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

Chapter 576 The people of Silla are greedy for small profits and cherish their lives

In the Penglai Hall, Empress Wu and Li Zhigao sat, and the important officials on both sides looked sideways at Li Xuan at the same time.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Li Xuan cupped his hands cautiously and said: "The minister's preface is just a delusional thought."

Empress Wu waved her hand indifferently, fixed her eyes on Li Xuan and said, "It's okay, the King of Nanchang has something to say. If he can calm down the East Island without moving the army, the King of Nanchang will make great contributions to the court."

The eyes of everyone present on Li Xuan were calm, and they didn't care about Empress Wu's words.

If it is said that great contributions have been made to the court, no one present has made great contributions to the court.

Pei Xingjian, Liu Rengui, Hao Chujun, none of them had great achievements.

After sorting out his thoughts a little, Li Xuan said cautiously: "Your Majesty, Tianhou, Silla's move just happened to pinpoint the key point of our court. Apart from profiting for myself, it is actually more for Tubo.

Therefore, this matter must have been instigated by Tubo from behind, promising great benefits, so that the other generation would be tempted to attack our army.

Even after our dynasty retreats and it occupies the old places of Baekje and Goguryeo, Silla will surely attack us from the Liaodong Road when our dynasty is fighting Tubo, thereby reducing the pressure on Tubo.

Even if there is success, the two parties may agree to share Datang with each other. "

The virtues of Silla people have been like this since ancient times, and they can't wait to include Chang'an in their territory now.

"The book order has already said this." Li Zhi waved his hand and looked at Li Xuan: "You continue!"

"Here!" Li Xuan thought carefully, and said, "Although Tubo expects Silla to use its national power to defeat China, it is hard to say how much Silla is willing to contribute. After all, Silla and our dynasty fought In the past few years, its national strength has declined, and it has reached its limit."

Li Zhi frowned a little, he understood the meaning of Li Xuan's words, and picked up the memorial beside him sideways.

Immediately, Li Zhi handed the memorial to Empress Wu on the right. After reading it once, Empress Wu handed it to Prince Li Xian, followed by Liu Rengui, Hao Chujun and other important officials.

"That's true. Although Silla raised all its troops, the only place where the war broke out with me was Xiao Yicheng." Pei Xingjian breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I originally thought that Silla was also waiting for our army to show its flaws." Now, it seems that whether he will attack or not is still undecided."

Li Xuan bowed his hands to Pei Xingjian earnestly, Pei Xingjian looked like a military god with sharp eyes.

Li Xuan's understanding of the people of Silla is probably the least in the entire Tang Dynasty.

"The people of Silla are greedy for small profits and cherish their own lives. Let them add to the cake when Tubo and the Tang Dynasty have the upper hand and get the advantage. He must not want to." Li Xuan concluded with a sneer, and all the officials present nodded silently at the same time.

Li Zhi tapped the table lightly, and said uncertainly: "If so, even if we don't send reinforcements, can the army retreat safely?"

Li Xuan bowed again and said: "Your Majesty, it is now the beginning of winter. If our army has a solid formation, sufficient backup, and no flaws, Silla will only take advantage of it. But I am afraid that the weather will be extremely cold and the mountain roads will be rough. Weaknesses will be exposed. When the opportunity comes, the people of Silla will definitely rush forward like mad dogs. It is very difficult to predict what will happen when the time comes. Yang Guang’s withdrawal back then was a precedent.”

What Li Xuan said, everyone present may not have realized it before, but how can a large army fight by chance.

What's more, in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, from the emperor to the high-ranking officials of the three provinces and six ministries of the court, and then to the front-line commanders, they all habitually want to completely control the situation in their own hands.

Li Xuan said that there are too many uncertain possibilities in the future, so everyone eliminated these possibilities from the beginning.

Li Xuan's words actually directly pointed out Silla's really anxious state of mind. He cupped his hands and said, "If I am strong, I will be able to severely injure the enemy at the beginning of the battle and make a life-threatening move. Afterwards Even if the weather is not favorable and the location is inconvenient, you can retreat calmly."

"It's very difficult." Liu Rengui answered, shaking his head and said, "I am in the Anton Governor's Mansion, and I have a military force of [-], but if I am stationed in each city, there are only more than [-] people on the front line, but Silla has three or four times as many as me. If there is a slight disadvantage, the army will be overthrown in an instant, and it is not a fluke."

Li Jinxing is indeed a good general, and it is impossible to defend Anton firmly, but it may be difficult to achieve one enemy against a hundred, or even reproduce the situation of the Battle of Baijiangkou.

After all, not everyone belongs to Liu Rengui and Xue Rengui.

"Therefore, it is necessary to start from the outside." Li Xuan bowed to Liu Rengui, then looked at Li Zhi and said, "Your Majesty, the one who does not want me to prepare for the Western Expedition is Tubo. Now that the Great Tang and Silla are fighting again, There is no one who is more happy than Tubo, if this is the case, an envoy from Tubo will come and ask for peace..."

"There is no second word between me and Tubo." Li Zhi didn't even want to listen to Li Xuan's words, and waved his hands directly.

Li Xuan immediately agreed with her face and said, "Your Majesty naturally doesn't need to have a word with Tubo. You only need to let the envoys of Silla know that there are envoys from Tubo seeking peace. Anyway, His Majesty will expel him from Chang'an tomorrow."

"Finish." Li Zhi vaguely seemed to understand that Li Xuan had other intentions, but what was his intention?
"Here!" Li Xuan cupped his hands again, and said, "Your Majesty, although Silla and Tubo are connected with each other, their mutual trust is weak. If there is an envoy from Tubo to Chang'an to ask for peace at this time, the Silla envoy may not believe it, but I will be suspicious, and even find someone to re-contact Tubo..."

