Changsun Meier's eyes were red, the saint held her hand, caressed the back of her hand, and said softly: "I can't live without you, so I really won't let you leave my side unless I have to."
"Mei'er will serve the saint even if she dies."
"I have always treated you as my daughter. Although Sheyue is my biological child, you understand my thoughts better than her." The saint sighed softly: "I am a woman and an emperor. It is more difficult for a woman to be a king than for a man.
Once I am not as good as the previous sage kings, I will be scolded as a disaster by the people of the world. In fact, I know very well that Xiling was lost and the court did not send troops. Many people think that I am a foolish king. If I cannot recover Xiling, I will be destroyed by those people for generations to come.
People reviled."
Changsun Meier's nose felt sore and she said softly: "That's because they don't know the difficulties of saints."
"There is no money in the national treasury, and the empire is surrounded by tigers and wolves. How can I dare to act rashly?" The saint smiled bitterly and said: "I want to recover Xiling as soon as possible more than anyone else, and I have been waiting for the opportunity. The Prime Minister is right, the chaos in Jiangnan, look at it
It seems like a disaster, but it is actually an opportunity." Feng Mu felt chilled and said coldly: "I don't want to go on a killing spree, but I don't allow the Jiangnan family to continue to pose a threat to the court. If they want to survive, I will give them the opportunity to take advantage of it.
The capital from Jiangnan can regain Xiling, which can not only weaken the strength of the Jiangnan family, but also regain territory for the Tang Dynasty, killing two birds with one stone."
"The saint is wise!"
"Before, the Prime Minister has been complaining to me about the empty treasury, and he has always been opposed to spending huge sums of money to recover Xiling." The saint's eyes were deep and he said slowly: "This time he took the initiative to ask for military preparations for war, which is also in line with my wishes. If I
If I take back Xiling, those who curse me behind my back will shut up, and my name will be forever immortalized."
Changsun Meier looked at the saint with watery eyes and said softly: "The saint has decided to organize the army and prepare for war?"
The saint nodded slightly and said: "This is the best opportunity, and I naturally can't miss it." He paused, thoughtfully, and then said after a moment: "Mei'er, you have been by my side for many years. In your opinion,
There are many tigers and wolves around the Tang Dynasty, who is the most terrifying?"
Meier was startled, and the saint smiled slightly and said, "It doesn't matter if you just say so."
"Murong Tiandu is cunning and cunning, and he is both civil and military. He controls two states and fourteen counties in southern Xinjiang, which poses a great threat." Meier said slowly: "However, southern Xinjiang is not a rich land. He has maintained tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. Over the years,
, in fact, it is already at the end of its strength.”
The saint smiled and nodded, and Meier continued: "Although the Tusun people in the north are brave, the tribes are divided and divided. Although Tie Han of the Du'er Hu tribe wants to unify all the grassland tribes, it is impossible to achieve it in a short time. The Tusun people are scattered.
At present, it does not pose an absolute threat to the Tang Dynasty." After a pause, he continued: "In terms of military strength, the most difficult one to deal with is the Wutuo Khanate. They have coveted the Tang Dynasty for a long time and have always wanted to go east.
Expansion has always been a thorn in my side of the Tang Dynasty."
"That's right." The saint sneered: "The Wutuo people are evil-minded. If they let Xiling alone, and wait until the Wutuo Khanate completely controls Xiling with the help of Li Tuo's rebellion, then the Tang Dynasty will directly face the Wutuo Khanate. There is only one way.
Jiayuguan is blocking it. Although Jiayuguan is a natural moat, there is no real copper or iron wall in this world. Once the Wutuo people break through the pass and the Wutuo cavalry gallops through the pass, our country, the Tang Dynasty, will be in danger."
Meier said: "So the saint wants to solve Xiling as soon as possible?"
