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Chapter 356: Taizong's Revenge, Three Years Is Not Too Late

Since Emperor Taizong of Tang and his empress were so loving, how did this talented woman Wu ascend the throne and become emperor of the Tang Dynasty?

Given the great talent and strategy of Emperor Taizong of Tang, he should not have become emperor while Emperor Taizong was still alive. That is to say, this talented Wu became emperor after Emperor Taizong passed away!

But since she was not the empress of Emperor Taizong of Tang, how did she manage to become emperor of the Tang Dynasty as a woman?
According to what this kid Li Nian said, Emperor Taizong of Tang would definitely pass the throne to his and Empress Zhangsun's offspring. So the problem must be with the emperor of Tang after Emperor Taizong, and most likely with Taizong's son!
Even if a woman is very talented, it is quite difficult for her to gain power, let alone ascend to the throne.

There aren't many routes they can take, the most common one is to use their beauty...

To be chosen by Emperor Taizong of Tang to enter the palace, this talented woman must have been very beautiful, perhaps even extremely beautiful. There were not many men she could meet in the palace, and apart from Emperor Taizong of Tang, the men she often met should be his descendants.

Is it...

A guess came to the mind of the First Emperor and others. The more they thought about it, the more they felt that this possibility was very high. Then their expressions became strange. If the guess came true, the Tang Dynasty would be really wild!
She was originally his father's woman, and after his father passed away, she became his son's woman. He even praised her to a very high level, giving her the opportunity to become an empress.

If Emperor Taizong of Tang knew what his son did after his death, would he be so angry that he wanted to jump out of his tomb?
But Li Nian did not continue to tell the story of this Wu Cairen, but returned to the story of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. He said: "Soon after Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, he encountered a major crisis. The Turks came!"

"On August 19, the Turkic Jieli Khan and Tuli Khan attacked Jingzhou. On the 20th, the Turkic invaded Wugong. The capital was under martial law. On the 24th, the Turkic invaded Gaoling."

As time went on, everyone seemed to feel the tense and depressing atmosphere as the Turks were about to attack and a war was about to break out.

As soon as the new emperor of the Tang Dynasty came to the throne, the Turks attacked, taking advantage of the Tang Dynasty's weakness.

But with the great Emperor Taizong of Tang around, we will be safe even if the Turks attack. In fact, there is no need to think about it, we will be safe.

Because if something happened to Emperor Taizong of Tang during the Turkic attack, what would happen in the future?

"On the 26th, the general commander of the army, Yuchi Jingde, fought with the Turks in Jingyang and defeated them, beheading more than a thousand of them."

"Although the results of this battle were not great, it boosted the morale of the Tang Dynasty and dealt a blow to the arrogance of the Turks. However, the crisis in Chang'an is still very serious, because the troops led by Jie Li and Tu Li total more than 100,000 cavalry, far more than the Tang Dynasty defenders at this time."

"On the 28th, Jie Li Khan arrived at the north of the Weishui Bridge and sent Zhishishili to Chang'an to meet with Emperor Taizong so that he could observe the situation of the Tang Dynasty."

"After meeting Emperor Taizong, Zhishishili thought that they had more soldiers than the Tang Dynasty and were sure to win, so he threatened Emperor Taizong. However, Emperor Taizong saw through his tricks and felt that showing any weakness at this time would definitely encourage Jie Li's arrogance."

"Taizong strongly rebuked Zhishishili for violating the alliance with the Turks and threatened to kill Zhishishili first, which frightened Zhishishili into begging for mercy."

Wang Jian nodded and said, "This is a very correct approach by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. Barbarians like the Turks often bully the weak and fear the strong. If we are friendly to them and show some weakness, they will only think we are weak and can be bullied, and then they will take advantage of us. On the contrary, being tough with them will make them fear us."

Li Nian smiled and said, "This is exactly 'fearing power but not virtue'. The Hu people often have this nature, admiring the strong and bullying the weak."

"After imprisoning Zhishisili, Emperor Taizong personally left Xuanwu Gate, rode six horses to the Wei River, and had a conversation with Jie Li across the river, rebuking him for breaking the alliance."

