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

Chapter 540 Change of Heir Apparent and Replacement of Commander
The greatest distance in the world is between a bird and a fish.

One is in the sky, the other in the water; they will never meet.

At the residence of the Prince of Xiangwu in Chang'an,

Cui Yingluo went to visit her friend Li Wuniang.

"A-Wu, why are you crying?" As soon as Cui Yingluo entered the backyard, she saw that Li A-Wu's eyes were red and still had tear stains.

"Sister Yingluo, I may never see you again."

"What's wrong?" Cui Yingluo asked in confusion. Li Awu was a member of the royal family. Although his father, Prince Huai of Xiping, had passed away, and his eldest brother, Li Qiong, had also died of illness, he still had four older brothers. His second brother, Prince Xiangwu, Li Chen, although he had been detained while on a mission to the Turks, would surely return sooner or later.

The youngest, the seventh brother, Li Xiaogong, is the Prince of Hejian and currently the Grand General of Jingzhou, one of the five Grand Generals of the imperial court, who helped the court seize half of the southeastern part of the country.

The third brother, Li Jian, and the fourth brother, Li Gui, were both Princes of Jibei and Hanyang, respectively. Although their family was not as powerful as the Li brothers, Li Shentong and Li Shenfu, they had been granted the title of Prince of Jibei.

But after all, all four of his elder brothers were princes.

"I have heard that the Sage intends to arrange a marriage between me and the Turkic Khagan, Jieli Khan, and the imperial edict will be sent soon."

Li Awu was unwilling to marry into the Turkic Khaganate. As a noblewoman of the highest order, she had no choice but to marry into the grasslands, given the prosperity of Chang'an. Moreover, Khagan Jieli was already quite old, and there was also Princess Yicheng of the Sui Dynasty as his consort.

Now that the relationship between Tang Tu and Tang Tu is bad, she won't have a good life if she goes there for a political marriage.

"Sister Yingluo, I don't want to be married off to the Turks, I don't want to live in a tent, and I certainly don't want to marry the old and ugly Khagan Jieli."

Li Xianhui cried with tears streaming down her face, looking pitiful.

While crying,

An angel came.

"The imperial edict has arrived; please, Your Excellency, receive it."

Despite his reluctance, Li Awu had no choice but to accept the imperial edict.

"I, having ascended the throne, have brought peace to all directions. The Prince of Xiping, Huai, is loyal and steadfast, his merits renowned throughout history. His daughter, Lady Li, is of exceptional talent and noble character, possessing the elegance of a noblewoman. Gentle and virtuous, she embodies the principles of propriety and education, displaying grace and poise, and has long been a model of virtue in the inner chambers of the home."

Now, the Turkic Khagan, Jieli, has sincerely offered tribute and wishes to form a marriage alliance. Therefore, a special imperial edict is issued to elevate his title.

She may be conferred the title of Princess Changping, granted a fief of three thousand households, and provided with ceremonial robes and carriages…

Upon hearing this, Li Awu's vision went black, and he fainted.

The people in the Prince's mansion were in a panic.
Go and call the doctor right away.

The angel who proclaimed the decree was also startled and busied himself with it for a long time. Fortunately, he only fainted temporarily and soon woke up.

The angel returned to report.

Even while recuperating in bed, Li Awu couldn't help but cry.

The imperial edict has been issued.

This matter is unlikely to change any further.

Looking at her friend, Cui Yingluo couldn't believe that not only was her marriage not free as a member of one of the five noble families, but she had also been divorced by Li Yi for no apparent reason.

Ah Wu, who has four elder brothers who are princes, has now been forced to marry a Turk from beyond the Great Wall.

"Yingluo, why does the court still want to make peace with the Turks by marrying them when they invade our Great Tang?"

"If the imperial court defeats Jieli in Daibei, will I no longer need to arrange a marriage alliance with someone from beyond the Great Wall?"

Cui Yingluo was unable to answer A-Wu.

She heard that the Turkic invasion of Daibei was fierce, with the entire army of the Prince of Dingxiang wiped out outside Yanmen Pass, and now Liu Shirang was surrounded by an army of 100,000 at Yanmen.

Precarious.

A-Wu's second brother was detained while on a mission to the Turks. Choosing her as a bride might also be a way to rescue her brother.

"If only my seventh brother were here! He's such a good fighter. If he led his troops north to Yanmen Pass, he would surely defeat the Turks. Then I wouldn't have to go through the trouble of marrying into the Turkic Khaganate," Li Awu cried.

Of her four elder brothers, her second and seventh brothers doted on her the most. Her eldest brother had inherited the family title, but it was lost at the end of the Sui Dynasty. Her second brother inherited the family's title of Duke of Xiangwu County, and after the founding of the Tang Dynasty, he was promoted to Prince.

