Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 371 The Unconventional Crown Prince, the First Pragmatist of the Tang Dynasty [Seeking Monthly Tickets!]

"Your Majesty! Why do you do this?"

Seeing Li Shimin, whose mouth was full of blood, walk out of Ashina Simo's military tent, Changsun Wuji couldn't help but mutter a word about him.

But he said nonchalantly, "I have said before that I treat all my soldiers as my own brothers. How can I stand by and do nothing when my brothers are in trouble?"

He then glanced in the direction of Baiyan City and said coldly, "This Sun Daiyin is ignorant of the times and has killed my brothers. I will never let him get away with this. Deploy the artillery battalion and bombard Baiyan City severely. I will make sure that not a blade of grass grows in Baiyan City!"

"Yes!"

The generals were deeply moved upon hearing this, and immediately accepted the order and withdrew.

Perhaps some people think that Li Shimin was just putting on a show.

As long as Li Chengqian puts on this show, his so-called prestige and righteousness can actually be compensated for.

But given Li Chengqian's personality, even if he wanted to put on a show, he wouldn't go to the same extent as Li Shimin.

This, in fact, proves Li Shimin's extraordinary abilities.

He may have flaws, but those flaws cannot overshadow his brilliance.

Of course, this doesn't mean that Li Chengqian was completely helpless against him.

However, the normal methods definitely won't work.

And our little Li, just as Empress Zhangsun said, likes to take the road less traveled.

Five days later, at the city of Tuyuhun Fu'e.

"His Royal Highness!"

Pei Xingjian hurriedly walked in from outside and reported to Li Chengqian, "His Majesty has captured Baiyan City!"

"Oh?"

Li Chengqian raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but say, "How could it be so fast? I remember he only captured Liaodong City less than fifteen days ago!"

"Your Highness, it should have been faster, but something went wrong and it was delayed by five days."

"Oh, what's going on? What went wrong?"

"this."

Pei Xingjian grinned awkwardly, then said with a strange expression, "To be honest, Your Highness, at the beginning, Sun Daiyin, the city lord of Baiyan City, agreed to surrender to His Majesty. However, when His Majesty led the army to accept the surrender, Sun Daiyin went back on his word."

"Not only did they kill the envoy sent by His Majesty, but they also repeatedly humiliated His Majesty and the soldiers of the Tang army."

"His Majesty was furious and ordered the looting of Baiyan City, and distributed all the men, women and property in Baiyan City to the soldiers who attacked the city."

"As a result of insufficient preparation, another key player was injured."

"Later, His Majesty took command in the northwest and ordered the Prince of Rencheng and the Prince of Jiangxia to launch a fierce attack on the southwest. He also ordered Cheng Zhijie and Yuchi Gong to block the reinforcements from Wugu City. For three consecutive days, they defeated Sun Daiyin, the lord of Baiyan City, until he completely lost the will to resist."

"On the evening of the fourth day, he secretly contacted the Tang Dynasty again, asked His Majesty to surrender, and expressed his difficulties, saying that it was not that he was unwilling to surrender, but that his generals were unwilling to surrender."

"His Majesty's conditions are that surrender is possible, but only if the head of the person who killed my Tang envoy is presented as a sign of sincerity, and also that my Tang army's flag be planted on the city wall."

"Later, Sun Daiyin followed the plan and killed all the soldiers who participated in shooting the Tang envoy. When the Tang army attacked the city, he decisively planted the Tang army flag. When the soldiers defending the city saw the Tang army flag, they thought that the situation was hopeless and lost all their fighting spirit. They had no choice but to surrender obediently."

“So that’s how it is”

After listening to Pei Xingjian's account, Li Chengqian couldn't help but nod with a sigh.

But then, as if remembering something, he frowned and said, "Didn't my father promise to reward the soldiers who attacked the city with spoils of war? Now that Baiyan City has surrendered, won't their spoils be lost?"

"Uh, this."

Upon hearing this, Pei Xingjian's lips twitched again, and he said awkwardly, "To be honest, Your Highness, this is another digression I was about to bring up."

"Why are there so many problems?!"

Li Chengqian frowned deeply and immediately blurted out, "What on earth is my father doing?!"

