Chapter 887 Winter Turks!
From Li Shimin's heart, he preferred his second legitimate son, Prince of Wei Li Tai, who was only one year younger than Li Chengqian.
Li Tai was extremely talented, a talent that could not be concealed. Since he was a child, Li Chengqian was not as good as his younger brother in studying, so Li Tai was very much loved by Li Shimin.
But no one ever thought that Li Shimin would make Li Tai the crown prince.
Because simple cleverness is not a reason to establish a crown prince, Emperor Yang Guang of Sui was also the smartest and most talented son of Emperor Wen of Sui.
As for Li Shimin himself, his becoming the emperor of the Tang Dynasty had little to do with his intelligence since childhood.
Li Shimin single-handedly led the founding war of unification, which gave Li Shimin the prestige to become the emperor. Then, the powerful military threat from the Dong Turks forced Li Yuan to simply keep adding to Li Shimin's support, which eventually led to Li Shimin having the strength to become the emperor. The two combined, it was expected that Li Shimin would become the emperor.
Especially after Li Shimin appointed Zhou Jun Wang Luo Xuanye as the Prince's Grand Tutor and Prince's Grand Guardian, it seemed to everyone that Li Chengqian would become the future Son of Heaven of the Xia Dynasty and the future Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.
But what is the reality?
Li Chengqian is very kind.
Um.
Li Chengqian is very kind.
…
"Greetings, Father." "Greetings, Your Majesty. May Your Majesty be well and safe."
"Greetings, teacher." "May your father be well."
Li Chengqian and Luo Juncheng immediately saluted, and Li Lizhi ran directly towards Li Shimin, opened her arms and said, "Father."
After that, she hugged Li Shimin's arm. Li Shimin touched her little head lovingly. Li Lizhi bowed to Luo Xuanye again and said coquettishly, "Uncle."
Luo Xuanye nodded and smiled.
When the two of them entered the palace, Li Shimin casually asked Li Gang, "What is the prince learning recently?"
Li Gang said solemnly: "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has been reviewing The Way of Kings recently."
Li Shimin smiled and nodded when he heard this, saying: "The King's Way is good. The King Su wrote this book, which contains profound teachings. We must teach it perfectly. The crown prince of the country must not slack off.
Has Cheng Qian been feeling tired lately?"
Li Gang hesitated for a moment, and Li Shimin noticed it. His expression immediately turned serious and he asked, "Why? Is there anything you can't say?"
Li Gang immediately said, "Your Highness may have been too quiet recently and wanted to move around. He likes playing and has been a little lax in his studies. I am trying to persuade him."
The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became tense. Luo Xuanye glanced at Luo Juncheng, who nodded slightly. Li Shimin had already turned to the timid Li Chengqian and asked, "Chengqian, is what the Crown Prince's Junior Master just said true?"
Luo Xuanye is the Prince's Grand Tutor and the Prince's Grand Guardian, and Li Gang is the Prince's Junior Guardian, but Li Gang is the one who is truly responsible for teaching Li Chengqian.
Li Chengqian shuddered and said, "Father, I, I..."
Li Shimin was about to get angry when he saw this, but Luo Xuanye coughed and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to tell you. Let's go to the side hall."
Li Shimin snorted at Li Chengqian and followed Luo Xuanye to the side hall. Luo Juncheng whispered to Li Chengqian, "Don't worry, Prince. His Majesty won't blame you, but you must not indulge in fun and frolicking in the future."
Li Chengqian said with a bitter face: "Fortunately, my uncle is here, otherwise I would definitely be scolded today."
Li Shimin and Luo Xuanye walked together, and Luo Xuanye said: "Your Majesty should try not to reprimand the prince in front of everyone, and it is normal for the prince to not like to study at his age.
The prince was a descendant of the Li family, with boiling blood flowing in his veins, filled with swords, spears and arrows.
Your Majesty, have you forgotten that when you were young, you did not like the teachings of the sages, but only liked to gather together to play, shoot arrows and dance with spears? But this did not affect Your Majesty from becoming a sage king.
