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

Chapter 608 Deposing the eldest son and establishing the youngest is no easy task.
"The King of Qin's achievements are growing day by day, but they also harbor hidden dangers. The day you return victorious from this expedition will likely be the day you, Wu Yi, face your doom."

That night, Wei Zheng and Li Yi talked late into the night by candlelight.
Gather around the stove and cook wine.

Winter has arrived in Taiyuan.
The night wind is very cold.

Wei Zheng was brewing the Wei family's homemade wine, which his wife had sent from Chang'an, on the stove.
The aroma of the wine is very strong.

It has a bit of the feel of discussing heroes over wine.

Li Yi sighed, "The Crown Prince has many capable people around him, but I think Cao Cao's assessment of Yuan Shao is somewhat fitting for him."

Wei Zheng, holding a wine cup, immediately replied, “According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Wei, Biography of Emperor Wu, Cao Cao said, ‘I know Shao’s character. He is ambitious but lacks wisdom, fierce in appearance but cowardly, jealous of others but lacks authority, has many soldiers but unclear division of responsibilities, arrogant generals and inconsistent orders. Although his land is vast and his grain is abundant, it is just enough for my needs.’”

Li Yi smiled.
The quote he was referring to, which was Cao Cao's assessment of Yuan Shao, was not from the Records of the Three Kingdoms, but from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms: "He is outwardly fierce but inwardly cowardly, fond of scheming but indecisive, he hesitates to risk his life for great things, and he is willing to risk his life for small gains; he is no hero."

Li Jiancheng is considered to be above average in all aspects.

Unfortunately, the opponent he encountered, Li Shimin, was a once-in-five-hundred-years figure.

The Li family was quite elite. Li Yuan was both a scholar and a warrior, not only a sharpshooter but also a master of political maneuvering.

Li Jiancheng excelled in civil administration, while Li Shimin was currently unparalleled in military affairs. The ugliest of the four sons, Yuanji, though brave but lacking in strategy, was indeed formidable with his horse spear and quite fierce.

The title of "Eight Pillars of the Nation" is well-deserved.

"Senior brother doesn't think highly of the King of Qin?" Li Yi asked.

Wei Zheng took a sip of wine. After returning from Hebei, he first served as a scholar in the Prince of Qin's palace, lecturing to Li Shimin and frequently accompanying him to offer advice. Now, he had come to Hedong to advise and strategize. He compared this to his previous advisors, Yuan Baozang, Li Mi, and Dou Jiande.
Li Shimin was exceptionally strong, and although he sometimes had some bad moments, this young prince was willing to listen to advice.

But Wei Zheng still shook his head.

"No matter how virtuous the King of Qin was, he was only the second son of the emperor."

Jiancheng is the eldest son of the legitimate wife, and is now in his early thirties. Aside from his lack of military expertise, his performance in other areas is quite good, and he has many supporters in the Crown Prince's palace.

His meaning was quite clear.

The eldest son is chosen as heir, not the most virtuous. Li Jiancheng has already been the crown prince for five years, and he's only in his early thirties, still young.

Apart from his military performance being inferior to Li Shimin's, he was quite good in other aspects.

Many ministers in the court, and even many gentry in the Guandong region, supported this Crown Prince.

Even if Li Shimin was a good fighter...
But what's the use of that?

Wei Zheng reminded Li Yi that he had to be careful, as he was now too close to the King of Qin.

"Before the King of Qin went on this expedition, His Majesty took me to Hongyi Palace and promised the King of Qin that on the day of the triumphant return after defeating the Turks, he would be made the Crown Prince."

This statement was earth-shattering.

Wei Zheng was stunned and put down his wine cup. "You were there at the time, did you hear it with your own ears?"

"Of course not, this is what His Majesty said to the King of Qin in private."

Wei Zheng nodded.

"The King of Qin is saying this to you; he really isn't being polite to you."

Li Yi smiled and said, "I'm telling you this without being formal with my senior brother."

"You're trying to drag me into a fire pit."

"For the sake of the Tang Dynasty, for the sake of the country and the people, and for the sake of the hundreds of millions of people under heaven. The Crown Prince is good in every way, except that he doesn't understand military affairs and is too weak towards the Turks."

What we need least right now is a prince who has weak knees.
We need a crown prince who is not only brave and capable in battle, but also cares deeply about the well-being of the people. The world has been in turmoil for too long, and the people yearn for peace.

Wei Zheng shook his head, "Governing the country is not like fighting a war. The emperor does not need to be a good fighter. Fighting is the general's job."

“But the emperor has to be brave enough to fight,” Li Yi said.

"The world is not yet unified, and neighboring tribes continue to invade. If we cannot fight, how can we talk about development? How can we talk about people living in peace and prosperity, and the country becoming strong and prosperous?"

