Zhenguan: I, Dou Fengjie, will not be the first cuckold.

Chapter 91 I still have the guts; let's fight, it's not a crime.

Yanqi was located 4,300 li west of Chang'an, bordering Gaochang to the east and Kucha to the west. It was one of the vassal states of the Western Turks.

"Nidun Moheshe fled to Yanqi. The two thousand soldiers of the king Longtuqizhi alone could not protect him. Yibiboluosi Yabghu Khan would not let him go."

Inside the office of the Court of State Ceremonial, Liu Shan, the Vice Minister of State Ceremonial, calmly stated his position.

"I have just taken office and am not very familiar with the situation in the Western Turks. Does any of my officers know about the situation there?"

Li Tai wiped his chubby face and looked around.

Most officials' eyes were on Feng Dexia, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, which made him feel very uneasy.

Trouble arises from speaking too much. Feng Dexia remembered that it was he who went to the Diankeshu (a government office) to talk about the Western Turkic Khan Siyegu Khan killing Yili Xiao Khan.

This time, there was no room for shirking responsibility.

"I have some knowledge of the situation of the Western Turks."

With a determined effort, Feng Dexia stepped forward.

As a member of the Court of State Ceremonial, Feng Dexia still possessed the courage to undertake missions.

With the Tang Dynasty's power so great, it's likely that foreign lands wouldn't dare to go too far.

Dou Fengjie smiled: "If the Minister of State Ceremonies goes to Yanqi, he will surely be able to assist Nishumoheshe Khan in fighting against the mad and insane Siyegu Khan."

Feng Dexia made a face like a catfish, with his dead fish eyes rolling outwards.

Do you think I'm some kind of big shot like An Xinggui, capable of destroying a country single-handedly?

Feng Dexia clasped his hands: "Even if I were to go on a mission, without the protection of soldiers, it would be difficult to achieve my goal."

Li Tai and Dou Fengjie exchanged a glance, a sly smile playing on their lips: "Isn't this a coincidence? The Emperor has ordered General Zhang, the Left Commander, to lead an army to escort the envoy to Yanqi."

Master Zhang from Xinfeng, Yongzhou, is only good at leading troops and serving as an official, not fortune telling. Thumbs down.

Among the three Zhang brothers, the most famous was Zhang Jian, the second brother of Master Zhang. Master Zhang lived a peaceful old age, had many achievements, but was rarely mentioned in historical records.

Good fighters have no illustrious feats.

Master Zhang has led the troops, and Feng Dexia has only suffered hardship, stomach problems, and hunger on this trip, without any merit.

The round trip would be at least 8,600 li (approximately 4,800 kilometers), and even at a rate of 100 li (approximately 50 kilometers) per day, it would take at least three months.

According to the regulations of the Ministry of Revenue and Expenditure, the time would be even longer: seventy li a day on horseback, fifty li a day on donkey or on foot, and thirty li a day by cart.

"The only problem is that the Ministry of Revenue's Department of Finance won't approve it," Liu Shan sighed softly.

The reason why Zhao Hong'an, the Revenue Officer, refused to approve the application was not only due to his past grievances with Dou Gui, but also because of another important factor:

freight.

The transport fees for the four routes of Henan Road, Hebei Road, Hedong Road, and Guannei Road are as follows: 100 wen per 100 jin/100 li, 120 wen for slopes, and 900 wen for a cart carrying 1,000 jin.

This means that the cost of commercial transportation by land is too high, so the only option is to conscript labor for transportation.

Excessive conscription of labor could affect the lives of ordinary people and could even lead to rebellion.

The legal term for ordinary citizens to perform labor service is 20 days per year, and 22 days in a leap year. What happens if they exceed the term of labor service?

Local officials issued tax exemption certificates to commoners, specifying that the tax could be offset against an equivalent amount of taxes, similar to tax deductions in later times.

Commoners, holding the inedible and incapable pardon tokens, could only exchange them cheaply for a small amount of copper coins from brokers.

Because they won't live to see the day the tax is deducted. They can't just live on the authentic northwest wind just because they're in the northwest, can they?

Then, a large number of powerful families and merchants who should have paid taxes used the tax exemption tokens they had acquired at low prices to offset the taxes.

It's hard to say who will benefit, but it will definitely be the common people who suffer.

"The Ministry of Revenue has some good ideas," Dou Fengjie remarked casually.

