Tang Dynasty: To win Yang Guifei, they asked Emperor Xuanzong to die.

They entered the secret room.

Wearing a robe with a gap in the hip, An Sishun was admiring the paintings on the wall with her hands behind her back.

Hearing footsteps behind him, he quickly turned around.

"Greetings, Your Highness Prince Shou."

Li Mao also cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Lord An."

Then, Li Mao waved for An Sishun to sit down.

The servant boy sensibly withdrew and closed the door.

Once everyone was alone, Li Mao slowly asked, "May I ask what brings Lord An here today?"

He didn't believe that An Sishun was just casually betting on a horse.

There must be something bigger they want to discuss with me.

An Sishun didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "There is an important matter I would like to discuss with His Highness Prince Shou."

“Lord An is a long-time customer, so please feel free to speak,” Li Mao said with a faint smile.

An Sishun cupped his hands in a fist salute to Li Mao and said, "There are many bandits in Hexi, and our border warhorses are old and weak, so we need to replace them with a new batch."

"However, warhorses are expensive, and without the support of the imperial court, it may be difficult to replace them."

Li Mao listened for a long time but still couldn't understand what An Sishun meant.

Could it be that you're trying to borrow money from me?

Or perhaps you'd like to borrow a few warhorses from me.

Neither of these things can be borrowed.

After all, the relationship wasn't that deep, and there was no exchange of benefits.

Seeing Li Mao's thoughtful expression, An Sishun smiled awkwardly.

Li Mao was even more convinced that he probably wanted to borrow money.

He then tentatively asked, "Lord An, are you perhaps looking to borrow money from me?"

"Your Highness, you misunderstand. I don't want to borrow money. I just hope to reach a cooperation agreement with Your Highness," An Sishun said somewhat awkwardly.

Li Mao roughly guessed what An Sishun meant, but he wouldn't say it outright.

Instead, he looked at An Sishun and asked, "So, what exactly is Lord An's intention?"

"Your Highness, I wish to transport the frontier warhorses to Your Highness's horse farm for breeding."

At this point, An Sishun immediately changed his tone and said, "There are many fine horses in the racecourse. It would be a waste to use them only for racing."

"But this is a tool for His Highness Prince Shou to make profits, and I do not want to take away what others love. Therefore, I have resorted to this inferior strategy, and I hope His Highness Prince Shou will grant my request."

Li Mao thought for a moment, but did not rush to answer. Instead, he was thinking about how he could profit from it.

Breeding warhorses. For stallions, it is beneficial to their physical and mental health.

But in this kind of situation, it's only natural to accept some benefits.

"Lord An, as you know, I have always selected only the finest horses from my horse farm."

“All fine horses are in their prime. If they prematurely lose their virility, they become nothing more than ordinary horses.”

It's not that Li Mao is stingy, but that's simply the truth.

Generally speaking, young and strong horses are not used for breeding; instead, older horses with excellent bloodlines are used.

An Sishun knew his request was a bit excessive, so he immediately smiled and said, "Please rest assured, Your Highness, I will never let you suffer a loss."

Li Mao shook his head slightly and said, "Good horses are the foundation of the racetrack. Unless the profits are sufficient, I will not agree."

Upon hearing this, An Sishun immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

If none of the conditions are met, then there's no way to negotiate; but if there are conditions, then there's still a chance.

"I wonder what His Highness Prince Shou desires?"

As she spoke, An Sishun already had a bottom line in mind. As long as it didn't exceed that bottom line, everything was still negotiable.

"I don't want money, I just need Lord An to do me a small favor. For Lord An, this is nothing more than a simple matter."

Hearing this, An Sishun became curious.

What could possibly require a prince to plead with a military governor?

Could it be that they want military power?

In the struggle for the throne among princes, money and power are indispensable.

Now, His Highness Prince Shou is not short of money, so the only thing he lacks is power.

The other princes all had the support of military governors, but Prince Shou was the only one without.

Thinking of this, An Sishun had already prepared herself mentally.

The two looked at each other.

An Sishun tentatively asked, "Does His Highness Prince Shou wish to discuss other collaborations?"

As he spoke, An Sishun's eyes betrayed his inner thoughts.

Li Mao smiled faintly and said, "I'm sure Lord An has already guessed what I'm thinking."

"Therefore, I will no longer conceal anything."

"Now that my father is in power, and the princes are vying for his favor, even if I hand over all the proceeds from the racecourse to the national treasury, I still cannot gain my father's favor."

“In the past, they were even suppressed by other princes.”

At this point, Li Mao deliberately paused for a moment.

“Lord An, Hexi is not far from Chang’an. I’m sure there are already quite a few princes secretly trying to win them over.”

"I am aware of my limited strength. If I can reach a cooperation agreement with Lord An, we will surely achieve a win-win situation."

"What does Lord An think?"

The reason they came to win over An Sishun.

Firstly, because he held military power; secondly, because he was An Lushan's cousin, and the two had a very close relationship.

If they wanted to seize the imperial power to the greatest extent possible.

It requires external forces to create chaos.

In official history, although An Lushan captured Chang'an, he ultimately failed to kill Li Longji.

The rebellion was eventually quelled.

Therefore, Li Mao planned to first win over An Sishun to contact An Lushan, and then secretly win over Li Bi, Guo Ziyi, and Li Guangbi.

These people have no idea what will happen in the future. If it weren't for the time coming, they would probably be trembling with fear at the mere mention of the word "rebellion."

Therefore, Li Mao had a full opportunity to maneuver between the two sides during this period.

Nowadays, those generals who can lead troops to quell rebellions have not yet risen to prominence; they are probably just minor generals.

He rose to a high position through his military exploits, which he earned step by step.

The reason for taking such a long detour.

It was all for the sake of gaining a legitimate reputation.

Rebellion and ascension to the throne are two completely different concepts.

An Sishun was pondering in his heart how Li Mao wanted to cooperate.

If it's just covert support, that's fine. But if it's overt support, then the price to pay is probably much higher.

After much deliberation, An Sishun slowly asked, "I wonder how Your Highness Prince Shou intends to cooperate?"

Li Mao smiled faintly and said, "I will send out my warhorse to support all the troops of the Hexi Protectorate."

"Lord An sent people to train cavalry."

"One horse and two people. If Lord An is willing, I can provide 100,000 warhorses."

"And they were not old, weak, sick, or disabled, but young and strong steeds."

Upon hearing this, An Sishun fell silent.

To achieve merit on the border, one needs not only a strong and elite cavalry, but also young and vigorous warhorses.

So when Li Mao made this offer, An Sishun was already tempted.

But we can't just agree hastily.

He felt that Li Mao's intentions were probably not just about training elite cavalry; he definitely had other plans.