Fu Tang

"What Khan means is that he hopes that Tang will not interfere in the affairs of Khotan."

Li Congjia raised his eyebrows: "Don't you have a good relationship with Khotan?"

The man snorted coldly and said, "The King of Khotan once insulted Allah, and our Khan will never tolerate it."

Insulting Allah?Li Congjia felt...the king of Khotan was probably guilty of the blame, maybe it was just a very simple sentence that made the other party feel offended. After all, in Li Congjia's eyes, the people of the Kara Khanate were basically equivalent to mad dogs and crazy.

Li Congjia said inscrutably: "So, we still have to discuss it, and please envoys stay in Chang'an for two more days."

At this time, Mendir came out and said, "Waiting for the good news from Your Majesty."

Li Congjia couldn't help but give him another look. If Shi Xueting hadn't told him the answer in advance, he would never have guessed that this person was actually Long Shisan.

Do you want to talk to him sometime?However, after thinking about it, he denied his own idea. Since Long Shisan is unwilling to return to Datang, there is no benefit in exposing his identity. As for bringing him here and punishing him for treason... Although it is not impossible, he still wants to Let's see what kind of moth Long Shisan can come up with.

After the envoys left, Li Congjia laughed and said, "The Kara Khanate really gave us a sugar-coated cannonball."

Sugar-coated cannonball?Everyone was at a loss. They didn't know what the word meant. They knew what the cannonball was, but the sugar coating... what was it?

Only then did Li Congjia remember that there were no sugar-coated pills these days. He thought about it and decided that he should get this thing out.

Although sugar is still a luxury for ordinary people at this time, it is life-saving for Li Congjia!Whoever drinks Chinese medicine will know.

He was thinking about something in his mind, but he didn't ignore the topic under discussion, and said, "Anyway, I think the Kara Khanate is paralyzing us."

Fan Zhi was somewhat disapproving: "They are just having friction with Khotan, so could it be that they really dare to provoke Datang?"

From the very beginning when he heard that there was going to be a war, he was a little worried, but now he is not afraid of any country at all. Li Congjia feels that he is still very successful. At least the thinking of the cabinet ministers has gradually changed.

But turning around doesn't mean you can underestimate the enemy. Li Congjia feels that this world is really mysterious, and now it's his turn to worry about the cabinet.

In fact, Fan Zhi and the others just think that Khitan is strong or not?The Khitan, which made Zhou Shizong fail many times, was beaten down by them. What other country can threaten Datang?

The rise of Datang has been unstoppable.

Li Congjia didn't want to hit the straightened backs of these people, so he could only ask: "Have you read their Koran?"

Wei Renpu was a little surprised: "What?"

Li Congjia said in a roundabout way: "Well, these are their scriptures. If you have time, you can go and read them. I believe that the envoys of the Kara Khanate will be willing to lend you the scriptures. By the way, you can also learn about the history of the Kara Khanate. some law."

For such a country, Li Congjia felt that he would pay attention to them only after getting to know them, and he was not worried about the IQ of these people. into hypocrisy.

Several ministers of the cabinet left with doubts. They didn't understand why Li Congjia suddenly asked them to read the scriptures, but it didn't matter if they read the scriptures. There are too few entertainment activities these days, and there are not many books that scholars can read. The most important thing is to look at Li Congjia's appearance, this scripture seems to be very important?

After several cabinet ministers read this scripture, they had some thoughts in their hearts.

During the Xiaochao meeting, Li Congjia asked, "Have you finished watching?"

Zhao Pu thought about it and said, "They all believe in this religion?"

"Yes, and the country is governed by religion, how about it? How do you feel?"

Wang Pu frowned: "In this case, the Kara Khanate is probably very ambitious."

Li Congjia nodded: "That's right, their ambitions are very strong, and they will not surrender, and they will not be able to integrate into other countries. These years they should be regarded as conquests, and they have long been interested in Khotan. In fact, if it is not big Tang’s policy on Khotan has been relatively loose these years, and everything that can be sold will be sold, I’m afraid Khotan has long since ceased to exist.”

Wei Renpu understood instantly: "Your Majesty has long felt that the Kara Khanate is too ambitious and wants to make Khotan our gate?"

Li Congjia hummed, and this time these veteran ministers felt that their majesty was really far-sighted, otherwise it was a country that no one had thought of, and many people even didn't know the Kara Khanate at all, but Li Congjia started it very early Be wary of them.

Li Congjia was a little embarrassed by the adoring eyes of the six ministers and Jiuqing, so he had to say: "I just accidentally read their scriptures, and I think such a country with a high concentration of beliefs is actually quite scary, so let's plan ahead, anyway. Even if the Kara Khanate does not act, we have nothing to lose."

