Chapter 356: Chang'an Is the Capital, and Thousands of Cavalrymen Set Out to Fight

The first year of the Tang Dynasty, July 17.

Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huaian issued a self-criticism edict in the palace of Youzhou City to quell the aftermath of the "Youyun Mutiny" and give an explanation to the people and civil and military officials.

"I have heard that the mandate of heaven is not constant, only virtue can assist; the rule of a monarch is based on self-reflection; now I personally witnessed the Youyun Rebellion in the court, and the war broke out, and the country was shaken. It was really my fault; I am heartbroken and issued this self-criticism edict to inform the world and thank the people——"

"Since I ascended the throne, although I want to work hard to govern..."

The people of the sixteen states of Youyun were the first to receive the self-criticism edict issued by Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huaian.

Along with the self-criticism edict, there were also the 100,000 Youyun soldiers who participated in the Youyun Mutiny. Now they have been ordered by Emperor Zhaowu to return to their hometowns and live.

Until this time, the families of the Youyun soldiers who participated in the mutiny knew that their sons and husbands had committed such a heinous crime;

In addition to being heartbroken, they were also grateful for the great grace of the current emperor, Emperor Zhaowu of the Tang Dynasty, Chen Huaian, which spared them from having their entire nine clans exterminated. They made up their minds to work like cows and horses for the rest of their lives, to repay the kindness of Emperor Zhaowu, and to be loyal to the Tang Dynasty forever.

As for Liu Ziyu, the main culprit who launched the Youyun mutiny, after being deprived of his dynasty title by the emperor's decree, he was executed along with his entire nine clans in accordance with the laws of the Tang Dynasty. The rest of the accomplices, such as Li Meng, Dong Tianbao, and others, were also executed, and their three clans were exterminated.

It is worth mentioning that after the court meeting on the day of the Zhongyuan Festival, King Zhao Liu Xinwu publicly issued a statement severing his father-son relationship with Liu Ziyu, which was considered to have saved his late reputation.

With the execution of the principal offender and the accomplice according to the law, and the 100,000 soldiers who participated in the mutiny returning home, the farce of the Youyun mutiny, which lasted for one and a half months, finally came to an end.

It can be regarded as a test and trial that Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huaian experienced on his way to becoming an emperor of the ages!

For Chen Huaian, the attitude of dealing with the Youyun mutiny in the end may not satisfy all parties;

But at least this was a decision made in accordance with his true thoughts, and at least he had a clear conscience.

After pacifying the Youyun mutiny, Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huaian, who led the expedition in person, continued to march westward. The soldiers of the Anxi Protectorate who were waiting for help in the Western Regions were still waiting for reinforcements from the court.

The Tang Dynasty's Western Expedition Army split into two groups after reaching Yunzhou;

One group, led by Zhao Zilong, the chief general of the Imperial Guard, led 50,000 elite cavalrymen from Yunzhou to the north through Shuobei and into the Mobei grassland, and marched to the western part of the desert, mainly to wipe out the remnants of the Turkic rebellion, and finally joined forces from the capital of the Uighur Khanate, Harabalegas;

The other group, led by Emperor Zhaowu of the Tang Dynasty, Chen Huaian, continued through Longcheng, Chang'an, and Yumen Pass, and arrived at Shule City to join the Tang Dynasty garrison soldiers in Anxi Protectorate (Northern Prefecture).

After the Western Expedition Army arrived at Chang'an Prefecture, Chen Huaian took a short rest in Chang'an Prefecture, and finally left all the more than 300,000 Western Expedition Army in Chang'an Prefecture, leaving it to Pang Xianchu, the Duke of Jin, who was responsible for selecting a site for the Tang Dynasty's capital relocation.

And he himself only led more than a thousand Tang Jinwu Guards and went straight to the Western Regions with a simple carriage.

Before leaving, Chen Huaian personally explained to Jin Guogong Pang Xianchu: "Xianchu, regarding the several alternative locations for the court to move the capital northward, I personally prefer Chang'an Prefecture. Let me decide here today. Chang'an Prefecture will serve as the capital of the Tang Dynasty in the future;"

"As for the construction of the imperial city and the re-layout and construction of Chang'an Prefecture, I will trouble you to check on my behalf;"

"In addition, of the 300,000 imperial troops in this westward expedition, I will take away the accompanying Jinwu Guards, and the remaining 300,000 soldiers will all be left for you to use!"

As he said, Chen Huaian patted Pang Xianchu's shoulder heavily and said meaningfully: " Xianchu, this time the burden on your shoulders is not light, I hope you will not let me down, let alone the expectations of the people of the Tang Dynasty; "

"The relocation of the capital to Chang'an will benefit the present and future generations, and there is no room for error, understand?"

