Fu Tang

The news that Suzhou wanted to negotiate a peace, flew all over the court and the people like wings. When Li Congjia heard it, he sneered: "They want to negotiate a peace, so they can? Long Lei still doesn't understand me after so long."

Who is Li Congjia? If Long Lei doesn't come to provoke him, he still has to figure out how to win Suzhou. Long Lei asked him to help him ascend to the Dragon King's position, but he came to the city with his back. When he found that he couldn't win, he wanted to negotiate a peace?Where is such a cheap thing?

But as soon as he finished his sentence, he heard the news that the cabinet ministers had come together, and a sneer immediately hung on his face. He began to think about what he would do if these veteran ministers decided to negotiate a peace.

Li Congjia really wanted to continue the fight. People here in the Western Regions don't really have the spirit of contract. One day they can negotiate peace, tomorrow they can bow their heads, and the day after tomorrow they can show their swords. Isn't that what Long Lei does?

Only when they are hurt and scared can they be completely surrendered, and Li Congjia obviously doesn't want to waste any more time in Suzhou. After these few battles, he feels that Anning City is almost prepared in every aspect. The next step is to support war with war. After taking Suzhou, he began to turn to the Guiyi Army around him.

If you can win the Guiyi Army, take a rest for a while, try to get in touch with the Uighurs in Ganzhou, and try to learn more about this country before you find a way to start. The Uighurs in Ganzhou is a hurdle for them to return to the Central Plains. This hurdle must be overcome flat!

Li Congjia thought about it for a long time, and realized that at most he could only stick to his own orders. Both Li Hongji and Shi Xueting took orders directly from him, and they even had half of the Tiger Talisman in their hands. If Li Congjia couldn't give an order, he would write directly. For them, as long as the two of them feel the need to continue fighting, they can directly deploy troops without looking at anyone's face. Even if the cabinet reprimands them, they can still say that they will not accept the order of the foreign ruler.

However, this is the last resort. If Li Congjia uses this method, the cabinet must find a way to limit the military power of the general and at the same time limit the power of the prince. It will make many suggestions, and those suggestions are not just for Li Congjia to disagree. .

So until the end, he didn't want to do it.

Li Congjia sat in his seat and seemed to be calmly waiting for the ministers, but in fact he was very disturbed.

Not all the ministers came, this time only the chief minister and the second minister came, that is to say, only Zhou Zong and Han Xizai, who should be regarded as representatives of the cabinet.

Li Congjia went straight to the point: "The two love ministers are also here for the peace talks in Suzhou, right?"

Zhou Zong and Han Xizai looked at each other and nodded in unison. Li Congjia's heart tightened, but on the surface he was more amiable, and asked very gently: "What's your opinion, dear ministers of the cabinet?"

Zhou Zong asked instead: "What do you think, Your Highness?"

Li Congjia didn't know what they meant, he hesitated for a while, and didn't speak.

Zhou Zong and the others were not sure what Li Congjia meant, so the question just now was just to test Li Congjia. Now that Li Congjia was really hesitant, he couldn't help but feel a little anxious: "Your Highness, you have to think carefully."

Li Congjia deliberately said: "Wars are about consumption. Our foundation is not as good as that of Suzhou. Maybe the other party wants to negotiate a peace because of this."

Han Xizai immediately said anxiously, "No peace negotiation!"

Li Congjia: Shocked.jpg

He was worried that these veterans would try their best to persuade him to negotiate a peace quickly. After all, people of this age probably prefer to be on the safe side, and it is not yet the time for Anning City to spend recklessly.

However, Han Xizai's reaction far exceeded his expectations.

Seeing Li Congjia's eyes widen in surprise, Zhou Zong couldn't help but want to sigh, why is Lao Han so restless?This prince is not an ordinary prince, nor is he that soft-eared saint.

You have to be gentle with him. If you insist on putting on a preaching look, he must have a way not to listen.

Thinking of this, Zhou Zong couldn't help giving Han Xizai an elbow, telling him to swallow the rest of the words, but he said very gently: "Your Highness, we have an advantage now. Although we have spent a lot of military funds, the meaning is different. Long-term contacts with the Northern Han Dynasty, coupled with taxation, can fully support it, at least until next summer."

Li Congjiachi questioned: "You mean, you want to continue fighting?"

After the pain passed, Han Xizai quickly said, "Of course we have to fight. If they want to fight, they will fight. If they don't want to fight, they won't fight. What do we think?"

Li Congjia looked at Han Xizai speechlessly, thinking that this was not the way you treated Zhou Guo back then.

