Although Cheng Dong hated Lao Jianhua till the roots of his teeth and despised him as a person from the bottom of his heart, he had to admit that as Li Jiangyao's mortal enemy, Lao Jianhua was still very knowledgeable.
Sister Cheng Wen's guess was correct. Lao Jianhua was a very important chess piece against Li Jiangyao.
Thinking of this, Cheng Dong put away his obvious hostility before and said calmly: "Mr. Lao, if you were in my position, how would you handle the situation in front of you?"
Lao Jianhua had long expected that Cheng Dong would ask him for advice on how to deal with it, so he smiled calmly and replied: "Put on the posture of fighting to the death, and at the same time control the atmosphere of war but not war, and then force Li Jiangyao to negotiate. Make four concessions.”
Cheng Dong's eyes lit up and he asked: "What four points?"
"The first thing is to let Li Jiangyao recognize the status of the empress and obey the decree of the court." Lao Jianhua said with a smile: "This will be the legal protection of the Cheng family in the future, and it can also suppress Murong Xue and other generals from causing trouble to the maximum extent. "
Hearing this, Cheng Dong nodded slightly: "That makes sense. If the Zhenjiang Army officially recognizes the legitimacy of my sister's acting on behalf of the emperor, then other armies will not dare to disobey easily."
Lao Jianhua looked at Cheng Dong thoughtfully and continued: "Secondly, when the Zhenjiang Army passes through the border to the west, Zijin Pass and Shengyuguan must be handed over to the imperial court and your Forbidden Army Corps will take over."
Cheng Dong was stunned for a moment, then waved his hand: "This is absolutely impossible! Li Jiangyao is not a young boy who has just entered the battlefield, but a famous general who has experienced hundreds of battles. How can he not know the importance of the two levels? That is Zhenjiang Those who were snatched back from the Turks with swords and spears cannot be handed over obediently by me with just a few words."
"How can you know if you don't try?" Lao Jianhua said leisurely: "Li Jiangyao's focus now is to deal with the problem of the Western Continent as soon as possible, and prepare the defense line in the western part of Guimo in advance to prevent the war from entering Western Xinjiang, so you still have The opportunity can achieve the goal. No matter how bad it is, we can use this as a condition to force the other party to agree to the next two things."
Cheng Dong nodded thoughtfully and asked, "You said there are two more at the end, what are they?"
Lao Jianhua responded: "The imperial court dispatched local officials to Western Xinjiang, resumed the implementation of the governance of Shengtang Prefecture, and exchanged garrison troops."
"Exchange of stationed officials and garrison troops?" Cheng Dong was slightly surprised when he heard this: "This... This is probably more difficult than asking Li Jiangyao for Zijin Pass and Shengyuguan. He had previously gone to Li Bing, the Emperor of Shu, to demand the implementation of autonomy in Western Xinjiang. , and the emperor and the court also nodded in agreement. Now if the original state governance is completely restored, wouldn't it be tantamount to going back on one's word? In contrast, garrison exchange is even less feasible. That ghost place is the territory of the Zhenjiang Army. How can they Maybe agree to someone else’s intervention?”
Lao Jianhua said confidently: "You have to agree even if you don't agree. Duke Zhen Guo, you have to know that this is probably your best and last chance. If you miss this time, you will lose the Western Frontier forever and will always be in trouble." Under the surveillance and suppression of the powerful Xinjiang Army, there will no longer be peace."
These words were consistent with Cheng Wen's views, and Cheng Dong couldn't help but hesitate. The thought of the Zhenjiang Army taking control of Western Xinjiang and eyeing the imperial capital at any time sent chills down his spine.
Just as Lao Jianhua said, Li Jiangyao is going to deal with the Persian Empire now. He may not want to cause more trouble and immediately fall out with the Cheng family. However, once the potential threat in the west is removed, the Zhenjiang Army will be free to Then the misfortune of the Turks would most likely befall the Zhenguo government.
Cheng Dong took a few quick breaths and asked in a deep voice: "Can Li Jiangyao really agree to these conditions? Could it be that...we pushed him too hard, and he simply refused to do anything and chose to go to war with us directly? ?”
A hint of imperceptible sarcasm flashed in Lao Jianhua's eyes, and he said with a straight face: "Mr. Zhenguo, all mature politicians understand the meaning of assessing the situation and taking bold risks. Nothing in the world is smooth sailing or guaranteed. Opportunities often only come to you when you take risks. The Queen understands this truth more clearly than you, otherwise, she would not have captured Li Bing at the critical moment."
Cheng Dong looked at the other party and asked, "What should you pay attention to when negotiating with Li Jiangyao?"
Lao Jianhua stroked his beard and smiled: "What? Duke Zhen Guo is now willing to regard me as an ally?"
"I did not lead troops to surround this place. Capturing you on the spot has already shown my attitude." Cheng Dong said seriously: "Mr. Lao, the hatred between you and me can be put aside for the time being until the situation of the Suppression Army is dealt with." Let’s talk about it later.”
Lao Jianhua put his hands on his hands and laughed: "Okay, the Duke of Zhen is indeed able to take things up and let them go. He is a talented person who understands current affairs. Since you can trust me, I will propose another plan for the Queen and the Duke to ensure that they have a good chance of winning. increase."
"Appreciate further details."
