A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 685 The wings are hard
In the political hall.

The two masters and disciples, Wu Huaiyu and Li Jing, struck and punched Hou Junji so hard that he was stunned.

After all, he is still the prime minister, so he must save some dignity, how can this be the case?

I was beaten so hard by these two that my teeth were knocked out, and now I still get slapped in the face like this.

Hou Junji's rough face couldn't help but turn red, purple and white, white and green, green and gray. His hands were already clenched into fists in his sleeves, and he wanted to rush up and beat these two shameless guys. The brain bursts.

Enduring it again and again, restraining it again and again,
"Could it be that Li Pushe and Master Wu thought that you were the only ones in the world who knew how to fight, and you were the only ones who knew how to fight against the Turks?"

Wu Huaiyu laughed and said, "Ashina She'er doesn't need to fight at all. You have learned the art of war from You Pushe for several years. Isn't it even the first step to attack the enemy, then the enemy, then the enemy, and then the city?" You’ve learned it, but haven’t you understood it?”

"Then what have you learned in the past few years? How about practicing archery?"

When he mentioned arrows, Hou Junji became even more angry. Although he was extremely brave, he could not practice archery all his life, especially when riding on horseback. He could not shoot five out of ten arrows. When he was young, he was impatient and simply did not learn it. I only practice riding, charging, and horseback riding, but I think who can stop me if I put on armor and charge forward with a gun?

But I didn't expect that my lack of archery skills would be a stain that would linger throughout my life, and everyone would laugh at me.

I want to practice hard again, but I am already in my 30s and it is difficult to improve even if I want to practice again.

Hou Junji was ridiculed so much that he almost had a brain hemorrhage and couldn't speak clearly.

Wen Yanbo has always been opposed to the use of troops. He took advantage of Hou Junji and said, "Xianggong Wu said that there is no need to send troops. Is there any good plan?"

Regarding the Western Regions, the Western Turks, Si Yehu Khan, and Ashina Sheer, Wu Huaiyu and Li Shimin had been discussing privately for a long time.

What is not allowed to be played solo is actually superficial.

Because Li Shimin often summoned his ministers to give secret reports alone, there was even a secret report system. Some of the emperor's close ministers, whether civil or military, central or local, were granted the privilege of direct secret reports by the emperor.
These memorials were presented directly to the saints without going through the court, and were opened by the saints themselves.

This stuff is so powerful that even the prime minister doesn’t know its content.

As for formal memorials, they usually go through layers of processes and are made public.

The secret report was originally intended to prevent the subordinates from deceiving the emperor, so that some confidants could secretly monitor the place and collect information for the emperor.

Good fighters have no illustrious feats.

Sun Tzu said that it is very good to go to the army to make plans.
Wu Huaiyu told the prime ministers that he had analyzed and suggested to the emperor that he could drive away tigers and devour wolves without sending troops personally.

Just like the battle to capture Jieli and destroy the Eastern Turks, in fact, although the Tang Dynasty sent six troops with more than [-] troops, the real key to victory was actually outside the battlefield. It was the right time, place and people, and the Yi man who sent envoys in the early stage to persuade Xue Yantuo. , led [-] troops and moved from the Western Regions to Mobei.

Then the Tiele tribes such as Huihe, who supported Xue Yantuo and the Bodhisattva, united,
He supported Xue Yantuo to establish a khanate, named Yi Nan as a khan, and allowed them to fight against the Turks. However, there were severe frost and snow disasters in Mobei for many years, and many grassland livestock froze to death, and there was famine.

The Tang Dynasty also incited Tuli, Yu Sheshe and other powerful Turkic nobles to confront Jieli.
A multi-pronged approach,

In the end, the Eastern Turks were first severely wounded by Xue Yantuo's attack, and then fell apart due to internal strife. The Tang army finally took advantage of the situation and launched a fierce raid, finishing the attack and achieving great success.

The entire battle to destroy the Turks, in fact, the many efforts before the war were the most critical, so the battle of the East Turks seemed to be very easy. A few years ago, they defeated the Tang army again and again, went straight into the heart of the interior, and even attacked the Turks under Chang'an City. He suddenly became vulnerable.

Hou Junji felt that the Tang Dynasty was very strong and that the Turks were in decline. Now that there was an opportunity, he also wanted to seize the opportunity to lead the army and go to the Western Regions to build up social and military achievements.

