On June 22nd of the seventh year of Yuanzhen of the Tang Dynasty, the alliance between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks ended, and the emperor returned south immediately.
Yu Wenquan, the general of You Yiwei, led his army to pick up the troops on the south bank of the Yellow River, north of Yulin.
Ever since Yu Wenhuo led his army to the south with Li Po, and was ordered to enter Shu to attack Li Xiaogong and Chai Shao, and then served as the general manager of Kuizhou, he has been fighting against the Nanman.
It has been six or seven years since he last met. When he went north, he met him in Yanlu City, and he was very excited when he saw him.
Yu Wenhuo resigned from the post of general manager of Kuizhou and left the town of Shuofang this time, and Li Wu, the general manager of Liangzhou, left the town of Liangzhou. Just like when Yin Shishi left the town of Zhangye and Loufan, they were preparing for the emperor's tour.
By the way, I adjusted the positions of Li Wu and Yu Wenhuo and solved the problems left over from history, which can be regarded as the best of both worlds.
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Yu Wenhuo received the emperor's carriage and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the emperor was safe and sound.
He is the founding minister of the country. He joined Li Po with his brother Yu Wenxin when Li Po went to Jinyang. It has been nearly twenty years now. Even though he does not have a strong presence among the generals, he is still Li Po's confidant.
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After receiving the emperor's carriage, Yu Wenquan led his troops to escort the emperor's carriage back south.
Originally, Li Po thought that there were still about three months left before winter, and he still had plenty of time. He thought of going to Lingzhou for a walk, and going up the Yellow River to Bei Wuyuan, which is now the territory of the serious Tang Dynasty.
, take a tour to see what the situation in Henan is now.
Or go back to Shuofang and go west along the Great Wall to Lingzhou.
Both paths are fine.
But when he thought that his ministers might not be happy and had to use various rhetoric to persuade him, Li Po lost his mind.
Knowing that there would be trouble, yet still irritating his subordinates' nerves with such trivial matters, he felt that it would be better to avoid doing such stupid things.
Otherwise, guys like Liu Zhenghui will definitely take advantage of Yang Guang again, so why bother with that person?
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On the way south, I took the time to talk to Yuwen Huo.
Yuwen Yong is a descendant of the Northern Zhou royal family. His father, Yuwen Xiaobo, was a close minister of Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Yuwen Yong. He was born on the same day as Yuwen Yong and grew up together, almost like full brothers.
After Yuwen Yun succeeded to the throne, he consecrated Yuwen Xiaobo to death. Yuwen Xin's brother was still young at that time, so the family fortune declined.
When Li Yuan came to take charge of Chang'an, Yu Wenxin took the opportunity to plead guilty to his father. In fact, it was Li Yuan who chose to treat the Yuwen clan members favorably in order to win people's hearts.
It's just that the Yuwenxin brothers are not as good as Yuwenshi and Genzheng Miaohong. They can't get that kind of favor and trust, so they can only have fun with the King of Qi Li Yuanji, who has neither the world nor the earth.
The two brothers only became successful after joining Li Po. Because Li Po lacked talents around him, there were not so many obstacles for the two brothers to advance. Now they are two general managers in one department, and they are considered unique among the Yuwen clan.
It's just that their brothers are away from home all year round, so the people named Yuwen in Chang'an City can't get along with them, so they regard them as the backbone of the Yuwen family.
Yu Wenquan is nearly fifty this year, and he is not young anymore. However, he has held important positions abroad all year round, leading troops on horseback and governing the people. Like others, he is reluctant to return to Chang'an to serve.
This transfer to Shuofang was a bit sudden for him, but after discussing with his staff and subordinates, he felt that this transfer was not a bad thing.
He has already served one term in Kuizhou. If he had not been transferred to Shuofang, he would have had to return to Beijing to report on his duties. Now that he has only been in office for a few days, he cannot be allowed to resign and return to Beijing, right?
This was also the conclusion he came to after corresponding with his brother Yu Wenxin. However, Yu Wenxin took a longer-term view of things than he did, and warned him not to think too much. If you can return to Beijing to report on your duties, just go back. The emperor will not treat you badly.
Don't use any means to avoid making the emperor angry, as this is a waste of more money than gain.
Moreover, he himself serves as the general manager of Youzhou, which is different from other general managers. The date of his return to the capital is uncertain, so it is better for his younger brother Yu Wenhuo to return to the capital as soon as possible to take charge of the affairs of the clan.
Peaceful season is coming soon. If these brothers are always away from home and return to Beijing late, others will take their good positions. Wouldn't it be too late to regret it?
Does what Yu Wenxin said make sense? That makes so much sense. Now whoever goes back first will take advantage. Even if Li Po is the emperor just to show off to others, he will not treat these ministers who follow the dragon badly.
In a few years, I'm afraid this won't be the case anymore.
Therefore, Yu Wenwo was relatively calm when answering questions correctly in front of the emperor.
He doesn't have to express his opinion on what the emperor says, he can just listen to the emperor's arrangements.
It was similar to what he expected. The army guarding Shuofang would not move in the past two years. He had just taken back Beiwuyuan and needed support from Shuofang's army.
Moreover, the reconstruction of Yulin Racecourse will also fall on his head.
In addition, building a Chi Road from the fortress to Yulin is also on the agenda. As long as this road is not built for a day, even if the Turks give Bei Wuyuan to the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty will not be able to form effective control over it.
