Kongming still had a measure of confidence in his own lifespan.
After all, the situation following the defeat at Yiling in the history revealed by the light screen had been unimaginably perilous. In order to protect the last remaining spark of Shu-Han, that version of Chancellor Zhuge had been forced to centralize all authority, formulate an airtight plan, and exhaust himself pushing it through.
But none of that was necessary now.
The situation was not desperate. Talented men had not perished to the last. All he needed to do was sit at the center, regulate matters, and patch any leaks that appeared. Even if some grave issue arose, he still had his lord's full support.
Pang Tong and Fa Zheng guarded Hanzhong.
Guan Yu and Xu Shu held Jingzhou.
What was there to fear?
Yet when his thoughts turned to Jingzhou, Kongming could not help but feel a quiet regret—Cao Mengde had slipped away after all.
On this point, his view aligned perfectly with Xu Shu's. Ultimately, it had come down to one thing: too few troops. That was why the Cao traitor had escaped.
Such an opportunity as Wancheng would not come again so easily.
[Lightscreen]
[Compared to his other feats, Li Jing is best known for destroying the Eastern Turks.
In the official histories, the fall of the Eastern Turks is recorded in only a few lines, making it seem almost trivial. But the Eastern Turks were no minor rabble.
In the fourth year of Wude, the Khagan Jieli began leading raids against Tang borders. The Eastern Turks won more battles than they lost, alternating war and peace with the Tang and leaving Li Yuan in constant agony.
In the seventh year of Wude, driven to desperation, Li Yuan issued an edict restoring the Twelve Armies, strengthening defenses and expanding the military.
In the ninth year of Wude, after learning of the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Jieli led a hundred thousand cavalry to attack Wugong County in the seventh month. This place was not far from Wuzhang Plains—and even closer to Chang'an, less than a hundred kilometers away.
At the time, Yuchi Jingde received orders from "Li Erfeng" and fought the Eastern Turks at Jingyang County. The histories record it as a victory, but in truth it was no more than a successful repulse.
Because Jingyang lay only about thirty kilometers from Chang'an. If the enemy had not been driven back, the consequences would have been catastrophic.
Less than twenty days later, Jieli returned, pressing all the way to the northern end of the Weishui pontoon bridge—barely twenty kilometers from Chang'an.
What followed is well known: alliance, tribute, payment. The Eastern Turks withdrew satisfied. Li Shimin regarded it as a humiliation.
Some have said that if the Alliance of Weishui had occurred during the Song dynasty, it would have been praised as a great victory.
After all—no land was ceded, no annual tribute agreed to, no submission as brothers, uncles, or nephews, no royal daughters given as hostages. The capital was not breached, and the Son of Heaven was not captured.]
Those in Ganlu Hall were well acquainted with the Weishui Alliance. After all, it had occurred less than four years earlier; the memory was still vivid.
And now that Jieli had already been brought to offer sacrifices at the ancestral temple and had even performed dances before the emperor, the Eastern Turks were a matter of history. Speaking of it felt almost casual.
Today's focus, without question, was Li Jing—who had not yet been ennobled as Duke of Wei.
The old general reflected briefly and said,
"At the time, when His Majesty spoke with Jieli upon the bridge, he secretly ordered this old servant and the Duke of Qi to lay an ambush in Youzhou. The edict stated that if Jieli showed signs of retreat, we were to strike."
Li Jing nodded toward Zhangsun Wuji and continued,
"This old servant was then deeply concerned that, in righteous anger, His Majesty might personally lead troops into the Turkic formation and risk his priceless person."
Yuchi Jingde—usually silent, content to fade into the background—rarely voiced an opinion, but now he spoke:
"At the time, all said the barbarians were greedy for wealth and would never fight to the death. I led troops without fear of dying myself and struck straight for the enemy chieftain. The barbarians truly lost their nerve."
He sighed in regret.
"If Shubao had been able to fight then, the two of us together might well have twisted Jieli's head off and presented it early in Chang'an."
Qin Qiong, his face still marked by illness, smiled but said nothing. He merely reached back and gently patted Yuchi Jingde's hand.
Qin Qiong had been ill for many years. By the time of Xuanwu Gate, he could only lend presence, not fight. Had he truly gone to clash with Jieli, he would only have held his close friend back.
Fang Xuanling, recalling it even now, still felt a lingering fear.
"At the time, seeing everyone act on their own judgment, riding out alone to meet Jieli—thinking back, how perilous it was!"
Li Shimin shook his head lightly and laughed.
"Had I barred the gates or refused to move my armies, it would have been a show of weakness. The barbarians would have plundered endlessly—my safety would have meant ten thousand deaths among the people."
"Riding out alone to slight Jieli—that was the true display of strength. Thus their hearts were unsettled."
He paused, recalling.
"And besides… the Turks had no discipline. When Jieli and I faced each other across the Weishui, many barbarian chiefs crossed the river on their own to pay court to me. Jieli could not restrain them. Even Ashina Simo secretly offered counsel, wishing to act as an inside man."
"At that moment, I knew that if I led troops against them, their collapse would be like rotten wood crumbling."
"And with Fuzhi and Yaoshi already laying an ambush in Youzhou, victory would have been effortless."
He sighed softly.
Everyone present understood perfectly.
In the end, Li Shimin had only just ascended the throne. His own sense of legitimacy was uncertain, and so he did not dare to lightly ignite a full-scale war.
Moreover, though victory would have been easy, complete annihilation was far from guaranteed. If Jieli escaped, it would have meant years of continuous warfare without respite.
