Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 142 Li Zhi's Plan

In mid-May, just after the beginning of summer, a hint of heat could be felt in Taiji Palace.

At today's regular court meeting, Li Zhi issued an edict to promote Li Jingxuan to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and granted him the third-rank title of Tongzhongshu Menxia, ​​replacing Li Yifu and becoming the new prime minister.

Rumors of this matter had leaked out some time ago, and Li Zhi asked Li Jingxuan to try Li Yifu. Many people guessed the result, and it did not cause much response.

After the regular court session, other officials supporting the military faction all came to the Menxia Province to congratulate Li Jingxuan.

Only Xu Jingzong was there. Although he had a smile on his face, he was secretly depressed in his heart.

Military officials were not very concerned about who would be the prime minister. After the court session, Li Ji, Cheng Zhijie and Yuchi Gong planned to return to their respective offices.

An eunuch came over and conveyed the emperor's order, asking them to go to the study next to the bedroom to meet him.

The three of them came to the study and paid their respects to Li Zhi.

Li Zhi ordered Wang Fusheng to prepare three chairs for the three people and ordered someone to serve tea.

Li Ji and the other two could see that the emperor had something to tell them, but since the emperor didn't say anything, they had no choice but to drink their tea.

Only Yuchi Gong had the most impatient temper. He put down the teacup after just taking a sip of tea.

"Your Majesty, if you have anything to say, just tell us directly!"

Li Zhi picked up a memorial and said, "Please take a look, this is a memorial sent by Su Dingfang from the front line."

Yuchi Gong took it and passed it to the other two after reading it.

Su Dingfang's memorial mainly introduced the spoils of the war and the post-war cleanup work.

In this battle, the Tang Dynasty captured more than 500,000 people and livestock from the Western Turks, including more than 50,000 horses, which was a rich harvest.

In addition, he ordered the establishment of post stations, burial of corpses, and compensation for the wounded. He also issued a notice to reassure the people, comforted the people of Tingzhou, and sent envoys to various countries in the Western Regions to reassure them.

Because the ten Turkic chiefs had already gone to Chang'an, Su Dingfang also ordered a ceasefire.

He also requested an imperial decree to return all the property and livestock looted by Helu to their original owners.

In addition, two major protectorates were established in the former Turkic territory, one commanding each of the five Turkic tribes, and all of the Western Turks were incorporated into the Tang Dynasty.

Yuchi Gong said nothing after reading it.

Cheng Zhijie smiled and said, "I always thought Su Lie was just a reckless man, but I didn't expect him to be so careful. Your Majesty, I think Su Lie handled it well."

Li Ji had similar thoughts in his mind, but he didn't say anything.

Because if the emperor was satisfied with Su Lie's memorial, he would not have specially called the three people to discuss it.

In fact, from the perspective of this era, Su Dingfang has done a very good job in post-processing.

However, Li Zhi knew that this could only maintain peace for a few years, and it would not be long before the Western Turks would rebel again.

Li Zhi turned to look at Yuchi Gong and asked, "What do you think, General Yuchi?"

Yuchi Gong was silent for a moment, then said, "I think we've let the Turks off too easily. They followed Helu in the rebellion, harassing the border for years and plundering the people. Now that they've surrendered, we're letting them return to their old homeland without any punishment. I'm afraid they'll rebel again in the future!"

Li Zhi's eyes flashed, and he said, "Then according to the old general's opinion, what should we do?"

Yuchi Gong hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, my method may be a bit drastic."

Li Zhi smiled and said, "My dear, please feel free to speak."

Yuchi Gong said, "I believe that the chiefs who initially supported Helu should all be executed. In the Western Regions, continue fighting the Turks. Don't stop until only 20% or 30% of the Turks remain. They won't be able to rebel even if they want to."

Cheng Zhijie was shocked. He didn't expect that this idiot would actually dare to say such words in front of the emperor.

Doesn't he know that the emperor values ​​benevolence and filial piety the most?

Just as he was about to speak out his objection, he caught a glimpse of the emperor, who valued benevolence and filial piety, and saw that his face was calm and he said nothing.

Cheng Zhijie's heart skipped a beat.

Does Your Majesty agree with this approach?

Li Zhi saw that everyone was silent and looking at him. He coughed and said, "We can hold them accountable, but there is no need to execute them. Otherwise, no one will dare to surrender to the court in the future."

Cheng Zhijie hurriedly said, "Your Majesty is absolutely right."

Li Zhi added, "The Western Turks have surrendered, yet we continue to attack them. This is inappropriate, but General Yuchi has a good point."

Cheng Zhijie glanced at Yuchi Gong and thought, "Your Majesty's words are so mild, it seems that he no longer trusts the Turks."

Yuchi Gong did not expect that Li Zhi did not reprimand him, so he hurriedly asked, "Which sentence are you referring to, Your Majesty?"

Li Zhi said: "We can't just hope that the Turks won't rebel, but we must make sure they don't have the ability to rebel again!"

Yuchi Gong slapped his thigh and said, "Your Majesty, the core of what I just said is actually this."

Li Ji finally understood Li Zhi's intentions and smiled, "Your Majesty, do you intend to treat them the same way you dealt with the Eastern Turks back then, severely damaging their vitality so that they would no longer be able to rebel against the Tang Dynasty?"

Li Zhi said: "That's right."

Cheng Zhijie thought for a moment and said, "Then we must strengthen the defenses of Anxi and build it into a fortress similar to Yingzhou. It would be best if we could also leave a permanent garrison there."

