The Great Wei Music Bureau

Chapter 318 Annexation of the Western Region

Last time we talked about how Xiao Ziyi and others returned to Zhongdu and brought the latest news from the Western Regions. This time let’s talk about how the Wei Dynasty responded.

No emperor would be uninterested in expanding territory, and Yuan Jun, as an ambitious monarch, was even more so. He set the tone from the beginning of the discussion and only discussed how to deal with Western Chu and the demon tribe and how to govern the Western Regions.

After all, the Western Regions are vast, and the mineral reserves of gold, silver, copper and iron alone are tempting enough. Moreover, the Western Regions are rich in jade, fruit, horses and other materials. Although it is now in decline after the disaster, once it is reaped after governance, the benefits behind it cannot be measured in gold and silver.

So the discussion turned into a scramble, and the four major families all arranged their own personnel to the Western Regions. In response to this situation, Yuan Jun adhered to the principle that all mineral resources should belong to the court and other matters could be discussed, and began to bargain with the four major families. With the help of the Western Regions geomancy map presented by Zhou Bo, the major clans of the Northern Wei Dynasty began to divide up the cake.

Aren't you all wondering why in such a big court, no one takes the demons or Western Chu seriously? This is human nature. In the face of interests, let alone the demons, even if gods and demons stand in their way, they will not stop!

The efficiency of the Wei court was incredibly high that night. They divided the Western Regions into twelve states, and then began to select officials, deploy troops, and allocate laborers and craftsmen.

Such a big piece of fat is not something that any family can digest, so they naturally have to act together. Even if they have some calculations, they can't use them at the moment. The most urgent task is to occupy the place first!

The Imperial Study was bustling with activity. Yuan Jun was sitting in the hall with the golden seal, watching the officials busying themselves. They reviewed the official documents, transfer orders, and imperial edicts one by one, and those that passed the review were directly stamped with the golden seal and sent out:

The three ministries of Li, Hu, and Gong selected and sent thousands of officials to serve in the Western Regions.

The Ministry of War issued an order to dispatch 30,000 soldiers from the Zhenbei Army to wipe out the monsters in the northern part of the Western Regions; 10,000 soldiers from the Imperial Army, together with the Huben Army already in the Western Regions, a total of 20,000 soldiers to wipe out the monsters in the central part; and 20,000 soldiers from the Dingnan Army to wipe out the monsters in the southern part. At the same time, the Imperial Army and the Dingnan Army's troops guarding the Western Chu were pressed forward to guard against the Western Chu sending troops to the Western Regions.

The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Justice jointly mobilized 100,000 civilian laborers. All prisoners in custody and exiles from various places were transferred to hard labor in the Western Regions. Those who had minor crimes and were willing to go to the Western Regions were exempted from punishment and given resettlement fees. There were a total of 37 government decrees.

During the morning court session, Yuan Jun directly announced the imperial edict to the world, officially incorporating the Western Regions into the territory of the Wei Dynasty. Within ten days, the Ministry of Revenue would allocate food and military pay, and the army would set out in fifteen days to escort officials to take up their posts. Civilians and prisoners would be sent to the Western Regions at the same time. This was the Great Wei Dynasty's western development.

The Wei court was like a giant mechanical beast. This time it was running at full speed, with every component playing its role.

Let's turn our attention to Yuan Ziyi. At this moment, she was kneeling in front of the Queen Mother, and Queen Mother Xiao pointed at her nose and scolded her, "You damn girl, you want to piss me off to death! How could you give the dragon energy to Li Yi and let him use it to exchange for the Western Regions!

Those who are not of my race must have different hearts. How could those foreign races possibly submit to my Great Wei! How stupid! Now Li Yi has dragged the Great Wei into a quagmire. If the Southern Liang and Western Chu invade at this time, the Great Wei will use troops on three fronts. No matter which one is lost, there is a danger of national destruction!

Now that you have lost your dragon energy, how can I control the Dugu and Nangong families? If these two families become disloyal, what can I do? Yuan Ziyi, do you have a brain? Do you want your brother to be a king who loses his country? "

"Mother, this is serious!" Yuan Jun, who had just finished his morning court, stepped into the palace and knelt beside his sister. He bowed and said, "My son greets mother. I think you are worrying too much. A dragon's energy was exchanged for such a vast territory in the Western Regions. I think Li Xiuyuan did a good job in this matter. Please don't blame my sister."

