Chapter 241: Lingzhou Alliance, Revenge and Reward of the Hundred Kings
After a very long time, Li Shimin remained silent and did not give any response. He was so quiet that he seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep.

Changsun Wuji knelt on the spot, feeling uneasy, with even beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

But seeing that Li Shimin still had no reaction, he could only retreat slowly and carefully, taking every step extremely cautiously, for fear of making any noise and disturbing the emperor.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the much-anticipated day of the alliance arrived.

This meeting was called “Lingzhou Meeting” in historical records. It was a grand ceremony of the Tang Dynasty. Its influence and popularity were in no way inferior to the spectacular scene of envoys from all over the world coming to pay homage.

In mid-June 646 AD, the leaders of the Tiele tribes, who had fled in panic after their defeat in the Mobei region, arrived in Lingzhou one after another.

Li Shimin, wearing an extremely gorgeous imperial robe that symbolized the supreme imperial power, appeared in Lingzhou City in a solemn and grand manner, ready to summon the leaders of various tribes.

His thin body exuded an awe-inspiring imperial power, and his majestic aura made people dare not look directly at him.

Even the morbid symptoms caused by his illness seemed to be completely concealed and suppressed by the extremely strong imperial aura.

With the demise of the Xueyantuo, other tribes became convinced of the Tang Dynasty and expressed their willingness to submit to it.

This undoubtedly made Li Shimin’s prestige reach its peak and continue to rise.

“Call the chieftains of the Huihe, Pugu, Tongluo, Adie and other tribes to come to the palace to meet the emperor immediately!”

With this shout, Changsun Wuji’s loud and majestic voice spread out from the hall.

Not long after, a group of grassland people dressed in strange costumes came in one after another.

Some of them were wearing colorful fur coats, some wore felt hats inlaid with gems, and all kinds of skeletons were hung around their waists.

The appearance of these grassland people instantly added a bit of exotic charm to the originally solemn and dignified hall.

After everyone entered the hall and stood still, they shouted in unison: “Greetings to His Majesty the Holy Heavenly Khan!”

At the same time, they stretched out their right hands and placed them in front of their chests, bowing slightly to pay tribute to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, thus showing the highest respect on the grassland.

It should be noted that during the Tang Dynasty, the word “sage” was a specific title for the emperor.

The so-called imperial edict is derived from this name.

Facing the homage of the tribal leaders, Li Shimin nodded with a smile and said slowly: “Everyone, please stop being polite and join the ranks!”

At this moment, although he exuded an awe-inspiring and powerful aura, the smile on his face was as warm as a spring breeze, and did not give people the slightest sense of oppression.

Hearing Li Shimin’s kind and gentle words, the hearts of many tribal leaders, which had been hanging in the air, seemed to fall back into their stomachs.

Looking at the extraordinary Tang Dynasty monarch in front of them, they secretly felt fortunate.

Judging from the posture, there seems to be no intention of punishing anyone today.

“Your Majesty, Heavenly Khan, this is a joint letter of surrender from all my tribes. From now on, we are willing to return to the Tang Dynasty and accept the orders of Heavenly Khan.”

The leader of the Uighurs, Yaoluogetumidu, took a few steps forward and held a piece of fur high in both hands.

Upon seeing this, Changsun Wuji stepped forward and brought it to Li Shimin’s imperial desk.

Li Shimin said with a smile: “You have come to me and found safety, just like a mouse finding a cave or a fish finding water. I wonder if my cave and water can accommodate you?”

“Even if I cannot contain you, I will make a large cave for you and make the water deep enough to contain you.”

“Thank you, Khan. We are willing to be Tang citizens.”

Many tribal leaders bowed again.

Li Shimin wanted to conquer them and use them for his own purposes.

Each tribe also wanted to submit.

“I am now the ruler of the world. I feed all the Chinese and the barbarians. I will make those who are not at peace at ease and those who are unhappy happy.”

With a wave of Li Shimin’s hand, the world’s situation changed. One word could make a country prosperous, and one word could also destroy a country.

Its power is unparalleled.

“Since you belong to me, you must obey my orders.”

There is also fierce power amidst kindness.

“I will obey the order of the Khan!”

At this moment, Yaoluogetumidu’s heart was beating in his throat.

The punishment is still coming.

“There are many tribes in Mobei, so there are many wars, which is not conducive to stability. From today on, the Mobei grassland will be divided into six prefectures and seven states.”

