A Tang Dynasty in Disarray

The ninth year of the Wude era. Li Shimin fails to inherit the throne through the Xuanwu Gate, while Li Yuan succeeds in his "rebellion." Li Jiancheng remains crown prince, and Li Yuanji remains Prince of Qi. After failing to rally the royal forces, Li Shimin does not flee to Luoyang as originally planned. Instead, he heads north toward the Turks. All the generals and soldiers are baffled. Li Yuanjia is baffled too. "Second Brother is the Grand Chancellor of the Eastern Route Platform of Shaanxi. Why not head east to Luoyang? Wulao blocks the way east, Yique blocks the way south, and Mengjin blocks the way north. At this point, all we need to do is capture Tong Pass, and we can take Guanzhong directly! Or we could cross the Yellow River to the north, pass west through Zhiguan Pass into Hedong, cross the Pujin Ferry, and seize Guanzhong again!" "Second Brother is also the Grand Chancellor of the Western Route Platform of Yizhou. Let us first head south to Hanzhong, seal off the ancient Qinling road, hold the Jinniu Road below Yangping Pass, swallow up Yizhou, then take the waterways east with the current and capture Kuizhou. From there, we can hold the region's natural defenses and develop the fertile land of the Heavenly Prefecture. After two or three years, when our troops are strong and our generals are brave, we can either head north through the Qilian Mountains to seize Longxi and use our commanding position to pressure Guanzhong, or take the waterways through the Three Gorges, emerge east at Xiazhou, travel downstream to capture Jingchu and Jiangxia, then use the Suizao Corridor to take Xiangyang and Nanyang. From there, we can strike directly into the heartland of the Central Plains and lay plans for the world!" "Second Brother is also the Governor of Puzhou. We should go to Hedong, head north through Jiangzhou, Jizhou, and Fenzhou, and finally seize Taiyuan, the birthplace of our Li Tang dynasty. We can consolidate Mayi and defend the northern lands against the Turks. Once our troops are strong and our horses well supplied, we can either follow the Fen River downstream, pass Longmen, and enter Guanzhong, or go through Jingxing to make plans for Hebei. Wouldn't that be exhilarating!" "And yet Second Brother chose to flee north to the Turks. That means living under another's roof, colluding with the enemy, and selling out the country! Don't you want to be emperor anymore? Don't you care about your reputation anymore? We have a national and family vendetta against the Turks!" Li Shimin did not answer. Instead, he asked, "Little Liao, have you forgotten why I came to the Turks?!" Li Yuanjia shrank his head back. Then who are you asking?