Chapter 919: Prelude to the Enfeoffment
While the Tang Empire was dealing with the problems of the Crown Prince and the King of Wei, the external situation was also entering a new period.
The Book of Changes says, "Only change can never be changed," and King Su said, "Only change can never be changed."
This is a universal truth. The same is true for the Tang Dynasty's external policies. When a whale falls, all things come to life. The fall of the Dong Turks brought about the rise of the Xueyantuo and Tiele.
The decline of the Western Turks brought an end to the war in the Western Regions. The establishment of the Tang Dynasty and its inclusive and open national policy led to an unprecedented increase in the demand for goods in this vast empire.
During the Han Dynasty, the countries in the Western Regions made their fortunes by relying on the trade connecting the Han Dynasty with Central Asia and the countries in the Far West, and the countries along the way all made a lot of money.
Hundreds of years of chaos brought business to a near standstill, causing many countries along the way to fall into decline due to financial exhaustion. The vast central empire was undoubtedly the heart of the world economy.
Now the strong recovery of the Tang Dynasty has driven the countries along the Silk Road to begin to prosper again.
The rise and fall of a country depends on this.
After the Tang Dynasty eliminated the threat of the Dong Turks, a new threat appeared in the north of the Tang Dynasty, namely the Xueyantuo. The war between the Xueyantuo and Yan Wangke had been going on for some time.
The Tang Dynasty gave some help to King Ke of Yan, but did not send any soldiers, because when King Ke of Yan was enfeoffed in Mobei, he had already taken away a large amount of political and military resources. Everyone was waiting to see what King Ke of Yan would do, to see what kind of person this prince was and whether he could shoulder the heavy responsibility of serving as a barrier for the country.
King Ke of Yan did encounter some disadvantages in the early days. After all, he had just arrived and didn't know much about the grassland, but this was not the reason why he did not get rid of the Xueyantuo.
In the eleventh year of Zhenguan, Xueyantuo was not yet strong enough to completely unify Mobei.
Especially if Luo Xuanxing was willing to help him, Li Ke was confident that he could put down this sudden rebellion of Xueyantuo.
The reason why it was extended for a year was because Li Ke discovered that this was a great opportunity for him to control the tribes in Mobei.
Before he came to the grassland, Luo Su talked to him a lot, most of which were reminders of the general situation, which always made Li Ke remember some things at critical moments.
War not only brings losses, but also allows people to rise in war and seize power and wealth. During the Han Dynasty, those generals guarding the border arbitrarily provoked the Hu people on the border and eventually used the war to make profits. They earned military funds allocated by the court, robbed Hu tribes, and exploited soldiers. This kind of thing was not uncommon.
When Li Ke first came to Mobei, he lacked prestige. The leaders of various tribes and the Khans of Mobei were respectful to him on the surface, but in fact they did not care about him and even looked down on him. They submitted to Li Shimin because of Li Shimin's great martial arts, and Li Ke could not subdue them. Living on the grassland, they only cared about the size of their fists.
After Li Ke learned about this situation, he came up with the idea of using war to weaken those tribes that opposed him, and then support the twelve tribes around him on the grassland to establish a Mobei group around himself. Moreover, as long as the war is not over, he can also collect some military funds from the court and ask for some privileges to further release the emperor's constraints on himself.
There is a phrase in the Central Plains called "nurturing the enemy to protect oneself".
What Li Ke is doing now is similar to this. He is using war to legally strengthen his own power, transfer the prestige of the Heavenly Khan to himself, hollow out the Anxi Protectorate, and replace it with the Prince of Yan's Mansion.
I can only say that he is worthy of being the prince that Luo Su values. He has only been on the grassland for a year, but he has already figured out the political rules of the grassland and can apply them flexibly.
Li Ke's plan was implemented very smoothly. It must be said that Li Shimin was still quite fond of him. Although most of them were exiled criminals, there were indeed many talented people among them.
The Hu cavalry and the armored palace guards were also elite, and Luo Xuanxing brought several hundred brave warriors to participate in the war to pacify the Xueyantuo.
After everything was ready, Li Ke cut off the head of Xueyantuo Khan in just two battles and passed the head to the tents of other khans.
"This is the fate of betraying the Tang Dynasty, this is the fate of provoking me without authorization, Xueyantuo's Mingyue Khan, accepted the title from Tian Khan, but dared to betray.
