Su Dingfang sent people to report, saying that Huai'an City had been completely defeated, the Turks in Huai'an City had also been wiped out, and nearly 60,000 people had been saved, except for Jieli, Tuli and other Turkic leaders.
When the city was captured, he fled and left an envoy behind, saying that he wanted to see the Emperor of Tang.
Li Yuanji ordered the envoys to bring them up.
The envoy was a standard Turk, with deep-set eyes, a hooked nose, and the color of his eyes was different from that of the Han people. He was wearing clothes made of rough animal skins, furry, and looked like a bear.
"The Turkic envoy Hamur met with His Highness the King of Qi of the Tang Dynasty."
When the envoy arrived in front of the king's chariot, he hammered his chest with one hand and bowed humbly.
Li Yuanji stared at the envoy for a long time, then slowly said: "What is the position of the envoy in Turks?"
Hamul bowed his head humbly and said: "Back to His Royal Highness King Qi of the Tang Dynasty, the foreign ministers are in Yan Hongda, the official residence of the Turks."
Yan Hongda is not a personal life, but a Turkic official position. His main function is to help the Turkic Khan make plans and help the Turkic Khan handle government affairs, similar to the eighteen bachelors of the original Qin Palace.
It sounds like his authority is equivalent to that of the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, but in fact he does not have much real power. He only helps the Turkic Khan with advice when encountering problems. The most important thing is that the Turkic Khan rarely listens.
The reason why this situation occurs is also related to the Turkic political system.
The Turks are a country formed by multiple tribes. The Khan is just the co-leader elected by each tribe, and his power is based on the trust of the chiefs of all tribes.
Any major decision must be made through consultation with the chiefs of each tribe.
There are many Turkic tribes, and the Turkic royal family implements a feudal system, so there are many tribes established under the command of various Turkic minor khans, She, Tell and other princes.
Therefore, there are many people from each tribe participating in government affairs and many have the right to speak.
In comparison, Yan Hongda, who had no tribe to rely on, found it difficult to intervene when these people participated in political discussions. Naturally, he had little say, let alone decision-making power.
Therefore, the position of Yan Hongda is usually awarded to wise men eliminated by various tribes.
These wise men have prestige, but their prestige is not high, and they were kicked out by their ethnic groups. They have no ethnic group to rely on, so they can only survive under the tent of the Turkic Khan.
"So, you are a wise man?"
Li Yuanji questions.
Hamul lowered his head and said: "In front of the king, foreign ministers dare not call him a wise man."
Li Yuanji was just polite and had no intention of saying anything more on this issue. He immediately asked: "Jieli and Tuli escaped, and the other Turkic chiefs also escaped, leaving you alone. I don't know why."
?”
Hamul quickly bent down and said: "The reason why the Khan kept the foreign minister is because he wanted to use the foreign minister's mouth to negotiate peace with the Tang Dynasty."
"Peace negotiation?"
Li Yuanji was full of surprise, and Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, Li Shentong and others on the side also looked surprised.
Yesterday, Jie Li was still full of murderous intent and wished he could fight to the death with Datang.
Why did you change your gender today and want to negotiate peace?
"What do you think?"
Li Yuanji looked at Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, Li Shentong and others and asked.
Li Yuanji always felt that it was not that simple for Jie Li to suddenly propose peace.
Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, Li Shentong and others did not speak, but only exchanged glances with each other.
Seeing this, Li Yuanji said to Hamul: "You retreat first, I will call you later."
Hamul hesitated for a moment, then bowed and slowly retreated.
As soon as Hamul left, Li Shentong couldn't wait to say: "Jieli was so aggressive yesterday, why are you negotiating for peace again today?"
Li Deliang pondered and said: "Could it be that Su Dingfang captured Huai'an, completely ruining all of Jie Li's plans, and that Jie Li had to negotiate peace?"
Changsun Shunde stroked his beard and said, "It's possible, but it shouldn't be the key."
Li Deliang looked at his eldest son Shunde and said, "Why do you see this?"
Changsun Shunde bowed his hand to Li Deliang, and then said: "If Jieli chose to negotiate peace because Su Dingfang captured Huai'an and completely destroyed Jieli's plan, he would definitely not be so hasty.
After all, we have just fought a war, and the hatred between the two sides has not been completely put aside. Jieli chose to negotiate peace at this time, and even if he is willing, we may not be willing."
Li Deliang said thoughtfully: "But there are countless peace talks between the two armies in front of the battlefield, especially peace talks after a defeat.
There seems to be nothing wrong with Jieli choosing to negotiate peace after his defeat."
Changsun Shunde smiled and explained: "Your Majesty, the two armies have always negotiated peace in front of the battle, but they only chose to negotiate peace after they were exhausted and unable to fight anymore.
Peace was negotiated after the defeat because the vast majority of the victors were powerless and no longer willing to fight again.
The two sides hit it off immediately, so they chose to negotiate a peace in a tacit understanding.
