Tai Chi Palace.
Political Hall.
Li Shimin sat in the main seat, twirling his beard and holding the letter in his hand, looking quite happy.
"Look, look."
He distributed the letter to the ministers and said with a smile,
"I haven't thought about how to deal with the banditry at the border, but Tuli Khan rushed to raise and lower the watch for me."
"Dear ladies, do you think this is true?"
The ministers were all amazed when they circulated Tuli Khan's "letter of surrender".
"Since this year, the Turks have been exhausted, and both internal affairs and foreign wars have been in a mess."
Changsun Wuji sighed with emotion,
"Xi, Xiao and dozens of other grassland tribes could not stand the harsh rule of the Turks and surrendered to us, the Tang Dynasty."
"Now, even Tuli Khan has come to surrender, tsk tsk..."
"The scene when he came to the city is still before my eyes. This is really thirty years to the east of Hedong, thirty years to the west of Hexi..."
The other ministers all nodded.
Their faces also showed the same joyful look as Li Shimin.
"In my opinion, this Tuli Khan is not pretending to surrender."
Du Ruhui analyzed:
"Judging from previous interactions, this person is quite trustworthy and is not as cunning and capricious as Jieli Khan."
"And this time, his break with Jie Li was actually foreshadowed."
Li Shimin raised his eyebrows.
"Oh? Tell me." He said with great interest,
"Just now, the auxiliary machine said that the barbarian tribes on the border have surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. This is the conflict between the two khans."
Du Ruhui talked eloquently,
"Tuli Khan was ordered to station in the north of Youzhou, which is the border fortress. But in this fortress, dozens of tribes rebelled and returned to the Tang Dynasty."
"Whoever it is, Jieli Khan, would definitely not be able to tolerate such a rebellion! Naturally, Tuli, the actual controller, will be given a big warning."
"And Tu Li is naturally dissatisfied. Since Jie Li appointed Zhao Deyan from the Tang Dynasty, the government has been harsh and complicated, and the tribes in the country have suffered terribly. How can we not rebel? This was Jie Li's fault in governance, why should he Tu Li be held responsible?"
Li Shimin couldn't help laughing when he heard this.
"I have heard of this Zhao Deyan before. He is a humble official, but he is contaminated with countless bad habits in officialdom. His words are flattering and his style is perverse. He is a strange flower."
He joked,
"This kind of person can't survive in the Tang Dynasty, but he can make a huge difference in the Turks."
"Tsk tsk... having him there seems to be better than thousands of troops! Hahaha..."
His smile made everyone laugh.
"A powerful empire will always disintegrate fastest from within."
Xu Fenglei commented,
"Zhao Deyan was reused by Jie Li, which obviously accelerated the process of internal disintegration of the Turks."
Du Ruhui nodded repeatedly.
"Yes. What the Grand Master said is true."
He said in a deep voice,
"Since the last attack on the Tang Dynasty was resolved, Jieli's prestige has been greatly reduced. Without knowing it, he has promulgated complicated and harsh policies, causing the leaders of various tribes to alienate him. Humanity has been lost."
"In the past two years, our Tang Dynasty has been plagued by many disasters, either drought or locust plagues. But the Turks are actually even worse! Countless cattle and sheep have been frozen to death by snowstorms! There are even some tribes that cannot survive the winter and are annihilated. On the grassland!"
"This caused the Turks' national power to plummet again."
"But with such a mess, Jieli still resorted to force, attacking the Khitan, Xue Yantuo, and Uihe. In the end, they all ended in disastrous defeat. He almost lost face."
The weather was unfavorable, and the war suffered another series of disastrous defeats.
If you Turks continue like this, can you still maintain your position as the leader of the grassland?
"That's right, this Jieli often makes mistakes."
Li Shimin said with a smile,
"If it were me, after a round of defeat, I would have to endure it for a while to build up national strength and calm down."
"It's good for him. Not only did he not restrain himself, but he became even more arrogant and made enemies everywhere!"
"Neither the Khitan nor the Uighurs are small countries, and Xue Yantuo cannot be underestimated. If he does this, he will be surrounded by his enemies!"
"How stupid."
Although it was a criticism, Li Er hoped that Jieli Khan would make as many stupid moves as possible.
"Not only are there enemies around us, but they are also inside."
Du Ruhui said again,
"After the defeat, Jieli forcibly dispatched Tuli to attack Huihe. Tuli was defeated and fled back. He imprisoned him and whipped him for more than ten days."
"After that, he rudely asked Tuli for troops and horses. His words were particularly harsh, as if he was lecturing his son. He also threatened that if Tuli didn't give him troops, he would send troops to destroy his tribe!"
