Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 25: Duke of England Li Ji

Liangyi Palace.

Li Zhi was sitting in a side hall, closing his eyes and organizing his thoughts.

Goguryeo's sudden action made him realize one thing.

I thought I knew the trajectory of history and everything was under control.

However, history books are only thin volumes, and in the vast torrent of history, only a few of the most brilliant waves are recorded.

The real Tang Dynasty cannot be captured in just a few words.

After a deeper understanding, you will understand that although the current Tang Empire seems powerful, it actually has many problems.

First of all, there is the constraint of the aristocratic families. This problem has been almost solved by Emperor Gaozong of Tang by abolishing Wang Liwu. We only need to be wary of the counterattack of the aristocratic families and do not need to worry too much.

Another problem was food shortage, and he also had a solution to this problem.

As soon as the gunpowder is refined, we can send capable officials to blow up the Sanmenxia reefs, open up the waterway between Chang'an and Luoyang, and transport the grain from Luoyang to Chang'an.

The most troublesome issue at the moment is military issues.

There is no need to worry about Helu of Western Turkestan, and there is no need to worry about Goguryeo. The one who really needs to be worried about is Tubo.

However, Tubo was very smart. They did not challenge the Tang Dynasty now, but secretly expanded their strength and showed weakness to the Tang Dynasty everywhere.

In Li Zhi's impression, Tubo will take action against Tuyuhun next year, and only after Tuyuhun is eliminated will they show their fangs to the Tang Dynasty.

At the moment, we don't have the energy to take action against Tubo, so the best way is to prevent it from annexing Tuyuhun and prevent it from becoming too powerful.

Then eliminate the Western Turks, stabilize the situation in the Western Regions, and find an opportunity to slowly weaken Tubo.

As for the situation in Liaodong, according to the original trajectory, the Tang Dynasty tried its best to eliminate Baekje and Goguryeo, but in the end Silla reaped the benefits.

So there is no need to be too hasty, you can wait for the three countries to fight each other. Silla is a fickle country, so there is no need to care too much about forming an alliance with Silla.

When the country becomes strong and the time is ripe, we will destroy the Three Kingdoms in one fell swoop.

Therefore, we must not agree to Silla’s request for help this time.

Just as he was thinking about this, a eunuch came over to report that all officials had already lined up in the hall and taken their positions.

Li Zhi stood up, walked to the side door, and walked into the main hall at the eunuch's singing of approval.

Before he stepped onto the throne, he noticed that Xu Jingzong, Li Yifu and others looked unhappy.

Glancing at Han Ai and Lai Ji again, they were so calm, obviously fully prepared.

Li Zhi slowly sat on the dragon throne and accepted the worship of all officials.

After the ceremony, Han Ai immediately stepped out and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, the Silla envoy Jin Renwen has come to the court and reported that Goguryeo has deployed troops on the border, ready to attack Silla at any time. This matter is of great importance. I request that Jin Renwen be summoned to the palace to discuss this matter."

Although Jin Renwen held the position of General of the Left Guard, he was a foreign hostage, not an official of the Tang Dynasty, so he needed to be summoned before he could enter the palace.

Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "We'll discuss this later. Let's discuss court affairs first."

Han Ai was stunned for a moment and had to retreat, thinking that there was no need to rush anyway.

As the officials presented their reports, the court meeting officially began.

This court meeting was similar to any other regular court meeting. Everyone discussed the matter at hand and focused on solving problems, without much debate.

Because Xu Jingzong and others spoke very little, the court meeting was even more smooth than usual. Before noon, countermeasures had been agreed upon for the issues reported from various places.

Li Zhi ordered that food be eaten in the corridor, and Xu Jingzong and others took the opportunity to gather together to discuss.

After the meal, Han Ai again requested to summon Jin Renwen to the palace, and Li Zhi finally agreed.

As the ceremonial officer sang loudly, Silla Prince Kim In-mun entered the hall.

Li Zhi looked at him carefully. The man was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, thin, with high cheekbones and fair skin. He had lipstick on his face like a woman.

"Foreign minister Jin Renwen pays his respects to Your Majesty." Jin Renwen bowed.

Li Zhi said, "Stand up."

Jin Renwen stood up and said loudly, "We, the ministers, are hereby ordered by the king to present tribute to the Celestial Empire. This is the list of gifts, please review it, Your Majesty."

As he said this, he took out a gold-inlaid note.

Xu Jingzong stepped out and said, "All nations present tribute at the beginning of the year, during the grand court meeting. The Jin envoys have been in Chang'an for so long, don't they even understand this little etiquette?" Jin Renwen bowed and said, "Minister Xu is right, but these tributes from the envoys are not for the beginning of the year. They are tributes of gratitude to the Tang for sending troops to save Silla, thus saving us from destruction. A separate tribute is prepared for the beginning of the year."

When Xu Jingzong heard that he had prepared two tributes, he didn't say anything more and retreated to sit down.

Li Zhi ordered Wang Fusheng to take the gift list and look through it carefully.

The tribute presented by Silla was indeed quite sincere. In addition to fifty kilograms of gold, twenty bags of pearls, and various jades, there were also twelve beautiful Silla women.

