The capital was filled with a festive and peaceful atmosphere, but unexpectedly, an urgent letter came very suddenly.

Luoyang is the capital of the Son of Heaven, orderly, if there is a busy city, it is not a joke and then punished severely, that is, eight hundred miles urgent!

The emergency military should be cut down, and the idle people should be avoided.

When Shen Sanwen was complacent, the content of this military report resounded throughout the Taichu Palace.

"Your Majesty, the northern part of the Western Regions has found a great food soldier and horse display border, the number of people is no less than 100,000, and the Black Tooth General is in a hurry for eight hundred miles."

His face was flushed, and the soldiers who were sweating like rain were difficult to get up outside the Taichu Palace, but they still used their last strength to shout and successfully deliver the general's order to Luoyang.

As the waiter sang loudly, the content of the military newspaper was known from the outside in, and for a while, the hearts of all the courtiers seemed to be hanging with a sharp sword.

Heizhi Changzhi recorded all the information he could collect and sent it to Luoyang, asking the imperial court to pay attention to it, so as not to lose the opportunity in the new war.

Wu Zetian looked at the report in his hand and fell into deep thought. The land of the Western Regions is a conduit to the northwest, and silk and porcelain can be exchanged for a large number of foreign spices and jewelry, and it is impossible to let go.

However, it is difficult to make an accurate estimate of the large food in the north, relying on the information given by the black tooth Tsuneyuki.

However, 100,000 soldiers are far from being able to compete with the prosperous Great Zhou in the Western Regions, and the Black Tooth Changzhi needs to pay enough attention to it, but he is not without confidence in this battle, when to start the war, how to resist the enemy, and not too passive.

Wu Zetian was not worried about the menacing of the Great Eclipse, the Great Zhou had been in the Western Regions for a long time, the countries in the Western Regions were weak and powerless, and the Turkic Tubo Great Zhou could be bullied, and the 100,000 people were not worried.

What needs to be worried is that once the war starts, the Western Regions will be remote and food will be in short supply, and the shortest and smoothest route for transporting grain, grass and military supplies will need to pass through the narrow pass of Jiannan Road, which is connected with Tibet.

On Qinling's ambitions, Tubo has recovered one or two years of cultivation and recuperation, if he takes this opportunity to coerce Wu Zhou to start another turmoil and fight on two fronts, Da Zhou will be passive.

Nowadays, the domestic education reform is at a critical moment, and all materials are flowing and gathering in Luoyang. Reform will inevitably consume a lot of domestic manpower and financial resources, and conscription and transportation will not be so smooth, and this war is very inopportune.

The stability of the empire is clearly more important than progress.

Without a peaceful and stable environment for economic development, cultural prosperity is like a sick flower, which can only be slaughtered by others.

Wu Zetian is well versed in the way of governing the country and the country, so naturally he will not lose the big because of the small, and the education reform should be postponed.

Wu Zetian, who was worried, looked at the sky and sighed, "Wu Zhou is really ill-fated, and I don't know when this education will be completed." ”

Who has worries, but never gives up on the ideals they have.

Shen Sanwen was summoned to the palace by the emperor in this context.

The atmosphere of the palace today is not as cheerful as before, and the hearts of men and women are wrapped in deep sorrow, as if they are worried about the future and fate of the empire. Shen Sanwen looked very depressed, he hadn't seen Luoyang Palace for a long time, and he had a premonition that something big was happening.

When he saw Wu Zetian, Shen Sanwen realized the seriousness of this matter.

Her Majesty the Empress was surrounded by three tables of folds as usual, and Shangguan Wan'er and two important ministers sat beside her, assisting in handling important matters.

Shen Sanwen only stood quietly aside, waiting for His Majesty to wake up from his heavy thoughts.

For a long time, when Shangguan Wan'er presented a difficult twist and turn, Wu Zetian saw Shen San standing on the side.

Wu Zetian came to his senses, "Coming?" ”

Shen Sanwen had an ominous premonition in his heart, and asked uneasily, "What is Your Majesty's sorrow?" ”

Wu Zetian sighed lightly, "I have the heart to establish the most prosperous Great Zhou in the world, but the heavenly prince is not beautiful." ”

Shen San asked in his heart, what he was afraid of.

Wu Zetian continued, "This is the eight-hundred-mile expedited by Hei Tooth Changzhi, take a look." ”

It was the twist and turn that Wu Zetian had not put down for a long time just now, and Shen Sanwen took over a careful reading word by word, how dare Arabia provoke the prosperous Celestial Empire at this time.

To be reasonable, at least wait for the Anshi Rebellion, the Central Plains melee, and no time to take care of anything else, so that they can fish in troubled waters and gain a certain right to speak in the Western Regions. Now Wuzhou has a large population and excellent weapons, and coming at this time is no different from sending people to their heads.

