After many years, Li Ze once again met Xue Jun, the leader of the Xue family, who was in Hedong back then.

The rich middle-aged man who was so full of opinions that stirred up the entire Hedong to fight against Li Ze, now he is thin and gray, and looks much older than his actual age.

The Hedong Group was the most troubled force against him at that time.

First of all, because the Hedong soldiers and horses were considered the direct line of Gao Pian, and Gao Pian, as the last pillar of the Tang Dynasty in the past, has always been highly respected. Even the Hedong soldiers and horses were praised by the world, making Li Ze obsessed with the weapons.

Secondly, Hedong is rich. Although its wealth is concentrated in the hands of a small number of people, theirs is indeed strong.

Martial annexation is the most unprofitable, and the best way is to divide and disintegrate.

Li Ze thought to break his head, and after several years, he finally disintegrated this huge group bit by bit and brought Hedong into his own leadership.

Now, Han Qi has completely drawn a clear line from the past. Before him, Li Cunzhong had already expressed his loyalty to Li Ze. As for the Xue family and Sima family went to Tubo and the Western Regions, the Hedong people led by Liu family chose to bow their knees directly to Li Ze.

After handing over almost all the land in his hand, these people used their abundant funds to invest in the vigorous business tide. Li Ze also kept his promise and did not give them any trouble. In the past few years, the original old families such as the Liu family have changed their appearance and transformed from a landlord to a wealthy businessman. Their financial resources have increased without decreasing compared to the past.

In order to express his sincerity to Li Ze, these people also spent countless money and invested heavily in public utilities such as transportation, education, and clinics in Wuyi, Zhenzhou and other places. Instead, they were in their hometown Hedong. These people seemed particularly stingy and invested pitifully small amounts of money.

This is also their cleverness.

Investing in places like Wuyi will win a huge reputation without any other hidden dangers of being suspicious, because Wuyi is the core and base camp of Li Ze's rule. But in Hedong, if they dare to do this, they are afraid that local officials will suspect that they are inviting people to buy people's hearts again and have poor intentions.

Now that Li Ze has arrived in Chang'an, the Liu family and other families have followed him to Chang'an again, preparing to continue to make large investments in these public utilities on the basis of a big battle in Chang'an.

They have tasted the sweetness.

Originally, these investments were just to buy from Li Ze. At the beginning, these businesses were indeed in a loss-making state, but as time went by, these things that were originally the mainstay of the family business gradually rejuvenated and began to become stable sources of income. Although they were not huge profits, they had extremely strong momentum and extremely small risks.

More importantly, they used these industries to tie themselves to Li Ze's regime more and more tightly. When Li Ze attacked Chang'an, several other families once again won the title they had been deprived of, which was Li Ze's reward for them.

This time, the re-gained title also means that after so many years of hard work, these people finally returned to the mainstream society of the Tang Dynasty.

In contrast, the Xue family was a little bit miserable, even worse than the Sima family who was exiled to the Western Regions.

Most of the Western Regions have been re-controlled by the Tang Dynasty, and the Sima family has also gained a foothold here. Now the Western Regions are under the leadership of Xue Ping, and the Sima family has also begun to re-enter the political arena in the Western Regions. Although they are only grassroots officials in some places, over time, a big man may appear. The Sima family entered the Western Regions and vigorously participated in the commercial activities of rebuilding the Silk Road advocated by Li Ze, and made a lot of money.

Inspired by the success of Liu and others, after making money, Sima also vigorously donated money and materials to the local government and participated in local public construction at any cost, but his reputation became greater and greater.

And the Xue family in Tubo is not so lucky.

Tubo was still an independent country, and its relationship with the Tang Dynasty was also very strange. Tocharo regarded the Tang Dynasty as its enemy, but Delhi Chinan led the Tang Dynasty as an aid. Now there is another force, which is the Tubo serfs who rose up from the siege.

After two years of continuous Tubo serf uprising, the vigorous Tubo serfs uprising has entered a difficult period from its initial unstoppable momentum. Whether it is Tochar or Delhi Chinan, the serfs uprisings have been cruelly suppressed without hesitation. Sometimes when facing serfs, these two irreconcilable forces will unite to attack the serfs.

In Tubo today, the social order is chaotic, the economy is withered, the people are living in poverty, wars are everywhere, and robbers are everywhere.

Xue is in such an environment, and her situation is naturally extremely difficult.

