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

Chapter 727 Uncle, the day of the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Song is not far off (First Update)
Late autumn in August.

The army was victorious, and the whole city rejoiced.

Li Chengqian, dressed in a black robe with gold thread, stood calmly beneath the Qian Yuan Hall.

Looking at the city of Luoyang before him, he put his hands behind his back and held tightly the report of victory sent back from Baishan Pass.

Yes, Baishan Pass.

After Su Dingfang sent back the first report of victory from Yunshan Pass, his second report of victory also arrived.

The Tang Dynasty completely occupied Baishan Pass.

Black Mountain Pass, Cloud Mountain Pass, and White Mountain Pass—these three passes along the Tanggula Mountain Pass completely dominate the entire pass.

Before the mountain path lay the vast, boundless land of the entire Tibetan Empire.

Now, it is like a naked white sheep, completely exposed to Li Chengqian and the entire Tang Dynasty.

……

"All that's left is Lhasa." Li Chengqian looked up towards the direction of Tibet and said calmly, "Next year, next year our army will be at the gates of Lhasa. Duke of Ying, do you think Minister Su can take Lhasa next year?"

Li Ji stepped forward from behind Changsun Wuji, cupped his hands in greeting to Li Chengqian, and said, "Your Majesty, it depends on the defenses of Lhasa, but..."

"Speak," Li Chengqian waved his hand slightly.

"Yes!" Li Ji cupped his hands and said, "Although the Tibetans tried their best to imitate the Tang Dynasty and India when building cities, their architecture always had flaws, and even the overall direction was wrong."

"Oh?" Li Chengqian looked at Li Ji in surprise.

Li Ji cupped his hands and said, “There is a river outside Lhasa City called the Lhasa River. The Lhasa River comes from the mountains and flows into the Yarlung Tsangpo River, just like the Luo River flows into the Yellow River.”

Li Chengqian subconsciously looked up at the Luo River outside the Ziwei Palace and understood something.

“When Emperor Yang Guang was building the Ziwei Palace, he was very careful about the foundation. What the Tibetans built in Lhasa was not a palace, but a city. At that time, the eldest princess had not yet married into Tibet. Therefore, there may be some problems with the foundation of Lhasa, especially the foundation of the city, particularly the section near the city wall.” Li Ji finished speaking and bowed slightly.

Li Chengqian looked up and asked, "Has the Duke of England and the Ministry of War discussed this matter?"

"We've discussed it." Li Ji cupped his hands, took out a memorial from his sleeve and handed it over, saying, "However, the Ministry of War believes that everything is just theoretical. Although there are some directions, the specifics still need to be investigated by the Duke of Wuyi County outside Luoxie City."

Li Chengqian waved his hand slightly and said, "Let the Ministry of War send it directly to the front lines, and let Su Dingfang handle it himself."

"Yes!" Li Ji cupped his hands, then put away the memorial and stood up.

……

Li Chengqian's gaze remained fixed on the distant city of Luoyang as he calmly stated, "Although this battle was extremely short and highly advantageous to the court, the cost was immense. The entire winter's military reserves have been almost completely depleted."

The outcome of this battle was decided within a month, much faster than Li Chengqian had predicted in the two to three years.

Similarly, the war effort consumed no less resources than the war effort itself, even taking up the entire winter's worth of supplies.

"Your Majesty, this is ultimately a good thing." Changsun Wuji stepped forward from the side and said with a smile, "If we take Baishan Pass, we can threaten the entire territory of Tubo at any time, and at the same time, we can plunder Tubo's grain for our own use. It is autumn now, the harvest season."

“I understand that the current situation is already excellent, but it is better to resolve some potential problems in advance.” Li Chengqian looked up and his expression became serious: “Issue an edict to Liang Jianfang, instructing him to wait until the grain in Xichang Prefecture is stored in the granary, then bring the grain and fodder to Changdu. Xue Wanbei should head east, and perhaps by the end of the year he can break through this mountain road.”

“Although there are still some troops in Tibet, once they fall from Baishan Pass, they will probably immediately assemble on the road from Nagqu to Lhasa, which should make things easier in other areas.” Li Ji cupped his hands slightly.

"Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded and said, "I urge all prefectures and counties across the land to expedite the delivery of this year's autumn grain to Chang'an and Luoyang. Also, the craftsmen in Chang'an and Luoyang should work as soon as possible to manufacture qualified crossbows and send them to the front lines. Although we have used various methods, crossbows are still the foundation of the army."

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji and Li Ji bowed in unison.

"Do the workshops have enough timber?" Li Chengqian couldn't help but ask.

"Your Majesty, it is sufficient." Lu Dunxin stood up from the back and cupped his hands, saying, "In the past two years, a large amount of timber has been transported back from Andong, which is enough for the army's use."

Compared to the heavily logging-stricken Central Plains, the timber in the deep forests of Andong is better preserved.

Moreover, transporting goods back to Chang'an by sea is much less strenuous than transporting them back by land.

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "If there is enough timber in Andong, then let the Ministry of Revenue inform the local prefectures and counties that logging along the banks of the Yellow River will be prohibited starting next year. The saying 'wood overcomes earth' may be because the excessive logging along the banks of the Yellow River has led to its flooding."

Upon hearing the emperor's words, everyone bowed slightly.

“The so-called wood overcomes earth, but from another perspective, isn’t it also wood generating earth, only it takes a little longer?” Li Chengqian sighed and said, “Take advantage of the rare calm of the Yellow River these past two years and plant some trees. In the words of the Tao Te Ching, it can be considered that human beings nourish heaven and earth.”

"Yes!" The ministers immediately straightened up.

Li Chengqian sighed softly and said, "Dama Renzeng is dead. He's actually dead!"

“It is indeed a pity that the prime minister of a country died in front of the army, but that was what he wanted.” Changsun Wuji cupped his hands and said, “It was also because of his will to die that the Tibetans launched a fierce counterattack. Although under the command of Li Dejian and Su Dingfang, they used crossbows to kill a large number of enemies, many crossbows were damaged and the crossbow bolts were almost exhausted.”

Dama Rinchen fought desperately to defend the city wall, which led to a fierce counterattack by the Tibetan cavalry outside the city.

Li Dejian sensed this trend and wisely refrained from confronting it head-on. Instead, he retreated a step, using the narrow terrain of the fortress to restrain the cavalry's charge, while simultaneously unleashing crossbows and long spears to slaughter the Tibetan vanguard.

At the same time, Su Dingfang also sent a large number of crossbows with arrows already loaded to the front lines. Arrows rained down, and the Tibetans suffered heavy casualties and lost their morale.

At this moment, Su Dingfang released more cavalry, which pierced through all the Tibetan cavalry in one fell swoop, and finally captured Yunshan Pass completely.

Dama Rinchen also died in the battle at the south gate.

“Although the shortage of crossbow bolts will weaken our fighting strength, the Tibetans have lost 50,000 cavalrymen on the battlefield. They will probably consolidate their forces and hold their ground at Luoxie. They won’t be able to attend to other places, and there will be fewer obstacles in our army.” Li Ji cupped his hands slightly.

“Su Dingfang did the right thing by only collecting grain and not occupying cities. Otherwise, not only would he be distracted by governing the region, but the fact that the Tibetans and our people were mixed together would pose a huge threat to the army. It would be better to stay at Baishan Pass.” Li Chengqian breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji and Li Ji bowed simultaneously.

“Once Xin Liao’er and Yin Yuan march into Tibet from Changdu, and together with Qibi Heli and Xue Rengui, the three armies will converge, and conquering Lhasa will not be difficult.” After a slight pause, Li Chengqian said, “But the real difficulties are just beginning!”

In the past two years, Tibet has lost at least 150,000 of its main forces, as well as troops tied down by Chamdo and the Western Turks. Under Su Dingfang's pincer attack, there will probably be very few left.

As a result, their forces were only enough to defend Lhasa.

Once Lhasa is captured, governing the more than two million Tibetan people will become the biggest problem facing Li Chengqian and the entire Tang Dynasty.

