Entering the 11th month, the north was bitterly cold.
The weather was getting colder and colder.
The army led by Li Shimin had already entered Guazhou. However, the weather in Guazhou was better this year, and it started to snow in the 11th month. Although it was not to the point of heavy snow, the weather was already bitterly cold.
Within Guazhou City.
Li Shimin's army was temporarily stationed.
Within the central tent.
Li Shimin sat on the main seat, and below him were Wei Zheng, Zhangsun Wuji, Li Jing, and the others. He looked at the people under him and said solemnly, "Now that it is snowing, the weather is bitterly cold. Although the soldiers are wearing thick clothes, the weather is cold and not good for battle. Do you think it is suitable to send troops now? "
Actually, Li Shimin was a little helpless about sending troops now.
The weather was not suitable.
If it was two months earlier, it would be the most suitable. However, the envoys he sent out to contact Tibet, Goguryeo, Xinluo, and the Turks on the grasslands took a lot of time. As a result, Li Shimin only reached Guazhou in the 11th month.
Tibet still did not listen to Li Shimin.
The reason was simple. Quci Zaren was in Xia Xia, and he knew about Xia Xia's strength. Hence, under Quci Zaren's news, Gongga could not work for the Tang dynasty. Even under the persuasion of the Tang dynasty envoys, Gongga forcefully chased away the Tang dynasty envoys. He even threatened that if the Tang dynasty attacked, Tibet would no longer remain neutral and submit to Du Qi.
After Li Shimin received the news, he did not bother about Tibet. The reason was simple. If Li Shimin wanted to attack Tibet, he would need some time. Now was the best chance to attack Du Qi, so Li Shimin chose not to bother about Tibet.
Luckily, with Xinluo, Baekje, and a portion of the Turks, they still had 50 thousand troops.
Including Li Shimin's 250 thousand troops.
A total of 300 thousand troops.
All of them listened to Li Shimin.
In truth, Li Shimin was not very satisfied with this number. Based on Li Shimin's plan, they needed to gather at least 400 thousand troops, maybe even 500 thousand or more. However, the number of troops recruited was not many, and Goguryeo and the others did not have many troops.
In the end, there were only 300 thousand.
Although it did not reach his goal, Li Shimin had to accept it.
Li Jing said seriously, "Your Majesty, actually, we don't have a choice. If we don't send our troops, it won't be easy for us to attack Du Qi after he completely pacifies the southern countries of Tianzhu. This is because Du Qi will turn his troops back to deal with them. Therefore, even if it is winter, we must attack. Fortunately, our army is equipped with gunpowder. With the help of the catapults, shooting the clay pots onto the city walls was enough to destroy the defenses of various places. Therefore, I believe that we still have to send troops. "
Zhangsun Wuji said, "Your Majesty, I agree."
Wei Zheng said, "This subject also agrees."
The civil officials and generals all nodded in agreement. At this moment, everyone had the same opinion.
Seeing everyone's attitude, Li Shimin nodded and said, "Since everyone has the same opinion, then we don't need to consider the climate anymore. We just arrived at Guazhou City yesterday. Today, we'll rest and reorganize. Tomorrow, we'll set off. We'll head straight for Guazhou and Rouyuan County. "
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Li Shimin waved his hand, and everyone left to do their own things.
Li Shimin sat alone in the tent, thinking about what to do next. Because at this moment, the Tang dynasty had already gone all out. There was no way back. They could only win in one go. There was no other choice.
Whoosh!
The tent's curtain was lifted.
Immediately, a gust of cold air invaded.
Fortunately, there was anthracite burning in the tent, dispelling the cold air. Li Shimin did not feel cold. Li Shimin looked up and saw that Zhangsun Wuji had entered again. He said, "Wuji, you just went out and came back. What's the matter?"
