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

Chapter 1203 The Heart is Too Dirty
At this time, in the Turkic Khan's tent, Cheng Yaojin knelt on the ground with a grateful look on his face: "Thank you very much for your compassion, Khan. I will repay you with my life and soul."

"Haha, it doesn't matter."

Shi Luodie smiled generously and stepped forward to help him up: "The Cui family is a noble family with hundreds of years of history. In my eyes, they are nothing more than a bunch of termites lying on the body of the Tang Dynasty. If we keep them alive, the ship of the Tang Dynasty will decay even faster!"

"Now that I can use my waste to earn the general's sincere loyalty, I am very happy."

"What the Khan said is true!" Cheng Yaojin smiled awkwardly, but he was shocked in his heart. He did not expect that this seemingly decisive Turkic Khan actually had such foresight and was indeed a powerful enemy of the Tang Dynasty!

All the officials in the court said that this man was incompetent, but now it seems that he is even more difficult to deal with than Jie Li.

Jie Li ruled the grasslands with tyranny. On the surface, he seemed powerful, but in fact, the people had already lost their support. The Tang Dynasty did not defeat Jie Li entirely by military prowess, but by winning over the Tuli and Yi Nan tribes that were dissatisfied with Jie Li, and uniting them internally and externally.

Rather than saying that Jie Li was defeated by the Tang Dynasty, it would be more accurate to say that he was defeated by his own hands.

Shi Luodie in front of him was indeed incompetent before, but after ten years of house arrest, he was freed from the imprisonment and emerged like a hidden dragon. He was not as domineering as Jie Li, but his mind was more cunning and sinister than Jie Li.

It can be seen from the way he used both kindness and force on himself that he was better at winning people's hearts than Jie Li. If this man could escape from Hebei and return to the grassland, he would become a great threat sooner or later.

Well.
Cheng Yaojin was stunned. Pah, what do you mean he will become a big trouble sooner or later? Now he is already a big trouble for the Tang Dynasty. This man has a unique vision and saw the real hidden danger of the Tang Dynasty at a glance. This time he went south, not to kill the people, but to target the nobles.

This made the Turkic people feel hopeful and extremely wary of the imperial army. From the expressions on the faces of the people near the execution ground just now, it can be seen that they are not afraid of the Turks, which shows that the Turks do not kill civilians indiscriminately.

It is said that knowing yourself and knowing your enemy is important. The enemy has already brought the war to the heartland of the Tang Dynasty and caused such tragic consequences, but they did not even understand their enemy. This is a big taboo in marching.

Cheng Yaojin thought to himself that the Tang Dynasty’s defeat this time was not unfair.

It just so happened that he took advantage of this time to lurk in the Turkic army and learn more about who this Turkic Khan is, how he plans to deal with the Tang Dynasty, and what his true strength is. After obtaining these important information, he will see the light of day again.

A few days later, on the official road outside the south gate of Leshou City.

After handing over the vast wealth accumulated by their ancestors for dozens of generations, the Qinghe Cui family, including hundreds of people, drove dozens of horse-drawn carriages and prepared to leave the two states of Ji and De, where they depended on for survival, and head to Chang'an. The war in Hebei was still going on, and they really didn't dare to stay any longer.

Cheng Yaojin reluctantly said goodbye at the city gate, holding Cui Demao's hand and admonishing him, "Uncle, I entrust my family in Chang'an to you, you must help me. I know I have committed a great sin this time, and I don't ask Chu Mo and others to continue to serve as officials."

“As long as I can save my life”

"Zhijie, don't worry."

Hearing that Cheng Yaojin just wanted to save the lives of his family, Cui Demao breathed a sigh of relief: "This loss of troops and humiliation of the country, and then surrendering to the Turks, is a serious crime. If you want them not to be affected, I can't do it. If it's just to save one life, it's still no problem."

"The current emperor is weak and powerless"

"Well, I mean, the emperor was kind and generous back then, so he would not kill them all. Besides, the noble families in Hebei are all of the same blood. In addition to my Qinghe Cui family, there are also Fanyang Lu family, Boling Cui family, and Zhaojun Li family. I would not watch them suffer."

At this point, Cui Demao seemed to have thought of something. He coughed twice, looked around, and pulled Cheng Yaojin to the side to avoid the crowd. He said in a low voice with a look of deep concern: "I think that although the Turks have suffered two major defeats, they are still strong. King Li You of Qi may not be their opponent."

"If they continue to plunder, the other two tribes will surely fall to the Turkish cavalry."

"Zhijie can secretly protect you. If there is such a conflict of interest, the officials in the court will definitely agree with me and do their best to protect your family."

Cheng Yaojin's eyes lit up and his pupils flashed. Yes, why didn't he think of it? He looked carefully at the deep meaning in Cui Demao's eyes and suddenly understood.

This cheap uncle clearly felt unbalanced because his family had suffered a disaster and was afraid that others would benefit from it.

If the Turks were defeated, the Zhaojun Li family, which had not been affected, and the Boling Cui family, which had not suffered much, would probably grow rapidly after the war. Hebei, which used to be a three-way stalemate of four families, would be divided up by the remaining two.

On the other hand, if everyone had been ravaged by the Turks, even if they had to rebuild after the disaster, everyone's strength would be equal and there would be no question of who bullied whom.

