While Cheng Zhijie and others were still trekking hard in Hexi, the spring season had arrived in Chang'an.
A few days ago, the emperor led his ministers to hold a sacrifice in the southern suburbs of Chang'an to worship the ancestors of heaven and earth. It was a grand ceremony, and the people of Chang'an poured out of the city with their young and old in tow.
Even if they couldn't get close to the altar, they all gathered outside, praying to the gods that the world would be peaceful from now on and that there would be no more troubles.
A few days after the great festival, Turkic envoys came to Chang'an again. Apparently, the new empire had been recognized by the Turkic Khanate, and the diplomatic relations seemed to be good.
It was Ashina Peony who came, which made Li Po feel the lack of talents in the Turkic royal court.
Ever since he was in the north, he had been dealing with Ashina Peony. Apart from the captives, he had never seen any other Turkic nobles.
It is unknown whether the Turkic Khan did this intentionally.
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Ever since he got the news of Dou Jiande's surrender, Li Po had not been idle. After the world was unified, the first thing he had to do was to reward the heroes who had worked with him to pacify the world. At the same time, it was actually a standard political division.
This year is a special year. We cannot wait until the end of the year, so we need to appease the turbulent and excited hearts of the ministers with rewards.
Without the threat of the princes, many people will feel a little at a loss. This is a normal psychology. Those enemies that people talk about are all furious. After they are no longer able to resist, especially the generals in the army, they will inevitably
Feel lost.
Some people even miss the days when wars were everywhere. This is human nature. The longer the years of war, the more distorted the mentality of the generals.
Regardless of victory or defeat, the days of holding military power, making decisive attacks, and fighting wits and courage with the enemy are so wonderful. Once the war is over, they will feel at a loss and not know what to do.
Civil servants are better in this regard, because the world is broken and they need to be managed, and there will be no place to display their talents.
Therefore, it is necessary to use rewards to appease the hearts of the heroes, especially the generals who will be happy for a period of time after receiving the rewards to help them get through the refractory period.
Of course, a rising dynasty never lacks strong opponents, but its national strength is weak. From the emperor to his ministers, everyone knows that it is time to recuperate and will not easily use troops unless necessary.
But Li Po had clearly realized that the Tang army, which emerged from the war in the late Sui Dynasty, was so powerful, like a steel knife that had been tempered many times. He held the handle of the knife firmly, and it was unreasonable not to chop some people.
Using them to suppress bandits is undoubtedly overkill.
And every emerging empire will have a period of expansion, and this will not depend on anyone's will, because...well, the reasons are the above.
But after looking around, Li Po scratched his head and realized that it was not easy to find an opponent. The Turks were still very powerful and were not a good opponent.
Victory in one battle or two cannot destroy such a steppe empire. Li Po felt that the confrontation with the Turks would be a long-term process, and it would depend on who made the first mistake.
Because the collapse of every empire is not due to external enemies, most of it comes from internal divisions. Will the Turks split? Damn it has become two parts, the east and the west. Do you think it will split?
There is no good opportunity now. He will not easily start a war with the Turks, because from the perspective of national strength, the emerging Tang Dynasty is the one that should be careful.
The other is the northwest, which is too chaotic, and will Tibet be the next enemy? Li Po was a little hesitant, because the geographical environment of the northwest plateau would greatly limit the combat effectiveness of the Tang army.
It would be a good strategy to conquer the Tuyuhun, Qiang and other tribes in the lowlands and use them as the vanguard to attack Tibet.
It was also an emerging plateau kingdom, which seemed a bit weak, but it was now a real threat to the tranquility of the Hexi region.
If you leave it alone, you will definitely be a powerful enemy in the future.
Moreover, the plateau tribe is naturally incompatible with the Central Plains Dynasty. If you don't attack it, it will appear in front of you sooner or later, so now should be a good opportunity to destroy it.
Except for the Turks and Tibetans, the rest are nothing to fear.
Goguryeo is capricious, and the blood feud with them in Liaodong is far from being forgotten, so it must be defeated sooner or later. It would be Li Po's dereliction of duty if he did not hang the head of the King of Goguryeo on the city wall.
There is also the Japanese country, which is one of the best places to go to sea, but I don’t know if the fleet built by Du Fuwei can withstand the wind and waves. If he sends people to conquer it, it will really become a joke if they all feed the fish.
Those small countries in the south are hiding in the jungle, and the environment is too dangerous. It seems that there is no need to bother with that now.
Li Po stayed in the palace, but his eyes wandered around the Tang Dynasty, and finally returned to the northwest. He believed that Tubo was really a suitable opponent.
After conquering Tubo, you can still have a glimpse of Tianzhu. The fertile land on both sides of the Ganges River is thousands of miles away. It is a pity that the hybrids of Aryans and local indigenous people were left to the later generations.
A truly grand strategy was taking shape in the emperor's mind. No emperor would have such a vision. Like Zhuge, he could imagine the world while sitting there.
