Chapter 335: It is better to have a son like a wolf than a son like a sheep

Li Chengqian was still not happy with Tubo. Li Wushuang was the eldest of his grandchildren and the apple of his eye.

Now that he was being targeted by a barbarian boy, how could he, who had always been a narrow-minded man, pretend that nothing had happened?

Accordingly, he sent more personnel to the Anxi Protectorate, and rewarded Tuyuhun Khan and Heyuan Prince Nuohebo, who had come to the capital to pay tribute and had not yet left.

Since the ninth year of Zhenguan, the Tang Dynasty sent out an all-star lineup - Duan Zhixuan, Li Jing, Hou Junji, Li Daozon, Li Daliang, Qibi Heli and others to attack together and destroy the undisciplined Tuyuhun. Then Li Shimin appointed Fushun, the son of the Khan at that time, as the Khan of Tuyuhun and the Prince of Xiping. From then on, Tuyuhun became a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty.

Lao Li also has his own significance, which is to use Tuyuhun to check and balance Tubo.

You see, in order to balance the Turks, the Tang Dynasty supported the Xueyantuo; in order to balance the Tubo, the Tang Dynasty supported the Tuyuhun; in order to balance the Goguryeo, the Tang Dynasty supported the Silla; and in order to deal with the Xueyantuo, the Tang Dynasty supported the Uighurs.

The British offshore balancer gave a thumbs up.

As the nail that the Tang Dynasty used to contain Tubo, Tuyuhun had profound strategic significance.

In history, Tubo only dared to engage in direct conflict with the Tang Dynasty after it destroyed Tuyuhun.

Therefore, if Li Chengqian wanted to have any idea about Tubo, the best way was to support Tuyuhun first and let them restrict the development of Tubo.

Tuyuhun never expected that the new emperor would be so favorable to Tuyuhun after he ascended the throne.

Nuohebo was moved to tears and vowed to serve the Tang Dynasty forever.

This was not a lie. After all, Tubo and Tuyuhun were mortal enemies. If the Tang Dynasty ignored it, it would surely be annexed by Tubo.

Anyone who is not stupid can see this.

The Tibetans failed to achieve their goal, so they had to leave Chang'an in disappointment and return to Lhasa to report.

In early February, Cheng Chubi led the fleet to set sail again, preparing to travel to the southern countries.

This time the size of his fleet expanded again, and he brought more than 5,000 soldiers, as well as some Tang people who volunteered to go to the south to open up.

Li Xiang meant that they should first occupy a stronghold on the southern archipelago and peninsula as an enclave of the Tang Dynasty, and then slowly expand until all that land was incorporated into the embrace of the Tang Dynasty.

In mid-February, Li Ke also left Chang'an with a large army and headed west of the Anxi Protectorate, at the border with Persia, to establish the Han Kingdom.

The prince is leaving the capital, and he is a prince appointed to a distant place, so the farewell ceremony cannot be small.

Emperor Li Chengqian personally led civil and military officials to bid farewell outside the city of Chang'an.

"Third brother, take care on your journey." Li Chengqian handed a glass of wine to Li Ke.

Li Ke bowed respectfully, stood up, took the bowl of wine and drank it all.

"If you need anything, please feel free to write to me." Li Chengqian nodded.

"Don't worry, big brother. I won't have to worry about it." Li Ke nodded heavily.

After Li Chengqian, it was Li Tai and others, all holding bowls, who came forward to see Li Ke off.

Especially King Li Zhen of Yue, who was specially called back from his fiefdom by Li Chengqian.

On the one hand, it was because Li Zhen had been taken care of by Li Ke, and on the other hand, it was because Li Zhen had studied hard in the beginning, unlike Li Yin who was unlearned.

But here comes the problem. Although Li Yin is uneducated and unskilled, what he does is much more awesome than those who have learned skills.

After learning that Li Ke was named a prince, Li Zhen's mind naturally became active.

Just as Li Chengqian thought, there was indeed something in Li Zhen's belly.

If such a person has a chance, he will definitely not be content with being ordinary.

After seeing Li Ke off, Li Chengqian called Li Zhen and they returned to Lizheng Hall together.

Originally, he wanted to bring along the seventh prince Li Shen, but Li Shen didn't want to be a vassal king at all. He was just a person who wanted to eat and wait for death.

Therefore, Li Chengqian did not plan to give him any advice and just focused on training the eighth brother Li Zhen.

"Father, my third brother is gone." After Li Chengqian returned to the Lizheng Hall, he first reported to Li Shimin.

Li Shimin didn't even raise his head, but just nodded.

