People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1842: Opportunity Arrives: The King of Silla Wants to Move the Capital
"Li Duozuo is simply making a fuss by sending an urgent military report from six hundred miles away." After reading the memorial, Li Xuan couldn't help but curse with both anger and laughter.

Lu Yuanfang, Wang Dezhen and other prime ministers in the court looked at each other in bewilderment.

"May I ask Your Majesty, what is going on?" Zhang Jianzhi suddenly stood up and spoke loudly, bowing and looking at Li Xuan.

Li Xuan put down the memorial and looked serious.

He turned sideways and glanced, his eyes fell on Yang Sixu, the Junior Eunuch.

Yang Sixu immediately bowed and walked out of the hall quickly. In an instant, there was silence outside the hall.

The ministers in the hall were surprised and didn't know what had happened. They originally thought that something major had happened in Anding Province, such as the invasion of Silla. But now it seems that it is not the case at all.

"Originally, the list of candidates for the palace examination should have been announced today, and the whole world was watching. However, I had previously instructed Li Duozuo that if there was any major event in Silla, he should report it immediately. Today, something major happened, so he sent a 600-li express report all the way from Andong to Chang'an." Li Xuan handed the report to Xu Lu and said, "Take a look, everyone. Is his report worth the 600-li express?"

Lu Yuanfang took it from Xu Lu with a puzzled look, then took a look at it. Then, his eyes widened instantly, and he looked up at Li Xuan: "Your Majesty!"

Li Xuan raised his hand slightly, and Lu Yuanfang immediately handed the memorial to Wang Dezheng.

"You have seen it, the left prime minister's expression has shown that Li Duozuo's approach is correct." Li Xuan raised his head and said sternly, "I will now tell you why Li Duozuo sent the news to Chang'an via an urgent military report over a distance of 600 miles. It is because the King of Silla is moving the capital."

"Ah!" The ministers were in chaos and Silla moved its capital.

"The current capital of Silla is in the mountains in the east of Silla, in Jincheng, close to the sea in the east. But now it will be moved to Dalgubal, 150 miles northwest, which is closer to the western plains and only 200 miles away from the western plains by mountain roads." When Li Xuan said the last sentence, the ministers widened their eyes in disbelief.

The Tang Dynasty's combat power on the plains was extremely fierce. The reason why it had been struggling in the Three Kingdoms of Dongdao for many years was because Dongdao was mountainous.

The entire East Island is 600 miles from west to east, but the plains are only 200 miles along the western coast, and the remaining 400 miles are all mountains.

It was easy for the Tang Dynasty to conquer the 200-li plain in the west, but there was a 400-li mountain road to the capital of Silla.

The soldiers who had fought with Li Xuan in the northwest knew best how difficult it was to fight on mountain roads.

But now, the King of Silla took the initiative to move closer to the Tang Dynasty by two hundred miles.

Yes, it was the Tang Dynasty. That area once belonged to Baekje, and later to the Tang Dynasty. It belonged to Silla only after the Tang Dynasty withdrew its troops.

The emperor had a strong desire to return to Dongdao and he had been silently preparing for it over the years. From the first year of Kaiyuan to the fifth year of Kaiyuan, for nearly five years, he had been actively preparing for food, clothing, military equipment, war horses, and soldiers. The officials in the court had long regarded the former Tang Dynasty territory as something that would inevitably be taken back.

But now, the King of Silla moved the capital of Silla to a place only two hundred miles away from the Tang Dynasty.

All the ministers knew how easy it was just by thinking about it.

Especially since they have an emperor who is like a god of war.

……

"Don't think too much. Silla hasn't moved its capital yet. It's just that the king of Silla decided to move the capital." Li Xuan's words interrupted the ministers' imagination.

The ministers standing behind finally came to their senses.

Zhang Jianzhi continued to bow and asked, "Your Majesty, why did the King of Silla decide to move the capital?"

Li Xuan took a deep breath, smiled calmly, and said, "Of course it was because of the domestic struggle. When the King of Silla ascended the throne, his father-in-law couldn't help but rebel. Later, King Jin Zhengming of Silla pacified the rebellion, but he killed his father-in-law's family, even his queen, and the two sons he had with the queen."

Not many of the officials in the palace knew about this matter, but they were also shocked by Jin Zhengming's cruelty.

"In the first one or two years, Kim Jung-myeong was very proactive and the conflicts within Silla were forcibly suppressed. But in the past two years, some problems seemed to have arisen again. Silla's true bone nobles, that is, the group of people his father-in-law was in back then, began to move again, and Kim Jung-myeong began to be overwhelmed everywhere, so under various circumstances, he decided to move the capital." Li Xuan couldn't help laughing, with a hint of ferocity in his eyes.

Many of the ministers in the palace knew Li Xuan, and they immediately realized that the Silla king's relocation of the capital was probably related to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan raised his head, looked at Lu Yuanfang, and asked, "Prime Minister Lu, I remember that the most recent major capital relocation was when Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty moved the capital to Luoyang."

"Yes!" Lu Yuanfang stood up and said with a folded hand: "Your Majesty, when the Sui Dynasty was first established, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Jian, made the old Chang'an his capital. But because Chang'an was in ruins, he built a new Chang'an, which was the Daye City back then. However, Yang Jian was a stingy person, so even if he built Daye City, it was still a small-minded move. After Yang Guang ascended the throne, he began to plan the construction of Luoyang."