The Western Regions, which the emperors of all dynasties were concerned about, were not in his consideration. Apart from windy sand and oil, what else could there be there?
With the current transportation conditions, he did not think that the army could completely occupy the Western Region and open the passage to Europe. It would be too far, and the people who would get out would be like kites with broken strings.
Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Central Plains have coveted the Western Regions, probably due to two practical needs.
War in the Western Region will affect the stability of the Central Plains. The Western Region is barren and backward, and small countries want to control the entire Western Region, resulting in endless wars.
The Western Region is the throat connecting Central Asia and West Asia. Each small country is mainly engaged in trade. Whoever becomes powerful wants to control the Hexi Corridor leading to the Central Plains. This is an attempt that the Central Plains Empire cannot tolerate, because once someone takes control
Hexi area, then they will definitely pose a threat to the Central Plains Empire.
On the other hand, the Central Plains Empire lacks channels for communicating with the outside world. Ambitious emperors will imagine the grand scene of all nations coming to court. Opening up the Western Regions and letting people from foreign countries see the power of the Central Plains Dynasty is one of the ultimate goals of the emperors.
This is mainly reflected in the achievements of the emperors. The Silk Road has been talked about by all ethnic groups in China for two thousand years, which shows its reputation. Therefore, it is one of the important components of the achievements of the emperors.
As for the profits brought by trade, they were actually insignificant to the feudal dynasty.
Therefore, Li Po felt that the Western Region was a pearl in the crown of emperors of all dynasties, but it was definitely not the fat in the mouth of the Central Plains Empire.
It has a certain strategic significance, because if you don't capture it, it will be occupied by others, which will then pose a threat to you. Therefore, running the Western Region is an inevitable choice for a powerful Central Plains dynasty, and there is no other option.
The reason why Li Po was not interested in it was because strategic needs were often a long-term issue. With the current national power of the Tang Dynasty, it did not have the ability to manage the Western Regions.
The only thing that can be used now is political means, such as sheltering some Western Turkic rebel generals and letting them wait for the opportunity to return and seize power. These are all methods used by the former Sui Dynasty. They are very clever and have a lot to learn from.
It must be said that the ministers of the former Sui Dynasty were unique in diplomacy. They were very good at dismantling powerful enemies from within.
Li Po felt that he should study hard and avoid making the same mistakes again.
The lessons of the former Sui Dynasty were too great. They spent so much energy in the northwest, but within a few years, they had lost control there.
Maintaining influence over that country without wasting too much money was a test of the emperor's patience and skill. Li Po had patience, but not skill.
He has never lacked means, but he lacks understanding of the countries in the Western Regions, which requires reading many documents recorded by predecessors and the advisors of his ministers.
If you want to do your job well, you must first sharpen your tools. Policies cannot be rushed. Vigor and resoluteness can only be reflected in the process of governance. There are wise decisions and firm execution. Generally speaking, even if the policy is flawed, the effect will be insignificant.
It will be different.
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There were so many things to do, and it could be said that there were countless things to do, and Li Po unconsciously missed the dead princes. When they were there, everyone wanted to bury each other in the ground.
, everything else is included.
It's not like now, when everything has to be borne by him... Unifying the world seems to be just the beginning, and this feeling is really not that wonderful.
In other words, within a few days of his happiness, he was almost buried by the influx of government affairs.
At this time, the Turks came to stir up trouble, which made Li Po even more angry. Did he see that I had pacified the princes, which made him a little displeased, and wanted to cause some trouble?
But when he saw Ashina Peony, he knew that what Gao Biaoren said was true.
Ashina Peony didn't seem to have changed much, her voice was loud, and her laughter was not as loud as before, but she was still so hearty, as if she was meeting an old friend, and Li Po felt that her enthusiasm was too much.
When you treat others with courtesy, you must ask for something.
Li Po was not confused by her appearance and immediately became more careful.
Gao Biaoren, minister of Honglu Temple, was more suitable for this position than Tang Jian. After receiving Ashina Peony, he immediately advised the emperor that the Turks must have come to make good friends, and something might have happened in the Turks' country. He suggested that the emperor should meet with him before he met.
After passing the Turkic envoys, send people to the Turks to pay courtesy back and forth, and to inquire about the Turks' movements.
At the same time, he also felt that having good relations with the Turks was in line with the current national policy of the Tang Dynasty. If the Turks did not have excessive demands, they should agree to it.
The world is tired and we are hibernating for the time being, waiting for the future. It doesn't matter if we suffer a little humiliation.
It was almost to persuade the emperor not to act on his own initiative. The Turks came with good intentions, so they must respond. Even if they wanted the Tang Dynasty to become a vassal, it was not beyond negotiation.
The minister's meaning was very clear, and he also cited some examples from the Northern Qi and Northern Zhou Dynasties as illustrations. His words were pertinent and he showed very appropriate diplomatic skills.