But after thinking about it, I also understood that these people probably had grievances in their hearts. When Zhou Guo attacked Nan Tang, Nan Tang also made a promise to bow down and surrender, but Zhou Guo ignored it and just wanted to fight it down with force. .

Now Han Xizai and the others probably want to copy this method to treat Suzhou. Although the ministers of the DPRK and China felt aggrieved when they were treated like this at the beginning, but now that their identities have been reversed, they naturally hope to enjoy the treatment of a powerful country like Zhou. .

Li Congjia heaved a sigh of relief, Zhanyan smiled and said: "I thought you all wanted to negotiate a peace, but I was still thinking about how to persuade you, so let's continue to look."

Zhou Zong and Han Xizai also breathed a sigh of relief. They always felt that the prince was sometimes calm and not like a young man. He could see it from the fact that he had endured for so long in the Kunlun Mountains, and he was even able to endure working under the Dragon King. Work——Although Li Congjia felt that he took the territory and only paid a part of the tax, it was still a good deal, but in the eyes of others, Li Congjia was equivalent to surrendering to the Dragon King. one of the reasons.

A person who can bend and stretch may make people feel scheming, but it has to be said that it is such a person who makes people feel hopeful.

Li Congjia read it again, and it put an end to Suzhou's application for peace negotiation, at least for Suzhou.

Long Lei is now sitting on the spacious throne, and his whole body is haggard. He doesn't understand at all, why he can't do anything to Li Congjia when he is sitting on the whole of Suzhou.

It seems that since he knew Li Congjia, he has never had any advantages. When he was threatened by Li Congjia, all he could think about was waiting for him to become the Dragon King, and Li Congjia tortured him as much as he wanted, and even imagined that Li Congjia was good-looking , if it is included in the account, it should humiliate him even more.

It is precisely because of these beautiful imaginations that Long Lei has the motivation to persevere. Whenever he takes medicine, he fantasizes about Li Congjia being captured by him and humiliated by him.

However, after he became the Dragon King, he decided to go to war against Anning City regardless of his father's bones, but found that things were far from being as simple as he thought.

At least the strength shown by Li Congjia was something he didn't expect, and what's more, he had never heard of the weapons Li Congjia took out, let alone seen them.

And it was those weapons that caused many casualties to the soldiers in Suzhou.

The aristocratic family and ministers who were not very supportive of Long Lei at first began to complain gradually. After all, they didn't know about the deal between Li Congjia and Long Lei, so they didn't understand why Long Lei insisted on going to war against Anning City.

From their point of view, Anning City is a very good place. The city they built did not cost Suzhou a single gold coin, and various taxes are paid regularly every year. Maybe I can laugh out loud in my dreams.

As for the few cities that Li Congjia got, they were originally the relatively remote cities in Suzhou with no oil and water. There is no big difference whether you want it or not. What is the difference in Suzhou hands?

The pressure on Long Lei was increasing. After losing several cities in a row, he finally couldn't bear the pressure and chose to negotiate a peace.

He was very embarrassed at this moment, and he could even imagine how mocking Li Congjia's eyes would be when he was negotiating peace in the future.

However, to his surprise, Li Congjia did not agree to negotiate a peace at all!

Long Lei, who was still somewhat resentful, suddenly panicked and refused to discuss peace, so what is he going to do?Is it really going to take down the entire Suzhou?

If it was before, Long Lei could only say that Li Congjia was dreaming, but now that he compared the records of the two sides, he found that he couldn't say such a thing.

Long Lei panicked, and so did the entire court. No one expected Li Congjia to be so firm. He didn't even ask them about the terms of the peace talks, just typed one word, and killed the envoy they sent by the way.

The high-level executives in Suzhou began to hold meetings and discuss non-stop. The focus was on how to stop this war, or win one. However, no matter how they calculated, they had little chance of winning. It needs to be filled by people.

Long Lei gritted his teeth and said: "Then drop as many people as possible and try to disperse their vanguard. It would be even better if they could get back the thing in their hands. They can have today's record, isn't it because of this thing?" ? If we get it, then we won’t have to go to the Marquis of An Ning to negotiate a peace.”

As soon as the people below thought about it, they started to prepare.

However, some aristocratic families in Suzhou don’t think so. They don’t want to pay more for this confused dragon king. Although the situation in Suzhou is different from that of the Central Plains, they are consistent with the Central Plains’ thinking in some aspects, such as The royal family that speaks flowing water is an iron-clad family.

