Teasing the First Dragon at the Start

She cupped her hands and said, “Yes, Your Majesty, the Xiongnu cavalry are as swift as the wind. It is simply impossible to quell the northern threat in one battle and secure thirty years of peace. Rather than wasting money, we should focus on governing the thirty-six prefectures of the empire.”

At this moment, Li Si suddenly stood up.

She smiled and looked at everyone: "You are all mistaken. The Xiongnu were defeated a few years ago, but they did not decline. On the contrary, under the leadership of a Chanyu named Modu, they gradually annexed the Donghu and Linhu and have unified the various tribes of the grassland."

"Now Maodun has 300,000 troops under his command. If we sit idly by, he will surely become a major threat to the Central Plains in the future."

"As for logistics, you need not worry. We have a solution for this. Each soldier can carry a month's worth of rations. This will greatly reduce the logistical pressure."

"Our Great Xia army can also be like the Xiongnu, without any worries about logistics, and can launch raids thousands of miles away as fast as the wind."

"As the saying goes, if the enemy goes there, so can we. We have been harassed by the Xiongnu for so long, it is time for the roles of offense and defense to be reversed."

As she finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent.

Feng Jie and the others stared wide-eyed, speechless for a long time. This problem that had plagued the Central Plains for thousands of years had been solved just like that?

Although they didn't know who had offered the advice to His Majesty, there was one thing they understood.

His Majesty had already set a trap for them to fall into.

Through the hanging beaded curtain, Zhengjie looked at the expressions of the people below, and her red lips curled slightly: "Does my dear minister have anything to say?"

Feng Jie and the others exchanged glances and gave bitter smiles. What could they say now?

They all cupped their hands and said, "We have nothing to say."

When Zhengjie heard them say that, her smile became even brighter. She then swept her gaze over the civil and military officials below and asked, "My dear ministers, does anyone have any objections?"

The officials in the hall were all old foxes; they could easily see that this was a play staged by His Majesty and Prime Minister Li Si and others. Since it was all a play, what objections could they possibly have?

Just as everyone was about to bow in unison, a voice suddenly came from the back of the hall.

Everyone turned around and saw a somewhat unfamiliar young man in a white robe staggering out of the crowd.

Zhengjie was taken aback, and a hint of surprise flashed in her phoenix eyes.

The person who stepped forward was none other than Bai Su.

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Bai Su's Advice

Zhengjie looked at Bai Su, who had suddenly stepped forward, and a look of surprise appeared in her phoenix eyes.

Li Si turned around and gave Bai Su a strange look. It was clearly his idea to launch a northern expedition against the Xiongnu that led His Majesty, so why was he standing up against His Majesty today?

Even Wang Jian's face showed a hint of doubt. Based on her understanding of Bai Su's personality, Bai Su was not the kind of person who would actively meddle in important political affairs.

Bai Su noticed that everyone's eyes were on her, and her eyelids twitched uncontrollably. She couldn't help but curse inwardly, "Which bastard tripped me just now?"

He had been dozing off in the back the whole time and hadn't been listening to what was being said at all.

Seeing that there were many ministers in front of her, all standing up and bowing, she thought it was time to clock out and wanted to peek to see if the Empress had left yet.

As a result, he didn't notice the person next to him and accidentally tripped over it, so he stumbled and hopped out.

After a moment of contemplation, Zhengjie asked, "Bai Su... did you suddenly step forward because you have some objections?"

"If I said I just wanted to see if it was time to leave work, would you believe me?" Bai Su saw all the civil and military officials in the court looking at him, and a thin layer of cold sweat immediately appeared on his forehead.

Sister Zheng: "..."

The courtiers: "..."

Wang Jian's lips twitched, and she couldn't help but cover her face. She knew this kid couldn't possibly be that diligent.

Just as Bai Su was about to laugh it off and back down, the Imperial Censor named Feng Jie stepped forward.

She frowned, staring directly at Bai Su: "What an arrogant fool! How dare he be so presumptuous in the court, showing contempt for the government! Your Majesty... I request that this boy be thrown out and punished with temple hair removal as a sign of his authority."