Of course, the so-called difficulties are just compared to other people in Hedong back then. The Xue family, who set up their base in Lhasa, followed Delhi Chinan closely, and regarded themselves as the center of the connection between Delhi Chinan and the Tang Dynasty, is now quite famous in Tubo.

Looking at this old friend who is not an old friend, Li Ze also seemed quite sad. The grievances of those days, as Li Ze's overall situation is now settled, everything is in control and goes with the wind. Now the other party is working hard in Tubo, but it is also planning for the future of the Tang Dynasty. The Xue family has done its best. It can be regarded as the Xue family, which is contributing its own strength to the country and the nation, has long since lost any grudges.

If Tubo can be successfully annexed, the Xue family will be an extremely important piece on the chessboard of Li Ze.

"Have you been quite adaptable in Tubo over the years?" Li Ze asked.

Xue Jun respectfully crossed his hands and greeted him: "Xie Li is concerned, but he is used to it. Compared with the prosperous Tang Dynasty, although it is a little remote, there are some other benefits. In addition to the leisure time, he often goes out for a walk. The sky is high and the clouds are light and the grass is green. Look at the white clouds and the eagles are flying. The shepherd drives the cattle and sheep to wander, which makes his mind wider. However, this time I am a little uncomfortable when I come back. I am ashamed. After I come back, I am not able to adapt to my diet and have been tired for several days!"

Li Ze laughed: "It's okay if one place is going to support the other people? Should I let Jinyuan show you?"

"How dare I work for this little thing? It would have been a long time since I got it done." Xue Jun said.

"How do you feel when you come back this time?"

"I feel a lot of emotion!" Xue Jun said sincerely: "The Tang Dynasty is now gradually showing the prosperous Tang Dynasty. I passed by Wuyi and Zhenzhou, and it seemed like a paradise."

"I finally came back, why didn't I stay in the river for a few more days?" Li Ze looked at Xue Jun and said with a smile.

"Things are different." Xue Jun said honestly: "It's just a little sad, so I just went to the ancestral tomb to pay tribute. In addition, I was anxious to report the current situation of Tubo to Li Xiang, so I rushed towards Chang'an."

"Although the inner guard has also returned, it is better to feel it deeper than being in it. Tell me about the current situation there!" Li Ze nodded.

"Overall, Li Xiang's strategy has been a great success in Tubo. Now that Tubo has three forces standing together, no one can do anything to anyone for a while." Xue Jun said: "But the serf army has declined."

"They lacked a clear political program. They gathered a large number of serfs with their temporary blood and courage. At first, when the Tubo authorities were caught off guard, they could sweep everything. But as long as the Tubo authorities reacted, they defeated them with better soldiers, better equipment, and higher combat literacy." Li Ze nodded and said, "But the trauma they caused was irreparable."

"Now Tocharo and Delhi Chinan have also realized the harm of the serf uprising to their rule. The two sides have reached a reconciliation on this issue and are ready to fight the serf uprising with all their might before discussing the issues between them." Xue Jun said: "I think this is not a good sign."

Li Ze nodded and smiled, "Tocharo is an amazing politician, and Delhi Chinan is not stupid. He was forced to fight with both sides earlier because of the form. Now that no one can do anything to each other, they will naturally calm down. I think we have seen our intentions clearly, so even if they join forces, I won't be surprised."

"It is impossible to merge." Xue Jun shook his head: "In the past few years, the two sides have accumulated too much hatred. After extinguishing the serf uprising, even if they no longer fight to the death, division has become a foregone conclusion. Moreover, Tochar's health is getting worse and worse. Once this person dies, Delhi Chinan might annex him in one fell swoop."

"Can't Tochar's body hold on?" Li Ze frowned and said, "I thought he could last for a few years until I solved the internal problems."

"Tochar's physical condition has always been extremely confidential and rarely appears in public." Xue Jun said: "But one time I unexpectedly got news that some important officials from the Tochar side were secretly contacting Chinan Delhi, which had never happened in the past few years. I think it was probably because Tochar was not in good health. These people also knew that once Tochar died, his sons would not be able to hold on to the situation, and might even kill each other in order to fight for power and profit. These people were looking for a way out for themselves."

Li Ze nodded slightly: "Deri Chinan is actually a sensible person. Although he has been relying on our strong support to tie the game with Tochar, he has always been on guard against us. Li Cunzhong has tried several times this year, and Deri Chinan has also deployed heavy troops on the border."
Chapter completed!