Chang'an, Daming Palace.
In the early morning, the rapid sound of horse hooves came along the royal road and then straight into the palace.
The people and officials in Chang'an have become accustomed to it. If they don't come to these military reports every day, they will feel uncomfortable.
Li Xian came from the Political Affairs Hall with a calm expression and walked towards the Zichen Hall.
In the past few days, both the father and the mother have turned their attention to the war on the Western Front. In a few days, the ten armies will attack at the same time.
As soon as the army moves, the food, grass and military pay will immediately flow away like running water.
Therefore, Empress Wu kept a close eye on every expenditure, and even handed over other southeastern government affairs to Li Xian, especially the drought in Shandong.
Li Xian walked in the palace, his steps becoming more and more steady. The palace people around him immediately stepped aside and bowed when they saw Li Xian.
Li Xian didn't look at them at all. He could clearly feel that since the princess became pregnant, the officials in the court and the servants in the palace were much more respectful to him. Even in the handling of court affairs, both internal and external Officials have also become less obedient.
The emperor's eldest grandson.
Li Xian thought that when Li Xuan said three words, although he agreed on the surface, he really disagreed in his heart.
Unexpectedly, not only the courtiers' impression of him had changed drastically, but even his mother had begun to make concessions to him.
However, Li Xian also spent more time with the Crown Princess during these days. Some of the ministers in the East Palace also thought the same way. It seemed that there was a real misunderstanding...
After packing his bags, Li Xian stood solemnly in front of the Zichen Palace. The chamberlain beside him had already gone in to report.
After a while, the chamberlain came out and stood to one side. Li Xian nodded calmly and then stepped into the Zichen Palace.
In the main hall, neither Li Zhi nor Empress Wu sat on the throne, but stood in front of the huge sand table on the east side, looking at the terrain to the west and discussing something.
"Father, Emperor, Mother!" Li Xian bowed slightly, his eyes downcast.
Li Zhi waved his hand directly and said: "There is a memorial on the table, you can read it yourself."
"Here!" Li Xian nodded slightly, then walked to the imperial case and picked up the memorial above: "A Commentary on the Northwest War Written by Wang Xuan of Nanchang".
Memorial of Uncle Wang of Nanchang.
After Li Xian glanced at it, he opened it and read it carefully. However, the more he read, the tighter his brows became.
After closing the memorial, Li Xian walked to the sand table and handed the memorial respectfully: "Father."
Li Zhi took the memorial and compared the positions on the sand table. Without looking at Li Xian, he asked directly: "What do you think of the proposal of the King of Nanchang?"
Li Xian raised his head and glanced at Empress Wu, and saw that his mother was also looking at him, and then he said in a deep voice: "Although this matter is a bit risky, Uncle Wang of Nanchang has everything under control. In the end, it is nothing more than Kuozhou being attacked. , I believe that with Uncle Wang’s ability, he can defend Kuozhou, so he can do it.”
Li Zhi smiled, finally glanced sideways at Li Xian, nodded, and said, "It's okay, quite satisfactory."
Li Xian bowed his head slightly, "Prince, it's best to behave well."
Li Zhi looked at the sand table again, chuckled, shook his head and said: "I don't know what happened to Twenty-seventh Lang recently. He has become so timid. If you think of doing such a small thing, you can do it. Why let people run away?" I came to Chang'an for eight hundred miles to ask, he and Duke Yan are the two people who have made the decision, so what are they afraid of?"
The corners of Li Xian's mouth twitched slightly, who would dare to mess with such a big matter.
Empress Wu stood aside, rolled her eyes at Li Zhi angrily, and said, "It's a good thing that the King of Nanchang is more cautious. He has never been to Kuozhou. All his ideas are his own imagination. He doesn't know the terrain or the celestial phenomena. What if?" If there is a mistake, the consequences will be disastrous, and even if Jianzha is lost, the entire Taohe army may collapse."
It can be seen that Empress Wu is very satisfied with Li Xuan's approach of asking for instructions on everything, especially this cautious and respectful attitude, which makes her even more reassured.
"It's not as serious as you said." Li Zhi glanced at Empress Wu with some helplessness, and then said: "He has already thought so carefully, he just needs to do it immediately, capture his colleagues, protect the left and right wings, and force the Tibetan left-wing army together , and echoing the Lanshan Road army on the middle road, it is really difficult to talk about Qinling."
A satisfied smile appeared on Li Zhi's face. There was basically nothing he wanted to do in his life, except Tubo, which frustrated him again and again.
If we can capture Qingdong and Qingnan and establish a firm foothold, it will be much more difficult for Qinling.
"Actually, this is not what I am thinking about." Empress Wu's eyes fell on the Qingdong Mountains, and then said softly: "Once we succeed, it will be a trivial matter to capture Tubo. Later, we will mobilize the Longxi family to make further bets and reduce the pressure on the government and the opposition. , this is a big deal, this is the talent of the prime minister and assistant, and the ability to govern the country."
Empress Wu's admiration for Li Xuan was beyond words. No one knew better than her how difficult the war in the northwest was.
Defeat would definitely be a heavy blow to the Tang Dynasty, but even if it succeeded and captured Qingdong and Qingnan, the court would still have to invest a lot of manpower and material resources in its maintenance.
However, it is difficult to produce any output in that place. If those Longxi aristocratic families are pulled over to operate, it will definitely consume the strength of those Longxi aristocratic families.