"Issue an imperial edict to Su Dingfang, instructing him to select a group of prisoners of war from the army and send them back to the major cities of Tibet. Tell them to inform the local people that, except for criminals, prisoners of war, and those who voluntarily become slaves, ordinary people in the Tang Dynasty will not be enslaved. Spread this message." Li Chengqian's eyes turned cold.

Although Tibet had a large population, the number of nobles and commoners far exceeded the number of slaves.

Once the true nature of these slaves is unleashed, the very foundation of Tibet's rule over the world will be shaken.

"Does Your Majesty intend to directly govern Tibet in the future?" Changsun Wuji suddenly looked up.

"Half and half," Li Chengqian said, waving his hand slightly. "If any Tibetan tribes are willing to submit to the Tang Dynasty, their tribal leaders can become local governors, with administrative power but no military power. I can even leave Lhasa to the Tibetan royal family. But all other places must be incorporated into the Tang Dynasty and then governed accordingly."

Li Chengqian took a step forward and then said calmly, "Such a staggered arrangement can maximize stability while preventing anyone from becoming too powerful."

"Your Majesty is wise." Changsun Wuji and Li Ji realized at the same time.

Li Chengqian turned around and said, "That's the general idea, but the specific details still need to be formulated by the Ministry of Personnel and the Secretariat together. The more detailed the better."

"Your subject obeys the decree." Li Ji solemnly cupped his hands.

"That's roughly it." Li Chengqian looked up and said, "I will personally write a letter to the Tibetan king, telling him that as long as he is willing to surrender, I will still appoint him as the Prince of Xihai and the Tibetan king, and let him govern Lhasa City, retaining his administrative power but not his military power, but on the condition that my sister is safe and sound."

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji and Li Ji bowed deeply.

Li Chengqian sighed softly and said, "My greatest wish is to bring Wencheng back to Chang'an. I personally escorted her to her wedding back then, and now I will personally welcome her back. But what if something happens to her..."

That place will become a sea of ​​blood.

Changsun Wuji and Li Ji bowed solemnly.

……

“It’s August. We’ll return to Chang’an after the autumn harvest.” Li Chengqian looked up at Luoyang City and said, “Uncle, issue an edict to all the princes in the land. In early November, I will hold a consultation with the Crown Prince and the Prince of Yong in the Wude Hall. At the same time, I will order the senior princes such as the Prince of Xu, the Prince of Han, and the Prince of Huo, as well as the princes of the same generation such as the Prince of Wu, the Prince of Shu, and the Prince of Jiang, to return to the capital. I will also hold a consultation with the princes at the same time.”

Changsun Wuji and Li Ji both looked up in astonishment.

The emperor's questioning of the crown prince was last year's event, and it was agreed that this year he would question the crown prince and the Prince of Yong. The court officials greatly admired the emperor's methods of educating his sons.

However, even they did not expect that the emperor's target was not only his sons, but also the kings.

The significance of this is profound.

While the emperor restrained the princes, he also used them to investigate things in the localities that were not mentioned in the memorials.

They would even investigate the people's livelihood and administration of the surrounding prefectures through the prefectures where the kings were located.

With the emperor's meticulousness, very few things in the world could truly be kept from him.

Changsun Wuji hesitated slightly, but finally cupped his hands and asked, "May I ask Your Majesty, will this matter become a permanent rule in the future?"

Li Chengqian shook his head slightly and said, "When I am alive, I may do more, but after I pass away, whether the Crown Prince can follow suit depends on how much control he has over the world. Establishing rules for three generations is not an easy thing."

"Your Majesty is wise." Changsun Wuji breathed a slight sigh of relief. He was most afraid that Li Chengqian would take advantage of the great victory to do something forceful, but he did not expect that the emperor's steps were still very steady.

Li Chengqian turned around and looked towards Mount Song. He said softly, "With this autumn's battle, the destruction of Tibet is just around the corner. After that, it will be about governing the region and performing the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Song. Uncle, Duke of Ying, that day won't be too far away."

"Yes!" Li Ji and Changsun Wuji bowed simultaneously, their expressions solemn as they lowered their heads.

They could tell that before the Fengshan ceremony, the emperor had to do many things to enhance his prestige throughout the land.

This is actually not a very difficult thing.

However, many people will accidentally run into trouble during this process.

(End of this chapter)