First Minister of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 549
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Hearing Li Shimin's words, Gao Chong grinned, showing two rows of big white teeth.

Gao Junya frowned subconsciously, he felt that this kid was going to cheat again.

"Your Majesty, do you still remember the success of your father-in-law?" Gao Chong asked with a smile.

Father-in-law... Li Shimin had a meal. The eldest grandson Sheng lived in Luoyang and died five years ago in Daye of Sui Dynasty. At that time, Li Shimin was only nine years old.

The eldest grandson Wuji brother and sister were brought up by Gao Shilian, and later Gao Shilian betrothed the eldest grandson Wugou to Li Shimin. Li Shimin had never met his father-in-law.

However, Li Shimin understood Gao Chong's meaning and asked directly: "You mean to divide the Turks?"

"Exactly".

Gao Chong nodded, and said directly: "Duke Ji Sheng was able to divide and disintegrate the Turks back then, and later Duke Hongda followed suit and applied it to the Western Turks, causing the Western Turks to split.

Now we can naturally follow suit again and apply it to East Turkistan, wouldn't the timing be right now."

Changsun Sheng, also known as Ji Sheng, supported the Eastern Turkic Qimin Khan to stand on his own feet and divided the Turks into East and West Turks.

Pei Ju, courtesy name Hongda, supported Western Turkic Shekui Khan to stand on his own and turned Western Turkic upside down. Pei Ju passed away a few years ago at the age of 80.

Li Shimin nodded slightly, signaling Gao Chong to continue, because he knew that Gao Chong hadn't touched the point yet.

Gao Chong smiled slyly.

"Your Majesty, look at Zhang Wu'an's military newspaper, which states that the two khans of the Western Turks have already fought a real battle, completely disregarding the cost of casualties, causing a large number of troops to flee eastward and defect to the Eastern Turks. But it's such a good thing, Jieli must be complacent, and even intends to take advantage of it.

But there is also a huge hidden danger here, and that is Xue Yantuo."

"Xue Yantuo?" Li Shimin frowned.

Gao Junya was thoughtful when he heard the words, and Nian Xu, who was a little hesitant, said: "Among the tribes fleeing east, Xue Yantuo is the most powerful."

Gao Chong slapped his hands and almost snapped his fingers in excitement, but somehow he held back.

"Aye is right on point. The two khans of the Western Turks are fighting, and it is the tribes that are attached to them, especially Xue Yantuo. He is the most powerful, and the most powerful contributes the most. Caught between the two khans In the meantime, it was really wanting to die, so Xue Yantuo ran away.

As for Xue Yantuo, I have learned about this tribe specifically, and the current chief, Yi Shiyinan, is not an easy person to get along with.

He led a group of more than [-] households, crossed the Jinshan Mountain with difficulty, and defected to the Eastern Turks. He must have some calculations in his heart. Perhaps because of Jieli's power, he dared not make a mistake for the time being, but we can add fire, we still have grasslands The Khitan, Mohe and other tribes in the east can operate.”

Gao Chong said that his mouth was dry, he grabbed the teapot and drank it down, and continued: "The [-] households under Yi Shiyinan's command are not a small force, no less than that little boy Ashina Shibobi. Khan, if we secretly support Yishiyinan to become a Khan on his own, and then make the Khitan and other ministries declare their attachment to Yishiyinan, then Jieli will be angry."

Li Shimin got up awkwardly, and said with a little excitement: "I think it is feasible. The plan of differentiation in the Sui Dynasty was tried and tested many times. I can also follow suit today. Yinan is willing to be lowly and small, but he has more than [-] households, and Yijieli's suspicious nature will definitely make things difficult for him."

"That's the reason," Gao Chong slapped the table and praised: "Now that the Western Turks are fighting with each other, if the Eastern Turks have Yi Shiyi men to stand on their own, then God will bless the Tang Dynasty."

Although Gao Chong didn't know about this period of history, he had always been good at this kind of planning. Based on the analysis of some materials from the Ministry of War, he came up with these two ideas.

