Emperor Taizong's Growth Plan

Yunguo Imperial Palace, in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Xiao Cheng lowered his head to review the memorial, while Feng Bao who was at the side spoke at this moment:

"Your Majesty, there are still a few days until the Great Court Meeting. Before the Great Court Meeting, the Ministry of Rites has to draw up many affairs related to the Shule Kingdom. Once the regulations are agreed, His Majesty still needs to be the master, so the next Ministry of Rites can handle things better."

Shen Wansan's Shen's Firm has been doing business with the Western Regions.Although Yunguo doesn't know much about the situation in the Western Regions, it's not so dark.

Therefore, the court of the Kingdom of Yun knew very well that the current situation of the Kingdom of Shule in the Western Regions was not good! Sending a mission here was definitely not because of some polite words to pay tribute to the Kingdom of Yun after hearing about the prestige of the Emperor Yun, but to the Kingdom of Yun. Ask for something else.

Then, for Shule Kingdom's request, whether Yun Kingdom refuses, accepts, or handles it in a calm and nonchalant manner, Xiao Cheng, the current Yunhuang, needs to set the tone, so the people below can count.

Xiao Cheng closed the memorial in his hands, pondered for a while, then nodded, saying:

"Let's see it first... Tomorrow afternoon, call the Shule Kingdom Mission to meet!"

This Shule country has only one million people and less than [-] armored soldiers. It is a veritable small country.Moreover, it was too far away from Yun Nation, whether to extend a helping hand to it was irrelevant to the overall situation of Yun Nation.

However, Shule Kingdom's position is important. In the future, if Yun Kingdom wants to set its sights on the Western Regions, it must control Shule Kingdom.

Contact at this time may not be useless, just prepare for the next strategy of the Western Regions!
Seeing Xiao Cheng nodding in agreement, Feng Bao said again in a deep voice:
"Your Majesty, another spies from Xiangzhou County came to report that the Tubo Mission has entered the country. The detailed report from the local government is already on the way and will arrive in Beijing soon."

When Xiao Cheng heard this, he paused, turned his head to look at Feng Bao, raised his eyebrows and said:

"The Tibetan Mission?"

"Yes."

Xiao Cheng frowned, and said in doubt:
"I remember that the royal court of Tubo should be busy mobilizing troops and horses to confront the sheep with the Jiedu mansion. At this time, sending a mission here, is it bowing their heads and giving in?"

There is a long border between Tubo and Yunguo.Although Tubo's national strength is weak, with the help of the plateau, it is difficult for the Yunguo army to adapt.

Moreover, this contemporary Tubo Zanpu abandoned Nieqi, a monarch with great ambitions and outstanding abilities.Since he ascended the throne, he has been strengthening the royal power of Tubo and reducing the rights of the great nobles.

After it completes the centralization of power, it is inevitable to set its sights beyond the Tubo Plateau!
Xiao Chengzhi was unifying the Central Plains, so he naturally didn't want to be restrained and distracted by Tubo, so he had to defend himself.

When Tubo sent a mission here, Nie Chi, the leader of the Yangtong Tribe, was conferred the title of Nie Chi, the envoy of the Dayun Yangtong Festival, and he was bestowed with gold seals, official robes and ceremonial guards, and asked him to lead the tribes in western Tubo. Fight against the royal court of Tubo.

At this moment, with the arrival of the Tubo Mission, Xiao Cheng couldn't think of any other possibility except that Abandoned Nie Qi was willing to bow his head and give in.

But he thought about it again, even if the Yang Tong tribe had Yun Guo's secret support, the power of the Tubo Royal Court would still have the upper hand.

Before the end of the day, with the ambition of abandoning Nie Qi, Xiao Cheng never thought that he would bow his head and surrender so quickly. …

Xiao Cheng narrowed his eyes slightly, and said in a deep voice:
"I roughly flipped through a copy of the Dongchang handed over, about the royal court of Tubo, I will keep it in the middle, you can find it now and give it to me!"

