The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 801 Why Don't I Become the Holy King Myself?
After sleeping for an hour and a half, the refreshed Crown Prince Da Laosen lingered for a while before summoning Prince Xia, Li Xianwen, and his son.

Then he saw his aunt, Princess Mo Cai of Yue, standing in the waiting room where he was to be summoned.

At this point, Ah Sen didn't care about anything else, nor did he maintain his status as the crown prince. He quickly ran over in a few steps, his face beaming with the smile of a child meeting an elder.

"Aunt, you should have come straight to the palace to see me. Why wait outside the hall? It's too formal. If Father finds out, he'll punish me!"

When facing his uncle Li Xianwen, the King of Xia, the Crown Prince was the sovereign and the vassal king was the subject, so Asen was naturally in a higher position.

However, when facing his aunt, especially since she was his father's biological sister, the aunt who dared to grab and beat his father when he was a child, he could not be considered a subject of the emperor, but rather a relative.

"Your Highness is in high spirits. It seems that getting more rest is indeed good. His Majesty even wrote me a letter, asking me to tell you in person that you must take good care of your health."

Princess Mo Ji of Yue looked at her nephew with a smile, her doting affection evident in her expression; she cared for him even more than her own son.

Her younger brother and nephew are the source of her current status and position, and also the guarantee of the future wealth and prosperity of the Xia Wang Li family.

"I have come today to personally bid farewell to the Crown Prince," Mo Jiong said with a smile.

"Auntie is going back?" Asen was a little surprised. His aunt had only been in Anxi for less than two years. Why was she in such a hurry to go back, leaving her uncle, Xia Wang Li Xianwen, alone here?

Could it be that the couple is having a fight?
Seeing Ah Sen's puzzled look as he kept glancing at Li Xianwen, Mo Yan couldn't help but roll his eyes at him in annoyance.

"I'm going back. Anxi is too dry; the weather isn't as good as in Guangdong."

And there wasn't much to eat. Every day it was just mutton and offal. The fish from the river was awful, not sweet or fresh at all. The chicken had no flavor, and there were hardly any vegetables. I ended up smelling strongly of mutton, and my mouth was full of sores from all the heat!"

As expected of a Cantonese person, no matter what you talk about, it always ends up being about food.

Mo Yi especially loved eating poached chicken, but when he arrived in Anxi, he just couldn't stand the chicken. No matter how he ate it, it just didn't taste right, and he couldn't stand it anymore.

Upon hearing this, Ah Sen was both amused and exasperated. He simply couldn't understand how a chicken that didn't taste like chicken could drive his aunt to such a state.

"Then Auntie, try my Yili chicken today and see if it's any different from our Guangdong chicken. I can't tell the difference, but I think it should be similar to Qingyuan chicken."

Hearing her nephew say this, Mo Yan's face showed a hint of anticipation. It seemed she was indeed craving it. She nodded and continued to say to Asen, "Anxi is not a place to nurture people. Crown Prince, you should not stay in Anxi for too long. Go back to Shenzhou as soon as possible."

Although Anxi is important, it's merely a matter entrusted to ministers; it's not a place you, the crown prince, should stay in for an extended period.

Only someone of Mo Hai's exceptional status would dare to say such things. Asen's other aunts, who didn't share the same mother as his father, would have to fawn over him, so they wouldn't dare to say anything like that.

Upon hearing this, Asen glanced at his cousin Li Xingtai standing next to his aunt and said, "I do want to leave, but I still can't rest easy about Anxi. The various systems are just starting to get on track, and I'm afraid that if I leave, the policies will collapse."

"Your Highness, I prefer conquering the battlefield to governing the country," Li Xingtai replied without hesitation.

This may sound nonsensical, but it actually directly answers Asen's question.

Hearing his cousin Li Xingtai's quick and decisive reply, Asen could only offer a wry smile.

The reason he said those words was that he was considering who could succeed him as the Prime Minister of the Anxi Envoyage after he left, and who could do a good job as the Anxi Envoy, an extremely important local minister.

Most importantly, he continued his governance plan in Anxi, which was the political capital he had accumulated through hard work and perseverance.

Currently, there are two candidates: Li Xingtai, the heir apparent of Xia Fan, and Mo Zisheng, the sixth uncle, Prince An.

