Tibet.

Chapter 1284 The future of the family
After Dugu Jinyang sent Changsun Nanfang away, he hurried back to the outer study. Although he did not participate in the conversation between his father and Changsun Nanfang, he sat nearby and heard everything.

Dugu Jinyang was somewhat interested in developing the west, but he was quite resistant to islands. After all, islands were too unfamiliar to him.

Arriving at his father's study, Dugu Jinyang bowed and said, "Father, my eldest grandson uncle has already left."

"Come in and sit down!"

Dugu Lie could see that his son was full of doubts.

Dugu Jinyang came in and sat down, and asked worriedly, "Didn't father say that he would consider the Western Regions? Why is he considering the islands again?"

Dugu Lie shook his head. "This is not something I can decide. It's up to the whole family to decide. But as for me, I prefer the island, especially after my eldest grandson proposed the Japanese Silla labor plan. It solved my biggest problem, the problem of the initial development of the island."

"Father, is there a flaw in the Western Region plan?"

Dugu Lie nodded, "The regent originally considered making the Western Regions the King of the Outer Pass and allowing us to establish a country, but the court firmly opposed it and insisted on implementing the county system. Now the regent has changed his mind, so we have to take a long-term view. If the Western Regions cannot establish a country and have no army of their own, and are only given a nominal title of Marquis of the Outer Pass and nominal autonomy, then what do I need this empty title for?
The land is obviously mine, but the people are subjects of the imperial court, and the taxes also go to the imperial court. I only collect a little rent from the land, and I spend a lot of real money on construction, but in the end I am just making wedding clothes for the imperial court, and I have to look at the mood of the garrison commander. What's the point of this? But I am more worried about safety."

Dugu Lie sighed deeply, "The Khazar Khanate over there was founded by the Turks, and they are said to believe in Judaism. We have to seize our land from them. If we can destroy the entire Khazar Khanate, it will be fine. But if we can't, once the Khazars counterattack, we will be exterminated. Men will be killed, and wives and daughters will be abducted. There is also the Arab Empire and the Great Qin Kingdom in the northwest. With these powerful enemies around, do you feel safe?"

Dugu Jinyang was also shaken. He didn't want his wife and daughter to be abducted and become miserable slaves.

"So father, do you think the island is feasible?"

Dugu Lie smiled and said, "I don't know if it will work, so let's take out a few hundred thousand strings of cash and give it a try. If it doesn't work, we can return the island to the court. The court will still return us 200,000 acres of land, and it will be considered a loss of more than 300,000 strings of cash. This amount of money is nothing to the Dugu family, but if it succeeds, we can really establish a country."

"Father, this is what I am most worried about. Will the Regent and the court allow us to establish a country?"

Dugu Lie smiled slightly and said, "You know that the small countries of Tocharia are called Duduzhou on the imperial court's territory, but they are small countries themselves. It will be the same for us in the future. We will also be Duduzhou on the imperial court's territory, and our descendants will also be given the title of Dudu.

But our other identity is the Overseas King, which was also conferred by the Emperor. In fact, our islands are kingdoms. The court is relatively tolerant of overseas people. As long as they submit to the court for generations, pay homage regularly, pay tribute every year, and even send their children and grandchildren to study in Chang'an, the court will not interfere with our autonomy. After all, we developed the islands ourselves, and we cannot threaten the security of the Tang mainland. This is completely different from the vassal states governing Hebei."

"What about safety?"

Dugu Jinyang worriedly asked, "How many troops can an island support?"

Dugu Lie smiled and said, "The Regent King told me that a hundred heavy-armored infantrymen can sweep across the entire Nanyang countries. This is far different from the Arabs, Turks and Khazars. What we have to deal with are actually just some pirates, and the court will also send troops to eliminate the pirates. I am not worried about safety at all."

Dugu Jinyang sighed, "But it's too far from home!"

"This is indeed the biggest problem, but everything has two sides. It is precisely because we are far away from the mainland that the court allowed us to establish a country and become a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty. Moreover, we are currently developing a steam engine. Once successfully developed, it is said that a steam-powered ship can reach Quanzhou in just ten days. Compared to the several months it takes to reach Chang'an from the west of the Aral Sea, isn't this much closer?"

Dugu Jinyang's eyes lit up. If the voyage was only ten days, then it really wasn't far.

Dugu Jinyang began to be tempted and said quickly: "Then let me take care of this matter!"

