Linzhi

This is not the first time that the Turks have proposed to marry the Central Plains.The first emperor even wanted to marry the only daughter of Emperor Jiayou, but later the Turks continued to harass and violate the border from time to time, so the matter was put on hold for the time being, and no one brought it up again.

After the great victory in Ganzhou, the morale of the Central Plains soared, and there were many people in the court who proposed to take the opportunity to recover Liangzhou. However, Emperor Jiayou and his ministers knew that the treasury was empty and the court could not fight a war. After that, such voices disappeared. Like a stone sinking into a pool, it cannot make any ripples.

When the Western Turks were destroyed, the Turks were unified, and the enemies in the northern part of the Central Plains were stronger than ever, public opinion and people’s hearts quietly changed, and the voices of the original main battle were quietly annihilated, until Fu Nian Khan sent people to the court and proposed a marriage, which shocked the government and the opposition. People's hearts are floating, and the controversy between war and peace once surfaced, like a gourd that cannot be pressed down.

In fact, among the conditions proposed by the Turks, the most important thing is not only the marriage, but the gift of the year.

The so-called Suici, on the surface, refers to the friendly exchanges between the Turks and the imperial court, and they profess their ministers to the imperial court, and the imperial court bestows a certain amount of property on the Turks every year.

Emperor Jiayou suddenly realized that this powerful and fierce northern neighbor had reached the point of blatantly threatening the Central Plains.

Before arriving in Lingzhou, He Rong got the news halfway, and immediately sent a letter to the capital to fly to the capital, resolutely opposing all peace talks, marriage is naturally not possible, especially Suici.He said in the memorandum that the Turkic people are greedy and look forward to Sichuan. As long as the imperial court makes a concession, they will immediately see the weakness of the imperial court and press them step by step. By the time the imperial court reacts, they may have already lost their foothold. , Too late to regret.

This is the truth, if you can be tough, no one wants to be a coward. Many people think that King An does not hurt his back when he speaks standing up. Emperor Jiayou even kept his memorabilia. It's a combination of talking and talking.

Left Prime Minister Zhang Song, Minister of War Fan Yi and other veterans believed that the war could not be fought for the time being, and that the imperial court could bargain with the Turks to make appropriate concessions. Negotiations might as well take their time.

Right Prime Minister Li Kuan, Ying Gong, Ji Wang Hexiu and others believed that the Turkic people were throwing stones to ask for directions, so the court should not show any weakness, lest the other party see the clues, so they must not make concessions. No talk at all.

The prince didn't want to express his opinion at first, but as the crown prince, when he was asked by Emperor Jiayou, he couldn't keep his mouth shut, and he said that the Turkic wolf was ambitious, afraid of power and not virtuous, and he had to be beaten to know the pain, otherwise he would only be soft in the middle Persimmon doesn't pay attention to the imperial court at all.

The implication is that it is the main battle.

Prince Ji, who has always been belligerent, was a little more tactful this time, while the prince, who usually likes to follow the mean line, became more assertive.

Strange and strange.

This time, the Turkic people seemed to be here for real. Before the imperial court could reach any conclusions, the two border towns of Fengzhou and Yunzhou were invaded by Turkic cavalry.

There are several important border towns in the Central Plains, among which Lingzhou and Ganzhou are fortresses. These two cities are also the places where the Turks are most often fought. Therefore, Ganzhou has a famous general Chen Wei, and Lingzhou has He Rong.

But this time the Turkic people did not play their cards according to common sense. They gave up the best route, bypassed the Yinshan Mountains, and went straight to Yunzhou and Fengzhou in two routes.

That’s all for Yunzhou. After all, there is the Great Wall as the boundary, and it can still resist it with all its strength. Fengzhou was completely caught off guard, lacking troops, and facing fierce enemies. The large-scale looting, among which adult men were killed in nine out of ten, women and children were directly taken away, treasury property, people's homes, were swept away, it is said that unarmed people were tied hands and feet, tied in a string to the back of the horse The Turks were galloping on their horses, and they ran behind, and many of them were dragged to death. Rao knew that the Turks were cruel, and after receiving this urgent report, they still couldn't help being frightened.

The Turkic people generally swept the Yunzhou government with great profit, leaving a mess on the ground. The governor of Yunzhou did not have the courage to die for the city, and was afraid of being punished if he lost the battle. He abandoned the city and fled before the Turks broke the city. The whereabouts, the news spread to Chang'an, and the court was shocked.

This is just the beginning.

The habits of the Turkic people are doomed that they will not pursue the unification of the world and long-term peace and stability like the people in the Central Plains. They prefer to plunder rich lands and take away their cattle and sheep property, and wait until these properties are exhausted before proceeding to the next round looting.But Fu Nian Khan seemed to be a little different. He did not use the captured people as slaves. Instead, he sent envoys to Chang'an again, saying that he was willing to use these people as hostages in exchange for the previous conditions.

That is to say, if the imperial court agrees to marry the Turkic people and give them yearly gifts, then these people will be released. If the imperial court does not agree, the Turkic people will kill them all, and then take their bodies to Lingzhou, Fengzhou and other places. , Throw it at the gate of the city, let the world see, the imperial court cares nothing for the lives of the people, and would rather cherish the property than the hearts of the people.

When He Rong learned of this, the group had just arrived in Lingzhou, and Xue Tan went out of the city to greet them in person, not because King An liked to show off, but to inform He Rong of the news.