As a king, it is enough to know how to use people and cultivate a good character. Under the most verdant tree, nothing can grow luxuriantly. A saintly king like your majesty will always put great pressure on his descendants. You should try to control this pressure as much as possible. "
Li Shimin's expression eased a little after hearing this and he said, "Don't be too lenient with him. He will be the master of the Tang Dynasty in the future, and he must be excellent in all aspects. The prosperity of the Han Dynasty was the result of several generations of emperors. He must work harder."
Luo Xuanye shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, if you use the standards of a Saint King to demand the Crown Prince, you will only be disappointed in the end.
The saint kings in this world are all born with this talent, just like you, with the appearance of a dragon and a phoenix, and the look of the sun and the moon. This is an excellence bestowed by God, and it can never be cultivated.
If you look at the prince with a normal mind, you will end up feeling that the prince is much better than you expected.
This is my sincere opinion, Your Majesty, please consider it carefully. "
Li Shimin's anger was basically dispelled by Luo Xuanye's words. He turned his head and looked at Luo Xuanye, feeling quite helpless and said: "I shouldn't have let you be the Prince's Grand Tutor and the Prince's Grand Guardian. Qingyang, don't be biased towards the Prince because of these two positions. The throne of the country is the most important thing."
Luo Xuanye said solemnly: "Your Majesty, rest assured. In the Luo family, there is a very classic saying about educating children. It is better to make the children's heart strong than the body. Let the children be confident and self-aware. I will pay attention to this aspect."
Li Shimin's anxiety about the prince's education calmed down a little, "There are still many years to go. I am still young now, and there is still plenty of time to slowly teach the prince in the future."
There is plenty of time.
Luo Xuanye muttered this sentence secretly in his heart, but a trace of worry arose in his heart. Li Shimin is only in his twenties now, and he may be the emperor for thirty or forty years. By that time, will the prince be able to hold on?
But he didn't show it on his face.
Whether Li Chengqian would become the future emperor or not had little to do with him. He was a subject of Li Shimin. A new emperor chose new subjects. In the new dynasty, he would at most be a mascot like a magic needle that stabilizes the sea. That was the era of Luo Juncheng.
After Li Shimin and Luo Xuanye came back, Li Shimin just said to Li Chengqian calmly, "Prince, you should encourage yourself more and don't let your mother and the whole court down."
Then he left directly. Luo Xuanye smiled slightly at Li Chengqian and nodded, then left with Li Shimin.
Li Chengqian couldn't help but exclaimed in surprise: "My uncle is so amazing, just as amazing as my mother."
In Li Chengqian's opinion, anyone who can persuade his father to stop is very powerful. Luo Juncheng whispered beside Li Chengqian: "Prince, we have to work harder in the future, otherwise one day, the Queen and my father will not be able to control it, and that will be tragic."
Li Chengqian agreed with this, but when he thought about studying, he felt a headache again. He thought to himself, "I wish I had the brain of the King of Wei."
…
The policy of the Tang Dynasty in the early years of Zhenguan period revolved around recuperation, and the emperor and his ministers suppressed other things, but everyone knew that action against the Turks was inevitable, so the Tang Dynasty had been collecting information about the Turks in order to know itself and the enemy, and win every battle.
The situation of the winter Turks is not very good.
As a purely nomadic regime, it attached more importance to the weather than the Western Turks, who practiced a mixture of farming and nomadism. Unfortunately, natural disasters on the grassland had been very serious recently, resulting in the death of a large number of cattle, sheep and war horses of the Turks.
Not only that, there was a Han Chinese among the Turks who became a guest of honor of Jie Li Khan. His name was Zhao Deyan. This traitor had some ability, but not much. He could be said to be a clown.
His biggest problem was that he did not know how to adapt to local conditions and bring the policies of the Central Plains to the grassland.
In the environment on the grassland, even for the most sinicized Xianbei, whose top leaders were all sinicized, the final organizational form was still a tribal aristocratic alliance.