“The Huihe tribe was made Hanhai Prefecture, Pugu was made Jinwei Prefecture, Duolange was made Yanran Prefecture, Bayegu was made Youling Prefecture, Tongluo was made Guilin Prefecture, Sijie was made Lushan Prefecture, Hun was made Jitian Prefecture, Qibi was made Yuxi Prefecture, Sijie’s tribe was made Cuanlin Prefecture, Baizhan was made Baoyan Prefecture, and their chiefs were made governors and provincial governors, and they were all rewarded with gold, silver and brocade robes, and all the tribes on the grassland were pardoned.”

Li Shimin wanted to establish a provincial highway in the Mobei area, promote the county system, and strengthen control over the Mobei grassland.

In terms of government affairs, all tribes on the grassland were given the same powers, which broke down the previous nature of the survival of the fittest among the tribes on the grassland.

From then on, the land of Mobei was truly incorporated into the territory of the Tang Dynasty and became its territory.

There are poems:
“The bicycle wants to ask about the side, but the country is too far away.

Zheng Peng left Hansai and returned to Hu Tian.

The desert is solitary and straight, and the long river falls into the sun.

When Xiao Guan is waiting to ride, he will always protect Yan Ran. “

The Yanran mentioned in the poem is the Duolangge area that was canonized by Li Shimin at that time.

Ever since Li Shimin divided the Mobei area into six prefectures and seven states, the Tang people have regarded this vast land as an indivisible national territory.

“Thank you, His Majesty the Heavenly Khan, for the reward!”

Many chiefs, filled with gratitude, knelt down and expressed their gratitude sincerely.

With just one imperial edict, Li Shimin raised those originally backward tribes to the first-class level.

In this way, these small tribes that had once suffered from bullying and oppression were finally able to escape the fate of being wantonly oppressed by the upper tribes.

You know, before this, they were just a weak force that could only submit to other more powerful tribes.

However, now that surrendering to the Tang Dynasty can bring more benefits and advantages, it is natural to choose to submit to the Tang Dynasty.

After all, for them, there is no essential difference whether they surrender to whom or not. Surrendering to the Tang Dynasty can not only improve their own status, but also allow them to enjoy various preferential treatments and protection.

Faced with such a situation, even though powerful leaders like Tongluo and Huihe were dissatisfied, they dared not easily disobey Li Shimin’s will, let alone openly resist the division method he had established.

So, everyone could only bow their heads silently to express their recognition and acceptance of Li Shimin’s decision.

This is the right of East Asian leaders.

“Since we are Tang citizens, we travel to and from the Heavenly Supreme as if we were seeing our parents. Please open a road south of the Uighurs and north of the Turks, called the Cantian Khan Road. Set up post stations, feed horses, and provide us with annual tribute to the Heavenly Khan.” Li Shimin’s mind could not be changed, so Yaoluogetumidu could only find another way.

Speak in accordance with the situation to show your loyalty.

“Please allow it, Khan!”

The other tribal leaders requested that opening the road would definitely be profitable for them in the north.

“That’s right!”

Li Shimin agreed without much thought.

In this way, the Tang Dynasty could also transmit Tang culture to the northern desert more quickly.

Able to assimilate the northern ethnic groups in a shorter period of time.

However, he did not know that it was because of the opening of this Chantian Khan Road that the Uighur cavalry was able to advance straight into the country during the Anshi Rebellion.

However, these are all things for later.

If the Tang Dynasty had always been prosperous, who could say that the opening of this road would do more harm than good?

“We were all born in that desolate and remote place, and lived a hard life in the past. However, we were blessed by the heavens and were fortunate to have the Supreme Lord of Heaven descend to the world, imparting his virtues and teachings to us. He not only granted us official positions and titles, but also entrusted us with the governance of the common people. Here, I implore the Huihe and Huigu tribes to give the Supreme Lord of Heaven the highest honorific title – Supreme Lord of Heaven.”

Yaologtumidu and Abusi shouted in unison.

When Li Shimin heard this, his eyes suddenly widened. The vanity in his heart instantly surged like a tide and he felt an unprecedented great satisfaction.

At this moment, even though he was on the verge of death, he was able to once again gain such a respected title.

Looking back to the past, after the Eastern Turks were wiped out in one fell swoop, various tribes gave him the supreme title of “Heavenly Khan”.

Now, he has successfully destroyed the powerful Xueyantuo, so many tribes once again wholeheartedly gave him the honorable title of “Supreme Lord of Heaven”.

As expected, the so-called dignity is never obtained by charity from others, but is fought for.

“Greetings to the Supreme Heaven!”

The other many chiefs and leaders finally came to their senses at this time, and they all knelt down and kowtowed devoutly towards Li Shimin, shouting loudly.

