Chapter 275: Checks and Balances

However, the name of An Lushan only rose in Li Shimin's mind for a moment before being suppressed.

It's useless to think about it now, a hundred years later.

And given the situation at that time, even if there was no An Lushan, it would only take ten or eight years at most.

In the end, there would still be An Luhai and An Lulou.

Changsun Wuji, who had been silent all the time, was now in a state of fear:

"Your majesty has a thousand-mile plan, but the thieves are jealous, and the lowly beasts are waiting for an opportunity to break the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty."

"I hate that I can't block your swords and weapons with my body, but I hope that your majesty's holy body is safe and sound."

Seeing Changsun Wuji's tears, Li Shimin felt a little embarrassed.

He was confident about his own safety, for example, he took a few Jinwu guards and went out before the New Year.

But if you think about it carefully, if you meet dozens of such Turkic desperadoes, I'm afraid you can only swallow your hatred.

At this time, without Qin Qiong's reminder, Yuchi Jingde stepped out and bowed.

Although he didn't say anything, everyone understood the meaning.

"Jingde, please sit down."

Li Shimin personally pulled up this beloved general:

"If I go out in the future, I will definitely ask you, the door god, to accompany me."

Only then did Yuchi Jingde grin and become happy.

...

For Li Shimin's assassination, the people in the Chengdu government office showed no interest.

There were too many assassins in the Spring and Autumn Period, and many of them were seeking revenge for their benefactors.

You, Li Erfeng, even destroyed other people's countries, so you don't worry about them assassinating you?

In contrast, Kong Ming sighed about the Turkic general who surrendered to the Tang Dynasty and made meritorious contributions:

"During the reign of Emperor Xiaowu, if Zhao Xin, who was under the command of Changping Liehou, was more careful, he might not be able to become such a person."

Zhang Fei blinked and recalled for a while before remembering who this person was.

After Emperor Xiaowu went to war with the Xiongnu, the first to be conferred the title of Marquis were Zhao Xin, Marquis Xi, and Le, Marquis Chiyuan, even earlier than Wei Qing.

Zhang Fei also understood, because both of them were Xiongnu people, this was probably a move of buying horse bones with a huge sum of money, and Zhao Xin was indeed capable, and he was the first to make contributions in the Yinshan War.

But the problem was that after the defeat in the Battle of Mo Nan, he surrendered to the Xiongnu and was highly valued, causing a lot of trouble for the Han Dynasty.

He bought horse bones with a huge sum of money, but the bones ran away...

"Military Advisor, don't be discouraged!"

Zhang Fei patted his chest and promised:

"When my old Zhang's cavalry is fully developed, I will definitely capture a few Qiang and Hu people to dance for the military advisor."

"Let the military advisor also enjoy the treatment of the Tang Dynasty emperor."

After being interrupted by Zhang Fei, Kong Ming was immediately at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

[Er Feng looked very handsome when he opposed all the opinions, but he also complained when he was caught in a dilemma by the Turks:

"Wei Zheng advised me to restore Gaochang, but I didn't listen to his advice. Now I blame myself."

This can be regarded as Er Feng's daily reflection:

Being assassinated by the Turks, reflection: I should have listened to Wei Zheng.

After destroying Gaochang, I reflected: I shouldn't have listened to Wei Zheng.

After being beaten for establishing Xizhou, I reflected: I should have listened to Wei Zheng.

Erfeng had this sigh mainly because the Western Turks were unified at this time, so the pressure on the Tang army base in Xizhou was a bit high.

Let Brother Shiwan see this matter of the Western Turks, maybe it will look familiar.

Dubu Khan beat the Western Turks and robbed half of their territory, and then surrendered directly to the Tang Dynasty.

This made the Western Turks happy and angry.

Happy because Dubu Khan was really good at fighting, and he beat them so hard that they couldn't raise their heads, and they were naturally relieved when the tough guy left.

Angry because this person would rather be a general in the Tang Dynasty than a Khan!

Although the Western Turks recovered their territory, people inside were moved.

In this situation, Dilishi Khan, who had just taken office, played a trick.

In short, he simply and roughly divided the Western Turks into ten tribes.

Then the Dulu tribe and the Nushibi tribe were respectively set up to lead five tribes, which we call the left and right wings for short.

The person in charge of the Western Turkic thought that his most ingenious operation was here:

The left and right wings were enemies.

If nothing unexpected happened, Dilishi would succeed in playing a check and balance, and it was his duty to revive the glory of the Western Turkic!

And if nothing unexpected happened... In fact, it would be an accident no matter who looked at it.

This check and balance lasted less than three years, and the left and right wings fought each other out.

Dilishi, the Great Khan, was jointly driven out and exiled to Yanqi.

It was in this situation that the Western Turkic was unable to take care of itself that Erfeng ordered Hou Junji to attack Gaochang, and at the same time added fuel to the civil strife of the Western Turkic:

He personally appointed Dilishi's nephew as the new Great Khan.

And just one year after the Tang Dynasty established Xizhou, the left and right wings fought to the end:

The Great Khan personally appointed by Erfeng was defeated and killed, and the Western Turkic was reunited.

The first thing the reunited Western Turks did was to put pressure on the Tang Dynasty, so Erfeng had such a sigh.

But although he said he was reflecting, Erfeng actually never considered revoking the Western Province.

And things soon took a turn for the better:

In 642, the Great Khan of the Western Turks notified the countries in the Western Regions: I am going to attack Kangguo. When the time comes, you will see who is more handsome, me or that Khan?

