Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 244 Breaking into Guandong

"What the hell, why are there more Tiele people the further south we go?!"

Qibi Heli brushed off an arrow stuck in the crack of his armor and spat on his horse.

Ashina She'er on the side glanced at him and murmured:

"'Qibi' is a common surname in the Tiele tribe..."

Unexpectedly, Qibi Heli's ears were very sensitive, and he immediately retorted:
"Wolf boy, shut up!"

The word "Ashina" originally means noble wolf in Turkic, so Qibi Heli would use this nickname to mock Ashina She'er.

Lao She'er shrugged nonchalantly.

Although he was stubborn and a bit stiff in handling interpersonal relationships, fortunately his temper was not as bad as other Hu generals such as Qibi Heli.

Moreover, they had to deal with the increasingly frequent harassment from the Tiele people while escorting the emperor and the crown prince, two of their precious children, south. They had no time to engage in infighting.

Just now, they had just repelled another wave of Tiele people's raids.

"Great Khan! Little Khan! Are you two okay?"

Ashina She'er did not want to argue with Qibi Heli, and asked loudly behind him.

Li Shimin was wrapped in a thick fur coat, with his face buried in the tall plush collar, and he sat on horseback without saying a word.

It was Li Chengqian who was waiting beside him who answered for his father:

"Thank you, generals. My father and I are safe."

Many days after learning of Li Ming's "death", and after being displaced by the increasingly unscrupulous pursuers of the Xueyantuo soldiers.

His Majesty Li Shimin finally recovered a little from his endless sorrow.

Although he is still quiet, he can still give orders at critical moments.

The decision to move all the troops southward and toward Yunzhou was made personally by Li Shimin.

Yunzhou is located at the northernmost end of Hedong Road, one of the ten roads of the Tang Dynasty. It is adjacent to Youzhou and Yizhou and is an important northern border town.

It was also the front line of the battle against the Xueyantuo/Turkic coalition.

Although in his most pessimistic prediction, Yunzhou, which was also within the influence range of the aristocratic families in Hebei and Shandong, had most likely rebelled and was waiting to kill him, the Emperor Li Tang, as a sacrifice.

But after calming down for a few days and gradually recovering from the pain of losing his son, Li Shimin felt that he might be a little too pessimistic.

I have only been missing for a few months, and the fifteenth year of Zhenguan has not even passed yet. He wouldn't just rebel like that, right?
What's more, they have nowhere to go except Yunzhou in the south.

He immediately rejected the fantastic idea proposed by Li Chengqian, the Prince of Jingtu, to go west and submit to the Western Turks in order to seek an alliance.

Let’s not talk about the feasibility of going the long way instead of the near one. How feasible is it to cross the desert grassland again from east to west?

Li Shimin would probably think about other people's suggestions.

Since Li Chengqian said so, there’s no need to even look at it, just pass it.

Because these smart Turkic "inner barbarians" might really want to be the sons of the Western Turks.

Going west is not possible, and going north and baring the teeth of a polar bear is even more impossible.

Then there are only two ways: east and south.

The road heading east to Goguryeo requires passing through mountains and rivers, and is covered with dense forests.

The road is difficult to walk on and the temperature is even lower.

The food source for their temporary small tribe along the way - the cattle and sheep they raised and looted - was simply not something they could bring along.

Moreover, after Li Ming's death, the Goguryeo people's stance... would not necessarily be closer to the Tang Dynasty than Hebei's.

After weighing the pros and cons of the four evils, it would naturally be more logical to go south and return to Hebei.

After all, that place was still flying the sign of "Tang Dynasty" and had not yet raised the banner of Dou Jiande's "Daxia".

At least not yet.

"Look! What is that!"

The forward walking in front of the team shouted.

Everyone immediately covered their eyes with their hands and looked in the direction he pointed.

Through the winter mist, they could vaguely see the outline of a huge man-made structure.

The outline was about several feet high and immeasurably long from east to west. It meandered between the mountains and gradually disappeared in the white vision. There was no end in sight.

"That's... the Great Wall!"

As nomadic peoples, Qibi Heli and Ashina She'er were very familiar with the Wall of Sighs.

This miracle of human engineering that looks like a giant dragon is the Great Wall!
Within the Great Wall is the core territory of the Han Dynasty.

Yunzhou is just ahead!
"The Xueyantuo cavalry are everywhere nearby. I didn't expect they have reached the foot of the Great Wall."

Qibi Heli was visibly relieved.

Anyway, we’re finally home!
The people inside the wall are much more polite than the barbarians who eat raw meat and drink blood outside the wall!
"Even in a place so close to the Great Wall, there are Xueyantuo forces. They are too arrogant..."

Ashina She'er frowned.

He thought more deeply than Qibi Heli.