"The Turkic people can be punished!" Zhang Ze gritted his teeth after hearing this.

If the court accepts this condition next year, after a hundred years, all the history books, from the emperor to the ministers, will bear shame and infamy. The glorious dynasty will be blackmailed by foreign barbarians. As far as they are concerned, it is more uncomfortable for them than letting the princess go to get married.

Xue Tan frowned: "We thought that the Turkic people would come to attack Lingzhou, but they went straight to Yunzhou. Presumably, we have already heard that His Highness is here to strengthen the city wall and mow troops, so we changed our purpose. .”

He Rong said slowly: "I underestimated Fu Nian. As early as when he annexed the Western Turks and unified the Turks, he should have realized that this person has both ambition and means. He is different from ordinary Turkic khans. Tough enemy."

Princess Zhending also said: "That's right, the previous Turkic Khans at most relied on iron cavalry to harass the border and plunder every year. If the court is willing to give up a princess and add some property, they will be able to settle down for a while. , Just like I used to go out to get married, after that, the former dynasty and the Western Turks had peace for ten years."

The past is over, as if telling others what happened, Princess Zhending is very calm.

But she changed the topic: "That's why Fu Nian is very different. He proposed the gift of the year and took the Central Plains people as hostages. It was clear that he wanted to use force as a threat to blackmail the court for a long time. There is a saying on the grasslands. If a sheep is killed and eaten, it is better to cut it slowly with a blunt knife, so that you can drink a bowl of sheep's blood every time."

Xue Tan said in a deep voice, "Now we are regarded as that fat sheep."

Zhang Ze said anxiously: "The most important thing is, how will the imperial court respond?"

When everyone returned to Dudu's Mansion, they had a heated discussion, but there was no result.

Lingzhou is just one of the state capitals in the Central Plains. Although its location is important, it is only a corner of the empire. It cannot be called the center, let alone influence the world.

"Your Highness, what do you think?" Seeing that He Rong rarely spoke, Xue Tan asked.

With this question, everyone's eyes fell on He Rong.

He Rong finally spoke, he said: "Based on my understanding, the imperial court probably won't agree to the conditions of the Turks."

Zhang Ze: "In other words, the imperial court doesn't want to redeem those people?"

He Rong nodded: "To redeem the people, you must agree to Sui Ci. Fu Nian has made it clear that marriage and Sui Ci are indispensable. The court cannot afford to lose this person. Even if His Majesty agrees, Zhang Song and the others will not agree." .”

Of course, there is nothing wrong with maintaining the face and dignity of the imperial court. There is a factor of abandoning the small and protecting the big. The opening of the year to let the Turkic people discover the weaknesses of the Central Plains people will definitely open their mouths in the future, and the imperial court will eventually abandon it. the lives of those people.

However, doing so will also chill people's hearts, and it may explode at any time.

Xue Tan did not say this sentence.

……

Unsurprisingly, not long after, an edict issued in the name of Emperor Jiayou was sent to Turkic by an emissary, expressly rejecting Fu Nian Khan's request for a yearly gift, and severely accusing the barbarians of being greedy, saying that Fu Nian was willing to It's not that the imperial court can't consider the matter of making a marriage.

After Fu Nian received the letter, he sent envoys to the customs again to meet the emperor, saying that the Sui Ci would never be compromised, but the amount of the Sui Ci could be negotiated.

When Emperor Jiayou and his ministers saw this letter, they thought that Fu Nian had softened and made concessions, and the court could bargain with him again, so they also sent envoys to the Turkic court to express that the Celestial Dynasty had always been in harmony with its neighbors and did not want to start a war lightly. If the Turkic side is willing to release the captives, the imperial court can agree to send the princess to marry.

After Fu Nian received the letter, he did not respond for a long time. According to the news from the envoys sent by the imperial court, it is said that there are also two voices in the Turks, the main battle and the main peace. plan.

Unexpectedly, one month later, that is, in the spring of the seventh year of Jiayou, just after the Lantern Festival, when the court officials had just finished their rest, there was a resurgence of wars on the border.

This time, the troops of Liang State headed by Xiao Yu, and the Turkic people attacked on both sides and besieged Ganzhou.

At the same time, Fu Nian Khan personally led troops to attack Yunzhou.

It's Yunzhou again!

Ganzhou is in a hurry!

Yunzhou is in a hurry!

Emperor Jiayou didn't expect it, he didn't expect that Fu Nian would turn his back on him when he said that he would turn his back on him. A month ago, they had a very happy conversation, but there were signs of softening, and a month later, they suddenly launched troops without warning!

Previously, He Rong, He Zhan, and even Princess Zhending and others had sent a reminder to Fu Nian that he had repeated temperaments and should not be taken lightly. Although Emperor Jiayou saw it, his attitude became more and more serious after seeing Fu Nian several times. Being peaceful, it is inevitable that the other party needs to rest and recuperate, and does not want to fight for the time being, but who knows that all this from beginning to end is actually a means of paralyzing them.

Because Empress Pei was pregnant and stayed in the capital, Xing Wang He Zhan, who had not returned to Lingnan, was the first to ask for a battle and asked to go to Yunzhou to resist the enemy.

But when many people thought that King Ji, who was eager to fight, would also ask for a fight, it was another unexpected person who asked to fight.