Chapter 1144 Xiangcheng Palace

  Ruzhou.

  Xiangcheng Palace, Qin Lang and his newlywed wife, Princess Changle, visited the emperor who was hunting here.

"This Xiangcheng palace is not well built. I thought Yan Lide could be regarded as a capable minister in terms of architecture, but this palace used 20,000 craftsmen and civilians and cost 2 million yuan. It took two years to complete the construction, but the result was not as good everywhere. What I mean. In summer, the palace is extremely hot and stuffy, with many snakes, insects, mosquitoes and ants, and in winter, it is cold and humid..."

  The emperor took his son-in-law's hand and complained that the Xiangcheng Palace was originally built to escape the summer heat. When the emperor was in Chang'an, he usually went to Jiucheng Palace in Qizhou to escape the summer heat, and moved the capital to Luoyang. Of course, it is best to have a summer palace in summer.

   It was deliberately asked Yan Lide to build it, and it turned out to be like this.

"If you hadn't stayed in southern Xinjiang for a few years, I would have asked you to cultivate at that time, and I would never have cultivated like this. The Chang'an Daming Palace, Luoyang Ziwei Palace, and Shangyang Palace that you supervised are all worth mentioning. They are all very good. You don’t need to use the national treasury and the money in the treasury, and you can still have income. Even the craftsmen are very happy and earn a lot of money. But Yan Lide can’t do it. , merchants, etc. complain, hey."

  Qin Lang sat there making tea for the emperor, but didn't answer.

  He has already decided to leave, how can he answer this question.

   Li Shimin talked for a long time, but Qin Lang didn't answer.

   It made him lose face, and finally he had no choice but to say, "I appreciate your talent very much. Not only can you command troops and fight wars, but you are also good at economics. I really don't want you to leave."

"I was sixteen years old when I conspired with the Yuan Congjing Rebellion, and I have been loyal to the saint for sixteen years. I have worked hard these years and made some modest contributions. Thanks to the saint's love, I am very grateful to the minister. Now it is considered an achievement. Married to Princess Changle, now I want to enjoy life, spend more time with the princess, and teach my children and younger siblings at home when I have free time. My father left early, so I, as an elder brother, have to take on the responsibility of teaching Responsibility, we can't let them fall into Qin's family in the future!"

  Li Shimin looked at Qin Lang seriously.

   "It seems that you are really determined to leave. Can you tell me the truth, why? Could it be that I have treated you poorly or wronged you?"

"Of course the sage never wronged me. The sage even gave me his most beloved Princess Changle. How could I not know the favor of the sage? But what I said was the truth. Now there are many famous ministers in the court. The sage is in his prime, and the prince is also young and promising. It doesn’t matter if the minister stays in the court or not. If it is like Zhenguan’s early years, with internal and external troubles, then of course the minister can’t leave, but it doesn’t matter now.”

   "There are no ministers in the court, so it won't have the slightest influence, but the Qin family doesn't have a head of the family now, and the younger generation will inevitably learn bad things easily, so we must spend more time and hurry up."

   This reason is also very sufficient.

  The emperor couldn't refute it, after all, it was for the family.

   "The sage also wants to have a grandson sooner, right?" Qin Lang smiled again.

  Li Shimin glared at him, "You're ashamed to say that Changle's stomach hasn't moved a bit after a few months of marriage. You can't neglect her, or I will turn against you mercilessly."

   "The subject and the princess are deeply in love with each other. It is normal that they are not pregnant for a while, so they need more time to spend together. The princess is already a little anxious now, and the subject needs to spend more time with the princess."

"The auxiliary machine and Daozong's daughters are both pregnant. Can Changle not be in a hurry? Your Qin Lang has more than a dozen children, and your main wife has been married for half a year, but she hasn't conceived yet. You have to be anxious to change anyone. That's fine, since you If you want to rest, then I will."

"Please ask the sage to decree to remove the title of minister Tong Pingzhang. The minister returned to the southern fiefdom, so he can't sit in his place for a vegetarian meal, right? The position of prime minister is an important position for the general commander to assist the monarch in governing the country. It is really uneasy for the minister to occupy it. This is also beneficial to the country, please take it back."

   "I plan to grant Changle and you each 10,000 mu of land in Liaodong. After the Ministry of Households has allocated 10,000 mu of land, you should quickly arrange for someone to take over and reclaim it."

   "A minister who has no merit will not be rewarded."

   "You have done a lot of credit for breaking Liaodong, so there is no need to refuse, just treat it as giving it to my unconceived grandson in advance."

   "Thank you, Your Majesty."

The 20,000 mu of land in Liaodong must be in the central mountainous area. The value is not high now, and the development cost is not small, but it is also a family heirloom. As long as Liaodong is stable, the land will still be worth some money in the future. It is not an ordinary field, but a fief, which can reduce or exempt one-third of the tax.

  But now Qin Lang's thoughts are all in the south, all in Luzon Island, so he doesn't really care much about managing the land in Liaodong.

   "How long do you think it will take to destroy Goguryeo?" The emperor changed the subject.

