After the morning court session ended, the officials left the Taiji Palace.
Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Li Jing, Li Zexuan, and the other core officials came to the Ganlu Palace to discuss with Li Er about attacking Liang Shidu.
After all, this involved the specific battle plan. If it was directly announced to the public in the court, what if someone accidentally leaked it out?
Thus, to be safe, Li Er would only gather his trusted officials for these 'meetings' that involved specific military plans. This way, he could ensure that the plan would not be leaked out and also increase the efficiency of the meeting!
"Since we have decided to attack Liang Shidu, how do you think we should do it?"
Within the Ganlu Palace.
Li Er looked at the trusted officials in the hall and asked aloud.
Zhangsun Wuji stepped forward and said,
"Your Majesty, during the Wude era, Liang Shidu had invaded our Tang Dynasty many times and was defeated by our army. Many of his subordinates have already surrendered to our Tang Dynasty. Furthermore, the 18 rebellious kings have all been wiped out. Today, Liang Shidu is unable to join forces with the rebellious kings and is weak. Internally, the Turks have political problems and it is hard for him to withdraw. Thus, I feel that Liang Shidu is no longer a threat. Why don't we send someone to ask him to surrender?
Xiao Chuo nodded and echoed, "What Duke Zhao said is right. Now that Master Liang's fate is exhausted, he can't make any waves. If we can take him down without losing a single soldier, it would be for the best!"
Li Er nodded but did not say anything.
Li Ji spoke, "Your Majesty, I feel that this plan is not appropriate! In the court session, according to Marquis Yong 'an's plan, the best result would be to force Liang Shidu to ask for help from Xieli and lure him to break the alliance! If we do as Duke Zhao said and send a messenger to persuade Liang Shidu to surrender, what if that person really surrenders? Wouldn't Xieli not be able to react in time? "
Du Ruhui clasped his hands and said, "General Li is right, but that's only one of the reasons. More importantly, Liang Shidu is a vicious person. Ever since the Sui Dynasty, he has been seizing power from the Yu County. He's been at odds with our Great Tang for more than a decade now. If he really wanted to surrender, he wouldn't have waited until now! Therefore, sending an emissary to persuade them to surrender is really a waste of time and effort! "
Li Zexuan nodded. Suddenly, he noticed Li Zexuan who was lowering his head to 'count ants'. His heart stirred as he asked, "Marquis of Yong 'an, you were the one who came up with this plan. Do you have any brilliant ideas about attacking Liang Shidu?"
Li Zexuan could not help but curse in his heart. He thought to himself, Why are you calling me when the two big shots are arguing so fiercely? What do you want me to say? Agreeing with one side would definitely cause the other side to be unhappy!
However, since Li Zexuan called him out, Li Zexuan had no choice but to put on a straight face.
"Replying to Your Majesty, this subject has no wise opinion, only a foolish one. In this subject's opinion, the opinions of Duke Zhao, General Li, and Master Du do not conflict with each other! We can bring our army to persuade them to surrender! For example, before the army besieges the city, we can send an emissary into the city to persuade Liang Shidu to surrender to Great Tang. Of course, Master Du also said that with Liang Shidu's character, he would definitely not surrender. At that time, when the emissary comes out, the army will surround the city and force Liang Shidu to seek help. This is called using peaceful means before resorting to force! "
This way, they would not offend either side!
Li Zexuan added in his heart.
In the royal court, only those who did not offend others would be able to live longer!
After being an official for so long, Li Zexuan felt that his emotional intelligence seemed to have increased.
"Good! What a good 'using peaceful means before resorting to force'! However, in this old man's opinion, why don't we call this' killing the heart '? "
Zhangsun Wuji chuckled.
"Heh! This is good! To deal with that old scoundrel Liang Shidu, we should kill the heart! "
Cheng Yaojin agreed with a smile.
Li Zexuan nodded and finally said, "Good! We will do as Marquis of Yong 'an says! Order Chai Shao and Xue Wanjun to lead fifty thousand Right Guards and thirty thousand Xia Province soldiers to besiege Liang Shidu. We must take down the city! I will send two Taichang Temple officials to follow the army. Before the army besieges the city, we will let them enter the city to ask for their surrender. After they return without any success, we will attack! "
Chai Shao and Xue Wanjun stepped forward and clasped their fists, "We accept the decree!"
These two people were fierce men!
At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, Chai Shao fought many battles with the Eastern Turks and Tuyuhun, and he fought them beautifully. In the first year of Zhenguan, Chai Shao, who had many achievements in battle, was promoted to the position of Right Guard General. Furthermore, this fellow had married Li Yuan's daughter, Princess Ping Yang, and could be considered as Li Zexuan's brother-in-law!
Now that Old Li had promoted Chai Shao as a general, it was very likely that he wanted to give his brother-in-law some military merits. After all, the battle to destroy Liang Shidu was one of the easier battles!
Xue Wanjun was Xue Wanche's older brother. Back then, the two brothers were very important under Luo Yi and gave Dou Jiande a lot of problems. Later, they were shaved bald by Liu Heikuo, but that could only be blamed on Xue Wanjun's incompetence.
Seeing that Li Er only sent Chai Shao and Xue Wanjun, Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Jingde instantly became anxious. Old Cheng immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this old subject also requests to fight!"
Yuchi Jingde was unwilling to fall behind and also clasped his fists, "Your Majesty, this old subject also requests to fight! Last time, this old subject missed the Battle of Guan City. This time, this battle is against Liang Shidu, this old subject can't miss it no matter what! "
Li Er thought about it and finally nodded, "That's good. Send Jingde as the Chief Supervisor to destroy Liang Shidu, Chai Shao as the General of the Left, and Xue Wanjun as the General of the Right. Within three days, organize the troops and horses and head to the north!"
