Zhang Pu closed his eyelids slightly, and his mind repeatedly considered and weighed Shang Cheng's proposal to marry Tubo and persecute Nanzhao, and finally came to the conclusion that it was "feasible". This method is simple and easy, and the cost is very small, and the center can completely make its own decisions and hand over the matter to the Ministry of Rites to follow and implement, and naturally, it will bypass the troublesome court. Moreover, there is a great room for maneuver in doing so: if it can be accomplished, the imperial court can resolve the dilemma of the southwest without spending a single soldier, just free up its hands to deal with the bureaucrats who are in rebellion; It's not a bad thing, the messenger can go back and forth to listen to the reality of Tubo, the court can plan the southwest can have more facts to judge, the second can also buy time for the court to make advance arrangements in Jiazhou, and the third can also alleviate the unfavorable situation he is facing in the court now Tubo Nanzhao is menacing, the situation in the southwest is shocked three times a day, he is the right minister of the three departments of the household rite soldiers, the pressure on his shoulders these days is really not light......

The word "good" was already swirling on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed it back silently.

is also the prime minister, Tang Xing can seconded the opinion of the discussion, but as the initiator of the "south first and then north" strategy, he can't nod his head no matter what. If he agrees with Shang Cheng now, it means that he has been meeting with important internal and external personnel, adjusting the personnel of the six departments, and interviewing Xiao Jian and other lieutenant generals day and night during this period of time...... and so on, all of which are aimed at nothing; He Zhang Pu will also become a big joke for others. He is not afraid of being ridiculed, and in his heart, he does not value personal honor and disgrace very much; He was only worried that this would have an impact on the "Pure Government Affairs and Revitalization of the Dynasty" that he vigorously promoted after the Prime Minister. If the strategy of "first the south and then the north" that the Holy Lord nodded and acquiesced to suffers a setback, then the northbound faction in the government and the opposition that was suppressed by him will definitely take the opportunity to make trouble. Retiring may mean that he will leave the cardinal forever, so how can his ideal of "bringing all nations to the Han and Tang dynasties" be realized? But if he doesn't return one by one, does he have a reason not to return?

No, he couldn't agree with Shang Cheng's statement. First the south and then the north, this is an unshakable national policy; The use of troops against the Southern Zhao to deter the surrounding areas, and then leaning the strength of the country to the north to attack the Turquoise and sweep the grassland, this is also a national policy! This is unchangeable, and it cannot be shaken, and even if he Zhang Pu is broken, he must do his best to maintain and implement it!

But he couldn't say these things to Shang Cheng like that. After all, the imperial court's strategy of "first the south and then the north" had not yet been finalized, and the plan for the use of troops against the southern edict was only in the stage of collecting opinions.

He could only euphemistically ask one question: If the Tubo people and Nanzhao had the same idea and wanted to take the opportunity to do something in Zhaodi, then how should the imperial court deal with it?

"It's possible." Shang Cheng does not shy away from the possibility of such a bad situation. He said, "It is very likely that the Tubo people will not do anything, neither provoke us nor offend Nanzhao, but stand still and wait for us to make a move with Nanzhao." When we are both defeated, they will come back to pick peaches and pick cheap. ”

Although he was not very satisfied with the crude words of the ugly young admiral in front of him, Zhang Pu couldn't help but admit that Shang Cheng's words were very intuitive and very vivid. He asked, "If the truth is as Yan Du said, Tubo Tun gathers heavy troops and does not help each other, what should we do?" ”

Shang Cheng glanced at Zhang Pu quickly, glanced at Tang Xing again, and then looked away again. Zhang Xiangguo's question was very unlevel. What's even more strange is that Tang Lao Xiangguo seems to be a person who has led soldiers and fought in battles, why didn't he come out to correct him? If Tubo really put a large number of troops on the border, then whether it is Dazhao or Nanzhao, everyone will have concerns in their hearts, and it will be impossible to fight at all. Even if the imperial court was determined to use troops against Nanzhao and set up a camp in Jiazhou to unify the order to the southwest, it was necessary to retain a considerable number of troops on the front line of Yazhou to deal with emergencies. According to what Zhang Pu just said, the main forces of the six divisions of the Eastern Barbarians of Tubo have been assembled, so in order to guard against them, Da Zhao Shan needs to deploy at least ten brigades in Yazhou, Lizhou and Maozhou as a pre-guard, so how many troops will be the total strength of the battle against Nanzhao? In addition, this battle is not as good as the grassland plan proposed by Yanshan, and Jiazhou is not Yanshan, and all the preparations for the southwest operation need to be carried out temporarily. In addition, the southwest is mountainous, the transportation of vehicles and horses is inconvenient, and the grain route is not smooth, before using troops against Nanzhao, it is necessary to appease the place first, otherwise the front war will be together, and the rear bureaucrats will take the opportunity to cut off the grain route, then this battle will not be able to be fought at all......

