Chapter 680

Shao Fang finally ascended to the throne of King Mo, which he had dreamed of. Tang Yin had already learned that Jia Xi and other 20 secret arrow personnel had all died in battle. While feeling grief in his heart, he issued an order to build a Loyalty Hall in Yancheng to enshrine all the tablets of his generals who died on the battlefield, including Jia Xi's spirit tablet.

Of course, it is impossible to write in Jia Xi's life deeds that he died in the assassination of King Mo. It is only vaguely noted that he died in the Battle of Hedong.

Shao Ting was assassinated and the second prince Shao Fang succeeded to the throne of the King of Mo. This was a turning point in the relationship between Feng and Mo.

Originally, the diplomacy between Feng and Mo was very subtle, like an enemy but not an enemy, like a friend but not a friend. With Shao Fang's rise to power, the relationship between the two countries began to gradually become clear and turned into a comprehensive alliance.

The first thing Shao Fang did after he ascended the throne was to completely eradicate Shao Bo's power. He removed the civil officials and military generals who had a private relationship with Shao Bo from the court or the army, first isolating Shao Bo. The second thing was to send envoys to visit Feng State and sign an alliance agreement with Feng State.

At the same time, Shao Fang also sent his half-sister Shao Xuan to Feng State to marry Tang Yin in accordance with the original agreement with Tang Yin.

With the improvement of the relationship between Feng and Mo, the border between the two countries was also fully opened. The fortresses stationed by Mo State on the border were dismantled one after another, and the 200,000 border troops moved westward and headed towards the Mo Ning border. Similarly, Feng State also showed great trust in Mo State. The 100,000 Chifeng troops outside Baguan City were all withdrawn to Yancheng, and the 60,000-strong garrison of Baguan was reduced to 20,000.

However, the 40,000 soldiers who were reduced were not disbanded, but continued to stay in Baguan as a reserve. They were still trained as usual, but there was one more job than before, farming.

Tang Yin values ​​food the most, and Fengguo’s food problem has always been the biggest trouble for Fengjun. More than 60,000 Baguan troops need to eat and drink every day, and the food consumed over time has become a heavy burden for Yancheng. Now, taking advantage of the opportunity of improving relations between Feng and Mo, Tang Yin just ordered the Baguan troops to cultivate land. On the surface, the Baguan troops have been reduced by half, but in fact, their combat power has not decreased at all, and they can still be self-sufficient.

After the Feng-Mo alliance was reached, the focus of both sides shifted to the west, and the war against Ning was put on the agenda.

There were voices of opposition in both countries on the issue of fighting against Ning.

There were originally a group of ministers in the court of Moguo who were pro-Ning, and the relationship between Mo and Ning had always been good, with frequent trade and continuous exchanges between the people. Although Shao Fang was the monarch, he faced many obstacles to mobilize troops against Ning.

The situation in Feng State is not much better than that in Mo State. Now that the Hedong area has been recaptured, and the two countries have signed a peace treaty, many Feng State citizens and ministers in the court are satisfied with the status quo and do not want to fight or have wars again. The opinions of the peace faction that advocates recuperation account for the vast majority.

Tang Yin sneered at the idea of ​​recuperation. Feng State has a bad environment, a weak foundation, and weak national strength. Ten years of recuperation may not be as good as one year in other countries. If it does not advance, it will retreat. If it does not rely on war to plunder, the gap in strength between Feng State and other countries will only widen.

Tang Yin intends to take tough measures against those who advocate peace. Whoever advocates peace will be dismissed from office, and whoever takes the lead in opposing war will be beheaded.

That night, Tang Yin was thinking about this matter in his study. A guard came in, intervened and saluted, and whispered: "Your Majesty, the Prime Minister's Chief Secretary Gao wants to see you!"

Gao Liangjie? Tang Yin was slightly startled, and nodded in response: "Please ask him to come in!"

"Yes!"

Not long after, Gao Liangjie came in from outside.

Now Gao Liangjie is the chief secretary of the prime minister of the third rank, wearing a majestic and imposing official uniform, but the official uniform looks awkward on him. It's not that his image is too bad, but the official uniform is too dirty, especially the cuffs. Tang Yin saw that it was so dirty that it was shiny.

He didn't have mysophobia, but he couldn't stand Gao Liangjie's casualness. Every time he saw him, Tang Yin had to stand as far away as possible. The strange smell on his body was a headache, as if he hadn't taken a bath for a month or two.

After Gao Liangjie entered the study, Tang Yin's eyes wandered around him. He had been upset for the past two days, and seeing Gao Liangjie like this made him even more upset.

"Your humble servant pays homage to the king!"

Gao Liangjie even deliberately straightened his official uniform in front of Tang Yin, then knelt down and kowtowed.

Tang Yin did not let him get up immediately, but deliberately asked sarcastically: "Master Gao, is there only one set of official uniforms issued by the court?"

Not understanding why he asked this, Gao Liangjie replied inexplicably: "Reply to the king, there is another set, a total of two sets."

Tang Yin raised his eyebrows and asked: "Why don't you wear the other set of official uniforms?"

Gao Liangjie was even more confused when he heard this, and didn't understand why the king suddenly cared about his clothes. He replied truthfully: "Your Majesty, that set of official uniforms is already dirty. I came to see the king, so I naturally have to dress more decently."

