Wu Zetian was presiding over the morning assembly and listening to the reports of the officials.
Li Zhi sat in the dragon carriage and came to the discussion hall.
"The Emperor has arrived!" A high-pitched voice rang out from the Dragon Tail Path.
Hundreds of officials in the discussion hall were stunned. They all turned their heads and saw the emperor's dragon carriage on the imperial road. It was also the emperor's honor guard. Emperor Li Zhi really went to court.
The sudden appearance of the Emperor, who had been recuperating in the Ice Palace for a long time and had been absent from court affairs, was something unexpected. Usually, the Emperor would only appear at court meetings on important days. Could something major have happened?
Wu Zetian, who was sitting behind the curtain, was also a little stunned. She hurriedly came to Longwei Road to welcome Li Zhi.
"Your Majesty, why did you suddenly attend the morning court today? The wind is strong today. Be careful of your body, Your Majesty!”Wu Zetian said with concern. There was no pretense in her eyes, but her true feelings.
Li Zhi got out of the carriage and walked onto the high platform without the support of the Empress. The officials stood on both sides of the imperial road, bowing and cupping their hands as they shouted long live.
Li Zhi took a deep breath." If I hadn't come today, the Great Tang would have perished!”
As soon as he said this, all the officials were shocked and whispered, not knowing what the emperor meant.
Li Zhi raised his head and threw out the military report.”
Wu Zetian received the military report, and her expression gradually became uglier and uglier.
"Last night, Lingzhou reported that the Turks have occupied Lingzhou and slaughtered all its citizens. They are attacking the other five provinces and are planning to march straight to Guanzhong!”Li Zhi said with an ugly expression.
"The Spiritual State relies on Helan's natural fortresses, and the city is fortified with sufficient soldiers and rations. With two hundred thousand elite soldiers of the Tang Empire, how did they break through the city pass and massacre the Spiritual State overnight?”Li Duozuo asked loudly.
Li Duozuo, the Great General of the Right Feather Forest, was the spokesperson of the Li family's army and was loyal to Li Tang.
"You have to ask the Empress!" Li Zhi said coldly.
Wu Zetian was speechless. She had indeed used the wrong person. She really didn't expect Wu Chengsi to be so stupid that he would jump into such an obvious trap.
The officials received the military report with ugly expressions.
"This Wu Chengsi is truly useless! I really want to kill him!"
"We had a good chance to destroy the Turks, but this idiot ruined it. Even if we die a hundred times, it's not worth regretting!”
"It's a pity that the people of the Great Tang have suffered such a calamity!”
……
"Alright, alright, what Zhen needs is a countermeasure, not all of you complaining here! The matter of punishment can only be discussed after defeating the Turks!”Li Zhi waved his hand impatiently.
The civil officials looked left and right, but none of them dared to speak. They all put on a contemplative look and did not say a word.
Now that he had offered advice, if he won, it would be a great merit. However, if they lost, their official positions would definitely come to an end. They might even have to face other tragic endings.
Therefore, no one was willing to take the blame for others at this critical moment of life and death.
" Don't seek merit, but seek no fault." This was the way of officials in the court.
Li Zhi looked around and clenched his teeth in anger. He clenched his fists, but he had nowhere to vent his anger. As expected, scholars were useless. These cynical scholars could only govern the country, not quell chaos. They were the pillars of the Great Tang. At a critical moment, they could only shirk responsibility and were helpless!
"Forget it! I asked the Great General to come and discuss it, but you bunch of sour scholars don't even dare to say anything! Li Duozuo, call the remaining generals to Hanbing Palace. Empress, you come too!”Li Zhi said angrily.
"Retreat!"
……
The few generals of Hanbing Palace in Chang 'an had arrived: Li Duozuo, Cheng Wuting, Pei Xingjian, and Liu Rengui.
Several generals were looking at the border defense map.
"Elder Pei, how do you think we can resist the enemy?”Emperor Li Zhi asked very politely.
Pei Xingjian, beard and hair are white, but a pair of tiger eyes, shocking people's hearts.
"The Heyuan Army and the Shuofang Army can mobilize soldiers to defend the six prefectures, but the Shuofang Army is the last line of defense on the border. Once Shuofang is broken, the Turkic army will be able to conquer the Central Plains. From the information we've received, the Turks 'final target is Shuofang, so the Shuofang Army must not be moved. But the Heyuan Army cannot be moved so easily either. The Heyuan Army is part of the Hebei front line, and its responsibility is equally heavy. No one can say for sure if the Tibetans will ally with the Turks. After all, they were all ambitious and had been eyeing the Great Tang covetously. If the Tibetans took advantage of the situation and attacked, the Great Tang would be in danger.”
"Lord Pei, you are worrying too much. The Tubo and Turks are constantly fighting in Africa. Thus, the Heyuan Army was the best choice. Moreover, the Heyuan Army's Blacktooth Chang Zhi was a fierce general and could hold off the Turks for a while. At that time, the Great Tang could mobilize soldiers from the various provinces to launch a counterattack!”Cheng Wuting said.
Li Zhi agreed. At this moment, Xue Shao arrived. He had come to pacify the Turks!
The moment Li Zhi heard, although Xue Shao was deeply trusted by him, it was not impossible to let Xue Shao participate in this military affair.
Xue Shao had expected this and told the eunuch that he had a plan to defeat the enemy.
When Li Zhi heard this, although he didn't quite believe it, he had already planted a thought in his heart. If what Xue Shao said was true, it would naturally be a good thing. If it was false, he wouldn't have any losses. Right now, he also didn't know how to defeat the enemy.
This kid was unfathomable. Perhaps he really could defeat the Turks! Thus, Xue Shao was still summoned.
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