Datang: From exiled prince to eternal tyrant

Chapter 79
In the Ganlu Hall, the court officials gathered together.

Core advisers such as Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, as well as military leaders such as Li Jing, Li Ji, Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, etc. were all present, waiting in the Ganlu Palace.

At this moment, they were temporarily summoned by Li Shimin to discuss the joint attack on Tang by the three northern countries.

In the past few days, the courtiers from all walks of life have tried their best to inquire about the news from all directions, trying to grasp the latest trends of the three northern countries.

Today, although the war has not yet started, everyone is worried and worried.

Before Li Shimin arrived, the courtiers were whispering and discussing.

"Shubao, it seems that this battle must be fought. The situation in the north is not stable!"

Cheng Yaojin moved to Qin Qiong's side and whispered.

He was originally open-minded and open-minded, with a loud voice and a high posture all the time, but today he looked gloomy and his voice was a little lower.

Qin Qiong frowned, holding a military newspaper in his hand, it seemed that he was about to report to Li Shimin.

Sighing heavily, Qin Qiong nodded and said: "Yes! It is said that Youzhou encountered enemy situation, and Turkic stragglers attacked across the border, causing Youzhou to become a mess..."

"More than that!"

Cheng Yaojin said with a look on his face: "Battle reports are also coming from the northeast and northwest, saying that Goguryeo and Xue Yantuo have also assembled their armies, ready to move, and are ready to fight at any time!"

He snorted heavily and exhaled hot air from his nostrils, looking indignant: "If you want to obey me, I might as well lead the troops and fight them!"

He sighed a little louder, and Li Ji in front of him turned his head around.

"How to fight? Enemy on three sides, they harass from time to time along the large northern defense line, you can defend the east, but you can't defend the west. The little men under your old Cheng can still wander around the northern line, always on guard People can't do it?"

Li Ji frowned and sighed bitterly, he bit Cheng Cheng on the top of the gold and then fell silent.

Yes, the northern front line is too long. If the Three Kingdoms on the other side really invade, the Tang army will have to spread out and deploy defenses. It is really hard to resist!
Moreover, Turkic and Xue Yantuo are also good at cavalry, and they are highly mobile. They cross the border to harass you, and then escape on horseback. How can you catch up with them?

In the case of inconvenient transportation and communication, if you fight on such a long front, people can consume you to death just by pulling them back and forth.

After all, Datang was single and alone, and was in a defensive position. The initiative was not on his side, and the pressure in the fight was too great.

"Ugh!"

The generals sighed one after another, all of them looked depressed.

Each of these people is a hero on the battlefield. If they open up their battles and attack aggressively, it will be no problem.But in this kind of three-way attack, the situation where the east cannot be defended and the west cannot be defended, and everyone has no strength to use it.

"Cough cough!"

At this moment, Li Shimin walked in, followed by Dou Lukuan, the Minister of Rites, and Wang De, the eunuch.

All the people paid homage in unison, Li Shimin waved his hand and sat down immediately.

"I called you here today to discuss the three northern countries' violations. If you have any opinions, you may as well talk about it..."

As soon as Li Shimin sat down, he asked straight to the point.

All the ministers were silent. Everyone knew in their hearts that no matter whether it was a fight or a peace, it would be difficult for the Tang Dynasty to resist. They could only wait and see His Majesty's attitude before making any decision.

Li Shimin glanced around, frowned and said: "It seems that everyone is not optimistic about the prospect of fighting..."

Before the court, in front of the Turkic envoy, all the officials of the Tang Dynasty threatened to fight.

But now, everyone's attitude is cautious again.Obviously, in the past few days, most of the intelligence from the north is not very optimistic.

Li Shimin looked at the gloomy faces of everyone, and sighed in his heart.He originally wanted to listen to everyone's news and analyze the current situation, but seeing that everyone was depressed, he signaled to Wang Deyi to ask him to present Li Ke's letter.

"Please don't worry, gentlemen. I have a letter here from Shu. You may wish to read it before making a decision!"

Li Shimin said loudly.

At this time, Wang De had already taken out the letter and presented it to the ministers for circulation.

As soon as everyone heard that the letter came from Shu, they already guessed that it was from Li Ke.

Only then did everyone think of Li Kelai. That's right, His Royal Highness the King of Shu, he is a good leader in battle. The last time the Turks attacked, he was the one who repelled the enemy!

Now that he sent the letter, he must have a strategy to control the enemy and is sure to win the battle.

With trust in Li Ke, everyone read this letter one by one.

The content of this letter is very simple. The king of Shu said that he had made all preparations and would lead his troops northward to solve this predicament.He told Li Shimin not to talk about peace, but to stand firm and keep the area north of the Yellow River.

Li Ke's ability is recognized even by Changsun Wuji, who is in the hostile camp. Since he has invited Yingying to fight, everyone has more confidence in this battle.

However, considering the menacing forces of the three northern kingdoms and the long battle front, it is extremely difficult to win this battle. Everyone is not sure that the king of Shu will be able to repel the enemy and keep the territory of Hebei.

"Everyone has read the letter from King Shu, what do you think?"

Li Shimin waited until everyone had read the letter before he spoke leisurely and asked for their opinions.

After some thought, Fang Xuanling was the first to speak.

"Your Majesty! Everyone has seen the power of the King of Shu. I believe that the King of Shu can at least keep the front line of the Yellow River!"

Fang Xuanling did not speak too fully. He only said that Li Ke could maintain the Yellow River defense line, which meant that as long as Li Ke went to war, the worst outcome would be the peace negotiation request made by the special envoy.

He said this, naturally, to give Li Shimin confidence, let him firmly reject the peace talks, and save Datang's face.

Even if there is a fight, the worst-case scenario is just the result of peace talks, so why bother trying to make peace?
After Fang Xuanling spoke, all the ministers also nodded, saying that Li Ke was able to guard the defense line of the Yellow River, and suggested that Li Shimin refuse the peace talks.

Li Shimin saw everyone's performance in his eyes. With a wave of his hand, he stopped everyone's speech and said loudly: "Don't worry, gentlemen, the peace talks will harm the foundation of the Tang Dynasty. Naturally, I will not agree!"

Then, he turned his attention to the generals and asked, "But the king of Shu can only defend to the Yellow River's front? There is still a large area of ​​territory north of the Yellow River, can it really be defended?"

Li Shimin is naturally unwilling to lose a large piece of land, he is determined to expand the territory, how could he agree to give away a large piece of land?
None of the generals spoke, and no one dared to guarantee that Li Ke would be able to hold the north.

At this time, Qin Qiong stood up, presented the pond newspaper in his hand, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, this is the pond newspaper from the direction of Youzhou. The situation over there is critical. Your Majesty may wish to take a look!"

(End of this chapter)