In terms of selection, Li Xingtai is the most suitable, because if he were to become the Prime Minister of the Anxi Envoy, he would definitely have to give up his title of prince.

Otherwise, if local princes also served as local prime ministers, wouldn't they be even more powerful local tyrants than the military governors of the mid-to-late Tang Dynasty?

As for Li Xingtai and Mo Zisheng, their cousin Li Xingtai was only the heir apparent of the Xia Kingdom, and he did not want to take the title. Their aunt, Princess Mo Cai of the Yue Kingdom, had given birth to their eldest cousin Li Xingyang and third cousin Li Xingzai, both of whom could inherit the title.

Sixth Uncle Mo Zisheng is the lord of a vassal state. Although his title has not yet been finalized, it is basically confirmed. It seems too high a price to ask Mo Zisheng to give up his princely title in order to become the Prime Minister of Anxi.

Of course, this was also partly due to Mo Zisheng's mediocre talent in military affairs.

Although Mo Zisheng was better at governing than Li Xingtai, this was Anxi, and it would be difficult to win over the people without the support of military force.

This will not convince the public, and policies will likely be difficult to implement.

When King Li Xianwen of Xia saw that the Crown Prince had brought up the matter again, he was about to say something when his wife, Princess Mo Yun of Yue, gave him a wink, and he immediately shut up.

"Your Highness, don't count on your cousin, he's no good!" One of the main reasons Mo Yi came this time was to dispel the Crown Prince's hopes that Li Xingtai would take over as the Prime Minister of Anxi in a few years.

"Atai is good at military affairs but not good at politics. He may seem to be able to control the four provinces of Anxi with his bravery and skill, but in reality, he does not benefit the national system at all."

Because this power lies entirely with the minister himself, not with the national system, the day he leaves will be the day when the person leaves and the government ceases to exist.

Your sixth uncle, though not talkative and not particularly robust, is actually quite meticulous and methodical in his work.

Moreover, he had almost no influence or voice in the court, and his prestige in the military was also insufficient. He could only exert his influence by relying on the prestige and governance system of the court.

At the same time, his status as a member of the imperial clan, Mo Laoliu, still commands some respect from those below him.

Therefore, only he can continue this political system.

"And another thing!" Seeing that Asen was about to speak, Mo Jun interrupted him again, "Your cousin Atai already holds military power. Even if he isn't the king of Xia Fan, he's still his brother."

If Atai becomes the Prime Minister of the Anxi Envoy, the Li family will be truly deeply entrenched. Even if His Majesty and you are at ease, will the people of the world be at ease?

Public opinion can be devastating, and slander can destroy even the strongest will. Anxi is far from the Central Plains; lest it damage relationships and ruin everything!

Ah Sen had actually thought about it, but he believed that these problems could be avoided to some extent. At the same time, he felt that it would be easier to persuade his cousin Li Xingtai than to persuade his sixth uncle Mo Zisheng.

But now that his aunt Mo Cai disagreed and was so adamant about it, he couldn't force her. So after thinking for a while, he nodded, which was considered as agreeing with his aunt Mo Cai's statement.

“But my sixth uncle is about to be promoted to the title of King of Anguo. My nephew wants to take away his title for the sake of the Anxi Envoy. From any perspective, this is not reasonable!”

"He hasn't been officially granted the title yet," Mo Yan snorted softly. "Besides, Crown Prince, think about it. It's been over three years, and your sixth uncle's title of Prince An still hasn't been granted. Why is that?"

Ah Sen's eyes lit up. "Auntie, are you saying that Father Emperor has also been considering this?"

Mo Jiong waved his hand, "I dare not presume to guess the Emperor's intentions. You two are father and son, so you should ask him yourselves."

Even if Prince An's title is revoked, there are plenty of solutions.

Your sixth uncle has five sons, so let's break up the family business and give him the title of Duke of Anguo to pass on to him.

Or perhaps when your grandfather was stationed in the East, there was a piece of land there that was never revoked; you could give that to your sixth uncle as compensation.