Silla beauties were quite famous in the Tang Dynasty. They were called Silla maids and were known for their beauty and gentleness.

The gift list also specifically recorded that the beauties from Silla brought by Jin Renwen were all carefully selected by the King of Silla and trained in the national middle school for a year before being sent. They were not only beautiful in appearance, but also proficient in singing and dancing.

Li Zhi put down the gift list and said calmly, "Silla envoy, you offer this gift not only to express your gratitude to our dynasty for helping you, but also for other purposes."

Jin Renwen knelt on the ground and cried, "Your Majesty is wise and wise. I am following my father's orders and beseech the Tang Dynasty to send more heavenly soldiers to attack the brutal Goguryeo army and save the people of Silla from the sea of ​​fire."

Han Ai immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Goguryeo is a great threat to our dynasty. If Silla is lost, Liaodong will also be in danger. We must send troops to rescue them immediately."

Li Yifu stepped forward and said, "The imperial court is currently conducting military operations against the Western Turks, but has yet to achieve success. How can we open another battlefield in Liaodong?"

Lai Ji stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, I have a report on the war ahead."

Li Zhi said, "Please come and speak."

Lai Ji took out a memorial and said, "This is the latest battle report submitted by the Ministry of War yesterday. The Geshu Que and Tuqishi tribes in Western Turkic have expressed their allegiance to the Tang Dynasty and stated that many people within the Turkic people are dissatisfied with Helu."

Li Zhi took the memorial from Wang Fusheng, and it was just as Lai Ji said. It was a memorial stamped with the seal of the commander-in-chief of the army by Cheng Zhijie, so it should be true.

However, this memorial came at a rather opportune moment.

It is very likely that it arrived a few days ago and was secretly detained by Lai Ji, ready to be reported when needed.

Li Zhi glanced at the Minister of War Cui Dunli, only to see that his eyes were half open and half closed, and he didn't know whether he knew about the existence of this memorial.

Lai Ji continued, "In my opinion, we can deal with the Western Turks through strategy, taking things slowly and slowly, and gradually dividing the relationship between the various tribes and Helu."

Li Zhi asked, "Do you mean to recall the Western Expedition troops?"

Lai Ji said, "That's right. The army has just left Shanzhou, so there's still time to recall them. The most urgent task right now is to deal with Goguryeo!"

Han Ai continued, "As long as Goguryeo is not destroyed, whenever the Tang Dynasty deploys troops, they will seize the opportunity to attack Silla. If Silla is destroyed, Goguryeo will surely invade Yingzhou!"

Xin Maozong, the Minister of Justice, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I request that you appoint Minister of Works Li Ji as the commander-in-chief of the Pyongyang Road Army to attack Goguryeo!"

Jin Renwen shouted, "As long as the Tang Dynasty sends troops, Silla is willing to send 50,000 troops to support us from the south!"

"I second the motion... I second the motion... I second the motion..."

All of a sudden, officials from the aristocratic families came out one after another, and even many neutral officials followed suit.

Xu Jingzong and others were caught off guard by Cheng Zhijie's memorial and were unable to cope with it for a while.

Li Yifu hurriedly said, "I think Duke Ying is too old to lead the troops. We can let Zheng Rentai be the commander-in-chief..."

Yu Zhining slowly stepped out and said, "Emperor Taizong has said that General Zheng can be an auxiliary general, but not the main general. In my opinion, Li Sikong can be the chief commander of the army, and General Zheng the deputy chief commander."

Last time, he eased relations with the aristocratic faction, and when he saw that Han Ai and others had the upper hand, he also stood on their side.

Li Yifu added, "Li Kuge, the governor of Songmo, is at the strategic point of Liaodong and has tens of thousands of Khitan soldiers under his command. We can appoint him as the general commander and lead the Tang and Khitan troops to attack Goguryeo."

Li Kuge was the leader of the Khitan tribe. In the 22nd year of Zhenguan, he led his tribe to surrender to the Tang Dynasty.

Han Ai said, "The Khitan tribe has only recently submitted, and the people are unstable. I'm afraid something unexpected will happen. Only if Duke Ying goes to Liaodong can we be absolutely safe!"

Li Yifu recommended several more people, but they were all rejected by Han Ai and others, with sufficient reasons.

Li Zhi suddenly asked, "Lord Li, what do you think of this?"

Li Ji slowly stepped out of the line and said, "I would like to ask General Jin first, regarding Goguryeo's recent military expedition, have the Mohe and Baekje offered support?"

Jin Renwen was stunned and said, "There is no news yet on the two countries sending troops."

Li Ji smiled and said, "That's my guess. Goguryeo's previous defeat has demoralized them, and their soldiers have lost their will to fight. Now they're hastily deploying troops without reaching an accord with Mohe or Baekje. This battle is doomed to failure. The court need not worry about Liaodong."

Li Zhi secretly praised that the old ones were indeed the wisest. Li Ji's words must have hit the nail on the head. This was also the reason why the Tang Dynasty did not send troops in the end.

(End of this chapter)