Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

"From now on, we should conduct such exercises frequently. The soldiers' drills and cavalry training should also be carried out on this scale, with small-scale exercises every ten days and large-scale exercises once a month!"

Gao Yang, with an air of authority, inspected the military camp located on the edge of Xueyantuo while issuing instructions to the generals around him.

His tone was as if he were accompanying his elder brother on an inspection tour of the many government-run factories in Taiyuan Prefecture.

Now, Mo Tu Luo, the leader of the Tiele Hun tribe, A Mu, the leader of the Tongluo tribe, and Baluso, the leader of the Sijie tribe, who are among Gao Yang's staunch supporters, are all closely following him, their faces filled with excitement and respect.

Amu is nearly 1.9 meters tall, with a bald head covered by a tuft of hair.

Like a human iron tower, exuding a wild aura, he followed behind Gao Yang, grinning foolishly as he asked questions one after another.

A muffled, gruff voice.

"Princess, Princess, if military exercises continue this frequently, that old bastard Yinan will definitely get restless. What if..."

"What if?!" Gao Yang sneered.

"What I want is just a 'what if'! He better have the guts to do something like that to me!"

At this moment, in the military camp, five thousand of Gao Yang's personal guards are conducting rotational drills. Since one thousand of them are from the current Crown Prince's Eastern Palace, each of them is not only formidable in combat.

He was also extremely skilled at commanding and organizing troops.

The entire Gaoyang Guard, from the infantry and archers to the firearms battalion, did not require Gaoyang's personal management.

Yet they were able to keep things in perfect order.

These people claim to be carrying out Gao Yang's orders, but it would be more accurate to say they are acting on the instructions of the current Crown Prince.

"If the Xueyantuo have the guts, I can simply lead my troops and retreat to Baikal County. At most, I will only lose some wealth, but the Xueyantuo will lose the lives of their entire clan!"

Mo Tu Luo and A Mu felt a chill run down their spines, and their faces immediately became even more submissive.

Gao Yang's beautiful eyes swept over the expressions of everyone with a half-smile: "Do you all feel a bit sad about the death of a fellow rabbit?"

"No, no, no! Your Highness, you misunderstand. How could we possibly pity that villain Yinan?"

"Yes, yes, after the Xueyantuo absorbed the remnants of the Eastern Turks, they used that power to expand and seize a lot of our grasslands. We wish we could tear them apart!"

"I don't know what Baruso and the others are thinking, but Your Highness, my Xijie tribe swears to be mortal enemies with the Xueyantuo!"

"That's right, so does our Huxue tribe! I hate them so much I want to wipe out these damned thieves right now!"

Gao Yang didn't react much to these people's oaths and vows; he just smiled faintly.

"My leaders need not be so nervous. I am not questioning you, but merely reminding you... The Northern Desert Common Prosperity Development Committee has only completed one trade with the Tang Dynasty, and that was under the circumstances of insufficient production capacity and unstable trade routes in the early stages."

"Each of you from various departments must have earned at least tens or hundreds of thousands of strings of cash from this trade, right?"

Everyone chuckled and nodded, repeatedly expressing their gratitude.

Gao Yang looked at them and said, "If we want to maintain this relationship in the long term and expand our profits, we must first contain the Xueyantuo, this obstacle. My brother has already ordered the construction of a railway from Zhenbei Road to Hedong Road this year, which will make trade much easier."

After giving a dressing down to those who were wavering and confused out of fear, Gao Yang led everyone outside the military camp.

"It's going to snow soon. Your pastures aren't exactly prime locations, but Baikal County has already established large enough ranches and stored enough silage for the winter. This pasture will be given to Xueyantuo from now on."

The group looked at each other in bewilderment.

This means they're being asked to relocate to Baikal County.

However, considering the businesses they've invested in over there, moving to Baikal County isn't so bad compared to their freezing grasslands here.

