The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 1198 Who is more cold-blooded and ruthless
"It's a pity that after the defeat in Hebei, my Guanlong clan was severely damaged and has lost the ability to rob this wealth."

Li Gu said with a frustrated look on his face: "Not only that, we will also be coveted by the Shandong and Jiangnan nobles. If anyone from either family sees this great benefit, I'm afraid they will do whatever it takes to attack us in order to exclude us from the share of the benefits."

"So at this time, not only can we not move forward, but we have to take a step back."

"The war in Hebei cannot end so quickly. We must turn the tide and let the flames of war continue to burn. It would be best if it spreads across the Yellow River and into the territories of the Jiangnan noble families."

"First, we want to test whether the Turks have any connection with the Jiangnan nobles. If the Yang family was behind this incident, then there must be support from the Jiangnan nobles. The Turks will definitely not go to the south, or if they do, they will show mercy."

"This way we can uncover the dark hand that is behind the plot against our Guanlong clan."

"Secondly, this move can also divert the pressure from the court, so that the other two families will have fires in their backyards and have no energy to focus on us. Finally, it can also attract the attention of the world to the south and ignore the wealth of Yingzhou."

"Wonderful!"

Li Zhong was so impressed that he said, "Master, you are wise. The Turks must have been guided by a powerful force to enter the Tang Dynasty this time. If they can take advantage of it, then we can too. As long as we offer enough benefits, we are not afraid that the Turks will not be tempted."

"Next, we will have the Liaozhou, Yanshan, and Hedong armies stay put in the name of defense and guard the border towns, leaving the Turks no chance to take advantage and unable to return to the grasslands. They will have no choice but to march according to our intentions."

"Then we will instigate Li You to lead the troops of Qi and Luoyang to march north to fight, and then secretly reveal the intelligence of the Tang army to the Turks. With our secret support, the desperate Turks will surely gain confidence and will have no choice but to march south quickly."

"This way, we can divert the Turkic people's anger from Hebei to Henan, and then to Jiangnan. This is the territory of the other two major clan circles. Let's see how they respond."

"Haha, that's it."

In a few words, the crisis that had been pressing down on the city was resolved, and the other two families were also able to take advantage of the situation. The gloom on Li Gu's face was swept away, and he said with a smile: "It is better for all families to cry than for one family to cry."

"Let's take a step back and say that even if we can't find out anything, after the other two families have been weakened, my Guanlong clan is still the most powerful."

Li Zhong frowned and asked, "Master, this is a good plan, but the Turks seem to be targeting the nobles, especially the land distribution. This is a plan to cut off the firewood from the bottom of the pot. We nobles have to worry about it, right?"

"Haha, you think too much."

Li Gushou raised his eyebrows and said with dignity: "The Turkic people's strategy is also considered brilliant, but now it is not the way it was during the Qin and Han dynasties. After hundreds of years since the Wei and Jin dynasties, this world has become the world of the aristocratic families."

"Those ordinary people, although they are called ordinary people, are actually no different from slaves."

"They have nothing but their worthless lives. All their resources and wealth are controlled by the aristocratic families. Without the organization and leadership of our aristocratic elites, they will always be a loose group and can only be bullied by others."

"They are all sheep, and we nobles are wolves. No matter how the wolves fight among themselves, their attitude towards sheep will never change."

At this point, Li Gu's eyes seemed to have traveled through time and saw the surging river: "Whether it was Yang Guang or Li Shimin, although they were all in the name of serving the country and the people, in fact, they were also trying to preserve their own power."

"If Yang Guang really cared about the people, why would he have built so many large projects and watched the people die of exhaustion in large numbers without doing anything? During the three expeditions to Goguryeo, the entire route was littered with the bones of the dead, but he never showed any mercy."

"If Li Shimin cared about the people, how could he do something like the Xuanwu Gate Incident? He even killed his own brothers and nephews. Even if Li Yuan did not compromise, he would never show mercy. If he could not tolerate his father, brothers and siblings, how could he pity the common people?"

"They are using the glorious slogan of serving the people, but it is just to deal with us and consolidate their power. We are all wolves, so why should we wear sheep's clothing?"

"This is how the world works. Li Jiancheng and Li Yuan were both too soft-hearted, so they were defeated by the ruthless Li Shimin. The person who can defeat a cold-blooded and ruthless opponent can only be even more cold-blooded and ruthless, not those who are compassionate."

Having said that, Li Gu, who had been looking very proud, suddenly thought of something and his face quickly turned gloomy.

He had a bad feeling that the mastermind behind this plot was someone more ruthless than him, or even more cruel than Yang Guang and Li Shimin. In one battle, they and the Turks lost 200,000 people, which means 400,000 lives!

The Turks were obviously foreign aid from the other side, but they fought to the death to destroy the Longxi Flying Cavalry. That man was ruthless to the enemy and even more ruthless to his own people. He now understood that the 300,000 Turks who entered the Tang Dynasty included the Great Khan Shi Luodie.

There was no plan to let any of them live, they all had to die.

It was precisely because of the cruel and cold-blooded style of the mastermind behind the scenes that even this old fox who had seen a lot of storms felt a little afraid. He subconsciously began to arrange a retreat and divided half of his strength to develop the country.

