Wu Wuozhu knew in his heart that this meeting would determine the future of Datang. He took a deep breath to calm himself and prepared to speak.
"Prince Li Ke, Lord Changsun Wuji, distinguished ministers," Wu Wuozhu's voice was trembling, "I know why you are here, and I also know the pressure I am under at this moment."
"But what I want to say is that at this moment in time, we have to make the right decision."
"The future of Datang should not be based on a bloody coup."
"We should respect the law and respect order, rather than letting the desire for power and personal feelings influence our decision-making."
Wu Wuzhu's words made the atmosphere in the conference room even more tense. He saw Li Ke's face turn pale, while Changsun Wuji and others began to show thinking expressions.
"Mr. Wu Wuzhu, what do you mean?" Li Ke finally spoke.
"My meaning is very clear." Wu Wuozhu replied, "We should handle this issue in accordance with the law and procedures. If Prince Li Ke has inappropriate behavior, he should bear corresponding responsibilities. If he does not have inappropriate behavior, we should also He should be given a fair trial."
Hearing this, Changsun Wuji suddenly laughed.
"Mr. Wu Wuzhu, your idea is ideal, but is it realistic?" he asked.
"Of course it is realistic." Wu Wuozhu replied, "We are officials of the Tang Dynasty, and our duty is to uphold the dignity of the law and protect the interests of the people."
"But you also know that the current situation is beyond our control." Changsun Wuji said.
"Yes, I understand." Wu Wuozhu admitted, "But I still have to stick to my point of view. Only fair and equitable decisions can win the hearts of the people."
Hearing this, Li Ke suddenly stood up.
"If you have this attitude, then you can go back and forth from there with your imperial edict. I am not here to listen to you when I raise an army to serve the king. The Tang Dynasty can only have one emperor!"
Li Ke's words stunned Wu Wuozhu and Changsun Wuji. They did not expect that Li Ke would oppose their opinions so fiercely.
Changsun Wuji frowned and looked at Li Ke, "Your Highness, what do you mean by this? Are you going to betray the Tang Dynasty?"
"Betraying the Tang Dynasty?" Li Ke sneered, "Have you forgotten who our enemies are? They are the Turks, those who occupied our land and massacred our people. We should not waste our energy on internal fighting. But it should be communicated to the outside world unanimously.”
Wu Wuzhu nodded, "Your Highness, Third Highness, your idea is good. But have you ever thought about it, if you raise troops to serve the king, it will cause greater turmoil. The situation in the Tang Dynasty is already very unstable."
"I don't care." Li Ke said, "I just want to protect my people. If raising troops to serve the king can achieve this goal, then I will do it."
Changsun Wuji looked at Li Ke and sighed, "Your Highness, you are still too young. You don't understand the complexity of politics. Sometimes in order to achieve our goals, we have to compromise."
"I don't think this is correct." Li Ke replied, "If our goal is to protect the people, then we should always adhere to this goal instead of compromising for our own power."
Wu Wuozhu looked at Li Ke and felt a hint of appreciation in his heart. He admired the young man's firm stance. Still, he shook his head.
"Your Highness, you are still too idealistic. The reality is complicated, and we cannot change everything."
"But we can try." Li Ke said, "If we don't try, then we will never succeed."
"If the Wu family wants to control the Tang Dynasty, then give up this idea. I, Li Ke, am not dead yet. See you off."
After saying that, Li Ke stood up and left without any hesitation.
This can be regarded as completely eliminating the possibility of peace talks.
Wu Wuozhu's face was also a little ugly. He obviously didn't expect Li Ke's attitude to be so clear. Sitting in his position, he didn't even know what to say.
Changsun Wuji and others also stood up one after another and followed Li Ke.
Wu Wuozhu looked at the people leaving, his face even more ugly.
He originally thought that he could negotiate peace with Li Ke and make Datang their puppet, but now it seems that this idea seems a bit too optimistic.
However, Wu Wuozhu did not give up, he believed there was still a chance.
Because in his opinion, although Li Ke showed a strong attitude, his situation was not good.
The Wu family has great power in the court. If they want to deal with Li Ke, they can definitely make the prince suffer a lot.
However, what Wu Wuozhu didn't expect was that Li Ke didn't care about this at all.
He is the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty. As long as he makes no mistakes, the throne of the Tang Dynasty will be his. This is a fact that no one can change.
Moreover, Li Ke is not an easy person to deal with.
If he really wants to deal with the Wu family, he can definitely make the family suffer.
However, Li Ke did not want to do this. What he wanted was the prosperity and stability of the Tang Dynasty.
In his opinion, if the Wu family wanted to control the Tang Dynasty, it would be simply wishful thinking! He would never allow such a thing to happen.
Changsun Wuji and others followed Li Ke and walked out of the hall with solemn expressions. They knew that Li Ke's decision could not be changed and that the peace talks had no meaning.
At this time, a palace maid hurried over, holding a secret letter in her hand. She came to Li Ke, lowered her head and said, "Your Majesty, this is the secret report we just received."
Li Ke took the secret report and browsed it quickly. His expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure. He looked up at the sky, and then said: "Changsun Wuji, pass my order to Princess Jinyang to return to the capital immediately!"
Changsun Wuji asked in surprise: "Your Majesty, why is this? Isn't the princess patrolling Lingnan?"
Li Ke took a deep breath and whispered: "There is news from northern Xinjiang that Jieli Khan has personally led an army of 200,000 people south, and is less than a hundred miles away from the Great Wall. We must mobilize our troops as soon as possible and do a good job Prepare for battle.”
Changsun Wuji and others' expressions changed drastically. They did not expect that the situation was so urgent. They immediately took action and sent an order for Princess Jinyang to return to Beijing immediately. At the same time, they are also preparing to summon various generals to discuss plans for the battle.
