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

Chapter 928: A Young Man Should Not Be Romantic

Li Shimin's face suddenly changed, and he remembered that not all forces were protected by the mountains and rivers of the Central Plains. The territory of the southern desert stretched from the western part of Liaodong to Hebei Road, Hedong Road, and Guannei Road, like a shield of the Tang Dynasty, firmly guarding the long northern border.

Since the northern part of the Tang Dynasty had such a protective barrier, the northern regions had almost no worries about being attacked. The important military towns in the north that used to be closely connected with the Turks are now thriving in all industries and people's livelihood is prosperous.

The southern part of the desert must not be lost.

But after all, they are a grassland tribe, isolated outside. If they face an attack from the Turks, they will really have no way to escape.

Li Shimin was also at a loss for a moment. If losing Xueyantuo was just the loss of weapons, then losing the southern part of the desert was a serious blow.

Li Jing also said: "Yes, Your Majesty, the most important thing now is to negotiate peace with the Turks immediately and sign a peace agreement. Use the agreement to restrain the expansion of the Turks and protect the southern part of the desert."

"Is this okay?"

"Of course, Your Majesty, I'm going to say something you may not like. The Right Wise King has lofty ambitions. From the fact that he encouraged Jie Li to go south and finally handed over the Liaodong Peninsula to the Tang Dynasty without blinking an eye, we can see that he has a very big vision."

Li Jing's eyes sparkled: "Such a person would not bother to compete with the bloodline of his ancestors for territory. His next target must be the wider Western Regions and Central Asia."

"The southern part of the desert is weak and has a long territory. It borders the Tang Dynasty in the south and the Turks in the north."

"If the negotiations go well, it is entirely possible to keep this place and make the southern part of the desert a buffer zone between the two great powers, thus avoiding conflict between the two major forces."

"Even if Your Majesty can reach some kind of tacit understanding with the Right Wise King, it may not be impossible to join hands again and recreate the old events in Liaodong?"

Li Shimin's eyelids jumped, and he was stunned by Li Jing's bold idea: "Brother Jing means..."

"Your Majesty, the Turks have millions of soldiers. It's only a matter of time before they unify the entire grassland. They are not so easy to defeat. And our Tang Dynasty has a population of tens of millions, is strong, and has a geographical advantage. If they really start a war, the Turks will not want to see it."

"Since none of us can destroy the other in a short period of time, why don't we stop fighting and make peace for the time being and face the outside world together."

"We were able to divide the Liaodong Peninsula with the Turks before, so why don't we continue to expand our goals this time and jointly manage the Western Regions with the Turks under the leadership of the Right Wise King?"

"Before, we used Jie Li to stir up the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and now we will use Xueyantuo to stir up the Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions."

"From an objective point of view, putting Yi men into the Western Regions is like a wolf entering a sheepfold."

"Since we have seen through the Right Wise King's plot and are unable to stop it, why don't we intervene in advance and get a piece of the pie?"

"I have always felt that the previous imperial court's policy of keeping the Western Regions under control and making them pay tribute is not reliable. If we wait until the barbarians have completely ploughed through the Western Regions, and then our Tang Dynasty calmly steps in to clean up the situation, can we then repeat the old story of Liaodong?"

Li Shimin was moved after hearing this and subconsciously looked at Fang Xuanling who was in deep thought.

After all, this was a big event that concerned the grand strategy of the Tang Dynasty for the next few decades. Li Shimin did not dare to make a decision right away and had to look to his chief designer of national policy.

After a long pause, Fang Xuanling nodded silently: "Since the Western Han Dynasty, the court has begun to manage the Western Regions, but over the past few hundred years, the Western Regions have been divided and united, and those small countries have rebelled and surrendered, but they have never been able to be completely incorporated into the rule of the Central Plains."

"Have you ever thought about the reasons behind this?"

At this point, Fang Xuanling pointed to the plateau in the west and said in a serious tone: "After all, the vast plateau area is not under the control of our Tang Dynasty. If we can take this opportunity to completely control it, then the Hexi Corridor and the Western Regions will be under our control."

“Even if you lose it temporarily, you will eventually get it back; it’s not like now, even if you get it, you will eventually lose it.”

"Your Majesty, I think Duke Wei's suggestion is feasible."

"We can definitely use this opportunity to negotiate peace and send important officials to meet with the Right Wise King. It would be best if we could reach a tacit understanding like we did in Liaodong."

"If nothing else, this will at least give us a chance for peace."

"Now the central and eastern parts of the entire grassland belong to the Turks, and the Central Plains below the desert belongs to our Tang Dynasty. If we can reach an agreement, we don't have to worry about war anymore, and we can focus our energy on the Western Regions without worry."

"I believe that the Right Wise King also has such a need now."

"He is expanding too fast. He needs a few years of peace to stabilize the internal situation and consolidate the results of his victory. He also wants to take over the Xueyantuo in the northwest. We, the Tang Dynasty, will take this opportunity to withdraw our forces and focus on internal reforms, leaving the Xueyantuo and other countries to fight each other."

"After the chaos in the Western Regions has subsided in a few years, we will enter the Western Regions with ease as saviors and completely incorporate this land into the Tang Dynasty instead of just surrendering superficially."

