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

Chapter 809 Show Your Sincerity

Murong Shun drank one cup after another.
I drank three cups in a row.

The former crown prince of Tuyuhun, now the King of Daning, looked at the favorite minister of the Tang emperor in front of him, blushed and pleaded, "Shun's birth mother was Princess Guanghua of the previous dynasty. Shun is also half Han Chinese, and is a nephew of the Central Plains."

Now that the Tang emperor wants to establish a new marriage alliance with Tuyuhun, Shun fully agrees.

Shun has a half-sister from the same mother. She is 18 years old this year. She can ride a horse and draw a bow. She can also read and write and speak fluent Chang'an dialect. She is pretty and gentle.

If King Wei does not mind, I am willing to marry my younger sister to him.

In the main hall of the Prince Wei's residence in Tongjifang, two people sat around a stove.

Looking at the somewhat weathered and haggard man, Li Yi had done his research on him before his visit.

His father was Busabo Khan Fuyun, the 20th Khan of Tuyuhun, and his mother was Princess Guanghua, a princess from the Sui Dynasty who was sent to marry a foreign ruler.

In the sixteenth year of the Kaihuang era, Emperor Wen of Sui bestowed the title of Princess Guanghua upon a member of the imperial clan and sent her to marry Shi Fu, the king of Tuyuhun.

After Fu was killed, she remarried according to the customs of the Tuyuhun people to her younger brother, the new Khan Fuyun.

In the early years of the Daye era, Murong Shun was made crown prince of Tuyuhun. In the third year of the Daye era, Fuyun sent Murong Shun to pay tribute to the Sui Dynasty, but he was taken hostage by the Sui Dynasty. In the fourth year of the Daye era, Yuwen Shu and others led an army to attack Tuyuhun. Fuyun fled south to the snowy mountains, and all of his former territory was taken over by the Sui Dynasty.

The Sui Dynasty appointed Murong Shun as the Khan of Tuyuhun and appointed Da Bao Wang as his regent. However, just as Murong Shun was being sent to the border by the Sui army, Da Bao Wang Niluozhou was killed by his subordinates. Murong Shun had no choice but to return and thereafter served Emperor Yang of Sui.

After the Jiangdu mutiny, he and the Western Turkic Khan Chuluo finally managed to escape back to Chang'an.

Later, the Tang Dynasty wanted to join forces with Tuyuhun to attack Li Gui in Hexi. In return, they sent Murong Shun back to Tuyuhun.

However, Murong Shun remained in the Central Plains for twelve years.
Upon returning to Tuyuhun, they were not trusted.

Fu Yun has already appointed his son Murong Rong as crown prince. Fu Yun also favors his youngest son, Zunwang. The Tuyuhun prime minister, Tianzhu Wang, also supports Zunwang and has always advocated uniting with the Turks to plunder the Tang Dynasty.

Murong Shun returned to Tuyuhun six years later and was renamed King of Daning, but he had no real power.

Fu Yun remembered that when the Sui army attacked Tuyuhun, they made this son Khan, intending to replace him.

Crown Prince Murong Rong has been suppressed by the Zunwang faction in recent years, but he still cares about Murong Shun's past as crown prince.

The nobles and ministers of Tuyuhun disliked Murong Shun, the prince born to a Han princess, and felt that he had become a Han person after living in the Central Plains for more than ten years.

Nilo Zhou, the Prince of Dabao who supported Murong Shun back then, had long been killed.

When Murong Shun returned, he had no one he could trust.

Going back for six years,
He was not as comfortable as he was during the ten years or so of the Sui Dynasty.

this time,

Fuyun Khan sent him as an envoy to pay tribute.

Because the Eastern Turks were defeated and subjugated by the Tang Dynasty, the Western Turks had long since paid tribute to the Tang Dynasty.

After the Tang Dynasty swiftly wiped out Liang Shidu, the last separatist force,
There have been many reports that the Tang Dynasty is preparing to attack Tuyuhun.

More than ten years ago,

When Emperor Yang of Sui launched his campaign against Qinghai, Fu Yunke still vividly remembered how miserable he was at the time. He fled in panic to the snowy mountains to escape the calamity, but his Tuyuhun Kingdom was occupied by the Sui and established as the Four Prefectures of Xihai.

If it weren't for the later internal strife during the Sui Dynasty...
Fu Yun had no chance to restore the country.

