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

Chapter 919 Adding fuel to the flames
Hearing Wang Gui's malicious accusation, Hou Junji immediately said angrily: "Wang Gui, what do you mean, old man, to compare me, Hou Junji, to that stupid Jiang Gan? Do you mean that I have fallen into the trap of the Turks and helped the Turks to deal with my Tang Dynasty?"

In Hou Junji's view, the millions of troops outside the Great Wall all belong to his son-in-law. With such great confidence, the noble families who used to be in awe of him are no longer a problem.

Wang Gui saw that Hou Junji, a nouveau riche, dared not to give him face in front of all the civil and military officials in the court, and he was also furious: "Hou Junji, you dare to scold me?"

"So what if I scold you? Who told you to treat me like Jiang Gan?"

"You bastard, I won't argue with you."

"."

Fang Xuanling saw this and quickly came out to smooth things over: "Your Majesty, I think Lord Xiao, Lord Cen, and Lord Wang are right, and General Hou has not fallen into the trap. The reason for this discrepancy must be that Yi Nan is playing tricks on them, right?"

"Oh, what do you mean, Xuanling?" Li Shimin and all the ministers looked at Fang Xuanling inquiringly.

Fang Xuanling was mature and steady, had a deep foundation in the court, and had great influence, which was incomparable to Hou Junji, a military man.

In addition, Fang Xuanling's words were very fair and peaceful, and he did not deny any side, so no one questioned it for a while.

Fang Xuanling stroked his beard calmly and said, "Don't forget how Jie Li failed in the Battle of Dingxiang, and how Yi Nan rose to power?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the hall fell into deep thought, and many of them had thoughtful expressions.

Fang Xuanling continued, "Yinan transferred troops from the northwest back to the central grassland this time, even before the Turkic invasion of Mobei, which shows that he has bad intentions. In the battle at Yu Dujun Mountain, Yinan lost many generals, and his ambition was crushed by the Turkic invasion."

"He had no choice but to retreat to the Helan Mountains, and his attitude towards our Tang Dynasty was no longer as arrogant as before."

"If I am not mistaken, Yi Nan did send an envoy to lure the Turkish army south by offering to join the Turks. He told the Right Wise King that he would join forces to attack our Tang Dynasty, and told the Tang Dynasty that he would attack the Turks from the rear."

"In fact, he will neither help the Turks to invade our Tang Dynasty nor help our Tang Dynasty resist the Turks. He is just trying to gain the advantage by playing with the snipe and the clam. When both of us are exhausted and both are hurt."

"He will lead another 300,000 troops and choose his final target based on the situation of both sides."

'hiss'

Fang Xuanling's analysis immediately made all the ministers in the hall nod their heads silently. These people were able to stand in the court and become the top group of people in the Tang Dynasty. Naturally, they were all people of outstanding talents, and everyone could use an abacus.

The idea mentioned by Fang Xuanling is obviously the most in line with the current situation and Yinan's personality, and it is also a reflection of the maximization of Yinan's interests.

Originally, everyone was unwilling to believe that Yi Nan had surrendered to the enemy, and they subconsciously refuted it, but they were still afraid of the Turkic army. The Right Wise King had 800,000 cavalrymen, and if they added Yi Nan's 300,000, wouldn't it be a total of 1.1 million?

Faced with such an unprecedented invasion by a powerful enemy, everyone present was extremely desperate.

Now, after Fang Xuanling's analysis, the Yi Nan would not help either side and would sit on the mountain and watch the tiger's head, which was already a huge pressure for the Tang emperor and his ministers. The 300,000 Xueyantuo who had been relied on as their arm were suddenly gone.

However, the Right Wise King still had an army of 800,000. All in all, the situation of the Tang Dynasty became even more difficult.

For a moment, everyone felt uneasy, began to speculate, and their faces were very pessimistic.

Suddenly, a voice rang out from the crowd: "Duke Lu, didn't you just say that you brought the conditions for peace from the Right Wise Prince? If peace can be negotiated, then the situation has not reached the point where it is out of control. War is dangerous and once a war breaks out, countless people will suffer."

"If we can avoid fighting, then we should avoid fighting. Tell us what the Turks want."

This voice seemed to have found a life-saving straw for the depressed ministers, and everyone agreed: "Yes, let's see what the conditions are first."

Li Shimin also nodded hesitantly: "Jun Ji, if that's the case, then can you first tell me the conditions for the peace talks with the Right Wise King?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Hou Junji listed all the demands put forward by Li Yan in front of all the ministers in the court. When he finished, all the ministers in the hall were filled with righteous indignation and began to criticize the greed of the Right Wise King. However, among their emotions, there was also a sense of relief that came from the bottom of their hearts.

Everyone in the hall was excited, but there was no longer the deadly feeling of depression that existed before.

Li Shimin and Fang Xuanling in the audience looked at each other and both breathed a sigh of relief. Although the Right Wise King wanted a lot of things, at least they didn't have to fight a war. If they really had to face millions of Turkic cavalry, the Tang Dynasty's rulers and ministers would all feel uneasy.

At this moment, a loud bang startled the ministers who were in a state of outrage, and they all looked in the direction where the sound came from.

