A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 682 Half Melancholy, Half Joy

Chang'an

In the Qinrenfang neighborhood in the east of the city, Cui Dunli, a court attendant, led his men to knock on the door of a large house.

The Turkic man with braided hair behind the door eyed the newcomer warily.

"I am Cui Dunli, a court interpreter, here by order of the Crown Prince to deliver the imperial edict. Please, General Ashina Duobi of the Right Guard, receive the edict!"

"Angel, please!"

Cui Dunli entered the mansion, looking around with some curiosity.

This unassuming mansion was once home to the mighty Turkic Khan, Jieli.

The Turkic vassal wolf guards led the envoy inside.

Upon reaching the main hall of the mansion, instead of going inside, they went around to the back.

Behind the central hall, which is shaped like the Chinese character "工" (gong), there were surprisingly many tents set up.
“The Khan was not used to living in houses, so he set up a tent to live in,” Fu Li explained.

Khagan not only set up a tent in the courtyard,

They also raised dairy goats in the Xu courtyard.
When Cui Dunli saw Jieli, he thought he had mistaken him for someone else.

The Khan Jieli was not captured and taken to Chang'an for very long.
When there were banquets in the palace, Jieli would always be invited to attend. At that time, Jieli would wear a purple robe and a jade belt, looking like a Han-Chinese Hu person.

But at this time,
Jieli, however, wore a sheepskin robe and had his hair braided.
He sat in front of the tent, spinning wool while singing.

Listen carefully,
It seems like they're still humming the song "Chilichuan".

Chulechuan, at the foot of Yinshan Mountain
The sky is like a vast dome, covering the boundless plains; the sky is blue, the plains are boundless...

Cui Dunli stopped.
Listen quietly.

He sensed that Jieli, though in Chang'an, had his heart in the grasslands, like a nomadic herder who spun wool while herding sheep.

He waited until Jieli finished singing.
Only then did he step forward.

"General Ashina Duobi of the Right Guard, receive the imperial edict!"

Jieli looked up and saw the green-robed Tang official standing in front of his tent, and felt a slight dissatisfaction.

With a long sigh,
He put down the spindle in his hand and stood up.

"Your subject, Dubi, respectfully receives the imperial edict!"

The imperial edict to Jieli was an award, bestowing upon him the title of King Guiyi and appointing him as the governor of Guozhou.

"His Highness the Crown Prince said that Guozhou is backed by mountains and has many wild animals such as deer and roe deer. If the Prince goes there to serve as an official, he can hunt for his own enjoyment."

However, Jieli did not accept the imperial edict.
Instead, they refused on the spot.

Cui Dunli returned to report, and Jieli's son, Dieluozhi, asked his father, "Father Khan dislikes Chang'an, is not used to living in those houses made of wood and earth, and dislikes being frequently summoned by the Tang Emperor to palace banquets to dance and drink."

Now that we finally have a chance to leave, why doesn't Father Khan go?

At the palace banquet, Jieli Khan would dance and drink, always appearing very happy, but in reality, he was always depressed after returning home, and had lost a lot of weight.

He used to be burly and robust, but now he looks like a scholar from the Tang Dynasty.

“My son, Chang’an is my prison. How could I possibly leave? If the Tang people open the prison gates, it’s not because they really want to let me go, but because they want to test me. If I really walk out of the prison, that will be the time for me to be killed.”

"Why?" Dieluzhi asked, puzzled.

"Because I was once the Great Khan of the Turks." Jieli looked up at the sky, the grasslands were long gone.

The sky over the grasslands seems much more beautiful than the sky over Chang'an.

Guozhou is surrounded by mountains and wild beasts. Hmph, if I dare to agree, I will become the prey to be shot down.

Pick up a handful of wool,
Jieli sat in front of the tent and continued spinning, humming the song "Chilichuan" as he spun.

Several Turkic women emerged from a nearby tent, carrying wooden buckets, to milk the cows.

The Chule River flows beneath the Yin Mountains, the sky is vast and blue, and the plains stretch endlessly.
When Jieli heard that the rebellion of Crown Prince Jiancheng and King Yuanji of Qi had been quelled by the King of Qin, he knew that he would never be able to return to the grasslands.

Based on just that short message, he could roughly guess that a palace coup had occurred in the Tang court, and that the second prince, Prince Qin, had won, and won so decisively and beautifully.