In fact, just as Gao Chong planned, on the original trajectory, Yi Shiyinan suffered from the chaos in the Western Turks, led his troops to flee east, and defected to the Eastern Turkic Jieli Khan, but at this time, Jieli was suspicious and violent. , Ba Yegu, Tong Luo and other tribes who forced the rebellion in Mobei are leading the crusade.

Xie Li didn't trust Yi Shi Yinan who had come to vote from thousands of miles away. After all, Xue Yantuo had more than [-] households, and his power was really huge, so Jie Li ordered Yi Shi Yi Nan to attack the rebellious Ba Yegu and other tribes.

As a result, Ba Yegu and other tribes directly surrendered Yishiyinan, and all attached themselves to Xue Yantuo. They jointly promoted Yishiyinan as the Great Khan, named Zhenzhu Khan, and set up a tooth tent on Yudujun Mountain, and began to oppose Jieli Khan. Since then, the Eastern Turks have also begun to become chaotic.

Don't think that Yishiyinan dare not stand on his own. Yishiyinan's father is named Yishibo. During the reign of Luo Khan in the Western Turkic Nijue, he was unpopular, and all the tribes of Tie Le rebelled together.

There are many tribes in the Tiele tribe, Xueyantuo tribe and Qibi tribe are one of them. At that time, the chief of Xue Yantuo was Yi Shibo, and the chief of Qibi tribe was named Qibi Gelen.

In order to resist the brutal rule of the Western Turks, the Tiele tribes elected these two men as their leaders, and they allied with each other to rebel against Luo Khan, the Nijue of the Western Turks, and established the Tiele Khanate.

All the tribes of Tie Le jointly promoted Qibi Gelen as the Great Khan, named Yiwuzhen Mohe Khan, and set up a tooth tent on Tanhan Mountain (now Bogda Mountain).

Later, Qibi Gelen named Yi Shibo as the young Khan of Tiele Khanate, named Yeqin Khan, and set up a tooth tent in Yanmo Mountain (the middle part of the present-day Altai Mountains), in charge of the northern part of Tiele.

It was only later that Shekui Khan rose up, the Western Turks revived again, and the Tieqin Khanate was conquered in the east.

Yi Shibo was defeated and returned to the Western Turks.

So the Xueyantuo tribe used to have a glorious time, and now Xueyantuo is sandwiched between the two khans Siyehu and Moheduo of the Western Turks, and no one dares to offend, but the two khans still don’t treat the Tiele tribe Treated as a human being, foreigners like Tie Le are given priority in every war.

Yi lost the barbarian's hatred in his heart, he gritted his teeth, stomped his feet, and led his troops to flee eastward, you two profusely continue to fight, I, Xue Yantuo, can't afford to offend me, and make a living by myself.

The more Li Shimin thought about it, the more he felt that this plan was feasible, and he just waited for the arrival of the important ministers to discuss the details carefully.

But then Li Shimin turned his eyes and saw another memorial on the desk, and his face sank.

Gao Chong watched his words and expressions, and immediately restrained his smile, "Your Majesty, what are you?"

"Have you heard about Lingnan?" Li Shimin said in a deep voice.

Gao Chong nodded blankly, "Some time ago, Li Chongguang, the governor of Guizhou, wrote a letter and heard about it." Anyway, this is not a secret. As the Minister of the Ministry of War, Gao Chong participated in the government affairs.

"Yes, there was a letter from Guizhou before," Li Shimin frowned, "now Daozhou Li Rixin wrote a letter, saying that Lingnan has reversed, this Lingnan, the sky is high and the earth is far away, it seems that it is really uneasy."

The current governor of Guizhou, Li Xizhi, with the word Chongguang, is in charge of Gui, Xiang, Jing and other Kyushu.

The current governor of Daozhou is Li Wencai, with a new character.

Guizhou and Daozhou are both adjacent to Lingnan. They wrote letters one after another, claiming that Lingnan had rebelled, and even pointed the finger at Feng An. Even though Li Shimin believed in Feng An's loyalty, he had to guard against it.