"Yes."

Feng Bao was a diehard follower of Xiao Cheng when Wang Xiao came to power, and his talent was outstanding, but he was not suitable for spying and plotting.Now that he was relieved of his errand in the East Factory, Xiao Cheng asked him to help handle the government affairs of Yunguo, and started working as a secretary.

All the memorials in the imperial court, the secret records of the ministers of the frontiers, the secret letters of the government agencies in various places... These important things are all collected and arranged by him with Xiao Cheng's assistance, which can be said to have won the emperor's heart!
After a while, Feng Bao found the Dongchang secret report that Xiao Cheng stayed in but did not publish.

And this secret report was naturally delivered by Lun Gongren, and it was written by Qi Nieqi who secretly met with the Embroidered Clothes Envoy's spies.

After Xiao Cheng carefully flipped through one side, he immediately sneered (this chapter is not over yet!)
Chapter 9 Adding obstacles to Tibet and the situation in the Western Regions

One sound, said:
"Since Qi Nieqi has already established contact with Xia Guo, sending a mission here at this time is most likely just to show weakness on purpose, and the plan is very big!"

The national conditions of Tubo are considered special among all the countries in the world.Although the national strength is poor and weak, it has a favorable plateau location, so compared with other small countries, Tubo always has some room for choice.

Facing Yun and Xia, two big and powerful countries, if Abandoned Nieqi has no ambition to send troops out of the plateau, he should choose to swing between the two countries to strive for the greatest benefit!
Just like now, Abandoning Nie Qi should take the initiative to disclose Xia Guo's initiative to show favor to Yun Guo, for example, on the condition that Tubo does not fall to Xia Guo, in exchange for Yun Guo to give up supporting the Yangtong tribe.

But now, Qi Nieqi is hiding the fact that he has a connection with Xia Guo...

Then what he is plotting is probably to join hands with Xia Guo to carve up Yun Kingdom together!
Xiao Cheng's eyes sharpened, and he said in a deep voice:
"Shen Wansan has collected information on Tubo and the Western Regions for me, drawn a detailed map, and put it in the treasury of the Ministry of War. You quickly send someone to fetch it with my order!"

"Also, summon Wailang Yuchisheng, a member of the Department of Rites and Guests, to see him!"

"Yes!" Feng Bao quickly responded, and bowed out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Xiao Cheng sat on the dragon chair with a solemn look on his face, and he didn't know what he was thinking about in his heart.

After a while, the little eunuch who hurried back from the Ministry of War had already brought the map.

About half an hour later, Yu Chisheng, who knew that His Majesty had summoned him, hurried to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

As soon as they entered the inner hall of Yangxin, Yuchisheng and Yuchisheng saw a huge detailed map covering Tubo, Tianzhu, and the Western Regions, which had been hung in the hall.His Majesty is standing in front of the map, with a pensive look on his face.

Hearing the sound of someone entering the hall to meet him, Xiao Cheng just came back to his senses, turned around and waved to Yu Chi Sheng who was saluting, and said:

"come here!"

In fact, Yu Chisheng was seeing Xiao Cheng for the second time. He was called over suddenly, he couldn't help feeling a little nervous, and walked forward cautiously.

Pointing to the map in front of him, Xiao Cheng asked Yuchi Sheng in a deep voice:
"You were born in Khotan, the Western Region, and you know the situation of the countries in the Western Region very well. Please show me if there are any omissions in the part of the Western Region on this map!"...

Hearing this, Yuchi Sheng calmed down a little, quickly bowed in response, then stepped forward a few steps, carefully examining the map in front of him.

Previously, Yunguo had not paid attention to the Western Regions, so naturally it did not collect information in detail and systematically.

However, Shen Wansan's Shen's Commercial Firm has been doing business between the Western Regions and Tubo. Even though it was not intentional, it still harvested a lot of information about the Western Regions for the Yun Kingdom court.So the map in front of me is very detailed.