Wang Ben exclaimed: "The Great Tang Emperor Taizong is truly a heroic ruler. His courage alone surpasses many others!"

Knowing that the enemy had more troops than them, they still dared to get so close to the enemy and reprimand the enemy leader. It was not something that ordinary people could do. People like Zhao Ji would probably be so scared that they would wet their pants when they heard that they were asked to do this, let alone go.

Emperor Taizong of Tang was really courageous, so he deserved to conquer the world and become emperor, and achieve great achievements!
"After a while, the Tang army arrived. Seeing the great strength of the Tang army, Jie Li also knew that Zhishisili was detained by Emperor Taizong. He was terrified and asked for peace. In fact, the Tang army at that time was not many, and it was Emperor Taizong who frightened Jie Li by using the strategy of false troops."

"On the 30th, Emperor Taizong of Tang and Jie Li met at Bian Bridge to sign an alliance. They tortured a white horse and made an alliance. The Turks withdrew, which was known in history as the 'Weishui Alliance'. Zhishisili was also released by Emperor Taizong and retreated north with Jie Li."

"Although the crisis was successfully resolved, for Emperor Taizong and the ministers of the Tang Dynasty, the 'Weishui Alliance' was actually a disgrace. Since it was a disgrace, it must be washed away. Unlike some people who are addicted to the annual tribute, they shamelessly think that it is worth spending money to buy peace. Instead of feeling ashamed, they are proud of it."

After sighing, Li Nian continued, "After the Weishui Alliance, Emperor Taizong has always wanted to wash away the shame and eliminate the Turkic threat to the Tang Dynasty. In November of the third year of Zhenguan, after the situation in the Tang Dynasty eased somewhat, Emperor Taizong sent Li Ji, the governor of Bingzhou, Li Jing, the Minister of War, and others to lead more than 100,000 Tang troops to attack the Turkic."

"Li Ji and Li Jing are both famous generals of the Tang Dynasty. They are both in the Martial Temple and are among the top ten candidates..."

At this point, Li Nian deliberately observed the expressions of Wang Jian and Wang Ben, only to see that the father and son were sitting there calmly, and seemed to have no interest in the Temple of Martial Arts or anything like that.

In fact, both the father and the son were very interested in this Martial Temple in their hearts, but after hearing what Li Nian said, they knew that in this Martial Temple, they might not have any status, or even not exist.

If they ask out loud, wouldn't that be asking for trouble?

The father and son were very unhappy. Their achievements were not bad, so who established the Temple of Martial Arts and why didn't they include them?

Perhaps the later dynasties who established the Temple of Martial Arts were biased and selected many generals of that dynasty instead of them.

The father and son secretly made up their minds that they would make more achievements in the Qin Dynasty in this life so that those who would build a martial arts temple in the future would not be able to ignore them.

The First Emperor glanced at Li Nian and thought to himself: "This kid has made great progress in the past year or so. He actually used this method to motivate Wang Jian and his son."

Seeing that Wang Jian and his son did not ask, Li Nian was a little disappointed and continued, "Even if one of these two came, the Turks might not be able to bear it, let alone two. In addition to Li Ji and Li Jing, there are other famous generals of the Tang Dynasty."

Jie Li had offended Emperor Taizong, and several of the Tang Dynasty's top generals personally entertained him. Not everyone has this blessing!

"In the first month of the fourth year of Zhenguan, Li Jing led 3,000 cavalrymen from Mayi to Eyangling, attacked Dingxiang at night, and defeated the Turkic army. Jie Li was frightened and said: 'If the Tang Dynasty did not send all its troops to attack, how could Jing dare to come here alone!'"

"Jie Li was frightened several times a day and hurriedly moved his tent to Qikou. Li Jing also sent spies to alienate Jie Li's confidants. Jie Li's confidant Kang Sumi betrayed him and surrendered to the Tang Dynasty with Emperor Yang of Sui's empress Xiao and Emperor Yang's grandson Yang Zhengdao, but Jie Li escaped!"

