However, at this time, Li Shimin had important things to deal with, so he just glanced at Gu Ruoyu and left in a hurry.

Gu Ruoyu was very disappointed, and silently followed the palace maids back to Guangcui Palace. A palace maid saw Gu Ruoyu and said, "Niangniang said to let you go to see her." ”

"Niangniang, are you looking for a slave?" Gu Ruoyu asked.

Concubine Yin asked, "Your Majesty left just now, did you meet you on the road?" ”

"Yes." Gu Ruoyu said.

"Did he recognize you?" Concubine Yin asked.

"Nope." Gu Ruoyu said with some disappointment.

Concubine Yin Niangniang was also a little disappointed, but she thought that Li Shimin had just received the military report, and her mind was definitely not focused on other things. She comforted Gu Ruoyu and said, "Your Majesty has important matters to deal with, and it's normal that he hasn't noticed you." Don't rush, just look for another chance. ”

"Yes, sissy." Gu Ruoyu said.

Liangyi Palace, study.

Li Shimin, Li You, Fang Xuanling, Li Jing, Hou Junji, and Zhang Liang were studying the affairs of the military newspaper.

The military newspaper was sent by the Northwest Frontier Affairs Bureau, which said that after the snowstorm in Yinshan, Xue Yantuo suffered a disaster that had not been encountered in 20 years, and a large number of livestock froze to death and starved to death, and they asked for help from the Tang Dynasty on the one hand, and on the other hand, they clashed with the Tuli Ministry because of the grassland in the south of the Overseer Mountain, Xue Yantuo dispatched 20,000 cavalry and forcibly seized the grassland that originally belonged to the Tuli Ministry.

During the battle, the second son of the Turki Khan Chehori was killed, and Chehori mobilized a large army to retake the seized pastures and avenge his son. At the same time, he also wrote a chapter and asked the Heavenly Khan Li Shimin to administer justice for him.

After everyone finished reading the concerto, Li Shimin asked: "What do you think about this matter?" ”

Fang Xuanling said: "Your Majesty, this is a good thing. The Khan of the Tuli Ministry, Qi He Li, is a vassal state that accepted the canonization of the Tang Dynasty, and Xue Yantuo's brazen invasion of the Tuli Ministry is a provocation to my Tang Dynasty, which is reasonable, and the imperial court should not sit idly by.

Xue Yantuo suffered a disaster that had not been encountered in 20 years, and his strength was greatly reduced, and it was the best time to attack them.

The minister suggested that he immediately send troops to attack Xue Yantuo and take the opportunity to destroy Xue Yantuo. Defeating Xue Yantuo, the strongest on the grassland, the strength of the northern grassland people will be further weakened, and the northern border of the Tang Dynasty will be safer. ”

"Hit, the minister agrees with Lord Fang's opinion." Hou Junji immediately said, this guy doesn't fight for a day, and he feels uncomfortable.

"Brother Jing, what is your opinion?" Seeing that Li Jing was pondering, Li Shimin asked.

Li Jing said: "Your Majesty, the minister also agreed to send troops. It is not difficult to destroy Xue Yantuo, but after our army sends troops, Daisen Dari may defect to the north to take refuge in the Hui people, and it will still be a big trouble in the future. Therefore, it is necessary to try to get rid of Daisen Dari in a war and prevent him from resurrecting. This is one of them.

Second, what should I do after I lay down Xue Yantuo? Daisen Dari died or fled, how did the Xue Yantuo tribe rule? The steppe is not conducive to the garrison, and as soon as our army leaves, everything will return to its original state, and it will be even more chaotic than before. ”

Li Jing has always only considered military issues, but this time he has considered it even more.

Li Shimin asked, "What do you think?" ”

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that after defeating Daisen Dayi, he must find an agent loyal to the Tang Dynasty, and he will control Xue Yantuo's subordinates, which is the way to ensure the long-term stability of the northern border of the Tang Dynasty." Li Jing said.

"Do you have a pick?" Li Shimin asked.

"The minister is just making a suggestion, and the question of the candidate should be decided by His Majesty." Li Jing is very measured in his work, and when it comes to political matters, he will not express his opinion.

Fang Xuanling said: "Your Majesty, the general is right. Be sure to find someone who has influence in Xue Yantuo to serve as the new khan of Xue Yantuo. ”

Zhang Liang is cautious and never takes the initiative to express his opinions, but this time he took the initiative to make suggestions. He said, "Your Majesty, there is a candidate for the minister. ”

Li Shimin asked: "You say, who is the most suitable?" ”

"Princess Qi Ashinaqing, she is the daughter of the former Xue Yantuo Khan Yinan, and she has a huge influence on the grassland." Zhang Liang said.

"The minister agrees, Princess Qi Ashinaqing's identity is suitable, she is absolutely loyal to the Tang Dynasty, and the minister thinks that she is the best candidate." Hou Junji said.

Li Shimin asked, "Li You, what is your opinion?" ”

Li You shook his head and said: "It's not right, although Ashina Qing is the concubine of Erchen, but she is Xue Yantuo after all, once she controls Xue Yantuo, in order to protect Xue Yantuo's interests, it is inevitable that she will choose between Xue Yantuo and Datang, which is full of uncertain factors." ”

Hou Junji said: "Your Highness, what do you have to worry about? Ashinaqing is your princess, can't you control her yet? ”

Li You still shook his head.

