Mao Shi
The Great Ming Palace's Zichen Hall.
The hanging drum sounded, the ritual music sounded, and the longevity horn praised the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
The officials of the court lined up in six rows according to their official positions and entered the Purple Imperial Palace.
In the magnificent hall, two golden Kirin statues knelt before the dragon table.
The Qilin's eyes were made of glass and flickered with a dazzling light.
The nine steps up and five steps down meant that the person sitting on the dragon throne was the Nine and Five Supreme.
Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin, sat on the dragon throne in a gold-inlaid dragon robe, overlooking the entire hall.
The eunuch sang loudly,"Court Advisor!"
All the officials bowed respectfully and said in unison,""Saint, greetings!"
"Please excuse me," Li Shimin said loudly.”
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The civil and military officials bowed in thanks.
Then, a general stood out.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty!" he said loudly.”
"Oh?" Li Shi Min asked. Tell me, what is there to be happy about?"
"Your Majesty, we all learned yesterday that the northern Turks were annihilated overnight, and General Li Jing obtained a great achievement!”
When he heard that they were congratulating him on this matter.
The smile on Li Shi Min's face suddenly stopped.
Not only him, Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling, and Zhangsun Wuji also had grave expressions on their faces.
Seeing the Emperor's reaction, the officials were puzzled.
Looking at His Majesty's appearance, it was obvious that he had a lot on his mind.
But why should His Majesty be worried about the complete annihilation of the Northern Turks?
Sensing that the atmosphere in the hall wasn't right, Prime Minister Fang Xuanling explained,""The Xiongnu in the north were not destroyed by General Li Jing. Such a feat was done by another mysterious force!”
Hearing Prime Minister Fang's words, all the ministers were shocked.
They widened their eyes and looked at each other.
Wasn't General Li responsible for annihilating 150,000 of the Turks 'main forces?!
It was another mysterious force!
After all, that was a total of 150,000 Turkic cavalry!
Other than the 200,000 troops led by General Li Jing, what other force could accomplish such a feat?
Or in other words.
Just how terrifying was a force that could annihilate one hundred and fifty thousand Turkic cavalry in a single night?
Such a powerful force was enough to contend against the Great Tang!
What did this mean?
This meant that there was a hidden force in the Great Tang that could topple the entire Imperial Court.
Such shocking news shocked all the ministers.
For a moment, the vast Purple Mansion Hall was completely silent.
The ministers could even hear their own heartbeats clearly.
Shock, doubt, and fear spread in the hall.
Everyone was guessing what this hidden force was!
Yuchi Jingde, who was ranked eighth among the twenty-four officials of Lingyan Pavilion, stood out and analyzed with a solemn expression,"
"Your Majesty, if the Prime Minister's words are true and the mysterious force annihilated the 150,000 Turkic soldiers in one night…This force was probably much more terrifying than he had expected!”
What Yuchi Jingde said was exactly what Li Shimin was worried about.
Before the war, according to the intelligence of the spies, the Turks had gathered one hundred and fifty thousand cavalry and had been secretly preparing for nearly a year.
General Li Jing had been ordered to lead two hundred thousand soldiers to the northern expedition because he was prepared for a long battle.
Li Jing's reply to Li Shiming was that the war would take at least two years to prepare.
However, it was precisely this long-term battle that was about to last for two years.
It ended in just one night.
The 150,000 Turkic cavalry were completely annihilated.
Even before the battle ended, Li Jing, who was holding the line in front of the army, was completely unaware.
It was as if the 150,000 Turkic cavalry had all died in an instant.
To be able to make such a comprehensive plan and annihilate the Turkic cavalry without any major movements.
The strength behind them was at least several times that of the 150,000 cavalry!
With such a terrifying force hidden in the shadows of the Great Tang, how could they not feel fear?
The remonstrant Wei Zheng stepped forward and said,"Your Majesty, I think we should immediately prepare a million soldiers to find this faction!”
The Minister of War, Du Ruhui, immediately refuted,
"No! The enemy is in the dark and I am in the light. Unless it is absolutely necessary, do not make enemies with them!”
With that, Minister Du stepped forward and cupped his hands in salute. He said,"Your Majesty, Zhenguan has just opened, we can't go all out! I think that we should be prepared for this mysterious force! If the mysterious faction was friendly to the Great Tang, they would treat it with courtesy and slowly dissolve it. If they harbored ill intentions towards the Great Tang, it wouldn't be too late to send another million troops!”
Grand Marshal Zhangsun Wuji and Prime Minister Fang Xuanling echoed in unison,""Your Majesty, I think Minister Du is right!”
The officials also felt that what Minister Du said made sense.
If such a powerful faction was hiding in the Great Tang and was friendly to the Great Tang, they would treat it with courtesy and slowly dissolve it.
We've assimilated the mysterious faction into our Great Tang without shedding a single drop of blood.
If they truly had ill intentions towards the Great Tang, then for the sake of the country, they could only use war!
The courtier's thoughts were deeply in Li Shimin's heart.
Zhenguan had just begun, and he still had a grand plan to develop.
Moreover, the war had just stopped, and the people had just had a few good days.
This season was indeed not suitable for a large-scale war.
Since the monarch and his subjects were of one mind, this matter would be settled as such.
However, before that, Li Shiming decided to test his princes.
He turned to the princes and asked,""What do you think about this matter?”
"Imperial Father, your son thinks that Minister Du is right!”
All the princes agreed.
"Imperial Father, I believe that Minister Du's words are lacking."”
"Oh? Tell me."
"A bow and a soldier should be prepared at the same time. The gifts had to be prepared, and the million strong army had to gather as soon as possible. Otherwise, it would be too late to gather the army after confirming that the mysterious organization had malicious intentions!”
Li Chengqian's words also agreed with Du Shangshu's advice.
However, he added a " nonsense ".
Everyone knew about the simultaneous preparation of a salute and a soldier.
But Li Chengqian mentioning it meant that he had his own thoughts.
Unlike the other princes who only followed and shouted "666".
What Li Shiming wanted to see was 'thought'.
Li Chengqian's performance made him very satisfied."As expected of my favorite prince!”
However, Li Shimin was satisfied.
Third Prince Li Ke did not attend the morning court session. This was already the fifth time.
He frowned slightly and sighed,"This Li Ke is always idling around and doesn't care about the government. Why couldn't he learn more from the Crown Prince?”
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