Her unmarried younger sister naturally followed her second brother in inheriting the family business.

The third and fourth brothers are not reliable.

My seventh brother is in Jingzhou, so we can't count on him either.

Li Awu looked at his girlfriend and suddenly took her hand. "Yingluo, your man in Weizhou is said to be a great general, an ever-victorious general who has never been defeated."

Not long ago, they crossed the Taihang Mountains, seized Weizhou, annihilated tens of thousands of Gao Kaidao's troops at Pingxingzhai, and defeated the Turkic Sijie cavalry.

It is very close to Yanmen.
"Yingluo, could you please have your man lead an army to Yanmen Pass and defeat Jieli Khan? That way, I won't have to marry him, and I won't have to be separated from you."

Cui Yingluo blushed involuntarily.

That name, that man, she once admired and was moved by, but the way he was dumped made her lose heart and resentful.

That's a name she doesn't want to mention now.

A scar I don't want to touch.

"Ah Wu, don't mention him in front of me. I have nothing to do with him anymore."

Late at night at Taiji Palace

Li Yuan could not sleep at night.

He put on his clothes and got up.

"His Majesty?"

"You go to sleep, I'm going for a walk outside." Li Yuan told Consort Yuwen to continue sleeping, and he walked out of the palace and went outside.

Alone in the court,

Keep the eunuchs and palace maids far away.

He wanted some peace and quiet.

Today at Hongyi Palace, Erlang's words still troubled him.

He actually knew that the situation in Daibei was critical, Yanmen City was critical, Xinzhou City was critical, and even Taiyuan was critical.

Of course, he knew what kind of person Jieli Khan was.

However, he still could not bring himself to let Shimin lead the army again unless he could make up his mind to change the heir apparent.

This is a path that has led to chaos since ancient times, where the eldest son is deposed and the youngest son is chosen.

Moreover, aside from being unskilled in leading troops into battle, Dalang Jiancheng has performed quite well in all aspects of domestic affairs. After several years of handling government affairs, he has become quite mature and stable.

Although he makes mistakes, everyone makes mistakes; after all, he's only in his early thirties.

The fact that the emperor was bad at fighting was not a flaw at all.

He had spent five or six years to almost unify the country, and he would soon be able to quell the remaining minor factions. He was only in his fifties, still in good health, and still having children; he could easily remain emperor for another ten years.

If he had ten years, he could pave the way for the Crown Prince and sweep away all forces in the world, then the Crown Prince would no longer need to govern the world on a single day.

Erlang is a skilled military commander, but in fact, he has been leading troops in battle for the past few years and lacks experience in domestic affairs.

The empire could be conquered quickly, but not governed immediately. Li Yuan felt that Jiancheng was more suitable to inherit his empire, and that the empire would need an emperor like Jiancheng who could both militarily and civilly govern in the future.

Yang Guang loved warfare. He campaigned south against Lin-yi, east against Liaodong, and even conquered the Liuqiu Kingdom in the sea. To the west, he destroyed the Tuyuhun and Yiwu, and he also fought against the Turks and Khitans in the north.

But so what?
Three campaigns against Goguryeo led to the kingdom's downfall.

Erlang loved war. If he became emperor, would he also launch a campaign against Goguryeo?
The idea of ​​changing the heir apparent was only briefly raised before he dismissed it.

But he couldn't sleep tonight.

He still held a sliver of hope for the Turks, hoping that this time they would grant his request for a marriage alliance and tribute.

The court's prime ministers had previously said that Jieli was untrustworthy and that war should be waged first, followed by peace.

However, Li Da'en's entire army was wiped out, and Jieli's advance was fierce. Xin Dai lost 39 out of 41 cities in 100 days.

The crown prince advocated for peace talks.

Pei Ji also changed his tune, saying that he wanted to negotiate peace first.

Feng Deyi said that Hebei was suffering from famine due to the rebellion of Gao Kaidao, and there was a lack of military rations to supply Li Yi in the battle of Daibei.

With the loss of key passes such as Yanmen Pass, Loufan Pass, and Shiling Pass in Daibei, only two isolated cities remained in Xin and Dai. The imperial court wanted to send troops to counterattack, but Hedong was also short of food.

Moreover, no one is confident that sending troops will result in a victory or defeat of Jieli.

Feng Deyi and Yang Gongren were worried that there was not enough food to supply the army. Without enough troops, they were not confident of defeating the 200,000-strong Turkic army in Daibei.

If we lose, we might even lose Taiyuan.

Therefore, while Yanmen Pass could still hold out, and while Li Yi had won several battles, it was time to negotiate peace with Jieli, bestow the title of princess upon the princess and marry her off to the Turks, along with generous rewards of money and silk.

