Liu Bei felt a brief pang of regret.
He regretted having left his sword outside when he entered.
But it was nothing serious. His gaze swept once through the government hall, then shifted to the wall beside him.
A ceremonial sword hung there.
Purely decorative.
But still a sword.
Zhang Fei jumped to his feet at once.
"Zilong and I are sworn brothers!" he declared. "When it comes to cavalry matters, we'll give it everything we've got!"
Only then did Liu Bei sit back down.
Watching Yide and Zilong huddle together, whispering back and forth, Liu Bei turned his attention again to the luminous screen.
What truly held his thoughts was something else entirely.
Even Gaochang—with strength no greater than this—had been able to carve out territory, proclaim itself a state, and pass power down nine generations, lasting more than a century.
The Western Regions…
Why did they suddenly feel so easy to get by in?
The thought carried him away, and Liu Bei found himself drifting with it.
…
Yan Lide and Yan Liben rapidly copied down the horseshoe designs displayed on the light screen.
"The horseshoe itself is simple," Yan Lide said after examining it closely. "But these nails are another matter."
In fact, he was not unfamiliar with the concept. Among the common people, it was already known as the horse's iron shoe.
And just as the screen explained, everyone knew the thing worked well—too well, perhaps, for its own good.
In the depths of winter, iron shoes slipped easily on ice and snow, sending horses crashing down and risking injury.
Then there were the nails. If they were priced high, the people could not afford them. If priced low, blacksmiths would not be willing to make them.
So, seeing the emperor lost in thought, Yan Lide cautiously offered his suggestion.
"Your Majesty, if this is to be issued on a large scale, it may be necessary to establish dedicated nail craftsmen."
Li Shimin silently ran the numbers in his head and could not help but feel his tongue click against his teeth.
The horseshoes shown on the screen required at least three nails to secure them, and some even had eight nail holes.
Outfitting a single cavalry unit of four thousand men would require nearly fifty thousand nails.
That was no small number.
Li Shimin spoke directly.
"When the screen ends, Lide and Yaoshi will remain. We will discuss these iron nails."
Off to the side, Hou Junji felt an inexplicable sting.
Couldn't the protagonist get at least a little respect?
[Lightscreen]
[For Great Tang, destroying Gaochang was no more than a casual act. The real problem lay in how to govern it.
Court officials led by Wei Zheng and Chu Suiliang argued that Xichang Prefecture should be established.
Emperor Li Shimin believed it should be called Xizhou.
The difference between Xizhou and Xichang Prefecture was a single character—but the meaning was entirely different.
In the Tang system, a two-character prefecture name indicated a jimi prefecture.
Jimi—"loose rein"—meant control through accommodation. In common terms, it was non-Han self-rule: they could heed summons but ignore commands, enjoying considerable autonomy.
Appointments, taxation, fiscal expenditures—all were decided locally, with only reports submitted to the central court.
But a single-character prefecture name meant direct imperial administration.
Appointments, taxes, institutions, and armies were all decided by the Tang court alone.
The debate dragged on for two months. Only when Hou Junji was arrested and thrown into prison did Li Shimin finally suppress opposition and confirm the name: Xizhou.
Wei Zheng and Chu Suiliang were deeply puzzled. Using jimi prefectures to govern the Western Regions was a Han dynasty practice, a proven and well-documented precedent.
Moreover, Li Shimin himself had not previously resisted jimi arrangements so strongly.
As for why his attitude suddenly changed, it had everything to do with a rebellion that occurred one year before Gaochang's fall.]
At once, everyone's gaze converged on Hou Junji.
Even the usually steady Fang Xuanling could not help but look at him a few extra times.
So the Duke of Lu had not been the first to rebel.
The uprisings of Li Xiaochang, Luo Yi, and others in the first year of Zhenguan were little more than lingering aftershocks from the Wude era.
Hou Junji, however, had no time to dwell on history.
"This must be because I failed to obey imperial commands and govern my subordinates strictly," he said immediately. "Thus bringing calamity upon myself."
There was no need for deduction. No matter what the crime was, those two charges always fit.
Li Shimin glanced at him and said quietly, "Later generations say that when you took Gaochang, you led troops in looting and acted on your own authority in executing Gaochang's nobility."
Cold sweat instantly spread across Hou Junji's forehead.
No wonder his treatment after returning to Chang'an had felt so strange.
"I was arrogant and violated discipline," he said. "This punishment would be deserved!"
He was just about to kneel when Li Shimin rose and seized his arm.
"Wait until you actually commit such acts. Then we'll speak of punishment."
Hou Junji let out a long breath of relief.
"I will remember this every day and remain vigilant."
Du Ruhui, afraid he might lose his composure if he kept watching, spoke instead.
"The screen places these matters together and says this is why jimi governance was abandoned."
"That suggests the rebels came from those under Tang's jimi rule."
Li Shimin reached a conclusion at once.
"The Turks."
In his view, barbarians were precisely the sort later generations would describe as being given face and then asking for more.
And among them, the Turks were exemplary.
[Lightscreen]
[After Jieli was captured by Li Jing and made to dance, some minor khagans of the Eastern Turks still remained.
Two figures stood out in particular.
One was Ashina She'er. Stationed on the western flank of the Eastern Turks, he fled west with his troops after Jieli's capture, seized half of Western Turk territory, and proclaimed himself Dubu Khagan.
After ruling for two years, Dubu launched a campaign against Xueyantuo to avenge the destruction of the Eastern Turks.
The logic was simple: if I can't beat Tang, surely I can beat you.
He couldn't.