What Shang Cheng said was exactly what the two prime ministers were worried about.

Old Xiangguo Tang Xing frowned, as if he was thinking about something, and only after a long time did he sigh and said quietly: "What Yan Du said is good. The imperial court had already secretly discussed the use of troops by the Southern Zhao State three times, and the three times they were all disputes over how to deal with the local bureaucrats without result. This is precisely the fundamental crux of the southwest problem. ”

Shang Cheng straightened his waist and sat in the chair with his hands on his knees, listening quietly to Tang Xing's words. He was keenly aware that although Lao Xiangguo was saying that the imperial court was worried about the bureaucrats causing chaos to the imperial court, there was a different meaning in the tepid words, especially the last sentence "Bureaucrats are the fundamental crux of the southwest", which made him have to think deeply: Could it be that Zuo Xiangxiang Tang Xing did not support the war against Nanzhao, nor did he oppose fundamentally solving the problem of bureaucrats?

Zhang Pu also seemed to glance at Tang Xing inadvertently. The Son of Heaven wants to see Shang Cheng today, and they also got the news early in the morning. According to the imperial court system, the first time the admiral of Yanshan was on leave, he and Tang Xing were bound to be present to accompany the advisers, so they made arrangements for the important official affairs at hand before the early dynasty, and waited to meet the king with Shang Cheng. But when the Son of Heaven dispersed, the early dynasty not only did not summon Shang Cheng immediately, but summoned Xiao Jian to see him first, which was actually deliberately snubbing Shang Cheng. Now that the two of them have come forward to ask for comfort, what is the proposition in the heart of the person in the side hall of the Miao Pavilion, Zhang Pu can also figure out that seven or eight points are not for anything else, but just to sharpen Shang Cheng's mental patience. Since the Son of Heaven has this heart, he obviously attaches great importance to this general, and he and Tang Xing are also a good favor, talking and laughing in front of the left and right rulers, even if it is a rare courtesy for the princes and nobles. Originally, this should have been a meeting with a very harmonious atmosphere, the topic was the military battle array that the young general was good at, and the talk was about Jiazhou, where Yan Du had stayed for many years. But who knew that Shang Cheng, who started with military exploits, was so old-fashioned, and a few words almost refuted his hard work, but he still said everything reasonably, making it difficult for him to cope even if he had a sharp tongue. He wanted to persuade Shang Cheng, but he felt that he couldn't talk about it, and wanted to reprimand Shang Cheng, but he couldn't find a reason to refute it, and when he was anxious and at a loss, he suddenly heard Tang Xing reveal the contradictions and differences between the two prime ministers, so he simply stopped hiding anything, and said bluntly: "Governor Yan must know that although the conquest of Nanzhao is not a resolution of the imperial court at the moment," he raised his eyes and stared at Shang Cheng and said slowly, "It is only a matter of time before the court is passed." At present, the Ministry of War is already drafting a specific strategy for fighting in the south, and the Liyuan Forbidden Army is also making advance preparations. Speaking of this, he paused for a moment before he said, "The Ministry of War initially discussed that General Xiao Jian would be the general manager of the Jiazhou camp. General Xiao recommended you to the imperial court as the deputy head of the Jiazhou camp, and first stationed in the southwest 4th Road, with full authority to command the southwest armies to quell the rebellion of the bureaucrats. ”

Shang Cheng froze.

Xiao Jian recommended himself to the imperial court? And he recommended himself to Jiazhou as the deputy head of the camp?

"When the military department consulted the old general for advice, the old general only said one sentence: unless Yanshan Shangzida is transferred as a deputy, it will ......."

Otherwise, Zhang Pu didn't say.

