Chapter 151: Harvest of the Northern Border (4k)
After receiving the news of the death of King Rourou, Li Chong fell into endless despair.
I was careful along the way, but when I was not far from the Rouran royal court, someone still took advantage of the opportunity and killed the Rouran King!
What should he do now? With the death of the Rouran King, how can he continue his mission of escorting the princess to marry?
However, good fortune never comes alone, and misfortune never comes alone. Li Chong received another piece of news that almost made him collapse -
Princess Shouyang is already pregnant with the Rouran King's child, and insists on continuing to go to the Rouran royal court to complete the marriage!
By this time, Li Chong was completely numb.
But in this matter, he, as the General of Cavalry, had no power of choice at all.
Should I return from the grassland now? Then the mission of the imperial court to marry the king would fail. I failed to escort the Rouran King back to the royal court. When I return, I will definitely be attacked by my political enemies. I am afraid that I will be sent to Luoyang before I can reach Pingcheng.
Is he going to lead this group of Yu Lin to rebel? Is he crazy?
Li Chong could only lead the army to the Rouran royal court and talk about it later.
For a seventy-year-old man, he has been completely numb. This trip to the North has made him fully realize that he is old. This crazy world is no longer suitable for an old man like him. It is better to just let it be completely destroyed!
Li Chong was also a little curious. He was of course aware of the rumors about Su Ze and Princess Shouyang, and King Rourou had always been by his side, so it was impossible for him to make Princess Shouyang pregnant.
If this was all Su Ze's plan, how would Su Ze support his lover and children to ascend to the throne of Khan?
This is almost impossible, isn't it?
"Si Jing, do you have anything to ask me?"
Since capturing the King of Gaoche, Yu Jin has been very silent. Su Ze noticed his silence and took the initiative to ask.
Yu Jin thought for a long time and said, "Brother Zilin, by establishing this grassland conference, aren't you afraid that the grassland will become too powerful to control in the future?"
This is a question that Yu Jin has been thinking about. Since his grandfather went on diplomatic missions to the grassland, Yu Jin has been instilled with a lot of knowledge related to the grassland since he was a child.
In his view, this grassland assembly system would create a united grassland and a powerful grassland empire like the Huns.
Even if Su Ze could suppress the grassland for a lifetime, what about the future? What about future generations?
Su Ze said: "Don't you think this grassland conference can bring peace to the grassland?"
"Isn't that so? Isn't this what Brother Zilin originally intended?"
Su Ze shook his head and said, "The system cannot bring peace. There are only two situations for peace."
“Peace from the strong to the weak, and peace among the weak.”
"The Grassland Conference can only bring peace among the weak. It can bring peace now because the Rouran and Gaoche are too weak. This system allows them to fight within a limited scope and bring peace for a period of time."
"And if strong rebels rise up in the grasslands, this system will not only fail to bring peace, but will also bring endless fighting."
What Su Ze said was naturally a summary of historical experience.
In fact, this system was copied from the kurultai system of the Yuan Empire.
Other systems that have been used in history include the Meng'an and Mouke system of the Jin Dynasty and the Prince and Beile Conference system of the early Qing Dynasty. But without exception, the use of this system would cause great internal divisions. The Yuan Empire, which implemented this system most, can be said to have perished because of it.
The biggest flaw in this tribal military democracy system is that it requires the general assembly to recognize the position of Khan.
The degree of chaos in the Yuan Dynasty's imperial lineage shows the pitfalls of this system.
This system allowed almost all royal bloodlines to have the possibility of inheritance. Moreover, Su Ze also laid the landmine of the two-Khan system, where Gaoche and Rouran could support each other's Khan.
This system can maintain a balanced stability even with strong external interference.
At least while Su Ze was alive, he could ensure that his descendants would control the position of Rouran Khan, but they would not be able to become powerful enough to cause trouble in the Central Plains.
And the backup plan is still to come. If Su Ze can unify China in the future, he can set up a Heavenly Khan above the Brother Khan and the Emperor of Central Plains will receive the Heavenly Khan and thus gain the power to enthrone the Khan of the grassland.
It’s a pity that Su Ze was unable to explain in detail many of his historical experiences to Yu Jin.
However, after Yu Jin heard that Su Ze had also considered the pros and cons of this system, he felt relieved. In his opinion, since Su Ze had considered it, he would definitely be able to solve the problem. In his mind, Su Ze was a genius with unparalleled strategy.
Yu Jin immediately said: "Brother Zilin, I worry too much!"
Su Ze did not expect that he had already built up such a high reputation with Yu Jin. Since Yu Jin stopped asking questions, Su Ze was too lazy to continue explaining. He looked at the red dot on the map. Li Chong's army was not far from the Rouran royal court.
