Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

In the reception room.

Zheng Wuling and Wang Ming looked as if they had heard some unbelievable and terrifying news.

They all knelt on the ground, staring blankly at King Li Tai of Yue, who had brought the news.

"Third Brother made arrangements in advance as Your Majesty instructed, and now the Cui family of Boling has been completely wiped out. Men, women, children, and their families have all been arrested."

"According to Cheng Yaojin, they were to be taken to Chang'an for questioning."

Li Chengqian curled his lips.

"What accusation? It's nothing more than that scoundrel Cheng Yaojin wanting to curry favor with the Emperor. The Embroidered Uniform Guard can't accept such a free merit; it would only benefit that scoundrel..."

Li Chengqian spoke calmly, but upon hearing that the entire Cui family of Boling had been arrested, he became even more furious.

Wang Ming and Zheng Wuling, both from prominent families, suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

Li Tai seemed to have discovered something.

He suddenly narrowed his eyes and stared at the two people kneeling on the ground.

"Lord Zheng, Governor Wang, these are people from the Cui family of Boling."

"Why are you panicking?"

"Uh, huh?"

The two men were startled and noticed the scrutinizing gazes of the brothers Li Chengqian and Li Tai, which were both smiling but not smiling. Sweat instantly broke out on their foreheads.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I am not flustered. I am surprised. I never expected that His Highness the Prince of Hanzhong would have such talent. In just one month, he has managed to rid our Great Tang of such a parasite as the Cui family of Boling!"

"Indeed, this is a great blessing for the nation!"

Zheng Wuling quickly nodded in agreement.

"Yes, Your Highness, I am surprised, not panicked. The arrest of such traitors as the Cui clan of Boling is a cause for celebration throughout the country. Why would we be panicked...?"

The two chuckled awkwardly.

Li Tai scoffed dismissively.

"A nationwide celebration? The mere Cui clan of Boling was wiped out for treason, and the whole country needs to celebrate? You two really think too highly of them."

Immediately, Wang Ming and Zheng Wuling felt like slapping themselves.

They were all speechless.

"this......"

"Alright, Qingque, stop scaring them. They have so many official duties to attend to every day. If you scare them and something bad happens, wouldn't my new policies collapse halfway through?"

Li Chengqian offered a gentle word of comfort.

However, upon hearing his words, both Zheng Wuling and Wang Ming, who had traveled a long distance from Taiyuan Prefecture, hurriedly bowed their heads in respect.

"Your Majesty, I am unworthy of such praise!"

"Focus on your work and don't try anything funny. I won't treat you unfairly..."

The moment the two stepped out of the reception room, a gust of cold wind blew by, causing them to shiver involuntarily.

Wang Ming dared not linger for even a moment and hurriedly left.

Throughout the journey, my mind was filled with words of gratitude for the blessings of our ancestors.

Fortunately, the Taiyuan Wang clan was the only major clan in Bingzhou, and fortunately, His Highness the Crown Prince designated Bingzhou as a "special zone" for implementing his new policies.

otherwise......

Destroying the Wang clan of Taiyuan would be far easier than destroying the Cui clan of Boling in Hedong Province, a clan teeming with powerful families.

On the other side, Zheng Wuling of the Zheng family in Xingyang was also feeling a sense of lingering fear and relief.

"Your Majesty, in this case, it will probably not be long before news of General Li Jing arrives from Hedong Province... Father will surely be overjoyed at the end of this year."

Li Tai looked delighted.

Without the constraints of aristocratic families, it will be easier for the Emperor to implement his new policies in other regions.

Li Chengqian nodded slightly.

"Hehe, I'm afraid it's not just that... Our old friends from the Turks will soon be coming to present us with a great gift..."

He gently placed a piece of intelligence, sent from the grasslands by Qian Lou, the deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, in front of Li Tai.

"Jieli, Tuli, and Ashina Dili have collectively assembled an army of 17, which has already completed its assembly at Tuli's camp. They will soon march south..."

"Hiss! 170,000!"

Li Tai gasped.

However, Li Chengqian remained calm.

"Why are you so surprised? We've reached a life-or-death situation. If the Turks don't come out in full force and can't plunder enough supplies from our Great Tang to get through the winter... they're completely finished."

......

"Woo!!!"

The dull sound of horns, rising and falling in waves, echoed outside Tuli's tent, carrying a series of melodies that carried special messages.

The thunderous hooves pounded heavily on the grass, which was already covered with a layer of white frost.

Jieli stood solemnly in the very center of the army, his expression icy cold.

Our own forces, who once fought to the death on the Turkic steppe.

Perhaps it was because of Jieli's decisiveness and ruthlessness in times of crisis that he was once again revered as the Great Khan by Tuli and his people.

"Outside Yanmen Pass, there are hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep, as well as those cowardly grassland bastards who have betrayed the Eternal Heaven!"

"Everyone who doesn't want to die this winter, follow me and charge into battle!"

"We will seize back everything that rightfully belongs to us from those traitors and the Tang people!"

"kill!!!"

The commotion on the grassland.

It was quickly brought back by the scout cavalry dispatched from Yanmen Pass at breakneck speed.

Li Chengqian took a deep breath of the frosty air.

"Guards! Prepare me with armor! Order the army to prepare for battle!"

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

The bugle call, a signal of battle, shook the snow on the city walls, carrying a wild and desolate aura that spread outwards.

The Turkic wolf riders in the breeding area, who were almost always on high alert, heard this commotion.

In an instant, shouts rang out, and everyone, fully equipped, rushed out from their homes.

