Chapter 112 Qibi Heli or War! (asking for monthly ticket)

According to the course of history, Xueyantuo agreed to the request for marriage in exchange for a person, and to show sincerity, they even released Qibi Heli back to Chang'an first.

In June of the following year, Li Shimin wanted to fulfill his promise and send Princess Xinxing to Xueyantuo.

However, Qibi Heli spoke out to stop it, saying that intermarriage with Xueyantuo was not allowed.

Li Shimin said, I have already promised them, and as the emperor I should not go back on my word.

However, Qibi Heli said that he did not want Li Shimin to reject them directly, but just hoped to delay the matter for the time being.

There has been a wedding etiquette since ancient times. If the emperor ordered Zhenzhu Khan to welcome the bride, even if he did not come to Chang'an, he would have to go to Lingzhou. Zhenzhu Khan would definitely not dare to come, so he would have a reasonable reason to refuse.

Zhenzhu Khan has a harsh and violent temperament. Since he cannot intermarry with the Tang Dynasty, his subordinates are also disloyal. In a year or two, he will die of illness, and his two sons will fight for the throne. By then, the Tang Dynasty can easily subdue them.

Li Shimin readily followed his advice and summoned Zhenzhu Khan to come and marry him.

Zhenzhu Khan was afraid that it was a trick, so he did not come to welcome the bride.

Since then, Zhenzhu Khan was depressed and frustrated, and died of anger a year later. His two sons Tulishi and Bazhuo fought for the throne. In the end, Bazhuo killed Tulishi and established himself as the Khan, which caused chaos within Xueyantuo.

This kind of betrothal gift fraud actually has a significant impact and has tarnished Lao Li's reputation to some extent.

Not only was it frustrating, it also affected the emperor's reputation.

Now, hearing that Li Shimin actually wanted to exchange his daughter for a general, the ministers were shocked and raised objections.

The foreign generals were all deeply moved. For these Hu generals, His Majesty the Heavenly Khan could actually do this...

Although they were moved, they had to stop it. They joined the group of court officials and opposed Li Shimin's idea of ​​exchanging the princess for Qibi Heli.

Seeing everyone's opposition, Li Shimin sighed in his heart and looked at Li Xiang beside him.

"Xiang'er, what do you think?"

Thinking that Li Xiang would still agree with him this time, Old Li looked at Li Xiang with hope, but unexpectedly, Li Xiang lifted his sleeves and said in a shocking voice: "Your Majesty's urgency to rescue General Qibi, I can understand; but I do not agree with you as a royal daughter to compromise."

"Marry a girl today, marry a girl tomorrow, and then sleep soundly. When you get up tomorrow and look around, you will see foreigners coming again."

"Moreover, Xueyantuo is a vassal of the Tang Dynasty. They dared to accept the traitors of the Tang Dynasty and openly kidnapped the generals of the Tang Dynasty. This is clearly a provocation to the Tang Dynasty! The people of the world are watching how the Tang Dynasty will deal with this matter. If we choose to compromise and exchange the princess for General Qibi, then the dignity that the Tang Dynasty has fought for with the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers will no longer exist! Foreign countries will no longer be in awe of the Tang Dynasty! How much blood of soldiers will the Tang Dynasty have to shed to restore its dignity!"

"The dignity of the empire is maintained by iron and blood, not by sacrificing an innocent woman!"

As he spoke, Li Xiang looked at the censors who wanted to stand up and refute him.

"Don't look at me like that. I know what you want to say. You might say, Prince of Hengshan, why waste people's money and lives when you can solve a problem by sending a woman?"

"Yes, you are right. Life and property are really important... But I want to tell you that there is something in this world that is more important than life and property. That is dignity!"

At this point, in order to avoid being accused of being warmongering, Li Xiang put on a layer of Confucius' armor.

"Duke Xiang of Qi avenged nine generations of hatred, which was a great achievement in the Spring and Autumn Period! Duke Xiang of Qi's revenge was the beginning of regaining the dignity of Qi State, and it gave Qi State the confidence to dominate!"

"As long as Qibi Heli is detained in Xueyantuo, our dignity will not exist! As long as there are foreign nations that dare to provoke our Tang Dynasty, our dignity will not exist! As long as foreign nations laugh contemptuously when mentioning the Tang Dynasty, thinking that the Tang Dynasty relied on women's skirts to exchange for peace, our dignity will not exist!"

"We should use cavalry to make the enemy tremble! Use swords to make the enemy fearful! Use iron and blood to reap their lives! Crush their dignity! Let them know that the rules of this world are made by the Tang Dynasty - the Tang Dynasty has never been liked! Instead, it is feared!"

Having said this, Li Xiang looked at the foreign generals whose eyes were bloodshot and whose chests were heaving violently, and his tone suddenly became calm.