"It looks like the Kara Khanate really has bad intentions." Fan Zhi directly came to a conclusion.

Li Ping was confused by what they said, so he couldn't help asking: "Didn't they take the initiative to ask for tribute to Datang? How could it be malicious?"

Li Congjia said: "The reason they can't defeat Khotan now is because the Tang Dynasty has been providing weapons to Khotan. In fact, the Kara Khanate is not much stronger than Khitan in terms of national power. It's just that they are too crazy. Good people are always afraid of dying. Yes, and the Kara Khanate is a typical desperate country."

"That's right." Zhao Pu nodded and said, "I'm afraid that after they take down Khotan, they will turn their heads against Datang. There will be no tribute at all."

Li Congjia thought so: "Maybe they will send troops directly to rob the Western Regions. After all, the throat of the Silk Road earns so much money every year, how could they not be greedy?"

"It seems that we can only continue to support Khotan now?" Zhao Kuangyin frowned. He didn't like this kind of country that he had no choice but to rely on other countries for help to fight against the enemy.

Just when the ministers of the cabinet nodded and felt that what Zhao Kuangyin said was all right, Li Congjia shook his head and said, "No, let's change the way this time."

Everyone looked at Li Congjia, wondering why he was suddenly unwilling to help Yutian.

Li Congjia said earnestly: "It seems that Khotan is inextricably linked with the Kara Khanate now, but no one can say when they will surrender. We will definitely not give them the most advanced weapons, but even if it is the cheapest How long will they be able to buy weapons? Khotan’s national power is not very strong, so it’s hard to say how long it will last to buy military supplies from other countries endlessly, so it’s better to take advantage of the present and let’s strike first.”

"What?" Almost everyone said in unison, they all looked at Li Congjia in shock, only Shi Xueting remained calm, with a faint expression on his face.

Li Congjia then rolled up his sleeves and analyzed with everyone: "Anyway, it is to resist the Kara Khanate. If there is Khotan, we will have to confront them sooner or later. Although I say that, I think the initiative should be in the hands of the Tang Dynasty. Here, Datang only allowed them to fight if he wanted to fight, and if he didn’t want to fight the Kara Khanate, he didn’t want to act rashly. In this case, it’s more convenient to take Khotan.”

Li Hongji asked enthusiastically: "Then shall we also go to fight Khotan? But the problem is that if we fight Khotan, what will the Kara Khanate do if we see an opportunity to attack Khotan? Maybe we will then It is not possible to take the complete Khotan."

Li Congjia took a look at Li Hongji. This man is really... born with a strong attachment to expanding territories. Just now when they were talking about the extremes of the Kara Khanate, Li Hongji looked like he was about to fall asleep at any time. Saying that there is a battle to be fought, I am excited in a blink of an eye.

"So, for Tian, ​​it's best not to use force." Li Congjia ruthlessly extinguished Li Hongji's hope with a smile.

Li Hongji was indeed a little disappointed. In fact, he knew that at this point, he would not be easily sent out to fight.

If it really reaches the point where he has to go out, it means that Datang has encountered a very serious crisis. Li Hongji thinks...he likes to fight, but he likes to fight because he likes to bully others, not when he is being bullied. Fight back, so compared to being bullied by Datang, he would rather not be able to go out to fight.

But he still has sons. At present, it seems that there will always be one or two who can inherit his mantle. The eldest son has been sent to the military academy to study. That's why Li Hongji paid more attention to Datang's every attack.

When everyone heard Li Congjia say that it is best not to use force, they were a little puzzled. How could Khotan be taken without force?

Fan Zhi knew Li Congjia a little better, and asked, "Your Majesty wants Khotan to surrender?"

Li Congjia nodded and said: "Yes, but it's not an ordinary surrender. It's not the kind of hypocritical surrender that pays a little tribute to the court. The court has to go a lot, and then give the other leader a title. What I want is true. Khotan is being assigned to the territory of the Tang Dynasty."

Li Jingda, who had been installing the background board, couldn't help but shook his head and said, "If you don't fight, Khotan may not agree."

Even if it is a surrender, the soldiers are approaching the city. Who will run to tell the other party that I want to surrender?Oh, what the Kara Khanate did this time has a bit of the same meaning, but they are harboring evil intentions, and they are definitely not sincere.

Li Congjia smiled and said, "It doesn't matter, we can maintain Khotan's autonomy."

Wang Pu wondered, "What's the difference?"

