"This Pei Xingjian…"
Li Shimin did not know whether to laugh or cry.
"Even if he didn't go himself, he should at least have sent someone to escort them part of the way."
Su Dingfang chuckled and offered a guess:
"The mission consisted of only a few dozen men, yet they managed to pacify unrest, capture rebel leaders, and even carve stone to proclaim merit. That alone shows how great the achievement was."
Even as he spoke, Su Dingfang found himself tempted.
By comparison, that Persian Governor—whoever wanted to escort him could do so; just don't block my way back to Chang'an to report merit!
"Escorting someone from the Western Regions all the way to Tokharistan and then returning would waste half a year for nothing."
Street-Sweeper Su Dingfang shook his head. By the time you returned, the emperor would not summon you alone even once—he might have forgotten who you were entirely.
Fair enough. Li Shimin expressed his understanding.
After all, that remnant royal house was merely borrowed as a screen to deceive others.
Although he admired Pei Xingjian's stratagem, Li Shimin was still somewhat puzzled:
"Are there no men in the Four Garrisons of Anxi?"
"The Western Regions are remote, but strategically vital. All the more reason they should be guarded by elite troops."
He clearly remembered that garrisons had been stationed there after the destruction of Gaochang. And if the Four Garrisons of Anxi existed, then surely they were meant to be four military strongholds.
Pei Xingjian's plan deserved praise, yes—but would it not have been better to directly deploy the forces of the Four Garrisons to annihilate the rebels and cow all lurking threats?
That would have conserved national strength.
But—it was not Li Shimin's style.
Whenever doubts arose, Du Ruhui would briefly flip through earlier records. After synthesizing the information, he offered a conjecture:
"After thirteen continuous years of war with Goguryeo, I fear…"
He hesitated over how to refer to Li Zhi, then finally spoke vaguely:
"I fear that at that time, the Son of Heaven, in order to economize on revenues, withdrew the troops of the Four Garrisons of Anxi."
Li Shimin's eyes widened. With only a moment's thought—recalling this son's cautious, hesitant attitude toward Tubo, and his consistently unclear style of governance—he realized Du Ruhui's guess was very likely correct.
"This Li Zhi—truly lacking in judgment!"
Zhangsun Wuji silently nodded in agreement, while pondering:
Would there be a way to stay in the palace for a meal today?
Don't misunderstand—he merely wished to grow closer to his good nephew.
And besides, he still needed to privately explain to His Majesty what was meant by "Zhangsun Wuji usurping authority."
Previously, he had thought his road back to power would be smooth enough. But now…
The pun-laden criticism left everyone both amused and exasperated. Among them, only Li Shiji reddened.
It was known that Goguryeo had drained Great Tang dry.
It was also known that the one who destroyed Goguryeo was Li Shiji.
Then, pray tell—
"The responsibility for the Goguryeo war lies with me."
Seeing Li Shiji's expression, Li Shimin quickly took the blame upon himself.
"When we later personally campaign to pacify Liaodong, we shall advance by sea and land together, settle it in one battle, and not leave Maogong burdened with regret."
Li Shiji opened his mouth, as if watching a glorious, history-making achievement sprout wings and fly farther and farther away—
Then, with a "pa," His Majesty waved his hand and snatched it away.
Su Dingfang, seated steadily, could not suppress the upward curl of his lips.
[Lightscreen]
[As for Pei Xingjian's actions, Niniye Shi found them difficult to evaluate—he likely had many curses to utter.
But to Li Zhi, it was nothing short of a pleasant surprise, for Great Tang at this moment was desperately short of capable commanders.
In 667, Su Dingfang, who had been stationed in Hexi, died of illness.
Two years later, Li Shiji passed away.
Soon after came the defeat at Dafeichuan—Tubo openly provoked Tang, and the various Hu of the Western Regions began stirring restlessly.
Under such circumstances, Pei Xingjian's appearance finally eased the strain on Li Zhi's face.
