Chapter 62: The Emperor Destroys Tubo and the Princess Becomes a King
Everyone in Silla was filled with hatred and regret.
Who on earth is making up such rumors? It’s so damn annoying!
Also, if the king had lost one eye earlier, and tried to kneel faster and more beautifully, wouldn’t this have happened?
These Silla people adhered to the old tradition and did not dare to hate the more powerful Tang people, but only dared to hate their own king.
They felt that the king was too weak and selfish, and did not gouge out his own eyes earlier to prove his loyalty to the Tang Dynasty, causing everyone to suffer.
The King of Silla was also heartbroken and wanted to find the person who was shameless enough to spread rumors about Emperor Taizong of Tang.
The Tang people certainly wouldn't have cursed their own ancestors with such outrageous words. Which Silla person was so audacious?
If he knew about this, he would be tortured to death and cut into pieces!
At this time, Li Shimin had already drawn his bow and arrow, aiming at the eye of the King of Silla.
However, when his arrow was on the string, he finally sighed and put it down.
This action not only shocked the people of Silla, but also surprised the people of Tianmu.
Li Shimin finally said:
"You barbarians, you spread rumors and slander our Great Tang. As the ruler of the Great Tang, I have a broad mind and disdain to argue with such despicable barbarians."
The King of Silla suddenly collapsed to the ground, breathed a long sigh of relief, and quickly bowed his head to the ground, crying and thanking the Emperor of Tang for his kindness and magnanimity.
[Our Majesty Erfeng is so merciful!]
There was no retaliation for such an outrageous rumor! 】
Why didn't they retaliate? Wasn't Silla destroyed?
Although he killed many people, he did not like to abuse prisoners of war.
The descendants of Silla spread a rumor that they shot him in one eye, and he clarified the rumor and destroyed Silla.
Of course, all these Silla nobles, including the king, had to be taken back to Chang'an and never return to Silla again.
After five months of expedition, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty pacified Silla and returned victoriously amid the cheers and welcome of the people of the Tang Dynasty.
The Tang Dynasty captured more than 100,000 prisoners of war and brought back countless gold, silver, treasures, cattle, sheep and horses.
"The task of expanding our territory has been completed. Now, you modern people will cultivate the land and plant crops for me."
At this time, Silla and Bohai had become part of the Tang Dynasty's Andong Protectorate. Similarly, Li Shimin adopted a policy of control.
Ethnic regional autonomy, coupled with the influence of Tang Dynasty culture, and intermarriage.
In this way, after several generations of integration, the people of Silla will speak Chinese and learn Chinese, and gradually become the people of the Tang Dynasty, and will no longer identify with the identity of Silla.
It will also not develop into the kind of despicable and character-distorted stealing.
[Hahaha, Koreans should thank our Emperor Taizong for helping you unify the North and the South a thousand years in advance!
Why don’t you just say thank you, Grandpa! 】
[There should be quite a few Koreans reading this by now. Kneel down and kowtow to our Majesty, or your ancestors will go blind!]
[The slapping sound on the face is so satisfying!]
I'm going to prepare some seeds and go to Andong to plant some crops. This newly developed area is vast and sparsely populated, making it perfect for modern people like us!
Li Shimin also did not understand the thought processes of these modern people.
You could live a good life in modern times and in the Central Plains of the Tang Dynasty, but you prefer to go to places like this to suffer?
And they all happily say that city life is bad and the countryside is good for health?
Don't understand, but respect it.
This battle once again demonstrated the power of the Heavenly Khan during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang. Dozens of Hu countries around the Tang Dynasty surrendered to him and resumed the title of Heavenly Khan.
After the civil strife, the Tang Dynasty regained its reputation and prestige. The people of the Tang Dynasty were very proud to be Tang people, and the Hu people in the neighboring countries suddenly became much more obedient.
[Foreigners are like this. When you talk to them about a country of etiquette and peace and non-interference, they don't understand and don't listen.
But if you give them a couple of bangs with your iron fists, they'll immediately understand.
Not only that, other countries heard that the reason for the fall of Silla was that the Tang Dynasty dared to spread rumors that it had stolen all their culture, shot Emperor Taizong of Tang in the eyes, and finally killed the Tang envoys they sent?
Everyone was stunned.
What’s going on, buddy?
You Silla people have had enough of living and don't want to live anymore. Why are you so crazy?
The neighboring Bohai Kingdom was a bit unlucky, as it was destroyed without doing anything. But who made it next to Silla?