As she finished speaking, the hall fell silent.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, Bai Su couldn't help but ask, "Um... is this temple punishment very serious?"

Wang Jian kindly whispered a reminder: "It means shaving off all the body hair, which is an extremely humiliating punishment, comparable to the death penalty."

Bai Su couldn't help but twitch her eyelids. Good heavens, this was a recipe for social death.

Although he, as a person from a later era, did not share the ancient people's values ​​that their bodies and hair were gifts from their parents and that shaving their hair was equivalent to beheading, he still did not want to have his hair shaved off for no reason.

Thinking of this, Bai Su quickly coughed lightly: "Who said I despised the court?"

Feng Jie frowned: "But you didn't just offer a suggestion, yet you suddenly stood up. Isn't that showing contempt for the government?"

Bai Su smiled faintly: "Who said I didn't offer any advice? I was just asking casually."

Upon hearing Bai Su's words, Zheng Jie's phoenix eyes lit up with curiosity, and she asked with great interest, "Then what objections do you have to the court's policies?"

Bai Su cleared her throat twice and couldn't help but ask, "Ahem, where were you guys discussing just now?"

Wang Jian was immediately speechless and hurriedly whispered the details of what they had just discussed.

Feng Jie and other dove-like officials who were already opposed to the Northern Expedition against the Xiongnu all looked at Bai Su with displeasure.

After understanding Zhengjie's plan to unite with the Yuezhi to launch a northern expedition against the Xiongnu, Bai Su's mind raced, and she vaguely had an idea.

After pondering for a while, he said, "Your Majesty, my reason for opposing a direct northern expedition against the Xiongnu is very simple: the biggest beneficiary of this war will not be us."

A hint of doubt flashed in Zheng Jie's phoenix eyes: "Who is that? A Hun?"

Bai Su shook his head: "No, the biggest winner is not the Central Plains, nor the Xiongnu, but the Yuezhi."

Zhengjie was taken aback: "Yuezhi? What do you mean by that?"

Bai Su smiled slightly and said, "Your Majesty, even if we win the battle against the Xiongnu, all we will gain is a future where there are no powerful enemies in the north and decades of peace on the border, but we will not benefit the economy at all."

"But the Yuezhi are different. They were originally a powerful force in the Hexi Corridor, but they have always faced suppression from the Xiongnu and have been unable to grow stronger."

“Once we defeat the Xiongnu, the mountain weighing on the Yuezhi will be removed, and they will rise rapidly, gradually annexing the remnants of the Xiongnu, so that one day they can grow into the second Xiongnu.”

"Are we spending so much manpower and resources just to change the name of our enemy in the north?"

Upon hearing this, the hall fell silent.

The ministers pondered Bai Su's words and had to admit that they made some sense. If it were just a simple war, it would be difficult to quell the hidden dangers in the north.

After all, they defeated the Guifang, then the Quanrong came; after defeating the Quanrong, the Xiongnu came; it just never ended.

After pondering for a while, Zhengjie asked, "In your opinion, shouldn't this battle be fought?"

Bai Su shook his head: "We definitely have to fight the Xiongnu, otherwise letting them grow stronger will be of no benefit to the Central Plains in the future. However... before we fight, we need to demand enough benefits from the Yuezhi."

Zhengjie seemed to understand Bai Su's meaning: "You mean you're asking them for a large amount of grain, fodder, and horses?"

Bai Su nodded and said, "That's right. Since they've asked our Central Plains for help, they should definitely provide the grain, supplies, horses, and other provisions. Otherwise, why should we rescue them?"

Zhengjie raised her delicate eyebrows and said, "We and the Yuezhi are interdependent. If we demand too much food and supplies from them, forcing them to join the Xiongnu and become enemies of the Central Plains, what should we do?"

Zhengjie's words resonated with many court officials. After all, they were now allies with the Yuezhi, and it would be unwise to extort too much from their ally and force them to defect to the enemy camp.

Bai Su smiled confidently: "Your Majesty need not worry. It is impossible for the Yuezhi to join the Xiongnu under any circumstances."

