People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1501: The Crown Prince's Guardian, Leaving Beijing in February

"Your Majesty, I, the Right Guard General Peng Wangxuan, come to see you. May your Majesty live a long and healthy life."

Li Xuan saluted meticulously, then knelt heavily on the ground with his forehead touching the ground and a sad look in his eyes.

"Stand up." The emperor's voice came calmly from behind the curtain.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Li Xuan stood up seriously, and the sadness in his eyes slowly faded away.

He raised his eyes, but the heavy curtains completely blocked his vision.

"Twenty-Seventh Brother, it has been almost nine years since you entered the officialdom." came the emperor's voice full of nostalgia.

"Yes!" Li Xuan bowed and said seriously, "I have been promoted by Your Majesty since the second year of Shangyuan. It has been eight years, seven months and nineteen days. I have been promoted from Imperial Pharmacist to General of the Right Guard. I have been favored by Your Majesty all the way. Now my family is harmonious and my career is successful. I am infinitely grateful for Your Majesty's kindness and am willing to repay it with my life."

"I have never doubted your loyalty." The emperor couldn't help but smile and said, "Over the years, the memorials you sent back have almost piled up into a mountain."

"I am selfless to Your Majesty." Li Xuan bowed solemnly again.

"Hmm!" The emperor nodded gently, his face full of satisfaction.

What kind of person Li Xuan is can be fully seen from the memorials he sent back over the years.

Even many political methods can be used to educate the prince.

It’s not that these methods are very powerful, but they are particularly suitable for the prince to learn.

As for other things, they cannot be learned through study.

It takes time to accumulate and hone skills.

At least in this respect, Li Xuan was worthy of the emperor's trust over the years, which made the emperor feel relieved.

……

"Let's talk about the things happening in the Western Regions." Li Zhi turned sideways, looked at Li Xuan, and asked, "Are you sure that the Western Regions will be pacified?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty." Li Xuan bowed, and then said seriously: "If it was just the Western Turks, even if I didn't need to mobilize troops next year, the Duke of Pengcheng would be able to pacify them. But behind the Western Turks are the Western Regions and the Arabs. Especially the Arabs, it will take years of preparation."

Li Zhi nodded. If it weren't for the Arabs' military action, Liu Shenli would have pacified the Western Turks last year.

Li Xuan bowed slightly, a hint of gloom flashed in the depths of his eyes, but disappeared in an instant.

"Tell me more specifically. Don't always talk about five years of preparation. There must be steps for preparation." Li Zhi became serious, which was rare for him.

"Yes!" Li Xuan bowed again, pondered for a moment, and then said carefully: "The only difficulty with the Western Turkic issue is that the Western Region is too far away. It takes a long time to transport food and weapons from Shasu Road. There are also a large number of sand bandits lurking there. Even if the army is on the march, they will disturb it."

"It's too slow for the army to cross the desert. It would be more stable if we take a logistic route." Li Zhi couldn't help feeling a little annoyed.

There are too many sand bandits in the thousands of miles of desert west of Dunhuang.

Over the years, the Tang Dynasty has carried out cleanup operations more than once, but every time one batch was killed, another batch would emerge.

People were sent to investigate, but they found that the sand bandits were vaguely related to the governor of Dunhuang and the Longyou family.

Even Li Jingye was involved that year.

Due to various circumstances, although the distance from Luosi is much farther than walking through the desert, the consumption is much smaller.

"Your Majesty, it is not appropriate to go all the way." Li Xuan looked up at the emperor and said, "It is difficult for ordinary people to adapt to the plateau climate, unless the military equipment is transported to Changzhou, Changzhou to Fanzhou, and Fanzhou to the Western Regions. Those who can adapt will stay, and those who cannot will go back. As for the rest, they will be replaced by local soldiers and advance in order."

"Is this the same strategy you used to conquer Tubo back then?" Li Zhi nodded slowly.

