Emperor Zhao didn't speak, as if he was really tired, rubbing his temples with his hands.

Li Mu opened his mouth again and said: "Your Majesty, send troops to aid the Yan State and resist the Xiongnu together, which can only be implemented under the premise that there is no war in my Zhao State. ”

"General Li's words are wrong, sending troops to aid the Yan State to jointly resist the Xiongnu, this is something that my emperor and the Yan emperor have agreed on a long time ago, how can it be said that change will change? Now that the princesses of Yan Kingdom have settled in my Zhao Kingdom, if my Zhao Kingdom does not send troops to Yan Kingdom, how do you let the people of the world view my emperor? How do other countries think of me, Zhao Kingdom? Lian Po retorted impassionedly and eloquently.

"Western Xia frequently provokes our country, if our country does nothing, how should all the countries in the world treat my Zhao country, didn't General Lian think about it? This time he sent troops to Western Xia, but to raise the prestige of our country, so that such a small barbarian country as Western Xia would not dare to provoke our country again, does General Lian think that this is unnecessary? Li Mu still replied calmly.

"Attack Western Xia, enter the territory of Western Xia to fight, the terrain is not familiar, but the land is not conducive to our army, if this 150,000 army is trapped in the territory of Western Xia, and then there is an invasion of other countries, what will our country resist? An army of 150,000, not 30,000? General Li, you have to think twice, don't think about letting others make war exploits, and ignore the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers of my Zhao Kingdom."

"I, Li Mu, have fought on the battlefield for decades in my life, and have not been defeated, even if I fought with the Qin State in the early years, even if I fought with the Qin State known as the god of war, I have never been defeated, but it is just a draw with the battle, not to mention the small barbarian country of Western Xia, this time to attack the Western Xia battle, I have already discussed with the generals under the battalion, and the offensive route has also been set, and now I am waiting for the emperor's permission, and I and the three highnesses have made a military order, you still don't believe that our army will win this battle? Moreover, I, Li Mu, have been loyal and patriotic all my life, and everything I have planned and done is for my Zhao country."

"General Li, I don't know something, I want to ask you," Zhao Kuo asked Li Mu.

Li Mu turned to face Zhao Kuo, bent down and saluted, signaling Zhao Kuo to continue.

"General Li, may I ask what resources our country can get if we send an army of 150,000 troops to attack Western Xia this time? Is it a vast territory or a large population? Or a myriad of gold and silver jewelry? The general has fought on the battlefield all his life, and he must have known that once the 150,000 army is out, the resources consumed by our country are enormous, and if the benefits obtained after victory are far less than the ones paid, will not the gains outweigh the losses? ”

"Lao Chen has said before, occupy half of the land of Western Xia and raise the prestige of our country"

"Okay, let's assume that 150,000 troops are sent to occupy most of the land in Western Xia, then general, do you think I, Zhao Guo, can eat it in one go? Won't the other nations be blushing? Will the Tanguts in the lands they occupy obey us and let us govern them? Did the general guarantee that the people of Western Xia would not continue to resist? General, you have been fighting on the battlefield for decades, haven't you taken these problems into account? Zhao Kuo threw several questions to Li Mu in a row, now many countries stand side by side and wars continue, but why do you fight every day but don't see any country perish? If Zhao occupies most of the territory of Western Xia, Zhao's territory will increase greatly, and it seems to be much stronger, but then other countries will inevitably be red-eyed, and they will also be afraid that Zhao will be too powerful and threaten themselves, and then it will be impossible to get a coalition of several countries to attack Zhao and force Zhao to return the occupied Western Xia territory, Zhao Kuo doesn't know why Li Mu must send a large army to attack Western Xia, and Zhao Kuo doesn't believe that Li Mu has fought on the battlefield all his life. He didn't think about these questions, but what was the reason why Li Mutie had the heart to fight Xixia, he didn't know for the time being.

After Li Mu heard what Zhao Kuo said, he was silent for a moment, and then said to Emperor Zhao: "The things that the minister is planning are all for my Zhao country, the old minister knows that my emperor loves peace and is unwilling to start a war, but the small country of Western Xia dares to repeatedly invade our borders and despise our country first, this time I sent a large army to counterattack, and the division is famous, and I can't say anything to other countries, so this time is a great opportunity for my Zhao country to expand its territory and promote my country's prestige, and the old minister implores the emperor to think deeply again."

As soon as Li Mu's words fell, the third prince Zhao Wu continued to say to Zhao Kuo: "Third brother, you are not good at studying on weekdays, your knowledge is still shallow, you need to know that you can't just focus on the present, but you should look at the future, you know very little about the political affairs of the court, and you don't know anything about marching and fighting, the general has experienced a hundred battles, and the things he plans are not something you and I can speculate, you don't need to question the general."

"Okay, don't argue anymore" Emperor Zhao, who had already heard some impatience, finally spoke, and then looked at the hall again: "Prime Minister, from the last dynasty to the present, you haven't said a word, at this time, the court is talking about military affairs so fiercely, as the head of a hundred officials, shouldn't you be so silent?" Send a large army to attack Western Xia or send troops to aid Yan to jointly resist the Xiongnu, can you tell me what you think? ”

Emperor Zhao threw the question to Prime Minister Lin Xiangru, who had been silent.

