Tang Dynasty: The poisonous scholar in the Eastern Palace, please abdicate and let the wise one take

Chapter 285 Why Are You Silent?

Jiucheng Palace.

Li Shimin held the white piece and looked at the chessboard in front of him with a frown.

Wei Zheng said with a smile, "Your Majesty is still thinking about the Mid-Autumn Festival? If so, Your Majesty will lose a jade ruyi to me!"

Li Shimin looked up at him, put down the chess piece, and said calmly: "The treasury is empty, but the prince got hundreds of thousands of taels of silver from somewhere and prepared a Mid-Autumn Festival gift for all the officials in the court."

"If this matter is not clear, how can I rest assured?"

In Li Shimin's opinion, Su Chen had already prepared 300,000 taels of silver for him for the battle of Songzhou, so there must be no extra silver for Li Chengqian to squander like this.

Then, Li Chengqian most likely obtained it from other channels.

It would be fine if he behaved properly, but I'm afraid Li Chengqian has done something shameful.

"Your Majesty, I have received news from Chang'an City. Please review it."

Wang De came to Li Shimin with a letter.

Li Shimin raised his hand to take the letter, opened it and read it, and soon frowned.

The silver was actually given by the Persian merchant Roshan?
Is it just to hope that the Tang Dynasty will send troops?

Since the prince had already agreed to send troops, why did he accept the silver that Roshan gave him?

Are you going along with the flow and doing me a favor?
After thinking for a moment, Li Shimin's eyes fell on the content below.

Did the Di clan and Huang Qiang unite with other chieftains, rebel against the Tang Dynasty and join Tubo?
What a courage!
A trace of anger flashed across Li Shimin's face.

When Kuozhou and Nuozhou rebelled before, he ordered his soldiers to sweep them away together. How much time has passed since then, and these bastards are planning a rebellion again?
He simply didn't take Li Shimin seriously!
"We should have killed them all!"

Li Shimin snorted coldly and put down the letter.

"Who does your majesty want to kill?"

"The chieftains of the Di clan and the Huang Qiang clan took the lead in the rebellion."

Li Shimin said coldly, "The reason why the Tibetan army dared to attack Songzhou this time is probably because these people helped in secret."

Wei Zheng frowned. The Dangxiang and Bailang Qiang tribes had always been wavering between Tubo and the Tang Dynasty.

We will depend on whoever is stronger.

In the previous battle of Songzhou, Tubo was defeated and the governors of Nuozhou and Kuozhou were beheaded one after another. As a result, these people were in awe of the Tang Dynasty and took the initiative to submit to it.

Now that the Tubo army is attacking Songzhou again, will these fence-sitters surrender to Tubo again?

"How is the war in Songzhou going now?"

"The Tibetan army outside Songzhou was defeated by Han Wei, with more than 10,000 casualties. They have already withdrawn from the Gansongling area."

Li Shimin tapped the letter and said, "Han Wei intends to pursue Chen Sheng and capture the chieftains of the Di clan, Huang clan and Qiang clan alive and behead them as a public display."

"After discussing with the ministers, the Crown Prince decided that Han Wei would lead the Songzhou army to attack us."

"This time, we must not only completely wipe out the remaining Tubo troops, but also completely expel the Di clan and the Huang Qiang tribes."

Deportation?
Wei Zheng looked confused, but soon figured out the key.

As a nomadic people similar to the Turks, once the Di clan and Huang Qiang were driven out of their comfort zone, they could only find ways to find a place to survive.

If there is no suitable place for them to settle down, then all the people in these two groups will die in this cold winter!

Wei Zheng smiled and said, "This is a great idea."

"These people have been doing this over and over again. They should be taught a painful lesson. Otherwise, if the enemy attacks again in the future, the same scene will happen again."

Li Shimin nodded, and he was quite satisfied with the prince's arrangement.

but.

What they don't realize is that the so-called expulsion is just a slightly more subtle description.

If the expulsion cannot be completed, the Di clan and Huang Qiang will face endless swords, spears and arrows.

"So, has your Majesty resolved the doubts in your heart?"

"Untied."

Li Shimin said calmly, "According to the letter, the reason why the prince was able to take out so much silver this time to buy gifts and reward officials was because of the Persian merchant Roshan."

Wei Zheng thought for a moment, "Persian royal family Roshan?"

Li Shimin nodded, "This man is the uncle of Persian Prince A Luohan, and he has been engaged in business in the Tang Dynasty since his early years."

"He has a large amount of gold, silver and jewelry in his hands. Giving the prince hundreds of thousands of taels of silver this time is just a piece of cake for him."

"Perhaps because of this silver, or perhaps for other reasons, the prince agreed to send troops to help Persia fight against the Arab Empire."

At this point, Li Shimin rubbed his head and said, "Since we are sending troops to assist Persia in fighting against the Arab Empire, how can we accept their money?"

"It was clearly a righteous act to show the style of our Tang Dynasty, but now it's like a business deal."

Wei Zheng said with a smile: "No, I think that the prince made a good move this time. Not only did he help Persia, but he also got hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to help the national treasury. It's the best of both worlds."

"Besides, has your Majesty ever considered Roshan? Perhaps he also approves of this matter?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Didn't your Majesty just say that this man came to Chang'an City to do business in his early years? He is obviously a qualified businessman."

Wei Zheng said frankly: "Merchants value profit. Even though he is a Persian royal family, his years of business have made him more concerned about whether the other party will accept money to do things!"