But Wu Huaiyu said that there was no need for Tang Dynasty to send troops.

Not only did he not send troops to attack Ashina Sheer, but he also recognized his self-proclaimed Dubu Khan, and even built an Anbei Protectorate in Mobei, named Sheer the Anbei Protectorate, and granted him the title of King Fengyi. .

He sent envoys to reward She'er with titles and drums, and encouraged him to fight back to Mobei. He also promised that after he captured Mobei, the entire Mobei would be set up as an Anbei Protectorate and handed over to him to rule and govern himself.

Let She'er lead his more than [-] troops and take advantage of the new victory to compete for hegemony with Xue Yantuo, who is now rising in Mobei.

Two tigers fought and one of them was injured.
No matter who is injured, it is a good thing for the court.

As for the Western Regions, the Anxi Grand Protectorate was established, and Mohe, who had once worshiped the emperor as the leader, was canonized as King Shunyi and made the Anxi Grand Protector.

Support this great nobleman of Western Turks who is very prestigious in Western Turks, gather people and horses, and fight with the cousins ​​of Si Yehu Khan.
Mobei, Western Region,
The war started at the same time, but the Tang Dynasty did not need to send a single soldier. Just two sets of drum seals and two canonization edicts were enough to stir up the situation.

This plan was already discussed between Wu Huaiyu and the emperor.

But we haven’t discussed it yet at the Political Hall.
Today it happened that Wu Huaiyu proposed it and then persuaded everyone to pass it.

"Qingyang is truly a military conspirator and a superior policy, and I fully support it," Li Jing was the first to express his support.
Wen Yanbo also followed suit. He did not do so from a military perspective, but simply believed that the Tang Dynasty should not interfere too much in the distant Western Regions and Mobei. It was better to take care of the affairs of the Central Plains first, rest in peace and restore people's livelihood. .

Expeditions thousands of miles away, sacrifices and bloodshed, are completely unworthy and unnecessary.What's more, war requires money, food, soldiers, horses, and civilians, and the court doesn't have the reserves now.

"Xianggong Wu's method is indeed good, and I support it. There is really no need to send troops thousands of miles away to the Western Regions and Mobei. It is better to take a break from the war first." Wei Zheng also supported it.

Hou Junji was dissatisfied.

"Xue Yantuo was supported by the imperial court, and Yi Nan was also a khan named by the imperial court. They also made great contributions to the Tang Dynasty in conquering the Turks.
Xue Yantuo in Mobei is a loyal vassal of our Tang Dynasty. Now that the remnants of the Eastern Turks have not been wiped out, how can they not distinguish between ourselves and the enemy?

Instead, they wanted to confer the title of Khan to the Remnant Society of Eastern Turks, and promised to give him Mobei, and also asked him to go east to conquer Mobei. Isn't this nonsense?
What about the court's credibility and morality?

In this case, wouldn't it mean that Xue Yantuo would be forced from a loyal vassal to an enemy?
Besides, although Ashina Sheer deceitfully defeated Si Yehu Khan and obtained more than [-] troops, he was beaten by Xue Yantuo from Mobei and demoted to Gaochang. Now how can he defeat Xue Yantuo?

What can the court gain from such repetition?
In the end, he just added a powerful enemy from Mobei for nothing. Wu Huaiyu was wronging the country and the king. Why do you still believe his lies?

What's the best policy?This is simply a bad idea. The imperial court should send troops to wipe out the remaining East Turkic communities that have not yet recovered.
Although the Western Region is far away, we can unite with Xue Yantuo Yinan of Mobei and Si Yehu Khan of the Western Region to send troops to jointly kill Sheer.

In this way, Xue Yantuo of Mobei will definitely be more loyal to the Tang Dynasty, and if the Tang Dynasty helps Si Yehu to destroy Sheer, the Western Turks will also be grateful to the Tang Dynasty.
In this way, Mobei and the Western Regions will be more loyal to the Tang Dynasty, both sides will be stable, and the border will no longer have worries. "

Hou Junji's words were impassioned.

But among the other eight prime ministers present, except for Zhang Liang, who was still thinking carefully, the other prime ministers didn't take it seriously at all.

