Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 316: Li Chengqian and Li Zhi, the Emperor's Test (Part )
Inside the inner hall, Li Zhi walked in with a gloomy expression, then knelt down and kowtowed solemnly to the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you, Father. May you live forever!"

"Stand up!" Li Shimin looked at Li Zhi, who looked guilty, raised his hand slightly, and then looked at him with amusement: "Why, didn't you sleep well last night?"

"Thinking of the fact that my father's health has worsened because of me, I can't rest day and night." Li Zhi lowered his head, his voice choked for a moment.

"Okay, I'm fine." The emperor said, lying on the pillow and turning slightly involuntarily.

"Really?" Li Zhi looked up in surprise.

Li Shimin smiled and nodded, saying, "The imperial physician said that after returning to Chang'an, we need to find a suitable environment to recuperate well."

"Yes!" Li Zhi finally breathed a sigh of relief, then bowed again and said, "After all, it is my son's fault."

"Okay, let's not mention what happened before, no matter what it was." The emperor's voice gradually became calm, even with a hint of indifference.

Li Zhi keenly caught the emperor's words, and he couldn't help but feel relieved, but at the same time, he felt a little uneasy.

Unfortunately, this slight uneasiness disappeared in an instant.

"It's okay not to mention it, but we still need to learn from it." Li Shimin looked at Li Zhi and said seriously, "Tell me about your administration in Taiyuan last year. You will eventually take office and govern a local area in the future. There are some mistakes that cannot be made again."

"Yes!" Li Zhi lowered his head heavily. For a moment, his face looked extremely ugly, but it disappeared completely in an instant.

"First, let's talk about the Turks in Bingzhou." Li Shimin looked at Li Zhi calmly and asked, "Zhi Nu, I want to ask you, do you think it was right to send troops?"

"I didn't think so far back then. I just wanted to quell the Turkic rebellion and stabilize Bingzhou for my father. I didn't expect that I would do something wrong." Li Zhi raised his head, his face full of regret.

"It was right to send troops." Li Shimin looked at Li Zhi with some disappointment, shook his head in his surprised eyes and said, "Your mistake was that you sent troops but failed to stop the Turks.

If you stop them, you succeed.

Your mistake was that you sent troops, but in the end, nothing was accomplished."

Li Zhi was stunned.

……

At the Ministry of Revenue's duty room, Minister of Revenue Tang Jian escorted Li Chengqian out of the room and said, "Three thousand draft horses will come from the east, central, and west regions, carrying three thousand dan of grain and fodder northward. Nine thousand civilians will follow closely behind, transporting twenty thousand dan of grain and fodder northward. The army will also carry ten thousand dan of its own. This will be enough to meet the army's needs for two months of fighting."

"The people use..."

"Commoners are not soldiers. They don't need to eat a full meal every time." Tang Jian shook his head lightly, and then said: "Besides, they eat the second-rate food they brought with them. The fine food belongs to the soldiers and horses."

Li Chengqian nodded slightly. Logistics not only needs to consider quantity and frequency, but also quality.

The civilians who went north ate less at each meal than the soldiers, and they also ate inferior grains. In this way, the total expenditure of the Ministry of Revenue could be balanced.

"In fact, the amount of civilians and food mobilized in this battle is the least of any major war in history." After a brief pause, Tang Jian said, "This is mainly because His Majesty ordered that this battle must be concluded within two months. At the same time, we have cattle, sheep, and horses from Mobei as a supplement..."

Li Chengqian heard Tang Jian's deliberate pause. He understood what Tang Jian meant. His previous approach of completely attacking the horse was wrong.

The cattle, sheep and horses captured by the army can be used as a supplement to food and fodder.

Together with the food and fodder transported by logistics, this will make up for the Ministry of Revenue's expenses.

"Three thousand draft horses. I plan to use a thousand veteran soldiers who are about to retire to escort the grain and fodder, with each man controlling three draft horses..." Tang Jian carefully explained the arrangements for this war. Finally, he said, "After this war is over, we will see how much the draft horses and civilian laborers have consumed, and then we will decide on our future actions."

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "After my father's reminder, I have seriously reflected on it and realized that my thoughts are too extreme.

If it is just a draft horse, once someone finds a flaw, it is too easy to tamper with it, and in the end the horses and food may be lost together.

Although the casualties among the civilians along the way were enormous, if they were attacked, their carts would be lost and their food would become a burden to the enemy... Warfare can never be viewed in a simplistic way."

"Your Highness has grown a lot." Tang Jian nodded in surprise, then said, "This isn't just a matter of the Ministry of Revenue. Your Majesty, the ministers, the generals, and the Ministry of War all came together to discuss and decide on the amount... Of course, the general direction is moving in the direction Your Highness mentioned, it's just a matter of adjusting the proportions."

"Your Majesty said we shouldn't rush things." Li Chengqian smiled and bowed to Tang Jian, saying, "It seems that the Duke of Ju is just as cautious and thorough as Your Majesty!"

"Haha, Your Highness, you are too kind!" Tang Jian smiled and bowed to Li Chengqian. When he saw the gate, he immediately stopped smiling and bowed to Li Chengqian, saying, "Goodbye, Your Highness."

"Goodbye!" Li Chengqian returned the greeting, then turned and left.

Looking at Li Chengqian's back, Tang Jian couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Although the prince did not have a deep understanding of the Ministry of Revenue, it could be seen that he had a very clear understanding of the consumption and replenishment of national strength during wars.