Although the Great Wall is an important line of defense, it is obviously unrealistic to leave all the defense to this wall several meters high.

The real defense of a great power has always been its powerful military force, which sows fear in the hearts of the surrounding nations.

That is deterrence.

After the destruction of the Eastern Turks, the nomadic peoples took the initiative to retreat.

What kind of blind nomadic people would dare to approach so close to the Great Wall?
"You wolf cub, just stay outside the wall and wait for the northwest wind. I, your grandfather, will take His Majesty and His Highness home!"

Qibi Heli could not care less about all this. Unable to suppress his excitement, he rode his horse to the front and shouted at the top of his voice towards the wall:

"Put down the ladder! We are one family! We are back..."

"Shut up!"

A low and violent shout shocked Qibi Heli all over and he immediately stopped talking.

Everyone in the team turned their attention to the source of the sound.

It was Li Shimin. He changed his previous distraught look and stared at the beacon tower on the Great Wall with great vigilance, while giving orders in a low and hurried voice:

"Stand back, don't get close to the city wall!"

Huh?
why?
Isn’t the Great Wall a symbol of our people?
Aren’t we heading south all the way just to cross the Great Wall and return to the Han area?
Your Majesty, this is...

Everyone was confused by Li Shimin's order.

But the emperor's prestige was still there, and the troops followed his instructions and slowly retreated.

Almost at the same time.

Whoosh!
An arrow was stuck in the place where Qibi Heli had just stood.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Qibi Heli became anxious on the spot and shouted at the wall:
"No... Although our clothes are a little strange, we are indeed our own people..."

Before he finished speaking, the beacon tower caught fire.

Soon after, the nearby beacon towers also lit up.

This is an enemy attack alert.

"Is Hebei really rebelling?"

Qibi Heli returned to the team and stared blankly at the beacon tower with flames shooting up into the sky.

Ashina She'er looked extremely serious and shook his head slightly:

"No, the situation may be worse..."

They didn't have to guess much, and soon, a figure appeared on the city wall.

Those people had high eyebrows and deep eyes, and wore rough-shaped armor.

It’s the Tiele people!

The Tiele soldier pointed his finger and shouted something in Turkic to his companions on both sides.

"God damn it, go!"

The group immediately turned their horses around and fled back into the vast snowfield.

Fortunately, this was a city wall, not a city gate, and the Tiele people did not catch up quickly. Li Shimin and his party quickly got rid of the pursuit and hid in a valley.

However, no one felt lucky to have survived the disaster; there was only heavy despair in their hearts.

The Great Wall was occupied by Xueyantuo, which was a very bad sign. After crossing the Great Wall, Yunzhou would be almost defenseless!

The Tiele people could march straight into the heart of Hebei and burn, kill and loot at will!

No wonder the further south we went, the more Tiele tribes we encountered.

It turned out that Yi Nan did not continue to engage in a face-to-face sit-in war with Li Shiji's 80,000 Tang troops, but instead mobilized his main forces towards Hebei!
Regardless of whether the nomadic tribes' combat effectiveness is high or low, their strategic mobility is definitely superior.

"Did the Heavenly Khan determine the fact that the Great Wall defense line had fallen based on the unusual movements of the Tiele people he saw along the way?"

Ashina She'er murmured.

Tian Khan is worthy of being Tian Khan. Although he is in a low mood and even looks a little desperate, his insight is still top-notch.

But he only dared to whisper these flattering words to himself and did not dare to talk to the Khan himself.

Because the Khan is probably not in a very good mood right now...

"You took advantage of the chaos in Hebei and the lack of Li Shiji's logistics to take advantage of this opportunity, right?"

Li Shimin faced the mountain wall, his right hand clenched the horsewhip so tightly that veins popped out.

"Why did he seize the opportunity so accurately? How did Yinan know that Hebei was in chaos? How did Yinan know that Li Shiji had logistical problems and could not take the initiative to attack?

"Why is it that Yi Nan is able to obtain key intelligence in a timely manner every time?"

Li Shimin suddenly turned around, and his stern gaze forced no one to dare to look up.

"When I was in the East Palace, I heard some rumors."

It was the emperor's own son Li Chengqian who broke the silence.

"It is said that the person behind the Jiucheng Palace incident is Li Tai..."

"Bullshit!"

Li Shimin roared and interrupted Li Chengqian's speech loudly.

Ashina She'er hesitated for a while, but finally said:
“What the little Khan said may not be without basis.

"After the army set out and when the regent was still in Chang'an, he also said something similar..."

"You shut up too!"

Li Shimin shouted wildly.

There was complete silence, so quiet that you could even hear the rustling of snowflakes falling.

Li Shimin's anger subsided, his waist slowly bent, his body shrank into a ball, and he looked like he had aged dozens of years.