However, in this battle at Huai'an, although the Turks were exhausted and lacked men and horses, and had no successors, our Tang soldiers were still able to continue their march northward at a time when their morale was at its highest.
So Xie Li chooses to negotiate peace with us at this time, even if he is willing, it still depends on whether we are willing."
Yu Wenshiji nodded and said: "Jieli has invaded our Central Plains for many years and negotiated peace with me several times. It is impossible not to understand this truth. But he chose to negotiate peace at this time. There must be something behind it that we don't know.
"
Li Deliang suddenly realized it, and then asked again: "What on earth is that?"
Yu Wenshiji smiled bitterly and said no more.
This is also a question he wants to know.
This is also a question that Li Yuanji and everyone here wants to know.
At this time, Cai Yungong suggested: "Why don't you send someone to ask Su Dingfang to see if he has caught a big fish? If you ask him hard, he might get an answer."
Li Yuanji thought about it for a while and felt that this method was feasible.
Anyway, no one can guess what happened now, so ask some tongues wagging, maybe there will be an answer. Even if there is no answer, it would be good to provide some ideas.
Immediately, Li Yuanji sent Yu Wenbao to Huai'an City to question Su Dingfang.
An hour later, Yu Wenbao returned to the king's car and reported the results of his inquiry, "Your Highness, I have asked Shuai Su, and Su Shuai did catch a few big fish, and he questioned them.
I only got one piece of valuable information, but I don’t know if it will be helpful to His Highness.”
Li Yuanji didn't talk nonsense to Yu Wenbao and signaled Yu Wenbao to speak directly.
Yu Wenbao continued to report: "According to the big fish caught by Su Shuai, since His Highness charged into battle that day, Jieli seemed to have had a conflict with Tuli. Jieli wanted to seize Tuli's military power, but Tuli refused.
and plotted a mutiny.
Jieli acted first and sent people to capture Tuli and confiscated Tuli's authority.
At the same time, Jieli blamed Tuli for all the faults for the invasion and defeat of the Tang Dynasty."
After Li Yuanji heard this, he called him a good guy in his heart.
Jie Li is framed and framed, and he is also abandoning his car to protect his commander.
Jieli's southern invasion this time was defeated and he returned with heavy losses. He must give an explanation to all the tribal chiefs under his command.
If Jieli admits his mistake, he will lose all his majesty.
If you don't admit your mistake, it will alienate the tribes.
It can be said that whatever Jieli did was wrong, and no matter what he did, it was not conducive to him continuing to rule the Turks.
So he thought of a way to abandon the car to protect the commander, let Tuli take the blame for him, and push Tuli out to help him take the blame.
Jieli must have had this idea a long time ago, and started plotting against Tuli from that time on, but Tuli was not as smart as Jieli, and didn't know that he had been plotted, so he stepped in to help Jieli take the blame.
vortex.
Jieli should have discussed with Tuli when he planned Tuli to death, and asked Tuli to take the blame. However, Tuli refused, so he chose to strike first.
The big fish caught by Su Dingfang described Tu Li's self-protection as Tu Li's conspiracy to mutiny, which means that he has chosen to side with Jie Li.
I'm afraid other Turkic chiefs also chose this way.
Tuli will soon become the main culprit of the Turkic defeat under the verbal and written criticism of the various Turkic tribes, and become the most ferocious traitor and evil person in the Turkic tribe.
And Tuli himself will quickly perish in these verbal and written criticisms.
"Jieli is so cruel."
Li Shentong couldn't help but sigh.
Li Jiancheng said without hesitation: "I think Jie Li is worthy of being a hero on the grassland, he is decisive enough."
If Li Shimin had said this, there would be no problem.
But when it comes to Li Jiancheng, it always feels a bit inconsistent.
However, now is not the time to discuss what kind of person Jie Li is, what needs to be discussed now is the matter of Jie Li's seeking peace.
"So, the reason why Jieli is so eager to seek peace is to digest the various tribes that were annexed from Tuli?"
Changsun Shunde said thoughtfully.
Yu Wenshiji said in confusion: "If it is just to digest the various tribes that were annexed from Tuli, there is no need for Jieli to be so anxious, right?
After all, Tuli has been captured by him, and the tribes under Tuli have become headless flies. They have no other choice but to rely on him, and he can completely digest them slowly."
Changsun Shunde said: "Perhaps Jieli has some scruples and worries and needs to digest these tribes as soon as possible?"
Yu Wenshiji's eyes lit up and he blurted out: "Suni is missing?!"
Li Shimin, who had been silent on the sidelines, finally spoke at this time, "Yes, it's Suni Shi. This time Jieli invaded the south, his soldiers and horses suffered heavy losses, and Tuli's soldiers and horses were also defeated in Yansui.
, only the soldiers and horses under Suni's command were still intact.
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If he has any different intentions, he can launch a mutiny at this time, oust Jieli from power, and inherit the Turkic rule himself."
Li Shentong nodded and said: "It doesn't even have to be so troublesome. As long as Sunisu blocks Jieli's escape from Qingzhou, we will help him achieve this goal."