Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 254: Changsun Wuji: No, I have no intention of running away to Liaodong

"Aunt: I am writing to you. The weather is getting colder, so I hope you take care of yourself. Liaodong is much colder than Guanzhong. Fortunately, with the blessing of the ancestors of the Changsun family and the protection of His Royal Highness the Regent, my unfilial grandson is doing well in Liaodong.

"I, your unfilial grandson, have been favored by His Majesty the Regent and have been ordered to manage the people's livelihood in Liaodong...

"The unfilial grandson was ordered to take charge of internal affairs...

"Today, while walking, a local fed me a frozen pear. It was so sweet. Northeast China is so rich in products. I wonder when I will return to Chang'an to bring one back for Grandpa to try.

"The unfilial grandson is in charge of war logistics..."

After returning to the Duke's Mansion, Changsun Wuji carefully took out the secret letter from the "enemy-occupied area" and read it over and over again.

From between the lines, he only read two words, which were "Come quickly"!
This was the first letter sent by the unfilial grandson since the night of the "Suzaku Gate Incident" when Changsun Yan climbed over the wall and left home to flee to Liaodong with Li Ming.

There is a sense of showing off in the gaps between each word:

Is Liaodong rich? Are the people of Liaodong simple and honest? I am responsible for all of this, hahaha!
"He is a tyrant boy. He has developed a sense of superiority by governing two inferior states."

Changsun Wuji cursed to himself, but a smile appeared involuntarily on the corner of his mouth.

This was the first time since Li Zhi became regent that he had smiled so comfortably and sincerely.

Why is this?

The nephew who was most easily manipulated successfully reached the top, and he himself became the highest-ranking regent in the court.

The combination of two happy things did not make Changsun Wuji experience double happiness, but instead brought him inexplicable uneasiness and troubles.

First of all, the world has always believed that the little nephew Li Zhi has a weak character, but in fact he is not weak at all.

On the contrary, he is a dark kid with deep thoughts.

He is not a puppet that can be easily manipulated.

Secondly, Changsun Wuji’s actual position in the court was also very embarrassing.

Nominally he was the chief civil official; he was the first in line at court meetings and the first to speak.

However, he clearly felt that the distance between him and Li Zhi was very far.

Li Zhi did not let him participate in the truly core affairs - specifically, issues related to the struggle for the throne and civil war.

Instead, he held a small meeting with the people from Wagangzhai behind his back.

Staying away from the core of power means staying away from power itself.

This has never happened before during your Majesty's reign.

Changsun Wuji felt an unprecedented crisis.

Crisis of Confidence.

Because Changsun Wuji jumped ship from Li Chengqian, and his motive for jumping ship was not pure. He just wanted to control Li Zhi because he was young and weak.

And the new master, Li Zhi, is obviously a scheming boy who cares a lot about the other party's history.

The two of them had their own ulterior motives, which resulted in them only being able to maintain a superficial uncle-nephew relationship.

"Liaodong, could it be a place to go...

"Hey, what am I thinking?"

Changsun Wuji was surprised that he had the foolish idea of ​​running away to Liaodong and joining Li Ming.

Even if he couldn't get in touch with the core circle on Li Zhi's side, at least he could still be the (nominal) chief civil servant, and he was extremely rich.

What will happen to him after he goes to Liaodong?
Changsun Wuji still had a clear idea of ​​what he had done to Li Ming.

Chang Sun didn't think that being in the enemy's lair would be much better than being under Li Zhi's command.

What's more, Pingzhou is not comparable to Chang'an, and Liaodong is not comparable to the Tang Dynasty.

Let the chief civil official, the emperor's brother-in-law, and the Tang Dynasty's close uncle, go down to a remote small frontier town.

It is very insulting and hurtful.

It would be better to let Li Zhi charge him with treason and sentence him to death so that the matter would be put to an end.

"This letter was written by Li Ming and asked my unfilial grandson to write it, right?
"Oh, using a letter from home to lure me to Liaodong to fall into a trap, what a cunning scheme."

Changsun Wuji carefully folded the letter, hid it between the pages of a book, and then returned to the work of governing the country.

