There is a gap in the high ground, how to fill it?
This is the big question before Li Po.
There is no doubt that the highlands will be included in the territory of the Tang Dynasty in the future. If you don’t want the free benefits, do you have to fight for them with all your strength?
And regardless of whether Tubo survives or dies, the highlands will be an important line of defense between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo, and it is also crucial to the stability of the Hexi Corridor area.
No matter where the strategic focus of the Tang Dynasty is now, once something happens to the Western Turks, the Tang army will take the Hexi Corridor. From this perspective, the importance of the highlands is self-evident.
According to the previously formulated strategy, Li Po and his ministers expected that the Tang Dynasty would be able to basically eliminate the threat from the highlands in the next three to five years.
This is still an assessment based on the conditions of the civil strife in Tubo. As long as the Tubo people can quell the civil strife in a short period of time, this time will be much longer.
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It's just that things in this world can't escape the law that plans don't change quickly.
For example, the weather is getting warmer. The Taishi Bureau has been paying attention to this for more than a day or two. According to the records in the past ten years, well, although the records were missing during the war, Chang'an was not affected too much after all, so Taishi
The bureau is always in operation.
Unlike Luoyang, where everyone is almost dead, there is no need to mention anything else.
Therefore, this year's report from the Taishi Bureau has a solid basis, and the weather is indeed getting warmer.
This will undoubtedly have an impact on the rise and fall of dynasties, especially on agriculture. If the summer and autumn seasons are slightly longer, the food output in the north will be different.
The feudal dynasty established on the basis of agriculture would inevitably have a chain reaction.
With more food production, the population will grow rapidly, and then the empire's territory may expand...
This view was not new in later times, but due to various restrictions in the world, no one could view the rise and fall of dynasties from such a perspective.
Therefore, Li Po's order to the Taishi Bureau was to let them continue to monitor and exchange information with Sinong Temple, Taichang Temple and other ministries at any time to see what real impact this would have on the Tang Dynasty.
Will grain production increase significantly, or is it a precursor to drought?
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Back to the issue of the highlands. The Tibetans came to surrender and wiped out the highland tribes. So who should be chosen to guard the highlands for the Tang Dynasty?
Li Po thought about it for a while, but had no clue.
The gifts given by the Tubo people lacked muscles and meat and were really unpalatable, because the plateau environment was a difficult problem for the Tang Dynasty to solve.
If there was such a practical way, the Highland tribes would not have existed for so long.
Of course, there is no problem that Li Po cannot solve. After all, the situation today is very different from that of the previous Sui Dynasty.
For example, when Li Nian and others left Shuofang and entered Lingzhou, they collected the children of some local tribal leaders and sent them to Chang'an as hostages. Fan Wenjin also followed suit, and this has been going on for several years.
These people have been serving in the Senniu Prefecture and are being taught by the Ministry of Secretaries. Now it should be time to put them to use.
Send some people back and lead the tribe to garrison in the highlands. They should have a certain degree of loyalty and be much more talented than the natives.
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After Li Po thought about it for a while, he sent the matter to the three provinces and six ministries, asking his ministers to participate in the discussion.
A few days later, Shangshu ordered Xiao Yu to submit a letter suggesting that he believed that counties should be immediately divided into highlands. Even if the Tang army could not enter, some officials should be sent there to prepare for the complete inclusion of the highlands into the territory of the Tang Dynasty.
In addition, he did not suggest that the highland tribes who had surrendered one after another should be allowed to return to their homeland. The highland tribes had always been capricious. Surrendering to the Tang Dynasty was a helpless move, and there was a high possibility of recurrence after returning to the highlands.
Li Po felt that this guy was talking nonsense. With just a few officials, hundreds or even thousands of people could not gain a foothold in the highlands. Xiao Yu's evaluation of the tribes in the highlands was quite fair.
The Tuyuhun regime, Goguryeo, and the Turks have always been the great enemies of the Central Plains dynasties in recent years. Now that Tuyuhun has fallen, the Tang Dynasty cannot give them a chance to revive.
The suggestions given by Shangshu Province are very practical.
Wen Yanbo and others believed that a governor's office should be set up in the highlands, followed by several Zhechong prefectures below, to carry out comprehensive militarized management of the highlands.
All those who go to the highlands to garrison must first undergo drill training in Liangzhou, and also receive various educations on loyalty to the emperor and the country, rotating every three to five years.
If we continue like this, in ten years, all the land north of the Snow Mountain will be the territory of the Tang Dynasty.
For such a pragmatic strategy, Li Po could accept it. A minister who governs the world should be like this, able to solve problems for the court.
And in the long run, this strategy should be tested in highlands first. If the effect is good, it can be generalized.
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On this day, Feng Deyi came to Liangyi Hall for dinner again.