The Eastern fiefdom that Mo Jiong mentioned was the Nagoya Domain of the Owari Tokugawa family, which Mo Zibu granted to Mo Tianci when he was in charge of the Eastern Seas. This was a large domain with 610,000 koku in Japan at the time, although about 300,000 koku of it had been separated and given to Mo Zhouzhan, the ninth prince of the emperor and the son of Zheng Susu, the younger sister of Empress Zheng Shishi.

But the most essential part, including the 300,000 koku of essence in Nagoya, remains.

After all, this was the legacy of the retired emperor, and even Emperor Mo Zibu couldn't be too blatant about it; he had to leave some for his brothers.

“Aunt, that’s a good idea. I’ll write a letter to Father Emperor later. Let’s eat first.”

After thinking about it, Ah Sen agreed that this arrangement was not bad. It solved a long-standing problem, and his mood immediately improved.

After lunch, Mo Jun wisely invited Princess Charlotte and the other women to play, as the next matter to be discussed was military matters.

Important generals such as King Li Xianwen of Xia, Crown Prince Li Xingtai of Xia, Governor-General Dong Jinfeng of Hebei, Admiral Hailu of Khotan, and Admiral Yang Yuchun of Yiwu were all present.

"Your Majesty truly deserves to be called a heroic emperor comparable to Emperor Taizong of Tang. Even from thousands of miles away, you have noticed the changes in the situation west of Anxi."

It seems our westward expansion to further encroach on Rus' territory will finally receive the court's support!

After reading Mo Zibu's secret edict, General Dong Jinfeng of the Imperial Han Dynasty was the first to speak.

Dong Jinfeng's position as Governor-General of Hebei was different from that of the Governor-General of the entire country. The Governor-General of Anxi could only govern the military, not the civilians. Of course, the boundary between the military and the civilians was not very clear.

As the Dayu continued to build fortresses and outposts in the western parts of the Hezhong and Beiting provinces, the Anxi garrison's hardline attitude and expansionist desire towards the Rus' Empire grew stronger.

The reason why the people below, especially the officers at the outposts, were willing to travel thousands of miles to the grasslands to brave the cold wind was simply for military merit.

Now that Dayu has gained a good advantage through the combination of forts and outposts, they naturally hope to go further, continuously expand their territory to the west and establish merits, so as not to waste all their hard work over the years.

“But…” Hailu, the Admiral of Khotan, pointed to the Caucasus region on the map. He was of Manchu origin, had no powerful backing, and was burdened with original sin, so he was much more timid.

"His Majesty instructed us to launch an operation in the Caucasus region to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Rus', but we are now focusing all our efforts on the Ural and Don River regions on the northern shore of the Caspian Sea. Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Dong Jinfeng laughed heartily, "Isn't the best way to prevent the Caucasus region from falling into the hands of Tsarist Russia the proactive attack on the northern shore of the Caspian Sea?"

"This is the strategy of besieging Wei to rescue Zhao from the Thirty-Six Stratagems, which is in line with the principles of military strategy."

After thinking for a moment, Li Xianwen agreed, saying, "Since His Majesty has issued a secret edict granting us the authority to act as we see fit, he must have already considered this. Even if we don't resort to a diversionary tactic, it would still be permissible for us to launch an appropriate attack on the Tsarist Russian Empire."

Li Xianwen is an elder, a prince, and an original shareholder. When he said this, he was setting the tone for the matter.

And Li Xianwen was right; that was exactly what Mo Zibu thought.

Previously, he tried his best not to weaken the Tsarist Rus' Empire, intending for it to serve as a ballast for Europe, as it had in history, to prevent France from unifying Europe.

However, with the rapid development and increasing strength of the Great Yu Dynasty, it is no longer possible for France to unify Europe.

Because as long as Da Yu continues to provide supplies, no matter how capable Napoleon and the French Revolutionary Army are, there will eventually come a time when they are drained of all their blood.

Therefore, what the Great Yu should fear at this point is not the unification of Europe by France, but rather the insufficient energy unleashed by France.

Let them fight, let them wreck Europe. As long as France can't conquer the British Isles, it would be good if the rest of Austria, Prussia, and Tsarist Russia were dealt with by the French.

It would be best to severely weaken Tsarist Russia before Napoleon attacks it, so that Napoleon can actually occupy Moscow. At that time, the entire Tsarist Russia would kneel before Da Yu and beg for Da Yu's help.