Because there is no economic foundation like that of the Central Plains, of course it cannot be ruled in the way of the Central Plains. Only a crazy person would try to centralize power on the grassland.
But Jie Li Khan suddenly lost his mind.
Or it can be said that it was not that he had lost his brain, but that the form of centralized rule was too tempting for a king. Just a description from Zhao Deyan made Jie Li Khan obsessed as if he had taken a love drug.
On the grassland, due to nomadic reasons, people have no fixed place to live and follow the tribe, so people are a very precious property, and these people are extremely dependent on the tribal leader.
In this situation, wanting centralization would not only go against the tribal leaders, but ordinary tribesmen would also not appreciate it, because most of them might never see the Khan in their entire lives.
As a result, many tribes were resentful.
Natural disasters and man-made calamities made the Turks quite precarious. Under such circumstances, the Tang Dynasty, which was full of wise counselors and brave generals, naturally became restless.
At the end of the first year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin reluctantly rejected the proposal to send troops to the Turks because the time was not yet ripe and it was not certain to what extent the Turks' strength had been damaged. More importantly, the strength of the Tang Dynasty had not yet fully recovered and the national policy that had just been formulated could not be overturned immediately, otherwise the people of the world would not be able to see the court's determination, which would be extremely harmful.
Time passed slowly. The emperor and his ministers of the Zhenguan period hardly sent out a single soldier. They relied on diplomatic and economic means to communicate with the surrounding Hu regimes, and almost entirely relied on wisdom and determination to solve the problems around them that might require sending troops.
Neither corvée nor military service was very popular. After so many years of war, the people were finally able to farm well and they showed great enthusiasm. Perhaps God had mercy on them and no major natural disasters occurred. At the end of the year, at the end of the first and second years of Zhenguan, the prime ministers straightened their backs when reporting the annual taxes.
In particular, Li Shimin said, "Taking a lot of taxes is not a skill. The treasury and granaries of the Sui Dynasty were filled with coins, cloth, and grain, but they were all taken from the people by trickery and plunder. The people lived a hard life, so how could it be called a prosperous era?"
Fang Xuanling then smiled and said, "Your Majesty, the price of rice among the people in the third year of Zhenguan is 30% lower than that in the Kaihuang period of the Sui Dynasty. The country is not at war, food and grass are not used for military supplies, and the court's taxes are low. The people are really gradually living a good life.
It should be said that this is the best life the people have lived in recent decades, and this is all thanks to Your Majesty.
Your Majesty is wise and wise!"
All the ministers, including Wei Zheng, said in unison: "Your Majesty is wise and wise!"
Li Shimin was really happy now, and laughed loudly, "This is not only my credit, but also the credit of you gentlemen. I am not afraid of fighting, that happens to be what I am good at, but I made many mistakes in governing the country, but fortunately, you gentlemen gave me advice, especially Wei Zheng, who was very outspoken and corrected many of my mistakes. I will continue to do so in the future. I and you gentlemen will work together for great achievements."
At the end of the third year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin, who was well versed in military affairs, felt that the country's strength had been sufficient, and that the internal and external troubles of the Winter Turks had become quite serious. It was time to have a big battle with the Turks, so he came to Lingtian Pavilion again to meet Luo Su.
When Li Shimin saw Luo Su, he got straight to the point and said, "Duke Wen, I think the time has come to deal with the Dong Turks. What do you think about this?"
Luo Su smiled and said, "You have an outstanding talent in military affairs. Since you think the time has come, I naturally have no objection. If you ask me, I will give you some other suggestions."
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin immediately sat up straight and became solemn. In the past few years, he had also figured out that Duke Wen would either chat with him casually, but whenever he gave him advice, it was always an extremely important matter.
Luo Su did not hesitate and said slowly: "How can I allow others to snore beside my bed? There can only be one sun in the sky and one supreme king on earth.
After the Tang Dynasty recovered its strength, it was bound to expand its influence in all directions. As an emperor, I was surprised that you could hold back for three years without taking action.
