Chapter 733

Li Er pondered.

Ever since he learned that the Harsha Empire wanted to form an alliance with the Great Tang, Li Er had been performing simulations.

Standing from the perspective of different countries to simulate future trends and what kind of pattern changes would form.

Because of this, he thought of quite a few good methods.

"The Harsha Empire has strong troops and sturdy horses; attacking Yelang is a piece of cake. You must make them understand the importance of my Great Tang and be willing to sell some war elephants to the Great Tang.

Hmm... the bottom line is one thousand!"

One thousand elephants!

Pei Ji served in Jiaozhou, which is the southernmost tip of the Great Tang. He had also heard of the King of Siam, who traveled with four elephants accompanying him.

He knew that these elephants were very rare animals.

Asking for one thousand in one breath—wouldn't the appetite be a bit too big?

And this was still the bottom line!

"Your Majesty, asking for so many in one breath, can the Harsha King agree?"

Li Er laughed.

This is the benefit of him having performed simulations in advance; his judgment of the situation was already clear in his heart.

He pointed to a place on the map.

"Of course, it's not for free; I can promise to cede this place to them."

Ceding territory?

Pei Ji looked at the map.

The place Li Er pointed to was actually Yizhou!

Yizhou was already Great Qin's territory.

Pei Ji suddenly realized.

"Your Majesty wants to take advantage of the Harsha Empire's lack of understanding of Central Plains affairs to make an empty promise of this large piece of land in exchange for one thousand war elephants?" Li Er smiled and nodded.

He was very satisfied with this strategy of his.

"If the Harsha Empire wants to take over Yizhou, they must first attack Yelang. This is a matter of interlocking links.

After they take down Yelang and find that they cannot take over Yizhou, the Great Tang will then send troops to help them attack Yizhou together.

By that time, the war elephants will already be in hand, and the Great Tang sending troops to help them will not cause the alliance relationship to break. The Harsha Empire will eventually forgive the Great Tang." As expected of Emperor Li Er, he is just a bit thicker-skinned and more shameless than others.

Pei Ji now understands a bit why the Emperor specifically found him to come back to handle this errand?

The mission difficulty is extremely high, and there is a life-threatening danger in deceiving the Harsha King.

This matter definitely couldn't be handled by someone with too low a status.

For those with high enough status, Li Er wouldn't be willing to let them take this risk.

Only he, Pei Ji, who was once the head of the hundred officials, had the status. And even if he died, Li Er wouldn't feel heartache.

....... Begging for flowers... 0

The abacus is clicking loudly!

But don't talk about risks; even if it were a mountain of knives and a sea of fire, Pei Ji would have to bite the bullet and go.

This mission is the only hope for the rise of his Pei family.

"Your Majesty is far-sighted, beyond what ordinary people can reach!"

Pei Ji still sent a high hat along the way.

Anyway, it was just a casual remark.

Li Er seemed to be very satisfied, squinting his eyes and looking up to intoxicate himself for a while.

Probably, he hadn't heard such flattery for a long time either.

"Pei Ji, there is one more thing that cannot be ignored.

Ever since Great Qin prohibited temples from holding land, a large number of monks have lost their livelihoods and fled one after another.

This matter must be told with added oil and vinegar, striving to cause anger and sensation in the Harsha Empire!"

Pei Ji also knew that the Harsha Empire highly revered Buddhism.

If they learned that monks in Great Qin were encountering such unfair treatment, they would definitely be very angry.

Such provocation is necessary.

The plan was set.

Pei Ji prepared to set off immediately for the Harsha Empire.

However, he had one small request.

"Your Majesty, my son Pei Lushi has not made any progress in his official career these past few years. I want to take my son with me as a deputy envoy on this mission to the Harsha Empire. I ask for Your Majesty's grace."

Li Er understood.

This was the condition for Pei Ji to handle the matter.

For an old man like him, whether he gets promoted or not doesn't have much significance anymore.

Pei Ji's goal is to lift up his son.

In the future, Pei Lushi will succeed him and become the pillar of the Pei family. So that the Pei family can continue to maintain itself.

Li Er is also a ruthless person, saying directly.

"I grant it! After this matter is handled properly, I will issue an imperial decree to grant a marriage to help your son stabilize his position."

Hearing the Emperor say this, Pei Ji's heart was completely at ease.

"Thank you, Your Majesty! This subject will definitely do his utmost for the Great Tang!"

Pei Ji immediately left the palace to arrange the mission to the Harsha Empire.

Li Er was full of expectations.

He wondered if, after forming an alliance with the Harsha Empire this time, he could reverse the disadvantage against Great Qin in one fell swoop?

He had truly been suppressed by Great Qin for too long.

So long that it made him somewhat self-doubting.

Am I really just a mediocre, muddled monarch who can't achieve anything?