Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 154 Li Shimin's plan to cut off the source of the fire! [Seeking monthly votes]

Although Wei Zheng's criticism in the court left Li Shimin and all the civil and military officials speechless.

However, the suspicion that Li Chengqian used the Jingzhou troops to form the Six Commanders of the Eastern Palace has not been lifted.

That's why Li Shimin did this.

In Li Shimin's mind, regardless of whether his son had taken his military power or not, he should take it back.

After all, his son has a criminal record.

Even if he had no intention of rebelling, having Li Yuan by his side would always be a hidden danger.

What's more, transferring the troops from Jingzhou can also clear him of suspicion.

If he had not used the troops of Jingzhou to form the Six Commanderies of the Eastern Palace, then his cavalry guards, which were comparable to the Black Armor Army, should have obeyed the transfer order and rushed to Mayi County.

On the contrary, it proves that he did make use of the troops of Jingzhou.

In this case, it is even more necessary to transfer troops from Jingzhou to prevent him from plotting any evil.

Because he can use the troops of Jingzhou to form the Six Commanders of the Eastern Palace, there is no guarantee that the troops of Jingzhou will not be controlled by him.

This was something that Li Shimin, who launched a mutiny to seize the throne, had to guard against.

Therefore, Fang Xuanling and others understood Li Shimin's intention and did not stop him.

After all, this is a secret contest between father and son, and it is not appropriate for outsiders to interfere.

Thinking of this, Du Ruhui immediately bowed to Li Shimin and said, "I will obey your majesty's orders!"

"Okay, it's settled!"

Li Shimin smiled and waved his hand, then looked at Tang Jian and asked, "Those small tribes that you mentioned who betrayed Jie Li, how did they resist Jie Li?"

"Your Majesty, as far as I know, they are doing the same thing as Tuli and Mohui, resisting Jie Li by forming an alliance!" Tang Jian replied respectfully.

Li Shimin thought for a moment, then shook his head. "The alliance of the grassland tribes is like a piece of waste paper. They can easily fall apart. They can be easily coerced and bribed by Jie Li, and broken down one by one. Moreover, Zhao Deyan is very good at this kind of trickery. Their alliance is completely vulnerable!"

"Yes, Your Majesty is wise. This is exactly why Jie Li doesn't take them seriously!" Fang Xuanling echoed, "Once Jie Li and the Tang Dynasty decide the outcome in Liang Shidu, their alliance will basically collapse!"

"Therefore, we must defeat Jie Li's reinforcements at Liang Shidu's place and cause further chaos within the Turkic people!"

Hearing this, Li Jing said thoughtfully: "Why not let Chai Shao and Xue Wanjun assist Zhangsun Wuji? With their abilities, they can still deal with the Turkic reinforcements!"

Li Shimin frowned upon hearing this, then looked around at everyone and said, "Do you think the Crown Prince has thought that the Turks have reinforcements?"

"This"

Everyone looked at each other, and then Fang Xuanling spoke first, "Your Majesty, based on my understanding of the Crown Prince, it's impossible that he didn't expect the Turks to have reinforcements!"

"Since he can think of the Turkic reinforcements, what do you think he will do?" Li Shimin asked.

Everyone looked at each other again.

Du Ruhui then murmured, "The Crown Prince's imperial tour, heading straight to Shuofang, suggests he's been plotting against Liang Shidu for a long time. If that's the case, then Changsun Wuji's request for Jiangling's assistance in eliminating Liang Shidu is likely related to the Crown Prince."

"The Jingzhou troops might be used by the prince to deal with the Turkic reinforcements."

"This"

Hearing this, everyone was enlightened.

But Li Shimin remained unmoved, still sticking to his previous order, and said calmly and majestically: "No matter what the prince does, the troops of Jingzhou cannot be controlled by him!"

Then he turned to Du Ruhui and said, "Follow General Li's suggestion and have Chai Shao and Xue Wanjun lead their troops to assist Changsun Wuji!"

"Yes."

Du Ruhui responded without any other comments.

At this time, Tang Jian asked again: "Your Majesty, if we station troops in Mayi County and Jie Li leads his army to attack, how should we respond?"

"Why should we respond or not? If he wants to fight, then let him fight!"

Li Jing interrupted unhappily, "Does Lord Tang think that I am afraid of him?"

"No, General Li, I didn't mean that. It's just that the national strength of my Tang Dynasty is not enough to support us in a full-scale war with the Turks!" Tang Jian explained again.

Li Jing disagreed: "What national strength? Do the Turks have the national strength to wage a full-scale war against us?"

"This"

Tang Jian was speechless after being refuted.

