Established a millennium family since King Wu defeated Zhou

Chapter 887 Winter Turks!
Judging from Li Shimin's true intentions, he preferred his second son, King Wei Li Tai, who was only one year older than Li Chengqian.

Li Tai is talented and cannot be concealed. Ever since he was a child, Li Chengqian has been inferior to his younger brother, so Li Tai is very favored by Li Shimin.

But no one ever thought that Li Shimin would make Li Tai the prince.

Because a simple intelligence cannot be a reason to establish a prince. Emperor Yang Guang of Sui Dynasty was also the most intelligent and talented son of Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty.

As for Li Shimin himself, his becoming the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty had little to do with his intelligence since he was a child.

Li Shimin single-handedly led the founding and unification war, which gave Li Shimin the prestige to become the emperor. Then the powerful military threat of the Dong Turks forced Li Yuan to continue to increase the pressure on Li Shimin. In the end, Li Shimin had the strength to become the emperor. The two phases were superimposed. , in the end Li Shimin became the emperor, which was expected.

Especially after Li Shimin appointed Zhou Junwang Luo Xuanye as the crown prince's grand master and crown prince's Taibao, Li Chengqian became the future emperor of the Xia Dynasty and the future emperor of the Tang Dynasty. In everyone's eyes, it was already a certainty.

And actually?
Li Chengqian is very kind.

Ok.

Li Chengqian is very kind.

There is plenty of time.

Li Gang said solemnly: "Reporting to your Majesty, the prince has been reviewing "The Way of the King" recently."

Has Cheng Qian been feeling lazy lately? "

When the two of them walked into the palace, Li Shimin casually asked Li Gang: "What has the prince been studying recently?"

The policy of the Tang Dynasty in the early years of Zhenguan revolved around recuperation and recuperation, and the monarchs and ministers suppressed other things. However, everyone knew that it was destined to attack the Turks, so the Tang Dynasty had been collecting information about the Turks in order to know itself and the enemy, and fight a hundred battles. Yum.

This is what I said from the bottom of my heart, and I ask Your Majesty to think about it more. "

Li Chengqian said with a bitter face: "Fortunately, my uncle is here, otherwise I would have been scolded today."

Then he left directly. Luo Xuanye smiled slightly at Li Chengqian and nodded, then followed Li Shimin away.

……

Luo Xuanye muttered these words secretly in his heart, but a hint of worry arose in his heart. Li Shimin is only in his twenties now, and may be the emperor for thirty or forty years. By that time, can the prince still hold on?

Li Chengqian couldn't help but said in surprise: "My uncle is so powerful, as powerful as my mother."

If you look at the prince with a normal heart, you will end up feeling that the prince is much better than you expected.

Whether Li Chengqian will be the future emperor or not has little to do with him. He is Li Shimin's courtier. Once the emperor, he will be a courtier. In the new dynasty, he will at best be a mascot like the Dinghai Shenzhen. That was Luo Juncheng's era. .

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became cold. Luo Xuanye glanced at Luo Juncheng, who nodded slightly. Li Shimin had already turned to the timid Li Chengqian and asked: "Chengqian, is what the young master the prince said just now true?"

Li Shimin's anxiety about the prince's education calmed down slightly, "There are still many years left. I am still young, and I will have time to slowly teach the prince."

Luo Xuanye nodded and smiled.

The prince is a descendant of the Li family, and his blood is filled with boiling blood, and there are swords, guns and arrows in it.

After Li Shimin and Luo Xuanye came back, Li Shimin just said calmly to Li Chengqian, "The prince should encourage you more and don't let your mother and the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty disappoint."

Li Shimin and Luo Xuan walked at night, and Luo Xuan said at night: "Your Majesty, you should try not to rebuke the prince in front of everyone, and it is normal for the prince at this age not to like reading.

"See you, father." "See you, your majesty. May your majesty be safe."