Anxi originally had no permanent troops. After Helu rebelled against the Tang Dynasty, a group of troops were temporarily transferred there to guard against Helu.

Li Zhi nodded and said, "This proposal is feasible." Li Ji continued, "During the Han Dynasty, Wei Qing recovered the Heshuo region, built Shuofang City, and relocated 100,000 people to garrison the border. From then on, the Heshuo region was incorporated into the Central Plains. Your Majesty, do you wish to follow suit?"

Li Zhi asked, "What do you think?"

Li Ji pondered and said, "Our dynasty is now stronger than the Han Dynasty. However, building a large city will require a large amount of manpower. The journey to the Western Regions is long, and relocating people will easily lead to resentment among the people."

Li Zhi nodded and waved his hand, saying, "We cannot sacrifice people's livelihoods. Let's drop this proposal."

Cheng Zhijie suddenly said, "Your Majesty, there is a way that doesn't require too much manpower."

Li Zhi asked hurriedly: "What method?"

Cheng Zhijie smiled and said, "North of the Shuanghe River lies the city of Suiye, situated at the intersection of two main roads in the Western Regions. It's a strategic location. This city was originally built by the Sogdians as an earthen fortress for trading goods. Why not use it as a base to build a Tang Dynasty fortress in the Western Regions?"

Li Zhi frowned and said, "Suiye City is too far west. Most of the Turkic tribes live to the east of Suiye City. If they rebel, how can Suiye City resist?"

Helu's former royal tent was located to the east of Suiye City, and most of the ten clans were also located here.

Yuchi Gong blurted out, "Then drive them to live west of Suiye City."

Cheng Zhijie said: "Although this method is feasible, they may not surrender again!"

Yuchi Gong snorted coldly, "This further proves that they are not truly surrendering. Then continue fighting!"

Cheng Zhijie and Li Ji did not speak, but just looked at Li Zhi.

All that needed to be said had been said, and now all that remained was to wait for the emperor's decision.

Li Zhi pondered for a long time and said slowly, "I have a plan that may be able to severely damage the Ten Surnames of the Turkic tribes and force them to migrate west of Suiye City."

Cheng Zhijie hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty, what brilliant plan do you have?"

Li Zhi smiled and said, "To put it simply, it's like performing a play. I will play the good guy, and as for the bad guy, you three will have to play the bad guy."

Yuchi Gong laughed heartily and said, "This minister is the best person to play the villain."

……

The Left Guard is the first of the Twelve Guards.

The Zuowei Hall was an important place for military officials of the Tang Dynasty to hold meetings, similar to the Political Affairs Hall of the Secretariat.

If the Tang Dynasty wants to complete its strategic plan against the Western Turks, it must first obtain the consent of the entire military.

So after Li Ji, Cheng Zhijie and Yuchi Gong left Ganlu Palace, they went to the Zuowei Hall together and beat drums to summon the senior generals of the twelve guards to discuss matters.

With the prestige of the three, as long as they reach a consensus, the generals below will basically have no objections.

Therefore, this military meeting was just a formality, equivalent to notifying everyone that the ten Turkic tribes would be relocated to the west of Suiye City.

After hearing this, Mishe and Buzhen both frowned.

Mishe had no intention of returning to the grassland to live, and although he was a little dissatisfied, he accepted it.

Bu Zhen, however, was eager to return to the grassland to live and inherit the throne of Khan of Western Turkestan, and was extremely dissatisfied.

As soon as he returned to his mansion, he ordered people to call the chiefs of the five Dulu tribes and told them the situation.

The leader of the Shunishi tribe, Shatuo, was furious. "How can this be so unreasonable? They are forcing us to move west of Suiye City. The grasslands there are not fertile at all. How can we graze our livestock?"

Several others also expressed their dissatisfaction.

Wu Zhile said in a low voice, "We have been defeated. There is nothing we can do about it. If we don't agree, are we going to continue fighting the Tang people?"

His tribe was severely damaged by Xue Rengui and is in dire need of recuperation.

If they continued to oppose the Tang Dynasty, they would likely be exterminated, so they adopted a softer stance.

Shatuo glared at Wuzhile and said, "Fight if you want! The Turks are the eagles of the steppes and will never accept such humiliating conditions!"

Two chiefs immediately supported him, but the last chief hesitated and remained silent.

Shatuo looked at Bu Zhen and said in a deep voice, "Prince Bu Zhen, why are you silent? Do you want us to agree to the Tang people's conditions?"

Bu Zhen snorted coldly, "Don't forget, it was you who refused to abide by the rules and followed Helu in rebelling against the Tang Dynasty!"

Shatuo laughed heartily and said, "It seems you've been in Chang'an for so long that you consider yourself a Tang citizen. Please tell the Heavenly Khan that we, the Shunish, sincerely surrender, but we refuse to accept this humiliation. Let's meet on the battlefield."

He stood up and was about to leave.

"Wait a minute!" Bu Zhen hurriedly tried to stop him.

Shatuo glanced at him sideways and said, "What else do you have to say?"

Bu Zhen said, "You are too impatient. The conditions for moving west of Suiye City may not be what Tian Khan wants."

Wuzhile said hurriedly: "Yes, the Khan is kind and tolerant, perhaps there is still room for improvement."

Shatuo was silent for a moment, then walked back and sat down, saying, "Well, General Buzhen, please ask Tian Khan what he means."

Bu Zhen suddenly stood up and said, "Okay, I will go to the palace tonight to ask for instructions from His Majesty. You will wait for my news."

(End of this chapter)