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Chapter 1356 Wuwei Hou

Chapter 1356 Wuwei Hou

The resurgence and rebellion of the Taiyin Society naturally shook the entire Hanzhou and the Western Regions. Suning, on the other hand, raised his butcher knife without mercy and killed everyone in the Taiyin Society in the Western Regions.

Although the headquarters of the Taiyin Society was built by Linghu Shuo in the deep mountains and dense forests of Yinshan, it had no way to hide under Suning's high-tech drones. In the end, none of the backbone members of the Taiyin Society could escape, and as for those ordinary ignorant people and women, they were all incorporated into the households of Hanzhou.

All the wealth accumulated by the Linghu family, the richest family in Hanzhou, over a hundred years was confiscated by the Grand Marshal's Office. Of course, most of the core industries fell into Suning's hands. Anyway, the greedy governor Liao had been killed by Master Wuliang, and no one dared to come and complain to him, the Grand Marshal, for the time being.

When the news of the victory in suppressing the rebellion in Hanzhou reached the Anxi Protectorate and then the capital of the Tang Dynasty, Chang'an, the ambitious Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, was immediately ecstatic. Suning's suppression of the rebellion in the Western Regions made the throne of the new emperor more stable.

Then Suning was summoned back to Chang'an by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, to report on his work. Of course, everyone knew that Suning was going to be promoted again. After all, such achievements were rare in the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

Su Ning looked at his advisor Su Wuming and said, "Su Wuming, I'm going to travel light this time back to Chang'an. I'll leave the affairs of Hanzhou to you."

"Yes! Commander-in-chief, I will never let you down." At this time, Su Wuming naturally accepted the arrangement solemnly.

"Well, also, as far as I know, the situation in Yunding County is very complicated. There's a force in the county secretly trafficking in slaves, and they're brutal and mute slaves. So you need to lead your troops to Yunding County as soon as possible to help Lu Lingfeng eliminate this gang of bandits."

"Yes! Grand Commander."

After giving instructions to his detective subordinate Su Wuming, Su Ning said goodbye to his wife Pei Xijun and drove lightly towards Chang'an.

As for Lu Lingfeng's affairs in Yunding County and the upcoming Guazhou, he was not going to get involved in it anymore. Getting involved too much would make it seem very boring.

In fact, Suning was still looking forward to this performance report. After all, his actions in the Western Regions this time made Li Longji very satisfied. With Li Longji's arrogance, debauchery and love of ostentation, he would definitely give himself an unexpected surprise.

This time, Suning also planned to take the opportunity to make some arrangements in Chang'an, because the moment of the decisive battle between Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji and Princess Taiping would come soon. In the Yuan Dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji would naturally kill all the relatives of Princess Taiping, and even the retired emperor Li Dan was forced to give up all the power in his hands.

However, Suning believes that Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji's monopoly of power was a disaster for the Tang Dynasty, because without checks and balances, Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji was extremely crazy, and the Kaiyuan Prosperity created by Li Longji was far less harmful than the damage he caused to the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, Suning planned to take the opportunity to rescue Princess Taiping and Li Dan at the decisive moment, and then let the aunt and nephew continue to fight each other. Only in this way can he maximize his interests as always. After all, the more difficult the situation is, the more he will rely on this general of Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji. He will never allow things like letting the horse go to the south mountain or killing the donkey after it has done its job to happen to him.

……

Suning returned to Chang'an City smoothly. He first returned to his mansion to take a brief rest. You know, it was very obvious that he was exhausted from the journey.

Suning, who had a new look, did not go to the palace to meet Li Longji immediately. Instead, he came to the mansion he bought for Gao Lishi in Chang'an. After all, Gao Lishi would still be his benefactor in the future.

Su Ning looked directly at Gao Lishi in front of him and asked. After all, the person who knew Li Longji best was this personal eunuch, "Eunuch Gao, I wonder why His Majesty asked me to come to the capital this time?"

"Haha, don't be nervous! You have made such great contributions in the Western Regions, so His Majesty will naturally reward you according to your merits." Gao Lishi, who understood that Su Ning had concerns in his heart, said something comforting.

However, Gao Lishi's words did not make Su Ning put his worries to rest. Instead, he asked Gao Lishi another key question, "Oh? Then I wonder where His Majesty is planning to be transferred to?"

"What? You want to continue staying in such a cold and bitter place like the Western Regions?" As expected, the clever Gao Lishi understood the implicit meaning of Su Ning's words.