"Please announce to the public that the imperial court will soon send a special envoy to visit Persia to jointly attack the Turkic Empire and avenge the late emperor, the Xu family, and the tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers who died at the hands of the Turks," Lao Jianhua said every word. He said: "And this just crusade will be undertaken by the Forbidden Army."
Hearing this, Cheng Dong's eyes suddenly lit up and he praised loudly: "Brilliant! This is a brilliant plan!"
On behalf of the Holy Tang, the Forbidden Army went to conquer the blood feuding Turks, which was equivalent to immediately adding a layer of amulet to their body. Anyone who dares to attack the Forbidden Army at this time is tantamount to colluding with foreign enemies and trying to prevent the just act of seeking justice for the invaders. Therefore, he is a shameful traitor of the Shengtang Dynasty and instantly becomes a public enemy of the people of the world!
And because the Forbidden Army was going to join forces with the Persian army to attack the Turks, there was no need for the Xinjiang Army to rush back to Western Xinjiang. This statement was enough to make a reasonable explanation to all parties in the court.
Cheng Dong secretly praised in his heart: Lao Jianhua is indeed a master of conspiracy!
To be honest, many discerning people can understand the reason and purpose behind Li Jiangyao's release of Gema Khan, and later his release of Tanli and Hesijia on the battlefield: This was done to weaken and balance The influence of the countries in the Western Continent will reduce the covetousness and intrusion of the people there on the Western Border, thereby ensuring the long-term peace of the Shengtang Border.
However, this kind of far-sighted political method can be understood by high-level officials, but ordinary people may not be able to accept it. Especially those people who have suffered great suffering and lost their loved ones in the resistance war will immediately be extremely excited and in favor of the idea of revenge against the Turks.
And Li Jiangyao's biggest political weakness lies precisely here. Not to mention those Shengtang people living in Central China, even the local ethnic groups in Western Xinjiang would probably be resentful and dissatisfied with his deliberate "protection" of his enemies.
Previously, due to factors such as poor information, and the fact that the Zhenjiang Army was the heroic unit that defeated Ashina Zhijin, many people did not believe Li Jiangyao's release of Gema and Tanli. But now, the Persian attack on the Turks has become a reality, and if the Forbidden Army also wants to participate in the war for revenge, the situation will become very clear: if Li Jiangyao attacks the Persian army and the Forbidden Army at this time, he will be completely following the Turks Stand together!
He absolutely cannot afford the price of losing the morale of the people and the military!
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The day after Cheng Dong and Lao Jianhua secretly met, the Governor-General put forward a proposal at the morning meeting: to unite with Persia in the West, to defeat the enemies together, to bloodbath the Turkic Empire, to avenge the former emperor and the common people, and to revive the Shengtang Dynasty. The power of the country and the power of the army.
Faced with the impassioned speech of the Governor's Office, all the officials from the Queen's family, including the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites, the Yushitai and the Imperial College, unanimously expressed their approval and asked Cheng Wen for permission to send troops to the west to exterminate the Turks.
As the prime minister, Tian Mu even added a cruel sentence on the spot: The hatred between the Holy Tang Dynasty and the Turks is as deep as the sea. Whoever dares to oppose the Western Expedition will be a sinner in the world.
As soon as these words came out, those ministers who were still a little hesitant and felt that the idea of attacking the Turks suddenly proposed by the Governor's Office seemed too hasty and subject to discussion, did not dare to say anything anymore.
Cheng Wen pretended to ask which army was suitable to send. People from the Ministry of War quickly stood up and said that logically speaking, of course the Phoenix Legion was the best, but the Zhenjiang soldiers had just finished mopping up the rebellion in the south. They had suffered a lot of casualties and were short of men and horses. It was really not appropriate to travel hard again.
Cheng Dong, the Duke of Zhenguo, immediately accepted the offer and declared that he was willing to lead the Forbidden Army on an expedition to the Western Continent to teach the former emperor Li Chengwu and his father Cheng Kaiyang a lesson to the invaders and wash away the shame of the Holy Tang Dynasty.
His words immediately aroused a lot of discussion. Many officials at the scene had no idea that the Queen's direct armed forces would leave the imperial capital alone and actively request an expedition. What kind of trick was this?
However, what surprised them even more was that Cheng Wen actually agreed to such an outrageous thing.
Everyone was confused and looked at each other, but they all thought in their hearts: Are the Cheng brothers and sisters crazy? A few days ago, Li Daduhu's Zhenjiang Army had just suddenly seized control of Tongguan. Hundreds of thousands of elite troops, less than 300 miles east of the imperial capital, might attack the imperial capital at any time. Everyone is still guessing whether Cheng Dong will dare to lead troops to stop the Xinjiang Army, and whether the Zhenjiang Army will draw swords against the relatives of the descendants. But in the blink of an eye, the Forbidden Army actually planned to go on an expedition? Does the Imperial Capital really not want it?
Faced with the doubts of the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty, the Cheng brothers and sisters seemed confident. The Governor's Mansion, the Ministry of War, and Cheng Dong performed another "discussed" performance in front of everyone, and finally decided: the Forbidden Army will deploy half of its troops, and a hundred thousand troops will go to the Western Continent via the Ghost Desert of Western Xinjiang, from Invading the territory of the Turkic Empire from the east, striving to join forces with the Persian army in Flame Maple Forest City.
The special envoy responsible for contacting Persia set off first, and the expeditionary force began to seize the time to prepare and head west at any time.
This proposal was approved by the emperor and empress, and the imperial edict was issued to the world.
