Datang: What's wrong with my fief being a billion points larger?

Chapter 186 Li Yuanji's Strategy for the Three Kingdoms
After understanding the situation clearly from Yang Cheng, Li Yuanji quickly called Cen Wenben.

"See you, Your Majesty."

Li Yuanji waved his hand and signaled to stand up.

"Jingren, sit down. I have something to talk to you about this time. Yuanlin, tell Jingren about the affairs of Japan, Baekje, and Silla."

Cen Wenben sat down curiously. He really wanted to know what happened in the Three Kingdoms that even Li Yuanji had plans to do so. You know, they have already formulated a lot of strategies and are preparing to attack Zhenla. Now he wants to interfere in the affairs of the Three Kingdoms again?

After a while, when Yang Cheng finished speaking, Cen Wenben frowned in thought, then looked at Li Yuanji.

"Are you planning to use the same method on these countries as you did on Funan and Tangming?
I suggest that it is best not to do so. These three countries are far away from us and our influence is limited. Unless we do this in the name of the Tang Dynasty, there is a great possibility that we will not achieve the desired effect in the end.

If we want to control these places, we must quickly occupy these countries completely in the aftermath. Otherwise, if they bring in the Tang Dynasty, what should we do then?
And most importantly, your fiefdom is expanding too fast. If the court knew about it, not only the Sage, but also the Crown Prince and the King of Qin would be worried.

By then, the king's fiefdom will probably be close to half of the territory of the Tang Dynasty. Now the king has an army of 300,000, and once he controls these places, the number of troops will inevitably increase by at least 200,000.

An army of five hundred thousand strong, all of them obey the orders of the king. No matter who the saint is, he will certainly be wary of the king. The prince and the king of Qin will certainly unite to deal with the king first.

Even if the king is already preparing for a confrontation with Chang'an, it will take some time. Our strength is relatively weak. Once the court sends troops, the lack of manpower will cause the place to be lost again, which will not be of much significance.

I suggest that we focus all our efforts on conquering Zhenla. As for the affairs of Japan, Baekje, and Silla, our current strength is not enough. Please think twice, Your Majesty."

Although Cen Wenben didn't know what Li Yuanji would do, he could probably guess based on what Yang Cheng said and the fact that Li Yuanji specifically asked him to come over.

In his eyes, if he did this, he would have to invest a lot but get limited benefits, which he thought was not worth it. Only after the war in Zhenla was over would he have the opportunity to try to deploy in these three countries.

After hearing this, Li Yuanji was also amazed at Cen Wenben's vision. His perspective on things was indeed different. He had also thought about this matter. The situations of the Three Kingdoms and Funan were similar, but also different. However, Li Yuanji did not consider Cen Wenben's concerns.

Cen Wenben didn't know, but he knew that it was already the ninth year of Wude. In a few months, the conflict between Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin would break out completely, and the arrangement of the Three Kingdoms would not be resolved in a short time.

By the time the Tang Dynasty reacts, it will not have the energy to cause trouble for him. After all, the natural disasters and the threat from the Turks at that time are what the Tang Dynasty really needs to pay attention to. In addition, with his current strength, he is no longer someone that the Tang Dynasty can easily control.

When all these things broke out at the same time, the Tang Dynasty could only watch him do this and was unable to do anything about it. This was the basis for his desire to interfere in the affairs of the Three Kingdoms.

He could still consider Baekje and Silla, but he would never consider Japan, especially after the internal situation of the Turks and the Tang Dynasty was stabilized. If he wanted to do anything then, he would be truly working for the Tang Dynasty and he would be unable to do anything else.

Li Yuanji smiled and said, "Jingren, I have considered all these. Don't worry, Chang'an doesn't have the energy to take care of things here, at least not in the next two years, but later.

This is how it goes for now. Your guess is both right and wrong. I am indeed going to do it that way, but it won't be exactly the same. I called you here to ask you who you think can handle this matter, and who you want to support you in the future to get this done completely."

Li Yuanji already had his own ideas about this matter. He called Cen Wen to do the support work, especially the selection of candidates. It really gave him a headache. This matter requires a very good brain. If the brain is not working well, it will be difficult to accomplish anything.

Cen Wenben stopped trying to persuade him. As long as Li Yuanji had made his own decision, it would be fine. Facts had already proven that as long as Li Yuanji was determined to do something, it would not be bad when it was done.

However, asking him to choose someone gave Cen Wenben a headache. After thinking about it, he found that there were indeed potential candidates, but they were unable to leave at the moment, so there was no way he could do this.

