"Why, isn't it hard to say? Do you still have any concerns? Don't worry, at this moment, what you say will be heard by me, and you will not be heard by a third person." Lu Zhen still smiled calmly, and his tone was very peaceful.

But Li Ling clearly felt unprecedented pressure. The old man in front of him who was looking weak was more powerful than a master like Shao Qiuxi at this moment, so he didn't dare to look at him equally. However, he was extremely unparalleled after all. In a daze, he quickly calmed down and said with a smile: "Where should I start with this...?"

"Say whatever you think, don't be rude."

"Then the Xiaguan can say that it is not bad. Xiaguan thought it was a little good to say that the southwest was poor and bad. The local barbarians did have a hard life, but they did not have any respect for the government. So for the past century, the land called my Dayue was still a land of transformation and a people of transformation. Only from this rebellion in Qianzhou can we see that there are many problems and the court must take measures.

"As for what measures to use, the officials had considered before, using both hardness and softness, and using both kindness and power. Use our glorious imperial army to shock them and help them live a better life, such as opening up commercial roads and transporting more materials needed by local people, and adding the way of Confucius and Mencius to educate them, the southwest will have a great change in ten or twenty years, and it is no different from the south of the Central Plains and Jiangnan."

Lu Zhen listened quietly to him express his opinions, and only asked with a smile until he stopped talking, "Is it over?"

"It's over. After all, the officials are not talented and have little time to become officials, so they can't propose a more detailed charter. However, I think with the wiseness of Your Majesty, the wiseness of the Prime Minister, and the efforts of all the officials in the court, these problems can naturally be solved."

"Is this your opinion on returning to the southwest this time?" Lu Zhen continued to look at him, "Is there no other thought?"

"What else?" Li Ling frowned, "Please let Lu make a clear statement."

"For example, why did the Southwest Rebellion be so smooth at the beginning and so fast that it actually allowed the rebels to occupy almost the entire Qianzhou in just one or two months?"

"This is naturally because they have planned for a long time, and the Long family has ruled the local area. Whether Han or barbarians, they have long been used to obeying the orders of the Long family. Even if there is a dispute within the Long family, it will not affect the military and civilians below."

"Is that so? Then why were they defeated so quickly? It only took more than four months since they rebelled, and it was not that the Western Army could quickly pacify them with only the troops of our court."

"This is another feature of the southwest that Xiaguan wants to talk about, especially Qianzhou. The local people, regardless of the Han and barbarians, were only afraid of the Long family but did not respect them. So when they really encountered trouble, it was difficult for them to maintain their whole heart. So when the Dingxi Army arrived, they only resisted a little and surrendered one after another."

"What about Dingxi Army? So what do you think of this imperial army?"

"Although the Dingxi Army... the officials of the Xiaguan didn't get along very well with him, they could see that this was an elite army with strict military discipline and considerable combat power. If they were placed in the southwest provinces, they would not be able to find an opponent."

"Is that?" Lu Zhen smiled, "I'm a little confused. Since that's the case, why has Dingxi Hou never thought of sharing the worries of the court for many years, sending troops to Qianzhou and suppressing the Long family? Even if it was a secret message to ask for instructions?"

Li Ling was stunned. If he had just had a vague guess in his heart before, then now he was convinced. It turned out that Lu Zhen specially invited him to ask about this matter today.

This is, no, the emperor has begun to doubt the loyalty of Dingxi Hou. Yes, the Dingxi Army has such combat power and can easily quell the Qianzhou Rebellion. So why did he let Qianzhou be controlled by the Long family for so many years, allowing them to seize the land, population and wealth that belonged to the court?

Lu Zhen's words continued: "Dingxi Marquis, Dingxi Army... In fact, from the establishment of this title and army by Emperor Taizong, we can see what the court expected of them. What the court wanted was pacification in the southwest and to enclose all the two places in southern Yunnan and Qianzhou under the jurisdiction of the government!

"But over the years, what have they done? They have always been the so-called detention strategy, allowing barbarians like the Long family to steal the power, but they have caused the officials sent by the court to suffer humiliation in the local area, which has made these unjusts grow bigger and their ambitions continue to expand. This is why this rebellion has occurred. Li Ling, tell me, what is his intention in this matter and what should he blame?"

Li Ling was silent again. The monarch suspected that the generals holding military power on the border were an extremely common thing, and the situation of Dingxihou was even more serious than that of ordinary border generals. Because his identity was more special, because his Xiao family had been in southern Yunnan for decades, it can be said that the entire Dingxi army was the Xiao family army. How could this make the emperor and the court feel at ease?

