In historical records, people in the Central Plains often fought with people in the Northern Steppe. Wars between countries were always at the crucial juncture of each dynasty.
The once powerful Han Dynasty was able to establish a great dynasty through war. As for those countries that were slightly weaker, such as the Five Dynasties, the Ten Kingdoms, and the Song Dynasty, they could only choose to be annihilated under the powerful attacks.
However, the Tang Dynasty recorded in history books was different. It did not go through a difficult struggle, nor did it pay a bloody price. Instead, it easily defeated the other side.
Was it because the Turks were too weak?
Obviously not!
According to historical records, the Turkic Empire was very powerful. As early as the period of the Sixteen Kingdoms of the Five Barbarians, the Turkic Empire had interfered with the political power of the Central Plains many times and destroyed several powerful countries. "North Di has never been so prosperous. Looking down on Yin Mountain and belittling Xia. "The Turkic Empire at the end of the Sui Dynasty and the beginning of the Tang Dynasty was not weaker than the Xiongnu before the Han Dynasty. In fact, it was much stronger!
The Tang Dynasty's victory over the Eastern Turks was attributed to Li Er's great talent and the Tang Dynasty's military strength. That was why it was so easy to defeat the Eastern Turks. Moreover, the Tang Dynasty's military genius, Li Jing, was even deified. It was said that he only had three thousand men to defeat the Eastern Turks.
It was possible that Li Jing was able to defeat the Eastern Turks with three thousand men. However, it was not because of Li Jing's military talent or the Tang Dynasty's military strength. Think about it, there were not many records of this unprecedented war in the history books, and there were no records of any large-scale battles between the two sides. The Eastern Turks seemed to have surrendered easily without a fight. This phenomenon was very abnormal.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had spent a lot of manpower and money to attack the Xiongnu. The Turks were very likely to be stronger than the Xiongnu. No matter how strong the Tang Dynasty was, it could not have defeated the Turks so quickly.
But why was the Turks destroyed by the Tang Dynasty, which was slightly weaker? Other than the Tang Dynasty's commander Li Jing's outstanding military talent, the more important thing was that the Tang Dynasty was' blessed by the heavens'!
'Heaven's protection' sounded very mysterious, but it really did exist. Firstly, the Sui Dynasty, with the help of Zhangsun Sheng, had split the Turks into two parts: the Eastern Turks and the Western Turks. Although the Turkic Empire's strength was still there, its internal divisions had already taken shape and were very difficult to resolve. In this context, although the Tang Empire had been beaten into a sorry state by the Turkic Empire in the early days of its founding, the Turkic Empire had not been truly unified. The two sides had either engaged in internal friction or were unable to focus on attacking the Tang Dynasty.
In addition, in history, when the Tang Empire was preparing to go to war with the Turks, the Turks suddenly suffered from ice and snow disasters for two consecutive years. The history books recorded that in the first year of Zhenguan, "Heavy snow fell in the country, several feet of flat land, sheep and horses died, people starved". In the second year of Zhenguan, "Snow fell in midsummer in the country of Jie Li". How serious was this disaster? In truth, this was not a disaster limited to the Mongolian grasslands, but a disaster that affected the entire northern hemisphere. The Tang Dynasty was also affected.
In the second year of Zhenguan, the Yellow River region of China, especially the Hebei region, also suffered from a snow disaster. Even if the Turkic Khaganate went deep into the Tang Dynasty to plunder, they would not gain anything.
The temperature in the northern hemisphere plummeted, and the severe snow and frost caused a large number of livestock to freeze to death, causing an unprecedented famine. In order to maintain his military strength, Xieli Khan had no choice but to forcefully collect military supplies from the various tribes of the grasslands. However, this action caused the resistance of many tribes in the Turkic Empire. After all, the Turkic Empire was no longer united!
Thus, it was under this background that Li Er had launched a war against the Turks. The Turkic Empire had long since lost its indomitable fighting power, so this massive war between countries had been fought so quickly and easily.
After the destruction of the Eastern Turks, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty issued an edict: 'Since last year, the tribute has been reduced one after another. There is no need to trouble the generals of Wei and Huo, no need to wait for Jia and Chao. The Chanyu bows his head and passes his arm across the street.
From this edict, one could see that after the Tang Dynasty sent out its soldiers, it encountered almost no resistance. Many Turkic tribes, in order to survive, surrendered one after another. Li Er could only sigh. There was no need for generals to work, no need for stratagems, and the Eastern Turks had been destroyed.
But now, Li Er was planning to start the country war with the Turks one year ahead of schedule, making it very difficult to determine the outcome. This was because the Turks at this time were still extremely powerful. At the very least, no one dared to disobey Xieli's orders on the steppe! Thus, Li Zexuan was resolutely opposed to sending troops to attack the Turks in three months!
"Your Majesty, this subject believes that attacking the Turks at this time is extremely inappropriate!"
Within Taiji Palace, Li Zexuan struggled internally for a moment before clasping his hands and solemnly speaking.
These words caused an uproar among the officials!
All the officials knew that Li Zexuan was a 'warmonger'. Back when the Prime Minister of the Jienri Dynasty had come to the Great Tang to propose marriage, Li Zexuan had directly rebuked him, and Li Zexuan had even threatened to fight. And when the Wo diplomatic mission had visited the Great Tang, not only had Li Zexuan been on guard at every turn, he had even targeted them at every turn. It was clear that he was not afraid of stirring up trouble!
