A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 496 How can His Highness the Crown Prince be at ease?

"Gao Kaidao attacked and entered Yizhou, and Murong Xiaogan, the governor of Yizhou, was killed in battle."

In the Taiji Palace,

Emperor Li Yuan listened to the report with a gloomy expression.

He regretted not heeding Li Yi's advice. Li Yi had previously advised the emperor not to let the three border kings return, but to keep them in the court and send someone to take over their territory and troops.

However, Li Yuan was thinking of taking things slowly and was afraid that taking too big a step would lead to disaster, so he only kept Li Yi, the most powerful general of Youzhou and the Prince of Yan, in the court, and sent Li Kaidao and Li Da'en back to Yan and Dai.

"The Turkic Khaganate, Jieli Khan, dispatched Sijin Songxie Na with 10,000 cavalry into Hebei to assist Gao Kaidao. With the Turkic aid, Gao's arrogance was at its peak, and both Youzhou and Yanzhou were attacked..."

Li Yuan's gaze swept across the ministers in the hall, finally landing on the face of General Tian Ce, Prince Qin, Li Shimin. This General Tian Ce, who was above princes and dukes, was kneeling in the hall as if dozing off.

After returning from pacifying Hebei, Li Yuan repeatedly requested to lead troops to conquer the Turks, but Li Yuan refused each time. Li Yuan wanted to return to Luoyang, but Li Yuan also kept him there.

For the past few months, Erlang has not been able to even enter the government office of the Ministry of Personnel; he has been forced to stay in the literary academy of the Prince of Qin's residence to study.

Li Yuan hardened his heart and buried his most capable son in obscurity.

Previously, when Jieli invaded Bingzhou and Yuanzhou, Li Yuan only sent Dou Cong and Yuchi Gong to lead troops to attack, and to garrison Bingzhou and Yuanzhou respectively.

The emperor also took this opportunity to transfer Yuchi Gong, the most valiant man by Erlang's side.

A thousand schemes,

However, the situation in northern Xinjiang spiraled out of control.

Now that Jieli has repeatedly invaded, the Tang Dynasty can only passively defend itself and can only be beaten without being able to fight back. But at this time, Gao Kaidao rebelled.

Li Yuan stood up from his throne.
With a flick of his long sleeves,
He angrily said, "Prince Wu'an urgently reported to Chang'an that he had unexpectedly discovered that Gao Kaidao was colluding with the Turks and secretly instigating a rebellion by Dou Jiande's former subordinates. I ordered Youbing and other places to take precautions, but why has it still come to this?"

No one in the palace responded to the emperor.

Li Yi accused Gao Kaidao of colluding with the Turks to rebel, but Chang'an was skeptical, especially since the Crown Prince spoke up for Gao Kaidao, and the court failed to respond in time.

Meanwhile, there has been no action taken in Youzhou, which is the most crucial region.

Even when Xie Leng, one of Gao Kaidao's subordinates, feigned surrender, they still rashly sent troops to meet him, resulting in a major defeat and heavy losses. Subsequently, Tanzhou and Beiyanzhou, two important locations that had already been taken over by the imperial court, were also lost.

After the fall of Beiyan Prefecture, the strategic pass of Jundu Pass along the Great Wall also fell. Gao Kaidao led the Turkic army into Youzhou and launched a fierce attack on Yiding.

In a short period of time, he lost the three prefectures of Tan, Bei Yan, and Yi. In addition, he controlled the two prefectures of Ji and Ping, which were controlled by Gao Kaidao. Now he controls five prefectures.

These are the five states after a complete merger; originally, it was more than a dozen states.

Yuwen Shiji, the Vice Minister of the Chancellery and Duke of Ying, stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, Gao Kaidao's rebellion has resulted in the seizure of several prefectures. The Grand General's Office of Youzhou cannot escape blame. Even though Prince Wu'an was in Mingzhou, he was able to detect Gao Kaidao's plot in advance and promptly informed Youzhou, yet they did nothing and must be held responsible!"

Li Yuan glanced at his cousin, then at his son Shimin.

Yuwen Shiji also serves as the Sima of the Tiance Mansion, but this is only a nominal position, as he is in Chang'an and not in Luoyang managing the affairs of the Tiance Mansion.

Li Yuan also knew that Yuwen Shiji had become closer to Li Shimin since the Battle of Luoyang. Yuwen Shiji's sister, Consort Yuwen, had already given birth to two sons for Li Yuan.

Just a few days ago, Li Yuan had just transferred the eldest son of Consort Yuwen, his eleventh son, the Prince of Song, to the title of Prince of Xu, and appointed him as the governor of Xuzhou.

The eleventh prince, Yuan Jia, was only three years old, but he was incredibly intelligent. He could draw a circle with his left hand and a square with his right. Among all the young princes, none could compare to Yuan Jia. Because Consort Yuwen had given birth to two sons, Li Yuan even wanted to make her empress, but she firmly declined.

Because of his affection for Yuwen Shiji, Li Yuan increasingly valued and relied on him.

