Li Shimin asked Wei Shuyu and Wei Zheng, but they didn't have any good ideas for the time being, so Li Shimin immediately sent an order to summon Fang Xuanling to the palace that very night for a discussion. Fang Xuanling was quite old now. Because of the constant running and the huge pressure she had to bear, she looked very old and her hair had already turned white.
In history, Fang Xuanling was the Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty. Because the Tang Dynasty was getting stronger and stronger, Fang Xuanling seemed to be very relaxed. Even if the Tang Dynasty repeatedly fought against foreign forces, it was invincible and constantly won. But the current Great Tang was like a building on the verge of collapsing. Thus, Prime Minister Fang Xuanling had to expend even more effort and energy to manage the affairs of the country.
He entered the hall and saw Li Shimin. Then, he heard Wei Shuyu talk about the situation at the front line. After hearing it, Fang Xuanling looked helpless and was even more tired.
Defeated again!
The Tang Dynasty was defeated again and again.
Now, the Tang Dynasty didn't have enough strength. After all, the 100,000 people gathered this time was the last force they had. But now, this little bit of power had all been buried on the river.
The Tang Dynasty was no longer able to fight.
Especially in Jiangdu, it was not comparable to Chang 'an. Chang' an was a strong city. Although Jiangdu was strong, it was not as strong as Chang 'an. And the most important thing was that Li Shimin didn't have enough troops at the moment. This was the most troublesome thing.
Fang Xuanling said, "Your Majesty, what do you mean?"
Li Shimin said, "Minister Fang, I know what you want to say, and I also know the current situation. But I don't want to give up. I don't want to be defeated like this. So I asked you to come here to discuss the strategy. Let's see how to block Du Qi's army and buy more time for the continuation of the Tang Dynasty. "
Fang Xuanling suddenly fell silent.
It was difficult!
If the 100,000 soldiers of the Tang Dynasty were still there, they would have enough troops to fight. The problem was that the battle on the river had caused too much damage, so they didn't have enough strength at the moment.
Fang Xuanling thought about it carefully and said, "Your Majesty, I have an idea to resist Du Qi's forces. Maybe we can give it a try."
"What idea?" Li Shimin asked.
Fang Xuanling said seriously, "Arrange for soldiers to go to the dock and bury the gunpowder there. As the dock of Jiangdu, it was normal for there to be many goods on the side. That's why we hid gunpowder among the goods. Then, we'll stop our forces at the docks and prepare to resist Mr. Xia's army. "
"Once Xia Xia's army lands, we will detonate the gunpowder at the docks to explain the countless gunpowder explosions. The dock has turned into a sea of fire, which will surely kill countless soldiers of Xia Xia. "
"In fact, if the explosion is too strong, even the warships docked on the shore will be destroyed. At that time, the docks and warships will be gone. Even if Du Qi's army is powerful, Du Qi will have no logistical support. He will be like a rootless duckweed, and we will have a chance to fight against Xia Xia's army. "
Fang Xuanling said, "This is our only chance."
Li Shimin nodded after hearing it.
It seemed that this was the only way.
Li Shimin didn't make a decision immediately. Instead, he looked at Wei Shuyu and said, "Shuyu, what do you think?"
Wei Shuyu said, "Your Majesty, this minister agrees with Prime Minister Fang's suggestion. Although there are still many inappropriate aspects in this suggestion. But in fact, this is the only way. After all, we have no other choice at the moment. In addition, we don't have enough troops, so we have no other choice. "
Li Shimin said, "What do you think, Prime Minister Wei?"
Wei Zheng said seriously, "Your Majesty, this old minister also agrees with Prime Minister Fang's suggestion. We have no other choice but to consider this arrangement first. After all, we have no other choice at the moment. "
Wei Shuyu suddenly said, "Your Majesty, although some words are inappropriate to say, this minister has to say them."
Li Shimin frowned.
He could roughly understand what Wei Shuyu was going to say.
Li Shimin said, "Just say it."
Li Shimin trusted Wei Shuyu very much, because Wei Shuyu was his confidant at the moment.