As long as it is an aristocratic family, even if there is no catastrophe, it will not be affected too much even if the throne is changed. After all, the disciples of the aristocratic family are more educated and high-quality, and it is easier to select officials, and the contemporary rulers will continue to use them even if they are not reconciled.

The aristocratic family wanted to contact Li Congjia secretly, at least to ensure that Li Congjia would spare them when he hit Jiuquan.

And these aristocratic families gradually got the news - the thirteenth prince not only has contact with Li Congjia, but also has a good relationship!

Of course, this news was released on purpose by the thirteenth prince. He wants the throne, but Li Congjia’s support is not enough. With Li Congjia leading the line, both parties should accept his affection.

The thirteenth prince began to secretly contact the children of these aristocratic families. At first, he just ate and drank, and later he began to go in and out of these people's homes, and then met those who could speak in the family.

And when the thirteen princes were in series, Li Congjia pressed on every step of the way, and did not give Long Lei time to relax. Even if Long Lei recruited more soldiers, he could only send them to the battlefield in a hurry, and put the fate of the soldiers at risk. Leave it to God.

The result can be imagined, Long Lei couldn't sit still, and those aristocratic families couldn't sit still, and began to find ways to contact Li Congjia.

The Thirteenth Prince was such a bridge. When he appeared in Anning City again, he brought with him the more talkative people from these families.

The thirteenth prince did not see Li Congjia immediately this time, but Yang Xin, the minister of household affairs—no way, the suitable Minister of Honglu Temple has not been selected yet, at this time he had stayed in Jiuquan for a long time, and fought with people from the Western Regions Yang Xin, who has dealt with many times, stands out.

Li Congjia had no choice but to ask him to receive the thirteen princes. Someone originally said that Yang Xin should go to Honglu Temple to be a young minister. After all, it is too difficult for him to be a nine minister at his age, so the young minister is not so unreasonable.

Li Congjia refused at that time, and secretly wrote down the person who suggested it. Yang Xin's current errand can be regarded as a fat vacancy. In addition, his subordinates are in charge of the caravan and the firm that earns a lot of money every day. His court can be ranked among the top ten, but he has always kept a low profile, so he never showed off.

However, he is low-key, so some people can't get used to it. They feel that Yang Xin has no skills and should give up his seat to someone with more skills. Generally, people who think this way are quite pretentious.

However, among these people, there are one or two relatives who have turned the corner with the officials of the official department, so they have the idea of ​​transferring Yang Xin to Honglu Temple. However, so far, only county-level officials have not been appointed Through the cabinet, such senior officials still need to apply for transfer.

Li Congjia was very angry. He felt that these people were really short-sighted. They wanted to bully Yang Xin when he was young?Don't you want to see that his lord is still sitting on the throne?

Li Congjia didn't hide it either, and complained during the Xiaochao meeting. Xiao Yan, a straightforward person, said directly: "Yang Xin is indeed too young."

"It's not a young thing to be ambitious, not to mention that he drove Wanlixiang all over Suzhou. This is a credit. Now our offensive battle can be fought so smoothly. He is also a credit. Those news are all transmitted through Wanlixiang !" Li Congjia was very unhappy, Yang Xin was trained by him alone, and he has achieved actual results, if he is made things difficult, then wouldn't the students trained in his academy also be made troubles at that time?

Song Qiqiu also said: "Yang Xin is indeed meritorious, but he is now the servant of the household department, and I am afraid that he will spend a long time in this position."

The promotion of officials is also based on the number of years of seniority. Unless you have great ability, you can make an exception, but generally this does not happen.

Li Congjia said with a sullen face: "As long as he has the ability to sit in any position, as long as he has the ability, why not want to go up?"

Zhou Zongpin had some taste, and felt that Li Congjia had started to cultivate his own team. After all, once the emperor and courtiers, they will always have these old bones, the people who come to the top are extremely important, but just because they are important, everyone I want to leave it to my students more.

Yang Xin can't be won over, he is only loyal to the crown prince, which makes everyone look at him very unpleasant, if this is the case, then naturally he must clear the obstacles for his own people.

Xu Xuan couldn't help but said: "This... I'm afraid it will attract criticism."

Li Congjia smiled immediately: "Is there any criticism? Don't you just think that Yang Xin is young, if you only look at what he does, he has no dereliction of duty, right? So young is an excuse for criticism, but when an official is appointed Age doesn’t depend on ability anymore? If that’s the case, do I have to give up my seat too?”

Li Congjia raised his voice at the end, clearly expressing his dissatisfaction, and now he has figured it out, when it is time to lose his temper, he should lose his temper, otherwise everyone will treat him as a soft persimmon instead.

