On the 23rd day of the first lunar month, Gaoyang Palace, Hebei.

The Holy Lord received an urgent reply from Pei Shiju. After many discussions with Andong, the two sides finally reached an agreement on a series of major issues such as military, politics and finance. Among them, in terms of the most core military power, Andong was willing to obey the orders of the Holy Lord and the Central Committee, but the premise was that the supreme commander of the Andong Han army could only be Li Pingyuan.

The key to recruit Andong is the redistribution of military power, and the key to redistribution of military power is the ownership of military decision-making power and the right to command military power. The Holy Lord and the Central Committee must firmly control Andong's military decision-making power, which is undoubtedly. However, if Andong wants to faithfully implement high-level decisions, he must also take over the command of Andong's army. Even if he cannot take them all, he must try his best to trap his confidants to achieve the purpose of restraint and restraint.

However, Anton could not make concessions in the military command, which was the most difficult part of the later negotiations, so the Holy Lord and the Central Committee sent Pei Shiju, and Pei Shiju lived up to expectations and solved the most difficult problem in the shortest time.

However, Pei Shiju's solution to the problem was far beyond the expectations of the Holy Lord and the Central Master, which made the Holy Lord and his group of trusted officials not only see the crisis that was coming, but also no longer optimistic about Anton's future.

The fundamental reason why Pei Shiju achieved his goal quickly and successfully lies in "Li Pingyuan", and this also confirmed the rumor that "Li Pingyuan is a secret weapon sword, and the secret weapon sword is a white-haired thief". In this way, "Li Pingyuan" has become a "political noose" tied around Pei Shiju's neck. Of course, since Pei Shiju dared to put the "noose" on, he must have a backup plan. There must be various ways to prove that the secret weapon sword is not a white-haired thief. But the problem is that the "noose" has been put on, and the opponent can kill him at any time. Is it still important to be a white-haired thief?

Why did Pei Shiju take a risk and put himself in a dead position? This is not in line with Pei Shiju's interests, and with Pei Shiju's style of conduct, he does not do unprofitable things.

From this we infer that if this matter is profitable, where will the profit come from? What benefits did Pei Shiju see from him?

Under the current trend of China and foreign countries, there is only one major event closely related to Pei Shiju's vital interests, that is, the Civil War. Pei Shiju is in charge of diplomatic affairs between China and Turkey, and the diplomatic strategy of China and Turkey directly affects and even determines the outcome of the Civil War. If China and Turkey lose this war, Pei Shiju will not only bear the major responsibility of diplomatic strategic errors or poor strategic execution, but will also face all the consequences brought about. If the great cause of unification collapses, China and Turkey will even fall into division and war again. Pei Shiju will never redeem his crimes. Therefore, Pei Shiju will spare no expense to ensure the victory of the Civil War and do everything he can to do.

This inference is valid, and the Holy Lord and Yu Shiji, Xiao Yu, Yu Wen Shu, Lai Huer, Zhao Cai and other important officials were also very pessimistic about Pei Shiju's journey westward and became increasingly worried about the Civil War.

The monarch and ministers did not have much hope for the promises of the Western Turks. If the Western Turks kept their promises, the Western Xinjiang crisis would not break out last year, and Tuyuhun would find it difficult to restore the country, and the Western countries would not turn around. The five border counties in the Western Xinjiang that had just been pioneered for several years would not lose. However, considering that the war between the Central Turks and the Desert was beneficial to the Western Turks, and considering that the Desert had the ambition to rebuild the Great Turkic Khanate, the threat to the Western Turks was far greater than that of the Central Turks, so the Central Turks still had a glimmer of hope for the Western Turks, believing that even if the Western Turks did not fulfill their promises and attacked the desert with the Central Turks, they would at least bluff their voices to help restrain the desert.

However, judging from the current measures of Pei Shiju taking risks, not hesitating to lose his political life, and doing his best to win over Anton, he said that this trip to the west had great results, but in fact he had lost his thoughts about the Western Turks. In other words, his prediction of the Civil War may have changed. It is no longer that Sino-Turkish and Western Turks actively attack the desert, but that the two Turks in the East and West jointly attacked Central Earth. In this way, Central Earth would lose the initiative in the war and had to passively fight.

From this we infer that the time of the Civil War broke out was not determined by Middle-earth, but by the Turks. If the Turks took the initiative to launch the Civil War, the war broke out soon. Middle-earth had been fighting in the east for two years, mobilizing troops, exhausting the people and losing money, and exhausting the army. In addition, the domestic situation was getting worse and there were many crises. Middle-earth was deeply trapped in internal and external troubles. It was the best time for the Turks to take advantage of the fire, add to the insult, and go south to invade.

