Chapter 8 3. God Khan

Li Yuancheng was in Chang'an, and Yang Guang was defeated in Jiangdu. That's right, occupying Chang'an, coupled with honoring the Sui Dynasty, will have a favorable position to command the world.On the contrary, if they deviate from the Guanzhong standard policy, they are bound to be collectively abandoned by the Guanlong Group.The answer to the question that Emperor Sui Yang did not understand until his death lies here. However, Yang Guang had to build Luoyang and connect the north and the south.His only mistake was that he should not treat the people as idiots.Therefore, when he became an enemy of the people, he could only hide in Jiangdu.What is puzzling is that he actually left the capital Chang'an to a thirteen-year-old child, but gave Taiyuan to Li Yuan. Why?

Perhaps, because of the Turks (Turks). The Turks are the northern nomadic peoples who had a great influence on Chinese history after the Xiongnu and Xianbei.Unfortunately, we know very little about this ancient nation. We only know that their origin is in the north of the Junggar Basin. The wolf is the totem of the tribe. They once surrendered to Rouran and worked for them in the Altai Mountains. The perspective of Chinese history is in the eighth year of Datong (542) of Emperor Wen of the Western Wei Dynasty. However, by the time of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the Turks had already established a powerful khanate, with jurisdiction extending from the upper reaches of the Liao River in the east, the Caspian Sea in Central Asia in the west, and Lake Baikal in the north.The reason why the Turkic country is called the Khanate is because the king is called Khan (pronounced as Kehan).They learned this title from Rouran, which is equivalent to Shanyu of the Huns.

In fact, from the end of the Western Wei Dynasty to the beginning of the Sui Dynasty, the Turks were the most powerful country on the Eurasian grassland, controlling the communication and trade between the East and the West.In the West, they flirted with the Byzantine Empire and agreed to destroy Iran's Sassanid Dynasty (Sassanid, also translated as the Sasanian Dynasty).In the East, of course, they will inevitably cross the Great Wall to visit, and most of them will not return empty-handed. The Turks were a frontier problem in northern China after the Xiongnu. Fortunately, due to various reasons, the Turks officially split into two Khanates, the East and the West, in the third year of Kaihuang (583), which gave the Sui Empire a great opportunity to sow discord and disintegrate.As a result, Qimin Khan of the Eastern Turks bowed his head and professed his vassal, Luo Khan of the Western Turks accepted his appeasement, and even the Persian Empire, which had been hostile to the Western Turks for generations, came to express their friendship. Emperor Sui Yang’s diplomacy was a great success .

Unfortunately, in political struggle, there are no permanent enemies, nor are there permanent friends.After Qimin Khan passed away, Shibi Khan, who succeeded him, turned his back on Emperor Yangdi.He even used hundreds of thousands of cavalry in August of the eleventh year of Daye (615) to surround Emperor Sui Yang, who was on his third northern tour, in Yanmen (now Dai County, Shanxi Province), almost killing him. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty never recovered from the fall. Shibi Khan has learned to reap the benefits of fishing.Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty made troubles between him and the Western Turks, while he fished in troubled waters when the Sui Empire was in turmoil.Whoever attaches himself to him, he will make him the emperor.Those anti-government armed forces are also willing to accept the title of Khan.Emperor Yangdi used the means of Turks, but was ruled against himself.

No wonder he wanted to arrange Li Yuan in Taiyuan, and the Turks had to guard against it. However, Turks are certainly the wolves of the north, and Li Yuan is not a watchdog.He is more ambitious and cunning than anyone else.In order to win the world, he did not hesitate to put down his body and bowed his head to Shibi Khan, and the mastermind of this matter was Li Shimin. This left a record in history, which made Li Tangjun and his ministers worry about it.What's more, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Shibi Khan relied on his special relationship with Li Yuan to demand too much from the Tang Dynasty and was arrogant.So did his heirs.Especially Jieli Khan (Jie read like shoes), came to harass him again and again.Li Yuan, whose foothold was not stable, had to swallow his anger, make compromises, and pretend to be a snake.

Obviously, if the Turkic issue is not resolved, there will be no peace for the country. In fact, even the change of Xuanwu Gate may have something to do with the Turks.At that time, Turkic iron cavalry surrounded Wucheng (in today's Wushen Banner of Inner Mongolia or Dingbian County of Shaanxi), and Li Yuanji was appointed as the commander of the army to rescue.However, Li Shimin received a secret report from an informant: the prince will murder himself at the farewell banquet for Yuanji, and his beloved general Yuchi Jingde and others will be incorporated into the army by Li Yuanji and secretly executed on the battlefield.

