The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 148 Complicated Government Affairs

"General Gao, please feel free to tell me what you want to say."

Li Heng put the plan on the table and listened to Gao Xianzhi carefully.

Gao Xianzhi said: "Mohe Dagan has not yet unified the Turks, and sent a letter requesting Anxi to send troops for support. Your Highness, will Anxi send troops?"

"Yehu and Dumozhi are dead. Can't he pacify the other Turkic tribes?" Li Heng asked doubtfully.

Gao Xianzhi said: "It should be possible to pacify it, but it will take some time."

"In other words, he wants to use Anxi's military force to pacify the situation as quickly as possible?" Li Heng asked.

Gao Xianzhi said: "That should be the case."

Li Heng already had an idea, but as a leader, if he had to make suggestions and decisions on everything himself, it would not only make him more tired, but also deprive his subordinates of the opportunity to show their abilities. Over time, the people below him would lose their enthusiasm.

So Li Heng asked, "What do you think we should do?"

"Your Highness, I think we should send troops." Cheng Qianli stood up first and replied, "Since Mohe Dagan wants to borrow Anxi's troops for his own use, we can also borrow his strength for our own use. After we send troops to help him pacify other tribes, we will take the opportunity to occupy a few more cities."

Feng Changqing, who was standing beside him, had the same idea at first, but he had been with Li Heng for a long time and had some political considerations, so he stood up and said, "I think it's not possible. Incorporating Suiye City into Anxi is already the biggest concession made by Mohedagan. If we go one step further, I'm afraid we will force Mohedagan to rebel. And even if we take a few more cities, we can't govern Anxi with its current military and political strength. It's not worth the loss."

Cheng Qianli felt that Feng Changqing had some truth in what he said. He was silent for a moment and said, "If that's the case, should we reject him directly? If we reject him directly, Mohedagan will surely be resentful, and the surrounding countries will also think that we have taken advantage of Suiye City and then just sat back and watched."

It was not right to send troops, and it was not right not to send troops. Everyone was in a dilemma for a while.

Seeing that no one else spoke, Gao Xianzhi said, "I think that Mohe Dagan may not really want us to send troops, but he is dissatisfied that he stopped contributing after seeing us take Suiye City."

Cheng Qianli said: "If we don't take Suiye City and destroy Dumozhi, he will probably have no choice but to hide here and there. How can we have a chance to pacify the other Tuqishi tribes?"

"That's true, but people's judgments are different depending on their position." Gao Xianzhi explained, pondered for a moment, and said to Li Heng: "I think we should not send troops, but we can give him other support, such as asking the court to officially enthrone him as the Khan of the Turks, and give him some other assistance."

When others heard this, they all thought it made sense and agreed.

When it comes to geopolitics, a half-dead neighbor is a good neighbor.

Li Heng had the same thought, he was just waiting for others to say it.

Li Heng said, "Since you all agree, I will write a letter to the court to ask for the title of Turkic Khan of Moheda. As for other assistance, it depends on how the court is willing to give it."

After finalizing this matter, Gao Xianzhi said: "After Bukhara sent soldiers to Anxi to study, they wanted to cooperate with us to improve their military equipment. Your Highness, please give us your instructions on whether you agree to this."

Li Ying still did not express his opinion and asked for everyone's opinions.

Feng Changqing said: "Bukhara is rich in resources. If we can cooperate with them, we can also solve some of Anxi's military equipment problems. I think we can talk about it."

Cheng Qianli said: "Bakhana is a buffer zone between the Tang Dynasty and the Arabs. If we can deepen the alliance with Bakhana and strengthen their strength, it will be beneficial to the Tang Dynasty. I agree with General Feng's words."

Others followed suit.

"Then let's do it this way." Li Heng agreed. Gao Xianzhi also reported some news about the towns.

In general, with An Sishun in Suiye City, Xin Yunjing in Shule, and Fu Menglingcha in Yutian, there were no major problems with border defense and military farming was also progressing steadily.

After talking about military affairs, Wang Zhihuan stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, after the border was stabilized in the past two years, the trade routes in Anxi have prospered a lot more than before. Most post stations can no longer carry the goods of merchants, and the roads also need repairs."

Anxi is a vast area with few people living there. In some places, there may be no people living there even if you travel a hundred miles. Therefore, there are no private inns. Passing merchants can only stay at the post stations built by the imperial court.

However, the imperial court's post stations were mainly used for official purposes.

Of course, this is not because the imperial court did not consider commercial and civilian use, but because the imperial court did not have that much money to invest.

Moreover, Anxi had never been peaceful. After a post station was built, Tubo and Tuqish came to harass and half of it was destroyed again.

Therefore, the carrying capacity of the post station has always been a problem.

Li Ying pondered for a moment and asked, "Does General Wang have any suggestions?"

"I am incompetent and I can't make up my mind now." Wang Zhihuan shook his head and sighed, analyzing: "The post station capacity and the road, it sounds like it's just a matter of whether to repair it, but whether it is repaired or not, it will have far-reaching impacts. If it is not repaired, it can only be used by the government, which will hinder the smooth flow of the Silk Road. If it is repaired, firstly, there is no money, and secondly, even if there is money, it is unknown how much profit it can bring after the investment."

Although Wang Zhihuan called him incompetent, Li Heng did not blame him because this issue was indeed a dilemma.

If it is not repaired, it will be inconvenient for commercial circulation. If it is to be repaired, there is no money. Even if the money is obtained, the cost-effectiveness of input and output needs to be considered.

Li Ying then asked the others, "What good ideas do you have?"

Everyone looked at each other, and no one answered.

Li Heng was not in a hurry to express his thoughts, and asked Wang Zhihuan: "General Wang, do you have anything else to say?"

"There is one more thing." Wang Zhihuan bowed and said, "After investigation, I found that many black markets have emerged in Anxi. These black markets are not under the jurisdiction of the Anxi government office. The goods entering the market are not managed in a unified manner, and there is no unified quality and specification management. In addition, there are many ethnic groups in Anxi, and the weights and measures are not the same, which has caused many conflicts."

Market problems have complex roots.

The first is the rise of the black market.

Commercial markets in the Tang Dynasty were only set up in cities above county and prefecture levels, and trading hours were limited to noon to dusk. The markets were highly closed and limited in space and time.

With the development of commerce, such defects become more and more obvious.

For example, in Chang'an, only the East and West Markets were open for trade. Ordinary people had to go to the East and West Markets to buy daily necessities. As time went on, everyone started doing business in the alleys where trade was prohibited, and the imperial court was powerless to control it.

In Anxi, it was very inconvenient for ordinary people to go into the city for both large and small transactions, so the black market came into being.

Although the emerging black market met people's daily buying and selling needs, it lacked government supervision, and its quality and specifications were complicated. Many unscrupulous businessmen and unscrupulous shop owners took the opportunity to harm ordinary people.

This situation is particularly severe in Anxi.

(End of this chapter)