"But my brothers, I don't know much about what's going on in the court, and I know even less about His Highness. I just want to know one thing: should we take action against the Arab Empire? His Highness did say that once the Indochina issue is resolved, we'll have to put it on the agenda here. Isn't expanding our territory important? It would make us famous in history books for a lifetime."
As soon as he said this, Li Chengyi's eyes lit up immediately. This guy came to the Western Regions from Chang'an City. Except for two months when he went home to visit his relatives, he spent the rest of his time in the army. No matter what task he was given, this guy could complete it well, just to be remembered in history.
Of course, he is doing well now. His status in the entire Li royal family is very high. After all, in the entire royal family, except for Li Xiang, other royal children rarely have the opportunity to fight in wars. This guy can be regarded as a face for the royal family. If there is anything, Chang'an City will publicize it.
"You're even more of a warmongerer than I am. I also want to go down in history, but I'm afraid we can't make the final decision on this matter. That's what His Highness said before he left, but we don't know the actual situation now. Let's wait for news from His Highness. Anyway, it's a good idea to train our troops to be strong."
Cheng Chumo couldn't figure out what Li Xiang was thinking. If it were in the past, after the war in Indochina ended, Li Xiang should have given them an order, either asking them to assemble the troops or let them continue to garrison in various places. No matter which order it was, they could guess the next step. Who knew that now there was no order at all, and he just asked General Moren to rush to the Southeast Peninsula. What was going on?
If Xiao Shougui was always with Li Xiang, he would probably be able to see through it now, but this guy has been away from Li Xiang for quite some time. Now when he saw everyone's eyes, he immediately felt a little embarrassed.
"Don't look at me, everyone. Although I used to follow His Highness and can understand some things, count on your fingers how long it has been since I last saw His Highness, and how long it has been since I knew about his situation. So it's useless for you to look at me, and I can't give you an answer. If you really want to say there is someone who is close, Mr. Zhang can do it."
In order to divert firepower, Xiao Shougui immediately kicked Zhang Jiuli out. Zhang Jiuli was known as the number one think tank around Li Xiang. When the county system was implemented in various parts of the Western Regions, Li Xiang sent this guy over. Facts have proved that the strategy at that time was correct. This guy did a good job. He did not cause large-scale unrest in the Western Regions, and he also completed the implementation of the county system. If we talk about people who understand Li Xiang, this guy must be ranked first.
Of course, it's not that I understand Li Xiang. The most important thing is that he has a good brain. Otherwise, do you think anyone can get the title of the first? Xiao Shougui's brain is not bad, but compared with Zhang Jiuli, there is still a certain gap.
"Mr. Zhang, please tell us quickly. Look how anxious we brothers are. When His Highness left, he asked us to stockpile weapons and equipment. Now we don't even know how much gunpowder we have. With the weather in the Western Regions, if there's a fire, we brothers will be in trouble."
Li Chengyi said with some concern that although the gunpowder was stored underground in a dry and ventilated place, if the temperature continued to rise, it would have a certain impact. His main task in the past few days was to build a number of small warehouses in various places to transfer a large amount of gunpowder. If something happened, it would not be destroyed by a single shot.
"I'm just someone who gives advice. Regarding decision-making, I really don't dare to make random guesses. No matter what His Highness does, there must be a reason for it. I think we shouldn't make too many guesses. If His Highness really knew, he would blame us. Let's just focus on our own tasks..."
Seeing that Zhang Jiuli was about to leave with a laugh, Cheng Chumo made up his mind and quickly blocked the door. Zhang Jiuli was a cunning guy who always listened more than spoke, but he was still the number one think tank around Li Xiang, so whenever everyone discussed something, they would invite this guy. A word or two from him at the critical moment could save everyone a lot of trouble.
For example, the young nobles from the Western Regions were originally supposed to be sent to Chang'an City, but there were too many of them. If everyone with a little ability was to be sent there, then tens of thousands of people would have to be sent. Safety on the road was a problem, and whether Chang'an City could accommodate them was also a question.
If there are too many foreign students in the Imperial College, will it affect our own people? So Zhang Jiuli proposed another plan, which was to establish a branch of the Imperial College near the Anxi Protectorate and invite some contemporary scholars from Chang'an City to teach these second- and third-class young masters.
This way, they don’t have to travel long distances, nor do they have to worry about their safety on the road. The most important thing is that they can save money.
These young men are rich, and they have many followers. In the long run, the area around Anxi Protectorate will become a huge city. This will be beneficial to the entire Western Regions. The court also approved this request. Now the market here is the third largest market in the Western Regions.
So even though Zhang Jiuli doesn't talk much, he might pass on what they say to Li Xiang, but for some important matters, he still has to be invited in. Who makes him talented? Who makes us not as smart as him?
At first, they didn't understand. Zhang Jiuli was obviously a corrupt official who had done countless bad things in Sichuan. They should have chopped off his head with a knife to be fair to the people of Sichuan.
But now they understood that Li Xiang saw that this guy had talent at that time. A head was nothing to the entire Tang Dynasty, and they could have as many as they wanted. But if this guy was given a chance, what he did would benefit the Tang Dynasty a lot.
Facts have proved that Li Xiang's strategy at that time was correct. If he had not done so, who knows what the situation would be now.
"Generals, you really have me blocked here..."
Looking at the generals in front of him, Zhang Jiuli nodded with a wry smile. He had to analyze it for them...
