"More than two hours ago, We received news that last night, Turkic Great General Ashina Sheercun led fifty thousand elite wolf cavalry into the pass and routed the garrisons of Yanmen Pass, Yonghe Pass, and Madou Pass.
Turkic State Teacher Wu Jie, after stealing the academy's secret dossier, wanted to meet up with Ashina Sheercun. At Longmen Pass, he engaged in a major battle with the Marquis of Yongan's army. The Marquis of Yongan fought with all his strength, and although he was no match, he left behind the Yanhuang College dossier that Wu Jie had stolen. Wu Jie fled and successfully met up with Ashina Sheercun at Madou Pass!
Afterward, Ashina Sheercun and Wu Jie charged back into Longmen Pass, wanting to steal the academy dossier. The garrisons of Longmen Pass defended with all their strength, and with the timely arrival of Shu Bao and the reinforcements of Qizhou Provincial Governor Wang Renbiao, they were able to push back the Turkic army!
Duke Yi led his army in pursuit and joined forces with the garrisons of Yunzhou, Daizhou, Shuo, and Yuzhou to encircle the Turkic army. Ashina Sheercun and Wu Jie did their utmost to break out, but in the end, they only managed to escape back to the steppe with around one thousand soldiers! "
The next day, no, to be more precise, it was today. After daybreak, Li Er, who had slept for more than two hours, once again got up to preside over the morning court. Li Er was an extremely disciplined emperor, and unless it was absolutely necessary, he would not miss the morning court. In the court, after the sovereign and his subjects had exchanged greetings, Li Er went straight to the point.
The entire court was stunned by his words!
Other than Li Jing and Li Ji, who had participated in the war simulation yesterday, when the other officials heard that the fifty thousand Turkic elite wolf cavalry had charged into Longmen Pass, they all gasped in shock. At the same time, they couldn't help but think that the Great Tang and the Turks had been at peace for more than two years. Were they finally about to declare war?
Since ancient times, wars between nations had never been a small matter. From the emperor to the commoners, they were all drawn to the war between nations.
The Great Tang had been founded on martial prowess, and the court had many civil and military officials who had never feared war. Thus, when Li Er spoke, someone immediately stepped forward and clasped his fist.
"Your Majesty, Xieli has gone too far, daring to once more attack my Great Tang. Does he still think the Great Tang is as weak and easy to bully as it was two years ago? This old subject requests battle, I am willing to lead the army into the grasslands and capture Xieli alive! "
The one who stepped forward was Niu Jinda. This time, Li Er had ordered Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, and Yuchi Jing De to lead the army north to pursue Wu Jie, but he had been left out. This made Niu Jinda somewhat unconvinced. Logically speaking, his martial arts weren't any worse than Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Jing De's, so why hadn't Old Li appointed him as a general?
Thus, when he heard Li Er mention the battle at the front during the morning court assembly, Old Cow immediately became spirited. He knew that Li Er would definitely be extremely dissatisfied with the Turks and might directly send troops to attack the grasslands. How could he be willing to miss this rare opportunity?
"Your Majesty, the Turks have disregarded our Great Tang. This old subject requests battle! Please send troops to exterminate the Turks! "
Li Ji also stepped forward and bowed.
"This (old) subject requests for battle to exterminate the Turks!"
With a whoosh, all the people in the generals' camp stepped forward and cupped their fists to Li Er.
After the Great Tang was established, especially in the last few years, the world was at peace and there were very few wars. This highlighted the value of military merit. Now that the curtains to the war between the Great Tang and the Turks were about to begin, how could these generals sit still? They all wanted to get a share (some) of the spoils (contributions) in this Kingdom War.
With the generals like this, the civil officials did not show any weakness.
The civil officials of the beginning of the Great Tang were not all pedantic scholars. Many civil officials not only knew how to ride horses and shoot arrows, some could even pick up swords and sabers and knew some martial arts. Seeing the generals express their stance, many civil officials could no longer sit still!
"Your Majesty, our Great Tang has been recuperating for the last two years. Not only is the people's livelihood flourishing, our national treasury is also growing by the day. Now, Xieli has sent an army to invade the borders of our Great Tang. This is not putting Your Majesty in his eyes, not putting our Great Tang in his eyes. Since ancient times, if a sovereign is humiliated, a subject dies. If Your Majesty decides to go on a campaign against the Turks, this old subject, Wei Zheng, is willing to accompany the army!"
Wei Zheng took two steps forward and cupped his fists angrily.
Even though Wei Zheng usually scolded Li Er, what was the saying again? The deeper the love, the more the blame! Even though this saying was not very appropriate for Wei Zheng and Li Er, Wei Zheng's goal in scolding Li Er was to hope that Li Er could become a sage!
