After discussing the matter of Xieli Khan, only then did they start to deal with the court.
"Reporting to the emperor, this subject requests to report the ten crimes of Tuyuhun." Zhangsun Wuji suddenly stepped out and said.
Everyone's heart trembled. They immediately knew that the real show was about to begin. Following the defeat of the Turks, the Eastern Turks fell apart. Xieli Khan was already like a toothless tiger. Whether he lived or died did not matter. The most important thing for the court now was the upcoming battle of Tuyuhun.
"Oh!" Li Shimin cooperated.
In this era, the court also had to stand on the side of morality when starting a war. Although everyone knew that the battle between the Tang dynasty and Tuyuhun was inevitable, the necessary procedures were still necessary.
Zhangsun Wuji waved his sleeve and took out a long document. He said angrily, "This subject accuses Tuyuhun of one of the ten crimes of being an accomplice to a tiger. When the Tang dynasty was first established, there were many things waiting to be done. The Turks invaded for many years, and Tuyuhun also followed the Turks to send out troops. They invaded the borders of the Tang dynasty for many years and committed many murders."
"Lord Zhangsun is right."
The moment Zhangsun Wuji finished speaking, many old officials nodded their heads. At that time, the Turks were the overlords of the grassland. Tuyuhun was also controlled by him. When they attacked the Tang dynasty, Tuyuhun also sent out many troops, causing the Tang dynasty to be exhausted. It could be said that the humiliation that Li Yuan suffered back then, although most of it was attributed to Xieli Khan, Tuyuhun King Fu Yun also had a part to play.
"The second crime of the ten crimes of being loyal to the previous dynasty. Brother Fu Yun married the previous dynasty's Princess Guanghua and viewed the Tang dynasty as an enemy."
Although after the Sui dynasty was destroyed, the position of Princess Guanghua had plummeted and was no longer important, but at this moment, in order to attack Tuyuhun, the Tang dynasty naturally included this matter.
"The third sin! He has repeatedly offended our Tang dynasty. This autumn, he plundered Shanzhou and sent troops to Kelan and Kuo, two prefectures. He has repeatedly offended our Tang dynasty. His crime is punishable by death. "
"The fourth crime was disrespect to the imperial court. His Majesty summoned him to pay respects to the imperial court, but he repeatedly refused."
"The fifth sin, muddleheadedness and slanderous words, repeatedly instigated by the Tianzhu King, suppressing the loyal and good, and harming the Tuyuhun people."
…
"The tenth sin …"
Zhangsun Wuji used ten pieces of evidence to accuse Tuyuhun King Fu Yun of countless crimes.
"Your Majesty, please send troops to avenge the people of the Tang dynasty and save the people of Tuyuhun." The officials of the Tang dynasty immediately became excited.
Li Shimin nodded and looked at Hou Junji.
"Minister Hou, tell the ministers about the situation in Tuyuhun," said Hou Fei.
Since Li Shimin had decided to use force against Tuyuhun, he would naturally spare no effort to collect information about Tuyuhun. Hou Junji was the Minister of War, and collecting information about enemy countries was the responsibility of the Ministry of War.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Hou Junji received the order and stepped forward, bowing to the officials and said.
"Tuyuhun is located in Qinghai, and the terrain is relatively high. When ordinary soldiers enter, they will have different degrees of altitude sickness, and the strength of our soldiers will be greatly reduced. Although we have the altitude training method and medicine that Merton taught us, whether it is effective or not still needs to be further confirmed."
Everyone suddenly felt a chill in their hearts. After Mo Jiazi spread the word about altitude sickness, it quickly gained everyone's approval. Although the matter of the gods blessing Tubo and Tuyuhun was solved, it was still the biggest problem that troubled the Tang Dynasty.
"Tuyuhun's pasture is prosperous, and it is rich in Qinghai steeds, which are rare good horses. Since the Sui dynasty, they have been recuperating and building up their strength. They also have 400,000 soldiers who control the strings," Hou Junji said with a heavy expression.
"Strong soldiers and strong horses!"
