During this month, the countries in the Western Regions were engulfed in war and were already in a state of crisis and turmoil. However, under Cheng Chuliang's policy, many countries stood up in opposition.
Officials from various countries in the Western Regions wrote to the court, demanding that Cheng Chuliang be punished and that he be taken back to Chang'an. This included his subordinates, General Molun and Li Chengyi, as they had caused huge damage to the countries in the Western Regions and they must not be allowed to continue in this position.
When the memorial was sent to Chang'an, many people within the court did stand up and list the crimes of these three people. However, these three people all belonged to the General's Mansion of Tiance. Now that Li Xiang has not said a word, what are you people doing standing up?
Even though a group of civil servants are making a lot of noise, the final decision-making power lies with the General's Mansion of Tian Ce. The Western Regions were conquered by others, and these officials were not appointed by others. They were appointed by the court. Now that something has happened, you want to bypass the General's Mansion of Tian Ce and deal with these officials at will. How can you do this?
However, as more and more officials rose up to impeach Li Shimin, the pressure on him was also very great. Li Shimin didn't know much about the things in the Western Regions, and he never cared much about such remote places.
After the tide receded, Li Shimin also kept the main personnel, especially to ask Li Xiang what was going on. He said earlier that he had discovered the army of the Arab Empire. You kid kept going to the west, and now you have been staying in Chang'an City for several months.
"Tell me yourself. Just now in the court, so many people stood up to speak, but you didn't say a word. What are you thinking in your heart? Tell me clearly."
Li Shimin said angrily, "It's only now that things have come to this. If I had fallen out with Li Xiang before, I'm afraid the General's Office would have been abolished. I've set up this office for you, and you have to do everything you need to do. Now that so many ministers have stood up to oppose it, why didn't you say anything in the court just now?"
Although the other ministers wanted to help, they didn't know much about the situation in the Western Regions, so they just stayed in their positions.
"Your Majesty, what else is there to say? It's obvious that spies from the Western Regions have infiltrated. Look at these officials who have stepped forward. Aren't they all representatives of the old aristocracy? They must be trying to take advantage of this incident to do something bad to our Tang Dynasty. In my opinion, they should be arrested, tortured, and interrogated harshly."
Cheng Yaojin's son was among those impeached, so this guy couldn't help it immediately. Of course, what he said was true, and other people had guessed it in their hearts, but without any evidence, who could stand up and talk nonsense? Cheng Yaojin had no scruples. He himself had no rules in doing things, and now that he said this through his mouth, Li Shimin would also have some doubts.
"Stop making such a fuss. Your son is in charge of this matter in the Western Region. Don't you allow others to have a say? Does the entire Western Region belong to your Cheng family?"
A total of more than 30 officials have submitted impeachment petitions, and you have now attributed all of these people to the old aristocracy. If you continue to do things this way, will anyone dare to speak out in the future? These more than 30 people are not all old aristocrats.
"Your Majesty, you can't say that. Starting from me, Old Cheng, we have all been guarding Your Majesty's house. How can you say that the entire Western Regions belongs to us? So many rare treasures are shipped from the Western Regions every year. Do they all end up in our warehouse?"
Cheng Yaojin became anxious when he heard this. Although Li Shimin was very relaxed with his ministers, it did not mean that he would allow them to form cliques for personal gain.
If this hat were put on his head, he would have no chance of recovery. Even though his son-in-law is Li Xiang, if he really had this hat, the first person the Li royal family would deal with would be him.
"Alright, alright, stop messing around here. I'm asking about him."
Li Shimin waved his hand to indicate that he understood the matter. The Five Surnames and Seven Families should be involved in this. Of course, the most important thing is Li Xiang's policy towards the Western Regions. If there were no problems, how could there be so many people opposing it? Moreover, not all of them were old aristocrats. Many of them were people promoted by ourselves.
Everyone's attention was once again focused on Li Xiang. Everyone was confused about Li Xiang's policy towards the Western Regions. When you came back from the Western Regions, you expressed your intention to adopt a conciliatory policy towards the Western Regions, so we don't have many troops stationed in the Western Regions. Now you are suddenly so harsh. Does this mean that the previous policy has failed?
Looking at the eyes of the ministers around him, and then looking at Li Shimin's murderous look, Li Xiang had to stand up.
"In reply to Grandfather, the times have changed and some things are no longer the same as before. I originally planned to influence the rulers of the various ethnic groups in the Western Regions, but now it seems that I was wrong."
Li Xiang first admitted his mistake. This matter was originally a misjudgment on his part. He thought that through long-term persuasion, these people would be able to join the Tang Dynasty camp. Who knew that when the Arab Empire reached out, so many people still chose to stand against us. We really didn't find them at the beginning.
"So we're going to take action now? Are we going to destroy a dozen cities?"
There was still anger in Li Shimin's words. Over the years, the Western Regions had made great contributions to the entire Chang'an. If these dozen cities were to be destroyed, the money sent every year would have to be reduced. The Tang Dynasty had set up many stalls. If there was no money, who would they ask for it?
"In reply to Grandfather, this matter was a bit excessive, but I plan to launch an attack on the Western Regions. Our goal is to capture the Governorate of Anton in the Arab Empire, which is also the city of Samarkand. It is extremely rich. If we can capture it, the loss of these dozen cities will be immediately compensated."
Li Xiang immediately painted a big picture, and Li Shimin and some officials from the Ministry of Revenue breathed a sigh of relief. What they wanted was an endless supply of gold, silver and treasures from the Western Regions. If they didn't have this money, how could many projects proceed?
As for what the situation was like in the Western Regions, they didn't think too much about it. In their eyes, the real territory of the Tang Dynasty only reached Gaochang, and the area outside was just a colony!
It’s messy, so be it, as long as you don’t lack money.
