Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 26 The emperor leads the army in person?

Li Ji had great influence in the military. As soon as he spoke, a group of generals responded, and Xu Jingzong and others also hurriedly joined in.

Jin Renwen was extremely anxious and could not help but say, "Goguryeo has mobilized 200,000 troops, but Silla only has 80,000 defenders. Even without the Mohe and Baekje, we would not be able to resist."

Han Ai snorted coldly, "Li Sikong is making it sound so easy. If Silla is destroyed, Goguryeo will no longer have any worries. What will happen then?"

A sullen-faced official suddenly stepped forward and said, "I second Li Sikong's opinion. Goguryeo is at the end of its strength and poses no threat."

Xu Xiaode was startled. He looked at Liu Rengui who had stepped out of the ranks and thought to himself, "So this is what he meant by 'nothing to worry about.' Well, you can say this behind closed doors, but how can you say it in the court? Liu Hulu, you're so confused!"

He didn't know that after Li Zhi recognized Liu Rengui, he was filled with joy.

Han Ai said coldly, "Liu Rengui, you are just a peasant, uneducated, and you only hold your position in the imperial court thanks to the grace of your ancestors. You have no right to speak here, so why don't you step down?"

Like Xue Rengui, Liu Rengui came from a farming family, but he did not have Xue Rengui's military achievements.

He had no official title and had never studied under a famous teacher. He was able to enter the official career only because of Ren Gui's recommendation.

Some people said that he claimed to be a descendant of Emperor Zhang of Han, Liu Zhuang, and was recommended by Ren Gui. He had a very bad reputation among the literati and was regarded as a low-ranking official.

Because of his bad reputation, he had been in the officialdom for more than 30 years, and with gray hair, he was still just a clerk.

Only Xu Xiaode and a group of old friends knew that he was highly knowledgeable and had extraordinary insights. It was a pity that the world did not know it.

Han Ai was Liu Rengui's immediate superior, so Liu Rengui did not dare to confront him and had to retreat.

Li Zhi suddenly said, "You recommended Duke Ying, but he thinks we shouldn't send troops to Liaodong. I don't know whose opinion to listen to. Forget it. I've been thinking about leading the army myself. That way, you gentlemen won't have to argue over who will be the commander-in-chief."

The four words "I personally lead the army" were written on his back by Xu Jin last night.

As soon as these words came out, the whole room was shocked.

All the ministers said in unison: "Your Majesty, no!"

Li Zhi said loudly, "Liaodong is a serious threat. Only if I lead the army in person can I boost the morale of the entire army. Didn't the previous emperor lead the army in person in the past? Why can't I do the same?"

The ministers looked at each other in bewilderment. They had no idea that after all their arguments, they would end up with such a result!

Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "Since there are no objections, it is settled. The prime ministers and the Ministry of War should discuss this matter first and make preparations for the expedition. We will discuss this matter in detail during the regular court session later. I dismiss the court."

On weekdays, Emperor Gaozong of Tang was always thinking about Goguryeo.

He had just deposed Wang Liwu and was full of energy and ambition. He no longer wanted to be manipulated by his ministers. Suddenly, he had the idea of ​​leading the army in person. His ministers thought it was normal and no one suspected anything.

Faced with the emperor's proposal, the Tang officials reached a consensus for the first time and all opposed it.

Although this new emperor has just shown some skills, he is not Emperor Taizong after all.

Even Emperor Taizong failed in his conquest, so it was even less likely that the new emperor would succeed. Instead, he would likely give orders recklessly, leading to a great defeat.

This matter concerns the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty, and also concerns the vital interests of everyone.

In the government hall, the leaders of the aristocratic faction, the pro-military faction, and the neutral faction discussed and reached a consensus for the first time, opposing the emperor's personal expedition.

However, how can we dissuade the emperor from leading the army in person?
The emperor was absolutely unwilling to send other ministers as marshals, and no general dared to compete with the emperor for the position of commander-in-chief.

There was only one way left, which was to support Li Ji's proposal and determine that Goguryeo would be defeated in this expedition, and the Tang Dynasty should not pay any attention to Silla.

By the afternoon, Li Zhi's desk was piled with memorials, all of which had almost the same content, saying that Goguryeo would be defeated in this battle and that the Tang Dynasty did not need to mobilize troops but should continue to fight against the Western Turks.

Some officials even began to attack Silla and wrote down all the bad deeds that Silla had done since its founding.

For example, when Silla was weak at the beginning, it was invaded by Japan and asked Goguryeo for help.

After Goguryeo rescued him, it joined forces with Baekje to deal with Goguryeo.

During the Five Dynasties period (the Tang Dynasty's collective term for the Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Sui Dynasty), Silla entered its heyday and began to join forces with Baekje to attack Goguryeo. After winning successive victories, it launched a surprise attack on its ally Baekje.

In the end, Goguryeo and Baekje joined forces to defeat Silla, and Silla surrendered to the Tang Dynasty and used the power of the Tang Dynasty to deal with the two countries.

Such a fickle country does not need to be rescued.

Even such a memorial was written, which showed how much the ministers feared that he would lead the army in person.

At night, even Wu Meiniang came to test.

Li Zhi pretended to be aggrieved and sighed, "I know I'm not a tyrant like Yang Guang. Why do my ministers think so badly of me?"

Wu Mei Niang couldn't figure out his intentions, so she could only advise him, "Your Majesty, if you want to lead the army in person, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. Why rush now?"

