Xue Rengui frowned deeply and thought for a long time, then shook his head and said, "Xue is stupid and doesn't understand very well."
"Let me tell you this!" Qin Mubai smiled slightly and said, "The Zhenguan Tang Dynasty has continued to this day and is so prosperous that the world is at peace. After enjoying peace for many years, most people just want to live in peace and happiness. As the days went on, I did not want to use weapons. Against the Yi Di, a school of thought of "appeasement and gentleness" naturally appeared in the court, and this school gradually became the mainstream of the court in the past many years. , the Tang Dynasty has been following the example of granting marriages to the Yi Di chiefs; many Yi Di tribes have also taken the initiative to ask the Tang Dynasty to grant marriages in exchange for a period of peace. However, history has proven that this kind of appeasement was gentle. The peace policy cannot bring about real peace. It is good that the Tang Dynasty has always been strong. If one day it declines, our relatives in the Central Plains will immediately tear up the peace treaty and invade us throughout the ages. The whole dynasty has suffered such a bitter pill.”
"Xue has never quite understood why he keeps giving away women when he knows that marriage cannot bring real peace?" Are you so afraid of war and death?”
"It's not a simple question of whether you are afraid of death." Qin Mubai smiled and said, "Since Han Dynasty and Wu Dynasty only respected Confucianism, the Central Plains has entered a death cycle of human rule. In fact, there is no right or wrong in Confucianism, but there is no such thing in the world. Perfect things exist. It goes without saying that governing the country with Confucian kingship has many advantages, otherwise all dynasties would not follow it, but it also has a big disadvantage, which is the restriction and restraint of people's thoughts. They are all Confucian scholars. Most of them are loyal to the emperor, patriotic and abide by their duties. However, they all have a shortcoming - especially the Confucian scholars in the peaceful and prosperous times. They always call evil in words of war. They cling to the word "benevolence" and resolutely oppose any war, for fear that war will break the original tranquility and destroy their peaceful life. To put it bluntly, it is the habitual inertia and selfishness of human nature that is at work - Ju An. Instead of thinking about danger, a very large force formed in our court. They had the same ideological concept and formed a solid political alliance. They believed that our Tang Dynasty should continue to maintain its current prosperity and stability, avoid disputes and stay away from war. —Then sending one or two women is certainly the most cost-effective option in their opinion!”
"This is simply unreasonable!" Xue Rengui was a little annoyed and shouted with eyes wide open, "Then those ministers and Confucian scholars should really be allowed to come and take a look at the border battlefields! Is war something they can avoid if they want to? Can they? Do they only care about their own well-being and don’t care about the lives of future generations? Do these people have any blood at all?”
"This is the difference in thinking between us and them." Qin Mubai smiled helplessly and said, "As the saying goes, scholars despise each other and heroes cherish each other. It's not that I look down on those scholars and Confucian scholars, they even look down on their own people. They naturally look down on us soldiers who are always ready to fight and kill. In their view, even a stone can be moved to tears by Confucian kingly thoughts. They firmly believe that they can use diplomatic words and gifts. Bribery is used to resolve disputes and resolve wars. But unfortunately, people's desires are always escalating. At first, those barbarians and women were satisfied if they got some money, but gradually the more we gave them, the greater their desires became, and in the end they were still satisfied. I would imagine - why bother asking for charity from the Central Plains, it would be much more satisfying to be the emperor of the Central Plains myself. So, the Gar Qinling sent troops to knock on the Central Plains. This war seemed to be accidental, but it was actually our Tang Dynasty. The outbreak of the backlog of conflicts concealed by the past appeasement policy and Tubo's ever-expanding desires are inevitable! Even if it doesn't break out today, it will happen in another three to five years, ten or twenty years! Sooner or later, there will be a life-and-death battle between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo, and there will be no escape!"
"I understand a little bit!" Xue Rengui nodded, "His Majesty the Emperor must have realized this a long time ago, so he sent you and the Marshal to Lanzhou very early to start operating here in preparation for today's battle?"
"Not bad!" Qin Mubai nodded approvingly and said, "What if the current Holy Emperor is indeed far-sighted and ambitious? He stands taller and sees further than us, and he has long wanted to give it a go and solve the problem of Tubo. . On this point, perhaps due to Qin's temperament, he coincided with His Majesty's thoughts, so we reached a tacit agreement. However, the Huairou faction in the court who advocated the appeasement policy has always had an overwhelming advantage, allowing the Emperor to do so. It's very embarrassing - he can't kill all the ministers and replace them, right? Even if he really wants to kill and replace them, it won't solve the problem. Maybe the new ministers will just change the soup without changing the medicine, and a trend of appeasement and Huairou has been formed. This huge trend of thought has taken root in the minds of many Confucian scholars and officials! So, His Majesty the Emperor and our father and son, like thieves, secretly operated in Lanzhou. Finally one day, the war broke out. Father did not give the ministers in the court a chance to argue, and led you to Gaochang at once... The following things happened in this way, so it is not easy for us to be able to get to this point, but it is also not easy for His Majesty the Emperor. easy!"
"By the way, I heard that King Wu is coming to General Guanxi. This is a good thing!" He is very similar to His Majesty the Emperor. He is versatile in both civil and military affairs, has great ambitions, is upright and values love and righteousness. He is a man who does great things! If he sends the King of Wei or the King of Jin... Xue will definitely be upset if he doesn't say anything. Panic!"
Qin Mubai couldn't help but smile, "It seems that His Majesty the Emperor is thousands of miles away, and he knows what we are thinking. It's not surprising. He is a horse-riding emperor and knows the hearts of the soldiers."
"Mu Bai, I have something to say. I don't know if I will offend you if I say it..." Xue Rengui said hesitantly.