As the evening drums sounded in Chang'an, Jieli sighed, got up, and crawled into his tent.
"The Turks are gone!"

"With Li Shimin in charge of the Tang Dynasty, the Turks had no chance. I had no chance to turn things around, and the Turkic Khaganate was gone too."

The Turks also had a Great Khan.

That was the former Tuli Khan.

Now he is the Great Khan of the Turks.

But this Turkic Khan also lived in Chang'an.

In fact, ever since he came to Chang'an to pay homage to the emperor, he has never returned to the grasslands and has been kept in Chang'an by the Tang emperor.

Now, Chang'an City has a new master.

Tuli also still lived in Chang'an.

Compared to Jieli's constant discomfort with Chang'an, Tuli adapted quite well to life in Chang'an, and even liked it somewhat.

He wasn't subject to as many restrictions as Jieli in Chang'an.

He could not only come and go freely in Chang'an, but he could even take his entourage hunting in the outskirts of the capital. However, without the permission of the Tang emperor, he could not return to the grasslands.

Chang'an is great!

bright lights and bustling activity

It was incredibly prosperous.

It's so much better than the grasslands.

Tuli was so happy that he almost forgot about home.

Fine wine, beautiful women, luxurious clothes, and sumptuous food. "Great Khan, an envoy has come to summon you to the Eastern Palace to meet the Crown Prince."

In the lavishly decorated Prince's Mansion in Beiping, Tuli was surrounded by beauties, enjoying their hospitality, listening to the Kucha pipa, and watching the Kangguo Hu Xuan dance.
Feeling really good.
Upon hearing the report from the guard, he dared not delay and quickly pushed the beauty aside, saying, "Go quickly and fetch my purple robe and jade belt to help me change."

After changing his clothes, Tuli hurriedly went to the East Palace.
Upon arrival, he discovered that his two sworn brothers, Crown Prince Li Shimin and Prince Li Yi, were both present.

"Brother Wang is here, please have a seat." Li Shimin smiled and waved.

Tuli bowed and sat down. "I wonder why Your Majesty has summoned me here?"

"It's nothing major. It's just that Liang Shidu, a dog that the Turks used to raise, is still defying the emperor's authority and refusing to submit."

I originally intended to send a large army to annihilate them, but Wu Yi suggested that such a large-scale mobilization was unnecessary, saying that all I needed to do was for my brother to issue a few Golden Wolf Command Arrows.

The various Turkic tribes could easily muster tens of thousands of troops to crush Liang Shidu for the imperial court.

Tuli, who was half-leaning and only sitting on one side, immediately stood up upon hearing this.

"Your Majesty, I thought it was something serious, but it turns out to be just this. This is a trivial matter and not worth Your Majesty's attention. I will issue the order now, and each of the nine governorates will send 10,000 troops to quell the Liang bandits for Your Majesty."

Li Shimin smiled and said, "Sit down and talk. Liang Shidu used to be a dog raised by your Turks. Now that he's disobedient, you, the dog's master, have to beat him."

"Brother Wang, you've been in Chang'an for a while now. You must be longing for the grasslands by now, right?"

Upon hearing this, Tuli shook his head vigorously, "To be honest, Your Majesty, the longer I live in Chang'an, the more I like it. It's prosperous and wealthy, and everything is convenient. It's much better than the grasslands."

The grassland was covered in grass, and only inhabited mosquitoes, marmots, and rabbits.

Li Yi had been observing Tu Li.

I noticed that this guy had gained quite a bit of weight in the more than six months I hadn't seen him. Judging from his appearance, it seemed like he had really fallen for Chang'an.

Li Yi didn't particularly like Chang'an.

I feel that the design concept of Chang'an City is not very livable. The various wards and markets seem orderly, but they are like a prison.

There is a city and a market, but the market is concentrated in the east and west markets, and it only opens in the afternoon every day.

The streets were separated by high walls, and apart from a few lonely roadside trees, there were no bustling shops or markets.

The city gates and ward gates were closed as soon as the sun went down, and a curfew was imposed at night, leaving no nightlife whatsoever.

Chang'an City was also very large.
It's inconvenient in every way.

Rich people find it more comfortable to live in the countryside, where there are fewer constraints.

Of course, Chang'an City also has some good points, such as its abundant resources, its thriving entertainment scene like Pingkangfang, not to mention its safety.