The specific tactics of fighting is not something I consider. You have your own ideas, and you have generals and commanders with outstanding martial arts skills, but you have to think clearly about the strategy against the Turks and the strategies of the surrounding countries in the future.
What kind of appearance should the Tang Dynasty present in front of the grasslands, the Western Regions, and the Liaodong tribes? I believe you definitely want to rule these areas, so the Tang Dynasty's attitude towards the Dong Turks will determine how easy it will be for the Tang Dynasty to acquire these lands in the future."
Li Shimin pondered and said, "What does the Imperial Master think?"
Luo Su said decisively: “Huairou.
Make the Tang Dynasty a place that all the surrounding Hu people yearn for, and cultivate people who are loyal to the Tang Dynasty in various Hu tribes.
Let them become Tang Dynasty's agents in those Hu tribes.
Let their interests be transferred from their own tribe to the Tang Dynasty.
The grasslands and the Western Regions can still be fought by fighting hard, but Liaodong is not that easy.
A solid fortress is easiest to break through from the inside. If you can create a situation in which the pro-Tang faction outweighs the anti-Tang faction within other tribes, you may even be able to defeat the enemy without fighting.
When you and Li Jiancheng were competing for the throne, you let Li Jiancheng make the first move. So now people all over the world think that you were forced to fight back. The same applies when facing the Hu people.
You must hold high the banner of morality. You have an alliance with the Turks, and it is not a good thing to break the alliance at will, especially when you cannot challenge other countries in the world.
Credit is a kind of power. It makes Datang's promise become a kind of power, just like Luo's promise. You should know that Luo's promise is worth more than a thousand pieces of gold.
As long as Luo says a word, without any guarantee, there will be people who will lend millions of money for it. This is credit.
If the Tang Dynasty can build this level of credit, the benefits it will bring to the Tang Dynasty in the future will be beyond your imagination.
Moreover, this can greatly alleviate the fear of other Hu tribes and the hatred of the Turks towards you. You can't kill them all. In addition, this psychological superiority can greatly alleviate the moral pressure in the hearts of the soldiers. You should know that if you kill too many people wantonly, people will become abnormal. I think you don't want that kind of soldiers."
Li Shimin certainly did not want that kind of soldiers. Once people reach that level, they are difficult to control. A truly strong army is one that can not only kill people, but also knows why to kill them. Simply killing people, once they are not allowed to kill, will cause a mutiny.
Find a reason to declare war on the Turks!
Build Datang's foreign policy!
This foreign policy must be persistent rather than changing at any time. This will give the Tang Dynasty a relatively fixed image in the world. Future policies can be extended from this image, and even the surrounding Hu tribes can automatically determine their own inclinations based on the Tang Dynasty.
The more Li Shimin thought about it, the more he felt that this idea was perfect. It was a good idea that would benefit the world for generations to come. He couldn't help but smile and said, "What the Imperial Master says always makes me feel refreshed."
Luo Su raised his teacup, and through the rising steam, he seemed to cast his gaze on Li Shimin's face, and said slowly: "I haven't told you about my biggest plan yet. Once you defeat the Dong Turks, it will probably be time. I hope you can be quick. Time waits for no one. The faster you do things, the greater your achievements will be in the end."
The biggest plan!
It was the first time that Li Shimin heard Luo Su say this, and he was extremely curious. But since Luo Su said that he had to wait until the Dong Turks were defeated, Li Shimin knew that he could not be impatient and had to wait. The most urgent task was to deal with the Dong Turks.
After leaving Lingtian Pavilion, Li Shimin immediately began to prepare for the Dong Turks. As for the reason for declaring war, it was too easy to find. The Dong Turks were now in trouble and would definitely go south to raid the valleys and harass the border of the Tang Dynasty.
The troops did not move out until the food and fodder were sent ahead. In the past three years, there was plenty of food in the treasury and there was no need to collect food from the people.