Now that the Tang Dynasty has been unified again, and even the Turks are once again groveling at the feet of the Tang Dynasty, Fu Yun is also terrified.

At this point, no matter how much Tianzhu King Murong Xiaojun advocated for war, Fu Yun did not listen to him.

Instead, he specifically dispatched Murong Shun, who had close ties with the Central Plains, as an envoy to the Tang Dynasty to request a marriage alliance and trade.
To show sincerity,

Fu Yun urged Murong Shun to present 3,000 horses and 10,000 sheep to the Tang Dynasty.

"King of Da Ning,"

When the Tang Dynasty was founded, His Majesty bestowed upon you a high-ranking official position and noble title. Later, at the request of your father, the Khan, you were sent back to the country.

However, after your father Khan defeated Li Gui of Hexi in our Great Tang Dynasty, he began to turn against our Great Tang Dynasty and was determined to seize the border lands of Hexi and Longyou in our Great Tang Dynasty.

Over the years,

The Tuyuhun repeatedly invaded the borders of the Tang Dynasty, and there was never more than two months of peace.

"Six years have passed,"

"Six whole years, Prince of Ning."

Li Yi tapped the table lightly, his gaze fixed on the Tuyuhun envoy.

"Do you know how the people on the border have survived these past six years? They haven't had a hundred days of peace. At most, they've been raided and plundered every two months."

Six years! More than two thousand days and nights! How many women from the frontier were abducted by you? How many civilians died under your hooves and swords?

"Now,
The imperial court was united in its determination to send troops to punish Tuyuhun and annihilate them as soon as possible.

Don't you think it's too late for you to start talking about marriage and trade now?

Or do you really think that a mere three thousand horses and ten thousand sheep can make up for the damage and losses suffered by the people of the Tang Dynasty over the years?

In the fourth year of the Daye era, Fu Yun fled to the Great Snow Mountain and escaped a calamity.

But this time, does he think he can escape again?

Murong Shun lowered his head. He had lived in the Central Plains for twelve years and had a fairly good understanding of it, but he dared not say that the Tang Dynasty would not send troops to Tuyuhun next year.

After all, the Eastern Turks had submitted, and he had just met Jieli not long ago, dancing at the emperor's court banquet.

Feng Zhidai, the son of Feng Ang, the Prince of Lingnan, served alongside him when he was serving Yang Guang.

Now, Feng Ang has also sent him to the Tang Dynasty court, where he was granted the rank of third grade and bestowed with purple gold. He performs sword dances and recites poems to entertain guests at court banquets.

"I think you should stay in the Central Plains to avoid being captured by the imperial army again after you return."

Murong Shun sighed.

"King Wei, my father Khan sent me on this mission to pay tribute because he has realized his mistake and dares not oppose the Celestial Empire again." Li Yi smiled.
"You are also my Han family nephew, and I treat you as one of my own, so I won't hide anything from you."

Your father Khan is old and senile, thinking that by following the Turks he can invade my Central Plains?

"Now you're scared, but it's too late."

Li Yi waved his hand, signaling someone to see the guest out.

Murong Shun became anxious.

"Your Majesty, Tuyuhun is sincerely seeking peace this time. We beg Your Majesty to help them."

Li Yi got up to leave.
Murong Shun reached out and grabbed Li Yi's arm.
"Please feel free to make any requests from the Great Tang, hoping that the two countries can turn hostility into friendship."

"A genuine desire for peace?"

"With utmost sincerity and genuine intentions, there is absolutely no deception." Murong Shun was practically swearing an oath.

"good,

Since you say you're being sincere, I'll just believe you for now.

"You're proposing marriage and trade, but for whom? Surely not for the senile Khan Fuyun, who's been on the throne for thirty years?"

"It is to request a marriage on behalf of Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty?"

"It is the Khan's youngest son."

Li Yi snorted twice, "The Khan's youngest son, Zunwang, is said to be the sister of the Heavenly Pillar King?"

“What King Wei said is correct. Your Majesty’s mother is the younger sister of King Tianzhu, Murong Xiaojun.”

"If I remember correctly, I heard that Your Majesty's wife is also the daughter of Murong Xiaojun, so why is he asking for a marriage proposal from the Tang Dynasty princess?"

"The Great Khan hopes that Your Majesty can marry the Tang princess. As for the daughter of the Heavenly Pillar King, she can be taken as a concubine after the princess marries Your Majesty."

Li Yi sat down again.

