The last three days of confinement passed by in a blink of an eye, and Li Mu finally regained his freedom, just in time to pay tribute to the Ancestral Temple. As the founding lord of the third rank, Li Mu naturally has his own position. And the position is quite high, and he was a knight in the early Tang Dynasty.
The rank of 'gong' is the highest, because there are so many people who have made great achievements. Followed by sons, men, and marquis is the least.
As a marquis, Li Mu happened to be in the middle of the queue because he was neither high nor low. When Li Mu looked back, he saw that none of the viscounts and barons following him were younger than him. However, there were some younger than him in front of him, such as Li Shimin.
With the exception of several sons, all of them are older than him.
The Chengtian Gate opened wide, and queues filed in. It was closed immediately. Li Shimin led hundreds of officials to the Ancestral Temple, climbed up to the Shuntian Tower, and displayed the ceremonial guards. The common people rushed over and blocked the Chengtian Gate, even if they could not see it.
Also waiting to hear the sound. Although the ancient craftsmen did not understand things like sound waves, with their genius-like wisdom, they actually made a primitive 'megaphone'. As long as Li Shimin stood in a specific position, his voice could
After being expanded, it will not be a problem to spread for several miles.
The imperial army escorted Jieli Khan to come. Li Mu took a sneak peek and saw that although Jieli was cleanly dressed and had the color of a khan, he seemed to have lost his soul and his face was sallow. He was no longer in the Turkic tent.
Li Mu couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Jieli can be regarded as a great hero. Since he became the Turkic Khan, he has unified the Turkic tribes and made the Turks reach their most prosperous period in a century. He has repeatedly invaded the Central Plains.
Li Shimin was forced to bear the humiliation and sign the Weishui Alliance. If he had been more courageous, maybe the Tang Dynasty would no longer exist.
But there is no regret medicine in the world. Today, the Turks have been destroyed. After all, Jieli did not have the courage to die for his country and became Li Shimin's prisoner. While being escorted, under the gaze of the soldiers and civilians of the Tang Dynasty, he felt as if he was dead.
It's more uncomfortable.
While Li Mu was thinking, the imperial army had already taken Jie Li and knelt in front of Li Shimin. Li Shimin waved his hands gently and said: "Although Jie Li is defeated, he should not be humiliated. Let him loose his bonds."
After hearing this, the imperial guards loosened their bonds, and Jieli bowed to the ground, not daring to raise his head.
Li Shimin looked down at his former great rival and felt happy in his heart. He had endured humiliation for many years, and today all the hostility in his heart had dissipated. This is how he felt! The great enemy was destroyed, the country was in hand, this is the emperor, this is the emperor!
Although Li Shimin wanted to draw his sword and cut off Jieli's head, he had discussed with the important ministers many times in the past few days that Jieli could not be killed. Although the Turkic countries were destroyed, there were still many Turkic people in the Western Regions. If
After killing Jieli, the group of dragons is leaderless. These scattered Turks are civilians on horseback and soldiers on horseback. They disturb the border and are difficult to govern. Moreover, there is Xue Yantuo in Mobei, so these Turks must be gathered together and controlled.
, as a screen vassal in the Central Plains. For these things, it is indispensable to use Jieli, the khan.
Therefore, you should not kill Jie Li, but treat him kindly.
But even so, the king of a subjugated country and the general of a defeated army will inevitably suffer some humiliation. Even if Li Shimin is magnanimous and unwilling to do such a thing, he must do it now. Everyone in the Weishui River Alliance knows that he has to save face.
, and we must give an explanation to the people of Tang Dynasty.
Li Shimin was silent for a while, then said in a deep voice: "You have five crimes: In the past, your father's country was destroyed, and you relied on the Sui Dynasty to survive. But when the Sui Dynasty was in trouble, you didn't even have a single soldier to help, and the Sui Dynasty collapsed.
