Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 294 Attention

Li Zhi also meant the same thing. He established the Protectorate and strengthened the court's control over Qinghai Lake. The same mistakes could not be repeated no matter what.

Only when the West is stable can they truly attack the Haidong Peninsula.

Chen Qingsi frowned.

The method of setting up a Protectorate is not bad. This is a method commonly used in the Tang Dynasty. It sets up a Protectorate in key places and arranges generals to take over the local military. Just like the famous Anxi Protectorate, the stability of the Western Region depends on him, especially when there is a reliable Protectorate in office.

However, the establishment of the Protectorate in Tuyuhun had strategic significance, but it was not economical.

The imperial court is responsible for the internal operations of the military pay of the Duhufu. There is the Silk Road in the Western Regions, which is a must-pass for cultural and economic exchanges between the East and the West. The establishment of the Anxi Duhufu has a huge impact on military, economic and even cultural exports. benefits.

But what about in Qinghai?

To defend against Tibet, the number of soldiers must be at least 10,000 or 20,000. Qinghai is located at the source of the Yellow River, too far from the Central Plains, and the transportation pressure of various armaments and supplies is huge. In the absence of corresponding financial resources, this kind of behavior of sacrificing oneself and protecting others for free is really disgusting.

Seeing that Li Zhi agreed, Chen Qingsi immediately said: "I have different opinions on the establishment of the Protectorate."

Li Zhi now attaches great importance to Chen Qingsi's suggestion and solemnly said: "I love you to speak out."

Chen Qingsi said: "This time the relationship with Tubo is completely at odds. The Tang-Tibetan trade routes are cut off. Although Qinghai is rich in resources, it does not have enough people to exploit it. It is useless to our country. The imperial court has set up a protective palace here, and only endless investment will be given to it." The imperial court brings a heavy burden.”

Li Zhi naturally knew that at this point, if he did not send troops to garrison, would it be possible for Tubo to encroach?

Qinghai is really useless to the imperial court. The roads are too far and the people are too few, which is not conducive to development and control.

But for the Tubo people, it is a treasure land of delicious food...

"Sir, do you have a better way?"

Li Zhi asked directly.

Chen Qingsi said: "Actually... we can let Tuyuhun pay for this part of the military expenses. The one who is really anxious is not us, but the Khan of Tuyuhun, Murong Nuohebo... It is said that he now doesn't even have the courage to return to Fuqi City. . It can be seen that this tragic defeat brought fear and pressure to him."

"Perhaps Tubo did not suffer the losses as imagined this time. It was defeated after all and lost its troops. At least it will not come back in the short term. We can pretend to be indifferent to Qinghai and abandon Qinghai. Once Murong Nuohebo sits down If you don’t live there, seek shelter from us, so there will be room for discussion.”

"They don't have enough Tongbao to pay military expenses, but they have enough cattle, sheep, and war horses. Let them use these animals as military expenses, which can save the court a lot of money."

As soon as he said this, Li Zhi, Li Ji, Ren Yaxiang and others all looked at Chen Qingsi in shock.

In fact, Chen Qingsi's method is not very clever. It's just that people like Li Zhi, Li Ji, and Ren Yaxiang carry the burden of the Heavenly Kingdom, and they feel that since they are the Heavenly Kingdom, they should behave like the Heavenly Kingdom. How can we care about a vassal country like Tuyuhun...

So I don’t think about it at all.

But to let Chen Qingsi break up like this, her heart can't help but beat with excitement.

If the imperial court's economy was good, Li Zhi would definitely not do this. It would be too embarrassing for the Khan.

However, Li Zhi has been fighting in the south and north in recent years, and has blossomed in all directions. Especially in the past two years, he has made two expeditions to the Western Regions. He fought a battle with the Tiele rebels in the north and fought a bloody battle with Tubo in the southwest. The treasury was stretched thin.

Li Zhi had long wanted to go to Luoyang, but he put it on hold because of the huge cost of traveling back and forth.

The court really needs to slow down now and restore the people's power and economy.

When she was short of money, Chen Qingsi's move was extremely tempting. Li Zhi was obviously moved, but he was a little embarrassed to say it, feeling that he would be embarrassed by the Khan of Heaven.

"Since there is a dispute, this matter will be discussed later."

He said he was discussing it, but everyone here, all of whom are fine people, knew that the emperor was moved, but they were too embarrassed to talk about such a shameful thing on such an occasion.

No one spoke.

Li Zhi no longer talked about Tubo affairs, but made arrangements for the Western Regions.

Regarding the Western Regions, Chen Qingsi didn't say anything. He really didn't know much about it.

But just because I don’t understand it, it can be seen that there is nothing special.

If there was something special, there was no way Chen Qingsi wouldn't know about it.

Therefore, I heard that Pei Xingjian was already in charge of his own role in the Western Regions, so I just listened.

Naturally, Chen Qingsi would not doubt the abilities of Pei Xingjian, a Confucian general. With him in the Western Region, everything would be worry-free.

The imperial court's attitude towards the Western Regions is now to seek stability and development. Only when the Western Regions are stable can trade be profitable and the imperial court have enough energy to deal with Goguryeo.

The last and most critical one is Haidong.

Li Zhi had a special obsession with Haidong Goguryeo. When he talked about this place, his whole aura became different.

His Majesty's civil and military officials were also solemn and cautious.

Li Zhi looked at Jiang Ke, the Minister of War.

Jiang Ke straightened up and bowed: "The situation in Haidong is very intense now..." When he said this, he couldn't help but glance at Chen Qingsi. As the Minister of the Ministry of War, he had already discovered that the military deployment of the imperial court had been completely prepared for this. Young people are around.

Except for the Western Regions, he had no involvement. The Sanshou surrender city system in the North and the strategic conception of Tubo in Qinghai were all originated from him.

This is even if he does not serve in the Ministry of War. If he joins the Ministry of War and becomes the third-in-command of the Ministry of War, with the political capital he currently controls, how can he have a place to speak for himself?

Thinking of this, Jiang Ke shivered, came back to his senses and said: "Because the imperial court has weakened the pressure on Goguryeo and relaxed the control of Baekje. Nowadays, the two countries' offensive against Silla is becoming more and more fierce. Silla Many cities have been lost. However, they are all small border cities. The key cities built around their capitals have not been lost. Facing the attack from Goguryeo and Baekje, Silla seems to be invincible, but inside it seems to be able to handle it with ease. Of course, Baekje, Goguryeo did not dare to attack with all its strength. Goguryeo was afraid that our army would suddenly strengthen its offensive. Although our offensive had been passive recently, as long as we had troops on the border, even if we did nothing, Goguryeo did not dare to relax. Their main force was always on the defensive in Liaodong. .”

"As for Baekje, their attitude should be to take advantage and take advantage of Goguryeo's harassment and attack to recapture some of the land that, in their words, originally belonged to them. Baekje is still a little wary of the imperial court and does not dare to attack Xinjiang on a large scale. Luo."

"The three parties are all feuding. No one is willing to obey the other, and no one can do anything to stop the other. They are in a stalemate with each other."

Li Zhi said: "The imperial court does not plan to mobilize troops in the short term, but the situation in Haidong is just a matter of delay. Now that the Northland, Western Regions, and Qinghai have stabilized, it is time to formulate a strategy for Haidong first."

This is not to send troops immediately, but to formulate a strategy and make preparations first.

After Li Zhi finished his statement, Chen Qingsi immediately noticed that everyone's eyes were on him...

　There is only one update today. I took my baby to get vaccinated in the morning, but it was so noisy at night that I didn’t have the time to write! Excuse me!

　　

　

(End of this chapter)