After Yu Chisheng read it carefully, he nodded first, then shook his head, bowed to Xiao Cheng and said:
"Your Majesty, this map is a very detailed record of the countries of the Western Regions, and it is enough for business. But if I, Dayun, want to rely on this to act in the Western Regions, I am afraid there are still some omissions."

"Tell me carefully!" Xiao Cheng said immediately.

When Yuchi Sheng heard this, he immediately opened his mouth and said:

"In this land of the Western Regions, the east and the west meet, and there are many countries. It is not like the Central Plains with the same language and the same species. Therefore, since ancient times, the countries have been fighting fiercely and do not agree with each other. Even if one country conquers another country, it is rare to directly annex it. .”

"The victorious countries always choose to support a puppet emperor, and then control the defeated countries. Therefore, in the past three or four hundred years, no matter how fierce the fighting in the Western Regions is, no matter which country dominates, the Western Regions will always be 400 countries!"

Speaking of this, Yu Chisheng pointed to the map in front of him and said:
"So the biggest problem with this map is that even though 36 countries are divided on it, in fact, there are not so many countries in the Western Regions that really have the right to speak!"

Hearing this, Xiao Cheng nodded in understanding, and said:

"continue!"

Yu Chisheng drew a small circle at the intersection of the main roads in the western regions, and said:
"Your Majesty, this is the Shule Kingdom, which is located at the intersection of the east and west trade roads. To the northeast is the tea horse trade road, to the southeast is the Xia Kingdom and the Turks. Countless goods are in (this chapter is not finished!)
Chapter 9 Adding obstacles to Tibet and the situation in the Western Regions

This intersection.To control this place is to control the east-west trade.But the Shule Kingdom is weak and unable to protect this place, so it has attracted others to peep and covet it!"

"To the west of Shule Kingdom, the states of Dondou, Wulei, Yinai, Puli, and Zihe are the sphere of influence of Dawan Kingdom."

"To the east of Shule Kingdom, along the northern edge of the Tarim Desert to the east, is a contiguous oasis. The Weitou, Wensu, Gumo, Qiuci, Wutanzi and other countries here are all controlled by the Turks."

"For more than ten years, both the Dawan Kingdom and the Turks have wanted to control the Shule Kingdom, the most critical place for the East-West commercial road, so they have waged wars against Shule again and again. The people of Zhuang suffered countless losses, and the national strength became weaker and weaker."

Speaking of this, Yu Chisheng turned his head to look at Xiao Cheng, bowed and said:

"The Shule Kingdom has resisted tenaciously for more than ten years, and has had serious grievances with the two countries, and there is no room for turning around. If you guessed correctly, the Shule Kingdom should know that they are no longer able to resist the aggression of the two countries, so they came here not far away. The tribute is expected to use the power of my big cloud to frighten the Turks and Dawan."

Hearing this, Xiao Cheng shook his head slightly and said:
"It can be regarded as urgent medical treatment!"

After all, Yunguo is so far away from the Western Regions that it can't be reached, so what if the country is strong? Just relying on its power, it can't scare Turkic and Dawan.

Perhaps because Yu Chisheng had a good impression of the Shule Mission, his face couldn't help feeling a little heavy at this moment, and he said in a low voice:

"Your Majesty's words are true, but the Shule Kingdom is at a critical moment, and any life-saving straw is not willing to give up easily..."

At this time, Xiao Cheng did not pay attention to Yu Chisheng's expression, but carefully looked at the map in front of him, pondering over it.

On the map in front of me, this sheep is in the southwest, and it borders on the southern part of the Western Regions!
Yang Tongbu is in Tubo, and the power is not considered weak!
Tubo unified the local tribes and divided them into "six wings". Among them, the Yangtong tribe and the tribes under its command occupied one wing, which was equivalent to one-sixth of the entire population of Tubo and occupied most of the southwestern territory of Tubo.

One-third of the war horses in Tubo come from the same tribe of sheep.And the people of its tribe are even more capable of fighting, and the cavalry of the Yangtong tribe was the main force of the former Tubo army.