"On the way to escape, Jie Li met Li Ji again. The historical records say: 'Li Shi Ji came out of Yunzhong and fought with the Turks at Baidao, defeating them.'" "After the defeat, Jie Li felt that he was no match for the Tang Dynasty, so he sent Zhishisili as an envoy to Chang'an to ask for surrender to Emperor Taizong. In fact, he wanted to wait until the grass was green and the horses were fat to escape to the northern desert."

When everyone heard Jie Li's plan, they felt it sounded familiar. It seemed like they had heard of this simple strategy somewhere before.
Soon, they remembered that this was the same strategy that Goguryeo used to deal with Yang Guang: When you want to defeat me, I will surrender to you, and then delay time, and after my strength is restored, I will continue to fight you, going back and forth.

Just like the scumbag lawyer in Stephen Chow's "Justice, My Foot".

Li Nian smiled and said, "Jie Li's plan is quite similar to the way Goguryeo dealt with Yang Guang. Taizong was also deceived by Jie Li at first. After hearing that Jie Li wanted to surrender, Taizong was overjoyed. He sent Honglu Qing Tang Jian and others to comfort him, and ordered Li Jing to lead troops to welcome Jie Li."

"But this plan was discovered by Li Jing and Li Ji, who decided not to obey Taizong's order and to completely defeat Jie Li. At that time, Tang Jian and others were still with Jie Li. When Zhang Gongjin asked, 'The imperial edict has allowed him to surrender, and the envoy is there, how can we attack him!', Li Jing said, 'This is how Han Xin defeated Qi. There is no need to pity Tang Jian and others!'"

Wang Jian and Wang Ben are now aware of Han Xin's status in later history. The disciple he accepted turned out to be a great general of the Han Dynasty, a figure known as the "Military Genius".

"This also shows the difference between Taizong and Yang Guang. Taizong was a top general who had led troops in battle himself and knew that the situation on the battlefield was changing rapidly. Therefore, he did not issue death orders to the Sui army generals like Yang Guang did. Instead, he gave the generals the power to make decisions on the spot."

If Jie Li had faced Yang Guang and the generals of the Sui army, his plan might have succeeded.

After all, Guangshen fights for face, not for actual benefits. If you verbally surrender and give Guangshen some face, Guangshen will not make things difficult for you.

However, what Jie Li met was Er Feng and his famous generals.

Li Nian added: "Li Jing and Li Ji ordered the troops to be dispatched at night. At this time, Jie Li was very happy to see Tang Jian and others sent by Emperor Taizong. He thought his plan was successful, but he didn't know that the Tang army had already arrived."

"In this battle, another famous Tang general appeared. His name was Su Dingfang. He led 200 cavalrymen as the vanguard and rode in the fog. He was seven miles away from Jie Li's tent. Jie Li and others discovered him, but it was too late."

"Su Dingfang led his army in a surprise attack, killing dozens or even hundreds of Turkic soldiers. Later, more Tang troops arrived and the Turkic army was completely defeated. The Tang army beheaded more than 10,000 people, captured more than 100,000 men and women, captured hundreds of thousands of livestock, killed Princess Yicheng of Sui, and captured Jie Lizi Dieluoshi."

"Jie Li still escaped in this battle and led his people to the desert from Yinshan Mountain to the north, but was stopped by Li Ji at Qikou. Soon, Jie Li was captured by Zhang Baoxiang, deputy commander of the Datong Road, and sent to Chang'an. The Eastern Turks were destroyed from then on, and the humiliation suffered by Emperor Taizong in the 'Weishui Alliance' was washed away."

Li Nian smiled and said, "After meeting Jie Li, Emperor Taizong did not kill him. Instead, he returned his family and allowed him to stay in the Tang Dynasty. However, there is a price to pay for not dying."

"According to historical records, in the eighth year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong held a state banquet in the Weiyang Palace and ordered Jie Li to dance in public, and ordered the southern barbarian chieftain Feng Zhidai to improvise a poem.

"The historian said: 'The emperor ordered the Turkic Khan Jie Li to dance, and ordered the southern barbarian chief Feng Zhidai to recite a poem. After that, he laughed and said: 'The Hu and Yue are one family, which has never happened since ancient times.'"

