At the beginning of the lanterns, the Hongmen is red; beside the osmanthus bridge, the night is still young.
In the middle hall, Li Xuan sat down at the table. Opposite him were Yuan Ming, Yuan Wei and his son, and beside him was the Golden Crow Cui Ding.
In the courtyards on both sides, Jinwu guards were held banquets separately, separated by a wall.
Putting down the wine glass in his hand, Li Xuan looked up at Yuan Ming and said seriously: "Perhaps you didn't notice that the Tubo people are particularly anxious about this war.
He did not mention anything else, but just talked about Taozhou, where three thousand Tibetan elite cavalry came over the mountains and ridges in an attempt to capture His Royal Highness. Although there were many benefits once successful, this method was ultimately partial and failed too easily. Said that the losses were also heavy.
No matter what kind of person Qin Ling is, he can't clearly see the hidden dangers in this, but he still acts like this, I'm afraid it is a last resort. "
Under the lantern, Yuan Ming's face was solemn. He looked at Li Xuan and said thoughtfully: "At the beginning of the year, the prince once said at the court meeting that the leader of the Tubo Kingdom will be dead soon. Is it true?"
Although the Yuan and Ming Dynasties did not go to Chang'an in person for the Zhengdan Dynasty Meeting, they went to the memorial hall in Hezhou. No governor dared to ignore such things as the Zhengdan Dynasty Meeting.
Li Xuan pondered for a moment, and then said: "When I asked you, I should have told you the truth, but now Xuan can only say that it is extremely possible."
Yuan Ming's face immediately turned horrified. He couldn't tell the truth. Why couldn't he tell the truth? The matter was confidential. What kind of secret was it? Even he, the governor of Hezhou, was not allowed to know?
Yuan Ming immediately understood the meaning of Li Xuan's words. Mangsong Mangzan, the leader of the Tubo Kingdom, was really about to die.
Although I haven't heard much news, I can still tell what kind of turmoil is going on underneath all this.
"No wonder the Shanzhou side is not in a hurry during this army attack. It turns out to be this reason." Yuan Ming couldn't help but said to himself.
In fact, not only Shanzhou, but also Kuozhou, Dunhuang, Ganliang, and all the Tibetan armies advancing from all directions showed no impatience. They fought steadily and had a terrifyingly stable mentality.
It is nothing more than waiting for Mansong Mangzan to die and Tubo to be in chaos.
The reason why Qinling sent people to raid Taozhou in an attempt to capture Li Xian was because he wanted to seize the initiative in the entire war.
In the battle on the plateau, the slower the pace, the more disadvantageous it would be for Tibet.
Even Qinling himself couldn't control this subtle change in people's hearts.
Especially among his men, there are a large number of Tuyuhun people. Although these people are obedient now, if they do anything wrong, they will immediately flee thousands of miles away.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for reminding me." Yuan Ming raised his glass and said gratefully, "I would like to have a glass of wine, Your Majesty."
"You're welcome." Li Xuan smiled, raised the glass, and drank it all in one gulp.
The wine enters the throat, but only after it enters the throat, the smell of alcohol has dissipated.
Behind him, a maid in green clothes came forward and filled Li Xuan's glass with sake again.
Li Xuan nodded slightly and glanced at Cui Ding. The wine in Cui Ding's glass had not been touched at all.
Yuan Ming, who was opposite him, didn't care. He couldn't tell that Cui Ding was still wearing soft armor. He placed it under the pumpkin hammers on the ground on both sides, and the stone slabs were faintly cracked.
"I'll ask the prince for advice." Yuan Ming raised his head and looked at Li Xuan. He seemed to have many questions in his heart and said directly: "It has been nearly a year since the founding of the Tang Dynasty. Many aristocratic families in Longxi and I have seen their official fortunes decline day by day. I wonder if the prince can do it. Give me some advice?"
Li Xuan's fingers on the wine glass began to rub gently. Yuan Ming was willing to ask him this question, which already showed his attitude.
After pondering for a while, Li Xuan decided to tell the truth: "The Tang Dynasty was founded sixty years ago, but the world is full of talents, but there are always only a few positions in the court.
