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

Chapter 793 Li Yan's Pretense

Zhang Xuansu saw Li Yan's attitude and felt bitter: "My prince, you must tell me the truth. To be honest with you, Tuli said that you and his daughter have been married for a long time and are pregnant. He wants to keep you on the grassland as his son-in-law."

"what?"

Li Yan's face changed drastically, and he looked flustered: "Master Zhang, that won't work?"

"I can't stay in the grassland. I have to go back to the capital. My father and mother are still waiting for me. When Ankang left, she asked me to bring him a gift. Oh, and the Crown Princess is pregnant. She is looking forward to the father of the child returning soon."

Li Yan looked very confused and wanted to pull Zhang Xuansu away from here impatiently.

Zhang Xuansu took a deep breath and calmed the anxious Li Yan: "I didn't know what Tuli said before. Your Highness must tell me the truth about what should be done. I will also ask the emperor for instructions."

"But no matter what the emperor decides, Your Highness must put the overall situation first."

"The war between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks is imminent. Tuli's choice is very important. It can be said that the entire Tang Dynasty depends on your Highness. No matter what, your Highness must not anger Tuli."

Li Yan had a panicked expression on his face as if he was about to cry, and recounted in detail what had happened in Chang'an Taihe Building more than three months ago.

Finally, she cried, "Master, I was ordered by my father to befriend Tuli, and I even sacrificed my own reputation for this. Tuli's friendly attitude towards the Tang Dynasty is inseparable from my hard work. My father knows all this!"

"Go back and talk to my father. If it doesn't work out, I can marry Ashina Yun as my concubine, but you can't leave me on the grassland, okay?"

"I am the crown prince, and I will inherit the throne in the future."

"So that's how it is. There's actually such a hidden story behind it!"

After listening carefully, Zhang Xuansu stroked his beard and breathed a sigh of relief: "If that's the case, then the prince and Tuli's daughter had merits and no faults."

"And the emperor also knows what's going on. No wonder Tuli's attitude has changed so much this time. He even proposed the condition of asking you to come to the alliance, and the emperor finally agreed."

"With this relationship, the alliance between our two families will have an extra layer of protection and will be more solid. After all, we even have a child. However, Tuli only has this one daughter. He proposed that Your Highness temporarily live in the grassland for ten years before he would ally with the Tang Dynasty. This is also very embarrassing."

Li Yan hurriedly tried to save the situation, "Master, that won't do. I'm the crown prince, not an ordinary prince. The Tang Dynasty cannot live without a crown prince. Go back and tell my father that I must go back to serve him. If it doesn't work, go and cry to my mother."

At this point, Li Yan stood up and walked to the door of the tent. He looked carefully like a thief, then went back into the tent and said in a low voice, "Master, you don't know. I heard from Ashina Yun that Tuli fought with Jie Li for the Khanship in his early years, and was assassinated by Jie Li's men. He is now seriously ill."

"A few months ago, Jie Li poisoned the wine in the name of a banquet when he was discussing matters with the tribal leaders in the Yazhang."

"Tuli vomited a basin of black blood after returning to the camp. Although he was lucky enough not to die, his health has become worse. I'm afraid he won't live long. Not to mention eighteen years, he may not even survive one or two years. What should I do if he dies?"

Zhang Xuansu's expression tensed up, and he asked anxiously, "Is this news true? How did Your Highness know such confidential information?"

"This..." Li Yan hesitated.

"My Highness, it's already this time. Tuli's physical condition is directly related to the survival of our Tang Dynasty. He cannot die now, otherwise Jie Li will annex the Tuli tribe, and there will be no point in forming an alliance." Zhang Xuansu asked anxiously.

Li Yan smiled awkwardly and said a little embarrassedly: "Master, although I am still young in governing the country and cannot compare with you in terms of profound knowledge and rich experience, I still have some experience in coaxing girls!"

"Tuli only has Ashina Yun as his only child. He has been doted on since he was young. He holds him in his hands for fear of dropping him, and holds him in his mouth for fear of melting him."

"You also know that girls like this who grow up in the midst of endless pampering are mostly willful and shallow-minded, just like that crazy girl Ankang, without a single brain. After being coaxed by a handsome young man like Song Yu and more talented than Zijian, she even forgot her last name."

"Plus, we already have a child, so the die is cast."

Li Yan said this, winked, and smiled complacently: "These past few days, Shi Nayun has been trying to please me and flatter me in every way. She tells me whatever I ask, and she just hopes that I can be with her and not leave her."

Zhang Xuansu was stunned and looked up in surprise at Li Yan, who looked confident, complacent and very proud of this.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has delicate features and a handsome appearance. Although he is not bad looking, he is still far inferior to the ancient Song Yu and Pan An. Even among the talented people in Chang'an, the Crown Prince is not particularly outstanding.

Apart from other things, Li Ke and Li You, the younger brothers, were definitely better looking than the crown prince. As for talent, Zhang Xuansu curled his lips and spat secretly. As the Grand Tutor, he knew it best.