Su Ze took a breath. He had been planning for so long. As long as he could get the support of Li Chong, the commander-in-chief of the Northern Wei Dynasty, he could sell his system of brother Khan and nephew Khan and push Princess Shouyang to the position of Rouran Qahedun!
All you need to pay is just a small exchange.
Su Ze looked at Yu Jin, who took the staff wrapped in a blanket from under the horse's belly, and the two rode towards Li Chong's military camp.
-
Looking at the flag in Yu Jin's hand, Li Chong leaned on the bed, staring at the bronze flag with lifeless eyes.
There are only two tokens in the entire north, one is his own envoy's token, and the other is his son's token. Such important military weapons cannot be forged at will in a remote place like the north. Only craftsmen in Luoyang can make them.
Li Chong looked at Yu Jin and asked, "You mean, it was Li Shizhe, the Junior Minister of Rites, who asked you to go to Gaoche with the imperial seal, and then you 'invited' the King of Gaoche to the Rouran court to attend this grassland conference?"
Yu Jin nodded, and Li Chong leaned back on the couch. He knew his son very well. If he could come up with such a plan, his ancestral grave would have been filled with smoke long ago.
Li Chong looked at Su Ze. The whole plan must have come from Su Ze's hand.
But he knew it but didn't say it out loud. Since Su Ze was willing to give up some of the credit to him, Li Chong was also willing to fulfill his plan.
Li Chong could not clearly see the gains and losses of Su Ze's grassland congress system, but he was also clear that Princess Shouyang now had the support of the Yujiulü Brahmin. If she could get the support of himself and the Gaoche, she would definitely have no problem securing her position as the Rouran Kehadun.
As for whether the baby in the belly is a boy or a girl, Li Chong thinks it is not a problem at all. At worst, he can just give birth to a girl and replace the baby. This operation does not work in the Central Plains, but it is very easy in the grassland.
If Li Chong were to use his imagination as he pleased, this kind of thing would soon happen in the Northern Wei Dynasty.
In this way, Princess Shouyang can really gain a foothold on the grassland.
If her son grows up successfully, he can really become the Khan of Rouran!
Did Su Ze actually accomplish this?
This is incredible!
Li Chong could only sigh that he was really old. If the Rouran and Gaoche peoples were not so weak, Su Ze's contribution would be comparable to Huo Qubing's conquest of the Wolf's Lair!
The most amazing thing about Su Ze was that he balanced the interests of all parties, and even Li Chong got a little bit of it.
This is too evil. "This general will support the princess to become the Rouran Kehe Dun, but the rest of the things will be left to you."
"Thank you, General! I will also write a detailed record of the contributions of Li Shaoqing and Yu Canjun, and please report it to the court together."
"Understood, you step back."
When Su Ze and Yu Jin came out of Li Chong's tent, Gao Huan, Sima Ziru and Hou Jing hurried to greet them.
"It's done. Your contributions will also be reported."
Part of the credit for Yu Jin and his team's work went to Li Shizhe, but they were also able to gain huge benefits.
Yu Jin was originally an official of Li Chong's Xingtai. As long as Li Chong returned to Luoyang and the Xingtai was disbanded, he could seek the position of Shangjun prefect based on his merits this time. With his merits to the Li family, Li Chong would definitely help him get a lucrative position.
Su Ze looked at Gao Huan and the others. As he said before, there was an upper limit to promotion in the Northern Wei Dynasty. The starting point of these three was too low. Although they had made great contributions, it was impossible for them to reach the top overnight.
If Su Ze had not encountered the Yulin Rebellion, he would not have been able to obtain a genuine official position, so the ceiling of the three people's achievements was there.
But the advantage is naturally that this time the achievement is so great that it can be raised to the ceiling in an instant.
Su Zexian said to the three people, "You have two choices. One is that General Li will commend you for your merits and promote you in the Six Garrisons. This merit can make you promoted to military commander."
The Heba father and son and the Yuwen father and son are the military leaders. The military leader is the upper limit that ordinary soldiers of the Six Garrisons can reach through combat functions.
If the family follows the previous trajectory of the Six Garrisons, and if they are lucky enough to have many sons for several generations, they can become generations of powerful military leaders like Heba Duba and Yuwen Gong, and become a powerful family in the Six Garrisons.
This battle can be said to have allowed Gao Huan and others to completely transcend their own class and complete the leap for the entire family.
"Another option is to follow me back to Luoyang. General Li can find you a position as a brigade commander of the Imperial Guards. The court is now implementing a law of age suspension in the Imperial Guards. As long as you serve as a brigade commander for a long time, you will have the opportunity to accumulate experience and be selected as an official."
