Chapter 288 Prince
The imperial court naturally had no shortage of troops. Although Duke Weiguo Li Jing did not have many troops, with him as the commander, it was more than enough to deal with Qiuci.

The emperor deliberately mobilized 100,000 troops from the Liaodong and Qianzhou barbarians in the grasslands to make them understand and get used to the fact that they must fight together under the emperor's will and launch a punitive war against any country that disrupts the order.

Thus, the Tang Dynasty assembled 170,000 troops in the Western Regions. If we count the civilians who transported food and supplies, the number would be nearly 300,000. In addition, Khotan and Anguo also competed for the supply of camels, horses and military rations.

Under the leadership of the Turkic general, an army of 100,000 composed of various tribes captured the five major cities of Qiuci with great force and also captured more than 40 small cities.

The Kingdom of Kucha could only gather its last troops to defend its capital city, Yiluolu. Nali, the prime minister of Kucha, rushed to Qianquan City with all the treasures of the country, and asked the Western Turks to send troops to lead the Western Regions to resist the Tang army on the principle of "the lips and the teeth are cold".

But the Western Turks were also arguing at this time. The Tang army had more than 100,000 soldiers and horses, and the Western Turks were not afraid. They had their own reasons. After all, the Western Regions were their territory.

However, the Tang army's weapon that was like a thunderbolt from heaven did make them dare not act rashly, because if the Tang army used it in battle, how could their flesh and blood bodies resist it.

Tongyehu Khan was undoubtedly in favor of war, and under his insistence, the Western Turks still sent troops.

But at this time, the city of Luolu had been breached, and no city wall could withstand the power of artillery. King Bushipi was captured alive, and the Duke of Weiguo rushed from the Anxi Protectorate to read the imperial edict, pardoning him and ordering him to move to Luoyang with his family.

Then the Duke of Weiguo took over the military power. When Ashina Dur saw the emperor's edict again, he dismounted and knelt in front of a hundred thousand troops to accept the order as if he was in awe of heaven.

Then he respectfully helped the Duke of Wei onto the horse, and consciously held the reins, as if he was leading the horse by the stirrups.

He is also a member of the Ashina family. His attitude shows the Tang Dynasty's control over the grassland.

After gaining control of the military power, Li Jing did not hesitate to distribute all the treasures obtained from the Kingdom of Kucha to his soldiers as rewards according to their military merits.

This is also what the emperor emphasized. To control foreign soldiers, rewards and punishments must be clear, but punishment must come before rewards. Only when they accept the punishment respectfully can they get rewards.

At this time, Tongyehu Khan had already assembled a Turkic army of 200,000, with tens of thousands of reinforcements from various countries in the Western Regions.

They rushed to the west bank of the Yide River, hoping to use the natural barrier to stop the Tang army. When the Duke of Weiguo learned of the Western Turkic expedition, he immediately ordered General Su Dingfang of Huaihua to lead 20,000 elite cavalry from the Tiele and Uighur tribes to rush to the west bank and form a battle line.

After receiving the order, Su Dingfang did not hesitate and traveled day and night and finally arrived before Tong Yehu. After making some arrangements, he immediately ordered the soldiers to eat and sleep.

When the Turkic troops arrived, it was already too late. However, seeing that the Tang army had only more than 20,000 people, they immediately felt that it was a good opportunity and decided to defeat this isolated army first.

But Tong Yehu insisted that this was a bait, and kept delaying, only ordering a small number of troops to harass and fight, and he would call off the troops at any time.

Just when the Turkic army was about to mutiniate, Duke Weiguo Li Jing suddenly led tens of thousands of elite troops to attack them from behind, and no one knew how they got around.

Su Dingfang immediately led his troops to charge, intending to attack the Turks from both inside and outside together with Duke Weiguo. As originally predicted, the weakness of the ten Western Turkic tribes, which were in appearance united but actually divided, was fully exposed.

Originally they were still able to advance under the command of Tong Yehu, but now that they were attacked from behind, they suddenly became independent and did not help each other. As for the tens of thousands of reinforcements from the Western Regions countries, they had already begun to retreat from one side.

The advantage of the 200,000-man army was not fully utilized, and even Tong Yehu's wolf-head flag fell down at some point. In the rout, the casualties they caused to each other were more than those caused by the Tang army. Tens of thousands of people chased more than 200,000 people for 30 miles, and captured nearly 50,000 people, including Tong Yehu, the high-ranking leaders of the Western Turks. It was obviously a brilliant victory.

Li Jing ordered his men to escort Tong Yehu and Princess Gaomi back to Luoyang, and then immediately assembled his army and headed straight for Qianquan City with the big drums and huge banners that symbolized the Khan's authority.

As expected, Qianquan collapsed without a fight. The rulers of more than 30 countries, including Shi, Mi, Shi, Da'an, Xiao'an, Cao, Bakhchisar, Yanda, Shule, Zhujuban Tocharian, Hephthalite, Kapisa, Persia, etc., came forward and knelt under the flag of the Tang army.

In their trembling panic, the Duke of Wei did not start another killing spree. Instead, he handed over the military power and the position of Protector of the Western Regions to Su Dingfang, and led the leaders of the other states back to Luoyang.

Su Dingfang opened up roads, set up post stations, buried the dead, inquired about the sufferings, drew up the battle lines, and restored people's livelihoods. The countries in the Western Regions were able to enjoy peace for a while.

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In the third year of AD, the emperor, who was over 40 years old, leaned casually in his chair. His expression was very gentle, and he had not been angry with anyone for several years.

But no official or general dared to slack off in front of him. Over the years, the emperor had expanded the territory far beyond the territories of previous dynasties.

Every year during the Emperor's Birthday, countless rulers of vassal states came to Chang'an in person to kowtow. It was the time when the palace gates were opened and people from all over the world dressed in formal attire to pay homage to the emperor.

Today the emperor entertained all his trusted ministers and beloved generals. Of course, there was one special person, that was the deposed King of Qi, Li Yuanji. He looked emaciated like a sick ghost, and his body was trembling slightly when he saw so many people.

After the banquet, officials headed by Li Shimin, the Prince of Qin, and Li Jing, the Minister of the Interior, came out and said, "Your Majesty, you should appoint a crown prince."

This is what the emperor has heard almost every day in the past few years, but he usually refuses. But today he said: "The King of Qin is my brother, and the Minister of Education is my mentor. Who do you think I should make the crown prince?"

All the officials knelt down immediately and said, "This is a matter of succession of state power, and only Your Majesty can appoint the crown prince."

The emperor nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile: "Then it should be my eldest son, but the country is so huge, I am a little worried about whether he can govern the country well and inherit the country."

All the officials did not say a word. Even the dignitaries who were so prominent that their one word could shock several countries, only hoped that the emperor would appoint a crown prince and did not care about anything else.

At this point in the Tang Dynasty, the emperor was no longer afraid of his extravagant enjoyment, but only of the princes fighting for the throne and causing the world to split.

The emperor now has more than ten princes, each with different backgrounds and his own base. Who wouldn't want his grandson or nephew to sit on the throne of the Supreme Tengri, the King of Kings?

Just when everyone was nervous, the emperor slowly spoke: "I want to make my eldest son Li Chengzong the crown prince."

"My Holy Emperor!"

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(End of this chapter)