Tibet.

Chapter 1283: Secret Talk Between the Two Families
At night, a carriage slowly stopped in front of Dugu Mansion. Changsun Nanfang got off the carriage and said a few words to Dugu Jinyang who came to greet him. Then the two of them quickly walked into the mansion.

As a Guanlong noble who openly supported Li Ye, the Changsun family did quite well. Changsun Nanfang was conferred the title of Taiwei and Duke of Xu, and his nephew Changsun Quanxu was appointed Yin of Henan and was conferred the title of Zijin Guanglu Dafu.

Of course, it is still a little inferior to the Dugu family, and if it weren’t for the death of Grand Tutor Pei Fang last year, the Changsun family would have ranked behind the Pei family.

But compared to other families, it is still much better.

The mansion was rather dark, and there were no large lanterns installed. The Dugu family was still in mourning, so there were no decorations. A maid was leading the way with a lantern.

Changsun Nanfang was led by Dugu Jinyang to the outer study, where Dugu Lie was already waiting at the gate of the courtyard.

Dugu Lie clasped his fists and said with a smile: "I am sorry for not welcoming you from afar, I hope you won't blame me, my dear brother!"

"No! I disturbed your rest, brother."

The two men exchanged a few polite words and went into the house to talk. Dugu Jinyang followed them in. He did not participate in the conversation, but sat at the door waiting, as he had to see the guests off for his father later.

The two of them sat down as host and guest, and a maid came in and served them tea.

After the maid left, Changsun Nanfang whispered, "This morning, officials from the Ministry of Revenue came to my house to verify the number of manors. Did you know about this, brother?"

Dugu Lie chuckled, "Every household needs to verify it. The Dugu family confirmed it ten days ago, but I advise you not to hide it, or you will end up making things worse!"

"why?"

"It's very simple. The county government knows how many manors a county has better than anyone else. For example, the Changsun family has a manor in Yunyang County, but they deliberately concealed it. The Ministry of Revenue will regard it as an ownerless manor and confiscate it. You said it belongs to your Changsun family, but it's not on the list you provided. The court will not recognize it. Do you understand?"

"So you must register honestly and don't take chances."

"Yes! Disclosing your assets in public is actually a form of protection for yourself, especially for large assets like farms. Unless they are not in Guanzhong, they will be investigated by the government in Guanzhong and cannot be concealed at all."

"Before, they checked the land of the royal family, and now they check the nobles of Guanlong. Why are they so strict?"

Dugu sighed, "This is all caused by the royal family. The royal family has farms all over Guanzhong, and the number of armed farmhands adds up to more than 100,000. The number of farmhands in Jingzhao Prefecture alone exceeds 50,000. They are all wearing armor and helmets, holding spears. You can't imagine it! Chang'an City is not closing the gates now, and there are no gates. If these 50,000 troops suddenly rush into Chang'an, what will be the consequences?"

"No way!"

"No? How did Li Lin die? He was training 8,000 troops in Huxian County, preparing to attack Chang'an at night after the Regent returned. This was their plan.

Li Yu was the same. He trained 5,000 troops in Lantian County and planned to launch a mutiny. Fortunately, their attempt was discovered by the inner guards in advance. If the inner guards had acted two days later, Chang'an City would have been invaded by the chaotic army. "

"I understand. That's why the imperial court confiscated all the Guanzhong manors of the royal family!"

"Yes! Even the Regent's own two estates have been handed over to the Ministry of Revenue, and all the imperial estates have been handed over!"

Changsun Nanfang was depressed, and after a while he said, "The Changsun family has five manors in Guanzhong, covering an area of ​​about 40,000 acres. Will the court forcibly confiscate them?"

Dugu Lie shook his head and said, "Generally, we won't forcibly confiscate it, unless the total number of your farmhands exceeds 500, or you have stored a large number of weapons in the manor, which would be suspected of rebellion. In that case, it's not as simple as confiscating the manor. I believe you should understand what I mean."

"We have not violated either of these two prohibitions. We have not exceeded the minimum of 150 people, and we have not stored a large amount of weapons. All of our weapons have been handed over."

"That's fine. The Regent will not forcibly seize the property of the Changsun family. If you don't want to sell it, the court will not force you to do so. However."