The anger in Li Shimin's heart was basically dispelled by Luo Xuanye's words. He turned to look at Luo Xuanye and said helplessly: "I shouldn't let you be the crown prince's grand master and crown prince's guardian. Qing Yang, don’t favor the prince because of these two official positions. The national reserve is the most important thing.”

Li Shimin snorted coldly at Li Chengqian and followed Luo Xuanye to the side hall. Luo Juncheng whispered to Li Chengqian: "Prince, don't worry, your Majesty will not blame you, but you can't be obsessed with fun anymore in the future."

In Li Chengqian's view, those who can persuade his father to stay are very powerful. Luo Juncheng whispered beside Li Chengqian: "Prince, we have to work harder in the future, otherwise one day, the queen and the minister will My father can’t hold it back, and that would be terrible.”

……

Li Chengqian and Luo Juncheng saluted immediately, and Li Lizhi ran directly towards Li Shimin, opened her arms and said, "Father."

Has Your Majesty forgotten that when he was young, he did not like the teachings of these sages, but only liked to gather people to play, shoot arrows and dance, but this does not affect His Majesty's ability to become a holy king.

But it didn't show on his face.

As a king, as long as you know how to employ people and cultivate a good character, it is enough. Under the greenest tree, there will not be a saint king like His Majesty who will grow lushly. It will always put great pressure on his heirs. It’s better to curb this pressure. "

When Li Shimin heard this, his expression softened slightly and he said: "Don't be too tolerant of him. He will be the master of the Tang Dynasty in the future. He must be extremely outstanding in all aspects. The prosperity of the Han Dynasty was the result of several generations of kings. He must Just work harder.”

Li Shimin noticed Li Gang's slight hesitation, and his expression immediately turned serious and asked, "What? Is there anything that I can't say?"

Li Gang immediately said: "His Royal Highness may have been a little restless recently, likes to play, and is a little relaxed about his studies. I am trying to persuade him."

Luo Xuanye shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, if you use the standards of a holy king to demand the prince, you will only be disappointed in the end.

Hearing this, Li Shimin smiled and nodded and said: "The way of kingship is good. It was written by King Su. It contains subtle words and great meanings. It must be taught perfectly. The prince of the country must not slack off."

The saint kings in this world are all born, just like you, with the appearance of a dragon and a phoenix, and the appearance of the sun. This is excellence given by God, and it can never be cultivated.

Li Shimin was about to get angry when he saw this, when Luo Xuanye coughed lightly and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to say to Your Majesty. Let's go to the side hall."

After saying that, he directly hugged Li Shimin's arm. Li Shimin touched her little head lovingly. Li Lizhi gave Luo Xuanye a blessing gift again and said playfully: "Uncle."

"Meet the teacher." "Wan'an father."

Luo Xuanye said solemnly: "Your Majesty, don't worry. In the Luo family, there is a very classic saying about educating children. It makes the children's hearts stronger than their bodies, and makes them confident and self-aware. I will pay attention to this aspect. "

Li Chengqian believed it, but when he thought about studying, he had a headache. He thought to himself: "I wish I had the brain of King Wei."

Luo Xuanye is the crown prince's grand master and crown prince's chief security officer, and Li Gang is the crown prince's young guardian, but Li Gang is the one who is really responsible for teaching Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian said excitedly: "Father, I, I..."

The situation in the Winter Turks is really not good.

As a purely nomadic regime, it pays more attention to the weather than the Western Turks, who combine farming with nomadic life. Unfortunately, natural disasters on the grasslands have been severe recently, which resulted in the deaths of a large number of Turks' cattle, sheep, and horses. In a natural disaster.

Not only that, there was a Han Chinese in Turks who became the guest of Jieli Khan. His name was Zhao Deyan. This traitor had some ability, but not much. He could be said to be a clown-like person.

His biggest problem is that he cannot adapt to local conditions and bring the policies of the Central Plains to the grasslands.

In the environment on the grassland, even Xianbei, which is the most Chinese, had a fully Chinese top management at the beginning, but the final organizational form was still an alliance of tribal nobles.