"Eunuch Gao, to be honest, I do have a huge plan in the Western Regions. I plan to ask the Emperor for more troops to the Western Regions, and then resolve the Tibetan and Uighur issues there as soon as possible."

"Oh? Are you confident that you can solve the Tubo problem?"

"Of course! Although the Western Regions are vast and sparsely populated, they are extremely important to the Tang Dynasty. After all, they are so close to Guanzhong and Chang'an. Resolving the Tubo and Huihe conflicts once and for all can at least buy the Tang Dynasty fifty years of peace."

"Well, that makes sense, but His Majesty does intend to transfer you back to Chang'an." At this time, Gao Lishi naturally agreed with Su Ning's judgment and statement. After all, Gao Lishi, as the personal eunuch of Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji of the Tang Dynasty, was not a simple person.

Suning bowed to the eunuch Gao Lishi in front of him and said, "I hope you can take care of me, Eunuch Gao."

However, the greedy eunuch Gao Lishi took the opportunity to propose his own conditions, "Alright! But I heard that the money houses that have been extremely popular in Chang'an and Luoyang recently are all yours?"

"That's right! In addition, I have reserved 10% of the shares for you, Eunuch Gao." Su Ning immediately understood and made an offer.

"Haha, Grand Commander, then I won't be polite."

"You're so polite, Eunuch Gao! I, Su, have been a rootless drifter in the Tang Dynasty. My achievements today are all thanks to Eunuch Gao, so naturally I am grateful to you from the bottom of my heart."

"Grand Commander, I have always wanted to ask you a question. As a eunuch, all the honor and disgrace I have received comes from the trust of His Majesty. If one day His Majesty suddenly dislikes me, will you, Grand Commander, no longer care about me?"

"Eunuch Gao, you're worrying too much. I swear here today that no matter what your situation is in the palace, I will treat you as my own brother. When you are old, I will take you out of the palace and arrange for you to live in a land of plenty like Yangzhou."

"Are you serious, Grand Commander?" Sure enough, Suning's assurance excited the eunuch Gao Lishi.

"If you break your oath, God will punish you." At this time, Suning suppressed his impatience and said to Gao Lishi again. After all, Gao Lishi was of great help to him.

"Haha, how about we become sworn brothers?" However, the surprised Gao Lishi suddenly made an unexpected proposal to Suning.

Su Ning, who wanted to refuse in his heart, immediately brought up Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, and said, "This...wouldn't it be bad if His Majesty knew about it?"

"That's all right! His Majesty treats our family very kindly and won't let such a small matter get him angry."

Su Ning quickly made his decision but still accepted it. "Okay then! I'm a few years older than you, so I'll just lick you as my big brother."

"Big brother."

"Second brother."

Gao Lishi's face was naturally filled with excitement and excitement. Eunuchs without any eggs were truly rootless and floating duckweed, which is why they value money and other material possessions the most. Of course, this was also due to their insecurity. Of course, Su Ning didn't want to become sworn brothers with Gao Lishi, but thinking that Gao Lishi was a close confidant of Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji, and that his future help to him would definitely be beyond imagination, he bit the bullet and accepted the relationship.

Then Gao Lishi went to the palace with light feet, and started to make arrangements according to Suning's wishes, and immediately achieved unexpected results.

However, something that Su Ning could never have expected happened. That night, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, summoned him, and Su Ning directly took out the two tongue relics and presented them to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji.

Suning handed the two tongue relics to the eunuch Gao Lishi, who was standing beside him, and explained to Li Longji, "Your Majesty, these are the tongue relics of Master Moshi, whom I obtained in the Western Regions. Today is a good opportunity to present them to Your Majesty."

"Oh? Master Moshi's tongue relic?" Li Longji was delighted when he received the tongue relic from Gao Lishi.

"That's right! Master Moshi's tongue relic was split into two. One part disappeared from public view with the decline of the Vajra Temple, while the other has been stored in the Hui'an Temple in Hanzhou. This time, I went to Hanzhou to take up my post and happened to obtain these two precious Buddhist treasures."

"Well, Lord Su, you are so thoughtful. I really like this precious Buddhist treasure."

Then Li Longji briefly inquired about the whole story of the "Taiyin Meeting Case", and then signaled Gao Lishi on the side to announce the new appointment of Suning.

