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

Chapter 818 Where Did You Get Your Sister From?
The sun rose as usual.

Another new day.

In the Luoyang Palace, the emperor is training his imperial guards in archery.

"Whoever shoots the farthest and most accurately today will be rewarded with a brocade robe." The emperor gave the imperial guards a prize.

The guards were immediately filled with enthusiasm.

Li Yi stood beside the emperor, watching the imperial guards on duty, each one a master archer.

"Wu Yi, why don't you shoot a few arrows too?"

"Your Majesty, it's the New Year, please don't make me look foolish."

Li Shimin laughed and said, "Your archery skills are indeed not up to par, but they are still much better than Hou Junji's. Hou Junji's archery skills are truly ugly. He can miss ten out of ten shots at a grass target at sixty paces away."

Occasionally, an arrow might hit its mark, but that's purely by sheer luck.

Hou Junji was notoriously bad at archery; it was said that he could only shoot within ten paces of a target that couldn't be hit.

Li Yi had always been skeptical that a military nobleman from the Guanzhong Plain, a scion of a military family, and a fierce general on the battlefield, who had received equestrian and archery training from a young age, could be so easily fooled.

Can't shoot an arrow?

Li Yi, a complete novice who had only recently started learning, practiced for several years and could hit at least six or seven out of ten arrows on a grass target at a distance of sixty paces.

"Why don't you demonstrate the Five Thunder Orthodox Method to everyone?" the emperor said with a smile.

"Your Majesty, it's all just rumors and misinformation circulating outside. They even say that I know the Palm Thunder and Thunderclap Palm techniques."

"Does Your Majesty not know what the Palm Thunder is?"

"The Palm Thunder should be the Thunderclap Thunder of the Ordnance Bureau, right? It's rumored that you know the Five Thunder Orthodox Technique, and the rumors are quite detailed."

"Just some tricks of wandering Taoist priests," Li Yi replied dismissively. He couldn't very well pull out a stun gun and let the emperor experience the feeling of being electrocuted.

The emperor smiled and didn't ask any further questions.
He guessed that the Five Thunder Orthodox Method might also have used some external object, just like when they couldn't conquer Luoyang City, Li Yi took out gunpowder, saying that it was an accidental product of his master's alchemy.

Unfortunately, Master Li was crushed to death by the collapsing cliff in his cave.

Otherwise, I really want to meet that Master Li, and even invite him to serve as an official in the Imperial Observatory or the Firearms Bureau.

The emperor took the weapons from the rack.
He picked up a pair of iron hammers and threw them to Li Yi, then took another pair.

The hammer looked like it had a short handle and a small head, not big enough to hit the tiger's mouth, but it felt quite heavy in the hand.

Having experienced many battles, Li Yi knew that
This little gadget is quite dangerous on the battlefield.
A great general, whose armor was extremely protective; ordinary arrows could not penetrate it, and even common swords and spears could not easily harm him.

Only the horse spear, long spear, whip, mace, and hammer were not afraid of the strong armor.

The horse lance has the ability to pierce armor.
The whip, mace, and hammer, however, are blunt weapons that can injure people directly through armor without breaking it.

A small golden mace, capable of shattering bones and injuring internal organs with a single blow, even through helmets and armor.

The emperor wielded two hammers, swinging them around like wild wind, practicing his strength.

Li Yi also joined in the practice, using the weights as dumbbells.

"Just accept the BMW and beautiful woman that Ni Shu sent you,"

The emperor had a good impression of Ni Shu, saying, "He is a straightforward person, but although he seems like a rough man, he is actually quite meticulous."

He loved making sworn brothers with everyone; he even dragged me into it back then.

Li Shimin put away the hammer. "We, as ruler and subject, have formed a brotherhood with Tuli in the Eastern Turkic Khaganate and Nishu in the Western Turkic Khaganate. So now we have brothers in both the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates."

"Wu Yi,

The Western Turkic brothers, Shekui and Tongyabhu, have amassed considerable power in the Western Regions over the years. In contrast, the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, after the reigns of the Shibi Chuluo Jieli brothers, has been decimated and is now in disarray.

You say the imperial court's move to befriend distant states while attacking nearby ones, tacitly allowing the Western Turks to attack the Tiele in the northern deserts, was it really the right move?

"Your Majesty, I believe this is a strategy that kills three birds with one stone."