Many of the ministers in the hall nodded subconsciously.

Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty is not a distant story. Many people's ancestors once served the Sui Dynasty. Not to mention others, Li Xuan's grandfather, Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan, was still the governor of Taiyuan under Yang Guang at that time.

A relative and also an important official.

"Yang Guang was much more magnanimous than Emperor Wen of Sui Yang Jian. The Ziwei Palace in Luoyang that he built was grand and majestic. The consumption was astonishingly terrible, but the former Sui Dynasty persevered. Not only that, the Taiji Palace and Ziwei Palace of the Tang Dynasty have benefited greatly from it." Lu Yuanfang bowed slightly to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "I know a lot about this story. Now, looking at Silla, their relocation of the capital must not be as costly as the former Sui Dynasty. But at the same time, they are not the former Sui Dynasty. Their losses are still unacceptable to the entire Silla. Therefore, as long as their new capital is built, the entire Silla will be extremely weak."

The breathing of the ministers in the hall suddenly became heavy.

Many of them had led troops before, so they could naturally hear the endless opportunities here.

Li Xuan continued, "Let's not talk about anything else. Just the consumption of food and grass will be reduced to a terrifying level. The Tang Dynasty attacked Dongdao before because they relied on the strong city and the mountains to fight against the Tang Dynasty. Now they have no food and grass. Under the attack of the Tang Dynasty, a large number of people have squeezed into the new city, and the food consumption is even more terrifying. Under such circumstances..."

"Silla is finished." Zhang Jianzhi's gentle words revealed the ending of Silla.

Li Xuan nodded and said, "That's right, but we can't be careless. The previous plan remains unchanged, and we still use the strategy of consuming Silla's food and grass. It's not difficult to conquer Silla, but how to govern Silla and how to make the people of Silla fully submit to the Tang Dynasty is the real long-term problem."

"Your Majesty, we will follow your instructions." All the ministers bowed their heads.

"Okay, let's stick to the previous plan, but we need to speed up the preparations. Once the opportunity comes, I will send troops immediately, but before that, today's news must be blocked." Li Xuan looked at the ministers, shook his head and said, "I don't want the Andong Protectorate to get the news of Silla's secrets and spread it out."

"Yes!" The ministers looked solemn.

"As for the 600-mile rush today." Li Xuan sneered and said, "Send an order saying that a major earthquake occurred in western Liaoning, thousands of houses collapsed, and countless civilians were killed and injured... Since Silla wants to make trouble, let them make a good noise."

"Your Majesty is wise." The eyes of the ministers lit up instantly.

Silla has always been extremely wary of the Tang Dynasty. Even if there is internal strife in Silla, once the Tang Dynasty sends troops, they will immediately put aside all disputes and become fully hostile to the Tang Dynasty.

But now, a major earthquake has occurred in Andong, which is just a stone's throw away from Silla. This means that the Tang Dynasty will not be able to easily mobilize troops for several years.

Without the threat from the Tang Dynasty, the civil strife in Silla would only become more brutal.

Li Xuan finally looked up and said with a cold expression: "It's just right. Since there is an earthquake in Andong, we can take this opportunity to transfer troops and food to Andong. Once the opportunity arises, we can immediately deploy troops to the south and completely wipe out the entire Silla."

"Yes!" All the ministers bowed.

……

In Lizheng Hall, Li Xuan walked into the hall with excitement.

Liu Jinyu immediately stepped forward, bowed slightly, and then asked, "Why is your majesty so happy?"

"Sanniang knows about Silla's capital relocation." Li Xuan walked to the main couch in the central hall and sat down.

Liu Jinyu handed over a cup of hot tea, then nodded and said, "I already know... How come the matter of moving the capital is related to Your Majesty?"

"Sanniang still understands me." Li Xuan took a sip of hot tea, put down the teacup, and said, "It was the secret guards and the Military Affairs Bureau. They started to go to Silla to buy grain at the beginning of last year. In addition to buying a lot of grain this year, they also successfully infiltrated the top leaders of Silla."

"Is it so easy to infiltrate the top management of Silla?" Liu Jinyu looked at Li Xuan in surprise.

"Silla is not that big, just a Hebei Province. An official position like a county magistrate is already considered a high-level position. Moreover, most of these people in Silla are from the true nobles and like the Tang culture. A few of them have close relations with the king of Silla. If we provoke a fight between the two sides and kill a few people, then it will not be difficult to move the capital for the rest."

"The King of Silla is really seeking death by moving one hundred and fifty miles west." Liu Jinyu looked at Li Xuan and said, "If Your Majesty were there, I'm afraid it wouldn't take half a year to completely conquer the capital of Silla, right?"

"That's not necessary." Li Xuan waved his hand slightly and said, "Silla's grain reserves are rapidly decreasing, and their center of gravity is beginning to move eastward, but I think there is no need to change the original plan. It is better to be more stable. In the end, under the general trend, the entire Silla will be pacified in an instant, and then it will be a matter of relocating the royal family and nobles..."

Everywhere the sun and the moon shine is the territory of the Tang Dynasty.

The same is true for Silla.

(End of this chapter)