"The Li family has lived in Xia Sui for a long time, obeyed the court, guarded the border and kept the people in peace, and has made great contributions. My rewards are not enough, so why do I have the intention to take away your fiefdom? I sit in the world, and everyone from all over the world is surrendered, and everyone in the party is also me. Our subjects will not be treated differently. You can rest assured and don’t think otherwise. It is not easy to come to Tokyo, and it is even more difficult for you and me to meet each other. Please stay for a while and let me fulfill my friendship as a landlord... ..."
Liu Chengyou met Li Yiyin at the Long Live Hall. Looking at the old chief Dangxiang who was standing carefully below with a slight bow, he said insincere words in a broad and generous tone.
When Li Yiyin arrived, he behaved particularly respectfully and showed no hint of unruliness. He obeyed Liu Chengyou in everything, even if he was asked to sit down, he refused, saying that he could only answer standing.
After Liu Chengyou finished speaking, Li Yiyin's nervous mood relaxed a little. However, after carefully understanding the emperor's words, it was obvious that he still wanted to stay, which made him have to be wary. However, at least for now, the emperor made it clear that he would not If you take away his land in Xiazhou, it won't be time to fall out, so he can feel at ease.
After Li Yiyin resigned, Liu Chengyou also put away his hypocritical expression and murmured: "Even if I have a mind that is open to all rivers and tolerates all things, if I want to deviate, how can I raise a tiger to cause trouble? If you are not of my race, my heart must be different." ! Those who do not pay taxes and serve the imperial court, how can they be my subjects?"
Liu Chengyou's words also showed his attitude towards the distress army. The person serving him was Lu Duoxun. In the past few years since the return of the Western envoy, he had been sent by Liu Chengyou as the northwest affairs officer.
The migration of the garrison, the investigation of border affairs, the recruitment of various tribes, and anything related to the military and political affairs of the northwest were all filled with his presence. Before the Northern Expedition, Lu Duoxun was once again ordered to go to the northwest to contact all parties. Guo Chongwei recruited Tibetan people During the ride, he did a lot of auxiliary work.
"What do you think of Li Yiyin?" Liu Chengyou turned sideways and asked Lu Duoxun.
Lu Duoxun was young and energetic at first, and he achieved success in one fell swoop. He was extremely talented and vigorous. However, things did not go smoothly after he became an official. Liu Chengyou not only suppressed him, but also repeatedly tempered him. When he was about twenty years old, he was sent to the Western Regions. , it took two years and finally returned after suffering many hardships.
Later, he was further recognized by Liu Chengyou and entrusted with important tasks. But even so, it was still far from his expectations. However, these years of training were not in vain. He has become much more restrained and calm. However, from time to time, he showed His cleverness still proves that his nature has not changed. There are two people in the court who are best at figuring out Liu Chengyou's thoughts, one is Tao Gu and the other is Lu Duoxun.
At this time, after hearing Liu Chengyou's inquiry, Lu Duoxun did not dare to neglect, but he still thought about it for a while and carefully observed the emperor's expression before he handed over his hand and said: "Look at his performance, be careful, worry about gains and losses, and his mind will be different. It’s unbelievable! As for the offer to Xia Sui, it can’t be taken seriously. However, since the envoys from the second year of high school have reported to you one after another, he had to show something, so he followed suit as a test!"
"You directly characterized him!" Liu Chengyou seemed a little surprised.
Lu Duoxun complimented: "How can he hide his tricks from His Majesty?"
"If I had just agreed to him directly, accepted Xia Sui, and held great righteousness, what would he do?" Liu Chengyou said.
Without thinking, Lu Duoxun said respectfully: "Your Majesty, how can this old leader of the party care about this? If your Majesty says so, it will strengthen his determination to rebel against the imperial court!"
"Now that I refuse, he will obey the court respectfully?" Liu Chengyou said lightly.
"Otherwise!" Lu Duoxun shook his head and said solemnly to Liu Chengyou: "Your Majesty, please forgive me for speaking frankly. Although it is said that the Nanyang Army is subordinate to the imperial court, it is actually a country of its own. Nanyang and Nanyang are of one mind. The biggest difference from the forces in the south is , because it is based on party items and has been rooted in Xia Sui for many years, and the climate has become established. It cannot be determined without using large numbers of soldiers to defeat its army, recover its city, and capture its people!"
After a pause, Lu Duoxun continued: "Furthermore, I believe that with the strength of the imperial court, it is easy to pacify, difficult to rule, and even harder to conquer!"
Lu Duoxun's words aroused Liu Chengyou's interest. He stretched out his hand and said, "Sit down! Tell me what you think!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Lu Duoxun bowed slightly, retreated to the table and sat down. After thinking for a while, he calmly recounted: "Your Majesty is already familiar with the development of the Dangxiang people in Xia Sui and the rise of the Tuoba Li family. Duoyan. The Dingnan Army relied on the Dangxiang tribe and took advantage of the opportunity to rise and defend its own side. The Tuoba Li family relied on Dangxiang as their foundation. Although they were called ministers in name, they were not convinced in reality.
With the strength and strength of the Dingnan Army, even a few frontier armies in the northwest can seize it. However, most of the states under its jurisdiction are party tribesmen. As long as those with arrogant ambitions are slightly provocative, they will inevitably commit crimes. Troublemaker.