I can only say that I didn’t choose the right neighbors and I have bad luck.
The surrounding countries, large and small, took advantage of the festival to send envoys to kowtow to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, respectfully calling him the Heavenly Khan, and also presented Li Shimin with various rare treasures and local gifts.
Li Shimin had seen many things like crystal and agate jewelry, so no matter how rare they were, they were not rare at all.
The furry pets looked quite interesting, and modern people were happily discussing them under the tent.
[Fuck, Arabia actually sent a lion!
Poor lion! It took several months of trekking to the Tang Dynasty. What a hard life!
[Baekje is really smart. He gave Erfeng two beautiful parrots as a gift. He must have found out about Erfeng's hobbies a long time ago, right?
Look how happy our Erfeng is! 】
[Some people sent snakes, and some sent rats. They said the urine of this rat can detoxify snake venom, and it can also eat snakes?
What kind of magical mouse is this? 】
[Oh, so the one who sends spices has to come from India!
Ambergris, this sounds familiar. Isn't it whale poop?
What?
As a nobleman, Li Shimin liked to use things like incense and borneol since he was a child.
At this moment, I suddenly realized that this thing was actually the excrement of a giant fish in the sea, and I felt terrible.
He has been using ambergris for his entire life and half of his life!
"You can't lie to me!"
Li Shimin threw the piece of ambergris away in disgust, and was so shocked that he could take a screenshot of the emoticon.
[Hahaha, it can't be considered shit. There's a difference between secretions and excretions.]
[Sperm whales particularly like to eat squid, but they are easily scratched when entering their intestines, so they secrete a substance to wrap these things.
Ambergris is made from this intestinal secretion, not feces!
Although he knew that it was made from fish intestinal secretions, Li Shimin still felt unwell.
Looking at his wife who was also used to using ambergris, his expression suddenly became complicated.
Forget it, I'd better use less of these foreign things in the future.
You should have used less incense!
This thing produces smoke, not to mention PM2.5 and PM10, but also contains harmful substances like formaldehyde. Inhaling too much is not good!
Li Shimin secretly took note of it.
But soon, when he saw the big horses sent by the Uighurs, he was happy again, and gave all ten horses various names such as rainbow color, electric purple, etc.
When Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi and others heard those familiar rainbow-colored names, they felt both emotional and amused.
As expected, it is still their Emperor Taizong. After living for two lifetimes, he still likes rainbow horses so much!
Li Shimin listened very much to the flattery from various countries and court officials, but was soon criticized by the court officials and returned to his usual humble state.
That’s it, when treating His Majesty the Phoenix, you must first stroke his feathers, and then press down his raised phoenix tail!
Well, got it!
The emperor and his ministers quickly found their positions and status, and Li Shimin also summarized the previous battle results and the weaknesses of the Tang army.
This campaign revealed that the Tang Dynasty navy was still incompetent and many ships capsized.
If we want to conquer Japan in the future, we must strengthen our navy.
The military commanders collectively offered suggestions and discussed, but modern workers didn't quite understand and just listened from the side.
When the discussion was almost over, a clever worker stood up and said:
"I suggest that we should increase the number of southerners in the navy. After all, northerners are not good at naval warfare."
Such a statement immediately aroused dissatisfaction among all the northern generals and northerners in the court.
Most of the people in the Central Plains are from the north, and there are very few southerners in the court. Therefore, the worker was subjected to a fierce human cock.
Why can't we northerners do this? Are you being regionally discriminatory?
"No, I'm not kidding!
Otherwise, let's have the northern and southern armies hold a Dragon Boat Race during the Dragon Boat Festival, and you'll see for yourself!"
During the Tang Dynasty, there would be a one-day holiday for the Dragon Boat Festival, and people would eat white jade balls and hold dragon boat races.
However, this type of dragon boat racing activity is quite regional and is more popular in the southern region of the Tang Dynasty.
Every time the dragon boat race is held, the streets in southern China are deserted and merchants gather to watch.
Moreover, even the military navy often uses this form of racing for training.
However, due to regional and transportation limitations, there are very few dragon boat teams from the north and south competing on the same river, and there is also a large information gap.
"Okay, let's compete!
We Chang'an people have dragon boat races every year, and the speed is very fast! "
It happened to be the Dragon Boat Festival at that time, and Li Shimin liked to join in the fun, so he simply asked all parts of the south to send teams to the north to participate in the competition.
He would personally give the prize to whoever won.