"Whoever it is is Tuli, he can't stand it! He will turn against him!"
"Therefore, I believe that this surrender should be true sincerity, and Tu Li really wants Jie Li to die!"
After some analysis, he came up with a conclusion that naturally convinced all the ministers.
Li Shimin also nodded with approval and said:
"Du Aiqing is right, and I also think that Tu Li is sincerely surrendering to the Tang Dynasty."
"As soon as he lowered his rank, he completely broke up with Jieli. Next, we can see the split of the Turkic Khanate."
"I estimate that with Jieli's temper, he will be furious after hearing the news and immediately send troops to quell the rebellion!"
"By then..."
His gaze became profound.
"Dear ladies, do you think we should save him or not?"
Li Er said slowly,
"If I accept this surrender, it will be equivalent to agreeing to protect Tuli, but at the same time I have signed the Weishui Alliance with Jieli, agreeing not to invade each other."
"It seems a little difficult..."
Snap, snap.
His fingers tapped lightly on the table.
The men of Lao Li's family seem to have this habit when thinking.
"Your Majesty, I believe that if Jieli attacks Tuli, we must send troops to rescue him!"
Changsun Wuji said:
"Jieli has always been unfaithful and has torn up countless alliances! The so-called Weishui Alliance is just a temporary measure. How can it be regarded as an iron alliance?"
"It would be too pedantic for Your Majesty to stick to this."
"Now that the Turks are exhausted and making enemies everywhere, they are on the verge of collapse! If we don't seize this opportunity to send troops, we will definitely regret it in the future!"
"Your Majesty, please make preparations early!"
As soon as he handed over his hand, all the ministers expressed their opinions.
"I second the proposal."
"I agree that there is no need to make a contract with the barbarians."
"I also agree to beat his mother!"
"..."
They have never forgotten the blood and fire the Turks brought to the Tang Dynasty and the humiliation they brought to the Tang people!
This blood debt must be repaid with blood after all! And, the sooner the better!
But at the same time, there were also opposing voices in the political hall:
"Your Majesty, in the past two years, you have been diligent in government affairs, and the ministers have also been conscientious. The Tang Dynasty has gradually improved, but when it comes to national power, it is still far from its peak, not even comparable to the early years of the Sui Dynasty."
Xiao Yu cupped his hands and said,
"If we use troops rashly and consume a lot of resources, the court may not be able to afford it."
"If we can stock up for a few more years, the burden on the country from sending troops will be reduced, and we may have greater certainty."
He did not object to sending troops, but felt that it was still too early.
Having just experienced drought and locust plagues, the national treasury's funds to provide relief to the victims are somewhat stretched.
Large-scale use of troops against the Turks?
I am afraid that we will squeeze the people again and tighten our belts...
"I also agree with Mr. Xiao Ge's point of view."
Wei Zhengdao,
"The Turks want to fight, but given the current situation of the Tang Dynasty, it is only appropriate to send troops to protect the surrender, and not to trigger a war."
"A skinny camel is bigger than a horse. The Turks have a profound foundation. No matter how unbearable they are, they cannot be destroyed casually. The Zhenguan Dynasty has just begun, so we must not fall into the quagmire of war."
He sided with Xiao Yu, and his words reduced the excitement.
Strictly speaking, there was no Zhuhe faction in the Tang Dynasty.
There are only those who fight early and those who fight late, so even if the two sides disagree, they will not be hostile to each other.
It’s all for the sake of the country!
So--
Eyes fell on Li Shimin.
Now, the emperor needs to make a decision, whose opinion should be adopted?
At this moment, Li Shimin's heart was also a little surging.
Killing the Turks is also his long-cherished wish!
But Xiao Yu and Wei Zheng had to consider what they said.
Can the Tang Dynasty now afford such a war to destroy the country?
Thinking in his mind, Li Shimin's eyes turned slightly.
At this time, there was still one person on the field who had not expressed his position.
"Listen clearly."
Li Shimin looked at Xu Fenglei and said in a deep voice,
"What do you think? Should we send troops?"
Swish, swish, swish.
In an instant, all eyes turned to Xu Fenglei.
As soon as the Grand Master opened his mouth, the palace trembled!
His position is of great importance; his words may very well influence the emperor's thoughts and change the country's policies!
No one can be ignored.
"Return to Your Majesty."
Xu Fenglei smiled lightly and said,
"I only have six words——"
"Take advantage of his illness to kill him!"
Li Shimin's pupils shrank.
"Take advantage of his illness to kill him?"
He murmured something and couldn't help but slap the case and said,
"Okay! These six words are insightful enough!"
"So that means you support a quick war?"
Xu Fenglei nodded.
