My father, Li Shimin, requests Your Majesty to become the Retired Emperor.

It was the second watch of the night.

Chang'an, Zichen Palace.

Li Shimin ordered Wang De to invite Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji to discuss with them the matter of subduing Ashina Simo.

On the surface, Changsun Wuji is currently without an official position and is at home in retirement, focusing on compiling the "Zhenguan Code." In reality, he is also very concerned about the affairs of the court.

Whenever the court faced a major decision, Li Shimin would still invite him to consult his opinion.

Li Shimin handed Li Daozong's memorial to Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling for their review.

After reading the memorial, Changsun Wuji put it down and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that Ashina Simo's surrender cannot be accepted."

Li Shimin leaned back on the dragon throne, lightly tapping the document with his right hand, and asked, "Why?"

Changsun Wuji shook his head and continued, "The reason is simple: Ashina Simo was originally the Khan of the Turks."

Later, Qimin Khan returned to the Turkic Khaganate and relinquished his position as Khan.

This shows that

Ashina Simo held a very high position in the hearts of the Turks.

If we take this person in, he will be difficult to control. Moreover, barbarians are fickle and insatiable. If we fail to satisfy them in any way, they will rebel again. Wouldn't that be even more troublesome?

It should be noted that Ashina Simo had an army of around 100,000 men. If a mutiny were to break out, it would be no joke.

Moreover, his demand to maintain the army's independence, prohibiting any reorganization and requiring it to obey only Li Chenggan, was clearly an unreasonable request.

Therefore, I advise against their surrender.

Li Shimin neither agreed nor disagreed with Changsun Wuji's suggestion, but instead looked at Fang Xuanling and asked, "Minister Fang, what are your thoughts?"

Fang Xuanling cleared his throat and shook his head: "Your Majesty, this humble subject does not agree with Lord Changsun's viewpoint."

"Oh, so what do you think?" Li Shimin couldn't help but ask.

Because in Li Shimin's mind, Fang Xuanling was different from others. If Fang Xuanling were compared with Zhang Liang, Fan Zeng, and Zhuge Liang, he would not be inferior at all.

"Your Majesty, I think we should learn from Xiang Yu and first subdue Ashina Simo."

Back then, in the Battle of Julu, Xiang Yu broke the cauldrons and sank the boats, achieving a victory against overwhelming odds and becoming famous overnight for defeating the Qin army.

Zhang Han led 200,000 Qin troops to surrender to Xiang Yu.

Think about it.

What would have been the consequences if Xiang Yu had refused Zhang Han's surrender?

Li Shimin pondered for a moment: "At that time, Zhao Gao controlled the court..."

Zhao Gao was worried that Zhang Han's achievements would be too great and that he would surpass him in status in the future, so he refused to provide the Qin army with provisions and pay.

The Qin army had already run out of food.

Zhang Han was caught in a dilemma: the Chu army was blocking his way, and his supplies were running out. He was caught between a rock and a hard place.

In that case, Zhang Han would have no choice but to fight to the death.

"Your Majesty is wise; indeed it is so."

If Xiang Yu had not accepted the Qin army's surrender at that time, then the 200,000 Qin soldiers would definitely have fought to the death.

If that's the case, Xiang Yu's forces are smaller, so whether he can win is still unknown.

Therefore, Xiang Yu's decision to accept the surrender of the Qin army was a wise move.

Changsun Wuji disagreed: "Times have changed, and Ashina Simo has made two demands: first, his army must not be reorganized."

Secondly, his army had to obey Li Chengqian's command—how could that be acceptable?

Fang Xuanling smiled slightly: "Lord Changsun, why are you so honest?"

Things are static, but people are dynamic; we can adapt.

Anyway, I'll agree to it first.

If Ashina Simo's surrender is not accepted, a mutiny could occur at any time.

Li Shimin looked at Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji and asked, "The eldest brother of the Shanbei clan wants to surrender to our Great Tang. Do you think we can agree to it?"

Changsun Wuji stroked his beard: "During the Sui Dynasty, the Wa (Japanese) Kingdom sent an envoy, Ono no Imoko, to pay homage to Emperor Yang of Sui. To be fair, Emperor Yang treated the Wa envoy quite well."

However, they seemed oblivious to the impropriety, actually stating in their official letter that it was a message from the Emperor of the Land of the Rising Sun to the Emperor of the Land of the Setting Sun.

Originally, "there cannot be two suns in the sky." Emperor Yang of Sui considered himself the Son of Heaven, so how could he allow the king of the Wa (Japanese) Kingdom to sit on equal footing with him?

