Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

As Fang Xuanling finished speaking, all the ministers except the Minister Xu Jingzong nodded slightly.

Li Jing followed closely and said, "Your Majesty, the Tibetans are the only foreign tribe left around the Tang Dynasty. It would be wise to keep the Tibetans to help us expand our territory."

"If we attack Tubo now, the Tang army will have to take action against the Indian states later."

"Besides, Tubo is so small that we are not a cause for concern."

Judging from Li Jing's tone, he didn't take Tubo seriously at all.

Immediately afterwards, Li Ji, Hou Junji and others also spoke out to express their attitude, which was to allow Tubo to continue to be a tool for the Tang Dynasty to expand its territory.

It was difficult for the Tang army to defeat Tubo on the plateau, but wouldn't it be easy to defeat them on the plains?

After everyone has finished speaking.

Xu Jingzong then said solemnly, "Your Majesty, Tubo has 400 million people and can raise an army of 40. Its strength is not weak."

"Now that Tubo has absorbed the population of Central India, its strength will rival that of our Tang Dynasty."

"It's better to clean up as soon as possible."

As one of the Eighteen Scholars of the Qin Palace, Xu Jingzong was not just a civil official who could only recite poems and compose essays.

He also has certain attainments in military strategy.

Otherwise, he would not have been promoted from Jieshi Zhong to Shizhong in just five years.

After hearing Xu Jingzong's analysis, Li Shimin's expression changed slightly.

A moment of silence.

Li Shimin asked in a deep voice, "Given Tubo's strength, how long do you think it will take to persuade the people of Central India to fight for Tubo?"

After these words were spoken, everyone frowned again.

Central India itself is composed of more than ten city-states, the most powerful of which is the Rongri Dynasty.

Now that the Rongri Dynasty has been destroyed, the strength of the remaining small city-states is minimal and they are no match for the well-trained Tibetan soldiers.

With the army approaching, who among the people of Central India dares to resist?

Dozens of breaths passed.

Du He said, "Your Majesty, Central India has a population of less than two million. Half of its young men have been killed by Tubo, and there are not many remaining."

"I suggest that Tubo escort 10 strong captives from India to the Tang Dynasty and have them carve the Dayuling Ancient Road."

"Without these strong men from Central India, Tubo's strength will not be enhanced."

When he was the Minister of War, he was familiar with the power of Tubo, Tuyuhun and Gaochang.

The reason why Central India was vulnerable was that its national strength was far less than half of that of Tubo, and the strength of its soldiers was even more pitifully weak.

Moreover, the strength of the four parts of India, namely, East, West, South, and North, is not as strong as that of Central India.

Below the main hall.

When the ministers heard Du He's words, their eyes suddenly lit up, and then they all muttered to each other.

"Let Tubo escort the strong men from Central India to the Tang Dynasty?"

"Going to carve the Dayuling Ancient Road?"

"This move is poisonous!"

Tubo fought in the front, and the Tang Dynasty enjoyed the fruits of its labor in the back.

This will not only curb the growth of Tubo's strength, but also allow the Tang Dynasty to obtain a large amount of labor for free. It is really a two-pronged approach!

Even Li Shimin, who was sitting on the imperial platform, nodded frequently.

When Du He returned from Western Turkestan, he discussed the issue of prisoners with Du He and put forward his suggestion to develop Lingnan.

He was so focused on raising Tubo into a fierce tiger that he forgot about this matter.

Li Chengqian clapped his hands and said, "Du He's suggestion is a good one. Tubo has gained such a large territory without any population replenishment, which will only weaken its strength."

"By then, Tubo will have to send a large number of troops to garrison Central India, which will make it easier for us to defeat them one by one!"

The rest of the people responded one after another.

Xu Jingzong glanced at Du He and quickly changed his mind, agreeing with Tubo's suggestion to escort the captives to the Tang Dynasty.

"This plan of Han Guogong is brilliant!"

For him, currying favor with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Du He is the most important thing.

As for dealing with Tubo, that is secondary.

Seeing that everyone had the same opinion, Li Shimin immediately made the decision.

"That's it!"

"Ma Zhou, draft a letter to the Tibetan envoys later, ordering them to transport 10 captives to the Tang Dynasty within three months!"

"It's a good opportunity to take advantage of this opportunity to see if Tubo has any other intentions."

If Tubo refused to hand over the prisoners, proving its evil ambitions, the Tang Dynasty could immediately send troops to destroy Tubo.

If Tubo continued to send prisoners to the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty would be able to gain huge benefits from it.

Ma Zhou replied solemnly, "I obey your command!"

After discussing the business.

Li Shimin smiled and said, "My dear ministers, today's meeting ends here. You can go back early to celebrate the New Year's Day."

"After the Yuanzheng Festival, we will discuss the management of the seven northern states, the use of millions of laborers, the strategy for opening up the Western Regions and India, the reform of the land tax system, and many other major issues."

Is this the end of the meeting?

Du He thought that Li Shimin was so anxious to gather everyone together to discuss some important matter, but he didn't expect that they were just talking about the trivial matter of Tubo.

However, when Du He thought about the busy schedule after the New Year holiday, he felt a little heavy-hearted.

Not surprisingly, he was required to participate in the discussion of these major national policies.

Even many important matters are still his responsibility.

All the civil and military officials stood up and saluted without hesitation.

"Your Majesty, please leave!"

...

In the next few days, Du He stayed in the princess's mansion and attended various banquets.

In addition to the banquet organized by Li Shimin and Li Chengqian, Hou Junji, Cheng Yaojin, Fang Xuanling and others also sent their legitimate sons to invite Du He to the banquet.

The eighth day of the first lunar month.

Du He, who was free, lay comfortably on the rocking chair in the lobby of the princess's mansion.

Wearing a fur coat, Lidya Su fed Du He an orange slice from time to time, and her eyes were full of tenderness when she looked at Du He.

Lidya Su glanced around the lobby, then bit her lower lip and whispered.

"Master, I want to give birth to a child for you."

"Can you help this servant?"

These days, the maidservants who served her kept nagging in her ears, saying that she had to give birth to a child for the master before she could be taken as a concubine.

But the master has been monopolized by Her Royal Highness the Princess and Sister Yushan these days, and she doesn't even have the chance to sleep with him.

While speaking, Lidya Su, with her charming eyes, also grasped Du He's lifeblood.

"Suck~"

Du He said excitedly, "Go to the side hall!"

This girl's methods are too wild. I have to teach her a lesson and let her understand the etiquette and manners of the Tang Dynasty.

Just as the two stood up, Zhang Shizheng walked in to report.

"Master, the spy you sent to monitor Wu Cairen has returned and is waiting outside the lobby."

Well...

Du He's expression paused slightly.

This spy came back at a really bad time!

However, seeing the biting cold wind outside, Du He still waved his hand.

"Let him in."

After receiving the order, Zhang Shizheng walked out of the hall quickly. He shouted to the soldiers standing outside, and soon a young soldier who looked exhausted walked in.

After a round of greetings, the soldiers reported in a low voice.

"Master, Wu Cairen is now in Bingzhou."

"Prince Li placed her in a luxurious manor in Bingzhou and sent a large number of maids and attendants to take care of her."

Not bad!

This infatuated couple finally stays together!

But it seems that Li Zhi is a bit open about what he does!

There was a pause.

The soldier continued, "Master, according to reports from other spies, Prince Li's wife has learned of Consort Wu's existence and has been making a fuss for several days."

"Moreover, the princess secretly sent people to Chang'an to file a complaint with the emperor, but they were intercepted by people sent by Prince Li."