HLnovel Chapter 601: Appoint Emperor Qing as a high-ranking official!
Chapter 601: Appoint Emperor Qing as a high-ranking official!
Yue Yun was also slightly startled and said quickly:
"I didn't think much of it at the time. I just thought the various tribes' leaders wanted to pay homage to Your Highness and call you Khan. Your Highness is so powerful and mighty, how could you share the same barbarian title with a barbarian leader?"
"On the other hand, the title of Heavenly Khan is the faith of all the tribes on the grassland. Since all tribes have accepted Your Highness as their leader, why can't you accept this honorific title?"
After hearing Yue Yun's words, Li Che remained silent. No one knew what he was thinking, and the air in the hall became heavy.
Although Chen Pingzhi, Yue Yun and others did not say anything, they had a glimmer of hope in their hearts.
Although the title of "Tian Khan" is an empty title, it is also a supreme title.
If His Highness accepts this title, it means that His Highness is extremely determined to become emperor, and these generals will sooner or later become his loyal subjects.
But if they don't agree... they still have to think of a way and find a time to put a robe on His Highness.
After a long while, Li Che slowly said, "Let them all come in. I want to ask them myself."
Soon, under the strict escort of Fengtian Army soldiers, a dozen Northern Hu leaders wearing leather robes walked in with their heads lowered and their eyes submissive.
After more than ten days of captivity, the leaders had lost the arrogance of the grassland lords and were left with only humble submission.
Everyone walked into the hall but did not dare to look up at the young prince on the stage. They all prostrated themselves on the ground with their foreheads pressed against the cold tiles.
Shouting in a jagged voice in the harsh Xia language:
"My young prince, I bow to the great... Heavenly Khan!"
"As a witness to the Eternal Heaven, we pledge our loyalty to the Heavenly Khan!"
"Long live the Khan!"
Li Che sat high in the main seat, looking down at the group of people below him. There was no expression on his face, and his eyes were so cold as if he was looking at a group of inanimate objects.
Seeing Li Che's expression, Qu Jinshan's pupils shrank slightly, and he thought to himself, "At this moment, His Highness's majesty actually has some of the appearance of His Majesty."
After a long time, Li Che picked up the wine glass in front of him. He did not drink it, but just gently stroked the wall of the glass with his fingertips.
He suddenly uttered a very light sneer.
"Ah."
This sneer hit the Northern Hu leaders like a whip, and they trembled even more violently.
"You call me the Heavenly Khan?" Li Che finally spoke, "Then I would like to ask you..."
Li Che leaned forward slightly, his tone suddenly becoming colder: "My father, the Emperor of Daqing, what should you call him?!"
No matter how dumb the Northern Hu leaders were, they were so frightened by these words that they turned pale and trembled like sieves, and could not answer a single word.
If the King of Feng is called the supreme 'Heavenly Khan', then where does that leave His Majesty the Emperor, who is far away in the imperial capital, ruling over Daqing?!
Hearing Li Che's words, a hint of disappointment flashed in the eyes of the Fengguo generals.
To this day, could it be that Your Highness still harbors a pedantic sense of loyalty and filial piety towards the Emperor?
Li Che looked at the hesitant expressions of the crowd, and the cold sneer on the corner of his mouth gradually widened.
Finally, amidst the astonished eyes of the crowd, it turned into a loud laughter that resounded throughout the hall:
"Hahahaha!"
Just when the Northern Hu leaders were almost overwhelmed by the laughter and thought they were doomed to die.
Li Che's laughter stopped abruptly.
He stood up suddenly, his eyes blazing, "I don't think you fools would consider this. I've thought it through for you!"
He looked down from above, pronounced each word as if it were a golden rule:
"You all honor me as 'Heavenly Khan', and my father, the Emperor of Daqing, shall be honored as—"
"Haotian Khan!"
"Above the heavens, there is still the vast and boundless sky. This honorific title is enough to demonstrate the imperial majesty of my father. Do you remember it?!"
"Haotian Khan?"
Everyone's eyes were full of confusion.
But when Li Che's cold gaze swept over them, they immediately realized it and felt as if they had been pardoned. How could they dare to hesitate for a moment?
He immediately knocked his forehead until it made a loud bang, and shouted with all his strength:
"Haotian Khan... Daqing is Haotian Khan."
"The Khan of Heaven is wise! The Khan of Heaven is supreme!"
"We will remember this and never forget it for the rest of our lives!"
In order to survive, the group of Northern Hu leaders below the stage behaved in a disgraceful manner and vied with each other to express their loyalty.
Li Che on the stage smiled without saying a word, his eyes sweeping over the Fengguo generals.
To be honest, my cheap father is very good to me.
He is both the King of Feng and the General of Tiance, so he is very generous.
Li Che was not an ungrateful person. In return for the favor, he was given a high-ranking official position by Emperor Qing.
Haotian Khan is just an appetizer. When there is an opportunity in the future, I will at least give my father a higher official title to show my rare filial piety.
In my opinion... the title of 'Grand Emperor' is a good one!
Thinking of this, Li Che couldn't help but laugh out loud again:
"Well done! What a group of... wise men who know the current situation! Come, please take a seat and serve some wine! Today, I and you... will not leave until we are drunk!"
The food and wine were served again, and the singing and dancing resumed.
Amidst cheers, the banquet continued.
Chen Pingzhi quietly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and looked at Li Che with even deeper awe.
