Chapter 912 Luo Su meets the eldest son of the Li family
However, King Yan Li Ke led tens of thousands of people, crossed the Yinshan Mountains, crossed the vast desert, and finally arrived in Karakorum.
After defeating the Dong Turks, Li Tang built a not-so-big city here for the khans to discuss grassland affairs. The Anbei Protectorate was also stationed here.
Although Li Ke held the title of King of Yan, he was not able to receive taxes like his brothers and uncles, because his subjects all moved north with him, and the taxes he deserved naturally came from the 12,000 households.
The 12,000 households brought by Li Ke had nearly 60,000 people, including 10,000 Turks, Uighurs and Tiele people, most of whom were Hu people who had not yet been sinicized. Among them, there were 4,000 victorious soldiers who were good at riding and shooting. They were one of Li Ke's greatest military supports.
The other 50,000 people were roughly half men and half women, responsible for technical jobs such as blacksmiths and craftsmen, as well as 800 elite soldiers, and there were nearly 15,000 men who could be used as soldiers.
After Li Ke and his companions arrived at Mobei, even though they had known for a long time that this place was desolate, when they actually saw it, Li Ke still felt a chill in his heart.
He was born in Chang'an and traveled to various states. Any city in the Central Plains was more magnificent and prosperous than Karakorum. This was not really a city, it was simply a pile of earth. In Li Ke's opinion, this place was similar to a county town in the Central Plains.
No wonder the leaders of the various Hu tribes didn't want to come back after they went to Chang'an. The Khan of the Winter Turks didn't even want to be a Khan and insisted on staying in Chang'an.
After calming down a bit, Li Ke said to his chief official of the Prince of Yan's Palace in a deep voice: "Sir, take out my king's flag, the flag of the Grand Protector, and the flag, seal, ring, and token of the Lieri Khan."
Following Li Ke's voice, the big flag with the word "Yan" was raised high, and at the same time the flag of Lieri Khan was also raised. The former Grand Protector of Anbei was Li Ke's uncle, who had already opened the city gate and was looking at Li Ke with a smile. He would stay here for another half a year, hand over his work, and then he could return to Chang'an to enjoy himself.
After Li Ke entered the lobby of the Anbei Protectorate, he immediately said in a deep voice: "Plant all three flags on the city wall. I want everyone who enters Karakorum to see my flags the first time.
Then immediately summon the leaders of all the tribes east of the Altai Mountains and west of the Greater Khingan Range to come to Karakorum to meet me, and invite Mingyue Khan of the Xueyantuo and Lieri Khan of the Uighurs to Karakorum. I remember that in the northern desert there is also Mingyue Khan of the Pugu tribe and seven Fanxing Khans of the Tiele and Turks, and summon them all to Karakorum.
This king will meet with the khans in Karakorum."
After Li Ke gave the order, the former Grand Protector of Anbei could not help but smack his lips. It seemed that the Prince of Yan came here just to cause trouble.
Li Ke himself didn't think there was anything wrong. He recalled the conversation he had with the Imperial Master when he met him again before leaving.
On that day, there was only the National Master in Lingtian Pavilion. When he walked into Lingtian Pavilion, the National Master was playing chess alone, and the white and black pieces fell one by one.
Li Ke will never forget that day when the Imperial Master smiled and held out his hand for Li Ke to come forward, then pointed to the seat opposite him and said, "Prince Yan, come and sit down."
How scared was I at that time?
He remembered shaking his head frantically, "Master, how dare Xiao Wang sit in that position?"
Upon hearing this, the Imperial Master slowly said with an inquiring look: "Why not?
What is in front of me is not a chessboard, but the world.
You are no longer an ordinary prince. You already have the title of Lord of Mobei. If you can turn this title into reality in Mobei, you will be the real Lord of Mobei.
The Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Turks, which one is not a force competing with the Central Plains? If you can turn the 6,000-li territory of Mobei into your Yan State, who can say that you are not a chess player capable of sitting on the throne of the world?
There is only one person who can bear the Mandate of Heaven, but no one has ever stipulated that there can only be one emperor in the world, and the Son of Heaven and the Khan are not born the same person. "
Li Ke collected his thoughts. He was Li Shimin's most outstanding son. He understood what Luo Su said. This imperial teacher did not care too much whether Mobei would be in conflict with the Central Plains again in the future. He only cared about one thing, which was what changes he could bring to the Hu people in Mobei after coming to Mobei.
Since that day, he has been thinking about a question: "Can I wear a white hat one day?"
…
In Chang'an City, Luo Su was thinking about who he would meet next. When he met Li Ke and said those words to Li Ke, which were even enough to ignite Li Ke's ambition, he did it on purpose.