"As long as Xiling is in the hands of the Tang Dynasty, it can become a buffer place with the Wutuo Khanate." The saint said calmly: "If the Wutuo people want to attack, as long as Xiling delays them for a while, the Tang army will have enough
You have enough time to prepare, so the importance of Xiling to the Tang Dynasty is self-evident." After a moment of pondering, he said: "The Wutuo Khanate is a big sword, and everyone in the Tang Dynasty knows that they are the strongest opponent, but compared with
Since the Utuo Khanate, the Bohai Kingdom has been the real thorn in the side. They are not knives, but daggers, and the entire Bohai Kingdom is a seasoned assassin."
"assassin?"
"When I ascended the throne, rebellions broke out all over the place. I thought that the Bohai Kingdom would follow suit, so I deployed a lot of troops to garrison Liaodong." The saint smiled calmly: "But the people of Mali still surprised me.
They actually remained stationary and did not even send anyone to harass the border." He stared at Mei'er and said, "Yuan Gaijian's deep scheming and calm temperament even surprised me. Very few people would withstand that kind of situation.
lure."
Changsun Meier frowned and said: "After the rebellion was put down, the saint also issued a decree of praise and gave many rewards to the Bohai Kingdom. He also allowed Bohai merchants to trade anywhere in the Tang Dynasty, and only charged the lowest tax to the Bohai merchants."
"That's right." The saint smiled faintly: "Mei'er, do you understand why Yuan Gaijian didn't take advantage of the situation?"
"Emperor Wuzong conquered Bohai, and Bohai knelt down and begged to surrender." Changsun Meier is very familiar with the history of the Tang Dynasty: "Emperor Wuzong enfeoffed the princes in Bohai and divided the Bohai country into seven. In the year when the saint ascended the throne, the seven princes of Bohai were still in charge of their own affairs.
, Yuan Gaijian wanted to seize the opportunity to annex the princes, so he did not send troops."
"If Yuan Gaijian had invited the Bohai princes to enter the customs, would they have agreed?"
Changsun Meier thought for a moment and nodded: "Bohai people are fickle and put profit first. If they have the opportunity to enter the Tang Dynasty and plunder, they will not miss it."
The sage said: "Yes, if Yuan Gaijian ordered the Bohai princes to enter the pass for temporary gain, he could do it. But this man did not do so. He took advantage of the fact that the Tang Dynasty had no time to look east, and annexed it as quickly as possible.
Although Yuan Gaijian was the strongest among the princes at that time, and he was using the title of King of Bohai as Mo Lizhi, he was able to unify Bohai within three years, and he was indeed a tycoon. This person did not have the power to do anything for a short time.
, but he was far-sighted and sent a delegation to congratulate him afterwards, expressing his loyalty to the Tang Dynasty and making many requests. Mei'er, this Bohai Molizhi is not an ordinary person."
Changsun Meier nodded slightly and said softly: "This person showed his loyalty to the Tang Dynasty, and at the same time he went to fight everywhere to expand his power. It is indeed not easy."
"Sometimes even I can't guess this person's thoughts." The saint said slowly: "So in the future, when we regain Xiling, the people from Moli are the real variables. I need to get married with Bohai, and I need someone to fight for the Tang Dynasty in Bohai.
On the day of regaining Xiling, the Bohai side must not act rashly." Staring into Changsun Meier's eyes, he said softly: "Who do you think can help me do this?"
Changsun Meier's delicate body trembled, she lowered her head and said nothing.
"I know that leaving your homeland is not what you want." The saint raised his hand and caressed the eldest son Meier's hair: "I don't want you to leave either, but I am the emperor, and the first thing I think of must be the Tang Dynasty. If it is for the Tang Dynasty, even if I
Even if you don’t want to give up, you can sacrifice everything.”
The eldest grandson Meier raised her head, her eyes filled with tears: "If Meier can be loyal to the saint, she will be willing to be broken into pieces."
"Good boy." The saint stretched out his hand to personally wipe away the tears from the corner of Sun Meier's eyes, and said softly: "But I won't let you go unless it is absolutely necessary. The Bohai envoy has not arrived yet. I will wait until they arrive in Kyoto.
Make a decision."
Changsun Meier lowered her head, her delicate body trembling slightly.