Moreover, the Wa people boasted that they were the land where the sun rises, symbolizing that their country would prosper.

However, the Sui Dynasty was already in decline.

Ono no Imoko was unruly and didn't take Emperor Yang of Sui seriously at all.

Leaving aside distant examples, let's talk about something closer to home. Two years ago, King Shuming sent envoys Inugami Mitako and Yakushi Eri to Chang'an, and we took excellent care of them.

We treated them to the best of our ability, providing them with delicious food and drinks, truly making them feel like family. Not only that, we generously shared with them a wealth of agricultural techniques, tea cultivation methods, and ceramic craftsmanship.

They were also taught Buddhist scriptures, laws governing the country, and so on.

They returned with a full load.

But how did King Shuming treat our envoys?

After Gao Biaoren arrived in the Japanese kingdom, they actually imprisoned him in a dungeon and subjected him to severe torture.

If Li Chengan hadn't arrived there in time, Gao Biaoren might have died.

Therefore, I think none of the Japanese are good people. They are not tall, but they are very ambitious. I heard that they even have a plan to annex our Tang Dynasty. That is truly insatiable, like a snake trying to swallow an elephant.

Therefore, I oppose accepting the surrender of King Yamashiro and his army.

Upon hearing this, Fang Xuanling shook his head and sighed repeatedly.

Changsun Wuji, seeing this, became a little anxious and asked, "Old man, what do you mean? Do you think I said something wrong again?"

Fang Xuanling did not answer his question directly, but said: "I think your Zhenguan Code is very well compiled, and you have a very thorough understanding of the law."

"No, I don't understand what you're saying."

"I cannot agree with your idea."

The best way for our Great Tang Dynasty to govern those barbarians is to use barbarians to control barbarians.

You may not be very familiar with the situation in the Wa (Japanese) Kingdom.

King Yamashiro Ōe had a special status; he was originally the designated heir to the throne by Empress Suiko.

He offended the Soga family simply because he was too straightforward.

Soga no Emishi is the representative figure of the Soga family.

He then went to support Prince Tamura.

Finally, Soga no Emishi defied Empress Suiko's will and installed Prince Tamura as king, who became King Jomei.

Actually, Brother Yamabe is quite broad-minded.

Even though he didn't ascend the throne, he didn't take it to heart.

but,

King Shuming didn't think that way; he worried that King Yamabe would compete with him for the throne.

Therefore, he was wary of Yamashiro Ōeō in every way, and even planned to kill him.

So, can Yamashiro Ōe just sit and wait to die?

Li Shimin and Changsun Wuji listened intently.

Fang Xuanling continued: "Therefore, the eldest brother of the mountain, King Wu, rose up in rebellion."

He had his own army, and also his own armory.

I heard that their weapons are very advanced and sharp.

The long Japanese swords they used were very special and extremely lethal.

He has around 30,000 men under his command, which is a force not to be underestimated.

Their navy, in particular, is extremely fierce; how could we not take them in?

Changsun Wuji snorted: "Your wishful thinking is quite shrewd."

but,

Don't forget, the attitude of King Yamashiro is very clear.

He only surrendered to Li Chengan. In other words, after he surrendered to our Tang Dynasty, only Li Chengan could command him. Isn't that a problem?

"And what is it then?"

Would Li Chengqian dare disobey His Majesty?

Changsun Wuji thought for a moment and said, "For now, he should listen to His Majesty, but the future is uncertain."

"We'll deal with the future later. As long as he listens to the Emperor now, we can subdue King Sanbae and let him check King Seomyung, Buyeo Uija and Yeon Gaesomun. Wouldn't that be better?"

To be frank, even if all of the army under the command of the Great King of Yamabe were wiped out, our Great Tang would not have suffered any losses.

Think back to how the Xiongnu were defeated back then.

That's because some of the Xiongnu surrendered to the Han Dynasty, and the Han Dynasty then sent those Xiongnu to deal with another group of Xiongnu.

Li Shimin nodded slightly: "Tibet, Tuyuhun, and Dangxiang have already surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. There's not much to say about their troops; just let them go back to their respective places."

But what should be done with the 10,000 troops brought by Fuyu Fengzhang?

Changsun Wuji stroked his beard and said, "Since we can subdue Ashina Simo and the eldest brother king of Shanbei, then we can subdue Fuyu Fengzhang as well."

However, Fang Xuanling shook his head again.

Changsun Wuji was also annoyed: "Old man, what exactly do you mean by this today?"

So whatever I say is wrong, is that it?