When things are done well, it is called Jiangnan. How can this situation look like Jiangnan at all?
Li Po was determined to operate according to the Mayi model. When the Tang Dynasty accumulated enough power, it might be the bridgehead for the Tang Dynasty to go north.
Today Jiuyuan City in Beiwuyuan is where the Tang Dynasty and the Turkic City were changed.
Some merchants from the Tang Dynasty did not choose to return after trading with merchants from the Western Regions in Liangzhou. Instead, they went to Jiuyuan via Liangzhou to trade with the Turks to see what they gained, and then headed south to Chang'an.
If the merchants are unprofitable, they will not choose to go around in this circle. The Turkic nobles like the goods from the Western Regions very much, especially the female slaves from the Western Regions, and often offer more generous prices than the nobles of Chang'an.
In contrast, the use of silver treasures for transactions in Chang'an kept the value of the goods relatively stable. The merchants could not make too many huge profits from it, so they would naturally tend to trade with the Turks first.
On the contrary, merchants who come to Datang from the Western Regions will not have so much trouble. Some will complete transactions directly in Zhangye or Liangzhou. Those who are adventurous will go deep into the hinterland of Datang, bear certain business taxes and risks, and transport goods to
Come to Chang'an for business.
By the seventh year of Yuanzhen, the trade routes in the west were already showing signs of prosperity, and the number of caravans was increasing.
It's just that the Turks' westward expedition would definitely not be good news for the caravans traveling on the Silk Road.
Therefore, Li Po and Ashina Yang Huan agreed to meet again after the Turks' Western Expedition was over. In fact, the main purpose was to renegotiate the trade with the Western Regions.
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Yuwen Huo and Xue Wanjun, one in Lingzhou and the other in Shuofang, jointly maintained the tranquility of the northwest of the Tang Dynasty. They also needed to implement some court policies, so the date of returning to Beijing to report on their duties was far away.
While talking to Yuwen Huo, Li Po was very satisfied with Yuwen Huo's attitude, so he planned to promote Yuwen Huo's title after returning to Beijing.
After all, Shuofang is not a good place, and stationing here is actually a hard job, and the heroes need to be appeased.
As for Yu Wenhuo, he was also very grateful for the emperor's trust and kindness. No matter what his brother told him, he was unwilling to return to Beijing from the bottom of his heart.
As he reaches a certain age, after returning to Beijing, he may no longer be able to serve abroad or lead troops, and will have to retire in Beijing. That is not a life he wants to live outside of China all year round.
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The return trip was not as fast as when he came, and the route was not the same as when he came. Li Po chose to take a detour to see the desert and Gobi to the west.
Going south on the edge of the desert, the wind and sand were much stronger than when we came here. We suffered a lot, but we also saw different scenery.
Li Po had no intention of controlling desertification. He just wanted to take a look at the situation here so that he could have an idea of the situation. This was basically the process of experiencing the suffering of the people.
For a person who is an emperor, what the world calls glory and wealth is already a common thing for him. Over time, he will easily forget some things, even if he has experienced a difficult life before...
Along the way from Yulin to the Great Wall, Li Po walked through inaccessible places. When he arrived at Yanlu City in a cloud of smoke and dust, his team of 20,000 to 30,000 people was exhausted from top to bottom.
Even Emperor Li Po, whose face was sunburned, was physically exhausted but could not stop his spirit from getting stronger. After all, he was still young, and it would probably be a bit difficult for him to do this after he was forty.
When they arrived at Yanlu City, Li Po ordered them to rest here for five days. Everyone was very pleased. The emperor was still very considerate of his ministers.
Of course, everyone is in a good mood. This time the Northern Patrol renewed the alliance with the Turks, and the results were very gratifying. Not only did they take back a large area of territory from the Turks, they also strengthened the Turks' determination to conquer the west, and by the way, they solved the problem of Liaodong.
question.
With just this alliance, the thousands of miles of border in the north can achieve at least ten years of peace. There is no precedent in ancient times for being able to do this without losing any blood.
The emperor was naturally wise and powerful, and the ministers involved in this matter also made meritorious deeds. Moreover, this was a feat that could be recorded in the annals of history, and it should be remembered in history.
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Outside Yanlu City, You Yiwei General Yu Wenhuo, two Yu Linlang generals, as well as his servant Du Chuke, and the casual knight Chu Suiliang accompanied Li Po on his horse and rode slowly.
After resting for two days in Yangreen City, Li Po began to seize the time to wander around again.
"There are two military towns in Shuofang, both not far from here. They are now dedicated to suppressing bandits and other tasks. Previously, someone proposed to set up several Zhechong mansions here. At that time, Cao Sima was in charge of the troops, and his petition was rejected by the province.
Not long after I took office, I also know that people's livelihood here is very difficult. Even in Yanlu City, there are only a few hundred households, and there are not many soldiers to use when setting up Zhechong Mansion.
However, I think differently from Cao Sima. Just because the people's life is difficult, setting up Zhechong Mansion can bring some benefits to the people. Moreover, in the future, there will be more people coming from north to south, so the soldiers of the government will still be of some use.
The people in the border areas have always been difficult to control. Zhechong Mansion can let them know that the country has a wise king and people are useful. In a few years, we can win over the hearts and minds of the people in the border areas."