'grass'

Cheng Yaojin secretly despised them in his heart. These nobles were really filthy. They had fallen into this situation, but they still thought about "sharing the difficulties together"; when foreign enemies invaded, they did not work together to resist the foreign aggression, but had to guard against their own people first and maintain equal strength. Their hearts were really dirty.

Cheng Yaojin despised Cui Demao in his heart, but on the other hand, the other party's thoughts also reminded him. If he was alone in trouble, those on the shore would naturally laugh at him. If everyone fell into the water, they could only huddle together for warmth.

The Guanlong nobles can attack me without any scruples, but the Hebei nobles are all on my side, so I guess they will be very troublesome too, right?
After figuring this out, Cheng Yaojin pretended to think for a while, then nodded solemnly, "Uncle is right. I heard from the Turks a few days ago that they wanted to avenge this great vengeance by sweeping across Hebei and not letting go of any corner."

"It won't be long before they head south again. Li You is a dandy prince, and he is definitely no match for the Turks."

"Uncle, when you pass through Hengzhou and Xiangzhou, please remind those two families to be well prepared to defend themselves and beware of a surprise attack by the Turks. But please rest assured that if the two families really fall into the hands of the Turks, Zhijie will certainly do his best to save their lives."

Cui Demao was paying close attention to the other party, and he left the execution ground where no one would respond. He quickly regained his former wisdom, and he did not believe that Cheng Yaojin would help others when he was in danger.

Sure enough, Old Man Cheng pretended to hesitate and acted very embarrassed, but after maintaining his positive personality, he decisively agreed.

People are selfish, and nowadays everyone is even more destitute. You could just be a prostitute, but you insist on wearing sheep's clothing and making yourself look like a prostitute. What are you pretending to be?

Cui Demao secretly despised them, then his expression relaxed, revealing a satisfied smile, stroking his beard, and then said: "But my dear son-in-law, don't be too anxious. It would be bad if you offend the Turkic Khan by rescuing them and endanger yourself."

"Maybe they have their own way. If that doesn't work, it will be too late to plead for mercy when the Turks take them to the execution ground."

Well.
The other party's words were too blunt. Cheng Yaojin suddenly looked embarrassed. He glanced at Cui Demao awkwardly, and seeing that the other party was staring at him, he had no choice but to nod.

He didn't expect that the other party was so petty. Two days ago, at the execution ground, the Cui family had lost face in order to survive. Now that they survived, they probably felt ashamed again, and spread the news that it would tarnish the reputation of the nobles who had been around for hundreds of years.

If we are going to be embarrassed, we might as well embarrass ourselves together and let the other two families suffer the same fate. That way it won't be so embarrassing.

However, fortunately after escaping death, Cui Demao never thought that he would play a double act with the Turks and deliberately ridicule them, otherwise the old guy would not have focused his attention only on the other two families, but would have put himself to death first.

After explaining to Cheng Yaojin some of the subsequent tricks on the other two families, Cui Demao felt much better when he thought that the other two families would also end up like him. His original feeling of sadness and anger dissipated a lot, and he became more energetic.

"Zhijie, take care."

Cui Demao comforted him, "Even if you are trapped in the enemy camp, you may not be unable to see the light of day again. As long as you have enough merits, you can still return to the Tang Dynasty. I will find a chance to explain to the emperor that you are in Cao's camp but your heart is with Han, and you will secretly help the Tang Dynasty."

"With this, the emperor will definitely hesitate to show mercy, so you can relax."

The aristocratic family's brand is useless under the strong kicks of the Turks, but it is hard currency in Chang'an City. Cui Demao said this with full confidence.

Cheng Yaojin also put down his worries. He didn't want to appear to be a mean person between the two of them, so he bowed and said loudly: "Thank you very much, uncle. Zhijie will remember your teachings and will never forget your kindness. I will repay you generously in the future."

"There are dozens of people in the Cheng family, young and old, so I ask my uncle to help us. Tell Chu Mo and the others that our Cheng family will never rebel against the Tang Dynasty."

In the biting north wind, Cheng Yaojin reluctantly watched the hundreds of people of the Cui family leave tremblingly. Cui Demao probably never thought that once he left this land where he had lived for hundreds of years, it would be gone forever.

The path arranged for them by the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty was to become a vassal state in the Western Regions, to guard one side for the Tang Dynasty and assimilate the foreigners. After they were driven away with great difficulty, they would never be allowed to return.

Chang'an, Taiwei Mansion.

After Hou Junji fell ill, Li Yan, as the emperor, naturally had no time to visit him every day. In order to show his love, he handed the matter over to the crown prince Li Xiang. Li Xiang was quite dependent on and close to Hou Junji, his grandfather, and was very happy to take on this task.

It was a sunny day today with not much wind, so Li Xiang asked the servants of the Marquis's Mansion to move Hou Junji to the yard to bask in the sun.

Hou Junji has been lying in bed every day these days and is really exhausted.

Thinking that it wouldn't affect much in my own yard, I chatted with Li Xiang in a corner that was sheltered from the wind but not blocked by the sun. The winter sun was very warm, shining on my body, dispelling some of the chill.

(End of this chapter)