In the two years since Li Er ascended the throne, even though there were still some areas where he was lacking, he had not made any major mistakes. He was already very close to the sage in Wei Zheng's heart! Seeing that the Great Tang was getting better and better, more and more prosperous, the Turks were actually marching south and invading the Great Tang's territory. Even though Wei Zheng was only a civil official, he was also filled with patriotism. For this country, he was willing to personally go to the front lines and kill the enemy!
Wei Zheng was definitely not just saying this. If there was really a need, he would immediately return home to pack his things and prepare to follow the army!
The spirit of a scholar, full of vigor!
This was precisely Wei Zheng's current state!
At this time, there was no need to be calm. What was needed was the spirit of a scholar and the strength of patriotism!
"Your Majesty, Left Minister Wei is right. Now that our Great Tang is strong and prosperous, our strength is no longer the same as before. Xieli sent his army to invade our Great Tang's borders, this is looking down on our Great Tang's prestige. Only by severely punishing and killing the chicken to warn the monkey can our Great Tang's borders be completely stable. Only then can the surrounding small countries put away their thoughts of coveting Great Tang! Your subject believes that the imperial court should send out troops and also has the ability to send out troops to suppress the Turks! "
Fang Xuanling also stood out with Wei Zheng and cupped his fists towards Li Er.
"This old subject agrees!"
Zhangsun Wuji pondered for a moment, then stepped forward and cupped his fists.
With his secondment, the rest of the civil officials also couldn't wait to clasp their fists towards Li Er. "Your subject agrees! Your Majesty, please send out troops to suppress the Turks! "
The civil and military officials of the imperial court, from top to bottom, were united in their support of war. This was the Great Tang, this was the attitude of the civil and military officials of the Great Tang towards war!
It was said that the Great Tang was strong and the Song was weak. This wasn't without reason. It was precisely because of the Great Tang's martial spirit that caused them to be able to stand out bravely and fight for the country when faced with a war between countries. It was unlike the Song Dynasty, where almost no one in the entire imperial court could stand out when faced with a war. Most of them were in favor of peace. They only wanted a moment of peace, who cared if their descendants would be slaughtered by other races in the future?
"Good! My beloved subjects are indeed the pillars of the country, I am very comforted! "
Seeing that his subjects were all eager to go to war, Li Er was very happy. He laughed and said, "Now that the locust plague in the Guanzhong region has mostly been quelled, even if there are some places that haven't been quelled, the food stored in Taicang and Hanjiacang is more than enough to deal with the disaster. The six departments of the imperial court should be able to free up their hands and prepare for the upcoming war!
For this attack on the Turks, I plan to send out three hundred thousand soldiers. These three hundred thousand soldiers will be transferred from the Chang 'an Twelve Guards. Along the way, I will recruit the elite soldiers of the various provinces to expand the army to four hundred thousand. I want to fight with Xieli on the grassland!
Officials of the Six Ministries, within three months, they must prepare the provisions, armor, warhorses, and medicine needed for an army of three hundred thousand. Officers and soldiers of Chang 'an, during these two months, they must step up their training and must not slack off in the slightest. Zhen will enter the camp to inspect. If anyone is found slacking off in training, the officers and officers in the camp will definitely punish them severely!
Three months later, the army will officially set out. I want to destroy the entire Turks and let the northern border of the Great Tang be completely peaceful, so that the descendants of the Great Tang will no longer be threatened by the foreign tribes in the north! "
Everyone's heart trembled. They did not expect that Li Er would actually plan to attack the Turks in three months. This was somewhat sudden, but it was also reasonable. After all, in a few more months, it would be winter, and fighting in winter would be very disadvantageous for the Great Tang army!
However, at the same time, everyone's blood was boiling from Li Er's bold words. Thus, as soon as Li Er finished speaking, the civil and military officials in the imperial court bowed in unison and said, "We obey the decree!"
This was a massive war between two countries, the first time the two most powerful countries in the world were going against each other! Even though the Great Tang had a strong army and ample treasury, against a colossus like the Turks, they still had to go all out!
The three hundred thousand soldiers that Li Er had spoken of was already the minimum estimate. It wasn't that he didn't want to send more soldiers, but deep in the steppe and engaging in long-range battles was an extremely arduous challenge. The more soldiers there were, the more difficult it would be to resupply. Three hundred to four hundred thousand soldiers was already the limit of what the supply line could maintain. Any more and there would be problems with supplies!
On the other hand, Li Er had to consider not only the Turks, but also the smaller countries on the Great Tang's borders. If the Great Tang mobilized its entire army, it would inevitably leave its rear empty. The smaller countries on the border like Tibet, Tuyuhun, Gaochang, and Zhenla might have designs on the Great Tang and take advantage of its weakness!