The officials felt a chill in their hearts. Although Tuyuhun was not as strong as the Turks in their heyday, they were not far behind. No wonder Fu Yun dared to invade the border again and again after defeating the Turks in the Tang Dynasty. Perhaps this was where Fu Yun's confidence came from!
Hou Junji continued, "In Tuyuhun, although Fu Yun is old, he has quite a few fierce generals under his command. Tianzhu Wang, Murong Xiaojuan, Mingwang, and others are all rare fierce generals. Moreover, Tuyuhun has been on guard against the Tang Dynasty for a long time. They have built fortresses in strategic places, which are easy to defend and difficult to attack …"
After Hou Junji told the information about Tuyuhun, the officials suddenly fell silent.
Wei Zheng sighed and said, "So, the land, the people, and peace are not on our side. We only have the advantage of weapons."
Compared to the ethnic minorities, the Tang Dynasty's biggest advantage was weapons.
Li Shimin nodded. Of course, in addition to that, Meton also gave Li Shimin some secret weapons. Of course, these were all kept secret.
"This war is not inferior to the war with the Turks. Your Majesty, please be careful," Wei Zheng said solemnly.
At this moment, Tuyuhun was indeed powerful. Attacking Tuyuhun was a war that the Tang Dynasty could not afford to lose. If they defeated Tuyuhun, they would certainly intimidate all the tribes at the border. The border of the Tang Dynasty would once again usher in peace. If they lost, the victory of the Tang Dynasty over the Turks would be lost, and the situation would immediately become difficult.
Li Shimin naturally knew the importance of defeating Tuyuhun. If they wanted to win this war, a qualified commander would be indispensable. Among the generals, there was probably no one more suitable than Li Jing, who had defeated the Turks.
However, considering that Li Jing was already 62 years old, Li Shimin could not help but hesitate.
How could Li Jing not understand Li Shimin's intention? He immediately took the initiative to step forward and said, "Your Majesty, this old subject requests to go to war. I will definitely return to the court with Fu Yun."
"Good. Minister Li is old but vigorous. He took the initiative to share the burden of the court. I am very relieved." Li Shimin said in his heart.
The other officials also nodded. No one in the court was unconvinced by Li Jing's military talent. With Li Jing's participation, the odds of winning this war had increased by 30%. Only Hou Junji, who was at the front of the line, had a gloomy expression. He was the Minister of War. If Li Jing was not there, the command of the attack on Tuyuhun would definitely fall on him. What a glorious war such as this was, and he could only serve as a foil.
Sure enough, Li Shimin immediately appointed, "Advance. Li Jing will be the General Manager of the West Sea Path Army. Minister of War, Hou Junji, will be the General Manager of the Jishi Path Army. Minister of Justice, Li Daozong, will be the General Manager of the Shanshan Path Army … At the same time, we will recruit cavalry from the Turks and Qigong tribes."
Li Shimin looked at the last sentence and added, "Su Dingfang will be in charge of escorting the grain and fodder. He will be responsible for the logistics of the entire army."
Immediately, the gazes of everyone present were cast towards Su Dingfang who was standing behind the generals. This time, Li Shimin had personally appointed great generals who were experienced in battle. Yet, he had actually handed over the most important logistics to an unknown Su Dingfang. This really made everyone's jaws drop.
Su Dingfang stared blankly and quickly stepped forward, "I accept the order."
He knew that he could get Li Shimin's favor because Mo Jiazi had asked him to lead the Macedonian phalanx on the training field. His performance had left an impression on Li Shimin, so he had this opportunity today.
After finishing the arrangement, Li Shimin stood up and looked down at the officials. He said sonorously, "I have fought all over the world for the sake of the common people. I have a clear conscience. Tuyuhun has repeatedly committed bloody crimes in the Tang Dynasty. How can I have a woman's heart and frame the people of the Tang Dynasty under the iron hooves? Today, I officially announce that the Tang Dynasty will go to war against Tuyuhun in April this year to protect the safety of the people of Longyou of the Tang Dynasty."
April was the season for cattle and sheep to breed. Tuyuhun was the busiest time. At this time, Tuyuhun's troops were the least. It was the best time to start the war.
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