It is worth mentioning that Li Wencai, the governor of Daozhou, was born in Wuzhou. Li Shimin held the imperial examination immediately after he became the crown prince. Li Shimin is also absolutely loyal.

This time there were only four Jinshi in the imperial examination. Li Shimin may have considered promoting newcomers and cultivating cronies, so he conferred the post of governor to all four of them. Among them, Li Wencai was appointed governor of Daozhou, which was at the junction of Xiaoxiang and Lingnan.

Li Wencai is honest and upright, with an upright personality, and will never form a party for personal gain. Li Shimin likes to appoint this kind of person the most. Li Shimin believes in Li Wencai's words very much.

On the original trajectory, Li Wencai’s high school Jinshi’s first year official worshiped the governor of Daozhou, and the next year he was promoted to the governor of Rongzhou because of his meritorious service in “Jing Kou Anmin”, and was compatible with the governor of the state. During his tenure, he won the support of local scholars and people. Missing his hometown, he actually wrote a letter to resign. Li Shimin could not persuade him to stay, so he had to agree.

After returning to his hometown, Li Wencai donated money to build water conservancy projects for the benefit of the people. Local people still commemorate this upright official. Because he served as the governor of Rongzhou, the embankment he built was named Duduyan, and his celebrity has lasted through the ages.

Li Shimin has always had no doubts about the people who are promoted by himself.

Li Wencai said in the memorial that the war in Lingnan was chaotic and envoys were not allowed to enter...

All these facts show that there has been chaos in Lingnan, but the mountains blocked it, coupled with the deliberate blockade, the news did not get out.

Gao Chong glanced at Gao Junya, Gao Junya didn't look sideways, he just pretended he didn't see it.

Li Shimin saw it, and directly frowned and said, "Just tell me what you think, and see what you do."

Gao Chong coughed and had to ask back: "I want to know what your Majesty thinks?"

Li Shimin snorted coldly when he heard the words, and said directly: "If you want to punish the disobedient ministers, what else can you do?"

After finishing speaking, Gao Chong was dumbfounded, so he continued: "After Lin Jian entered the court, there was a lot of dissatisfaction, and I intend to appoint Lin Jian to command the soldiers of the prefecture in Jingchu and station them in Lingnan.

If there is chaos in Lingnan, put down the rebellion; if there is nothing in Lingnan, then temporarily station troops in Lingnan to deter non-subjects."

After Lin Jian, the governor of Daizhou, was defeated in Daibei, Li Shimin summoned him to the court and worshiped the Great General of Youwuwei, and he still reused him. However, Lin Jian was arrogant and felt that his defeat in Daibei was just a moment of negligence. , he thinks he can do it.

Li Shimin has always trusted people like Lin Jian, because this kind of people will not hold back their words, such as Cheng Zhijie, who is the best example. Garrison in Lingnan.

Since it is a garrison to deter dissidents, it must be a brave and loyal person, and Lin Jian is the best candidate.

It's just that after hearing this, Gao Chong shook his head, not agreeing.

Li Shimin narrowed his eyes, "Tell me your opinion."

"The Central Plains has just been pacified. Although Jingchu has not been affected by the war, Hebei and other places are still waiting to be rebuilt. As His Majesty said before, the most important thing now is to restore people's livelihood.

The sky is high and the roads are far away in south of Lingnan, the terrain is dangerous, and there are dense forests and miasma everywhere, it is really not suitable for large-scale garrison, and there is no definite evidence to prove that Feng An and others are rebelling, so it is not appropriate to mobilize troops to march into Lingnan."

Gao Chong hesitated for a moment, organized his words and said directly,

Although he had discussed with his father about the matter of Lingnan, it would be best to release Lingnan as an official, but it was impossible for him to say directly: Your Majesty, let me go to Lingnan.

Everything pays attention to the cause and effect, and it is always necessary to narrate clearly and proceed step by step.