The Holy Lord was very angry, and his anger towards his political enemies was greater than his hatred for the Turks. If the two capitals lived in peace and were unanimous to the outside world, why would the situation be so difficult? Seeing several important officials concentrating and silently speaking, the Holy Lord became more and more irritable. He couldn't help but point to Pei Shiju's memorial and asked, "What are your objections to this?"

Zhao Cai was anxious and replied first, "Master, military power is the core of the recruitment. Only by controlling military power can we control Andong and firmly control Andong. Otherwise, Andong will be in a state of out of control, which is a major disaster. This disaster will not be reduced because of Li Pingyuan's command of Andong's army. On the contrary, it will become more and more serious, and it will evolve into a de facto separatist state."

Before Zhao Cai finished speaking, the Holy Lord's face turned ugly and he was furious.

This is an attack inside and outside. There are northern barbarians and political enemies who are aggressive outside, and there are confidant officials who are cowardly and shirk responsibility. This is unreasonable! What do the trusted ministers do? They are brave enough to share their worries and problems for themselves, charge in the critical moment, and dare to take risks and responsibilities for themselves, instead of hiding under their wings with their heads and rushing to the front to shelter them from the wind and rain. Zhao Cai is indeed loyal and upright, but his shortcomings are also like this. He is not flexible and cannot act cheaply, and he will not observe his words and deliberate ideas. As a result, he will force the Holy Lord into a corner and is in a dilemma.

Pei Shiju had already expressed his position in the urgent comments and pushed Li Pingyuan to the "front stage". Li Pingyuan was the official, and Li Pingyuan led the Anton army. In name, the Holy Lord and the Central Controller controlled the military power of Anton and completely took into account the face of the Holy Lord and the Central Controller. Pei Shiju took all the responsibility and all the consequences brought about by this. If an accident occurs, it will damage the interests of the Holy Lord and the Central Controller, only Pei Shiju asked.

Pei Shiju's attitude made the Holy Lord very satisfied. Middle Earth and the emperor's interests are supreme and brave enough to take responsibility. This is the fundamental reason why Pei Shiju can still win the trust and reuse of the Holy Lord after being hit by the collapse of the late emperor and the Yulin storm. The political concepts of the monarch and ministers can be different, and the governance strategies can be conflicted, but Middle Earth and the fundamental interests of the emperor must be consistent. As long as you are dedicated to seeking interests for Middle Earth and sacrifice yourself to death for the emperor, you can be reused by such a minister.

During this trip to the west, Pei Shiju went to the Western Regions with his head in his arms and completed the task successfully. The Holy Lord's face was glorious. This time, Pei Shiju lived up to expectations and used his political life to guarantee Li Pingyuan, completing the final pleading of Anton, paving the way for the Holy Lord to carry out the third Eastern Expedition. Such a loyal, dedicated and courageous minister is truly the one who can truly share the worries and problems for the Holy Lord. However, internal struggles are everywhere. Because of political ideas, Pei Shiju could never integrate into the core circle of the reformists headed by the Holy Lord, and naturally became the target of the reformists' containment and attacks.

This time, Pei Shiju pushed "Li Pingyuan" after arriving at Anton, which was equivalent to publicly admitting that "the secret weapon sword is a white-haired thief". However, because the Turks spread rumors that "the secret weapon sword is a white-haired thief" to implement a divisive plan, forcing the Holy Lord and the Central Government to publicly deny this rumor. ********** Pei Shiju ensured the unity of the core decision-making level of the central government, and gave Pei Shiju an opportunity to "whitewash" Li Pingyuan. Now, unless the Holy Lord and the Central Government have certain evidence that the white-haired thief is a secret weapon sword, they can only eat Coptis chinensis and accept the reality of Li Pingyuan's return.

Of course, in order to defeat Pei Shiju, the Holy Lord and the Reformers can also create evidence that "the white-haired thief is a secret weapon knife", but in this way, the Holy Lord and the Central Master will reject themselves and slap themselves in the face, which will seriously damage authority. Therefore, unless it is forced, the Holy Lord and the Reformers will not turn against Pei Shiju into a fight and fight to the death.

Pei Shiju's "opportunistic" move was for the public to quickly complete the pacification of Andong and establish the advantages of Middle-earth in the confrontation between the north and the south. However, for privately, the emergence of Li Pingyuan and Andong will inevitably further strengthen Pei Shiju's strength. In other words, under Pei Shiju's deliberate protection, the idea of ​​the Holy Lord and the Central Committee trying to use the third Eastern Expedition to weaken or even eradicate Andong's power was about to be ruined, and this was something that Zhao Cai could not accept, so he publicly opposed it.

However, the Holy Lord's views are completely different.