It was July, and in a farmland on the outskirts of Baima County, Yanzhou, farmers were harvesting rice in full swing. It was the busy farming season. After harvesting rice, the next season's rice had to be planted quickly.
Baima County has been peaceful in the past few years, and the magistrate of Baima County can be regarded as an upright official, so the officials govern the county cleanly, there are no bandits and chaos in the county, and the people can live and work in peace and contentment.
Although I didn’t have much savings after a year, I was still able to have enough food and clothing.
At noon, which is the hottest time of the day, there are two large locust trees in the field. Several farmers are drinking water and resting under the big locust trees for a while, waiting for the sun to pass before going to the fields.
Although their bodies are very thin, their skin is dark and they look very strong.
There is a road not far from the field ridge, but the sun has been so strong these days that there are not too many pedestrians.
So when two tall horses appeared on the road, they immediately attracted the attention of several farmers.
Riding on the back of the horse in front was a young man of fifteen or sixteen years old. His clothes were made of coarse cloth and his bronze skin looked very special. On the back of the horse behind him, there was a tall middle-aged man sitting on the back of the horse behind him.
A young man, the two looked like father and son, but the son walked in front of me. This was really a transgression for the Tang Dynasty, which had an orderly history.
The farmers noticed the young people, and the young people also saw them. They reined in their horses and waved hello to the farmers. Then they got off their horses and held a black cloth bag in their hands. It was long and had no shape.
Know what's inside.
"Hello!" The young man looked handsome. He was a few steps away and nodded with a smile on his face: "Do you want to compete with me?"
The farmers looked at each other, and the young man took out a piece of gold directly from his arms. Under the sun, the gold was shining brightly. He held it in his palm and said with a smile: "This is ten taels of gold, which can be exchanged for more than one hundred taels of silver. One hundred taels."
Silver can be exchanged for many things."
"Hunter, what do you mean?" A farmer in his early forties looked confused.
"I like to compete with others. Whoever beats me will give this ingot of gold." The young man was very polite and always had a smile on his face when he spoke: "I see that you are all very strong. You must be very powerful. Do you have any?"
Who will compete with me?"
The farmers looked at each other.
Ten taels of gold is of course an astronomical figure to these farmers.
After a year of exhausting work, food and clothing, it is already extraordinary to be able to save two to three taels of silver. This young man has more than a hundred taels of silver in one hand. For the farmers present, this life has been a long time.
They may not be able to save so much money.
"We have never practiced martial arts, how can we compete in martial arts?" The bright light of gold still moved several farmers: "If we want to compare strength, we can give it a try."
The young man smiled and said: "It doesn't matter. If you have strength, use your strength, just like fighting every day." He weighed the gold ingot and said with a smile: "Regardless of your hands and feet, just take off one of my hairs or any part of my body."
This gold ingot is yours. If you can knock me to the ground, I still have two gold ingots on me, and they will also belong to you."
The farmers all laughed, thinking that the young man was just joking.
This young man looks very thin, and he is young. Even if he has practiced boxing, he is definitely not that powerful at his age. It may be difficult to knock him to the ground, but from him
It's really not that difficult to pull a hair off your body.
"Su Laogeng, don't you usually like to do kung fu with a hoe?" Someone smiled at a strong man who was less than forty years old and said: "Your boy is already old enough to get married. Doesn't it mean that he fell in love with you?"
The daughter of the Li family? If you win, the marriage will be done right away, and it will be done in a grand way, and the whole village will benefit from you."
Mr. Su looked the young man up and down. When he saw the young man looking at him with a smile, he stood up and said, "Just hit me. Young man, do you keep your word? If I really want to knock you to the ground, do you want to?"
Give me three ingots of gold?"
The young man didn't talk nonsense. He bent down and put the gold ingot in his hand on the ground. He took two more ingots and put them down. He pointed at the gold ingot and said: "I fell to the ground, you take it away!"
Su Laogeng did not hesitate anymore and stepped forward quickly. At this moment, he saw that the man on the horse behind him had already dismounted, took a document in his hand, stepped forward and said: "Let this be written as evidence. This
It's a contract, you have to compete and press your fingerprints."