After Li Congjia said this, the person who just commented that Yang Xin was too young to sit in a high position almost knelt on the spot. While Li Congjia was so angry that his liver trembled, he also felt a little bit dumbfounded. You... Can your situation be compared with the minister?

But even if Li Congjia wants to mess around, you can't help it.The ministers of the cabinet were a little panicked. Li Congjia's words were self-willed and angry at a small scale, but at a high level, they might have reached the point of suspecting that someone is going to rebel and usurp the throne. Once this kind of thing sticks to him, it is really unreasonable .

At this moment, the ministers couldn't help scolding their mother secretly, thinking that the official who made a fuss about Yang Xin's age was really deceived by lard.

Li Congjia saw that the complexions of several veteran ministers turned slightly pale, and knew that what he said was a bit serious, so he calmed down and said: "Nowadays, the Tang Dynasty is full of waste, and it is even more eclectic. It’s nothing to say that we can get a matching status, let’s discuss the agenda of making peace with Suzhou.”

Yes, they still have to make peace with Suzhou in the end. Of course, this does not mean that the previous battles were useless. On the contrary, it is precisely because of the continuous victories of Li Hongji and Shi Xueting that they can make peace with Suzhou. Always maintain more initiative and get more benefits.

Although the thirteenth prince had promised to give Li Congjia the Zen throne after ascending to the throne of Dragon King, Li Congjia did not intend to fully trust him. It can be said that Long Lei has already ruined the reputation of the Long family.

If the thirteen princes don't do this at that time, Li Congjia has also won his own interests as much as possible in the early stage, and it is not a loss. At worst, he will fight again, and this time he will completely gnaw Suzhou down.

During the process of receiving the thirteen princes, Yang Xin had received instructions from Li Congjia, so he knew what to talk about and to what extent.

Before the Seventh Prince opened his mouth to Li Congjia and asked him to make offerings, when it came to Li Congjia, he simply doubled it and gave it to Suzhou. It's a pity that he couldn't see the expression of the Seventh Prince when he knew about it. In addition, Li Congjia has another request - to abolish the Dragon King!Of course, there is another one is to support the thirteenth prince as the Dragon King.

The thirteenth prince definitely wanted to agree to this request. However, he was not the one who made the decision on the negotiating team. He came here on behalf of the family's interests. As long as Li Congjia could guarantee the family's interests, they really didn't care what happened to the court, anyway. Many ministers are descendants of aristocratic families, and those who are not from aristocratic families do not have enough voice.

But the thirteenth prince didn't agree immediately, he just said that he would go back to discuss, and then turned around and sent the news back to Suzhou.

The clans got the news earlier, but it doesn't mean that Long Lei didn't get the news. After all, after losing a few more cities, Long Lei had to send out a peace request again. This time his attitude was lowered a lot. After all, It doesn't matter if it's not low, Li Congjia has already obtained half of the territory in Suzhou, and if he works harder, he might really be able to hit Jiuquan!

Then Li Congjia gave the thirteenth prince's request to the envoys sent by Suzhou intact, and of course concealed the terms of electing the thirteenth prince to be the Dragon King. This is to prevent Long Lei from being desperate. .

The envoy trembled when he saw Li Congjia's last request. He really never thought that the other party would make such a request.

When Long Lei knew about it, his whole body started to tremble. What he feared most was about to happen. In order to allow himself to persevere in this war, he kept half of the medicine every time he took it. , but it really left him with a lot of medicine, which can support him for several months. His idea is to wait for a few months, and the result will almost come out. At that time, he will catch Li Congjia and Shi Xueting. Isn't it easy to get an antidote?

But now, instead of being forced to death by poison, he was about to be forced to death by Li Congjia—could the deposed Dragon King have a good end?

Long Lei shouted sharply: "Presumptuous!"

However, the courtiers did not join Long Lei in condemning Li Congjia. When Long Lei saw this situation, he felt a bit chilled. He was a little flustered, but he managed to calm down and said, "This son is very ambitious. Today he dares to force us to abolish the Dragon King." , tomorrow he will dare you to hand over Suzhou to him!"

The Seventh Prince was standing below, and immediately said unceremoniously after hearing this: "Does he still need us to step aside now? Do you believe that as long as we don't agree, he can come to Jiuquan immediately? At that time, you will be the king of subjugation." !"

"You!" Long Lei clasped his hands tightly, trembling slightly, staring at the Seventh Prince as if poisoned.