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

Chapter 1775: The 1-strong Turkic army quietly arrived at Yinshan (2/)

Long Street in Luoyang in late August.

The flags are fluttering and the long spears are like a forest.

Thousands of guards and ceremonial teams came out of the Suzaku Gate, passed along the long street, and went straight out of the Dingding Gate.

Soon, three thousand black-armored cavalrymen came as guards from outside the city, and more cavalrymen were running back and forth on the distant mountain roads, keeping on guard.

Inside Dingding Gate, a Turkic man with a full beard watched the emperor's carriage heading toward Songshan Mountain, and immediately turned around and walked toward the West Market.

Soon, he returned to a courtyard in the northwest corner of West City.

A dozen Turks were secretly patrolling the streets, and anyone who tried to approach would be quickly driven away.

In the courtyard, a secret letter had been written, and then three Turks came in from outside.

In front of the three people, the bearded Turkic man tore the secret letter into three parts vertically and put them into three different envelopes respectively.

Without saying anything, he handed it to the three people.

After the three of them bowed, they immediately walked quickly towards the Houzai Gate in the south.

……

On the mountainside of Songshan, Li Xuan, who had just offered sacrifices to the mountain god of Songshan, was sitting under the lush pines, drinking tea with Sima Chengzhen, who was dressed in a purple Taoist robe.

A Qianniu Guard quickly handed over the secret letter. Li Xuan took it, took a look at it, and then handed it back. The Qianniu Guard left immediately.

Sima Chengzhen, who was sitting next to him, waved his whisk and looked at Li Xuan and said, "Your Majesty, is there any news?"

"I guess so. The Turks are falling into my trap step by step." Li Xuan raised his head and looked towards the northwest, and said softly: "The Turks have been quietly sifting gold sands north of Yinshan since last autumn, but the quantity has always been small. It was not until this summer that the quantity suddenly increased, which really attracted the attention of the two brothers Ashina Gudulu and Ashina Mochu. But this is not enough. If we want them to lead troops to station in Yinshan, the response of the Tang Dynasty is extremely important."

"So your majesty asked the ministers to inspect all the provinces in the country, so that the Turks would think that the Tang Dynasty's attention was on all the provinces and had no time to pay attention to the grasslands, so they would be more concerned about the gold mines in Yinshan." Sima Chengzhen suddenly frowned and asked in confusion: "But this is not enough. It is enough for them to secretly dig for gold mines. Why would they lead a large army to station in Yinshan?"

"But what if the gold mine is suddenly cut off?" Li Xuan suddenly looked up and looked at Sima Chengzhen with a hint of amusement.

"If they keep giving people some benefits, and suddenly the benefits stop, then they will naturally want to find out what's going on." Sima Chengzhen thought about the connection here, then shook his head and said, "Your Majesty is in charge of the world, and you have figured out people's hearts."

Li Xuan lowered his head slightly and turned sideways. Shangguan Wan'er, who was dressed in a blue Taoist robe, came forward and poured a cup of tea for Li Xuan and Sima Chengzhen. Li Xuan then spoke, "It's not difficult to plot against the Turks. After all, Yinshan is not far from Chang'an. But it's difficult to plot against the Silla people."

"Your Majesty, are you still going to follow the example of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Gaozong and prepare to exterminate Silla?" Sima Chengzhen looked at Li Xuan with a serious look in his eyes.

"This is difficult." Li Xuan leaned back slightly, then closed his eyes and sighed, "I want to surpass Emperor Taizong and Emperor Gaozong to create a greater prosperity. Destroying Silla is the most direct way, but I know it is difficult. If we are not careful, we will end up like Emperor Yang of Sui."

"Your Majesty is wise." Sima Chengzhen looked at Li Xuan, his eyes still solemn.

Li Xuan's decision will determine whether the Tang Dynasty will have peace in the next twenty years or fall into endless war.

Everything depends on Li Xuan's thoughts.

"But war still has to start." Li Xuan picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said, "If there is no war, how can the soldiers gain merits and how can the noble families gain benefits? If the merits of the soldiers and the benefits of the noble families are not obtained from the outside, then they will seek them from within."

Sima Chengzhen's expression changed involuntarily. He put down the teacup in his hand, waved his whisk at Li Xuan and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

"But the key is to win the war." Li Xuan raised his head, looked towards Yinshan Mountain, and said, "The Turks can put spies in Luoyang City to monitor the movements of me and the ministers at any time. I can use this to plot against the Turks, but the Silla people can't. No matter what happens in Chang'an, it is difficult for the Silla people to know in time."

"What are your plans, Your Majesty?" Sima Chengzhen looked at Li Xuan carefully.