Thus, in the very year Pei Xingjian escorted the Western Turkic rebels back to Chang'an, Li Zhi wasted no time in dispatching him again.
For the Eastern Turks had begun to stir once more.
This time, confident that he had a famous general in hand, Li Zhi directly raised an army of three hundred thousand and placed it under Pei Xingjian's command.
The Old Book of Tang praised this campaign, saying: "The grandeur of the expedition was without precedent."
But to be honest, whether it was Wei Qing and Huo Qubing's great victories, or the successive annihilation of multiple states during the Zhenguan era, one key point could be seen clearly:
When fighting nomadic peoples, numerical superiority was never the decisive factor. Too many troops could instead cripple one's own logistics.
Fortunately, Pei Xingjian's abilities were solid. He commanded the three hundred thousand with order and precision—protecting supply lines while compressing the Turks' range of movement—until the battle was decided in a single engagement at Heishan.
After this battle, supplies were strained and winter was approaching. Pei Xingjian had no choice but to withdraw.
The following year, he again led an army northward. This time, he employed a stratagem of sowing discord. Two rebel leaders of the Eastern Turks were provoked into turning against each other. One was forced to leave his family and baggage behind at Jinya Mountain, planning to attack the Tang army to prove his innocence.
Yet before he could set out, his old base at Jinya Mountain was raided by Pei Xingjian. The two rebel leaders completely fell out, each writing letters to Pei Xingjian accusing the other. Upon receiving Pei Xingjian's promise of surrender without execution, both separately surrendered.
The Eastern Turkic rebellion should have ended there—but an accident occurred when reporting merit at court.
The chancellor Pei Yan claimed that the rebels had surrendered because Cheng Wuting fought bravely and because their retreat had been cut off by the Uyghurs. What merit, then, did Pei Xingjian have?
Li Zhi, with little rationality remaining, accepted the chancellor's words without reflection and had the two Turkic leaders beheaded publicly.
Stripped of merit, Pei Xingjian sighed deeply, believing that henceforth the Eastern Turks would never again truly submit to Tang.
Events proved him correct. Merely two years later, the Turks rebelled again—and Li Zhi once more appointed Pei Xingjian as commander.
This time, however, Pei Xingjian showed Li Zhi little courtesy. Not long after accepting the command, he died of illness at home, at the age of sixty-four.
Yet someone had to quell the chaos.
Thus, Xue Rengui—already exiled for five years—was recalled and once more placed in command.
At sixty-nine, Xue Rengui set out on campaign. After meeting the gravely ill Li Zhi once in the capital, he hurried to the Yunzhou front.
Upon hearing of Pei Xingjian's death, the Eastern Turks who had rebelled again breathed a sigh of relief, believing Tang forces would collapse. Unexpectedly, the new commander charged even more fiercely than the Turks themselves upon first encounter.
The Turks sent someone to ask: "May the approaching general state his name?"
"Xue Rengui!"
The Turks refused to believe it: We heard Xue Rengui died in exile in Xiangzhou—stop talking nonsense!
So Xue Rengui once again charged alone into their formation, rode before the Turkic lines, removed his helmet, and revealed his face. The sight left the Turks pale with shock, their will to fight shattered.
Some Turks who had once followed Xue Rengui in campaigns against the Uyghur Tiele dismounted on the spot and bowed. After bowing, they mounted and left directly, unwilling and afraid to fight him.
Seeing Turkic morale plummet, Xue Rengui calmly put his helmet back on and then, without ceremony, led the army in attack.
In this battle, over ten thousand heads were taken, thirty thousand captives seized, and thirty thousand head of cattle and sheep obtained. The Tang army pursued for several hundred li before reluctantly withdrawing.
For the Tang army, such a "Zhenguan-style" great victory had been absent for far too long. With a divine general like this, how dare the barbarians knock at Tang's borders?