At the same time, it can also slightly reduce the Longxi family's spying on the imperial official position, so that she can cultivate more confidants.
Kill multiple birds with one stone.
King Nanchang certainly didn't expect the last part, but after the events in Taozhou and Hezhou, King Nanchang was already keenly aware of the threat that the Longxi family posed to the court.
It’s really hard to say what will happen in the future if they are allowed to collude with Tubo.
What Empress Wu could think of, Li Zhi could also think of.
After pondering for a while, Li Zhi looked at Li Xian and said: "Draw up the decree. Let the King of Nanchang and Duke Yan discuss the specific matters and choose the opportunity to capture the colleagues. Also, the results of the discussion should be reported to the Lanshan Road Marching Administrator's Office. The actions over there, You must communicate with Lanshan Road to confirm."
"Here!" Li Xian quickly handed over his hands and quickly walked to the back.
The curtain at the back was opened, revealing the desk inside, as well as pen, ink, paper and inkstone.
…
Li Zhi looked towards the northwest road again, including Taozhou, Hezhou and Kuozhou. The land was vast and sparsely populated. He whispered to himself: "Should we send troops..."
"Your Majesty!" Empress Wu directly interrupted Li Zhi's thoughts. Li Zhi turned around and saw the embarrassed look on Empress Wu's face. He quickly smiled and said, "I'm just telling you where Mei Niang wants to go."
Regarding Empress Wu's resistance, Li Zhi quickly appeased him. He knew very well how much money and food was being spent on this battle.
His eyes fell on the sand table again. Kuozhou, Diezhou, and colleagues were connected in a line, a large and vast area.
In front is the left wing of the Tubo army at Lun Qinling, and behind is Hezhou and Taozhou. The entire Tang Dynasty's power can directly overwhelm them through this area.
This greatly reduces the pressure on the Lanshan Road army in front, which is what Li Zhi is most happy to see.
Being able to leverage a partial force to change the overall situation, Li Xuan's memorial pierced the emperor's heart to some extent.
"In fact, having said that, if Twenty-seventh Lang really sends out troops in person, I will inevitably be a little uneasy, because he is willing to take a step back, sit on the front line, and mobilize Li Duozuo to go out. In this way, even if there is any accident, I can bear it completely." Li Zhi couldn't help but sigh.
Li Zhi never doubted the abilities of Tang soldiers and generals.
But the problem is that on the plateau, the combat effectiveness of sergeants will be greatly weakened. In this case, the timely supply of food and grass is very important.
During the battle of Dafeichuan, it was because Guo Daifeng underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly that the defeat of Dafeichuan was finally achieved.
In fact, that was also Guo Daifeng's defeat. If he wins, he will not underestimate the enemy and advance rashly, but advance bravely and diligently.
"The King of Nanchang is cautious. Isn't that why His Majesty uses him? It's rare that he can come up with unexpected strategies, and he is extremely thoughtful behind it." Empress Wu's voice was very soft, but her satisfaction with Li Xuan became even more clear. Don't cover up.
What Li Xuan did in Hezhou, in addition to his own frequent reports, the Qianniu Guards and Jinwu Guards around him also often made secret reports.
The two factors confirmed it, and finally a King of Nanchang emerged who was magnanimous and consistent both internally and externally. This was what Empress Wu was most satisfied with.
"Twenty-seventh Lang is indeed good, but relatively speaking, some people are too disgusting." Li Zhi's eyes fell on the position of Hezhou on the sand table.
"Indeed, the governor of a state only knows how to protect himself, but does not know how to serve the country. He deserves to die." Empress Wu cursed bitterly, and she made no secret of her disgust towards those old Longxi aristocratic families.
When Yuan Ming was in Hezhou, he cooperated in everything and never delayed anything. However, in the eyes of the emperor and Empress Wu, he became a villain who was wise and self-protective.
"Those people have never had the idea of retiring with the country, and it is true that they are unwilling to do their best." Li Zhi shook his head calmly.
Reluctant to try their best, this is the emperor's evaluation of the Longxi family.
Tang Dynasty and Tubo, national war.
A border governor just acted step by step, but never thought about doing his best to assist the army in fighting. This was not enough in the eyes of the emperor.
"If the King of Nanchang hadn't said that he would still be needed after the war, I would have wished to depose him right now." Empress Wu couldn't help but snorted coldly.
Li Zhi waved his hand and said: "That's not it. Twenty-seventh Lang is right. Yuan Hui's matter has nothing to do with Yuan Ming. Yuan Ming has already decided to send his son to act with Twenty-seventh Lang, and his attitude is reasonable. Improve more... In this way, everything will be based on what Twenty-seven Lang said, and the final discussion of merit: If the merits are outstanding, I will not be stingy with the official position; if the merits are not worth it, then I have no choice but to ask him to kill me."
Li Zhi's face was very cold, and the life and death of the Yuan family had been decided between him and Empress Wu in a few words.
Unknowingly, noon has passed.
Suddenly, a rapid sound of horse hooves came from outside the palace.
Li Zhi frowned and looked up, looking outside.
Soon, the messenger Qianniu Guards had arrived from outside. He knelt on the ground and said with heavy breathing: "Your Majesty, the Queen of Heaven, the King of Nanchang has announced that the Tubo Army has appeared."
(End of chapter)
