The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 835: Imperial Envoy
"Peace reigns over the country, and the people are content"

Yingzhou Military Governor's Office, now the Liaohe Road Marching General Headquarters. Changsun Wuji stood facing north, with a serious look on his face and a yellow silk in his hand. All officials, including Hou Junji and Tang Jian, knelt down in the hall to listen to his orders. Only Changsun Wuji's majestic voice echoed in the hall:
"Imperial decree: Right Prime Minister Changsun Wuji is appointed as the imperial envoy to inspect the four directions on my behalf and announce the decree to Hebei. In case of emergency, all civil and military officials in Hebei shall be under his control. Regardless of the size of the military or political affairs, he can execute them on my behalf. Officials below the third rank can be executed first and reported later."

"I hereby order."

Many officials kowtowed respectfully and said, "We respect the emperor's order. Long live the emperor."

After announcing the decree, Changsun Wuji handed the imperial edict to the entourage around him.

The attendant took the imperial edict and reviewed it with the officials present one by one, verified the specific content, and went through the customs clearance procedures.

The imperial edict is not just recited casually. The people below will obey it strictly once they hear it, especially the edict involving the ownership of important power.

There is a complete and strict handover process, which involves matching styles and various seals. The relevant departments are even required to make two copies of the original text, one to be taken back for filing and careful study, and the other to be left to the imperial envoy as proof to prove that the relevant personnel and departments have clearly received the order.

Of course, these were handled by their own subordinate clerks. Many Hebei officials were busy entertaining the imperial envoy and building good relationships, and no one went to read the imperial edict.

For an emperor's confidant like Changsun Wuji, who was assigned a long-term inspection mission, it was very reasonable in every aspect, and I believe Changsun Wuji would not dare to forge an imperial edict.

Hou Junji and Tang Jian were even more aware of the meaning of this imperial edict. The emperor obviously felt that the previous Liaohe Road, or even the combined strength of Hebei Road, could not handle such a big event as Liaodong, so he sent the more important Changsun Wuji and gave him greater authority.

With this imperial edict, Changsun Wuji was in power and could legitimately restrain all officials, mobilize all troops, and act as he saw fit.

As an old friend and host, Hou Junji was the first to come forward and say, "Master Changsun, thank you for your hard work on the journey. The officials of Liaohe Province and my colleagues of Hebei Province have prepared a banquet to welcome you. Please move on."

"Hehehe"

Changsun Wuji stroked his beard, looked at the officials in the hall, and said with a smile: "Jun Ji, you and Lord Tang are not outsiders. Many of the officials here are old friends of mine. There is no need to be so polite."

"Come on, we haven't seen each other for a long time, let's have a good chat."

This time he came for the Liaodong war, not to punish officials or to find trouble, and Changsun Wuji's attitude was very kind.

When everyone heard Changsun Wuji's tone, they felt relieved and began to flatter him even more eagerly. They surrounded Changsun Wuji like the moon surrounded by stars and entered the inner hall.

The next morning, Changsun Wuji couldn't wait to cross the Liao River and came to Jie Li's tent on the north bank.

For such an important matter, Changsun Wuji, on behalf of the Tang Dynasty, must discuss it with Jie Li in person, and the decision cannot be made based on a single envoy.

Jie Li also knew this, so as soon as he received the report from the messenger, he met with Changsun Wuji immediately.

"Changsun Wuji, the Right Prime Minister and Imperial Envoy of the Tang Dynasty, pays homage to the Great Khan of the Turkic Khanate, Jie Li!" After entering the tent, Changsun Wuji touched his chest and saluted.

As soon as Jie Li saw Changsun Wuji's attitude, he knew Li Shimin's attitude.

The Tang Dynasty is really sincere this time!

Zhangsun Wuji was Li Shimin's elder brother-in-law and the right servant of the dynasty, so he could fully represent Li Shimin. In his words, he decisively acknowledged Jie Li as the only great Khan of the Turks, representing the current New Turkic Khanate.

This is very important to Jie Li.
The former Jie Li did not care. After all, at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the Great Turks were the undisputed overlord of the world.

Even the current Tang Dynasty was once subservient to the Great Turkic Khanate, and Li Yuan was also granted titles by Jie Li.

Even if the Tang Dynasty has risen today, as long as Jie Li is still alive, the arrogance of the Great Turkic Khaganate will still remain. The Tang Dynasty can at most be on an equal footing with the Turkic Khaganate, and it dare not blatantly confuse right and wrong and deny the fact that it once submitted to the Great Turkic Khaganate.

At least in front of Jie Li himself, he didn't have that confidence.
The Tang Dynasty could send troops to attack the New Turks, but it could not treat and belittle Jie Li as a running dog like Yinan.

This was not to highlight Jie Li's supreme status, but for the sake of the face of the former Tang Dynasty and Li Yuan.

Just imagine, if Jie Li was belittled as a pig and a dog, then what would Li Yuan be like at the time?

Li Shimin, who later succeeded the Tang Dynasty after Li Yuan abdicated, and the Tang Dynasty's rulers and ministers would not be ashamed.

The Tang Dynasty now has an attitude of noncommittal towards the new Turkic Khanate led by Jie Li in the eastern part of the grassland, that is, it neither recognizes nor denies it.

There are no diplomatic envoys and no communication, which is a way of blurring the lines.

This made Jie Li very worried. If the Tang Dynasty continued to refuse to recognize the current New Turkic Khanate diplomatically, Jie Li, as the former overlord of the grassland, would still be powerful and might be able to act independently and not care about the Tang Dynasty's opinion.

