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Chapter 1359 Self-recommend pillow mat
Some people may think that Cao Zhongda is not the murderer in the "Donor Case". Su Wuming and Lu Lingfeng in the original drama have already caught the real murderer Li Chi, but Su Ning thinks that such a result is a bit too perfect.

On the contrary, Su Ning believed that Cao Zhongda, as the head of the Cao family, was the biggest beneficiary. It was obvious that Li Chi's behavior was secretly instigated by Cao Zhongda, and Li Chi's wife, as the eldest daughter of the Cao family, must be very willing to see her father avoid disaster.

That's why Suning said that Cao Zhongda was the mastermind behind the "Sponsor Case", because everything that happened inside the Cao family was under his control. Cao Zhongda was not as ignorant as the audience initially thought, so it was impossible for him to be truly ignorant of Li Chi's behavior.

After leaving the Anxi Protectorate, Cao Xiaoxiao turned to look at her father, Cao Zhongda, and said, "Father, this new Grand Protector seems very kind. Talking to him always makes me feel like I'm in the spring breeze."

"Naive! Our Grand Protector is very extraordinary. As the confidant of His Majesty, his background is far beyond that of ordinary people. He will definitely make big moves in the Anxi Protectorate next." However, Cao Zhongda had a feeling that he had nowhere to hide in front of Su Ning. This feeling was a little unacceptable to this sixty-year-old man.

After all, he had long been accustomed to calculating against others. Suddenly faced with someone he couldn't control, Cao Zhongda naturally felt a little uncomfortable for a moment.

Then Cao Xiaoxiao looked at her father Cao Zhongda again and asked, "Should our Cao family support this Grand Protector?"

"Oh! Do we still have the ability to refuse? Maybe no one in the entire Western Regions can refuse." Cao Zhongda, who had specially studied Suning before, sighed helplessly, realizing that the entire Western Regions had fallen into Suning's hands.

Then Cao Xiaoxiao suddenly looked at her father Cao Zhongda and said, "Father, I suddenly had an idea. I don't know whether I should tell you."

"Oh? Xiaoxiao, you are my father's most promising daughter. Just tell me if you have any good ideas." At first, Cao Zhongda naturally seemed a little too concerned and said with a smile.

"Father, how about you send me to the Grand Protector as a concubine? That way, the Grand Protector will definitely treat our family well."

"What? You actually want to be the Grand Protector's concubine?" At this moment, Cao Zhongda was immediately stunned by his little daughter's idea, and then he felt an indescribable surprise in his heart.

"Father, I've actually been thinking about this for a long time. No matter how much money our Cao family makes, it's useless. We can never be compared to those aristocratic families."

"Xiaoxiao, isn't this too unfair to you?"

"Father, I made this choice willingly. No matter what my future holds, I will never regret it."

"Well! All right! I'll find time to ask to see the Grand Protector again. I believe the Grand Protector will be very willing to accept the Cao family's allegiance."

"Thank you father for making it happen."

"Silly child, it should be your father and the Cao family who should thank you. You have given our Cao family the opportunity to change our fate."

At this time, Su Ning naturally didn't know what Cao Zhongda and Cao Xiaoxiao, father and daughter, were planning, because he was very busy every day. Although Chang'an and Luoyang in the Central Plains were already fighting each other, it would not affect his plan to destroy the Western Regions and the Northern Frontier with thundering force.

You must know that the Tang Dynasty's three hundred years of nurturing the strength of foreign races. Not only the small country of Japan obtained advanced technology and knowledge from the Tang Dynasty, but the foreign races in the Western Regions and the northern border were also armed with advanced knowledge.

In addition, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period after the fall of the Tang Dynasty caused chaos throughout the Central Plains, which naturally led to the rapid expansion and development of these ethnic minorities in the Western Regions and Northern Frontiers. This is the helpless reality that the Song Dynasty was later suppressed by the Khitan and Western Xia.

This time, Suning is preparing to take a step ahead and completely eliminate the roots of these alien races, and then promote Confucian education in the Western Regions and Northern Frontier. He must make the Western Regions and Northern Frontier completely integrated into the Chinese civilization circle. Suning wants to make the alien races in the Western Regions and Northern Frontier give up their rebellious hearts forever.

In fact, these are not a big deal in the hands of Suning, who is full of bugs. You must know that the smart chips in his own space world have developed to the peak level of the seventh generation. He only needs to implant smart chips in the people of the conquered land to make them loyal. Moreover, such smart chips can be passed on to their next generation through flesh and blood. This will naturally allow Suning to achieve his goals perfectly.