Wu Zetian is worried about a hammer?

Shen Sanwen looked puzzled.

Wu Zetian patiently explained to him, "The Great Zhou Dynasty has limited national strength, and there is no way to support both internal reform and external war, so it is bound to have to choose one of the two." As the old saying goes, the husband is not guilty of his crimes, and the prosperity of the Great Zhou is far beyond the surrounding areas, once defeated, it is conceivable how the surrounding enemies will attack it.

Therefore, this battle is not trivial, and Da Zhou must not lose.

The matter of education reform is not only your one's expectation, but also my long-cherished wish, not to give up, but to postpone. ”

If you want to give up, Shen Sanwen is naturally unwilling, Dashi ate the bear's heart and leopard gall, and dared to fight at this time, naturally he couldn't admit defeat. But there were all kinds of struggles inside and outside, and the empire was really in crisis.

Shen Sanwen recalled that at this time, the ruling power of Arabia should be the **** Umayyad dynasty, believing in Allah, and the ruler only needs to say that this is the instruction of Allah, and the subjects are fighting for religious beliefs, which is a proper and vicious war.

His Majesty the Emperor is really worried about the surrounding ethnic groups, a defeat will give people the impression that the empire is strong and powerful, and it is profitable, and the surrounding small countries do not mind exchanging human lives for benefits, and what is even more terrifying is to form an alliance and attack together.

However, Shen Sanwen also remembered that the Umayyad was bent on preaching and developing handicrafts in the north of the Western Regions, so why did he think of coming to fight with the Great Zhou for the Western Regions.

Shen San asked, "Your Majesty, the courtier heard that Da Shi believes in the *** religion, and the doctrine is to obey Allah and advocate peace, and Da Shi is even more **** There is no distinction between politics and religion, how could he suddenly have the idea of taking the initiative to start a war." ”

Wu Zetian smiled: "This is also thanks to you." ”

Shen San asked with a confused face, how did this pot come to my head? Let's say okay first, I won't carry it.

Wu Zetian explained to him, "Black Tooth Changzhi suspects that it was the merchants of the Western Regions who transmitted the vast map of the Great Zhou to the Great Food. According to your teachings, it should be the Great Eclipse ruler who coveted the prosperity and wealth of the East, deceived the whole people, and launched this war to liberate the people of the East and give them true faith.

In the past, this map was not available to ordinary people, the paper was expensive, it was troublesome to draw, and the map seen by the nobles was meticulous, so the price was sky-high.

Merchants rely on experience to travel through the vast barren land again and again, and if they are not careful, they will never come back.

Paper prices are reduced, the papermaking cycle is shortened, and it is more convenient to buy paper, so many businessmen have begun to try to leave each route on the paper, because they want to see the map, only need to indicate the characteristic scenery, so that people can distinguish the most suitable route.

Someone succeeded, and recently the map of the Silk Road in the Western Regions began to circulate in a small area within some families.

However, they tried not only the trade routes, but also the customs and architecture of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the step-by-step development of a wide range of regional specialties.

Therefore, now this battle is inevitable, if they are lucky to succeed, the impression that Da Zhou is weak and bullying spreads to the far west, and this battle will not end. They must be defeated, and they must be defeated. ”

Shen Sanwen nodded, it is true, if a simple atrocity gets a dazzling benefit, it will encourage people to ask for more. If they don't learn a profound lesson, the rulers of the Great Eclipse will continue to launch wars to plunder, and like the grasslands, they will become a vengeance for generations.

Therefore, there must be no concessions or compromises on the issue of the Western Regions.

Wu Zetian continued, "Tubo has been poor and weak for a long time, and the Central Plains Kingdom has never taken them seriously, but in the past 60 years, they have been governed by Lu Dongzan's father and son in an orderly manner. It's a pity. ”

Shen San was stunned for a moment, Tubo doesn't have much to do with this now.

Tubo Zampu is growing up, and it is time to fight with the Qinling, Zampu occupies the name of justice, and it will be a sudden attack, even if it is as strong as the Qinling, it will be the bones of the pit. Xin Zampu is mediocre in intelligence and may not dare to start a war with Da Zhou.

Shen San asked: "Your Majesty, if Qinling is gone, doesn't Tubo have to worry?" ”

Wu Zetian was not surprised that he had this idea, after all, she had been paying attention to Tubo for a long time, and she also had such an idea, "Qinling has a very high reputation in Tubo, far from being something that Xiao Zampu can shake, Da Zhou can only be guided by the situation, if he is involved in the internal affairs of Tubo, it is not wise to suffer from the enemy on his back." ”

Shen San replied, "Zampu has always been the nominal king of Tubo, and Qinling is arrogant and arbitrary, and he has always been unjustifiable. ”

Wu Zetian: "The connection between their success or failure and this battle is not yet known.