The Saint won the final victory of the Eastern Expedition and wanted to win the war between the North and the South. In the current internal and external troubles, he could only do his best to unite all the forces that can be united. Although he did want to weaken or even eradicate the emerging power of Anton before, because Pei Shiju used his political life to guarantee Li Pingyuan, he had to weigh the gains and losses. In comparison, the huge benefits brought by the final victory of the Eastern Expedition and the victory of the North and the South Expedition must be far greater than the disaster of Li Pingyuan. So the Holy Lord decided to accept the fact that Li Pingyuan returned. He did not believe in Li Pingyuan, but he believed in Pei Shiju, which was enough.

Unfortunately, his belief in Pei Shiju does not mean that his confidants and important officials around him also believe in Pei Shiju.

Xiao Yu followed Zhao Cai and also raised questions, "The Lord, it is OK to grant the command of Anton's army to Li Pingyuan, in principle, but the question is, is Li Pingyuan a white-haired thief? What if Li Pingyuan is really a white-haired thief? Of course, we cannot make random guesses. If we just follow the matter, can Li Pingyuan lead the Anton army absolutely control the white-haired thief? If the answer is no, Li Pingyuan is just a puppet, and the influence that Wenxi Gong can exert is very limited. Then, what should we use to ensure that Anton's army absolutely complies with the orders of the Lord and the Central? And more serious, is there a master-slave relationship between the King of Qi and the White-haired thief? If the White-haired thief supports the King of Qi and the Anton army accepts the command of the King of Qi, then what we have to face in the future will not be separatist rule of the vassal states, but..."

Xiao Yu wanted to speak but stopped, but his meaning was very clear. His question hit the "pivotal point" of the Holy Lord, which made the Holy Lord burst into anger, his face was as cold as frost, and his face was no longer ugly, but was ashen.

This is the first time that someone directly questioned the King of Qi secretly colluded with the rebels. This nature is too serious. If it is confirmed, there is evidence to prove that the King of Qi is colluding with the white-haired thieves, Li Zixiong and other rebels, then the King of Qi will be completely finished, and the father and son will inevitably turn against each other. This political storm will inevitably sweep the military aristocratic families such as Li Hun and Dong Chun. Once the Li family in Longxi is destroyed, it will inevitably shock the entire Guanlong noble group. The bloody battle between Xijing and Dongdu will be open and fierce. The complete breaking of the two capitals will shake the foundation of the country, and the country's destiny is on the verge of collapse. Zhongtu is very likely to fall into division and war. If the Holy Lord and the center with the reformists as the main force want to turn the tide under such predicament, it will be as difficult as ascend to heaven.

At this time, Yu Shiji also spoke, "Another fire", "Master, we noticed that in this urgent comment from Wen Xigong, he considered that the desert had the possibility of active counterattack against Anton, and that Anton's main army was weak during the expedition to Goguryeo, and it was recommended to make every effort to strengthen the Great Town garrison on Youyan's front line. Huaihuang border town is particularly important, and it should not be ignored or slack, and it is even more important to mobilize troops from Youyan's front line to participate in the third Eastern Expedition."

Yu Shiji looked at several important officials, looked at the Holy Lord, and questioned quietly, "Why did Wenxi Duke have this suggestion? What is the purpose? Is it implying that the King of Qi must stay in Huaihuang and continue patrolling the border, and cannot lead his army to expedition to Goguryeo? If this is true, we might as well imagine that when the Turks counterattack Anton regardless of everything, Anton pretended to be defeated, and was defeated like a mountain, flocked to the Great Wall. At this time, the King of Qi took advantage of the Emperor's command to conquer Goguryeo in person, joined forces with Anton to sweep away Youyan, and cut off the retreat of the Emperor and the Expeditionary Army, then the major event was gone."

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was shocked. Yu Shiji's doubts were even more powerful than Xiao Yu's doubts. Not only did he suspect that King Qi and the white-haired thief were in a suffocation, but he also suspected that Pei Shiju was secretly manipulating it, and it was obvious that he would catch them all in one go.

At the critical moment, Yuwen Shu "replaced a knife" without hesitation. "Although Anton promised to participate in the third Eastern Expedition, who can guarantee that Anton will keep his promise and send all the main expeditions? If Anton disobeys the weak and pretends to be the main force, the Donghu and other Donghu control men will also delay the trip under various excuses, Youyan will inevitably face a huge threat. Once the rebellion arises and repeats the mistakes of Yang Xuangan's mutiny, the consequences will be unimaginable."

The Holy Lord was extremely angry and almost wanted to suffocate, but his heart was as thorough as a mirror. At this moment, he had to take the overall situation into consideration and believed Pei Shiju. He could not listen to it in a side manner. So he made a resolute decision and ordered the King of Qi to finish the border patrol and immediately led his army to participate in the third Eastern Expedition.

However, a new question arises again. When King Qi arrives on the battlefield of the Eastern Expedition, wouldn’t he be in the fight with the Andong army? Wouldn’t both sides be able to form an open alliance with Andong?
Chapter completed!