"Take your time." Li Xuan shook his head and said, "I and all the officials in the court will gradually get to know the Silla monarch and ministers, as well as their generals. Only by knowing ourselves and the enemy, we will not be easily defeated in future wars."

Sima Chengzhen suddenly felt solemn.

Know yourself and the enemy, a hundred battles will never end.

The most important reason was that the Tang Dynasty had always fought against the three kingdoms on the peninsula and was unfamiliar with them.

Whether it was Goguryeo or Silla, the Tang Dynasty was not familiar enough with them. When it came to Goguryeo, all it did was to rely on its powerful military force to push forward.

There was never any intention to outsmart them.

It seemed that when they arrived on the peninsula, the Tang Dynasty's emperor, officials, and soldiers had lost their minds and only wanted to attack and kill by force, so that in the end they suffered heavy losses and gained nothing.

Those who were unlucky were like Yang Guang, who died and his country was destroyed, and became the laughing stock of the world. Those who were luckier, like Emperor Taizong, conquered the capital of Goguryeo and forced it to surrender.

There was also Emperor Gojong, who finally conquered Goguryeo and Baekje, but was eventually taken advantage of by Silla.

Now that Li Xuan began to plot against Silla bit by bit, Sima Chengzhen immediately realized that the people of Silla were in trouble.

"Let's deal with Silla's affairs step by step, but Master." Li Xuan looked up at Sima Chengzhen and said, "I came to see Master today because I hope that Master can go back to Chang'an with me. The Buddhist masters Shenxiu and Huineng have caused quite a stir in Chang'an. After I return to Chang'an, I will confer Master Tongzong Zhengsi Qing and Yinqing Guanglu Dafu on him, which will also make Chang'an calmer."

Sima Chengzhen looked at Li Xuan calmly and said, "May I ask your Majesty, if I do not follow your Majesty back to Chang'an, what means will your Majesty use to deal with the two masters Shenxiu and Huineng?"

"If the real person doesn't go?" Li Xuan raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "If the real person doesn't go, then I can only let the two monks go to the north to pray for the soldiers who died in the battle. After they return to Chang'an, I will reward Master Huineng and officially appoint him as the Sixth Patriarch of Buddhism. I will build a Buddhist temple in Chang'an, and then I will order Master Shenxiu to tour the country."

Sima Chengzhen's eyes narrowed slightly, and then he whispered, "Your Majesty, Master Shenxiu will not fall for this method of provocation."

"Shenxiu has never been alone." Li Xuan shook his head gently and said, "In order to spread Buddhism, the Fifth Patriarch Hongren had Shenxiu and Master Huineng pretend to have a falling out, so that one could preach in the north and the other in the south.

Although the two masters have reconciled now, their disciples and the monks who followed them will inevitably be dissatisfied. If someone makes a fuss..."

"Your Majesty added fuel to the fire, causing both of them to fall from a great height at the same time. It would be difficult for ordinary people to see through your Majesty's methods." Sima Chengzhen couldn't help but sigh.

Li Xuan shook his head calmly and said, "Actually, I have no ill feelings towards Buddhism. As long as they don't interfere in government affairs, as long as they control their desires and are not greedy, then how they develop has nothing to do with me. But many times, they can't control themselves." Sima Chengzhen fell silent. Whether it's Buddhism or Taoism, as long as they exist in the world, they will inevitably deal with people.

The more people you come into contact with, the more you will be influenced by the secular world.

Taoism is fine, as they practice self-cultivation, even the Shangqing Sect and the Louguan Dao will restrain themselves when they reach a certain stage of development. But Buddhism is different. Even if Buddhism is controlled, they still want to preach to the world.

The so-called people are nothing more than the emperor's property. What Buddhism wants to do is to turn the emperor's property into their private property.

This was destined from the moment Buddhism was born. Isn't that the case with the Buddha himself?

"How about you follow me to Chang'an?" Li Xuan raised his head and looked at Sima Chengzhen.

Sima Chengzhen sighed and said, "In this case, I am sorry to bother Your Majesty."

"That's fine. Daming Palace is huge, so you can just live there." Li Xuan said, then stood up and said, "On September 6, the ministers who have been touring the country will return to Luoyang. They will then return to Chang'an with me. At that time, I will send Prince Zheng to take you to the palace."

"In that case, I am grateful for your kindness." Sima Chengzhen stood up and bowed to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan waved his hand, turned and walked outside.

Sima Chengzhen walked out immediately and sent Li Xuan all the way to the outside of the Zhongyue Mountain Temple.

Sima Chengzhen couldn't help but sigh when he saw the emperor's entourage completely disappear from his sight.

Li Xuan, the new emperor of the Tang Dynasty, looked very much like Emperor Gaozong, but he was stronger than Emperor Gaozong. If you say he was like Emperor Taizong, he was actually stronger than Emperor Taizong. In fact, he was more like Emperor Guangwu of Han.

