Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
On the twelfth day, the two Khans of the Turkic people led an elite cavalry of twenty thousand to the Five Long Hills south of Bingzhou. Here, they encountered the Tang army led by Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji. Both sides set up camp, preparing for a great battle.
Although the Tang army had numerical superiority, the continuous rain in the Guanzhong region had left them exhausted from marching. Additionally, the disruption in supply lines and damp military equipment had significantly reduced their combat effectiveness.
In this situation, Li Yuanji and many other generals believed that the enemy was strong while they were weak, and they should hold their position and avoid battle. However, Li Jiancheng did not intend to do so; he knew how to drive back the enemy. If only one Khan had come from the Turkic side, it would indeed be difficult to handle. But with two Khans present, Li Jiancheng was aware of the existing discord between Xieli and Tu Li, the two Turkic Khans. Their mutual distrust could be exploited with a clever strategy to achieve victory without fighting, much like what Li Shimin had done in history.
Thus, Li Jiancheng led a hundred elite cavalrymen to the front of the Turkic camp and loudly accused, "Xieli Khan, you have made an alliance with our Central Plains. Your invasion now is a betrayal of that agreement. If you have the courage, come out and fight me one-on-one! I, Li Jiancheng, am not afraid of your Turkic forces; with just a hundred cavalrymen, I can withstand your great army!"
Li Shimin's accusation against Xieli Khan for breaking their alliance was valid. During the Sui Dynasty, a policy of marriage alliance had been established with the Turkic people when Princess Yicheng married Qimin Khan, Xieli's father. This alliance indicated mutual non-aggression.
Upon hearing Li Jiancheng's shouts, Xieli was initially confused about his intentions and feared falling into a trap; he hesitated to emerge for battle. He found Li Jiancheng's actions puzzling and was cautious not to act rashly.
Li Jiancheng then repeated his tactic at Tu Li Khan's camp, similarly accusing him of violating their agreement and demanding he come out for a decisive duel. Tu Li Khan also dared not respond.
Li Jiancheng then pretended to cross a ditch. Seeing that Li Jiancheng was lightly armed and hearing him mention agreements with Tu Li, Xieli suspected that there was prior collusion between them. Fearing being attacked from both sides, he sent someone to persuade Li Jiancheng not to advance, promising to withdraw his troops a distance.
Li Jiancheng agreed, and indeed Xieli retreated his forces two miles away. He then sent someone to discuss the pros and cons with Tu Li, who expressed willingness to submit to Tang.
Seeing that Tu Li was unwilling to engage in battle with the Tang army, Xieli reluctantly sent Tu Li and Jiabite Le Ashina Simo to meet with Li Jiancheng.
When Li Jiancheng met with Xieli, Xieli requested peace between both sides. Li Jiancheng consented and established an alliance with them, leading both armies to withdraw.
News of this reached Chang'an, bringing great joy to Li Yuan. The issue of relocating the capital no longer needed discussion.
Li Shimin felt frustrated; he had not anticipated that Li Jiancheng could force the Turkic army to retreat. This made his ambition for the crown prince position much more difficult than before.
Li Yuanji also attended this meeting and gained some merit; dealing with him would be more challenging than before. Most importantly, he needed to prevent any alliance between Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin.
At this moment, Li Yuanji was also contemplating how to deal with Li Shimin. After much thought, he concluded that it would be best to persuade his elder brother Li Jiancheng to eliminate Li Shimin. Firstly, it was clear that Li Jiancheng recognized that Li Shimin posed a threat; eliminating him sooner rather than later would be wise. Secondly, in Chang'an, if Li Jiancheng truly wanted to eliminate Li Shimin, he could easily do so as it was within the crown prince's sphere of influence.
If the crown prince were to eliminate Prince Qin, it would undoubtedly benefit Li Yuanji greatly. Not only would it remove a formidable rival like Li Shimin, but it would also leave a negative impression of him on their father.
To maintain balance, their father would surely increase Prince Qi's power. Consequently, Li Jiancheng would be warned by their father not to act against him again.
As for Prince Qi himself? He could take advantage of an unguarded moment from Li Jiancheng and strike suddenly. By then, their father would have only one legitimate son left—what else could he do but obediently hand over the throne?
Thinking about the bright future after Prince Qin's downfall, Li Yuanji felt a surge of excitement. Yes, this was the way to go!
But would Li Jiancheng be willing to take down Prince Qin? He probably would, but this elder brother had a kind heart and might hesitate to act decisively.
So what should he do? He needed to stoke the fire a bit, heightening the sense of threat posed by Li Shimin. He had to make his brother feel fear, compelling him to take drastic measures.
It was now October of the seventh year of Wu De, and autumn had set in. The Yang Wengan Incident had passed three months ago; if they didn’t eliminate Li Shimin soon, they would inevitably fall victim to him. This was how Li Yuanji reasoned.
He decided to head to the Eastern Palace immediately.
Upon hearing that Li Yuanji was coming, Li Jiancheng was not surprised. According to historical records, the two brothers were essentially allies, working together against Li Shimin! As allies, it was only natural for them to visit each other frequently. The historical texts noted that before the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Yuanji often visited the Eastern Palace.
“Brother, your Eastern Palace has undergone quite a transformation!” Li Yuanji remarked as he entered the hall. It had been a long time since he last visited. Previously, he had been at Ren Zhi Palace with Li Yuan during the summer and then went on campaigns with Li Shimin against the Turkic tribes. Now that he had returned victorious, he finally had time to drop by his brother’s place.
Once inside the Eastern Palace, Li Yuanji noticed the changes. Not only was the environment much cleaner and tidier, but everyone also seemed in good spirits and quite happy.
“Hehe, it’s just a bit cleaner and neater!” Li Jiancheng replied with a smile. Since this fourth brother was his ally, he welcomed him warmly. Wei Zheng happened to be present, so Li Jiancheng called him to accompany Li Yuanji.
However, even as allies, Li Jiancheng remained cautious. For instance, he instructed the new guard Jia Jian not to appear before Li Yuanji under any circumstances. But Jia Jian needed to remember what Li Yuanji looked like.
Li Jiancheng had already briefed Jia Jian that not only should he avoid appearing before Li Yuanji but also in front of others like Li Shimin and Li Yuan… In short, Li Jiancheng did his best to keep outsiders from knowing that he had added Jia Jian as a guard.
“Brother, why have you suddenly become so tidy?” Li Yuanji asked out of curiosity, mainly to open up a conversation.
“During those days at Ren Zhi Palace when I was confined, I dreamt of an old Daoist…” Li Jiancheng had already prepared this story.
After all, he had told others the same thing. Including how toothbrushes and soap were made; he attributed it all to that old Daoist in his dreams. What other explanation could he provide?
“Oh, you actually dreamt of an old Daoist…” This genuinely puzzled Li Yuanji. Could it be because his brother was destined for greatness?
“Fourth brother, we have returned victorious this time. Father has granted many rewards; you should take them all!” Knowing that ancient people were somewhat superstitious, Li Jiancheng encouraged this fourth brother's imagination! He quickly changed the subject to prevent Li Yuanji from probing further.
Comment 0 Comment Count