For ordinary people from poor families, their mere position can make them effective, but for wealthy families, even ten times the official position cannot satisfy their hearts, and they even become more greedy, thus shaking the supreme authority. After all, no one wants to give birth to a second grandson Wuji.
The overall situation of the world is nothing more than this, especially His Majesty is wise and the Queen is wise. If you cannot see the situation clearly, your ability will be insufficient and your situation will be ruined. "
The Yuan clan of Longxi is an established family, but after all, there are few successors.
There are fewer and fewer official positions left by the emperor to the aristocratic families, but you can't compete with others. Who can blame you?
"Is there no solution?" Yuan Ming looked up at Li Xuan with an ugly expression on his face.
"Of course there is." Li Xuan shook his head slightly. Seeing Yuan Ming's eyes light up, he said calmly: "Kuozhou was acquired from Tuyuhun and Henan in the fifth year of Jiande in the Northern Zhou Dynasty. It has jurisdiction over Guide, Jianzha and Xunhua. County, after the death of Tuyuhun, Guide was occupied by Tubo. The county was destroyed and ruled and was no longer owned by the Tang Dynasty. If Guide could be regained, the land of Qingnan and Fuqi City would be taken away and turned into Shangzhou. "
To expand the territory, if you want to win the official position in the Tang Dynasty, in addition to fighting for the territory, the other is to gain from the expansion of the territory.
The winner will become a member of the governor, and his family reputation will be extended. If he hopes for things in the court, he may have to wait for drastic changes in the court.
However, even if there are huge changes in the DPRK, these Longxi aristocratic families may not have much chance.
Because both Li Zhi and Empress Wu had a suppressive attitude towards these long-established Longxi families.
Even Li Xuan doesn't have much favorable impression of them.
In recent years, the pace of Datang's external expansion has become slower and slower, simply because these established aristocratic families are increasingly occupying land and hiding people.
There were fewer and fewer good family members suitable for recruitment, which resulted in the military having to recruit troops from Shandong and even Jiangnan, and its combat effectiveness became increasingly weakened.
But even so, they still feel that it is not enough, they are still greedy for more, and at the same time they are unwilling to contribute.
Compared with Tubo, which was still actively pioneering and enterprising, the Tang Dynasty was actually in decline.
If it hadn't happened that the leader of the Tubo Kingdom, Mangsong Mangzan, was dying, Li Xuan wouldn't have had much hope in this war with Tibet.
Even now, Li Xuan's hope is only to capture Fuqi City and then slowly operate it based on Fuqi City and Qinghai Lake.
As for looking forward to Wuhai, Li Xuan shook her head and forget it, it was too far away.
Moreover, with the Tibetan army in Wuhai, the imperial court's Qinghai army had to be maintained at all times.
Such a large army can in turn affect the situation of the government at critical moments.
If these aristocratic families in Longxi want to make progress, they can only think from the outside. Anyone who tries to fight for power and profit here will be tolerated by the emperor.
Otherwise, why would Li Zhi kill Zhang Yungong so decisively just to warn these Longxi aristocratic families?
They have gradually become a burden to the Tang Dynasty. Even if these old families are still unwilling to pay attention to the newly opened territories, then the positions of these places will not be left to them.
I only know that relying on family background to ask for it, but not willing to serve the country, it is strange that the emperor is willing to give him a good look.
"In addition to Tubo, outside the Western Regions, Andong in Liaodong, and Jiaozhi in Guangnan..." Looking at Yuan Ming who looked uninterested, Li Xuan shook her head slightly and said, "There are also western Fujian, Yunnan and Guizhou, and southern Sichuan. Many of them have made meritorious deeds. …What’s the use of people who can’t make meritorious deeds?”
What's the use of people who can't make meritorious deeds? Li Xuan completely expressed his attitude in one sentence.
Even among the top aristocratic families in the world, Hedong Pei, Pei Guangxiao, Pei Xingjian and Pei Yan, except for Pei Guangxiao, who was an old minister of Zhenguan, none of the other Pei Xingjian and Pei Yan are outstanding in ability, especially Pei Xingjian, the Minister of the Ministry of War, and the God of War of the Tang Dynasty. Killed out.
Yuan Ming couldn't help but want to refute, but when the words reached his throat, he had a strong air that blocked his own words.
