Chapter 125 Li Xiang: Without me, this family will break up sooner or later!
When Yi Nan just set out from Shuozhou, the uncle and nephew of the Cui family also happened to arrive at the yamen of the Xueyantuo tribe.

Cui Tingzhi was not surprised when he learned that Yinan was not in the tent. He quickly found Yinan's son Bazhuo.

Yinan had two sons in total. The eldest son was Yimang Tulishi, and Bazhuo was born to his wife, so he was his eldest legitimate son.

At this time, Bazhuo was in charge of the Xueyantuo tribe in the west, while Yemangtulish was in charge of other ethnic groups in the east.

Yimang is the Datushe who was beaten unconscious by Li Ji last time.

Before setting off, Cui Jian expressed his confusion about the action.

"Uncle, why do we have to find Ba Zhuo and cooperate with him?" Cui Jian didn't understand. Logically speaking, if he wanted to form an alliance, shouldn't he go find the bastard?

"You mean, we should find Dadushe, right?" Cui Tingzhi said with a smile, stroking his beard.

Cui Jian nodded and said, "My nephew thinks that it is precisely because Dadushe is a concubine's son and the eldest son, and therefore has no right of inheritance, that he is more likely to obey our plan, right?"

"You only know one side of the story." Cui Tingzhi smiled and explained to his nephew, "Although Dadushe is as ambitious as you said, he is not suitable for our ultimate goal."

"We do need a Xueyantuo Khan who will cooperate with us, but our ultimate goal is to unite with Xueyantuo to attack the Tang army."

"Dashi was frightened out of his wits by the Tang army. Last year, Dashi led 30,000 cavalrymen to pursue Simobude, but they ran into the Tang army led by Li Ji. As a result, Li Ji defeated the Xueyantuo army, beheaded more than 3,000 people, captured more than 50,000 people and 15,000 horses, and Dashi fled alone in panic."

Cui Tingzhi stroked his beard and said, "Since then, Datushe has been like a lost dog, never daring to go against Datang again. Even if he was dissatisfied with Datang before, it was just a pretense, not wanting to show weakness in front of Bazhuo."

"If such a person becomes the Khan of Xueyantuo, he will definitely not start a war easily, because his courage has been defeated. Do you understand?"

"Nephew understands." Cui Jian said immediately, and his tone was a bit like a certain Qing Lin.

Of course... Cui Jian’s name is Qinglin.

"Not only can we not look for Yimang, we can't look for Yinan either." Cui Tingzhi continued to explain to Cui Jian: "Yinan is sickly and won't live long. All he wants now is to seek stability. It is even more impossible for him to go to war with the Tang Dynasty because of our persuasion."

"Nephew understands." Cui Jian suddenly realized that this was the case.

Ba Zhuo was depressed in his tent, he didn't understand why his father gave in to the Tang Dynasty. When he heard that someone wanted to see him, and that it was from the Boling Cui family, one of the Five Surnames and Seven Families, Ba Zhuo stood up excitedly, tidied up his appearance, and planned to invite the person in person.

A man's name is like the shadow of a tree. Even though the Shandong gentry are not as powerful as before, their names are still spread across the grassland.

As the saying goes, a centipede may die but its legs are still tied. Although the aristocratic family has not caused any trouble since Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty, its reputation remains.

Nearly a thousand years of cultural heritage has shrouded them in a veil of mystery.

The ideological imprint formed over the years is difficult to erase, especially in the eyes of the barbarians who do not understand the Central Plains. Whoever the aristocratic families support will be the emperor of the Central Plains.

In fact, this is nonsense. Aristocratic family? How many teachers does he have?

In line with the idea engraved in the ideological steel stamp, Ba Zhuo did not dare to be negligent and walked out of the tent with great courtesy.

"My name is Cui Tingzhi, nice to meet you, Khan." Cui Tingzhi said politely with his arms crossed.

Since in the 12th year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin appointed Yinan's sons Bazhuo and Yimang as khans under Yinan, it was okay for Cui Tingzhi to call him khan.

Of course, Yinan himself agreed to this matter. In his opinion, this was Li Shimin's love for him and his two sons.

However, Lao Li appointed Bazhuo and Yemang as Khans. On the surface, this was a sign of respect for them, but in reality it was widening the differences between them, fueling their ambitions, and fostering their dislike for each other.

The effect was naturally good. Yi Nan's two sons disliked each other and eventually became incompatible.

"My Lord greets Mr. Cui." Ba Zhuo was very polite. He knew Cui Tingzhi. After all, he had also been on a diplomatic mission to Xueyantuo.

Although he was proud of his status, he also treated people from Xueyantuo as his own.