In Luo Su's view, the Tang Dynasty, with its capital in Chang'an, could only radiate its influence westwards, and Mobei was destined to be out of control.
Once the holy emperor Li Shimin dies, as long as a decent strong power emerges in Mobei, Mobei will be out of control within fifty years. This cannot be changed by human will.
During this fifty-year cycle, the Tang Dynasty would certainly have economic problems and would lack the ability to launch an expedition to the northern desert.
In this case, we must seize this window of opportunity and change the composition of Mobei.
Ambition is a good thing. Only with ambition can one be motivated. Li Ke is a capable person. His efforts in Mobei will not lead to bad results. In addition, with the little help he gave to Li Ke, Luo Xuanxing has already headed north from Youzhou, and will lend a helping hand to Li Ke if necessary.
Li Ke will definitely continue to work hard to achieve the big goal he has drawn. As for whether Li Ke can enter the Central Plains, Luo Su believes that at least his generation has no chance.
It would take him his entire life to unify Mobei, and he would have to assimilate those tribes. It was not that easy. If he went south directly without unifying them, Luo Xuanxing would attack him from behind, making him suffer unbearable pain.
It can be said that Luo Su has already determined the general direction of Li Ke's life. Of course, if Li Ke can live to be a hundred years old, then Luo Su did not say that the person who lives long will eventually become the winner. This is the law of invincibility in politics.
…
In the Tang Dynasty, everyone held an attitude of worship towards the Imperial Master. There were too many rumors, and every dignitary who had seen the Imperial Master kept their mouths shut. Li Chengqian dragged his sick leg step by step into the Lingtian Pavilion, and saw the Imperial Master wearing a Taoist robe and dancing slowly in the center of the hall.
Li Chengqian bowed respectfully to Luo Su, "Chengqian greets the Imperial Master, long live the Imperial Master."
Seeing Li Chengqian coming in, Luo Su slowly stopped practicing, his eyes fell on Li Chengqian's legs, and he recalled something, "My brother also had a lame leg back then, because the ruler of Luo State had to assist the emperor, and there couldn't be a lame person, so I became the ruler of Luo State."
Li Chengqian shuddered when he heard this and bowed his head deeply. He didn't expect that the first thing the national teacher said was about his legs. Li Chengqian clenched his teeth. Luo Su shook his head slightly when he saw this, and recalled Luo Xuanye's coming, and slowly said: "Before Yan Wang Li Ke left, it was in your position. I asked him what his great wish was for going to Karakorum. He said that he wanted to spread the faith of the Su Wang to all the tribes in Mobei.
I told him that he would have to face encirclement and suppression from many tribes, and he said that as a descendant of the Li family, this was his responsibility.
Prince, you cannot rely on external help. Not everyone in this world is as lucky as Emperor Xiaohui of Han. If you cannot become strong inside, how can your future be bright?
Having a lame leg is nothing, but if you feel that this leg is dragging you down all the time, then your heart is really dragged down.
When I first met Emperor Yang of Sui, he was actually quite talented, but I did not think highly of him because he had such a bad mentality.
Later facts proved my judgment. Faced with the chaos in the world, his reaction was not to solve it, but to let it go and hide away and refuse to listen.
As a king, the difficulties you have to face come from all over the world. If you don’t have the mentality to face the criticism of the world calmly, you will definitely let the world down. "
As they were talking, footsteps were heard from outside. The two looked outside the hall and saw Luo Xuanye hurriedly walk in. He then bowed to Luo Su and said, "Old Ancestor."
After saying that, he looked at Li Chengqian beside him, and hinted with his eyes. Li Chengqian said in a gentle voice: "Uncle, the national teacher is teaching Chengqian the principles of being a monarch, and I understand it deeply."
Luo Su smiled slightly and said, "Aye, go and pour me a cup of tea. Prince, please go back."
Luo Xuanye nodded in response. After Li Chengqian left, Luo Su took the teacup and asked softly, "Aye, you came to me because you were worried that I would tell the truth to the prince and undermine his confidence?"
Luo Xuanye immediately bowed deeply and said: "Grandfather, I..."
Luo Su pointed a finger at the holy mark between Luo Xuanye's eyebrows and said sternly, "Aye, you have made some progress over the years, but you are still far behind. You can see that Xuan Jing never worries about these things.
This is not the way to teach a future king, and this is not the way to protect a future king.
If you don't leave yourself a way out when doing things, your habit will not change. Even in this kind of matter, you don't leave yourself a way out.
Aren’t you worried about something unexpected happening?”