In the past, because of the complex situation in the southwest and the involvement of the barbarians in Qianzhou and southern Yunnan, even if the imperial court really sent troops, it might not have better results, so the emperor did not have any other ideas and the Ren Xiao family continued to fool the area.

But now, after seeing the chaos so smoothly, the emperor obviously had a new view on the situation in the southwest and officially became suspicious of the Dingxi Hou. Was he really loyal to the court or had always been raising enemies and respecting himself just to accumulate his own strength? When the opportunity arises, he will suddenly raise an army in the southwest?

After Li Ling understood this level, he felt even more nervous, because he might say it in one sentence, which would determine the future of the entire southwest and even the entire Central Plains.

He was stunned for a while, his mind quickly turned. After a while, he finally spoke hoarsely: "Prime Minister Lu, the lower official really doesn't think that the Marquis of Dingxi will be unjust. He must have been loyal to the court all the time. This was the case before, and it will not change now."

"Oh?" Lu Zhen looked at him. Although he had not asked much, his meaning was clear. This sentence alone was not enough, and he had to have some more reliable explanations. Li Ling had already made an explanation in his mind at this time, and he said slowly: "In fact, the situation in the southwest is indeed complicated. The forces of all parties are involved. Even if the Dingxi Army has the strongest combat power, it cannot suppress millions of people in the two provinces with just tens of thousands.

"Yes, this time the Dingxi Army did quell the Qianzhou Rebellion with a destruction and destruction. It seemed to have the intention of sweeping away all the forces in both places, but in fact, there was another reason. From the inside, this time, the Dingxi Army was only able to attack with all its might, otherwise, some troops would need to be left to guard southern Yunnan, and this battle might not have been won so easily.

"Also, the same is true for supply of grain and grass. If the parties in southern Yunnan had not transported the grain and grass supplies in time to the front, relying on the Dingxi Army's own strength, I'm afraid that even Xunyang would not be able to be defeated.

"On the other hand, it is due to the shortcomings of the rebels themselves. The Long Tianxiang people rely on conspiracies to steal high positions and usurp power, but they did not really convince the public. Even within the Long family, there were people from two sects and three sects who were dissatisfied and resisted. Therefore, when the Dingxi Army entered Qianzhou, they would cooperate with the troops and cooperate inside and outside. As the saying goes, there are few supporters, which is why the Long family's rebellion was quickly quelled. I hope Lu Qiao will understand!"

Lu Zhen listened carefully to Li Ling's explanation, and there was a strange light flashing from time to time in his eyes, as if he was considering it, but also as if he was praising Li Ling's opinion. Then he smiled and said, "In this way, do you think Xiao Ding is loyal to the court, so there is no need to doubt it?"

"The officials dare not make a complete assertion, but at least it seems that Dingxi Hou is still loyal to the court and has no intention of being a second. Moreover, Prime Minister Lu should not forget that after this incident, Dingxi Hou had submitted a letter to the court and was about to open up the official road from Qianzhou to the Central Plains. If he had any other intentions, how could he do such a thing that would damage his development?"

"Well, you're not unreasonable."

"Also, just this time, Xiao Chengzhi, the prince of Dingxi Hou, was also Xiao Chengzhi, who had now lived in the capital, which was enough to prove that Dingxi Hou had no strange intentions." Speaking of this, Li Ling's heart suddenly moved. Could it be that Xiao Chengzhi came to the capital because Xiao Ding knew that there was such suspicion and deliberately promoted it?

This thought made him even more thoughtful. After learning that Sun Bi's mother died of illness, Xiao Chengzhi's reaction was actually quite dull. After all, he was a person he didn't know at all. Even though he was a little in love because of Sun Bi's relationship, he couldn't make it with him to accompany him. He came to pay his respects.

By the way, he suddenly proposed to come to the capital with him and the other two. Did he get his father's letter before that and understand the real purpose of coming here? In other words, mourning my aunt is fake, and entering the court as a proton so that the court can rest assured is true.

At this moment, Li Ling was shocked and had to admire Xiao Ding's foresight. It turned out that he had expected this day, so he was ready.

At this moment, Lu Zhen's aura had slowly dissipated, and the smile on his face became gentle again: "What you said is not unreasonable, so as long as the official road is reopened, the court will no longer have to worry about the Southwest being out of control?"

"That is, the officials thought that the Qianzhou Rebellion would be more beneficial than disadvantages to the court. It not only eliminated the hidden dangers hidden in the southwest in one fell swoop, but also created conditions for the complete control of the two southwest provinces in the future."
Chapter completed!