Chang'an City
There is also an atmosphere in Chang'an City these days, and this atmosphere is that of an impending great victory.
Although many people are still not sure, everyone knows that a big thing is going on in the south. That is, the chieftain system that has troubled the Central Plains dynasty for a hundred years may be about to collapse. No one has ever sent troops to kill us on the mountain, but this time our Crown Prince has done it again.
"Yizhou is urgently requesting."
The sun had not yet risen in Chang'an City that day, but the report from the south had already arrived at the city gate. According to the court system, as long as there was an urgent report from other places, they should open the city gate in advance.
"Brother, did they win another battle in Yizhou?"
A captain on the city wall was directing his men to open the door while asking the soldier who was delivering the letter below. Normally, he had no right to ask this question. If his superiors knew about it, he would lose his job at best, and at worst he might be thrown into jail.
But it is still daybreak, and there is no one else around. Apart from the soldiers under his command, there are probably only soldiers outside the door who are conveying orders. So he is a little bold. They have been paying attention to the situation over there. Now that a memorial has finally been submitted, how can he suppress his anger?
"hey-hey……"
Although the captain could not suppress his curiosity, the soldier delivering the letter under the city wall was extremely principled. He raised his head and smiled with a very bright smile on his face. Although he did not answer the question, it could be seen from this smile that the chieftains of Sichuan should have been dealt with.
"The left and right guards will accompany the messenger to the Imperial City."
The captain was not just happy, but ordered his right and left hands to follow on horseback. It was common for outsiders to deliver letters without being familiar with the situation in Chang'an City, so the Ministry of War issued an order early on that if there was an outsider with the surname Shi, someone must be sent to follow in order to deliver the memorial as quickly as possible.
After receiving the order, the two cavalrymen galloped into the city with the messenger, one in front and one behind. The sound of horse hooves in the early morning was very harsh, but the people of Chang'an City were foresighted about politics, so many people instantly remembered the recent events in Yizhou after hearing the sound of horse hooves.
The letter was sent to the Ministry of War, and then the officials of the Ministry of War delivered it to the palace. It was not time to open the palace gate yet, but this was indeed a happy event, so the officials of the Ministry of War were waiting at the palace gate early. According to the level of foreign letters, this matter was not the highest level, so they could only wait here. If foreign troops came in, they could directly beat the Wendeng drum.
When the drums sounded, it meant that a battle was going on somewhere on the border of the Tang Dynasty. At this time, the rules in Chang'an City were no longer rules. The emperor had to open the palace gates as soon as possible and let the officials outside the palace come in to report, so as to give instructions to the front line as quickly as possible.
Today was supposed to be a grand court meeting, but it was not yet time for the morning court session. Li Shimin saw several important ministers coming in from outside. He had not finished his breakfast yet, but they had already come in holding a memorial. This must be new news from Li Xiang.
Regarding Li Xiang's plan to go south for marriage, Li Shimin initially just hoped that Li Xiang would not cause trouble. As for the chieftains in Sichuan, Li Shimin also wanted to deal with them, but they had been occupying the mountains and acting as kings for a long time. Even if Li Xiang's army was powerful, they might not be able to directly attack the mountains. By then, Chang'an City would be covered in white, which would not be a good thing even if they won.
But later, according to Xiao Yu's memorial, Li Shimin learned that Li Xiang had other ways, and perhaps he could solve the problem of the chieftain in the mountains without using force. If this was really the case, it would definitely be recorded in history books, and the officers and soldiers fighting on the front line would have made great contributions. But if it were recorded in history books, Li Shimin would definitely be ranked first.
Feudal society was like this. No matter how many achievements you made on the front lines, without the emperor's ability to appoint talented individuals and coordinate the overall situation from the rear, how could you have achieved such a victory? So no matter what achievements you made, the emperor's contributions always came first. If you don't even understand this, then you probably won't be able to survive in the court.
So Li Shimin didn't care much about this kind of credit on the surface, but in fact he also sent his confidants to Li Xiang because he was afraid that something might go wrong with Li Xiang, and in the end a good thing would turn into a bad thing. Not only would Li Xiang's reputation be affected, but it would even bring some adverse effects to Li Shimin.
"You all have such big smiles on your faces. That brat must have had some good news. Don't tell me the details yet. Let me guess. The last memorial mentioned that the second son of the Longchuan chieftain was ready to surrender. Now he must be controlling the Longchuan chieftain, right?"
To be honest, Li Shimin was actually extremely disgusted with the fact that a son controlled his father. When he ascended to this position, he controlled his father. Confucian scholars from all over the country despised him very much. Even now, after being emperor for so long, this matter still could not be revealed.
But if the enemy were to encounter such a situation, Li Shimin would be very happy to see it. No matter what method Li Xiang used, as long as he could make these chieftains fight among themselves, it would be a good thing for the entire court. What the previous dynasty could not accomplish, this dynasty can accomplish for him, which means that the emperor of this dynasty is much wiser than the previous dynasty, and our achievements are much greater than yours.
Many people now cite the early years of the Sui Dynasty, saying that the population during the Zhenguan period was less than half of that of the early Sui Dynasty. Li Shimin was very unhappy about this. Now, finally, there is something that can surpass Emperor Wen of Sui. How can Li Shimin not be excited? Emperor Wen of Sui was known for unifying the country, but do you have the ability to deal with the chieftains of Sichuan? They just give you the same perfunctory treatment as they give me.
"Your Majesty did not correctly guess the contents of the memorial. The actual progress is much faster than we predicted. I will not explain too much. Your Majesty should take a look at it yourself."
Minister of War Li Jing said cheerfully, and then placed the memorial in front of Li Shimin, whose eyes widened...