Therefore, if you want to pacify the Li family in one fell swoop, eliminate party troubles, and ensure the tranquility of the northwest, you need to take comprehensive considerations!"
Glancing at Liu Chengyou, Lu Duoxun continued: "There are many Dangxiang tribes. In addition to the Tuoba Li family who occupy the prefectures and counties, there are many more tribes that still retain their nomadic life habits. These people are inseparable from the Dingnan Army. To sum up, I suggest that we can divide and rule. If the imperial court wants to plan this, it should attack the trouble-making army and attack the Li family on the one hand, and divide, lure and recruit other party tribes on the other hand. Such a two-pronged approach can actually achieve full success!"
Hearing what he said, Liu Chengyou smiled a little and looked at Lu Duoxun with admiration. If we only talk about military strength, as Lu Duoxun said, relying only on generals such as Shi Hongzhao, Wang Yansheng, and Li Wanchao is enough. Entering Xiazhou. Although there are many parties, they are not integrated. The strength of the army alone is not worth mentioning.
However, Lu Duoxun looked at the essence through the surface. In essence, the problem of the Northwest Difficult Army is a national issue. As he said, the Tuoba Li family is just one of the many tribes of the party. Starting from the time of Li Sigong It continued to develop and grow, was favored by the imperial court, and eventually became the head of various ministries. As a representative of party members, it was active in this era. However, if it is regarded as a monolith, it would be a blinding eye.
Lu Duoxun's views are quite insightful. He has been studying northwest affairs for a long time, and there is indeed something to it. In the original history, why did the party members be allowed to gain power and let a mere Li Jiqian turn the northwest upside down? The state was gained and then lost, and the old land of Hexi will always be a regret.
Among them, of course, there is the Li family's century-old management and deep foundation, as well as Li Jiqian's cunning, who worked both ways with Li Jipeng between the Liao and Song Dynasties. But more importantly, it is also due to the mistakes of the Northern Song Dynasty. Zhao Guangyi made the wrong move in the beginning. Continuously, the good cards were beaten, and the party was exhausted and embarrassed. From the beginning, party issues were completely ignored.
Of course, at this time, Liu Chengyou, because of the "Xixia" reason, attached great importance to him, but it was not necessarily true that he was afraid of him and regarded him as his formidable enemy. With the current strength of the Han Dynasty, if he had to be careful about him, , and look down too high on Party members.
However, Lu Duoxun's advice finally provided him with an idea. It was a good idea to treat the Dangxiang Army differently from the entire Dangxiang tribe and divide and conquer them.
"How specific?" Liu Chengyou asked again.
"For the Dingnan Army, the main purpose is to reduce and control their troops. This is military; for the Dangxiang tribe, they are invited to buy them with benefits. As far as I am concerned, the Dangxiang tribe depends on them for their survival and for trading with the Han Dynasty, but salt. Horses are exchanged for grain, tea, wine, and cloth. Therefore, as long as the imperial court takes good control of these, it will be enough to prevent a large number of party tribes from easily betraying the imperial court!" Lu Duoxun talked eloquently.
He tapped his fingers on the table habitually, thought for a while, raised his eyes and said to Lu Duoxun: "Since you proposed this proposal, I will leave it to you. It is midsummer now, and when autumn cools down, you can do it again." Go to the northwest!"
"Yes!" Lu Duoxun looked slightly happy and accepted the order with enthusiasm. For Lu Duoxun, he had already regarded the northwest affairs as his future. But Liu Chengyou not only listened to his opinions, but also regarded the affairs of the right people as his future. Party and tribal affairs were delegated to him.
Liu Chengyou thought about it for a while, and suddenly said: "I just saw Li Yi's eagerness to return home. Originally, he came to the court on his own initiative, so I couldn't treat him too kindly, and I had no intention of detaining him. However, after watching his behavior, I heard that he was eager to return home." Qi Yan, after listening to your advice, I don't want to let him go back to Xiazhou! Can you tell me, what is the best way to keep him in Tokyo without damaging the reputation of the imperial court?"
Facing Liu Chengyou's inquiry, Lu Duoxun understood, rolled his eyes, and said: "Your Majesty, there are no good ministers, but there are some bad ones!"
Seeing that he was still pretending, Liu Chengyou raised his hand and said, "Speak!"
Lu Duoxun said: "Your Majesty, it is rare for Li Yiyin to come to Tokyo, so he should be warmly received and given full enjoyment. With your Majesty's hospitality, Tokyo is so big that even if it takes a year and a half, I am afraid it will be difficult to visit them all. It is inconvenient to travel in the middle of summer and cold winter. We can also celebrate together during the holidays. Li Yiyin is old. If he gets sick again, he will need to take care of himself..."
After Lu Duoxun finished speaking, Liu Chengyou immediately laughed: "When Qin Zaixiong, the Yaoman, came to Beijing, I asked someone to accompany him on a tour of Tokyo. It seems that I am even more enthusiastic about Li Yiyin!"
After saying that, Liu Chengyou said leisurely: "If Li Yi Yin lingers in Tokyo and forgets to return, then there should be no ups and downs in the army..."