Following the words of the Kucha envoy Nali, everyone's eyes turned to the Gaochang envoy.
The envoy No. 1 from Gaochang spoke calmly, "The general asked the foreign ministers to come to Chang'an City to pay their respects instead of coming to the Tang Dynasty to discuss this matter with the envoy from Kucha. Dear Tian Khan, I apologize on behalf of the envoy from Kucha.
.”
Xu Jingzong also said: "Please also ask the envoy from Qiuci to pay attention to his tone."
Nali calmed down and saluted again: "The foreign minister has been rude, and the Khan of Heaven will atone for his sin."
Xu Jingzong looked at Zhang Yang, "Now that the envoy from Kucha wants to stop the war in Gaochang, I wonder what Master Zhang thinks?"
Zhang Yang nodded and smiled, looked at Li Shimin and then at the envoy from Qiuci, "The Tang Dynasty can make Gaochang cease the war, but even if the Khan of Heaven issues the decree, will Gaochang definitely cease the war?"
Seeing the silence of the Kucha envoy, Zhang Yang asked again: "One more question, even if the war in Gaochang ceases, will Kucha be safe?"
Nali, the envoy from Qiuci, said: "Qiuci can naturally stick to one side."
Xu Jingzong heard this and looked at Li Shimin, "Your Majesty, can the Ministry of Rites write a letter and ask the Gaochang envoy to bring the letter back to Gaochang to cease the war?"
Faced with this question, Li Shimin hesitated for a long time and did not agree immediately.
The messenger from Gaochang didn't say much and remained silent.
Zhang Yang said in a low voice: "Actually, I have always had a doubt. Everyone knows about the war between Gaochang and the Western Turks. We Lishan have business relations with Gaochang. For business, they can compete for the territory of the Western Region to grow cotton, so as to
Lishan made money, but Kucha was not involved in the whole story. May I ask why the Kucha envoy was so anxious to stop the war in Gaochang?"
When asked, Nali hurriedly explained: "The pacification of the Western Regions is not a matter for the country of Qiuci."
Zhang Yang added: "As far as we know, Gaochang never thought about entering Kucha. Instead, he attacked the Western Turks along the Yinli River all the way west. This matter has nothing to do with Kucha. Can we think so? Kucha
It is the intention of the Western Turks to seek a truce in Gaochang at this moment."
Nali said: "There is absolutely no such thing."
He answered quickly, but he couldn't hide the panic in his eyes.
Zhang Yang continued: "You keep saying that this is absolutely not the case, but I can't think of any other reason. Qiuci has always been protected by the Western Turks. If it weren't for the Western Turks' threats, you would be like this."
Do you want an armistice in Gaochang?"
Seeing that the fire was coming, Xu Jingzong saluted Li Shimin again, "Your Majesty, the envoy from Qiuci came to see me after the Great Court Meeting. At that time, I took him to see Master Zhang. The Master gave me a message on behalf of the Ministry of Rites, saying that he wanted to let Gaochang
There is a condition for the armistice, which is to hand over the four towns of Anxi in the Western Region to the Tang Dynasty."
As soon as these words came out, there was immediate discussion in the court.
What does it mean to take back the four towns of Anxi? Emperors have always wanted to explore the Western Regions.
Li Shimin also had this thought, and these words touched the emperor's heart.
Xu Jingzong added: "As long as Kucha and the other countries in the Western Regions give up the four towns of Anxi, there is no need to fear Gaochang, and the soldiers and horses of the Tang Dynasty can be stationed, and you will naturally be safe and sound. I wonder what the envoy from Kucha thinks?"
Nali frowned and said helplessly: "This matter is too big, I can only report it to the king after I go back."
"I will let Zhongshu Sheng draft the credentials and hand them over to Zhongshu Sheng. As for whether Gaochang will cease the war and bring peace to the Western Regions, Kucha will consider it himself."
After saying one thing, Zhang Yang saw that the envoys from Qiuci and Gaochang had left, and bowed to leave.
Walk out of Tai Chi Hall and return to your position.
What follows is the normal process of a court meeting.
Then came the audience of envoys from various countries, what they wanted to say to the Tang Dynasty, and the intentions of each country.
Seeing Lu Dongzan walking into the Tai Chi Hall and coming out again, Zhang Yang smiled at him.
The New Year's Eve party didn't end until the afternoon.
Zhang Yang, Daan and Xu Xiaode stood outside the Tai Chi Hall, and the three of them waited until Li Chengqian came out.
"Although this court meeting has some twists and turns, it can still be considered a victory." Li Chengqian sighed with emotion.
"Your Highness, it's getting late, so I want to go back first." Zhang Yang cupped his hands and said.
"Forget it, I'm tired." Li Chengqian shook his head and sighed as he walked towards the East Palace.
Zhang Daan also followed.
Zhang Yang walked towards the direction of Lizheng Palace.
