Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 415 Anti-military Pioneer
"Aye, Aniang, I want to sleep alone tonight."

Jingjing felt a little guilty, but she held her chest high and spoke loudly.

Xiao Miaochen looked at his son in shock.

But Chen Qingsi narrowed her eyes slightly and said pointedly: "That's not okay. It's scary to sleep alone at night. Jingjing has always been timid and has never slept alone, so she must be scared. In case she is scared and cries, there is no one beside her. It’s better to accompany someone to comfort him.”

Xiao Miaochen gave her husband a strange look.

This is not reasonable, it is clearly adding fuel to the fire.

But at Jingjing's age, she still couldn't understand such provocative words.

After hearing this, Jingjing felt like a cat that had stepped on its tail. She felt furious and said, "Aye looks down on people, who is a coward? Jingjing is not a coward, Jingjing wants to sleep alone, Aye Look down on people and ignore Aye.”

Jingjing's eyes turned slightly red with anger, and she ran away huffing and puffing.

Xiao Miaochen took his son as a comfort, taught him day and night, and stayed with him all day long, but he didn't think much of it.

Now that her husband has returned, the mirror is like a candlestick, blocking the space between the couple, which makes her very distressed. Privately, she also discusses with her children to let Qianyan and Qingkong sleep with him.

But at this stage, the child is closest to his mother, and Chen Qingsi is not around all year round. Jingjing's attachment is even deeper, and she is reluctant to do so no matter what.

Now the little guy actually took the initiative to apply to sleep alone, which surprised her, and she heard her husband's irritating words.

Xiao Miaochen was so smart that she immediately understood that it was her husband's work and asked, "What special method did Mr. Lang think of?"

Chen Qingsi said: "We are the closest people to Jingjing. He knows how to act coquettishly in front of us. But in front of his peers, he has a little manly side. I have people go to school to preach that children who dare not sleep alone are A coward, Jingjing doesn’t want to be compared with her peers, and she doesn’t want to be a coward, so she naturally insists on sleeping alone.”

Xiao Miaochen covered her mouth and chuckled, teasing: "Mr. Lang's plan was all used on the child."

Chen Qingsi said: "Otherwise? If you continue to indulge him, I will have to call him daddy."

Xiao Miaochen couldn't help laughing, and then said: "I don't know if it matters."

Chen Qingsi said: "Little man, this will happen one day, you just get used to it... Besides, there is a girl waiting in the outer room."

He said it easily, but he was a little worried at night and didn't sleep.

The little guy had some backbone. Ren didn't give in. Whether it was because he was afraid or not used to it, he held on for half the night. When he couldn't hold it any longer, he fell asleep on the couch.

Seeing Jingjing asleep, Chen Qingsi and Xiao Miaochen got tired of being together. They talked some love words and handed over the public food before falling asleep.

On the second day, Chen Qingsi and Xiao Miaochen deliberately did not call Jingjing to let him sleep more.

It wasn't until it was time for breakfast that Jingjing woke up and happily ran to Chen Qingsi to show off: "Yeah, Jingjing slept alone last night, so I'm not a coward. Humph, let's see who else dares to say that I am a coward... …”

Chen Qingsi exaggeratedly said: "Jingjing is awesome, my Jingjing is now a little man! Amazing, amazing. Come back, Aye will give you a gift..."

The little guy clapped his hands happily.

Chen Qingsi stroked her little head and said, "Wash up and eat quickly. Don't be late."

Jing Jing was thinking about going to school to show off her bad things.

Chen Qingsi was in a happy mood, had a meal with his wife and children, and went to the Ministry of War.

Chen Qingsi's arrangement for Su Dingfang to be transferred to Shanzhou was quickly implemented.

Obviously, the Tang army lost a lot of troops and horses in that battle in the past, which made Li Zhi aware of the dangers of Tibet.

As things in the Northeast are settled, all the center of gravity of the Tang Dynasty will shift to the west.

The more so, the more important the security of the Silk Road becomes.

The Tang Dynasty would never allow Tubo to capture Qinghai Lake and threaten the Silk Road and Hexi Longyou.

Su Dingfang is the leading general in the imperial court, so it is natural for him to be placed in the most important place.

Chen Qingsi felt relieved when he learned about this.

Chen Qingsi had a preliminary plan in mind on how to deal with Tubo.

Altitude sickness on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is too deadly and a forceful attack is not possible. We have to wait until Tibet can't hold it any longer and invades on a large scale.

If the Tang army can kill enough Tibetan soldiers, it will be time for the Tang army to attack Luo.

Chen Qingsi had no idea of ​​taking the initiative before he had the strength to kill them.

Losing money cannot be done.

As the Minister of War, Chen Qingsi had a clear understanding of the overall war situation in the Tang Dynasty.

