During this period of time, Chang 'an was full of twists and turns. First, the army went thousands of miles deep into the country without any news, and the whole country was worried.
Then, news came from Qimo City that the Tang Dynasty army had captured the last force of Tuyuhun. The Western Expedition was a complete victory, and Tuyuhun had no room to resist. When the news came, Chang 'an was full of cheers.
The only regret was that Fu Yun, this old fox, had escaped once again. Moreover, he had escaped into the eight hundred li vast ocean. The Left Army Guard and the Firearms Supervisor had once again chased after him, making everyone anxious.
After half a month of anxious waiting in Chang 'an, the news that the Left Army Guard and the Firearms Supervisor had returned triumphantly with Fu Yun's head in hand finally came.
Suddenly, the whole country cheered. The Tuyuhun, the old enemy, was finally defeated by the Tang Dynasty. Li Shimin ordered the court to be suspended for three days and the whole country celebrated.
In particular, the Tang Dynasty, at a disadvantage of 1,000 cavalrymen, raised the flag of the Tang Dynasty high and scared off nearly 10,000 cavalrymen of Yutian. Everyone was delighted to talk about this.
However, before Li Shimin's comfortable days, the news that the Chishui Taoist Army robbed the Tuoba tribe without permission came again. What made Li Shimin even angrier was that Li Daoyan was almost defeated and saved by Su Dingfang's 8,000 wounded soldiers.
"Li Daoyan is useless. 3,000 soldiers died so unjustly!" Li Shimin roared angrily.
All the courtiers were speechless. Li Daoyan almost made the Western Expedition a laughingstock. However, Li Daoyan was a member of the imperial family, so it was inappropriate for the courtiers to express their opinions.
Li Shimin's heart was bleeding. 3,000 soldiers was not a small number. Not to mention the huge compensation, Li Shimin blushed when he thought that the men of the Tang Dynasty had died so unjustly. He had no face to explain to the parents of these soldiers.
"The Tuoba tribe dared to use force against the Tang Dynasty! This is unforgivable. Your Majesty, please give the order to pacify the Tuoba tribe. Otherwise, the soldiers of the Tang dynasty will be bitterly disappointed, "Qin Qiong said angrily.
Now that the Tang Army had even wiped out the Tuyuhun Army, there was no longer any enemy in the Western Region. How could they let it go when they suddenly suffered such a big loss in the hands of Tuoba Chici?
"Absolutely not! Our Tang dynasty was in the wrong first. If we send troops to attack the Tuoba tribe again, how will the world see our Tang dynasty? " Zhangsun Wuji hurriedly said. He understood Li Shimin the most and knew that Li Shimin valued the title of Heavenly Khan the most, so he catered to his interests.
Many civil officials agreed.
The entire imperial court was also divided into two factions. One faction advocated a military crusade, while the other faction wanted to spare the Tuoba tribe out of consideration for the reputation of the Tang dynasty.
Li Shimin suddenly hesitated. This matter was related to his title of Heavenly Khan and the reputation of the Tang dynasty in the northwest. However, he was unwilling to suffer a loss like this.
While the entire Imperial Court was debating, an Imperial Censor suddenly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Governor of Li Province, Gao Zhuosheng, has reported that the Chief Manager of West Ocean Sect, Li Jing, has raised an army for himself, fishing for fame, siding with the alien race, and has the intention of rebelling."
As soon as the imperial censor finished speaking, the entire imperial court was in an uproar.
Li Jing was the God of War of the Tang dynasty and the Governor of the Western Expedition. He had the most elite troops of the Tang dynasty in his hands. If he wanted to rebel, the Tang dynasty would tremble.
"Gao Zhuosheng?" Li Jing's expression changed and asked.
"Your Majesty, Gao Zhuosheng also attacked the Wulan tribe and was punished by General Li." Qin Qiong bowed and said.
The officials immediately looked at each other. The rumors of Li Jing's rebellion had always been circulating in the imperial court. The biggest reason was that Li Jing's army was too powerful. Once he rebelled, no one would be able to resist.
This time, Gao Zhuosheng reported that Li Jing punished them for attacking the Dangxiang tribe. This kind of behavior biased towards the foreign race had indeed touched the sensitive nerves of the imperial court.
