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

Chapter 438: Tian Khan, He is Paralyzed (First Update)
In the Huiyou Hall, Ashina Helu was wearing a gray leather coat and a felt hat with a ruby ​​hanging in the center of the brim.

Helu entered the hall without looking up. He kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, Ashina Helu, the commander-in-chief of the Kunqiu Road Army, pays homage to His Majesty the Heavenly Khan, the Supreme Emperor. Long live the saint. I pay homage to His Majesty the Emperor. Long live His Majesty!"

"Stand up." Li Shimin smiled and looked at Helu and said, "I am not in good health. Please don't be offended by seeing you like this!"

"I dare not." Helu kowtowed and then stood up.

With a quick glance, he saw Emperor Li Chengqian kneeling at the head of the bed, and Emperor Retired Li Shimin leaning on a soft cushion.

In an instant, Helu's mind was full of thoughts.

Then, Helu bowed and said, "I congratulate Your Majesty on your ascension to the throne and the Emperor Emeritus on his Fengshan ceremony. I offer you seven thousand fine horses, wishing the Emperor Emeritus a long life, and wishing Your Majesty the Emperor long life and good health."

Seven thousand horses, what a grand occasion.

Li Chengqian looked at Li Shimin in surprise.

Li Shimin smiled slightly and didn't care.

Li Chengqian turned to look at Helu and said, "My dear minister, you have worked hard here. The palace will reward you later. There will also be another reward after my father's Fengshan ceremony. My dear minister, please rest in Luoyang for a while and enjoy the beautiful scenery and good wine. Don't waste this trip."

It is rare for a Western Region leader like Ashina Helu to come to Luoyang.

Even if something happened, people like them would only be able to reach Chang'an at most.

It is rare to reach Luoyang by crossing Tongguan and Hanguguan.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, and thank you for the grace of the Emperor." Helu bowed deeply, but his expression was still a little hesitant.

Li Shimin saw through his thoughts at a glance and said directly: "I know what you want, but the reward for the Western Turkic Khanate is at least after you control three tribes. You only have one tribe now. If I really grant you the title of Western Turkic Khanate now, it would be like sending you to death."

Helu was suddenly startled, his whole body covered in cold sweat, and then he saluted and said, "This minister has been presumptuous and overstepped his bounds."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "My dear, there is no need to be so. Since you have come to Chang'an this time, I will not give you much money. I will give you more silk and tea so that you can use these to exchange for things to take back."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Helu bowed with a smile on his face.

Silk and tea can be used directly as money in the Western Regions.

Not to mention that they can also buy many other valuable things in the Tang Dynasty.

"By the way, my dear, please act quickly on the matter of bestowing the title of Khan. Then let your son and the younger generation of the tribe come to Chang'an." Before Li Chengqian finished speaking, Helu's expression changed slightly.

Li Chengqian's eyes narrowed for a moment, but he smiled and said, "I plan to let the children of all ethnic groups study in the Imperial Academy. If they can pass the imperial examination in the future, they can become officials in the Tang Dynasty.

The Eastern Turks to the north, Guangzhou to the south, and Yangzhou to the east—the world is vast, and all are places worth visiting."

"Yes, Your Majesty, thank you for your great grace!" Ashina Helu's breathing became heavy when Li Chengqian mentioned the Eastern Turks.

"Alright, please leave." After a brief pause, Li Chengqian said, "There are many foreign envoys in Luoyang this time, so you might as well move around more."

"Yes!" Ashina Helu knelt again and kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will take my leave!"

……

Only after the sound of Ashina Helu's footsteps completely faded did Li Chengqian sigh softly and say, "They are all full of wolfish ambitions!"

"The Western Turks have always been like this. Over the years, from Yibi Duolu Khan to Yibi Shekui Khan to Ashina Helu, they all first knelt and submitted, only to rebel again a few years later. There's nothing strange about this." Li Shimin shook his head slightly and said, "The bottom line is, the Tang Dynasty has never truly inflicted a serious blow on them."

A dozen or twenty years ago, Western Turkic Khaganate was a huge empire that was completely comparable to Eastern Turkic Khaganate.

