Tibet

Dugu Jinyang sent his eldest grandson Nanfang away and hurried back to the outer study. Although he did not participate in the conversation between his father and his eldest grandson Nanfang, he sat aside and heard it all.

Dugu Jinyang is somewhat interested in exploring the west, but he is quite resistant to the island. After all, the island is too unfamiliar to him.

Arriving at his father's study room, Dugu Jinyang bowed and saluted: "Father, the eldest grandson Shishu has already sent him away."

"Come in and sit down!"

Dugulie saw his son's doubts.

Dugu Jinyang came in and sat down, and said worriedly: "Didn't father say that he would consider the Western Region? Why are he considering the islands again?"

Dugu Lie shook his head, "This is not something I can decide. It has to be decided by the whole family. But as far as I am concerned, I prefer the island. Especially after the eldest grandson proposed the Japanese Silla labor plan, it solved my biggest knot. , issues in the initial development of the island.”

"Father, is there a flaw in the Western Region Plan?"

Dugu Lie nodded, "The regent originally considered sealing off the Western Regions and allowing us to establish a country, but the imperial court firmly opposed it and insisted on the implementation of the county system. Now the regent has also changed his mind, so we have to take a long-term approach. If the Western Regions cannot Jianguo has no army of its own, but only gives nominal autonomy to a marquis outside the Pass, so what do I want from this false name?

The land obviously belongs to me, but the people are the subjects of the imperial court, and the taxes and taxes also go to the imperial court. I collect a little land rent, and I spend a lot of real money and silver on construction, but in the end it is used as a wedding dress for the imperial court, and it depends on the garrison generals. Look, what's the point of this? But I'm more worried about safety. "

Dugulie let out a long sigh, "The Khazar Khanate over there was established by the Turks, and it is said that they believe in some kind of Judaism. Our land has to be taken from them. If we can destroy the entire Khazar Khanate, it will be okay. But if it cannot be destroyed, once the Khazars counterattack, we will be exterminated. The men will be killed, and the wives and daughters will be kidnapped. Over there are the Great Food Kingdom and the Great Qin Kingdom in the northwest. These powerful enemies are on our side. Do you feel safe?"

Dugu Jinyang was also shaken. He did not want his wife and daughter to be kidnapped and become miserable slaves.

"Then father thinks the island is feasible?"

Dugulie smiled and said: "I don't know if it is possible, so I will give it a try with hundreds of thousands of dollars. If it doesn't work, I will return the island to the court. The court will still return us 200,000 acres of land, but we will treat it as a loss of more than thirty thousand acres." Thousands of dollars, this amount of money is nothing to the Dugu family, but once we succeed, we can really build a country. "

"Father, this is what worries me the most. Will the regent and the court allow us to establish a country?"

Dugu Lie smiled slightly and said: "You know that the small countries in Tochar are called Dudu Prefectures on the imperial court territory, but they themselves are small countries. In the future, we will be the same. We will also be Dudu Prefectures on the imperial court territory. Our descendants He will also be given the title of governor.

But our other identity is overseas kings, who are also canonized by the emperor. In fact, our islands are kingdoms. The court is relatively tolerant towards overseas countries. As long as we submit to the court for generations, make regular pilgrimages, pay tribute every year, and even send our descendants to study in Chang'an. , the imperial court will not interfere with our autonomy. After all, we developed the islands ourselves, and we cannot threaten the security of the Tang Dynasty. This is completely different from the military administration of Hebei. "

"What about safety?"

Dugu Jinyang worriedly asked: "How many troops can't be supported by one island?"

Dugulie smiled and said: "The regent told me that a hundred heavy armored infantry can sweep across the entire Southeast Asian countries. This is far different from Dashi and Turkic Khazars. What we have to deal with are actually just some pirates. Moreover, the imperial court will send troops to exterminate pirates, so I have no worries about safety.”

Dugu Jinyang sighed, "But it's too far from the mainland!"

"This is indeed the biggest problem, but everything has two sides. It is because we are far away from the mainland that the imperial court will allow us to establish a country and become a small affiliated country of the Tang Dynasty. Moreover, we are currently developing steam engines. Once successfully developed, steam engines and sea ships are said to be as long as It only takes ten days to sail to Quanzhou, which is much closer than taking several months to reach Chang'an from the west of the Aral Sea."

Dugu Jinyang's eyes lit up. If the voyage was only ten days, it really wasn't that far.

Dugu Jinyang began to be tempted and said quickly: "Then leave this matter to the child!"