Empress Dowager Xiao sighed and said, "Son, even though the Western Regions are vast and rich in resources, they are too far away from our capital. The grassland people are warlike and xenophobic, so it is difficult to control them."

Yuan Jun said: "What the Queen Mother said is very true. Li Yi had already presented the "Strategy for Subduing the Hu" before this. The most important item in it is how to govern the Hu people. It is indeed as the mother said that those who are not of our race must have different hearts. But if we assimilate them and make them our compatriots, it will be different.

Li Yi's strategy for dealing with the Hu people consists of three steps: coercion, inducement, and assimilation. Now that the northwest is in trouble, all the elite troops have died in battle, and the remaining Hu people are less than 20%, and the population is sparse. It is a good time to move people into the country, and it also saves the step of coercion.

Next, we just need to promise them benefits and let them know the advantages of submitting to the Wei Dynasty, so as to recruit them to the greatest extent possible. The rest is to slowly assimilate them. Within ten years, the Western Regions will become the backyard of the Wei Dynasty, producing war horses and supplying gold and silver. This is a great plan that benefits both the country and the people.

Mother, my Yuan clan is also a descendant of the Xianbei people. It is only after integrating into the Central Plains that we have what we have today. Do you think my Yuan clan is also a foreign race?"

The emperor had said so, what could Empress Xiao do? Yuan Jun also made a very reasonable point, so he sat back in his seat, picked up the teacup and said, "Alas, my son has grown up and has his own ideas. This is a good thing. Well, you two get up."

Yuan Jun stood up and reached out to help his sister, who pushed his hand away and tried to stand up. But Yuan Ziyi had been kneeling all night, her legs and feet were numb, and she was tired from running around. When she stood up, her feet suddenly went weak, her eyes went black, and she fainted...

When she woke up again, she was lying on the bed. Empress Dowager Xiao was standing by her side. When she saw her daughter wake up, she reached out and brought her some tonic soup and said, "You're obviously injured, but you're still holding on. You're just like me back then. Get up and drink this soup yourself!" Zi Yi sat up, took the soup and drank it in small sips.

Empress Dowager Xiao stroked her daughter's hair and said softly, "Ziyi, it's not that I don't love you, but I'm in the royal family and I have no choice in many things. When the interests of the Wei Kingdom conflict with my personal interests, I can only consider the interests of the Wei Kingdom first. You've been a tool for more than 20 years, and now you're finally free. You should feel good, right?"

Ziyi put down the bowl and hugged her mother and said, "Mother, I know your difficulties. Li Yi said that you came from Southern Liang to marry Wei alone. You must have gone through hardships and sufferings that others could not endure. Mother, can you tell me more stories about those years when you have time?"

Empress Dowager Xiao smiled and said, "Okay, during this time, I will accompany you and tell you about what happened back then. What do you want to hear?"

Ziyi raised her head and smiled, "I want to hear the story of my mother and Aunt Yun. Aunt Yun told me that my mother had made all the patriarchs of the four major families obedient. She once tied Dugu Rong to a tree and whipped him, and also hung and beat Nangong Ting. Is that true?"

Empress Dowager Xiao laughed and said, "You just love to hear these things. Alas, those were all stupid things I did when I was young and hot-tempered. What's there to say?"

Ziyi said coquettishly: "Mother, just tell your daughter! I love to hear it!"

Empress Dowager Xiao patted her daughter's forehead and said with a smile, "Okay, okay, then I will tell you how I tied Dugu Rong to the tree." The mother and daughter began to talk about the past.

Zi Yi was so intimate with her mother at this moment, but she actually had her own little thoughts. She was afraid that the fetus in her belly would soon be exposed, so she had to hurry to make her mother happy, and then tell her the truth about her and Li Yi.

When Empress Xiao learned about the crimes Li Yi had committed against her precious daughter, she almost ordered the extermination of Li Yi's entire clan! Fortunately, Yuan Ziyi threatened to die and strongly opposed the marriage, insisting that it be done according to her wishes, thus saving Li Yi's entire family.

But Empress Xiao was really angry, so she called Yuan Jun to scold him. Because Zi Yi was pregnant, she could only vent her anger on her son. Yuan Jun was also helpless, but he still took it all for Li Yi. After all, they were good brothers.

In the end, Empress Xiao still couldn't persuade her daughter. She also felt that she owed her daughter something, so she could only follow Ziyi's wish and let her leave the palace to set up a residence. In addition, under the manipulation of Yuanjun and Tao Zhongwen, Li's residence was moved next to the Princess's residence. After all, Li Yi now had a title and could not live in the market.