"Your Highness, please be careful with your words. Because of this matter, His Majesty had a big argument with the Duke of Zhao, and even the generals who attacked the city had some disagreements with His Majesty. In the end, His Majesty had no choice but to compromise and agree to take money from the Imperial Treasury to compensate the soldiers who attacked the city, saying that he would redeem Baiyan City from them!"

"Play the piano randomly!"

Li Chengqian slammed his hand on the table and complained indignantly, "When he went to war, I warned him that he must keep his word. That's why my uncle argued with him, because I also told my uncle to dissuade him!"

"I didn't expect him to fall into his old habit again! Such womanly compassion!"

"He's a general commanding the front lines, not an emperor! Now, money can make up for it, but what about morale? Will the soldiers still have the will to continue fighting alongside him against Goguryeo?!"

At this point, Li Chengqian couldn't help but slam his fist on the table and exclaim, "This is utterly outrageous!"

"But."

Seeing that Li Chengqian's anger was still not appeased, Pei Xingjian couldn't help but cautiously add, "The soldiers at the front don't seem to have been greatly affected."

"What kind of impact are you referring to? A mutiny?"

Li Chengqian gave them a cold look, then said in a deep voice, "Let me tell you, a thousand-mile dike can be breached by an ant hole. It doesn't mean that you can get feedback immediately when a problem arises! Our army has won now, but as long as we win, the problem will be covered up. But if we lose, or if a protracted war breaks out, do you think our soldiers will fight as hard as they did when we attacked Baiyan City?"

To prove his point, he walked to a map and pointed to the Liaodong battlefield, saying, "If my analysis is correct, my father will at most attack Anshi City. The city walls here are high and thick; even artillery might not be able to penetrate them."

"Therefore, there will definitely be a very long tug-of-war here."

"This protracted battle will expose all the problems at once, leading to a dismal end to the Liaodong campaign!"

"Ah? This"

Pei Xingjian was completely stunned when he heard Li Chengqian's analysis.

But Li Chengqian didn't give him time to react, and continued, "Therefore, we don't have much time left. We must reach Liaodong before the protracted war begins and take down Goguryeo in one fell swoop!"

"Then, what is His Highness's plan?"

I'm ready.

"Report——!"

Just as Li Chengqian was about to reveal his plan, a report suddenly came from outside the door.

"Come in! What happened?"

"Your Highness, news has come from General Li Ji that His Majesty has ordered him to allocate 30,000 troops to Hou Junji and has sent Zhang Gongjin to assist him in attacking Gaochang next year!"

Swish!
Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian's expression changed instantly.

Pei Xingjian, standing to the side, looked on in astonishment, wondering what His Majesty was doing.
Why would they divide the Crown Prince's military power at this time?
It's important to know that the Crown Prince's next plan has not yet been implemented!

Once the command is divided, wouldn't all the plans fall apart?

"His Royal Highness..."

Seeing Li Chengqian's face growing increasingly grim, Pei Xingjian couldn't help but call out to him softly.

Li Chengqian took a deep breath, then suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice, "Why has Your Majesty decided to attack Gaochang next year?"

"Your Highness, as far as I know, it seems that the King of Gaochang deliberately provoked our Great Tang..."

Immediately afterwards, the person who made the report relayed everything he knew to Li Chengqian without missing a single word.

Li Chengqian's face grew increasingly dark as he listened.

Even if he were in Li Shimin's shoes, he would have no choice but to fight against the Kingdom of Gaochang.

Therefore, in Emperor Taizong's view, there was no problem with Hou Junji ordering him to attack Gaochang next year.

The key point is that Gaochang was not the only country opposing the Tang Dynasty; there was also the Western Turks in secret.

Once the Western Turks intervene in the war between Gaochang and the Tang Dynasty, Hou Junji's 30,000 troops will be no match for them.

Therefore, the final result will only be that Li Ji's 200,000-strong northern army will all participate in Hou Junji's war.

As the crown prince, he would have no soldiers to command.

Or rather, apart from his own Eastern Palace Six Guards and the Western Regions Allied Army, he will have no reinforcements.

But does Emperor Taizong (Li Er) not know his own ambition? He himself has vowed to destroy four kingdoms!

Even if we were to attack Gaochang, we should have left it to ourselves!
Why did Hou Junji lead his troops to attack Gaochang Kingdom alone? Could there be some other purpose behind this?
Thinking of this, Li Chengqian's brows furrowed higher and higher, and he fell silent.

