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

Chapter 482: Farewell to the Emperor (Part )
The canal is quiet and the wheels are turning.

Sitting on the imperial sedan chair, Li Shimin looked towards the secluded courtyard in the northwest corner of Beiyuan and asked in a low voice, "How are Lu Dongzan's two daughters now?"

"They are still living in Wude Hall." Li Chengqian lowered his head slightly and said calmly, "After Tubo sends the gold to Chang'an, my son will execute them."

The two Tibetan women were not aware of the death of Lu Dongzan and Gar Qinling.

Once they knew that Lu Dongzan and Gar Qinling were dead, they would immediately become a hidden danger to Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian has always been cautious in dealing with hidden dangers.

He won't give others any chance.

"There's no need to kill them. There are still Lu Dongzan's other three sons, and they can all be used." Li Shimin shook his head and said, "No one will see Lu Dongzan again. As for Gar Qinling, didn't you say he went to Goguryeo? Just let him stay there forever."

"Your Majesty, do you still think that destroying Tubo is risky?" Li Chengqian saw what Li Shimin was worried about at a glance.

Li Shimin nodded and said, "After all, Tubo is on the plateau, and there are very few Tang soldiers who can truly fight continuously on the plateau.

Once the war breaks out, it only takes one major defeat for the Tang Dynasty to lose the chance to invade the plateau again within ten years."

Li Chengqian nodded. He believed Li Shimin on this point.

Li Chengqian smiled calmly and said, "Father, I don't really plan to use only Tang soldiers. After Goguryeo is pacified, I will focus on managing Tuyuhun."

"Oh?"

"The Tuyuhun Kingdom will still exist, but they can no longer control the kingdom's military power." Li Chengqian said solemnly, "My son will recruit them into the Left and Right Guards. On the one hand, they will balance the Turkic forces within the Left and Right Guards, and on the other hand, they will become the main force in truly annihilating Tubo."

"Can they be used?" Li Shimin was a little surprised. The Tuyuhun people were fragile sheep in the eyes of both the Tang Dynasty and the Tibetans.

Whether it was the Tang Dynasty that destroyed Tuyuhun or Songtsen later who invaded Tuyuhun and forced them to attack the Tang Dynasty, the view was the same.

"They are Tuyuhun people, naturally useless and vulnerable, but they have become soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, and may even have the opportunity to make military achievements and become Tang citizens in the future. Then, I am confident enough to make them the most ferocious jackals." Li Chengqian's eyes were cold.

The Tuyuhun people, at least their physical fitness is up to standard.

The root of their problem is that their cultural heritage is too poor and they lack sufficient cohesion.

Once they are gathered together, they will become extremely ferocious.

In previous lives, the Tibetans did this.

And there are the Xixia people behind.

"After reorganizing the Tuyuhun people, we'll go to the southwest plateau and capture Suobei and Yangtong. Assimilate their cavalry. Then, with one military force, the Tang Dynasty will be able to leverage four. Even if we suffer a major defeat, we can quickly regroup." Li Chengqian raised his gaze slightly, looking in the direction of Tubo. "Finally, we'll gradually devour Tubo."

"What happens next?" Li Shimin asked subconsciously when he heard Li Chengqian pause here.

"Of course, we must annihilate Tubo." Li Chengqian thought for a moment and said, "Although Tubo is ruled by the Songtsen clan, and is assisted by various tribes, they still have a fundamental hidden danger that has not been resolved."

"What's the hidden danger?"

"Slaves." Li Chengqian said without hesitation, "The proportion of slaves in Tubo is too high, even more than civilians. If we can incite these slaves, they will betray Tubo and become the burying place of the Tubo Dynasty."

"The Battle of Muye." Li Shimin nodded slightly and murmured, "This is indeed a good idea."

"What remains is to govern Tibet and pacify the Western Turks." Li Chengqian bowed his head slightly and said, "If I am still alive by then, I will find a way to communicate with India, open up land and sea routes to India, and plunder its wealth, but that is all I can do."

"India is too far away." Li Shimin nodded slightly.

"Yes!" Li Chengqian sighed. The long journey will become the biggest obstacle for Li Chengqian to make further progress.

He could destroy Goguryeo, Silla, Baekje, and even Wa, but he was powerless against India.

In fact, even for Wa, Baekje and Silla, after plundering all their wealth, it was probably a process of gradual withdrawal.

The long distance increases the cost of communication.

It's fine if nothing happens, but once something happens, those places will immediately become bottomless pits of war.

Unless, he can find a way to shorten the communication time between these places and Chang'an.

Li Chengqian shook his head slightly. He had been carrying out reforms on the post roads in the northwest for several years, and Changsun Wuji was also trying to shorten the distance between Chang'an and Guangzhou.

But after several years, it still has not been completed.

The situation in these two places is already like this. It will take even longer to build the post road to Goguryeo in the future.

Not to mention the areas of Fujian and Jiangxi.

If Li Chengqian could shorten the communication distance in the world by one third in his lifetime, he could be called a sage monarch.

There is no time to think about Tianzhu.

……

Li Shimin sat on the imperial sedan chair and slowly headed east.

But his mind kept recalling the picture that Li Chengqian had just drawn for him.

The Tang Dynasty destroyed Goguryeo in the east, Tubo and Western Turks in the west, and its navy was active overseas.

A prosperous scene.

Suddenly, Li Shimin smiled.

Look at the rolling wheat fields in the distance.

He knew that although Li Chengqian had long-term goals, he was taking steady steps one by one.

The foundation of the world is food.

