A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

Even though Zhai Hong now wished he could kill the Tang envoy in front of him, if the Tang Dynasty hadn't suddenly sent troops, he wouldn't have ended up in this situation.

But he also knew that the Tang envoy in front of him was right. Now his interests were aligned with those of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty absolutely did not want him to fall so quickly. They needed enough time to consolidate their foundation and did not want him to collapse rapidly, allowing the Great Xia to be reunified. This was not in the interests of the Tang Dynasty.

"What's your name?"

Zhai Hong asked.

"Ma Zhou, Imperial Censor of the Tang Dynasty".

Ma Zhou stood tall and proud.

"Your Excellency is a man of great talent; the position of mere Censor is beneath you."

"Your Excellency is willing to abandon darkness and embrace light, and serve my Great Xia. Zhai Hong is willing to recommend Your Excellency as Minister of the Imperial Secretariat."

Zhai Hong looked at him with admiration and extended an invitation.

"Hahahaha, my Great Tang Dynasty occupies the land of China, a land of outstanding people and abundant resources. There are countless talents within our country who can surpass my Ma Zhou."

"With my abilities, I can only be a leader in a county, which is nothing special. Being appointed as an imperial censor is already a great favor from the emperor, and I am extremely grateful."

"Moreover, where does this talk of abandoning darkness for light come from? What is darkness? What is light?"

"Now the Great Xia is in turmoil. A young emperor is on the throne, powerful ministers are in power, war is raging everywhere, feudal lords are rising up, the world is in chaos, and the people live in constant fear. This is darkness."

"The Tang Dynasty was peaceful and stable, with a wise ruler in power, countless virtuous ministers, and the whole country enjoying peace and prosperity. This is true wisdom."

"Ma Zhou is dull-witted; he has only heard of abandoning darkness for light, but has never heard of abandoning light for darkness."

Ma Zhou was blunt and, taking advantage of the fact that Zhai Hong needed the Tang Dynasty more now, spoke without any restraint.

Even though Zhai Hongcheng was extremely shrewd, when he heard Ma Zhou ruthlessly expose the true face of the Great Xia, he blushed and felt resentful that Ma Zhou did not give him any face.

"snort!"

Zhai Hong snorted coldly, but ultimately still needed the help of the Tang Dynasty, so he forcibly suppressed his dissatisfaction.

"What are your plans?"

Ma Zhou's lips curled slightly; a big fish had taken the bait.

"Prime Minister, please see, we can use this as a boundary. When the Tang Dynasty attacks these various warlords, the Prime Minister only needs to be responsible for these specific routes."

"Moreover, the Prime Minister does not need to be so wary of the Tang Dynasty. He can naturally transfer all the troops stationed in the north to the south. In this way, the Prime Minister's forces will be sufficient."

Ma Zhou said with a smile.

Zhai Hong's face darkened. The areas Ma Zhou had circled around for the Tang Dynasty were all fertile lands, either grain-producing areas of the Great Xia or industrial bases of the Great Xia.

"impossible!"

"If the Tang Dynasty is not sincere, I don't mind fighting on multiple fronts. It's just a matter of dying. I, Zhai Hong, have that kind of courage."

"Prime Minister, please don't mind. They're asking for an exorbitant price; let's try to negotiate."

Ma Zhou smiled and said indifferently.

The two engaged in a fierce verbal battle, neither willing to yield, for the sake of their respective empires.

Finally, at dawn, an agreement was reached, and the boundaries of spheres of influence were drawn.

However, they both knew that the sphere of influence they had drawn up this time was just talk. Given the chance, both sides would immediately break off relations and render the agreement worthless.

Throughout the Tang Dynasty, and within the city of Chang'an, white silk was everywhere.

Because in the winter of that year, Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan, the nominal founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty, died in the Wude Hall, and the Tang Dynasty officially entered an era with only one emperor.

Without Li Yuan's obstruction, Li Shimin was able to carry out more sweeping reforms of the Tang Dynasty.

But before he could implement his reforms, a huge challenge loomed before him.

That was the big gift Li Yuan left him: dozens of younger brothers and sisters.

Although Li Shimin in this life did not kill his elder brother and younger brother with his own hands in the Xuanwu Gate Incident as he did in real history, he lost two younger brothers and imprisoned his father in the two Xuanwu Gate Incidents.

Li Shimin cared deeply about his posthumous reputation, so he tried his best to treat his other brothers and sisters well.

The key point is that after Li Yuan was imprisoned by him, he became depressed and, knowing Li Shimin's thoughts, deliberately disgusted Li Shimin by having him conceive in the palace all day long.

I've relinquished my throne, my power, and my military strength. I'm already imprisoned by you. Do you expect me to continue having children? That makes no sense.

Li Shimin did not want to bear such a reputation, so he simply let it be.

Moreover, although Li Yuan raised an army to pacify the country, the hard and tough battles were fought by his sons and daughters. He hardly went to the battlefield and naturally did not suffer any injuries. He was extremely healthy and still had his vigor at this age, and gave Li Shimin dozens of younger brothers and sisters.

These were all Li Shimin's younger brothers and sisters. According to the policies of the Tang Dynasty, these people were to be granted the titles of kings or princesses.

If we were to add in Li Shimin's sons and daughters, and really enfeoff them, the entire Tang Dynasty would have to be divided into several prefectures.

This had a tremendous impact on both the territorial integrity of the Tang Dynasty and the operation and taxation of the imperial court.

Moreover, under Li Yuan's influence, these younger siblings did not have a very good impression of him as their elder brother.

If he were given such great power, and they were to rebel, even if he were forced to quell the rebellion, he would still be remembered in history for mistreating his brothers and sisters.

Li Shimin would never allow such a ridiculous reason to affect the prosperous Zhenguan era he had created.

But if he didn't grant titles to his younger brothers and sisters, people would inevitably say he was mean and ungrateful.

He couldn't possibly not bestow titles upon his own sons and brothers and sisters. If he didn't bestow titles upon his own sons, wouldn't Li Shimin become the greatest unjust person in the world?

Faced with the mess left by his father, Li Shimin was angry, furious, and helpless.

For this reason, Li Shimin even summoned Fang Xuanling, but unfortunately Du Ruhui was dead, and he lost someone to consult with.

Fang Xuanling gave Li Shimin a suggestion.

They honored his position, bestowed upon him generous salaries, stripped him of his titles and power, kept him in the capital, and did not govern the people.

These princes and princesses were granted extremely high titles and honors, but not fiefdoms or power. They were imprisoned in the capital and denied the opportunity to win over the hearts and minds of the people.

Li Shimin nodded slightly, his face showing a relaxed expression. This way, he would not appear harsh or ungrateful, and he could still restrain his younger brothers and sisters.

As for what his younger siblings thought, Li Shimin didn't care.

"But what if they act recklessly in the capital and disgrace the royal family?"

Fang Xuanling secretly thought to himself, "Li Shimin wants to have his cake and eat it too."

"Your Majesty, is there a way to have it all? The only solution is for the Imperial Clan Court to strictly control the situation."

Fang Xuanling hinted.

Li Shimin immediately understood. With the Zongzheng (the head of the imperial clan) taking the blame, he, as the emperor, was glorious and righteous, and he cared for his younger brothers and sisters. However, since the Zongzheng handled clan affairs, he couldn't interfere.

They could only offer more compensation to the common people who were bullied by the royal family, and at least gain a reputation for loving the people.