This sort of 'warmonger' who was tough on foreign affairs, upon hearing that the Great Tang was about to attack the Turks, his first reaction was not to raise both hands in approval, but to oppose? All the officials felt that the sun had risen from the west today!
Seated at the head of the table, Li Er frowned and sternly asked, "What's inappropriate about it? Xieli disregarded the Great Tang, disregarded Us, and dared to send soldiers to Yanmen Pass. As the ruler of the Great Tang, why can't We return the favor? "
Those familiar with Li Er knew that Li Er was somewhat angry at this time! This was because Li Zexuan had always been a junior that Li Er valued greatly. But today, Li Zexuan's stance on the war between the Great Tang and the Turks had greatly disappointed Li Er! To think that the talent that he had painstakingly nurtured was a cowardly scoundrel, how could Li Er not be angry? How could he not be pained?
"Your Majesty! Since the Sui Dynasty, when the Turks were divided into the Eastern and Western Turks, the Turks had already been in chaos internally. In addition, there was a snowstorm last year, causing the Turks to lose a lot of food. These are all signs that the Turks' national strength is gradually declining! "
Meeting Li Er's disappointed gaze, Li Zexuan calmly cupped his hands and said.
Li Er indifferently said, "Since that is the case, shouldn't We send troops to destroy Xieli now?"
Li Zexuan quickly shook his head and said, "That is not the case! Your Majesty, although the Turks have encountered internal strife and natural disasters, Xieli's strength has been preserved well, and the national strength is still stronger than our Great Tang! In this official's opinion, since the Eastern Turks' national strength is already declining, why shouldn't our Great Tang wait a little longer? "
"Ha! Wait? Then how long do you think we should wait? "
Li Er coldly laughed and said in an unfriendly tone.
At this moment, the officials in the hall also looked at Li Zexuan.
Li Zexuan almost cursed in his heart. Wait until when? Of course, wait until next year! But once he said that, Li Er would definitely get to the bottom of it and ask him why he should wait until next year. Then, would he have to tell Old Li that at the end of this month, there would be seasonal abnormalities on the grasslands and snow in midsummer? No one would believe him even if he said that!
"Your Majesty, this official thinks that it would be best to wait until next year!"
Under the pressure of everyone's eyes, Li Zexuan finally opened his mouth and replied.
At the same time, Li Zexuan's mind was spinning, and he began to think about how to answer Li Er's next question.
"Next year? Why wait until next year? "
As expected, after hearing Li Zexuan's answer, Li Er directly asked.
Li Zexuan straightened his clothes and cupped his hands with a solemn expression. "Your Majesty, the Turks met with a snowstorm last winter, and many cows and sheep froze to death. If another snowstorm occurs on the grasslands this year, the Turks will definitely suffer another heavy blow. At that time, if Xieli wants to maintain his current military strength, he will have to ask for food from the other tribes of the grasslands. This will increase the dissatisfaction of the tribes of the grasslands toward Xieli, and the internal friction of the Eastern Turks will definitely worsen. At that time, when Your Majesty sends troops to attack the grasslands, you will easily defeat Xieli!"
After Li Zexuan finished speaking, the officials all opened their mouths in shock. They did not expect that Li Zexuan's reason to persuade Li Er to stop fighting would be so childish! Yes, childish!
Below the hall, Qiu Xinggong coldly laughed and said, "Hmph! Marquis Yong 'an, the premise of all your assumptions is that there will be another snowstorm in the grasslands this year, but who can guarantee that it will snow this year? War is not a game, how can you make the Emperor postpone the country war plan based on your guess? What a joke! "
Qiu Xinggong did not take Li Zexuan's words seriously, but Li Er, Zhangsun Wuji, and Fang Xuanling's expressions all changed at this moment. Others might not know, but they knew that Li Zexuan had predicted a locust plague last year, and in the sixth month of this year, the locust plague came as scheduled, completely proving how accurate Li Zexuan's prediction was!
Now that Li Zexuan said 'if another snowstorm occurs on the grasslands this year', it instantly alarmed the sensitive nerves of Li Er, Fang Xuanling, and Zhangsun Wuji!
Was this a casual remark, or a prediction of the situation of the grasslands this winter?
Li Er, Zhangsun Wuji, and Fang Xuanling all had this question in their hearts at the same time!
After Qiu Xinggong finished speaking, he thought that Li Er would quickly praise his point of view, but he stood there and waited for a long time, and did not hear Li Er's voice, which made his heart sink gradually.
The civil and military officials in the imperial court also felt that the atmosphere in the hall was not right, so they all lowered their heads and did not say a word.
After keeping silent for a long time, Li Er finally opened his mouth and said, "This matter can be discussed later, I am not feeling well and am a little tired, today's morning court will end for now! Court dismissed! Li Zexuan, stay behind! "
After saying that, Li Er did not give the officials a chance to greet him, and directly stood up and walked towards the back of the hall!
"Xiao Xuan, you must be careful, in front of His Majesty, you must think thrice before you speak!"
Seeing that Li Er had left, the officials all left the court. Before Li Jing left, he looked at Li Zexuan and reminded him softly.
"Yes! Uncle Li! "
Feeling Li Jing's goodwill, Li Zexuan nodded slightly and responded, then he walked towards the direction of the Sweet Dew Hall alone.
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