"Yes." Li Xuan took a deep breath and said seriously: "There are deserts in Tubo. Although Changzhou and Fanzhou are stable, there are also plateau miasma. Not everyone can adapt to it."

"Yes!" Li Zhi nodded and said, "You can do this. Go ahead."

"Yes!" Li Xuan restrained his expression and continued, "To fight against the Arabs, we must first completely pacify the Western Turks. We can move the Western Turkic nobles to Chang'an, Luoyang, or even Yangzhou, leaving the local power vacant, and then open clan schools to govern the local area.

The reason why the Turks continue to be a scourge to the Tang Dynasty is that there are too few literate people among them. "

"Educate people to learn to read." Li Zhi pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "It won't do much good, will it?"

"If one person is educated, everyone will depend on him. If everyone is educated, they will fight among themselves. Now the Turks are no longer a threat to the Tang Dynasty." Li Xuan completely stated his strategy in one sentence.

"Not bad." The emperor's eyes lit up and he raised his hand slightly: "You continue."

"Yes!" Li Xuan looked solemn and continued, "With two to three years, we can make the Turks submit, and then work together to move westward, step by step, to completely drive the tentacles of the Arabs out of the land of Western Turks, and then there will be a decisive battle."

The emperor bowed his head and pondered, then nodded in thought.

Li Xuan continued: "After that, food and military equipment will be transported from Shasu Road and Luoshui Road, and soldiers will be dispatched from Western Turkestan to make up for it.

As long as the strategy is correct, then in a major war, we can completely defeat the Arabs and drive them out. This will happen in four or five years."

"Four or five years later." The emperor raised his head, looked at Li Xuan, and asked, "Four or five years later, you should be transferred back to the center. In your opinion, who would be the best person to take over?"

"I don't know." Li Xuan bowed slightly and said cautiously, "Four or five years from now, the situation will be different. No one knows who can be used and who cannot be used."

Four or five years is too long.

It was hard to predict who would live and who would die, who would be dismissed by the emperor, and who would suddenly be promoted. "There must be a range," the emperor said impatiently.

Li Xuan bowed slightly, and then said: "Four or five years later, if we defeat the Arabs, all that will be left is for Persia to restore its independence, and then mobilize the resistance of Persia and other nearby Western Regions countries to fight against the Arabs.

In this case, the one who can be used must be someone who is good at forming alliances, so in my opinion, this person is either the prime minister or the chief officer of the Grand Military Governor's Office led by the prince."

"Prime Minister?" The emperor somewhat understood what Li Xuan meant.

"That's right. He must be the actual prime minister, even if he is only the third rank of the Secretariat. Otherwise, in order to be transferred back to the center, he might directly start a war, causing unrest in the Western Regions, and finally just leave." Li Xuan shook his head slightly. Many things could be foreseen.

"Hmm!" The emperor restrained his expression and said, "You have many strategies. How about this? In February next year, you will leave the capital and rush back to Fanzhou. After a few months of preparation, you will immediately head to the Western Regions. I want you to completely stabilize Anxi this year."

"Yes!" Li Xuan bowed earnestly, his eyes flickering. Then, as if he remembered something, he asked, "What about Prime Minister Liu?"

"The Duke of Pengcheng remains in the Western Regions." The emperor gave the answer calmly. He had no intention of transferring him back.

"Yes!" Li Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

The emperor shook his head and said, "When you arrive in the Western Regions, Liu Xiang will be the chief military commander of Anxi Road, and you will be the chief military commander of Xiyu Road. You will each do your own thing."

Li Xuan was surprised and looked at the emperor in disbelief. Liu Shenli was the prime minister.

"Just follow my orders." Li Zhi waved his hand indifferently.

"Yes!" Li Xuan bowed seriously. If this were the case, his troops would be able to move out from the Luoshui Road without being held hostage by the four towns of Anxi.

"I will leave the affairs of the Western Regions to you. The rest is up to you, Crown Prince." Li Zhi sighed and said, "Sanlang is too kind. I am worried that after he ascends the throne, the court officials will be unstable. Even with the Queen, there is no guarantee."