Thanks to his two nephews, the entire country has been messed up.

Although the civil war between the two was not large in scope and had not yet turned into a world-wide chaos like the one at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the damage to people's livelihood was secondary.

However, it had extremely adverse effects on the cohesion of the Tang Dynasty as a country, the authority of the imperial court, and its destructive power on grassroots organizations.

Especially after the two of them watched Hebei fall, their national identity, which their father, Li Shimin, had worked so hard to build up through his civil and military achievements, began to dissolve.

Li Zhi could ignore this mess, but as the nominal chief of the court, Changsun Wuji had to clean up his mess for him.

His dedication and diligence was not so much out of love as an uncle for his nephew, but rather out of the bureaucratic system's instinct to maintain social stability.

Feelings are relative. Li Zhi ignored him, so it is hard to say how much feelings he has left for Li Zhi.

It's quiet at night.

"call……"

Changsun Wuji put down his pen and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

Before he knew it, he had been working overtime at his desk for several hours.

They were all terrible things like "Xiangzhou suffered from rain, snow and frost, and the prefecture government refused to obey the imperial edict to distribute bedding and clothing", "The number of bandits in Bozhou increased sharply, and the county government did not care", and "The Ministry of Civil Affairs official sent to Hangzhou to check the granary disappeared".

A few months ago, local officials would never have dared to flatter the imperial court like this...

"Liaodong? That kid has found a good job..."

He looked out the window at the dark sky and fell into deep thought.

…………

"How's the situation on the other side of the wall?"

Outside the Yunchang Great Wall, in a valley of Mount Heng, Qibi Heli anxiously asked the scouts who were heading south to gather information.

The majestic Mount Heng, the northernmost of the mountains, provided them with a hiding place that was close enough to Yunzhou and safe enough.

The Turkic scout replied in stiff Chinese:
"It's just as bad as before... it's chaotic and dangerous. We can't go back yet."

Li Shimin, Li Chengqian and Ashina She'er who were present all heard clearly the bad news he brought.

In order to find an opportunity to return to the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin and his party did not passively stay in the mountains of Hengshan.

Instead, he continuously sent out scouts to investigate the situation in Yunzhou, waiting for the situation to calm down before taking the opportunity to climb over the wall and enter.

Because Qibi Heli's subordinates were all Hu people, and the Tiele people were not very good at using the Great Wall, a high-tech firewall, so the spies were able to infiltrate the other side of the wall.

But every time the spies brought back bad news.

From the time when the Tiele people first entered Hebei to plunder, and were still a little immature, to when Li Tai recognized the Xueyantuo as his king and considered himself his subject, both sides jointly carried out unsustainable exploitation of the people of Hebei.

Li Shimin and his entourage watched every episode from beginning to end, and watched the situation south of the Great Wall deteriorate day by day.

"The little Khan of Wei is actually such a Khan."

Ashina She'er was shocked.

It is a huge stain in my life that I have worked under such a disloyal and unfilial person.

"Oh, the fourth brother is really a whim. He actually pays tribute to the Tiele people."

The clever Crown Prince Li Chengqian disdained the behavior of his fourth brother Li Tai.

Because the Tiele tribe was a slave of the Turks, and Jing Tu was at least on an equal footing with the Turks, which was much more powerful than being a slave of the Turks.

Moreover, he colluded with foreign races to plunder China... Even if he was a Turk, he could not do such a big job.

He just likes the culture and living habits of the Turks, but he doesn't have to like the Turks themselves.

"..."

Li Shimin listened to the actions of his unfilial sons without saying a word. His pair of dull yellow eyes were sunken in his eye sockets, like an old sculpture.

His subordinates couldn't bear to look at this miserable and lonely appearance.

Haha... Li Chengqian looked at his father's miserable appearance with a bit of gloating, barely resisting the urge to sneer.

Li Tai, a beast in human form, was actually used by Li Shimin as a competitor for the position of crown prince over the past decade.

Whenever he thought of this fact, Li Chengqian couldn't help but laugh in his heart at Li Shimin's failure to recognize his son.

In the end, he shot himself in the foot and in just a few months he threw the country into chaos. He was also stranded north of the Great Wall, blowing the northwest wind in the wilderness in the middle of winter.

