Don't take the Silla people's guarantee too seriously, but compared to the thieving-looking Japanese, the Silla people are obviously better to control.
After talking with the Silla envoy, the image of a girl who admired the Central Plains culture and behaved particularly respectfully became clear in Li Po's mind.
Such a person should be treated with kindness and show his authority. He may become a good puppet or spokesperson in the future. When the right time comes, Silla may not be able to be replaced by a king who is closer to the Tang Dynasty.
.
Li Po considered the longer term. With Silla as a node, sea ships can better explore to the northeast. There are only a few outlets for the continental plate. If there is a chance, he will send people to look around and see what is available now.
Nothing.
It would have been perfect if it had been during the heyday of the pre-Sui Dynasty. With a huge population base as a backing, we could optimistically imagine the prospects for colonization.
Now the Tang Dynasty is not successful. The goal of restoring the population of the Tang Dynasty is ten to twenty years. There is no need to think about colonization in a short time.
Because the territory of the Central Plains was large enough to accommodate a population of 30 million people based on the current production conditions, the Tang Dynasty was still far behind.
But having said that, things like influence don't really need the support of population. Sending people around and dealing with outsiders is a very profitable business for Datang.
……………………
Later, Li Po held a banquet in the Liangyi Palace in honor of Ashina Eli and Jin Shengman, including Li Zirou, the young minister of Honglu Temple, Cui Dunli, his servant Du Chuke, Wei Zheng, the right admonishing doctor, and Yan Shigu, the regular servant of Sanqi.
To accompany.
It was a bit too grand. Li Po actually wanted these people to have more contact with foreign countries and broaden their horizons.
Except for the two people from Honglu Temple, all the others are close relatives of the emperor. After they leave Menxia Province in the future, they will almost certainly be reused. Their vision and structure are very important to them.
The current climate of the Tang Dynasty is pretty good. The nobles have just recovered from the heavy blow. There are no stubborn and conservative people crying and shouting for the restoration of the nine-grade Zhongzheng system. Most of them show an open and tolerant attitude towards new things.
.
The ministers in the court have all experienced the wars in the late Sui Dynasty and gathered again under another flag of the sun, moon and stars. No one wants to repeat the mistakes of the previous Sui Dynasty.
They do not lack ambition and courage, but what many lack is actually the ambition to care for the world and serve the public whole, and to get rid of the influence of closed-minded thinking caused by civil strife.
………………
In the Liangyi Hall, dendrobium trees are intertwined.
The people in the palace mainly talked about the Western Turks, and the small country of Silla had little status in their minds. Especially since the envoy was a young woman, they would not talk to her easily.
Jin Shengman didn't feel left out. For her, just being able to sit and drink with these people was enough.
Their clothes were so luxurious and solemn, and their speech and behavior were so elegant and calm. Her life goal seemed to become clearer here.
The nobles of Silla should also become like this in the future, instead of just looking at people with leering eyes every time they gather together, apart from feasting, drinking heavily, and arguing loudly.
And their topics were always so fascinating. Although there were many parts that she didn't quite understand, it didn't stop her from overflowing with admiration that could overflow her eyes.
Young Ashina's energy is already somewhat overwhelmed.
The servant Du Chuke raised his glass to toast him again, and said: "It was a wise move for the Khan to move to Suiye River. Back then, Khan Shekui settled his tent in Sanmi Mountain, which caused many disputes...
Khan is far away from the land of right and wrong now. In the future, whether he wants to recuperate or make good friends with Tiele tribes, he will be able to do it easily. I don’t know if what I said is right. I hope the prince can give me some advice."
Ashina Zerli has answered many questions like this. He drinks a glass every time. The young man has a good capacity for drinking and it seems he is not drunk yet.
It's just that he didn't have many things in his head, and he couldn't answer the questions of the Tang Dynasty officials accurately and appropriately. He also couldn't understand or even avoid the traps hidden in these questions.
Li Po sat upright on the throne, rarely speaking, and allowed his subordinates to "besiege" Ashina Zeli.
The Western Regions, a place that the people of the Central Plains dream about, has unimaginable attraction for both the people of the Tang Dynasty and the monarchs and ministers of previous dynasties.
From the time of the Pre-Qin Dynasty until Zhang Qian's mission to the Western Regions during the Han Dynasty and the opening of the Silk Road, hundreds of years passed, but the Central Plains dynasty's desire for the distant Western Regions did not diminish at all.
The sea in the east, the jungle in the south, and the grassland in the north limited people's imagination, so the Central Plains Dynasty, which had always had the habit of setting its capital in Chang'an, used the northwest as a breakthrough.
This is the consensus reached by the elites of the Central Plains in the past dynasties. It is the cohesion of strategy and achievements. The only obstacle is the narrow Hexi Corridor.