"In recent years, the Turks have invaded repeatedly, sometimes several times a year. Is there ever a day of peace on the border? So many people on the border have been captured by the Turks and taken to the frontier as slaves to herd cattle and horses for them."

Wei Zheng sighed.

"The King of Qin is indeed a very good and wise king, but he is not the crown prince."

"Changing the heir apparent is not so easy. Even if the emperor really promised the King of Qin to change the crown prince, you know that such a promise is sometimes not even worth as much as a toilet paper stick."

"Don't even mention a private verbal promise; even if it were written down as a secret edict, it wouldn't be of any use."

"Moreover, based on my understanding of the sage, it is highly likely that once the Turks are defeated and the crisis is resolved, the King of Qin will be sidelined and rendered powerless."

"But you may be in danger of losing your life. There's Liu Wenjing in the past, and Liu Shirang in the present. That emperor in Chang'an, although he is sometimes very generous in bestowing rewards, is also utterly unreasonable when it comes to killing people."

Li Yi poured Wei Zheng another cup of wine.

"Senior brother, you are resourceful. Please help me think of a solution."

“There is no solution.” Wei Zheng shook his head. “When faced with internal and external troubles, His Majesty has no choice but to use the Prince of Qin, and even has to make a promise to establish a crown prince in private. But once the crisis is over, His Majesty will go back on his word.”

"Deposing the eldest son in favor of the youngest has been a path to chaos since ancient times. It is impossible for an emperor not to know this, especially since the previous dynasty perished after only two generations due to the deposition of the eldest son in favor of the youngest. The lesson is right before our eyes."

Back then, Yang Guang, the Prince of Jin during the Sui Dynasty, was also praised by everyone for his virtue.

“If you want to follow the path of the previous dynasty, which involved deposing the crown prince and establishing a new one, it will definitely not work,” Wei Zheng said.

Holding his wine glass, Li Yi realized that that was the only way forward.

Seeing his expression, Wei Zheng lowered his voice in surprise, "You don't mean to...?"

Li Yi chuckled.

Both of them remained silent.

for a long time,

Wei Zheng sighed, "Why do you have to do this?"

Wei Zheng remained quite calm despite Li Yi's astonishing remarks that evening, having just emerged from the chaos of the late Sui Dynasty.
Rebellion, uprising, and the attempt to become king or emperor—we've seen far too many of these.

He just felt that Li Yi and his group didn't have much of a chance.

The more you struggle, the worse the outcome may be.

Li Yuan's mother-in-law was usually all smiles, but when she got ruthless, she was quite merciless. She felt that if Li Yi continued like this, he would follow in Liu Wenjing's footsteps.

Wei Zheng changed the subject.
Do you think you can still have another big fight with Jieli?

Li Yi shook his head. "Jieli is currently holed up in Xinzhou, guarding the three passes and daring not to venture out. He's only sending challenges but doesn't dare to lead his troops to attack Taiyuan City."
The western route's leaders, Shaboloshe and Yusheshe, suffered setbacks and retreated.
Jieli dared not fight.

In less than three days,

Jieli will definitely send someone to negotiate peace. If we don't give him a way out, he'll find one himself.

"However, Jieli will not truly submit."
They suffered a loss this time, but it only weakened their strength. After withdrawing, they will only harbor resentment and continue to invade next year.

Jieli is like a wolf, fierce yet cunning.

Like Li Shimin, Li Yi hoped that Jieli could engage the Tang army in a decisive battle at Taiyuan. Currently, the morale of the Turks was low, while the morale of the Tang army was high.
The weather is nice this time of year.
The Turkic forces were also few in number.

The decisive battle at the foot of Taiyuan was very advantageous for the Tang army.

But now it seems that the wounded Jieli will not fight the Tang army to the death; he is just bluffing and trying to intimidate and extort the Tang Dynasty.

“Those who are not of our race will surely have different hearts.” Wei Zheng also advocated a tough stance against the Turks, saying, “This time we should press our advantage and at least take back Mayi.”

Li Yi also revealed to Wei Zheng that Li Shimin was still gathering troops, and his real target was not the Turks, but Yuan Junzhang.

Jieli is now baring his fangs and brandishing his claws.
However, it's highly unlikely that a war will break out.

Li Shimin had assembled 100,000 troops at this time with the intention of forcing Jieli to retreat before turning his attention to Yuan Junzhang, taking advantage of Jieli's temporary reluctance to engage in a decisive battle with the Tang Dynasty.
They could either force Yuan Junzhang to surrender or seize Yunshuo by force.

It is impossible for Jieli to force the Tang Dynasty to compromise and end the war according to the previous conditions through intimidation.

