It was already five days later when Chen Jingke saw the good news. It was rushed 800 miles straight to the palace, and the whole city of Chang'an was shocked.
Li Shimin immediately summoned all the important ministers for a meeting in the palace.
"Haha...haha..." Li Shimin's entire city was so out of sorts that they kept laughing, which showed how happy he was.
Everyone else was very excited after seeing the battle report.
Everyone thought they would win, but never thought it would be such a big victory. Even Qibi Heli, who was a hostage, was rescued.
In the first battle, more than 30,000 of Xue Yantuo's elite troops were annihilated, more than 50,000 were captured, and countless cattle, horses and livestock were captured.
Six Qijin, including Da Du Zai, surrendered. The most important thing is that Yi Nan was captured alive.
"Congratulations, saint, congratulations, saint, for defeating Xue Yantuo in one battle and relieving the border troubles." Fang Xuanling, Changsun Wuji and others congratulated in unison.
"Haha... we are all happy and happy together. This is a happy event shared by all of us in the Tang Dynasty. For being able to defeat Xue Yantuo, you all have contributed a lot." Li Shimin smiled so hard that he couldn't even close his mouth.
Chen Jingke was also very surprised when he looked at the battle report in his hand. He did not expect that Yi Nan was captured alive.
Although each has his own master, Chen Jingke still admires Yi Nan very much.
At that time, he led the young Xue Yantuo to deal with Jie Li. Not only did he save his tribe, but he also achieved considerable development.
Later, he discovered that something was wrong, and decisively took the lead in rebelling against Jieli and defected to the Tang Dynasty. He also raised troops to personally attack the Eastern Turks. He was also a heroic figure who was capable of both literary and military skills.
It was because of his reputation as the first to resist the tyranny of the Eastern Turks that he became a man of his word on the grasslands.
The Uighur, Tiele, Khitan and other tribes were all nominally under his management. In another dynasty, there is a high probability that he would be a Maodun and an average figure.
It is a pity that he was born at the wrong time. Not only was a Tian Khan born in the Central Plains, but also famous generals emerged in large numbers, and he ended up being defeated and captured.
He was also betrayed by his own nephew. This is probably the most uncomfortable part for Yi Nan.
I didn't expect the second one to be Wang Fangyi and Li Xiaoyi. They are really brave and they really know how to find opportunities.
To raid the enemy's home base and fight back and win is a great achievement, second only to the achievement of capturing Yi Nan.
The rewards for these two people will definitely be very generous after they come back, and Li Xiaoyi's Duke Liang will definitely be promoted to a regular official.
Before, his title was Yin Feng, which was only an empty title, but this time it was worthy of the name.
However, it is still a bit difficult to add the word "founding the country". Without him, it is left to Li Chengqianfeng.
There is a high probability that Wang Fangyi will also be granted a title of nobility. It is a bit difficult to become a marquis. It depends on the son-in-law.
Chen Jingke felt that he was most likely to be a viscount. For the same reason as above, he left the title to Li Chengqian.
He was awarded a title before he was crowned, which is far beyond that of Tongji.
Chen Jingke himself was a bit confused. After all, he was still white, and his title would not be sealed until he won the little Sizi.
As for Sun Simiao's title, he had no share in it and was passed directly to his son.
Just as he was enjoying his lemons, Li Shimin asked: "Jing Ke, why don't you speak?"
"You single-handedly organized Qianqi. Li Xiaoyi and Wang Fangyi were all talents recommended by you, so you also contributed a lot to this battle."
"Haha... I am so happy that I am stunned." Chen Jingke did not explain his brainstorming, but followed the words and said:
"After this battle, Xue Yantuo will no longer be a hidden danger to the Tang Dynasty, and the grassland tribes will also tremble with fear. At least for several decades, the Tang Dynasty will have no worries about danger."
Li Shimin smiled and didn't answer the question. What's going on here? What he wants is not that the northern border will be free of hidden dangers for decades, but that it will last for a hundred years or even longer.
To achieve this goal, we can only achieve this goal through continuous war.
His more ambitious goal was to establish prefectures and counties on the grassland to dispatch floating officials to achieve real governance, instead of engaging in the same policy of restraint as now.
To do this, trains become particularly important.
Building railways requires massive amounts of steel, so it seems necessary to develop more iron ores.
We also need to slightly relax the control over gunpowder, which is very useful for mining.
The output of Datang's iron ore has increased dramatically in the past two years. In addition to the discovery and mining of major iron ores, another important factor is the utilization of gunpowder.
But now that there are many people talking, he has not revealed this long-term plan.
Chen Jingke didn't expect that Li Shimin would think of so much in just a short while and said:
"The soldiers are about to return in triumph. How to reward the meritorious soldiers, how to deal with the Yinan and the captured Xueyantuo people, and how to deal with the surrendered generals, we need to come up with regulations as soon as possible."