Wei Shuyu said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, our 100,000 troops have been defeated. At the moment, we still have to consider a way out. If we can stop Xia Xia's army at the dock and make Du Qi unable to break through and land, that would be the best. Everyone wants to see this result. But if this defense can't stop Du Qi's army, then we still have to consider a way out. So, I implore Your Majesty to prepare a way out in advance. "
Even if Li Shimin had guessed Wei Shuyu's words and knew that Wei Shuyu must be talking about a way out, even if he was already prepared in his heart, he still found it difficult to suppress his anger at this moment.
Li Shimin said in a deep voice, "Shuyu, how do you think we should arrange a way out?"
Wei Zheng interrupted, "Your Majesty, this brat Wei Shuyu is extremely arrogant. His words can't be trusted, let alone relied on. Your Majesty, please don't believe him. "
Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "Minister Wei, do you think I'll vent my anger on Shuyu just because of his words? Yes, I'm indeed very angry. I'm angry because of the defeat of my Tang Army, and I'm even more angry because I can't stop Du Qi. But, I'm not a fatuous ruler, and I'm not a cruel person. "
After a pause, Li Shimin continued, "What's more, Shuyu is wholeheartedly loyal to the Tang Dynasty, that's why he said such words. He's in the Tang Dynasty, so how can I vent my anger on Shuyu? Besides, the current Tang Dynasty really needs to arrange a way out to make sure nothing goes wrong. "
Wei Zheng said, "Your Majesty is wise!"
Li Shimin said, "Shuyu, tell me directly, how should we arrange it under the current situation?"
Wei Shuyu said seriously, "Replying to Your Majesty, this minister thinks that if we can't defend at this time, then …. Then our only way out is to retreat to Lingnan. After all, Lingnan has many high mountains and steep ridges, and the mountain roads are difficult to travel. "
"If we retreat to Lingnan, then even if Xia Xia's army reaches Lingnan, they may not be able to reach there. After all, many places in Lingnan haven't bloomed, and even have heavy miasma. As long as we retreat to Lingnan, we can form a natural defense. "
"The Lingnan Hundred Yue Land is the best line of defense."
Wei Shuyu continued, "Of course, this is just a defense. Even if we want to develop in Lingnan, I'm afraid it will be very difficult. After all, if we retreat, we have to retreat to the mountains to have room for storage and a chance to breathe. "
Li Shimin frowned.
The situation was not good.
Li Shimin had arranged for people to go to Lingnan, so he knew the situation in Lingnan. These cities in Lingnan were not bad. There was no miasma in these places, but there were many mountains and forests outside the cities. The weather was hot and the miasma was heavy. It was not easy to live in these places.
Of course, if they could really retreat to the mountains of Lingnan, they could use the geographical situation of Lingnan to delay the enemy so as to seek the final victory. This was indeed an opportunity.
Li Shimin was a little tempted, but he hadn't decided yet. He looked at Fang Xuanling and said, "Minister Fang, what do you think about my proposal?"
Fang Xuanling replied, "Your Majesty, if we really can't stop them, then this is the only way. Yangzhou and even the Jiangnan Road are quite prosperous, but there are no strong and tall cities. It's difficult to defend the place, and it's even more difficult to stop Du Qi's army. So, if we want to retreat, we can only retreat to Lingnan. "
"And if we want to arrange it, we have to arrange people to go to Lingnan in advance and make preparations in advance. We leave some troops in the city, and then arrange people to explore the mountain and open up a place in the mountains. "
"In this way, we have a chance to turn the situation around. Even if Lingnan is not good enough, we can go west to Nanzhao. In short, as long as we retreat to the south, we have more choices. "
Fang Xuanling continued, "But now, we have to make arrangements first so that we can make sufficient preparations."
Li Shimin nodded.
That was indeed the case.
Li Shimin said, "Minister Fang, you are responsible for the arrangements of the retreat. But for now, it's better not to make a big fuss. Check the supplies so that we can be ready to retreat at any time. "
Fang Xuanling said, "I understand."
Li Shimin yawned and said, "Now that we have decided to retreat, who should be arranged to lead the troops at the dock?"
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