In this way, Li Shimin had to fight back in self-defense. Of course, this information may not be reliable.Whether there is even such information is probably very suspicious.However, after the Xuanwumen incident, it is a fact that the Turks sent troops to invade on a large scale.Moreover, after encountering Yuchi Jingde's resistance and interception, Jieli Khan still reached the north of the Wei River.The government and the public were shocked, and Chang'an was put under martial law. At this time, Qin Wang Li Shimin had just won the throne. In fact, martial law in the capital was almost at the same time as Taizong ascended the throne.This shows that the urgency of the situation no longer allows Li Yuan and his son to salute slowly and gracefully, and the hope of repelling the Turks is pinned on Li Shimin, who has always been brave and good at fighting.The problem is, since the defensive line of the fierce general Yuchi Jingde has been breached, there are actually not many troops in Chang'an City, so how did Tang Taizong rely on to defeat the enemy?

Bravery and wisdom. On August 28, Jieli Khan sent a confidant into Chang'an to find out the truth and show off his might.The emissary announced that the million-strong army led by the Khan has all been in place.Tang Taizong unceremoniously reprimanded the visitor: I have signed an alliance with you Khan face to face, why don't you speak honesty?Although you are Rongdi, you should have a heart, right?If you boast about being strong again, I will kill you right now! After finishing speaking, Tang Taizong imprisoned this person in Menxia Province, and then took five ministers out of Xuanwu Gate, and a group of six people came to the Weishui River, facing Jieli Khan across the water.The Turkic chiefs from all walks of life were shocked to see the emperor of the Tang Dynasty riding a horse in a heroic manner, walking like a leisurely stroll in the courtyard. Khan was very embarrassed.

Not long after, the Datang troops also came to Weishui.Their military flags fluttered high in the autumn wind, their armors shone brightly in the sun, and they lined up in unison, demonstrating the awe-inspiring and inviolable majesty of the Chinese Empire. The Turkic chiefs were once again shocked. Emperor Taizong waved his hand lightly, telling the troops to retreat and stay where they were in battle order.On the other hand, he rode forward and negotiated with Jieli Khan alone.The official history does not record the content of this conversation.But we know that two years ago, when Jieli Khan invaded, Qin Wang Li Shimin proposed to fight a single duel.This time, the emperor Li Shimin should be sternly accusing the other party of treachery, right?

Two days later, the two sides signed a peace treaty. Chang'an was rescued, Datang was saved, and people of all ethnic groups avoided a war disaster.This is what Emperor Taizong risked his life in exchange for.In fact, there were ministers blocking the horse to dissuade them at that time.Li Shimin said: This is my deliberate decision.The Turks dared to commit crimes, nothing more than bullying our state-owned civil strife, and since I came to the throne at the beginning, I must be powerless to resist.Therefore, as long as you are calm and composed, the strong captives will definitely leave without a fight.

So, when the Turks retreated, should they chase them? Taizong's proposition is not to pursue.He said, I have ambushed the army on the Turkic retreat, and it is easy to destroy them.However, once a war starts, there will be casualties on both sides.Instead of solving the problem, they forge hatred. Why bother?Now that the country is not yet stable, and the people are not yet rich, it is better to be quiet.As for the Turkic Khanate, it was just a mob.When they fall apart, it's not too late to catch them all. It turned out that Tang Taizong fought political and psychological warfare. War is the continuation of politics.Knowing politics is invincible.If there is civil strife, it will undoubtedly be defeated.In fact, the development of the situation was just as Taizong expected. The Turkic Khanate, as a loose alliance established by relying on the threat of force and plunder to get rich, would soon be unable to sustain itself, and Datang's counterattack was also launched after full preparations. In November of the third year of Zhenguan (629), the war was in full swing.In less than half a year, the Tang army won a complete victory.The vast area from the Yinshan Mountains in the west to the desert in the north was included in the territory of the Tang Empire, and Jieli Khan became a captive, and the Eastern Turks perished from then on. When the news came, the Supreme Emperor Li Yuan was very happy.He said: At that time, Han Gaozu was trapped by the Huns.Today, my son wiped out the Turks.I chose the right successor!So he summoned the princes and nobles to hold a banquet in Lingyan Pavilion.After drinking for three rounds, the Emperor Taishang played the pipa himself, and Tang Taizong danced lightly, laughing and laughing all night long. What made Taizong even more satisfied was that the chiefs of all ethnic groups in the north, originally ruled by the Turks, unanimously elected him as "Tian Khan", that is, the "Chief Emperor" of the people of all ethnic groups.This was something that had never happened before, so he said modestly with a smile on his face: I am the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, can I still do Khan's work? The answer was: Long live!Long live!Long live!

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Notes: Volume one hundred and ninety-one. The Turkic army's martial arts advancement, the capital's martial law, and Taizong's ascension to the throne are all recorded on the same day, that is, August 9th. Volume one hundred and ninety-one. Volume one hundred and ninety-three.