Li Shimin was not Li Jiancheng.

Peace can be negotiated if it can be negotiated, and if it cannot be negotiated, then we will fight. We will not be blackmailed by Khalifa.

If Yuan Junzhang refuses to surrender, beat him. If Jieli dares to come to his rescue, deal with him as well.

This is a rare strategic window of opportunity. If we don't attack now, things will get complicated once Jieli catches his breath.

Moreover, the emperor's support at this time is extremely valuable.

Moreover, if they were to launch a northern expedition at this time and capture the Yunshuo region outside Yanmen Pass, it would be a tremendous military achievement for Li Shimin.

Defeating the Turks and conquering Yunshuo—such achievements cannot be overlooked.

The cold wind howled.

Snowflakes are flying.

October 18th, the time of Great Snow.

Snowflakes fluttered down from the gray sky.

Snow falls and winter is hidden away.

Jieli Khan sat in a cowhide tent inside the Shiling Pass city.
Although this tent was made of good materials, it was still far less luxurious and spacious than his Golden Wolf Tent.

"Your Majesty, it's snowing."

"Ah."

Jieli sat on the carpet, lost in thought.

"Has the Tang people not come to sue for peace yet?" Jieli raised his eyelids.

The attendant beside him, Dagan Kangsumi, replied, "Not yet."

He saw a flash of disappointment in Jieli's eyes. Ever since the defeat at Jinci and the retreat to Xinzhou, Jieli Khan had asked him this question almost every day.
Unfortunately,

The Tang people never sent envoys to sue for peace again.

"Has today's challenge been sent to Taiyuan?" Jieli asked again.

"It was sent over early this morning."

silence.

Every day, Jieli sent someone to deliver a challenge letter to Li Yi in Taiyuan City, asking Li Yi to come out of the city to fight. However, he himself withdrew all his troops into Xindai and sent troops to guard the three passes, including Shiling.

On one hand, they issued a challenge, while on the other hand, they asked the Tang envoys every day if they had come to sue for peace.

As a close advisor to Jieli, Kang Sumi could understand him.

The Khan is now in a predicament, unable to dismount his horse and caught between a rock and a hard place.

He was unwilling to withdraw his troops like this, as it would be a loss of face. However, he had no confidence in attacking Taiyuan. In fact, after the defeat at Jinci, he was now somewhat afraid of the young Prince Wu'an.

"Great Khan, Zhishiyan Jielifa requests an audience."

"Let him in."

Zhishi Yan, the leader of the Zhishi tribe, came to inquire when the troops would be withdrawn.

"Great Khan, it has snowed in Taiyuan, and it has also snowed on our grasslands. The warriors of all tribes are eager to return to their tribes as soon as possible."

It's snowing, and it's cold.

The Turkic soldiers were homesick.
There was still much to do in the tribe at this time. They had to move to the winter pastures and even slaughter some male and young livestock before the cold arrived, so that the remaining livestock could better survive the winter.

When they're not home, the women, parents, and children at home have a very tough time.

Of course, those tribes that were lucky enough not to be attacked by the Tang army during their southward journey, and who were neither killed, injured, nor captured, actually managed to plunder quite a lot of things. Naturally, they wanted to return to their tribes as soon as possible, and had no desire to stay in the south after the arrival of the harsh winter and heavy snow.

All I want is to go back to the winter ranch and spend the winter with my family in a tent.

Zhi Shiyan also wanted to withdraw his troops and return to his tribe. During his first southward expedition this year, he was attacked by the Tang army at Yanmen and suffered heavy losses. However, on his second southward expedition, he managed to recover his losses.

Jieli chatted with Zhishiyan for a while.
"Summon Simo and have him go to Taiyuan to negotiate peace."

To show his sincerity, this time Jieli did not make the same exorbitant demands as he had for Zheng Yuanzhu and Li Chen at Jinci.

"As long as the Tang Kingdom continues to abide by the peace treaty reached at Yanmen in June, then I, the Khan, am willing to forgive and forget the past and withdraw my troops back to the border."

Jieli reiterated the conditions reached in the Yanmen Peace Treaty: to send a princess to marry into the grasslands, to receive an annual gift of 3,000 taels of gold and 200,000 bolts of silk, and to engage in annual silk-horse trade, with the Turks selling 10,000 horses to the Tang Dynasty for one tael of gold or forty bolts of silk per horse.

The Tang Dynasty is forbidden from attacking Liang Shidu of Shuofang and Yuan Junzhang of Daibei.

Jieli stopped mentioning ceding territory, paying reparations, or even demanding the handover of Li Yi and others.

The north wind howled.

The snow is falling heavier.

(End of this chapter)