Li Xuan looked up in surprise.

The emperor said to himself: "So, if something happens, I will leave a will to appoint you as the Prince's Guardian. With the position of the Prince's Guardian, you will ensure the safety of the Prince..."

The emperor was talking about the crown prince. The crown prince in the will was not Li Xian’s crown prince, but the crown prince of the emperor’s grandson.

“Your Majesty!” Li Xuan knelt down with a plop. He looked at the emperor and said in disbelief, “Your Majesty, I…I…Your Majesty will surely live forever.”

"Haha!" The emperor couldn't help laughing, and waved his hand, saying, "There is no immortal person in the world."

"Your Majesty, I am willing to stay in the capital and do everything I can to help Your Majesty prolong his life." Li Xuan became flustered and looked at a loss.

The emperor nodded with some satisfaction. The most commendable thing about Li Xuan over the years was his loyalty.

"Don't worry about me." The emperor raised his head and said calmly, "If I can get through this test tonight, I still have several months to go. Maybe I can return to Chang'an and ascend to heaven under the watchful eyes of my father and grandfather."

"Your Majesty." Li Xuan kowtowed solemnly, with a hint of sob in his voice.

"Don't act like a child." Li Zhi waved his hands and said, "I know my life and death. The only thing I'm worried about is Sanlang. His methods are even more unfamiliar than I expected. Even with the Queen, Prime Minister Pei, and Su Qing in the court, it is still difficult to stabilize the world. If there is chaos, it will be your turn to quell it in four or five years."

Li Xuan somewhat understood the emperor's thoughts.

In his eyes, Li Xian’s enemies were never Empress Wu and Pei Yan, but the aristocratic families of the world.

Although the power of the world's aristocratic families is usually invisible, it is actually hidden in every corner of the world.

Even whoever they support can ascend the throne and become emperor.

Of course, he is a member of the royal family.

And it has to be internally consistent, which is a very difficult thing.

Li Xuan had to admit that the emperor's views were indeed profound enough, but unfortunately, they were too profound.

He bowed his head solemnly and said, "Your Majesty, although the prince is young, four or five years will be enough for him to grow up. As the old saying goes...If you don't change your mind after three years, I believe that as long as you continue your Majesty's path, the prince will definitely achieve something. Please take back your order."

The emperor asked him to quell the rebellion in four or five years, and he really believed it.

Who knows if he will be the one to deal with the mess in four or five years.

The emperor shook his head calmly and said, "To be honest with you, Pei Yan has never been the minister I wanted to assist in the administration. Unfortunately, the left prime minister is old, Xue prime minister is in poor health, the Duke of Pengcheng is related to him by marriage, and Wang prime minister is his uncle. Under these circumstances, it is very difficult. Under these circumstances, Sanlang can only be stable for four to five years, which is the limit."

"The Queen is here." Li Xuan kowtowed again and said in a deep voice, "I believe that with the Queen here, nothing will go wrong."

The emperor sighed and shook his head, saying, "It is precisely because of the Queen that I believe everything can last for four or five years. So after four or five years, I can only rely on you."

"I am willing to obey the orders of the Queen Mother." Li Xuan kowtowed solemnly again.

"Haha!" The emperor smiled, nodded rarely, and said, "It's up to you, but today, I will give you the title of Crown Prince's Guardian."

Li Zhi waved his hand to the side, and a rosewood box was brought over by Wang Fulai and placed on the ground in front of Li Xuan.

Li Zhi said calmly, "This thing contains my will for you. When you return to Beijing in four or five years, open it and do everything according to the will."

"Yes!" Li Xuan kowtowed again, but when the corner of his eye fell on the box, he immediately understood that Li Zhi did not give this will to just one person, but also to him and Su Liangsi. The emperor hoped that they could help Li Xian stabilize the country in the future.

For some unknown reason, the figure of the unlucky Dou Ying appeared in Li Xuan's mind.

(End of this chapter)