Instead of letting that fool Alexander I become the Holy King of Europe, why not have him, or his son Asen, become the Holy King of Europe?
Therefore, although Mozibu did not explicitly state it in the secret edict, his plan was to severely weaken Tsarist Russia within the next five years or so, to the point that Napoleon, after coming to power, would consider Tsarist Russia an easy target, thus prompting him to intensify his invasion of Tsarist Russia.

Of course, given the size of Tsarist Russia's tens of millions of people, it was impossible for the Great Yu to control the Sala Empire across a supply line of eight or nine thousand kilometers.

Mozibu's ultimate goal was to inflict a painful blow on the Sahara, deterring them from advancing eastward and forcing them to concentrate all their efforts on westward expansion to annex Poland and penetrate deeper into Germanic territory, thus transforming the Tsarist Rus' Empire into a larger version of Germany.

This was extremely difficult. Countries and peoples like Poland were not so easily subdued, so the only way for Tsarist Rus' was to rely on the support of the Great Yu to accomplish all of this.

In this way, Da Yu used India as a key to control England, putting a knife to the back of Tsarist Russia and pushing them westward.

If England becomes strong, he will push for Tsarist Rus' to become the gendarme of Europe. If Tsarist Rus' to become strong, he will have England organize opposition forces.

If France rises, then manipulate Britain and Russia to deal with France.

Of course, this is just a future idea. Mo Zibu is still making rough plans, so it is impossible for Asen and this group of senior Anxi generals to discuss these matters.

Asen looked at the map again and again. He had long realized the importance of the Caucasus region, not only because he was closer to it and therefore felt it more deeply, but also because people from the Caucasus region had come to him, people who had come to ask for his help.

The eastern coast of the Caucasus region, which is the area that later became Azerbaijan, actually had very close ties with the Transoxiana region. The royal family of the Bukhara chieftain, which was wiped out by the Great Yu, came from Azerbaijan.

After the Great Yu overthrew the Persian Qajar dynasty, a number of small Shia feudal states in the Azerbaijan region immediately faced annihilation. Without the protection of the Persian Qajar dynasty, Tsarist Rus' coveted them.

After comparing the two, these Azerbaijani feudal lords discovered that although the Seres Empire and the Tsarist Rus' Empire were equally cruel, there were still differences.

Tsar Rus' was a penniless wretch. If you knelt down and called him "father," he would respond, then treat you like a beast of burden and exploit you like a slave.

The Seris Empire also likes to act like a father. If you kneel down and call him that, he will first examine you to see if you are qualified and sincere. If you are sincere, the wealthy Seris people will never mistreat you.

In comparison, the feudal lords in the Azerbaijani region on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea felt that it was better to seek refuge with the Great Yu.

Moreover, their belief in Islam stemmed from their long-term control by Persia, and these feudal lords had deep ties with Persia.

In other words, in modern Azerbaijan, the feudal lords are quite devout, while the people below them are rather indifferent.

But for a 'devout' feudal lord, faith might not be so important in a time of utter annihilation like today.

"The Tsarist Rus' Empire has a very solid presence on the northern shores of the Caspian Sea, including the Ural and Don Rivers. Given Anxi's size, it would be difficult to engage in a large-scale confrontation with them. We should keep the conflict to a scale of no more than 30,000 people."

At the same time, we could consider granting the request of the Islamic feudal lords on the western shore of the Caspian Sea to restore trade routes with them, even at a slightly lower price. However, we must immediately begin gathering accurate intelligence on the Caucasus region and selecting compliant local nobles.

Asen made a quick decision. He chose a compromise: not to take too big a step at once, because Anxi could only mobilize a maximum of 50,000 people, or at most 30,000 people if production was not affected.

If there are any more, supplies will have to be transferred from the entire mainland.

Although the Lanzhou-Dunhuang route is now open and the Dihua-Yili route is intermittently open, the transport capacity is still insufficient and the speed is not fast enough to solve the supply problem instantly.

"Furthermore, we can also judge this by one thing: if His Majesty supports our large-scale attack on the Tsarist Rus' Empire, then a large number of cavalry from the southern and northern deserts will arrive this year."

"If we're going to launch a major attack, it's not too late to wait for the cavalry from the southern and northern deserts to arrive before taking action!"

(End of this chapter)