The Yuan family is indeed a long-established family in Longxi, but its most glorious time was none other than the few princes at the founding of the country. At that time, the Yuan family and the Li family were still related.
Later, the relationship between the Yuan family and the royal family became more and more distant, and several bets failed to win. Although there were several governors based on their family backgrounds, in the center, at most, they were no more than temple ministers, ministers, and prime ministers. , not at all related to the Yuan family.
In this regard, even if the emperor wanted to, it would be difficult for him to help. There were too many aristocratic families vying for those positions, and there were also children from poor families supported by the emperor. If the Yuan family wanted to rise to power, they would not have much chance at all, and in the end they could only continue in Longxi. However, the more they worked hard, the colder the emperor became towards them.
Yuan Ming raised his head and glanced at Li Xuan. This young young minister of Honglu Temple, the right guard general of the inspection school, the right appreciation doctor of the inspection prince, the deputy marshal of the Taohe Road march, and the deputy general manager of the march. Apart from Wang Jue, he can reach this position. His identity is probably due to his meritorious service.
Jiangnan wiped out the Tianyin Sect, blocked and killed Tianyin Gu, trained 3,000 soldiers, reached a tribute agreement with Silla and Tubo, annihilated the demon sect rebels, and strangled 3,000 Tibetan cavalry. Such meritorious service is to give a real general title. Not too much.
It seems that I need to change my thinking.
Yuan Ming raised his wine glass and toasted to Li Xuan: "In this case, Erlang, please take care of the prince in front."
Li Xuan smiled and raised his glass in response, and said at the same time: "After Xuan leaves the city, Dugu Zhonglang will be in charge, and I hope you will be able to assist me when the time comes."
Yuan Ming knew the origin of Du Gushan, the commander of the right guard, and nodded and said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, Hezhou will definitely not become a drag on the army."
"In this case, Tibet will be in misfortune in this battle!" Li Xuan smiled and poured a glass of wine into his mouth.
Just not being a drag is not enough.
…
The sound of drums and music, the singing and dancing.
More than a dozen beautiful girls wearing white silk clothes appeared in the lobby and danced gracefully.
The slender waist, beautiful feet, slender neck, high bun, and soft face with a white gauze scarf are extremely eye-catching.
Everyone's eyes were on the dancer, but Cui Ding, who was tall and thick, didn't seem to be very interested in her. He kept his eyes alert while drinking.
Suddenly, many dancers spread out like petals, and then, a woman wearing a red skirt bloomed like a flower stamen.
Her skin is extremely fair, and her figure is graceful and slender. When she dances with her ten fingers, she is like a goddess scattering flowers. On the red skirt, a flash of whiteness passes by. On the curved neck, there is a white gauze scarf, and behind it is a He has a hazy face with a Western style and a pair of black eyes that are breathtaking.
Li Xuan's eyes couldn't help but freeze. Even in Chang'an, he had never seen such a beauty.
Yuan family...
Li Xuan turned her head subconsciously, and suddenly saw the expressions of Yuan Ming and Yuan Wei turning completely gloomy.
Could this woman have a different identity?
Li Xuan looked straight again. This time, he could clearly see the obvious mixed-race look on the face of the woman in red.
Li Xuan vaguely understood something.
The singing and dancing stopped and the dancers dispersed.
At this time, a dressmaker came out from behind and said a few words in Yuan Ming's ear.
Yuan Ming's face changed slightly, he raised his head to look at Li Xuan, forced a smile on his face, raised his glass and said: "I'm so excited today, Erlang will leave it to the prince tomorrow. Something suddenly happened at home. I'm rude, but I'm sorry. Please, Your Majesty Haihan."
"You don't have to be polite, Xuan will stay in Hezhou for a long time, and we will meet again someday." Li Xuan raised the glass and drank it down.
Yuan Ming and Yuan Wei also drank all the wine in their glasses at the same time.
Li Xuan stood up and then bowed to say goodbye.
"Erlang, please see the prince off for my father!" Yuan Ming glanced at Yuan Wei, and a trace of surprise flashed in Yuan Wei's eyes, and he cupped his hands and said, "Please, prince."
"Okay!" Li Xuan nodded gently, and then led Cui Ding out, while Yuan Ming stayed where he was, looking back with a terrifyingly gloomy expression.
(End of chapter)
