Whether it was his true feelings in his heart or a public declaration of Fang Jun's contribution, Li Chengqian did not hesitate to give him the highest standard of kindness he could give.
He held Fang Jun's hand and walked with him all the way, surrounded by civil and military officials and hundreds of guards, back to the inner gate to check in.
Xiao Yu and Cen Wenwen fell behind, looked at each other, and followed silently.
Previously, the two men emphasized that it would be difficult for Fang Jun to break through the rebel encirclement and suppression. In the blink of an eye, Fang Jun forced his way across the Wei River and marched to the city. They were severely slapped in the face. However, the effect of the two men's "thorn planting" was unexpectedly good.
With such powerful combat power, such outstanding achievements, and such support from the entire army, this is the standard equipment for a powerful official...
As for the moment, naturally the more the prince pays attention to Fang Jun, the better. With Fang Jun's ability and prestige, supplemented by Li Jing's military strategy, the possibility of turning defeat into victory becomes greater and greater.
Although the Crown Prince will definitely continue His Majesty Li Er's national policy and continue to suppress and weaken the family members after he succeeds to the throne, the two of them have already stood on the side of the East Palace. In comparison, they will get more buffering opportunities. In the end, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
…
In the check-in room, the chamberlains added several more lamp stands, dozens of candles were lit, and the lights were as bright as day.
Li Chengqian and Fang Jun entered hand in hand. Fang Jun took the opportunity to break free and invited Li Chengqian to take a seat. He refused Li Jing, Xiao Yu, Cen Wenwen and others' invitations to take a seat. He insisted on not accepting it and sat down next to Li Daozong and Ma Zhou.
.
Although Li Chengqian's act of kindness was obviously sincere and greatly benefited Fang Jun, who had traveled thousands of miles away, he also understood that everyone is jealous, and this treatment would definitely make some people feel dissatisfied and secretly jealous.
He doesn't care about this. If he is not envied by others, he is a mediocre person. The more capable he is, the more he will be envied by others. But this is a critical moment. Everyone in the East Palace must work together to resist the rebels. If there is an internal fight due to jealousy at this time, it will be a serious matter.
Not good...
Everyone sat down one after another, and Li Chengqian asked what he was most concerned about: "How is the situation in the Western Region?"
Everyone also pricked up their ears.
Although Fang Jun's march of thousands of miles to aid Chang'an has fully demonstrated his loyalty to the prince, if this leads to the deterioration of the situation in the Western Region or even complete loss of control, it will cast a shadow on Li Chengqian's prestige and reputation.
Fang Jun naturally understood Li Chengqian's worries and said respectfully: "Your Highness, don't worry. The previous battle at Gongyue City severely damaged the Dashi army and made them frightened. They will be attacked by our army again and have to gather at the foot of the world to form a formation."
The joint camp is heavily defended. However, its initiative has been lost, and there is a lack of food and supplies, and the morale of the army is unstable..."
At that moment, Fang Jun described the situation in the Western Regions in detail. He said that the Tang army was broken into pieces, harassing the Hu people who supplied food to the Dashi army, and even forcibly moved many Hu people to the vicinity of Gongyue City. Li Jing praised: "This move
In a matter of seconds! It not only frightened the Hu people so that they no longer dared to supply food and fodder to the Dashi army, but also took this opportunity to gather the scattered Hu people in various places for easier management. Perhaps the great rule of the Western Regions would begin from then on."
Since the Han Dynasty, the Central Plains dynasty has attached great importance to the strategic position of the Western Regions. Almost any capable dynasty has accumulated heavy troops in the Western Regions to maintain its rule. However, the Western Regions are too far away from the Central Plains. The dynasty cannot maintain its system when it is at its peak. Once there is an internal crisis within the dynasty,
Weakness, lack of national strength, and lack of control over the Western Regions will cause the Hu tribe to rise again and eat away at the rule of various places.
The most important reason is naturally that the distance is too long, and the dispatch of food, ammunition, weapons and soldiers is often delayed. However, the Hu people in the Western Regions are numerous and live scattered, and they have never been able to control them all. This is also a major reason.
We can't just station heavy troops everywhere where the Hu people live to guard them, right?
That would require more than 200,000 elite troops to be deployed in the Western Regions all year round. The resulting logistical pressure would not be able to be consumed even if the country's strength was at its peak...
At present, all the Hu tribes from all over the country are to be moved to the vicinity of Gongyue City. Then, when the situation in the Central Plains stabilizes, a large number of Han people will migrate to the Western Regions and flood all places. It will take less than ten years to take root in the Western Regions, making the entire Western Regions completely under the control of the Tang Dynasty.
Therefore, Fang Jun’s move to forcefully relocate the Hu people from various places is of great significance...