After hearing this, the First Emperor and others had only one feeling: Emperor Taizong of Tang really knew how to have fun, letting a Khan dance for him!
But it does feel good, forcing your enemies to bow down and do your orders in public is much more satisfying than killing them with a single blow.

An idea also came to the mind of the First Emperor: In the future, I must capture some of the enemies of the Qin Dynasty and bring them to Xianyang, and make them dance for me too!

Li Nian said: "Destroying the Eastern Turks was only part of the Tang Dynasty's foreign military achievements. When the Tang Dynasty was prosperous, its reputation spread throughout the world, and it was no less than that of the Han Dynasty. Defeating Tuyuhun, attacking Gaochang, destroying Xueyantuo, conquering Goguryeo..."

"Although Taizong failed to destroy Goguryeo, he also achieved considerable results. He destroyed a large number of Goguryeo troops and seized a lot of supplies. Compared with the losses, the results were greater, which laid the foundation for Gaozong to destroy Goguryeo later."

Taizong's strategy of attacking Goguryeo was correct. Goguryeo was not weak, and it was not easy to destroy it in one go. Instead, one could first consume its strength and then destroy it when it gradually weakened.

Because compared with the Tang Dynasty, Goguryeo was far inferior in population and territory, and its recovery ability was naturally not as good as that of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty could afford the continuous consumption, but Goguryeo could not.

On the contrary, it would be inappropriate to use the whole country's strength to fight against Goguryeo like Yang Guang did. If you win, it would be fine, but if you lose, it would be a big disaster.

Erfeng must have thought of Yang Guang's experience and wisely chose this strategy. Although it could not destroy Goguryeo immediately, it was safe and would definitely succeed!
"In the 21st year of Zhenguan, the King of Goguryeo, who could no longer bear the beatings from the Tang Dynasty, sent his son, Molizhi Renwu, to the court to apologize."

If Yang Guang heard that the King of Goguryeo sent his son to Chang'an to apologize to Erfeng, he would probably cry with envy.

Why did he attack Goguryeo?
Isn't it just to make the King of Goguryeo listen to him and come to the court when he is summoned? Even if the King of Goguryeo himself does not come, he can send a prince to come, at least to give him face.

But the King of Goguryeo was a sinister and cunning man. He had clearly agreed to surrender and obey, but after he withdrew his troops, he turned against his promise and made him lose face.

"Speaking of which, regarding the relationship between Emperor Taizong and Goguryeo, people in that area later wrote about the Tang Dynasty's disastrous defeat at the hands of Goguryeo, and even Emperor Taizong was shot blind in one eye during the conquest of Goguryeo. I wonder what the point of recording such fabricated history is?"

Meng Tian smiled and said, "Perhaps it is to record the glory of our ancestors so that they can feel proud of it!"

However, Li Nian's next sentence made Meng Tian confused: "But the Goguryeo people are not the ancestors of the people in that area in later generations. In fact, the Goguryeo people were the ones who bullied their ancestors!"

It seems that these people are really sick. Not to mention that they record false history, the objects of their boasting are not their real ancestors, but the people who humiliated their ancestors. Then why are they so happy?
Wang Wan revealed the truth in one sentence: "The people of this country must have no glory for their ancestors, so they can only recognize the merits of other people's ancestors and take it as the glory of their own ancestors. The people of this country must be extremely self-abased, and at the same time arrogant and conceited!"

Li Nian nodded and smiled, "The situation of this country is exactly as Wang Xiang said. Because of their inferiority complex and arrogance, they have made many jokes in later generations. For example, they stole our Chinese culture. It is clearly our Chinese culture and customs, but they were robbed and said to be theirs. Many Chinese celebrities have also been robbed for it."

"The Immortal Poet Li Bai was from their country, as was Emperor Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty, Confucius, and Qu Yuan..."

Hearing Li Nian's words, the First Emperor and others couldn't help but reveal a look of disgust.

What kind of weird bird country is this?
I won’t talk about the first two as they are not very familiar to me, but Confucius and Qu Yuan, one was from Lu and the other from Chu.

How inferior do the people of this country have to be to want to steal even historical figures from other countries?

(End of this chapter)