It's just that Li Shimin was a little dissatisfied when he heard this, and he didn't have an affair with Gao Chong, and said directly: "You can't trust Feng An just because you recruited him. There is more than one person, how can you prove that Feng An has no rebellion?"

Hearing this, Gao Chong smiled wryly and said: "If Feng An rebelled, he would definitely occupy the city and raise troops, but there is no actual evidence to prove that he has done so. Now it is just that there is no news from Lingnan, so he rashly sent troops to attack. Not to mention wasting people and money, it may also hurt the hearts of loyal officials. Your majesty might as well send envoys to Lingnan to find out the situation before making a decision."

Hearing this, Li Shimin felt that there was some truth, and looked at Gao Junya.

Gao Junya was expressionless, and did not comment on Feng An's matter, but nodded slightly and said: "Be careful with swordsmanship."

"Your Majesty, I wish to go to Lingnan."

Seeing Li Shimin lost in thought, Gao Chong stepped forward and said.

Li Shimin paused when he heard the words, "It's you...".

"Your Majesty, to untie the bell, the person who tied it must be done. Back then, I recruited Lingnan, and now there is chaos in Lingnan, and I have no shirkable responsibility," Gao Chong said solemnly.

Li Shimin just narrowed his eyes, looked at Gao Junya, and said slowly: "Mr. Gao is your father, and I am your monarch. There is no outsider here. If you have something to say, just say it. I don't believe it's just because of this." .

Gao Chong showed embarrassment.

Gao Junya sighed faintly, got up and bowed deeply to Li Shimin: "Your Majesty loves me deeply, both ministers and sons are in high positions, and I fear in my heart, fearing that I will fail the emperor's kindness.

However, You has merit in the military, but has no merit in politics, I ask Your Majesty to release him to stop Youyou's mouth."

Gao Chong's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he said directly: "Your Majesty, I have been fighting in the army for many years, and I have never made any achievements in governing and enlightening, please Your Majesty to complete it."

Li Shimin was filled with emotions, he got off his seat to help Gao Junya, and sighed sincerely: "Mr. Gao has a public heart, and he is open and frank, which is admirable."

Then he looked at Gao Chong, "Even if you want to, you don't have to go to the barren land of Lingnan. Back then in Jinyang City, I promised myself that I would be rich and honored. If I send you to Lingnan now, it would be because I broke my promise." ".

Gao Chong was so moved that he bowed straightly: "Your Majesty, I have three reasons, and I ask your Majesty to fulfill them."

At this moment, the servants at the gate of the palace came to report: All the ministers are called to see you.

Li Shimin ordered: "Please go to the side hall to rest for a while", then looked at Gao Chong, "You continue."

Gao Chong thought to himself that the words had reached this point, so he should stop hiding them, and immediately considered his words.

"First, I am good at military affairs, but I have no achievements in politics. But I also have some ideas in my heart, and I hope to put them into practice. The wildness of Lingnan just allows me to develop freely.

Second, for this Turkic invasion to the south, I did not plan well. I ambushed on all sides and cooperated with fortified walls to clear the country. It caused serious damage to the people in Yanzhou and other places, and thousands of people were killed or injured.

The third..."

Speaking of the third, Gao Chong paused for words, looked at Li Shimin, then at Gao Junya, Gao Junya just lowered his eyebrows and remained silent.

Li Shimin snorted, and looked at Gao Chong with disgust on his face, "Thirdly, your father and son live in high positions together, so you are afraid? So you sent him to the barren land in the south of the Five Ridges in order to stop everyone talking?"

Gao Chong's eyes widened, and then he praised deeply: "Your Majesty, you are really perceptive, insightful, wise and powerful...

Your admiration for you is like a torrential river that flows endlessly..."

"Stop", Li Shimin laughed anxiously, then got up and walked towards Gao Chong with his hands behind his back, his eyes fixed on him.

"In front of Mr. Gao, I will not reprimand you, but you need to know that since I dare to use you, I am not afraid of gossip. I trust you so much, don't you trust me?"

(End of this chapter)