Chapter 5126

Chapter 5126

Li Jingye pursed his lips and remained silent.

What my grandfather said certainly makes sense, but the question is why should I wait?
Why are you waiting to pick up the glory and power left by your grandfather instead of taking it with your own hands?
The things you wait for and the things you take have different meanings.

Li Ji was troubled by this and spoke sternly, "People like us may seem to have great achievements and great power, but in fact, we are the target of public criticism. There are countless people secretly watching us, waiting for us to make a big mistake so that they can pull us down from our high position and trample us into the dust. It is a good thing for young people to have lofty ambitions, but there is only a difference between having lofty ambitions and being too ambitious. You must know the difference!"

It is easy to conquer a country, but difficult to keep it.

Back then, he had the reputation of being a child of a noble family, but in fact he had nothing. That's why he could join Wagang, surrender to Wang Shichong, and surrender to the Tang Dynasty. He used his skills to charge into battle and survive, and made great achievements and built a huge family business.

At that time, any risk could be taken.

However, nowadays, high-ranking officials hold great power and what they seek is stability. As long as the situation is stable, they can naturally maintain their wealth and glory. How can they actively seek change?

Once it changes, there is a risk of falling into the dust.

Li Jingye seemed to understand his grandfather's teachings and nodded dejectedly: "Grandfather is right, I understand."

But he may not be convinced in his heart.

You also know that I am a young person, but young people should be enterprising and have high aspirations. If they just follow the rules and sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor, then what kind of young people are they?

Even if one has an extraordinary family background, wealth and glory, he is still just a pile of dry bones in a tomb.

*****
The sky is deep, the Tianshan Mountains are faintly visible, and the moon is shining brightly in the wind and snow.

Fang Jun arranged for someone to escort Di Yun to Chang'an, and at the same time wrote a "recommendation letter" to Li Chengqian, begging him to grant Di Yun an official position in the Honglu Temple and "protect his safety"...

Afterwards, the group set out from Luntai at the beginning of the twelfth lunar month and headed for Gongyue City.

The day we arrived at Gongyue City was already New Year's Eve.

Gongyue City is backed by mountains and overlooks the river valley. Even though it is snowing heavily, the Yili River is still surging and flowing westwards.

The northern route of the Silk Road passed through Yiwu, Tingzhou, Shihezi and other places, and entered Gongyue City, and then continued to the west. Therefore, the city and the outside of the city gathered merchants and traders from east to west, and it was very prosperous.

A team of cavalry came from the east with flags flying and military might at its peak. The scene of them entering Gongyue City against the wind and snow made many merchants sigh and feel worried.

A Tang merchant lamented: "Why is there another war when everything is fine?"

"How did you know there would be another war?"

"I came all the way from Chang'an, traveling by boat and car non-stop, hoping to deliver this cargo to Damascus as soon as possible and then come back. The one who just entered the city is our Tang Dynasty's Grand Commandant and Duke of Yue. When he left Beijing, he was appointed as the Grand Commander of the Gongyue Dao Army... Don't understand? He is fully responsible for the war of Gongyue Dao and even the entire Western Regions!"

"I came from Damascus. There are indeed quite a few troops there, but they are no more than 100,000 at most. The last time 200,000 Arab troops invaded the Western Regions, they were defeated by the Duke of Yue. Do you dare to come with 100,000 troops?"

"You don't understand this, do you? For the Arabs, this battle is a fight they have to fight, whether they want to or not!"

"Why?"

Then the Tang merchants explained what "surplus" and "deficit" meant, and the Hu merchants were confused. Since ancient times, wars have been fought for territory and population. What does it have to do with trade and commerce?
In business, what you compare is who has better goods and who has the lowest price, and whether there is communication. If you lose money, you should focus on the quality of the goods and the price. How can you start a war when you lose money in business?

"We in the Tang Dynasty pay attention to production. Nowadays, the status of craftsmen is constantly improving. Various production techniques are emerging one after another and are constantly improving. This leads to the quality of goods getting better and better, but the price is getting lower and lower. Which country in the world is not flocking to the goods of the Tang Dynasty?"

"Except for the Tang Dynasty, all other countries don't know how to produce. They only know how to plunder and rob. The goods are crudely made and the cost is high. Who would buy them? In the long run, the goods from the Tang Dynasty will continue to flow into the Arab Empire to earn gold coins. But we don't value the goods produced by the Arab Empire. In the long run, the Arab Empire's money will flow into the Tang Dynasty, which means that the wealth they have robbed with great effort will be earned by the Tang Dynasty with goods... How can they accept this?"

The merchants who gathered around nodded in approval.

"That's true. For example, the goods I sold this time were bamboo paper. There's no such thing in the West, so the price was extremely high and I made quite a lot. But we can't come back empty-handed when we're trading east and west, right? On the way back, we always have to buy some things from the locals and sell them back in the Tang Dynasty... But they really don't have much to buy, so we can only pack some walnuts, pepper and other things. Spices are already the best. We can't make much money from these things back in the Tang Dynasty, so we're thankful that we can make back the cost of the return trip."

Many foreign merchants looked unhappy, but they could not refute it. They all went to the Tang Dynasty to purchase goods, and then sold them all over the world to earn money. Selling goods to the Tang Dynasty brought very little profit...