"I have another immature idea," Li Chengqian said tentatively, "Old Eighth talked to me a few days ago, and he was also very interested in Old Third's external title."

"Really, Eighth Brother?" Li Shimin looked at Li Zhen.

Li Zhen nodded heavily: "Yes, Father, I don't want to be a prince and live a life of idleness in the Tang Dynasty. I want to be a vassal king and guard the borders for the Tang Dynasty and expand its territory!"

Hearing Li Zhen's words, Li Shimin smiled with relief.

"As expected of my son, you have great ambition." Old Li pondered for a moment and asked again, "Where do you want to go?"

"I want to go to my third brother's side." Li Zhen said in a deep voice: "As the saying goes, it takes three to make a fence, and it takes three to make a hero. Brothers fight tigers together, and fathers and sons fight in battle. This is a critical moment when brothers need to help each other."

"I am very satisfied that you are not afraid of danger and face challenges head-on." Li Shimin affirmed Li Zhen, and then said: "However, the matter of enfeoffment of princes is only in the experimental stage for the time being. It depends on whether the third brother can gain a firm foothold in the Western Regions."

"If he can't stand firm, then it means this policy is not suitable; if he can stand firm, it won't be too late to ban you then."

"I know you are eager to expand the territory for the Tang Dynasty," Li Shimin said again, "but you should also understand the difficulties of the court. This time, the court spent a lot of money to send the third son to the Western Regions."

"I understand, son." Li Zhen responded in a deep voice. He did not expect to be suddenly confined to the Western Regions by the court.

"What makes me feel gratified is that among my sons, there are at least men like you, the third and sixth brothers." Li Shimin said with emotion, and at the same time looked at Li Zhi who was sitting quietly beside him: "It is better to have a son who is like a wolf than a son who is like a sheep..."

"Look at what you said." Li Chengqian said, "It's not a bad thing that Zhinu has a soft temper. Could it be that Father still expects his sons to be as fierce as wolves and tigers, and let Zhinu shoot an arrow at me at the door?"

Hearing this, Li Shimin's face turned red.

He pointed at the door and angrily said, "Get out of here!"

Li Chengqian immediately slipped out of the Lizheng Hall, and took Li Tai and Li Zhi with him.

This man is different after becoming an emperor. When he was a prince, he dared to dig up his father's dark history, saying that when he was bullied by Crown Prince Jiancheng and Prince Yuanji in the Qin Palace, he could only hold the tablet of Empress Taimu and cry. Now that he is the emperor, he dares to mention the Xuanwu Gate Incident directly to his father.

Li Zhi was deeply moved by his elder brother's efforts to protect him.

"Brother really loves me, he actually stabbed Aye directly."

"Heh." Li Chengqian patted Li Zhi on the shoulder and said, "You and I are brothers. As the elder brother, I should sit next to you. Besides, there is nothing wrong with what I said. Do you think you will become so fierce and disturb us brothers forever?"

"Brother, what you said is very true." Li Zhi nodded hurriedly, fearing that he did not nod fast enough.

But he asked hesitantly: "It's just... actually what Father said is somewhat right. How about... I also follow my third brother's example and go out to be a vassal king?" Who would have thought that after hearing this, Li Chengqian immediately grabbed his shoulders, turned his body to face him, with a serious face and a serious tone.

"Chi Nu, is that something you should consider?"

"Ah?" Li Zhi exclaimed in confusion.

"Brother is right. This is indeed not something you should consider." Li Tai said with a smile, "Neither of us is suitable to go out and explore. First, we don't have the mindset to do so. On the other hand, ..."

"I don't have the ability in this area." Li Zhi said quickly.

Li Tai took a deep breath.

"Will you be suffocated to death if I don't answer?"

"It can drive me crazy." Li Zhi muttered in a low voice, but Li Tai pinched his face and pulled it. His face was like dough, being flattened and rounded by Li Tai's fat hands.

After this interruption, Li Zhi gave up the idea of ​​forcing himself to become a prince.

He is really not the right material for this, so he won't go... How did Xiang'er say that? Oh, yes, a young man with ten thousand helmets, a hundred thousand in Hefei to send his head.

That's right, isn't it nice to stay in Chang'an? Why do we have to go to the Western Regions to make a fuss?

Li Zhi is now in a completely lying state, so it is better not to think about anything.

His happiness threshold is relatively low, and he is easily satisfied as long as he is having fun.

I heard that he recently hooked up with a young widow named Wu Shun, and the two of them were flirting with each other...

If he went to the Western Regions, there would be no gentle and considerate Wu Shun to accompany him.

