My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 55: The Crown Prince's Debate with Scholars
In Li Chengqian's opinion, Goryeo must be fought.

Whether it was for his own military power or to eliminate the hidden dangers of Goryeo.

Since the ministers disagree with a direct attack, then we should take a detour and station troops in Yingzhou to be prepared when needed. That should be fine, right?

"The prince does not understand military affairs. How can the words 'deploy troops' be so simple?"

"When the army moves, it needs food and supplies, logistics and baggage, and one move will affect the entire body."

"Goryeo always has hundreds of thousands of troops."

"Too few troops to deploy troops in a camp is useless, but too many will lead to excessive consumption and delay of agricultural work."

"For now, we still don't know what Yeon Gaesomun's attitude is towards our Tang Dynasty. If he is willing to pay tribute to our Tang Dynasty, then the Crown Prince's deployment of troops will only lead to war out of thin air."

"Our Great Tang is a country of etiquette and the Celestial Empire. Now that the King of Goryeo has just passed away, raising troops during the period of mourning is inhumane and will damage the reputation of our Great Tang."

"In the past two years, the harvest in Guanzhong has been poor. If we mobilize troops at this time, the people will suffer. Conscripting corvée will be like adding insult to injury. It is no different from Dou Wu, who was exhausted."

"In my opinion, we should first send an envoy to visit Goryeo to find out the truth before we discuss other matters."

Chu Suiliang stood up and spoke loudly, his words sounded like a scolding, not giving the prince any face at all.

Of course, when it comes to such military and national affairs, not to mention the Crown Prince, even His Majesty is the same.

Does his point of view make no sense? No, it is very reasonable and each of his points is valid.

Civil officials are still very good at talking.

With Chu Suiliang's opening speech, the following ministers began to take turns to submit their memorials.

Their views are basically the same as Chu Suiliang's.

Generally speaking, it is impossible to deploy troops. If a war really wants to take place, Goryeo must take action first, and then the Tang Dynasty can have a legitimate reason to go to war.

The generals actually wanted to fight.

For a military general, fighting a war means achieving great things.

However, most military generals were not as good at talking as the civil officials. They would be scolded as soon as they said a few words.

Li Shimin lowered his head slightly and glanced at the prince, his meaning was very clear.

"Look, I also want to attack Goryeo, but look at this situation, can you handle it?"

Li Chengqian rolled his eyes at Li Shimin.

Everyone wants to be like Zhuge Liang and debate with many scholars.

It sounds simple.

But if this situation really comes to pass, not even a single one, let alone a group of scholars, may be able to do it.

This is the reality. It is not easy to be Zhuge Liang.

Of course, Li Chengqian can't spoil them.

"At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, when the Buyeo people founded their country, Goryeo had only tens of thousands of households and a total of only a hundred thousand people. It could be called a small country and was not to be feared."

"And then, within a few decades, they began to attack the Liaodong area, advancing from the northeast and rebuilding the Maru City."

"During the chaotic period at the end of the Sui Dynasty, Goryeo invaded our Central Plains. Many people from the Central Plains and soldiers of the Sui Dynasty entered Goryeo."

"Today, Goryeo has grown from a small country with tens of thousands of households to a large country with 800,000 households, a population of over 3 million, and a military force of over 300,000."

"Liaodong is mostly mountainous, easy to defend but difficult to attack. Goryeo defends the city and occupies the strategic pass, ready to swallow up the Central Plains like a tiger."

"Emperor Yang of Sui mobilized the whole country to fight against the rebellion, but failed three times in a row, which encouraged Goryeo's arrogance."

"Is the Goryeo of today still the Goryeo of the past?"

"How many loyal officials, soldiers, common people, craftsmen, and scholars of the Sui Dynasty were incorporated into Goryeo. Their farming and military were no less than those of the Tang Dynasty."

"Is this still a scabies problem? This is already a major concern for our Tang Dynasty!"