"Today's Turks are a sick country with powerful enemies outside, divisions inside, and natural disasters!"
He said loudly,
"If we don't take action now, when will we wait?"
"The current national power of the Tang Dynasty is not very strong, but it is afraid of comparison in everything!"
"The grassland barbarians have always been tough! Now when he is weak, it is the historical moment when the gap between us and the enemy is the largest. If he waits for him to regain his breath, this bone will be hard to chew!"
"Therefore, I think we should send out troops, and we should send out large numbers of troops. Taking advantage of the opportunity to protect Tuli, we should start planning a war to destroy the country now!"
Li Shimin: "!!!"
Ministers: "!!!"
Good guys, they are already radical enough, but I didn’t expect the Grand Master to be even more radical than them!
They haven't even used a flat A yet, so you just used your ultimate move!
"Listen Ming, do you really think we can fight this battle?"
Li Shimin pinched his fingers and said with some surprise,
"Can you win?"
He has the courage to fight.
Even if he mobilized all the troops of Tang Dynasty to fight a war to destroy the country, he would not hesitate.
But the question is...can we win?
As long as we can win, everything is easy.
But for now, he hasn't seen the key conditions for victory or defeat.
"Can win."
Xu Fenglei said firmly,
"Your Majesty, please rest assured. I have rehearsed this battle many times in my mind."
"We, the Tang Dynasty, will win!"
Must win!
If these two words were spoken by others, they would be Tu Yile.
But who is Xu Fenglei?
He is so forthright!
From joining Tiance Mansion to now, as long as he has made a conclusion, there is no conclusion that has not been fulfilled!
Never failed!
The myth of being undefeated continues to this day, and even Li Shimin blindly obeys him like a conditioned reflex.
There's nothing I can do about it, I just don't believe it.
It’s okay if I don’t believe it. If you tell him to make a mistake once or make a mistake once, I won’t believe it immediately.
Can it be done?
"……good!"
Li Shimin took a deep breath and said,
"I believe in you!"
"Actually, I have been planning a revenge plan since the Weishui Alliance."
"Why can they, the Turks, rush to kill me, but I can't?"
"Now, the soldiers of the world have been reset, and the Tang Dynasty has soldiers available! Such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity must not be missed!"
"I have decided to send troops to destroy the Turks!"
On this day, Li Shimin strengthened his determination to destroy the Turks, and Datang switched from strategic defense to strategic offense.
The military deployment has been carried out in an orderly manner in secret...
…
East Palace.
Xu Fenglei stepped into the courtyard gate and saw Li Lizhi running towards him.
"Master, Master!"
she shouted,
"Birthday gift!"
"Ouch..." Xu Fenglei hugged her and said blankly, "What... what birthday gift?"
When Li Lizhi heard his question, her expression suddenly changed from happy to disappointed, and Lao Gao pouted.
The next second, he broke away from Xu Fenglei's arms.
"Stinky master, bad master!"
She groaned,
“I even forgot Li Zhi’s birthday!”
"Don't like Master anymore, I hate you!"
Xu Fenglei: "..."
What?
birthday?
Today is the birthday of this little girl Li Zhi?
"Well……"
He scratched his head, a little embarrassed.
After saying this, he remembered that Li Zhi's birthday seemed to be within these days.
Ugh...
After all, he was a fool who couldn't remember his own birthday in his previous life, so how could he bother to remember other people's birthdays?
But no matter what, to let his disciple down was indeed a dereliction of duty on his part as a master.
In the hospital, several children ran out.
Even Changsun Wugou, whose health had improved slightly, also walked out and looked at Xu Fenglei.
"Ting Ming is coming."
She subconsciously touched her belly, waved to Li Lizhi and said,
"Li Zhi, don't be ridiculous."
"Your master has so many things to do on a daily basis, so he will definitely neglect something."
"Come on, come on."
Li Lizhi curled her lips and jumped back to her mother's side.
"Master, you forgot Li Zhi's birthday. Li Zhi doesn't blame you, but... you have to make up for Li Zhi's birthday gift!"
She held her mother's hand and made a face at Xu Fenglei.
"You girl..." Changsun Wugou smiled helplessly, his eyes full of doting.
She has always had a calm temperament, so she is more fond of lively beauties.
"Okay, okay, I'll give you some supplies. I'll give you whatever you want as a teacher, okay?"
Xu Fenglei touched his nose and could only admit defeat and said,
"You are a little kid but you are a big kid..."
"Come, come and join us at the table." Changsun Wugou greeted, "Although we don't have a big celebration for Li Zhi's birthday, it is important for the family to have a good meal and celebrate it."
(End of chapter)
