I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 263 Trick
Consort Zhi's eyes widened. "How can this be?"

"Why not?" Ashinamu said indifferently, "The Queen is frail and can barely take care of herself and her children, so she cannot manage the harem."

"Now that the Empress Dowager is under house arrest, you are the highest-ranking person in the palace, and the power to manage the harem should rightfully be handed over to you."

Seeing that Consort Zhi was about to decline, Ashinamu said, "Consider it compensation for you."

Consort Zhi's eyes reddened. "I don't feel wronged. I know that the Empress Dowager is doing this for the good of the Khan."

Ashina Mu hugged Consort Zhi with heartache, saying, "If the Empress Dowager had even half as much concern for me as you do, I wouldn't be in this predicament."

Consort Zhi said gently, "Your Majesty, I swear I will always be good to the Great Khan."

News of the Turkic Empress Dowager's house arrest quickly spread from the palace, and Da Yehu rushed to the palace to plead for her life.

"Uncle, there's no need to say more. If the Empress Dowager's actions hadn't truly exceeded my tolerance, I would never have done this."

Da Yehu's heart skipped a beat. The Khan had stopped calling her "Mother" altogether. It seemed the Empress Dowager had truly angered the Khan.

"There's something I need my uncle to do."

"The Khan has given his orders."

"I wish to build a waterside pavilion in the Great Yu River for Consort Zhi."

"But the national treasury is empty..."

"Therefore, I have decided to increase taxes by 10% this year."

"Your Majesty, you mustn't!" the Great Protector stopped him. "The effects of the locust plague have not yet subsided, and many people are still displaced. They can't even afford to pay the original 40% tax. If you add another 10%, they'll have to sell their wives and children!"

"It is precisely because of your incompetence that you have been unable to collect taxes, and I have no money to do anything I want!" Ashina Mu slammed his fist on the table. "Now, all I want is to build a palace, and you still say you have no money. What use are you ministers to me!"

The Great Protector immediately knelt down and begged for mercy, "Khan, please calm your anger!"

"I have already decided to increase the tax, so the Great Yabghu need not say more."

Da Yehu sighed inwardly, "Your subject obeys the decree."

The news that taxes would be increased by 10% this autumn spread like wildfire throughout the Turkic lands, and the people who heard the news were devastated.

"Gods, this is going to kill us!"

"After a year of hard work raising cattle and sheep, nothing is left!"

Some people were filled with righteous indignation.

"Has the Khan gone mad with greed? Half the taxes? Are they trying to kill us?!"

"The Khan cares nothing for our lives, only for his own pleasure!"

Many other tribes under the Turkic rule secretly contacted and probed each other.

Are you going to pay or not?

"Not pay? How will we deal with the imperial court then?"

"How am I supposed to deal with this? If the imperial court sends someone, I'll have to question them about why taxes are being increased."

"You think you can beat him?"

"Our tribe alone cannot defeat them, but if we unite, we will surely be able to strike!"

Some bold tribes readily agreed, while others hesitated.

"Don't hesitate, the Khan is clearly trying to force us to our deaths."

"After the locust plague, the number of cattle, sheep and horses has decreased sharply, and the grasslands have been destroyed beyond recognition. We haven't even recovered our strength, and we can't even pay 40% of the taxes, let alone 50%?"

"Rather than be imprisoned by the court, let's rebel together!"

"Yes, yes, they've rebelled!" In an instant, tribes large and small united to resist.

Ashina Mu was furious and immediately dispatched Geshu Yong with troops to suppress the rebellion.

After a winter of fighting, both sides suffered heavy casualties, and countless civilians perished due to the war and famine, greatly weakening the Turkic state.

In order to divert domestic conflicts and seize grain and land, the Great Yabghu advised Ashina Mu to unite with the Tubo to attack Dayu.

"Great Khan, last winter most of the Turkic people were affected by the war, resulting in a sharp decline in the number of cattle and sheep this spring, and many people starved to death. To relieve the food shortage, attacking Dayu is the only way!"

