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Chapter 824
Seeing the three Xue family brothers kneeling in front of him, Li Chongjiu said: "Okay, I didn't intend to pursue it, but not punishing is not enough to convince the public, and it is not enough to explain to the courtiers. Xue Wanshu, Xue Wanche, Xue Wanjun, you three are dismissed. Each will be demoted by one rank, and the salary will be fined for half a year."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your generosity."

Even if they were punished, the three brothers of the Xue family would still kneel down and thank Li Chongjiu, or else the thunder, rain and dew were all the favor of the king.

Seeing Li Chongjiu reprimanding the three Xue family brothers, the ministers below dared not say anything more.The great Zhao Pingtang is coming soon, and the arrogant soldiers of the Manchu Dynasty below, how to deal with themselves, has become a problem.

Li Chongjiu is different from Liu Bang. Liu Bang was already in his 50s when he won the world. He worried that his descendants would not be able to control the meritorious officials left behind, so they cut off one after another.And Li Chongjiu is only 30 years old, and he is in his prime, so there is no need to worry.

After Ping Tang, there is still a vast western region to gallop in. As for the Wa country on the east sea, it is also a place where soldiers can be used.Da Zhao's iron cavalry can still attack from all directions, and there is no need to worry about good generals being useless and eventually backlashing.

But the Xue family is too powerful in Da Zhao, and Li Chongjiu's moderate beating is also giving them a space to advance and retreat.But the warning is enough, if you don't let it go, you will have to hide your bow and cook like a dog.

"That's the end of this matter, but I hope that all the ministers and workers will take a warning and not be proud of their merits. I hope to share the world with all the ministers and workers. I don't want to find that there are few faces missing when I get old." Li Chongjiu said.

All the officials were relieved when they heard this, but many of them were sweating profusely.

The following topic returned to the attack on the Tang Dynasty. Many officials thought that since Li Shimin was so afraid of the Great Zhao's attack on the Tang Dynasty, then Li Chongjiu must implement the strategy of attacking the Tang Dynasty in the court next.

But Li Chongjiu said in a sullen voice: "It is my long-cherished wish to unify the world, and it is also the wish of my great Zhao soldiers. There is only one last step left to pacify the world. The strategy of defeating the Tang Dynasty does not allow the slightest change. Although luck is bestowed by heaven, but merit Because of human beings, I don't have time to wait too long, if I can't do thunder, should I still wait for Li Shimin to bind his hands and surrender to me?"
"However, I also accept the considerations of the ministers and workers. I will not be Fu Jian, so the time to conquer the Tang Dynasty will be delayed by two years! Within two years, I will use the power of the whole country to train troops. The branch army has expanded to 20 troops, and the Tingwei army has expanded to [-], which is a total of [-] people. As for the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, I ordered Song Jingang and Xiao Mi to be the commanders of the navy. They will build ships and train sailors. Inside, the ship is ready, the soldiers are well trained, and we will attack Tang."

After Li Chongjiu said this, all the officials present were delighted, and they all said yes at the moment.

Chang'an City.

Li Shimin saw the secret music sent from Youjing Xizuo, put it on the desk, turned around and stared at the first snow outside the hall.

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui looked at each other, but they were silent.

Li Shimin asked for a long time: "Two years, after two years, will this snow scene still be the same?"

"Your Majesty, two years is not long or short, but it is enough to rest the army and wait for the battle." Fang Xuanling said to Li Shimin.

Du Ruhui said: "I'm afraid Li Chongjiu has no room for us to prepare. Just received the news that Zhao Jun will continue to mobilize troops to Jiangzhou, Hexi, and Xiangfan to transport food and grass. It seems that they are preparing for a big war. Even within two years, they will They didn't give us a chance to breathe, and prepared to take Jiangzhou, Hexi, and Xiangfan first to pave the way for the decisive battle and create a favorable situation. This is a strategy of slowing down first and then rushing. Li Chongjiu's use of troops is really secretive."