Li Yuanji felt even more troubled when he saw that Cen Wenben didn't say anything. However, Yang Cheng, who was standing next to him, spoke at this time.

"Brother-in-law, I have contacted my family and Wei's family. Do you want me to transfer some more people from home? Then you won't be short of people, brother-in-law. What do you think?"

Li Yuanji looked at Yang Cheng, his eyes lit up, and he immediately became interested. He was not happy that Yang Cheng brought people from the Yang family, but that he associated someone from the Wei family. Isn't this someone who happened to be right here with him?

"Someone! Go and call Wei Ting."

Cen Wenben and Yang Cheng were shocked when they heard Li Yuanji's words. Wei Ting?
Cen Wenben couldn't help but speak first.

"Your Majesty, Wei Zhengping is the prince's man. Letting Wei Zhengping do this is simply giving the results to the prince! Your Majesty, think twice. If there is really no one else available, you can let Xuan Ce go, or I can go there myself. Don't use Wei Ting!"

Yang Cheng also spoke up immediately afterwards.

"Yes, brother-in-law, at worst I can go back to Chang'an, and I will definitely pull some people over from the Yang and Wei families. Now there are so many people from the Yang and Wei families here, and my sister and the others are here too. The relationship is already there, and when the time comes I will ask them to send the best talents in the family.

Brother-in-law, you must not use Wei Ting. Although he is from the Wei family, he is from another branch. Especially since he is the crown prince's confidant, then the three kingdoms will be taken advantage of by the crown prince. You can't do that."

Looking at the anxious Cen Wenben and Yang Cheng, Li Yuanji smiled. He used Wei Ting because he knew that the conflict between Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin was bound to break out, and it was impossible to complete it in a short period of time. As long as the conflict broke out, no matter who won, they would not be able to take care of the things there for the time being.

If Li Shimin wins in the end, he will laugh out loud. Wouldn't Wei Ting then become his man?

He really hoped that Li Shimin would win, so that at least some of Li Jiancheng's men would come to him. He was also jealous of Li Jiancheng's men, as they all had good abilities.

Then Li Yuanji spoke.

"Jingren, Yuanlin, don't worry about this matter. That kind of situation will not happen. Have you forgotten the previous news? Especially Yuanlin, you should know that there have been many natural disasters in the Tang Dynasty this time. The price of grain has been rising, especially in the next two years, and it will even reach a peak. The internal affairs will be enough to give them a headache. In addition, the Turks often invade. If the Tang Dynasty does not send heavy troops to defend, Chang'an will face the Turks' front.

And most importantly, there will be a conflict between the Crown Prince and the King of Qin. This conflict will be completely different from the previous ones. There will be a battle between the Crown Prince and the King of Qin, and whoever wins will be the new emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

At that time, coupled with things like this, as well as natural disasters within the Tang Dynasty, the need to rebuild everything in various places, and the threat of the Turks, no matter who wins, they will not be able to take care of us in the short term. This is our last chance.

During this time, we must grow stronger. The issues of Wa, Baekje, Silla, and Zhenla must be resolved within this time. Only then can we have a say. Do you understand?"

Cen Wenben and Yang Cheng were both shocked by Li Yuanji's words. They had not expected that such a conflict would break out between Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin. Although Li Yuanji did not explicitly state the conflict, they could all guess that it was a mutiny.

Only a mutiny could lead to a major war, and it must happen within Chang'an. Otherwise, as long as the palace cannot be controlled, especially Li Yuan, the consequence of the mutiny would be death.

Although they were shocked by what Li Yuanji said, they all believed that neither Li Jiancheng nor Li Shimin would give up. Besides, since it was Li Yuanji who said it, they were even more willing to believe it, because according to what Li Yuanji said, they had seen too many impossible miracles in Li Yuanji.

Then Cen Wenben was the first to react, his face full of excitement.

"Your Majesty, if this is the case, I suggest that we act sooner rather than later. At the same time, I suggest that we act in advance against Zhenla. We don't need to wait until the army is fully formed and trained before going to the battlefield.

With tens of thousands of experienced elite veterans, and generals like Shufang, Dingfang, Junmai, and Tandian leading them, we can fully achieve the goal of training troops through battle, and the casualties will not be heavy. If we capture it as soon as possible, we can also strengthen our strength as soon as possible!"

Li Yuanji looked at Cen Wenben and could only say that Cen Wenben's brain was indeed quick, and Li Yuanji was also very pleased.

"Let's make this decision first. We'll talk to Zhengping later. Also, we need to prepare two people to assist Zhengping. Jingren, you will arrange for these two people."

