Chapter 244: Suli
Due to the invasion of the Turks, a large number of people poured into Chang'an. The Turks did not have enough food and grass, so they naturally sent troops to plunder. The Tang Dynasty could only defend its city and clear the countryside.

In the eyes of the people nearby, Chang'an City was naturally the safest. They would rather run a longer distance than stop in Chang'an. Some officials suggested that the people be resettled outside the city first.

When the Turks really attack, it will not be too late to let them enter the city to avoid disaster, so as not to affect the order in the city.

However, the emperor still allowed them to enter the city and ordered the officials to resettle them, but the people still complained.

The food they brought with them was not enough to sustain them for too long, and they could not leave their fields unattended. If they delayed for too long, even if the Turks retreated, they would have no way to survive.

So the young and strong people wanted to find a job in the city first, but this caused conflicts with the people in the city.

Fortunately, the emperor had made preparations in advance. He used food to hire young and strong people to repair the city walls and roads. In the more than three years since he ascended the throne, in order to allow the people to recuperate, he had been suppressing the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Works and not allowing them to conscript the people for labor service.

As time went by, many places in Chang'an needed repair.

This also eased the conflicts, and the people were relatively easy to be satisfied. As long as they had a way to make a living and hope for the future and food now, they would be content and law-abiding.

At this time, the news came that Bingzhou troops were ordered to attack the Turks in the north. All the officials in the court were shocked. His Majesty was becoming more and more willful. Now he even dispatched troops directly by issuing an order without going through the three provinces and six ministries.

The most important thing is that Bingzhou actually acted according to the imperial order. Logically speaking, such an order should be obeyed.

If it were in the past, they would have quarreled with His Majesty until he admitted his mistake, promised never to do it again, and severely punished the local generals.

But now, everyone was watching coldly, with only Wei Zheng and a few others standing up to give advice.

Wei Zheng immediately said: "Your Majesty, you shouldn't do this, follow the rules..."

Li Jiancheng allowed them to advise and warn him, but he did not respond at all, because this would be the norm.

However, in order to justify his actions, he will reform the official system after the war with the Turks.

The topic turned back to the issue at hand. The officials in the court all thought that the emperor ordered Bingzhou troops to march north in order to force Jie Li to withdraw his troops and return for support.

This cannot be said to be a bad strategy, but it cannot be said to be very good either, because the Turks also have a lot of troops over there. When the strength of both sides is similar, the Turks who occupy the geographical advantage and are well-rested will undoubtedly have a better chance of winning.

Minister Liu Wenjing advised: "Perhaps it would be best to order the troops from Bingzhou to rush to Chang'an to help. Together with the troops from the King of Qin and the King of Hejian, it would be enough to scare off the Turks."

Li Jiancheng couldn't help but think that everyone was counting on the Turks to withdraw their troops. He thought the Turks also thought so, thinking that they had the initiative and the worst that could happen was that they would withdraw their troops, so they dared to be so presumptuous.

The emperor shook his head and said, "I am the Son of Heaven, and I hold the power of God. How can I change my mind from one day to the next? The Duke of Lihu County will be able to defeat the Turks for me."

Wishful thinking, this sentence came to the minds of many officials, but they immediately bowed down in a proper manner: "My emperor is wise!"

…………

Li Shimin successfully passed through the Xi Kingdom, and under the humble pleas of its leader, he recruited several of his nephews and a hundred elite cavalrymen.

The tragedy of a small country is that it has to bet on many sides, otherwise it will easily lead to the destruction of the country and the extinction of the race if it offends anyone. The news that the Tang army was surrounding Pyongyang had already been known to the Xi State, the Xi State, and the Khitan Mohe.

If the Tang Dynasty could destroy Goguryeo, it could also destroy them at the same time. The Turks would most likely be happy to take advantage of the opportunity to send troops and completely annex them.

After the Xi entered the territory of the Turks, the people who were supposed to meet them soon arrived. After they exchanged names, Li Shimin was very surprised. The person who came turned out to be the Turkic Tuli Khan, the son of Shibi Khan and Princess Yicheng, named Ashina Shibobi.

Tuli was also surprised at the large number of Tang troops, but then he became excited because according to the agreement, after killing all of Jie Li's confidants, Tang would support him as Khan, the only Khan of Dong Turks.

Li Shimin did not speak Turkish like Li Jiancheng, and Tuli did not speak the Central Plains dialect very well, so they had to rely on people to translate in between.

Tuli was several years younger than Li Shimin, so he took the initiative to greet him and immediately wanted to exchange mounts with him as a sign of friendship.

"Your Majesty, the Prince of Qin of the Tang Dynasty, I, Tuli Khan, salute you. Your troops are so powerful, and our undertaking this time will surely be successful.

The horse I ride is the steed presented to me by the Khitan king. I hope to exchange it with the horse you ride, so that we can call each other brothers from now on!"

Li Shimin was a horse lover and was reluctant to part with it, but he also knew that if he let the two sides have grudges at this time, it would only lead to major consequences.

After Shibi Khan's death, although Jie Li gained the support of most of the nobles and became the Khan of the Turks, Tuli was more legitimate after all, and it was difficult to kill him directly, which led to civil strife.

Therefore, Jie Li could only appoint Shibobi as the minor Khan, in charge of the Khitan, Mohe and other tribes, and set up his Ya Ting in the eastern part of the Turkic region.

So Li Shimin jumped off the horse directly and even hung his sword on the saddle.

"Hahaha, of course you can, my brother, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, was a close friend of your father, Shibi Khan.

He has always been thinking about you and hopes that you can inherit the grassland and become an eagle soaring over the Turkic land. I am here to help you solve our common enemy!"

Tuli was overjoyed. He also took off the sword from his waist and hung it on his saddle. Then the two exchanged horses, galloped for a while, and then drew their swords to make an alliance.

Without hesitation, Tuli led more than 10,000 soldiers and attacked Dali City directly. Li Shimin divided his troops and led 30,000 soldiers to follow not far behind Tuli, while the rest of the army followed slowly behind.

Although he could not find any reason why Tuli wanted to break the alliance, Li Shimin had to be on guard. He knew very well that his army was the key to his brother's breakthrough.

After dividing the troops and keeping a distance, they can support each other at any time. The key is not to be trapped. If something goes wrong, they can retreat calmly and plan again.

Fortunately, Tuli really didn't have any thoughts. Every day when the troops stopped to rest and cook, he would turn his horse around and look for Li Shimin to eat and drink.

Although he has a somewhat impatient temper, he has a good character and has an inexplicable admiration for Li Jiancheng.

Apparently, Shi Bi had often told his son about Li Jiancheng's merits. After all, in Shi Bi's eyes, Li Jiancheng was a person whom he hated but could not get.

Tuli grew up listening to these stories, so he naturally had better aspirations. Besides, Li Jiancheng was his uncle after all.

As a result, Li Shimin gradually calmed down and became more confident about this battle. He also had some ideas about the future control of the Turks.

After the battle is over, he will return to Beijing to have a detailed talk with his brother.

...............

(End of this chapter)