However, before Li Chengqian could come up with a solution, another report came from outside the door: "Your Highness, the Khan of Tuyuhun, Murong Shun, requests an audience!"

Li Chengqian was slightly taken aback, then frowned and asked, "Murong Shun also knows about this?"

"That's impossible. This matter has only just reached me. It's impossible for Murong Shun to know about it before I did!"

The person who reported hesitated before denying it.

Li Chengqian narrowed his eyes, then turned to look at Pei Xingjian and asked, "Has anything major happened in Tuyuhun recently?"

"Apart from the fact that Murong Shun summoned the chieftains of various tribes ten days ago to discuss the future of Tuyuhun, nothing seems to have happened."

Pei Xingjian shook his head and said, "Moreover, we don't have many spies in Tuyuhun. It's possible that our people haven't even returned to report before Murong Shun's people found out."

"Heh, this guy always only tells me good news and never bad news, so it must be something good!"

Li Chengqian smiled, then sat back down in his seat as if nothing had happened, and said calmly, "Let him in!"

"Yes!"

There was a response from outside the door.

Soon, Murong Shun walked in with a beaming smile, cupped his hands and said, "Your subject, Murong Shun, pays respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

"Ha, what does Murong Khan mean by this? It seems that your Tuyuhun has not yet submitted to my Great Tang, so how can you become my subject?"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian couldn't help but laugh.

Murong Shun explained without any hesitation: "The reason why my Tuyuhun did not surrender to the Tang Dynasty before was because the situation was unstable, and the false crown prince Dayan Mangjiebo was causing trouble, so we could not wholeheartedly surrender to the Tang Dynasty!"

Li Chengqian laughed again: "So, the time has come?"

"Yes, Your Highness, the time is ripe. Please allow me, on behalf of Tuyuhun, to present a letter of surrender to the Tang Dynasty, along with geomantic maps of the various tribes."

"Wait a minute!"

Before Murong Shun could finish speaking, Li Chengqian raised his hand to interrupt him and said, his smile fading, "You have to tell me what exactly happened, don't you?"

"hehe."

Murong Shun also smiled.

But he said calmly, "Your Highness, according to reliable information I have received, Dayan Mangjiebo has surrendered to Tibet with his troops and is now a subject of Songtsen Gampo of Tibet."

"As His Highness the Crown Prince's subject, I naturally pledge allegiance to the Tang Dynasty!"

"What did you say?"

Li Chengqian frowned deeply: "You're saying that Dayan Mangjiebo has already surrendered to Songtsen Gampo?"

"Yes! Now everything west of Tuyuhun belongs to Tibet!"

"What a courage!"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian slammed his fist on the table again, his anger barely contained, and exclaimed, "How dare Songtsen Gampo take advantage of my Great Tang?!"

"On what grounds does he accept Dayan Mangjiebo's surrender? On what grounds does he occupy western Tuyuhun?! I conquered it! The entire Tuyuhun belongs to me!"

"Uh, this."

To be honest, as the Khan of Tuyuhun, hearing Li Chengqian's words was incredibly embarrassing. Fortunately, there weren't many people here, and they were all Li Chengqian's men, so no one would go around spreading rumors.

Then, Murong Shun said with a forced smile, "Your Highness, please calm down. You are right. The entire Tuyuhun is yours. Songtsen Gampo is too audacious. He actually dared to harbor rebels and annex Tang territory. He simply doesn't respect the Tang Dynasty at all."

"Hmph! You don't need to sow discord here. I will deal with Songtsen Gampo sooner or later!"

Li Chengqian snorted coldly, then said in a deep voice, "Where is your letter of surrender? Let me see it!"

"Ah? Oh, it's here."

Murong Shun reacted for a moment, then quickly took out the official letter, knelt down and presented it, saying, "Please review it, Your Highness!"

"Laifu!"

"Yes!"

Lai Fu responded and immediately stepped forward to pick up the letter of state and hand it to Li Chengqian.

Without saying a word, Li Chengqian unfolded the official letter in front of Murong Shun.

Although the initial words were written with great humility and sincerity, Li Chengqian's brows furrowed more and more as he read on. When he saw that Murong Shun's so-called surrender was actually to become a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, he was so angry that he threw the letter at Murong Shun's face and shouted, "What kind of bullshit vassal state is this! If my Tang Dynasty needed vassal states, why would we have gone to such lengths to attack your Tuyuhun?"