"First of all, although the Eastern Turkic Khaganate's leader, Jieli, was captured and brought to Chang'an, and Tuli himself was very submissive, the Eastern Turkic Khaganate was only severely weakened, not crippled. Its current strength is merely due to the loyalty of Tuli, Simo, and others to the court."

The other tribes dared not make any unusual moves for the time being.

But these people may not be entirely sincere, and once they catch their breath, they will surely turn against you.

Now that the Tiele want to rise, we must suppress them. If we let the Tiele and the Eastern Turks fight, whether the Tiele or the Eastern Turks win, it will unify the southern and northern deserts, and they will become a major threat.

If the Eastern Turks win, their strength will be greatly restored, and some Turkic nobles may even gain prestige in the war and become new leaders. At that time, they will certainly not be willing to be controlled by the court in this way anymore.

If the Tiele win, they will inevitably become greedy and, once they annex and assimilate the southern desert, the northern border troubles will be endless.

Now let the Western Turks attack the Tiele.
Regardless of whether the Western Turks can annex the Tiele, it will be more beneficial than harmful to us.

First, the goal was to deprive the Eastern Turks of control over northern Mongolia, further weakening them and leaving them with only southern Mongolia.

Let the Eastern Turks continue to weaken.

Furthermore,

The Tiele fought against the Western Turks. Even if they won, their strength was severely weakened, making it difficult for them to advance south again. If they lost, they would be even less of a threat to the Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin asked, "If the Western Turks are already powerful, and they also conquer the Tiele, wouldn't the Central Plains be their next target?"

"I believe that the Western Turks cannot conquer the northern desert."

"Why?" "Tong Yehu is indeed very brave and resourceful, but in recent years he has become arrogant and tyrannical, and his subordinates have many complaints."

He had indeed defeated the Tiele before, but that was in the Western Regions.

Most of the Tiele tribes in the Western Regions migrated eastward, especially the Xueyantuo tribe, which numbered as many as 70,000 tents at the time of their eastward migration, along with other Tiele tribes in the northern deserts.
The Tiele tribe had a large population.

"The expedition led by the Yabghu to the northern deserts is a long and arduous journey, and the difficulties will be greatly increased."

Li Shimin frowned. "What you said certainly makes some sense, but while an expedition is difficult, it doesn't necessarily mean failure. What if we win? After all, the Tongyagu will have subdued the entire Western Regions."

"Your Majesty, that is indeed possible, but we are still here."

We cannot stand idly by and watch Tong Yabghu succeed in his eastern expedition to the northern deserts. Once he leads a large army eastward, we can observe the situation. If his chances of victory are high and the situation is favorable, then we can stab him in the back.

"Stab them in the back and send troops to attack the Western Regions?" Li Shimin shook his head. "Our Great Tang Dynasty cannot afford to be enemies with the Western Turks right now."

"Your Majesty, there is no need to send troops directly. I heard that Tong Yehu's uncle, Mohe Dushe, had offended Tong Yehu Khan over some matters and was whipped in public, losing face and harboring resentment."

This Mohe Dushe commands the Five Dulu tribes, and wields considerable power.

I heard that this person is also very ambitious.

If the court secretly promised to support such a person as the Great Khan, do you think he would stab Tong Yabghu in the back?
Furthermore, the Qibi tribe, originally nomadic in the Tanhan Mountains near the Gaochang Kingdom, rebelled in 1862 due to dissatisfaction with the Western Turkic rule, uniting with the Xueyantuo and other tribes. Their leader, Qibi Geleng, was elected Yiwuzhen Mohe Khan by the Tiele tribes.
He was later defeated by Shekui Khan, and thus relinquished his title of Khan, remaining subservient to the Turks, and was forced to migrate to places like Yanqi and Rehai to live a nomadic life.

Although the Qibi tribe suffered a significant loss of strength, it was no match for the Xueyantuo tribe, which migrated eastward.
However, it still possesses considerable strength, and its prestige is particularly high among the remnants of the Tiele tribe.

If the court were to secretly send an envoy to the Qibi tribe during Tong Yabghu's eastern expedition against the Tiele tribe in the northern desert, they would certainly be willing to rise up in rebellion against Tong Yabghu.

When the time comes, the backyard of the Tongyehu will catch fire.
How could we possibly win an eastern expedition?

"Your Majesty, let's prepare for both possibilities. First, let Tong Yabghu lead an expedition to the northern deserts. Once he has fought his way through, we'll incite the Moheduoshe, Tiele Qibi, and other tribes to rebel."
At that time, the Western Regions and the northern deserts will be in great chaos, and will no longer pose a threat to the Tang Dynasty.