He turned around and met Yue Yun's eyes, only to see that the other person's eyes expressed similar emotions to his own.
While chatting and laughing, His Highness clarified the great principles of status and justice that were enough to shake the world.
His brilliance is so magnificent that he has a majestic aura, and he looks like a king.
The two of them vaguely felt that the domineering aura of their prince had become more solid, like a deep abyss and a mountain.
After the banquet, everyone dispersed and we won’t talk about it for now.
However, Li Che stayed in Shangjing for three days just to deal with the affairs of the Northern Hu.
When the Khitan Yelu family surrendered, it was Emperor Qing who accepted the surrender, but Li Che actually obtained all the territory of Khitan, so he didn't intend to care about these things.
Although the Hu tribes surrendered this time, Li Che did not intend to let the imperial court get involved.
After all, the Northern Hu surrendered but were not destroyed. As a defeated country, they naturally had to offer sufficient benefits, and these benefits would naturally belong entirely to Feng State.
Li Che first determined one thing: the rule of the northern Hu tribes would remain the same, and Feng State would not interfere too much in their internal affairs.
However, in order to demonstrate their loyalty, the leaders of the tribes had to leave hostages in Fengguo.
Li Che agreed to let the old leaders go, but to keep their heirs.
Young people are full of energy and are more likely to forget their fears today and commit rebellious acts again.
They need to stay in Fengguo for further study, and I will teach them what benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness are, and how a vassal state should serve the suzerain state.
And when the old leaders die, the position of leader must be inherited by the young people who are studying in Fengguo.
In addition, in order to ensure peace on the border, the various tribes of the Northern Hu had to provide excellent horses to Fengguo every year, and the quantity depended on the size of the tribe.
Li Che also gave this tribute a nice name: Sui Ma!
Year-old horse, hostage, vassal...
With these three sharp blades piercing the destiny of the Northern Hu Kingdom, as long as the Feng Kingdom does not decline too much, it is unlikely that a powerful empire will appear on this grassland again.
Of course, Li Che also knows the principle of leaving a way out for others.
After all, the Northern Hu were a fierce nomadic people. They did not have the stable harvests of the farming people and needed to plunder to maintain their livelihood.
If they are really pushed into a corner, even if they dare not go against Fengguo, they will probably run to the west. Who will then pay tribute to them?
Therefore, Li Che proposed the strategy of "mutual trade".
Several markets and trading points were built within forty miles of the border between Feng State and the grassland, where border residents on both sides could exchange goods.
The northern Hu people could obtain food, ironware, and cloth, and Feng State could also trade cattle, sheep, and leather.
If they encounter a natural disaster, the Northern Hu tribe can also seek help from Fengguo. Although other things cannot be guaranteed, food can still be lent to them.
But I don't lend you grain for free. If I don't say nine out of ten, I'd give you ten percent profit, wouldn't that be too much? After all, the grain of our Feng Kingdom didn't just come from the wind!
As for not having the money to pay back, that’s okay. You can just exchange it for cattle, sheep, and horses.
If there are no cattle or sheep, that’s fine too.
The merciful Prince Feng still gave the brothers from the grassland a way out: if they had no money, they could just provide manpower.
Fengguo's strategy of managing the oceans requires a large number of manpower to fight across the sea. Aren't these brave and warlike grassland warriors the best artillery...soldiers?
After the negotiations, all the Northern Hu leaders felt cold sweat on their backs, and they were sweating profusely in the middle of winter.
It was not until Li Che did not put forward any more conditions that everyone breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Li Che with even more fear.
This Heavenly Khan is truly... not a human being!
In his own words, that means we northern barbarians are being treated as Japanese!
Fortunately, although Tian Khan’s conditions were many, they were still acceptable. At least he did not allow the Fengtian Army to advance westward again.
Today, in this land outside the Great Wall, the northern Hu people are the ones who understand the Fengtian Army's combat effectiveness best.
They knew that if the Heavenly Khan was really determined to destroy them, the tribes would have no power to fight back.
Haven’t you seen that the two countries that knew the Fengtian Army’s combat capabilities best have been destroyed?
Although Tian Khan's conditions were harsh, they at least left the Northern Hu with a glimmer of hope. As long as they obeyed, they could still survive.
After beating up the leader of the Northern Hu, Li Che took Chen Pingzhi, Yue Yun and other generals to Chaoyang City.
As for Shangjing City, it was handed over to Li Leshi for garrison.
This Fengtian Army general, who had truly climbed up from the bottom, now had the ability to stand on his own and was capable of defending the capital city.
As for Chen Pingzhi, he was a talented general that Feng State urgently needed. Li Che brought him back to Chaoyang City for another great use.
On the fourth day, Li Che led the victorious army back to the city after the expedition to the grassland.
The army had 10,000 men when it set out, but after several months of fighting, only less than 8,000 were left.
Although the army has been fighting for a long time, it is still in high spirits.
Li Che only saw the army in front of him with flags fluttering, armor shining, and resolute faces of the soldiers, like a torrent of steel.
He couldn't help but feel happy that he had another iron army under his command.
If this cavalry unit is incorporated into the armored cavalry, his own cavalry unit should be the strongest cavalry unit in the world at this moment.
Riding in the cold wind at the end of the year, Li Che finally arrived in Chaoyang City just as the New Year's bell was about to ring.