When the Eastern Turks were at their most powerful, they bordered Goguryeo to the east and Xueyantuo to the west, covering an area of ​​millions of square kilometers and a population of over one million.

The Western Turks were no less powerful. When they were at their most powerful, their territory extended from Dunhuang in the east to Persia in the west and Tokharistan in the south. Dozens of countries in the entire Western Regions were all under their control.

But unfortunately, the Eastern Turks were destroyed.

The Tang Dynasty shifted its focus from the Eastern Turks to the Western Turks. Over the past decade or so, the Western Turks were gradually defeated by the Tang Dynasty. Coupled with numerous internal conflicts, they could no longer pose a real threat to the Tang Dynasty.

"Western Turkestan has a vast territory and a population of over a million. Although the four Anxi towns were taken from the Western Turkestan by the Tang Dynasty in recent years and the Western Regions countries no longer worship them as gods, the Western Turkestan has a deep foundation after all. After several wars, it can still easily mobilize 100,000 elite cavalry... Your Majesty, that is a powerful enemy." Li Shimin warned seriously, and Li Chengqian listened to every word.

"That is to say, seven thousand horses will not do anything to it?" Li Chengqian understood a little.

"Each of the ten tribes of the Western Turks was allocated only 700 horses, while each tribe had 100,000 horses. That's nothing." Li Shimin shook his head and sighed, "It's just that none of the khans of the Western Turks could conquer the ten tribes, otherwise they would have had to mobilize a large army."

Li Chengqian nodded slightly. In recent years, the Tang Dynasty had been dividing the Western Turks internally and externally, and instigating each other, so that it was impossible for a unified Khan to emerge among the ten tribes.

"Of the ten surnames of the Western Turkic people, three have submitted to the Tang Dynasty. Ashina Helu controls one. If he wants to become the Khan of the Western Turkic people, he needs to win over two more surnames. Then the emperor can crown him Khan." After a brief pause, Li Shimin shook his head and said, "If we add another surname, we'll have to be careful of his backlash."

The same was true of the two previous Western Turkic Khans. After they had firmly established themselves in the position of Khan, they immediately turned against the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty destroyed Gaochang and Kucha, and behind all of this there was the support of the Western Turks.

As a result, two Western Turkic Khans died because of this. Now another one, Ashina Helu, has emerged.

"It is so difficult for the Tang Dynasty to destroy the Western Turks!" Li Chengqian couldn't help but sigh.

"Wait a little longer. Once the Four Anxi Garrisons are stabilized, the Tang Dynasty will have a stable foothold in the Western Regions." Li Shimin raised his head and said softly, "The Western Turks have reached Leizhu Sea, thousands of miles from Chang'an. Even starting from the Four Anxi Garrisons, it's still three or four thousand miles away. It's too far. Supplies won't be able to keep up. We can only use one side to counter the other."

Li Chengqian nodded. The territory of Western Turkestan was indeed vast, but fortunately, the conflicts among the ten tribes were deep.

"But seven thousand horses are enough for the emperor to do something?" Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian with interest.

Li Chengqian stood up and saluted, then looked to both sides and whispered, "Liu Rengui, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat!"

"I'm here!" Liu Rengui stood up and bowed seriously.

"You go now, take the order and the Minister of the Imperial Household to collect these 7,000 war horses, and then exchange these 7,000 war horses with the war horses of the Chang'an and Luoyang Imperial Guards, the Left and Right Guards, and the Left and Right Guards. Even if the exchanged horses are only 5,000, they must be immediately sent to Suzhou and handed over to the Duke of Weiguo, who will make the arrangements." Li Chengqian's expression suddenly became stern.

"I obey your order." Liu Rengui bowed, then turned around and left quickly.

Li Chengqian breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at Li Shimin and said, "Father, with these war horses, our chances of winning this battle are much greater."

Li Shimin nodded, then asked, "What do you plan to do with Tuyuhun after the war?"

