My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 366: Turks invaded the country, causing great suffering

Li Shimin is an emperor of all ages.

But he was also a sentimental, soft-hearted, and trusting emperor.

After all, in history, it was believed that King Wei Li Tai would kill his son and pass on his throne to his younger brother.

The prince must be released if he plots treason.

However, it was precisely because of this that Sima Yi's previous experience did not happen to Li Jing.

Regarding the current actions of the King of Wei, he is colluding with the Turks and trying to bring disaster to the Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin blamed himself more for not educating his sons well.

Just like he didn't want to kill the crown prince, Li Shimin now didn't want to kill the King of Wei.

What I am thinking about more at this moment is how to keep Qingque alive.

No matter how angry you are, he is still your son after all.
-
Prince Wei's Mansion.

Li Tai naturally didn't know that the news of his collusion with the Turks had already reached his father.

Today, he asked Chai Lingwu in some surprise, "Why haven't I seen Fang Yiai in the past two days?"

Although Fang Yiai did not live in the Prince of Wei's Mansion every day, he came here almost every day.

Even if there is nothing to do, you can still see Fang Yiai eating Sushan all day long.

Everybody likes Sushan. After the ice-making method became popular, a person of the status of King Wei could not go to the ice silk shop to buy it every day. Instead, he built his own ice shop in his mansion.

With the production of gunpowder and the large-scale opening of ice shops, the price of saltpeter continued to rise.

Making ice requires a lot of saltpeter, which is not a small amount.

Even the Fang family doesn't have so much money to build an ice shop.

Fang Yiai was eating and drinking for free at Prince Wei's mansion all day long. Fang Yiai was the one who ate at the ice cream shop at Prince Wei's mansion almost every day.

Prince Wei and Chai Lingwu also liked to eat it, but not as exaggeratedly as Fang Yiai.

Chai Lingwu knew that after telling Fang Yiai about the King of Wei's collusion with the Turks last time, he must have told Fang Xuanling after returning.

Fang Xuanling roughly told His Majesty the news. At this time, Fang Yiai dared not come to the Prince of Wei's Palace.

With a roll of his eyes, Chai Lingwu said, "He's probably sick. I heard him say he felt uncomfortable a few days ago, and had a stomachache. The doctor said he had a cold stomach, probably because he ate too much Sushan."

Li Tai heard this without any doubt and said with a smile: "I usually tell this guy to eat less and he also said that I am stingy. He must have learned his lesson this time."

"But it's good that he's not here. This guy can't keep secrets. If he knows about the Turks, he might leak it out. Lord Fang is a man who sees everything."

Chai Lingwu nodded, not wanting to say more about this matter, so he changed the subject and said, "I heard that there seems to be some trouble within the Five Surnames and Seven Families."

Hearing this, Li Tai frowned slightly and said, "Yes, they are all corrupt scholars, but they will handle this matter."

Chai Lingwu said worriedly, "I'm afraid if the news gets to your Majesty's ears, it will be disastrous."

Li Tai was actually worried about this, and replied: "Yes, if my father knew about this, he would definitely skin me alive."

"But I think my father won't blame me too much. This matter was entirely done by the Five Surnames and Seven Cantonese. What does it have to do with me? If my father really finds out and asks about it, I will say I didn't know anything."

"I think Father will believe me."

Chai Lingwu responded somewhat awkwardly: "Your Majesty will naturally believe the King of Wei."

If he didn't pass the message to Fang Yiai himself, then he would tell Fang Xuanling through Fang Yiai and then report to Your Majesty.

By then, when the Five Surnames and Seven Aristocrats collude with the Turks to enter the Pass, Your Majesty may not necessarily suspect the King of Wei, but will think that the King of Wei has also been deceived.

But now, the news has been passed from Prince Wei's Palace to Your Majesty.

Once the truth was exposed, no matter how the King of Wei explained, it was of no use.

Li Tai suddenly thought of something and said, "The day before yesterday, the Crown Prince issued an order that all inns in Chang'an City were forbidden to accommodate Turks. Do you think the Crown Prince has received any news?"

Chai Lingwu thought for a moment and said, "Has the King of Wei forgotten what happened to Yin Hongzhi? He devoted himself to training many spies, and later all of them fell into the hands of the crown prince."

"Yin Hongzhi is bent on rebellion, and there may be spies lurking within the Five Clans and Seven Families. I heard that the incident this time was quite serious, so it is normal for the Crown Prince to get some news."

Li Tai said with a gloomy face, "Yin Hongzhi is such an annoying guy. Doesn't he know to hand over the spies to me?"

"But the Turks' southward march is a foregone conclusion. Even if the Crown Prince knows about it, can he still lead the army to the border in person?"

"Father has already suffered a loss once, so he will not give him military power again this time."

