Chapter 119   It’s snowing heavily on the grassland!

From the 29th year of Kaiyuan to November 23rd, Shuofang sent an urgent report: In the Hetao area, heavy snow fell from the sky, and it continued for seven or eight days. The snow on the flat ground was more than five feet deep, and the weather was extremely cold, and the water surface of the Yellow River hundreds of miles was frozen!

On November 29th, Hexi sent an urgent report: It was snowing heavily in the grasslands in the north of the Mobei region, and it had not stopped for half a month. The snow on the flat ground was deeper than a foot, and all the Turkic tribes were affected. The felt huts were buried in heavy snow, and countless people and animals were frozen to death.

Immediately afterwards, more than a dozen urgent reports were sent to Chang'an City, all of which were caused by heavy snow disasters on the northern grasslands, and the reported disasters became more and more serious.

For a moment, the government and the country were shocked and people were panicked!

...

Someone asked, it was snowing heavily in the northern grasslands and the Turks suffered disasters, and it was not related to the Tang Empire. Why did people feel uneasy?

This is a long story. Let’s first introduce the history of the Turks!

"Northern History" records: The Turks are the different species of the Huns.

In other words, the Turks are descendants of the Huns, or a branch of the Huns, and belong to a typical nomadic people.

During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Turks grew and grew stronger, replaced the Rourans, became the new overlords on the northern grasslands, and established a powerful Turkic Khanate. Its territory reached the Liaohai in the east, the Aral Sea in the west, and crossed Lake Baikal in the north... It has hundreds of thousands of string control men, and all the surrounding tribes surrendered.

Even the Northern Zhou and Northern Qi countries in the Central Plains had to send tribute to the Turks and send princesses to the marriage in exchange for peace on the northern border.

It was not until the establishment of the Great Sui Empire that the Turks were suppressed with their strong military strength and wise diplomatic means that they suppressed the momentum of the Turks and forced them to split into the East and West divisions. Even so, the strength of the Turks should not be underestimated.

The Sui Dynasty imposed tyranny and died in the second lifetime. The Tang Empire was newly built, and its national strength was still weak. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Turks continued to send troops to disturb the mainland and plundered the population and wealth... In the first year of Zhenguan, the Eastern Turkic Khan, Jie Li Khan, led 200,000 cavalry and once reached the north bank of the Weishui River, only forty miles away from Chang'an City, and the capital was shocked.

Emperor Taizong - Li Shimin, regardless of his personal safety, personally led his soldiers to talk to Jie Li Khan through the Wei River. Jie Li saw that the Tang army was in a strict lineup, and Emperor Taizong promised gold, silk and property, so he led his troops to retreat, which was the "Wei River Alliance!"

The alliance under the city was a great shame and humiliation. Emperor Taizong and Li Shimin were so heroic that he naturally refused to suffer this loss. So he worked hard to govern and accumulate strength while training troops and waiting for the opportunity.

In the third year of Zhenguan, heavy snow disaster occurred on the northern grasslands, and countless people and animals froze to death. The strength of the Eastern Turkic Khanate plummeted.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Emperor Taizong ordered Li Jing, Li Shiji, Chai Shao... to lead a 100,000 army to the northern expedition, and defeated the main force of the Turkic army in Dingxiang, beheaded more than 100,000, captured Jie Li Khan alive, and destroyed the Eastern Turkic!

Frightened by the power of the Tang Dynasty, all the northern foreign countries all invited Emperor Taizong to be honored as the Tiankang Khan!

In the 14th year of Zhenguan, the Western Turks seized the envoys of the Tang Dynasty and attacked Yizhou. The Tang army immediately launched a counterattack, and the Western Turks army was defeated thousands of miles away. The internal collapsed and completely destroyed more than ten years later.

After the fall of the Eastern and Western Turks, the Tang Dynasty set up the Beiting Protectorate and Anxi Protectorate on the northern grasslands to control the remnants of various Turkic tribes and adopted a policy of comfort, giving the Turks extremely high autonomy, allowing them to recuperate and live and work in peace and contentment.

Unexpectedly, the kindness of the Tang Empire was exchanged for the Turkish people's wolf ambitions.

