Chapter 321: The Earl of the Tang Dynasty, Nurturing the Enemy to Protect Himself

April, the first year of Zhaowu in the Tang Dynasty.

More than two months have passed since the conferment ceremony after the founding of the Tang Dynasty. However, the far-reaching impact of the conferment ceremony is still continuing, especially for the interest groups in Youyun Sixteen States, an internal split. The struggle is quietly beginning.

Wuzhou City, the residence of Wu Yibo Liu Ziyu.

After Zhao Wang Liu Xinwu settled in the Imperial City of Jinling, his adopted son Wu Yibo Liu Ziyu has become the new spokesperson for the Youyun Sixteen Provinces interest group.

And his Earl's Mansion, located in Wuzhou City, an important border town of the Tang Dynasty, has also become a gathering place for civil servants and generals from the Sixteenth State of Youyun. Every day, it is packed with guests and distinguished friends.

After being awarded the title ceremony, Liu Ziyu returned to the station and started a life of idleness. As a deputy general of the Southern Expedition of the Tang Dynasty, he did not want to train the army or prepare for war. He drank and had fun at his house every day, living in drunken dreams.

As the saying goes, if the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked.

The lieutenant generals of the Youyun Sixteenth Prefecture Army under his command also imitated Wu Yibo Liu Ziyu's behavior, making the entire Youyun Sixteenth Prefecture's military atmosphere chaotic and without combat effectiveness at all.

As a result, the Turkic Khanate, which was originally wiped out by the champion Hou Huo Qubing under Zhaowu Emperor Chen Huaian two years ago, those remnants of the Turkic Khanate who fled far away from Moxi, saw the opportunity to return to Mobei to herd, and tested the country bit by bit. The attitude and bottom line of the Tang Dynasty.

In this regard, Liu Ziyu just turned a blind eye and allowed the remaining Turks who moved back to Mobei to slowly grow bigger and stronger.

On this day, in the Earl's Mansion in Wuzhou City.

As usual, Liu Ziyu was drinking and having fun at his house with a group of civil servants and generals from the Youyun area. During the dinner, they inevitably talked about what Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huaian had done in the recent period.

He Kuan, the prefect of Wuzhou City, said bitterly under the influence of wine: "Everyone, you have heard, the emperor has issued an order to include the Goguryeo Peninsula into the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and to include his adopted son Chen Lingwu , was granted the title of King of Korea;"

"Not only that, but the Korean prince, who had already voluntarily surrendered his military power, took the initiative to ask for help at the court meeting and led 200,000 Xuanjia troops by sea to Goguryeo's Nampo Port to land;"

"A two-sided attack with Duke Qin in the Liaohe area completely wiped out the Goguryeo regime represented by Treasure King Gaozang;"

"If the Goguryeo regime falls and the Goguryeo Peninsula is included in the territory of the Tang Dynasty, Duke Dingguo, Duke of Qin, Duke of Han, and other marquis and counts accompanying Goguryeo will go out this time;"

"I'm afraid that the status and power of the Tang Dynasty will rise to a higher level again!"

Wow!

As soon as the prefect He Kuan said these words, there was an uproar in the wine shop.

Those who are qualified to sit and drink in Uncle Wu Yi's house today are all the people from Youyun Sixteen Provinces who were defeated at the founding ceremony of the Tang Dynasty. The words of the prefect He Kuan immediately touched the sensitive and irritable nerves of everyone. .

Wu Yibo Liu Ziyu, who was sitting on the main seat, had an obviously stiff expression on his face.

At this time, a military general shouted angrily: "It seems that Liu Ergou has been given an advantage. When the war to pacify Goguryeo is over, Liu Ergou will not be able to raise his tail to the sky!"

Later, someone else echoed: "Yes, he, Liu Ergou, didn't he just work as a groom for a few days with Pang Xianchu, Duke of Jin, and turn him into a spirit?"

"A mere Jizhou garrison was not only granted the title of earl, but he was also given a lucrative job in the first battle after the founding of the Tang Dynasty. He casually wandered around the Liaodong area and came back without turning his nose to the sky. We old brothers!"

"that is......"

For a moment, the wine table was full of grumbling voices.

The Liu Ergou mentioned by the generals was Liu Ergou, the garrison of Jizhou and Suiyuan Bo, one of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun. At this time, he was the deputy general of the Eastern Expedition Army of the Tang Dynasty, assisting Prince Jian of Qin State in his Eastern Expedition to Goguryeo.

boom!