All the southerners were very excited when they heard this!
Although the southern part of the Jianghuai region is a land of fish and rice and has a developed economy, in terms of political focus, it is still not that favored in the eyes of the emperor.
So this time, countless local powerful landlords waived rent for the dragon boat team members and paid out of their own pockets to support them to go north to participate in the dragon boat race.
He also told them to win first place and bring honor to their hometown!
"If you win, you can enter the ancestral hall and the ancestral temple when you come back!"
[It’s over, it’s broken, it suddenly feels like a modern dragon boat race?
It's said that in Guangdong, if you come in last or your boat capsizes, you'd be too embarrassed to go to the ancestral temple to pay your respects?
A group of southerners went north amid the enthusiastic anticipation of their fellow countrymen, and then everyone competed on the same stage at Qujiang Lake in Chang'an City.
This really opened the eyes of people in Chang'an, Luoyang and other northern areas.
Li Shimin and others only realized that the dragon boats in the south could actually drift and race on the water, and could stop at will and even slide backwards?
But the most powerful one is the dragon boat team sent by Yanbei!
Not only did it never move in a straight line, but it also rushed around recklessly and arrogantly, overturning dragon boats in Chang'an, Luoyang and other places along the way.
The people of Chang'an and Luoyang were so angry that they rolled up their sleeves and started cursing in the streets.
However, even with the reckless dragon boats like those from Yanbei, the dragon boats from the south did not capsize and even slid faster?
Soon, the team from northern Zhejiang took the lead, and the second and third places were also won by dragon boats from southern Zhejiang.
Even the boats in Lingnan are faster than those in the north!
The people of Chang'an were amazed at how fast they had never seen a dragon boat.
Li Shimin and others also sighed, it seems that the northerners are really not good at water battles!
"It's okay. Next time, we in Yanbei will connect the dragon boats with iron chains to increase the weight and length. We will definitely not capsize again!"
When the court officials heard the last words of the Yanbei team, they suddenly thought of Cao Cao's navy back then.
My goodness, is this going to burn all the boats connected by iron chains?
"I told you, people from the north have never been good at naval battles!"
[Likely, you're comparing Mongolia's navy to India's? Hilarious! First of all, they don't even have a sea!]
[After all, there is a lot of water in the south, and I grew up playing in the water.
This is not really regional discrimination, this is a question of regional customs! 】
Modern workers have once again proved him right.
So Li Shimin gradually added more southern generals and soldiers to the navy, and the strength of the navy also steadily increased every year.
At the same time, Li Shimin and his wife's eldest son was finally born!
The entire court was also very happy. After all, His Majesty had few children, and they had been waiting for a prince for a long time, and finally, he had arrived!
Now, even if His Majesty really leads the army in person and gets sick, the Emperor Retired will not be able to come back!
The entire Tang Dynasty's civil and military officials had all suffered from PTSD due to the two retired emperors, so after hearing the news, they were all moved to tears.
When his eldest son was one year old, Li Shimin immediately made him the crown prince.
[…Okay, although I still think you favor sons over daughters, but establishing a crown prince is also part of stabilizing the government, right?]
[It doesn't matter, here's a little-known fact: Up to now, in the past two hundred years in the Tang Dynasty, no eldest son or crown prince has successfully ascended to the throne!
Let's wait and see, there's still a long way to go.]
[Ahahahaha, I laughed my head off. Originally, Li Yu, the eldest son, was going to break the record this time, but it wasn’t his turn!
This is truly the tradition of the Li family! 】
Li Shimin: ………?
How can we talk? Can't these modern people say something nice?
[Well, all of Erfeng’s children have thick eyebrows and big eyes, so pretty and cute!
I have to say it, I didn’t call Li Hua this time, give me a thumbs up! 】
In fact, Li Shimin thought of several names, such as Li Ning, Li An, Li Ming, and Li Sheng.
But modern people always say that these names have been overused, so he finally chose Li Xing.
But seeing this, Li Shimin said unconvincedly:
"But I have already made up my mind. When he reaches the age of twenty, I will give him the courtesy name 'Hua'."
[………In ancient times, people usually called their children by their courtesy names after they reached adulthood, so this kid was called Li Hua after he became a teenager?
After all this trouble, he still couldn't escape the fate of being called Li Hua. What a pitiful prince!
[Ahahahahahaha, what kind of good fortune does Li Hua have? He never has to write letters himself, and he was born the prince of the Erfeng family?]