Since ancient times, flower growers have adopted this method for many of the surrounding regimes, but from a specific point of view, it is no different from the kind of submission that Li Congjia said they don't want.

Li Congjia explained seriously: "The biggest difference is probably that there is no military power."

"What?" Fan Zhi was a little surprised: "You mean we want to take back the military power?"

Li Congjia nodded calmly and said: "That's right, the king of Khotan can still manage Khotan as the king of Khotan, but Khotan's original army must be disarmed, and Khotan is already a part of the Great Tang, so it must be under the jurisdiction of the Great Tang. We send troops to station there, and the rest of them have autonomy, and then the country collects a part of their taxes every year. Of course, Khotan can also apply for financial appropriation from the court, but it must have the correct title. "

As he talked, he recalled how the autonomous regions in later generations were run, and how the federation like the United States was run. After recalling it for a long time, he finally gave up because he really couldn’t remember.

There is no way to travel through so many years. The most profound memory is probably related to the previous professional knowledge, and such uncommon things will not be remembered at all.

In the end, Li Congjia simply set up a Datang-style autonomous region. In summary, all rights can be delegated, only military power, and no one in the entire Tang Dynasty can surpass the emperor in terms of military power.

And without military power, Khotan would not be able to continue to stand on his own no matter how violent the disturbance was.

Zhao Kuangyin couldn't help but said: "Won't Yutian agree? This is actually no different from surrender. King Yutian may not be willing to lose the power in his hands suddenly."

Li Congjia spread his hands: "So, whether to merge into the Tang Dynasty and continue to be his king of Khotan, or to fight to the death with the Kara Khanate, and may be destroyed by the Kara Khanate in the end, it depends on their choice."

The Minister of Honglu Temple said very kindly: "I will send people to go to Khotan when I go back."

Li Congjia said: "It must be done as soon as possible, oh, by the way, let our people reveal to Yutian that the envoy of the Kara Khanate is in Chang'an, and ask the Tang Dynasty not to intervene in the war between them. .”

Honglusi nodded earnestly while listening, Li Congjia scratched his head and said: "Okay, let's get to this point first, everything must be equal to Tian's reaction, well, the cabinet can study the regional autonomy system. "

Li Congjia retired from the court irresponsibly after finishing his speech. Anyway, every time he came up with an idea to let others figure out a way, after all, he has many capable people under his command.

After returning to the study, Shi Xueting suddenly said: "Regional autonomy, you don't seem to have mentioned it much before."

Li Congjia quickly explained: "I just thought about the problem in Khotan recently."

No wonder, he has actually been thinking about this problem for a long time, but now there happens to be a very suitable option for Li Congjia to test his own ideas.

Even if it fails, at most it is a bad luck for Khotan, which should have no effect on Datang. Although it is quite sorry for Khotan, there are inherent risks in the exchanges between countries.

Shi Xueting asked: "It's not that the Tang Dynasty is incapable of conquering Khotan. If it is done quickly, Khotan may already be in our pocket before the Kara Khanate realizes it. Why are you so lenient with Khotan?"

From Shi Xueting's point of view, not interfering in anything is really very lenient. As for paying taxes, doesn't Yutian have to report the exact amount himself?They won't mind unless Datangka's central financial subsidy.

Li Congjia said seriously: "If we want to take Khotan without a single soldier, we must have something to impress them. Anyway, the military power is in our hands, so what if they rebel?"

Shi Xueting asked again: "But I think this idea is still very mature, it doesn't seem like a whim."

Li Congjia had no choice but to honestly say: "I did think about this issue before, but the time was not as ripe as it is now, and there was no such good material for a joint venture."

Shi Xueting automatically filtered out the words Li Congjia said that he didn't know, and asked directly: "Do you still want to form this kind of autonomy in other places?"

Li Congjia nodded and said in a low voice: "Well, I'm not bragging, I just think that Datang has expanded too fast these years, and it may be even faster in the future. This... the country is too large to avoid the situation of dying far away. ,You know."

Shi Xueting was stunned: "So you want to use this method to let the local officials manage it?"

Li Congjia nodded: "Yes, this can also avoid the harm caused by the conflict of knowledge and culture to both sides."

The way of thinking is different. When you arrive in a country, it seems inappropriate to force people to follow Datang's way of thinking to be an official.

After Shi Xueting got such an answer, he didn't continue to ask any more questions. If he continued, it would involve the core political issues of the Tang Dynasty, and Shi Xueting didn't intend to know.