It also shattered his imagination of fathers saying goodbye to their sons and smiling at each other, and brothers being friendly and respectful to each other.

In the royal family, where every step is taken cautiously, how can one expect harmonious and beautiful family relationships like ordinary people?
"Also, the soldiers in Liaodong can't hold on and are retreating to the north." The scout continued to stutter.

"Ok?"

Emperor Li Shimin, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke, and his expression changed, as if he had transformed from a sculpture into a living person.

But his expression was obviously sad. Not only him, but everyone present had a solemn expression.

The person is gone, but his fragrance remains.

Although Li Ming was killed, the new Liaodong he left behind was still solid and reliable.

"The most loyal and filial one... is him." Li Shimin murmured in a low voice.

The most naughty son governs the most unruly people.

Originally, Li Shimin had always been wary of Li Ming splitting Liaodong away.

I never expected that when the country was destroyed and the family was ruined, only Liaodong extended a helping hand!
The so-called "literary talent" Li Tai and the so-called "respectful and filial" Li Zhi either assisted the tyrant or stood by and watched!
irony!

However, Liaodong's power was still too weak.

According to the battle reports brought by the scouts, the Liaodong Army's front line retreated northward day by day, gradually approaching Yanshan Mountain and Pingzhou mainland.

Although their fighting power was strong, their foundation was too weak and their numbers were too few, so they were easily overwhelmed by the vast ocean of hundreds of thousands of enemy troops.

This makes their resistance particularly tragic.

"I...I want to be alone for a while."

Li Shimin supported his knees and stood up tremblingly.

"I'll help you!"

"Tian Khan please slow down!"

Li Chengqian and Ashina She'er held the old emperor's left and right arms at the same time.

At the same time, he was pushed away angrily by the other party.

"I am alone, quiet for a while."

Li Shimin spoke word by word and walked out of the tent holding the felt.

Qibi Heli looked at his old figure with sympathy and whispered:

"Because the Liaodong Army reminded His Majesty of His Highness Li Ming, which made him a little sad."

As Xue Wanche's good friend and a reserve member of the Fourteen Traitors, Qibi Heli is the person among all present who can best understand Li Shimin's feelings.

"It sounds like the Tang Khanate has lost a saintly Khan." Ashina She'er poked the fire with a firewood stick, his tone full of regret:

"It's a pity I never met him."

"Brother Ming is... a very interesting little guy." Li Chengqian said casually while staring at the flickering flames.

As the eldest son, Li Chengqian did not have much ill will towards his younger brothers except Li Tai.

All the struggles between him and Li Ming were limited to a certain extent and did not involve personal attacks.

Although he was quite annoyed by his father's love for Li Ming.

But he believed that he had a clear distinction between love and hate, so he pushed the responsibility onto Li Shimin, and did not vent his anger on Li Ming himself.

Of course, the most important thing is that Li Ming has another excellent quality——

That is, he is dead.

There is no need for Li Chengqian to be fussy about the dead; he can just be more generous.

"It's a pity that the foolishly loyal Liaodong people have brought disaster upon themselves, and I'm afraid they will follow in his footsteps."

…………

Analyzing from the battle front alone, Li Chengqian's sarcastic remarks are not without reason.

Since entering Hebei, the Liaodong Red Turban Army seems to have been losing ground.

When they first stepped onto the battlefield, relying on the unexpected surprise attack effect, as well as strong propaganda and appeal, the Red Turban Army marched all the way south, and their range of activities was very southern.

At one point, Xue Rengui's guerrilla troops even appeared on the banks of the Yellow River.

However, Li Tai and Xueyantuo Zhenzhu Khan came to their senses and quickly changed their tactics accordingly.

Specifically, Li Tai's Han army tried their best to break away from contact with the Red Turban Army to avoid being "charmed" to the opposite side.

The Xueyantuo cavalry dealt with them.

Since then, the Red Turban Army's war has not been so smooth. They have been fighting and retreating, and have been strategically moving northward.

It was as if the Tiele people had chased them all the way back to Liaodong.