Due to poor health in the past two years, Feng Deyi has reduced the number of walks he takes. As he gets older, is in poor health, and his drinking capacity becomes increasingly shallow, this official fan has to make compromises with reality.
It's just that the situation is easy to change, but the nature is hard to change. Unless this guy is lying in bed and can't get up, he will never resign his official position and go home to retire like others.
Now that he appears at the dinner table, it can only mean that he has something to say.
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"Your Majesty, I accompanied Pei Hongda as an envoy to Tuyuhun in the early years. I spent some time on the highlands and know all about its customs and customs."
Feng Deyi put down his chopsticks after taking two bites of the food. Not a drop of wine touched his lips. He looked like he had a bad appetite.
Naturally, Li Po would not let go of this opportunity to ask for help, and received an enthusiastic response from Feng Deyi, so Li Po knew that Feng Lun was still the same Feng Lun, and that he might be able to stay in the position of servant for a few more years.
When it came to business, Li Po said: "Your official qualifications are indeed much greater than those of others... Liangzhou reported that it is a foregone conclusion that the Tubo people will come to join me. If you have any suggestions, please just say so."
Feng Deyi said: "In my opinion, with the current situation, it is not difficult to determine the high ground. I think we can learn from your Majesty's move to conquer the Turkic tribes in Yunnei..."
Li Po raised his eyebrows and recalled how he captured the Turks back then and how he treated them. Well, it was a long time ago. It seemed that he didn't have many special plans at that time.
The Turkic people nearby graze cattle and sheep for him honestly.
He believed that the main thing was to scare the Turks, and he did not hesitate to wield the butcher knife. After several rounds of purges, the Turks had no hope of returning north, so they allowed him to drive them, without any other hope.
Even so, in the process of pacifying the princes, he did not dare to recruit Turks on a large scale. He did not let go until the overall situation was determined in the later period.
Nowadays, the proportion of Turks among the cavalry of the Tang Dynasty has been increasing, and he does not think this is a good phenomenon.
When you can hold them back, they will sacrifice their lives for you. When you encounter difficulties, the first thing you should be wary of is the attached tribes. The story of the Five Husbands' chaos in China has only been in the past few years? The lesson is too great, who dares to forget it?
But Feng Deyi’s thinking is very clear...
"The highlands are similar to the grasslands. The leaders levied brutal taxes and plundered people for food. The people worked hard all day just for food and warmth. Your Majesty has repeatedly rejected the Turks outside the Great Wall. You should know what the scene will be like on the grasslands when winter comes, right?"
Li Po nodded and said: "It is true. The Turks seem to be strong, but their herdsmen's life is not good. Their income for the year is just to survive the winter safely. If there is an unlucky chance, many tribes will disappear in the snow.
I have seen some on the grassland. After the wind and snow, the tents were still there, but there was no sound. The cattle, sheep and people were frozen to death in one place. The scene was very miserable."
Following these words, Feng Deyi flattered him and said, "In prosperity, the people suffer, and in death, the people suffer. The same is true for the Turks, and the same is true for the Central Plains. Your Majesty's poems are truly desolate through the ages."
The corner of Li Po's mouth twitched, and he scratched his chin "ashamedly", thinking to himself, just let it go, your rhythm makes me very uncomfortable, you know?
Fortunately, after a small pat, Feng Deyi let him go and continued: "On the highlands, the hardships of various tribes are indescribable.
The leaders of each tribe and the tribesmen lived two different lives. The leaders had no scruples about exploiting the tribesmen just like the Turks. There were few rebels, just because of different customs.
In Tuyuhun, among the Qiang tribe, some people are born as slaves. Unless the tribesmen are brave and are appreciated by their leaders, it will be difficult for them to live a good life..."
Feng Deyi didn't need to explain these things. Li Po understood that in those years when the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System was prevalent in the world, wasn't this the case in the Central Plains?
When the Xianbei people and the Huns took control of the political power, it would go too far. Even the Han nobles would be oppressed, not to mention the hellish life the common people would live.
It can be said that since the end of the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty has been in fragments. Hundreds of years of war have almost brought unprecedented disasters to the Han people.
Gradually, Li Po was able to grasp the key points of Feng Deyi's words. Was he trying to instigate the masses to fight against landlords? It wasn't that he couldn't do the same thing.
But the disadvantages are really big, right? The rebels in the Central Plains are a good example. When farmers pick up swords and guns, it is difficult to control their behavior.
They have no grand plans and no long-term goals. If no one guides them, many rebels will quickly turn into bandits...
If Feng Deyi gave this kind of idea, Li Po shook his head secretly. This method is not very good, but it can be used to break up the tribes that have surrendered. The tribal leaders are indeed comparing prices, which is suitable for letting people vent their anger.
Every time such a guy dies, it means that a tribe has lost its cohesion...
But the advice given by Feng Deyi is not as simple as fighting against the landlords. What he wants to do is obviously to change the survival basis of the highland tribes...