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

Chapter 1256 Three Conditions (IV)

The saying that a country is strong because of virtue, not danger, and that a country is as stable as a mountain when its people are united can only be used in certain stages. Most of the time, it is impossible to unite so many people. Most of the time, it still depends on danger, not virtue.

More than 90% of the time, swords and guns are more effective than morality, human nature and words.

Li Yan felt that if you think about it carefully, the Creator is really amazing. If he opens a door for you, he will open a window for you. They all have their own advantages and disadvantages. It is difficult to put all the advantages or disadvantages together.

The talents of the East used their brains to figure out people's hearts. Although the technology was not advanced, they established the only unified dynasty that inherited the ancient civilization. In the end, they lost to the powerful ships and guns and were defeated by scientific and technological civilization.

The Western elites put all their energy into creating technology, so they created a scientific and technological civilization, but they were never able to unite people's hearts and build a unified civilization. In later generations, they were still divided and fought each other.

This contradictory arrangement of unity of opposites is also reflected in the two major camps in the East and the South and North.

The strong bows, curved swords and sturdy horses of the grassland formed a sharp contrast with the strong cities, military formations and military tactics of the Central Plains, and the struggle lasted for thousands of years.

The Xiongnu and the Qin and Han dynasties, the Turks and the Sui and Tang dynasties, fought endlessly.

After Li Shimin's hard work and efforts, the Tang Dynasty finally defeated the Turks and drove them out of the Central Plains after the Battle of Dingxiang. The northern part of the Hetao was taken over, and the Guannei Road covering all the Hetao areas was established.

This is also the main battlefield between nomadic and farming peoples. If the Turks want to invade the Central Plains, they cannot bypass the Hetao area.

The Yellow River has nine bends, but it only brings wealth.

The Hetao area is located between the east, west, south and north, and has a complex geographical environment. There are fertile fields for farming, endless grasslands, large tracts of saline-alkali land, the Gobi Desert where sand and rocks fly everywhere when strong winds blow and water is scarce, and the desert area where no grass grows and birds can hardly fly across.

For the Central Plains dynasty, owning the Hetao region not only provided defensive depth and a battlefield for detours, but also provided good pasture for raising war horses. With this area, there was an endless supply of war horses to drive.

For nomadic people, the climate here is close to that of the south, with a mild climate, suitable for raising horses and living. They can avoid the cold climate of the north, and it is also a bridgehead for invading the Central Plains. Owning Hetao is equivalent to having one foot in the Central Plains.

In both the Sui and Tang dynasties, the eastern capital Luoyang was renovated, and the standard of construction was even higher than that of Chang'an. In addition to guarding the Central Plains, controlling Shandong, and deterring the south of the Yangtze River, there was also a possibility that Chang'an could not be defended in case the nomadic peoples moved south on a large scale.

It can also rely on the natural barrier of Tongguan to retreat to the Central Plains, which has strategic significance.

Therefore, the Hetao region was an area that the Central Plains dynasty was determined to obtain. To defend the Central Plains, one must defend Guanzhong; to defend Guanzhong, one must defend the Hetao region.

Once Hetao is lost, Guanzhong will be in danger, and then the Central Plains will also be lost. It can be said that a single move will affect the entire body, and every link is connected!
Seeing that Li Yan did not flatly refuse, Li Daozong quickly chimed in, "My dear nephew, you also know that our Central Plains has been ravaged by the barbarians for hundreds of years. Ever since the Jin Dynasty moved south, the people of the North have been living in hell, being treated inhumanely by the grassland people."

"When they go crazy, they don't even treat us Central Plains people as human beings."

"Now you are the ruler of the grasslands, and you still consider us a family. What if there is a change in the future, or your descendants take over? They were born on the grasslands, grew up in the desert, have no feelings for the Central Plains, and plunder the Central Plains? What should we do?"

"My cousin means that if Erlang is willing to give your family justice, you should not give face to Erlang's family and return the Hetao land to us for the sake of our common Han blood. You know how important the Yellow River is to us. It is our life!"

After hearing the other party readily agree that as long as Li Shimin agreed to these three conditions, they could withdraw their troops, Li Daozon understood that the reason why his nephew who was lost in the desert went to the south was because he wanted justice, not the Tang Dynasty.

Otherwise, the Tang Dynasty is in an unprecedented state of weakness. Such a good opportunity is rare, and the other side will definitely not withdraw its troops.

Although the conditions were a bit harsh, they were not important compared to Jiangshan. It was just a loss of face.

Who told them to have 800,000 cavalrymen? They could have charged into Chang'an and gotten an explanation, but they asked you to give them justice. From this point of view, Li Yan gave Li Shimin enough respect. This is why Li Jiancheng abandoned her after having an affair with her, and there was no affection between father and son.

Otherwise, I will never let you go easily.

Thinking back to the time at Xuanwu Gate, you, Li Shimin, didn't give Li Jiancheng the slightest bit of respect and killed them all.