…………………………Gorgeous dividing line…………………………

It is said that when the imperial edict was read out in the morning court, announcing to the world that the Western Regions would be incorporated into the territory of the Great Wei, the real dragon rock wall formed by Li Yi injecting dragon energy into the mountain became the connector between the Great Wei and the Western Regions, connecting the qi of the two lands together like a water pipe connecting two wooden barrels.

The fate of the Wei Dynasty was slowly flowing into the Western Regions, and the fate of the human race in the Western Regions was also slowly flowing into the Wei Dynasty. The two exchanged and maintained a balance. At this time, Li Yi had already cleaned up the poisonous insects, but he was still guarding the True Dragon Rock Wall, because there were always monsters trying to destroy the rock wall so that they could reproduce in the Western Regions.

Li Yi had been guarding here for nearly a month. He had no food to eat, no clothes to wear, no sleep, and no way to walk. He was already exhausted physically and mentally, and on the verge of collapse. But there was nothing he could do. This was the punishment for his actions against heaven.

Li Yi, ragged and exhausted, felt the breath of the demon tribe again. He had been plotted against by the demon tribe many times in recent times, so he dared to stay in front of the True Dragon Rock Wall and did not dare to leave. There were more than a dozen wolf demons, who were not strong, but very cunning, and had been wandering here for several days.

They hid far away, allowing Li Yi to sense their presence, but did not attack. This was just to keep him from relaxing his vigilance, trying to tire him to death!

Just when Li Yi could no longer hold on and was about to faint, the dragon-shaped relief on the rock wall lit up with golden light and a golden stream of air spurted out of its mouth. This was the destiny of the Great Wei Dynasty.

Li Yi was enjoying himself as he bathed in the fortune of the Wei Dynasty. He stretched out his hand to touch the golden airflow. At that moment, he seemed to see the bright lights in the Shangshu Room and the emperor and his ministers of the Wei Dynasty working all night long to make preparations for accepting the Western Regions.

The golden airflow exhaled by the dragon head became stable, and Li Yi felt that the Wenqi tree on his Wentian was growing rapidly. With the help of the spring breeze of national destiny, it has grown into a big tree with a straight trunk and extended branches. Purple-gold fan-shaped leaves gathered on the branches, sometimes dancing with the branches and the purple air floating up and down, and sometimes the tree stood alone with mist.

Li Yi was naturally pleased when he saw the scene of a single tree forming a scene in his own field. He walked forward and touched the trunk, feeling the students of the Imperial College studying books and poring over words; he reached out and touched the trunk, and saw Yu Linfan lecturing on dialectics to his disciples; he plucked a fan leaf and saw Bai Ling and others helping him recruit disciples.

This year's spring examination has ended. The growth of the Wenqi Tree is due to the implementation of the imperial examination system. The court was able to select thousands of officials to send to the Western Regions thanks to this imperial examination system.

Of course, this is not the work of Li Yi alone. Emperor Yuanjun, old silver coin Tao Zhongwen, and Shangshu Kong all helped a lot. There were also colleagues who compiled the book with him. Without the efforts of everyone, where would this literary atmosphere come from? Without the implementation of the imperial examination, how could so many scholars be convinced?

Li Yi stood under the tree, bowed deeply to the trunk and said: "Today I am fortunate to have the help of the country. I dare not say the words of Hengqu. I only wish to do my best to protect the righteous path. Even if the road ahead is full of thorns and difficulties, I will go despite thousands of people. This heart is sincere and this will is firm. The way of heaven is clear and can be witnessed by everything. The way of heaven is bright and can be proved by the gods."

Just after Li Yi made his promise, fish-scale purple clouds appeared in the sky, and then purple thunder was activated, striking directly down, hitting him. This was not a punishment for Li Yi, but the punishment of heaven on him had finally ended, and this purple thunder was helping him recover his strength.

The Great Wei Kingdom's luck was injected into the Western Regions, and the Purple Sky Divine Thunder descended. Naturally, the dozen wolf demons knew something was wrong, and immediately turned around and ran away. However, Li Yi had already pulled the Heaven-Shooting Sun Bow and shot out the Spirit Feather Arrow, killing all the wolf demons in a few breaths.

The water surface of Tianchi suddenly surged, and the soul summon broke through the water. It ran to Li Yi and said, "Brother Li Yi, Queen Tai'an wants to see you!"