jian became excited again.

The information this time was too important and I should have reported it to the emperor in person, especially the content involving the aristocratic families, which was extremely sensitive. Once known by others, it would probably cause a disturbance immediately.

It’s only a 4,000-mile journey and I’m already old.

It has been nearly a month since I came here from Chang'an, and my old bones are almost broken. If I have to go back and forth again, I really can't stand it.

Since the fourth year of Zhenguan, Tang Jian no longer went deep into the grassland. The Xueyantuo and the Bibi tribes were both run by the younger generation of Honglu Temple officials. The Desert South Commandery of the Ashina Yun tribe was located near the Nuoshui River north of the Yinshan Mountains.

The destination is just outside the Guannei Road, otherwise Tang Jian would not be able to take care of both.

Jie Li is on the north bank of the Liao River. If it was really in Urge in the heart of the grassland, Tang Jian would not be able to do this job no matter what.

What's more, the secrets involved this time are not just about Goguryeo, but the entire Three Han area. If all goes well, the Tang Dynasty will gain a large territory in the northeast. This is a great achievement in expanding territory, and its influence is no less than fighting another Battle of Dingxiang.

No.
Tang Jian thought to himself with excitement that the land of the Three Koreas was even more important than this.

The grasslands and Western Regions harvested in the Battle of Dingxiang were too far away from the Central Plains. The environment there was harsh, with numerous vassal states and a large number of indigenous people. In addition, the culture was complex and the thoughts were confused, making it extremely difficult to rule. They surrendered and rebelled from time to time, making it difficult to control them like the Central Plains.

The land of the Three Han was adjacent to Hebei Province. This time, the Turks moved the indigenous inhabitants away. The court only needed to send troops to receive them, relocate some people from the interior, and then set up prefectural officials. It would be completely under the jurisdiction of the Tang Dynasty without any sequelae.

There is no need to worry about conflicts with the indigenous people, so it can be said that this is the land that was picked up for free.

During the reign of Emperor Yang, there were three expeditions to Goguryeo, which cost a huge amount of money and caused countless casualties, and brought down the Sui Empire. Although the reasons were complicated, they also indirectly illustrate how difficult it was to conquer Goguryeo, which was the demon in the hearts of the entire Central Plains.

If the Tang Dynasty wants to prove that it is stronger than the previous Sui Dynasty, it will have to conquer this place sooner or later.

The court also does things from the easy to the difficult. The fact that Li Shimin first dealt with the Turks and then Goguryeo also reflects that in his mind, Goguryeo was more difficult to deal with than the Turks.

To send out an army of 300,000 required the mobilization of more than 2 million civilian laborers. To transport 200 dan of grain over a thousand miles, the civilian laborers would have to consume 150 dan of grain for a round trip. This shows how great the loss of manpower and financial resources in the conquest of Goguryeo was.

Now, just by standing by and watching, you can get this place. Moreover, it is not the kind of conquering by force as before, but being completely incorporated into the court and becoming a part of the Tang Dynasty.

At this time, the Tang Dynasty had three ways of conquering the outside world:
The best thing is to bring all the other party's land, cities, population, etc. under the jurisdiction of the Tang Dynasty. The court will set up administrative structures at all levels, send officials to manage and collect taxes, and station troops to declare its sovereignty. This is also the case for domestic territories.
Secondly, like Yi Nan and Bi Heli, they set up a Grand Marshal's Office. The court could appoint a Grand Marshal and send officials to serve as the Grand Marshal's subordinates. In name, they managed the leaders of various tribes, but in fact, they only had a title and could not have specific jurisdiction.

Even the Grand Commander had to appoint the chief of a large grass tribe to the position.

The last category is those that were originally the structure of a country, were subject to the authority of the Tang Dynasty, were dependent on the Tang Dynasty, and were named a vassal state by the Tang Dynasty. Their rulers were named by the court and recognized the Tang Dynasty as their suzerain state, but the Tang Dynasty could not interfere with the military, financial, and administrative powers within their territory.

It is purely an empty title, just to maintain the face of the Celestial Empire.

Goguryeo, Silla and Baekje all belong to the last category. Because they are all agricultural nations, have similar cultures and are geographically adjacent, these places are extremely wary of the Central Plains. They would rather kneel and lick the grassland tribes than get close to the great power of the Central Plains.

They admired the Central Plains civilization, but transformed and distorted the advanced culture introduced from the Central Plains, such as writing, language, and customs, in order to create an artificial gap.

Tang Jian knew better that the most difficult thing about conquering a place is not the city or the distance, but the people's hearts.

If people are dissatisfied, they will be stuck in the quagmire of conquering but not obeying, and will be troubled by rebellions breaking out in various places all day long. In the end, even if they have swallowed it, they will have to spit it out.

But this time it’s different. Jie Li will move all the people to the grassland.

Not to mention moving all of them, as long as most of them are moved, the rest will not be a problem and the Tang Dynasty will naturally be able to digest them.

No one knew what had gone wrong with Jie Li this time. In order to befriend the Tang Dynasty, he was willing to give the Tang Dynasty land and cities in exchange for the Tang Dynasty's inaction in conquering them. Tang Jian was so surprised that he seemed to explode. He used a lot of words to analyze the pros and cons in his secret report.

We must convince the Emperor and seize this golden opportunity to incorporate the Three Kingdoms of Korea into our territory.

