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

Li Yuanji brought everyone back to the palace. After the banquet, he started to deal with affairs without rest.

"First, let me tell you, did Li Er take any action during this Western Expedition?"

What Li Yuanji was most concerned about was Li Er's actions. He never believed that Li Er would just watch him go on the westward expedition.

Cen Wenben then told Li Yuanji the news that Li Er had sent out three armies, and also told him all the arrangements that Yang Qingwan had made before, and placed all the files in front of Li Yuanji's desk.

Li Yuanji checked them one by one for a long time before putting them down.

"It's a great arrangement, Jingren. Thank you for your hard work."

Li Yuanji was surprised by the measures decided by Yang Qingwan. He really didn't expect that Yang Qingwan would be so decisive.

I have to say that this style of behavior is somewhat like him. If it were him, he would definitely do the same, and the extent might be even greater.

Cen Benwen and the others below also breathed a sigh of relief. These actions were quite significant, and they were also worried in their hearts.

"Your Majesty, this is what we should do. It is mainly because of the Queen's good coordination and courage to make these decisions. We are really not as good as the Queen."

"Haha, that's enough. The Queen's decision is indeed good, very good, but it also requires you to go down and formulate strategies and start implementing them. I remember everything you did."

Li Yuanji knew the abilities of Cen Benwen and others, and his execution ability was top-notch.

Cen Wenben stopped thinking about it and looked at Li Yuanji with a serious expression.

"Your Majesty, there is another piece of news. This was found out by the Royal Guards. Let Commander Yang tell you."

Li Yuanji was stunned, looked at Yang Jianhe, and finally looked at Cen Wenben with a smile.

"Jingren, this is not like your style. Just say it directly."

Cen Wenben had no choice but to speak.

“According to the news from the Tang Dynasty, Li Er not only mobilized the 23rd Army to deploy in three routes, but he is also continuing to mobilize the army.

There were even armies from the Eastern Turks, Tuyuhun and other countries, plus those mobilized by Li Er himself, with a total force of 300,000, all of which were beginning to gather in the south.

In addition, Li Er is also vigorously setting up facilities for the research and development of firearms. It seems that he is making final preparations. Nowadays, the main firearms of the Tang Dynasty are still matchlock guns and cannons that we have eliminated long ago.

There is another piece of news, but this news has not been confirmed, but I think it should be true.

Li Er has been constantly expanding the scale of shipbuilding. He has now built twenty-one ships. Together with the original thirty or so ships, Li Er's navy now has more than fifty large warships.

And the number is still increasing. Li Er has set up three more shipbuilding sites, all of which are now being rushed into operation.”

When Li Yuanji heard this, he immediately became interested and smiled.

“It seems that Li Er is really making final preparations, but there is no need to pay attention to him. If he wants to build a ship, let him build it.

As for the large army, they cannot pose a big threat with only firearms. Even if they are matchlock rifles and cannons that we have eliminated long ago, Li Er will not be able to equip the entire army with the time he has.

The Tang Dynasty had not laid any foundation before, and did not start to develop industry immediately after obtaining the technology. It is too late now and there is not enough time.

And even if he equipped his entire army it would be useless, for he would have no advantage at all in the face of our present-day firearms.

But since Li Er has started making final preparations, let's start as well, and try to finish before Li Er does.

Once that's done, we'll start the attack right away.

Now tell me how we should complete this preparation first."

When Li Er was making final preparations, Li Yuanji was not afraid at all. It was just 300,000 troops, wasn't it?

Together with the 230,000 troops already in place, there are only 530,000 troops. If Li Yuanji adds Li Er's appearance and another 100,000 troops, there will only be 630,000 troops, which is a little more than him.

But is this a problem? Obviously not a problem.

Before he had firearms, his army was small and the food was not enough to support him in launching a full-scale war. In addition, the advantage of firearms was just an advantage. It was still difficult to kill Li Er, so he continued to focus on development.

As a result, Li Er and Li Yuan teamed up to beat him up. If they wanted to fight, the surrounding countries were all jumping in. He had no choice but to kill all those who wanted to jump in and eliminate the surrounding threats first.

Now, not only does firearms have a greater advantage, but there are no more threats from the surrounding areas. He no longer has anything to worry about.

Now, not only Li Er has to make final preparations, but he too. Originally, the sooner the war starts, the better it will be for Li Er. But since he has to prepare, this time he is determined to let Li Er see what despair is.