Thus, in Li Er's view, the most important thing in attacking the Turks was quality, not quantity. When the time came, with excellent armor and outstanding tactical command, an army of four hundred thousand might be able to shake the 'one million mighty soldiers' of the Turks!
… … …
"Yuxi, why is your complexion so poor? Are you sick? "
Lantian District, Yong 'an Marquis Residence.
As usual, Han Yuxi had woken up early to prepare breakfast for her parents-in-law. Although in this era, ordinary families only ate two meals a day without breakfast, a large clan like the Li Clan naturally couldn't lack three meals a day! While eating, Madam Li saw that Han Yuxi's complexion was haggard and couldn't help but worriedly ask.
Han Yuxi forced a smile. "Mother, I'm fine! Don't worry, I just didn't sleep well last night! "
"Haaa! Silly child, do you think that Mother doesn't know you? "
Madam Li stared at Han Yuxi's face for a few moments before sighing and asking, "Are you worried about Little Xuan? So worried that you couldn't sleep last night? "
"Mother! I'm not! Husband is highly skilled in martial arts, so there's nothing to worry about. He'll definitely be able to return safely in a few days! "
Han Yuxi hurriedly shook her head and explained, "I … I'm just worried about the academy, so in a little while, I want to go to the academy to take a look!"
"Yanhuang College has always stood aloof from worldly affairs. This time, they've suffered a great calamity, and Xuan 'er is hundreds of miles away. Yuxi, you should go to the academy to take a look! This old man also heard that Old Mr. Li Gang is bedridden. This old man will also visit him later! "
Li Jingmo, who was sitting next to Madam Li, said in a deep voice.
"Haaa! Old Mr. Li is a person of virtue and prestige. He's been untainted his entire life. He's clearly at the age where he can enjoy the rest of his life, yet he still insists on teaching at the academy. In terms of character, how many people in the world can compare to him? But I didn't expect Old Mr. Li to be bedridden after this illness. I don't know if Doctor Sun has a way to cure Mr. Wen Ji! "
Hearing this, Mrs. Li sighed with a sad expression.
"Father, Mother, let's not talk about this for now. The food is getting cold. Hurry up and eat! Come, Lan 'er, you eat too! "
Han Yuxi hurriedly said when she saw that the atmosphere in the room was a little depressing.
Lan 'er nodded heavily and said, "Yes, yes! Lan 'er has to eat more. When Big Brother comes back, he won't be able to carry Lan' er anymore! "
Young girls don't know how to worry. Lan 'er's heart can only hold beautiful things, but some people and some things can't be beautiful forever!
"Young Madam, you were clearly worried about Young Master and didn't sleep for the whole night. Why didn't you tell Master and Madam the truth just now?"
After the meal, Han Yuxi packed up some things and got on the carriage. Under the personal escort of Liu Feng, Liu Yun, and the others, she went to Yanhuang College. As for Father Li, who originally said that he would go to Yunshan to visit Li Gang, he would go later because he was afraid that he would disturb Li Gang's rest. On the way, Xiao He looked at Han Yuxi and asked in a low voice.
Han Yuxi smiled bitterly and said, "Xiao He, even if I tell Father and Mother, what can they do? It will only make them worry! I don't even know where my husband is right now, and with such a big incident happening at the Academy, I'm sure Wei Wang and the others must have informed my husband about it via telegraph. Perhaps my husband is currently blocking Wu Jie's path in one of the northern provinces, how can I not worry about him? "
The carriage suddenly fell into silence. After a long time, Xiao Xi said, "Young Madam, you said before that Young Master's martial arts are strong and nothing will happen to him! Besides, His Majesty has sent General Qin and General Cheng to support Young Master. Young Master will definitely be fine! Don't worry! When Young Master comes back and sees your haggard appearance, he will feel distressed! "
"Yes, yes, yes! Young Master loves Young Madam so much, he will definitely feel distressed! "
Xiao He hurriedly echoed.
After being comforted by the two little girls, Han Yuxi felt a little better in her heart. She glanced at the two of them and said, "Alright, alright! You two don't need to persuade me anymore. Let's go to the Academy to take a look. It would be best if we can meet Qing Que. He will definitely know about Hubby! "
Han Yuxi thought to herself that she must have a telegraph machine at home in the future. This way, when Li Zexuan went out, she would be able to receive news immediately! As for how to use the telegraph machine, she didn't have to worry about it at all. Before she got married last year, Li Zexuan gave her a telegraph machine to use for "sending love letters". Therefore, she could be considered one of the first few people in the Tang Empire to use a telegraph machine!
…
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