Datang: What's wrong with my fief being a billion points larger?

Chapter 253 Li Jing's plan, Li Er bows to reality

Li Er had his own ideas in mind. As an expert on military affairs, he knew exactly how many troops would be needed to destroy Tuyuhun and how long it would take.

But Li Er still had some hope in his heart. He wanted to use a shorter time and a smaller army to destroy Tuyuhun and incorporate Tuyuhun into the territory of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Yuanji was aggressive, not because Li Er wanted to compete or compete with others, but look at Li Yuanji, he originally only had a fiefdom in Lingnan, and he developed without any foundation in Lingnan.

The territories conquered by Li Yuanji today are almost as large as half of the territory of the Tang Dynasty. Li Yuanji's reputation for expanding the territory for the Tang Dynasty is almost overshadowing that of Li Er.

At the beginning of the year, he experienced another defeat at the hands of the Turks. Now, he has the reputation of being an expert in civil wars but a novice in foreign wars.

Look at Li Yuanji. He was not good at civil wars, but he never lost a single foreign war. Every time he led troops, he was able to gain a large amount of territory.

He had the foundation of the entire Tang Dynasty, but he failed in his first foreign war and was beaten directly to the outskirts of the capital. The news outside was spreading like wildfire, all of which were about how Li Er was no longer capable.

Because of the existence of Li Yuanji, he was often compared with Li Yuanji. Although no one said it in front of him, the rumors circulating in the world showed that he, Li Er, was not blind or deaf.

Li Er wanted to win a great foreign war and expand the territory of the Tang Dynasty again. He wanted to let everyone know that Li Yuanji was not capable of it before, was not capable of it now, and would not be capable of it in the future. He, Li Er, was the leader and the best among Li Yuan's three legitimate sons.

As someone who came to power through a military coup, he was extremely eager for recognition from the people of the world and wanted to make the Tang Dynasty the most powerful empire in history.

Now that this is his first foreign war, Li Er has to be cautious. If he loses again, his rivalry with Li Yuanji will be unpopular. More and more people will gradually move closer to Li Yuanji, which he cannot accept.

The defeats against the Turks and Japan were already a heavy blow to his reputation. If he could no longer take the initiative to attack externally, the people under him would soon lose their morale.

Li Jing was also feeling heavy-hearted at this moment. Although he did not participate in the fight between Li Shimin and Li Yuanji, it did not mean that he was unaware of the current situation. Now that Li Er had become the emperor, he naturally had to be loyal to Li Er. This was Li Jing's loyalty.

He is only loyal to the emperor. When Li Yuan was in power, he was loyal to Li Yuan. Now that Li Er is in power, he is loyal to Li Er.

It is precisely because he knows the current situation that he is very clear about the consequences of failure and victory in what Li Er said. Li Er now cannot afford to lose and must win.

Li Jing pondered for a long time and slowly looked at Li Er.

"Your Majesty, if we want to destroy Tuyuhun, I will need at least 100,000 soldiers, all of whom must be armored, with no less than 10,000 cavalry, and sufficient food and fodder.

As for the time, I cannot give Your Majesty a specific time, but what I can be sure of is that Tuyuhun will be destroyed within one to two years!

But this time must be calculated after I have led all the troops to their positions. The time spent on the march is not included. If it is added, it will at least increase by half a year."

Li Er frowned when he heard the time and military strength. It was indeed not much different from what he had imagined. In his imagination, he would also send out more than 100,000 troops, and it would take about two years. This also did not take into account the marching time from the Tang Dynasty to Tuyuhun.

Just as Li Er frowned, Li Jing's voice came again.

"Your Majesty, this is actually an opportunity. According to what Your Majesty said, the Turks are now in turmoil, so Your Majesty can take this opportunity to support people who are close to the Tang Dynasty and then provoke a greater rebellion within the Turks.

If we were to conquer Tuyuhun, the preparation of food and fodder as well as the army would take at least three months, or even half a year.

Then during this time, the situation of the Turks will certainly become worse. At that time, I can lead the army to Tuyuhun, and the Tang Dynasty will send a letter to the country stating the crimes committed by Tuyuhun, so that all the Turkish tribes will know that the Tang Dynasty will send troops to Tuyuhun.

The army led by me can turn around and march towards the Turks halfway. Your Majesty will then contact the Turkic tribes that are close to the Tang Dynasty. By then, Jie Li will certainly be unprepared. I only need to lead the cavalry and penetrate deep into the Turks and head straight for Jie Li's headquarters.