Zhengjie asked with some doubt, "Why are you so sure?"

Bai Su said with a smile, "Because the Yuezhi and the Xiongnu have a blood feud, if they were to defect to the Xiongnu, the Yuezhi nobles would face the danger of extinction."

After all, the Yuezhi and the Xiongnu had a long history of hatred for each other, and the Yuezhi had once taken advantage of the Xiongnu's weakness to suppress them.

After the rise of the Xiongnu, they also launched a brutal and inhumane reprisal against the Yuezhi.

Not only did they cut off the head of the Yuezhi king and make it into a drinking vessel, storing it in the Xiongnu king's tent, but they also slaughtered the entire Yuezhi nobility.

Not only that, the Xiongnu also continuously dispatched troops to pursue and kill the remnants of the Yuezhi along the Western Regions. The Yuezhi people were forced to flee all the way from the Hexi Corridor to Central Asia, to the Ganges River region of India, before they finally settled down.

This shows just how deep the blood feud between the two countries really is.

The Yuezhi nobles, if they had any other choice, would never choose to surrender to the Xiongnu.

After all, if they went to the Central Plains, they would only lose some food and horses, but if they went to the Xiongnu, they would lose both their people and their horses.

Zhengjie looked at Bai Su with her phoenix eyes and asked, "How confident are you?"

Bai Su thought for a while, in order to prevent any unforeseen circumstances.

He gave a conservative estimate: "I'm about 70% sure."

Even so, Zhengjie was still stunned for a moment. What was the difference between this 70% certainty and a sure thing?

The Empress smiled and said, "If you can negotiate the terms, I will recommend you for credit."

"Your Majesty, please don't be in such a hurry to ask for credit. I haven't finished speaking yet..."

Bai Su took a deep breath and said, "To prevent the Yuezhi from becoming a second Xiongnu in the future, we must prepare in advance to keep the Yuezhi under our control."

Chapter Seventy Unreasonable Thoughts

Zhengjie frowned slightly, her phoenix eyes looking directly at Bai Su in the distance through the hanging beaded curtain: "How to control it?"

She had known Bai Su for a long time, and although she knew that Bai Su never spoke carelessly and usually had a plan in mind when she opened her mouth, she was still somewhat surprised by how groundbreaking Bai Su's words were.

It's normal that they wanted to control and annex the Yuezhi.

After seeing the Ferghana horses from the Western Regions presented by the Yuezhi delegation, Zhengjie also developed a desire to marry into the Yuezhi.

Having an idea in your mind and actually being able to do it are two completely different things.

After all, the Yuezhi were more than a thousand miles away from the Central Plains, and it was not an easy task for them to go beyond the Great Wall to launch an expedition against a powerful country.

Even if they conquered it, the imperial court wouldn't be able to maintain control for long.

Once the troops are withdrawn back to the Central Plains, the Yuezhi will revert to their previous state of occupying a region. It is simply too difficult to maintain long-term control over a foreign state beyond the Great Wall.

Bai Su chuckled and said, "Relying solely on force will indeed make it difficult to achieve our goal. However, if we use diplomacy as a strategy, it is not impossible to bring the Yuezhi under our control."

As the saying goes, the pen is the sword, the ink is the edge, and words are the blade, sometimes even more powerful than a thousand troops.

Everyone looked surprised when they heard Bai Su's words.

Even Zheng Jie's phoenix eyes flashed with curiosity, and she couldn't help but ask, "Then what good plan do you have?"

After pondering for a while, Bai Su said, "The Yuezhi are facing the danger of national extinction and have come to the Central Plains to seek reinforcements. We can use this as leverage to get them to agree to three conditions."

"First, the Yuezhi provided food, supplies, and logistical support, which reduced the pressure on our army to march north."

"Secondly, we demand that the Yuezhi establish free trade with our Central Plains, that the Yuezhi nobles wear silk and brocade clothes like our Central Plains nobles, and that our Central Plains nobles purchase fruits and wines from the Western Regions, so as to promote mutual trade and increase economic exchanges."