As Li Shimin expected, the Turks, who had been suffering from natural disasters, could not help but move south again. Ashina She'er, a member of the Turkic royal family, led a large army south to attack Hexi, the border of the Tang Dynasty. Although they returned without success, it was not important. They had endured before because they wanted to recuperate, but now that the strategy had changed, this was a perfect excuse to send troops.
…
Li Shimin first found Luo Xuanye. The two sat opposite each other in the Taiji Hall. Li Shimin said in a deep voice: "The Turks are rampant. I want to send troops to attack them. Now I need to find a commander to coordinate the various armies. Qingyang, who do you think should be sent?"
Luo Xuanye was very excited about Li Shimin's plan to take action against the Turks. As a military general, he had long been dissatisfied with the Turks. The Tang Dynasty had been robbed of gold, silver, and cloth by the Turks several times. Although many of the abducted children were recovered, it was still a shame.
Luo Xuanye knew that it was impossible for him to lead such an important war, so he said after a moment of silence, "Your Majesty, there are many brave generals in the Tang Dynasty, but most of you are like me, brave generals but not real commanders.
The war with the Eastern Turks is related to the fate of the country. If we lose this war, it will take several years for the Tang Dynasty to recover, so we must be foolproof.
Therefore, I suggest that Li Jing, the Minister of War and the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, be appointed as the commander of the army. Our ancestors highly praised his talents and believed that he was a commander who was no less capable than the famous generals of ancient times. "
What Luo Xuanye said was exactly what Li Shimin was thinking. Li Shimin smiled and said, "Qingyang, you actually recommended Li Jing. I never thought of that. I remember that you never even invited him to your house for a banquet."
Luo Xuanye said calmly, "Li Jing and I are probably incompatible. We are not destined to be friends in this life. As the saying goes, one should not avoid enemies when recommending someone from outside. Li Jing and I are not enemies. He has talent and can do things that are beneficial to the country, so I naturally recommend him. This is my loyalty to Your Majesty, not because I have any affection for Li Jing."
Li Shimin smiled and said, "It is my fortune to have a minister like you, Qingyang. What else can I say?"
After that, he said to the eunuch who was serving him, "Go and summon Li Jing to the palace."
Li Jing was the Minister of War and naturally in the Secretariat. When he received the emperor's summons, he did not dare to neglect it and quickly hurried to the palace. Seeing that only the emperor and Prince Zhou Luo Xuanye were in the hall, he immediately paid his respects.
After the greeting, Li Shimin said straight to the point: "The Turks betrayed the alliance and harassed the four counties of Hexi in the Tang Dynasty. I cannot tolerate it and I am determined to send troops to the Turks.
Prince Zhou recommended you to be the commander-in-chief of the Dingxiang Road Army to lead the war against the Turks. What do you think?"
Prince Zhou recommended me?
Li Jing lowered his head in shock, but when he thought about it carefully, he felt it was very reasonable. Although he had an average relationship with Prince Zhou, Prince Zhou had never actually done anything for him, so it was normal for him to recommend himself now.
Thoughts flashed through his mind, and Li Jing immediately said loudly: "I will live up to your majesty's trust and the recommendation of Prince Zhou, and make great contributions to our Tang Dynasty."
He had no intention of refusing.
From a low-level official in the Sui Dynasty to the current Censor-in-Chief and Minister of War, he can be said to have enjoyed great wealth and glory. Moreover, he led the war for the Tang Dynasty to unify the south and overthrow Xiao Xin. This was his achievement.
If it were someone else, it would probably be enough to satisfy him, but for Li Jing, it was not enough, far from enough. He had endless ambitions in his heart. What he wanted was to be listed among the top in history, on par with legendary figures like Taigong Wang and Han Wumu. If he could not achieve it, he would feel sorry for all the suffering he had endured.
Li Shimin liked Li Jing's decisive attitude and immediately said, "I will now summon all the prime ministers and generals to announce this appointment and discuss subsequent matters."
Li Shimin's decisiveness and vigor were brought over from the war years, and all the generals in the Council of State and on guard duty were summoned.