When facing the aristocratic families of the Central Plains dynasty, he always had to be fully polite.

After some greetings, Ba Zhuo immediately invited Cui Tingzhi's uncle and nephew into his tent.

"I wonder what brings you here, Mr. Cui?" Ba Zhuo looked at Cui Tingzhi with some anticipation.

In fact, in his heart, what he was thinking was whether the Cui family represented the Five Surnames and Seven Aristocrats and wanted to support him to be the Great Khan of Xueyantuo, or whether they came to do business with him.

Cui Tingzhi didn't say anything, but glanced at the person serving beside Ba Zhuo.

Considering that Cui Tingzhi and Cui Jian were two literati, and there was no conflict between the Five Surnames and Seven Families and his Xueyantuo, Ba Zhuo did not hesitate and signaled the people around him to leave.

"Sir, can you tell me now?" Ba Zhuo asked impatiently.

Seeing that everyone had left, Cui Tingzhi stroked his beard and said, "I am here to remind the Khan that a disaster is imminent!"

What an outstanding opening statement! It immediately captured Ba Zhuo's attention.

Although Ba Zhuo had a bad temper, he was still willing to respect the educated nobles.

"Where does this disaster come from? I hope you can give me some advice!" Ba Zhuo was not angry, but asked sincerely.

Seeing Ba Zhuo's attitude, Cui Tingzhi was also satisfied.

It seems that the eldest son of the Xueyantuo Khan is a talented person and not a useless piece of wood like Li You.

After Cui Tingzhi took stock of the situation, he said in a deep voice, "Zhenzhu Khan is ill now, and most of the clan's major affairs are entrusted to the Khan and Dadushe. The Khan is in charge of the interior, and Dadushe is in charge of the military. If one day Zhenzhu Khan meets with an accident, and Dadushe is in charge of the military outside, and if Dadushe leads his troops to the yamen, who will be the Great Khan then..."

Upon hearing this, Ba Zhuo immediately stood up and asked in a bad tone, "Mr. Cui, are you trying to alienate my brothers?"

But the "bad tone" was so strong that even a three-year-old child could tell he was pretending.

"Whether it is true or not, the Khan has his own conclusion."

Cui Tingzhi stroked his beard calmly and said that he was very familiar with the internal situation of Xueyantuo.

"We are in harmony with each other, how can we be provoked by a few words? If you come here to sow discord among us brothers, please go back!" Ba Zhuo said angrily immediately.

Cui Tingzhi raised his eyelids and glanced at him, then stood up and said, "If the Khan really thinks so, I am really moved by the Khan's brotherhood."

Cui Tingzhi walked to the door with his nephew, and suddenly stopped, turned back and said meaningfully: "But I'm afraid that the Khan will have no place to be buried in the future!"

He raised his hand and pretended to draw aside the curtain.

Ba Zhuo immediately stepped forward and bowed sincerely to Cui Tingzhi.

"I was rude to you before, I hope you can give me some advice to save me!"

Cui Tingzhi then stroked his beard, looking quite proud.

He walked back to his original place and sat down, smiling and saying: "If the Khan thinks that I am talking nonsense, then forget it." "I was just testing you, sir, please don't blame me!" Ba Zhuo said sincerely.

Cui Tingzhi chuckled and said that after some discussion, it was time to get down to business.

"Given the current situation, Zhenzhu Khan relies heavily on Dashi She and has let him lead the troops several times." Cui Tingzhi said here, pondered for a moment, and walked to Bazhuo's side.

After whispering a few words, Ba Zhuo's eyes became brighter and brighter.

"Okay! Let's act according to your plan, sir!" Ba Zhuo pounded one hand on the other palm and said excitedly.

After the excitement, he looked at Cui Tingzhi again.

Everything in the world has its price, and Bazhuo certainly knows this.

"Sir, you have helped me a lot. I wonder if I can help you in any way?"

In terms of emotional intelligence, Bazhuo is actually quite high.

To put it in a low EQ way, this sentence means "What is your purpose in helping me?"

Cui Tingzhi certainly would not directly state his purpose. After all, the Tang Dynasty and Xueyantuo were not fighting each other, and there was even a trend of calming down.

Before they set off, they had even heard about the Tang Dynasty holding a sports meeting in Shuozhou.

He was also worried that if the matter was exposed, it would affect him.

Make good connections first and deal with things later.

So he said, "I just want to ask the Khan to take good care of my Cui family caravan after he ascends the throne."

"That's no problem, sir, don't worry!" Ba Zhuo agreed without hesitation.

I was still feeling emotional in my heart, Mr. Cui is such a kind person!

The purpose of sowing discord had been achieved, and Cui Tingzhi did not plan to stay here any longer, so he declined Ba Zhuo's invitation to keep him for a few days and set off back to Boling.