The emperor frowned.

But in the end, he didn't say anything.

"It is the first year of Zhenguan, but the drought is still severe. It seems that this summer harvest will be poor or even a complete failure in many places."

The change of era name was full of anticipation.
This was how it all started, leaving Li Shimin feeling utterly defeated, even as the prime ministers formulated various contingency plans.
However, famine will still be inevitable in many places this year, especially in the Guanzhong region.

If another locust plague occurs,

This famine will spread and become difficult to control.

At this time,
It was indeed not advisable for the Tang Dynasty to wage a major war.
If we can use someone else's strength against them, and drive one tiger to devour another, this is undoubtedly the best approach.

"Your Majesty, I am subordinate to the Imperial Clan Court and am also a member of the royal family. Now that the court is seeking marriage alliances with various foreign tribes, I am willing to contribute my share."

"Hmm?" Li Shimin was taken aback. "Your eldest daughter is only five years old this year, isn't she?"

Li Yi smiled and said, "Your Majesty, my daughters are still too young, but I have a younger sister."

"Sister? You have a sister? Where did you get a sister? You're not going to tell me about Li Zhi's family, are you? You were adopted by Li Xiaoan a long time ago. You have no relation to Li Zhi's side. His family isn't part of the royal family either."

"I am not referring to that family,"
"I am referring to my adopted father's cousin."

Li Shimin realized, "You mean Li Xiaochang's daughter?"

"She is the daughter of my uncles Xiaoben and Xiaozhi."

Li Xiaoben and Li Xiaozhi were guards of the Imperial Guard at the end of the Sui Dynasty, serving as imperial guards in Jiangdu. As the Sui Dynasty was in turmoil and the country was in chaos, many young men from Guanzhong in Jiangdu wanted to return to their hometown.

But Yang Guang just stayed in Jiangdu and refused to leave.

Some people tried to escape, but were captured and executed. At that time, many places in the country had been occupied by various anti-Sui armies, and many of the officials, soldiers, fathers, brothers, and relatives who accompanied the emperor were implicated and punished for defecting to the enemy.

The father of Li Xiaoben and Li Xiaozhi, the Left and Right Thousand Cavalry, was the late former Minister of Justice, Li Yuantong, and their elder brother was Li Xiaochang, the Magistrate of Huayin.

When the news of Li Xiaochang surrendering Yongfeng Granary to Li Yuan reached Jiangdu...

The Li brothers were about to be punished, and they could neither escape nor stay. So the two brothers simply joined Yuwen Huaji, Sima Dekan and others in launching a palace coup and assassinating the emperor.

However, when these two followed Yuwen Huaji northward, they attempted to kill him, but the plot was exposed and they were killed.

Li Yi adopted Xiao An, the second younger brother of Li Xiaochang who died young, while Xiao Ben and Xiao Zhi were the third and fourth brothers.

The two brothers had married and had children, including a daughter, but they were both exiled to Lingnan because of Li Xiaochang's rebellion.

“My third and fourth uncles all have daughters of marriageable age. Why not recall them to Chang’an? If they can contribute to the court and marry into the borderlands, it would be a way to atone for their sins.”

Li Shimin asked, "Is this appropriate?"

"In my opinion, it is better for them to marry into the border regions than to remain in Lingnan. Most importantly, they can serve the country and atone for their sins through meritorious service."

I'm sure they would be willing.

These cousins, as relatives of treasoners, were exiled to Lingnan. Even if they married there, they could only marry farmers or merchants, and it was very difficult for them to turn their lives around.

If you go to marry into the Turkic Khaganate or Tuyuhun tribes, even if you can't marry the Khan, you can marry the Khan's son or the son of a tribal chief, and you'll still have a noble status.

Most importantly, by marrying into the border regions, they might have a chance to be recalled to the capital by the court in a few years. Even if they return as commoners and cannot have their official titles restored, it would still be better than being exiled to Lingnan.

Li Shimin exclaimed, "It is truly a blessing for their family that you were adopted by them. You have helped them so many times."

"Alright, as you said, each of the filial sons will choose a suitable woman to return to the capital for a potential marriage alliance."

Li Yi nodded.
If chosen, they would at least receive the title of a county princess before being married off, thus escaping their suffering and even helping their brothers.

(End of this chapter)