"The Turks, Tuyuhun, Gaochang, Yanqi, and Xueyantuo are no match for Goryeo. Goryeo is stirring up trouble. Although the other countries are surrendering on the surface, they are actually sharpening their swords in secret." "Now Goryeo and Baekje are attacking Silla. Once Silla is defeated, Goryeo will become even stronger. How can Silla satisfy Yeon Gaesomun's wolfish ambitions? They will definitely attack Baekje again."

"By then, Goryeo will have annexed Silla and Baekje, and there will be no more rivals around. Will they coexist peacefully with our Tang Dynasty?"

"My Tang Dynasty may seem peaceful, but in fact, we are surrounded by wolves and face many crises. If we are not careful, we will fall into the abyss."

"The best strategy for the country now is to join forces with Silla, exterminate Goryeo, and eliminate the threat."

Li Chengqian sat in a wheelchair, speaking confidently.

These remarks immediately drew loud cheers from the generals in the court.

They wanted to fight, but they were not good at speaking and could not defeat these civil officials.

Now what the prince said was exactly what he wanted, so he naturally followed suit and applauded.

"The Korean bastards dared to offend our Tang Dynasty. We must teach them a lesson."

Hou Junji was the first to stand up. He was the prince's man, so naturally he had to support the prince.

"Your Highness, what you said makes a lot of sense. Goryeo's hidden dangers are too great and we should deal with them as soon as possible."

Yuchi Jingde also stood up and spoke.

"Your Majesty has granted me 100,000 soldiers. I will make sure that little Korean boy knows how powerful the Tang Dynasty is."

Cheng Yaojin directly asked for troops.

Later, Li Ji, Liu Hongji, Zhang Liang, and even the Minister of War Li Jing, all stood up to support the prince.

They are all staunch advocates of war.

For a time, the prince was the most powerful person in the court.

It was as if all the generals of the Tang Dynasty had become the prince's subordinates.

At the top, Li Shimin saw this scene with a blank expression on his face.

However, he already felt a little wary of the prince.

Wei Zheng raised his head and glanced at His Majesty, then stood up and said, "Your Highness's words are quite alarmist. Goryeo is indeed not weak, but it is not as scary as Your Highness says."

"The reason why Emperor Yang of Sui failed in his three expeditions to Goguryeo was not because of Goguryeo, but because of himself."

"Emperor Yang of Sui ordered his generals to appease and accept Goryeo if it surrendered, and not to allow the troops to attack again."

"Whenever a Goryeo city was about to fall, they would pretend to surrender. The frontline generals did not dare to act on their own and hurriedly sent people to appeal."

"However, Emperor Yang of Sui was far behind, and this back and forth delayed the opportunity to fight. After Emperor Yang of Sui approved it, Goryeo repaired the city and continued to fight against the Sui army."

"This repeated process led to the failure of the expedition to Goryeo."

"In addition, the people suffered from tyranny and extortion, and uprisings broke out from all sides. Emperor Yang of Sui continued to do as he pleased, ignoring the advice of his ministers that he must first stabilize the country, and was too eager for glory. This is why he was killed after three expeditions."

"If we fight like this, even if it's not Goryeo, any other country will never be able to win."

"Now that there are changes in Goryeo, the Crown Prince is rashly raising an army to attack. This is unwise. If this is the case, then any prosperity of a small country will be a major threat, and won't all the surrounding countries have to be conquered?"

"When nations interact with each other, the superiors will attack their plans, the middle ones will attack their alliances, and the inferior ones will attack their troops. Excessive use of military force is the root of national destruction. Please think twice, Your Majesty, and do not repeat the mistakes of the Sui Dynasty."

As soon as Wei Zheng opened his mouth, Li Chengqian knew that the conversation could not continue.

At present, although Zhangsun Wuji is the most meritorious official, the most favored one is Wei Zheng.

Li Shimin would most likely listen to his advice, even though he really wanted to send troops to attack Goryeo.

Li Chengqian sneered in his heart.

Now you quote from classics and spout profound truths. Wait until the people of Chang'an become excited, and then we'll see what you will say.

(End of this chapter)