Luo Xuanye had not been scolded like this for many years. He knew that he must have done something wrong, but when he thought about it, he didn't know what kind of accident would happen. The Tang Dynasty would usher in a stable imperial inheritance, the Zhou Junwang lineage would reach the pinnacle, and with Li Chengqian's character, the Luo family would usher in new development.
Luo Xuanye knelt solemnly on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "Please give me your instructions, ancestor!"
Luo Su opened his mouth, but finally looked up at the blue sky outside the palace. That was enough to say, "Heaven's secret cannot be revealed."
Although there is no destiny for the Hu people in this world, and no one has the destiny to become the emperor, all of this disappeared with Luo's sacrifice.
But there is also an underlying rule in this world, that is, there are many rules in heaven regarding the Luo family, such as the rule of heaven that the Luo family is not king.
There are still Ji Zhao’s rules in this world, and any subconsciousness of Ji Zhao is a rule.
For example, even though the Five Barbarians Invasion had not occurred at the beginning, the blood of the Xianbei was still transmitted to the Central Plains in another form through the medium of the State of Yan. This was because Ji Zhao subconsciously believed that the blood of the Xianbei was necessary.
This is the change brought about by Ji Zhao's stay in Tianzhu.
Now Luo Su said that the secret of heaven cannot be revealed, and that means the real secret of heaven cannot be revealed.
In this world, he has higher authority than other Luo clan members and has more wonders, but there are some things that should not be known, so he cannot say them.
For example, life and death, yin and yang, and the underworld.
Luo Xuanye left in panic with the words "Heaven's secret cannot be revealed". He shouldn't have come to Lingtian Pavilion today.
But he came.
…
This time, Luo Su wanted to see not only Li Chengqian, but all the sons of Li Yuan and Li Shimin, that is, all the princes of the Tang Dynasty. Li Yuan was really fertile, with more than 20 sons alone, especially the younger brothers who were born later, which gave Li Shimin a headache.
After Li Shimin experienced the Xuanwu Gate Incident, he was no longer willing to let anyone pick on issues concerning the royal family. Therefore, as long as it was not a big mistake, he was unwilling to kill his brothers who posed no threat to the throne.
In the era of aristocratic families, making use of clans was the most crucial step. The so-called in-laws and old friends, clans were naturally the closest relatives. Even though Li Shimin disparaged clans, in fact, after Li Yuan's death, Li Shimin still made all his brothers princes, which shows that he was still very dependent on clans.
In this case, Luo Su would naturally have to conduct a careful investigation to see if there were any other talents like Li Ke, preferably among Li Shimin’s sons, so that it would be easier to make arrangements later.
Li Shimin naturally knew that Luo Su had met these princes. He also asked Luo Su what he was going to do. Luo Su pointed to the north and said, "Let's see if there are any talents like Yan Wang Ke in the clan."
Li Shimin, who had long had the idea of enfeoffment, immediately understood what Luo Su was going to do.
The only difference between the two was that Li Shimin was planning to let the kings and meritorious officials inherit the title of guarding prefectures and counties in the Tang Dynasty, just like the princes who had fought during the Jingnan Rebellion in the Han Dynasty.
But Luo Su wanted to confer titles on other states, just like King Ke of Yan.
but.
Enfeoffment is not a simple matter. You can't just send anyone out.
Each enfeoffment quota represents a large outflow of wealth, just like the dowry for marrying a daughter. A large amount of wealth must be taken out from the Tang Dynasty treasury, so the enfeoffment must have results, otherwise it would be like giving a big gift package to others for nothing.
When Ji Zhao and Luo Su carried out the two feudal ceremonies, they considered for a long time before choosing the location and candidates.
The situation is now more complicated.
Luo Su believed that Prince Yan Ke was the only prince among all the princes who could deal with the danger in Mobei. None of the other sons of Li Shimin could do so.
Luo Su was very experienced in enfeoffment, so he wanted to personally inspect these people.
As for why they didn't investigate people like Li Xiaogong and Li Daozong...
Because Li Shimin would not divide them up.
————
Among Taizong's sons, Prince Ke of Yan and Prince Tai of Wei were the most virtuous, while the rest were few in number. Some died young, while others were not very good. The imperial tutor saw this, and Prince Ke of Yan was stationed in the north, Prince Tai of Wei was stationed in the east, and the rest were stationed as vassal states. Those who were like a rock and supported the city were famous, while those who were arrogant and extravagant and failed had no descendants. The imperial tutor said: The illegitimate sons of Emperor Gaozu and the illegitimate sons of the emperor were no more than one in life and death, and were as insignificant as a feather in the world. - "Book of Tang: Biographies of the Sons of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong"
(End of this chapter)
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