Silla and Tubo are thousands of miles away, so it is rare to trust each other, but in this case, they can still exchange news in a timely manner, which is somewhat magical.

But Li Zhi, and everyone in the hall did not doubt the authenticity of it.

After all, the matter of the King of the East China Sea happened not long ago, and everyone can clearly see his connection in it.

Li Xuan straightened up slightly, with a serious look on her face: "Your Majesty, you can cover it up a bit at first, then you will have doubts, and finally contact Tubo, or I may have an inner ghost, let him know the truth, and let him feel at ease, but also Just at this moment, let him inadvertently know my real trump card."

"What trump card?" Li Zhi and all the officials present, after hearing Li Xuan's ink marks for so long, finally got to the point.

"Waguo." Li Xuan looked at Li Zhi with a solemn expression, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, since the first battle at Baijiangkou, Waguo has been conquered by our dynasty. For many years, we have sent a large number of Tang envoys to our dynasty to learn from the Great Tang Dynasty." Culture, although it is the defeat of our dynasty, its combat power cannot be ignored. The most important thing is that it is only a hundred miles southeast of Silla, and it will arrive in half a day.

If the envoys of Silla know that we have the intention of uniting the North and the South of Japan to attack Silla, they will be panic-stricken. In addition, I am going southeast to pretend to prepare a large number of reinforcements to go east. Silla will plead guilty and surrender.

What I need to contribute to the court is nothing more than a false edict, which is a slight mobilization of troops from several states in the southeast. "

Little pay, big return, what we are playing is psychological warfare.

"That's right." Empress Wu nodded first, and the important officials present bowed at the same time.

After being involved in the court for so long, Li Xuan understood the attitude of the courtiers of Empress Wu's family towards war.

Empress Wu was in charge of the government and did not get involved in the military easily. She was more in charge of money, food and taxes.

For a big battle, how much food, civilians, horses, ordnance need to be prepared, how much is the daily consumption on the battlefield, how long the treasury can last, and how long it takes to transport it to the front line.

This is where Empress Wu is best at and uses her strength.

War is actually a game, but the winner does not necessarily take all, and the loser does not necessarily lose all.

However, it usually happens that the loser loses a lot, but the winner gets nothing.

Especially fighting against tribal peoples such as Tubo and Turks, apart from eliminating the border threat, there is little gain. If there is no Silk Road, I am afraid that the war with Turks back then would have been a loss.

Of course, matters on the battlefield cannot be purely based on economics, otherwise, it would be the end of Jingkang's shame in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Silla, who was deceived by a false edict, did not dare to act rashly, and then Datang withdrew its troops smoothly, which was the most cost-effective thing.

There is no need for Silla to fully believe the precise arrangements and human calculations.

As long as there is enough suspicion, Li Jinxing, the governor of Andong Road, and Gao Kan, the deputy envoy, will arrange everything clearly under the heavy doubts in the country.

"What else do you think?" Li Zhiduan sat behind the table and looked at everyone calmly.

Zhongshu ordered Hao Chujun to take a step forward, cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the strategy proposed by the King of Nanchang is indeed feasible, but it is too risky. The strategy of flanking, but it will take time for his suspicion to be transmitted back to East Island.

Moreover, even if the Wa Kingdom and our dynasty really attack from north to south, coordination, armaments, and time will definitely not be enough in one winter. Silla only needs to investigate to distinguish the true from the false. "

"Then the two roads will go hand in hand." Liu Rengui stood up, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, even if there are no Silla people behind, it will be very difficult for the Liaodong Road to withdraw in winter. I originally planned to call the Dengzhou Navy to assist the army. Withdrawal, since we want to make Silla afraid, why not send a navy to the East Island, even if we don't participate in the war, it will be convenient for the army to evacuate."

"Since we want to be true, why not do everything true." Li Zhi straightened up, put his hands on the dragon table, his eyes fell on the officials in the hall, and said in a deep voice: "Summon, and let the Japanese envoys meet tomorrow. Since the Japanese have an army, And coveting the northern territory, why not let it really cooperate with our court, even if it is not for today, but for the future, I don’t want to hear the news of Silla’s changes when we are at war with Tubo.”

Speaking of this, Li Zhi sneered slightly, and said softly: "Perhaps I will not be able to completely pacify Silla in this lifetime, but my son...Prince, you must remember that Silla will be severely punished for treachery until the country is destroyed." .”

Li Xian immediately stood in the center of the hall, and bowed deeply to Li Zhi: "My minister obeys the order."

All the ministers present bowed their heads at the same time. They all knew in their hearts that for the emperor who destroyed Goguryeo and Baekje, the existence and rebellion of Silla prevented his achievements from being completed.

Although Li Zhi still has some time to live, he will pay more attention to Tubo. As for Silla, let the prince play with it.

After taking a deep look at Li Xian, Li Zhi raised his head, looked at Zhao Renben, the waiter at the door, and said in a deep voice: "Decree, Shi Douxuande, the governor of Yangzhou, will be the ambassador of the Jiangnan Dao Army, and Li Xuan, the king of Nanchang, will He served as the deputy envoy of Jiangnan Road to raise troops, prepared all the naval forces of Jiangnan Road to aid Dongdao, withdrew troops, and allied with the Japanese army."

In a word from Li Zhi, the future situation of the entire East Island has been completely determined.

"I obey the order." Li Xuan immediately stepped forward and cupped his hands.

Empress Wu then added: "All ministries cooperate with Nanchang King and act cautiously."

All the ministers at the scene cupped their hands at the same time: "The ministers wait to obey the order."

(End of this chapter)