Chapter 424 Ni Nie Shi
"Your Majesty, I also think that Shangguan Shilang is right. This must not be done!" Liu Renyuan stood up and saluted, and he also agreed with Shangguan Yi's statement.
Military generals who are outside the court and have their own troops are more feared by the court than external enemies, and are more dangerous to the Tang Dynasty.
"My dear Shangguan, I have thought about what you said. Given the current situation, this is just a stopgap measure!"
"After the Tang Dynasty has destroyed Goguryeo and there are no more hidden dangers on the Liaodong border, we can focus all our attention on the north."
"When the time comes, we can take back the power and the court from them, isn't that enough! This matter is decided, and you two don't need to persuade me anymore."
"What's more, their families, parents, wives and children are still in Chang'an. Can they ignore the safety of their families?" Li Chengqian said.
These are just his stopgap measures, allowing Xi Junmai, Wang Fangyi and Hei Chi Changzhi to adapt to the situation and act according to the circumstances, as long as they can stop the Tubo attack.
Who said the court couldn't spare the time to clean up the mess in the northwest? They could only rely on the cooperation of the three of them. It would not work if they wanted the horse to run but didn't want it to eat grass.
Moreover, Xi Junmai and their families still lived in Chang'an City. If they really dared to lead the army, it would not be his fault that Li Chengqian was rude to their families!
Chop them all up and feed them to the dogs. An emperor who was too merciful would be considered weak.
Shangguan Yi and Liu Renyuan sighed and said nothing more. It was not easy to take back some things once they were put out.
"Your Majesty! I think for the sake of peace in the northwest, please issue an edict to the governor of Liangzhou, Zheng Rentai, and order him to lead the right military generals Dugu Qingyun and Xin Wenling to station troops in Liangzhou and Shanzhou respectively, just in case." Shangguan Yi saluted with his hands crossed.
His meaning was very simple. As long as the troops were stationed in the next two weeks, once Xi Junmai and others were found to have any unruly intentions, they could be sent out to eliminate them.
In fact, it was to let Zheng Rentai and others monitor Xi Junmai and others to prevent them from accidentally becoming powerful and ensure that they would not eventually become a threat to the Tang Dynasty.
"Shangguan Aiqing, you worry too much! Since I want to give them power, why would I send people to monitor them? I always trust people and never use them if I don't trust them."
"I will never doubt their loyalty just because I give them power. If I doubt them, wouldn't it chill the hearts of loyal ministers?" Li Chengqian said. It is better
for people to have more trust than to be suspicious of each other. Many times, things will backfire because of lack of trust and mutual suspicion.
Therefore, Li Chengqian did not accept Shangguan Yi's suggestion because he believed in Wang Fangyi and the other two. This was the trust between them as the monarch and his ministers.
"Then I beg Your Majesty to issue an edict to relocate the Yanran Protectorate to the Uighur tribe and the Hanhai Protectorate to the ancient city of Yunzhong. With the desert as the boundary, the prefectures north of the desert will be under the jurisdiction of the Yanran Protectorate, and the prefectures south of the desert will be under the jurisdiction of the Hanhai Protectorate."
"In this way, we can better manage Mobei. Even if we can't stop the conquest of Mobei from now on, it won't make Mobei more chaotic." Shangguan Yi said.
As long as Mobei can be peaceful, such an arrangement can also play a monitoring role. Although it is not as convenient as directly stationing troops in Liang and Shan states, it is better than having nothing.
"That's possible!" Li Chengqian said, "Shangguan, my dear, then write an edict for me. From now on, the Yanran Protectorate will be moved to the Uighur tribe and renamed the Hanhai Protectorate. All prefectures in the north of the desert will be under the jurisdiction of the Hanhai Protectorate."
"The Hanhai Protectorate will be moved to the ancient city of Yunzhong and renamed the Yunzhong Protectorate. All prefectures in the south of the desert will be under the jurisdiction of the Yunzhong Protectorate." Li Chengqian said.
