Chapter Twenty-One: The New Alliance of the Wei River

A bitter wind swept across the land, flurries of fine snow spiraling down from the leaden sky. On the desolate bank of the Wei Bridge, Li Shimin and Jieli stood facing each other, two hundred meters apart, locked in a tense standoff.

Confronted by Li Shimin’s stern rebuke, Jieli longed to respond with force. Yet he knew all too well the true state of his own affairs—he had no one left under his command whom he could fully trust, for he still needed to keep a tight rein on Tuli’s faction. If he loosened his grip even a little, he could not be sure Ashide Wumeichuo wouldn’t turn on him instantly.

As much as it galled him to admit it, Jieli was powerless to engage Li Shimin in battle now, even though the Tang emperor had brought only thirty thousand men.

“What now?” A cold sweat broke out on Jieli’s brow.

Li Shimin watched his adversary, a chilling smile playing at his lips as he slowly raised his hand.

Once, as the Tang Empire’s “ally,” Jieli had grown intimately familiar with Li Shimin’s gestures. The moment he saw the emperor lift his hand, he spoke out at once: “Wait. This time, we are at fault. I am willing to offer compensation to the Tang, if only you will let us return home.”

Li Shimin’s heart stirred—he was almost ready to agree.

He had little choice; the Tang was desperately poor. The Palace of Supreme Peace where he resided was already in a state of ruin, and the expenditures of the inner court had been cut time and again. The rest of the realm fared no better.

If he could peel even a thin layer from the Turks, it would not solve the Tang’s poverty, but it might buy three to five years of development. By then, Li Shimin was confident he could defeat the Turks outright.

At that moment, Li Kong suddenly rode to Li Shimin’s side and called to Jieli, “Compensation for the Tang? What could you possibly offer? Pigs, horses, cattle, and sheep?”

Jieli stiffened, while Li Shimin’s eyes narrowed. The Turks, powerful as they were, had no wealth and never used money. The livestock they offered as compensation—cattle perhaps being somewhat useful, but the rest mere consumables—could not even be fairly divided among the Tang people. The offerings were little more than a triviality.

As for anything else, the Tang found them lacking.

Thus, the compensation Jieli proposed was hardly worth mentioning. Compared to such paltry offerings, annihilating the Turks entirely would be far more advantageous for the Tang.

But Li Shimin hesitated. Even if they kept Jieli here, even if they captured his army of two hundred thousand, the steppes would still belong to the Turks. There were still over a million Turkic tribesmen on the grasslands. Excluding the elderly, women, and children, they could easily assemble thirty thousand skilled archers.

Worse, if the Tang did crush the Turks here, the Western Turks might seize the opportunity to rise and sweep across the steppe. Should the Western Turks inherit the power of their eastern kin, this campaign could ultimately prove disastrous for the Tang, who were in no position to eliminate the Western Turks.

Li Shimin wavered.

Li Kong, seeing the emperor’s conflicted expression, immediately understood his thoughts. Well-versed in Tang history, he knew that sparing Jieli now was indeed wiser than killing him outright. However, before letting the matter go, he was determined to extract a heavy price from Jieli and the Turks.

“Your Majesty, this humble subject begs leave to negotiate on your behalf!”

Li Shimin, still hesitating, heard Li Kong’s words and grasped his meaning. Smiling, he nodded, “Very well. You have the time it takes for one stick of incense.”

It was half in jest. Between warring states, negotiations could take days, if not longer. But to Li Shimin’s surprise, Li Kong agreed on the spot.

Jieli had been worried that Li Shimin would not miss this chance to destroy him. But when he saw the lone figure of Li Kong ride forth, he knew the Tang emperor was prepared to negotiate. Relief washed over him, though he was secretly irritated. He was the Khagan of the Eastern Turks—yet Li Shimin sent a mere boy to bargain with him? Was this a deliberate slight?

Still, circumstances left him no choice. Dissatisfied as he was, Jieli had to grit his teeth and proceed.

Li Kong reined in his horse, stopping less than thirty meters from Jieli, a cold smile on his lips. “Khagan Jieli, since we are to negotiate, know this: His Majesty the Emperor of Tang is not one for needless slaughter. He gives you this chance, but you must meet our demands for compensation. Remember, this is your only opportunity. Otherwise, we may as well settle matters on this field.”

“Damn it,” Jieli cursed inwardly, but forced a stiff smile. “Very well, name your terms.”

Li Kong smiled faintly. “As the defeated party, you must provide the Tang with one hundred thousand Turkic women, aged no more than twenty-five and no less than eighteen.”

His words stunned both Jieli and the Tang soldiers. They had expected all manner of demands, but not this—just women?

Li Shimin’s brows knit tightly as he scrutinized Li Kong, wondering if the young man was nothing more than a libertine.

Jieli thought for a moment, then glanced at Ashide Wumeichuo, who stood imprisoned behind him. He nodded. If it came to that, he could select women from Tuli’s tribes to send to the Tang.

Li Kong raised his voice. “Very well. Second, as the defeated party, you must provide the Tang with one hundred thousand men, aged no less than twenty and no more than thirty.”

Jieli nodded again; he’d been struggling to deal with Ashide Wumeichuo’s followers—he might as well hand them all over to the Tang and let them worry about it.

“And finally, once we allow you to depart, you must take all the tribesmen from the Hetao region with you, and then relinquish control of Yanmen Pass.” Li Kong pronounced this last condition with gravity.

This demand left Jieli at a loss. Had it not been for his falling out with Tuli, clearing the Hetao plain of its tribes would have been no issue. But now, even if he gave all of Ashide Wumeichuo’s people to the Tang, he would be left with only fifty or sixty thousand men, while over a hundred thousand tribesmen remained on the plain.

Worse still, surrendering Yanmen Pass would forever sever the Turks’ southern route—a blow to Jieli’s pride from which he could not recover.

To accept, or to refuse?

Staring into Li Kong’s icy eyes, Jieli deliberated for less than the time it took for a cup of tea to cool, and finally decided to accept. Though he would lose many people, if he could seize all the tribes from the Hetao plain, it would strengthen the Turks. As for ceding Yanmen Pass—once the Turks regained their strength, they could always retake it.

“Very well. If the Khagan agrees, let us seal it with a pledge.” Li Kong stepped aside, leaving the final act to Li Shimin.

Though he was puzzled, Li Shimin did not believe Li Kong would harm the Tang. As he passed Li Kong, he muttered under his breath, “If you don’t give me a proper explanation for this later, just wait and see how I deal with you.” Then he strode to face Jieli, and the two men slapped palms three times, sealing the covenant.

History would record this agreement as the “Treaty of the Wei River.”