Li Shimin stood up angrily, and threw the memorials on the imperial desk to the ground. He said angrily: "The Right Wise Prince is really greedy. It's fine for marriage and trade, but he also wants to take away one million dan of grain and one million rolls of silk from the Tang Dynasty."

"More importantly, there are one million taels of gold."

"Hou Junji, go tell the Right Wise King that I am the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty and the Khan of Heaven. I would rather die standing than live lying down, and I will not accept his blackmail. I will not agree to any of his conditions. Let him give up on this idea." "You can let him come. The Tang Dynasty also has a million troops and tens of millions of subjects ready to fight at any time. If he dares to come, the vast rivers and mountains of the Tang Dynasty will become the graveyard of the Turks."

After saying this, Li Shimin flicked his sleeves and left angrily.

The ministers were left looking at each other in bewilderment and began to whisper to each other. Hou Junji's eyes flashed and he turned around to leave.

Fang Xuanling asked quickly, "Jun Ji, where are you going?"

Seeing that many of the ministers were looking at him, Hou Junji was very passionate and said righteously: "Sir Fang, didn't you hear the emperor's order just now?"

"I will leave the city immediately and return to the front line to challenge the Right Wise King. I will also ask the Emperor to fight and personally lead the troops to resist the Turks."

With a "whoosh", many ministers looked anxious.

They didn't care about setting up memorial archways anymore, and they all stepped forward to hold Hou Junji, fearing that he would leave. The indignation just now disappeared, and they shamelessly advised: "Junji, the emperor was just angry just now, why don't you take it seriously."

"That's right. Although what the Turks are asking for is excessive, it's not impossible for us in the Tang Dynasty to provide it."

"War is a matter of great importance to a country. It is a matter of life and death, a matter of survival and destruction. A sage should use it only when he has no other choice. Once a war breaks out, countless people will be plunged into disaster."

"The Turkic bandit chieftains are divided. We can tear them apart by cutting off their sharp edges and using tactics to sow discord. Why do we need to confront them head-on?"

"Both the Tang Dynasty and the Turks suffered heavy losses, which would benefit the traitors like Yi Nan."

"."

These people were all high-ranking officials of the Tang Dynasty, and many of them had experienced several chaotic periods.

Every time there is chaos and a reshuffle in the world, countless lives are shed. In such earth-shaking changes, the aristocratic families are as weak as ordinary people.

They are all exquisite porcelain, how can they put themselves in danger?

What's more, the power in the Turkic upper class changed too quickly, and many aristocratic families did not have time to establish contact with the Right Wise King. Without prior tacit understanding, those fierce villains from the grassland would show no mercy if they really came to the Central Plains.

The common people eat bran, tobacco and vegetables and their lives are ruined.

And each of them has countless fields and houses, beautiful wives and concubines, warehouses piled high like mountains, and many slaves in their mansions. They are perfect targets for the Turks to plunder, so they are the ones who fear war the most.

Fang Xuanling explained, "Everyone, Your Majesty can consider marriage and trade. As for money, grain, and cloth, the national treasury can barely support it. But as for the one million gold, everyone knows that the national treasury does not have it. What can we do?"

As soon as the words came out, the noisy crowd quieted down.

Gradually, everyone's eyes turned to the officials who came from aristocratic families. Representatives of aristocratic families such as Wang Gui and Wei Ting all lowered their heads in silence. Everyone knew that very little gold was produced each year, and the gold of all dynasties was also preserved in aristocratic families.

Another channel for trade with the Western Regions is also controlled by the big families, and ordinary people simply do not have the ability to organize such a large-scale caravan.

Dai Zhou, the Minister of Finance, also stood up and said, "My Lords, let me give you a lowdown. The amount of gold in the Ministry of Finance is only a few tens of thousands of taels for treasury use. It was accumulated in recent years when the situation has improved a little."

"Without the support of all the gentlemen, the emperor would not be able to take out the one million taels of gold even if he wanted to compromise."

Huangmen Shilang Wei Ting asked tentatively: "Lord Hou, what do the Turks need so much gold for? They can't eat or drink it. Why not talk to them and exchange it for population, food, or other objects? In short, wouldn't it be enough to give them enough to get a million gold coins?"

Isn’t it just giving money?

For them, anything that can be solved with money is not a big deal. As long as the world is stable and their status as meat eaters remains unchanged, they can slowly make up for it from the people little by little if they are given time.

"No."

Hou Junji said decisively: "To be honest with you all, I have already made such a suggestion, but the Right Wise King originally came from the Central Plains, and his family's land was occupied by the wealthy families who colluded with the government. He has no good feelings towards those wealthy families for generations, and can even be said to hate them to the bone."

"The Right Wise King knows the situation in the Central Plains very well. He is not as easy to fool as the Turkic natives. He said that the most valuable thing in the Central Plains is gold."

"It's just a coincidence that he has become the Lord of the Grassland now. It may not last forever."

"He wants to take advantage of the fact that he is still in power and get enough benefits. People, food and silk are not easy to store. He wants to accumulate a large amount of gold and build a treasury. Even if he can't be the Right Wise King in the future, he can still enjoy wealth and glory."

(End of this chapter)