If no one is sent to monitor, the ministers in the court will be worried, and even Xi Junmai and the other two who are far away in Tuyuhun will be worried.
Such an arrangement not only reassures the civil and military officials of the Manchu court, but also reassures Wang Fangyi and the other two who are fighting against Tubo in Tuyuhun. This is not a question of trust or not.
Shangguan Yi hurriedly took out the pen, ink, paper and inkstone, spread out the paper, ground the ink, and wrote an edict for Li Chengqian.
"Your Majesty! The edict has been drafted. Please take a look at it." Shangguan Yi showed the written edict to Li Chengqian.
"Very good, just issue it like this!" After reading it, Li Chengqian drew a word "imperial" on the edict and stamped it with his seal. The rest was handed over to the officials of the three provinces to sign and seal, and then sent someone to convey the edict.
"Your Majesty! Prince Ni Nieshi of Persia wants to see you!" An eunuch ran in and saluted with his hands crossed.
"Ni Nieshi? Why is he here? Where is he now?" Li Chengqian wondered why Ni Nieshi suddenly came to see him at this time.
"Your Majesty! Prince Ni Nieshi of Persia is waiting at the Zichen Gate at this time." said the eunuch.
Thirty-five meters north of the Xuanzheng Hall of the Daming Palace is the Zichen Gate, and sixty meters north of the Zichen Gate is the Zichen Hall, which is nearly fifty meters wide from north to south.
"Then summon Master Ni Nie to the palace for an audience!" Li Chengqian said, turning around and sitting back on the throne to wait for Master Ni Nie to come to the palace for an audience. He wanted to see what Master Ni Nie wanted to see him for.
"Yes!" The eunuch took the order and retreated. When he came to the outside of the Zichen Hall, he shouted loudly: "Summon the Persian prince Master Ni Nie to come to the palace for an audience!"
Hearing that he was summoned, Master Ni Nie immediately tidied up his clothes and walked towards the Zichen Hall.
When he came to the Zichen Hall, Master Ni Nie saluted to Li Chengqian and said: "I, the Persian prince Master Ni Nie, pay my respects to Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty."
"No need to bow! Please stand up! Give me a seat!" Li Chengqian said.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Master Ni Nie thanked him.
"Master Ni Nie, why did you come to see me?" Li Chengqian asked.
"Your Majesty! I just received a letter from home. The Arabs launched a massive attack on Persia, and part of the Persian homeland that my father recovered was reoccupied by the Arabs. Now, my father's whereabouts are unknown, and I don't know whether he is dead or alive."
"I earnestly request Your Majesty to send troops to help Persia and regain the lost homeland so that my Sassanid Empire can be restored." Niner knelt and saluted with his forehead pressed to the ground.
"I already know about the Arab invasion of Persia. Not only did the Arabs take over Persia, they also invaded the Brahmans to the south, annihilated the Hu people, and had more than 400,000 soldiers."
"As for your father, Persian King Peroz, you don't have to worry. He has now fled to Tokharistan, where there are soldiers from the Tang Dynasty. The Arabs dare not act rashly."
"Your father's life is safe! As for sending troops to Persia, I can only tell you that it is not the right time given the current situation." Li Chengqian said.
"Then when can your majesty send troops to help us restore the Sassanid Empire?" Ni Neshi asked cautiously.
"You get up first. There is no rush for this matter. After I have dealt with Goguryeo and Tubo, I will definitely send troops to help you restore the Sassanid Empire." Li Chengqian said.
"Thank you, Your Majesty! I swear here that my Persian royal family will be loyal to the Li Dynasty for generations." Master Ni Nie bowed.
"Okay! Get up! No need to bow so much, it's almost noon! You all should stay and have dinner together!" Li Chengqian said.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Master Ni Nie, Shangguan Yi, and Liu Renyuan hurriedly bowed to express their gratitude and thank the emperor for inviting them to dinner.