But even if Zhang Pu didn't say it, Shang Cheng could guess what Xiao Jian said. His face flushed. The old general trusts himself too much! It's the same trust as in Mogan!

How could he trust himself so much?

Although he has always had reservations about Xiao Jian's military disposition, at this time, he is full of admiration and gratitude to the old general. Not for anything else, just this trust is worthy of his respect for the old general, not to mention that the old general is doing this, it is paving a smooth road for him now, as long as he nods slightly, he can immediately rank among the senior generals of Dazhao, and after the rebellion of the bureaucrats is pacified, and then the Nanzhao is defeated, the general of the Shangzhu State and the Marquis of the founding of the country will definitely not be able to run away, and then he will no longer have to worry about the transfer of his position, nor will he have to worry about endless official duties every day, He can be like Xiao Laoshuai before the Northern Expedition, with a detached status and attitude to face all people and everything......

Yes, he is confident that he will be able to put down the rebellion of the bureaucrats in the shortest possible time, and he will always make the bureaucrats remember how unwise it is to go against a cruel and bloody machine of state violence, and he can even make himself a fierce god for generations to come, so that when they hear his name, they will involuntarily tremble, and they will never have the intention of making trouble again. And Nanzhao, without Zhao Di's wingmen as internal responses, what strength do they have to compete with the Celestial Empire army? After all, they are a small country in the south, and they may be able to get some advantage by stealing a gap to fight cold boxing, but when it comes to frontal confrontation, they are far from being Da Zhao's opponents!

A voice echoed in his mind: Go to the south, go to make contributions, and create a world that belongs to you! You can do it! It can be done! There, you will become a hero who is widely sung by the people, a heroic figure like General Xiao!

The flames danced in his eyes, his eyes showed longing and yearning, and his gaze seemed to no longer stay in this fighting room, nor in the imperial city, but to the far south......

Zhang Pu and Tang Xing both noticed the change in his expression, but they didn't say anything very tacitly. After quelling the rebellion of the bureaucrats and crusading against the stupid Nanzhao State, after persuading Xiao Jian to be the head of the camp, he has now taken a solid second step, and the national policy of "first the south and then the north" has also been further consolidated because of the addition of Shang Cheng, a general who is good at exterminating bandits.

But after calming down, Shang Cheng immediately stunned the two Xiangguo.

"I am against the use of troops against Nanzhao. The crisis of Da Zhao is not in the south, but in the north, and our most dangerous enemies at the moment are the Thorns in the northern steppes. Until the enemy in the steppe is completely resolved, I thought that it would be a mistake to conduct large-scale operations in other directions. I am also opposed to the indiscriminate repression of bureaucrats. In the final analysis, it was caused by the discriminatory attitude and unfair treatment of the bureaucrats by the imperial court......"

The two prime ministers fell silent for a moment. After a long time, Tang Xingcai asked, "Governor Yan just said that the imperial court made a mistake in the affairs of the bureaucrats. I disagree with this. The imperial court has always treated all the people and subjects within the Zhao land without distinction and without discrimination. ”

“…… So, why are the ethnic minorities in the southwest called 'wings'? ”

Tang Xing stopped talking. He is Xiangguo, and he is also a great Confucian who has read poetry and books, and of course he knows the origin and meaning of the word "bureaucracy". In the Tang Dynasty, all ethnic minorities in the southwest region were collectively referred to as bureaucrats, which was a contemptuous title with a strong humiliating nature; Zhao Cheng Tang system, naturally inherited this title, and also inherited many of the Tang Dynasty's treatment of bureaucrats. Shang Cheng said that the imperial court could not be fair and just to the bureaucrats, and he was indeed not wrong.

Zhang Pu said: "Yan Du, the bureaucrats have refused to obey the Central Plains education since ancient times, and they are still clothed with hair and naked bodies, men and women are not distinguished, ignoring morality, such a bad behavior, and repeatedly refusing to change, how can they be treated fairly by the imperial court, and how can China be willing to accept it?" ”

Shang Cheng lowered his eyelids and said slowly: "I once read a book in Yanshan two years ago, there were a few sentences on it, and I remembered it deeply at the time, but now that it has been a long time, there is only a little impression left. There are probably a few sentences in the original text, which is 'The sage established the way, taught all over the world, the sons of the strange line, spread all over the world, and now the cold people are widely spread, and the words are passed on to solve the people's confusion, and the women of Chunchun Village are old and old, like immature children; It can be recorded as an annual examination, and it is also a name for the order, and it should be cited as the place where the law is promulgated. If you think about it, this might work. ”

Tang Xing heard that it was nothing, Zhang Pu was already furious, his face turned from red to blue and became extremely pale, and it took a long time for his lips to tremble and whispered: "The kid is not formal!" An dared to ...... the saint" before he finished speaking, but was interrupted by Tang Xing's heavy cough.