Xu Xiaode was left standing there at a loss. He first looked at Zhang Yang behind him, then at Li Chengqian walking in front, and finally mustered up the courage to follow him to the East Palace.
In the Li Zheng Palace, Queen Changsun was looking at the scroll of Butterfly Lovers in her hand, her brows furrowing as she looked back.
The palace maid came up and whispered: "Queen Bing, the consort is here."
Empress Changsun then put down the book, looked at Li Yue who was teaching Li Zhi and Xiao Wu, and whispered: "Let him enter the palace."
"Here."
Zhang Yang walked into the palace, and the couple looked at each other and smiled.
Then he saluted the queen.
"The story of Butterfly Lovers is a pity, it's really hard to live with." Empress Changsun said in a low voice.
"Queen, there are many things in this world that are difficult to reconcile."
"That's right." Empress Changsun nodded, "I have heard about the cotton cloth. You can rest assured that as long as you manage it well and don't do anything that goes beyond the bounds of business, no one will make things difficult for you."
"If the Queen can say that, we feel relieved." Zhang Yang bowed and said, "Yueer and I are going to meet the Supreme Emperor."
Empress Changsun nodded and said, "Well, you should go and see it."
After coming out of the Li Zheng Hall, the two of them took Xiao Wu all the way to the Wude Hall. Before entering the hall, they heard hearty and wild laughter.
"Hahaha! Why don't you two come in quickly!"
Hearing his voice before seeing him, the couple walked into the hall and saw that Li Yuan had already set up a table with a deck of cards on it. He said loudly: "Playing cards with Erlang and his wife is quite boring. Listen to Qing Qing."
Que said that he has never won a game of cards with you, but I would like to ask for advice."
First looking at Li Yuan's complexion, Zhang Yang asked doubtfully: "I saw the Supreme Emperor in the village looking good before, but why did he look so bad today?"
Li Yuan dealt the cards, "Don't say more, let's play the cards first."
After leading his wife to sit down, Zhang Yang picked up his cards, sorted them out and said, "Then please play your cards first."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Li Yuan casually took out a five.
From the relaxed poker game at the beginning, Li Yuan's expression became serious after one or two games.
The couple kept winning money, and all the strings of copper coins were delivered to Zhang Yang and Li Yue.
While playing cards, Zhang Yang made insinuating remarks about cotton.
Li Yuan's mind was all on the card game. He nodded and said, "I will pay attention to it. If you two are running a serious business, nothing will happen to you."
The card game continued until evening. Zhang Yang looked at a large box full of copper coins in front of him.
The old eunuch on the side became anxious and said, "Your Majesty, you really have no money in your palace, so stop playing around."
"I saw a lot of money in the palace last night. Why is it gone? Did you steal it?"
The old eunuch knelt on the ground, "Where does this old slave get the courage?"
Zhang Yang and Li Yue left in silence with a small box of copper coins.
Li Yue asked in a low voice: "Is Grandpa Huang really running out of money?"
Zhang Yang replied: "It's probably because the old man wanted to find an excuse to get out of the poker game, so he lost his temper on purpose."
"Playing cards with my husband, Grandpa Huang is really..."
This court meeting was also very fruitful, at least I made dozens of dollars.
After returning home with Xiao Wu, Li Yue poured out the copper coins from the two boxes, and then took Xiao Wu to count them carefully.
Many envoys from various countries are leaving Chang'an City this time.
On the second day, Zhang Yang stood at the gate of the city waiting for someone.
No. 1 led his team out of Chang'an City. When he saw Zhang Yang, he bowed and said, "I wonder if there is anything else I need to give you, Mr. Zhang."
Zhang Yang struggled: "How sure are you that you can win Qiuci?"
No. 1 responded: "The city walls of Kucha are very low and are made of loess. They have at most 20,000 mercenaries. They can take them in less than half a month. By March, Chang'an City will be informed."
Zhang Yang patted his shoulder and said, "I'm going to trouble you again."
"The last general takes orders."
Listening to his increasingly proficient Guanzhong dialect, he can also answer questions in the future.
Zhang Yang nodded, "Be careful along the way. I'm waiting for news in Chang'an."
Number 1 and his men got on their horses, and the team of more than a dozen people headed west, kicking up a lot of dust.
The days passed peacefully. Lishan's cotton business was getting better and better. Niu Chuang and his people were building a new factory in Weinan. Lishan's production efficiency could not meet the needs of Chang'an City at all.
There were also people who wanted to spend a lot of money to buy cotton cloth making methods from Lishan, but Li Tai kicked them out.
With the source of cotton in hand and the unique production method of cotton cloth, Lishan's business is now invincible. Li Tai hugged boxes of copper coins and lay on them, "Don't stop me, I am the king."
To sleep with money."
By February, the little bear had regained its vitality.
Xiao Wu took a small ball made of rattan and threw it towards the bear.
