After many years, Li Ze once again met the man of the year in Hedong, Xue Jun, the patriarch of the Xue family.

The rich middle-aged man who had a lot of opinions back then and stirred up the whole Hedong to fight against Li Ze's annexation is now thin and gray-haired, and the whole person looks much older than his actual age.

The Hedong Group was the force that Li Ze had the most headache against him back then.

First, it is because the Hedong soldiers and horses are considered to be the descendants of Gao Piao, and Gao Piao, as the last pillar of the Tang Dynasty in the past, has always been highly respected.

Second, Hedong is rich, although the wealth is concentrated in the hands of a small number of people, but they are indeed strong.

Annexation by force is the least cost-effective, and division and disintegration are the best approach.

Li Ze thought about breaking his head, and after several years, he finally dismantled this huge group bit by bit and brought Hedong under his command.

Now, Han Qi has completely drawn a line with the past, and before him, Li Cunzhong had already expressed his allegiance to Li Ze, as for after the Xue family and the Sima family went to Tubo and went to the Western Regions, the Hedong family led by the Liu family chose to bend their knees directly to Li Ze.

After handing over almost all the land in their hands, these people used the abundant funds in their hands to invest in the vigorous business tide, and Li Ze also kept his promise and did not give them any stumbling blocks. Compared with the past, financial resources continue unabated.

In order to express their sincerity to Li Ze, these people also spent countless amounts of money to invest heavily in public utilities such as transportation, education, and medical centers in Wuyi, Zhenzhou and other places, but in their hometown of Hedong, these people were particularly stingy and invested very little money.

That's where their cleverness comes in.

Investing in a place like Wuyi will earn them great fame without other hidden dangers of being suspicious, because Wuyi is the core and base camp of Li Ze's rule. But in Hedong, if they dare to do this, they are afraid that the local officials will suspect that they are inviting people to buy people's hearts again, and their intentions are ill.

Now that Li Ze has arrived in Chang'an, the Liu family and other families have followed his footsteps to Chang'an, preparing to continue to make large investments in these public undertakings on the basis of Chang'an's great efforts.

They have already tasted the sweetness.

Originally, these investments were just to buy from Li Ze, and at the beginning, these businesses were indeed in a state of loss, but as time went by, these things, which were originally added to the family business, slowly rejuvenated and began to become a stable source of income. Although it is not a huge profit, it has a strong stamina and a very small risk.

More importantly, they used these industries to tie themselves more and more tightly to Li Ze's regime, and when Li Ze attacked Chang'an, the Liu family and several other families once again obtained the title they had been deprived of, which was Li Ze's reward for them.

And this re-knighthood also means that after so many years of hard work, these people have finally returned to the mainstream society of the Tang Dynasty again.

In comparison, the Xue clan was a little miserable, even worse than the Sima clan who was exiled to the Western Regions.

Now most of the Western Regions have been re-controlled by the Tang Dynasty, and the Sima clan has also gained a foothold here, and now the Western Regions are being reformed under the auspices of Xue Ping, and the Sima clan has also begun to re-enter the political arena in the Western Regions. Sima entered the Western Regions and vigorously participated in the commercial activities of rebuilding the Silk Road advocated by Li Ze, and also made a lot of money.

Inspired by the success of Liu and others, after Sima made money, he also vigorously donated money and materials to the local government, and participated in local public construction at any cost, but his reputation is getting bigger and bigger day by day.

And the Xue family in Tibet did not have such good luck.

Tibet is still an independent country, and its relationship with the Tang Dynasty is also strange. Tocharo regarded the Tang Dynasty as an enemy, but Delhi Chinan introduced the Tang Dynasty as an Austrian aid, and now there is another force, that is, the Tubo serfs who rose up.

After two years of vigorous Tibetan serf uprising, the vigorous Tibetan serf uprising has entered a difficult period from the initial unstoppable. Whether it was Tocharian or Delhi Chinan, they did not hesitate to brutally suppress the serf uprising, and sometimes in the face of the serfs, these two opposing forces would unite to attack the serfs.

In Tibet now, the social order is chaotic, the economy is withered, the people are struggling to make a living, the beacon smoke is everywhere, and robbers are everywhere.

In such an environment, the Xue family was naturally in a particularly difficult situation.

Of course, the so-called difficulties are only compared with some other people in Hedong back then. The Xue family, who set up his base camp in Lhasa, followed Delhi Chinan closely, and regarded himself as the center of the connection between Delhi Chinan and the Tang Dynasty, is now quite famous in Tibet.