"With the Duke of Wei here, they won't dare to waver. It will be difficult for me to do anything I want." Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "I heard that the old capital of Tuyuhun, Qugou, is just outside the Nanshan Pass from Shanzhou. The Tuyuhun abandoned Qugou and moved to Fuxi City. If that's the case, then after this battle, Qugou will belong to the Tang Dynasty. This will also provide more places for merchants to stay."

"You don't want to have more places to stay. You are preparing for the future destruction of Tuyuhun." Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian and shook his head. Although the Tuyuhun Murong clan was quite active in paying tribute, they seemed very hesitant when it came to clearing out internal opposition.

Murong's opponents were actually those who were close to Tubo.

Knowing that Li Chengqian and Tubo were not on good terms, he still maintained an ambiguous relationship with Tubo. It would be strange if Li Chengqian did not want to destroy Tuyuhun.

"I don't want to either. It would be best if they were willing to obey, but I'm afraid they might pretend to obey but actually disobey." After a brief pause, Li Chengqian said, "If Eastern Tuyuhun is pacified, Western Tuyuhun will not dare to attack Ci. This will allow us to reopen the Western Silk Road, reaching the Four Garrisons of Anxi and threatening the Western Turks."

"Okay, okay, you're right." Li Shimin smiled and shook his head, then looked at Zhang Ananda on the side and asked, "Who's next?"

"Your Majesty, the Prince of Xihai County, his Royal Highness the Consort, the Tuyuhun King Murong Nuohebo and the Princess Honghua request an audience." Zhang Ananda bowed expressionlessly.

Li Chengqian was stunned, then looked at Li Shimin.

"Hahaha!" Li Shimin couldn't help but burst into laughter.

……

In front of the Honglu Temple, Gar Qinling walked out quickly, then went directly out of the Duanmen Gate and Tianjin Bridge, and got into the carriage that had been parked opposite.

"Aye, does the Heavenly Khan have any intention of summoning us recently?" Gar Qinling bowed his head.

"You have summoned all the provincial governors and foreign envoys, but not us. You must be feeling guilty!" Lu Dongzan sneered.

Li Shimin, along with Li Chengqian, summoned provincial governors and foreign envoys from all over the country to let the emperor get to know them.

Also let them get familiar with the emperor.

"However, Ashina Helu did bring out a piece of news. When Tian Khan saw him, he just sat on the soft cushion, and except for turning his head, nothing else moved. It seemed, it seemed..." Gar Qinling never dared to say the last few words.

"Khan, he is paralyzed." Lu Dongzan raised his head slightly, with a hint of ruthlessness in his eyes.

"Yes!" Gar Qinling nodded and said, "Not only Helu, but also many others, all met the Khan in this way."

"Two things!" Lu Dongzan's expression turned serious, and he said directly: "Send someone to deliver this news to the Zamp through a secret channel."

"Here!"

"The second thing is, are people still allowed to worship on Mount Song these days?" Lu Dongzan stared at Gar Qinling.

"Allowed!" Gar Qinling nodded.

"Very good. Arrange for someone to go to Songshan tomorrow and dig a pit on the path that the retired emperor must take to perform his Fengshan ceremony." After a brief pause, Lu Dongzan added, "Digging a trap that will not kill one person if they go up, but will collapse if two people go up at once. Fill it with swords and knives."

"Yes!" Gar Qinling looked at Lu Dongzan with some doubts.

Lu Dongzan raised his head and said with a grim expression, "I've heard the emperor say he would carry the retired emperor to Mount Song. I thought it was a joke, but I didn't expect it to be true... This is perfect. It solves all the problems at once."

"Yes!" Gar Qinling's eyes jumped. He completely understood what his father was going to do.

"The Emperor is paralyzed. The Emperor was supposed to be careful and carry him to Mount Song for the Fengshan ceremony, but the heavens did not allow it. The blasphemy of this father and son shocked the heavens." Lu Dongzan's eyes were blurry, and he muttered, "My Tubo is just the right place to inherit the Mandate of Heaven, to destroy the Tang Dynasty and unify the world."

"Yes!" Gar Qinling bowed very standardly.

(End of this chapter)