Chai Lingwu hesitated and said, "I am afraid that the prince will report this to His Majesty, or even..."

Li Tai waved his hand to interrupt: "Impossible."

"The Crown Prince and Father are already at loggerheads. Don't be fooled by their apparent harmony. In fact, they are both waiting for an opportunity."

"Even if the prince told father, father would definitely not believe it."

“No matter how stupid the Five Surnames and Seven Families are, they will not expose me, right? I am their hope for the future.”

Li Tai himself was well aware that the Five Surnames and Seven Families supported his goal.

As long as the prince does not ascend the throne, they will not stop supporting him.

They will do their best to protect themselves.

Li Tai still firmly believes in this.

Chai Lingwu said: "I am afraid that the prince will slander the King of Wei."

Li Tai snorted coldly: "That requires evidence."

Chai Lingwu said nothing.

He has handed the evidence to His Majesty.

There is no need for the prince to say anything.
-
Daming Palace.

Hanyuan Hall.

As craftsmen continued to build, the Daming Palace is now very different from before.

When the morning light first appeared, the Dragon Tail Road in front of the Hanyuan Hall was already winding like a python. The more than 300 steps were paved with bluestone, and each step was carved with cloud patterns and auspicious beasts, shining coldly under the morning sun.

The rammed earth base towers into the sky. The craftsmen tie ropes around their waists and hang on the steep wall to carve patterns.

In terms of design, in addition to the overall layout, Li Chengqian also participated a lot.

Different from the previous small and dark palace, the construction of this palace focuses on a grand atmosphere.

The palace gates all start at seven meters high.

The building materials have largely abandoned expensive wood, and mainly used fired blue bricks, masonry, and then paved with cement.

This structure allows the palace to be built more grandly.

When people stand in front of the hall, they feel like tiny ants.

The reason for building it this way is to better defend against artillery bombardment.

Li Chengqian knew very well that the artillery could not always be in his hands, and it would spread as time went by.

Especially for the rulers of the Tang Dynasty in later generations, Li Chengqian did not think that his descendants could be as wise and powerful as himself. How could there be a wise ruler in every dynasty?

The feudal dynasty era cannot be passed down forever and will eventually become a thing of the past.

Li Chengqian never cared about how long the Li Tang Dynasty could exist or how it could last forever.

I just hope that the people of China will suffer less in future generations.

Inside Hanyuan Hall.

Wen Zhong reported in a low voice: "Your Highness, the Crown Princess and others will arrive in Chang'an tomorrow."

Li Chengqian nodded: "When the time comes, you can bring people to welcome them, and they will stay in the back hall."

Wen Zhong continued, "Your Highness, regarding the Turkic issue, I have heard that there are many different opinions within the Five Surnames and Seven Clans. Many people are very opposed to letting the Turkic people enter the country."

"Especially in the case of the Wang family in Taiyuan, it was said that the main family and the side branches were about to fight, and it was only when the head of the Wang family stepped in personally that the dispute was settled. However, many people were very dissatisfied with this."

Li Chengqian sneered: "It has some effect, but not much."

This situation is very normal.

Since the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Central Plains regime has been in constant conflict with northern nomadic peoples such as the Turks, and the Turks' invasions have brought severe disasters to the people of the Central Plains.

During the Sui Dynasty, the Turks invaded the south many times, causing great suffering to the people in the border areas, a sharp decline in population, and huge losses of property.

This painful historical memory is deeply rooted in the hearts of the scholars in the Central Plains. Among the aristocratic families inherited from all over the world, there are many elders who have experienced wars and witnessed the atrocities committed by the Turks. They pass these historical stories down from generation to generation, making resisting foreign aggression an important part of the family's collective memory.

Now, colluding with the Turks to enter the pass is undoubtedly a betrayal of the national sentiment and family memory that has lasted for generations, and has aroused resistance from many members of the tribe.

The Five Surnames and Seven Families were deeply influenced by Confucian culture, and the concept of distinguishing between Chinese and barbarians was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

Such behavior of colluding with the Turks was unacceptable to many members of the tribe. They did not want to see their family become traitors of Chinese civilization and bear the eternal infamy.

The children of the Five Surnames and Seven Famous families received Confucian education since childhood and regarded this principle as the foundation of their lives.

Although there are certain conflicts between aristocratic families and imperial power, when it comes to resisting foreign enemies, national justice should take precedence over family interests.

Collaborating with the Turks to enter the pass was not only disloyal to the emperor, but also put the country and the people in dire straits, and seriously violated the moral ethics they respected. The moral sense in the hearts of many tribesmen drove them to stand up and oppose, unwilling to be involved in treasonous behavior.

Not to mention that the Five Surnames and Seven Families have survived several dynasties and attach great importance to family reputation.