Li Shimin's heart was slightly moved, and he thought of the feudal system that the prince had offered to him. In fact, after the internal reforms encountered setbacks in recent years, Li Shimin had the idea of ​​finding another way. After years of attempts, Li Shimin finally found helplessly that only feudalization was the best way to control the Western Regions.

In this case, I will take this opportunity to create public opinion first, so that the upper class will be greatly encouraged, and it can also gather their will and stimulate their internal motivation to the greatest extent, launch foreign wars, and conquer the Western Regions. After conquering the territory, it will be natural to promote the division of fiefdoms.

The mountains and rivers are full of doubts, and there is another village.

After several people analyzed the map, Li Shimin suddenly felt as if everything had become clear, as if the clouds had cleared and the sky was blue.

Li Shimin's expression also relaxed, and the pressure in his heart suddenly eased. Then he said with embarrassment: "If we are negotiating peace, you know, everything else is fine, except for the gold and the marriage. Ankang is afraid now."

As soon as he finished speaking, Fang Xuanling expressed what he had just said to the noble families outside the palace, and the problem of gold had been solved.

Hou Junji also stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I did not explain it in detail at the court meeting. The Right Wise King agreed to the marriage, but it was not the princess. He designated another woman to marry far away in the frontier instead of the princess."

"Oh, who is it?"

Hou Junji said: "Wu Yuanhua, the daughter of the late Yingguogong Wu Shigui."

Li Shimin muttered it to himself and felt something in his heart. This Right Wise King seemed to have appeared out of thin air and he could not find out where he came from in the Central Plains. Since the other party mentioned this woman, perhaps she was from a family that had had interactions with Duke Ying.

Perhaps we can find some clues from this line?

"Who is this woman, Jun Ji, have you ever checked?"

Hou Junji said calmly, "Your Majesty, I have checked the information of this woman these past two days. Wu Shigui passed away two years ago. He had two sons and three daughters. His first wife Xiangli gave birth to two sons, Wu Yuanqing and Wu Yuanshuang, and then married Yang."

"Yang was born into the royal family of the Sui Dynasty and gave birth to three daughters. The second daughter was named Hua, and according to the family tree, she could barely be considered to be of the Yuan generation."

"Wu Yuanhua is fourteen years old this year. She is beautiful and well-known. I heard that her brother plans to let her participate in the imperial selection this year. She is now preparing at home."

Fang Xuanling asked tentatively: "Jun Ji, have you checked this line to see if the Right Wise King has any connection with the Wu family?"

Seeing the three people were all curious, Hou Junji said, "I have already checked it immediately. This Right Wise Prince has no connection with the Wu family. Maybe my channels are too narrow. Your Majesty can investigate it in an official name."

Hou Junji knew the details. No matter how much he investigated, he could not link the prince to the Wu family, so he just mentioned it.

After all, according to the information, the Right Wise King had been wandering on the grassland for twelve years since the ninth year of Wude, and the second young lady of the Wu family was only two years old at that time.

Theoretically, it is impossible that they have met. You can't say that the Right Wise King is in love with her, right?

Hou Junji thought that the Crown Prince must have heard of her good reputation from somewhere and was attracted by her beauty, so he designated this person.

It is understandable that a man should not be romantic when young.
Li Shimin nodded silently. It was at least a clue, so he could ask the Hundred Cavalry Division and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to investigate.

"In that case, let's do as he wishes!"

Li Shimin smiled and turned to Fang Xuanling and said, "Xuanling, you should make an order immediately. I will adopt Wu Yuanhua, the second daughter of the Wu family, as my adopted daughter and grant her the title of Princess Wucheng. Then I will marry her to the Turks and marry her to the Right Xian King."

"Haha, this Right Wise King doesn't want to marry my daughter, so I will adopt the woman he likes as my adopted daughter. In this way, he is still my son-in-law, one generation younger than me."

Seeing Li Shimin's bad taste, Hou Junji curled his lips secretly. He is your son, what are you fighting for?
While still thinking about the enemy, Li Shimin said to Hou Junji: "Junji, you go to Fengzhou immediately and tell the Right Wise King that I agree to his request, but so many supplies will take some time to prepare."

"But before that, he must not attack the Tang Dynasty without authorization. Otherwise, I will regard his actions as a provocation to the Tang Dynasty, and I will have to fight back."

Hou Junji knew that Li Shimin was referring to Mo Nan, and he was not worried at all. The Grand Commander of Mo Nan, Ashina Yun, was the wife of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and most of her generals came from the Eastern Palace. They were already in the Crown Prince's pocket, and they would definitely not resort to force again.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Hou Junji said generously: "I swear to defend Mo Nan with my life. If anything happens to Mo Nan, I will bring my head to you."

Hou Junji shamelessly used insider information to take credit for defending the southern desert and preventing the Turks from raising troops. For a moment, Li Jing and Fang Xuanling were full of admiration. As a general, he dared to make such a bold statement, which was truly a national hero!

Seeing the undisguised admiration on the faces of the three people in front of him, Hou Junji felt a little embarrassed. He wondered if everyone would scold him for being a fraud after they knew the true identity of the Right Wise King.
(End of this chapter)