Chapter 32 Planning
But simply retreating in order to advance is not enough, he must have other ways.

So after Li Heng finished writing, he thought for a moment and said to Yang Yuhuan: "My wife, my mother blamed me for not writing to her. Today, let's write a letter to her together, but you will be the main writer."

Li Heng considered letting Yang Yuhuan be the chief writer.

Now that they are away from home, what Wu Huifei hopes most is that they can love and live in harmony with each other. Moreover, the family letters written by Yang Yuhuan will not have strong political implications.

Although Yang Yuhuan didn't know why Li Heng asked her to write, she still obediently took the paper and pen and asked, "My dear, what should we write?"

"Except for my illness, please write about our recent situation truthfully, and ask you to take care of yourself, mother." Li Heng thought for a moment, and added, "Also, please advise the Prince Consort Yang Hui to treat my sister well and do his job fairly. That's about it, please polish it."

Historically, Yang Hui first participated in framing the crown prince, and later participated in the rebellion of Li Zhen, the heir to the throne of Qi. He did not look like an honest man at first glance. If he was allowed to mess around in Chang'an City, he might end up bringing disaster upon himself.

"I understand." Yang Yuhuan nodded and started writing.

After writing, Yang Yuhuan handed it to Li Heng and asked, "My dear, is this okay?"

Li Heng took it and read it, then nodded with a smile and said, "It's OK. The handwriting is beautiful. Even if Gao Shi invites Zhang Changshi to come, he can't say no."

Yang Yuhuan said: "That's not what I'm asking."

"I know." Li Heng pinched Yang Yuhuan's cheek, "I mean everything is fine."

"Hmm." Yang Yuhuan laughed when she heard that. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "My dear, do you think the sage will forgive you for your promotion or demotion?"

"It shouldn't be." Li Heng explained, "I just solved a major case and made many enemies in Lanzhou. There was also an ambush. Xin Yunjing has reported it, and those people have not been caught yet. If I don't have real power, I'm afraid these guards can't protect me. Of course, my father can also call me back to Chang'an, but in this way, not only will I not be able to catch the person who wants to ambush me, but I will also retreat to the lawless criminals. The glorious Tang Dynasty, God's blessing to all nations, the prosperous Tang Dynasty will not tolerate such things."

Li Heng planned everything from the moment he decided to leave Chang'an.

He had tried to figure out Li Longji's thoughts from the beginning and had analyzed Li Longji's practice of keeping the princes in captivity.

Throughout the dynasties, the precautions against the royal princes were alternating between loose and tight.

At the beginning of the Jin Dynasty, members of the royal family were made kings. Later, the Rebellion of the Eight Kings broke out. After the rebellion was quelled, the emperor began to suppress members of the royal family, but this in turn led to the empire being stolen by others.

The subsequent Northern and Southern Dynasties were exactly the same.

Therefore, the disadvantage of the royal family suppressing the barbarians is that rebellion is prone to occur, but it also has an advantage, that is, even if a rebellion occurs, the empire will not change its surname.

But if his surname was Zhenfan, once there was a rebellion, the empire would change its surname.

So this is actually just a question of choice. The root cause does not lie in who will suppress the vassal states, but in the fact that the vassal states are too powerful.

However, due to objective conditions such as transportation and communications, the empire could not suppress the feudal lords excessively. If it did, the entire country's strategy would shrink and it would be easy to be invaded by other countries.

The Song Dynasty is a good example of a country that overly suppressed the military power of its border generals. Internal rebellions were not a big deal, but the country was extremely timid towards external forces.

Of course, Li Longji didn’t know about the Song Dynasty, but he didn’t need to know, because how could the Tang Dynasty retreat during its heyday?
Moreover, Li Longji himself regarded himself as a wise and powerful ruler, so why would he be afraid of someone rebelling under his rule?

Therefore, in the early days, Li Longji chose to suppress the royal family. On the one hand, it was because he had experienced several coups and was on guard a little. On the other hand, it was also an attempt and exploration to solve the problem of the feudal lords.

However, this attempt and exploration came to an end as Li Longji gradually gave up in his later years. After the An-Shi Rebellion broke out, Li Longji still chose to appoint his sons as the generals of various armies, and even promulgated the "Three Kings System", dividing the military and political power of the country among the kings. However, the princes were appointed at a critical moment and could not achieve anything.

And now is the time when Li Longji starts to give up. Now Li Longji only wants to maintain the status quo and enjoy a comfortable life. He has given up on solving the problem of the vassal states.

Therefore, as long as Li Heng seized the opportunity and resolved Li Longji's concerns, and with the help of Concubine Wu Huifei, he would have a chance to become a vassal.

As for Li Longji's concerns, there are roughly two points.

The first point is that he was afraid that Li Heng would rebel.

In this regard, Li Heng has a terminal illness, so the problem is basically solved.

The second point is how to explain to other princes so that they will not follow suit.

Li Heng also laid the groundwork for this.

Li Heng was appointed as the Jiedushi of Jiannan, but he did not go to Jiannan, but came to the northwest. This shows that he did not leave the capital to go abroad, and he was promoted or demoted only because of unexpected events. This was a temporary measure.

Later, whenever Li Heng encountered more problems, Li Longji would naturally give him more stopgap measures.

Based on this, Li Heng never investigated the people who ambushed him, nor did he care about the problematic Hu man, in order to encounter more emergencies.

When Yang Yuhuan saw Li Heng finished speaking, she was silent for a long while and asked, "My dear, what's wrong with you?"

Li Heng came back to his senses and said with a smile: "Nothing, by the way, my lady, can you ride a horse?"

"I learned it when I was young in Shuzhou, but I never rode again after I came to Luoyang." Yang Yuhuan said with a bitter smile, "My biological father and mother died early, and I followed my uncle to Luoyang, the eastern capital, when I was ten years old. My uncle was a low-ranking official, but he was honest, so our family was not very wealthy. My uncle raised me up and let me learn dancing and piano. I am very grateful. How can I ask for anything else?"

Yang Yuhuan had an unfortunate childhood as her parents died early and she had to live under the care of others.

If Li Ying had not traveled through time, she would still be seized by her father-in-law and eventually die in front of her ex-husband and her current husband. Her life was full of sorrow from beginning to end.

But who remembers this?

Li Heng patted Yang Yuhuan's shoulder to comfort her and said, "How about I take you to learn? Are you interested?"

"Okay." Yang Yuhuan smiled happily and asked, "Where are we going to study?"

Li Heng said, "Let's go to the nearby horse farm. When the emperor's appointment comes down, I will take you to Ganzhou. There is a horse farm in Ganzhou, which is very large."

"I've heard of it." Yang Yuhuan stood up and paced back and forth, "It originated from the champion marquis Huo Qubing, more than 800 years ago."

"Yeah." Li Heng nodded, "You know a lot. Learn riding skills here first, and I'll take you there after a while."

"Okay." Yang Yuhuan agreed immediately and said, "It's not bad to herd horses and sheep in the frontier."

(End of this chapter)