Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 191 I Allow You to Arrest Anyone, No Matter Who It Is (Part )

In the Liangyi Hall, a fifty-year-old, white-haired man wearing a black round felt hat, a clean leather robe, and leather boots, straightened his clothes, then knelt on the ground with great respect, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, Xueyantuo Shabolani Shushijin, pays homage to the Heavenly Khan, His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Tang."

The emperor looked at the old man and nodded calmly, saying, "Ni Shushijin, I haven't seen you for some years. Please stand up."

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am truly honored and humbled!" Xueyantuo envoy Ni Shushijin kowtowed again with some excitement, and then stood up.

Inadvertently, Ni Shushijin's gaze fell on Li Chengqian who was standing at the bottom of the Danbi steps, and his brows raised involuntarily.

"You haven't been to the Tang Dynasty for more than ten years, right?" Li Shimin sighed gently.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Nishushijin bowed and said, "Since the demise of the Eastern Turks, I have retired to the tribe. All matters are decided by the Khan."

Khan's words interrupted the already limited warmth.

Li Shimin nodded calmly and said, "It's a rare trip for you to Chang'an. Tell me, what did Yishi Yinan ask you to do?"

Nishushijin bowed solemnly and said, "Your Majesty, I come here by the Khan's order. With the long-standing friendship between the Tang Dynasty and the Xueyantuo, I bring 3,000 war horses, 38,000 sable furs, and a horse brain mirror. I beg Your Majesty to bestow upon the Xueyantuo a princess. The Xueyantuo will forever regard the Tang Dynasty as their fatherland. Under your command, we will not disobey and will serve you loyally until death."

Li Shimin looked at Ni Shushijin, and a hint of sneer flashed in his eyes.

Another marriage proposal.

The Xueyantuo people are really persistent!
Li Shimin turned sideways to look at Li Chengqian and said, "Prince, what do you think?"

Li Chengqian paused briefly, then bowed and said, "Father, if what I have recorded is correct, Songtsen of Tubo proposed marriage with 5000 taels of gold, hundreds of other treasures, and war horses. The Xueyantuo only offered war horses and sable furs. They are really underestimating the Tang Dynasty."

Ni Shushijin looked up in astonishment and couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty, mink fur..."

Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "Your Highness, what you said is exactly what I meant. Xueyantuo is not sincere enough. This matter is over. Please leave."

Nishushijin's mouth twitched slightly. He looked at the emperor on the throne and Li Chengqian standing to the side, then bowed with a bitter expression and said, "I obey your command. I will take my leave."

Thirty-eight thousand sable furs is actually not a small number, and there are also three thousand war horses. How can the Tibetan war horses compare with the grassland war horses?

But the emperor and the crown prince had no intention of marrying into the Xueyantuo clan.

They forced the marriage, but no one would agree.

……

There was a slight "creak" sound, and the cart landed behind Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian sat down carefully, breathed a sigh of relief, and then looked up at the steps.

The emperor nodded when he saw Li Chengqian sitting down. He looked at his ministers and said, "Xueyantuo has come to ask for marriage again. What should we do?"

Zhangsun Wuji was the first to step forward, bowing and saying, "Your Majesty, the battle in Anxi continues. The Western Turkic Khan, Yibiduolu, has led 50,000 cavalrymen to encircle Tianshan. Li Xiyu is holding firm in Tianshan, while Guo Xiaoke is leading 2,000 cavalrymen on the periphery, looking for an opportunity. Now the Xueyantuo are coming again, and I'm afraid they might be collaborating with the Western Turks."

"Ministry of War, where is the main force of Xueyantuo now?" Li Shimin looked at Cui Dunli, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, among the ministers.

It is strange that the Minister of War Li Ji has not returned to Beijing yet.

Now the plague in Bingzhou has been eliminated, but Li Ji is still in Bingzhou and shows no signs of returning to the court.

The ministers now finally understood what was going on. It turned out that the emperor had long been aware of the connection between the Xueyantuo and the Western Turks.

Cui Dunli stood forward, holding his hu tablet, bowed, and spoke calmly, "Your Majesty, the majority of the Xueyantuo are in Mobei, but a small number have headed towards Anxi. Although Mobei is far away, their cavalry is very fast. If they were to support the Western Turkic cavalry, they would likely reach the Great Wall very quickly. The troops along the Great Wall are already on alert."

Li Shimin nodded calmly, then looked at Fang Xuanling and asked, "Duke Liang, what do you think?"

"Your Majesty!" Fang Xuanling stepped forward and said with a bow, "The Xueyantuo are coming here to ask for marriage because they are taking advantage of the war on the Tang Dynasty's western front. If their marriage proposal is unsuccessful, they will undoubtedly mobilize their troops."