“Everyone, please stand up quickly!”

Upon seeing this, Li Shimin slowly stood up, opened his arms, smiled, and enjoyed the endless glory brought by the respectful worship and sincere allegiance of these people.

“Pass the order down. Hold a three-day banquet in Lingzhou City for the military and civilians to celebrate together.”

Li Shimin was delighted and generously rewarded the three armies.

“The envoys are tired from the journey, please go down and rest.”

After announcing the main government decrees, Li Shimin could not wait and sent everyone away.

It is extremely difficult for him to maintain such a spirit.

Moreover, in order to show his prowess in front of many chiefs and overwhelm them with his power, he overdrew himself and took several pills.

Over time, the effectiveness of the medicine will wear off.

“I’ll take my leave!”

Everyone left the city lord’s mansion one after another, leaving only Changsun Wuji and Yuchi Jingde.

“Your Majesty, you have been working hard for a long time. Please let us help you to rest.”

Changsun Wuji took a step forward with a worried look on his face, stretched out his hands, and made a gesture as if he was ready to support Li Shimin at any time.

He was also well aware of Li Shimin’s condition, which was beyond recovery and he would die soon.

However, Li Shimin waved his hands vigorously and said firmly: “No need! I can still hold on!”

Although his voice was still loud, the trace of fatigue and helplessness that was difficult to conceal was still keenly captured by others.

Li Shimin was seen holding his head high and looking into the distance with his sharp eyes.

Suddenly, he shouted loudly: “I did it!”

The loud voice echoed in the palace, moving people.

Then, Li Shimin turned to look at Zhangsun Wuji and Yuchi Jingde beside him, with pride and expectation in his eyes, and asked proudly:
“Wuji, Jingde, in your opinion, am I qualified to be enshrined in Mount Tai?”

At this moment, Li Shimin was full of confidence. He firmly believed that with the great achievements he had made so far, he was fully worthy of going to Mount Tai to hold the Fengshan Ceremony.

The failure to realize this wish became his biggest regret.

Hearing Li Shimin’s question, Zhangsun Wuji answered without hesitation: “Your Majesty’s achievements in expanding the territory are comparable to those of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty; your ability in governing the country is comparable to that of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty. How can such a great achievement not be enshrined on Mount Tai?”

His words were decisive and without any hesitation, and it was obvious that he believed from the bottom of his heart that Li Shimin was qualified.

Yuchi Jingde on the side also nodded in agreement, expressing his agreement with Changsun Wuji’s opinion. He said sincerely: “That’s right, your majesty’s achievements are beyond the reach of many emperors since ancient times.”

His words were full of sincere admiration for Li Shimin, without any flattery.

“Haha, that’s enough. It’s really enough for me. But maybe the time God has given me is running out.”

Li Shimin was originally immersed in joy, but when his thoughts touched his own destiny, his interest instantly receded like the tide, replaced by deep sorrow and helplessness, and his bright eyes involuntarily dimmed at this moment.

Seeing this, Changsun Wuji, who was standing nearby, hurriedly spoke to comfort him, “Your Majesty, your great achievements are known to everyone in the world. There is really no need to prove them in other ways. You have accomplished everything that the ancient wise kings failed to accomplish.”

Then he continued, “Back then, Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, was also trapped here and in a difficult situation. But look at it now. Aren’t these many enemies in the north surrendering to you?”

Hearing this, the worry on Li Shimin’s face eased a little. Changsun Wuji kept talking about Li Shimin’s various feats of conquering the south and the north and expanding the territory, trying to cheer Li Shimin up.

After a while, Li Shimin suddenly raised his head and laughed, and his laughter echoed in the palace, as if to dispel all the sorrow.

Then, as if inspired by some kind of inspiration, he burst into poetry and blurted out:
“To avenge the humiliation of a hundred kings, to eliminate the evil and repay the generations. In the past I rode a single horse, but now I come with ten thousand chariots. Although the fur is warm these days, my heart is startled when I hear the strings.”

These lines of poetry are an abbreviation of the current surrender of the kings of Mobei, demonstrating the power of the Tang Dynasty.

At the same time, it is also Li Shimin’s self-evaluation of his great achievements.

He is now being compared with Emperor Gaozu of Han.

Liu Bang was trapped on Mount Baideng, a humiliation that he has only just avenged.

What this means is that he is stronger than Han Gaozu.

It can even be said that he is stronger than all the emperors since Emperor Gaozu of Han.

And his five-character poem was also engraved on the stone tablet by his ministers.

The Lingzhou League is also known as the Stone Inscribed by Emperor Taizong.

(End of this chapter)