"Your ancestor Tuyuhun was originally the illegitimate son of the Chanyu of the Murong tribe of the Xianbei in Liaodong. After the death of Chanyu Murong Shigui, Tuyuhun was at odds with his elder brother who succeeded him. So, during the Yongjia period of the Western Jin Dynasty, he led his tribe from Liaodong to Hexi.

They formed a tribal alliance with the local Qiang and Di tribes.

When Ye Yan, the grandson of Tuyuhun, ascended the throne, he changed the name of the country and the ethnic group to Tuyuhun.

However, after the establishment of the Tuyuhun Kingdom, it successively submitted to the Southern Dynasties of Song and Qi in the Central Plains, and later switched to the Northern Wei. It was also rewarded for its merit in helping the Northern Wei capture the Xia King Helian Ding, and was enfeoffed as the King of Western Qin.

When the Sui Dynasty was first established, King Kualü once sent troops to attack the border of Longyou. After the Sui army pacified the Southern Chen Dynasty, Kualü became afraid and fled to the snowy mountains, no longer daring to provoke the Sui Dynasty.

In the eleventh year of the Kaihuang era,
Kualü died in fear.

His son, Shi Fu, succeeded to the throne and sent his nephew, Wu Su, as an envoy to the Sui Dynasty. Wu Su presented a memorial to the emperor, acknowledging his vassal status and offering local products. He also requested that his daughter be given to Emperor Wen of Sui as his wife.

However, Empress Dugu, wife of Emperor Wen of Sui, was jealous, and the request for a daughter from the Khan of Tuyuhun was rejected.

Five years later,
The Tuyuhun surrendered, formally submitting to the Sui Dynasty. Emperor Wen then married Princess Guanghua to Shifu.

"After Shifu's death, Princess Guanghua remarried Fuyun."

Li Yi slowly recounted a piece of old history.

"If you Tuyuhun truly wish to propose marriage and establish friendly relations, there are precedents to follow. Why have you forgotten them?"

Murong Shun asked, "What does the Prince of Wei mean?"

"Hmph, the meaning is very simple. Just like the Turks and Jieli before, you Tuyuhun have formally surrendered to the Tang Dynasty and become vassals of the Tang Dynasty."

At that time, the Emperor of the Great Tang Dynasty established the Qinghai Protectorate and the Xihai Protectorate in the former territory of Tuyuhun. Fuyun was also granted official titles such as Prince of Xiping and Protector of Qinghai.

The king would also be granted titles such as Governor of the Western Sea and Duke of the County, and would also marry a princess.

From then on, the imperial family and its vassal states were united, and naturally, there would be no more wars or conflicts.

"You must show genuine sincerity, at least more sincerity than Shi Fu did back then. Let Fu Yun select two young and beautiful daughters to send to Chang'an to fill the Emperor's harem."
Then, each of you famous kings of Tuyuhun should select one or two women and send them to Chang'an to serve as concubines for the emperor and princes.

Furthermore, the princesses of the Tang Dynasty were of unparalleled nobility.

To marry a princess, one must have sufficient dowry: 50,000 horses, 10,000 cattle and camels, and 100,000 sheep.

Of course, our Great Tang Dynasty will not take advantage of you. When a princess marries, she will receive a generous dowry.

···
Li Yi's nonchalant expression of "sincerity" left Murong Shun speechless.

Although Tuyuhun covered an area of ​​thousands of miles,

But it was just a nomadic tribe. Fifty thousand horses, ten thousand cattle, camels, and one hundred thousand sheep—this number was absolutely unbearable.

This time, when he came to pay tribute, he brought three thousand horses and ten thousand sheep, which was quite a generous gesture.

"Your Majesty, Tuyuhun is merely a small state, incomparable to the Turks..."

Li Yi simply chuckled.
He slammed the teacup down heavily on the table.

There was a snap.

"That depends on how sincere you are."

"King Ning, you should go back and think it over carefully. To be honest, even if I agree to your request now, it won't be a valid promise."

The majority of the court officials agreed to send troops next year.

Our Tang army will sweep across Tuyuhun, and then not only will there be 100,000 livestock, but even a million livestock will belong to our Tang.

Don't say you can't provide that many livestock.
Your Prime Minister, King Tianzhu Murong Xiaojun, has over 300,000 livestock in his three Tianzhu tribes.”

"Enze, see the guest out for me!"

(End of this chapter)