   "Niu Jinda's success is reported frequently, and the progress is gratifying. Before the autumn harvest, it is possible to take the entire Liaodong. Is it possible to consider entering Pyongyang directly after the autumn and destroying Goguryeo in one fell swoop?" the emperor asked.

  Now the Tang government and the people all feel that Goguryeo is a dead tiger at the mercy of others, and has no power to resist. But Qin Lang still reminded the emperor not to act too hastily.

   After all, Goguryeo has been a country for 700 years and has a population of millions. It still has strength, especially in Liaodong, where there are many mountain fortresses. Although the Tang Dynasty has the upper hand, it should not be careless.

  One mistake, although not all games are lost, but it will also lose a lot.

   Li Shimin has also seen the danger of the mountain city in Liaodong, and Qin Lang is right. Although the Liaodong army was almost wiped out in Goguryeo, it is not that there is no power to fight back.

  Its imperial guards still have at least 100,000 horses. If they temporarily recruit young men, or borrow troops from Baekje, they can still pull up a resistance force.

   "There are many armored cavalry in the Goguryeo Forbidden Army, you must be careful!" Qin Lang reminded.

In fact, Goguryeo not only has mountain fortresses, but also does not only know how to hide and defend. Otherwise, Yu Wenshu and other nine generals led the nine armies with 300,000 people to Pyongyang, and they would not be defeated so badly in the end. Only 2,000 people fled back. Liaodong City is down.

  Goguryeo, as a half-cultivating and half-pasturing kingdom in the Northeast, has a strong cavalry unit, especially a heavy cavalry unit that has always maintained a large number.

   This was established by them fighting against the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties of the Central Plains, and their strength is very strong.

  The heavy cavalry ace in the hands of Goguryeo was the main force against the Central Plains dynasty. Later, it was often transferred to the southern peninsula to fight Baekje and Silla.

  During the Eastern Expedition of the Tang Dynasty last year, this trump card was not seen on the Liaodong battlefield, and at that time the Goguryeo people were too late to react, and they also focused on defense in the tortoise city, hoping that the cold winter would come, and the Tang Dynasty would retreat without a fight.

  Who knew that in the end they lost so quickly and so badly that this elite team remained on the peninsula and was still defending against the Silla army.

  During the military reforms of the Tang Dynasty in recent years, the ratio of heavy cavalry has actually been reduced. This is also the inevitable development of the times. After all, the cost of heavy cavalry is too high, and the relative cost performance is not high.

"The minister suggested that we should fight steadily and steadily. There is no need to rush for a while. With Liaodong's good start now, to seize the opportunity, we only need to put 50,000 to 60,000 people in Liaodong, and advance steadily. The Goguryeo people can't last long, and my Tang Dynasty promotes immigration and military settlements at the same time, and reforms and resettles the remaining Goguryeo people. In three years at most, the entire Liaodong area west of the Yalu River will be completely for my Tang Dynasty. Conquered, and it is the kind that has no sequelae."

   "During the past three years, the navy was sent to harass the coastal areas of Koguryo's Korean peninsula from the sea, and at the same time cross the Yalu River by land to harass, destroy their agriculture, and block their trade."

"Let Silla, Gaya, and Tamra's three vassals cooperate to attack Goguryeo. In three years, Goguryeo's economy and people's livelihood can be completely collapsed. At that time, Datang will use Liaodong as its base camp to send troops into the peninsula. It will definitely be a destructive attack. Enter Pyongyang, destroy Goguryeo in one fell swoop, and there will be no damage at all."

  Three years.

   This time is not too long, but the emperor obviously didn't want to wait so long, but after thinking about it, the emperor still felt that Qin Lang's words were more reasonable.

  Liaodong was pressing too fast. Those one or two hundred fortresses and millions of soldiers and civilians could still cause a lot of casualties to the Tang army.

The Tang army needs some time, more time to trap the Goguryeo people in Liaodong, and also needs time to digest the huge victory in Liaodong. After three years of immigration and reclamation, it should be able to digest this area by then, and be able to enter the next step. The peninsula has provided enough food and grass to support it.

   "Where is Xue Yantuo?" the emperor asked again.

  Datang endured the rebellious Tiele Khanate in Mobei, and put Xue Yantuo on the agenda again and again, but the result was always interrupted, and it was delayed until now.

"Chen Xue Yantuo doesn't think it's too much of a threat. As long as the imperial court continues to support Huihe and let Xi, Qi, Shiwei and other ministries cooperate to fight against Xue Yantuo, then Xue Yantuo will not have the ability to commit crimes south again. The desert is the best buffer zone. As long as Datang guards the Monan border well, they won't have a chance at all."

Qin Lang thought that as long as he did his own thing well and strategically pursued and intercepted Xue Yantuo, it would be best to blockade and prohibit trade exchanges, then Xue Yantuo would collapse in a short time, and there would be civil strife at that time, not to mention that Yi Nan's physical condition was not good Well, he definitely won't be able to survive for a few more years, and when he dies, the two brothers who are already at odds will definitely have internal strife.

   "What about the Western Regions?" the emperor continued to ask.