……

After Suning successfully took office as the Grand Protector of Anxi Protectorate, the entire Western Regions became restless overnight because Anxi Protectorate posted a notice recruiting mercenaries.

The Anxi Protectorate recruited mercenaries without any restrictions on nationality or ethnicity. Each mercenary could receive a monthly salary of five yuan in cash and 30% of all spoils of war. Those who made contributions could also obtain household registration and titles issued by the Tang Dynasty court.

In fact, this has been confirmed in the "missing persons case" in Yunding County. Ordinary people at the bottom are always the most adventurous group of people. Even though they know that the adventure game in the Yunding fairyland is a scam with no turning back, they still cannot eliminate the greed of those adventurers.

Therefore, this notice from the Anxi Protectorate directly ignited the enthusiasm of the people in the Western Regions. Then, strong people from all over the Western Regions and the northern border came to sign up to join the mercenaries, and the Anxi Protectorate just did some simple inspections and kept them all.

Su Wuming wasn't exactly a competent think tank for Suning. He was still thinking about his good friend Lu Lingfeng. "Grand Protector, Lu Lingfeng has returned to Chang'an. I heard he's been appointed deputy general to the Grand Marshal."

"Well, it seems that His Majesty is going to use Lu Lingfeng to deal with Princess Taiping." However, Su Ning did not feel strange at all. After all, such a thing really fits Li Longji's character.

You should know that Li Longji in history was such a sophisticated egoist. The people around him were just tools for him to use. As long as they lost their usefulness, they would be ruthlessly abandoned. Even his own son's wife would be snatched away.

Therefore, the Li Tang royal family was not a pure Han Chinese from the Central Plains. They continued to maintain the barbaric and casual nature of ethnic minorities, and their absurd behaviors were also second to none in Chinese history.

Sure enough, Su Wuming couldn't accept Su Ning's guess. "Grand Protector, isn't this a bit too cruel?"

"There's nothing we can do! There are some things we can't interfere with. Besides, when you went to His Majesty and confessed the relationship between Lu Lingfeng and the princess, I think you did it to keep Lu Lingfeng away from the troubles in Chang'an, right?"

"Ah! Yes! I've long noticed the subtle changes in Chang'an. The dispute between His Majesty and the Princess has reached a critical point. If Lu Lingfeng continues to stay in Chang'an, he will only be dragged into it."

"Su Wuming, facts have proven that this is Lu Lingfeng's fate. Even if he leaves Chang'an, he will still be assassinated by unknown forces. Don't forget the Lan Juzi and Jia Budao he encountered at the Mo Family Store. So no matter where Lu Lingfeng eventually escapes to, he will have to face them."

"Grand Protector, you're right! From now on, Lu Lingfeng will have to deal with it on his own."

"Well, for the next period of time, our Anxi Protectorate needs to be well prepared for war. Whether it's sending troops against Tubo and Huihe, or waiting for His Majesty to dispatch troops to support Chang'an, our Anxi Protectorate must be prepared in advance."

"Yes! Grand Protector, but will this put all the pressure on us in the Western Regions?" "No problem! This time, I plan to fight to support the war, and I don't need much support from Chang'an or the imperial court. Besides, the money houses have already begun to expand into the Tibetan and Uighur territories, so the pressure we face won't be particularly great."

"Grand Protector, then, will our first target be Tubo or Huihe?"

"In fact, I have already sent people into Tubo territory. Our goal is to instigate conflict between the various tribes and chieftains within Tubo. Our real goal is to defeat the enemy without fighting."

"what?"

Su Wuming naturally didn't know that the person Suning admired most was Wang Xuance, who destroyed an entire country by himself, so he sent spies into Tubo in advance, and then used benefits and wealth to lure the tribes in Tubo into conflict. By then, the weak Tubo would be Suning's favorite opponent.

Sometimes Suning really hated the emperors of the Tang Dynasty. It was they who introduced advanced technology into foreign territories and cultivated powerful enemies of China in the future. Tubo was the first powerful enemy cultivated by the Tang Dynasty, and it also became the most powerful foreign force during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.

Moreover, the Tang Dynasty, which had exported advanced technology to foreign countries, was not enterprising and its way of thinking was still influenced by the ignorance of feudal society. It did not continue to invest too much money and effort in the development of technology, and sometimes even used various means to restrict the development of technology. As a result, it gradually led to a situation where it fell behind and was beaten in the future.

You must know that the most powerful thing about the Central Plains Dynasty compared to other ethnic groups is its technology and civilization. When the Central Plains Dynasty lost these advantages for survival, and also lost its natural horse farms, the weakness and vulnerability of the later Song Dynasty was an inevitable trend.