Yuwen Shiji led the attack on Youfu, directly targeting Li Yuan, the Prince of Lujiang.

Someone immediately followed up.

Tang Jian, the Minister of Rites, Acting Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, and Chief Secretary of the Tiance Prefecture, and Duke of Ju, also stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, I believe that although Li Yuan, the Grand General of Youzhou, is a close relative of the imperial clan, he has never dealt with the Turks in the northern frontier before. He was previously in charge of pacifying the southern mountains and is not skilled in military affairs."

Now that Gao Kaidao has incited the Turks to cause chaos in Hebei, the court should recall the Prince of Lujiang and select another general to quell the unrest and salvage the situation. The situation must not be allowed to deteriorate further.

Tang Jian, a meritorious official from Taiyuan, almost persuaded the Prince of Qin to lead troops to garrison Youzhou.

After the court deliberation,
Li Yuan spared Li Shimin.

The father and son rarely had a moment alone. "I regret not listening to Wu Yi's advice back then. If I had kept Gao Kaidao in the court, this disaster wouldn't have happened."

It seems that Li Yuan cannot control Youzhou. Although Wang Junkuo once defeated an army of 10,000 with thirteen horsemen, he is brave but seems to lack the ability to manage other matters.

Changing commanders at the last minute is a major taboo.

I am still worried about Li Da'en of Daizhou. If he also sides with the Turks, the situation will be in dire straits.

"Erlang, what suggestions do you have?"

Li Shimin studied at the Literary Academy for several months, where eighteen scholars took turns lecturing on classics and history. He has become much more reserved and composed since then.

"Your subject has heard that this year the grasslands are experiencing severe blizzards and terrible white disasters, and many of the Turks' cattle and sheep have frozen to death. That is why the Turks have continued to invade southwards this winter, hoping to survive this famine by plundering us."

Li Yuan hummed in agreement; he was, of course, aware of the matter.

The grasslands are mainly inhabited by nomads who do not grow grain but raise cattle and sheep. They rely on cattle and sheep for food and clothing. Every year, they have to move to reserved pastures to avoid the wind and winter. However, due to various restrictions on winter pastures, they cannot support too many livestock. Before winter, the herders will slaughter most of the male animals and young animals to ensure that the other livestock have enough fodder to get through the winter.

A severe blizzard can sometimes freeze countless livestock to death, a phenomenon the Turks call the "white disaster." With so many livestock dying, herders won't have enough milk and meat the following year, leading to hunger and even the destruction of an entire tribe.

At this point, their only way out was to plunder, to raid each other, with large tribes raiding small tribes, or to unite and march south to raid the Central Plains.

Jieli has always been raiding the borders, and now that the grasslands are suffering from severe white plagues, they will inevitably launch an even larger southward invasion.

"Your subject requests that we borrow 50,000 elite troops to cross the Great Wall and launch a surprise attack on the Khan's court."

Li Yuan was somewhat surprised to hear this; at this time, Erlang still wanted to attack. "Your Majesty," he said, "the best defense is offense. Our Great Tang shares a border of thousands of miles with the Turks, and the Turkic nomadic tribes' cavalry are swift in and out. It is too difficult for us to defend this thousands of miles of border."

It would be better to gather our elite troops, launch a surprise attack on the enemy's court, capture the leader, annihilate their elite forces, and force them to negotiate peace.

This suggestion even tempted Li Yuan.

But he quickly shook his head.

“The time is not right,” Li Yuan sighed. “It’s too risky. It’s a gamble, and the Tang Dynasty can’t afford to gamble now.”

Li Yuan lacked confidence in winning a surprise attack on the Khanate, and he was also unwilling to let Li Shimin command the army again; a defeat would be too much for the Tang Dynasty to bear. Even a victory might not be entirely beneficial.

Unless absolutely necessary, Erlang should not be allowed to lead the troops again.

"Does Erlang still think Li Da'en is trustworthy?" Li Yuan asked.

After the Gao Kaidao incident, Li Yuan no longer trusted Hu Da'en as much.

"Your Majesty, the Prince of Dingxiang previously reported to the emperor that the Turks suffered a white disaster, with many livestock dying. Yuan Junzhang in Daibei also experienced a famine. He requested permission to launch an attack and seize Mayi."

Your Majesty, I believe it would be wise to have Prince Dingxiang, Li Da'en, lead his troops into battle.

Li Yuan's eyes lit up; this was indeed a good way to test the waters.

If Li Da'en attacks Mayi, it would naturally demonstrate his loyalty to the Tang Dynasty. If he could seize Mayi while he was at it, that would be an even greater bonus. However, if Li Da'en deliberately delays, it would expose his intention to collude with the Turks.

He even thought that when Li Da'en led his army to attack Mayi, Liu Shirang could be transferred to Daizhou, ostensibly as reinforcements, but in reality to take over the important town of Yanmen. Regardless of whether Li Da'en rebelled or not, the court could then control this important town.