Li Shimin nodded and asked the others: "Well, these things must be prepared in advance. What do you think?"
Naturally, other people have no objections.
The first is to reward meritorious people. Li Ji likes to grant rewards. Since his title has reached the top and there is nothing to grant, he can directly add a hundred miles of land.
In other words, in the future, his vassal state will be based on the principality and be hundreds of miles away.
This reward is too much compared to hundreds of households with food, and everyone is very envious.
Wang Fangyi and Li Xiaoyi were the second ones to be discussed, and it was just as Chen Jingke guessed.
Li Xiaoyi's Liangjungong gave fifty households a real food estate, which was regarded as a regular status.
Wang Fangyi was canonized as the son of Lexiang County, but still did not add the word "Kaiguo". There were only 100 households in the food town, and only 20 households in the actual food town.
The remaining people are more troublesome. How to seal Hou Junji? How to seal other generals? How to seal the rest of the generals, big and small?
How can Dadu She and others who surrendered voluntarily be banned? Even Yi Nan has to be banned.
In addition to rewarding the living, how can the war dead be compensated?
These matters were so complicated that everyone barely reached a consensus after discussing them for a long time, and the details still needed to be discussed.
However, many things do not require those present to do it themselves. They only need to draw up an outline, and the lower-level officials will naturally complete the rest.
But it is foreseeable that this wave of imperial court will be hemorrhaging blood.
However, everyone in the imperial court was still very willing to bleed like this, and even wished to do it ten or eight times a year.
In the past, they were worried that they had no money to reward them, but now there is a mountain of money and food in the treasury, and everyone is worried about how to spend the money.
After all, through Chen Jingke's unremitting efforts, the officials finally realized that the money piled in the warehouse is not money. Only money that circulates is called money and can create value.
It's just that the glass business is so profitable, and the businesses in the Queen's hands are no less generous. Money flows into the treasury and internal funds like running water every day.
The ministers racked their brains to spend money, but they couldn't keep up with the speed of making money.
The good financial situation made the officials think they were living in a dream. Three years ago, they were still thinking about how to dig in the east and make up for the west.
Throughout history, which dynasty's financial situation can match theirs?
Therefore, when it comes to financial rewards, both monarchs and ministers are very generous and reward them heavily.
But the Lord was very stingy with it, and the reason was very simple. If this thing became widespread, the military merit system would collapse, and that would be a big problem that would shake the country.
Wei Zheng, as the main combatant, immediately made a suggestion: "Yinan was captured alive, and Xue Yantuo will be in chaos for a while. Should we take advantage of the victory and pursue it to defeat the bandits in one fell swoop?"
Then most people shook their heads and were not optimistic about this. Only a few people said that they should pursue the victory and not give the Xueyantuo people a chance to recover.
Fang Xuanling shook his head and said: "After destroying Xue Yantuo, Huihe, Khitan, and Mohe... Now they are respectful to us, the Tang Dynasty, because they are weak."
"If Xue Yantuo is destroyed, Mobei will be occupied by these tribes, and it won't take many years for the next Xue Yantuo to be born."
"The best way is to let Xue Yantuo continue to exist, and to check each other with other ministries, so as to prevent the situation of a dominant family from arising."
Li Jing, who had been silent, said: "Actually, we don't need to worry about this. Without Yi Nan, the Xue Yantuo people will inevitably be in civil strife for a period of time."
"Although Du Mozhi is ambitious, his ability is average and he cannot convince the public. Especially since he betrayed Yi Nan first, it will be even more difficult to convince the public."
"In the short term, the northern grasslands will only fall into greater chaos, and the results will not be known so quickly."
"When they are about to decide the winner, I, the Tang Dynasty, will take action to help the strong and weak, and always maintain the chaotic situation in the grassland..."
Everyone nodded repeatedly, Li Jing's analysis revealed that there was indeed no problem.
There are too many ambitious people on the grassland. In the past, Yi Nan had great authority and was able to convince people. But now that he is gone, there is a lack of people who stick to their word, and they will inevitably fall into fights.
Between Xue Yantuo's internal forces, and between Xue Yantuo and other forces... this is a big fight.
During the second half of the meeting, Chen Jingke acted as a transparent person and remained invisible throughout the entire meeting without saying a word.
It's not that he doesn't want to talk, but that he doesn't know what to say in this situation, and the memories from his previous life no longer apply.
Make the next plan based on the actual situation. These elites of the Tang Dynasty will do better than him.
Moreover, this is also a good opportunity to observe and learn. Usually, each of these old foxes hides more evil than the other, and I can't even say a single useful word while chatting with them for a long time.