Li Shimin smiled, looked at Hou Junji, and asked, "Duke Chen, do you think I'm afraid?"

Hou Junji stood up with his hands clasped, and said seriously, "Your Majesty, Guo Xiaoke and Li Xiyu are holding out against the Western Turks. The Gansu, Liang, and Longyou garrisons have not been mobilized much. If the Xueyantuo come, I will fight them."

Li Shimin nodded in satisfaction, then turned to look at Li Chengqian and asked, "Prince, what do you think of the current situation in Xueyantuo?"

"Your Majesty!" Li Chengqian bowed and said thoughtfully, "I believe that they are here to propose marriage because the Xueyantuo's situation in the northern desert is not optimistic. That's why they need to use the prestige of the Tang Dynasty to intimidate the northern tribes. Just like Songtsen of Tubo had the same idea."

Since the defeat of Xueyantuo last year, its own strength has been greatly weakened, and many tribes such as Tongluo, Pugu, Huihe, and Mohe have become disunited.

During this year, Zhenzhu Khan made contacts back and forth but gained little.

"But the Western Turks' movement gave them the impression they had another opportunity, so they seized the opportunity to come to the Tang Dynasty and try to force a marriage. If they succeed, the Xueyantuo will undoubtedly regain control of the northern desert, and in a few years, they will once again harass the Tang border." Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "The ambition of the Xueyantuo Zhenzhu Khan has never diminished."

The ministers couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"So, the Crown Prince agrees to fight?" Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian with a smile.

Li Chengqian bowed and said, "If he comes, then we will fight him. However, I feel that unless the Tang Dynasty suffers a crushing defeat in Anxi, the Xueyantuo will at most send troops south to intimidate the Tang Dynasty, but will not dare to actually engage in a war with the Tang Dynasty. After all, the Western Turks are untrustworthy, and the Tang Dynasty is too powerful. If the Xueyantuo are defeated again, their decline will be irreversible."

Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian's serious reflection, nodded, and said, "Yes, Crown Prince, you have made great progress in the past two years. But have you considered this? If the Xueyantuo sent troops south every year, but only harassed us, then the Tang Dynasty would need to be constantly vigilant on the border, which would be extremely costly. What should we do then?"

Wartime is different from peacetime.

During wartime, not to mention the daily life of the war, the consumption of military rations alone is much higher than in ordinary times.

In particular, half of the Tang Dynasty's military forces were in Guanzhong, which was on high alert and consumed a huge amount of military supplies.

If this continues for many years, it will be a huge loss to the national strength.

In particular, the emperor also planned to conquer Goguryeo in one or two years. If Xueyantuo continued to harass Goguryeo without knowing the consequences, it would greatly affect the affairs of Goguryeo.

"Your son is stupid!" Li Chengqian bowed with shame on his face. He had a solution in his mind, but because he didn't have much information, he couldn't come up with a proper plan.

Rather than that, it’s better not to say anything.

Li Shimin smiled, then looked at his ministers and said, "What do you think?"

"Your Majesty!" Minister of Revenue Tang Jian stepped forward and said, "Since the Xueyantuo are causing unrest in the north, why not consider secretly sending people to Mobei to contact the various tribes and have them threaten the Xueyantuo from behind? This way, the Xueyantuo will not dare to act and will inevitably decline in the future, no longer posing a threat to the Tang Dynasty."

Tang Jian was the Minister of the Ministry of Rites at that time.

When the Tang Dynasty was fighting against the Eastern Turks, Tang Jian was still in Jie Li's tent when Li Jing led his troops to attack and finally destroyed the Eastern Turks. Tang Jian almost died in that battle.

Although he occasionally complained to Li Jing, to be honest, seeing that the Eastern Turks had been destroyed, Tang Jian also admitted that what Li Jing did was right.

Moreover, the emperor also punished Li Jing in disguise.

Now that so many years have passed, although Tang Jian has been transferred to the Minister of Revenue, his skills in both internal and external affairs as the Minister of the Ministry of Rites remain.

"Minister of the Ministry of Rites!" Li Shimin looked at the ministers.

Yuwen Chongsi of the Honglu Temple stood up and said, "Your Majesty!"

"The Honglu Temple sent an envoy to Mobei, and the people from the Military Affairs Department cooperated and assisted." Li Shimin looked at Cui Dunli again.

Yuwen Chongsi and Cui Dunli bowed together.

This kind of cooperation is not the first time for them, the Ministry of War and the Honglu Temple.

