Outside the window, red light shot up into the sky, dyeing the dark night sky with fiery red halos. From time to time, noisy sounds could be heard from outside the headquarters.
Lu Dosun, who was sitting at the table, took a sip of the salty milk tea and put down the ceramic cup. His calm and serious expression was totally out of tune with the atmosphere outside. He said: After the Battle of Talas, the Tang Dynasty was devastated by the An Lushan Rebellion and had no time to look west. Its power gradually withdrew from the Western Regions. After that, warlords ruled the country for many years. After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, there was chaos in the Central Plains. Chinese power never entered the Western Regions again. It has been more than two hundred years.
Unexpectedly, Yang Ye seemed even more excited. The government worked hard to restore the Han and Tang dynasties. Now tens of thousands of troops were stationed in Hexi. The time had come. What more could be done
Lu Dosun observed Yang Ye carefully for a few seconds and guessed that the reason for his excitement was the title of Duke.
General Yang is right. Lu Duosun said kindly, but it is not that easy. The Central Plains withdrew from the Western Regions more than 200 years ago. Now the geography, water resources, countries and sects are completely different. We know very little about the Western Regions at present, and we dare not act rashly and play with the lives of soldiers and military funds of the treasury.
Yang Ye frowned in thought.
Lu Duoxun said calmly: "I have a suggestion. Deputy Privy Envoy Wei Renpu is obsessed with the northwest. It is said that when he came to Feng'an and saw the old site of the Han and Tang Dynasty, he burst into tears. Wei Renpu is one of the most trusted ministers around the emperor. He must be asked about military and national policies. If General Yang can send a reliable person to get Wei Renpu's support on this matter, the chances will increase greatly."
Yang Ye immediately clasped his fists and said: Thank you, Minister Lu, for your reminder.
Lu Duosun nodded: "I don't want to pour cold water on General Yang and make things difficult for you. But the soldiers belong to the court, and the expenditure of military supplies and baggage must be supported by the entire Daxu national strength. If you don't get the support of the government and the court, General Yang's dream of making an unprecedented achievement may be just a dream."
This sincere and frank speech changed Yang Ye's attitude. He asked humbly: "What does Minister Lu mean by reporting to the court first?"
Lu Dosun shook his head again and said in a deep voice: This is what General Yang wants to do, and we can't just leave everything to the court; the court has thousands of civil and military officials with all kinds of strange ideas, and making important decisions requires disputes and compromises among all parties, which is very troublesome and slow.
Yang Ye bowed and said: I would like to ask for your advice, Minister Lu.
Lu Duosun stroked his short beard and pondered for a long time before saying: Suzhou is still in the hands of the Uighurs; we have to discuss the governance of Guasha with the Guiyi Army. These things are not difficult, but they are complicated and trivial, and still take time. During this time, we can send a fast horse to report General Yang's strategy to the court, wait for the court's approval, and ask the Privy Council to copy the Han and Tang Dynasty Western Regions geography files and send them to us. I just have some plans.
Yang Ye said: I would like to hear the details.
Lu Dosun spoke eloquently: I have a strategy of two fights and one protection.
The Western Regions are thousands of miles away from the Central Plains. Guanzhong and Longyou are in decline, and Hexi is newly acquired, so the supply and foundation are unstable. It is undoubtedly a foolish dream for Daxu to send a large army to sweep the Western Regions with military force alone. At this time, inheriting the remaining power of the Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions, regaining prestige, and first making it impossible for the Western Regions countries to ignore Daxu's power in the west, this is the goal and the best strategy.
This time, all the countries jointly attacked the Western Region Uighur Karakhanid Khanate. Daxu should strive for the face of presiding over the alliance and seize the opportunity to use light cavalry to raid the Western Region Uighur to prove his strength rather than just talk. At the same time, he must preserve the Kingdom of Khotan, restore the military towns in the Western Regions, build fortresses and strongholds to station elite troops, and win over the Kingdom of Khotan to form an alliance. Not only can he gain a foothold in the Western Regions, but he can also expand his influence into the Western Regions and gradually understand the astronomical and geographical situation of the Western Regions.
Yuchi of the Li family of Khotan had always been on good terms with the Central Plains, and had been canonized as a king by the Later Jin Dynasty. He formed an alliance with the Guiyi Army through marriage. Da Xu promised that if he wanted to enter the Western Regions, he would show favor to Khotan.
After listening to the young man's eloquent speech, Yang Ye bowed and said sincerely: Minister Lu is so young and yet he is trusted by the government. He is truly a man of great talent.
Yang Ye appreciated Lu Duosun's plan very much, and immediately prepared a memorial and sent a fast horse back to the capital.
At this time, the troops set out from the Hexi Army camp stationed in Ganzhou, and passed through Liangzhou, which had surrendered and stationed the Xu Army, to exit the Hexi Corridor; through Lingzhou, although this route was longer and more roundabout, there were Xu Army fortresses and post stations along the way, making it safer; then from Lingzhou southward to Guanzhong, entering the hinterland of Daxu. The road from the Hexi Corridor to the capital of Daxu had been completely opened.
In the study room of Jinxiang Palace in Tokyo, there was a sudden clang. Guo Shao did not drop the cup, but just slammed it heavily on the table.
The three ministers and one eunuch in front of him immediately bowed their heads at the same time. Guo Shao was known as a benevolent monarch and rarely lost his temper in public, so this behavior was already serious.