Ashina Mu was also filled with regret, but he would not admit it. Now that there was a solution, he naturally agreed.

"But now the Turkic Khaganate is weak and lacks food, while the Dayu army is strong and well-equipped. If we launch a rash attack, the Turkic Khaganate will not have much of a chance of winning."

"What does the Great Khan mean?" asked the Great Leaf Protector.

"This Khan wishes to join forces with the Emperor of Dayu."

Ashina Mu said, "In the year that Dayu went to war with Tubo, the Northwest Army won one victory after another, and the generals of the Northwest Army made frequent contributions, especially Xuanwang and Gu Ci, who were really too dazzling."

"I have heard that the entire Great Yu now reveres King Xuan as the God of War!"

"With the Northwest Army and King Xuan so dazzling, does the Great Yegu think the Emperor of Dayu find them an eyesore?"

Da Yehu's eyes lit up, "I'm afraid the Emperor of Dayu is even more eager than we are for the destruction of the Northwest Army and King Xuan!"

“Exactly!” Ashina Mu stood up and walked to the map. “The reason the Emperor of Dayu allowed the Northwest Army to exist is simply because he was afraid that we Turks would take advantage of the situation.”

"I intend to establish diplomatic relations with the Emperor of Dayu in private, promising stability on the border for the next hundred years. Do you think the Emperor of Dayu will still keep the Northwest Army?"

“Of course not!” Da Yehu frowned. “But do we really want to establish diplomatic relations with Dayu? That’s a huge piece of meat!”
"Of course not! It's just something to fool the Emperor of Dayu!"

Ashina Mu looked ambitiously at the territory of Dayu on the map, "As soon as the Northwest Army and King Xuan are dead, we will immediately march south and strike at the capital of Dayu!"

"The Khan is wise!"

With the support of the Great Protector, Ashina Mu became even more confident in his plan. He immediately wrote a private letter, affixed his personal seal and the imperial seal, and sent it to the capital of Dayu overnight.

Inside the inner palace, Consort Zhi, upon hearing the report from the young eunuch, immediately realized that her chance for revenge had arrived. She dismissed everyone in the hall, summoned her trusted nanny, wrote a letter, and slipped it into a pearl, ordering, "Send it to the usual place!"

The trusted nanny hesitated, "Master, isn't the Duke of Wei in the Northwest?"

"Who said it was to be given to the Duke of Wei?" Consort Zhi said lightly. "How could Tang Zheng, a mere Duke, make such a decision when the two countries are establishing diplomatic relations?"

"But isn't that place known only to the Duke of Wei?"
Consort Zhi chuckled, "Just do as I say."

The trusted nanny agreed and, under the cover of night, secretly left the Turkic palace, heading towards Luoyang, the capital of the Great Yu Kingdom.

Da Yu, in the Northwest.

King Xuan was furious when he received the letter from the Tibetan king seeking peace.

It was always the same; they provoked him time and time again, and when they couldn't win, they would admit defeat. But when Tibet submitted a letter of credence, he couldn't handle it himself; he had to hand it over to Emperor Pingyuan.

Given Emperor Pingyuan's nature, he will definitely agree to peace talks!

It really pissed him off!

Tang Zhao pointed at King Xuan's hair, which was standing on end in anger, and asked, "Father, is he about to transform?"

"After a year of fighting, my father originally wanted to destroy Tibet directly, but Emperor Pingyuan may not have thought so."

That year, due to the war in the Northwest, the military pay was paid on time and in full. The eunuchs and officials who transported the military pay hinted to the king, both openly and secretly, that he should end the war as soon as possible.

Although Tang Zhao was very patriotic, given the current productivity of Dayu, taking over the territory of Tubo would be more harmful than beneficial.

As expected, after weighing the options, King Xuan agreed to Tibet's request for peace.

"Yuan Ye! You personally draft a memorial to His Majesty, and we must take a big bite out of Tibet!"