Come to think of it, the Turks had suffered from years of snowstorms and were in internal chaos. Their national strength was even weaker than that of the Tang Dynasty, so a full-scale war was almost impossible.

However, there is no guarantee that Jie Li would lose his mind and go to war with the Tang Dynasty regardless of the consequences.

After all, Jie Li’s current actions are really confusing.

After a brief silence, Li Shimin said thoughtfully, "What do you think if we unite those tribes that betrayed Jie Li?"

"What does your majesty mean?"

"Elect them a new leader!"

"Ah? This"

Everyone was shocked when they heard what Li Shimin said.

You must know that although those tribes betrayed Jie Li, they still recognized Jie Li as their leader. Once someone became the new leader, it meant that he would be irreconcilable with Jie Li and become Jie Li's most important enemy, with no room for maneuver or retreat.

This is also the reason why those tribes only form alliances and dare not establish their own leaders.

At the very least, no one wants to rashly be the first to step forward before clearly gaining the support of the "international community."

Li Shimin's idea was to make the Tang Dynasty a representative of the "international community".

Support a puppet regime to disgust Jie Li, forcing him to start a civil war and consume his own strength for the sake of his orthodox status.

"Wonderful!"

Fang Xuanling was the first to agree with Li Shimin's idea: "As long as the grasslands have a second leader, Jie Li will have no time to take care of our garrison!"

"That's right! Your Majesty's move of cutting off the source of the problem is truly brilliant!" Du Ruhui also echoed excitedly.

Li Shimin smiled and looked at Tang Jian. "Minister of Rites, I'll leave this matter to you. Select a chieftain who is prestigious and respected by all the tribes. Then, with my decree, enthrone him as Khan! And bestow upon him the drum and banner that symbolize power and majesty!"

"Yes!"

Tang Jian bowed and responded.

Soon, everyone followed Li Shimin's orders and carried out their respective tasks.

And the other side.

On the west side of the grassland, near Yu Dujun Mountain, tents stretching for miles guard a huge golden-roofed tent.

This golden-roofed tent is the tent of the leader of the Xueyantuo tribe.

But not all the people sitting inside were from the Xueyantuo tribe.

Most of them were chiefs of other tribes.

However, this gathering of grassland nobles should have been a joyful gathering with hearty meals, copious amounts of wine, singing and dancing, but now everyone had sad faces, no appetite, and was absent-minded.

The entire tent was filled with a depressing atmosphere.

As if unable to bear this atmosphere any longer, one of the hot-tempered Bayegu chiefs angrily slapped his thigh and shouted, "What are you afraid of? At worst, I'll fight Jie Li!"

"This..." Upon hearing this, the tribal chiefs looked at each other in bewilderment.

However, no one agreed with the Bayegu chief.

When the Bayegu chief saw that no one agreed with him, he immediately stopped arguing and became speechless.

However, although the tribal chiefs did not agree with him, they opened up because of him.

But then the Uighur chief changed the subject and said, "I heard that Jie Li has sent troops to aid Liang Shidu. What do you think, in this battle between Jie Li and the Tang Dynasty, who will win?"

"Needless to say, it must be Jie Li!" Chief Tongluo said without thinking.

The rest of the tribes followed suit.

"That's right, Jie Li's strength should not be underestimated!"

"The Tang Dynasty's army is no match for us, let alone Jie Li!"

"Yeah, the Tang Dynasty people can't do that!"

Although they have now betrayed Jie Li, they have fought against Jie Li's army many times during this period, and were defeated by Jie Li's army every time.

Therefore, they recognized Jie Li's strength from the bottom of their hearts.

What's more, the Weishui Alliance had just happened not long ago. In their impression, the Tang Dynasty didn't even dare to go to war, so how could it be a match for Jie Li.

However, not everyone underestimates the Tang Dynasty.

For example, the leader of the Xueyantuo, Yishi Yinan.

But Yishi Yinan sneered, "If the Tang Dynasty people were really as bad as you say, Jie Li would have gone south to plunder long ago. Why would he embarrass us and force us to rebel?"

"This"

When the tribal chiefs heard what Yishi Yinan said, they were speechless.

Because Yi Shi Yinan was telling the truth.

The Turks suffered from successive snowstorms, and their supplies and food became increasingly scarce. Logically, Jie Li should have organized them to plunder a large amount of food and supplies from the Tang Dynasty, just like he did last time he went south, to deal with the disaster.

However, Jie Li not only did not attack the Tang Dynasty, but instead attacked these foreign tribes that had surrendered to him. This is really unacceptable.

Unless Jie Li is no longer a match for the Tang Dynasty, he can only pick on the weak ones.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain Jie Li’s previous foolish behavior.