Li Yan was evaluated as being a little clever but not very wise, having a dull mind, unwilling to work hard, and being lazy and greedy for pleasure. In terms of talent and learning, he was not even as good as Li Tai, and was even lower class among the younger generation in Chang'an.

He can be compared with playboys like Dugu Mou and Chai Zhewei.

Zhang Xuansu now added another label of being ignorant in his mind. He was so shameless. How could he have the nerve to be compared with Cao Zijian?

Don’t you have any idea of ​​your own weight?
Zhang Xuansu looked down on the Hu people even more in his heart. The princess of the Hu people was really unsophisticated. How could she be deceived by such a charlatan with a beautiful appearance?

But thinking about the men he saw on the grassland after arriving at the Tuli tribe, all of them were sloppy, strange-looking, and wrapped in cowhide vests. Zhang Xuansu then looked at the young prince who was wearing a moon-white robe and had a refreshing look.

Do you understand why the Hu princess is concerned about the prince?
Compared with those Turkic young men who eat raw meat and drink blood, deal with cattle and sheep all day long, and smell of animals, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince from Chang'an is indeed a unique figure among the thousands of grasses.

Zhang Xuansu did not care much about Li Yan's self-satisfaction, but thought about the meeting with Tuli. The inside information he got from the prince also gave him a clearer understanding of Tuli's situation and attitude, and many of his doubts were answered.

Li Yan said indignantly: "Master, please tell me quickly, will the emperor be threatened by Tuli and let me stay in the grassland? We agreed to come here only for the alliance meeting and will return soon. How could so many problems arise again?"

"If I had known this would happen, I would not have come here even if my father beat me to death."

Zhang Xuansu looked at Li Yan, who looked like he didn't want to stay for a moment. Come to think of it, how could the Crown Prince of the Celestial Empire be willing to stay on the grassland?

Although Tuli's daughter is of noble status, she is, after all, just a Hu girl from the wild grassland. How can she be worthy of you gentlemen of the Tang Dynasty?

Zhang Xuansu felt that, given the current situation facing the Tang Dynasty, Tuli did not put forward any conditions, but proposed that the prince stay in the grassland for ten years before forming an alliance with the Tang Dynasty. Although such a request was very excessive, both Li Shimin and the officials in the court would agree to it after weighing the pros and cons.

So when Zhang Xuansu heard Tuli's conditions, he knew that Li Yan might not be able to go back for a while.

The purpose of this visit was, firstly, to show courtesy, and secondly, to convey Li Yan's thoughts to Chang'an and appease Li Yan.

Seeing Li Yan's unhappy expression, Zhang Xuansu had to comfort him patiently, telling Li Yan not to be impatient. No matter what the outcome of the negotiations between the two sides was, he must put the country first and not lose his temper. He must appease Tuli and his daughter and pull Tuli over.

Finally, with Li Yan reluctant to let him go and giving him many instructions, Zhang Xuansu left.
Li Yan saw them off for ten miles. Standing on the hillside, he breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Zhang Xuansu and his party return, although it was his own wish to stay in the grassland.

But he could not let Li Shimin doubt his intentions.

On the other hand, he had to pretend to be extremely reluctant, so that leaving Chang'an, that place of trouble, would appear reasonable and people would not think that he was deliberately avoiding him, but would also think that he was making a huge sacrifice for the Tang Dynasty.

With such a great achievement, after defeating the Turks, all the officials in the court and the people in the world would owe him a huge favor. They would think that it was because of his being a hostage to the Turks that the Tang Dynasty won victory.

This would give Li Shimin a reason to keep his position as crown prince in his absence.

When Zhang Xuansu learned that Tuli had only one daughter, Ashina Yun was pregnant, and Tuli was in poor health and would not live long, it was already inevitable what decision Li Shimin, who was thousands of miles away, would make.

Ten days later, Zhang Xuansu, who had been traveling all the way, ignored the fatigue of the journey and went straight into the Taiji Palace. He met Li Shimin who was waiting for news in the Chengqing Hall.

Only Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji were in the hall, with no outsiders. When Zhang Xuansu told them what had happened, they learned that the prince and his entourage had avoided the siege of the city by the Turks because they camped on the mountain. Both Li Shimin and Fang Xuanling breathed a sigh of relief.

He secretly sighed in his heart, God bless the Tang Dynasty and the prince is so lucky that he did not enter Mayi. Otherwise, let alone the alliance, his life and death would be in danger.

A few days ago, Jie Li attacked the city and Mayi was broken. However, Jie Li did not carry out a large-scale massacre as he had done in the past. Instead, he exercised great restraint and just searched the whole city, saying that he was looking for a young man. In the end, no one knew what the result was.

They searched the city thoroughly, looted all the food and valuables, and then left. They did not kill any captured defenders.

This made Li Shimin and several people who knew the inside story even more certain that Jie Li was looking for the prince.

(End of this chapter)