After dealing with the things that happened during the trip, Chen Qingsi checked the progress of Feng Chan, and then went home as usual.

Except for necessary communication, Chen Qingsi's life has always been simple.

"Master Lang, this is today's invitation. The letters of invitation from the scholars have been placed on the desk in the study..."

The steward Jiang Liang handed over the greeting cards he had compiled.

Chen Qingsi reached out and took it.

He now has multiple identities, and there are many people who want to see him.

I don't have time to see everyone. The greetings in my hand are all sorted out by the big housekeeper. I need to reply to them, so I can't shirk them.

Chen Qingsi chose the time for the interview to reply based on her free time.

Chen Qingsi first looked at everyone's greetings one by one, and then chose a time to meet.

After flipping through three greeting cards, I suddenly found that one of the greeting cards was from Su Dingfang.

Chen Qingsi admired Su Dingfang very much, so she put it aside. After confirming everyone's names, she replied to the names one by one, and arranged to meet Su Dingfang tomorrow, and she would only see him alone.

Chen Qingsi was looking forward to meeting Su Dingfang. She returned home early the next morning and asked her servants to prepare wine and food to wait.

Su Dingfang arrived as promised.

Looking at the burly veteran with white beard and hair, Chen Qingsi felt inexplicably regretful: This was a figure who had been active in the late Sui Dynasty, and he was already over 70 years old this year.

At such an age, he should have been enjoying himself in Chang'an, but now he had to go to the front line to station.

But besides Su Dingfang, Chen Qingsi really couldn't think of anyone else who would be suitable.

"Mr.

Chen Qingsi was not polite. When Su Dingfang returned home in triumph, Chen Qingsi took advantage of his position to ask Li Ji and Su Dingfang for advice on many military issues.

Su Dingfang did not hide his secrets. He knew everything about Chen Qingsi's problems and explained them patiently.

Su Dingfang said: "Mr. Chen is a busy man, so I don't dare to be too nagging. Besides, I am restless and can't sit still, so I took care of this matter myself."

Chen Qingsi invited Su Dingfang to take a seat.

"I know you are a good drinker, so I don't serve tea as usual. I have Jimo old wine given by your majesty here. It is said to be thirty years old. Let you taste it."

Su Dingfang laughed immediately, "Mr. Chen understands me, but I can't get used to drinking greasy, bitter things, and fine wine suits my appetite."

The two exchanged pleasantries and toasted three glasses to each other.

Su Dingfang said first: "I know Mr. Chen is good at military affairs. There are three volumes of notebooks in the gift box I carry. They are some of my experiences written by me during the march over the years. I am giving them to the general today. I hope you will not dislike them."

Chen Qingsi stood up quickly, bowed and said: "Where can I tell you Mr. Su Xing? Your old man's notes are worth millions of dollars. It is a great honor for me to be able to gain your respect and give them to him as a gift."

A look of relief appeared on Su Dingfang's face, remembering the teachings he had been given to him along the way when he followed Duke Wei thousands of miles to attack Pyongyang.

Su Dingfang still remembered that he curiously asked: "Su and Duke Wei have never had any relationship or contact. Why did Duke Wei do this? What do you want?"

Back then, Li Jing just said cheerfully: "I'm just happy to see you, General Su. Don't think too much about it. If you really want to ask for something, it's inheritance."

Su Dingfang didn't quite understand it at the time, and he didn't understand the meaning of "inheritance" until he met Pei Xingjian.

As for facing Chen Qingsi, Su Dingfang did not dare to use the word "inheritance".

In his eyes, Chen Qingsi's strategic vision is extraordinary, and even Li Jing may not be able to match it. But there is one thing to say, Chen Qingsi's tactics still have huge problems in the eyes of a tactician like Su Dingfang.

He had studied Chen Qingsi's military strategy when he was in Baekje. If his opponent was him, he would not necessarily win so easily. He gave the letters to each other. If he could understand the true meaning of them, he could also make up for his own shortcomings.

Chen Qingsi said: "This great gift from Mr. Su Xing may be a bit hot to the touch."

Su Dingfang also explained his purpose of coming and said, "I really have something to ask for today."

"Please speak up!" Chen Qingsi sat up straight.

Su Dingfang said: "When I was idle in Beijing in the past, I discovered a good young man named Pei Xingjian. This man was versatile in both civil and military affairs. It was rare for me to see such an outstanding young man, so I taught him military and magical skills. Later, he committed a crime and was demoted. He was sent to the Western Regions. A few years ago, I was ordered to go to the Western Regions and met him again. I found that this man has mastered all the skills he has learned and is a rare talent..."

Chen Qingsi couldn't help but nod after hearing this. Pei Xingjian was the first Confucian general in history, and now he is the second.