Because there does not have the economic foundation of the Central Plains, of course it cannot be ruled in the form of the Central Plains. Playing centralization on the grasslands is what only people who have lost their minds will do.

But Jieli Khan lost his mind.

In other words, it's not that he's out of his mind, but that the form of centralized power is too tempting for a king. Zhao Deyan's mere description made Jieli Khan feel like he was intoxicated. A drug-like obsession.

On the grassland, due to nomadic reasons, there is no fixed place to live, and people follow the tribe. Therefore, people are a very precious asset, and such people are extremely dependent on the tribal leader.

In this case, if you want to centralize power, you are not only going against the tribal leaders, but the ordinary tribesmen will not appreciate it, because most people may never see the Great Khan in their lifetime.

As a result, many tribes complained.

Natural and man-made disasters caused the Turks to be in a state of turmoil. Under such circumstances, the Tang Dynasty, with its advisers and generals like a cloud, was naturally ready to take action.

At the end of the first year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin reluctantly rejected the proposal to send troops to the Turks because the time was not yet ripe and the extent of the damage to the Turks' strength was not yet certain. And most importantly, the strength of the Tang Dynasty had not been completely restored. The national policy that had just been formulated , cannot be overturned immediately, otherwise the people of the world will not be able to see the court's determination, which will be extremely harmful.

Time passed slowly, and Zhenguan monarchs and ministers hardly sent out any troops. They relied on diplomatic and economic means to communicate with the surrounding Hu regimes, and almost entirely relied on wisdom and determination to solve surrounding problems that might require sending troops to solve. .

Corvee service and military service were not popular. After so many years of war, the people were finally able to farm the land with great enthusiasm. Perhaps God was merciful and no major natural disasters occurred. At the end of the year, in the first year of Zhenguan, At the end of the second year, when the prime ministers reported taxes for the whole year, their backs were straightened out.

In particular, Li Shimin said, "It is not a matter of the imperial court's ability to collect more taxes. The treasury and granaries of the Sui Dynasty were filled with coins, cloth and grain, but they were all plundered from the hands of the people, and the people lived a miserable life." , what a prosperous age it is.”

Then Fang Xuanling said with a smile: "Your Majesty, the price of rice in the third year of Zhenguan was a full 30% lower than that in the founding year of the Sui Dynasty. The country did not go to war, grain and grass were not used for military supplies, and the court's taxes were also low. The people were really there. Gradually, I am living a good life.

It should be said that this is the best life the people have had in recent decades, and this is all due to His Majesty.

Your majesty is wise and wise! "

The ministers and even Wei Zheng said in unison: "There is no sage than your Majesty!"

Li Shimin was really happy now, and laughed loudly: "This is not only my credit, but also the credit of all the ministers. I am not afraid of fighting. That is what I am good at, but I have made many mistakes in governing the country. , but fortunately, I had ministers give me advice, especially Wei Zheng, who was brave enough to speak up and corrected many of my mistakes. This will continue in the future, and I will work together with you to achieve great things."

At the end of the third year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin, who was well versed in military affairs, felt that the country's strength had been sufficient, and the internal and external troubles of the Dong Turks had become more serious. It was time to fight the Turks, so he came to Lingtian Pavilion again to see Luo Sue. After Li Shimin saw Luo Su, he went straight to the point: "Mr. Wen, I think the time has come to deal with the Winter Turks. What do you think about this?"

Luo Su smiled slightly and said: "Your military talent is outstanding. Since you think the time has come, I naturally have no objection. If you ask, I will give you some other suggestions."

When Li Shimin heard this, he immediately sat upright and became solemn. In the past few years, he had also figured out that whether Duke Wen was chatting with him, but as long as he gave advice, it was an extremely important matter.

Luo Su did not hesitate and said slowly: "How can we allow others to snore on the side of the bed? There can only be one sun in the sky, and there can only be one supreme king on the earth.

After the Tang Dynasty recovers its strength, it is destined to expand its power in all directions. As an emperor, you can hold back for three years, which is beyond my expectation.