Prime Minister Lin Xiangru, who had been silent, replied after hearing Emperor Zhao ask him: "The emperor is the king of a country, you say that if you fight the Western Xia, you will fight the Western Xia, and if you say that you will fight the Xiongnu, you will fight the Xiongnu, and the ministers can obey the emperor's orders."

Emperor Zhao couldn't help but laugh when he heard Lin Xiangru answer him in such a perfunctory manner, "You old fellow, are you still my prime minister?" Can you still help me with the affairs of the state? I'm here to tell you what you think, not to let you listen to my orders."

"The minister knows that the emperor has already made a decision in his heart, as a courtier, just obey the emperor's decree and do things, there is no need to say much."

"Haha, you old fox, are you the roundworm in my heart? You know what I'm thinking? After Emperor Zhao finished speaking to Lin Xiangru, he then ordered his ministers: "Zhong Aiqing, I have always loved peace and don't like war, but the Western Xia has repeatedly crossed the border to rob, if they are allowed to act recklessly, it will damage the face of my Zhao State, so I specially ordered General Li Mu to lead 50,000 troops to the Western Xia border to station, and then directly issued a decree to reprimand the Western Xia King, telling him not to try to provoke my Zhao State, be careful of playing with fire and self-immolation, dig your own grave, and if you find the Western Xia soldiers entering the country in the future, you will definitely kill them on the spot, They must not be allowed to come and go when they want."

"Minister's order" Li Mu heard that Emperor Zhao had already said this, so he didn't say anything anymore, and directly received the order.

The third prince, Zhao Wu, wanted to open his mouth and continue to play and ask Emperor Zhao to send more troops, but he was directly stopped by a look from Li Mu.

The matter of sending troops to Western Xia was decided for the time being, and then Emperor Zhao glanced at Zhao Kuo and said: "As for the matter of sending troops to assist Yan to resist the Xiongnu, wait until I see Emperor Yan's daughter before making a decision" Then, he glanced at the ministers in the main hall and asked: "I have decided like this, do you have any objections to the ministers?" ”

"The ministers and others obey the emperor's will," the ministers hurriedly replied in unison.

Emperor Zhao nodded with satisfaction after seeing it, and then left directly, and the great eunuch Li Ying shouted: "Retreat from the dynasty", and then followed Emperor Zhao.

After retiring from the court, Zhao Kuo followed a few little eunuchs to the harem to meet his mother in this life, and the other ministers walked out of the palace in groups of three or five.

General Li Mu and the third prince Zhao Wu fell behind everyone and walked side by side, and the third prince Zhao Wu saw that there was no one around, so he asked Li Mudao: "General, why didn't we fight for our father just now?" This dispatch of a large army to attack Western Xia is obviously a great opportunity to expand the territory, how can you and I give up so easily? ”

Li Mu stopped, looked at the third prince Zhao Wu and said slowly: "What kind of character the emperor is, you and I both know that the holy will has been decided, what is the use of fighting for it?" Then he sighed and said, "It's useless."

The third prince, Zhao Wu, also sighed heavily and said: "Alas, I really don't know what my father thinks, such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I don't even know how to take advantage of it, doesn't my father know that as the king of a country, he should lead the soldiers of the whole country to expand the territory, fight everywhere, and make immortal achievements?" ”

"The emperor is far-sighted, and he doesn't know that this time the Western Xia Division is famous, and it is an excellent opportunity to expand the territory?"

"Alas" Zhao Wu sighed again and said: "This king knows that my father is suspicious all his life, and no one believes it, so he has not established a prince for a long time, and let me compete with my eldest brother for balance, so that you and Lian Po can share the position of general is also for balance, but as the king of a country, how can you not focus on the country?" Expand the territory and make immortal achievements, this kind of excellent opportunity can be abandoned, my father is really not a qualified emperor."

"Third Highness, as a courtier, please be cautious," Lian Po said lightly.

Zhao Wu smiled: "Don't worry, general, this king is just complaining, what to say and what not to say, this king naturally knows in his heart"

The two continued to walk and said: "Your Royal Highness don't be too discouraged, although the emperor only sent 50,000 soldiers this time, if Ke Ruo adds the original garrison on the border and the soldiers under my command, if he finds an opportunity at that time, it is not impossible to achieve what he planned before."

When Zhao Wu heard Li Mu say this, he instantly showed joy, stopped and bowed to Li Mu and said: "In this way, the king of Ming Japan applied to his father to go to the Xixia border as a patrol history, and rushed to the Xixia border in this name."

Li Mu nodded at him, "That's true, if you and I really lead the troops into the territory of Western Xia at that time, I hope the emperor won't blame you and me for acting without permission."

"Don't worry, the general can rest assured, as the old saying goes, generals are outside, military orders are not subject to anything, as long as what you and I plan succeeds, my father will definitely not say anything."

Li Mu nodded at Zhao Wu, and then the two stopped talking and walked straight out of the palace.