However, this armed force, which was so weak that it could be almost ignored compared with the 300,000-strong Tiele army, was not without success in the battle in Hebei.

Thanks to their constant harassment, many Hebei people were able to escape the clutches of the Tiele people and flee their war-torn homes under cover.

And their destination of escape was also very clear - of course it was Liaodong, where the people were beautiful and kind-hearted. Was there any need to choose?

After experiencing the double education from Xueyantuo and Li Tai, even the gentry who used to look down on the mud-legged Red Turban Army, migrated to Liaodong with their gold and silver treasures.

No matter how people teach you, you will never learn it. But if you teach yourself through things, you will learn it.

Just as Li Ming said, Xueyantuo and Li Tai, these two negative teachers, are very good!
The educational effect was a bit too good, and even the people of Hebei Province gradually developed such a trend of thought:

The Red Turban Army has done enough for the people of Hebei, with whom they have never met before.

There is no need to fight anymore.

Protect yourself and stop shedding blood and sacrificing your life.

There were only a few thousand of them, but they were facing hundreds of thousands of brutal barbarians!

After experiencing countless painful lessons of "bandits are like combs and soldiers are like combs".

For the first time, the simple people living on this ancient land felt sorry for the "General".

They didn't even think that these soldiers with fiery red turbans, strict discipline and no wrongdoing were from other places.

They even feel that these lovely guys are their own children, their own sons!

This trend of thought is spreading in Hebei and across the country along with the vast number of mobile people.

…………

"The Khan's brilliant plan has brought peace to the world. The bandits from Liaodong have almost been driven out of Hebei and driven back to the poor and rugged Yanshan Mountains."

Weizhou provincial capital.

Prince Li Tai of Wei was sitting in the guest seat, smiling flatteringly at Zhenzhu Khan, who was sitting in the host seat with his legs crossed.

Weizhou was the base of his army and theoretically also his sphere of influence.

However, the people here did not obey this vassal king whom they had never met, and Weizhou happened to be located in Hebei Province.

Therefore, Li Tai even offered Weizhou to the Tiele people for plundering in order to win the favor of friendly countries.

Anyway, he didn't consider the people here as his own subjects. He was just being generous to others.

"Humph, that's easy to say, but things on the battlefield are never that simple.
"King Wei, your naughty little brother is much more naughty than you say."

Zhenzhu Khan Yinan did not consider himself an outsider. He acted like the master of this place and did not have a good face towards Li Tai who volunteered to be his vassal.

He said this not just to emphasize his own difficulties so as to continue to ask Li Tai for a higher price.

Rather, this group of red-turbaned bandits from Liaodong were indeed very difficult to deal with.

Not only were rampant guerrilla activities carried out on the west side near Taihang Mountains.

On the flat eastern side, their horse riding skills are equally impressive, in no way inferior to those of the Tiele people who have been herding since childhood.

Although the Tiele people's front line had been advancing rapidly, it seemed that they were about to drive the enemy back to their homeland in Liaodong.

But upon closer calculation, the results achieved were pitifully small, while the price paid was enormous.

A very obvious example is that very few Red Turban bandits were killed or wounded, and even fewer were captured.

However, the casualties on our side were huge.

Every night, there would be a few fewer people in the camp, and the cattle, sheep and looted wealth would often disappear.

The tribe was greatly disturbed and couldn't sleep well for several days.

Even on the front battlefield, the Tiele people, who had an absolute numerical advantage, never gained any advantage.

Not only did they suffer more defeats than victories, they didn't even have the chance to clean up the battlefield. Each time, the people of Liaodong were allowed to leave calmly with their wounded and corpses.

No matter how slow-witted Zhenzhu Khan was, he could clearly sense that the people of Liaodong were not forced to retreat because of their defeat.

Instead, they took the initiative to retreat to the north.

"Brother Ming...ha, that little guy is really troublesome."

Li Tai looked up and recalled for a while, and couldn't help but sneered:
"Great Khan, you have fought him several times in the air. I believe you are also impressed by how difficult he is to deal with, right?"

This sentence reminded Zhenzhu Khan of some unhappy past events, and his temples throbbed.

(End of this chapter)