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

Chapter 97: Ordering the Crown Prince to Regent and Handle Government Affairs (Part )

Putting aside the matter of Tuyuhun and Tubo, Li Shimin turned around and looked at his ministers: "What else do you have to say?"

Yuwen Chongsi, Junior Minister of Rites, stepped forward and, bowing, said, "Your Majesty, the Turkic Khan Ashina Simo has recently led his troops north across the Yellow River and established a base in Dingxiang City. He has 30,000 households, 40,000 soldiers, and 90,000 horses, and is also preparing to defend against the Xueyantuo."

"It seems that the strength of Xueyantuo has caught up with that of the Turks in the past. I have repeatedly asked the Turks to cross the Yellow River, but they seemed to be frightened and dared not move at all. Now, after several urgings, they have finally crossed the Yellow River." Li Shimin sat on the imperial couch, shook his head with some amusement, raised his hand, and Zhang Ananda immediately walked down the steps to get the memorial.

All the ministers in the hall couldn't help laughing at the same time.

In recent years, the Turkic people's fighting power and public support have been severely damaged by the Tang Dynasty. They even dare not confront the Xueyantuo tribe that once crawled under their feet.

If the Tang Dynasty had not wanted to let the Turks and Xueyantuo suppress and consume each other in order to maintain the balance in the north, it would have sent out a large army to attack Xueyantuo long ago.

The Turks were destroyed by the Tang Dynasty, so what were the Xueyantuo?

The ministers did not care about the threat from the northern grasslands.

……

Watching Zhang Ananda hand the memorial to the emperor, Li Chengqian lowered his head slightly, but his expression became serious at this moment.

After the demise of the Eastern Turks, hundreds of thousands of Eastern Turks were relocated to the south of the Yellow River.

The Tang Dynasty ruled and managed these Turkic tribes through the system of vassal states.

The same thing happened to the Dangxiang tribe. Most of them were relocated to a place near Songzhou, and then governed by the Tang Dynasty as a tributary state.

Whether it is the Turks or the Dangxiang, they themselves have a tribal migration model, so it is not difficult for them to adapt.

But the problem is that once they evacuate from their original places of residence, those places will immediately become blank areas.

This was the case with the Turkic steppes. When the Turks began to migrate south of the Yellow River on a large scale, the Xueyantuo people rose to power.

As his ambitions grew, he also began to threaten the borders of the Tang Dynasty.

In this situation, after discussion among the officials of the Tang Dynasty, they chose to relocate some of the Turks back to where they originally lived.

As a result, conflicts arose between the Turks and the Xueyantuo people, conflicts that were even impossible to reconcile.

The Tang Dynasty mediated and maintained the balance.

However, if this contradiction is not balanced well, it can easily lead to war.

Even this year's war.

Li Chengqian's eyes turned cold at this moment.

……

"I have been granted the privilege of being the head of my tribe. I wish my descendants would serve as the state's dogs, guarding the northern gate. If the Xueyantuo invade, please allow your family to enter the Great Wall."

The emperor sat on the imperial couch, looking at the memorial in his hand, and couldn't help shaking his head slightly.

Yuwen Chongsi stood in the hall and continued with a bow, "Ashina Simo reported that the Xueyantuo in the north are increasingly aggressive, and he is ready to fight for the Tang Dynasty until the very end."

"He said that as if the Xueyantuo would attack tomorrow." Li Shimin turned around and looked at Li Chengqian and said, "Prince, what do you think?"

"Your Majesty," Li Chengqian immediately bowed and said seriously, "Although Ashina Simo's words were a bit harsh, it is true that the Xueyantuo threat is growing day by day, and the Turks will find it difficult to resist them for the time being. Therefore, I believe that we still need to issue orders to the border states of Fuzhou, Xiazhou, Lingzhou, Yinzhou, Liangzhou, etc. to be on high alert and be prepared to send troops to rescue them immediately if the situation becomes unbalanced."