If Jie Li can be captured or killed by then, the overall situation will be settled.

After destroying the Turks, they would then send troops to Tuyuhun. The march would be slower, which would also allow the army to rest and would not have any impact.

In this way, the two external threats to the Tang Dynasty, the Turks and Tuyuhun, can be eliminated at the same time!"

Li Jing spoke with certainty and confidence. As for the possibility of failure of this strategy, Li Jing had never thought about it, simply because he was Li Jing. As long as Li Er could replenish his army, he had the confidence.

He was not sure about other things, but when it came to fighting, Li Jing believed he was not bad.

Li Er listened to Li Jing's words with a gleam in his eyes. He really didn't expect that Li Jing could surprise him like this. He always thought about who to kill first, but he never thought that he could kill both of them at the same time.

After hearing Li Jing's words, Li Er became radiant. Apart from anything else, after destroying Tuyuhun and Turks, his reputation would reach an unprecedented height.

By then, Li Yuanji was far inferior to him, if for no other reason than that the small countries that Li Yuanji destroyed were basically nothing to say about, but the Turks and Tuyuhun were different, everyone knew that these two countries were truly powerful countries.

At this moment, Li Jing's voice came again.

"Your Majesty, I think it is not enough to rely on Yang Tongchen alone for Tubo. From a military perspective, it is feasible to let Subi take the opportunity to restore the country and stir up civil strife. At the same time, Your Majesty said that if the Tubo king implements a new policy, it will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among many people. We can also make connections to cause chaos within Tubo.

At the same time, contact the Eastern Women's Kingdom and the small Dangxiang Kingdom to attack Tubo from the east and the west. The Eastern Women's Kingdom, Dangxiang and other small countries have the same origin as Subi. As long as Your Majesty can convince them, it will definitely work.

Finally, we will pull in Panyue, Kamaruba and other countries in the south of Tubo, and then attack from all sides. In addition, Tubo is in internal strife. Even though the King of Qi has sent troops to support Tubo, it will not be easy to help Tubo solve internal and external problems. "

When Li Er heard this, he immediately asked someone to bring a map. Looking at the map of the area around Tubo, Li Er became more and more delighted. Although he didn't know whether it would succeed, at least the strategy provided by Li Jing was very good.

Li Er was really excited this time. Li Jing did not propose a real operational method, but the strategy he proposed was undoubtedly very good. He did not even need to send troops to suppress Li Yuanji's forces from the western side of the Tang Dynasty.

Whether this strategy can work depends on him and the planning of Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and others under him. As long as the planning is proper, these may not be impossible to achieve.

Even if these small countries have trade relations with Li Yuanji, it doesn't matter. Not only these small countries benefit from the trade, but also Li Yuanji. It's just normal trading, but when it comes to the country's foundation, life and death, no one will care about these trades.

Li Er then looked at Li Jing.

"What the pharmacist said is an excellent strategy. I will consider this matter in detail later. Now, you should prepare. We will do as you said and destroy the Turks first and then the Tuyuhun. Pharmacist, you know the current situation. Whether it can be successful or not is up to you. When you return victorious, I will lead the entire court and go out of the city twenty miles to welcome you! I will personally celebrate your success!"

Li Jing knelt on one knee and said: "I will do my best to destroy the Turks and Tuyuhun to show the power of the Tang Dynasty!"

Li Er helped Li Jing to rise up. As for Li Jing, he could only believe now that in the entire Tang Dynasty, no one was better than Li Jing in military strategy and commanding the army. Even Li Ji was inferior to Li Jing.

After Li Jing left, Li Er immediately called Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Zhangsun Wuji and others again.

Eastern Palace, inside Xiande Hall.

Li Er sat at the top, and Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and others were all there.

"Duke Dai's words are truly ingenious. Your Majesty, I completely agree with them!"

Du Ruhui and others below were full of admiration. What Li Jing and Li Er said, and what Li Er discussed with them, made them really admire him at this moment.

Du Ruhui was amazed by the strategies Li Jing mentioned and could not help but admire Li Jing's ability to use troops.

After saying it, you may feel that it is just like that, but before saying it, who would really dare to think so crazy?

Du Ruhui was very excited, but Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji were frowning and thinking. What they were thinking about was food and fodder. Under the current situation, whether there were enough food and fodder?