Upon hearing this, Cen Wenben pondered for a moment and then looked at Li Yuanji.

“Your Majesty, there are now 30,000 rifles and 500 cannons of various types stored in the treasury, but most of them are small cannons.

In addition, the current 100,000 Type B troops have all completed their equipment changes and preliminary training. The remaining ones need the king to provide them with follow-up training.

There are more than enough bullets and shells for the army to use at will.

Sufficient manpower has been deployed in all the factories where the equipment is laid out, and they take turns to carry out manufacturing without stopping for any moment.

Later, ten more large factories were added, all the machines were put into use, and production has been going on for half a year, in order to produce goods to meet the needs of the army as quickly as possible.

It will probably take another two to three months for all the rifles and cannons produced in the factories to equip the 100,000 troops again.

In addition to all the equipment for these 100,000 Type B troops, 30,000 sets of equipment are now being produced, including 30,000 sets shipped from Yang Shu, 20,000 from Wei Ting, 30,000 from Su Dingfang, 30,000 from Feng Ang, 20,000 from Yu Minghe, and 30,000 from Xi Junmai.

Special personnel were sent to each location to instruct on how to use the equipment and to provide preliminary training.”

Li Yuanji silently calculated that the total number of troops now equipped has reached 250,000. Does this number seem to be enough?

Moreover, there is enough in the treasury to equip 30,000 troops, which means the total number of troops can reach 280,000.

He now has 70,000 troops that can be mobilized, and only 40,000 of them have not yet been equipped.

This number is enough.

At this time, Cen Wenben's voice continued to be heard.

"Your Majesty, I believe that our preparations are almost complete. I have estimated that the number of our well-equipped troops is close to 300,000.

I think the most important thing now is to train the army for a month. The shorter the training time, the better. Then we can start the Northern Expedition directly. Another thing is iron warships. We only need a few to start the operation. If the whole navy is to be equipped, it may take more than one or two years.

During the one-month training period, at least 30,000 sets of new firearms and equipment can be produced and equipped to the navy. Combined with the two existing ironclad warships, it will be enough to inflict a devastating blow to Li Er's navy.

If it takes longer to prepare, I will then lay railroad tracks across the country. Once completed, it will greatly enhance logistics and transportation and improve the army's supply capabilities.

Including vehicles, I suggest mass production and then deploying them in the army. These cars can be used to pull the army forward, saving the soldiers' physical strength, which will make combat more advantageous.

These will take a long time, but once completed, they will provide a great boost to the army's northern expedition."

Cen Wenben fell silent after he finished speaking. In his heart, he actually suggested that Li Yuanji launch the Northern Expedition as soon as possible. Now Li Er's army had not yet completed its assembly and mobilization, and the firearms had not yet been fully equipped to the army.

Although Li Er's firearms were no longer in use, Cen Wenben believed that if Li Er really equipped the entire army with them, it would pose some threat to them.

Now Li Er has not completed his preparations yet. Although their preparations are not fully completed either, their preparations are obviously more sufficient than Li Er's, which is enough.

If Li Yuanji was prepared to make longer-term preparations, he would not object. As he said, if they really prepared all of these in a year or two, their army's combat effectiveness would only become stronger and their chances of winning would be greater.

Li Yuanji was also thinking about it, but he didn't think for long. After just a moment, he made a decision.

Li Yuanji stood up and looked at Cen Wenben and others with a solemn expression.

“Since everything is almost ready, that’s enough. There are no such things as perfect preparation.

There is no point in continuing to waste time. Just as what Ju Ran said, Li Er’s preparations are not yet complete. To be precise, not even half of his preparations are complete. So why should we wait any longer?

You go down and make preparations. One month later, the army will march north! Restore the orthodox territory of the Tang Dynasty!"

"Within this month, all materials will be mobilized as quickly as possible, and everything will be done to prepare for the Northern Expedition!"

"Cen Wenben, when you go down, have the newspaper bureau print a newspaper and report all the facts about Li Er killing his brother, imprisoning his father and usurping the throne, disregarding the livelihood of the people, and disregarding the lives of the people, as well as Li Er's unauthorized transfer of firearms technology to other countries and ethnic minorities.

In addition to these, there are many other things. You should list them all and use newspapers to publicize them to everyone, so that everyone can know the evil deeds done by Li Er. "

"Yang Jianhe, your Jinyiwei should be ready and start to intensify the intelligence gathering on the Tang Dynasty immediately. At the same time, after the newspaper comes out, distribute it to the Tang Dynasty so that everyone in the Tang Dynasty can see the evil deeds that Li Er has done!"