"This time Yanqi and Yugu set up a joint venture, and at the same time, King Qiuci also had the intention of rebelling against the Tang Dynasty, which shows that they are not reconciled to Datang's comprehensive aggressive strategy in the Western Regions, and they are even less willing to change their land and return to the bloc. However, Datang has no reason to give up. Now the opportunity Great, if we don’t take it now, our descendants will scold us in the future.”

It is said that Datang went to the Western Regions to include other countries into the Datang, which is a bit tyrannical. The countries in the Western Regions originally only wanted to attach themselves to the Datang. It can also take advantage of the power of the Tang Dynasty to fight against the oppression of the Turks. After all, they don't want to give up their inherited kingdom from generation to generation and merge it into the Tang Dynasty.

  But how could Datang give up the meat delivered to his mouth?

  The repetition of the Gaochang, Yanqi, and Qiuci countries is actually this kind of fundamental interest struggle. No one will back down, and they will fight for themselves as long as they have the opportunity.

Therefore, Guo Xiaoke’s western expedition is said to be to support Yibi Shekui Khan’s attack on Yugu, but the first task is to conquer Yanqi and Kucha first. After conquering the two countries this time, he must do the same as Gaochang Changed the two countries into the direct control of Zhengzhou of Datang.

  "After conquering Yanqi and Qiuci, we must strengthen the garrison and resettlement settlements. Only in this way can we truly control it, and only when we control the countries south of Tianshan Mountain can we spare the strength to march to the area north of Tianshan Mountain."

As for the area north of the Tianshan Mountains, Qin Lang believes that important strategic support points such as the Yili River Valley and the Fergana Basin still have to find a way to win, and it is best to find a way to advance to the Yibo Sea, Aral Sea, Amu The river line, with these areas as the natural buffer boundaries.

  As for the Tocharo area south of the Zhaowu Nine Kingdoms, it is indeed too far away. We can only plan to control it first, and then slowly infiltrate the influence in the future.

  If this strategy is successful, the land of Helong in Datang will no longer be threatened, and naturally the Guanzhong area will be able to develop better.

  Controlling the Western Regions at the same time will make the trade on the Silk Road more secure. In short, it will be beneficial and harmless. Of course, there is still a long way to go to achieve this strategy.

It can only be south of the Tianshan Mountains, and then slowly go north, so the Western Turks have to be retained, but the Great Khan of the Western Turks must be canonized by the Tang Dynasty, and must be loyal to the Tang Dynasty. White-eyed wolf, if you find one, kill one as soon as possible.

  Wait until when the north of the Tianshan Mountains will be under the same real control as the south of the Tianshan Mountains, and then the West Turkic Khanate will be completely abolished just like the East Turks.

   "Eastern Expedition, Western Expedition, fighting on two fronts, will it be dangerous?"

"So it is necessary to control the rhythm. It is best to control the two lines within 50,000 troops each, and focus on small-scale battles, supplemented by enlisting the surrounding barbarians to fight together. If there are fewer big battles, the logistics, supplies, etc. must be safe. There are too many, piecemeal." Qin Lang said.

  The emperor let out a long sigh.

   "Your insights should have stayed in the center, and it's best to be responsible for these affairs."

   "Your Majesty's insight is much stronger than this minister's foresight, and the grandson, Fang Gong, etc., who are not seasoned and capable ministers."

   "Wei Zheng recently delivered another memorial, spewing out hundreds of thousands of words, my eyes are dazzled."

   "Is it opposed to conquest?"

"Well, he said that I am getting more and more arrogant now, and that I am militaristic, that the Tang Dynasty should not continue to conquer the East, let alone go to the West, that Yanqi and Qiuci are innocent, and that the desire to set up Has become the head of the Western Turks, the Tang Dynasty should canonize him as Khan, such a decree can save 100,000 soldiers, why not do it?"

  Datang’s expansion in these years is indeed very powerful. Anyway, the expansion in all directions is endless. Lao Wei said that there is nothing wrong with the emperor’s military violence, but Datang’s control is very good.

  Of course, the external expansion is not only for the emperor's personal reputation of martial arts, but more is formed under the guidance of the entire system of the imperial court and the vested interest groups of the new system.

  Military Merit Warrior groups are happy to fight, because they can be promoted and have meritorious service. The other gentry tyrants in the country even supported the war, because expansion can grab land and land, and they are very eager for land expansion without suppressing mergers.

  The merchants and landlords also supported the war, because their manors, mines, and workshops needed a large number of workers, especially slaves. Only by expanding and conquering abroad would more cheap slaves and labor come in.

  When the entire upper class and the entire interest group in power support expansion, a prime minister like Wei Zheng, although he earnestly advises that this should not be the case, who will listen?

   After all, everyone is now enjoying the dividends of expansion, but has not suffered any losses, so who will listen to it and be willing to take the initiative to stop?

   Li Shimin couldn't even do it, let alone other people.

  Anyway, Qin Lang also agrees to expand externally. If you have the opportunity to beat others, you don’t want to beat them. Do you have to wait until they come to beat you when you are incapable?

  (end of this chapter)