A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

While it was dangerous to go out and establish a fiefdom, it meant having their own ancestral temple, being their own boss, and not having to be subservient to others. Their descendants would offer incense for generations, and they would be recorded in history. This was an irresistible temptation for the descendants of the Chinese nation.

If you compare these two options, 80% of people would choose to risk a national lockdown!

Even Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin, who were under the command of General Tian Ce of the Yuan Qin Prince's Mansion and had known about it for a long time, were somewhat tempted.

The news from the Tang Dynasty quickly reached overseas. In the Western Regions, after learning of this, King Wuping of Xia Xia swiftly took action, striking first to gain the upper hand.

The million-strong army stationed in the Western Regions quickly set off, heading in a mighty procession toward Yumen Pass, the western gateway to the Tang Dynasty.

The garrison commander of Yumen Pass quickly sounded the alarm and sent someone to Luoyang City with urgent news.

However, Yumen Pass is a full 1700 kilometers away from Luoyang. Such urgent messages were usually delivered by post horses. Although there were steam tracks, both methods were always used together to prevent accidents.

The biggest advantage of steam rails over horses is that they can run day and night and maintain speed, but safety cannot be guaranteed over such a long distance.

However, the concept that railways should not be destroyed has not yet been established, and local rebels dig up railways from time to time.

The concept of urgent delivery over 800 li was already deeply ingrained in people's minds, and no one dared to obstruct it without risking their life.

The real 800-li urgent delivery was always a continuous process, with the horse stopping but the rider never stopping. The relay was done at the post stations, changing horses but not riders. People were tied directly to the horse, eating, drinking, relieving themselves, and sleeping on the horse, traveling day and night, rain or shine.

Therefore, after the founding of the Tang Dynasty, it was ordered that important information should be obtained through two channels. If all went smoothly, the information could be obtained quickly through the steam train. If this line was not smooth, the other line would not be delayed.

Three days later, the 800-li express courier, which had set off first via railcar, arrived in Luoyang first. Soldiers disembarked from the steamcar and quickly relayed the intelligence to Luoyang.

Upon receiving the intelligence, Li Yuan's expression changed drastically. He immediately summoned numerous court officials, Li Jiancheng, and Li Shimin for a grand court assembly.

The court officials rushed to the palace, constantly asking acquaintances for information along the way.

Even Cheng Yaojin, Qin Qiong, and others asked Li Shimin, and were puzzled when they received the answer that they didn't know what had happened.

The fact that the emperor is summoning all his important officials to the palace in such a hurry must mean that something big has happened.

It was possible to buy North Korean artifacts, but no one, from imperial relatives to ordinary officials, knew about it.

This is extremely strange.

Logically speaking, the core officials of the imperial court should be aware that important matters are discussed in small meetings and minor matters in large meetings.

It wasn't until they met Chai Shao that they learned from him that they had received an urgent message from the Western Regions.

Everyone then realized why Li Yuan was in such a hurry to convene a grand court assembly; it turned out that something had happened in the west.

When the court officials entered the palace, they were shocked to find that Li Yuan was already sitting high above them. Normally, Li Yuan should have been the last to arrive. Everyone's expression turned serious, knowing that this urgent message was far more serious than they had imagined.

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, everyone quickly rushed to their positions and stood still.

"read!"

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Li Yuan coldly spoke to the eunuch beside him.

Your subject Ningyuan bows and weeps blood as he submits this memorial:

Yumen Pass was besieged by two million troops of the puppet Xia regime at the hour of Yin on the eighth day of the fifth month, and they launched a fierce attack day and night.

My troops will defend the gate to the death and fight to the last man.

However, the enemy outnumbered us several times over, and had countless battering rams and ladders. Fearing the loss of the border, we risked our lives to seek reinforcements.

We humbly beseech Your Majesty to swiftly dispatch heavenly troops to rush to our aid day and night, so as to save the lives of the soldiers and civilians on the border and safeguard the western gateway of the Great Tang.

The military situation is extremely critical. I await your imperial decree with tears in my eyes and send this urgent message by express courier.

I respectfully submit this urgent message to the Emperor.

"Did you all hear that?"

"The pseudo-Xia has not only occupied the Western Regions, but now it's also eyeing Yongliang. Will its next step be to conquer Luoyang and seize control of the Central Plains?!"

"what!"

Li Yuan roared, his beard bristling, his whole body trembling with rage.

"Your Majesty, grant me a million-strong army. I will surely defeat the enemy, recover the Western Regions, and uphold the prestige of our Great Tang!"

Li Jiancheng stepped forward and said that he had just been enfeoffed as the King of Qin, and the Yongliang region and the Western Regions were his fiefdoms, so it was natural for him to stand up.

Behind Li Jiancheng, many Tang generals also stepped forward and pleaded with Li Yuan for command.

Seeing the actions of his many ministers, Li Yuan finally felt a little better. He looked at Li Jiancheng, then at Li Shimin, and hesitated.

Logically, Li Jiancheng should have been sent there, since it was his fiefdom.

However, the false Xia dynasty was coming with great force, and this matter could be said to concern the fate of the Tang dynasty; victory was the only option, defeat was not an option.

In terms of leading troops into battle, Li Jiancheng was indeed inferior to Li Shimin.

"Shimin, you are the Crown Prince, so you shall personally lead the troops. Yi County is of great importance to our Tang Dynasty. You shall lead a million-strong army to conquer the Western Regions!"

"We must win this battle; defeat is not an option. We must reclaim the Western Regions!"

"You may choose any general in the court!"

Li Yuan ultimately sent Li Shimin, whose recent prowess had been overwhelming, making Li Yuan feel somewhat suffocated.

He was the emperor and didn't want to relinquish his power so soon.

"Ministry of War, Ministry of Revenue, you must fully support the Crown Prince's western expedition; there must be no mistakes!"

Li Shimin, along with the Minister of War and the Minister of Revenue, all stepped forward to receive the order.

Li Shimin also began to select his generals: Li Jing, Qin Qiong, Yuchi Gong, Cheng Yaojin, Hou Junji, Xue Wanche, Xu Shiji...

He selected almost all of the great generals of the Tang Dynasty, except for those who were stationed at other border posts.

Li Yuan agreed to all of them. He now wished he could give all the famous generals to Li Shimin so that he could enhance the prestige of the Tang Dynasty.

The massive machine of the newly unified Tang Dynasty quickly sprang into action, with a steady stream of troops and supplies converging on Chang'an.

Li Shimin also led many generals to Chang'an ahead of time to make preparations and be ready to rescue Yumen Pass at any moment.

At Li Jiancheng's residence, Li Jiancheng's expression was rather unpleasant.

He never expected that Li Yuan would appoint Li Shimin as a general!

Where does this place the King of Qin?

Did he make a mistake before? Should he have let his second son go out to work hard?

Anyway, the second son is so good at fighting, and the emperor favors him so much in his campaigns.

Li Jiancheng's eyes were deep and he remained silent.

……

Yumen Pass.

Xia Ping had long wanted to attack this pass, but a change in the domestic situation forced him to give up, and he waited until today.

However, during this period, he made a lot of preparations for the Yumen Pass.

He had thoroughly investigated the layout of Yumen Pass and had also developed sufficient siege equipment specifically for it. Just bringing these siege weapons to Yumen Pass alone required a tremendous amount of their manpower and resources.

If they lose this battle, they will be unable to recover for at least several years and will be unable to launch another eastward expedition.