Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 116 Wei Zheng: If Your Majesty wants to kill me, please let my family be intact [Please subscribe]

"Deputy Envoy Zhao!"

"You look so good! I'm so envious!"

In the tent of the East Turkic delegation, Tang Jian looked at Zhao Deyan with a smile.

Originally, when he brought Zhao Deyan to East Turkestan this time, he thought that he had to persuade him step by step so that Zhao Deyan could smoothly defect to East Turkestan.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Deyan found a way by himself, which really saved him a lot of trouble.

"Haha, yes, I didn't expect that I like grassland lamb so much!"

Zhao Deyan also responded to Tang Jian with a smile, and picked up a piece of grassland lamb from the plate and put it into his mouth happily.

Tang Jian couldn't help laughing when he saw his expression, but he didn't forget the purpose of his visit to East Turkestan, so he smiled and complimented him, "So, Deputy Envoy Zhao is very used to the climate and environment here!"

"but."

Then he changed the subject and sighed, "We are about to set off back to Chang'an!"

"Uh,"

Zhao Deyan paused in his chewing, then looked at Tang Jian solemnly and said, "Minister of Rites! I want to do something for the Tang Dynasty!"

"Oh?"

Tang Jian raised his eyebrows, and then sighed: "Although Your Majesty always talks about recruiting talents, I can't help in this regard."

"I know I know,"

Before Tang Jian could finish his words, Zhao Deyan interrupted him with a wave of his hand: "What I mean is, it's not about working for the Tang Dynasty in the court!"

"I do not understand."

"Ah!"

Zhao Deyan snorted, then slowly stood up, looked back at Tang Jian and said, "I mean to stay here, stay in East Turkestan!"

"How can this be done?!"

Tang Jian was ecstatic in his heart, but looked at Zhao Deyan in surprise.

Zhao Deyan smiled calmly and said, "You probably don't know, but Jie Li Khan has been treating me like a distinguished guest these past few days, and he's been very open with me!"

"But aren't you afraid of being denounced back home and labeled a traitor? The Han Dynasty's Li Ling is a lesson for us! Aren't you afraid of what His Majesty will do to your family?"

"Hey, don't worry about that. Jie Li Khan has already promised me that he will inform His Majesty and take good care of my family. I believe that His Majesty is far-sighted and will not take it to heart!"

"not to mention"

Having said this, he sat back down in his original position and said with a smile, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince considers me a great hero and recommended me for reinstatement. How could I not repay such a kindness?"

"As for the traitor you mentioned? Hahaha."

"The people of the Central Plains view the people of the grasslands as barbarians, and the people of the grasslands, in turn, view the people of the Central Plains as cattle and sheep. So, how can my efforts to integrate the two great tribes be considered treason? What I have in mind is the great unity of the world!"

"This"

Tang Jian was shocked by this and said after a while, "Deputy Envoy Zhao has a very broad vision!"

"Haha, to be honest with you, Minister of Rites, only the Crown Prince and I, Zhao Deyan, can see clearly. The rest of us are just so-so!"

"That's right, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is truly amazing!"

Tang Jian nodded repeatedly, then changed the subject: "But this is good. What you do is much more useful than what I do!"

"Then please ask the Minister of Rites to return to Chang'an and express my loyalty to His Majesty on my behalf!"

"sure!"

As they spoke, the two of them raised their glasses and drank a glass of kumis together.

The next morning, Tang Jian left East Turkestan with the Tang Dynasty delegation.

Zhao Deyan successfully stayed and, with the ideal of "all under heaven as one", offered advice to Jie Li Khan.

At the same time, in the Chang'an Palace, Ganlu Hall.

Li Shimin summoned Li Jing and Zhang Gongjin to discuss the issue of Eastern Turks.

Li Shimin was the first to speak: "When I first ascended the throne, you told me that the court's top priority was the Eastern Turks, right?"

"Yes! I still believe that Eastern Turkestan is the court's top priority!" Li Jing nodded in agreement.

"Yes! When I first ascended the throne, state affairs were numerous and even natural disasters came to the fore. Now that things are finally stable, it's time to consider the most important things!"

Li Shimin smiled and acknowledged Li Jing's words. He then looked around at the two of them and said, "Tell me, apart from national strength, what is the primary issue in fighting the Eastern Turks?"

"This"

Li Jing and the other man exchanged a glance, and then Li Jing continued, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, the most important thing is the source of troops!"

Li Shimin thought for a moment and said, "The court currently has 170,000 troops available. General Li, are you saying that 170,000 isn't enough to fight the Eastern Turks?"

"In my opinion, it's not that 170,000 people are not enough to fight, but they can't exert their strength in multiple places. Also, after exerting their strength, they can't sustain it!"

"Well, that makes sense!"

Li Shimin nodded, then looked at Zhang Gongjin: "You are in Daizhou, close to the Eastern Turks, what do you think?"

"Your Majesty, I think we can start the operation next year or the year after!"

"What's the reason?"

"Six reasons!"

"and many more!"

Before Zhang Gongjin could give his reasons, Li Shimin turned to Wushe and said, "Go and call the Minister of the Central Secretariat, the Minister of War, and the Counselor!"

"Yes!" Wushe agreed and retreated.

Soon, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and Wei Zheng arrived at Ganlu Hall.

But then Li Shimin continued, "Before, I wanted to send troops to the Eastern Turks, but you all found various excuses to stop me. Today, Commander Zhang has six reasons to attack the Eastern Turks. Listen to them!"