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty-"

Pang Xianchu, Duke of Jin, immediately patted his chest and promised: "I will definitely not let Your Majesty down, but..."

Pang Xianchu was hesitant to speak, but finally gritted his teeth, stomped his feet, and expressed his concerns: "Your Majesty, this trip to the Western Regions is thousands of miles away, and Your Majesty is only accompanied by more than a thousand Jinwu Guards. I am worried about Your Majesty's safety!"

Hahaha!

Hearing this, Chen Huaian laughed out loud and said, "Pang Xianchu, Pang Xianchu, did I put on this dragon robe and make you forget how I conquered the world before?"

"Your Majesty, I dare not!"

Pang Xianchu hurriedly explained, "It's just that I am worried that the Abbasid Dynasty has stockpiled heavy troops in the Western Regions and is still sending reinforcements to the Western Regions;"

"A few days ago, I also read the 800-mile urgent message sent back by the Anxi Protectorate. Since the Battle of Talas, the troops of the Abbasid Dynasty have been crossing the Pamir Plateau to reinforce the Western Regions. At present, there may be millions of troops stockpiled in the Western Regions;"

"And most of the fence-sitters in the 36 countries in the Western Regions have also announced their separation from the Tang Dynasty and submitted to the rule of the Abbasid Dynasty;"

"I am worried that only the troops of the Anxi Protectorate and the Jinwu Guards around the emperor..."

The rest of the words were taken over by Chen Huaian before Pang Xianchu had time to say them.

Chen Huaian laughed and said, "You're worried that I'll die in a foreign land, or die fighting in the Western Regions, right?"

Hahaha!

He laughed again and said, "Don't worry. Looking at the whole world, the person who can kill me is probably still in the womb;"

"To deal with the Abbasid Dynasty and a group of scoundrels in the Western Regions, the thousand cavalry of the Jinwu Guards under my command are enough!"

After saying that, Chen Huaian waved his hand with a domineering look and said, "Okay, that's it. You can rest assured to take these 300,000 soldiers and horses in Chang'an Prefecture and build the imperial city for me!"

"Xiao Po——"

"I'm here!"

Chen Huaian ordered: "Pass the order, the Jinwu Guards will assemble and set off to follow me to the west!"

"I have received the order!"

......

Western Regions, the capital of the Wusun Kingdom, Chigu City.

At this time, the Chigu Royal City has become the command center of the Arab Empire's army on the eastward expedition, and the magnificent palace has also become the camp of Turhong, the general of the Abbasid Dynasty on the eastward expedition.

As a result, King Tibes, who originally thought that he could regain control of the Wusun regime and sit on the throne after ending his exile, could only condescend to the side hall and obey Turhong's orders every day. He no longer looked like a king, but was clearly a follower behind Turhong, the general of the Arab Empire's Eastern Expedition.

The news that the Turkic Bater failed to "enter the Tang Dynasty in the east" had already been reported to the Abbasid Dynasty's Eastern Expedition Army half a month ago.

After learning about this, General Turhong did not blame Bater for returning to Chigu City in disgrace.

Anyway, the 30,000 Turkic cavalry who died in the battle and were captured were not a single soldier of the Arab Empire's Eastern Expedition Army under Turhong's command. If the Eastern Expedition to the Tang Dynasty failed, it was a failure.

The order given to him by Caliph Safahi was to drive the Tang Han people out of the Western Regions, and he did not say that the huge Tang Dynasty must be included in the territory of the Abbasid Dynasty.

Caliph Safaq did not have such great ambitions, and Turhong also knew that he did not have the military strength.

Therefore, his focus was never to invade the territory of the Tang Dynasty, but to seize the control of the Western Regions from the Tang Dynasty army.

The failure of the eastward advance to the Tang Dynasty was just Bater's wishful thinking!

However, it was the handling of the Youyun mutiny by Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huaian of the Tang Dynasty that made Turhong look at him with new eyes. The emperor's mind was quite surprising.

At the same time, it also gave Turhong a preliminary impression of Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huaian - he should be a person who was soft-hearted, not good at leading troops and even worse at governing the country.

"Report -"

"Report to the general, urgent military information -"

One day, when Turhong was thinking about sending troops to the Uighur Khanate, he suddenly received an urgent military report, which was sent by a spy far away in Chang'an Prefecture at an expedited speed of 800 miles.

The messenger said, "General, the news from Chang'an Prefecture is that the Tang Dynasty's Western Expedition troops have already set out from Chang'an City and will arrive at the Tang Dynasty's Anxi Protectorate in no more than a month!"