But for the ill-fated Xue Rengui in his later years, the Yunzhou victory was but a final flare. Less than half a year after the triumph, he died of illness on the front lines.
This White-Robed Divine General, personally selected by Li Shimin yet unused, shone brilliantly under Gaozong's reign, dragging his aged body into battle to give both the Taizong and Gaozong eras a relatively dignified conclusion.]
Upon hearing of their own deaths, both Li Shiji and Su Dingfang remained calm.
If one thought seventy was early death, one might as well look at His Majesty.
If one thought dying of illness was a poor ending, one might as well look at Changsun Wuji and Hou Junji.
Two veteran generals who had lived through the chaos at the end of Sui found it all rather open-minded.
"To achieve merit and fame—this life is fortunate indeed."
Su Dingfang's reflection was simple.
Then Li Shiji taught him another lesson:
"To display one's learning, to expand the realm for the state, to eliminate future troubles for His Majesty, to slaughter barbarian foes for Great Tang—"
"All such merit relies on His Majesty's trust. How dare one claim credit?"
Su Dingfang suddenly wanted to go outside immediately, don armor, and fight Li Shiji once, just to vent his frustration!
Unfortunately, Li Shimin had no time to care about such words at the moment.
He merely sighed:
"Three hundred thousand troops?"
The emotions within were complex—he even found himself slightly envious of his son.
Then came deep confusion.
With civil officials, military commanders, soldiers, and territory all clearly left to you, how could you still allow others to climb over your head?
To fight a mere Eastern Turkic rebellion, you display three hundred thousand troops—who will farm the fields? How many rewards must be distributed? How much deterrence can it truly achieve?
"For such barbarian dependents, one need only support the pro-Tang faction and annihilate those with divided loyalties with thunderous force."
"What difficulty is there?"
Li Shimin unconsciously shook his head.
"Three hundred thousand troops marching—men eat, horses chew, all at the expense of state revenues. When they arrive, the barbarians withdraw; when they leave, the barbarians return to plunder. What use is that?"
Even Fang Xuanling nodded in agreement.
What good are numbers? Once you leave, won't they just resume as before?
To deter those with restless hearts, only the blood and heads of the barbarians will suffice!
Just thinking of three hundred thousand men made Fang Xuanling afraid to imagine how much revenue would be required. With that money, what couldn't be done?
And judging from the fates and endings of these old generals, everyone could see it clearly: this prince Zhi truly did not understand warfare.
As for these two veteran commanders, Li Shimin stroked his slightly curled beard in contemplation.
Pei Xingjian appeared to be a commander of armies, well-versed in strategy.
Perhaps it was only because he was already advanced in years that his aging body could no longer ride freely into the fray.
After all, Pei Xingjian's elder brother, Pei Xingyan, was famously fierce.
If trained while still young, perhaps he too could become a divine general!
As for Xue Rengui—there was no need to say more. The more Li Shimin looked at him, the more he liked him.
If not for his family's decline and lack of noble status—requiring the Ministry of Revenue to check his household register—Li Shimin would have summoned him to the palace tonight to instruct him in archery.
At the same time, Li Shimin grew ever more convinced of his earlier belief:
"The Son of Heaven of Tang may refrain from personal campaigns, but he must not be ignorant of military formations."
"The great affairs of the state lie in sacrifice and war. Blind appointments waste revenues and damage Tang's prestige—how can that be acceptable?"
…
Fa Zheng marveled at how formidable Tang's divine generals were—still breaking enemy lines at sixty-nine—while also voicing a doubt:
"Why do I feel that the Tang army seems less and less formidable?"
Liu Bei shifted his posture to ease his calves and replied decisively:
"It's not that they are weaker—it's that during Zhenguan they were simply too strong."
Pei Xingjian's record and methods were still impressive, but now easier to understand.
By contrast, in early Tang: three-thousand-li pursuit to annihilate Tuyuhun; three thousand cavalry striking Eastern Turks in a snowy night.
Was that even something humans could do?