bastard seizes tang

Chapter 863 West Tour
The death of the first emperor Li Shimin has a lot to do with the fact that Li Shimin contracted an illness in Liaodong during the Eastern Expedition. Therefore, there are still many regrets about Li Shimin's personal conquest at the time.

With the matter of Li Shimin in the front, it is not easy for Li Ke to conquer Tubo in person, not to mention the danger of Tubo's terrain and the strength of the country, which is far above Goguryeo.

No need to guess, if Li Ke mentioned this matter in front of everyone at the court meeting, there must be a lot of people who oppose it, and even Li Ke's many confidantes may not agree with it. A personal conquest is impossible.

Therefore, if Li Ke wants to be able to conquer Tubo himself, he must not put this matter on the table, at least not yet on the table, saying that the method Wang Xuance offered to Li Ke is just a step-by-step method.

Daming Palace, Xuanzheng Hall, Ten Day Court Meeting.

Today's court meeting was exactly Li Ke's arrangement for the imperial conquest of Tubo in the future, so as soon as it came up, Li Ke ordered someone to throw out the introduction of this matter.

"Chen Honglu Temple Shaoqing Yang Siqian has something to report to His Majesty." At the beginning of the court meeting, Yang Siqian was the first to speak.

Yang Siqian is Li Ke's confidant, and this trip to the Western Regions was pointed out by Wang Xuance. His eagerness to go out is naturally related to the mission to the Western Regions, and also related to Li Ke's personal conquest.

It was Li Ke's arrangement for Yang Siqian to come out, but Li Ke looked at Yang Siqian and asked pretending not to know: "Yang Qing came out, I wonder if there is something important to report?"

Yang Siqian said: "I was ordered by Your Majesty and the servants to act as an envoy from the West to inspect the countries and announce His Majesty's grace. This is an act of benevolence by Your Majesty, but I have discovered something and I need to report it to Your Majesty."

Li Ke showed curiosity and asked, "Oh? I don't know what it is?"

Yang Siqian replied: "Your Majesty, this time I am visiting the countries in the Western Regions on behalf of Tianxi, what I see in my eyes seems to be different from the past."

Li Ke then asked: "I don't know where the difference is?"

Yang Siqian replied: "During the western tours in the past, the monarchs of the Western Regions all respected my envoys from the Tang Dynasty, and even obeyed His Majesty's words, but this time, the minister felt that although these Western Regions people My respect to Tang Dynasty is still the same, but there is some negligence in my bones, no more than before, this matter does not seem to be a big deal at the moment, but if it takes a long time, it may not be like Goguryeo's rebellion."

Yang Siqian's words came out, not only Li Ke, but also the faces of other courtiers in the palace. A Goguryeo has already cost the Tang Dynasty a lot of effort. There is also trouble in the country, and the effort must be far greater than that of Goguryeo.

Li Ke asked: "Prior to this, following the destruction of Tuyuhun and Gaochang in the Tang Dynasty, and the civil strife in the Western Turks, the countries in the Western Regions have submitted their ministerial forms to the Tang Dynasty one after another, paying tribute every year. So strange?"

Since it was Li Ke who asked the question, Yang Siqian and Li Ke naturally had a long-standing conversation. Yang Siqian said: "Yichen's understanding may be related to the fact that my Tang Dynasty has recuperated in recent years and has not used weapons. Many people in the Western Regions now think that I, Tang Dynasty, injured my muscles and bones in the battle of Goguryeo, and I am no better than before."

"There is such a thing!" Li Ke slapped the table angrily, as if he was already very dissatisfied with this matter.

Li Ke said, and asked everyone: "What do you think about what Yang Qing said?"

As soon as Li Kezhi's words fell, some belligerent people in the court began to move their minds, and Cheng Zhijie was the most active among them.

The current Cheng Zhijie is completely different from the situation when Li Shimin died. When Li Shimin passed away, Cheng Zhijie was an old minister of the former emperor who held the military power. After the always strong Li Ke ascended the throne, he naturally acted cautiously, but now Cheng Zhijie is on the right. General Habayashi Wei has been in command of Li Ke's personal guard for several years, and he is considered one of Li Ke's cronies, so naturally there is no need to stick to it.

Cheng Zhijie is a warlike person. He was deeply regretful that he missed the Goguryeo battle because of his illness. Hearing the movement in the Western Regions this time, his hands were naturally itchy.

Cheng Zhijie immediately came out and said: "The barbarians of the Western Regions, if you repeat yourself, if you only do things to educate, you will never surrender to our Tang Dynasty. I think that if you really want them to surrender, you can use military force to conquer them one by one. In the past, we took the land, replaced the country, governed the people, and took it as the territory of our Tang Dynasty, so it is possible."

Although Cheng Zhijie was belligerent, what he said was reasonable, but as soon as he said it, there were voices of opposition in the court, and the first person who stood up to oppose it was Shangshu Youpu shot Liu Ji.

Liu Ji said: "The general's words are inappropriate. The Western Regions are far away from Chang'an, and the distribution of land is scattered. There are many different countries. If we attack one by one, it will not only take time and effort, but also hinder your Majesty's reputation for benevolence. It is really not advisable."

The situation in the Western Regions is different from that in Liaodong. In the Liaodong generation, only the three Koreas on the peninsula could be counted as a country. The Tang Dynasty can use troops to target targets. There are too many small countries in the Western Regions, and they are scattered. It is not easy to attack one by one.

Liu Ji's answer was exactly what Li Ke meant. After all, the drunkard's intention was not to drink. Li Ke didn't want to deal with those small countries in the Western Regions from the beginning to the end. Li Ke never took them to heart. What Li Ke really stared at was Tibet in the west.

Li Ke asked Liu Ji: "Then what should I do in the Tang Dynasty in the sense of servant shooting?"

Liu Ji thought for a while and replied: "The countries in the Western Regions are not like the North, nor are they like Liaodong. The Hus in the Western Regions are mostly small countries. They may occupy a hundred miles of land, or have the danger of a city. Most of them are people who look forward to the wind. , How difficult it is to bend. Your Majesty only needs to issue an order to lead the elite of the famous generals of the dynasty to go west and patrol the borders and Longyou. The barbarians of the Western Regions will feel at ease when they see our great Tang soldiers."

Liu Jizhi's words hit Li Ke's heart, leading troops to patrol the border with famous commanders, showing off the military power of the Tang Dynasty, and deterring the barbarians of the Western Regions. This is exactly what Li Ke wanted.

Li Ke turned to ask: "What Liu Pushe said is true. I don't know if Pushe has a favorite candidate for this person?"

Liu Jie thought for a moment, then replied: "How about General Su Lie, General Su is an important minister in the court, and his reputation is far and wide, he is the best candidate for patrolling the border."

Before Li Ke asked Liu Jie, he had already made up his mind. The so-called inquiry was just a formality. No matter what Liu Jie said, Li Ke had his own words.

Li Ke thought for a while, then shook his head and said, "Although Ding Fang is a good candidate, he is not the best candidate. In my heart, there is a more suitable candidate than Ding Fang."

Regardless of his official position, fame, or ability to use troops, Su Dingfang is definitely the leader of all the generals in the court. Only Li Ji can be compared with him. Li Ke vetoed Su Dingfang. Could it be that he was planning to let Li Ji go?

Liu Ji asked, "I don't know who His Majesty wants?"

Li Ke smiled softly, pointed to himself, and replied: "Longyou is the ancestral home of my great Tang clan, but after I ascended the throne, I haven't visited the west. how?"

(End of this chapter)