"Your Majesty the Khan's crown must not have any stains."

"I believe that any warrior who is loyal to Your Majesty will not allow this to happen. This is also an insult to General Qibi!"

Afterwards, Li Xiang's words became passionate again.

"We need to let them know that the era when foreign nations rode their horses and cavalry to travel around the Central Plains and plundered like the wind is over!"

"We will use iron and blood to let the world know!"

"Now is the era that belongs to the Tang Dynasty."

"In this world, only the voice of the Tang Dynasty can be heard!"

Having said this, Li Xiang lifted his clothes and knelt on one knee.

Li Shimin took a deep breath and admitted that he was moved by Li Xiang's words.

Li Xiang's words not only moved him, but also a group of generals.

They never thought that language could have such a powerful influence on people's hearts...

They had also made or seen speeches such as pre-war mobilization speeches, but compared with what Li Xiang just said, they were a bit too straightforward.

"In your opinion, what should the Tang Dynasty do?"

Li Xiang took a deep breath, glanced at Cheng Yaojin and other generals, and then looked at Ashina She'er and other foreign generals.

"Tell Xueyantuo that he only has two choices!"

"Hand over Qibi Heli, or face war!"

These words made the veterans present excited and they wanted to pick up their weapons to kill all the enemies.

Even the civil officials gave up the idea of ​​persuasion.

What the Tang people lacked the least was the spirit of progress, both in civil and military matters. This was the confidence and pride of a prosperous age.

After Li Xiang stopped talking, Cheng Yaojin was the first to shout.

"Hand over Qibi Heli! Or face war!"

If there is one, there will be two. Cheng Yaojin shouted first, so Yuchi Gong would naturally not lag behind.

As Li Xiang's father, Li Chengqian immediately stood up to express his support.

Since the eldest brother had already joined, Li Tai and Li Zhi naturally did not want to be left behind.

Next came the foreign generals, and finally the ministers in the palace.

"Hand over Qibi Heli! Or face war!"

Li Shimin was excited and stood up suddenly.

After hearing Li Xiang's words and the active requests from the ministers in the palace to fight, he gave up his previous idea.

Xiang'er is right. Using a daughter to compromise is a loss of dignity for the Tang Dynasty!
The dignity of the Tang Dynasty cannot be maintained by women's skirts! The dignity of the Tang Dynasty must be defended with iron and blood!

He pulled out the sword from beside the table, and it made a clanging sound.

"Pass the order, all armies prepare for battle!"

"King of Jiangxia, Li Dao Zong, has mobilized troops from the nine states of Shuozhou, Bingzhou, Fenzhou, Jizhou, Lanzhou, Daizhou, Xinzhou, Weizhou, and Yunzhou to guard Shuozhou!"

"General of the Right Guard, Governor of Daizhou Xue Wanche, General of the Left Guard Ashina She'er, mobilize the troops from Sheng, Xia, Yin, Sui, Dan, Yan, Tuo, Fang, Shi, and Xi to guard Shengzhou!"

"Song Junming, the governor of Shengzhou, and Xue Guwu, the general of the Left Wuhou, have mobilized the troops from Lingzhou, Yuanzhou, Ningzhou, Yanzhou, and Qingzhou to guard Lingzhou!"

"Zhishisili, mobilize the Turkic troops from Ling and Sheng states! Support Li Daozon, Xue Wanche and Ashina She'er!" "Your Majesty! I request to lead my troops to attack Xueyantuo!" Ashina She'er knelt on one knee and spoke loudly.

Zhishisili also knelt on the ground and requested to go into battle with his own troops instead of the Tang Dynasty's palace troops.

This is to bring honor to the Hu people who have returned to the Tang Dynasty, so of course we have to let our own people fight hard.

Another reason is that the Tang Dynasty always won battles and the spoils were always abundant.

Therefore, in the early and middle Tang Dynasty, ethnic minorities particularly liked to serve as Tang allies.

The Tang army dispatched 10,000 troops, and the Tang auxiliary army had about 70,000 to 80,000 troops.

In terms of combat, the Tang Xie Army was often much more active than the Tang Army, which was also a great wonder throughout the dynasties...

"I agree!" Li Shimin nodded.

"Also, inform Xueyantuo that if they don't hand over Qibi Heli within one month, I will personally lead the army to punish Yinan!"

In answer to him was a voice that echoed throughout the temple.

"promise!"

……

The threat of force cannot be achieved through mere talk, but also requires mobilizing troops and raising food and fodder.

Only when real action is taken can it be called military deterrence.

After the court was dismissed, Li Shimin called Li Xiang alone.

"Let me go."

"Okay." Li Xiang replied.

The grandfather and grandson walked on the way back to Lizheng Hall, and they remained silent.

