Chapter 910: The Twelve Divisions of the King of Yan (Additional chapters after reaching the 2400 monthly vote goal)
In the court, there was a very heated argument about Li Shimin's decision to send Li Ke out of the Zhen'anbei Protectorate. Even though this was a suggestion made by the imperial teacher, there were still many people who disagreed.
Some people even asked Li Shimin directly: "Your Majesty, aren't you worried that the princes who were granted titles in Mobei will rebel in the future?"
Li Shimin had long known that Wei Zheng and others would ask this question because he had also asked Luo Su the same question.
So he directly replied with Luo Su's words: "If the prince of Mobei can rebel one day, it proves that the court can no longer control Mobei. Even if there is no prince, there will be others who will go south.
Is my son reliable, or is this person from somewhere reliable?
The princes of the Zhou Dynasty formed a barrier for the country, and it took at least four generations for them to gradually drift apart. What do you think, my dear ministers?"
Luo Su's response is very clever. Since you use things that are bound to happen in the future to discuss current policies, I will also respond to your question with worse possibilities that are bound to happen in the future.
Will the princes who were granted titles in Mobei run into problems one day? If the power is not taken back in time, they will definitely do so, so it is necessary to combine it with the fluid feudal system. In fact, even the fluid feudal system cannot guarantee safety.
Because a few decades were enough for the princes who guarded the northern desert to build an iron barrel that prevented the central government from interfering.
So Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling and others were right and did not make any mistakes.
However, even if there were no princes, would the Tang Dynasty not have border threats in the north?
No, the Tang Dynasty was destined to face border troubles in the north. It was just a matter of who the enemy was. Even if the nomads from the grasslands entered the Central Plains, they would still have to face border troubles in the north.
After Li Shimin figured out this problem, he naturally came up with the idea of letting the meat rot in the Li family pot. Even if one day the Tang Dynasty had to face border threats from the north again, he hoped that it would be two of his own descendants, rather than a person from another family.
When all the prime ministers understood what Li Shimin was thinking, everyone shut up.
…
In the palace of Concubine Yang Shu, Li Ke knelt quietly, his eyes swept over the rather simple and elegant decorations one by one. This place was too plain to look like the sleeping quarters of the four noble concubines.
Just as Concubine Yang had always adhered to, not fighting or competing, and living in peace, Li Ke's eyes fell on his mother, a beautiful woman, quiet and virtuous, who was like a delicate flower reflected in the water when she sat quietly.
Looking at her son kneeling at her feet, Concubine Yang's eyes were filled with tears. A crystal clear tear fell down, and she cried, "Why do you suddenly want to go so far? What is Kharakhorin? I heard that it is 6,000 miles north of Chang'an to get there. Will we mother and son ever meet again in the future?"
Li Ke took two steps forward on his knees, knelt on the ground again, and cried, "Mother, please forgive me for being unfilial."
He didn't say anything else, and Concubine Yang knew that this was not something she could interfere with. She could only cry again, and then try her best to help him. As a parent, what else could she do?
…
After the imperial edict was issued, the Tang court began to make intensive preparations for Prince of Yan Li Ke to leave the city.
This is the biggest event in the entire court, no doubt about it.
The last time a vassal king traveled so far away was during the Han Dynasty, when Luo Shi, the unrivaled Marquis of Wuxiang, brought the son of Emperor Li of Han to establish a kingdom in the Western Regions, and was eventually granted the throne by Emperor Xuan of Han.
Even now, the descendants of the Liu family are still multiplying in the Western Regions. They are the Liu State among the Nine Surnames of Zhaowu. Like the Zhao State, they are descendants of the royal families of the Xia Dynasty who once ruled the Western Regions.
These two countries are also among the very few that accept the Tian Khan system, but everyone knows that they are among the various countries in the Xia Dynasty.
Therefore, Li Ke's departure was of great importance. This was the first time that the Central Plains dynasty, in such a strong position, sent a prince to the grassland.
What is the most important thing?
It was to ensure Li Ke's safety. If Li Ke arrived in Karakorum and died of a sudden illness right after, everything would be a joke.
And the Tang Dynasty could only suffer in silence.
Because on the grassland, it is very normal for a Khan to die, especially when he came from the Central Plains, it is normal for him to die from acclimatization.
So when Li Ke went to Karakorum, the people accompanying him were very important. There were three thousand people in Anbei Prefecture, but this was far from enough. Li Ke’s biggest problem was that he did not have his own team.
Most of the people in the Shu Palace were not suitable for the grassland environment, so at least half of them had to be replaced.
and.
Although they were reluctant to admit it, but ever since Li Shimin issued an order for Li Ke to go to Karakorum to be a vassal, and judging from his attitude, it was basically impossible for him to return to the Central Plains in this lifetime, many people from the former Shu Palace began to use their connections to try to transfer out of the Shu Palace.
In fact, they just didn't want to go to Karakorum to suffer.
There's nothing wrong with going there to fight a war, but staying there for the rest of your life and even for your descendants - in one word, forget it.
The barbarians know that the colorful world in the south is good, and they are determined to go south. How can I, a noble of the Chinese nation, go there to herd sheep and raise cattle?