This is the first one: being my neighbor and betraying your trust and invading the border, this is the second one; the continuous wars for many years have caused the tribes to become angry, this is the third one: plundering the people of our country, trampling on my crops, this is the fourth one: allowing you to make peace with me and delaying your escape,
This is the fifth one. It is not without reason that I want to kill you, but I have not forgotten the covenant on Wei. I don’t want to be a person who breaks my promise, so I don’t want to punish you harshly. I will give your family back so that they will avoid the pain of slavery. Choose the suburbs.
I will build you a mansion on the fertile land, and the government will provide for your expenses in the future. I will treat you well, and I hope you will take care of yourself."
The sound spread, and the people outside Chengtian Gate heard it clearly. Although there were criticisms, they all praised Li Shimin for his broad mind and tolerance.
Jie Li burst into tears and kept kowtowing. It was not clear what he was thinking in his heart. The imperial guards took him down, and then Li Shimin burned a table to express his condolences to the ancestors of heaven and earth. All the officials also saluted accordingly. After a set of procedures, Li Mulei
It must be a sore back.
Just when he thought it was about to end, a canopy was erected under the stairs, and Eunuch Gao sang: "Your Majesty."
Everyone from Li Shimin on down bowed and saluted. Yu Xun carried Li Yuan to the steps and stood at the place where Li Shimin had just spoken. When Li Shimin saw Li Yuan, he suddenly twitched his nose and his eye circles were red. Li Mu was shocked when he saw this and secretly said
, this is not about crying, right? A grown man in his thirties crying? This scene is a bit too much!
Facts have proved that he guessed it right. When Li Shimin saw Li Yuan, he burst into tears. He cried so hard that he was heart-wrenching. He knelt on the ground and hugged Li Yuan's thigh. Tears fell from his eyes: "Father,
The son fulfilled his promise, destroyed his country, captured his people, his great revenge was avenged, and he finally has the face to face his father and his ancestors!"
Li Yuan gently helped Li Shimin up, faced the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, and the people outside Chengtian Gate, and said: "Dear noble families and subjects, I am very relieved that my son is a prisoner in the Imperial Ancestral Temple today. The knot that has been in my heart for many years has been solved today.
I am very happy! I gave birth to a good son who is worthy of great responsibilities. I was not wrong about the man, he is a good emperor."
"There is one thing I want to tell you today. When I passed the throne in the past, the people of the world made an oath not to destroy the Turks and never enter the Taiji Palace. Although I think it is a bit nonsense, after all, it is his
As a result of my filial piety, which can be regarded as an incentive, I agreed to him. Today, the Turks have been destroyed, the Jieli has been surrendered, and the oath of that day has been fulfilled. I have decided to move out of Taiji Palace tomorrow and move to Da'an Palace to spend my old age."
Li Shimin was "shocked" when he heard this, and cried: "Father, my son has not fulfilled his filial piety?! Please make it clear that my son should change his ways!"
"No, the Tai Chi Palace is the emperor's palace. Now that you have ascended the throne as the emperor, you should live in the Tai Chi Palace. My mind has been made, and there is no need to discuss it further."
Li Shimin said helplessly: "Since the father has made up his mind, the son dare not disobey. The son should choose another blessed place to build a new palace for his father and welcome the father to live there!"
Li Yuan said angrily: "As a king, how can you waste the people and money for your own selfishness? The cost of building a new palace is unknown. Today, we have decided to rest and recuperate. How can we repeat the mistakes of the previous dynasty? You should humbly accept advice.
, practice strict economy, and encourage farmers to cultivate mulberry trees. If the country is peaceful and the people are safe, I will see it in my eyes, and it will be your greatest filial piety!"
Li Shimin bowed in admiration: "My son will obey the teachings of his father!"
The ministers shouted: "I will obey the instructions of the Supreme Emperor!"
The people outside Chengtian Gate shouted long live, but only Li Mu noticed the subtle exchange of glances between Li Yuan and Li Shimin and his son while speaking.
Li Mu couldn't help but shook his head, this is the love between father and son in the Tian family, it's too tiring!