Li Jing understood this most clearly. He cupped his hands and said,
"It was precisely because of Your Majesty's forbearance then that we were able to witness Jieli's dance in submission last year."
Only then did a smile return to Li Shimin's face. He nodded lightly, saying nothing more.
As for the later jokes about the Song dynasty, the emperor remained silent, and the others did not dare comment.
Though many questions arose, Qin Qiong and Su Lie both had people beside them to ask. Only Wang Xuance felt restless beyond endurance. Yet with the emperor at his side, he dared not speak rashly—his discomfort was exquisite.
[Lightscreen]
[The strength of the Eastern Turks has already been made clear: a full hundred thousand cavalry.
Historically, when agrarian states fought nomadic powers, it was like striking a snake. If one failed to hit the vital point in a single blow, one would inevitably suffer in return.
In this war, Li Jing once again acted with both speed and precision.
The first step: he defied convention.
In the first month of the fourth year of Zhenguan, Li Jing led three thousand elite cavalry, braving bitter cold, and launched a two-hundred-li raid straight into Jieli's main camp at Dingxiang.
In ancient warfare, winter campaigns were notoriously difficult. How to overcome cold injuries and keep troops combat-ready was always a challenge. The histories record no details of how Li Jing accomplished this—only that the sudden strike terrified Jieli into fleeing outright.
At the same time, Li Ji advanced along another route. The two forces struck in succession, battering Jieli until he became a startled bird at the mere twang of a bowstring, hurriedly seeking peace from "Second Phoenix."
Second step: you might think that after winning through surprise, Li Jing would now consolidate with orthodox strategy.
He did not.
Facing Jieli's plea for peace, Li Shimin displayed great sincerity and dispatched Tang Jian to negotiate.
Who was Tang Jian? He had known Li Shimin since childhood—mud-pies and shared mischief. Later, he would be named among the Twenty-Four Meritorious Officials of Lingyan Pavilion. He was one of Li Shimin's closest confidants.
Tang Jian's arrival eased Jieli's mind—but convinced Li Jing that the moment could not be missed.
While Tang Jian was still negotiating, Li Jing had already mobilized five thousand elite cavalry and launched an attack.
Some under his command objected. Li Jing's reply was blunt:
"Let Tang Jian die for the state."
'This is how Han Xin destroyed Qi. Tang Jian and the like are not worth sparing.'
The Turks, their guard down, were shattered once more. Jieli fled again, only to encounter Li Ji at Qikou, where he was beaten yet again.
Tang Jian did not die. Nor did later histories record his opinion on the matter.
The third step was the calm closing of the net.
Jieli, utterly broken, abandoned all illusions and fled west with his remnants, traveling fifteen hundred li in hopes of seeking refuge with Tuyuhun or Gaochang.
There, he ran straight into the waiting army of Li Daozong.
Jieli was captured.
This campaign was orchestrated by Li Shimin and executed strategically by Li Jing—two titans of early Tang working in perfect coordination.
In just two months, the Eastern Turkic Khaganate—once boasting a hundred thousand cavalry and knocking on Chang'an's gates at the Weishui—was wiped out.]
Li Shimin felt the strange subtlety of history itself.
According to the light screen's timeline, Jieli should only just have been captured around now.
Yet in reality…
He remembered that after the first month, he had summoned Jieli once more. At the time, he had scolded Jieli for eating too much and growing too fat, issuing an edict forbidding him from meat for three months.
Of course, he would never admit it was because Jieli's increasing girth reminded him of An Lushan.
Nor would he say that, to prevent headaches, he himself could eat lamb only once a month—and never fatty cuts. Why should a barbarian live so comfortably?
Casting Jieli from his thoughts, Li Shimin voiced a complaint:
"What does 'mud-pies and shared mischief' mean?"
"I and Mao Yue were companions in youth—that is how we knew each other. How could we have engaged in such filthy play?"
The ministers lowered their eyes, murmuring agreement. Yes, yes—Your Majesty is absolutely correct.
Yan Liben, however, immediately formed a deeply unfilial image in his mind. After long hesitation, he wisely abandoned it.
Better not. Everything was fine as it was. If the emperor were provoked into emulating old deeds of Wei Wu, regret would come too late.
"But sacrificing Tang Mao Yue…" Li Shimin shook his head.
Everyone knew the story of Han Xin destroying Qi—how Li Yiji volunteered to negotiate surrender, only for Han Xin to attack at the critical moment. Unlike Tang Jian, Li Yiji had not been so fortunate; the enraged Qi forces boiled him alive.
After careful thought, Li Shimin said,
"After the Weishui affair, I had already resolved to destroy Jieli. How could I soften my heart over a momentary feigned surrender?"
"Mao Yue's mission must have been to distract the enemy for Yaoshi. And Yaoshi's words were surely meant to steel the army's resolve."
His tone was final.
Given that Tang Jian had never left Chang'an this past year and had faced no danger, the question was no longer worth pursuing.
Li Jing said nothing. He only solemnly bowed to Li Shimin. The matter was laid to rest.
The two shared a knowing smile.
In the Chengdu prefectural office, Liu Bei's heart was anything but calm.
The more he compared, the greater the disparity felt.
Three months to destroy a nation of a hundred thousand cavalry—compared to that, his own struggles in Jingzhou felt almost like child's play.
National strength. Generals. Armor. Soldiers. The ruler himself.
None could compare.
And so Liu Bei's longing only deepened.
This flourishing Tang must be recorded in detail, so that future generations would have a target to pursue.
Establish Shu-Han.
Restore the Han.
Pursue the grandeur of Tang.