Zhangsun Wuji said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, the reason why I entered is because I just received the news. Our delinquents hiding in Rou Yuan County City have already made their preparations. "
"Once we attack Rouyuan County, they will start a riot in the county and support us. At that time, with the help of the delinquents, it will be easy for us to attack Rouyuan County. "
"There are troops stationed in Rouyuan County now, led by Du Qi's subordinates, Ma Yuan and Xiao Yuanqi. As long as we break Rouyuan County, Ma Yuan and Xiao Yuanqi will not be a threat. "
Zhangsun Wuji said, "When Du Qi sent his troops south, he arranged Ma Yuan and Xiao Yuanqi to go south. He thought he could guard the border. But in reality, such a force is not enough to be a threat. It's impossible for them to stop us. "
Li Shimin smiled and said, "The delinquents have been arranged. That's good. With the help of the delinquents, we have more confidence in breaking Rouyuan County. "
Zhangsun Wuji said, "Your Majesty is right."
"Report!"
At this moment, another soldier came in and said, "Your Majesty, the latest news from Chang 'an is here."
Li Shimin said, "Present it."
The soldier handed over the letter, turned around and left.
Li Shimin took the letter and opened it to read. This letter was a special letter from Zhangsun Wugou. Zhangsun Wugou's letter also mentioned some government affairs in the court. However, Zhangsun Wugou only explained the news and did not take any position. At the end, there was the most important news in the letter, which was that Zhangsun Wugou had given birth to a daughter.
Now, Zhangsun Wugou had given birth to a third daughter.
Zhangsun Wugou married Li Shimin and had already given birth to three sons, Li Chengqian, Li Tai, and Li Zhi. She also gave birth to two daughters. Now, she gave birth to a third daughter.
It could be said that the honor of the harem was all on Zhangsun Wugou.
In the letter, she asked Li Shimin to name the child. After reading the letter, Li Shimin immediately wrote a letter. In the letter, he wrote the name of the third daughter, Li Mingda, nicknamed Cuo Zi. The reason why Li Shimin named Li Mingda Cuo Zi was because the Cuo was an auspicious beast. Whenever the world was prosperous, auspicious beasts like the Cuo would appear.
This was also Li Shimin's idea.
After Li Shimin replied to the letter, he instructed Zhangsun Wugou to take care of her body.
After Li Shimin replied to the letter, he asked someone to send it away immediately. Then, he looked at Zhangsun Wuji in the tent and smiled, "Fuji, you are an uncle again. Maid Guanyin has already given birth to a daughter. I have another daughter. "
Li Shimin's words came from the bottom of his heart.
He really liked Zhangsun Wugou and the child that Zhangsun Wugou gave birth to, even if the child was a daughter.
Zhangsun Wuji immediately thanked Li Shimin.
After a series of congratulations, Zhangsun Wuji changed the topic and said, "Your Majesty, we have already started the final battle with Du Qi. In this battle, there is no way out for both sides. Therefore, I think that, other than instigating many forces to rebel, we can take a more direct and powerful arrangement. "
Li Shimin smiled and said, "Wuji, this is your real purpose for returning, right?"
"Yes!"
Zhangsun Wuji revealed a smile on his face.
Li Shimin said, "Tell me, how do you plan to take a more forceful and powerful arrangement?"
"The strategy of assassination."
Zhangsun Wuji's eyes flashed with a ruthless expression as he said, "At this point, we don't need to pay attention to any other morals. Therefore, when we attack openly, we will use instigating people to rebel. At the same time, we will arrange for soldiers to carry out the strategy of assassination to assassinate Xia Xia's officials. "
After a pause, Zhangsun Wuji continued, "For example, the Provincial Governor of Yi Province, Yang Buqi. Once he is killed, Yi Province will be in chaos. Apart from that, there are also the officials of Xia Xia. They can be dealt with one by one. As long as we deal with all these people. Then, when we attack, it will be easier. "
Li Shimin instantly became silent.
In fact, such a strategy had already been mentioned when Xia Xia and the Tang dynasty started the war.
With this saying, Li Shimin rejected it.
The reason was simple. Once they started the assassination, if the people of the Tang dynasty tried to assassinate Xia Xia's officials, Du Qi on Xia Xia's side would also choose to assassinate Xia Xia's officials as revenge. At that time, it would not only be a battle on the battlefield, but also a mutual revenge.
This was something that could easily go wrong.