Put away your evil intentions, open your eyes and ears, listen carefully, look carefully, I am the son of the Khan of Heaven, the goshawk of the grassland.
The most noble blood flows in my body. Only the son of Tian Khan can become the sole ruler of the grassland and receive the grace of Huangtian and Changshengtian, as well as the blessings of Yinshan Mountain, Beihai and all the mountains and rivers.
All of you, come to Harakhorin to pay homage to me. If anyone disobeys, I will cut off his ears, dig out his eyes, and then trample him under my feet!"
These domineering words really suited the appetite of the grassland people. Tribal leaders from all directions came to Kharakorum one after another. This time they came completely different from the last time.
Most people, even the Uighur Lieri Khan, remained humble. Facing the Dayan Lieri Khan who had just killed the Xueyantuo Mingyue Khan, he had to be humble for the sake of the tribe.
As for other Tiele and Dong Turkic tribes, whether it was Mingyue Khan, Fanxing Khan, or ordinary tribal leaders, they all paid a visit to Li Ke with great fear and trepidation.
At this moment, Li Ke finally felt what power was. He forcibly controlled the feeling that he was the master of the world.
He was worried that he would become too arrogant and do something irrational.
He understood deeply that the reason why he could control the Khans so smoothly now was mainly because of his father who was the Emperor and the Khan of Heaven.
Moreover, coming from the Central Plains, he understood better the strength of the Central Plains and the strength of that group of veteran generals. If it was not difficult for the Tang Dynasty to pacify the Xueyantuo, it would not be difficult for the Tang Dynasty to eliminate him.
Especially, the national teacher.
The Imperial Master had sent me to the grassland with a mission. If I just went back like this, the Imperial Master would definitely give me a heavy blow.
You have to know that the son of the Luo family who helped him is right behind him. Li Ke knows very well why he came to help him, and he may stab him in the back at any time.
It’s better to just focus on your work, and deal with other things when the time is right.
Recovering his mind, Li Ke looked at the Khans in front of him and said loudly: "In order to prevent disputes among the tribes in Mobei, Tian Khan established the three-Khan system. In the past few years, when there were disputes among the tribes, the Khans' Conference was held in Karakorum.
Xueyantuo is simply the most rebellious jackal on the grassland, a heartless dog. Even hyenas are not as cruel as him, nor as despised as him.
What was he trying to do?
Is it a challenge to the status of Tian Khan?
There is a word in the Central Plains called "common ruler of the world". What does it mean?
The descendants of the Emperor of Heaven are the masters of all the subjects in the world. On the grassland, the Khan of Heaven is the master of all people. What do you think?"
The personal dependence of people on the grassland is far better than that in the Central Plains, and the slavery system is much more stubborn than in the Central Plains. People agreed with Li Ke's words, as if it was supposed to be this way.
"The great and supreme Khan is the eternal master of all tribes on the grassland."
These Hu people who came to Karakorum shouted loudly to express their loyalty.
Li Ke said, "It is only natural that the father's property should be inherited by his son. I am the son of the Heavenly Khan. Is there anyone more noble than me on the grassland?
Shouldn't the Khan Assembly be centered around me?"
Li Ke's words made everyone look at each other in bewilderment. In the past, the Khan Assembly was centered around the Grand Protector, who was the spokesperson for the Heavenly Khan.
Now Li Ke is the spokesperson for Tian Khan, which sounds like there is nothing wrong with it, but there is only one center of the Khan Conference, and that is Tian Khan.
The Uighur Lieri Khan said: "Great Yan Lieri Khan, please allow us to ask, will the throne of Tian Khan be passed on to you?
We heard that in the Central Plains, there is a system called primogeniture, which is very strange and we cannot understand it, so we don’t understand how the Khanate of Tian Khan will be inherited.”
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Li Ke with shining eyes.
This is indeed a problem, and a big problem at that. It is a conflict of culture and reality. On the grassland, all tribes generally use the system of the youngest son guarding the stove. When each son grows up, his father will give him a part of the property, namely cattle, sheep and people, and let him go out to develop on his own. This results in the youngest son being the only one who stays around to inherit the family property.
This property inheritance system is a reality on the grassland and a tradition that has emerged from it. This tradition can cause a problem in relatively powerful tribal states.