Li Zhi leaned back in his chair and waved his hands, saying, "Forget it, forget it. They're all against it. Even if I insist on leading the expedition myself, it won't make much sense. There's no need to mention this matter any further."

When the ministers learned that the emperor had compromised, they all breathed a sigh of relief. The most unlucky ones were the aristocratic family faction, as their plans were wasted because of the emperor's disturbance.

The Silla envoy Jin Renwen was even more pitiful. He went from being a popular figure to being ignored and neglected by the ministers.

On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, a heavy snowstorm froze Chang'an. Envoys from various countries also arrived in Chang'an one after another, and their number was greater than expected.

I thought that Helu blocked the Western Regions, and that the small countries would not come to the Tang Dynasty to pay tribute.

Later it was learned that after Helu took control of the Western Regions, he intensified his extortion of money, food, and horses from some small countries.

These small countries were unable to bear the harassment and heard that the Tang Dynasty had sent troops to attack the Western Turks, so they sent envoys and presented tributes, begging the Tang Dynasty to eliminate the Western Turks as soon as possible.

In addition to these small countries, two major countries also sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty and presented their respective letters of credence.

The envoys of the two countries were incompatible, insulting each other and even fighting in the Honglu Temple. The news of this matter even reached the inner court of the imperial palace.

On this day, Wu Meiniang was listening to her son Li Hong reciting the Thousand Character Classic in the harem, and Zhang Duohai reported the matter to her.

Wu Mei Niang returned to the main hall and, while warming her hands with a hand warmer, asked, "Which two countries are so bold as to cause trouble in the Honglu Temple?"

Zhang Da Hai laughed and said, "Hey! Actually, they came here to make trouble last year, but it wasn't as fierce as this year."

Wu Meiniang's heart moved: "Is it Tubo and Tuyuhun?"

Zhang Duohai laughed and said, "Isn't that them? They quarrel every year, accusing each other of invading their territory, and even want our Tang Dynasty to help, without any complaints."

Wu Meiniang pondered in silence.

Tubo and Tuyuhun were both vassal states of the Tang Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang, the two countries came to the Tang Dynasty together to ask for princesses in marriage.

The Tang Dynasty agreed to Tuyuhun but rejected Tubo.

The Tibetan envoys were afraid of being blamed by the Zamp, so they said that it was the Tuyuhun who interfered and that was why the Tang Dynasty did not marry the princess off.

The Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo used this as an excuse to attack Tuyuhun. The Tang Dynasty sent 50,000 troops to assist and defeated the Tibetans.

Although they won this battle, Tubo also demonstrated its considerable strength.

At that time, the Xueyantuo of the Turks were rebelling, and the Tang Dynasty had no time to deal with Tubo, so Emperor Taizong of Tang married Princess Wencheng to Songtsen Gampo.

Later, Songtsen Gampo also married a Tibetan princess to the Tuyuhun king, and the three kingdoms finally enjoyed peace for more than 20 years. But for some unknown reason, the situation suddenly became chaotic again.

This was all Wu Mei Niang knew about the two countries. She asked, "If it's such a small matter, why bother reporting it?"

Zhang Duohai smiled and said, "Originally, I didn't intend to trouble you, but the Saint seems to be very concerned about them and has specially summoned the ministers to discuss this matter."

Wu Meiniang asked curiously, "Did anyone offer advice to His Majesty?"

Zhang Duohai said: "That's not the case."

Wu Meiniang was secretly surprised and asked, "What do the ministers think about this matter?"

Zhang Duohai said, "The ministers all think that we don't need to bother with them. If they want to fight, let them fight. For now, we should focus on eliminating Helu first."

Wu Meiniang asked, "What did your Majesty say?"

"Your Majesty said that Tubo is strong and Tuyuhun is weak. If Tubo swallows up Tuyuhun, Tubo will become a serious threat."

Wu Meiniang frowned and asked, "How many soldiers and armors does Tubo have? How many soldiers and armors does Tuyuhun have?"

Zhang Dahai smiled and said, "I don't know. Han Xiang also asked this question at that time, and Duke Yingguo and Minister Cui also said they didn't know."

Wu Meiniang frowned and said, "These old ministers are becoming more and more lazy."

Zhang Duohai said, "The Saint was also very angry. He ordered the Ministry of War to immediately investigate the Tibetan intelligence and also ordered the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue to prepare to send troops to Tuyuhun."

Wu Meiniang pondered for a moment and said, "Anxi is currently deploying troops. Would it be inappropriate for Your Majesty to send another army out to fight?"

Zhang Duohai said, "Who says it's not true? The ministers all objected, saying that Chang'an was short of food and couldn't afford two wars. The sage remained silent."

Wu Meiniang nodded, looking thoughtful.

Zhang Duohai suddenly said, "Your Highness, Yang Yuchen has sent back news."

Wu Meiniang asked, "Did he receive Sun Simiao?"

Zhang Duohai smiled bitterly and said, "Sun Simiao is ill. He said he can't leave for the time being."

Wu Meiniang frowned and asked, "How did you get sick?"

"I heard that he wanted to cure that strange disease, and he also contracted it, and said he was testing the medicine on himself."

Wu Meiniang sighed, "There are such people in the world. Go to the Shang Pharmacy and select a famous imperial physician to be sent to Shazhou to treat Sun Simiao. It is difficult for a doctor to treat himself, so don't let him die."

Zhang Duohai took the order and left.

(End of this chapter)