After returning to the Lizheng Hall, Li Shimin immediately dismissed everyone.

"I am very satisfied with your performance today!"

"very satisfied……"

Li Shimin was very satisfied with this sentence and said it twice.

"Thank you for your praise, Grandfather. I just don't want the crown of the Heavenly Khan to be covered with dust." Li Xiang said seriously.

Li Shimin smiled with relief and put his hand on Li Xiang's shoulder.

"You kid..."

Li Xiang chuckled, revealing a little cunning that suited his age.

"You said in the court today, 'If China enters the barbarians, then they become barbarians; if barbarians enter China, then they become Chinese.' Do you think so?"

Old Li repeated what Li Xiang said in court today, intending to correct his thinking.

"Yes and no, Uncle," Li Xiang replied.

"What do you mean by 'yes and no'?" Li Shimin was confused.

"My grandson believes that if a Chinese enters a barbarian country, he must be a barbarian; but if a barbarian enters a Chinese country, he may not be a Chinese." Li Xiang smiled and said, "Everything should be treated differently. If they cannot abandon their barbarian customs, do not take Chinese surnames, speak Chinese, and practice Chinese etiquette, how can they be called Han people?"

"Just now in the court, my grandson said this only to appease the hearts of the foreign generals." Li Xiang had an expression that said 'if you take it seriously, you will lose'.

Li Shimin looked at this good grandson in surprise. He thought he was just being righteous, but he never expected that he had actually learned to be thick-skinned and black-hearted...

Although he did not advocate being thick-skinned and black-hearted, that was what he was asking of himself after all. If it was his descendants, he really hoped that they would be as thick-skinned and black-hearted as possible, so that at least they would not be manipulated like puppets or played like fools.

"Good, good!" Old Li praised again, looked at Li Xiang and said, "Then how do you really view them?"

Li Xiang organized his words and said, "My grandson mentioned the 'barbarian theory' before, because our Tang Dynasty is the absolutely powerful party, and it is a very unwise choice to overemphasize racial identity. We should take the initiative to blur racial identities, and then unconsciously integrate the other side into our Tang Dynasty and completely eat them up."

He was right in saying this. As a Han chauvinist who could not be more pure, everything he said was based on the goal of better ethnic integration.

"National integration, you mean..."

Li Shimin suddenly recalled some bad memories.

Li Xiang sighed and said, "Since the Qin Dynasty, there have been two great ethnic integrations. One was during the Qin and Han Dynasties, and the other was during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. The only difference is that during the ethnic integration during the Qin and Han Dynasties, we were the strong and active party; while during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, we passively accepted the integration. Although the Five Barbarians who had caused chaos in the Central Plains were eventually integrated into the Han people, this process was extremely humiliating for us. ..."

"Back then, your great-grandfather was forced to surrender to the Xianbei people, and was even given a humiliating surname..." Li Shimin sighed.

"It's all in the past. What's important now is to look forward." Li Xiang looked at Li Shimin firmly: "And now, Aung, the times have changed."

"Now, under the leadership of the great saint, His Majesty the Heavenly Khan, we are rising again. The Tang Dynasty embraces the world, and a new ethnic integration is about to begin again. And this time, we are the absolutely strong side, which is a symbol of glory!"

As Li Shimin's eldest grandson, Li Xiang licked his grandfather without blushing. When the old man was happy with the licking, he directly threw the throne to him. Isn't it wonderful?
It saves me the trouble of going to Xuanwu Gate.

"We want to announce to them that the wheel of history is rolling over!" Li Xiang said in the final words.

"The wheel of history is rolling over?" Li Shimin's eyes lit up.

This statement really fits his mentality.

Very impressive...

"As for the specific issue, how to completely integrate the Turkic tribes into the Tang Dynasty and make them no longer retain Turkic customs, still needs Aung's concern."

Li Xiang said with a smile.

Li Shimin snorted arrogantly: "You only give your grandfather difficult questions, but don't want to help me solve them? You are so lazy!"

Li Xiang smiled and said: "As the saying goes, those who are capable should work harder, otherwise you would be the Khan of Heaven..."

As he spoke, he was hit lightly on the back of his head.

It was such a gentle touch, no different from stroking. Old Li now felt like he was holding an elephant in his mouth for fear that it would melt, or holding it in his palm for fear that it would fall.

Li Xiang looked up at Lao Li, only to find that Lao Li was standing with his hands behind his back, looking at the sun in the distance.

Inspired by Li Xiangyi, many things that had been difficult for Lao Li to figure out before suddenly became clear to him.

He is truly my good grandson...

Old Li reached out to touch Li Xiang's dog head, but ended up touching nothing.

When I looked up, Li Xiang was jumping towards the side hall.

(Ah…I’m going to sleep)

(A lot of brain cells died)

(End of this chapter)