Li Shimin also felt that Ashina Qing was suitable, and he said: "I think she is suitable, so let's decide." After defeating Xue Yantuo, he canonized her as the new khan of Xue Yantuo. ”

"Your Majesty, the minister has a better idea. Princess Qi now has a son, canonize Princess Qi, it is better to canonize the son of His Royal Highness King Qi, that is, Your Majesty's grandson, to serve as the new Khan, and Princess Qi to serve as the superintendent.

In this way, it not only ensures that Xue Yantuo is a subject country of the Tang Dynasty, but also plays the role of Princess Qi, what do you think? ”

"Good idea." Hou Junji clapped his hands in approval.

"Your Excellency approves." Zhang Liang said.

"Lord Fang's advice is always serious, and the minister thinks it is safe and feasible." Li Jing said.

Li Shimin was very satisfied, Xue Yantuo was in the hands of Ashinaqing, a person with a foreign surname, and it was better to be in the hands of his grandson. He said, "Okay, that's it." ”

Next, everyone studied the matter of sending troops to the grassland.

Li Shimin decided that the general Li Jing would be the general of the Yinshan Marching Road, Li Ji would be the deputy commander, and Li Daozong, Zhang Baoxiang, Su Dingfang, Xue Rengui and Ashina Simo would be the generals, commanding an army of 150,000 people and sending troops to Xue Yantuo.

The crown prince Li Chengqian was in charge of grain and grass security, and Li You was in charge of providing intelligence and coordinating relations with the Turkist Ministry.

Li Shimin was very emotional, he said: "In the past, the imperial court always passively responded to the incursion of the grassland people, but now the Tang Dynasty is strong, and no one dares to invade the territory of my Tang Dynasty, but the Tang Dynasty can calmly conquest those disobedient grassland people." ”

Everyone is very excited, in recent years, Datang has developed rapidly, the national strength is strong, and the surrounding situation is relatively stable.

In the northwest, the Persian Empire and the Great Food Empire are in a fierce war, and they have no time to deal with the Tang Dynasty. The Tubo in the west is not as strong as in history, and there is Tuyuhun containment, which poses no threat to the Tang Dynasty, and the Japanese slave state in the east is in a civil war, which eliminates the threat of pirates to the Tang Dynasty. The rest was Goguryeo, without the support of the Japanese slave state, as well as the containment of Silla and Baekje, the most important thing was that they were under the threat of the powerful navy of the Tang Dynasty and did not dare to invade the Tang Dynasty.

Since the Warring States Period, the northern nomads have been the henchmen of the Central Plains people, but now they are divided and weak to the point that they have become the meat on the Tang Dynasty, and they can be eaten at any time.

All of this is due to Li You's contributions.

Today's result, Li You is very satisfied. Li Jing, Fang Xuanling, Hou Junji and Zhang Liang showed favor to themselves, and he understood it in his heart.

Leaving the Liangyi Palace, Li You and Li Jing smiled at each other, and their tacit understanding with each other was silent. Fang Xuanling pretended not to see it, and he walked towards Shangshu Province without looking back.

Some dissatisfied was Hou Junji, who accompanied Li You towards the East Palace. On the way, Hou Junji said: "Your Highness, the minister has been fighting for a long time, and he is going to fight with Xue Yantuo, but he doesn't have the minister's share, this is too much, right?" Also, you don't help the minister talk about it. ”

Li You said with a smile: "Chen Guogong, there are two sentences, one is that good steel is used on the blade, and the other is that the knife is used to kill chickens." Xue Yantuo's current situation is vulnerable, and he doesn't need you, a fierce general of the Tang Dynasty.

Also, do you know why you stayed? Last time I went to suppress the Qinghe Cui clan, why did I send you? Isn't that understandable? When the imperial court launched a foreign war, the stability within the imperial court became even more important. What you are doing now is the Dinghaishen Needle, how big the effect is, I don't need to say it, right? ”

Hou Junji felt comfortable listening to this.

East Palace.

"Big brother, I didn't ask for your opinion, so I recommended you to be the head of grain and grass, you won't blame me, right?" Li You said with a smile.

Li Chengqian smiled: "What did the fifth brother say? You're earning credit for me, and I'm grateful that you're too late. ”

Hou Junji said: "Your Royal Highness the Prince, you are right. There is no suspense in this battle, and a military feat cannot be run. ”

Li You said: "This time the grain transportation is still the old way, the Chang'an Chamber of Commerce is responsible for transportation, and the army can purchase it at the front." You don't have to worry about these things, I'll send someone to say hello to them when I go back, and you can send someone directly to the Chang'an Chamber of Commerce to contact them. ”

Qi Wangfu.

Li You came back a little late, everyone was waiting for him to eat, and when they saw him come back, everyone was busy together.

In the restaurant, Li You said to Ashinaqing: "Qing'er, tell you good news, your father's revenge will be avenged soon." The imperial court has decided to send troops to level Xue Yantuo in one fell swoop. ”

Ash Naqing was very excited, she held the child and saluted Li You and said, "Thank you, Lord Wang." ”

Everyone also congratulated Ashinaqing.

Li You smiled: "There is even better news." As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and hugged his son from Ashinaqing's arms, and said, "My father has decided, after pacifying Xue Yantuo,

Our precious son is Xue Yantuo's new Khan, and Qing'er is in charge of supervising the country. ”

As he spoke, he held his son aloft.

Everyone congratulated him again, and as a result, Xue Yantuo's new khan also greatly rewarded Li You for soaking urine and spraying him all over the face.

Emperor's bed.

The night was dark and silent. Li Shimin couldn't sleep a little, he suddenly remembered the palace maid he met on the road today, it seemed that he had seen it there, but he couldn't remember it for a while.