Twenty-one strokes until he fears (part 2)

  Su Ning calmed his mind and said, "General, although the remaining troops of Yu Liang are more numerous than ours, since Yu Liang has sent envoys to the Emperor and the Emperor has also sent envoys to Yu Liang, it is equivalent to the Emperor agreeing to Yu Liang's request for surrender. Although we all understand that Yu Liang's surrender this time is just a false pretence, pretending to surrender and then fleeing to the north to plot another uprising, I must say that the exchange of envoys between the two sides means that the war has already ended. Moreover, from ancient times to the present, every dynasty has always taken a policy of appeasement towards the northern barbarians as the main approach, with punishment as the secondary one."

  On the one hand, it is because the Celestial Empire has never been able to bully the weak; on the other hand, in terms of cavalry, every dynasty has found it difficult to surpass the nomadic tribes, who are born and raised on horseback, skilled in archery and horsemanship. Our soldiers, however, are mostly farmers, free to till the land, with physical strength but few skilled riders. In terms of cavalry, we cannot match the nomadic tribes; even if our infantry is strong, they cannot keep up with the cavalry, and can only let them come and go as they please, without any way to stop them.

  Not all emperors had the strong national strength foundation of Emperor Wu of Han, and the Wenjing period of Emperors Wen and Jing stored enough national strength for the Great Han, which allowed Emperor Wu to defeat the Xiongnu with the power of the whole country. However, after winning, it was found that the number of households in the country had been reduced by half, indicating that the Central Plains dynasty has always been at a disadvantage in its wars against the nomadic tribes.

  After defeating the invaders, whether they truly surrender or not, our imperial court must reward them to show magnanimity. Those who surrender are either released and sent back home or kept in custody at the Ancestral Temple, where their treatment is even better than that of our own soldiers. The frontier generals do not understand this: having defeated them, it is already magnanimous not to take their possessions; why must we also give them the taxes collected from the people's hard work? Are we going to let them eat their fill, dress warmly, and grow strong again so they can come back and attack us?

  In the past, all previous dynasties were like this. Those who perished at the hands of barbarian tribes were not a single one that was not arrogant and stupid ruler and minister. We treated them with sincerity and benevolence, but the barbarians did not understand sincerity and benevolence. The environment in which the barbarians grew up was harsh, so they only understood knives, swords, and fists. It's just because we are strong that they will fear us, and they won't respect us just because we understand etiquette! What our ancestors said is true: "If it's not my kind, its heart must be different" - this is the ultimate principle!

  For them, all they know is survival, for the sake of survival, they will stop at nothing. The Xiongnu were like the Turks and other barbarian tribes of today. These grassland barbarians valued the strong and despised the weak, meaning that young men were the treasures of the tribe, while the elderly were seen as garbage who wasted food. In their eyes, old people, especially old women, were useless objects. When famine occurred on the grasslands, these barbarian tribes would do two things.

  First, they gather strong young men to form an army, going south to plunder the border people of our dynasty, even attacking checkpoints, seizing food and property; second, it is organized slaughter of the old, weak, sick and disabled. The best that can be done is to abandon the old, weak, sick and disabled, leaving them to fend for themselves. Is this not inhumane, unjust, disloyal and unfilial? We should treat our own people with benevolence and righteousness, but what benevolence and righteousness can we speak of when dealing with these barbarians? I once heard my teacher tell a story about a farmer and a snake.

  In the winter, it was very cold. A farmer went out to chop wood and on his way, he came across a frozen snake. Snakes usually hibernate in the winter by finding a place to sleep, and they sleep for the entire season. This snake had been taken from its nest by someone and discarded there. If no one helped it, the snake would have died of freezing. The farmer took pity on the snake and put it inside his clothes to warm it up. The snake quickly woke up, but instead of thanking the farmer for saving its life, it bit him to death with all its might.

  Our dynasty is now like this farmer, the Turks are like this snake. If we agree to their surrender and rescue them, they will be rescued, retreat to the north of the desert to rest and recover, and in a few years, it will be a great threat again! At that time, we will need to mobilize more troops to deal with them, and then? If we win, at least our dynasty will be safe, continue to aid the enemy, if we lose, it will be another tragedy of the Five Barbarians' invasion of China! The northern Han people are almost extinct, the Han family's clothes and hats are almost abandoned, this is a bloody lesson!