What happened between Tang Jian and Li Jing back then was actually a disguised form of cooperation.

Later came Goguryeo, Silla, Tubo, and the countries in the Western Regions.

It's essentially like this.

……

Li Shimin sat on the imperial couch, looked at his ministers, and said, "At the same time, all prefectures and counties, and all tribes inside and outside the Great Wall, must be on high alert to prevent the Xueyantuo from charging in."

"Yes!" All the ministers bowed.

"Your Majesty!" Qibi Heli, the General of the Left Guard, stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, my tribe has connections with the tribes of Mobei. I would like to return to Liangzhou to arrange matters and visit my mother. She is elderly and has suffered many injuries in recent years. I have not been back for many years, so I request your permission."

"No need to say more. Come, the palace has granted me excellent medicine. The Imperial Pharmacy has also sent an imperial physician to accompany the Duke of Guzang back to Liangzhou to treat the Lady of Guzang." After giving these instructions, Li Shimin turned to Qibi Heli and said, "Since you have returned to Liangzhou, I grant you the power to make decisions on the spot. If the Xueyantuo attack, you can temporarily command the Gansu-Liang armies."

"I obey your order." Qibi Heli bowed solemnly.

Li Chengqian stood on one side, looking at Qibi Heli with a deep gaze.

When Qibi Heli returns to the Liangzhou tribe, he will be betrayed by his mother and brothers, and then captured by Xueyantuo Zhenzhu Khan.

But he would rather cut off one of his ears than surrender.

Finally, Xueyantuo Zhenzhu Khan took him as a hostage and forced the Tang Dynasty to marry Princess Xinxing.

Of course, the marriage didn't happen.

The next year, the emperor broke off the engagement.

Now, Qibi Heli was about to ask for permission to return to Liangzhou. If Li Chengqian stepped in to stop him, he might be able to stop him, but Li Chengqian did not move.

He could stop it, but what to say?

The man's mother was sick, so he wanted to go back to visit her. The emperor also did him a favor. At the same time, Qibi Heli went to Liangzhou. If anything happened, he could command the troops and fight against the Xueyantuo. The emperor had already made all the arrangements, and Li Chengqian had no way to say anything.

Unless he said now that Qibi Heli's mother, Lady Guzang, had feigned illness to trick him back, and that Lady Guzang and Qibi Heli's brothers had betrayed the Tang Dynasty, Qibi Heli would probably have committed suicide in Liangyi Hall before he could finish his words.

Instead of this, it would be better to let him go back.

He discovered the truth himself and refused to surrender, thus not only gaining a lifetime of fame, but also clearing his mother's name.

His mother and his brothers had betrayed the Tang Dynasty.

It's best for him to handle it himself.

As for the accident, Li Chengqian didn't believe that Zhenzhu Khan dared to kill Qibi Heli.

That was the General of the Left Guard of the Tang Dynasty. If Qibi Heli was really killed, then what awaited the Xueyantuo would be a full-scale war between the Tang Dynasty and the Xueyantuo.

Li Chengqian thought about it many times and this method is the best solution.

Of course, by the way, Li Chengqian's plan was also quietly unfolding.

The layout he laid long ago will also bear fruit at that time.

……

In the Taiji Hall, General Chang He of the Left Thousand Oxen Guard walked into the hall quickly with a serious expression.

The candles were burning high, illuminating the hall.

Li Shimin, who was reviewing the memorial, glanced at Chang He, who immediately stopped and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty!"

Li Shimin put down his brush, looked up and asked, "What's the situation?"

"The Xueyantuo envoy Nishushijin did not leave Chang'an immediately, but traveled back and forth to entertain many high-ranking officials and nobles in the court. However, except for some people who had no say in the court, no important officials in the court went." Chang He bowed.

"He doesn't want to leave!" Li Shimin sighed.

He knew best what Shabharani Sushijin was thinking.

The Tang Dynasty was unwilling to give the Xueyantuo any face, so without the Tang Dynasty princess, the only thing waiting for the Xueyantuo was gradual decline.

So he had to struggle, struggle with all his strength.

"Keep an eye on him and find out who in Chang'an is in contact with him." Li Shimin looked at Chang He and said in a cold voice, "I authorize you to conduct a thorough investigation inside and outside Chang'an. Anyone secretly connected with the Xueyantuo will be arrested after investigation... no matter who it is!"

"Yes!" Chang He immediately bowed.

Li Shimin waved his hand slightly, Chang He bowed again, then turned around and left quickly.

Under the candlelight, Li Shimin looked out at the cold night outside the hall in front of him and said softly, "Qingque, please don't let me down."

(End of this chapter)