Fang Xuanling brushed the dust off his clothes: "Don't get angry yet. I want to ask you a question: Who is Fuyu Fengzhang?"

"Isn't he the son of Buyeo Ui-ja?"

"That's right, he is the son of Buyeo Uija. Then, who gave him those ten thousand men?"

"Is there even a need to ask? It was naturally given to him by Buyeo Uija."

"Yes, to use an inappropriate analogy, Buyeo Uija is like Touman Chanyu of the Xiongnu in the past."

Touman Chanyu first appointed Maodun as his crown prince.

Then, Maodun was sent to the Yuezhi Kingdom as a hostage.

Later, Touman Chanyu fell in love with another concubine and had a son with her.

That concubine hoped that Touman Chanyu would pass the position of Chanyu to her and the son she had with Touman Chanyu.

Therefore, Touman Chanyu devised a treacherous plan: to send troops to attack the Yuezhi Kingdom, with the aim of provoking the Yuezhi king to kill Modu. This can be described as a scheme to kill someone with a borrowed knife.

However, unexpectedly, Maodun was very shrewd and learned of the news in advance. He stole a horse and escaped back from the Yuezhi Kingdom.

When Touman Chanyu saw that Maodun had returned, he felt a pang of regret.

He felt that Maodun's ability to escape from the Yuezhi Kingdom was extremely brave and might be a sign from heaven, so he gave Maodun 10,000 cavalry.

There is a high probability that Buyeo Uija and Touman Chanyu had very similar personalities.

Buyeo Uija originally thought that if he sent Nee-sik to lead troops to raid the Wa Kingdom, King Sumyeong would kill Buyeo Pung-jang.

However, unexpectedly, Ni Zhi encountered Li Chenggan.

Li Chengan then rescued Fuyu Fengzhang.

As for Li Chenggan's motives for rescuing Fuyu Fengzhang, only he himself knows the truth.

Objectively speaking, Fang Xuanling's words here were also pointed.

He continued, "After Buyeo Pungjang returned to Baekje, Buyeo Uija, persuaded by his ministers such as Gye Baek, gave Buyeo Pungjang 10,000 troops."

However, Baekje was at odds with our Tang Dynasty.

Buyeo Ui-ja is a brainless person; his head isn't attached to his shoulders.

He listens to Yeon Gaesomun.

Li Shimin was also very annoyed by this, and it can be said that he had long disliked Fuyu Yici.

Fang Xuanling picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and then put the teacup down again: "Yeon Gaesomun was an ambitious man. Back then, Emperor Yang of Sui led a million-strong army to conquer Goguryeo three times..."

Yeon Gaesomun had won several battles.

This guy is always looking for trouble. He thinks that because he has defeated the Sui army, he doesn't take our Tang army seriously anymore.

He even believed that our Tang army was just as vulnerable as the Sui army.

Therefore, he was very arrogant.

They spread rumors and sow discord everywhere, uniting other countries against our Great Tang.

Silla's Kim Deok-man has just ascended the throne; she is also a young woman.

Yeon Gaesomun felt that his opportunity had come and planned to join forces with Baekje to attack Silla while Kim Deokman was still establishing himself.

Therefore,

Baekje is a prime example; we should make an example of them!

Changsun Wuji blinked and said, "But Fuyu Fengzhang and Fuyu Yici are different."

"Fuyu Fengzhang was very friendly to our Great Tang Dynasty."

Although they have differing political views, they are, after all, father and son.

The bond between father and son is innate and cannot be changed by anyone.

Therefore, my humble suggestion is to annihilate all 10,000 troops of Baekje on the spot, to give Buyeo Uija a warning.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin frowned and asked, "Is this appropriate?"

Fang Xuanling advised, "Your Majesty, you must not be so sentimental as to be a woman."

Baekje and Goguryeo have reached an agreement. Our dealing with Buyeo Pungjang this time is to remind Buyeo Uija not to be too arrogant.

Otherwise, his fate would be the same as that of his son, Buyeo Phong-jang.

Otherwise, what if Baekje and Goguryeo join forces to attack Silla?

Can we just stand by and do nothing?

Silla was a loyal vassal state of our Great Tang Dynasty.

If we can't even protect Silla, what country will dare to surrender to the Tang Dynasty and become its vassal state in the future?

Li Shimin stood up and paced back and forth in the hall. From this perspective, he agreed with what Fang Xuanling had said.

He also found Buyeo Uija of Baekje to be truly detestable, constantly shifting between wanting to be a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty and wanting to ally with Goguryeo to attack Silla.

They were very disrespectful to the Tang Dynasty. They would send envoys to Chang'an when they were happy, but they wouldn't listen to them when they were not.