  Now that we have learned our lesson, why should we give them another chance to rise up and attack our dynasty? The opportunity to exterminate them is right before us, why let it slip away? Are we going to repeat the mistakes of the previous Jin dynasty? Sit back and watch as the Five Barbarians wreak havoc on China without doing anything? Sit back and watch as our parents, wives, and children are slaughtered and humiliated without doing anything? Sit back and watch as our homes and lands become pastures for the barbarian tribes? What is the purpose of the swords in our hands? What is the meaning of our existence as soldiers?

  At the end of the year, I was young and didn't know much about etiquette. All I knew was that when it came to barbarians, we should treat them with swords and knives! Just like what Chen Tang, a great general of the Han Dynasty, said: "Those who dare to offend the strong Han will be punished even if they are far away!" We should be like Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty, leading the sons of the Han family to fight to the death against the barbarians, reversing the tide that has already turned, and supporting the declining Chinese civilization! As for the barbarians, we should beat them, beat them hard, and not listen to their nonsense. Beat them until they obey! Beat them until they are afraid! Beat them until they tremble with fear at the mention of the name "Tang"! Beat them until our great Tang army's military power can make the children on the grasslands stop crying! Beat them until they are destroyed and their tribes are exterminated!"

  Su Ning spoke and spoke, and the indignation in his heart burst out. In the ten years of following the old man, the old man had told him many stories, so many that every time he heard about the miserable situation of the Han people during the Five Dynasties period, he felt unbearable pain. Every time he heard about the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty and the suffering of the Han people, his heart ached like a knife was twisting inside. When he heard about the Ten Days of Yangzhou and the Three Massacres of Jiading by the Qing army, tears streamed down his face.

  The Han people are not cattle and sheep to be slaughtered at will! The Han people are not slaves of nomadic nations! The Han people are not slaves!

  The last sentence, Suning is shouted out, in this way, if you don't shout, how can it be expressed?

  As soon as the voice fell, the entire military account was quiet enough to hear a needle drop. Everyone stared at Su Ning with wide eyes in shock, looking at this young white-robed general. Li Jing and Li Shimin were shocked and amazed in their hearts. After a long time, Li Shimin was the first to come back to his senses, looking at the generals who had red eyes, tears streaming down their faces, and clenched fists, some of which were still bleeding, apparently with fingernails embedded in the flesh. Looking at Li Jing, he also had an old-fashioned look, and he already understood in his heart that this battle could no longer be avoided.

  With just one order, these fierce warriors will lead the soldiers and the Turks to fight to the death, and they will definitely be more ferocious than each other. After this battle, it is unknown whether any Turkish prisoners can be captured, but, Your Majesty, are you really not worried? Moreover, our envoy is still there! Tang Jian, the Temple Master of Honglu, is still there!

  Li Shimin was about to remind these fierce generals who were stirred up by Su Ning, when someone had already shouted out: "Although the words of Director Su are very good, but, Commander, General, and all of you, our envoy, Duke of Ju Guo Tang Jian is still in the hands of the Turks. If we attack them, Tang Jian will be in danger! He is a duke!"

  Su Ning was shocked in his heart, ah, how could he have forgotten this, Tang Jian, the Duke of Guangguo, is currently still in the Turkic camp at Yinshan, and it's better to say that he's a hostage rather than an envoy. The so-called exchange of envoys is actually an exchange of hostages, as a token of good faith. Although it's a good tradition not to kill envoys during wartime, military and national affairs still need to be treated with seriousness and caution. However, history did record the Battle of Yinshan, and Tang Jian didn't die either, what's going on? And who is this guy talking?

  After careful consideration, Su Ning finally remembered that the one who said this was none other than Zhang Gongjin, the current Governor of Dai Prefecture and future Duke of Zouguo. It was he who expressed his doubts and concerns when Li Jing decided to attack Yingshan.