After decades of rest and recuperation, the Turkic people who gradually recovered their strength suddenly raised their troops to rebel in the first year of Emperor Gaozong's Diaolu, and supported the descendant of the Turkic royal family, Ashina Nishuotu, as Khan, reestablished the Turkic Khanate, and continuously sent troops to harass the northern border of the Tang Empire.

Especially when encountering natural disasters, in order to divert internal conflicts, the Turks would send troops to attack the Tang Dynasty and rob population, food, cloth, iron tools... to make up for their own losses.

Nowadays, a huge snow disaster has occurred on the northern grasslands, freezing to death, and countless cattle, sheep and livestock have been starved to death. In order to survive, the Turks will definitely go south to rob. Faced with this situation, how can the Tang people not panic?

As expected, on the tenth day of December, the Turkic Khan Gudu Yehu sent someone to send a letter of nationality: He hoped to marry the Tang Dynasty, seek a princess, and asked for a dowry of one million stones of grain, five hundred thousand pieces of silk... ironware, porcelain, and some fine salt.

It is called marriage, but it is actually blackmail!

Faced with this situation, the government and the public were discussing each other, and two completely different opinions emerged.

Some people believe that people will definitely die in war, and many people will die, so it is better not to fight if you can fight.

Didn’t the Turks just want wealth? Just give it to them directly. It’s worth it to exchange some wealth for peace!

Another group of people believe that the Tang Dynasty is now strong and there is no need to be afraid of the Turks. If the soldiers come to prevent them, the water comes to cover them, and the soil comes to cover them, and they will fight a war with them.

Besides, the Turkic people who have experienced heavy snow disasters were at their weakest time. They just took advantage of his illness and killed him to get rid of this prairie wolf in one fell swoop!

There are two opinions, and no one can convince anyone!

At the same time, rumors came from the palace that the Turks were about to invade peace today, and convened important civil and military officials to discuss in detail.

...

Xingqing Palace - In this building of Qinzhengwu.

Four small eunuchs worked together to hang up a giant map of 1,4 feet long and eight feet high. It clearly depicted the fifteen roads of the Tang Empire, 328 states... and the four major protectors; Goryeo, Silla, Baekje, Xi, Khitan, Nanzhao, Tubo, Turks, Tuyuhun... dozens of vassal states of all sizes were also marked on the map.

Especially Tubo and Turkic countries, they specially used crimson red as markings to show that they were the main concerns of the Tang Empire!

The Emperor of Tang Dynasty - Li Longji stood in front of the map, his face full of sorrow, lowered his head to ponder, but he never said a word.

Gao Lishi stood on the left, holding the letter of nationality sent by the Turks in his hand.

Prince Li Heng stood on the right, looking at the nose, looking at the nose, and asking his heart, as always pretending to be a wooden man!

Right Prime Minister Li Linfu, left Prime Minister Li Shizhi, and dozens of civil and military officials stood a little further away, all staring at Li Longji's every move, hoping to see a clue from it?

Faced with the unreasonable demands of the Turks, was the Tang Empire war or reconciliation?

...

On the other hand, after pondering for a long time, the clouds of sorrow on Li Longji's face gradually dissipated, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and it was obvious that he had made a decision in his heart.

However, as a mature and experienced king who has been in power for many years, he will not easily express his decisions. He must first try other people's attitudes.

"Crown Prince, what do you think about the Turkic people?"

"The father is wise and powerful, and he has no choice but to do everything. My son will obey his father!"

"I want to hear what you think now?"

"Son minister...son minister... don't know."

Prince Li Heng knelt on the ground in a flash, his body trembling constantly, and he couldn't even say a single word.

On the other side, looking at his cowardly and incompetent son, Li Longji was in a complicated mood, seventy-six points annoyed and three-six points of relief!

What is annoying is that how could he give birth to such a cowardly son who is not like a father? How can he hand over the country to him in the future?

What is gratifying is that the prince is cowardly and will not pose a threat to the imperial power, so he can rest assured.

...

"Right Prime Minister?"

"Old minister is here!"

"The Turkic people were seriously affected this time, and it was inevitable that they would send troops to the south to plunder. Once the war begins, both sides will vow to suffer heavy casualties. For peace plans for the people of the world, I am ready to agree to the marriage. What do you think?"

"Report to your Majesty, I think it's inappropriate!"

"Oh, why?"

As everyone knows, Li Linfu is famous for his "being obedient and obedient, being obedient and charming". As long as the emperor says one, he will never say two.