Cen Wenben agreed immediately and sent the two men to follow Wei Ting. Cen Wenben knew very well that these two men were used to counter Wei Ting and prevent Wei Ting from causing any trouble. Although Li Yuanji said so, Li Yuanji would not be completely confident in Wei Ting.

After a while, Wei Ting arrived and Li Yuanji told Wei Ting about this matter.

"Zhengping, now you know what's going on. When you go there, you just need to do the same thing as you did with Japan and Silla. As for Baekje, you need to find someone to do business with Baekje. You must not let Silla find out that it's you who is in contact with Baekje.

It was imperative to ensure that Baekje maintained its advantage over Silla, and at the same time maintain close contact with the eight major clans of Baekje. The power of Baekje was almost all concentrated in the hands of these eight clans. Buyeo Zhang originally made a living by farming in Iksan and had no power at all.

Even though they regained some power after taking office, the power is still in the hands of these eight families. You have to publicize the strength of Baekje and let them fight Silla fiercely, making them think that they are very strong and even the Tang Dynasty cannot compare to them.

This must be done. If you need financial support, just tell Yang Cheng. The money from the weapons and goods sold by Yang Cheng can be used to support you first, but you must make the eight major families and the people in the Baekje court expand their power.

As for Silla, you must put them at a disadvantage. Although you cannot defeat Baekje, you cannot let Silla be destroyed easily. At least before you have a complete grasp of the situation in Japan, Silla cannot be destroyed by Baekje.

As for Japan, all deployments must be accelerated after you go there. After the war with Zhenla is over, the next step will be Japan!

I know Zhengping is my eldest brother's confidant, but you also know that here in Lingnan, even if there are places like Zhenla in the future, it is still far inferior to the Tang Dynasty. I just want to take down Japan and then strengthen business with those countries in the north.

I have always been firmly following my elder brother. My visit to Lingnan this time has allowed my elder brother to take advantage of the situation to suppress the King of Qin a lot. Besides, with me here, the King of Qin will have to think twice before doing anything, right?
In addition, as long as this task can be completed, I will let you, Zhengping, go back. In addition, of the four technologies of sailing, snow salt, white sugar, and glass, I can give you two and tell you the production process. It will be up to you, Zhengping, to choose which two you want.

Zhengping, how about you help me? You have been here for such a long time, and I have been very good to you. I have not hidden anything from you, and you have not been on guard against my brother. Moreover, you have completely offended the King of Qin. You should know about Changsun Wuji and Cheng Yaojin.

How about giving me a hand?"

Li Yuanji spoke pitifully, as if he was completely at the mercy of Li Jiancheng, like Li Jiancheng's little brother.

At this moment, Wei Ting was not only shocked but also very confused. What shocked Wei Ting was that Li Yuanji actually set his sights on Japan and that the development was so fast.

What is puzzling is why Li Yuanji wanted him to go? You know, he is Li Jiancheng's confidant. Does Li Yuanji really trust Li Jiancheng so much and is he really so selfless?
After thinking for a while, Wei Ting still couldn't figure it out, because in his eyes, Li Jiancheng was bound to win. Was Li Yuanji really doing this just for business?
Thinking that Japan was just a small country, even if Li Yuanji's strength would be improved, he would still have no chance of winning against Li Jiancheng who had ascended the throne. Wei Ting agreed immediately. Anyway, no matter what, with him there, he would know what Li Yuanji wanted to do, and that was enough.

"King Qi, I am willing to go. Please rest assured, I am confident that I can do this little thing well."

Wei Ting did not consider the possibility of failure at all. It was not that he looked down on those people. Under the general trend, those people really could not cause any waves. Moreover, he could get two technologies, which was a great deal in his eyes.

As for Li Yuanji's default? He had never thought about it. With Li Jiancheng's support, he would not do that unless Li Yuanji wanted to offend Li Jiancheng.

Li Yuanji was relieved after hearing this. He believed in Wei Ting's ability. To become Li Jiancheng's confidant, one must have some solid skills, as it would be impossible to squeeze into that circle.

Li Yuanji sneered in his heart. This time, he was targeting the three small countries of Japan, Baekje and Silla. How could Japan alone make him go to war so hard?

As for Baekje, these people will be extremely arrogant. He doesn't mind letting Baekje become arrogant in advance. As long as it becomes arrogant, when he occupies Japan, it will be the day of Baekje's destruction, and Silla will naturally become like Funan and Tangming.

His trade will be able to expand further, and his influence will gradually spread to the north. Only then will Yu Minghe be able to truly demonstrate his role.

(End of this chapter)