"The Li family has lived in Xia Sui for a long time, obeyed the imperial court, guarded the borders and kept the people in peace, and has made great contributions. My reward is not enough, so why do I want to take away your fiefdom? I sit on the throne of the world, and everyone from all directions submits to me. All the people in the party also belong to me. Our subjects will not be treated differently. You can rest assured and don’t think otherwise. It is not easy to come to Tokyo, and it is even more difficult for you and me to meet each other. Please stay for a while and let me fulfill my friendship as a landlord... ..."
Liu Chengyou met Li Yiyin at the Long Live Hall. Looking at the old chief Dang Xiang who was standing carefully below with a slight bow, he said insincere words in a tolerant and generous tone.
When Li Yiyin arrived, he was particularly respectful and showed no hint of unruliness. He obeyed Liu Chengyou in everything, even if he was asked to sit down, he refused, saying that he could only answer standing.
After Liu Chengyou finished speaking these words, Li Yiyin's nervous mood relaxed slightly. However, after carefully understanding the emperor's words, it was obvious that he had some intention of retaining him, which made him have to be wary. However, at least for now, the emperor has made it clear that if he does not take away his land in Xiazhou, it will not be time to fall out, so he can feel at ease.
After Li Yiyin resigned, Liu Chengyou also put away his hypocritical expression and murmured: "Even if I have a mind that is open to all rivers and inclusive of all things, if I want to deviate, how can I raise a tiger to cause trouble? If you are not of my race, your heart must be different. ! If you don’t pay taxes and serve in the imperial court, how can you be my people?”
Liu Chengyou's words also showed his attitude towards the trouble-making army. The person waiting beside him was Lu Duoxun. In the past few years since the return of the Western envoy, he had been assigned by Liu Chengyou as the northwest affairs officer.
The migration of the garrison, the investigation of border affairs, the appeasement of various tribes, and anything related to the military and political affairs of the northwest are all filled with his presence. Before the Northern Expedition, Lu Duoxun was once again ordered to go to the northwest to contact various parties. During the process of Guo Chongwei's recruitment of Fan cavalry, he did a lot of auxiliary work.
"What do you think of Li Yiyin?" Liu Chengyou asked Lu Duoxun, turning his body sideways.
Lu Duoxun was young and energetic at first, and he achieved great success in one fell swoop. He was full of talent and formidable energy. However, things did not go smoothly after he became an official. Liu Chengyou not only suppressed him, but also repeatedly tempered him. When he was about 20 years old, he was sent to the Western Regions. It lasted for two years and he returned after suffering many hardships.
Later, Liu Chengyou further recognized him and entrusted him with important tasks. But even so, it was still far from what he expected. However, these years of training are not in vain. He has become much more reserved and calm. However, the tact he reveals from time to time still proves that his true nature has not changed. There were two people in the court who were best at figuring out Liu Chengyou's thoughts, one was Tao Gu and the other was Lu Duoxun.
At this time, after hearing Liu Chengyou's inquiry, Lu Duoxun did not dare to neglect, but he still thought about it for a while, carefully observed the emperor's expression, and then said: "Look at his performance, be cautious, worry about gains and losses, and his mind will be different. It’s unbelievable! As for the offer to Xia Sui, it can’t be taken seriously. However, Liu and Gao Er envoys came forward one after another, so he had to express his feelings, so he followed suit as a test!"
"You decided on him directly!" Liu Chengyou seemed a little surprised.
Lu Duoxun complimented: "How can he hide his tricks from His Majesty?"
"If I had just promised him directly to accept Xia Sui and uphold the great righteousness, what would he do?" Liu Chengyou said.
Without thinking, Luduoxue said respectfully: "Your Majesty, how can this old leader of the Party care about this? If His Majesty says so, it will strengthen his determination to rebel against the imperial court!"
"Now that I refuse, he will be respectful and submit to the court?" Liu Chengyou said lightly.
"Otherwise!" Lu Duoxun shook his head and solemnly said to Liu Chengyou: "Your Majesty, please forgive me for speaking frankly. It seems that the army is determined to be difficult. Although it is said to be subordinate to the imperial court, it is actually a country of its own, difficult and united. The biggest difference from the forces in the south is , because it is based on party items, and has been rooted in Xia Sui for many years, and the climate has become established. It cannot be determined without using large numbers of soldiers to defeat its army, recover its city, and capture its people!"
After a pause, Lu Duoxun continued: "Furthermore, I believe that with the strength of the imperial court, it is easy to pacify, difficult to conquer, and even more difficult to govern!"
Lu Duoxun's words aroused Liu Chengyou's interest. He stretched out his hand and said, "Sit down! Tell me what you think!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Lu Duoxun bowed slightly, retreated to the table and sat down. After thinking for a while, he calmly recounted: "Your Majesty is already familiar with the development of the Dangxiang people in Xia Sui and the rise of the Tuoba Li family. More words. The Dingnan Army relied on the Dangxiang tribe and took advantage of the opportunity to rise and defend its own side. The Tuoba Li family relied on Dangxiang as their foundation. Although they were called ministers in name, they were not convinced.