"I heard that Khan Jieli is not used to living in Chang'an, so Your Highness has appointed him as the governor of Guozhou."

Tuli was stunned for a moment.
"How can Your Highness appoint Jieli as governor? He'll surely flee once he leaves Chang'an,"

Li Shimin said, "Jieli refused."

"Sizhong, you are the Khan of the Turks, but you cannot stay in Chang'an forever. Prepare to return to the grasslands, back to the Dingxiang Khanate, to lead the various Turkic tribes and the nine governorates for the court."
This campaign against Liang Shidu,
The imperial court will appoint the imperial son-in-law, Chai Shao, as commander-in-chief. You will then recruit 30,000 Turkic cavalry to go to Shuofang and assist Chai Shao in annihilating Liang Shidu.

Tuli hesitated.

Li Yi laughed and said, "Don't worry, Liang Shidu is nothing but a wild dog. The reason the court is calling on you Turks to join the campaign is because..."
It was merely a test of the loyalty of the various tribes.

The nine governorates each contribute 3,000 troops, plus your own 3,000 personal troops as Khan, totaling 30,000 cavalry.
"Taking down Master Liang is a piece of cake."

···
"Do you think Tuli genuinely likes living in Chang'an, or is he just pretending?"

After Tuli received the imperial edict and left, Li Shimin held up a teacup and asked Li Yi a question.

"From my observation, Tuli has no great ambitions; he is simply fond of comfort and enjoyment, and genuinely enjoys the luxurious lifestyle in Chang'an."
but,

He would definitely prefer to return to the grasslands, after all, he'd be the Khan back then.

Li Shimin took a sip of tea. "Are you really going to let Tuli go back to the grasslands?"

"Comparatively speaking, Tuli is more aligned with the court. Currently, the various Turkic tribes are leaderless and unstable."
Sending Tuli back would also help stabilize the various tribes for the court and prevent them from causing any trouble.

With him, the Great Khan,
Whether it's Sabolasa, Yugkusa, Yushesa, Tuosa, Burisa, or others, even if they have ambitions, they won't be able to command the various tribes in a short time.

"Do you think it will be successful to send Tuli to mobilize 30,000 troops from nine tribes to attack Liang Shidu this time?"

"Liang Shidu's only support is the Turks. Now that his master is going to attack him, he either has to surrender to the Tang Dynasty or wait to die. Even if he struggles, it will be in vain."

As for whether the Turks, with their 30,000 troops, can capture Liang Shidu, there's no need to worry. If once isn't enough, try twice; if twice isn't enough, try three times.
Since they are all Turkic soldiers, there's no need to worry about casualties. A mutually destructive outcome would only benefit the court.

Li Shimin nodded.

"What if any of the nine tribes disobeys the imperial edict and refuses to send troops?"

“Then remember this: once we’ve destroyed Liang Shidu, we’ll settle accounts later and use that as a pretext to order all the tribes to join forces in suppressing him,” Li Yi said.

Using non-Han peoples as auxiliary troops in wars was a tactic that the Tang Dynasty was most adept at in history.

Now, it's Li Yi who first brought it up.

"Previously, although we captured Jieli and destroyed the Khan's court in one battle, I worried that they would not truly submit to our Great Tang."
The Turks will inevitably become a major threat to the court sooner or later. Wuyi, do you have any good ideas on how to deal with them?

"I have two strategies. One is to support pro-Tang figures like Tuli and Simo to lead the Turkic tribes and divide the Turkic people."

Secondly, it could support the Tiele tribes in northern Mongolia, implicitly allowing them to break away from the Turks and establish their own khanates, thus separating northern and southern Mongolia.

The Turks are already preoccupied with dealing with the Tiele, so how could they possibly pose a threat to our Great Tang?

"Using barbarians to control barbarians?" Li Shimin's eyes lit up. "That's a brilliant move."

The prince laughed heartily.

"Using the Turks to attack Liang Shidu, driving the Western Qiang tribes to attack Tuyuhun, and sending Feng Ang and Ning Chun to send troops to punish Ning Changzhen, Feng Xuan, Tan Dian, etc., all use the same strategy."

"Your Highness, one trick is all you need! There's no such thing as a superior or inferior strategy, as long as it works for the right purpose."

(End of this chapter)