[Why is it that although we both have the same name, Li Hua, I was always beaten by my classmates since I was a child, but this Li Hua could become the crown prince!
Same name, different fate? Envy, jealousy, and hatred.
If he succeeded in becoming emperor, his courtesy name would not have been passed down. Since ancient times, emperors have always addressed their fathers by their given names, without recording their courtesy names.
[Now that I have said that, I suddenly have some hope that he can succeed to the throne smoothly!
Poor kid. In order not to be called Li Hua, you must work hard to be a good prince!
Otherwise you'll have to be called Li Hua for the rest of your life. How terrifying!]
Anyway, Li Shimin thought the word "Hua" was very good and very suitable for his prosperous Tang Dynasty, so he was determined not to change it.
Modern workers like Shen Yue were helpless and could only nod silently to say, "Yes, yes, boss, you are right."
Then vaccinate the future Li Hua.
Anyway, no matter whether she is a princess or a prince, she must get a beating on the butt!
The time had come to bully the child, and even Erfeng and Empress Changsun were laughing happily beside them.
"Don't cry, little brother. If you don't cry and behave, you will get candy!"
The little princess is already three years old. She is becoming more and more beautiful, like a cute dumpling.
Under the guidance of modern early childhood education, he is polite and well-behaved, very lovable, and therefore has gained a lot of "mom fans".
The Tang Dynasty was delighted to have a crown prince, and the Hu people knew how to please them, so they sent gifts to the crown prince and princess.
After several years of continuous development, Li Shimin and Wen Yuping successfully made all the Hu countries use Tang coins.
Transactions between the Hu states also began to use Tang currency.
After all, when people traded with each other, it was difficult to measure the value using gold or barter, while the value of Tang currency was stable.
As a result, in recent years, more and more foreigners and nobles and royal families of various countries have held Tang coins. Even the Arabs, who are the most adept at business along the Silk Road, are constantly promoting the use of Tang coins in foreign transactions.
Therefore, Tang coins and Feiqian are now being used stably in cross-border transactions throughout the entire Pan-Asian circle.
At this time, Wen Yuping knew that the opportunity for the Tang Dynasty trade war had come.
"Boss, why don't you pick a country and try your hand first!
If we see a country we don't like, we'll use a trade war against it!"
Li Shimin had been looking forward to the economic war for a long time. After much deliberation, he finally set his sights on the most difficult Tubo.
"The terrain here is too high. It's difficult for our Tang Dynasty soldiers to adapt to the climate there. It would be best to reduce the losses incurred during the war."
In response to this, Wen Yuping said that their workers are reliable.
"But, Your Majesty, what excuse should we use?"
Li Shimin thought about it and soon sent someone to issue an edict to the Tibetan king in the name of Tian Khan:
Firstly, the Tibetans often harassed the caravans on the Silk Road, and Li Shimin demanded that they, whether they were Tang or Hu people, stop robbing the caravans.
Second, upon hearing that the Tibetans used infant skulls and young girls' skins in religious rituals to make drums, Tian Khan felt bad and demanded that the Tibetans abolish these religious ceremonies.
These two reasons are really good!
It was the first time I knew that those drums were made of the skin from girls’ backs. I was so shocked!
The girl is fed a large amount of opium and soil to induce hallucinations, and then her skin is removed. The girl does not die immediately during the process, so her skin remains fresh.[1]
[In the last century, Tibet directly stepped into modern society from a serfdom society!
Do you know what a clavicle is? In the past, serfs would have their bones locked.
I visited the museum there and was depressed for several days after seeing it!
In ancient times, when they built towers to protect the towers, they would place young boys and girls inside, and any babies they had would be buried directly at the bottom of the tower to protect the tower!
[So it is better to take it down as soon as possible, which can be regarded as liberating the serfs in advance.
Er Feng's governance will not be any worse than their own people! 】
This reason was well-founded, and the surrounding countries had long been fed up with Tubo, so they applauded after hearing it.
Especially the Arab businessmen, they were eager to fund the Tang army and help destroy Tubo as soon as possible.
After hearing this, the Tibetan king directly refused and declared that he was not afraid of the Tang army's attack.
After all, the Tibetans were good at fighting, and they judged that the Tang Dynasty could not do anything to them.
Relying on the terrain, it is impossible for the Tang Dynasty to conquer the entire Tubo unless the Tang Dynasty mobilizes the entire country to fight, like Emperor Yang of Sui did.