"The two of us can chat freely in private, just say it!" Qin Mubai said with a smile.
Xue Rengui frowned and said in a serious voice: "His Majesty the Emperor suddenly transferred His Royal Highness King Wu from Youzhou to Lanzhou to supervise the army. Is it because... he intended to make him famous and accumulate merits, and then appoint him as the leader in the future? Where is the Prince of the East Palace?"
Qin Mubai raised his eyebrows, his face darkened, and he didn't answer.
Xue Rengui hurriedly handed over his hands to plead guilty, "Xue made false claims! Xue should not have interfered with these matters!"
"Even you have thought of this. You can imagine what the ministers in the court are thinking." Qin Mubai raised the corner of his mouth and smiled slightly, and said, "The emperor's move is indeed meaningful. I feel that now It is too early to say that the emperor had the intention to establish King Wu as his heir. But to say that he did not have such an idea is not so absolute. I would say that the emperor's move was just like when he first sent my father to Lanzhou. Then sending me to Jingzhou for training and then transferring to Lanzhou is just a test and a foreshadowing, and it may be nothing, because now the court is just sending a supervisor, not choosing a prince. Therefore, whether to appoint King Wu as the prince has not yet happened. We shouldn't take it seriously or think about it until it turns out - we are generals and our responsibility is to fight well. I believe King Wu will also have such a realization. He is just a supervisor, and he will do it repeatedly. This responsibility is enough. If at this moment, he is so ecstatic that he has a chance to win, then he...has lost!"
"That's true!" Xue Rengui nodded in agreement.
Qin Mubai smiled and said: "Wealth is like flowing clouds. The more you try to catch it, the less you can catch it. Especially when today's sages are so wise, powerful and decisive, such as Changsun Wuji and the King of Wei, who have worked so hard and solitary, in the end, it may be the end of any struggle and struggle. Management is all in vain, so I advised King Wu very early on to keep a normal mind and not fight, which is the best way to fight!"
Xue Rengui grinned, "It turns out that Mu Bai has been secretly helping King Wu from the beginning! So, Mu Bai also hopes that His Highness King Wu will take over the Tang Dynasty? - Xue is the first to agree! If King Wu ascends the throne in the future, Datang will be able to do more Magnificent!"
Qin Mubai couldn't help but laugh, "Rengui, you are so honest!"
"It depends on who is right!" Xue Rengui said with a smile, "You know that I don't say a word to other people for three days."
While we were chatting here, Tantai Dandan, who had been waiting outside for a long time, came to ask for an audience. The two of them ended their conversation and called in the female general of Baiqi.
When Tantai Dandan saw Qin Mubai, he smiled happily and bowed down on one knee happily.
"Dandan, get up! I secretly sent you to deliver a message to my home. It's really hard for you to travel such a long distance!" Qin Mubai said with a smile, "Long time no see. Is your sister's injury healed? How is the situation at my home?"
"Okay, everything is fine!" Tantai Dandan stood up and said anxiously with great joy, "The general has made a special trip to announce the good news to the young commander on the orders of his mistress! What a great happy event!"
"Happy event? What happy event?" Qin Mubai and Xue Rengui asked together.
"Wu Dong's family has given birth to a fat son for the young marshal!" Tantai Dandan clapped her hands happily and said with a smile, "Isn't this a great happy event?"
"Ah? - Hahaha!" Qin Mubai was overjoyed and laughed loudly. He grabbed Tantai Dandan's arms and shouted excitedly, "Has Mei Niang given birth? Are mother and child safe? Is it a son? When was he born? How old are you? How much did you weigh when you were born?”
In his excitement, Qin Mubai lost control of his hands, forgetting that he had two human powers, and actually shook Tantai Dandan, a martial arts practitioner, forward and backward, dizzy.
Xue Rengui was also happy on the side. It was funny to see Qin Mubai doing this, and he hurriedly said, "Mubai, you are shaking this girl's family apart!"
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Qin Mubai hurriedly let go, rubbed his hands and grinned excitedly, "I, I'm so happy! Dandan, tell me quickly, is Mei Niang okay? My son - Qin Ying!... He Are you handsome, do you look like me?”
Tantai Dandan was immediately stunned. He was neither crying nor laughing, so he could only nod, "Well... Handsome, very handsome! Like... very similar!"
"Hahahaha, great! I'm a father again! It feels so good to be a father!" Qin Mubai danced with excitement in the marshal's tent, without the dignity of a marshal.
Xue Rengui and Zhantai Dandan looked at each other, dumbfounded, and said in unison: "Fortunately, there are no outsiders!"
"What's wrong with having an outsider? Who would be happy to be a father! Even the emperor has been a father dozens of times in his life, so he must be so happy every time!" Qin Mubai grinned with teeth bared. Grinning, he paced back and forth anxiously and rubbed his hands, "It would be great if I could go back to Lanzhou and hug that brat! Well, there is also Mei Niang, if only I could see her! She suffered so much when her son was born, how difficult it is!" "
"Young Marshal." Tantai Dandan said with a smile, "You are such a good man!"
"Really?" Qin Mubai smiled more and more proudly, almost heartlessly, "This sounds fresh. Most of the women I know call me a jerk, a bad guy, and so on."
"That's because they didn't understand you at first. And judging from my experience in the world, the more bad-tempered a man is, the more likely he is to capture a woman's heart; just like the more seductive a woman is, the more likely she is to confuse a man's heart. "Tantai Dandan said with a smile, "So I guess that all the young marshal's women who scolded her like this will not escape the young marshal's hands in the end. "
“Ahem!”
Qin Mubai was startled at first, then rolled his eyes, and then glared at Tantai Dandan fiercely: "You know too much!"