Li Shimin turned around and said, "I'm not worried about the decisive battle in the future, it's just a pity for Xue Shou and Situ Qiu."

Fang Xuanling stepped forward and bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, this is the fault of this humble minister. This deadly plan was recommended by my humble minister to Your Majesty, so the deaths of the two of them are all my fault."

Li Shimin glanced at Fang Xuanling and said: "There is a saying in Sun Tzu's art of war. Those who die in the dead are lying to the outside world, so that I can hear it and pass it on to the enemy. People who are dead will surely die. It's just Xuanling, you Li Chongjiu was not deceived by his plan, or he was unmoved."

Fang Xuanling's face was full of shame, Xue Shou, Situ Qiu was arrested by Zhao Guofeng, and he had expected it long ago.He just wants to pass the false information that Li Tang is afraid of Li Chongjiu's attack on Tang to Li Chongjiu through Xue Shou and Situ Qiu, and then use Zhao Guochao's officials to break the Turkic and Goguryeo situation, and then make the decision to attack Tang .

When implementing this strategy, Fang Xuanling told Li Shimin that although Zhao Guo is currently powerful, it has just broken the Turks, Goguryeo, and won a sudden victory.As for the Turks, Liaodong, Lingnan, and Jianghuai are all newly descended, scholars and people are prone to repeat themselves.

If at this time, Tang Jun defeated Zhao Jun in a decisive battle, then the advantages between the two countries would be reversed. Even if the two armies fought peacefully, it would be beneficial and harmless to Li Tang.

So Fang Xuanling deliberately sent Xue Shou to lobby Xue Wanshu, spreading the news that Li Tang was afraid of Zhao Guo's attack on Tang.Unexpectedly, Li Chongjiu saw through Fang Xuanling's strategy, and still spent two years accumulating troops to prepare for a decisive battle with Li Tang.

Du Ruhui said: "Brother Fang's strategy is not bad. If it is Li Mi, Du Fuwei, Dou Jiande and others, he will fall for it, but it is not enough to deal with Li Chongjiu. This person is not moved by external things, and has his own opinions and judgments. It is a formidable enemy."

Li Shimin turned around and said with a smile: "Okay, Fang Qing doesn't have to blame himself, I am also responsible for this matter. Two years is fine, and I have two years to fight hard. Who knows what will happen in the future, Li Chongjiu thinks it will be two years. Afterwards, the chances of a decisive battle will be even greater, so I will wait and see with him. Fighting against such an opponent is really the greatest challenge in my life, and I must defeat it openly and squarely in order to show my ability."

Hearing what Li Shimin said, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui showed excitement, Li Shimin is really a hero, no matter what time he is, he has such a strong fighting spirit, which even Li Yuan can't match.If there is no Li Chongjiu, neither of them will think that there will be someone else who can replace Li Shimin as the lord of the world.

Du Ruhui also smiled and said: "Fortunately, Li Chongjiu has no weaknesses at all. His use of troops is mediocre, and his commanding in front of the battle is not as good as your Majesty's. If I think it's a decisive battle in front of the battle, then it's our chance."

Hearing what Du Ruhui said, Fang Xuanling nodded slightly, and Li Shimin just smiled.

While the three monarchs and ministers were discussing, there were hurried footsteps outside.

After a general entered the inner hall, he knelt on the ground and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, Wang Junkuo, the general of the Zhao army, led [-] Turks ten days ago, and he was able to dig down the side wall and enter Hexi. City, Dudu Yang can't resist, so I ask His Majesty for help, it's extremely urgent!"

Li Shimin, Fang Xuanling, and Du Ruhui were all calm and weathered all the time, but when they heard that Wang Junkuo entered Hexi and galloped freely, his scalp felt numb as if entering a deserted place.

