The two people next to him kept giving Li Xiang a look. "We three were talking so passionately just now, why are you unwilling now?" The King of Wu returned to the capital with these people. This was the best solution. Even if Li Shimin wanted to deprive them of their credit, there was no way back.
Li Shimin wanted to attribute all these achievements to the King of Wu, but now that the King of Wu had returned to the capital with these people, the war on the front line had not stopped. Could it be that ghosts were fighting? The people in Chang'an City were not fools. With a little guess, they knew that this battle must have been commanded by Li Xiang. Then, those who followed Li Xiang to fight would have both face and substance.
"I'm already in this state now, so what if I disobey the imperial decree? Even if I disobey the imperial decree, do you think your royal grandfather can chop me down?"
Prince Wu Li Ke smiled, but what he said made sense. In this era, people say that even a tiger won't eat its own cubs. In history, Li Chengqian did something so outrageous, but Li Shimin only exiled him. It is absolutely impossible for him to kill his own son. After all, this is his own descendant. The situation of Prince Wu Li Ke is far less serious. It is just that one of Li Shimin's plans has gone down the drain. If he killed his son to vent his anger, then Li Shimin probably would not have enough sons to kill.
"Then I'll give you all the credit for this battle. These people under you also lost their lives. We can't let them be left with nothing. Their families are also descendants of heroes and will be of use to them in the future."
Although Li Xiang had not met his third uncle often, he knew that his third uncle was a man of character. Since he had said this, he would definitely do so.
King Wu did not reject Li Xiang's statement. Li Xiang felt sorry for his soldiers, and Li Ke felt sorry for his soldiers as well. These people tied their heads on their belts and followed their commander to lose their lives on the battlefield. If their families could not get some benefits, then it would be a great loss for them to lose their lives.
Niu Jinda and Su Dingfang looked at each other and felt relieved. If this matter was not resolved well, even if they captured Xueyantuo Khan, their soldiers might not forgive this matter. No one wanted to do useless work, not even the most elite army.
"Then I'll have the rest of the people start preparing. But Third Uncle should still write a letter to Grandfather. If you suddenly appear in the capital, it might be a big deal for Grandfather..."
Li Xiang was familiar with Li Shimin's temper. If he had given him a heads-up, perhaps this matter would not have caused much repercussions. However, if the King of Wu suddenly appeared in the capital, Li Shimin might feel that the matter was out of control, and the punishment of the King of Wu might be greater. In this matter, the uncle and nephew could be said to have helped each other, so Li Shimin did not want the King of Wu to suffer too much.
"All of you can go down. You don't have to stay here. Take good care of my wounded soldiers. I should be taking them back to Chang'an. If it weren't for my mistake, they might still be riding on their horses right now and wouldn't need to lie here like me."
When the King of Wu said this, he sounded a little depressed. Li Xiang knew that King Li Ke of Wu was a good general in battle, but this time he was blinded by victory and wanted to surpass Li Xiang too much, so he made a deviation.
If they were not so anxious, it would have been easy to win a victory. For example, when they first entered the grassland, the Xueyantuo army was no match for them at all. They had good command at that time, but unfortunately they did not continue with this mentality. In the final analysis, their ability to handle things was a little weak.
When they came out of the tent, Su Dingfang and Niu Jinda felt a little uncomfortable again. They were originally afraid that His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu would attack, but who knew that His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu did things so openly and honestly. Instead, it was us who judged him with a petty mind. The two of them didn't say a word just now because they were too embarrassed to say anything in front of him.
"Your Highness, these brothers are also our brothers of the Tang Dynasty. They are fighting for the country on the battlefield. The court does not provide them with much pension. Otherwise, we can use it from our small treasury..."
The two men found a deserted place, hoping that Li Xiang would contribute some money. Others didn't know how much money was in the small treasury, but they knew it very well. Li Xiang always divided the money into two parts when he was fighting.
One copy is submitted to the court, and the other is kept in one's own hands, which is convenient when using the money. Of course, this matter must be done in secret. Except for the system soldiers, no one else can participate, so as to ensure that it is not leaked.
"You two are being generous now. Just now, the crowd was in an uproar. You're afraid that others will steal your credit, so you're keeping it to yourself. Now is not the time for us to take out the money. If we do, we'll arouse suspicion. Write down the names of these people. I'll have the person who gets the treasure deliver the money to our door. It won't be obvious, and it will benefit them too."
Looking at these two funny guys under his command, Li Xiang didn't know what to say. These two people were not bad people at heart, but they were a little shallow in cunning. They were very powerful on the battlefield, but if they played these political games, they would probably be killed by others.
The two men smiled a little embarrassedly, and then hurried down to do their work. There were quite a few people returning to Chang'an this time. There were more than 8,000 Turkic prisoners of war alone. It would be useless if there were fewer people. After these people were brought back, they would probably be chopped to death by Li Shimin. Li Shimin's imperial edict made it very clear that the old, weak, sick and disabled should not be brought back to make up the number. They must be prisoners of war. Others would think that the people in Chang'an City had never seen the world.
Such things have happened before. Many people mistook civilians for soldiers and directly took them back to claim credit. This happened not only in the Tang Dynasty, but also in previous dynasties. Therefore, Li Shimin emphasized this in the imperial edict. Of course, he was not afraid that Li Xiang would take the civilians back.
The main reason was that Li Xiang was too good at using prisoners. He always felt that every prisoner was labor, so they should never be chopped off like that. The last bit of value in them should be blown out. However, beheading prisoners in front of the people was also a way to motivate the people. Although it was a bit backward, the cohesion it generated was unmatched by other methods.