Tell them to withdraw their troops and resolve the immediate crisis first.

Although such a peace treaty would be a loss of both face and substance for the Tang Dynasty, it would at least provide a chance to regroup. Once the Turks withdrew, the Tang could regroup, station troops and cultivate land, restore the northern defense line, and stockpile food and weapons. When the time was right, the Tang could then wage war against the Turks again and reclaim both the lost face and substance.

No one suggested that the King of Qin lead the army into battle.

No one even suggested that Li Yi take over from the Crown Prince to lead the war effort.

The prime ministers were all aware of the emperor's intentions.

But today the King of Qin said it himself, and he said it so directly.

He even declared that if he could not win, he would cut his own throat to atone for his sins.

Li Yuan was indeed somewhat tempted.
If the King of Qin can win, perhaps it's worth a try.

After all, if marriage alliances and rewards are not enough to satisfy Jieli, and he is merely using this as a delaying tactic, then the consequences would be far more troublesome if he were to take the opportunity to conquer Yanmen and Xinzhou.

However, Li Yuan still did not want the Prince of Qin to command the troops unless absolutely necessary.

That's how conflicted I am.

As for appointing Li Yi as commander-in-chief to oversee the overall situation, Li Yuan was still somewhat uneasy about it.

The night breeze is blowing.

Li Yuan's shadow stretched long, and in the pale night, only his solitary figure accompanied him.

Lonely.

Easy to store,

Change of coach

Perhaps we could send Shimin to Taiyuan first to finish this battle?

Or perhaps Shimin doesn't even need to fight; simply having him stay in Taiyuan would be enough to intimidate Jieli and force him to negotiate a peace and withdraw his troops.
Or should we appoint Li Yi as deputy commander-in-chief, overseeing the various armies in Daibei, so that he can win a few more small victories and put more pressure on Jieli?
Thoughts swirled,

Li Yuan was also unable to make a decision for the time being.

Every step he takes may bring countless new changes, changes that he does not want to face.

Why couldn't Li Yi get along with Da Lang?
The Tang Dynasty values ​​Li Yi highly, yet he's become so close to the Second Prince. If Li Yi could genuinely assist the Eldest Prince, then sending the Crown Prince to govern Taiyuan with Li Yi as deputy commander might have created a different situation.

Can't sleep,

I am feeling agitated.

Li Yuan ordered a palace attendant to bring him a pipa (a traditional Chinese stringed instrument).
Playing a Liangzhou tune under the moon.

The music is melancholic, and the melody is poignant.

At first listen, it sounds elegant and grand, melodious and lyrical, but the more you listen, the more you can feel the desolation in the melody, the endless sandstorms, the mournful cry of a lone goose, and the neighing of warhorses.

The moon is full over the west tower.

Who knows the sorrow that fills my heart?

The next day,

The emperor went to court with dark circles under his eyes.

The assembled officials paid their respects.

Li Yuan glanced at his ministers and slowly began, "The Turks have invaded and now they're asking for a marriage alliance and peace. Which is more advantageous, peace or war?"

Zheng Shanguo, the Left Vice Minister of the Crown Prince's Office and concurrently Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and Acting Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review, stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, war will only breed resentment; peace is far better."

The Grand Chancellor Feng Deyi said, "The Turks rely on their small numbers and have a contempt for China. If we make peace without fighting, it will be a sign of weakness, and they will come back later."

Liu Shirang has been holding Yanmen Pass for a hundred days, fighting fiercely. Jieli is helpless and has suffered heavy casualties. Li Yifei has captured Weizhou, defeated Gao Kaidao at Pingxing Pass, and then defeated Sijie's troops, annihilating tens of thousands of enemy soldiers.

Li Gaoqian, the prefect of Xinzhou, also defeated the enemy besieging the city.

Others, such as Duan Decao, the governor of Yanzhou, Li Daozong, the governor of Lingzhou, and Wang Junkuo, the chief administrator of Youzhou, all defeated the Turkic troops one after another.

In my humble opinion,

Having achieved several victories, and then agreeing to a draw, this demonstrates a skillful combination of kindness and severity.

Li Yuan heeded their advice and decided to make full peace with the Turks. After the Turkic troops withdrew through Yanmen Pass, the court would send Princess Changping to the Turks.

"Send the King of Qin to garrison Yuanzhou,"

"Li Yi, the Prince of Wu'an, served as the Chief Secretary of the Army of Hedong Road and concurrently as the General Commander of the Army of Hebei Road. He assisted the Crown Prince in commanding the various armies of Daibei, Youzhou, Dingzhou, Daizhou, Bingzhou, and Xizhou, and was also under the command of the five general offices."

The emperor then issued two unexpected decrees.

(End of this chapter)