Tang Xing glanced at Zhang Pu very dissatisfied. Shang Cheng is a fake Yan Governor, but he is also a general, and his rank is only half a level behind Zhang Pu and himself, how can Zhang Pu open his mouth and scold what "boy" nonsense? Shang Cheng is also a military general, and it is the season of high spirits to march all the way, if he can't stand this tone and make noise in this prime minister's office, how to clean up the situation? A commander and a prime minister are invective in the imperial city, if this is spread, where is the face of the center? Where is the face of the imperial court?

Shang Cheng didn't seem to understand what Zhang Pu said, and after a short pause, he continued: "The bureaucrats are in turmoil, the instigation of the Southern Zhao of Tubo is one layer, the discrimination by the Han people is another, and the persecution of the local government is another. I think discrimination is the root of this. They are Zhao people, but we don't think they are Zhao people, studying, doing business, enlisting in the army, these can not be equal to the Zhao people, they can't accept it in their hearts, and they naturally have to find a place that can make them feel treated equally, so the Tubo and Nanzhao people take advantage of the weakness to enter, and say a few words of comfort, they will be grateful to Dade, and put a sentence in the book, after which they are 'willing to send'. Therefore, if the imperial court really wants to cut off the root of the bureaucratic rebellion from the source, it has to start with how to treat the bureaucrats equally. He grinned, stretched out his hand and rubbed his blindfold, pressed his temples a few more times, and then said, "I think we can 'rule the raze by razing', let them govern their own territory, the bureaucrats are the chief officials, and the other vice-officials are mainly officials selected by the imperial court. In addition, in the southwestern areas inhabited by the bureaucrats, the traffic will be greatly developed, the first emphasis will be on culture and education, and the officers and troops will be stationed for a long time, and after three or five years, we will be able to achieve some results......"

Tang Xing and Zhang Pu glanced at each other. After all, Zhang Pu is the prime minister's mind, and he also understands that Shang Chengfang is just talking about things and not provoking trouble, so he has already lost his breath, pondered for a while, and said with a little apology: "I was reckless just now, Yan Du forgive me." According to your statement, except for the second of the three items of building transportation, emphasizing culture and education, and garrisoning the army for a long time, the other two are not simple, and the cost is not shallow. ”

Shang Cheng smiled and said, "It will definitely cost money to do these things." But Zhang Xiang can also calculate, is it to spend money on doing this, or is it more expensive to fight? Unless we can destroy the Nanzhao Kingdom in one go, otherwise they will recover in a few years, and the things we say and do today will have to be repeated again. ”

Zhang Pu nodded. Indeed, unless the Southern Zhao is destroyed, there will be no peace in the southwest border. But what if Nanzhao is destroyed? There is still Tibet, and the situation in the southwest still cannot be fundamentally reversed. But if he doesn't fight the Southern Zhao, how should he deal with his strategy of "first the south and then the north"? This is the hard work of his life, can he just give it up lightly?

No! That's impossible! He's sure he'll find something else. Da Zhao is not the only one who can fight in this Shang Yan Governor, he will definitely be able to pick out another deputy manager for Xiao Jian who is better than the blind man of Yi County!

When noon was about to pass, the inner court sent someone to deliver a message, and the Dongyuan Emperor invited the two prime ministers to accompany the generals to lunch. None of these generals who were given a feast were successful. The Emperor seems to have forgotten about him as a general. However, the Emperor of the Eastern Yuan Dynasty did not seem to have forgotten him, because the inner servant made it very clear that the Holy Lord had no time to summon General Shang today, as long as he had time another day, he would "meet the monarch and the ministers at another time" when he had time......

Shang Cheng, who was a little disappointed because he couldn't see a living emperor, had to walk out of the imperial city alone, accompanied by the two priests of the Ministry of Rites who had been waiting there for a long time, and returned to his post house.