Li Shimin would not allow such a thing to happen.
At this point, Li Shimin's heart was gradually wavering. Just as Zhangsun Wuji had mentioned, the battle with Xia Xia had already reached the point of life and death.
Zhangsun Wuji advised, "Your Majesty, the battle between us and Xia Xia is already a battle of life and death. At this point, it's nothing to use all means to attack. As long as we can win, I think all methods are acceptable. "
The wavering expression in Li Shimin's eyes became more and more intense.
He really wanted to agree.
However, after Li Shimin's heart wavered, he thought for a long time and finally said, "No, this strategy has not been used. In our battle with Du Qi, we cannot disregard everything and disregard our bottom line just because we want to destroy Xia Xia. Therefore, at this moment, we cannot use such a strategy. The assassination strategy cannot be used. "
Zhangsun Wuji said, "Your Majesty, you can't be so pedantic! As long as we can destroy Du Qi, it will be worth it for the Tang dynasty. However, if we can't defeat Du Qi, the consequences will be unimaginable. "
Li Shimin said, "Auxiliary machine, there are things to do and things not to do. At this moment, we still cannot use the assassination strategy. It's fine if we assassinate the officials under Du Qi. There's nothing to say. However, once Du Qi's people take revenge, it will cause our people to be assassinated, countless officials to be killed, and even ordinary people to be implicated. That will be inappropriate. In the end, we still have to stick to our bottom line. "
Zhangsun Wuji sighed.
He felt that Li Shimin was still a little pedantic.
They had already taken measures to ally with Silla, Baekje, Goguryeo, and the Turkic tribes on the grassland. These things had already been done, but they still had to stick to their bottom line. Zhangsun Wuji felt that this was not a good arrangement and that they should take extreme measures to deal with it.
Zhangsun Wuji said, "Since Your Majesty has already made a decision, I will take my leave."
"You may leave!"
Li Shimin waved his hand, and Zhangsun Wuji left.
Li Shimin sat alone in the tent, but he sighed deeply. In fact, he really wanted to agree with Zhangsun Wuji's strategy. However, in the end, Li Shimin restrained this thought.
Because there were some precedents that could not be set.
There were some bottom lines that could not be broken.
The army under Li Shimin rested for a day. The next morning, Li Shimin led the army and quickly advanced toward Rouyuan County at the border of Yizhou.
The current border of Guazhou had already been sealed off. Most of the business dealings had already stopped. After all, Guazhou was connected to the Western Region, Xia Country, and the Tang dynasty. Once Guazhou was sealed off, business dealings were immediately cut off.
Even so, the news of Li Shimin sending out troops still spread first.
It spread to Rouyuan County.
In Rouyuan County, other than the ten thousand men left behind by Xiao Yuanqi, there were also some local soldiers. These were the forces in charge of defense in Rouyuan County. However, the military strength of Rouyuan County was far more than that. The army led by Xiao Yuanqi and Ma Yuan was also stationed in the city.
The time when the two of them led the army to arrive was because the Tang dynasty made a move. Especially when Guazhou was sealed off, the two of them had already arrived. The two people's initial plan was to stay outside the city and hide, waiting to catch Li Shimin unprepared. However, they later learned that the Tang dynasty had nearly three hundred thousand soldiers. With so many soldiers, it would not be easy to ambush them.
Moreover, the two of them had nearly one hundred thousand soldiers. It would not be easy to hide their whereabouts. Therefore, after discussing, the two of them finally decided to use defense as an attack. They would use Rouyuan County as a defense to consume Li Shimin's forces.
This was the strategy that the two of them decided on.
When the news of Li Shimin's departure from Guazhou to Rouyuan County reached Xiao Yuanqi's hands, Xiao Yuanqi and Ma Yuan immediately discussed countermeasures.
However, when the two of them were discussing, a soldier came in and reported that the Rouyuan County Magistrate, Pei Changqing, wanted to see them. Xiao Yuanqi and Ma Yuan looked at each other. Xiao Yuanqi immediately ordered, "Please!"
The soldier went to inform them. Soon, Pei Changqing came in.
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