Who can be prime minister, whether it is Fang Xuanling or Xiao Yu, or Li Jing, Wei Zheng, Wen Yanbo, or Dai Zhou or Wu Huaiyu, which one is easier.

Hou Junji said that Xue Yantuo was a loyal vassal of the Tang Dynasty, but no one believed this. It was true that Xue Yantuo was instigated by the Tang Dynasty to move eastward to Mobei, and it was true that Yi Nan was a khan canonized by the Tang Dynasty, but Yi Nan and Tiele People are not really that loyal and honest.

Yi Nan had already proposed to the Tang Dynasty to marry and marry a princess. After the Tang Dynasty destroyed the Turks, he had always wanted to take over the old lands of the Eastern Turks and get involved in Monan. He acted very unruly.

When the wings become stiff, they are no longer obedient.

Although there are still many forces in the Eastern Turks today, at least on the surface they have indeed destroyed the country. Shabo Luohan Sunisi, Yusheshe Ashina Momo, Tuli Khan Shibobi, and Yugushe and Ashina Sheer, they still have quite a lot of power and their strength is pretty good, but now they are in disarray.
In contrast, the Xueyantuo Khanate, which had basically dominated Mobei, had already posed a great threat to the Tang Dynasty after integrating and unifying the Tiele tribes.

At this time, we naturally have to change our thinking and start to list Xue Yantuo as our primary enemy. Even if the relationship is not bad on the surface, we have to start taking precautions and even find ways to weaken and check and balance.

As for whether Xue Yantuo will be forced to rebel, this is just a joke.

If there are checks and balances, Xue Yantuo will not dare to rebel even if he knows that you are trying to do something, and if the checks and balances cannot be maintained, then no matter how nice you are to him, he will still rebel.

Therefore, the key is to maintain the absolute advantage over him and weaken his strength. This is the fundamental way to control him from committing crimes, not how many rewards or how friendly he is.

If according to Hou Junji's prediction, if the Tang Dynasty personally sends troops to the Western Regions to defeat She'er, which has more than [-] soldiers, the Tang Dynasty will definitely suffer a lot of damage, and even sending troops will cost a lot of money, food and equipment.

Even if Xue Yantuo and Si Yehu send troops to cooperate, the Tang Dynasty will still have to pay a heavy price, and such an expedition of four to five thousand miles may not be easy to fight.
Don't forget, Yu She set Mo Mo, but She'er's eldest brother. The imperial court's expedition to She'er may also cause concern to Mo Mo or Sunisu and other East Turkic forces that still retain considerable strength, and may even Push them in the opposite direction.

Outside Yumen Pass, it has never been controlled by the Tang Dynasty. It is a place that has not been touched for a long time. It is too early for troops to leave Yumen at this stage.

"Hou Junji, please have some brains. You have also become the prime minister of the political affairs hall. How can you do things without using your brains? You even joined forces with Xue Yantuo of Mobei and Siyehu Khan of the Western Regions to strangle Ashina Sheer. Humph, it's useless. Remedy, idiot.”

Among the prime ministers, only Wu Huaiyu dared to scold Hou Junji like this.

Li Jing also dared, but he disdained it.

"you!"

Hou Junji was furious,
However, Wu Huaiyu's proposal was supported by the other seven prime ministers except Hou Junji. None of the prime ministers supported sending troops to the Western Regions at this time, and everyone basically saw that Xue Yantuo, who dominated Mobei, had become a hidden danger. In Mobei, when two tigers fight, one of them will always be injured.
Hou Junji wanted to unite his troops in the western expedition.
That's just a stick, nothing more.

Of course, there are still many people in the imperial court who want to conquer the West, but mainly they are the generals, those boring generals who sit in the four palaces of the Twelve Guards in Chang'an and drink tea.
Generals are not afraid of fighting, but they are afraid of not fighting and not having the chance to make contributions. Drinking tea in the yamen does not reflect their value, and it is even harder for them to be promoted.

But prime ministers think about things from different perspectives.

Hou Junji is the prime minister, but he still thinks about things like the generals.

They can only end up with no support.

"Then this matter has been agreed upon, and I will record the results and submit them to Your Majesty." Huaiyu said.

"I don't agree." Hou Junji reserved his opinion.

But Wu Huaiyu ignored him.

(End of this chapter)