But when he passed away, his son Shiluodi took over the throne. He had neither the title of a powerful ruler nor the power to suppress the grasslands, and it was very likely that he would not be able to maintain stability. The situation was stronger than the people. Now the New Turkic Khanate only occupied half of the grasslands. No matter how uncomfortable Jie Li felt, he had to admit that as the most powerful country in the world, the Tang Empire had an absolute influence on the power of the surrounding small countries.

The Tang Dynasty is now busy digesting the fruits of victory and has no time to care about the independent New Turks in the eastern part of the grassland. After Li Shimin has sorted out internal affairs, it is very likely that he will launch attacks from three directions in the southwest and completely destroy the current New Turkic Khanate.

Jie Li's physical condition forced him to think about the future of the New Turkic Khanate and his son Shiluodie. This was the reason why he planned to attack Ashina Yun in the south and eliminate Biheli in the west, and it was also the reason why he later betrothed his daughter to Li Yan.

The same consideration is also behind the current efforts to establish good relations with the Tang Dynasty by conquering Goguryeo.

He had to leave a stable environment for Shiluodi, to ensure at least twenty years of stability for the New Turkic Khaganate, waiting for his descendants to grow up.

Seeing Datang's attitude now, Jie Li was very satisfied and extended his hand eagerly: "Master Changsun, please stand up. Don't be polite. Sit down and talk!"

"Thank you Khan."

Jie Li smiled slightly and said: "I have dealt with Tang Jian quite a lot. We have had many exchanges during the Wude period. I am not familiar with Lord Changsun, but we should have met before."

"Yes, Khan has a good memory."

Changsun Wuji stroked his beard and said calmly, "In the ninth year of Wude, the Khan came to Chang'an as a guest and met with the Emperor of the Great Tang at the bridge outside the Weishui River. Wuji was accompanying him and met the Khan from afar."

"The Khan's former demeanor was unprecedented in history. Thinking about it now still makes me feel awe-inspiring!"

All the emperors and ministers of the Tang Dynasty, when mentioning the shame of the Bianqiao incident, subconsciously attributed it to the ninth year of Wude and the reign of Li Yuan. It seemed that this could better prove Li Yuan's incompetence and uselessness, and indirectly show the wisdom of Li Shimin in the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

Li Yuan was also very angry about this, but there was nothing he could do.

In fact, Li Yuan had already stepped down at that time, and Li Shimin ascended the throne, so it should be blamed on Li Shimin.

It was indeed at the end of the ninth year of Wude that Jie Li invaded, so it is also correct to classify it as Li Yuan's Wude period.

The great humiliation of the past was brought up again, and Changsun Wuji used the Spring and Autumn Annals method to talk about it. In a few words, it turned into a memory of the past. Those who were not aware of the situation still thought that the meeting that year was so beautiful and memorable.

It has to be said that foreign affairs meetings all serve the overall situation. If the overall situation is positive, naturally the statements will be different.

Jie Li's face froze, his eyes wandered, and a look of reminiscence emerged: "At that time, Li Shimin was followed by five ministers, and Lord Zhangsun was one of them. No wonder Lord Zhangsun looked so familiar to me."

On the bank of the Wei River, Jie Li saw that Li Shimin was fearless and suspected that there were ambushes south of the bridge. But later everyone knew that at that time, Chang'an City was unprecedentedly empty and there were no heavy troops. As long as he gave the order at that time.

If the army had crossed the river, the Tang Dynasty would have perished at that time and history would have been rewritten.

Thinking of this, Jie Li's old face darkened, and he was filled with infinite regret and pity. He sighed, "Li Shimin is indeed a natural king. He is brave and heroic. He remained calm in the face of hundreds of thousands of troops, and spoke righteously and solemnly."

"Even a civil official like you is fearless. The Central Plains is indeed a land of great wealth and talent."

"It is not a loss for the Great Turkic Empire to be defeated by such a country and such a person."

"This Khan considers himself a rare hero in the grasslands, but unfortunately he met an even more extraordinary person like Li Shimin. What's the saying in the Central Plains?"

Seeing Jie Li resolutely admit defeat and highly respect the Tang emperor and his ministers, Changsun Wuji was extremely proud: "What the Khan wants to say is, if Yu is born, why is Liang born?"

"Yes, that's right."

Jie Li sighed deeply, his face full of decadence: "I claim that I am not a mediocre and incompetent person, but unfortunately I was born in a bad era and met an even more evil person like Li Shimin. He is an emperor that is rare in a thousand years. I can only blame my bad luck."

It can be seen that both sides are trying their best to eliminate the previous differences and work hard to ease the relationship between the two countries.

Although Jie Li called Li Shimin's name unscrupulously, Changsun Wuji did not feel unhappy about it, as he felt that Jie Li was humiliating the Tang Dynasty.

As the former Khan of the Great Turkic Khanate, even Li Yuan had submitted to Jie Li, and Li Shimin was even a junior.

After Li Yuan's death, the only person in the world who could address the Tang emperor by his name was probably Jie Li. Even in front of Li Shimin, given Jie Li's seniority, Li Shimin would not have thought that Jie Li was rude.

What's more, this time Jie Li's intention to show goodwill to the Tang Dynasty was very strong.

The two sides exchanged pleasantries and the atmosphere was very friendly. Changsun Wuji mentioned the most concerned issue of this meeting: "I heard from Tang Jian that the Khan wanted to cooperate with our Tang Dynasty in attacking Goguryeo this time. Is this true?"

(End of this chapter)