Fang Jun continued: "Duke Wei praised...all the prisoners of Dashi's army are currently being imprisoned in Gongyue City awaiting disposal. Before Wei Chen left, he ordered Pei Xingjian to report to the King of Hejian County in Jiaohe City at any time, and urged Tumi
The allied forces of various ethnic groups led by Du chased the defeated Dashi soldiers. At present, it seems that the Dashi people were defeated and suffered heavy casualties, and Damascus was too far away, making it difficult to launch the next retaliatory attack as soon as possible. The Turks also suffered casualties due to the Uighur rebellion.
The situation is disastrous, especially its internal instability. Many tribes have shown their willingness to divide and rule. Yibi Shekui wants to appease the tribe, let alone raise troops to invade the territory at this time. In the next three to five years, there should be no large-scale wars in the Western Regions, and the imperial court
The focus can be placed on Guanzhong and the country to stabilize the situation in the empire."
Hearing what he said, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Again, the Western Region is really too far away. Even though its strategic position is extremely important, once there is instability between the DPRK and China and the national strength is insufficient, it will be difficult to take care of both. Since there will be no foreign tribes that can threaten the security of the Western Region within three to five years, we can put all our energy into it.
In clearing up the domestic situation.
Xiao Yu looked happy and appreciative on the face, but in his heart he was worried. Without the restraint of the Western Regions, if the East Palace defeated the rebels to maintain orthodoxy, then the next stage of national policy must be to attack the domestic clans with all their strength.
Although the focus of the attack must be on Guanlong, who rebelled, and the clans in Hedong and Hexi that later relied on them, how could the Jiangnan gentry stay out of the matter? Once the clans of Guanlong, Hedong, and Hexi, which suffered heavy losses during the military revolt, were successively eliminated by the court
After weakening, the next step is naturally for the powerful families in Jiangnan and Shandong who are still watching the fight from the other side...
By then, the current relationship with Donggong fighting side by side will come to an end, and the struggle between them will be inevitable.
When the imperial court is weak, the family members provide support and grab benefits; when the imperial court is strong, the family members fight back to protect themselves... This is the relationship between the family members and the central government. The cycle is endless and never-ending.
Therefore, even Xiao Yu and Cen Wenwen, these relatively peaceful clan leaders, are well aware that the existence of clan clans is like a cancer in the empire, attached to the body of the empire and sucking flesh and blood. When the empire is weak and decayed, they will bite it to death.
Then start over again and repeat the cycle.
However, we are all vested interests in clan politics. In addition to trying our best to maintain the interests of the clan, we can't just pick up the bowl to eat and put down the bowl to smash the pot, right?
That's an act of cutting off one's own roots...
Therefore, Xiao Yu's real intention is that the East Palace can turn defeat into victory, but its strength is seriously damaged. In the process of stabilizing the government in the future, it has to rely on the Jiangnan nobles, and even the Shandong aristocratic families. It is always just to share some profits, but it must not be allowed to
Taking advantage of the power of the great victory, the East Palace cleared the court in one fell swoop and took full control of the government.
In the past, when Fang Jun came back thousands of miles away, this intention was almost achievable. But now, Fang Jun is too strong and his achievements are too outstanding. If he really defeats the rebels in one fell swoop, he will expel all the Guanlong clan.
After leaving the court, can the Jiangnan clan or the Shandong family still enjoy the benefits they deserve after following the prince through life and death?
…
Li Chengqian couldn't think that far for the time being. The top priority now was to defeat the rebels and turn defeat into victory. If he couldn't secure his position as crown prince and successfully ascend to the throne of God in the future, how could he continue the national policy and support poor families and attack wealthy families?
He looked at Li Jing and Fang Jun and asked: "Both of you are the pillars of the empire, but I am alone. May I ask if you have any good strategies to defeat the enemy now?"
Fang Jun and Li Jing looked at each other and said humbly: "I have little qualifications, how can I dare to do anything for my job? As long as His Highness and Duke Wei decide on a strategy, I will go through fire and water, even if I die!"
He had already felt the jealousy inadvertently shown by the East Palace official before, and it was time to keep a low profile at this moment. Besides, he would not be arrogant after winning a few victories, claiming to be the best in the world, discussing military strategies, and arranging troops.
How many people in the world can compare with Li Jing?
All I need to do is keep a low profile and obey Li Jingzhi's arrangements.
Both clumsy and humble...
Li Chengqian was very satisfied. Fang Jun's achievements this time were unparalleled. If he really took advantage of the situation, even Li Jing would not be able to suppress him. That would not be what he wanted to see.
Naturally, he favored Fang Jun, but he never wanted to see Fang Jun's family dominate, causing jealousy and rejection from the officials of the East Palace. He regarded Fang Jun as a humerus, and hoped that Fang Jun could keep a lower profile, put the interests of the East Palace first, and unite