Just as Gao Yang was leading his men to patrol the surrounding area, Wei Shuyu also led his men back from the Xueyantuo tribe's headquarters.

"Well, Young Master Wei, has the matter been settled?"

As usual, Gao Yang uttered words with a hint of teasing, but Wei Shuyu was already used to his personality.

He bowed with his hands clasped in a calm gesture.

"I have successfully completed my mission. Princess's instructions have been conveyed to the Yinan of Xueyantuo. However, many of them cannot understand why they are asked to help guard the pastures of the other Tiele tribes."

"As for that barbarian, he seems to have figured out what Your Highness intends to do..."

Gao Yang scoffed, "You figured it out? So what if you figured it out? The grasslands are like one big family. Does that mean he, Yinan, isn't a subject of our Great Tang?"

Dou Mingzhong immediately fawned over and echoed him.

"Your Highness is wise! That barbarian really didn't dare to utter a single word. The various tribes entrusted the grasslands to the Xueyantuo tribe for protection. With our Great Tang backing us up, even if that barbarian had a hundred times the courage, he wouldn't dare to plunder them."

"Even though he's holding a hot coal in his hands, he insists on treating it like a precious treasure entrusted to him by a friend, hahaha."

Everyone laughed.

However, the leaders of the various Tiele tribes standing behind Gao Yang were somewhat unclear about what this meant.

Seeing this, Wei Shuyu looked at them and smiled faintly.

"After this year, when spring returns next year, His Highness plans to implement a policy of free grazing on the grasslands. At that time, you will be able to drive your own cattle and sheep into the Xueyantuo tribe's pastures to graze..."

"What?!" Mo Tu Luo and the others exclaimed in surprise.

Immediately afterwards, as if realizing something, they all gasped sharply.

I thought of that sentence that Gao Yang had mentioned many times before.

"The grasslands are like one big family."

Facing the gazes of the crowd, Gao Yang wore an unreadable smile, his eyes fixed on the direction of the Xueyantuo tribe, full of mockery.

Presumably, the Xueyantuo will soon receive news that the Northwest Salt Road has been cut off.

"On one hand, we are winning over the Tiele tribes and using them as pawns; on the other hand, we are using force to coerce the Xueyantuo tribe into obediently serving as Tang subjects. Now we are cutting off the salt route in the northwest... Hmm, when did I teach her all this?"

Chang'an, Xiande Hall.

November in Chang'an was already noticeably chilly, and the people began to add layers of clothing. However, inside Li Chengqian's Xiande Hall, it remained warm and spring-like.

Not far away, several princesses and concubines were playing mahjong or chatting about interesting things in Chang'an.

Li Chengqian looked at the letter from Gaoyang in his hand and took a breath.

However, I was somewhat taken aback by this younger sister's methods.

Prince Li Ke of Han did not go to sea with the fleet this year, and he couldn't help but chuckle when he saw his elder brother's reaction.

"Your Majesty never taught me how to command a fleet, but who can blame me when Your Majesty is so diligent and eager to learn, and has such a decisive and efficient nature? After being by your side for a long time, haven't I learned it all?"

Li Zhi curled his lip: "Him? Diligent? Third Brother, he hasn't approved a single memorial these past few days; I've been the one approving them all!"

Li Chengqian sneered: "Then why don't you mention that a few days ago you went to Taiyuan to play with that Murong Yu, and you almost got caught by Wu Zetian? It was I who had the Embroidered Uniform Guard cover for you!"

Li Zhi opened his mouth, but then sullenly fell silent.

Li Chengqian shook his head before continuing to read the letter in his hand.

"If I am not mistaken, the Xueyantuo will be in great turmoil by this time next year at the latest."

While Li Chengqian was chatting with his brothers about these things...

Baikal County, Princess Gaoyang's Residence.

Gao Yang solemnly wrote a line on the blackboard on one side of the study.

"Win some over, neglect others, and force the rest to rebel!"