To be fair, this is the greatest benefit Su Ze has achieved for the three of them.
Gao Huan and Sima Ziru looked at each other and said, "We are willing to stay in the Six Garrisons."
Su Ze was expecting this result.
It is said that there is a age limit, but for these border town warriors who have no roots in Luoyang, it is impossible for them to be appointed as officials in Luoyang. A commander of the imperial army is far less promising than the commander of the Six Garrisons.
Moreover, it was after seeing the situation in the Six Garrisons that Gao Huan decided to leave Luoyang and return to the Six Garrisons.
Now that he has military merit and fame, Gao Huan can, like the Heba family and the Yuwen family, continue to network with his subordinates and establish his own powerful and handsome family.
But Hou Jing said, "I am willing to be the commander of the brigade under the command of the lieutenant!"
Su Ze looked at Hou Jing with some surprise. He didn't expect him to make such a choice.
But if you think about it carefully, it is understandable. Hou Jing had a lower birth than Gao Huan and Sima Ziru, had a bad reputation, and was ugly.
This was quite fatal in the Northern Wei Dynasty, which attached great importance to appearance.
Hou Jing only had the title of military leader and had no money to win over his subordinates, so he might as well follow Su Ze to Luoyang.
All three of them made the best choice based on their own situations. Su Ze could even sigh that smart people are good at grasping the important moments in their lives.
The last one is the grassland conference.
The seriously injured former Rouran king Shifa died "coincidentally" before the arrival of the army.
Li Chong took out his own envoy's seal and, as an envoy of the Northern Wei Dynasty, convened various tribes at the Rouran royal court and held this grassland conference.
The result was naturally not surprising. With the support of the three major forces, namely the Wei court, the Rouran cavalry commander Yujiulü Brahman, and the King of Gaoche, Princess Shouyang successfully completed the marriage ceremony and became the Khan of Rouran. The child in her belly was also designated as the next Khan of Rouran.
In this way, the King of Gaoche was older and became the Khan, but he respected Princess Shouyang as his aunt. Then Princess Shouyang took the spoils seized by Su Ze and rewarded them to the various tribes, which was considered to have won over the Rouran tribes.
The Rouran tribes also accepted this result. A weak Rouran Khan was obviously in the interests of all parties.
This grassland assembly system has brought order to the grassland and reduced friction between tribes.
Moreover, each tribe has the power to decide the future Khan. Although they only have the power to participate, they can still decide the Khan. The successor Khan will definitely bribe the tribes, and everyone can get substantial benefits.
Su Ze's plan was passed surprisingly smoothly, and miraculously allowed the foreign princess to become the regent of the Rouran, Kehadun.
However, Princess Shouyang may be the weakest Qahedun in history, but as long as she can gain a foothold in the grassland and hold the Khan's righteousness, she may have the opportunity to control the Rouran in the future.
At this point, Li Chong's northern expedition can be said to have been a complete victory, and it has temporarily solved the problem of the northern grasslands.
But when Li Chong looked back at his northern expedition, he was just hurrying along the way, as if he had not fought any battles.
This made Li Chong feel a little aggrieved. He was clearly the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition, so how come everything was solved "on its own" when he did nothing?
Li Chong was even unable to write the final memorial commending his achievements, and had to entrust Su Ze to write it on his behalf.
Li Chong could only comfort himself that "those who are good at fighting may not have great achievements". Anyway, he had earned enough merit in this northern expedition, enough to benefit his descendants.
-
In the magnificent tent of the Rouran royal court, Princess Shouyang was using her mouth and tongue to serve Su Ze for the last time.
Even though he was reluctant, Su Ze would leave the grassland tomorrow.
After playing the flute for a while, Princess Shouyang wiped the corners of her mouth and was held in Su Ze's arms. She let Su Ze caress her smooth belly with his rough hands, enjoying this last tenderness.
After this farewell, I don’t know when we will meet again.
Princess Shouyang was a little sad, but she also knew that the current situation was countless times better than when she got married.
Princess Shouyang's belly is not yet visible, and Su Ze knows that he can't find out anything, but this blood connection still makes him feel very reassured.
Of course, Su Ze came here today for another purpose. Today is the day when the system store will be refreshed after completing the task. Su Ze hopes to take advantage of Princess Shouyang's luck and see if he can get more high-quality followers!
As the countdown ended, the system was finally refreshed!
Start paying off your debt today!
I will count the debts tomorrow. Today’s update is 1 yuan, and the debt paid back is 2 yuan!
Please give me a monthly ticket!!!!!! Today it’s double!
I racked my brains to think about this plot!
(End of this chapter)