Ashina Simo was a close minister of Jie Li. After Jie Li was captured, he was escorted to Chang'an along with Jie Li.

Now that the Xueyantuo were rising, the emperor appointed Ashina Simo as the Turkic Yiminishushili Khan, commanding all the Turkic tribes and serving as a barrier to the north of the Tang Dynasty.

"Hmm!" The emperor thought there was some truth to this. He nodded and looked at Fang Xuanling, saying, "Send a message to the governor of Fuzhou, Yuchi Jingde, the governor of Xiazhou, Liu Lan, and others to be on guard against the Xueyantuo."

"Yes!" Fang Xuanling immediately stood up and bowed.

Li Chengqian lowered his head slightly, chewing on the name Liu Lan.

Liu Lan was still a loyal minister at the time, but at the beginning of the 17th year of Zhenguan, he was ready to rebel.

So when did he make up his mind and start to fall in love?

The sixteenth year of Zhenguan, or the fifteenth year of Zhenguan?
By the way, it was because of this battle that he made great contributions and his ambition expanded. He was then instigated and plotted a rebellion, but was reported and finally captured by Qiu Xinggong and had his heart eaten.

……

In the Taiji Hall, the emperor sat on the imperial couch, listening to his ministers come forward to report one by one, and then handled state affairs one by one.

Seeing that the emperor was a little tired, Kong Yingda, the director of the Imperial Academy and the crown prince's secretary, quickly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have a report."

"Oh!" Li Shimin leaned back slightly, relaxed a little, and asked, "Mr. Kong, have the Fengshan Taishan rituals come to a conclusion?"

"Yes!" Kong Yingda bowed, then looked at the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I have studied the astronomical phenomena with the Imperial Astronomical Bureau and have finally confirmed that the second day of the second month of next year is the appropriate date for the Fengshan ceremony."

The dragon raises its head on the second day of February, which is a good omen!
The Dragon Horn Star rose from the eastern horizon, and the yang dragon of the human world rushed straight to the sky, taking the opportunity to sacrifice to Mount Tai and report to God that a new wise and extremely wise king had appeared on earth.

The emperor nodded in great satisfaction, but then he couldn't help but frown and said, "Now that the Xueyantuo and Tubo are ready to make trouble, is it inappropriate to offer sacrifices to Mount Tai at this time?"

"The Xueyantuo are a minor threat. With more preparation, they might even be able to contribute merit to Your Majesty's sacrifice to Mount Tai. As for the Tibetans..." Changsun Wuji stood up and bowed, then shook his head and said, "The Tibetans, I believe, will at most resort to some minor tactics. It won't cause too much trouble."

Li Shimin shook his head slightly, then looked at Fang Xuanling and asked, "Lord Fang, what do you think?" Fang Xuanling stood up and bowed, then said, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, the northern army is on high alert, and the Xueyantuo may not dare to make any moves. At worst, at the end of the year, we can summon the Xueyantuo Khan Zhenzhu to Chang'an and have him accompany Your Majesty to offer sacrifices to Mount Tai. Then the north will be at peace."

"So be it." The emperor nodded in agreement.

Li Chengqian stood to one side, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

Everyone underestimated the Xueyantuo. Zhenzhu Khan was a decisive man and knew that once the Turks regained their foothold on the grassland, the Xueyantuo's southward expansion would be completely stopped, and eventually their own strength would be increasingly consumed in the conflict with the Turks.

Therefore, Zhenzhu Khan will directly send an army of 200,000 this year to defeat the Turks north of the Yellow River, and then rush into the south of the Yellow River to threaten Chang'an.

Of course, the Xueyantuo could not compare with the Turks. At the same time, another fierce man emerged at this time.

This person is Li Ji, the chief secretary of Bingzhou Grand Marshal's Office.

The Xueyantuo people would be defeated by Li Ji, and even one of Zhenzhu Khan's sons would be captured by Liu Lan.

Li Chengqian's eyes darkened, and he couldn't help but look gently in the direction of Tuyuhun.