I don’t know how many soldiers’ bones were buried along the way, and how many people’s dreams were shattered. The rise and fall of the Central Plains dynasties was particularly concrete in the Hexi region.
People today still want to try, and the ultimate goal is to include the Western Regions in the embrace of the Central Plains.
The Western Turks are the stumbling blocks on this road. After understanding what they are going to do, do you still need to ask?
As for what wise move Du Chuke said, Li Po wanted to laugh.
From Sanmi Mountain to Suiyechuan, Tongyehu Khan obviously fled westward, probably because he was afraid of retaliation from the Turkic royal court.
Shekui Khan's eastern expedition left hundreds of thousands of people on the banks of the Tula River. The corpses of Western Turkic soldiers stretched from the ancestral homeland of the Turkic Royal Court to the desert areas of the west. That battle should have completely cut off the Western Turkic people.
people’s ambition to unify the Turks.
From this point of view, it was indeed a wise move for Tongyehu Khan to go to the Suiye River to establish a sweat tent.
The Suiye River is not far from Rehai. This time Ashina came to the east, and the people escorting him were members of the Qibi tribe, one of the nine surnames of Tiele. It seems that the Turks have a connection with the Tiele tribes.
Still so close.
If you want to shake the rule of the Turks, maybe you can start with the Tiele tribes?
……………………
Ashina drank a glass of wine. After being translated by someone, he probably felt that Du Chuke was praising his father, so he smiled happily and said: "We Turkic people have a saying, the gods will guide the pious Ashina."
The descendant went to the place where the water and grass were the most abundant.
Suiyechuan is such a place. Father Khan once stationed there. The leaders of Tiele tribe in the north interacted with him, and the kings in the south also respected him.
Father Khan said that we should go back there and live there, it would be like returning home, so we moved our tent to Suiye River, away from the disputes you mentioned.
I really want to invite the Emperor to go there and have a look. It is a land full of fragrance and grass. No one who lives there wants to leave..."
Everyone in the palace laughed and raised their glasses again to toast the "confused" Western Turkic prince.
In the eyes of these shrewd people, Ashina Zerli's words revealed a lot of information, even including the strategic intentions of the Western Turks.
As for his intention to express that Western Turks are moving forward in a peaceful and quiet environment, it will only make people laugh.
The most indispensable thing in the Western Regions is disputes. Pei Ju once said that there is almost a king living in every city in the Western Regions. The people in the cities come from different places, speak different languages, and have different customs. No one can
Really bring them together.
If the Central Plains dynasty failed, neither could the Huns, and the situation would not change if the Turks were replaced.
There is one exception here, and that is the Rouran people who once briefly ruled the northern grasslands. These savages who drank blood relied on their brute force to run rampant in the Western Regions, and even plunged into Tianzhu.
They used the most brutal methods and simple and direct ideas of rule to make everyone in the Western Region accept their rule. After those who resisted were executed by the Rouran people, no one dared to resist them anymore.
Of course, this kind of brutal rule was like a meteor streaking across the sky. After the rise of the Turks, it quickly disappeared in the long river of history, without even causing much killing.
Because they owed too much blood debt, and their backward civilization could not guarantee their inheritance, the result was that the Rouran Empire disappeared without even leaving a trace, and people quickly forgot about them.
The Western Region was suddenly freed from decades of black terror and restored its old order.
………………
Jin Shengman was infected by the laughter and laughter in the palace. She didn't know where the Suiye River was. She also didn't understand how the powerful Turks split. She didn't even know the difference between the Western Turkic King's Tent and the Turkic Royal Court.
But she still grinned, showing eight teeth, and laughed with people...
Ashina Zeli was drunk. If someone hadn't held him tightly, he might have jumped up and started singing and dancing.
In fact, according to the palace etiquette, the banquet was only halfway through, and then there would be singing and dancing. However, there were many Turks who drank well, and the banquet could not continue halfway through.
Li Po raised his glass and concluded with a toast, "They say it's great to have friends from far away. The two of you have come all the way, bringing with you sincere greetings from afar. I also hope that Datang will have two more friends in the future.
Come, drink this cup with me, and wish that the Tang Dynasty will prosper and unite all nations."
Everyone immediately raised their glasses to celebrate, and the banquet came to an end...
Everyone retreated one after another, and Ashina Eli was also carried away. Li Po planned to go back to the harem to rest, but what he thought in his heart was that Cui Dunli looked good, so he might as well let him go to Silla.
The envoy sent to Silla should be more graceful. This person is from the Cui family of Qinghe. He is elegant, young, and can withstand hardships. He has been sent as an envoy to the Turks before, so he is a good candidate.
While thinking about it, he strolled out of Liangyi Hall, but there was someone waiting outside...