This is an unprecedented achievement. As the messenger who personally led all of this, my name will surely go down in history and be remembered forever.

Tang Jian, who was unable to suppress his excitement, did not even enter the house. He walked back and forth in the yard, eager to find someone to share his good mood. When Hou Junji came back, he immediately pulled Hou Junji into the house.

The two border officials were anxious, but the court seemed not to be anxious at all. More than ten days passed. Hou Junji stood on the Yingzhou wall and looked south. No messenger came until sunset. He turned around disappointedly and said, "Master Tang, it's been half a month, why hasn't the court replied yet? This time we can't miss the opportunity."

"Don't worry, Duke Lu. Yingzhou is 4,000 miles away from Chang'an. The 800-mile express train of the imperial court can only travel 600 miles a day. It will take at least seven days for the messenger to reach Chang'an."

Although Tang Jian was looking forward to it, he was older than Hou Junji and a civil official, so he suppressed his emotions and said calmly, "For such a big matter, the emperor must discuss it with the ministers anyway."

"It will take nearly twenty days for the decision to be made and for it to be passed on to Yingzhou. Don't worry, just wait a little longer. It will only take two days."

Hou Junji was a little restless: "Shiluodi's army is attacking very quickly. During this period, they have captured the core towns of Xincheng and Guoneicheng in the central region. The second line of defense has been lost, and the cities outside Pyongyang have also been captured one by one."

"It seems that only Pyongyang is left. What if Jie Li takes Pyongyang ahead of time and our army is not in place? What if Jie Li changes his mind?"

"During the Battle of Dingxiang, Cheng Heizi and Li Jing became very popular."

"I didn't get any credit in the end. Now the opportunity in Liaodong is finally in front of me. No matter what, I can't miss it."

At this point, Hou Junji said half hesitantly and half tentatively: "Anyway, the court will never let go of this opportunity. How about we contact Jie Li first and discuss in detail how to cooperate and successfully capture Goguryeo?"

"No, this is absolutely unacceptable."

Tang Jian was startled and quickly stopped him, saying, "Duke Lu, this is a military and national issue. The Goguryeo issue affects the entire country. We can't make decisions on our own for such a big matter. We should be patient and wait. It will be in time to contact them once the decree is issued."

"Pyongyang was the strongest city in Goguryeo. Emperor Yang mobilized a million troops and fought to reach Pyongyang for the third time. After seeing how strong Pyongyang was, he still didn't have the confidence to take it and had to retreat with regret."

"The Turks are all cavalry, and it's a fluke that they've been able to defeat the enemy like this in just three months."

"This is because the cavalry rushed in from the weak coastal area and tore through their defenses from behind. However, they did not have powerful siege equipment. Pyongyang is a tall city with strong walls, so it is not so easy to break through."

"The strength of Goguryeo lies half in Pyongyang and half in other cities."

"If we can't take Pyongyang, everything the Turks have done will be in vain. Only by taking Pyongyang can we truly destroy Goguryeo."

After hearing what Tang Jian said, Hou Junji suppressed his emotions and continued waiting.

More than ten days passed before someone reported that a messenger from the court had arrived.

Hou Junji dropped the military affairs in his hands, called Tang Jian to rush out of the commander's mansion, and rode at full speed to the south city to receive the imperial edict.

Facing the setting sun, a carriage led by a few fast horses was approaching.

When the person approached, the curtain of the carriage was opened, and a middle-aged official with elegant temperament stepped down from it. Hou Junji and Tang Jian were both a little stunned: "Master Changsun, why is it you?"

"Don't ask me anything. I've been traveling non-stop all the way here. I'm so tired!"

Zhang Sun Wuji looked exhausted and said weakly, "Let's go into the city quickly. If there is anything, we can talk about it when we get back."

"Hurry up and prepare a big bucket of water for me, and then prepare a table of good wine and food. I've been running all the way, I'm hungry and tired, my mouth is dry, and my bones are all broken. I need to have a good rest and take some time before we get down to business."

After saying that, Changsun Wuji got on the carriage and headed towards the city. Hou Junji and Tang Jian looked at each other, shook their heads with a wry smile, and felt helpless about Changsun Wuji's rogue behavior.

At the same time, there was a hint of shock in the eyes of both sides. Changsun Wuji was the chief hero of the Xuanwu Gate, and he also served as the right servant of the court, second only to Fang Xuanling. Moreover, because of the relationship with the queen, he had an additional layer of the aura of a foreign relative.

As we all know, after the court abolished the position of Shangshu Ling, Zuo Pushe became the chief minister.

Although You Pushe is also a Pushe, on the surface it is only one word different from Zuo Pushe, and at the very least it is a second assistant.

But in fact, You Pushe was not a supplement to Zuo Pushe, nor was he an assistant to Zuo Pushe. His influence on the government was similar to that of the six ministers. One of its most important functions was to restrain Zuo Pushe and prevent him from gaining too much power and threatening the imperial power.

From this point, it can be seen that Changsun Wuji did not have much power in the court.

But he was deeply trusted by Li Shimin. Once he left Chang'an City, Changsun Wuji could represent Li Shimin's existence.

Hou Junji and Tang Jian had been in the central government for a long time and were well aware of the situation. From the moment they saw Zhangsun Wuji, they knew how much importance the emperor attached to the Liaodong issue.

This made the two of them even more excited. Even if there was one more Changsun Wuji, the remaining credit would be enough to be shared by several people.

(End of this chapter)