"You Tang people are better off. Not only are there no restrictions on the purchase of goods, but the taxes are also low. We, the Hu people, have to face numerous restrictions when we buy goods from the East and West Markets of Chang'an. We are not allowed to do this or that, and we are also subject to heavy taxes."

"It would be nice if I were a Tang person too."

"What a beautiful dream! When Emperor Taizong was in power, some Hu people were allowed to become Tang citizens. But the current emperor has set up all kinds of restrictions. If you have military merits, it's ok, but as a mere merchant, how can you be qualified?"

"Ugh!"

Many Hu people sighed.

"Stop talking so much nonsense. After the snow stops, brothers heading west should sell their goods quickly. Buy whatever you want and head to the Tang Dynasty as soon as possible. At the very least, you must ensure that you are in the Western Regions after the spring. Otherwise, once the war begins, the situation will be unclear. If you get involved in the war, you'll be on your own!"

"Of course... If a war breaks out, who do you think will win?"

"Do we even need to guess? The Tang Dynasty will definitely win!"

"I don't think so. The Arabs invaded before but were defeated by the Tang Dynasty. The Arabs are not fools. If they come back again, they will learn from the lessons of the last time. So it's better not to come. If they come again, they will definitely have more than 200,000 troops! The Anxi army is only tens of thousands. No matter how elite and brave they are, they will be outnumbered!"

"You are indeed a Hu person, you speak nonsense all the time, right? Don't you see who is in charge of Gongyue City? In the past, in our Tang Dynasty, Duke Wei was recognized as the 'God of War', and Duke Ying was not much behind. But now, who doesn't know that Duke Yue is the invincible 'God of War'? Last time he beat Muawiyah to a pulp, this time he can beat the Arabs to a pulp!"

"That's right! Our Duke of Yue is invincible!"

……

Fang Jun didn't know that because of his arrival, there were different opinions inside and outside Gongyue City, and even disputes, forming a panic...

After entering the government office in the city, Fang Jun sat on a chair and took a big sip of hot tea. He moved his arms and felt a crackling sound in all his joints.

He let out a long sigh: "Traveling in this weather, I really lost half my life!"

With his physical condition, he felt a bit exhausted from traveling from Chang'an to Gongyue City in a few months. Lu Dongzan, who was sitting below him, was even more haggard and weak...

Lu Dongzan looked dejected. He took the ginseng tea handed to him by Xi Duoyu and drank a sip. He sighed and said, "My old bones are useless and almost falling apart. If Duke Yue wants to go to Suiye City, he can go by himself. I will stay here and will not leave."

Fang Jun disagreed: "How can that be? As the saying goes, an old man in the family is like a treasure. This battle is of great importance and cannot afford to fail. I am counting on you to help me make up for the shortcomings and give me advice. I absolutely cannot do without you."

How could he let such an old fox out of his sight?

With his wisdom, he could easily turn around and completely destroy the situation he had arranged. If he had not wanted to use him to contain the Gar tribe and block the Tubo's way to dominate, he would have been killed and buried at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains long ago...

Xi Duoyu felt very distressed when he saw his old father's haggard and tired appearance. He said angrily: "Why must the Duke of Yue do this? Although my father and I are hostages, we cannot be treated like cattle and horses. If you want to kill us, do it quickly, otherwise don't even think about letting my father travel through mountains and rivers to Suiye City!"

Fang Jun put down his teacup, glanced at Xi Duoyu, and said to Lu Dongzan with a smile: "Although your son knows that he is a hostage, he obviously does not know what a hostage is... Since he is a hostage, he should just obey orders. How can he have the right to refuse?"

Lu Dongzan took another sip of ginseng tea and felt his strength restored. He patted his son on the shoulder and said earnestly, "The Han people have a saying, 'When you are under someone's roof, you have to bow your head.' This is the situation we are in now. We can make requests and express dissatisfaction, but we must obey orders, otherwise we will be the only ones to suffer."

Do you really think that Fang Jun's smiling face makes him an upright gentleman?
This guy is very cruel and merciless. Maybe we can't do anything to him, but it is not impossible to kill Xiduoyu and cut off his head and send it to Fushi City...

Pei Xingjian walked in quickly from outside, covered in snow.

Fang Jun sat down and drank a sip of hot tea, then asked, "Have the scouts and spies been sent out?"

Pei Xingjian nodded and said, "Hundreds of scouts and spies are mixed in with many caravans and will soon rush to the Arab Empire. In addition to Damascus, Anbar, Baghdad and other places will also be included. They will try their best to detect the movements of the entire Arab Empire."

Fang Jun nodded: "The most important thing is to disperse the city. Within a hundred miles of the city walls, we need to deploy troops and do detailed work. We must be fully aware of any military deployment in the area."

"Don't worry, Marshal. That's exactly what I have arranged."

On the side, Lu Dongzan frowned.

Can the city be dispersed?
Although he had never been to this important military town on the banks of the Yaosha River, he had heard of it. Seeing that the two giants of the Tang army attached great importance to it, could it be that they had received news that the Arab army would make its final assembly in Kesan City?

If this is true, it means that every move of the Arabs is within the prediction of the Tang army...

The consequences are simply unimaginable.