The youngest son should inherit the throne, but the powerful elder brother will often come back to seize the throne. Now the Uighur Khan Lieri is asking Li Ke, will you be the Heavenly Khan in the future?
If yes, that's fine.
If not, how can you say that you are the only ruler of the grassland?
In other words, you have decided to betray Tian Khan and become a traitor just like Xueyantuo Lieri Khan.
Li Ke was facing a crisis. He thought of a solution in a hurry: "Of course the Heavenly Khan is supreme, but the Heavenly Khan will not come to the grassland. The Heavenly Khan's edict says that I am the First Sun Khan, so on the grassland, I am the highest person, just as high as the Yinshan Mountains. Do you still have any questions?"
Li Ke played a word game to fool these grassland people.
At the same time, it also explained a reality, that is, the Heavenly Khan would not come to the grassland, and the person you are facing is me. These people could still understand this vague threat.
Li Ke had no choice. He knew that the position of Heavenly Khan would never be passed to him. It would definitely be passed along with the throne of the Emperor of Zhuxia to the next Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.
He can only be the King of Yan and the First Khan of the Fiery Sun forever. No matter under the system of the Tang Dynasty or the system of the Heavenly Khan, he is the subject. This cannot be changed unless he can become the man in the city of Chang'an.
After initially establishing his authority, Li Ke immediately began to implement one of his missions in coming to the grassland, which was to begin to reorganize the grassland tribes to a limited extent. Under the previous system of Tian Khan, there were only three Khans. Now Li Ke wanted to set up more titles and official positions under the three Khans.
As for how to set it up, of course we cannot use the complicated official positions in the Central Plains. The chaos caused by the Turks in early winter was a reason for transferring the official positions from the Central Plains.
Even some officials in the Central Plains are sometimes confused by the official positions there, not to mention the uneducated people in the grasslands. How can they understand words with historical origins such as governor and governor?
When Luosu set up the three khan system, he directly chose the sun, the moon, and the stars. These three objects of worship on the grassland made the grassland people feel very powerful when they heard them.
This is called adapting to local conditions.
During his initial communication with Li Ke, Luo Su had a clear idea about the strategy for conquering the grassland: "Simple and easy to remember, this is the secret to conquering the grassland."
What is the simplest and easiest to remember?
number.
Although the grassland is backward, it is not to the point where it cannot even count numbers. After all, it is not thousands of years ago now, and after so many years of contact with the Central Plains, there has been some progress.
The 12,000 households that Li Ke brought with him when he moved north were divided into twelve tribes, with one thousand households in each tribe. This way of division made the command extremely flat. Li Ke only had to manage twelve thousand households, which enabled him to assemble quickly without delaying grazing.
Now Li Ke decided to gradually implement this system on the grassland, from ten thousand households to a thousand households and a hundred households, and to gradually limit the population of each tribe, that is, after enfeoffing a thousand households, it cannot exceed a thousand households. If it exceeds a thousand households, the households must be divided and the excess people can form a new tribe.
This will be difficult and may require several wars, but now a good start has been made. Because of the victory in the war against Xueyantuo, Li Ke captured many people, and he suddenly had about 10,000 more herdsmen under his command.
This made his strength suddenly increase, and no one would want to challenge him in the short term.
Li Ke worked in Mobei, while the battle reports crossed the desert, crossed the Yin Mountains, and then rushed to Chang'an along the small paths in the plateau.
Li Shimin finally felt a little happier. He finally had a son who was doing well and doing things that made him happy and proud, instead of causing him distress every day.
Especially this very beautiful battle report and Li Ke's handling of the various tribes on the grassland made Li Shimin very happy.
He laughed loudly and said, "If the troops in the Central Plains do not move, the border troubles will be resolved. The method of enfeoffment is indeed the best choice to suppress the rebellion."
At this moment, Li Shimin's desire to divide the country reached its peak.
————
In the past thousands of years, there has never been a dominant ethnic group on the grassland. The name of the strong tribe will become the name of the ethnic group.
The national teacher Luo Su noticed this, and King Yan Li Ke went to the grassland with the mission of changing this status quo. His political achievements in Mobei were extremely astonishing.
On the basis of Tian Khan, Li Ke rebuilt the political system. Most importantly, he injected a kind of core culture into the grassland, which had not been achieved in the past thousands of years. The integration of the grassland really started from here. ——"The Rise and Fall of the Tang Empire"
(End of this chapter)
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