After Jieli Khan was escorted to Chang'an by the Tang Dynasty soldiers, his experience became even more tortuous and bizarre. Facing such a subjugated king, the common practice of the Li and Tang royal family was to hang their heads on the city wall to show the public. , the opinions of the court ministers were also to behead Jieli Khan, so as to deter the remnants of the Turks, and also to show the Western Turkic rulers who were still enemies of the Tang Dynasty what the consequences would be if they were enemies of a powerful country.
But Li Shimin has a more practical plan!
In his opinion, there is no difficulty in killing a subjugated king. He can hang the king's head on the city wall just like he did with the city-states of small countries in the Western Regions, to scare these small countries and make them surrender to the Tang Dynasty. .
The Li and Tang royal family were able to deal with the small monarchs of the few states in the Western Regions in this way because they knew that these small states were weak and at the end of their rope and had no resistance. Moreover, they were separated by the Hexi Corridor and surrounded by big states. They were completely blocked by the surrounding geography. Suppression by powerful countries can no longer make any waves.
However, it is obviously impossible to do this in the face of the East Turks!
Although the monarch of the Eastern Turks was captured by them, the Western Turks were still enemies of the Tang Dynasty. If the monarch of the Tang Dynasty killed the leader of the Eastern Turks, it would be equivalent to telling all the Turks that the consequences of defeat and capture would be death. The country is destroyed.
This will not only be extremely detrimental to the subsequent rule of the East Turks, but will also encourage the East Turks' desire for revenge. Seeing that the East Turk leaders were killed, they will definitely have no chance of reconciliation with the Tang Dynasty, and the remaining Turkic remnants will also follow the Tang people. Fighting to the end is not conducive to subsequent plans, and it even has a strong relationship with the Western Turks.
The East and West Turks are one and the same. They seem to be two countries, but in fact they are no different from one country. The fate of the East Turks is a complete example and warning to the West Turks. The Tang Dynasty's treatment and actions of the East Turks have affected the West. Turks’ views on the Tang Dynasty.
If not handled properly, it would have a negative effect on the Western Turks. Seeing that the surrender of the Eastern Turks would lead to the destruction of the country and the destruction of their families, they would give up the idea of repairing relations with the Tang Dynasty, and instead continue to fight against the Tang Dynasty. The enemy, or even the remaining forces of the Eastern Turks, fought against the Tang Dynasty to the end.
It is equivalent to saying that killing the Eastern Turk Jieli Khan actually helped the ideological unity of the entire Turkic nation and allowed them to continue to harm the Tang Dynasty.
When Li Shimin thought of this, he certainly didn't want to ruin the good situation, so he gave up on killing Jieli Khan and instead gave him various courtesy and preferential treatment. Only in this way can he satisfy his subsequent planning strategy.
In his opinion, Liujieli Khan was just supporting another noble. The Tang Dynasty supported so many nobles and officials that there was no difficulty at all, not even pain or itching. However, for this The benefits gained are endless.
First, you can hold the emperor hostage and order the princes, and keep Jieli Khan as a hostage in Chang'an, so that all the remaining nobles of the Eastern Turks can see what kind of life their monarch lived in Chang'an.
If things go on like this, more and more Turkic nobles will join the Tang Dynasty and become certain tribes that surrender to the Tang Dynasty. This will also allow the Eastern Turkic territory in the north to be eaten away bit by bit and become the territory of the Tang Dynasty. Even if the Turks really If the Turks are unwilling to surrender and surrender, they can also set up the Jisi Prefecture here, let the Turks become governors, prefects, governors, state pastors and other official positions, and continue to manage the Turkic lands. In this way, the Jisi system can be eliminated and the control of the Tang Dynasty can be eliminated. The vast territory of the Eastern Turks.
To put it bluntly, killing Jieli Khan is easy. How to solve the many problems left behind by Jieli Khan's death is the key.
Compared with the death of Jieli Khan, his life was more meaningful. Li Shimin wanted to understand this, so he gave up his intention to kill Jieli Khan, and instead granted him the official position of General Youwei and rewarded him. The pastoral and beautiful house allowed him and his family to settle in Chang'an.
However, the climate and customs of the grasslands are completely different from those of the Central Plains. Even though Jieli Khan regained his freedom and lived in Chang'an, he was still a little acclimatized. He couldn't stand living in a house. His favorite thing was to set up tents in the courtyard and live in domes. He still lived in Turkic attire with his subordinates. In the end, he missed his homeland more and more and often cried to his subordinates. Even his figure became a little thin and he no longer looked like a Turkic person.
He wanted to return to the desert grassland, to the North Sea, to sing and gallop among the sky and earth with domes like canopies.
If you think about it carefully, you will understand that no matter how much glory and wealth you enjoy in another country, you must abide by the etiquette of the monarch and his ministers. It is better to be a single-minded Khan in your own country. Jieli Khan no longer has this opportunity.
After he left, the Eastern Turks fell into civil strife and were quickly captured by the Tang Dynasty soldiers. The entire Eastern Turkic territory was completely integrated into the territory of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty also established the Yunzhong and Beiting Protectorate on the Eastern Turkic territory to control the system. Managed the various Xiongnu ministries attached to it.
In his later years, Jieli Khan suddenly stopped eating, drinking, and feasting. He even refused to meet his family members and children. He only asked to see the Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty. When Li Shimin saw that he was at the end of his life, he had reached the end of his life. He was so exhausted that he simply came to his dome and had a face-to-face conversation with Jieli Khan.
At this point, Li Shimin and Jieli Khan are already old. They used to be powerful monarchs. Even Jieli Khan once bullied the Tang Dynasty with his strong soldiers and horses. Now, things have changed, and thirty From Hedong to Hexi and from Hexi to Hexi for thirty years, he, the Jieli Khan, went back further and further as he lived, becoming a subjugated king and a surrendered minister. On the contrary, Li Shimin became the Khan of Heaven who was respected and worshiped by thousands of people. He, the Jieli Khan, was He was completely beaten down.
Especially when Jieli Khan heard that his family and children were all proud to serve the Tang Dynasty, he knew that his family had been completely assimilated. From a proud Blue Turk nobleman, he had become an ordinary person under the management of the imperial court in Chang'an. The nobles and nobles no longer have the ambition and wildness of the grassland people.
Jieli Khan lived in Qionglu because he wanted his family and children not to forget their identity. Now that the situation was over, his last breath of anger completely dissipated. He no longer arrogantly confronted Li Shimin and began to profess his vassal to Li Shimin, saying frankly that he was old. , I really don’t have the strength to make any more ambitious moves, and I want to beg for my bones to return to my homeland.
He also promised that if Li Shimin sent him back to the desert, in exchange, he could completely hand over the territory of the desert to him. However, Li Shimin was worried, fearing that when Jieli Khan returned to the Turks, he would be in trouble. If the dispute arose again, he would not agree to his request and let him live in Chang'an with peace of mind. He would manage the territory of the Eastern Turks on behalf of Jieli Khan.
However, Li Shimin saw that Jieli Khan was emaciated and understood that he missed his homeland, so he relaxed a little. He promised Jieli Khan that as long as he stayed in peace while he was alive, and when he died a hundred years later, his coffin could be moved to his homeland in the East Turks. Burial, this way, it can be considered that he has a destination after death, and his bones will not be buried in Chang'an.
Jieli Khan was satisfied after hearing this. For him, it was only the past few years that he could live. Even if he could not return to his hometown when he was alive, it would be good to be able to return to his roots after he died.