The specific tactics of the war are not something I have considered. You have your own ideas, as well as generals and commanders with outstanding martial arts skills, but you must think clearly about the Turks' strategy and the strategies of the surrounding countries in the future.

What kind of appearance will the Tang Dynasty have in front of the grasslands, the Western Regions, and the Liaodong tribes? I believe you definitely want to rule these areas. The attitude of the Tang Dynasty towards the Winter Turks will affect the future of the Tang Dynasty. Ease of access to these lands. "

Li Shimin pondered and said, "What does the Imperial Master think?"

Luo Su said decisively: "Huairou.

Make the Tang Dynasty a place that all the Hu people around are yearning for, and cultivate people who love the Tang Dynasty among the various Hu tribes.

Let them become Tang's agents in those barbarian tribes.

Let their interests be transferred from their own tribe to the Tang Dynasty.

We can fight hard in the grasslands and the Western Regions, but Liaodong is not that easy.

A strong fortress is the easiest to break down from the inside. If you can make the pro-Tang faction stronger than the anti-Tang faction within other tribes, you can even defeat them without a fight.

When you and Li Jiancheng were competing for the reserve position, you let Li Jiancheng take the initiative, so everyone in the world now thinks that you were forced to fight back. The same is true when facing barbarians.

You must hold high the banner of morality. There is an alliance between you and the Turks. It is not a good thing to break the alliance at will, especially when you are not able to challenge all the countries in the world.

Credit is a kind of power, which makes Datang's promise become a kind of power, just like Luo's promise. You should know very well that Luo's promise is worth a thousand pieces of gold.

As long as Luo Shi says something, without any guarantee, someone will lend him millions of money. This is credit.

If Datang can create this level of credit, the benefits it can bring to Datang in the future are beyond your imagination.

Moreover, this can greatly alleviate the fear of you by other barbarian tribes and the hatred of the Turks towards you. It is impossible for you to kill them all, and this kind of psychological superiority can greatly alleviate the fear of you. You should be very clear about the moral pressure in the hearts of soldiers. If you kill too many people wantonly, people will become abnormal. I think you don't want that kind of soldiers. "

Of course Li Shimin didn't want that kind of soldiers. Once a person reaches that level, it is difficult to control him. A truly strong army is one that can kill people and knows why they kill people. Simply killing people, if they are not allowed to kill, will cause a mutiny.

Find a reason to declare war on the Turks!
Construct Datang's foreign policy!
This foreign policy must be persistent rather than changing at any time. This will give Datang a relatively fixed image in the world. From this image, future policies can be extended, and even the surrounding Hu tribes can , automatically determine your own tendencies based on Datang.

The more Li Shimin thought about it, the more he felt that this idea was perfect. It was a good idea that could benefit all generations. He couldn't help but smile and said: "Every time what the Imperial Master said makes me feel refreshed."

Luo Su raised the tea cup, and through the rising heat, he seemed to cast his gaze on Li Shimin's face, and said leisurely: "My biggest plan has not been told to you yet. When you defeat the Dong Turks, it will probably be time. I hope you can hurry up. Time waits for no one. The faster you do things, the greater your achievements will be in the end. "

The biggest plan!

This was the first time Li Shimin heard Luo Su say this, and he was extremely curious. But since Luo Su said that he would wait until the Winter Turks were defeated, Li Shimin knew that he could not rush and had to wait. The top priority was to deal with the Winter Turks.

After leaving Lingtian Pavilion, Li Shimin immediately began to prepare for the Winter Turks. As for the reason for declaring war, it was too easy to find. The Winter Turks were now in trouble, and they would definitely go south to clear grass valleys and harass the borders of the Tang Dynasty.

The troops and horses have not moved, but the food and grass go first. In the past three years, there is a lot of food in the treasury, and there is no need to collect food from the people.