No one dares to play riddles in this kind of meeting. They just say what they have to say in a concise and concise manner.
Because once you play charades, others will climb up the pole and steal the benefits that belong to your faction.
The most suitable way to chat at this time is to roll up your sleeves and spit spit flying all over the sky, without giving away a penny of profit.
It was rare to see this group of people arguing with bare arms and faces red, and Chen Jingke watched with relish.
Then he soon discovered that Li Shimin was also watching the show.
Weng and son-in-law exchanged glances, understanding each other and watching the show together.
Soon, the emperors and ministers of the Tang Dynasty reached a consensus on the affairs of Xue Yantuo and Mobei, allowing them to remain divided and in turmoil.
By the way, the affairs of Monan were also considered, and Li Simo's tribe was agreed to migrate to the south of the Yellow River.
Then, prefectures and counties were formally divided in Monan and exiled officials were dispatched to rule.
In fact, this policy was set many years ago, but it has not been effectively implemented.
This time, taking advantage of the great victory over Xue Yantuo, the matter was implemented, and also accumulated experience for the subsequent rule of Mobei.
When the news of Li Ji's victory came... Datang fell into ecstasy.
This kind of treatment is completely different from when Hou Junji destroyed Gaochang and Liu Rengui defeated the Japanese slaves.
What do the common people think of Gaochang and the Wonu Kingdom? I have never heard of them.
Lack of sense of immersion.
Xue Yantuo is different, it is a powerful force in the grassland.
The grievances between the Central Plains dynasty and the grassland forces were too deep. Ten years ago, the Tang Dynasty was bullied by the Eastern Turks, so the people paid special attention to them.
So when they heard that Xue Yantuo was defeated on the grassland, the people were very happy.
Chen Jingke didn't know what was going on in other places, but every house in Chang'an City was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations.
The streets were full of celebrating crowds, and Li Shimin's personal prestige once again reached a new peak.
At this time, if anyone dares to say the word "anti", the people themselves can beat those people to death without the court taking action.
Li Shimin himself ran to the street and sat on the side of the road to listen to people bragging about how wise and powerful he was.
If he hadn't been busy with government affairs, he could have sat there and listened all day.
After he came back, he said one thing: the people's support can be used.
Soon the Zhongshu Province came up with the exact list of awards. In this battle, more than 30 people were awarded titles and hundreds of people were awarded honors.
War is indeed the easiest thing to break the boundaries of status. A single battle gave birth to dozens of nobles and hundreds of meritorious families.
No wonder so many people are willing to join the army under the military merit system, and so many people dare to work hard. Everything is of equal value.
Chen Jingke admitted that he had some hatred for the rich, but he did not hate the nobles under the military merit system.
This is what people paid for with their lives, and they deserve to enjoy the privileges.
If you are not convinced, you can also join the army and perform meritorious service, and become a distinguished figure yourself.
If you don't dare, don't speak.
These people have fought for their status as powerful people and deserve respect.
Four days later, Li Ji led his army back to the court, accompanied by countless trophies, captured nobles and generals of Xueyantuo, and Qi Jin who surrendered, etc. The huge team stretched for more than ten miles.
Fang Xuanling, Xiao Yu, Li Jing and others led civil and military officials thirty miles out of the city to greet him. The people of Chang'an lined the streets to welcome him and shouted long live the Tang Dynasty.
Parading on horseback, this is the biggest dream of every heroic man. At this moment, it became a reality, and the soldiers were all excited.
Li Chengqian was also very excited. He had participated in similar ceremonies before, but at that time he appeared as a greeter.
But this time, he appeared as a welcomed member, and the feeling was completely different.
On the contrary, Dadu She and others who surrendered were dejected, while the captured Yi Nan was ashamed and angry to death.
When they arrived at the gate of the imperial city, Li Shimin personally greeted him at Chengtian Gate and announced a great reward to the meritorious people.
Then there was the presentation of prisoners to the Imperial Ancestral Temple. In addition to civil and military officials and meritorious individuals, the imperial court also invited envoys from various vassal states. The intention is self-evident.
Then there was a grand welcome banquet, which was attended by officials of all sizes in Beijing, and many celebrities were also invited.
Chen Jingke naturally also participated. He was still very curious about Yi Nan and wanted to see what this guy looked like.
After meeting the real person, he unexpectedly discovered that Yi Nan was about 45% similar to what he had imagined.
Tall in stature, with a strong back and strong shoulders, and a calm demeanor, he looks like a mountain when he sits there.
But as a prisoner, his mood was very decadent and he kept drinking.
Li Shimin did not humiliate him, nor did he ask him to dance in public. On the contrary, he respected him very much.
This is the only thing that makes Yi Nan feel happy.