Chapter 408: Every inch of land is stained with blood, what great men of the Tang Dynasty are!
In an instant, everyone's eyes were focused on the unknown maid standing behind Li Daoxuan.
Even Li Shimin showed curiosity.
He had never seen Li Daoxuan care so much for any woman, even peeling the apple himself and handing it to her in public.
It has always been the maids who peel pears for their masters. How can a master serve the maid?
But what surprised them was that the ordinary-looking maid in blue was not flattered by the pears peeled by Li Daoxuan himself. Instead, she looked indifferent and was reluctant to take them.
Li Daoxuan coughed and said with a smile: "Qingni, there are so many people watching, you don't want to embarrass me, right? Just give me some face and have a taste, how about that?"
The maid completely ignored everyone's gazes, sighed softly, and said, "In that case, Qingni obeys your command."
In full view of everyone, she picked up the pear and took a bite.
"How is it, sweet?"
The maid said calmly: "It's OK, thank you very much, sir."
Li Daoxuan laughed and seemed very happy.
Everyone was stunned by this scene. Taichong Zhenren, who defeated the evil Buddha and became famous all over the world, was actually so fond of a maid. It would be fine if she was a peerless beauty, but she had an ordinary appearance and no signs of spiritual practice.
Some Tibetan envoys looked at Li Daoxuan, with a hint of contempt in their eyes.
Li Daoxuan was unmoved. The palace maids at the table danced gracefully in their thin gauze skirts, but he didn't look at them at all. Instead, he took some exquisite fruits and snacks from the table from time to time and handed them to the maid beside him.
The room was full of beauties, and all the heroes present seemed no match for her little maid.
After a while, the singing and dancing ended and Wang Bo walked in.
"Your Majesty, the man who just shouted in the palace has been punished."
Li Shimin's expression remained unchanged, and he asked calmly, "Are you still alive?"
"Your Majesty, he is still alive. Someone has been sent to the Imperial Medical Bureau."
Gongbu clenched his fists. As the leader of the diplomatic corps, he could only sit and watch his men being seriously injured and dying. What a shame.
Thinking of the purpose of this mission, Gongbu took a deep breath, suddenly stood up and said: "Your Majesty, to be honest, the reason why the Zamp sent us to the Tang Dynasty this time is because he received a letter from the Turkic Khan."
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became solemn.
Li Shimin said calmly, "Oh? Tubo and Turks are thousands of miles apart, are they also going to form an alliance?"
Gongbu took out a letter from his bosom and handed it over with both hands, saying: "This is the original letter. It is written in Tibetan. To make it easier for you to read, I have translated it into Chinese. Of course, if Your Majesty does not believe it, you can also find a Chinese who is proficient in Tibetan to translate it."
Gao Quan handed the letter to Li Shimin.
Li Shimin looked at the letter and was very calm at first, but his expression gradually became solemn, and in the end, he even showed a trace of murderous intent.
He had been a soldier for half his life, killed countless people, and his majesty was like the sea. His momentum was so overwhelming that Gongbu's face changed. He felt as if a sword was at his neck and he dared not even breathe.
Even the young master who had been initiating the Yangshen cultivation level frowned and faintly heard a dragon's roar.
The dragon energy in the Taiji Palace seemed to have sensed the emperor's wrath and became even more violent, transforming into an invisible pressure that enveloped everyone.
However, Li Shimin was a young and promising emperor after all. He suppressed his anger, sneered, and said, "Jie Li Khan is so arrogant!"
Gongbu said with a stiff upper lip: "Your Majesty, Jili Khan invited me, Tubo, to join forces to attack the Tang Dynasty, forming a pincer attack from the north and south, and promised that after the Tang Dynasty was destroyed, the world would be divided along the Yangtze River, and all the land south of the Yangtze River would be given to me, Tubo!"
When these words were spoken, some of the Tang officials present were surprised.
These are officials from the Ministry of Rites. According to the rules, when entertaining foreign envoys, officials from the Ministry of Rites must be present.
At this moment, the officials of the Ministry of Rites were whispering to each other, with a hint of panic in their voices.