As expected by Li Shimin, the Turks, who had been suffering from natural disasters, couldn't help but go south again. The Turkic royal family Ashina Sher led an army south to attack Hexi on the border of the Tang Dynasty. Although they returned without success, this is not important. Before, I tolerated it because I needed to recuperate, but now that the strategy has changed, this is an excellent excuse to send troops.

……

Li Shimin found Luo Xuanye first. The two sat opposite each other in the Tai Chi Palace. Li Shimin said solemnly: "The Turks are rampant. I want to send troops to attack the Turks. Now I need to find a commander to coordinate the various armies. Qingyang, you think we should send Who is going?"

Luo Xuanye was very excited that Li Shimin wanted to attack the Turks. As a military general, he had long been dissatisfied with the Turks. The Tang Dynasty was robbed of gold, silver, cloth and silk by the Turks several times. Although many of their abducted children were exchanged, they were still shame.

Luo Xuanye knew that he was impossible and had no ability to lead such an important war. After pondering for a while, he said: "Your Majesty, there are many powerful generals in the Tang Dynasty, but most of the generals are just like the ministers. A strong general, but not a true commander.

The war with the Dong Turks is related to the great destiny of the country. If this battle is lost, it will take several years for the Tang Dynasty to recover, so it must be foolproof.

Therefore, the minister suggested that Li Jing, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, should be appointed as the commander-in-chief of the army. The ancestors greatly appreciated his talents and thought that he was a commander who was not inferior to the famous generals in ancient times. "

What Luo Xuanye said was exactly what Li Shimin was thinking. Li Shimin smiled and said, "Qingyang, you actually recommended Li Jing. I never thought of that. I remember that you never even invited him to your house for a banquet."

Luo Xuanye said calmly: "I and Li Jing probably don't get along. They have never been friends in this life. As the saying goes, don't avoid hatred when doing things externally. I and Li Jing are not enemies. He is talented and can do things that are beneficial to the country." I naturally recommended him because of my loyalty to His Majesty, not because of any favorable impression of Li Jing."

When Li Shimin heard this, he immediately laughed and said, "I am lucky to have a minister like you, Qingyang. What else can I say?"

After that, he said to the serving eunuch: "Go and summon Li Jing into the palace."

Li Jing was the Minister of the Ministry of War, and naturally he was in the Ministry of Finance. When he was summoned by the emperor, he did not dare to neglect, and soon hurried to the palace. When he saw that there were only the emperor and Zhou Jun Wang Luo Xuanye in the palace, he immediately greeted him.

After the ceremony, Li Shimin got straight to the point: "I cannot tolerate the Turks betraying the alliance and harassing the four counties in Hexi of the Tang Dynasty, and I am determined to send troops against the Turks.

King Zhou recommended Aiqing to be the general manager of the march to Dingxiang Road to lead the war against the Turks. What does Aiqing think? "

Prince Zhou recommended me?

Li Jing lowered his head and was a little shocked, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that it was very reasonable. Although he had a normal relationship with Prince Zhou, Prince Zhou had never done anything before, so it was normal for him to recommend him now.

Thoughts flashed through his mind, and Li Jing immediately said loudly: "I will live up to your majesty's trust and the recommendation of Prince Zhou, and make great contributions to the Tang Dynasty."

He had no intention of refusing.

From a low-level official in the Sui Dynasty to the current Secretary of the Imperial Academy and Minister of the Ministry of War, he has been regarded as extremely prosperous and wealthy. He also led the Tang Dynasty's war to unify the south and destroyed Xiao Xian. This is his achievement.

If it were other people, it would probably be enough, but for Li Jing, it was not enough, far from enough. He had endless ambitions in his heart. What he wanted was to be ranked first in history, and to be among the legendary figures like Tai Gong Wang and Han Wu Mu. If he fails to achieve this, he will be sorry for the sins he has suffered.

Li Shimin liked Li Jing's decisive attitude and immediately said: "I will summon the prime ministers and generals now to announce this appointment and discuss subsequent matters."

Li Shimin's vigorous and resolute actions were brought over from the war years, and all the generals who were still in the political hall and on guard duty were summoned.

Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Changsun Wuji, Wei Zheng, Xiao Yu, Feng Deyi, Zhang Liang, Hou Junji, Yuchi Gong, Qin Shubao, Cheng Zhijie, Li Ji, Zhang Gongjin, Li Daozong, Li Daoxuan, Li Xiaogong, Li Shentong and other civil servants and generals. This is rare in the temple.

These were almost all high-ranking officials of the third rank, the most powerful dignitaries in the imperial court. After all these people arrived, Li Shimin sat with a golden sword on his horse, looking quite majestic. He looked around and said slowly and solemnly: "Winter Turk bandits. All the ministers must have known about the invasion of Hexi of the Tang Dynasty. I am determined to attack the Turks. Do you have any objections? "

Naturally, there was no objection. Food and fodder had been prepared. These were all matters that had been approved. Unless something unexpected happened, no one in their right mind would object before the war.

Upon seeing this, Li Shimin still said in a deep voice: "Since all the ministers agree, that's good. I will appoint Li Jing as the general manager of the Dingxiang Road March and be responsible for the attack on the Winter Turks. What do you think?"

Li Jing!

This choice shocked everyone, but it was not very surprising. Many people turned their attention to Luo Xuanye, who was sitting in the front. Luo Xuanye was so busy that he had no reaction.

Everyone turned their attention to Hejian King Li Xiaogong. He was the only one who could threaten Li Jing's position as commander. There were three commanders with the most outstanding military achievements in the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin, Li Xiaogong and Li Jing. Luo Xuanye was special and was not included in the list. some of.

It is impossible for Li Shimin to go on an expedition. There has always been controversy over which of the remaining two men has the greatest merit in Pingnan. Now the emperor's choice seems to confirm that Li Jing has the greater merit.

Logically speaking, Li Xiaogong should be dissatisfied.

But he didn't think so, because Li Shimin was different from Li Yuan. Li Yuan valued the clan, so he let the clan guard the four directions and put the clan at the forefront in battles. But Li Shimin was not like this. On the contrary, Li Shimin suppressed the clan. Here Under such circumstances, as Li Xiaogong, who had the most merit and the highest prestige among the clan, he had to consider political factors.

Luo Xuanye, Prince of Zhou County, was too high-ranking to go on an expedition. Could he, the Prince of Hejian County, be able to go on an expedition?
Thinking of this, Li Xiaogong was the first to speak out in the eyes of everyone: "Your majesty, Ming Wu Guo, Li Shangshu is outstanding in military affairs. I have traveled with him before. I am deeply impressed. I make Li Shangshu the general manager to coordinate all the armies." , we will definitely defeat the enemy.”

What a thief!

This was the idea of ​​the prime ministers in the Political Hall. Li Shimin narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard this. He actually didn't have much fear of Li Xiaogong, or in other words, he didn't have much fear of most people.

He beat some people, not because he was really afraid of rebelling and losing his throne, but because he simply didn't want to kill the hero.

However, Li Shimin was very happy that Li Xiaogong was so sensible. This was a reflection of his majesty as a king.

----

"The Turks are as powerful as the Xiongnu", this was the description of the strength of the Dong Turks at that time. The Turks were divided and suppressed during the period of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty. Due to the various failed foreign policies of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty and the harm to the world, the Turks in the Xia Dynasty were divided and suppressed. The power was greatly weakened, and it almost caused the catastrophe of Rong Di sweeping the world. But fortunately, after Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty, the world welcomed Li Shimin, the real holy king, and the Zhenguan ministers, the first ruling group in history.

……

"Li Shimin wielded the hammer in his hand. He forged the army of the Tang Dynasty into a strong bow, and the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty were like sharp arrows. Li Jing became the person who took charge of this strong bow and sharp arrows in Li Shimin's stead. A man with an arrow on his string has no choice but to fire it. The day the arrow comes out will be the end of the Winter Turks." - "The Rise and Fall of the Tang Empire".

(End of this chapter)