With the strength and strength of the Dingnan Army, even a few frontier troops in the northwest can capture it. However, most of the states under its jurisdiction are party members. As long as there are ambitious people who provoke them, there will inevitably be those who cause trouble.
Therefore, if you want to pacify the Li family in one fell swoop, eliminate the dangers of the party, and ensure the peace of the northwest, you need to consider everything! "
Glancing at Liu Chengyou, Lu Duoxun continued: "There are many Dangxiang tribes. In addition to the Tuoba Li family who occupy the prefectures and counties, there are many more who still retain their nomadic living habits. And these people are inseparable from the Dingnan Army. To sum it up. I suggest that we can divide and rule. If the court wants to plan it, it can attack the Difficult Army and the Li family on the one hand, and on the other hand, divide, lure and recruit other party tribes. Such a two-pronged approach can actually achieve full success!"
Hearing what he said, Liu Chengyou smiled a little and looked at Lu Duoxun with admiration in his eyes. If we only talk about military strength, as Lu Duo said, Shi Hongzhao, Wang Yansheng, and Li Wanchao alone would be enough to capture Xiazhou. Although there are many parties, they are not integrated. The strength of the army alone is not worth mentioning.
However, Lu Duosun looked at the essence through the surface. The problem of the Northwestern Difficulty Army is, in essence, a national issue. As he said, the Tuoba Li clan is just one of the many tribes in the party. It has continued to grow and develop since the Li Sigong period, received favor from the court, and eventually became the head of the tribes. As a representative of the party members, he is active in this era. However, if you regard him as a monolith, it will be a blind eye.
Lu Duoxun's views are quite insightful, and there is indeed something to be said for his long-term focus on northwest affairs. In the original history, why did the party members be allowed to become powerful and a mere Li Jiqian turn the northwest upside down? The five states of Xia Sui were gained and lost, and the old land of Hexi will always be regretted.
Among them, there is of course the Li family's century-old management and deep foundation, as well as Li Jiqian's cunning, who worked both sides of the Liao and Song Dynasties with Li Jipeng. But more importantly, it is still related to the mistakes of the Northern Song Dynasty. From the beginning, Zhao Guangyi made constant mistakes, played bad cards, was exhausted and embarrassed, and from the very beginning, he completely ignored party issues.
Of course, at this time, Liu Chengyou, because of the "Xi Xia", attached great importance to it, but it was not necessarily true that he was afraid of it and regarded it as his formidable enemy. With the big man's current strength, if he had to be careful with him, he would be looking down too high on the party members.
However, Lu Duoxun's advice finally gave him an idea. It was a good idea to treat the Dangxiang Army differently from the entire Dangxiang tribe and divide and conquer them.
"How specific?" Liu Chengyou asked again.
"For the Dingnan Army, we mainly focus on reducing and controlling its army. This is military; for the Dangxiang tribe, we use profit to invite them to buy. As far as I am concerned, the Dangxiang tribe relies on them for survival and trading with the Han Dynasty, but salt, Horses are used to obtain food, tea, wine, and cloth. Therefore, as long as the imperial court takes good control of these, it will be enough to prevent a large number of party tribes from easily betraying the imperial court!" Lu Duoxun said eloquently.
He tapped his fingers on the case habitually, thought for a while, raised his eyes and said to Lu Duoxun: "Since you proposed this proposal, I will leave it to you. It is midsummer now, and when autumn cools down, you can do it again." Go to the northwest!"
"Yes!" Lu Duoxun looked slightly happy and readily accepted the order. For Lu Duoxun, he has long regarded the northwest affairs as his future. Liu Chengyou not only listened to his suggestions, but also delegated important party tasks to him.
Liu Chengyou thought about it for a while, and suddenly said: "I just saw Li Yi's eagerness to return home. Originally, he came to the court on his own initiative, so I couldn't treat him too kindly, and I had no intention of detaining him. However, after watching his behavior, I heard that he was eager to return home." Qi Qi, after listening to your advice, I don’t want to let him go back to Xiazhou! Tell me, what is the best way to keep him in Tokyo without damaging the reputation of the imperial court? "
Facing Liu Chengyou's inquiry, Lu Duoxun understood, rolled his eyes, and said: "Your Majesty, there are no good ministers, but there are some bad ones!"
Seeing that he was still pretending, Liu Chengyou raised his hand and said, "Speak!"
Lu Duoxun said: "Your Majesty, it is rare for Li Yiyin to come to Tokyo once, so he should be warmly received and given full enjoyment. With your Majesty's hospitality, Tokyo is so big that even if it takes a year and a half, I am afraid it will be difficult to visit them all. It is inconvenient to travel in the middle of summer and cold winter. We can also celebrate together during the holidays. Li Yiyin is old. If he gets sick again, he will need to take care of himself..."
After Lu Duoxun finished speaking, Liu Chengyou immediately laughed: "When Qin Zaixiong, the Yaoman, came to Beijing, I had someone accompany him on a tour of Tokyo. It seems that I am even more enthusiastic about Li Yiyin!"
After that, Liu Chengyou said leisurely: "If Li Yiyin lingers in Tokyo and forgets to return, then there should be no ups and downs in the army..."