Looking at this old man who was not an old man, Li Ze also looked quite embarrassed. The grievances of the year, with Li Ze's overall situation now settled, everything is under control, and it is also gone with the wind. Now that the other party is working hard in Tubo, it is also for the future planning of the Tang Dynasty, and the Xue family is also doing his best. can be regarded as the Xue family, who is contributing his own strength to the country and the nation, Li Ze has long lost any mustard.

If he can successfully annex Tubo, the Xue family will be an extremely important chess piece on Li Ze's chessboard.

"Over the years, have you been quite comfortable in Tibet?" Li Ze asked.

Xue Jun respectfully crossed his hands and saluted: "Xie Li is concerned, but I'm used to it." Compared with the prosperous Tang Dynasty, although it is a little remote, but there are also some other benefits, in the leisure time, but often go out for a walk, the sky is high and the clouds are light, the grass is green, look at the white clouds and dogs, the goshawks soar, the shepherds drive the cattle and sheep to swim away, but also make the mind a lot. But this time I came back but a little uncomfortable, I am ashamed, after coming back, the diet is not adaptable, and I have been pulling my stomach for several days! ”

Li Ze laughed: "Is it okay for one side to raise one side of the water and soil?" Do you want Jin Yuan to show you? ”

"This little thing, where you dare to work as a doctor Jin, it will be good a long time ago." Xue Jundao.

"How do you feel when you come back this time?"

"I am full of emotion!" Xue Jun said sincerely: "Today's Tang Dynasty has gradually become prosperous, passing by Wuyi and Zhenzhou, it is like a paradise. ”

"Why didn't you stay in the river for a few more days?" Li Ze looked at Xue Jundao with a smile.

"Things are not people." Xue Jun said honestly: "It's just to increase the sadness, so I just pay tribute before going to the ancestral grave." In addition, he was anxious to return to Li Xiang about the current situation of Tubo, so he hurriedly came to Chang'an. ”

"Although the internal guard also has information back, but it is better to feel it more deeply than you are in the middle of it, tell me about the current situation there!" Li Ze nodded.

Overall, Li Xiang's strategy has been very successful in Tibet. In today's Tibet, the three forces stand side by side, and no one can help anyone for a while. Xue Jun said: "But the serf rebels are in decline. ”

"They lacked a clear political program, and with the courage of the moment, they gathered a large number of serfs, and at the beginning, when the Tibetan authorities were caught off guard, they could sweep everything away, but as long as the Tibetan authorities reacted, with better soldiers, better equipment, and higher fighting qualities, it was only a matter of time before they were defeated." Li Ze nodded and said, "But the wounds they caused are irreparable." ”

"Now that Tocharian and Delhi Chenan have also realized the danger of the serf revolt to their rule, the two sides have reached a reconciliation on this issue, and are ready to put out the serf revolt with all their might, and then talk about the problem between them." Xue Jun said: "I don't think it's a good sign. ”

Li Ze nodded and smiled: "Tocharo is a great politician, and Delhi China is not stupid, the two sides were forced to fight earlier because of the form, and now since no one can help anyone, the two of them will naturally calm down." I can see our intentions clearly, so even if they merge, I won't be too surprised. ”

"Confluence is impossible." Xue Jun shook his head: "In the past few years, the two sides have accumulated too much hatred, and after extinguishing the serf uprising, even if the two of them no longer fight to the death, the split has become a foregone conclusion." Moreover, Tocharo's health was deteriorating, and once the man died, Delhi China might swallow him up in one fell swoop. ”

"Is Tocharo's body holding on?" Li Ze frowned and said, "I thought he would be able to hold out for a few more years until I finished solving the internal problems." ”

"Tocharo's physical condition has always been extremely secretive, and he rarely appears in public." Xue Jun said: "But once I unexpectedly got the news that some important ministers on the Tocharian side were secretly contacting Delhi Chinan, which had not been done in previous years. I think most of the Tocharians are not in good health, and these people also know that once Tocharian dies, his sons will not be able to hold the situation, and may even kill each other for power, and these people are looking for a way back for themselves. ”

Li Ze nodded slightly: "Delhi Chinan is actually a person who understands, although he has always relied on our strong support to reach a draw with Tochar, but he has always been guarding against us." Li Cunzhong has tried several times this year, but Delhi China has also deployed heavy troops on the border. ”

"So Li Xiang, we also have to do some new countermeasures for this." Xue Jundao: "This is also the reason why I wrote this time to ask myself to come back to meet Li Xiang in person." If we let Delhi Chinan unify Tibet, I am afraid that we will turn against us again. ”