The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 1000 Li Yan Returns to the Court (V)

'hiss'

Li Shimin sucked in a breath of cold air, and immediately gnashed his teeth and cursed: "Yinan, this bastard, in order to get rid of Jie Li and replace him, he actually disregarded the safety of my Great Tang Crown Prince. He himself was fine, but he let my Crown Prince fall into such a deadly situation."

"If I had known this, I should have ordered him to be executed."

Li Yan's heart sank slightly. The crown prince encountered an accident while on a diplomatic mission, and the court thousands of miles away had no way of judging the truth.

Therefore, whether it is intentional or negligent, it is a capital crime.

However, the main strategic goal of the Tang Dynasty at that time was to deal with Jie Li. As an important force for stabilizing the grassland, both Li Shimin and the ministers in the court would try to win over Yinan, as long as he did not rebel against the Tang Dynasty like Jie Li.

The court would not ignore national policy and push the Yi people away for the sake of its own gains and losses.

Always put the overall situation first. People in power wield power, but are also bound by power. This is the price of power.

People can only talk about other things when they are alive. Once they die, there is no meaning in talking about other things. This is true not only for me, but also for Li Shimin, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Yan is the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty and has been the lord of the grassland for many years, so he naturally understands this.

Li Yan did not have much resentment in his heart, but played his role well, looking at Li Shimin with gratitude: "Father, don't be angry. Yi Nan had already surrendered to the Tang Dynasty at that time, so it is reasonable for the court to win him over."

"I just didn't expect that my father would be so tolerant and forgiving, but this person had a hidden ambition and betrayed my father's kindness, and later rebelled."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin nodded with satisfaction, although he owed his eldest son a lot.

However, what I left to my eldest son was the vast land of the Tang Dynasty and a powerful empire that had been governed by the Zhenguan Dynasty. In the face of such great benefits, I think the slight hesitation in my son's heart would disappear.
"Qian'er!"

Empress Changsun couldn't help but interrupt, "Since you don't remember anything, then what happened again?"

"Mother, when I woke up on the battlefield, I found that I was different from those grassland people. Although I forgot a lot of things, I vaguely remembered that my home was in the Central Plains. So I stayed away from the battlefield, avoided the large group of soldiers, and secretly went south."

Li Yan was embarrassed. It was not easy to make up a lie. Seeing everyone's attention, he said with a stiff upper lip: "Later, I met a Sogdian caravan that came from the Western Regions to the grassland to do business. They were also avoiding the war."

"Compared to the grassland people, we are all foreigners who have drifted to the grassland, so we travel together."

“But they did not go to the Central Plains. Instead, they went west, through the Irtysh River Valley at the southern foot of Jinshan Mountain, south to the Hexi Corridor, through the Western Regions via the Silk Road, and all the way through the Byzantine Empire in Central Asia, heading to the westernmost tip of the continent.”

"I heard from the Sogdians in the caravan that I was definitely from the Central Plains. But the people from the Central Plains who were stranded on the grasslands were either slaves captured by the Turks, or they could not stay in the Central Plains and fled to the grasslands."

"I have lost my memory and I don't remember my identity. If I return to the Central Plains, I will probably be homeless. It is better for me to go with them. Their caravan encountered war on the grassland and suffered heavy casualties. They are short of manpower, so I will go west with them."

After Li Yan's explanation, everyone in the room suddenly understood. No wonder Li Yan disappeared after the battle, and no wonder he had no contact with Chang'an for so many years. It turned out that he had lost his memory and went to the distant West.

At this time, the Tang Dynasty's understanding of the West was only superficial, extending at most to India, Byzantium and Western Turkestan, the Aral Sea in Central Asia and the Khorasan region. It knew nothing about the farther Middle East, Europe and Africa.

Through some merchants who came from afar, I vaguely knew that the land in the far west was also vast and boundless, with many countries.

However, that is a place that the current Tang Dynasty cannot reach. Even the three major empires in Central Asia are beyond the reach of the Tang Dynasty. With the current level of technological development and political structure of the Tang Dynasty, the limit of its rule is only Parthia, Kangju, Gumozhou and other places west of the Pamir Mountains.

This is also true even if the model of direct administration plus feudal fiefdom is adopted.

During the reign of Emperor Gaozong, the Tang Dynasty reached its peak, with its influence extending to Tokharistan, which was later the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul. However, it was only occupied for a short time and was soon lost. This was the farthest area that the feudal dynasty could reach.

Even from the perspective of Li Yan, who came from later generations, through thousands of years of detached vision, this was the limit of feudal rule and it couldn't be any bigger.

This is determined by the level of scientific and technological development and cannot be achieved by human power.

In fact, even in later times, the territories that several superpowers could truly rule were limited. They were either directly governed with regional autonomy, or loose federal unions, or giants in name only.

The larger the territory, the heavier the burden, and the management rights of many places are divided.

Although later technology was able to achieve effective governance, all territories were still not brought under direct governance. In some places, only sovereignty, military power, and diplomatic rights were retained. This must have been due to various considerations.

