It was almost the end of April and May.
The weather was getting warmer and warmer.
The spring breeze in Chang 'an was quite warm. In such weather, people could not help but want to go on a spring outing. However, Li Shimin was not in such a good mood. Li Shimin's heart had always been worried about the war at the front line, worried that Li Ji could not hold on. After all, after Li Ji was defeated in Shazhou, even if he retreated to Suzhou, his forces were limited.
Under this premise, once Li Ji could not hold on to Suzhou and withdrew, the consequences would be unimaginable. Of course, if Li Ji could hold on to Suzhou and block Du Qi's army, Li Shimin would be relieved.
In addition, Li Shimin was also stabilizing the situation in the Tang dynasty. Because the news of Li Ji's defeat in Shazhou and Du Qi's attack in Suzhou had spread throughout the Tang dynasty, the situation in the local areas had become delicate. Therefore, Li Shimin had to do his best to stabilize the situation and ensure the stability of the Tang dynasty.
While Li Shimin was dealing with government affairs, Tang Zhen hurried in. Tang Zhen had also aged a lot. After all, he had followed Li Shimin for so many years and had been working hard.
Tang Zhen stood beside Li Shimin and said, "Your Majesty, the scout arranged by Li Ji has returned with news."
Li Shimin said, "Bring him in."
"Yes!"
Tang Zhen immediately called for the scout to come in.
Not long after, the scout entered the hall and knelt on the ground to salute Li Shimin. At that moment, the sentinel's clothes were old and tattered. His face was pitch-black, and his lips were cracked. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his eyes were especially bloodshot. That was because he had traveled a long distance without rest. Thus, it caused him to be very tired, and he was exhausted all over.
Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "Stand up and talk."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The scout stood up and bowed respectfully.
Even so, he was still nervous.
Under normal circumstances, although the scout had a battle report, most of the time, he would just submit the battle report directly and would not meet the emperor in person. But this time, Li Shimin had personally summoned him. Such a scene made the scout very cautious.
Even so, the scout took out the letter and held it in both hands.
Tang Zhen took it and handed it to Li Shimin.
After reading the letter, Li Shimin's expression changed slightly. This was because Li Ji's letter was a letter asking for help. It was said that Du Qi's army did not attack Suzhou. Instead, they built walls outside Suzhou and surrounded Li Ji's forces.
Li Shimin's expression changed slightly, but in the next moment, a smile appeared on his face.
He made up his mind.
The reason was simple. Li Ji said in the letter that it could last for at least four months. In fact, it could even last for a longer period of time. Under such circumstances, it meant that the battle was in a stalemate.
The stalemate was beneficial to the Tang dynasty.
After all, Du Qi had quickly returned to Persia. Once Persia had gunpowder, Persia would send troops to attack Du Qi's rear. Then, Du Qi's aggressive momentum would be completely contained.
Li Shimin's heart relaxed, and he immediately inquired about the situation in Suzhou that the scouts knew.
At present, the people of Suzhou were still at peace.
After all, when Yan Leisheng was in power, he also vigorously developed the people's livelihood, so Suzhou didn't have much of a problem. As for provisions, equipment, and so on, Li Ji had long prepared, so Li Shimin did not need to worry about anything.
At this time, Li Shimin was a little happy.
It was rare to have good news.
Li Shimin waved his hand and dismissed the scouts. He then looked at Tang Zhen and said, "Summon Fang Xuanling to the palace."
"Yes!"
Tang Zhen immediately went to inform Fang Xuanling.
After the order was passed down, Fang Xuanling had already entered the main hall and bowed to Li Shimin. Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "Xuanling, no need to stand on ceremony. Sit down and talk."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Fang XuanLing thanked him and sat down.
Li Shimin directly explained the situation of the letter sent by Li Ji and said, "Now that Du Qi is maintaining a stalemate and no longer attacking, then when Persia sends troops, the situation will be different. Xuanling, now, should we recruit an army again and mobilize all the forces of the twelve guards to fight again? "
"When Persia attacks Du Qi's rear, we will also attack together with Persia. At that time, we will attack Du Qi, and Persia will attack Du Qi. Because Du Qi was attacked, he originally abolished the caste system in Tianzhu. These remaining caste system nobles are very likely to erupt with their last strength. "
"Do you think this is an opportunity?"
In Li Shimin's heart, he had never given up on destroying Du Qi. Now that Du Qi was blocked in Suzhou, and the situation between the two sides was in a stalemate, Li Shimin already had the intention to fight again.
Fang Xuanling heard this and said, "Your Majesty, in fact, I think it is not suitable to launch a full-scale attack."
Li Shimin frowned and said, "Why?"
Fang Xuanling said, "Du Qi is now blocked, and even if Persia attacks, it will pose a certain threat to Du Qi. But in fact, Du Qi is only blocked when he goes out to attack. Once we become the attacking party, Du Qi will become the defending party. At that time, Du Qi will be able to display the power of his weapon. "
After a pause, Fang Xuanling continued, "Du Qi's weapon is extremely powerful when used to defend the city. Your Majesty, do you still remember the battle of Rouyuan County? All our gunpowder was blown up by Du Qi's weapon in an instant. Countless of our soldiers died under the artillery fire. Du Qi's weapon can be used to attack and defend, but it is most powerful in defense. "
Li Shimin suddenly fell silent.
This was a situation he did not consider, so Li Shimin was a little disappointed.
He thought it was an opportunity.
He did not expect that this opportunity would not be used.
Fang Xuanling continued, "Your Majesty, in fact, I have another worry. As for Persia, they may send troops to deal with Du Qi because of his tyrannical strength and want to restrain Du Qi. However, the strength of Persia, and how much effort they will spend to attack, is unknown for the time being. We can only know the specific situation after Persia attacks. However, I'm not optimistic in this regard. In my opinion, as long as they can restrain Du Qi, it's already good enough. "
Li Shimin sighed.
It was too difficult!
He did not expect that a mere Du Qi would be such a threat now.
Fang Xuanling continued, "Your Majesty, I think the most important thing now is still to infiltrate Xia Xia and figure out Du Qi's weapon. Only when we have the same weapon can we fight Du Qi. So now, we have to increase our infiltration of Du Qi's Capital and the Munitions Factory. "
Li Shimin nodded and said, "That's true."
He also agreed with Fang Xuanling's analysis. This was an experienced strategy. Only such considerations and arrangements were the most appropriate.
This was a long-term plan.
Li Shimin changed the topic and asked, "Xuanling, about Li Xiaogong's situation, how is it now?"
Fang Xuanling said, "It's still the same as before."
Li Shimin said, "Go and visit him on my behalf. After all, he is a member of the royal family and has made great contributions. Try to make him recover as soon as possible. When the time comes to fight Du Qi, we still need his help. "
"I understand!"
Fang Xuanling replied, but he suddenly thought of Fang Yiai.
He warned himself in his heart.
He could not reveal that Fang Yiai was a general in Du Qi's army. He was not worried about being suspected, but he was worried that in the case of Li Xiaogong, he would be asked to do something by the Emperor.
This was the difficult part.
For example, if Li Xiaogong led the army to fight, it would involve Du Qi and his daughter.
If it happened to Fang Yiai.
Fang Yiai would also be in a difficult position.
Fang Xuanling would also be in a difficult position.
Li Shimin waved his hand and Fang Xuanling turned around and left. After he left the palace, he went straight to the Hejian Palace.
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