What happened today? Did you forget to take the medicine before going out or take the wrong medicine? You dare to oppose the emperor's decision on the spot... The civil and military officials looked at each other, wondering what was going on.

At the same time, Li Linfu continued to speak calmly: "Report to Your Majesty, the Turks have always been ambitions and have no faith. If you agree to marry a marriage and give money and property, it is like holding firewood to put out fires. The fire cannot be exhausted and the fire cannot be extinguished. Even if the treasury of our Tang Dynasty is full, how many times can the Turks be extorted?

Instead of seeking peace in humiliation, it is better to fight bravely. Our Tang Dynasty is strong and our national strength is at its peak. There is also a wise ruler like Your Majesty, and the joint efforts of the civil and military ministers will surely defeat the Turks, pacify the northern grasslands, and restore the great achievements of the Taizong-Tiankhan period!"

...

"The right prime minister's words are reasonable, I will discuss them!"

"I'm going to discuss it!"

"I'm going to discuss it!"

No matter what, Li Linfu is the leader of the Right Prime Minister Party after all. Although he doesn't know why he is in charge of the war, other members of the Right Prime Minister Party still stand up to express their support!

Faced with this situation, Li Longji ignored it and turned his attention to Li Shizhi: "Left Prime Minister, what do you mean?"

"Report to your Majesty, our Tang Dynasty has been established for more than 100 years and has never been afraid of foreign invasions. There is no need to discuss what happened today, we can only fight bravely. Moreover, the old minister has repeatedly weighed the pros and cons. Compared with the Turks, our Tang Dynasty has ten chances of winning."

"Oh, are you the top ten chances of winning? Tell me and let me listen?"

"First, the Turkic people went south to plunder, which was an unjust act. Our soldiers of the Tang Dynasty defended their families and the country were the teachers of justice. Since ancient times, evil has not overcome justice. This is the victory of morality!

Secondly, the Turks suffered from snow disasters, and the strength of the tribes was sharply reduced, and their combat effectiveness would inevitably be greatly reduced. The Tang Dynasty was in good weather, the treasury was full, and there were millions of troops waiting for the battle. This was the victory of national strength!

Third, although the Turks were known as a country, they actually formed more than a hundred tribes of all sizes. In order to compete for grasslands, water sources, and livestock, they often fought hard. They had deep resentment from each other and could not be united. However, the Tang Dynasty court was united and united, which was the victory of the people!

Fourth, the Turks' smelting technology was backward, and most of their weapons were made of shoddy. Some tribes even used bronze and animal bones as arrows. My Tang soldiers were made of strong armor, held sharp blades, and had strong bows and hard crossbows... The victory of this weapon!

Fifth, the Turks were the main attackers, and our Tang Dynasty was the main defense. This is the advantage of this place.

...

With these ten chances of winning, and thanks to the protection of heaven and earth, gods and ancestors, our Tang Dynasty will surely win in this battle!"

Li Shizhi not only took charge of the battle, but also talked endlessly about the ten chances of winning, each one was resounding. After he finished speaking, the members of the Left Prime Minister's Party also tried their best to agree.

In other words, the important officials who participated in the discussion today were 100% of the main battles!

"Haha, the two prime ministers said it well. My Tang Dynasty is at its peak, so why are you afraid of foreign invasions... I have decided to refuse to marry, and then gather the strength of the country to go north to fight the Turks. In this battle, I will destroy the country, destroy the species, and completely eradicate this great trouble!"

Li Longji laughed loudly, remembering that when he ascended the throne, he secretly vowed to the sky to become a saint like Emperor Taizong, which is recorded in history and admired by generations.

Over the past decades, he has worked hard to create the Kaiyuan prosperous era. To be honest, he is comparable to Emperor Taizong in terms of civil governance.

However, in terms of martial arts, I am not a little bit short of it. This is something that I am very regretful and unwilling to accept.

Now, the grassland is snowing heavily, the Turkic invasion, and an opportunity to establish a great martial arts has emerged. How can I let it go?

This battle is decided!

I said I wanted to discuss peace with the Turks before, but I just wanted to test the attitudes of the ministers and see at the critical moments, who is soft and who is hard, who can only talk big, and who is the real pillar of the country!

As a result, it all came out!
Chapter completed!