After saying that, he raised his hand and gestured to Zhang Gongjin: "Go on!"

"Yes! Your Majesty!"

Zhang Gongjin bowed, then looked around at Fang Xuanling and the others and said, "Everyone, I think that perhaps next year or the year after, the Tang Dynasty will be able to send troops to the Eastern Turks."

"I have six reasons. First, Jie Li Khan has been acting entirely on his own whim. It's fair to say his mind is no longer clear. Second, the territories of the Eastern Turks, such as Tongluo, Pugu, Huihe, and Yantuo, must all secede from the Eastern Turks."

"Third, there have been significant conflicts between Jie Li Khan and Tu Li Khan recently. Fourth, the recent snowstorm on the grasslands has caused the loss of most of the livestock. It can be said that their strength is no longer as strong as before."

"Fifth, Jie Li Khan has alienated his own people and befriended those from other tribes. Sixth, the number of Central Plains people abducted by the Eastern Turks has probably reached over 100,000, who have fled to the mountains over the years. If we were to attack the Eastern Turks, they would undoubtedly become our internal accomplices."

"Good good!"

After listening to Zhang Gongjin's six reasons, Li Shimin couldn't help but applaud: "All six are good reasons!"

After saying that, he looked around at Fang Xuanling and the others and said with a smile, "What do you think?"

"Uh,"

Fang Xuanling and the others were speechless for a while, thinking to themselves, you have already said it, what else can we say?
However, since Li Shimin asked, they still had to express their opinions.

But Wei Zheng was the first to speak: "Although the reason is good, fighting a war requires people. Does our Tang Dynasty have that many people now?"

"There's no one to recruit!" Li Shimin said with amusement, "Could it be that there's no one left in the Tang Dynasty?"

"If Your Majesty is referring to children under the age of eighteen, there are indeed such people, and there are plenty of them!"

"Wei Zheng!"

Li Shimin's face darkened: "What do you mean?!"

"It's simple. If you drain the pond to the limit, you won't catch any fish, and there will be no fish next year!"

Wei Zheng said calmly, "Your Majesty wouldn't do something that would kill the chicken to get the eggs, would you?"

"absurd!"

Li Shimin stood up and said angrily, "What do you mean by killing the chicken to get the eggs? How could I kill the chicken to get the eggs?"

"If Your Majesty wants to conscript children under the age of eighteen, you're killing the goose that lays the golden eggs!"

"What do you mean by this?"

"According to the conscription standards of our Tang Dynasty, the age of adulthood is 21, and the age of second-born males is 18. If both the eldest and second-born are conscripted, who will farm this land?"

Wei Zheng said solemnly, "Your Majesty, do you intend to let the people starve to death, leaving them without male adults to grow crops? Or do you intend to let the imperial court's taxes drive your people to death?"

"presumptuous!!"

Li Shimin was furious.

He originally thought that the matter of Mrs. Wei had revealed Wei Zheng's weakness, and that Wei Zheng would be more restrained in the future. However, he did not expect that Wei Zheng would still dare to speak out and give advice.

"Wei Zheng! Is there anything you can't just say nicely?!"

Seeing that Li Shimin's face had turned blue with anger from Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling quickly scolded Wei Zheng and said:
"Your Majesty, although Wei Zheng's words are a bit blunt, our Tang Dynasty is not short of land. If good farmland becomes wasteland, food will be a big problem!"

"Furthermore, the Tang Dynasty also needs food to attack the Eastern Turks, so Your Majesty should be cautious about the conscription!"

"In my opinion, if we can grant more land to the new soldiers, I think people will still be willing to join the army!"

Du Ruhui added, "As long as the top priority of the Eastern Turks is resolved, they will be able to farm peacefully in the future!"

"Yeah, that makes sense." Li Shimin relaxed his expression and nodded in agreement.

Wei Zheng disagreed: "The world has just been stabilized. As long as we give farmers more land, the tax revenue will naturally increase. When the tax revenue increases, the country will be rich. This is the top priority of the country!"

"I just can't understand why they keep staring at those barbarians? They don't even consider what will happen in two or three years!"

"Be prepared for danger in times of peace, what do you know!?"

Li Shimin was furious again: "According to what you said, we should wait until the war comes before recruiting soldiers? Will the newly recruited soldiers be able to fight?!"

"You don't understand military affairs. I don't blame you, but you better shut up!"

"Okay! Since Your Majesty wants me to shut up, I'll take my leave!"

After saying this, Wei Zheng stood up and said goodbye to Li Shimin.

Li Shimin was so angry that he slammed the table and said with gritted teeth, "Wei Zheng! I spared your wife last time because of your face. Do you know?"

"Of course I know, and I would like to thank Your Majesty. If it weren't for Your Majesty, my wife and I would not be able to share life and death together!"

Wei Zheng said expressionlessly, "My wife told me that if I ever anger Your Majesty and you sentence me to death, please also sentence her to death, and our children to death, so that we can be reunited as a family in the underworld!"

"you!"

Li Shimin was so angry at Wei Zheng's words that he was speechless.

Fang Xuanling and others looked at each other in confusion.

It seems that it's not that Your Majesty has found Wei Zheng's weakness, but that Wei Zheng's family has become a tough target.

After a long while, Li Shimin said with a depressed look on his face: "Let's ignore him and continue the discussion!"

"His Majesty!"

As soon as Li Shimin finished speaking, a voice came from outside: "Urgent news from Jiangling!"

(End of this chapter)