Dugu Lie nodded, "You can go to Quanzhou first. There is more information there. You can learn more about the situation in the Luzon Islands. Anyway, this matter cannot be rushed. It requires the consent of the whole family."

"I understand, kid!"

Dugu Jinyang was finally persuaded by his father, bowed, and left excitedly.

Dugu Lie was not so excited. He thought more deeply. If the Dugu family left, how would they maintain their status in the Tang Dynasty? They are the queen's natal family and the prince's uncle's family!

Dugu Lie vaguely felt that Li Ye's agreement with the Dugu family and other Guanlong nobles to go to the Luzon Islands to establish a country was to some extent to weaken the status of the Guanlong nobles in the Tang Dynasty. This was actually a disguised form of reducing the vassal status.

The hot summer finally passed. Shen Zhenzhu got her wish and gave birth to a son, which made her cry with joy. Although he was slightly underweight, he was still relatively healthy and both mother and child were safe.

Li Ye immediately named his son Li Hua. Of course, Li Ye would not let his son become an illegitimate son. He immediately made Shen Zhenzhu a good wife and took her as a concubine.

After entering August, the weather got colder in the morning and evening. In the morning, Li Ye received a message from the Flying Eagle from the Yunzhong Governor's Mansion. A team of Uighur envoys had passed Yunzhou and was heading towards Chang'an.

Li Ye immediately summoned all the officials in the political affairs hall to discuss the matter of Huihe.

In the round hall of the Political Hall, Li Ye said slowly: "I have just received a report from the Flying Eagle from the Yunzhou Governor's Office that a team of Uighur envoys is coming to Chang'an, probably to negotiate the release of the trapped Uighur troops. "

Wei Jiansu asked: "Your Highness, what is the situation of the Huihe army trapped now?"

Li Ye glanced at Duan Xiushi, the Privy Councilor, who coughed and said, "Your Highness, Wei Xiangguo's question, please answer it!"

"Duan Shijun, please tell me!"

Duan Xiushi stood up and said calmly: "According to the information collected by the Privy Council, there has been no fighting between the two sides in the past two months since the Khan of the other party decided to ask for help from the grassland. The other party mainly relied on picking wild vegetables and slaughtering mules and war horses to survive, but they still More than 3,000 people have died, all of whom are wounded. Currently, the opponent’s army still has 55,000 people living in Feihu County.”

Zhang Li asked in confusion: "How did we learn about each other's situation?"

Duan Xiushi smiled and said: "Dengli Khan also sent people to search for paths. Some of the pathfinders were captured by our scouts. They explained the current situation of the Uighur Army!"

"Duan Shijun means that Fei Huxing still has other options?"

Duan Xiushi nodded, "Going north from Feihu County, there is still a road leading to Yunzhou, but this road is very dangerous and cannot be used by the cavalry. Even if they find it, it will be useless."

Li Ye waved his hand and everyone became quiet. Li Ye continued: "When the Uighur envoy comes this time, according to the rules of the grassland, he must redeem 55,000 people. In principle, I agree to redeem people. The key is the price. First, the Uighur people All the horses and equipment of the army must be left behind. Secondly, the ransom of two hundred sheep for each ordinary soldier, and the ransom of two hundred sheep for each general, and the ransom of ten thousand sheep for each captain of ten thousand. As for Denli Khan, I want a ransom of 10,000 sheep. A ransom for a million sheep.”

Wei Jiansu was startled, "Your Highness, isn't it too much?"

Li Ye smiled slightly and said: "I know it well, but it's actually not many. They defeated the Kunjian tribe and snatched fifteen million sheep from the Kunjian tribe. They also defeated Jinshan Geluolu and got five million sheep." I will keep half of the sheep’s trophies, and they can take them. If the other party has a good attitude, they can get a 20% discount, but the minimum price cannot be less than 10 million sheep.”

Li Ye immediately reached a consensus with Zhengshitang, and Wei Jiansu was responsible for the negotiations, and then Duan Xiushi led the team to Hedong to be responsible for the delivery.

At the same time, both parties also determined the nature of the ransom, which was a spoil of war. According to the usual practice, the imperial court's Zuocang treasury and Li Ye's inner treasury were divided into half.

The inner treasury is not Li Ye's personal treasure house. It is also a kind of national treasury. The initiative belongs to the emperor. Now it belongs to Li Ye. It is mainly used for major project expenditures.

For example, the expenditures for the construction of Tangzhi Road and the construction of Chang'an New City were half paid by Zuozangku and Neiku.

After selling 10 million sheep, it will be an extremely rich fortune.