Tubo and Da Zhou have always been old neighbors, both sides are familiar with each other, Tubo can't help Da Zhou, and Da Zhou won't covet Tubo, which has a barren land.

However, the Great Food region is vast, and it is not yet known whether it will return from afar through the Western Regions.

No matter who is in charge of Tibet, what they are most willing to see is that the Great Zhou and the Great Food will both lose, and then Tubo Silk Western Regions will get the greatest benefits.

What Da Zhou is afraid of is not the Great Eclipse, but the alliance between the Great Eclipse and Tubo, Tubo understands the diplomatic combat power of the Great Zhou, and the Great Eclipse can provide the necessary troops, which is the trouble. ”

Shen San asked for a moment, "Your Majesty thinks that they have reached an agreement?" ”

Wu Zetian shook his head, "If it is prepared, Da Shi will not be so startled, even if the scout faction of the black tooth Changzhi is far away, Da Shi can divide his troops to hide his actions, but the two countries must be in contact." ”

Shen Sanwen also thought so, "We can sow discord between Tubo and Da Shi and let them kill each other, at least we should find someone to destroy the alliance between them." ”

Wu Zetian said, "Who do you want to go?" ”

Shen San asked back, "I want to go in person." ”

Wu Zetian couldn't help laughing, this position didn't seem to be suitable for you, "If you want to make meritorious contributions, you can do it elsewhere, and Taiping won't want to see you take risks." ”

Shen Sanwen replied seriously, "The civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty only know about the big food from the words of the merchants, they are not suitable, and I am afraid they will not be able to find a way to provoke it." The minister has a hunch that this time on Qinling will inevitably have a battle with Zampu, and on Qinling's younger brother Zampo is leading heavy troops, if the new Zampu wants to stabilize the situation, he will not dare to kill the minister, and will treat each other with courtesy. If Qinling wins, he will keep his ministers in exchange for the greatest benefits.

So go and go, safety is guaranteed. ”

Wu Zetian was surprised, "What if there are still big cannibals on the Tubo Plateau." ”

Shen San asked back: "Tubo will inevitably hide the big cannibals, and the big cannibals may not be easy to make trouble on the territory of the Qinling Tomb." ”

Wu Zetian said with a smile, "It's not feasible to negotiate otherwise, even if I agree, I'm afraid Taiping won't want to release him." ”

Shen Sanwen was silent for a while, "This is a major matter of the country, and the princess will naturally make the most beneficial choice for Da Zhou." ”

Wu Zetian just smiled and asked him to step back, obviously not believing his statement at all.

Taiping is the most important of her children, when Li Shangjin and Li Sujie, their half-brothers died, they were all sad, and after so many years of government and political edification, they naturally knew how powerful it was, and this possibility was very small.

She was not hopeful.

And Shen San asked if he could solve the problem.

Shen Sanwen sat in the carriage, admiring the bustling Luoyang, he had long been accustomed to the grass and trees here, but he was suddenly leaving, and he felt a little uncomfortable.

Back in the house, the princess rarely looked at spring by the railing early in the morning.

Her face was cold, as graceful as before, which made Shen Sanwen feel a lot of reluctance, or try one or two first, and suddenly had such a travel plan, and she didn't know how to speak.

Shen San asked for a cloak, tied it to her, and then hugged it, "What's the matter today, the fish in the lake told you that you were hungry?" ”

The princess chuckled, "yes, they said that it was boring to swim without anyone chatting with it for a long time. ”

Shen San asked: "What is the princess talking about with them, I am also with me." ”

Princess: "Let's talk about how good the scenery of Tibet is." ”

Come on, this day is considered to be dead, Shen San asked for a headache, is the news so fast, he has just arrived at the house, and he has just picked up the gap for clothes.

Shen Sanwen asked happily, "Can't you bear me?" ”

Princess: "If you can't go, why don't you give up?" ”

Shen San asked: "I have to go, it's best for me to go in this matter." ”

The princess was puzzled, "Didn't you say that you can't fight, safety first?" ”

Shen San asked with a long sigh, "This is my responsibility, if it weren't for me getting the paper to the point where it could be seen everywhere, how could the Great Food come here, if it weren't for my appearance, this big war would not have come in at least a hundred years." ”

The princess frowned and said, "Strong words, since it is a battle of fate, it is enough to come early or late." ”

Shen San asked: "I have to do something for you and for this country, I need credit, otherwise it will be difficult to gain a foothold in the court, I don't want you to stand on all sides of the court in the future, and you also need to be distracted to think about me, this is my responsibility." ”

The princess was silent for a moment, "There won't be a day. ”

Shen San asked loudly, "Believe me, I will definitely come back safely." ”

(End of chapter)