As March approached, news came from the Duke of Song's mansion that Xiao Yu was critically ill.

Thanks to Sun Simiao, Empress Xiao, who was supposed to have died of illness in the 21st year of Zhenguan, lived until the end of last year.

However, Old Man Xiao had been dependent on his sister since childhood. After his sister passed away, he became increasingly haggard.

After hearing that Xiao Yu was critically ill, Li Xiang rushed to the Duke of Song's mansion with his wife and children without stopping.

The whole Duke Song's mansion was filled with gloom. After all, they had just experienced the death of Empress Xiao last year. Now, seeing that Sun Simiao had issued a critical illness notice to Xiao Yu, which was incurable, everyone in the mansion knew that the time had come for Old Xiao to die.

After seeing Li Xiang, although Xiao Rui had a sad face, he still brought everyone in the mansion to pay respect to Li Xiang.

Then, Xiao Rui took Li Xiang to Xiao Yu's room.

Seeing Lao Xiao lying on the bed and looking not in a good mental state, Li Xiang's tears fell down.

"Teacher, teacher?" He leaned forward.

Unexpectedly, when Xiao Yu heard his words, he opened his eyes immediately.

"Why are you crying? Are you mourning for me?" Xiao Yu asked angrily.

Li Xiang choked. He never expected that Old Xiao would be as ugly as Old Wei.

"I am already eighty-five years old this year. As the saying goes, it is rare for a person to live to seventy, and living to eighty is already precious. This is obviously a happy food, why are you crying?" Xiao Yu even had the energy to roll his eyes at Li Xiang.

"Doesn't this set the mood?" Li Xiang said, scratching his head.

"Oh, so you're crying just because of the atmosphere?" Xiao Yu sat up from the bed and asked angrily, "Isn't it because of the teacher-student relationship between you and me?"

"A little bit, I guess." Li Xiang opened his mouth, but after being scolded by Xiao Yu, he felt that all the sad atmosphere was gone.

This Old Xiao... doesn't look like he's critically ill. Instead, it looks like he still has a few years to live.

"You'd better lie down quickly," Li Xiang watched Xiao Yu taking a deep breath and quickly advised, "You could have held on for a few more days before I came, but as soon as I got here, you..."

"So what?" Xiao Yu asked suspiciously.

"Nothing, just lie down and let's talk." Li Xiang coaxed Xiao Yu to lie down, then turned around and said, "Sister, Doudou, come and greet Lord Song."

Pei Xueqing held Li Wushuang and walked forward to greet Xiao Yu.

You know what, Xiao Yu didn't show any fear, but rather accepted the greetings from Li Xiang's wife and children with great openness.

After all, Lao Xiao is of a very high seniority and is also Li Xiang's teacher, so it is reasonable and acceptable for him to accept it.

"Your daughter is becoming more and more beautiful." Xiao Yu said with emotion while lying on the bed: "Time flies so fast. It seems like it was just yesterday when she was born."

"Who said it wasn't?" Li Xiang also nodded.

Xiao Yu looked at Li Xiang again and said with a smile: "I am much better than that old man Wei Xuancheng. When he died, you were only a prince, but now you have become a prince."

"Are you going to compete with Master Wei?" Li Xiang's body trembled. Why does this old man have such a strange desire to win?
"It's just a feeling." Xiao Yu showed a satisfied expression on his face: "Now that the emperor has ascended the throne, I am not like Xuan Cheng, and I don't have anything to tell you."

"Teacher, don't you worry about me?" Li Xiang felt a little hurt. Why are you two all concerned about my father?

Who is your direct disciple?
If you don’t know, you might think that the one who has you two as his teachers is my uncle.

"You?" Xiao Yu glared at Li Xiang. "I'm afraid that people will spread the word that you are the most stable prince in history."

"That's not entirely true. What if my father gets upset one day?" Li Xiang spread his hands.

Xiao Yu didn't say anything, just stared at Li Xiang and snorted.

Your father is really a bit disappointed...

"Well, teacher, do you really have nothing to tell me?" Li Xiang asked tentatively.

"No." Xiao Yu turned his head back and stared at the ceiling.

"Okay, then don't worry, teacher. I will take good care of the Duke Song's Mansion." Li Xiang and Xiao Yu made the promise.

Xiao Yu turned his head again and stared at Li Xiang for a long time. When Li Xiang felt a little uneasy, he said, "You can wait until you visit my grave before saying this. I feel it's a little weird if you say it now."

Li Xiang: …

The two of them sat there in silence for a while before Xiao Yu spoke again.

"Being able to be your teacher, I will die without any regrets."

(End of this chapter)