Although it is autumn harvest and we can breathe a sigh of relief, people's livelihood is still a big problem. Many places need money and food. Now we have to supply at least 100,000 troops with enough food and fodder for more than two years, which is not so easy.

It is not easy for the Tang Dynasty today to afford such a large amount of money and grain.

Just when Li Er was equally happy, Fang Xuanling immediately spoke up and interrupted Li Er's beautiful fantasy.

“Your Majesty, there is nothing wrong with this strategy, but the only problem is the money and food and logistics needed for the army.

The supply of money and food for such a long period of time, as well as the large amount of corvée labor required, cannot be completed in a short period of time. It will take at least half a year to raise them. The best situation is that there will be enough money and food for the army after the autumn harvest next year. Otherwise, it will be difficult to supply. "

As Fang Xuanling finished speaking, Changsun Wuji also spoke at this moment.

"Your Majesty, in addition to money, food and manpower, it will also take time to build and train a large army. The preparation time will take at least a year. The military deployment can only be initiated after the autumn harvest next year."

It can be said that Changsun Wuji is the one among Li Er's ministers who wants to send troops the most, but the reality is that it is impossible for the Tang Dynasty to send troops on such a large scale and fight for a long time.

Unless the whole world is destroyed just to fight this war, I don't care.

But Yang Guang was a lesson for such warmongering, not to mention that Li Yuanji was eyeing the south covetously. If they really did that, Li Yuanji would be the one who benefited.

Li Er frowned when he heard this. At this moment, he suddenly regretted sending Japan to fight that war. He invested a lot of money and grain from the southern treasury in that war, but ended up losing. This gave Li Yuanji a higher reputation for nothing, while the money and grain of his Tang Dynasty was further depleted.

Even though he made a lot of money from the aristocratic families and foreign trade, it was still not enough for the Tang Dynasty to wage a war on such a large scale and for such a long time.

The size of the army is not a big deal, at most he can save money and squeeze out some money, but the most important thing is that according to Li Jing's strategy, once the troops are dispatched, the destruction of the Turks and Tuyuhun will start almost at the same time.

It was said that they needed to prepare two years' worth of food and fodder, but Li Er knew very well that at least three years' worth of food and fodder were needed to sustain the war.

Although not so much food and fodder needs to be taken out at once, more than half of it must be prepared in advance. If the logistical supplies are not prepared, how can the war be fought?
Any omission at any time could make this war impossible to carry out, and accidents are too easy to happen.

The hall was extremely quiet for a while, and everyone was waiting for Li Er's decision. This decision could only be made by Li Er himself.

After a long time, Li Er suddenly looked at several people.

"Let's prepare first. We must send troops. We should implement this strategy first. As for the time of sending troops, it will depend on the preparations."

Li Er also knew the current reality and had no choice but to do this.

Fang Xuanling and his companions were relieved when they heard this. They were really afraid that Li Er would ignore the consequences and start fighting first.

“Your Majesty, the situation is actually not that difficult. While providing support, we can also earn a lot from the trade we have launched. We may not have to wait until next year’s autumn harvest to prepare.

But no matter what, we will have to wait until next year to send out troops."

What else could Li Er say? This was the only way. At this moment, he was a little envious of Li Yuanji. He had money and food, and could send troops anytime he wanted. He didn't have to consider so many things like he did.

At this moment, Li Er suddenly realized that he, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, was really cowardly and did not live as comfortably as Li Yuanji, the King of Qi.

Look at the countries that Li Yuanji destroyed with his troops. He destroyed Linyi without any hesitation. Even though Li Yuanji himself was in a difficult situation at that time, he still conquered it so easily.

Then he destroyed Zhenla, various tribes, Luzon, Ryukyu, Japan, etc. When did Li Yuanji ever consider this and that every time he led an army?
It was just a matter of fighting without any hesitation. Although he knew the details were not that simple, it seemed that simple on the surface.

Li Er stopped thinking about it. He now understood that when comparing people, the gap was really huge.

Li Er was extremely envious of Li Yuanji's weapons, in particular. If he had these weapons, he would not need so many people or so much time. A hundred thousand troops would allow him to launch a war of annihilation against the Turks and Tuyuhun at the same time.

"That's all, but we need to make arrangements for the Tubo matter immediately. This matter cannot be put aside. We need to act quickly."

(End of this chapter)