"But what?" Changsun Nanfang asked nervously. Gu Dulie said calmly, "But the Changsun family has given up their future for a few manors. In a year or so, Changsun Quanxu will definitely be appointed as the general of the Twelve Guards. Don't be surprised then why the regent treats the Changsun family coldly. In fact, these five manors have given you face."

Chang Sun Nanfang was speechless. He gave up his official career for five manors. How could he settle this account?
"What about the Dugu family's Guanzhong Manor?"

Dugu Lie smiled slightly and said, "Of course I gave up. We have eight manors in Guanzhong, involving 200,000 acres of land. I chose the exchange method. The Regent promised to give me an island as big as Jingzhao Prefecture, or a piece of land in the far west, which is also about the same size as Jingzhao Prefecture."

Zhang Sun Nanfang was stunned for a moment, "Brother, I don't understand, can you explain it in detail?"

Dugu Lie smiled and said, "If I choose Hebei, I will exchange 200,000 mu of manor. If I choose Hexi Corridor or Fengzhou, the exchanged land will become 400,000 mu. If I choose Beiting or Anxi, the exchanged land will become 500,000 mu.

But if I choose west of the Pamir Mountains, I will be given a city, and the city lord will be appointed by the Dugu family for generations. If I choose west of the Aral Sea, I will be given a prefecture with an area equivalent to that of Jingzhao Prefecture. The Dugu family can be marquises for generations, and local officials will be recommended by the Dugu family and appointed by the court. "

Chang Sun Nanfang was surprised and asked, "Isn't this a vassal state?"

"Of course it's not a vassal state. The Zhou emperor was just an empty shell, but the Tang Dynasty is not an empty shell. The army also belongs to the court. I only have the local autonomy inherited from generation to generation. I am called the Marquis of Guanwai."

"I think it's still a vassal state, a vassal state without military power!"

Dugu Lie smiled bitterly, "Without military power, it is not called a vassal state."

"What's going on with the island?"

Dugu Lie sighed, "I'm confused now! In the Western Regions, you can't have your own army, you can't be called a king, but you can have an army on an island, you can be crowned as an overseas king, and you can even build your own kingdom and appoint officials. You don't have to file a record with the court. As long as you come to Chang'an every three years to meet the emperor and pay tribute to some special products every year, the court will not care. This is a real vassal state."

“The island conditions are great!”

Dugu Lie shook his head. "The court will not give such good conditions for nothing. The key is that the islands are all deserted. Although they are large in area, there are no people. We have to invest a lot of wealth in construction and recruit Han people to be islanders. It will take hundreds of years to become an island country. The main reason is that in the early stage, there are a lot of forest snakes on the island. Who can I find to cut down trees and reclaim land?"

Chang Sun Nanfang lowered his voice and said, "I have a business in Quanzhou. I heard from the manager that when Ryukyu Island was first developed, they went to Japan and Silla to recruit laborers. Each person was paid one kan of money per month, and they fought hard to get here.

The Dugu family can recruit 10,000 people, which will cost them only 300,000 strings of cash in three years. They can deal with an island and build a county town, and then recruit farmers from the Tang Dynasty. "

"I'm just afraid that most Han Chinese won't want to go!"

"That's easy. Bring all the noble slaves of the Dugu family over there, and we'll have thousands of families. Then get some young women from Japan and Silla to reproduce. It won't take a hundred years. I think a small country will emerge in ten years."

Dugu Lie was really tempted. He mainly felt that the area west of the Aral Sea was unsafe as it was threatened by Western powers such as the Arab Empire and the Qin Dynasty. But the situation was different on the islands. He could build his own army and not be afraid of pirate attacks. The key point was that the Dugu family's dream of establishing a country for more than a hundred years could be realized in his hands.

"Then what do you think of the Changsun family? You can also exchange an island, and we can be neighbors. I will establish the Dugu Kingdom, and you will establish the Changsun Kingdom. How do you think?"

How could Chang Sun Nan Fang not be tempted? When he was trying to find a solution for Du Gu Lie, his mouth was almost watering.

"We have too little land in Guanzhong, only 40,000 mu. How big an island can we exchange for?"

Dugu Lie smiled slightly, "You are confused. Your Changsun family has manors in Hedong, Central Plains, and even in Jiangnan. Adding up to 200,000 or 300,000 acres, how can you not have one?"

Chang Sun Nanfang suddenly woke up as if from a dream.

(End of this chapter)