  This was also one of the twenty-four meritorious officials of Lingyan Pavilion, an important figure who assisted Emperor Taizong of Tang in launching the Xuanwu Gate Incident. It was this person who proposed six reasons for Emperor Taizong to make up his mind to counterattack against the Turks. Therefore, Li Jing was the military commander-in-chief, the commander-in-chief of this war, and the Grand General of the Dingxiang Road Army. Zhang Gongjin was the deputy general, but in Su Ning's view, this confidant of Emperor Taizong seemed more like someone sent by Emperor Taizong to monitor Li Jing.

  Zhang Gongjin's words suddenly awakened the crowd of generals who were confused by national emotions, didn't they! A national duke was right there! So the generals looked at Su Ning one after another, hoping that Su Ning could come up with a perfect solution. They thought that the person who had stirred them up must have a foolproof plan, but Su Ning was in a very difficult situation.

  Li Jing hasn't said much since just now, but his heart is not calm at all. Su Ning's vision and courage far exceed his imagination. He can actually say such a great truth, which is how precious it is for young people! Being able to understand this kind of truth is enough to show that his learning is excellent! His bravery is sufficient, and his usual laziness is just a small personality, but at critical moments, this kid is more reliable than anyone else!

  Mastering the art of war, understanding strategy, having courage and a sense of responsibility are essential qualities for a great general. Su Ning possesses all these qualities, now it's just a matter of tempering him through trials. Li Jing secretly made up his mind, some things will be left to me to bear alone. Keeping this young man safe, the future 40 years of the Tang Dynasty won't have to worry about not having a great general to shoulder the burden.

  Then Li Jing, as the commander-in-chief, slowly stood up and walked to the front of the generals. With a majestic wave of his hand, he said sternly: "For the victory of our dynasty, for the stability of the northern border of the Great Tang, and for the peace and prosperity of the people of the Great Tang, I have decided to attack Yinshan! The likes of Tang Jian are not worth pitying!"

  Li Jing's words came out, and the generals immediately felt a chill in their hearts, nodding in agreement one after another. Li Shiming let out a faint sigh in his heart, but also felt somewhat relieved. After all, he was a national duke, and if Tang Jian were to die unjustly because of this matter, it would be hard to justify no matter what. If Tang Jian died, the Tang family would not let the person responsible off the hook; if Tang Jian didn't die, the person responsible would be remembered with hatred for the rest of his life. No matter what the outcome was, it wasn't a good thing. Although it could be said that the situation called for drastic measures and Su Ning's words were also correct, the consequences were also very clear. Nobody wanted to be the bad guy.

  Li Jing said that he would take full responsibility for the consequences, and the other generals did not need to worry, just fight, and all the consequences would be borne by him!

  Li Shijie felt that he should do something, but when he looked at the figures moving outside the tent, his heart suddenly relaxed.

  Your Majesty has no unthought-of plan, I suppose you already know about this matter, haha, indeed, for the sake of victory, nothing is indispensable, nothing is worth regretting!

  Su Ning looked at Li Jing, this ruddy-faced and majestic old general. If it weren't for him, he wouldn't know what kind of situation he would be in, and he might not even be alive. In a certain sense, Li Jing was still his lifesaver. He took on the consequences, which meant that he would bear the blame alone for violating the emperor's sacred decree, damaging the reputation of the Tang Dynasty, and causing the death of a high-ranking official and a duke.

  Can Li Jing bear such consequences? Although it seems that Emperor Taizong of Tang did not intend to make peace with Illig Qaghan, he was a die-hard hawk and a super narcissist who had decided to destroy the Eastern Turks after the defeat at the Battle of the River Wei. The only question was when to do so. This was an opportunity that came once in a thousand years, but it was not Emperor Taizong's intention. Li Jing had committed a grave offense; although he was extremely excited after the victory at the Battle of Yinshan, he might have been in trouble after coming back to his senses...

  It seems that Tang Jian did not die in this battle, anyway, I must rescue him, just say it's a special order from Li Jing to ensure his safety, if done well, it's a necessary move to ensure Li Jing's safety! The Battle of Yingshan is inevitable and cannot be avoided!

  The true prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty is about to begin!