Li Longji got rid of the troubles in the south, and was in a good mood, so he asked Gao Lishi to prepare wine and food, and wanted to have a big meal.

He had little appetite for the past few days because of the defeat in the south.

Pei Min wanted to say something in a hurry, but he was not in a hurry.

In just a short quarter of an hour, the sumptuous food has been placed in front of Li Longji and Pei Min.

There is nothing to say about the skills of the palace chef, Pei Min eats happily.

Li Longji is usually used to eating, and there is nothing new. But because I didn't have a good appetite before, I eat to my heart's content now.

Especially with Pei Min talking to him on one side.

As a member of the hawks, Pei Min is obviously very temperamental to Li Longji in handling things.

At Xingtou, Li Longji suddenly asked about Pei Min's intention.

Pei Min didn't know whether to say it for a while.

Li Longji obviously misunderstood, and said: "Jingyuan won't come just for the affairs of Southern Xinjiang, right?" ”

Pei Min shook his head and said, "I just want to wait for Your Majesty to finish eating, lest you lose your appetite again." ”

Li Longji was stunned, put down the food in his hand, and said helplessly: "Say, I have no appetite now." ”

Pei Min got up and left the table with a solemn face, walked to the center of the hall step by step, and said, "The minister came to Chang'an to ask for ...... battle."

Li Longji's heart trembled, and he said after a while: "Who is the enemy?" ”

"Arabia, Tibet!"

Pei Min spit out two country names and five words in his mouth.

Li Longji's expression became more and more serious.

The Colliers on the side also changed color.

"Do you know the current situation?"

Li Longji loosened his fists with both hands, clenched them tightly, and said hurriedly: "The failure of this southern expedition has caused our army to lose 50,000 soldiers and equipment, grain and grass, countless amounts, and the post-war pension is astronomical. You have just persuaded us to start the war in southern Xinjiang again, and the war in the northeast has not stopped, and now you are going to war with Arabia and Tibet...... The imperial court has indeed developed very well in the past ten years, but it can't afford to toss like this, do you know how the Sui Dynasty fell? You are a generation of Wenzong, and you will not know the cloud of "Sima Law": Although the old country is big, the warlike will die. ”

"The minister understands!"

Pei Min said in a resolute tone: "There is another sentence behind this sentence: 'Although the world is safe, forgetting the war will be dangerous'. It's not that the minister is belligerent, but he really has to fight. You know the situation in our court, the ministers know it, and the Tibetans and Arabs know it even better. There is a saying that the people who know themselves best are often their enemies. Our weaknesses, Tibetans and Arabs, are far better understood than we do. The minister can now be sure that within a year, Tibet and Arabia will definitely attack our Tang Dynasty at the same time. At that time, the Western Regions will fall into a war, and whether Tubo will attack Jiuqu Land in Hexi or Hexi, this minister will not count, and the initiative will be in their hands. ”

"The failure of this southern expedition is indeed not a pain in the bones for our dynasty. However, this defeat gave Tubo a chance to recuperate; This defeat shocked the morale of Tibet; This defeat greatly diminished my prestige. For Tibet and Arabia, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Unless they are stupid, they will sit back and watch us breathe a sigh of relief. Sit back and watch us build Gaochang Warehouse, no worries about grain and grass? ”

"This is impossible, the way of using military is to control the victory and defeat in your own hands, instead of asking God to worship Buddha and begging the enemy to be stupid and make mistakes. It is not that the ministers are belligerent and seek war, but that they have forced Tibet and Arabia to fight without fighting. ”

Li Longji's face was shocked, and he finally realized how stupid the decision of the Southern Expedition was.

I finally realized that the failure of the Southern Expedition was not just a defeat at the beginning.

This defeat has muddied the situation in the West.

I made a very stupid decision.

It's just that Li Longji's self-esteem didn't admit his defeat, and he hesitated for a moment and said: "Since the situation is like this, why can't it be delayed?" Besides, the defense has a certain advantage, and if you fight with the advantage, wouldn't it have a better chance of winning? ”

Pei Min shook his head and said, "The minister has calculated, the loss of defense to my Datang is even greater." Your Majesty, once the war starts from Tibet and Arabia, it means that they are fully prepared. Needless to say, the number of Tibetan troops was 100,000. Their 100,000 troops came out together, and if they attacked Mo Liyi, Mo Liyi was used as a nail, which was not conducive to the deployment of the army, and it would definitely not be able to hold it. It is inevitable to retreat to the Jiuqu land in Hexi, and at that time, the construction of our dynasty in the Jiuqu land in Hexi will be hit hard. If they really only attack the Jiuqu Land in Hexi, it would be easy, if they sometimes attacked the Jiuqu Land in Hexi, sometimes attacked Hexi, or divided their forces to attack the two places and harassed the two places, even if they finally won, these two places will be devastated. ”

"And the Arabs, let's calculate him at least 200,000! The Liangzhou Army, the Anxi Army, and the Beiting Army combined for 110,000, plus the troops of the Western Regions, could barely raise 150,000. Passive defense is not a problem, but our food and grass problem has not been solved. The pure grain of Guanzhong, Longyou, and Hexi, transported for thousands of miles, and maintained the supply of 150,000 troops, the minister knew that he did not dare to calculate, what kind of amount it was. If the Arabs are ruthless and mobilize 300,000 troops, then we will also need to recruit troops to the Western Regions. This war, the minister could not predict how long it would take. One year, two years, or three or five years? It won't take five years, but I'm afraid that if we fight for three years, our economy will be hollowed out. ”

Li Longji's face was already a little pale when he heard this, and he said in a rough voice: "There is no other way?" ”

Pei Min sighed: "Instead of letting Tubo and Dashi drag down, either take the initiative to attack, or break the wrist of the strong man and give up the Western ......Regions directly."

"Impossible!" Before Pei Min finished speaking, Li Longji had already taken the case and said sharply: "It will never be possible to give up the Western Regions." I will never repeat in the footsteps of that woman, and the Western Regions will never give up,"

The woman Li Longji said was of course Wu Zetian.

It is impossible for the Li family not to hate Wu Zetian, but Wu Zetian is their grandmother again, in order to show filial piety.

Whether it is Li Longji or Li Dan, they have always shown extreme filial piety to the outside world.

At this moment, Li Longji said his heart, obviously a little messy.

Pei Min made another gesture and said, "Then there is only one battle!" ”

Li Longji frowned and said, "Then how many soldiers and horses do you need?" ”

Pei Min shook his head and said: "Your Majesty still listens to the intention of the minister, and the minister is by no means arrogant enough to fight against Tibet and Arabia with the strength of our country. The goal of the minister was Qinghai Lake, and the Tubo was completely destroyed and disabled. As for the Arabs, the ministers are just passive defenses, attacking and defending. The attack is the territory of Tibet, and the battlefield is set in Qinghai Lake, and all the losses are Tibetan. Defend in the Western Regions, of course, we have a share in the Western Regions, but the Arabs must capture the Zhaowu Nine Kingdoms in order to truly threaten the territory controlled by our dynasty. In this way, losses are minimized. ”

"It is an active offensive against Tibet, and an active defense against Arabia......"

"First destroy Tibet, and then deal with the Arabs, so as to minimize the threat to the two countries."