"Your Majesty, Gao and Li have indeed violated military orders. There is nothing wrong with General Li punishing them." Qin Qiong bowed and said.
"That's right. Military orders are like mountains. Our military expedition is already full of difficulties. Gao and Li did not hesitate to violate military orders in order to falsely claim military merits. They should be punished!" Yuchi Gong said.
Many of the Generals chimed in one after another, condemning Gao and Li for their insane behavior.
The censor who had spoken earlier lowered his head and revealed a strange smile. Many generals defended Li Jing and did not know that they had fallen into a trap. The more people supported Li Jing, the more dangerous Li Jing would be.
Li Shimin said expressionlessly, "My dear officials, how do you think this matter should be handled?"
For a moment, the imperial court was silent.
"Since Provincial Governor Gao has reported this matter, the imperial court will naturally investigate and verify it. It will also prove General Li's innocence!" Fang Xuanling said helplessly. He was the leader of the officials and naturally had to speak up at this time.
"The Minister of Foreign Affairs agrees!" Zhangsun Wuji agreed.
"We all agree!"
The officials all agreed.
"In that case, the Supreme Court Chancellor …" Li Shimin was about to give an order when a guard suddenly entered Taiji Palace.
"Your Majesty, there is an urgent report from the frontline!" the guard said loudly.
Since the beginning of the Western Expedition, Li Shimin had already ordered that anything related to the Western Expedition could be reported directly to Taiji Palace and no one could stop it.
The officials were nervous. The urgent report would only be used when there was a war. Now that Fu Yun had been executed and Tuyuhun had been pacified, how could there be a war? Could it be that what Gao Zaosheng said was true?
Li Shimin's eyes narrowed and he waved his hand. Pande immediately took the urgent report and handed it to Li Shimin.
Li Shimin opened it and saw the contents of the urgent report. Li Shimin read the urgent report for a quarter of an hour.
"What is the war at the frontline?" Fang Xuanling asked under the signal of the officials.
Li Shimin laughed and handed the urgent report to the officials. "Everyone, the Tuoba tribe has been pacified. Tuoba Chici will arrive in the capital in a few days."
"Really?"
Fang Xuanling and the officials rushed to read the urgent report.
"National interest is the most important!"
"Anyone who dares to attack the Tang dynasty is an enemy!"
"It is His Majesty's business to forgive Tuoba Chici. Our task is to send Tuoba Chici to His Majesty!"
… … …
Amidst the haste, the impassioned words immediately stirred up the pride of the entire Imperial Court.
"National interest!"
The more Li Shimin thought about this sentence, the more he felt it was meaningful. These four words could be the standard of the Tang dynasty in the future.
The generals could not help but feel proud and excited. Back then, when the Eastern Turks brandished their blade at our Great Tang, the Eastern Turks were exterminated and Xieli Khan was taken captive into the capital. Even now, the moving Hu Xuan Dance is still unforgettable.
The Tuyuhun had dared to attack the Tang dynasty. Fu Yun's head was on the way to the Tang dynasty. How could a small Tuoba tribe have the courage to challenge the Tang dynasty?
The eyes of the civil officials lit up. In this way, the Tuoba tribe that dared to challenge the authority of the Tang dynasty was destroyed and the reputation of the Tang dynasty was maintained.
Many civil officials were already thinking about how to reward Tuoba Chici with all kinds of illusory titles when he was sent to Chang 'an, just like how they treated Xieli Khan back then.
As for the matter of collecting the armor of the Dangxiang tribes, it didn't cause any waves in the court at all.
"What about Gao Zhensheng's case against General Li …" Zhangsun Wuji probed. Since Li Jing had already taken down the Tuoba tribe, then Gao Zhensheng's accusation that Li Jing was fishing for fame and plotting a rebellion would naturally fall apart.
"It's nonsense. General Li is loyal to the country and didn't hesitate to travel thousands of miles for national affairs. How can such hard work be slandered? Send an envoy to Lanzhou and immediately dismiss Gao Zhensheng and Li Daoyan on the spot. Detain them back to Chang 'an and let them be interrogated by the three departments!" Li Shimin shouted.
Please remember the domain name of this book:. The mobile version of Jiutian Divine Emperor.
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