Li Shimin also felt it necessary to give Baekje a warning.

Nowadays, Buyeo Yong and Yeon Gaesomun wear trousers with one crotch attached, which is also a huge hidden danger.

Fang Xuanling reminded Li Shimin: "Your Majesty, last time, you issued an edict ordering Li Chengan to return from Luoyang and sending Wei Zheng to convey your message."

However, Li Chengqian dared to defy the imperial decree and refuse to return to Chang'an; this was not a good omen.

In fact, Li Chenggan can't be blamed for this.

Because Luoyang was already besieged by the Turkic army at that time, Li Chenggan could not return even if he wanted to.

"I know that there was a reason why Chengqian did not return last time: the Turkic army besieged Luoyang."

"Your Majesty, the Turkic army has now surrendered, and Li Chenggan can be brought back."

If he doesn't come back soon, then there's a problem.

Your Majesty, I must remind you to be careful. The five-nation allied forces originally numbered 60,000, and with the addition of Ashina She'er's 10,000 cavalry, that makes a total of 70,000 troops.

King Sanbeong still had 20,000 troops stationed on the border of Silla. In addition to the Silla Queen's army and the more than 100,000 surrendered Turkic troops, the total force was about 200,000.

They are all willing to pledge their loyalty to Li Chenggan, so how can we be careless about this?

To be frank, if Li Chengqian were ever in a bad mood and suddenly raised his voice, the world might be turned upside down.

What Fang Xuanling said was exactly what Li Shimin was worried about.

He now vaguely felt an invisible pressure pressing down on him.

Fang Xuanling cleared his throat: "Your Majesty, I was not speaking in a way that would sow discord."

Although Li Chenggan is His Majesty's son

But isn't his ability to mobilize so many troops a potential threat?

Why did he dare to defy the imperial decree and refuse to return to Chang'an? Wasn't it because he thought he was all grown up?

Li Shimin listened and lowered his head, remaining silent.

"Back then, the witchcraft incident occurred between Emperor Wu of Han and his son Liu Ju. Ultimately, Liu Ju was defeated because he lacked military power."

He could only mobilize some servants, attendants, and guards, and was unable to command regular troops.

but,

Your Majesty, please take another look at Li Chengqian.

You sent him to conquer the Western Regions and as an envoy to the Wa (Japanese) kingdom, but he used the opportunity to cultivate his own power.

This led to a situation where figures like Songtsen Gampo, Buyeo Fengzhang, Murong Shun, Tuoba Chici, Jin Deman, and the eldest brother king of Shanbei only had eyes for Li Chenggan, but not for His Majesty.

A few days ago, the allied forces of five nations besieged Chang'an. His Majesty ordered them to withdraw, but they refused to listen.

However, Li Chengan did not show up. When a letter arrived, they immediately retreated to Tongguan.

So, His Majesty must clearly see who holds more prestige in their hearts.

Please think about this. Why did Li Chengqian order them to defend Tongguan?

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin seemed to be deep in thought: "My dear minister, then tell me, why did he allow the five-nation coalition to occupy Tongguan?"

"The reason is simple: Tongguan has a special geographical location, situated between Chang'an and Luoyang."

It has always been a strategic location fought over by military strategists.

As long as Tongguan is held, it can be attacked or defended at will, which is why Ma Chao and Cao Cao fought for Tongguan back then.

For example, the crown prince was in Luoyang.

If the imperial court wanted to send troops to attack Luoyang, it would have to pass through Tongguan, which served as a natural barrier.

"Judging from Li Chenggan's troop deployment, it seems he intends to encircle Chang'an," Fang Xuanling remarked intentionally.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't forget, Ashina She'er led 10,000 cavalrymen to garrison on the border of Gaochang. That army, after training, has become an elite force."

If troops were to be dispatched from Gaochang to attack Chang'an, they could arrive in just a few days.

If we launch a pincer attack from two directions at Tongguan, wouldn't Chang'an be in grave danger?

It should be said that Fang Xuanling's assumption was intended to create a tense atmosphere.

"My dear minister, aren't you exaggerating a bit?"

"Your Majesty, if Li Chengqian lacks sufficient power, then he can only remain loyal to the court and to Your Majesty."

However, if the crown prince's power is strong enough to rival the imperial court, it's hard to say what he's really thinking.

Even if he were willing to be loyal to the court, would his subordinates think the same way?

Has Your Majesty forgotten how you came to power?

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin was moved and asked, "My two ministers, what do you think is the best course of action against the five-nation coalition and Li Chengqian?"