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

Against this backdrop, Li Shimin made the reckless decision to launch a military campaign, mobilizing the entire nation's resources to destroy the Great Xia.

This also allows them to vent their frustrations about domestic unrest through foreign wars.

The Xia Kingdom inherited the accumulated wealth of the previous dynasty over hundreds of years. If it could be seized, it would be enough to meet the Tang Dynasty's demand for gold and silver for a century.

This can effectively alleviate the current situation of excessive demand for gold and silver in China.

Under Li Shimin's command, the massive war machine of the Tang Dynasty slowly began to operate. The Xia Dynasty was too far away, and the key to this attack was the quality of the troops rather than their quantity.

After careful selection, Li Shimin finally chose 50 fully armored soldiers from across the country, and then drew another 50 from the elite army guarding the Western Regions under Li Jing, making a total of one million troops for the western expedition.

Li Shimin originally intended to personally lead the western expedition, but the crown prince was too young, and censors such as Wei Zheng remonstrated with his life, so he had to abandon the idea.

Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, appointed Li Jing as commander-in-chief, Li Ji as deputy commander-in-chief, and Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Shan Xiongxin, and others as generals, leading 100 million elite troops on a western expedition.

Upon receiving Li Shimin's message, Changsun Wuji exhaled a sigh of relief; it was finally coming to an end.

He had been an undercover agent for three years, and if this didn't end soon, he would have become the leader among the clan's military generals. Before his death, King Wuping, Xia Ping, had hinted to him that if he was willing to marry Xia Ping's eldest daughter, Xia Ping would be willing to support him to the throne.

But can he accept it?

Absolutely not!

No matter how willing Xia Ping was to support him to the throne, even if he married Xia Ping's legitimate daughter, he could gain power, but he could not possibly steal the imperial throne.

Even his most supportive friends can suddenly become his rivals.

His foundation here is too weak.

So what's the point of having a boss?

His nephew is the crown prince of the Divine Empire!

Was he arrogant?!

Now that the Tang Dynasty is finally attacking, his days of living in anonymity are finally coming to an end.

When he returned to the Tang Dynasty, his achievements were made public, and people like Li Jing, Qin Qiong, and Cheng Yaojin were all ranked after him.

He wants to be ranked first among the twenty-four meritorious officials of the Lingyan Pavilion that His Majesty the Emperor wants to build!

The army set off from the Western Regions and arrived in Xia territory. The formal start of the war is estimated to be in April.

In a letter to Changsun Wuji, Li Shimin hoped that he could provoke a war between the two sides as much as possible, so that they would fight to the point where even the invasion of the Tang Dynasty would not stop and they would unite to resist the Tang Dynasty.

Changsun Wuji burned the secret letter to ashes. He had prepared for this without Li Shimin's instruction.

This was a crucial step in his great achievement, so how could he not value it?

With the help of the young emperor's efforts to win him over, he placed many people around the young emperor.

Although his foundation in the Great Xia was weak, after staying here for a few years, Changsun Wuji was naturally able to subdue some assassins.

He placed most of these assassins around the young emperor, waiting for Li Shimin's army to arrive so they could assassinate him and frame the prime minister's side.

The reason was that the prime minister discovered the collusion between the young emperor and his relatives and military generals, and decided to strike first, eliminate the young emperor, and seize the throne for himself.

The two sides will inevitably clash. This grudge of patricide is something the imperial clan can no longer accept, not to mention that the prime minister wants to change the dynasty. If the dynasty changes, will the imperial clan still be the imperial clan? Will they still have so many preferential treatments?

To obstruct someone's future is like killing their parents; such hatred might just drive them to side with the Tang Dynasty.

Even if they don't side with the Tang Dynasty, they will absolutely not cooperate with the Prime Minister's side.

At that time, the Tang Dynasty's offensive will only face the forces of the imperial court. He will also continuously provide assistance and put pressure on the imperial court, forcing them to allocate troops to guard the border, thereby indirectly reducing the pressure on the Tang Dynasty at the front line.

In the sixth year of the reign of Emperor Tianqi of the Great Xia Dynasty, the Commander of the Imperial Guards arrested a suspicious man in the capital and found a secret letter on his person. This secret letter turned out to be written by the emperor to his relatives and military officers.

The Commander of the Imperial Guards was the Prime Minister's man. Upon receiving the letter, he immediately reported it to the Prime Minister.

When Chancellor Zhai Hong saw the letter, his expression remained unchanged. He had long suspected that the emperor was connected with the power of his relatives and military generals.

Moreover, the appearance of this letter is somewhat suspicious. In the past, the people who received and delivered messages were extremely cautious. How could they be caught by the Imperial Guard so easily?

Having experienced countless political struggles, Zhai Hong sensed a conspiracy; he felt as if a huge net was closing in on him in the dark.

After thinking for a moment, Zhai Hong took the secret letter to the palace that very night and burned it to ashes in front of the emperor.

The young emperor's eyes flickered, somewhat confused about Qu Hong's purpose.

He wasn't particularly puzzled as to why Zhai Hong had obtained this letter.

Zhai Hong had been operating in the capital for so many years, his influence was deep and his network of protégés and former subordinates was extensive, so it was not impossible for him to intercept the letters.

This is Zhai Hong. Why did he burn this letter?

And does Zhai Hong think he can't see that? The sealing wax on the envelope already shows signs of being opened.

Zhai Hong already knows about his connection with the clan's military forces. What will he think?

What was the purpose of burning the letter?

Zhai Hong burned the letter in front of the young emperor, then said, "Your Majesty, why have you gone to such lengths?"

"This old minister is wholeheartedly devoted to Your Majesty's cause and has no disloyal intentions. On the contrary, those military generals are wolves in sheep's clothing, single-mindedly seeking to overthrow the imperial power. Your Majesty, please be discerning; they cannot be trusted!"

"If it weren't for this old minister, His Majesty's throne would have been overthrown by them long ago, and his own people would have taken the throne."

"Is Your Majesty now colluding with them because you find this old minister an eyesore?"

Zhai Hong adopted the posture of a loyal subject and denounced the young emperor.

The young emperor's face flushed with anger. He had been working under Zhai Hong for some time now, and his mind had become quite deep.

But now that the plan has been leaked, even if it's a disguise, Zhai Hong won't believe it. The young emperor simply couldn't hold back any longer, and his anger, which he had been suppressing for so many years, suddenly erupted.

"Hehehehe, hahahahaha!"

"A loyal minister, what a loyal minister!"

"Looking through the historical records of all the countries under heaven, as vast as the sea, have you ever seen a loyal minister whose power was above that of the emperor? Have you ever seen a loyal minister who refuted the emperor's edict with a single word? Have you ever seen a loyal minister for whom all the civil and military officials first bowed to the prime minister and then to the emperor?"

"You keep saying those forces intend to overthrow the imperial power, but they have remained standing for so many years. They have many relatives within their ranks. If they truly harbored disloyal intentions, they would have already chosen a direct descendant to ascend the throne. Why wait until today?"

"You've treated me like a caged bird, a fish in a pond, completely at your mercy, you old scoundrel! As a trusted minister entrusted with the care of the young emperor, you've deceived and misled him; how can you face the late emperor?!"

"I wish I could eat your flesh, sleep on your skin, drink your blood, and devour your bones!"

"I am the Son of Heaven; how can I be oppressed by a mere subject!"

The young emperor's words were amplified to a great extent by the special structure of the palace, so that even the guards outside the palace could hear them clearly.

One of the guards revealed a hint of joy. This way, after killing the young emperor, there would be no need to frame him. Zhai Hongchang wouldn't be able to explain himself even if he had ten mouths!