Chapter 257 Silla
Wei Zheng sighed and said, "The most important thing in governing a place is to maintain stability. What you are doing may offend those noble families, but it will be a big deal if you stir up a civil uprising.

Our army of 100,000 is not a small number, but what will happen after they are dispersed and stationed in cities and counties?

We still need to appease the people and recruit talented people from among them to strengthen the army."

Zhang Huli heard this and said, "Then follow Duke Wei's advice, open the granaries to release grain, and recruit soldiers at the same time."

Luo Yi asked: "What about those noble families?"

Wei Zheng said coldly: "Of course continue!"

"Hahaha, I knew Duke Wei wasn't a pedantic person."

Zhang Huli was a little surprised: "This is not what Duke Wei advised in the capital."

Wei Zheng looked at them with contempt and said, "Your Majesty is the ruler of the country. I should naturally advise Your Majesty to govern the country in an upright and dignified manner. You common people, why should you care about them?"

Now the two of them couldn't laugh anymore, but with Wei Zheng's help and comfort, they could really let go and do their work.

In addition to next year's war, it is also time to take ruthless measures against those cities in Goguryeo that are still resisting stubbornly.

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Pyongyang was constantly taking action and its attitude of preparing for war was very obvious, so Silla and Baekje naturally received the news.

But at the moment, they have no better solution except secretly supporting the remnants of Goguryeo to rise up against the Tang army.

The Sui Dynasty launched several expeditions against Goguryeo and defeated a powerful country whose influence in Liaodong surpassed that of the Sui Dynasty and the Turks.

It was not until the Sui Dynasty was finally destroyed and the Tang Dynasty was established that there were two or three years of peace. While the Tang emperor was fighting against the eastern and western Turkic tribes, he also completely destroyed Goguryeo.

It would be fine to destroy Goguryeo, but why should we destroy them as well?
In the royal palace of Silla, the extremely tall Silla King Kim Jin-pyeong looked worried. He asked his military commander Kim Hou-jik, "If we join forces with Baekje to resist, can we save the country?"

Hou Ji of Jin immediately said: "Your Majesty, I think it is possible. The Tang Dynasty was established only three years ago, and it has been fighting with the Turkic Goguryeo frequently. How much national strength can it have left?

They haven't even been able to completely conquer Goguryeo, so how many years will it take them to conquer us?

Our sacred bones and true bones will never succumb to the enemy's attack, and the brave and skilled Hwarang are always ready to die for Your Majesty!"

The so-called holy bones and real bones are a system similar to the Nine-Rank System. The holy bones are the direct royal family members who are qualified to inherit the throne, and the real bones are the nobles.

Silla employed people based on their character. If someone was not from the Silla family, even if he had great talent and outstanding achievements, he could not surpass him.

The Hwarang were the sons of nobles who served as a reserve army. They were indoctrinated with the five secular precepts: to be loyal to the king, to be filial to parents, to be trustworthy in making friends, to never retreat in battle, and to be selective in killing. The court encouraged them to charge into battle and sacrifice themselves for the country.

Hearing the words of his military commander, the King of Silla was undoubtedly encouraged, and he looked at the other ministers.

The son of the Minister of Rites was the leader of the Hualang, so he said: "Your Majesty, after hearing about this, my son led his men to train hard day and night, waiting to defeat the Tang army next year and protect the country!"

The official of the Ministry of Personnel exclaimed: "From here, wise and loyal ministers are born, and good generals and brave soldiers are born." But the woman who was kneeling where the king of Silla was about to attack said: "What if we can't win? What if the Tang army wants to attack several more times? Even the powerful Goguryeo couldn't withstand the attacks of the Central Plains dynasty several times. How many times can we Silla withstand it?"

The King of Silla has no sons. Not only he, but his two younger brothers also have no sons. The inheritance of the sacred bones is in danger, but there has been no good way to solve the problem. The only thing they can do is let the eldest princess serve as the crown prince.

"Your Highness! You shouldn't say such things at this time. Isn't this your country?"

Jin Deman is also very tall, but her appearance is not very good-looking. She said calmly: "That is why we need to think carefully. With courage and wisdom, we can defeat enemies that are stronger than ourselves, but ants can never defeat humans.

Our Silla is just a small country. Even if we include Baekje, Goguryeo and even Khitan, we are still far inferior to the Central Plains.

I heard that the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty was the one who conquered Pyongyang and killed the King of Goguryeo, Gao Yuan. At that time, he was only in his twenties and was just a general. But now..."

"Your Highness! Do you know what happens to people who lose their country?"

"I know, but I think we can discuss this with the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. War is not a good option, especially for us."

The fighting spirit of the King of Silla, which was originally inspired by his ministers, was extinguished by his daughter's words. He also did not want to go to war with the Tang Dynasty. The difference in strength was huge, which was well known.
But are we going to abandon the vast territory passed down by our ancestors?
After the argument, the ministers withdrew. Jin Deman stood up and saluted her father: "If you want to talk to the Tang Dynasty, I am willing to go to the Tang Dynasty as an envoy to meet the emperor."

The King of Silla stood up. He was almost two men tall. This strange appearance enabled him to firmly control his country even without a son.

"I am old now. This country is to be handed over to you. Are you willing to give it up?"

Jin Deman looked sad: "What can we do if we don't want to? The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty did not give us many choices. Father, we have been fighting with Baekje for many years, and we hate each other a lot. We can't just join forces.

The emperor is not as kind as rumored. If we go to war and end up losing, what should we do?"

"Then go ahead and take our national treasure with you."

The King of Silla took off the jade belt from his waist. The jade belt was bright and exquisite. According to legend, it was given by the gods when Kim Jinpyeong ascended the throne.

This jade belt is known as one of the three treasures along with the six-foot-tall statue and the nine-story pagoda at Huanglong Temple. Except for the nine-story pagoda, Jin Deman took both of them with him.

As soon as the news that the princess was going to meet the Tang emperor spread, people from all walks of life in Silla were outraged and accused the princess of being cowardly and unworthy of being the crown prince.

Even if there are no male descendants among the sacred bones, it is better to choose one from the true bones to succeed than to support such a timid woman.

At this time, Baekje was also holding a meeting, which was called the Six Japyong Conference, and was controlled by eight major clans: Sha, Yan, Xie, Xie, Zhen, Guo, Mu, and Bi.

It is obvious that Buyeo Jang, the king of Baekje, did not have absolute say, but that was not surprising. He was not a direct descendant of the royal family. In his early years, he made a living by picking potatoes in Iksan. He was originally supported by the eight clans.

The military officer in charge of the internal and external troops, Zuo Ping, asked, "Has Silla not responded to our alliance news yet?"

The finance officer, Sahei, shook his head and said, "Humph, the weak Silla people will definitely surrender to the Tang people. We can't count on them at all!"

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(End of this chapter)