It was rare to see all the civil and military officials in the palace, including Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Zhangsun Wuji, Wei Zheng, Xiao Yu, Feng Deyi, Zhang Liang, Hou Junji, Yuchi Gong, Qin Shubao, Cheng Zhijie, Li Ji, Zhang Gongjin, Li Daozon, Li Daoxuan, Li Xiaogong, and Li Shentong.
These were almost all high-ranking officials of the third rank, the most powerful people in the court. When all of them arrived, Li Shimin sat with his horse and sword in his hands, looking around with great momentum and majesty. He slowly said in a deep voice: "The Turkic invaded our Tang Dynasty in Hexi in winter. I believe you all know that I am determined to attack the Turkic. Do you have any objections?"
Naturally there was no objection, and food and fodder had already begun to be prepared. These were matters that had already been agreed upon. Unless something unpredictable happened, no one with a brain problem would object before the war.
Li Shimin said in a deep voice: "Since you all agree, that's good. I will appoint Li Jing as the commander-in-chief of the Dingxiang Road Army, responsible for the attack on the Dong Turks. What do you think?"
Li Jing!
This choice shocked everyone, but it was not very surprising. Many people turned their eyes to Luo Xuanye who was sitting in the front row. Luo Xuanye was calm and did not react much.
Everyone turned their attention to Hejian King Li Xiaogong, the only person who could threaten Li Jing's position as commander-in-chief. There are currently three commanders with the most military achievements in the Tang Dynasty: Li Shimin, Li Xiaogong and Li Jing. Luo Xuanye is a special case and is not among them.
Li Shimin could not go on the expedition, and there has always been controversy over who of the remaining two people actually made the greatest contribution to the pacification of the south. Now the emperor's choice seems to have confirmed that Li Jing had made greater contributions.
Logically speaking, Li Xiaogong should be dissatisfied.
But he did not think so, because Li Shimin was different from Li Yuan. Li Yuan attached great importance to the royal family, so he let the royal family guard the four directions and let the royal family rush to the front in wars, but Li Shimin was not like that. On the contrary, Li Shimin suppressed the royal family. In this case, Li Xiaogong, who was the most meritorious and prestigeous member of the royal family, had to consider political factors.
Prince Luo Xuanye of Zhou is of too high a status to go on the expedition. Can I, the Prince of Hejian, also go on the expedition?
Thinking of this, Li Xiaogong was the first to speak out in front of everyone, "Your Majesty is wise and wise. Minister Li is an outstanding warrior. I have worked with him and I admire him deeply. With Minister Li as the general manager and commanding the troops, we will surely be able to defeat the enemy."
What a cunning guy!
This was the idea of the prime ministers in the Council of State. Li Shimin narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard this. He was actually not very afraid of Li Xiaogong, or rather, he was not very afraid of most people.
He punished some people not because he was really afraid of losing the throne due to rebellion, but because he simply did not want to kill his meritorious officials.
However, Li Shimin was still very happy that Li Xiaogong was so sensible, as it was a manifestation of his majesty as a king.
————
"The Turks are powerful, even more powerful than the Xiongnu" was a description of the strength of the winter Turks at the time. The Turks, who were divided and suppressed during the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui, saw their power greatly weakened due to Emperor Yang of Sui's failed foreign policies and his cruelty to the people. This almost led to a disaster in which the Rongdi people swept the world. Fortunately, after Emperor Yang of Sui, the world welcomed Li Shimin, a true sage king, and the Zhenguan ministers, the first ruling group in history.
…
"Li Shimin wielded the iron hammer in his hand, and the army of the Tang Empire was forged into a strong bow by him. The soldiers of the Tang Empire were like sharp arrows. Li Jing became the person who took over Li Shimin's command of this strong bow and sharp arrows. The arrow was on the string and had to be shot. The day the arrow was shot would be the end of the winter Turks." - "The Rise and Fall of the Tang Empire"
(End of this chapter)
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