Although he would not say it out loud, Li Gu had to admit that this opponent was too strong and he lost the confidence of winning.

Li Gu's words revealed the truth of the world, and then he shook his head, temporarily putting aside the worries in his heart.

He glanced at Li Zhong and sighed, "The Turks thought this move could disrupt our Tang Dynasty, but they didn't know it was just a futile effort." "If it weren't for the internal fighting among our clans and their own calculations, they would have sent another 300,000."

"They will be wiped out in an instant. Do you really think that our Tang Dynasty is made of clay and that we can allow them to run rampant in the heart of the Central Plains?"

"Humph"

Li Gu's face turned cold: "Once the Turks are eliminated and the game between the three major power circles comes to an end, those divided fields must be handed over honestly. Anyone who does not hand it over will be considered to be colluding with the Turks and the whole family will be killed."

"As long as there is land and the land can produce food, the people are like weeds. They will grow wildly in just 10 to 20 years. After one crop is cut, there will be another crop. There is no need to worry about lack of manpower."

Li Zhong said subconsciously: "I'm afraid they will be extremely dissatisfied, even?"

"Haha, of course they will be dissatisfied, but so what? The worst that can happen is they will rebel."

Li Gu showed a confidence that everything was under control, and said proudly: "We hold the knife in our hands. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, almost all the Han people in the north were slaughtered. Some people couldn't stand it and started a rebellion, but in the end, they didn't do anything."

"With absolute power in hand, they can't make any waves."

"Among all the noble families in the world, not one will stand on the side of the people. Even though the three families are fighting for power and profit, they are all fighting for themselves, not for the people."

"For thousands of years, every aristocratic family has risen from the common people, relying on generations of hard work and sacrifice. You have to fight for your own interests. Others are not your ancestors. Why should they share with you the benefits they have fought for through fire and water?"

At this point, Li Gu hesitated for a moment, then said firmly: "The only exception is the emperor. As long as you keep an eye on him, there won't be any accidents. When it comes to the emperor, the interests of the three families are the same."

"hehe."

Li Zhong thought about it and smiled disdainfully: "The current emperor is far inferior to Li Shimin. His personal talents and political strategies for governing the country are still unclear, and his courage is far inferior."

"This time the opportunity is so good, but he doesn't dare to take action, not even a little bit of trial, for fear of offending our Guanlong clan, so he rushed to make the marriage to show his attitude. It's hard to imagine that such a person would risk offending all the clans and go against us."

Li Gu thought about what Li Chengqian had done since he ascended the throne, as well as his personality traits when he was the crown prince, and he couldn't help but smile. He felt that he was really suspicious. He was obviously a weak guard dog, but he still attributed the mysterious mastermind to him.

What a waste of time. I was too influenced by Li Shimin.

Li Shimin raised the prestige of the emperor's position, making him subconsciously believe that whoever sat on this position could transform from being stupid and dull to being a man of great talent and strategy overnight.

Li Gu smiled with disdain, as if he was mocking the new emperor's weakness and gullibility, and also as if he was mocking his own inherent thinking, staring at such a person and ignoring important goals.

For a moment, both the master and the servant looked relaxed and put aside their worries.

Since ancient times, internal troubles can easily lead to external troubles, and external troubles can easily trigger internal troubles. Therefore, internal troubles and external troubles are like twin brothers born from the same womb. As long as one appears, the other will inevitably follow. This is the truth.

The Eight Kings Rebellion of the Jin Dynasty was caused by the kings relying on the power of the Hu people, and the situation got completely out of control. The Southern Liang Dynasty was also caused by the kings fighting for the throne, which led to the rebellion of the Eastern Wei in the north, and finally led to the Hou Jing Rebellion. The Liang Dynasty was also replaced by the Chen Dynasty.

Not to mention the distant past, at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the rebel kings in the north all turned to the Turks and used their power to compete for the Central Plains. Even Li Yuan was no exception.

Of course, this was not just a common problem in the Central Plains dynasties; it also occurred more frequently among the northern Hu people.

When the Sui Dynasty was strong in the early days, Qimin Khan used the power of the Sui Dynasty to fight against Dulan Khan and Datou Khan to expand. The defeat of the Turkic Khanate of Jie Li in the early Zhenguan period was also due to the disagreement with the second Khan Tuli and others, which led to Tuli secretly colluding with Li Shimin and finally destroying the Turkic Khanate.

Tuli obviously followed the path of Qimin Khan, and since Qimin Khan was also called Tuli, many people confused him with Qiming Khan.

In order to resolve internal conflicts or achieve certain goals, it is not new to seek help from external forces and invite foreign invasion. It has been a practice since ancient times.

However, this strategy is undoubtedly like dancing on the edge of a knife. If you play it well, it will be like Li Tang who used external forces to accomplish his goals, and finally eliminated the external threats. If you play it badly, like the Jin Dynasty, Liang Dynasty, and Tuli, you will die and your country will be destroyed, and the outsiders will benefit.

Li Gu was desperate at this time and tried all kinds of methods, forgetting the huge risks and disadvantages of this strategy.

Once this strategy is implemented, it will inevitably not be hidden from the eyes of the Shandong and Jiangnan aristocratic families, and will inevitably lead to the escalation of the struggle among the three major aristocratic circles and the situation getting out of control.

(End of this chapter)