After being thoroughly defeated by Xueyantuo, Dubu experienced a sudden moment of clarity.
He would no longer be a barbarian.
As the saying goes: when a single thought turns toward Tang, the world suddenly becomes vast.
In the ninth year of Zhenguan, Dubu led his people to submit to Tang. He took part in the destruction of Gaochang, the pacification of the Western Regions, and campaigns against Goguryeo, earning great merit for Tang.
Most importantly, he later followed the famed general Li Ji in destroying Xueyantuo, successfully exacting his revenge.
In the end, he was appointed Grand General and ennobled as a duke—another rising star of Tang.]
"This Dubu was quick on the uptake," Li Jing commented.
"When we later cleared out Eastern Turk remnants, we heard he had fled west. I assumed the Western Turks would never tolerate him."
He shook his head.
From an Eastern Turk general, to a khagan carving territory from the Western Turks, to a Tang general campaigning in all directions—his life had been remarkably full.
"Mao Gong's merits now have somewhere to settle," Li Jing said with a smile.
Li Shiji's eyes gleamed.
At last—he had been waiting for this.
He cast an excited glance at Su Dingfang, who was doing his best to hide his disappointment.
Kid. Learn to respect your elders.
Still, the screen mentioned "sweeping three kingdoms and capturing three kings." Xueyantuo was only one. Where were the other two?
Li Shimin's expression remained calm.
Tang had appointed non-Han generals since its founding; it was nothing remarkable.
And now, as Heavenly Khagan, he was meant to gather all capable men of the four quarters and put them to use.
For a moment, Li Shimin found himself stroking his chin.
Should the lives of such foreign generals be compiled into what later generations would call novels?
A shepherd's son, scorned by his tribe, who turned toward Tang, found employment, and left his name in history.
Barbarian savagery contrasted with Tang enlightenment.
And that later, casually composed verse was not wrong.
With a single thought of turning toward Tang, the world becomes vast.
Tang's territory was indeed vast.
And his own heart, as Heavenly Khagan, was just as broad.
[Lightscreen]
[The other was Tuli Khagan.
After Jieli's capture, Tuli was among those who raised troops and submitted to Tang. He was appointed Governor of Bingzhou, granted a residence in Chang'an, and lived a leisurely, comfortable life.
But one man took issue with this—Tuli's younger brother, Ashina Jiesheshuai.
He despised his brother's indulgence in wine and luxury, seeing in it none of the ambition of a true steppe man. In a fit of outrage, he accused his own brother of plotting rebellion.
When the accusation was proven false, both Tuli and Li Shimin berated him mercilessly and cut his stipend in half.
He was furious.
In the thirteenth year of Zhenguan, upon hearing that Li Shimin had moved to Jiucheng Palace to escape the summer heat, Jiesheshuai gathered forty former Turkic retainers and announced his plan.
Li Shimin's son, Li Zhi, rode out of the palace every day. They would lie in ambush on both sides. When the palace gates opened, they would charge in and kill Li Shimin.
With Li Shimin dead, Tang would fall into chaos. They would then lead the Turkic remnants back to the steppe and restore the Turkic Khaganate.
But the plan went wrong as soon as it began.
That night, fierce winds rose. Seeing the weather turn, Li Zhi did not leave the palace.
After waiting outside for a long time, the Turks, reasoning that they were already there, decided to attack anyway.
Jiucheng Palace was only a summer retreat. More than forty Turks forced their way inside.
After a brief clash, realizing the assassination was impossible, they seized horses and attempted to flee north, only to be surrounded and killed by the imperial guards.
The greatest consequence of this rebellion was unrest among the Turkic tribes under jimi governance in the Hetao region.
Li Shimin was almost forced to reappoint a Turkic khagan and send the tribes back to their homeland.
Regarding this affair, Li Shimin later summarized it in two words: humiliating.
He also lamented that he had not heeded Wei Zheng's advice.
At the time, there were two schools of thought regarding the Turks.
Wei Zheng believed the Turks were inherently dangerous: either they should be completely dispersed and settled in Hebei for assimilation, or driven north to check Xueyantuo.
Wen Yanbo advocated following Liu Xiu's model for the Southern Xiongnu, setting aside nearby land for jimi governance.
Li Shimin ultimately adopted Wen Yanbo's proposal, leading directly to the assassination attempt.
Because of this, Li Shimin's policy toward Gaochang shifted from jimi governance to direct rule.
This also marked Tang's formal entry into the Western Regions, opening the curtain on the dynasty's grand territorial expansion.]
Fang Xuanling's expression turned subtle.
"In earlier discussions on the Turkic remnants, Zhongshu Attendant Wen Dalin did indeed propose jimi governance."
But those who had remained in Ganlu Hall now held different views, and jimi was ultimately abandoned.
What Wei Zheng was implementing in the north had been jointly decided.
Large tribes were broken into smaller ones and settled across counties, forbidden from private contact.
Small groups were broken into households and registered across prefectures as Tang subjects.
Li Shimin himself leapt to his feet.
"Send an edict to Wei Zheng. As for Tuli Khagan's brother—exile him as far away as possible!"
He had patience for Hou Junji.
For barbarians, he had none.
Defeated men who still dared plot his assassination?
And exile instead of execution—why, even Liu Bei would have praised such mercy.
Did they love the steppe so much?
Then let them gaze upon barren mountains and desolate lands to their heart's content.
Only then did Li Shimin understand why, even after the Turks had fallen, men like An Lushan could later emerge from Turkic stock and turn against Tang.
This was no humiliation.
It was simply mishandling things.