If this is the case in later generations, why should ancient people be so obsessed with it?
However, the actual ruling area can be limited, but the influence of the Han people can be expanded infinitely. If the whole world is full of Han people, then all wars will become internal wars.

There is only a power struggle at the top, and the survival of the nation of the lower class will not be involved. "Father, mother, the ancients said that there is always someone better than you, and it is absolutely true."

Li Yan had never been to the present-day West, but as the Right Wise King of the Turks, he had come into contact with many caravans. Combined with the knowledge of later generations, he took this opportunity to showcase other places in the world one by one and lay a solid foundation for future expansion.

After all, only by being familiar with the West can one have a greater say in Western affairs.

"Father, I have traveled to many places in the past ten years. It turns out that there are many countries and seas to the west of India, Western Turkestan and the Byzantine Empire. There are races with red hair, green eyes and white skin, as well as black-skinned savages who eat raw meat and drink blood."

"The Far West has a vast land that is not inferior to that of the Tang Dynasty, and an extremely suitable environment for living. Compared to the entire continent, our Tang Dynasty only occupies a small corner."

"."

Afterwards, Li Yan described some scenes of later Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The ethnic characteristics, living habits and various languages ​​of those places amazed everyone in the hall and they sighed that the world is so big that there are all kinds of wonders.

This also indirectly verified that Li Yan had indeed been exiled to the West for more than ten years, and had visited many places and gained a lot of knowledge.

Li Yan finally said excitedly: "Until a year ago, I fell from the mountain while climbing and was unconscious for three days and three nights. When I woke up again, I remembered a lot of things, including my true identity."

"I have consulted a Western doctor, and he said that my condition was caused by a head collision, which caused blood clots on my head and compressed my nerves, leading to a temporary loss of my memory. This time, by chance, the blood clots that were compressing my nerves were dispelled again, and my memory was restored."

After saying that, Li Yan looked at the people in the room, but most of them had confusion in their eyes, as if they understood, but also seemed not to understand.

It was Zhangsun Wugou who was the first to react. He looked at his eldest son kindly and said with emotion: "It's God's will. This is all God's will. It seems that my son is a man of great fortune and destiny."

"Perhaps God couldn't bear that our Tang Dynasty was without a crown prince, so Qian'er remembered everything."

"Yes, mother, this is all God's blessing."

Li Yantian shamelessly replied, "After I remembered my identity, I also remembered my father, the emperor, my mother, Haitang, my sisters Yun and Ankang, so I rushed home regardless of everything. Finally, I arrived in Gaochang, Xizhou, a month ago."

"It's just that the Western Regions are very chaotic. Although I met many Han people, I didn't dare to recognize them and expose my identity for fear of causing trouble. I dressed like an ordinary person along the way, occasionally traveling with the caravan, and finally arrived at Taiji Palace this morning."

Haitang and Ankang were both sighing with regret, but Li Shimin's eyes sparkled. He naturally understood that there were many doubts in Li Yan's explanation of the Spring and Autumn Annals, and then he thought of Hou Junji's attack in court a few days ago.

He understood that the prince must have contacted Hou Junji in advance.

When Hou Junji learned that the prince wanted to return, he became emboldened and called on his old subordinates in the Eastern Palace to resist his intention to establish the King of Jin. Wang Xuance's Jinyiwei might have been involved in this.

With this association, Li Shimin somewhat understood the series of events that had taken place during this period. At the same time, he thought further. Perhaps Hou Junji had found the prince earlier, but it was not until a month ago when his health deteriorated that he summoned the prince back.

Such speculation immediately overturned the idea that Empress Zhangsun had planned behind the scenes. Li Shimin looked at the empress apologetically, and then looked meaningfully at the prince who was talking with an innocent look on his face.

Perhaps, all of this is inseparable from the prince's handwriting.

However, Li Shimin did not care too much. The fight for the throne was cruel and life-and-death. The prince had been missing for more than ten years and was far away from the court. Naturally, he did not know the current situation in the court and his own feelings.

He didn't dare to trust anyone, so it was reasonable for him to contact his father-in-law Hou Junji first.

Compared with what he did back then, what he did was almost negligible.

On the other hand, if the prince was ignorant and careless and rushed headlong into Chang'an City, placing all his hopes of succession to the throne on the aging emperor himself, that would be really worrying.

And now.
Although there is a hidden intention of forcing the emperor to abdicate, it is very appropriate at this moment.

Especially when the aristocratic families joined forces to fight against the imperial power, both Li Tai and Li Ke would easily be rejected by the aristocratic families, and choosing the young Li Zhi to take the throne was also a last resort.

Li Shimin looked at Li Yan, who was almost thirty years old, and there was a strong self-confidence in his words and deeds; his every move showed the calmness and heaviness of a superior. Faced with the situation of loss for many years, he was calm and composed, without any panic about taking over a huge empire.

Li Shimin thought to himself that he, the prince, had been out there for more than a decade, so he probably wouldn't be a small figure, right?

There is already a lot of mystery about him, which makes it difficult for me to see through him.

(End of this chapter)