After a long while, his lips moved:

"I was wrong. The princes quarreled, the country was in chaos, and Hebei was lost. It was all my fault. It was my fault!
"I shouldn't be so harsh on the princes..."

The corner of Li Chengqian's eyes twitched.

"I'm sorry, everyone."

He raised his head and bowed deeply to the remaining imperial guards and Hu guards:
"I failed to educate my son properly, and I have brought trouble upon all of you loyal people and the entire world."

Trembling in the wind, he looked like a poor old man.

Everyone was extremely sad and knelt on the ground, and the emperor and his ministers cried uncontrollably.

I've cried and vented, but life still has to go on and real problems still have to be solved.

What to do next?
East, west, south, north, which way should I go?
"We're not going anywhere. We're staying right here."

Li Shimin made the decision calmly.

"The Xueyantuo were nomadic people who destroyed more than they built. They went south only to plunder and did not know how to rule.

"When they have robbed enough and the grasslands have grown grass in the spring and are ready for grazing, they will retreat. Then we can find a chance to return to Yunzhou."

I believe that after being "baptized" by the Xueyantuo, the people of Hebei would not be so enthusiastic about rebelling against the Tang Dynasty.

Compared with the Tiele barbarians, the "country boys" in Guanzhong are much cuter.

Therefore, when the time comes, we can take the route back to Hebei without having to worry about the local people rebelling.

"What do you think, sir?"

He asked for everyone's opinions and his attitude was surprisingly kind.

Everyone, look at me and I'll look at you.

What else can we say except shouting "The Khan is wise"?
Although it sounds a bit ruthless and cold-eyed.

But it is the most realistic way to help this team get out of trouble.

With a goal, this temporary tribe finally had a backbone.

Those who were standing guard, those who were tending the cattle and sheep, and those who were preparing food and water were all busy.

Li Shimin personally helped the soldiers build the tents, and then he went inside.

Li Chengqian felt that his father's behavior was a little strange.

"Father?"

He lifted the thick animal-hide blanket and followed in.

All I saw was Li Shimin sitting in a corner of the tent, looking listless and stupid.

He completely lost his composure and returned to his previous dispirited state.

Even after hearing Li Chengqian's movements, Li Shimin was too lazy to act majestically, as if he was an old man in his twilight years.

"Father?"

"Cheng Qian..."

His dry lips moved up and down:

"I feel bad, I feel so bad in my heart..."

Li Chengqian felt a strong sense of sadness and looked down at the old man, the source of his misfortune, with complicated eyes.

…………

"Run! The barbarians are coming!"

"Help!"

"Ah! my house, my ancestral heritage!"

There was wailing along the Youyun line.

The Xueyantuo cavalry ruthlessly trampled over the cultivated land, setting fire and looting along the way.

Although the Tiele people were numerous, they were weak. They were originally servants of the Turks and regarded the Turks as their masters.

After the powerful Turks were easily destroyed by the Tang Dynasty, they regarded the Tang Dynasty as a god.

Even in the most wonderful dreams, no Tiele people would dare to imagine that their iron hooves would one day be able to cross the Great Wall and set foot on the core territory of the Tang Dynasty!

Even though this was just taking advantage of the other party's internal turmoil.

But just tell me whether you stepped on it or not!
Although it was their first time, the Tiele people quickly became adept at exploiting the local people in an unsustainable manner.

It’s just stealing things, do you still need to learn this?
It was as if a goddess was lying powerless on the ground, allowing herself to be ravaged by them. The evil thoughts in the Tiele people's hearts burst out, and they exploited the ground even more cruelly than their Xiongnu and Turkic predecessors.

However, the various powerful families in the hinterland of Hebei were still fighting among themselves and had not organized themselves to defend themselves against external aggression.

Some nobles even tried to collude with the Xueyantuo and act as guides.

Faced with internal and external troubles, a large number of Hebei people fled.

Often, before the war reached their homes, entire villages or towns would flee, and only one in ten would survive.

It is quite darkly humorous that the Tiele people had been starving for a long time in the desolate Mobei area.

They were obviously more interested in the immediate wealth than in planned massacres to weaken the Han people's war potential.

He was only concerned with robbing and didn't kill much.

This resulted in large numbers of refugees.

Escape, but where to escape to?
In the dead of winter, the refugees, with their families and no fixed place to live, carried gold and silver valuables with them, and were like mobile money houses.

At that time, Hebei and Shandong were in chaos. To the west were the towering Taihang Mountains and to the east was the sea.

In the Central Plains to the south, a great war was taking place, order was in chaos, and bandits were rampant.

Where can these refugees go?

Where can they find enough food to feed them, enough productivity and administrative power to build temporary shelters for them, and good social security so that they can rest assured that they will not be slaughtered like piglets?
Everyone's footsteps all went in the same direction.

Liaodong, Northeast!
(End of this chapter)