It was a long time before Sima Chengzhen returned to the Taoist temple.

……

In the Qianyang Palace, Li Xuan looked at the map of the north and south of Yinshan Mountain. After a long time, he turned sideways and looked at the corner of the palace: "Let's get started."

"Yes!" Li Mo walked out from the shadows, bowed slightly, then turned around and left quickly.

Immediately, countless secret letters flew out from the Ziwei Palace, flew towards Chang'an, and fell into the hands of Li Bi who was guarding Chang'an. Soon, the Military Affairs Department's Zhifang Division quickly took action.

Three days later, at the northern foot of Yinshan Mountain.

The Turks who were panning for sand in the river suddenly heard a loud, earth-shattering noise.

Then, the river water that had been flowing suddenly stopped.

By the time the Turks found the place where the loud noise came from in the mountains, they were shocked to see that a pile of huge rocks had already rolled down from the mountain, completely blocking the flow of water in the cave.

There were hundreds of huge rocks of all sizes, densely packed together, almost like a small mountain, directly pressing down on the exit of the cave.

The water flow stopped, and the golden sand also stopped.

However, around the boulder, the Turks found more gold ore because the boulder suddenly fell and smashed out.

The news quickly spread to the northern part of the desert and fell into the hands of Ashina Gudulu and Ashina Mochuo.

Ashina Gudulu sat in the tent, looking at Ashina Mochuo who came over, and said: "The gold sand is broken. If we want to continue to dig the gold sand, we have to move the huge rocks away. But moving the huge rocks away will require at least thousands of people and will take a lot of time. In this way, it will not be possible to avoid attracting the attention of the Tang people."

Ashina Mochu looked at Ashina Gudulu and said, "Brother, last year, some Tang people had already noticed something was wrong, but they didn't know what happened. They were just curious and didn't intervene too much. We were able to dig quietly for half a year this year because their emperor focused on farming. If the Tang treasury is full next year..."

"Their emperor." Ashina Gudulu looked at his brother and said solemnly, "We have all seen that man with our own eyes. He is good at conquering and killing. He is even not inferior to Li Jing, Su Dingfang, and Pei Xingjian in the past. So next year, if he leads 100,000 people to the grassland..."

"Brother, what are you going to do?" Ashina Mochuo's face became serious.

Ashina Gudulu took a deep breath and said, "Since there is gold sand in Yinshan, there must be a gold mine. What I mean is to lead the army south and seize the gold mine before the Tang Dynasty reacts. Then, in the shortest possible time, we will mine all the gold that can be mined. At the end of the year, we will send people to pay tribute to the new emperor with cattle, sheep and horses, and then call the new emperor: Heavenly Khan. Perhaps, you and I can have another ten years of peace."

Ashina Mochuo immediately began to think about it. After a long time, he nodded deeply and said, "Let's do it."

"Okay!" Ashina Gudulu breathed a sigh of relief, and then said, "Go back and mobilize the troops immediately, as well as the Han slaves in the tribe, especially the craftsmen. This time, it's time for them to show their value."

"Yes!" Ashina Mochu nodded immediately.

Watching Ashina Mochuo leave completely, Ashina Gudulu turned around and took out a secret letter from the box behind him. At the end of the secret letter was a blueprint with the technology of digging underground gold mines. By then, the owner of this secret letter would even go to Yinshan in person to help.

"A gold mine, enough gold to be mined for ten years." Ashina Gudulu clenched his fists tightly.

In fact, the best way for him is to take advantage of the closure of the gold mine and temporarily withdraw, and then start digging next year. However, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty may not give them this opportunity next year.

The Eastern and Western Turks had already surrendered, and the remaining Central Turks had become a thorn in the side.

……

In the Zhenguan Hall, Li Xuan looked at the autumn grain forecast for the various states in Hebei Province submitted by the Minister of Revenue Pei Judao, and said in disbelief, "This year's grain harvest is 30% more than last year?"

"Congratulations, Your Majesty. This year is a bumper year. Even if Your Majesty exempts various taxes, the annual revenue of the Ministry of Revenue can exceed 30% of last year." Pei Judao bowed slightly.

"That is 14 million strings of coins." Li Xuan's breathing finally couldn't help but become heavier. It was a full 3 million strings of coins.

At this moment, a hurried sound of footsteps came from outside the hall, and then Li Mo went straight into the hall and presented a secret report to Li Xuan.

The 30,000-strong Central Turkic army quietly arrived at Yinshan.

Li Xuan raised his head, looked at Li Mo and said, "Send a message to the Duke of Taiyuan to kill him."

(End of this chapter)