Thinking of this, the tribal chiefs once again echoed.

"That's right! Yishi Yinan is right! Jie Li is no match for the Tang Dynasty!"

"I told you, we don't have to be afraid of Jie Li!"

"Yes! Let's unite and kill Jie Li!"

Hearing these words, Yishi Yinan's mouth twitched slightly, and he couldn't help but raise his hand to support his forehead.

If the Tang Dynasty can fight against Jie Li, what does it have to do with us?

We are not from the Tang Dynasty. Who gave you the courage to kill Jie Li?
Besides, with a bunch of us like this, let alone killing Jie Li, even protecting ourselves is a problem!
As if sensing something was wrong with Yishi Yinan's expression, the Mohe chieftain suddenly said, "How about we surrender to the Tang Dynasty?"

Wow!
The whole place was in an uproar!

A tribal chief had an epiphany and his thoughts became clear.

Some tribal chiefs were full of disdain and refused directly.

For a moment, the entire tent was filled with endless debate, until Yishi Yinan interrupted the tribal chiefs and said, "Everyone, please listen to me!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the tribal chiefs quickly stopped arguing. This shows that Yishi Yinan's prestige among them is still quite high.

But Yishi Yinan said solemnly: "I think that joining the Tang Dynasty might be a way out for us!"

"Yishi Yinan, are you out of your mind?"

The Uighur chieftain immediately frowned and asked, "Have you forgotten the Tuli incident? He secretly colluded with the Tang Dynasty, and Jie Li defeated him, dispersing his entire tribe. Do you think Jie Li will also break up our tribe?"

"Yes, Yishi Yinan! We can't defect to the Tang Dynasty, otherwise Jie Li will go crazy!"

Chief Tongluo also echoed, "Also, I've heard that the laws of the Tang Dynasty are very strict. If we defect to the Tang Dynasty, we will be subject to its laws. This is very unfriendly to us who are accustomed to freedom!"

"That's right. As a tribal leader, I'd rather die than be controlled like a commoner!"

"Hahaha!"

The tribal chiefs burst into laughter.

Yishi Yinan was speechless, but he still explained with a smile: "You misunderstood. I am not saying that you should all defect to the Tang Dynasty. Instead, I want to choose a leader from among us and have him defect to the Tang Dynasty!"

"If the Tang Dynasty accepts him, we will then submit to him. In this way, we can both guarantee our freedom and become part of the Tang Dynasty, right?"

"This is much more cost-effective than us all defecting to the Tang Dynasty one by one!"

"But will the Tang Dynasty agree to let us do this?" The Uighur chief frowned.

Yishi Yinan smiled and said, "The Tang Dynasty and Jie Li will have a war sooner or later. They are eager for us to surrender to them, so they will definitely agree!"

"Also, I guess the alliance between Tuli and Mohui should be based on the same plan!"

"You mean, they will help the Tang Dynasty kill Jie Li?" Chief Bayegu couldn't help but ask.

Yishi Yinan nodded and said, "That's possible!"

"Then who should we elect as the leader?" Chief Adie asked suddenly.

The tribal chiefs were slightly stunned, and then all turned their eyes to Yishi Yinan.

But the Huihe chieftain was the first to speak: "Since this idea was proposed by Yishi Yinan, he should be the leader of the alliance!"

"what!"

Yishi Yinan was taken aback for a moment, then ecstatic in his heart. However, he quickly refused, "No, no, no, I can't. Our tribe is too weak. The Tang Dynasty will probably look down on us. I think the Huihe tribe is the strongest, and Yaoluoge is more suitable to be the leader!"

"How can that be possible? It was you who organized the alliance and proposed this good idea. If you are not the leader, who will be the leader?" Yao Luoge refused directly.

"Yes, Yishi Yinan, you will be the leader of the alliance, and we will all obey you!"

"No, no, I can't be the leader!"

Although Yishi Yinan longed to be the leader of the alliance, he repeatedly declined on the surface.

Because this matter is of great importance.

If the Tang Dynasty wants to become the leader of the alliance, its attitude is crucial.

He would never dare to act rashly before he figured out the Tang Dynasty's attitude.

Just as they were at a stalemate, a voice suddenly came from outside: "Great Chief, Tuli Khan has sent an envoy!"

The tribal chiefs were slightly stunned and suddenly fell silent.

Yishi Yinan narrowed his eyes and couldn't help but wonder, could it be that Tuli and the others also want to form an alliance with me?

If that's the case, wouldn't I be even more confident if I became the leader?!
"Please!"

　[Please give me a monthly ticket, please give me a monthly ticket, please give me more when I get 1000! ]

　　
　
(End of this chapter)