Whether it was in later generations or now, he was familiar with Pei Xingjian. He nodded and said, "Juniors have also heard of Pei Changshi's name. He has a very high prestige in Xizhou. When people around him encounter injustices, they all turn to him for help." Chang Shi upholds justice.”

The administrative seat of Xizhou is Gaochang, which is located on the only route of the Silk Road. Hu and Han tribes live together, as well as traders from all directions.

It is really not easy for Pei Xingjian to do this.

Chen Qingsi also knew some inside information. Because Pei Xingjian did so well, he would most likely be the next Protector of Anxi.

A trace of nostalgia appeared on Su Dingfang's face. During the time when he was in cold storage, teaching Pei Xingjian the art of war was his only pleasure.

He sighed and said: "It is rare to be thrifty, but he is too strong-willed. When he was the commander of Chang'an, when he learned that Your Majesty was determined to depose Wang Liwu, he actually went directly to Changsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang to discuss countermeasures with them to prevent His Majesty from making this decision. , then he was demoted to Xizhou."

Of course Chen Qingsi knew about this and said, "Pei Changshi is a direct minister."

Su Dingfang sighed: "I'm afraid he is too straight..." He hesitated for a moment and said: "I am a rough man and don't know much about temple affairs, but even so, I can see that Queen Wu is gaining momentum. The queen is also a vengeful person. If Xingjian offends him like this, she is afraid that life will not be easy in the future. "

He bowed and said, "I also know that things in the temple are very unpredictable. I don't ask Mr. Chen to do anything. I just hope that he can help Xingjian within his ability."

Chen Qingsi said: "Don't worry, Mr. Su Xing, I have admired Pei Changshi for a long time. He was also a member of the Qingliu family when he came to Ji Xianggong and Liu Rengui, the Protector, both spoke highly of him. Today, he has been recommended by Mr. Su Xing again." , which made me want to have friendship. He and the younger generation are of the same kind, and they will not sit idly by if they can help. "

Chen Qingsi agreed happily. Although he and Empress Wu did not break up, Chen Qingsi knew from the beginning that she would not tolerate him because of Empress Wu's temperament.

What's more, the Feng Chan incident also ruined her plan.

Although this was an "accident", he knew very well what kind of character Queen Wu was.

The other party doesn't care whether it's an accident or not...

Nothing is happening now, that's because he has no flaws of his own. If he really wants to find a weakness for her, he will be stabbed in the back.

From the time he personally wrote the outline of the Fengchan ceremony and promoted the Fengchan ceremony in advance, Chen Qingsi was already prepared to turn against Empress Wu.

He is not afraid of going against Empress Wu either...

Because this is what Li Zhi wants to see.

Many people regard Li Zhi as Empress Wu's puppet. They say that at least half of Li Zhi's achievements are due to Empress Wu. In fact?
Not to mention that Empress Wu had no choice but to help Wang Fangyi. After Li Zhi gave Empress Wu power, the prime ministers promoted by Li Zhi were Liu Rengui, Dai Zhide, Zhang Wenguan, Hao Chujun, Lai Heng, Xue Yuanchao, and Li Yiyan. Except for Dai Zhide and Zhang Wenguan, Li Zhi gave The ministers arranged by the prince had no grudges or xenophobia with Empress Wu. The other ministers had conflicts with Empress Wu and were all anti-military members.

Li Zhi planned to use Empress Wu to assist the prince in safeguarding the monarchy, so there must be a conflict between her and the prime minister...

Otherwise, it would be extremely terrible for the queen's power to collude with the prime minister's power.

In fact, after Li Zhi died, it was Pei Yan who had a wrong idea and reached an alliance with Empress Wu, and the power of the queen and the power of the prime minister were combined...

Empress Wu took the opportunity to take away the power of the prime minister, and then she was able to monopolize power.

If Pei Yan hadn't committed suicide, the power in Queen Wu's hands wouldn't have been enough to accomplish anything.

Chen Qingsi is now the Minister of War, and in the next step, he will be the Prime Minister.

Chen Qingsi has come this far, so there is no reason why she doesn't want to become the prime minister.

If the prime minister of Li Zhi Dynasty is not anti-military, is he qualified to sit on it?

Although she didn't show it, Chen Qingsi was actually ready to rebel against force.

Being able to establish a relationship with Pei Xingjian, an anti-military fighter, through Su Dingfang was something he loved to see.

If it weren't for the fact that Li Zhi had a somewhat suspicious personality and it was inappropriate for internal ministers to make too many friends with foreign ministers, he would have made the acquaintance with him long ago.

Now being able to establish contact with him through Su Dingfang is the best thing.

Su Dingfang was so happy to get such an answer that he drank several cups.

Chen Qingsi also drank with him.

Looking at the heroic 70-year-old veteran, Chen Qingsi couldn't help but said: "I recommended Su Xinggong to take charge of Shanzhou to ward off Tubo."

(End of this chapter)