"Do you really think I'm just bored and have nothing better to do than let hundreds of thousands of troops play house with your Tuyuhun?"

"Ah? This, Your Highness, please calm your anger. This was discussed by your subject and the tribal chiefs."

"What do you mean by 'discuss'! Do they even have the right to discuss it? You are now the regime in the occupied territory, do you even know what an occupied territory is? Can't you tell the difference between a king and a queen?" Li Chengqian scolded again.

Then, he stated directly, "What I want is Tuyuhun, to be incorporated into the territory of my Great Tang. The kingdom of Tuyuhun will cease to exist. And you are merely a prince of my Great Tang, responsible for guarding this territory, understand?"

"If you can't do it, I don't mind giving you a different title!"

"I can do it! I can do it! I can do it!"

Murong Shun was terrified when he heard Li Chengqian's words, and immediately kowtowed repeatedly like a chicken pecking at rice.

But Li Chengqian had not finished speaking.

But then he abruptly changed the subject, coldly saying, "If your tribal chiefs disagree, I wouldn't mind slaughtering them all. It's not like I haven't slaughtered them before!"

"Don't think you have the right to bargain with me, and don't think you are important to me. Even if I slaughter all of you Tuyuhun, my Great Tang has food, money, and advanced agricultural tools. In less than twenty years, the land of Tuyuhun will be full of Han people!"

"Of course, you might think that we Han people can't adapt to the high-altitude environment. But you don't need to worry about that. At the beginning, there may be some who have difficulty adapting, but the adaptability of us Han people is beyond your imagination. In just a few generations, they will evolve a body that is suitable for survival on the plateau!"

"And you! You will face national ruin and extermination!"

"hiss--"

Upon hearing Li Chengqian's words, Murong Shun couldn't help but gasp.

The words "national subjugation and ethnic extermination" were especially like huge boulders, crashing down on his chest, making it hard for him to breathe.

In reality, his letter of surrender was all talk and no action. He claimed to wholeheartedly submit to the Tang Dynasty, but in fact, he just wanted to use the Tang Dynasty's resources to develop himself and then seek independence.

This tactic is exactly the same as when Fu Yun defected to the Sui Dynasty and then to the Tang Dynasty.

However, how could Li Chengqian not see through the hidden intentions in this letter of state? So he went straight for the tough part, which frightened him so much that he was completely flustered and at a loss.

"Alright, that's all I wanted to say. You can decide for yourselves. My patience is limited. Anyway, I've already destroyed the Xueyantuo. I have enough troops to slaughter all the tribes of your Tuyuhun!"

Seeing Murong Shun kneeling on the ground without saying a word, Li Chengqian immediately issued him an ultimatum.

Upon hearing that the Xueyantuo had been destroyed, Murong Shun's last remaining struggle vanished. He immediately knelt down and submitted, saying, "Your Highness, please calm your anger. It was my oversight. On behalf of Tuyuhun, I voluntarily relinquish the title of Great Khan and pledge allegiance to the Tang Dynasty. As the Prince of Xiping, I will guard the territory of Tuyuhun!"

"Well, that's good!"

Li Chengqian nodded in satisfaction, then smiled and left his seat. He walked to Murong Shun and personally helped him up, saying, "The ground is cold. Why are you kneeling? You are a prince of our Great Tang, representing the face of our Great Tang. From now on, you may not kneel without my and His Majesty's permission. Do you understand?"

"Uh"

Murong Shun's lips twitched, his heart filled with unspeakable bitterness, but he still forced a smile and said, "I will obey His Highness the Crown Prince's instructions!"

"Hehe, alright, go back and rewrite the official letter, and submit it directly to the officials of the Ministry of Rites, so that the court can handle the relevant matters!"

"Yes!"

Murong Shun nodded nervously, then wiped the sweat from his forehead and carefully left.

The others who watched him leave, excluding Li Chengqian, couldn't help but exchange bewildered glances.

He thought to himself, "His Highness the Crown Prince is indeed more ruthless and decisive than His Majesty when it comes to doing things!"
What he calls submission is just empty words; what His Highness the Crown Prince wants are tangible benefits.

The Crown Prince is undoubtedly the most pragmatic person in the Tang Dynasty.

Please vote for me! Please vote for me! Only two days left.

(End of this chapter)