This declaration of slapping the Khan in the face made the Western Turks very imposing. They conquered Kangguo at the speed of light, robbed the United States, and looted countless treasures.

But the Great Khan of the Western Turks refused to share the treasures with his subordinates, so the internal contradictions of the Western Turks reappeared.

In this situation, Erfeng began a series of dazzling operations:

At the end of 643, he sent envoys to the Western Regions, enfeoffed the descendants of Dilishi as the Great Khan, and won over the pro-Tang faction within the Western Turks to accelerate their internal strife.

In early 644, under the contact of the envoys, the pro-Tang faction in Yanqi, which had previously sided with the Western Turks, began to stir up trouble.

In April of the same year, Hou Junji was beheaded, and the internal stability of the Tang Dynasty was restored.

In July of the same year, Erfeng issued an edict to attack Goguryeo.

In August of the same year, Erfeng issued an edict to order Guo Xiaoke to be the general manager of the Xizhou Road to attack Yanqi.

Eleven days later, Guo Xiaoke raided the capital of Yanqi with 3,000 light cavalry, captured its king, and Yanqi was destroyed. 】

Liu Bei looked at the complicated name of this Turk with interest.

Watching the separation and reunion of the Western Turks, I vaguely remembered the civil strife in Sun Wu that was personally handled by my eldest brother-in-law:

"The dispute between the two palaces?"

"It seems so, but it's not."

Fa Zheng shook his head and made two more comments:

"If it is a check and balance, both parties with hatred should be asked for help from the Great Khan."

"This move by the Turks is tantamount to helping both sides integrate their deployment."

"It's really...self-destruction."

In Fa Zheng's view, even if the ten tribes are to be divided, the two parties with hatred must be mixed together.

Your division is clear and obvious, just like putting weapons in the hands of two people with hatred.

It is really difficult to stop without stabbing the other party transparently.

Kong Ming laughed:

"The Emperor of Tang used the title of Heavenly Khan proposed by the united tribes clearly."

"Ennoble the weak to strengthen the Liao, so as to achieve checks and balances."

"The Great Khan who started the civil strife in the Western Turks should really learn from him."

Liu Bei watched the emperor's actions step by step, and he also felt complicated:

"Yanqi was destroyed."

Unlike Gaochang, who was not very touched, Yanqi had already existed when the Han Dynasty opened up the Western Regions.

The small countries in the Western Regions, from the pre-Han Dynasty to the present, and from now to the Tang Dynasty, were finally destroyed.

"Brother, Yanqi..."

Zhang Fei was just about to start talking when he was interrupted by Liu Bei:

"Does Yide have a plan to attack Guanzhong?"

He was really afraid that his third brother would calculate the fate of Yanqi on the spot, so he forced a change of subject.

Zhang Fei felt a little wronged. He just wanted to ask for permission to destroy Yanqi, why didn't his brother let him speak?

As for the strategy of attacking the pass... Isn't it enough to wait for military advisor Pang to give his advice?

...

Even the people in Ganlu Palace were interested in the internal strife in Western Turkestan.

Because the sources of information nowadays are basically passing Hu merchants.

Adhering to the premise of doing business without causing trouble, Hu merchants passing by Western Turkestan basically paid the money and left quickly.

Therefore, the understanding of Western Turkestan may not be as accurate as that of later generations.

Hou Junji was explaining diligently:

"The Great Khan of the Western Turks is named Nishu. I heard that he is a tough man. He personally killed the previous Khan to ascend the throne, but many of his tribesmen were dissatisfied."

"I think this is the source of the hatred between the left and right wings in later generations."

"You gave the Western Turks a title, which was a stroke of genius!"

"No wonder I was able to take Gaochang without the disturbance of the Western Turks. It turned out that you were planning thousands of miles away!"

"This Turkic Khan dared to look down on you. I am willing to lead the fighting troops and capture him outside Shuntian Gate to boast of my merits!"

Speaking of this, Hou Junji also remembered the grand scene of Chang'an when Li Jing and Li Shiqi presented the captives. I wonder when the protagonist will be replaced by him, Hou Junji?

But he kept talking. He must be the first to take the Western Regions for His Majesty!

"This Turkic Khan is still monopolizing wealth. With this vision, he dares to respect the Khan and doesn't know whether he lives or dies!"

"I think the Western Turks will not live long...Hou Junji was beheaded?"

Hou Junji's words were stuck immediately. He turned his head tremblingly and met Li Shimin's calm eyes.

Tears immediately fell:

"Everyone, it seems that I am not lucky enough to see my Tang Dynasty unify the Western Regions."

"Please punish me for the private plunder and seizure of Gaochang."

Looking at Hou Junji's tears, Li Shimin sighed and helped him up:

"Do you still remember the conversation at Xuanwu Gate?"

Hou Junji nodded, then shook his head hurriedly, then remembered that it should be a conversation a few days ago, and finally nodded hesitantly.

Looking at the panic of this close minister, Li Shimin felt a little more reluctant:

"Just remember it, what I said that day is still true."

Hou Junji tried hard to recall, but in the end he seemed unable to remember it completely.

But he also knew that as long as he did not go beyond the rules, he would not be killed.

But... Hou Junji looked at the small words "Gaochang" on the screen, and his mood was very complicated.

Know the world, know the past and the present, see your reputation, and see the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty.

Now he is thinking about more than just not going beyond the rules.