Suddenly, Liu Ziyu, who was in the main seat, banged the wine bowl in his hand and smashed it to pieces on the wine table.

This sudden noise immediately frightened the other generals at the banquet table. After they shut up in unison, they turned their doubtful eyes to Liu Ziyu.

"enough!"

Liu Ziyu said with a livid face: "Shut up, General. I don't have the ability to be appreciated by the emperor, so stop gossiping about others behind their backs;"

"You are really brave. You also took the initiative to go to the emperor and ask for orders to lead the troops to fight. How can you be a man by gossiping behind others' backs?"

"Everyone is backing off. I won't drink any more wine today!"

Liu Ziyu even issued an order to expel the guests, and the generals at the wine table who were still enjoying themselves could only leave in anger.

Everyone knows that the deputy general is unhappy!

This is indeed the case.

Although, Liu Ziyu started to behave badly since the ceremony of conferring the title was over and he returned to his base in Wuzhou.

However, a person has a face and a tree has a skin.

Seeing that all of the former subordinates have been favored by the emperor, but he, the "uncle of the country" in the eyes of the world, is only destined to sit on the bench, no one will feel happy!

Furthermore, as a veteran border general who has been operating in the Youyun area for decades, Liu Ziyu also has an old acquaintance with Gaozang, the treasure king of the Goguryeo Dynasty. He smuggled Korean ginseng, deer antlers and other valuable products produced in Goguryeo to the Central Plains Dynasty. One of Liu Ziyu's ways to make money.

Nowadays, if the Goguryeo Dynasty falls, it means that Liu Ziyu's smuggling business in the Liaodong region will be completely ruined.

This made Liu Ziyu feel a bit sad.

In addition, his failure in the ceremony of conferring the title of Emperor Tang made him eager to open up the smuggling route from Jiangnan to Youyun to Anxi to the Western Regions, but the progress was not smooth.

In particular, Lan Yu, the Marquis of Anxi, who was in charge of the four towns of Anxi, did not give Liu Ziyu any face.

This led to Liu Ziyu's current failure in officialdom and business. Seeing that the family business accumulated in the past few years was gradually being eaten up, Liu Ziyu was inevitably a little anxious.

"Master--"

At this time, Liu Ziyu, who was in a daze alone in the study, was suddenly awakened by the housekeeper outside the house and came to his senses.

The housekeeper leaned against the door of the study and whispered, "There is a guest who wants to see you!"

In the study, Liu Ziyu frowned and said angrily, "Housekeeper Sun, didn't the general say that he would not receive any guests today? You are just listening to the general's words!"

"Master, I dare not--"

Outside the study, housekeeper Sun hurriedly explained, "Master, this guest said that he came from the Western Regions and brought you a huge fortune. Let me, let me make sure to report to you!"

"If, if the master does not want to receive guests today, then, then I will refuse that person right away!"

"Wait--"

In the study, Liu Ziyu suddenly raised his eyebrows, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes, and then waved his hand and said, "Housekeeper Sun, go and bring the person over!"

"Yes, master!"

Housekeeper Sun left in a hurry, but Liu Ziyu in the study became interested. The guest from the Western Regions, could it be him?

A moment later, under the introduction of the Earl's Housekeeper Sun, a tall man who was obviously not a Han Chinese appeared in the Earl's House study.

This man was tall, with broad shoulders and a round waist, wearing a typical Western foreign costume.

As soon as he entered the door, he rushed up to Liu Ziyu and gave him a bear hug, muttering: "My good brother, I haven't seen you for a few years, how are you?"

"Bateer?"

That's right, the Western visitor who appeared in Liu Ziyu's study at this time was the fourth son of the Turkic Khan Timur, who had been in the northern desert for more than 30 years, and the leader of the Guli tribe of the Turkic Khanate, Bater!

In those days, after the Turkic Khanate was destroyed by the champion Hou Huo Qubing overnight, Bater, who had escaped by chance, led his tribe to flee to the western desert and has not been heard from since.

God knows why he suddenly returned to Wuzhou City alone.

But one thing Liu Ziyu knew very well, that is, Bater's return to Wuzhou City to find him this time must be no good!

Liu Ziyu was startled at first, then he looked around alertly, and hurriedly closed the door, saying with a look of fear: "When I heard that it was a visitor from the Western Regions, I probably guessed that it would be you;"

"You kid, you are going back to the Central Plains without caring about your life?"

"Don't you know that Chen Huaian, the King of Jin who defeated your Turkic Khanate and destroyed it, is now the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty?"