The eunuch Gao Lishi's spies voice filled the entire Qinzheng Hall. "By the providence of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims: Hanzhou Grand Commander Suning, loyal to the state, has crushed the Taiyin Society rebellion that plagued the Western Regions with lightning speed. He is hereby promoted to the rank of Grand Protector of Anxi and Jiedushi of the Four Garrisons, and is also granted the titles of Marquis of Wuwei, Kaifu Yitong Sansi, Inspector of the Right Palace Attendant, Shangshu Zuo Pushe, and Imperial Censor. This is my decree."

"This..." At this time, Suning was stunned by the canonization of Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji of Tang Dynasty.

At this time, the eunuch Gao Lishi who was announcing the decree was anxiously urging Su Ning, "Marquis Wuwei, why don't you accept the decree and express your gratitude?"

"Your Majesty, your servant, Suning, Marquis of Wuwei, thanks you for your grace." Su Ning, who reacted quickly, accepted the decree and thanked you. He really didn't expect Li Longji to be so generous.

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, who was very satisfied with Su Ning's attitude, looked at him and asked, "Well, my dear Su, I heard that you intend to completely wipe out the threat from Tubo and Huihe?"

"Your Majesty, I do have this intention, and I urgently need your approval and support."

"Then tell me your plan first."

"Yes! Your Majesty, I believe that since Tubo and Huihe are located on a plateau, it is difficult for our Tang soldiers to adapt to altitude sickness, which is why our Tang soldiers' combat effectiveness has been weakened."

"Well, what Marquis Wuwei said makes a lot of sense. This has always been a drawback in all the wars between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo."

"Your Majesty, I believe that the Tang Dynasty should recruit local people from the Western Regions as mercenaries. Then, by cooperating with the Tang Dynasty's Heavenly Army, we can completely resolve the problems of Tubo and Huihe."

"What? Mercenaries?" Li Longji was surprised when he heard the term for this type of military force for the first time.

"That's right! Mercenaries are different from the vassal armies of the past. We in the Tang Dynasty can provide them with salaries and allow them to intercept a portion of the spoils of war. We can definitely recruit a group of brave soldiers in a short period of time."

"This is a brilliant plan! But Marquis Wuwei, have you ever considered the cost?"

"This..." At this time, Suning did not refute Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji immediately. Instead, he cooperated very well and showed a confused look.

As expected, Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji was very satisfied with Suning's current attitude. "Although our Tang Dynasty has enjoyed abundant harvests under the diligent rule of Emperor Gaozu, Emperor Taizong, Emperor Gaozong, and Empress Tianhou, the funds needed for various regions are not a small amount. Therefore, it is almost impossible to maintain the Western Regions and the mercenary plan."

"Your Majesty, the Western Regions can actually be self-sufficient, but they need the court to grant them some autonomy. They don't need Chang'an to provide too much funding."

"Oh? Can the Western Regions really be self-sufficient? You know, the Western Regions and other places have always been barren lands?"

"Your Majesty, although the Western Regions are indeed vast and sparsely populated, the countries there are still very wealthy. As long as we in the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty can establish border trade with them, we will naturally earn enormous wealth, and eventually we can even benefit Chang'an and Luoyang."

Although what Su Ning said was very tempting, Tang Xuanzong Li Longji still remained noncommittal. "Well, Marquis Wuwei, you should go back first. This matter is of great importance. I still need to discuss it with Yao Xianggong and others."

"Yes! Your Majesty, your servant Suning will take his leave."

Then Suning left Li Longji's Qinzheng Hall in an orderly manner, but Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji looked at Suning's back with a thoughtful expression. As an emperor of the Tang Dynasty, he naturally understood that autonomy was a double-edged sword.

"Li Shi, what do you think of Suning?"

"Take an unconventional approach!"

"Well, Li Shi, your evaluation is very pertinent. In fact, I still trust this Su Ning very much. After all, he doesn't have any aristocratic family behind him. As for the Hedong Pei family, they didn't really accept him. All his honor and disgrace are in my hands alone."

"Your Majesty is wise."

"However, trust must have its limits. Autonomy must never be granted to the Western Regions. Therefore, I intend to transfer Lu Sian to lead 20,000 Niuwei Imperial Guards to garrison the Western Regions. This will also serve as a check and balance on the Anxi Grand Protectorate, Suning."

"Your Majesty is holy."

"However, I can allow Suning and Anxi Protectorate to open border trade, and as for mercenaries, we can also give it a try."

"Your Majesty, should we notify Marquis Wuwei immediately?"

"No need! I just want to whet his appetite a little longer."

"Yes! Your Majesty."

……

(End of this chapter)

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