……

The power of the Luoyang Empress has been developing very rapidly recently. The aristocratic families in the Tang Dynasty have secretly supported Luoyang. After all, there are countless aristocratic families with the same demands as Suning, and no one wants to be abandoned by Li Longji in Chang'an.

In addition, Wu Zetian's rule was not completely useless. There were still many old and young people who missed the rule of Wu Zetian, so now all the blessings of Wu Zetian fell on the head of the female emperor.

As the empress in Luoyang became more and more competent, Li Longji in Chang'an was troubled by this every day. He felt that God and his ancestors must be punishing him again, otherwise why would they allow Princess Taiping to become so powerful.

After Lu Lingfeng quickly returned to Chang'an from the Western Regions, Li Longji naturally summoned Lu Lingfeng to the palace to question him. "Lu Lingfeng, I have summoned you back to Chang'an this time because I want you to be the deputy general in charge of suppressing the rebellion. I wonder if you are willing to continue to serve me?"

"Your Majesty, I, Lu Lingfeng, swear to repay your kindness with my life." At this time, Lu Lingfeng was no longer the naive boy he used to be. Along the way, he had figured out his current situation and what would happen next.

"Well, I also know that you and Auntie are mother and son. I wonder if you will be unable to bring yourself to do something to Auntie?"

"Your Majesty, I have always been loyal to the court and Your Majesty first. As for the princess, she chose to betray the court and Your Majesty. Naturally, I will no longer recognize her as mother and son."

"Haha, good! You are indeed worthy of being the Lu Lingfeng whom I value. Next, let me take a good look at your strength." At this time, Li Longji was naturally very satisfied with Lu Lingfeng's statement.

"Yes! Your Majesty."

The empress of Luoyang did not expect that Li Longji would use Lu Lingfeng, and as the deputy general of the rebellion suppression army, Lu Lingfeng naturally led the troops, but it caused the army in Luoyang to suffer a brief setback.

Then the armies of Luoyang and Chang'an formed a stalemate. It was difficult for both armies to break through each other's defense for a while, and the emperors of both Chang'an and Luoyang were desperately trying to win over the local officials.

As expected, Lu Lingfeng's appearance on the battlefield made the empress burst into rage. "Damn it! It's really too abhorrent! Li Longji actually let his own son deal with his own mother."

"Your Majesty, you have many sons. There is no need to be timid because of an illegitimate child." However, Jinyiwei commander Liao Kai said disapprovingly.

"Hmph! What do you know? I've owed this son since he was young, so how could I be willing to go to war with him now? Besides, this son of mine is truly a rare military talent, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to withstand our Luoyang offensive."

"Your Majesty, what you say makes sense! We can take advantage of the stalemate between Luoyang and Chang'an and make every effort to win the support of the provincial governors throughout the Tang Dynasty."

"Lord Liao, your words make sense! Next, I would like to send you to the Western Regions to recruit Suning, the Grand Protector of the Anxi Protectorate, for me. After that, you will continue to the Beiting Protectorate to recruit Tang Jiahui."

"Your Majesty, Suning and Tang Jiahui are both confidants of the person in Chang'an. It would be difficult for us in Luoyang to recruit them, right?"

"That's fine! Suning has made such great contributions to Li Longji, yet he was only granted the title of Marquis of a county. This time, you should bring my imperial edict conferring him the title of Prince of Wuwei. No matter how Suning responds, it will make Li Longji feel uncomfortable."

"Yes! Your Majesty, I understand what to do."

"Well, I also conferred the title of Prince of Nanyang on Tang Jiahui of the Beiting Protectorate. I want to be more generous than Li Longji. Only those who are willing to follow me will have a future and prospects."

"Hmm? Your Majesty, I'm just worried that there might be no more titles to be given in the future?"

"Haha, there's no need to think about such long-term things now. I just want to quickly eliminate Li Longji in Chang'an. The Tang Dynasty can only prosper under my leadership."

"..."

At this time, Liao Kai felt somewhat helpless, because he was originally a nail specially arranged by Suning. He did not expect that the empress would send him to Suning again.

Moreover, based on Liao Kai's understanding of Su Ning, he really looked down on Luoyang's enthronement, so this trip to Anxi Protectorate and Beiting Protectorate was doomed to be in vain. Moreover, Li Longji was also trying his best to win over those provincial governors, so naturally he could not sit idly by and watch the empress in Luoyang act unscrupulously.

……

(End of this chapter)