……

The emperor sat on the imperial couch, looked at his ministers seriously and said, "The Fengshan ceremony is a major event. All the ceremonies, tributes, and accompanying officials must be prepared in all the prefectures and counties along the way.

The key is to ensure peace and stability in the world and the happiness of the people.

"I hereby order the provincial governors and county magistrates of all prefectures and counties throughout the country to carefully manage their farming practices from this day forward, so as to ensure a good harvest and a prosperous world. Only then can I offer sacrifices to Mount Tai and pray to Heaven for the prosperity of all the people."

"We obey your order." All the ministers bowed their heads with serious expressions.

The whole country has a good harvest, and the emperor offers sacrifices.

If something bad happened this year that delayed the emperor's Fengshan ceremony, then the officials in the court would impeach him to death without the emperor having to take any action.

"Crown Prince." Li Shimin turned sideways and looked at Li Chengqian.

"Father!" Li Chengqian immediately bowed.

Li Shimin nodded and said, "Next year we will hold the Fengshan ceremony. This year I will go to Hedong to supervise the country. In Chang'an, I will leave you as regent to properly handle government affairs, especially the affairs of Tuyuhun and Tubo.

In addition, you should also pay more attention to the affairs of the Turks and Xueyantuo, so as not to be attacked by them and arrive in Chang'an without knowing it."

"Your son obeys the order." Li Chengqian immediately bowed solemnly.

"Wei Qing!" Li Shimin looked at the ministers, and Wei Zheng immediately stood up with his hands clasped, "Your Majesty."

"The Crown Prince is the regent, and you stay in Chang'an to assist in the administration. At the same time, you should teach him about the affairs of the world." Li Shimin said meaningfully.

"I obey your order." Wei Zheng immediately bowed solemnly.

"Duke Chen, Duke of Fanyang, Lord Cen, Lord Cui..." The emperor named them one by one.

The Minister of Personnel, Duke of Chen, Hou Junji, the Minister of the Left, Lu Chengqing, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Cen Wenben, the Minister of Revenue, Cui Renshi, the Minister of Rites, Wen Wuyin, the Minister of War, Cui Dunli, and others left one chief and one deputy in charge of the three provinces and six ministries to stay in Chang'an.

Others, including Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian, Liu Li and others, all followed the emperor on his eastern tour.

The emperor's eastern tour was not a fixed event, but it happened frequently. Later, during the reign of Li Zhi, after the Ziwei Palace in Luoyang was completely rebuilt, he basically went there once a year, which became a fixed event.

At that time, Luoyang had already become a secondary capital.

Of course, Luoyang is still the Eastern Capital today.

The eastern capital was Luoyang, the northern capital was Taiyuan, the southern capital was Chengdu, the western capital was Fengxiang, and the imperial capital was Chang'an.

The emperor would inspect various places from time to time.

Most of them are located in Luoyang.

And once he goes, most of the officials above the fifth rank in the court will follow him.

During the reign of Li Zhi, the world's population skyrocketed, the land available for taxation in Guanzhong was rapidly decreasing, and the water transportation on the Wei and Luo rivers was not smooth. Therefore, the emperor would regularly tour the east to Luoyang every summer to get food.

Although the situation in the Tang Dynasty is far from being like this now, it is common for grain prices in Chang'an to soar in late summer and early autumn when the old grain has run out and the new grain has not yet been harvested.

That is why the emperor would often lead the most expendable court ministers and royal nobles on tours to the east, thereby reducing the pressure on Chang'an.

Luoyang is not considered old now and is still usable. It will not be completely rebuilt until sixteen years later.

……

The night is dark and the palace is heavily guarded.

Li Chengqian returned to the East Palace somewhat exhausted.

"Your Highness!" Li Anyan quickly brought a cup of strong tea, then stood aside. Under his suppressed eyes, there was uncontrollable excitement.

Li Chengqian glanced at Li Anyan, shook his head, and said, "Anyan, you don't think that the emperor really trusts me that much by letting me govern the country, do you?"

(End of this chapter)