What Zhao Hongan thinks is not important; what matters is what Li Shimin thinks.

As the Minister of State Ceremonies, Li Tai's first major task after taking office was blocked by Zhao Hong'an. Can he swallow this insult?

"The Ministry of Revenue has strong opinions about the policies of the Court of State Ceremonies. I wonder if the Emperor will also bow down and abandon diplomatic relations for the sake of the Ministry of Revenue." Li Tai smiled, but his eyes were cold.

July 13th.

Zhao Hong'an, a fifth-rank official in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, was appointed as the fourth-rank official in charge of the Imperial Academy.

In terms of rank, Zhao Hong'an was demoted to the right.

In terms of real power, he's been sidelined.

For the somewhat pedantic Zhao Hong'an, this was a relief, as he no longer had to worry about how commoners would survive.

As long as it's not something you created yourself, let it be.

I hope I can outlive Dou Fengjie's son until he enters the Imperial Academy, so I can give them a few more beatings with the ruler as revenge.

Guo Xingfang, the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, sighed dejectedly, unsure whether to let go of this grudge.

Although Dou Fengjie's rank was not high, it was still comparable to a fifth-rank official position, especially considering he was in a crucial government office like the Court of State Ceremonies.

It's not easy to deal with them.

Reluctantly, Feng Dexia, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, took the imperial insignia and followed Zhang Dashi, the Left General of the Imperial Guard, on the journey.

The road ahead is long and dusty, and the journey is long and arduous.

If he were to go on a diplomatic mission to Tibet, Feng Dexia would still be confident of gaining some benefits, but suddenly being turned to the Western Regions where he was completely unprepared made him very anxious.

Master Zhang only had 20,000 soldiers under his command, but the Western Turks had hundreds of thousands of troops!

Li Tai watched Feng Dexia's departing figure, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.

Ultimately, he was just a twelve-year-old kid, so it wasn't too much of a stretch to discipline Feng Dexia.

Who gave Feng Dexia the tendency to favor Tibet?

If we don't let him taste the grapes of Yanqi, feel the wind and sand of the Great Desert, and see the sunset over the desert, will he ever come to his senses?

Dou Fengjie chuckled and said, "The Hu women in Yanqi and other places are too alluring. When the Grand Master of Ceremonies returns, he'll probably drain them dry."

Cheng Chumo burst into laughter.

He's already a crowing rooster, so naturally he understands these lewd remarks.

Cheng Chumo and Beimen Shuang had long disliked Feng Dexia, but they had been unable to do anything about it. Now that Li Tai had banished the Minister of State Affairs far away, they suddenly felt much more at ease.

Li Tai sighed softly, "Won't Li Ni Shu Mo He She, who has annexed A Lou Ba Xi Li Bi Du Lu Khan, become a future threat to the Tang Dynasty?"

After all, Nidun Moheshe had a high reputation in the Western Turkic Khaganate and a good personal relationship with Li Shimin.

Dou Fengjie laughed: "Don't worry, Your Excellency. The reason why the Western Turks are not as threatening as the Turks is because they are used to fighting amongst themselves."

"If there are a few more internal conflicts, wouldn't it be much easier for the Tang Dynasty to control the Western Regions?"

Nidun Moheshe's health was already poor; even if he became Khan, he wouldn't live for more than a few years. So what if he had great abilities?

The Western Turks could fight all they wanted; it wasn't a crime. Even the strongest khanate had the right to exhaust itself.

"Inside the Sifang Pavilion, the great leader of the Tiele Qibi tribe, Dashilifa Qixin Heli, has arrived, requesting the Great Tang to take in the Qibi tribe."

The matriarch of the Imperial Household Department, Zhan Cheng, slowly opened his mouth.

"Good heavens! Didn't they say it would take him at least next year to get from Rehai to Chang'an?"

Dou Fengjie was surprised.

"The Qibi tribe, a branch of the Tiele, wandered near the Western Turkic Khaganate, and were disliked by everyone?"

Li Tai showed off his knowledge.

To put it another way, Li Tai rarely doesn't know anything that's on record.

Li Tai had just seen the news from the Qixin Department.

Dou Fengjie sighed, "Poor Da Silifa, dragging the entire Qibi tribe forward all by himself."

"Master, I still suggest placing the Qixin Division between Ganzhou and Liangzhou."

Cheng Chumo burst out laughing. Was this a sign that the core department and Sun Bo's department were going to get intimate?

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