"Then let the Prince of Dingxiang be the commander-in-chief of the Mayi Road Army, and Dugu Sheng, the Junior Supervisor of the Palace, be the deputy commander-in-chief. Gather troops and attack Mayi in a month. Liu Shirang, the governor of Wuzhou, will be the military commander and lead his troops to Yanmen to provide support."

"Youzhou!" Li Yuan hesitated.

Li Shimin spoke up, "Your Majesty, I believe that the Prince of Lujiang is indeed not skilled in military affairs. With Gao Kaidao's rebellion and the Turks invading Hebei, he is no longer suitable to guard Youzhou."
"It would be better to have Prince Wu'an move to Youzhou to be in charge of suppressing Gao Kaidao's rebellion."

Li Yuan believed in Li Yi's abilities, but after his gaze swept over his son, he hesitated.

Li Yi is getting too close to Erlang.

"I'll think about it again."

Li Yuan dismissed Li Shimin and pondered alone for a long time, but still couldn't make up his mind.

East Palace.

Wang Gui, the Crown Prince's advisor, advised Crown Prince Jiancheng, "I have heard that after the court discussion, Your Majesty kept the Prince of Qin alone. This is a worrying matter. If Your Majesty then orders the Prince of Qin to lead troops to conquer Hebei, it will be very detrimental to the Crown Prince."

Your Highness, being the eldest son of the legitimate wife, was thus appointed as the firstborn son. However, his achievements are unremarkable, and his reputation for benevolence has not spread far and wide.

With the Qin King's achievements replicated and his prestige shaking the world, and the hearts of the people aligned with him, how can Your Highness feel at ease?

Gao Kaidao, who has now colluded with the Turks in a rebellion, has a formidable presence, but he was originally just a salt merchant at the end of the Sui Dynasty, commanding only twenty to thirty thousand men. Although he has received the aid of ten thousand Turkic cavalry, his reputation is poor, and he is short of supplies. Currently, the people of Hebei yearn for stability, and few have pledged allegiance to him.
If a large army arrives, we can capture them without a fight.

Your Highness should seize this opportunity to request permission to suppress the rebels, thereby gaining merit and establishing a strong reputation. Furthermore, you can use this opportunity to cultivate relationships with the talented individuals of Shandong.

Li Jiancheng found Wang Gui's words quite reasonable, and immediately invited the Left Vice Minister Zheng Shanguo and the Right Vice Minister Pei Shiju to join him.
Both men supported the Crown Prince's personal expedition to Hebei. Firstly, Gao Kaidao was far inferior to Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong, and secondly, the imperial court now had a foothold in Hebei.

Most importantly, the King of Qin must not be allowed to lead the army.

Zheng Shanguo further suggested that the Crown Prince appoint Li Yi, the Prince of Yan, as his deputy commander. With Li Yi's prestige in the Youyan region, he would surely be able to quickly quell the Gao Kaidao rebellion.

In the Taiji Palace,

"Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince requests an audience."

"Xuan."

After entering the palace, Li Jiancheng apologized to Li Yuan.

"Your Majesty, I was deceived by that scoundrel Gao Kaidao. I acted on impulse and beg Your Majesty to punish me."

Li Yuan waved his hand, "I never expected that Gao Kaidao would rebel. The world is about to be unified, and Gao Kaidao, who comes from a salt-producing family, is not satisfied with the imperial surname, the title of Prince of Beiping, and the position of Governor of Yingzhou bestowed upon him by my Great Tang. This is something I never expected."

To be honest, when Li Yi said Gao Kaidao was colluding with the Turks in a rebellion, I, like you, thought it was just a Turkic counter-espionage plot.

When it comes to counter-espionage schemes, Li Yuan thought of Li Zhongwen.

Li Zhongwen said at the time that the wrong person was killed, but the emperor simply couldn't admit it.

But now Gao Kaidao has truly rebelled.

"Your Majesty, I request to atone for my sins by personally going to Hebei to quell Gao Kaidao and defeat the Turks!"

Li Yuan looked at his eldest son and asked, "Are you confident?"

"Your Majesty, Gao Kaidao is a salt thief. Your subject requests that Your Majesty appoint Prince Li Yi of Yan as deputy commander and dispatch Generals Qian Jiulong, Liu Hongji, and Dou Cong to lead the campaign."

"Within six months, your son will surely quell the rebellion!"

Seeing the Crown Prince's confidence, Li Yuan pondered for a while and decided to send him on the expedition.

The emperor, in the East Warm Pavilion, ordered Yan Sigu, a scribe of the Imperial Secretariat, to draft an edict appointing Crown Prince Li Jiancheng as commander-in-chief.

"The Grand Chancellor of Shaanxi East Circuit and the prefectures of Hebei were all subject to Jiancheng's orders. During this period, the planning and strategizing, the rewards and punishments, and the regulations were all based on the circumstances and were all carried out expediently."

Prince Qi, Li Yuanji, and Prince Yan, Li Yi, served as deputy commanders to the Crown Prince and participated in the campaign in Hebei.

Qian Jiulong, Dou Cong, Liu Hongji, and Li Shiji also joined the army on the expedition.

(End of this chapter)