Li Daozon and his relatives were also very disappointed about this. Those people were not outsiders, nor were they enemies. They were all your relatives with whom you are closely connected by blood!
He is either your biological brother or your nephew who you have watched grow up. What were you thinking when you chopped off the head of your brother who you have played with since childhood and grew up in your arms?
Not to mention, in the end he even brought his brother's wife into his harem and doted on her.

From this point of view, no matter how brilliant Li Shimin's achievements were, Li Daozong would find it difficult to get close to him. He knew that Li Shimin might be a good emperor, but he would never be a good son, a good brother, and even less a good relative.

Under the premise of not threatening the survival of the nation and the Tang Dynasty, he did not mind using Li Yan's power to teach Li Shimin a lesson. At the same time, he also knew that under such conditions, Li Shimin had no choice.

Even if you want to unite the will of the people of the world, you can't even fight to the death. The Turkic army is coming to attack you, Li Er. You don't want to change the world, nor do you want to enslave the people. You don't even want land, cities, or money in the treasury.

I just asked you to apologize, why don't you agree?

If it really doesn't work, hand you over and we can live our lives as usual. If Li Yan becomes the emperor, we can still live freely.

Hearing this, Li Yan raised his head and saw the three of them looking at him pleadingly, so he said, "Okay, for your sake, if Li Shimin agrees to these three conditions, I will withdraw the army back to the grassland."

"All the land and cities in Guannei Road will be returned to you, and the people here will not be moved. The cities along the Yellow River in Fengzhou will also be returned to you. This is my gift to the people of the Central Plains."

"Moreover, I can also swear an oath with you to give the Tang Dynasty ten years of peace. The relationship between the two countries will be restored to the level before the 19th year of Zhenguan, with mutual trade and friendly exchanges. Within ten years, the Turkic army will not enter the Great Wall. After ten years, we will make a decision."

Li Yan explained: "Uncle, cousin, Lord Fang, you should know that the grasslands and the Central Plains have been at loggerheads since ancient times. There is no eternal peace, only eternal hostility. As long as the grasslands are unified, they will inevitably invade the south."

"When the Central Plains becomes strong, they will inevitably march north. This is an iron law that never changes."

"The stability of the Tang Dynasty and the stability of the Han people ultimately depend on our own strength. Never expect the enemy to show mercy. Although I am a Han Chinese, I rule over millions of Hu people on the grassland. I cannot stop their will."

"If one day I fail to represent their interests, I will be torn to pieces by them. If it is someone else, they will also go south."

The three of them were shocked, and the thought that they could enjoy peace forever as long as they ruled the grassland disappeared immediately. However, they knew that what the other party said was from the heart and was true.

Under the premise that the other party has an absolute advantage, being able to give up all the land and cities that have been taken and guaranteeing not to invade the south for ten years is already the greatest sincerity of the other party.

They were pleasantly surprised by how much they had gained from this negotiation.

"I think you all know that I went south this time only to seek justice, and I don't want to destroy the Tang Dynasty."

Li Yan said earnestly, "In fact, I know where Li Shimin got the three million troops. Now the nobles in the interior of the Tang Dynasty have abandoned them, the people in Shandong are unstable, and there is only Jiangnan left, which is too far away to help. Water from afar cannot quench a nearby fire."

"Chang'an has at most a million infantrymen. These people are good at defending the city, but they are not good at fighting in the field."

"The more soldiers we have, the greater the cost. As long as I can allocate 300,000 cavalry to guard Chang'an City and send another 500,000 cavalry to attack various places in the capital to prevent the reinforcements from Hanzhong and Shandong from going north, within three months, Chang'an will collapse without a fight."

"War is raging everywhere, and the Tang Dynasty will also fall into chaos."

"Although I am the Right Wise King of the Turks, my true identity is the direct descendant of Emperor Gaozu. When the time comes, can the officials and civilians in the city still fight to the death? I have inherited the throne, and the Tang Dynasty will remain the Tang Dynasty, the officials will remain the officials, and the people will live their lives as usual."

"It also saves us from the worries of war and the disasters of leaving home."

"It's just that I, the king, am concerned that we are both children of the Han family and share the same blood. I really don't want to bring disaster to the people just for my own selfish desires."

Hearing this, the three of them felt nervous. They didn't expect that the other side knew their situation so well and had a very sophisticated response plan. They were not in a hurry to attack the city, but surrounded it without attacking, slowly eroding the surrounding areas. This was what scared them the most.

Firstly, the food and grass cannot last long. Secondly, Chang'an was under siege. As long as two or three reinforcements were repelled, officials from other places would have concerns. Over time, those people would inevitably be tempted and might even feel that Chang'an was no longer safe.

At this time, they will find various reasons to cut off ties with the capital.

Preserve strength and accumulate power for the chaotic times ahead. Jiangnan will lose control, the food supply to the south will be cut off, and each region will gradually form its own separatist regime. In this way, the general trend will be gone, and even if Chang'an is preserved, it will be meaningless.

In this crisis of life and death, the civil and military officials in the court, the royal family of Li, the aristocratic families, and the meritorious officials would come forward to put pressure on Li Shimin, and even force him to surrender, in exchange for the peace of the world.

(End of this chapter)