The only thing he knew was that Li Congjia's ambition was not small. Of course, this was also what surprised him. Now Datang has entered the right track, so this thinking is definitely not aimed at the existing people of Datang, but may be aimed at other countries, such as the current Yu Tian and Kakara Khanate, and... Khitan.

In this case, Li Congjia may create many autonomous regions.

Shi Xueting didn't want to ask, but Li Congjia really wanted to say, after all, no one could discuss with him. Although the people in the cabinet said he was both a teacher and a friend, this way of thinking would only make those people think that Li Congjia was also a friend. If you can't stop yourself from attacking other countries.

This... Maybe the cabinet will write a letter to persuade him at that time. Anyway, since Yushitai, which was looking for trouble every day, was dismantled, all the excerpts to persuade Li Congjia came from the cabinet.

So for the sake of keeping his ears clean, he can't tell those people.

Let me tell others, if it is a member of the Privy Council, he feels that he just opened his mouth, maybe they will soon even prepare the armed materials, and wait for Li Congjia to order to attack a certain country.

Li Congjia said that he was a little tired, and he just wanted to discuss it with Shi Xueting.

Just when Li Congjia and Shi Xueting were discussing this system, the envoys of the Tang Dynasty had already galloped towards Khotan on a fast horse.

At this time, the envoy of the Kingdom of Khotan has returned to his false appearance. After meeting the king, the envoy explained everything he had seen and heard along the way, and finally he said cautiously: "Your Majesty, I think the attitude of the Tang State is decisive. Do we fight."

King Yuchi Sula of Khotan sighed: "Everything depends on the Tang Dynasty. If the Tang Dynasty has a good relationship with the Kara Khanate, I'm afraid we..."

Yuchi Sula couldn't help being a little discouraged when he said this. He just succeeded to the throne this year. He is a very young monarch. Unlucky, what a serious problem he encountered after ascension to the throne—maybe this can no longer be said to be serious but serious, if he is not careful, he will destroy the country, how can he not be depressed?

The Khotan envoy kept his eyes on his nose and his heart on his nose. Yuchi Sula asked about the scenery along the way. After learning that the people in the Tang Dynasty had begun to recover, and because the agricultural tax in the Tang Dynasty was very low, the farmers had basically recovered. The lifeless look just after the battle before is much better.

The more Yuchi Sula heard it, the more he yearned for it. He even thought it would be great if he was only the lord of the Tang Dynasty, but just thinking about it, Li Congjia is already a legend in the Western Regions, no, he is even a legend in the long history.

Just when Yuchi Sula was envious of Li Congjia, Yuchi Sula was very entangled in the matter of the Tang envoy's visit.

After seeing Yuchi Sura, the envoy sent a letter directly. It was not an official letter of credence, but a letter written by Li Congjia himself. The tone of the letter was not so formal and casual.

After Yuchi Sula read the letter, she couldn't help clapping her assistant, her face turned pale and said: "It's unreasonable, Emperor Tang is simply too aggressive!"

Yuchi Sula naturally wanted to show the prime minister a look after reading it, but he still expressed his anger angrily after the prime minister finished it.

Instead, the Prime Minister of Khotan asked, "Did Your Majesty say anything else?"

The envoy thought for a while, and felt that there should be nothing wrong with saying a few words in private, so he said directly: "Your Majesty said that if he were you, he would choose to accept Datang's will."

The prime minister took a closer look and said, "This is too much of a joke, it involves a lot of things, does your Majesty plan to discuss it formally?

Fortunately, the emissary didn't know everything, so he immediately replied: "Now it has been handed over to my buddies to realize it."

Prime Minister nodded and said: "So, please stay for two more days, we need to discuss."

Yuchi Sula stared at the prime minister with wide eyes, but still didn't say anything. It was true that he was inferior to the prime minister in terms of governing the country, so he would agree to things that the prime minister insisted on most of the time, as long as it was not too outrageous.

But now this thing is outrageous enough.

After Yuchi Sula waited for the envoy to leave, he couldn't help asking: "Is the Prime Minister going to agree to the Tang Dynasty? It's not time for Khotan to admit defeat."

The Prime Minister looked at him sympathetically and said, "Isn't it time to admit defeat? I've been thinking about when Datang's credential will arrive. The moment when Tang's credential arrives is the moment we have to choose. Do you think these Why have we been unable to compete with the Kara Khanate in recent years?"

Just as Yuchi Sula was about to say that it was because of the brave soldiers, he suddenly thought of the weapons in the hands of the soldiers, and said in a panic: "This... Tang... Could it be that Tang has colluded with the Kara Khanate?"

Prime Minister:? ? ? ? ?How did you come to this conclusion?