The little bear jumped up and pushed it back with its head. One person and one bear had a great time.
Zhang Yang nodded and said: "Let him exercise more, and you can see how fat he has become."
Li Yue packed up a roll of torn paper and saw that it was going to rain that day. "Today, the government sent news that my father was going to release four hundred prisoners on death row."
Zhang Yang looked at the scroll of Zhi Zhi in his hand and whispered: "Your father is doing it for a virtuous reputation, right?"
"It sounds like this. My father asked these four hundred death row prisoners to go home to visit their relatives. After visiting their relatives, they came to Chang'an City to die. This matter caused a storm in the city, and even our Liang Zhu incident was covered up."
In the seventh year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin released 400 prisoners on death row. Now is the farming season, when manpower is needed. He hopes that they will go home to visit their relatives and then come back to die.
Against all odds, Li Shimin needed a virtuous reputation, and in order to be a virtuous and benevolent emperor, he did so.
As a bystander, Zhang Yang has been watching the progress of this matter, only waiting to see if they will return to Chang'an City in the next year.
Li Shimin, who ascended to the throne through abnormal means, has always cared about his own reputation.
Zhang Yang and Li Yue stood on the road and watched the death row prisoners walking out of Chang'an City one by one. There were also many passers-by watching.
The whole world is not the land of the king. Even if these prisoners on death row escape, where can they escape to?
All prefectures and counties they pass through must register.
It's a bit of a show.
The prisoner matter had just come to an end. In March of the seventh year of Zhenguan, another incident stung Li Shimin's sensitive nerves, and Kucha disappeared.
Gaochang led 30,000 soldiers and horses to attack the city of Kucha in the Western Regions.
Last year, Gaochang fought a war with the Western Turks for a whole year. The Gaochang slaves who had been tempered by the war are now brave warriors. Although the population has been decreasing during the war with the Western Turks, every one who survived
They are all experienced warriors.
The previous envoy from Gaochang did not return to Gaochang, nor did he convey Li Shimin's will to Adalan.
In order to avenge the Kucha envoy's humiliation in the Taiji Hall, the Gaochang envoy passed through Xizhou, led a dozen people to join Gaochang's large army, and attacked the capital of Kucha.
After the precarious capital city of Kucha was defended for three days, from the day of the great court meeting on January 15th, when the Kucha envoy humiliated the Gaochang envoy in the Taiji Hall, Kucha was completely destroyed by mid-February.
Before Kucha's envoy Nali arrived home, he heard that the capital had been occupied by the Gaochang people.
I heard that the leader of the army was the Gaochang envoy from Taiji Hall.
Unable to wait to return to Kucha, Nali immediately turned back to seek help from Tian Khan.
When facing the humiliation, the Gaochang envoy remained silent and endured it without saying a word.
The consequences of provoking such people are very serious. When they turn around, they will smash up your home, and even the head of your family and his family will be taken to Gaochang. This means that the entire Qiuci Kingdom is captured.
Just three months later, things happened so unexpectedly.
News continued to be sent to Chang'an City. This was also due to the poor defense of Kucha. The soldiers and horses were scattered and dispersed as soon as they rushed.
Everyone in Gaochang City is a soldier, and every one of them is well-trained. The ones sent out this time are also experienced veterans.
Not to mention the angry envoy from Gaochang.
Facing the angry Li Shimin, Changsun Wuji whispered: "Your Majesty, this happened so fast, I thought it was premeditated."
Yuchi Gong pointed at the map and said: "Your Majesty, please take a look! It only takes one month to reach the foot of Tianshan Mountain from Chang'an City. If you work hard without stopping, half a month will be enough. Calculating based on time, it did take the Gaochang envoy a month.
When the time came to rendezvous with the army in the Tianshan Mountains, Gaochang first prepared troops and horses near the Tianshan Mountains and waited for the Gaochang envoy to join the army. Then he went straight down the Wusun Ancient Road and captured Kucha. In mid-to-late February, Kucha
It has already changed owners, and now the news comes.”
Changsun Wuji nodded, "It seems that this matter has been arranged before the Great Court Meeting. The ideas of the minister and General Yuchi coincide with each other. There is indeed preparation in advance this time. Gaochang was captured long before the Great Court Meeting."
The meaning of Qiuci."
Although Qiuci is a small country in the Western Region, it is located in a key position. Li Shimin was still making up his mind, and such a good fruit fell into the hands of others.
Li Shimin said solemnly: "Take a message to Ashinadur in the grassland. The Khan of Heaven has ordered him to take the tribes of the Eastern Turks to Gaochang. I want to meet the real master of Gaochang. If the man behind the scenes does not come forward within a month,
Let Ashinadur wage war against Gaochang."
Since Xue Yantuo in Mobei withdrew his troops, the whereabouts of the stupid Yinan Khan are still unknown. Ashinadur, who had been dormant in the grassland for many years, was finally appointed by Tian Khan.