"If the prince does not accept the money, perhaps in Roshan's eyes, even if the prince arranges people to go to Persia to help, these people may not be our elite soldiers, but just to fool him."

"But after receiving these silver coins, even if the prince only sends a few hundred people, it still represents the strongest fighting force of our dynasty!"

Li Shimin laughed, "Are you trying to say that I have distanced myself from the people and cannot understand their thoughts?"

Wei Zheng waved his hands repeatedly, "I dare not."

Li Shimin nodded, "Roshan is a royal family member and a businessman. There is nothing wrong with your explanation."

"However, the prince did send eight hundred men to Persia."

Wei Zheng: “???”

The one who assisted Persia in the fight was the extremely powerful Arab Empire.

The prince arranged 800 people to send troops to Persia?
Enough for what?

Once these people go to the battlefield, it seems that they can't even fill the gaps between their teeth.

"What's even more interesting is that these eight hundred people are the merchant protection team trained by Su Chen for him."

Li Shimin looked at Wei Zheng meaningfully, and said quietly: "Why do you think the prince sent his own 800 men to Persia to fight against the Arab Empire in the name of our dynasty?"

Wei Zheng was shocked and felt that the matter had become complicated again.

However, whether it is complicated or not depends mainly on what Li Shimin thinks!
Wei Zheng pondered, "Eight hundred merchant guards, since they were trained by Su Chen, then there should be many talented people among them."

"The fact that the Crown Prince was able to arrange for them to go out to fight is enough to prove that the Crown Prince values ​​them. Perhaps these 800 people..."

Having said this, Wei Zheng suddenly stopped talking.

If these eight hundred men are really stronger than the soldiers from other divisions...

What does the prince want to do? !

Li Shimin picked up the teacup with a smile, "Why don't you say anything, my dear?"

Wei Zheng smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, you have your own thoughts, so why do you have to embarrass me?"

Li Shimin smiled and said, "In fact, I am also curious about how brave his eight hundred men are."

"If these people died in Persia, the Tang Dynasty would lose face..."

Wei Zheng: "What if this matter is solved accidentally?"

Li Shimin: "Then I have to think carefully about what they want to do by training these people."

Okay.

In fact, you are also worried about the prince's men.

Wei Zheng smiled and said, "If this matter is successfully resolved, it should show that the prince is similar to your majesty."

Li Shimin frowned and looked at it. "Similar?"

Wei Zheng said with a smile: "The prince is young and knows the military. Training elite soldiers and strong generals is a good thing for our Tang Dynasty, isn't it?"

Li Shimin raised his lips slightly, "It seems that leaving you in the East Palace was the right decision."

Wei Zheng: "As a minister, one should fulfill his duties and responsibilities."

Li Shimin sneered, "In my opinion, Gao Ming gave you a lot of benefits and bribed you, right?"

Wei Zheng was quite relaxed this time, "So what if that's the case? I am a minister of the Tang Dynasty, a minister of your majesty, and a minister of the prince."

"Old fox!"

Li Shimin shook his head, glanced at the chessboard, and said, "Wang De, I'm hungry, arrange lunch."

"My dear Wei, I will not allow you to have dinner in the palace."

"Yes, I will retire."

Wei Zheng smiled and stood up and left.

As soon as he walked out of the palace, Wei Zheng seemed to have thought of something and suddenly turned back to look at the palace.

Damn it.

Chess is one move.

My jade ruyi is gone just like that!

……

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the weather turns cold.

Continuous drizzle fell from the sky above Chang'an City from time to time.

The rain was not heavy, but it was mixed with a hint of chill.

Fortunately, this drizzle finally ended after five days.

The azure sky is as deep and azure as porcelain glaze, and with a big sun, it looks like a painting.

A carriage stopped outside the Prince's Residence.

A man in noble attire opened the curtain and walked out of the carriage.

"Excuse me, Master Su Chen, do you live here?"

"Who is this young master?"

"I am Xue Yuanchao from Hedong, and I have come to visit Master Su."

Xue Yuanchao smiled and bowed, and the servant beside him tactfully handed the prepared gift to the doorman.

"A little care is not disrespectful."

"Mr. Xue, please wait a moment."

The doorman accepted the gift with a smile, then turned and walked into the Prince's Residence.

Xue Yuanchao stood quietly outside the door, staring at the three words above: Taiziju!

"Mr. Xue, please."

"Thank you."

Xue Yuanchao followed the doorman into the Prince's residence.

After walking around the screen wall, Xue Yuanchao was stunned.

There were a few people sitting around a table in the main hall. There was a small stove on the table, stewing something, with steam bubbling out.

There are a lot of fresh fruits, vegetables and meats placed around the small stove!

This……

"Mr. Xue, please."

"oh oh."

Xue Yuanchao came back to his senses and walked towards the main hall in surprise, and saw Su Chen and others looking at him sideways with a smile.

"My name is Xue Yuanchao..."

"Come and sit down. I just added a seat for you."

Su Chen smiled and pointed to an empty seat nearby. When he was about to pick up his chopsticks and start eating, Li Chengqian got there first.

Li Chengqian was delighted as he took the mutton and dipped it in the dipping sauce, then stuffed it into his mouth happily, "Cook it again."

"That's too much, Prince!"

"Mr. Su, I'll do it next time..."

"It is said that it is better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early."

Su Chen shook his head. Seeing Xue Yuanchao still standing there stupidly, he said, "Come and eat together."

(End of this chapter)