Coupled with the current pressure from Hanoi and Xiangfan, Zhao Guo only has one-third of its troops at the moment, so Li Tang has to cheer up 12 points.Regardless of the country's territory, the population of Zhao State is greater than that of Li Tang. If Li Chongjiu is determined to accumulate troops and prepare for war, the time when Zhao State turns its true potential into strength is the time when Li Tang fears the most.

No matter how good Li Shimin was at governing the country, he could not change all of this. When the gap between money, food and military strength continued to widen, Fang Xuanling's worries would become a reality. Two years later, the disparity between Tang and Zhao would probably be even greater.

But for Li Shimin right now, there is no time to think about so much. How to repel the attack of Wang Junkuo's [-] army is the most important thing now.

Four years of innovation,

In October, General Wang Junkuo of the State of Zhao led 5 troops to attack Hexi. Li Shimin reinstated General Qu Tutong, and with Yang Shidao and Chai Shao as his deputy, he led the army to attack northward and repel the Zhao army's harassment.

In the same month, Li Tang's Prime Minister Xiao Yu rebelled against Tang and returned to Zhao, and Li Chongjiu named Xiao Yu the Duke of Xu.

In December, Xu Shiji led 3 troops to the south to storm Xiangyang in the snow.Li Tang and Zhang Gongjin led the army to defend to the death, but Zhao Jun finally returned without success.

In the fifth year of innovation, in January, Li Chongjiu named the son of Su Guiren the king of Chu, named Li Tong.

It's the month, and imperial concubine Li Zhiwan is pregnant.
In February, Lujiang King Li Yuan surrendered to Zhao, Yu Chigong, and Xue Wanjun took the opportunity to advance southward, broke through the Tang army's defense line, and captured the Tang army's three counties in Hedong.

Li Shimin issued an edict to angrily scold Duan Zhixuan, the general manager of Jiangzhou, and dared not fight.After being reprimanded by Li Shimin, Duan Zhixuan attacked and counterattacked, but was repelled by Yuchi Gong.

In March, Li Xiaogong, the king of Hejian, who was famous for his meritorious service in the Tang Dynasty, died violently while having a banquet in Chang'an Mansion.There are different opinions in Chang'an City, and some people suspect that Li Shimin secretly sent someone to poison Li Xiaogong.Li Tang's clan was in panic all day long.

In May, Xue Wanshu and Shan Xiongxin led an army from Luoyang to attack Nanyang, and the two armies won and lost each other.

In the same month, Wang Mahan led the newly trained [-] Yiwei Army to Luoyang, Xue Wanche also led the newly trained [-] Wuwei Army to Yingchuan, Xu Shiji led the Tunwei Army, Shan Xiongxin led the Hou Wei Army, and retreated to Hebei to rest.

The four major government armies practiced the strategy of fighting in rounds, and anyone with a discerning eye could see that Li Chongjiu was clearly using the government soldiers to hold Li Tang to train troops.

In July, Xue Wanche had just been transferred to Henan, and he didn't have a moment's rest. Xue Wanche joined up with generals Song Jingang and Xiao Xian of Jiangnan Daoxingtai, and led an army of [-] to attack Xiangyang from both sides of the river and land.

Seeing that Zhao Jun was approaching fiercely, Zhang Gongjin immediately asked Li Jing for help.

The two armies fought bitterly around Xiangyang City for more than 20 days. Zhang Gongjin was out of support, and saw that Xiangyang was about to be destroyed.

In August, imperial concubine Li Zhiwan gave birth to a prince for Li Chongjiu. Li Chongjiu was overjoyed and ordered an amnesty for the world.

In that month, Wang Mahan defeated the Tang army in Nanyang and pulled out Nanyang County.

In September, the Turkic Khan Ashina Momo colluded with Li Tang to rebel. Li Chongjiu ordered to suppress it and ordered Wang Junkuo, Tuli, and Yinghefu to attack Ashina Momo in three directions.

In October, the Ashina Momo Rebellion was put down.At the end of the day, Ashina was captured alive in Youjing, where Li Chongjiu ordered him to be beheaded.

(End of this chapter)