Yuchi Jingde was overjoyed and quickly clasped his fists, "This old subject thanks Your Majesty!"
Chai Shao and Xue Wanjun inexplicably gained a superior, but Yuchi Jingde's qualifications were there, so they couldn't say much. They could only bow and say, "This subject obeys the decree!"
But this way, Cheng Yaojin was completely displeased. Old Cheng said unwillingly, "Your Majesty, there's still this old subject!"
Li Er said unhappily, "Liang Shidu's fate is already exhausted. Jingde, Chai Shao, and Xue Wanjun are enough. Why use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken? Could it be that you want Zhen to send all of the Great Tang's generals over? Withdraw! "
To be honest, the current Li Er really didn't put Liang Shidu in his eyes. According to his initial thoughts, he only wanted to send Chai Shao and Xue Wanjun, these two generals. Adding Yuchi Jingde behind them was already the limit. If Cheng Yaojin was also added, then Old Li could only say to Liang Shidu, "You're not worthy!"
Cheng Yaojin was deflated and didn't dare to resist, silently withdrawing.
Li Er continued, "The Ministry of Revenue needs to quickly mobilize the army's provisions. The Ministry of Works needs to prepare the army's weapons and armor. Beloved Official Xiao, Beloved Official Yan, I'll have to trouble you these two days!"
Xiao Yu and Yan Lide hurriedly bowed and said, "Your Majesty is too kind. This is our duty!"
Li Er nodded and said, "Since that's the case, then all of you can go back and prepare immediately!"
Everyone bowed and said, "This subject will take his leave!"
"Marquis Yong 'an, you stay behind!"
Old Li suddenly added, causing Li Zexuan, who had already taken a step forward, to helplessly withdraw his foot.
"… Yes! Your Majesty! "
Cheng Yaojin patted Li Zexuan's shoulder, then cast a sympathetic look over and left in front of Li Zexuan.
"You brat, do you know why Zhen asked you to stay behind alone?"
After all the important officials left, Li Er stood up and walked to the bottom of the hall, looking at Li Zexuan and asking with a smile.
Li Zexuan pondered for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "Could it be that Your Majesty wants to let this subject send a student to bring a telegraph machine, a celestial lamp, and a telescope to follow the army like last time when they attacked Guan City?"
Li Er shook his head and said, "Of course not! Liang Shidu is just a grasshopper after autumn, why would we need to use a divine artifact to destroy him? Besides, I don't want to let the Turks know about the telegraph machine, the celestial lamp, and the telescope so early. It's not bad to give Xieli a surprise when the final battle comes in the future! "
Li Zexuan instantly understood. It turned out that Old Li was looking down on Liang Shidu, and he even wanted to give Xieli a killing move!
"Then why did Your Majesty ask this subject to stay behind?"
Li Zexuan really couldn't guess, so he asked.
Li Er stared into his eyes and said, "Let me ask you, how much iron can your iron smelting factory make in a day? And that steel smelting factory, how much steel can it make in a day ~? "
Li Zexuan's heart moved, hesitated for a moment, then answered, "Your Majesty, if this subject's iron smelting factory goes all out, it can make about two thousand jin of iron a day. As for the steel smelting factory, it can also make about two thousand jin of steel a day ~!"
Speaking of which, his daily production of two thousand jin was actually not high, it was only a few hundred tons a year! One must know that according to the original history, in the middle of the Tang Dynasty, the annual production of steel could reach five thousand tons. The Song Dynasty was even more ruthless, the annual production of steel could reach seventy thousand tons. Therefore, his annual production of a few hundred tons was not high, the main reason was that the scale of the iron smelting factory and steel smelting factory was a little small!
But then again, his iron smelting factory and steel smelting factory could already be considered the highest production in the Tang Dynasty!
"Two thousand jin a day?"
Li Er's expression changed slightly, and he let out two light breaths. He said to Li Zexuan, "You must have seen the situation in the imperial court today, the war between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks is not far away! Although the Turks have made a decision now, their strength is still not to be underestimated! It is said that Xieli has more than a million soldiers under his command, and all the Turks are soldiers. Moreover, they live in the grasslands all year round, and most of them are brave and good at fighting!
Therefore, this war with the Turks will definitely not be easy to fight! As the saying goes, if a worker wants to do a good job, he must first sharpen his tools. Before the war, I intend to transfer the elite soldiers of the hundred cavalry to expand the Black Armored Army, and also upgrade the armor and equipment for the Black Armored Army. The steel used for this will be provided by your workshop, how about it? "
Hearing this, Li Zexuan bowed without any hesitation and said, "This subject is duty-bound ~!"
Seeing Li Zexuan agree so readily, Li Er was surprised and said, "Ha! You have always been a person who does not move without benefits. Today, I have not promised you any benefits, so why did you agree so readily? "
Li Zexuan said seriously, "Your Majesty must be joking! The country is facing a great enemy, not to mention offering some steel, as long as the enemy can be annihilated, even if you want this subject to give up all my assets, this subject is willing! Although this subject is usually stubborn and mischievous, in the face of such major issues, I can still distinguish between right and wrong ~! "
Li Zexuan was not stupid. He knew better than anyone else that only when the country was stable could he live a carefree life in the Tang Dynasty.
Li Er's eyes were filled with admiration. He smiled and said, "Good! Good lad! I did not misjudge you! You will probably be able to mine the vanadium mine in the Shu Lands soon! When the time comes, I hope that you can refine a batch of the vanadium steel that you mentioned earlier to make armor and swords for the Black Armored Army! I want to make the Black Armored Army, the sharp sword of the Tang Dynasty, even sharper, and pierce Xieli's heart ~! "
…
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