Zan Jurun said: Feng Jiye has a bad reputation, but Cao Gong knew it and still strongly recommended him. He was bold in employing people and actually made Feng Jiye the vanguard commander. He really failed to live up to your majesty's trust.
Zan Jurun's voice echoed in the silent house, and it was particularly clear.
Guo Shao was silent for a long time, took a deep breath, and said: I am also wrong. I agreed to use Feng Jiye. Letting this person go to Jiaozhou was a mistake in itself.
How could the emperor be wrong? Zuo You said first: When Cao Bin was in the northern route of Shu and in the Southern Han, he had many fierce generals under his command, but he was able to restrain his soldiers and prevent them from committing any crime. In this case, Feng Jiye should also be restrained. Your Majesty just trusted Cao Bin too much, and even if Cao Bin used Feng Jiye, he should not have put him in the position of the main general.
Forget it, let's not talk about the merits and demerits for now. Now how to revise the Jiaozhou strategy Guo Shaodao, let's discuss politics tomorrow morning and ask the ministers first. After he finished speaking, he waved his hand a little unhappy.
The few people said no more, bowed and left.
There were many opinions in the court on this matter. Some advocated sending more troops to Jiaozhou, building post stations along the main waterways with important towns as bases, forming a three-level network of numerous castles and sentries along the post roads, occupying Jiaozhou in an all-round way, and implementing military rule. Attacking Ding Buling's territory, hunting down important criminals, winning over and enfeoffing local tyrants, exiling criminals from the Central Plains and relocating them to civilian households, sending seeds and oxen to reduce taxes, building schools to teach, and enacting laws to rule the people would cost an unknown amount of money, and no one knew when they would take effect. The cost was a bottomless pit.
Some people advocated abandoning Jiaozhou, occupying the coastal stronghold, and slowly winning over the newly emerging Jiaozhou forces. The method of Xu Jun's army being able to firmly defend a Liuhua Fort with only a few hundred people was a very economical idea.
Guo Shao did not express his opinion, but just sighed again: It is difficult to win people's hearts and minds and to gain recognition.
Soon, Yang Ye's memorial from the Northwest arrived in Tokyo.
Guo Shao was relieved to learn that Yang Ye had pacified Longyou and Hexi at a small cost and made all the tribes submit. He then took a closer look at the strategies proposed by Yang Ye and Lu Duosun and praised them: they had a long-term vision and were pragmatic.
However, Guo Shao understood that the situation in the Western Regions was more complicated than the mixed ethnic groups in Hexi and Longyou, and there were also problems with religious sects. The Western Regions were too far and too complicated, and expanding influence and power westward was a long process that could not be achieved overnight, and there was no shortcut to Mount Zhongnan.
While he discussed with the ministers and approved Yang Ye's memorial, he also wanted to remind Yang Ye not to be rash.
Eunuch Yang Shiliang secretly reported that the cavalry returning from the northwest had some literati lobbying the Privy Council. Guo Shao then asked Yang Shiliang to send someone to summon the literati to meet with the emperor.
Guo Shao's words were not written down on paper. He dismissed his attendants and said to Yang Ye's staff: Since you have been to Tokyo, please bring back a message for Yang Ye: In this situation, reckless advance is not the best strategy. It is wise to be cautious.
There was nothing else to say, but Guo Shao knew that Yang Ye would definitely understand.
Since Yang Ye's staff came to Tokyo, the emperor was a little disappointed that they did not bring back the news of what happened in Jiaozhou to Cao Bin in the northwest. Yang Ye had already grasped the prestige and achievement of pacifying Longyou and Hexi in his hands. Not losing is winning. Risky behavior is only suitable for the disadvantaged who hope for a desperate counterattack. This is what it means to be safe and wise.
A month later, Cao Bin's memorial arrived in Tokyo. He again submitted a memorial, asking for an increase in military spending and proposing a new strategy.
Cao Bin proposed to establish Jiaozhi Province, to build a seaport and fortress along the east coast of Jiaozhou, and then to build a stronghold and post road along the Taiping River to Luocheng. He would make Luocheng the capital of Jiaozhi Province, occupy the capital and the key areas leading to the East China Sea, and then gradually attract Jiaozhou people to serve in the capital and local areas, and use both suppression and appeasement to govern Jiaozhou.
Guo Shao asked the central ministers for advice in the meeting hall and thought it was a moderate solution. He adopted the advice of Cao Bin, who knew the actual situation better. At the same time, he ordered to recall Feng Jiye and let Cao Bin reappoint the generals.
The attack on Jiaozhou was a national policy decided by Guo Shao in the court after much effort. He thought that this matter was of great significance, so no matter what, he was unwilling to give up and had to go on.
At this time, both the Western Regions and Jiaozhou became protracted struggles.
Guo Shao stood on the high platform of the Jinxiang Palace, looking at the white clouds surging and changing in the sky, thinking about Cao Bin and Yang Ye in his heart. Faintly, he felt as if he was communicating with the heavens, and a sense of fate surged in his heart.
Yang Ye, who originally left a great reputation in history, should still stand out here. After many twists and turns, fate seems to be completely different, but also seems mysteriously similar.
So, what is the fate of the Great Xu Dynasty? After a thousand years, perhaps there will be the Qin, Han, Tang, and Xu dynasties.