What Li Chengqian seized the most was food. There were also countless soldiers at the North Gate...

At this moment, a row of palaces suddenly came into Li Shimin's sight. He was slightly stunned and took a closer look.

It turned out that they had arrived at Datong Hall and Xingqing Hall.

Li Zhi and his family were originally imprisoned in Datong Hall, while Li Tai and his family were imprisoned in Xingqing Hall.

Li Zhi has now been exiled to Qianzhou, while Li Tai is still in Xingqing Palace.

Li Shimin's heart softened, and he turned to look at Li Chengqian and said, "Chengqian, how about going to see Qingque?"

Li Chengqian was stunned, then nodded.

He waved his hand slightly, and the imperial carriage headed towards Xingqing Palace.

The guards around Xingqing Hall were all surprised to see Li Shimin and Li Chengqian arriving, and then they all half-knelt on the ground.

Li Chengqian waved his hand, and everyone lowered their heads and said nothing.

The imperial sedan chair was carried into the Xingqing Hall.

Two elderly women were cleaning up in the hall. When they saw Li Chengqian and Li Shimin, they immediately fell to their knees in fright.

Zhang Ananda stepped forward and stopped the two people from talking.

"The Master said: 'Be broadly learned and have a firm will; ask earnest questions and reflect deeply; and benevolence will be found therein…'" Li Tai's voice came clearly from the back of the hall.

The imperial sedan chair landed, and Li Shimin walked into the back hall with the support of Li Chengqian.

At a glance, he saw Li Tai sitting in the shadow of the palace reading to Li Xin, and Yan Wan weaving clothes next to him.

Whether it was Li Tai or Yan Wan, both had gentle and peaceful expressions on their faces.

The clear sound of footsteps soon alarmed Li Tai.

Li Tai subconsciously looked up, and then saw Li Shimin and Li Chengqian walking into the hall.

Li Tai's face was instantly filled with surprise. Then, his nose felt sore. He immediately turned over and got up, kowtowed to Li Shimin and Li Chengqian, and said: "Your son pays homage to the emperor, may your father live a long and healthy life. Your servant pays homage to Your Majesty, may Your Majesty live a long and healthy life."

Li Xin and Yan Wan on the side also quickly knelt down and saluted.

Li Shimin looked at Li Tai seriously.

During these days in Xingqing Palace, Li Tai did not gain weight, but became much thinner, and one could vaguely see the shadow of his childhood.

On the contrary, Yan Wan gained some weight.

Thinking of the woman who was washing clothes in the front hall, Li Shimin knew that Li Tai's family was treated very well in Xingqing Hall.

Li Shimin actually knew these things a long time ago.

But for many things, hearing others say it a thousand times is not as reassuring as seeing it with your own eyes.

"Stand up." Li Shimin raised his head slightly, then sat down on the short couch brought by Zhang Ananda.

"Thank you, father, and thank you, Your Majesty." Li Tai breathed a sigh of relief and stood up with Li Xin and Yan Wan.

"Xin'er is sixteen this year, right?" Li Shimin looked at the tall and prudent Li Xin, smiled softly, and asked, "Is the marriage settled?"

"Not yet!" Li Tai lowered his head and said, "I thought about letting Xin'er marry the daughter of a lieutenant of the Imperial Guards, but Your Majesty promised to let Xin'er take the imperial examination in the next two years, so I thought I'd wait and see. If I can pass the examination and be granted an official position, then I can marry a girl from a humble family. That would be better."

Li Shimin nodded. If Li Xin was involved with the imperial guards, then Li Chengqian would be relieved, but it was inevitable that someone would use him for revenge. On the contrary, if he found a girl from a poor family to be his wife, then Li Xin's life would be over. In this way, he could live a peaceful life.

Li Shimin turned sideways, looked at Li Chengqian, and asked, "If Xin'er marries the daughter of a lieutenant of the Imperial Guard, it might not be a good idea, but he still has the opportunity to visit Beiyuan. But if he marries a woman from a humble family, he might never be able to return. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

Li Chengqian smiled gently and said, "Your Majesty, you are overthinking it."

Li Tai couldn't help but look up. Li Chengqian said with a gentle expression, "When Xin'er passes the imperial examination, I will grant him the title of a county lord. This way, at the end of each year, he can enter the palace to attend the New Year's Eve banquet and then reunite with Qingque in Beiyuan."

There is only one chance every year.

After leaving Beiyuan and passing the imperial examination, there would only be one chance a year for father and son to be reunited.

Before Li Xin could think clearly about this, Li Tai had already slapped him on the back of the head and shouted, "Why don't you thank Your Majesty for his grace!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace." Li Xin immediately knelt down and kowtowed deeply.

"Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded with a smile. He had just said that granting Li Xin the title of Duke of a County was equivalent to agreeing to let Li Xin return to the family tree.

This is the most important.

Li Shimin nodded in satisfaction, looked at Li Tai and said, "I came here to see you today. Seeing that you are well, I am relieved. Emperor, let's go."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian stretched out his hand to help Li Shimin up, and then helped him walk out of the hall.

Li Tai looked at Li Shimin's receding figure, and an inexplicable feeling of sadness surged in his heart.

Then he could not help but kneel down, and kowtowed solemnly: "Farewell, Father!"

The voice was choked.

Li Shimin paused slightly, then sighed lightly and walked towards the front hall.

The sun sets in the west, and the light of dusk falls at this time.

Gentle and refreshing.

But there is a hint of inexplicable sadness.

(End of this chapter)