After several days on the road, Li Shimin and his entourage returned to Chang'an City.

To welcome the emperor back to the capital, we naturally had to go out of the city thirty miles to welcome him.

Li Chengqian and his two foolish brothers welcomed their smart and wise father back to the court.

Naturally, they were followed by civil and military officials, who waited from early morning until noon before the army returned.

Li Chengqian and his court officials certainly knew about the first Tang Dynasty National Games held in the Shuozhou Hunting Ground.

The Tang people were martial and also loved excitement. They all regretted in their hearts why they did not follow His Majesty to Shuozhou to participate in the "sports meeting", even if it was just to join in the fun.

When Li Xiang returned to Chang'an, the first thing he did was to visit his aunt in Lizheng Hall.

Li Mingda was sitting in front of the desk with his chin in his hand in a daze, but he didn't expect that his eyes were suddenly covered by someone.

"Guess who I am?" Li Xiang asked in a deliberately hoarse voice.

Li Mingda stood up and looked back in surprise. When he saw that it was Li Xiang, his eyes suddenly turned red.

She held Li Xiang in her arms and sobbed, "You still remember to come back!"

"I... uh, am I back now?" Li Xiang flapped his paws, not knowing what to do.

Li Mingda rubbed his head for a while, loosened his arms, looked Li Xiang up and down, and compared his height.

"Xiang'er has grown taller." She tilted her head to look at Li Xiang.

Li Xiang also felt that he seemed to have grown taller. At present, he has exceeded 1.4 meters and is approaching the 1.5 meter mark.

This age is when boys grow fastest, from twelve to sixteen years old.

Li Xiang was the same in his previous life. He was less than 1.4 meters tall when he was in the sixth grade of elementary school, but he suddenly jumped to 1.8 meters when he was in the first year of high school.

"Boys are like puppies. If you don't see them for a few days, they will grow up to the point where you can't recognize them." Li Xiang spread his hands and said with a smile.

Li Mingda reached out and pinched Li Xiang's nose, then snorted twice.

"I've been in Shuozhou for many days, but I haven't seen you write to me! If I hadn't written to you, would you have forgotten your aunt?"

"No, how can that be possible." Li Xiang laughed dryly and said, "I am just helping Grandpa to build the venue for the sports meeting. I am so busy that I can't handle it at all..."

"Hmph, I'll let you off this time." Li Mingda crossed his arms and generously forgave Li Xiang for not writing to him.

"Thank you, auntie!" Li Xiang smiled coquettishly and took out a gift for Li Mingda from behind.

"Here, this is a gift for my aunt. It was given to me by the Khitan leader." Li Xiang smiled and took out a wooden totem and placed it on Li Mingda's desk: "Here, this thing is the Khitan amulet. I give it to my aunt to bless her with a long life!"

"Well, it's really ugly." Li Mingda looked at the totem that looked like a roe deer with a smile, "It's silly and stupid, just like an elephant."

Li Xiang chewed his lips a few times like a silly roe deer and grinned, which made Li Mingda laugh again. He stretched out his hand and patted Li Xiang's shoulders randomly.

The two laughed and joked for a while, then Li Mingda had someone bring over a few account books and handed them to Li Xiang, saying, "These two account books are the details of the income of the two restaurants after you left. They were personally delivered by Sister Gao Yang a while ago, and Auntie has personally checked them for you."

"Okay." Li Xiang took the account book and put it on the desk.

"Huh? Don't you want to take a look?" Li Mingda snorted cutely.

Li Xiang was happy: "Aunt has already checked it for me, I don't need to waste time to check it again."

"You." Li Mingda pinched Li Xiang's cheek lovingly and said with a smile: "During this period, the three of us, the eldest brother, the second brother and the eldest brother, have always been playing football together in the East Palace. The relationship between the eldest brother and the second brother has eased a lot, so Xiang'er doesn't need to worry too much."

"Come to think of it, this is all thanks to you," she added.

"What kind of merit is this? This is what I, as a son, should do." Li Xiang stretched himself and couldn't help laughing again: "You said that in other families, fathers worry about their sons, but in my family, it's the other way around. I, as a son, have to worry about my father. Tell me about this..."

"As the saying goes, those who are capable must work harder. If it weren't for Xiang'er, how could our family be as harmonious as it is now?" Li Mingda said, reaching out to straighten Li Xiang's collar.

Li Xiang also agreed and said, "Aunt is right. Without me, this family will fall apart sooner or later!"

"You little bastard..." Li Mingda couldn't help but curse.

(There is one more chapter to go, and my keyboard is smoking from typing!)
(End of this chapter)