From this perspective, the first generation of nobles in Bang Zhou were truly great. They gave up the good days in the royal capital and went to those wild lands to open up new areas. Moreover, the development at that time was much more dangerous than it is now.
In response to this situation, the Luo family naturally resorted to the traditional method, which was to replace migration with flow!
How were Lingnan, Liaodong and the Western Regions developed?
It's just that a lot of people were exiled there. The Han Dynasty had been exiling people since Liu Bang's purge of the rebellious princes until the end of the pre-Han period. In total, at least more than 500,000 households were exiled to the border.
As for Jingzhou and Jiangdong, more than one million households were exiled and relocated, which greatly oppressed the living space of the people living in the mountains. Therefore, the Han Dynasty's contribution to the development of the various Xia countries was second only to that of the Zhou Dynasty.
And what about the Tang Dynasty?
How many families were convicted during the eighteen years from the Wude period to the Zhenguan period?
How many families had their entire homes confiscated?
Luo Su suggested that Li Shimin carefully select some capable people from among them and let them go to Karakorum with their crimes. If they could make contributions, their titles and honors would be restored, and their fathers and ancestors would be rehabilitated.
This is much better than the conditions in the Han Dynasty. If the Han Dynasty wanted to return to Chang'an, it really depended on luck, but the Tang Dynasty had a prince there who could achieve achievements faster.
And just because Li Ke can’t come back doesn’t mean that these people can’t come back.
The Anxi Protectorate, the Lifanyuan and the Privy Council, aren't these all channels for advancement?
As soon as Li Shimin's policy came out, countless people found their former relatives and friends, hoping to get a place to go to Karakorum.
In the end, ten companies were selected.
Li Shimin also recruited thousands of brave warriors who were eager to make achievements for Li Ke, and together with the released prisoners and their families who had redeemed their sins, a total of 10,000 Han households followed Li Ke to Karakorum. Li Ke was a prince and had 10,000 households of fiefdom. He suddenly became the only prince in the Tang Dynasty with 10,000 households in his fiefdom.
Li Shimin not only granted him 10,000 Han households, but also 2,000 Turkic households and people from various tribes who were settled in Hetao. This was because on the grassland, without cavalry, they could only passively take the beating. There were not many Han people who could ride horses, so Li Shimin naturally could not give them all to Li Ke.
Moreover, these Turks could teach the Han people who followed Li Ke in migrating north about the knowledge of nomadism. When they arrived in Mobei, they could not farm there. Even if they went there, they could only herd livestock and live by water and grass.
Those who followed Li Ke to the north were divided into units of one thousand households and were called the "Twelve Tribes of the King of Yan."
What no one expected was that among them, there was a person who, very unexpectedly, actually took the initiative to follow Li Ke to Karakorum. That was the great scholar Kong Yingda.
Kong Yingda said, "Since ancient times, countless Han people have fled to the grasslands, but in the end they all disappeared among the Hu people. Although they can only herd on the grasslands, they cannot abandon the words of the sages. If the Han people on the grasslands can still remember the elegant language and the history, they will not forget their origins even after thousands of years."
The complexity of human nature can be seen from him. Li Shimin looked at this old man in his Qin Palace with a complicated feeling. In the end, he did not persuade him and let him follow Li Ke to Karakorum.
The court attached great importance to Li Ke's departure, which made both court officials and the northern grassland tribes feel the determination of the Tang court.
…
On January 23rd of the tenth year of Zhenguan, Li Ke bid farewell to the kings who came to see him off at the Shili Pavilion outside the city of Chang'an. Li Chengqian came dragging his legs. He did not have a good relationship with Wei Wang Li Tai, but had a good relationship with Li Ke.
He patted Li Ke's shoulder and said softly, "Third brother, when you arrive in Karakorum, write more letters to Chang'an. Don't let father and us brothers worry. If you need anything, just tell us. We will back you up and you won't be bullied by those people on the grassland.
You are a prince of the Tang Dynasty, the most honorable person under the emperor."
Li Ke clasped his fists and said solemnly: "Brother, I don't know when we will meet again after this separation. May my father and mother live long and healthy, may my mother be healthy, and may my brother be happy and safe.
I will pray for you in Karakorum."
The breeze brushed across his cheek, bringing with it the chill of winter. Li Ke wrapped his fur coat tightly around him and said goodbye to everyone again. He looked far away in the direction of Chang'an, and it seemed that he could still see the towering city. When would he come back next time?
What will the road ahead look like?
Li Ke was also a little unsure. Would Harakhorin be the abyss that buried him?
————
In the tenth year of Zhenguan, King Li Ke of Shu was conferred the titles of King of Yan, Lieri Khan, and Protector-General of Anbei, becoming the highest political leader of the Tang Empire in the north. People at that time only regarded it as a traditional vassal king's departure, but from the perspective of later generations, we all know that it was the opening of a grand era.
We turn our attention back to the initiator of all this, the Tang Dynasty Imperial Master who is known as the wisest of all time. We can't help but ask, when someone used the term "bloody heyday of the Tang Dynasty" to describe this extremely glorious dynasty, did Imperial Master Luo Su know that he had opened up a bloody era? - "History of the Rise and Fall of the Tang Empire"
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(End of this chapter)
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