Dugu Lie nodded and said, "You can go to Quanzhou first. There is more information there. You can learn more about the situation in the Luzon Islands. Anyway, this matter cannot be rushed. The whole family must agree."

"I understand, kid!"

Dugu Jinyang was finally persuaded by his father, bowed, and excitedly left. Dugu Lie was not so excited, he thought more deeply, if the Dugu family left, how would they maintain their status in the Tang Dynasty? They were the empress's family and the prince's uncle's family!

Dugu Lie vaguely felt that Li Ye's agreement to allow the Dugu family and other Guanlong nobles to go to the Luzon Islands to establish a country was, to some extent, also to weaken the status of the Guanlong nobles in the Tang Dynasty. This was actually a disguised form of reducing the power of the vassal states.

The hot summer finally passed, and Shen Zhenzhu gave birth to a son as she wished, which made her cry with joy. Although the baby was a little underweight, he was still relatively healthy, and both mother and child were safe.

Li Ye immediately named his son Li Hua. Li Ye would certainly not let his son become an illegitimate child, so he immediately named Shen Zhenzhu a Liangyuan and took her as a concubine.

After entering August, the weather gradually became cooler in the mornings and evenings. That morning, Li Ye received a message from the Yunzhong Military Governor's Office via a flying eagle, saying that a team of Uighur envoys had passed Yunzhou and were heading towards Chang'an.

Li Ye immediately summoned all the officials in the Council of State to discuss the issue of the Uighurs.

In the round hall of the Political Affairs Hall, Li Ye said slowly, "I just received a message from the Yunzhou Governor's Office, saying that a team of Uighur envoys is heading to Chang'an, probably to negotiate the release of the trapped Uighur army."

Wei Jiansu asked, "Excuse me, Your Highness, what is the situation of the trapped Huihe army now?"

Li Ye glanced at the Privy Councilor Duan Xueshi, who coughed and said, "Your Highness, let me answer Prime Minister Wei's question!"

"Envoy Duan, please speak!"

Duan Xiushi stood up and said calmly, "According to the intelligence collected by the Privy Council, there has been no fighting between the two sides in the past two months since the other side's Khan decided to ask for help from the grassland. The other side mainly survived by picking wild vegetables and slaughtering mules and war horses, but more than 3,000 people died, all of them were wounded. Currently, the other side's army still has 55,000 people, gathered in Feihu County."

Zhang Li asked puzzledly: "How did we know about the other party's situation?"

Duan Xueshi smiled and said, "Dengli Khan also sent people to search for a way. Some of the searchers were captured by our scouts, and they explained the current situation of the Huihe army!"

"Envoy Duan, do you mean that there are other routes to Feihu Pass?"

Duan Xiushi nodded. "Going north from Feihu County, there is still a road leading to Yunzhou, but this road is very dangerous and not suitable for cavalry. Even if they find it, it will be useless."

Li Ye waved his hand, and everyone quieted down. Li Ye continued, "This time, the Uighur envoys have come. According to the rules of the grassland, they must ransom 55,000 people. In principle, I agree to ransom them. The key is the price. First, all the horses and equipment of the Uighur army must be left behind. Second, the ransom for ordinary soldiers is 200 sheep each, and the generals must double the ransom. Each captain of ten thousand men must be ransomed with 10,000 sheep. As for Dengli Khan, I want a ransom of one million sheep."

Wei Jiansu was startled, "Your Highness, isn't that too much?"

Li Ye smiled and said, "I know the number. It's not much. They defeated the Kunjian tribe and took away 15 million sheep from them. They also defeated the Jinshan Karluk tribe and got 5 million sheep as spoils. I will take half of it. They can take it out. If they are nice, I can give them 20% off. But the minimum cannot be less than 10 million sheep."

Li Ye immediately reached a consensus with the Council of Political Affairs, with Wei Jiansu responsible for the negotiations and Duan Xueshi leading a team to Hedong to take charge of the transaction.

At the same time, both parties also determined the nature of the ransom, which was spoils of war. According to convention, the imperial court's left treasury and Li Ye's inner treasury would each receive half.

The Neiku was not Li Ye’s private treasury, but a kind of national treasury. The dominant power belonged to the emperor and now to Li Ye. It was mainly used for major project expenditures.

For example, the expenses for building the Tangzhi Road and the new city of Chang'an were funded half by the Zuozangku and half by the Neiku.

After selling 10 million sheep, it will be a huge fortune.

(End of this chapter)