"..."Tang Yin was speechless, looking at Gao Liangjie's dirty and shiny official uniforms, and he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He shook his head, changed the subject, and asked: "What's the matter with Master Gao?"

"Is the king ready to use troops against Ning?" Gao Liangjie stopped thinking about other things and got to the point.

Although this person is a little sloppy, he is indeed very smart. Tang Yin nodded with a smile, waved his hand and said: "Get up!"

After receiving his instruction, Gao Liangjie stood up from the ground and sat down in front of Tang Yin.

Tang Yin didn't say anything, but still moved the mat under his buttocks back. He said: "Yes, this king intends to use military force against Ning!"

Gao Liangjie smiled and said, "However, it seems that the ministers in the court all want to advocate peace!"

"Humph!" Tang Yin sneered and curled his lips and said, "The ministers who advocate peace are all short-sighted people, so it's better not to have them."

Gao Liangjie understood what he meant and couldn't help frowning. After a moment of silence, he said, "There are many ministers who advocate peace. Your Majesty can dismiss one or two people, but can you dismiss all of them? If you only follow your own wishes and do not listen to opposition, I am afraid that your Majesty will be branded as a tyrant!"

Tang Yin squinted at him and asked, "I don't care what others think of me. Why? Mr. Gao is here to persuade me to give up the use of troops against Ning?"

Gao Liangjie waved his hand and smiled, saying, "I am here to give you advice. Think about it, your Majesty, the relationship between our country and Ning is so bad, and there are still so many people who advocate peace. Wouldn't Mo, which has always been friendly with Ning, have more people who oppose war? Even if your Majesty can suppress the peace faction in your country, you can't suppress the peace faction in Mo!"

"Well..." Tang Yin frowned and responded faintly, but did not answer immediately.

Gao Liangjie continued, "I have a plan that will allow Feng and Mo to send troops to Ning legitimately, without giving anyone a reason to criticize them, and without being obstructed by the peace faction!"

"Oh?" Tang Yin's eyes lit up, and he looked at Gao Liangjie and said, "Tell me quickly!"

"Does your Majesty still remember the memorial I wrote to your Majesty?"

"This..." Tang Yin couldn't remember it when he suddenly asked this.

Gao Liangjie didn't care whether Tang Yin remembered it or not, and continued, "In the memorial I wrote to your Majesty, I had already predicted that Feng and Ning could not coexist, and there would be a life-and-death battle. Your Majesty can take advantage of the opportunity when the emperor is in our country to create a reason to send troops." After a pause, he took a breath and said, "Your Majesty asked the emperor to send an edict to King Ning and King Mo respectively, summoning the two to come to Yancheng to pay homage to the emperor to show their loyalty. Summoning King Mo is of course just a cover. The key is to summon King Ning. If Yan Chu dares to come, your Majesty will detain him and use the excuse of paying tribute to the emperor to Ningguo asked for gold and silver, the larger the amount, the better, so that Ningguo could not accept it and could not hand it over, so that the king could take advantage of the situation and accuse Ningguo of being disloyal, and join forces with Moguo to use military force against Ningguo. If Yanchu did not dare to come to Yancheng after receiving the emperor's edict, then the matter would be even simpler. The king could announce to the world that Yanchu disobeyed the emperor's edict and had a rebellious heart. Our country and Moguo could also send troops to suppress the rebellion and attack Ningguo. "After Gao Liangjie's analysis, Tang Yin's mind suddenly became clear. If he hadn't said it, he would have almost forgotten the content of his memorial. Tang Yin stood up, smiled up, nodded and said: "Gao Liangjie, your idea is good, I will consider it carefully." Gao Liangjie said confidently: "I can assert that there is no other way." Tang Yin stopped laughing, looked at Gao Liangjie strangely, and said nothing. Although the latter's arrogance made him feel uncomfortable, Tang Yin had to admit that Gao Liangjie's plan was indeed the best one.

"Okay, I'm a little tired, you go back first!" Tang Yin sat down again and waved his hand.

"Your Majesty, I have something else to say."

"What is it?" Tang Yin looked at him curiously.

Gao Liangjie paused, and said with a dry smile: "Your Majesty, I want to bring my parents to Yancheng."

Hmm? What's this? Tang Yin said absentmindedly: "Okay, this is a good thing. Since you are filial, you should bring your parents to the capital."

"But... I have been in office for a short time, and I am short of money. I don't have money to buy a house in the capital. Your Majesty, you see..." He was embarrassed to say the rest of the words, but the meaning was already very clear, asking Tang Yin to pay for him to settle down in Yancheng.

If it were in other countries, it would be normal for the monarch to provide houses for talented ministers in the court, but the treasury of Feng State was empty, and there was really no spare money to settle the ministers. Moreover, Tang Yin had already issued an order that the ministers in the court should solve their own house problems in the capital. If they could buy, they would buy; if they could build, they would build; if they could not buy or build, they would rent a house to live in.

Now Gao Liangjie brought up this matter, which also had a bit of the meaning of seeking credit.

Tang Yin was not a stingy person, but he could give things to others, but if others took the initiative to ask for things from him, it would make Tang Yin very uncomfortable.

He looked at Gao Liangjie deeply for a long time, so long that Gao Liangjie thought Tang Yin was angry. When he wanted to retreat, the latter smiled indifferently and said, "A mere house, what's the big deal, sure!"