However, this time, contrary to the expectations of all foreign countries, the Tang Dynasty did not send troops, but only issued a decree seemingly casually -
All Tang coins of Tubo were abolished
However, just this small decree instantly turned all the nobles in Tubo and the Tang Dynasty currency in the national treasury into nothingness.
In an instant, the Tubo Kingdom's wealth shrank by at least one-third! And it could no longer trade with other countries.
What a horrible method this is!
The purpose of war is to plunder land and assets. The Tang Dynasty did not move its troops, but only used Tang currency to destroy the other country's property overnight?
Without a single soldier, the country fell into civil strife, and the surrounding foreign states were terrified when they heard about this. All the vassal kings were unable to sleep at night, tossing and turning.
It was not until this time that they understood what the Tang coins represented.
This is really a case of taking one step but planning a hundred steps ahead, and they were completely unaware of it!
The profound thinking and strategies of the Tang people made them both admire and fear them.
However, the Tang Dynasty's plan had already been completed, and even if they wanted to abolish the Tang currency and switch back to barter, it would be impossible.
Now merchants are used to the Tang Dynasty currency and paper flying money. Who would be willing to go back to the primitive trading method, which is like slash-and-burn farming?
[This is why the US dollar cannot be replaced so far!
Even if we actively promote RMB transactions, the US dollar will still be the global hegemon. Once the habit of using it is formed, it will be difficult to ban it!
It was not until this time that officials and scholars in the Tang Dynasty court realized the foresight of Wen Yuping, the Minister of Revenue.
People inside and outside the court, and even ordinary people, began to admire these female officials. Those who dared to say that hens crow at dawn would be scolded as poor and pedantic scholars.
The world's first large-scale economic war was thus recorded in history.
After this battle, Tubo was in decline.
The Tibetan nobles complained bitterly. As their assets shrank on a large scale, they oppressed the serfs even more, squeezing out every bit of their value, draining their blood and making them work for them.
At the same time, Buddhism gradually became popular in Tubo.
Some of the new aristocratic landlord class were already dissatisfied with the Bon rule of the old aristocracy, and conflicts began to arise among the aristocracy.
The serfs, who were being exploited to the point of suffering, began to rebel against the tyranny. Before the Tang Dynasty sent troops, Tibet had already fallen into widespread internal strife and civil war.
Just a year and a half later, Tubo, which should have been at its peak during this period, declined rapidly.
The Tubo King Trisong Detsen was besieged by several new leaders of Tibetan Buddhism and finally had to bow his head and ask the Tang Dynasty to send troops to help him quell the war.
[Suddenly feel like we are a beautiful country?
They asked us to quell their internal strife, so don't blame us for taking care of them as well!
[Oops, we didn't mean to do that. We were just shaking and accidentally killed you!
I’m so sorry, brother! 】
Although the Tang army was indeed not adapted to the plateau environment, due to the internal strife in Tubo and the fact that they were invited over, the battle was much easier than expected and the casualties were less.
In the end, just as Tianmu said, Trisong Detsen was shot to death by arrows without any care.
However, the Tang army did not admit that they did it. The rebel leader also did not admit it at first, but because he was captured, he was finally forced to admit it.
"This is a problem. We originally came to help your Zamp, but your Zamp is dead, and his sons are all gone.
There is no one to succeed the throne. What should we do?
Otherwise, can we in the Tang Dynasty take some effort to help you choose a new King of Tibet?
Oh, by the way, since this term of the Tibetan King has to be chosen by us, His Majesty has said that from now on, all your successors to the Tibetan King must obtain the approval of the Tang Dynasty!"
After taking the lead in economic warfare, the Tang Dynasty directly defeated the most difficult Tubo with almost minimal losses and costs.
However, the local culture and system are outdated. Although modern people are good at cultivating land and farming, they are not good at managing ancient tribes.
When it is time to use strong measures to suppress murder, they often soften their hearts.
Therefore, Li Shimin was a little troubled.
If a general was sent to garrison there, the final result would probably be like Qin Shihuang sending Zhao Tuo to Baiyue, and that place would become the hereditary territory of the family.
After a few generations, when loyalty is gone, they will rebel and become independent.
However, just when he was in trouble, Princess Hezheng requested an audience.
After she entered, she knelt down and said:
"I am willing to go to Tibet on behalf of Your Majesty!
Your Majesty, please appoint me the King of Tubo. I am willing to guard Tubo for the rest of my life and serve the Tang Dynasty!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