"Tap tap tap..."

When Li Chengqian rode his white-hoofed eagle out of Yanmen Pass.

Before them stood 15,000 Turkic wolf cavalry, already arrayed in neat formation.

These were originally savage men who were like wolves and tigers on the battlefield. They once dared to fight against the Tang army on the border time and time again, wearing only animal skins and carrying a homemade ox horn bow.

Now, they are all dressed in fine iron chainmail and wearing Tang-style cavalry helmets.

Since these men were not quite used to the short crossbows used by the Tang cavalry, Li Chengqian continued to have them use the ox-horn bows that the Turks were good at.

However, the arrows currently being used are all fine iron three-edged barbed arrowheads forged by the Jingle Armory at Li Chengqian's request.

Not only is its armor-piercing capability stronger, but it also benefits from the current level of medical technology.

Being shot there almost certainly means certain death.

Amidst the clattering of horses' hooves.

Prince Li Tai of Yue once again came up behind his elder brother, Emperor Li Chengqian.

Originally, Li Chengqian intended for the other party to join Xue Wanche in following the Six Commanders of the Eastern Palace, who were more inclined towards heavy cavalry.

But to his surprise, the boy firmly refused, insisting on following his elder brother, the emperor.

Hou Junji, the commander-in-chief of the garrison at Yanmen Pass, appeared with a solemn and dignified expression, also clad in armor.

Such a great battle.

Troops will definitely need to be dispatched to Yanmen Pass.

Currently, there are approximately 5,000 cavalrymen available to defend Yanmen Pass, in addition to 30,000 soldiers defending the city within the pass.

Xue Wanche commanded 6,000 heavily armored cavalrymen from the Eastern Palace.

Li Chengqian personally led this cavalry force, which had been expanded to 15,000 after the imperial edict from Emperor Taizong of Tang was delivered.

Ashina She'er, who surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, and dozens of others promoted from the army, were appointed as cavalry commanders.

"Jieli has now dispatched 170,000 troops, who are on their way to our side. The enemy's numbers are vastly different from ours, but as you all know, once Jieli attacks this place..."

"Your cattle and sheep will be taken away."

"Your wives and children will become like them, freezing and starving to death in the winter on the grasslands!"

Li Chengqian rode his warhorse, pacing back and forth in front of a group of Turkic wolf riders.

His sharp gaze swept over the pairs of eyes present, each one filled with the ferocity of a wolf.

"In this great battle, many will die on the battlefield, and even I may perish under the hooves of horses. But I dare say that even if I die in battle today, my brother and my father will still take good care of your families and livestock."

"The life I promised you, my Great Tang royal family can still provide!"

As Li Chengqian spoke, he suddenly drew the sword from his waist.

"Today's battle! Wipe out the Turks!"

With a shout, Li Chengqian rode his warhorse and galloped out from between the two ranks of cavalry.

Heading north towards Yanmen Pass.

King Li Tai of Yue immediately spurred his horse to catch up.

Subsequently, Ashina She'er and other Turkic cavalry generals promoted by Li Chengqian turned their horses around.

"annihilate the Turks!!!"

On top of the city wall.

The officials in Li Chengqian's Eastern Palace watched this scene with complex expressions.

Li Gang stroked his beard and sighed.

"Your Highness has already won the hearts of the people, even though the battle has not yet begun, and you have made the Turkic cavalry willing to follow you to fight against your own people who outnumber you several times over."

Yu Shinan, who had come with the eunuch Gao Hai, who had recently delivered the imperial edict, nodded slightly.

"If we win this battle, Your Highness will expand the territory of our Great Tang Dynasty by far more than a thousand miles..."

Everyone looked on with reverence. After witnessing their prince create the impossible time and time again, even Li Gang and his colleagues, who had been appointed by His Majesty as tutors to the Crown Prince, were filled with admiration.

They had long since internalized the idea that His Highness was omnipotent.

Only at this moment was Eunuch Gao the only one.

"Oh dear, gentlemen, how can His Highness personally lead the expedition? There's still Marquis Junji..."

"Hmph! You filthy thing, are you trying to say that I'm a coward who cowers in Yanmen Pass and never comes out?!"

A voice filled with chilling killing intent rang out, and Gao Hai's body trembled suddenly.

Turning around, he saw Hou Junji, who was also dressed in military uniform and led by several generals. It was clear that he was also going to war. He opened his mouth, but could only show an ugly pleading smile.

"This, this servant didn't mean that... Duke Lu, please forgive me, it's just that I was worried about His Highness's safety..."

He didn't dare mention that he also had an imperial edict from His Majesty ordering him to bring back half a mountain of gold, and His Highness had yet to respond.

If I say it now.

I'm afraid we won't need Hou Junji, the Duke of Lu, to lift a finger.

The two teachers of the Crown Prince, Yu Shinan and Li Gang, who were standing next to him at that moment, could have killed him on the spot.

His position as a trusted eunuch of the emperor might allow him to exert some influence over ordinary nobles and common people.

But here at Yanmen Pass...

If you're framed for any crime, you could get killed and have nowhere to seek justice.

......

"Report! The Turkic army has split into three groups. Jieli's vanguard, with more than 70,000 troops, has arrived near Yinshan!"

The Imperial Guards, who once roamed the grasslands, now served as the best guides for Li Chengqian's army.

“Seventy thousand…” Li Chengqian narrowed his eyes.

The grassland topography map, which I had memorized clearly over the past few days, instantly began to surface in my mind, and I began to deduce its details.