However, there were complex power struggles within the Five Surnames and Seven Families, and the decision to collude with the Turks was often made by some senior members of the family out of personal gain.

However, colluding with the Turks was not just to disrupt the situation in the Tang Dynasty.

There is also a conspiracy of power struggle hidden behind this, which is a means for some people to sacrifice the overall interests of the family in order to consolidate their own position and gain more benefits.

The Weishui Alliance caused the Five Surnames and Seven Families to lose much of their reputation.

But in fact, many people have tasted the sweetness of it.

First of all, there was dissatisfaction with the crown prince's reform of the imperial examination system, which cut off the possibility of many scholars from the five surnames and seven famous families to enter the official career, or they had to compete with those peasants.

Without the advantage of investment banking papers, the difficulty of passing the imperial examination and entering officialdom suddenly increased for many members of aristocratic families.

For the top leaders of the Five Surnames and Seven Families, the entry of the Turks into the Pass was a very good opportunity.

Aristocratic families have always been keen on land mergers to expand the scale of their family businesses.

After the Turks entered the Central Plains, they plundered and destroyed the land, which provided an opportunity for the Five Surnames and Seven Clans to redistribute the land.

They can use their power and wealth to purchase or seize land at low prices in the chaos, further expand their land holdings, and thus consolidate the family's economic foundation.

You can also take this opportunity to resolve some of the hostile families that have accumulated over the years.

Exposing their location and residence to the Turks.

After the Turks left, these lands and remaining money would naturally be taken into the people's pockets.

The Weishui Alliance of that year also enabled the Five Surnames and Seven Families to expand rapidly.

A large number of fields and people were hidden.

Li Chengqian was naturally very clear about these things. Most of the opposing voices came from the poor people of the Five Surnames and Seven Families, who would not get any benefits.

The matter of the Turks entering the Pass was controlled by the top leaders of the Five Surnames and Seven Families.

Because this is a good opportunity to make money from the national crisis.

"Has the Shenwu Army led by General Su already set out in secret?"

"Where is Li Weigong?"

Li Chengqian asked.

Wen Zhong replied: "General Su led the Shenwu Army out of the city last night, and Lord Li Wei should leave the city today."

When the Turks entered the Pass, apart from the internal support of the Five Surnames and Seven Clans, there was more of a long marginal line.

In fact, the Turks would go south to plunder almost every year, commonly known as "collecting spoils".

The Turks are a nomadic people whose economy is mainly based on animal husbandry. Their lifestyle is relatively mobile and the cost of war is relatively low.

They could fight to support themselves in war and plunder the wealth and supplies of the Central Plains to replenish themselves.

The Turks never dared to confront the Tang army head-on.

The Turks were mainly composed of cavalry, which was highly mobile and flexible. They were good at fighting in open terrain and could quickly assemble and disperse and launch surprise attacks. The armies of the Central Plains dynasties, which were mainly composed of infantry, found it difficult to compete with them in terms of mobility.

The most important thing is that the border is very long, which makes it extremely difficult for the Central Plains dynasty to defend. The troops are dispersed, making it difficult to achieve comprehensive and effective defense. The Turks can choose any point to break through.

Over the years, Li Shimin has actually exerted great suppression on the Turks.

The fall of the Eastern Turks was one thing, and secondly, Li Shimin established good relations with other ethnic minorities around him, forming an anti-Eastern Turkic alliance and weakening the external support of the Western Turks.

At the same time, the Tang Dynasty also tried to divide and disintegrate the Turks internally, taking advantage of their internal conflicts, winning over some tribes, isolating the Turkic tribes and putting them in trouble.

During the Zhenguan period, the Tang Dynasty adopted a proactive offensive strategy more often, sending large armies deep into the grasslands to attack the Turks.

Why is Li Jing called the god of war?

Because in the third year of Zhenguan, Li Jing led 100,000 elite troops deep into the grassland, won a surprise victory in Dingxiang, and attacked Yinshan the next night, captured Jie Li Khan, and the Eastern Turks were destroyed.

It sounds like a simple sentence, but it actually reflects Li Jing's military talent.

The difficulties here are not a little bit.

First of all, finding a Turkic stronghold in the vast desert is a problem, not to mention the huge logistics required for 100,000 elite troops.

This is a huge pressure for any general.

More often than not, when the Central Plains army went deep into the grasslands, they were attacked by guerrilla warfare by the Turks.

However, Li Jing turned the tables completely. He not only killed the main force of the Turks, but also launched a sneak attack on the Turks.

This is an outrageous thing.

Li Jing completed it anyway.

If the generals of later dynasties had even half of Li Jing's military talent, they could easily suppress the grasslands.

Therefore, when fighting against the Turks, Li Shimin arranged Li Jing to lead the troops without hesitation.

(End of this chapter)