The reason why Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty destroyed the country was because he thought that the country was powerful, did not care about the people's strength, and kept consuming it without replenishing it, which eventually led to the collapse of the country.

But Li Chengqian was completely different. He had a book in his mind and knew exactly which wars were profitable and which were not.

Although there are still some shortcomings, this concept and cognition alone has surpassed all the royal families in the world.

Even King Jiangxia Li Daozon couldn't compare to him.

Tang Jian had to admit that the Ministry of Revenue colleagues who stayed in Chang'an were not overly impressed by the Crown Prince's praise. "Heh!" Tang Jian chuckled, then turned around and returned to his duty room.

……

Thinking about something in his mind, Li Chengqian entered the main hall of the palace.

Li Shimin saw Li Chengqian at a glance.

"Father!" Li Chengqian had just bowed when the emperor waved his hand.

Looking at Li Chengqian, Li Shimin said directly: "Prince, let me ask you, if you were the governor of Bingzhou and encountered the situation like last year, would you send troops?"

Li Chengqian looked at Li Zhi standing beside him with some surprise, then bowed and said, "It depends on the situation."

"How to say it?"

"If I had known the Turks were harboring ulterior motives, I would have invited the leaders of each Turkic tribe to Taiyuan six months in advance, provided them with delicious food and drink, and then had them compete in archery and martial arts, with stakes placed on the event." With a slight bow, Li Chengqian said, "I would have used tea, cloth, and porcelain, and the Turkic leaders would have used war horses, cattle, and sheep."

Li Shimin leaned back slightly, squinted his eyes, and said, "You continue."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian thought for a moment and said, "I will let the Turks win a few times at the beginning, so that they can bring back a large amount of tea, cloth and porcelain to the tribe to arouse their interest. Then we can turn the tables and win a large number of their war horses, cattle and sheep. After that, we will have a half-win and half-loss situation and firmly control them in Taiyuan."

"People in Taiyuan have a large amount of tea, cloth, and porcelain to send back to the tribe. Even if they sacrifice some horses, cattle, and sheep, it would be a very cost-effective deal for the Turks." The emperor nodded and said appreciatively, "In this case, not only this chief, but I'm afraid that almost all the northern Turkic tribes are under control."

Li Chengqian bowed lightly.

Li Shimin looked at Li Zhi and said, "You should learn how to defeat the enemy without fighting, young slave."

"Yes!" Li Zhi nodded heavily with a serious look. It was obvious that he really listened to what Li Chengqian said and began to think about it carefully.

The emperor nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Li Chengqian and said, "Nothing in this world goes as planned. If you suddenly knew that the Turks were going to make a move, what would you do?"

"Kill!" Li Chengqian's expression was icy, and he said seriously, "Organize the fastest elite force possible, and in the shortest possible time, penetrate the Turkic tribes, kill their leaders, or even the entire tribe, and awaken them with blood."

"But they have people in front of the army?" Li Zhi couldn't help but retort.

Li Chengqian lowered his head slightly and said, "As long as we are fully prepared, they won't have any chance of getting the news to the army."

Li Zhi couldn't help but be stunned.

Li Shimin frowned as he watched Li Zhi's expression.

This young slave didn't understand the hidden meaning in Cheng Qian's words at all.

By the time the news reached the army, all the Turkic soldiers who were related to the tribes in the rear had died in battle.

Li Shimin didn't explain to Li Zhi anymore. He turned to Li Chengqian and asked, "What if you find out too late?"

"Then we have no choice but to hold our troops in place." Li Chengqian bowed to Li Shimin and said, "The only option left is to do what Father did, and wait for the main army to return, and then attack directly to deal with the situation."

The emperor suddenly laughed.

That’s right, this time when he sent troops to Mobei, he was not only targeting the Xueyantuo, but also the Turks.

Especially the Turks who had escaped from the grassland before.

The emperor never thought of letting these people live again.

If we can’t settle the previous accounts, can we not settle the later accounts?
"Those three methods, while not perfect, are sufficient for handling the situation." Li Shimin turned to look at Li Zhi and said, "Zhi Nu, do you understand?"

"I understand, son." Li Zhi nodded seriously. When you can handle it, do your best. When you can't handle it, let someone who can handle it.

"Alright." Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "Zhi Nu, since you're in Dingzhou, take some time to go out for a walk. Take a good look at Dingzhou City, and also take in the mountains and rivers here, and familiarize yourself with the environment of the north... I have decided to set off for Chang'an in five days. Time is running out."

"Your son obeys your order." Li Zhi immediately bowed.

Li Shimin looked at Li Zhi, smiled and said, "Okay, go and rest."

Although Li Zhi hesitated, he finally bowed and said, "Yes!"

……

After watching Li Zhi leave the hall, Li Shimin turned to Li Chengqian and said, "We will set off in five days. You must pay close attention to the army's march. At the same time, you must promptly process the memorials from the provincial governors and Chang'an. If you have any questions, come and ask me again."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian bowed solemnly.

"Also, since it's a rare trip for you to Dingzhou, I'll also allow you to meet some of the elders of the Fanyang Lu and Zhang families, as well as the Boling Cui families." After a brief pause, the emperor spoke seriously, "Dingzhou is strategically located, bordering the grasslands to the north, controlling Hebei to the east, and facing the Turkic people who could threaten Bingzhou to the west. Therefore, you must have a thorough understanding of everything about this place."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian bowed solemnly.

(End of this chapter)