Li Yuanji made arrangements in an orderly manner. After hearing what Cen Benwen and the others said, they all became excited and extremely excited.

All of them have been looking forward to this day for an unknown amount of time. Over the years, they have been thinking about counterattacking the Tang Dynasty, returning to the Tang Dynasty again, and supporting Li Yuanji to become the emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

Everything here is good, very good, but in everyone's heart, the Tang Dynasty is still their real home. No matter how powerful they are outside, only on the land of the Tang Dynasty can they truly return home and be strong.

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, we will fight to the death to complete this task!"

This is the determination of all of them. The Northern Expedition is imminent in a month, and no one can cause any trouble. If anyone dares to tamper with this matter, Li Yuanji doesn't need to make any arrangements, as they will kill all nine generations of the person who dares to tamper with his entire family!

Li Yuanji nodded, then looked at them with murderous eyes.

"This matter must be kept secret for the time being. We will announce it to the world when we officially launch the Northern Expedition! If anyone dares to leak the news of the Northern Expedition in a month, I will kill all his clans!"

The Northern Expedition is bound to happen, just like Li Er's Southern Expedition. Everyone in the world knows that it is now unavoidable. Both sides are preparing, but no one in the world knows how long the preparation will take, or how long the war will last.

Li Yuanji also couldn't let this news get out. Whoever took action first would gain the upper hand. He also didn't want to give Li Er a month to mobilize his army.

Cen Wenben and others agreed one after another, and after discussing for a long time, they got up and left.

Everyone walked with the wind, and the smiles on their faces never disappeared. No matter how busy they were, they felt as if their bodies were extremely light at this moment.

Li Yuanji pondered for a moment and then wrote several letters.

"Yang Jianhe, send someone to deliver these letters to Xi Junmai, Yang Shu, Wei Ting, Su Dingfang, Feng Ang, and Yu Minghe. Remember, the person you send must hand them over to them personally, and watch them open and check them on the spot, and then burn them!
And bring back their replies!"

Yang Jianhe was shocked. He knew that it must be Li Yuanji who was arranging the battle deployment.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Just as Yang Jianhe was about to turn around, Li Yuanji's voice came again.

"Go and call Xie Shufang, Liu Rengui, Feng Li, Wei Shishi and others over first."

Now that the decision has been made, the arrangement of the army must begin.

After a while, Xie Shufang and others arrived. They were all a little confused at the moment, because it had not been long since they separated. Why did Li Yuanji call them here?
"See you, Your Majesty."

Li Yuanji waved his hand to signal everyone to stand up, and gave Yang Jianhe a look. Yang Jianhe understood and stood guard outside, not allowing anyone to approach.

When Xie Shufang and the others saw this scene, everyone started to become serious. This was obviously not a small matter.

Li Yuanji looked at the few people and spoke slowly.

"I have decided to start the Northern Expedition in a month and return to Chang'an."

Listening to Li Yuanji's calm words, Xie Shufang and the others all narrowed their pupils, looked at Li Yuanji in shock, and their breathing gradually became heavy.

However, after a while, several people came to their senses. Some of them were shaking with excitement, and the word "Northern Expedition" kept flashing in their minds.

Several people did not make any sound. After gradually accepting it, they all knelt on one knee.

"Please give the order, my lord. I am willing to fight to the death for you!"

Xie Shufang had never been so eager to fight as he was now. When he conquered the surrounding countries before, he always felt that something was missing. Although he was happy, he didn't feel very satisfied.

Now, everyone is full of anticipation and determination about returning to the Tang Dynasty.

Especially Xie Shufang and Feng Li. Xie Shufang came to Lingnan with Li Yuanji. He knew that although Li Yuanji didn't care on the surface, he must have had some thoughts in his mind.

He was forced to leave Chang'an by Li Jiancheng and Li Er. Now, his king is finally going to return to Chang'an with his army.

At this moment, Xie Shufang's blood was boiling. He had left in a panic before, but today he was going to go back as a victor!
Feng Li was also looking forward to this day. Li Er was unanimous in killing Li Jiancheng, and they all wanted to avenge Li Jiancheng.

After waiting for so long, it’s finally here.

Fight back to Chang'an! (End of this chapter)