It had to be said that the nineteen-year-old Wu Meiniang was in her prime. Coupled with her identity as the Eldest Senior Sister of the Mo Family, it could be said that she was one of the few unmarried girls in Chang 'an who had both beauty and wisdom. She attracted the love and pursuit of countless playboys in Chang' an.
Many officials and nobles had asked Meton to propose marriage. However, Meton refused them all on the grounds that the Mo Family had freedom of love. He did not forbid others from pursuing Wu Meiniang. Although there were many talents in Chang 'an, Wu Meiniang, who had high standards, did not like any of them. She had been single until now. It was reasonable that Li Zhi, who liked mature women, fell in love with Wu Meiniang.
Although it was normal for a nineteen-year-old girl to be unmarried in later generations, it was rare for a nineteen-year-old girl to be unmarried in the Tang dynasty. It was even rarer than the old leftover girls in later generations. For this reason, Madame Yang was worried sick.
However, Wu Meiniang, who had grown up, only listened to her master. Madame Yang's words were not binding at all. Meton also let Wu Meiniang's marriage take its course.
Now, Prince Jin, Li Zhi, also pursued Wu Meiniang. Meton could not help but sigh at how powerful the inertia of history was.
"The Mo Family has always advocated the freedom of love. If Mei Niang is willing, as her master, I will naturally be happy to see it. If Mei Niang is unwilling, Prince Jin can't use his imperial power to suppress her!" Meton raised his eyebrows and said.
Li Chengqian laughed and said, "Of course, I believe in Ninth Brother's character."
Now that Li Tai had established the Hundred Schools of Thought and completely given up on the struggle for the throne, Li Chengqian's position as Crown Prince was stable and he did not view Li Zhi as a competitor. However, Wu Meiniang was the future successor of the Mo Family that Meton had clearly stated. Once Li Zhi married Wu Meiniang, he would practically have all of the Mo Family's power under his command. This made Li Chengqian somewhat wary.
Moton and Li Chengqian were smart people as well. They had already gotten the gist of the situation.
Princess Changle couldn't help but sigh when she saw this. Being born into the royal family, other than enjoying glory and wealth, these hidden schemes were also unavoidable. As a princess, she was powerless.
"Other than accompanying Ninth Brother to visit Changle, ben gong also came today to consult Brother Mo on a matter." Li Chengqian suddenly said.
Meton's hand paused as he nodded and said, "Crown Prince, please speak!"
Li Zhi came for Wu Meiniang. Li Chengqian, who was in charge of supervising the state affairs, took time out of his busy schedule to come. Naturally, he would not be idle. Obviously, he also had something important to discuss.
"At present, This Prince's greatest worry is the war between Xue Yantuo and the Eastern Turks. When the barbarian Khagan heard that Imperial Father had gone east to Mount Tai for a pilgrimage, he believed that Xue Yantuo's time had come and gathered an army of two hundred thousand to attack the Eastern Turks. Simo Khagan has already sent ten-some urgent reports to the Imperial Court requesting assistance," Li Chengqian said in vexation.
Upon hearing this, Meton frowned and said, "No, Your Majesty is the Heavenly Khan. You should stand in an aloof position and make the world submit. If the Tang dynasty sends troops to help the Eastern Turks, it will be suspected of favoritism. It will be detrimental to Your Majesty's reputation."
Li Chengqian nodded and said, "I also think so. However, Xue Yantuo is now powerful. If Xue Yantuo is allowed to destroy the Eastern Turks, I'm afraid that the northern border of the Tang dynasty will be in dispute again."
Meton retorted, "If the Tang dynasty helps the Eastern Turks to destroy Xue Yantuo, the imperial court is not afraid that the history of the Wei River Alliance will repeat itself?"
Li Chengqian sighed helplessly and said, "This is the problem that the imperial court has been arguing about recently. Moreover, a decision must be made as soon as possible. Otherwise, once it is delayed, it will certainly delay the opportunity."
Meton analyzed, "Xue Yantuo wants to destroy the Eastern Turks and maintain the overlord of the grasslands. The Eastern Turks want to defeat Xue Yantuo and restore the former glory of the grasslands. The Tang dynasty needs to maintain the security of the northern border and maintain the balance of power in the grasslands. However, the current situation is that Xue Yantuo has the advantage in numbers while the Eastern Turks are weak and have an unstable foundation."
Li Chengqian nodded and said, "According to the current situation, unless the Tang dynasty sends troops to help, the Eastern Turks will only be destroyed. However, many ministers in the imperial court are extremely opposed to this. They think that the Tang dynasty sending troops will be detrimental to His Majesty's reputation and will sacrifice the lives of the Tang dynasty's officers and soldiers. They are also worried that the Eastern Turks will take advantage of the situation to rise and threaten the borders of the Tang dynasty."
"Your Highness, you mean that the Tang dynasty can't lose money while maintaining the balance of power in the grasslands." Meton immediately understood Li Chengqian's meaning.
Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Not doing business at a loss is Brother Mo's strength. Brilliant, so I specially came to ask for your advice."
Modun shook his head and said, "That's not it. This Modun's strength isn't to not lose money, but to make a huge profit."
"Make a big profit!" Li Chengqian's eyes suddenly lit up and he looked at Meton in surprise. He originally wanted Meton to come up with ideas to solve the disputes in the imperial court, but now it seemed that he would be given a bigger surprise.
Meton nodded and said, "Xue Yantuo has repeatedly provoked the Tang dynasty. The intention of the Tang dynasty to let the Eastern Turks return to their homeland is to contain Xue Yantuo. This war seems to be a struggle between the two overlords of the grasslands, but in fact, it is a war between the Tang dynasty and Xue Yantuo. This is essentially a proxy war."
Meton suddenly thought of the several proxy wars in the Middle East in later generations and couldn't help but be moved. The Tang dynasty could use this mode.
"Proxy war!" Li Chengqian raised his eyebrows and did not understand Meton's meaning.
"It's similar to hiring people to fight, but this time we hire Eastern Turks from a country. We fight with more people and fewer people. The art of war says that quality is more important than quantity. Xue Yantuo has more people, and the Tang dynasty only needs to make the Eastern Turks into elite soldiers. It's like the enemy is besieged by several people while the people we hire are armed. In this way, the strength of both sides will be balanced, and the Eastern Turks may be able to win with fewer people. "
"Make them into elite soldiers? Does Brother Mo mean that the Tang dynasty doesn't need to send troops and only needs to give the Eastern Turks weapons and armor?" Li Chengqian's heart moved. The Eastern Turks were well-trained elite soldiers in the Tang dynasty, but after returning, they left their armor in the Tang dynasty. As long as they had armor, their strength would be multiplied, and they might be able to defeat Xue Yantuo.
"Not give the Eastern Turks weapons and armor, but sell the weapons and armor to the Eastern Turks. The Tang dynasty gives so much money to the Eastern Turks every year, and it's time to collect some interest." Meton shook his head.
Li Chengqian suddenly raised his head and looked at Meton in disbelief. Even if they hired people to fight, they had to provide them with weapons and money, and if they were injured, they had to pay the medical expenses. Meton's proxy war actually wanted to make a lot of money from the Eastern Turks. This was simply too much of a hooligan.
However, it was this hooligan's idea that made Li Chengqian's heart beat faster. In this way, the Tang dynasty would not suffer any losses and could maintain the stability of the northern border. They could even make a lot of money, which was much better than the Tang dynasty directly sending troops.
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