"We may not be able to win against just the Turks. If we add the Tubo, we will be attacked from both sides, which will be terrible!"
"Fortunately, the Tibetan envoy brought this letter here. It seems that they do not want to break the alliance with the Tang Dynasty."
"Not necessarily. I think they want to take advantage of this opportunity to ask for more benefits from us !"
…
All the ministers were shocked, except Li Shimin, who sat firmly in the Golden Palace.
He raised his eyebrows slightly, and his voice was calm, as if he was not facing the desperate threat of being attacked from all sides, but a fallen leaf or a speck of dust.
"That sounds good. If I were you, I would definitely agree."
Gongbu was shocked and couldn't say the words he had prepared for a moment. Why didn't the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty play by the rules?
Is he really not afraid at all?
Li Shimin looked at him calmly and sneered, "Why, do you want to see me panic and then beg you, Tubo, not to send troops?"
“This…this…”
Gongbu was at a loss as to what to do after hearing what he was thinking. He even felt a little hot on his face.
Li Shimin suddenly sighed, raised the wine glass in his hand, poured it on the ground, and his eyes showed sadness.
Gongbu was confused by his behavior.
"Alas, my three armies! How great are the men of the Tang Dynasty! If it weren't for their bloody battle at Evil Sun Ridge, I'm afraid I would have done what you wished for today."
Just when Gongbu was puzzled, urgent news suddenly came from outside, with an express delivery of 800 miles.
"Report!!!"
The messenger had no idea how many days and nights he had been running. His lips were pale, his hair was disheveled, his eyes were bloodshot, but there was a sense of high spirits in his eyes.
Li Shimin ordered him to go into the palace and report the urgent military news in public.
"Your Majesty, the general Li Jing, the commander-in-chief of the army, attacked Eyangling four nights ago and won a great victory. He killed 8,000 enemies, injured 20,000 enemies, and captured countless horses and supplies. Now the morale is high and the army is ready to go. As long as your majesty gives the order, we can continue to march north and attack Yinshan!"
When these words were spoken, all the ministers were excited.
"Good, good, General Li is worthy of being a famous general of the Tang Dynasty. This battle was really exciting!"
"Let's see if the Turks dare to be so arrogant again and come to plunder our Tang Dynasty again?"
Some people also showed their worry and whispered: "This is just a small victory. Will Jili Khan be angry?"
"Haha, what are you afraid of? Look at your Majesty, he is calm and composed. He must have thought of all the countermeasures long ago!"
…
Upon hearing the news that Li Jing had attacked Eyangling at night and won a great victory, the Tubo envoys all showed expressions of disbelief.
The Turks are currently the most powerful country, with a fearsome cavalry army. Turkish soldiers have grown up on horseback since childhood, and are brave and strong, as well as skilled in archery and horsemanship.
At that time, the Turkic Shibi Khan led 100,000 cavalrymen southward, attacked Yanmen Pass, and trapped Emperor Yang of Sui inside.
Of the forty-one cities at Yanmen, thirty-nine were captured by the Turkic army in less than ten days, which shows how powerful their military force was.
But now, the once-powerful Turks were actually...defeated by the Tang Dynasty?
Although it was only a minor defeat, it broke the myth of the Turks' invincibility in the past decade.
Gongbu originally thought that this was a play performed by Li Shimin for him, but he rejected it on second thought. Such a big event would surely spread throughout the world quickly and it would be impossible to deceive.
"Your Majesty, aren't you afraid of angering Jili Khan?"
Gongbu asked.
Li Shimin glanced at him, and his calm voice contained an indescribable dominance.
"Then let him come."
"The Tang Dynasty is definitely not a fish on someone else's chopping block. Every inch of our land will not mind being stained red with the blood of our enemies!"
Gongbu's heart trembled.
After a pause, Li Shimin looked at the group of Tibetan envoys, his eyes as sharp as a sword, and no one dared to look him in the eye.
He suddenly smiled, as if he was joking nonchalantly.
"Speaking of fish, I have heard for a long time that the fish from Tibet is the most delicious. Maybe one day, I can ride a horse on the snowy mountains and taste the dragon fish in the holy lake?"