However, most of the sheep's territory is bitter, cold and barren.The reason why they are able to stand against the Tubo royal court today is entirely because of Yun Guo's support.

If one day they really turn against Tubo, abandoning Nieqi is very likely to directly cut off the tea-horse trade.

And once the Yangtong tribe loses the support of Yunguo, it is afraid that they will not even have the food, grass and military equipment to maintain the army, and they will naturally be defeated!
Therefore, in order to continue to contain the energy and strength of Abandoning Nie Qi, Xiao Cheng had to rely on the power of the countries in the Western Regions to continue to support the Yang Tong tribe so that he could continue to confront the Tubo royal court.

The reason why Xiao Cheng changed his previous neglect of the Western Regions was because of this reason!
"What about here?"

Xiao Cheng pointed to the countries in the southern part of the Western Regions bordering on the Yangtong tribe, and continued to ask Yuchi Sheng:

"Who controls the countries in the southern part of the Western Regions?"

Yuchi Sheng heard the words and hurriedly said:

"At the southern edge of the Tarim Desert, starting from the Shache Kingdom here, the thirteen small countries that pass eastward, including Xiye, Ronglu, Jingjue, Xiaowan, and Qiemo, are all under the control of my mother country Khotan! "

Xiao Cheng's gaze, following Yu Chisheng's hand, moved over the map, and his eyes couldn't help but light up slightly.

Isn't this a coincidence! Isn't the Yuchi Sheng in front of him the prince of Khotan?
Xiao Cheng turned his head to look at Yu Chisheng, his eyes were burning and he said:

"I want to manage the land of the Western Regions and set up the Governor's Mansion. The purpose is to coordinate the contradictions and disputes among the countries in the Western Regions, stop the killing, and maintain the Western Regions. What do you think?"

Yuchi Sheng heard the words, nodded without saying a word:
"The Western Regions have been fighting non-stop for hundreds of years, and the killings are too heavy. If I, Dayun, go to maintain local order, it will be a good thing for the people of all countries..."

Having said this, Yuchi Sheng just said hesitantly:

"It's just your majesty, I'm beyond the reach of the cloud, I'm afraid I may not be able to convince the nations."

Xiao Cheng waved it indifferently (this chapter is not finished!)
Chapter 9 Adding obstacles to Tibet and the situation in the Western Regions

hand, said:
"It's just my imagination, there's no rush now..."

"But I remember that you were born as the prince of Khotan, so I want you to help Dayun gain a foothold in the Western Regions!"

When Yuchi Sheng heard this, he hurriedly bowed and said:

"I am willing..."

Speaking of this, Yu Chisheng thought again, if His Majesty sends him back to the Western Regions...

Yuchisheng, who is used to the prosperity of the Central Plains, is willing to return to the Western Regions?
For Yu Chisheng, even being a small official in Zhongqing City is much more comfortable than going back to the Western Regions to be King of Khotan!
Thinking of this, Yu Chisheng hastily added:

"Your Majesty, the current king of Khotan is my younger brother Wei Chiyao. I will write a book and ask him to fully assist me, Dayun, to gain a foothold in the Western Regions!"

Seeing Yu Chisheng's appearance of being afraid of going back to the Western Regions, Xiao Cheng couldn't help being amused, and said with a smile:

"I still want to invite you to the Western Regions. Otherwise, there will always be some estrangement if some things are unclear. But I also know your intentions. When the errand is finished, I will return to Beijing immediately! As long as it is done, I will reward you." How is your title?"

When Yu Chisheng heard this, he quickly bowed and said:
"Your majesty's orders, I should take orders. It's a great honor for me to serve your majesty. It's not important to me at all to reward you with titles!"

After all, Yu Chisheng gave up the Khotan throne and came to Yunguo, so although these words seemed to be flattering, Xiao Cheng felt that there was a bit of sincerity in it, so he couldn't help laughing...

Chapter 9 Adding obstacles to Tibet and the situation in the Western Regions