Li You shook his head and said, "No need, everyone is a smart person, and seeing that the two of us firmly support our father, they will naturally understand." If we had notified them in advance, there would have been suspicion of collusion at that time, which would have made my father feel unreal. ”

"What if the ministers object?" Li Chengqian asked.

"As long as the father and emperor mention that he wants to drive the royal expedition, you will be the first to express his support, and I will follow you to approve your proposal.

Among the people attending the meeting, Wei Guogong and Chen Guogong should not object, and your uncle is a smart man, so he should not object. Master Fang is a well-rounded person, even if he opposes it, his attitude should not be very insistent.

The only one who will firmly oppose it is Lord Wei, if he opposes it, let him oppose it, if everyone agrees, it will be too abnormal. ”

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Okay, I understand!" ”

"Also, big brother, you must take the initiative to ask to be responsible for the supply of food and grass for the army this time, and it is another great achievement to do this errand well." Li You said.

Li Chengqian said: "Don't worry, my father will go on the expedition, and I will stay in charge of the country, and this time I will definitely solve the supply problem of the Eastern Expeditionary Army." ”

After an afternoon of discussions, the matter of Li Shimin's personal expedition to Goguryeo was decided.

Subsequently, Li Shimin released the formation of the Eastern Expeditionary Army of Goguryeo:

On the land route, the general Li Jing was the general of the Andong Provincial March, and the 250,000-strong army of Li Daozong, Li Ji, Niu Jinda, Zhang Shigui, Xue Wanche and other troops marched along the route of last year's eastward expedition to Goguryeo.

The water route was Li You as the governor of the capital, Hou Junji and Zhang Liang were the deputy governors, commanding the North Sea Fleet and the East China Sea Fleet, carrying the army Hou Junji, Gao Yong and Su Dingfang, the Marine Corps and the Flying Tiger Army, a total of 60,000 troops, Cong Dengzhou set off, first sent troops to Baekje.

Li Shimin traveled by land.

Qi Wangfu.

The spring sun is extraordinarily bright, and the sun warms people's bodies. The garden of the Qi Palace's palace is full of flowers, green grass, and spring.

The servants spread a huge white cloth on the ground, and the three brothers, Li You, Zhang Guigui and Yin Guanghao, and their wives and concubines, sat on the ground and were having a picnic.

Since cumin, barbecue is an essential delicacy during picnics. Everyone chatted while eating roast mutton.

Zhang Guigui said: "Brother You, are you doing this errand?" Fighting Goguryeo, there are generals in the court, why do you have to go? To be honest, I really don't like tossing at sea, seasickness is really uncomfortable. ”

Zhang Guigui was very comfortable in Kabul, and he was reluctant to fight Goguryeo. Moreover, he also knew that Li You's mind was to establish his own base on the side of the Northwest Province, and he thought that going to the Korean Peninsula would delay a lot of time.

Yin Guanghao also said: "Yes, Brother You, I also think that you shouldn't go to Goguryeo." Goguryeo is very difficult to fight, and no one has beaten it for hundreds of years. You're asking for your own hardship. ”

Li You took a bite of the leg of mutton and said vaguely: "You don't understand, and I don't bother to tell you two, anyway, this Goguryeo must be beaten." As for why I went, the main reason was that other people were not familiar with naval warfare, and it was more convenient for me to go outside. ”

Zhang Guigui asked, "What should we do on the Northwest Road?" ”

Li You said: "Let Baoqi and them go first, and bring the people recruited in Chang'an and other places this time, anyway, there is no need to fight there for the time being, just let them do construction over there first, and we will go back after fighting Goguryeo." ”

Yin Guanghao took a sip of wine and said, "Don't you still want to welcome your relatives?" My father said that the court's greeting envoy is about to go to the big eat, and when the time comes, the bride will be brought back, but you have gone to Goguryeo, what do I think you should do? ”

Xiao Wanyu and the other women were sitting not far away, and they listened to the conversation here. She turned her head and asked, "Yes, Brother You, what should you do about what you promised Li Xueyan?" She's going to be 18 years old soon, you can't take someone to Tu Stu, don't delay them. ”

Li You has been busy preparing for the attack on Goguryeo for the past few days, and he really forgot about this stubble, he stretched out his hand and scratched his head, pondering what to do about this matter.

Xiao Wanyu saw that he had just grabbed the mutton with his hand, and was worried that he would smear the mutton fat on his head. She hurried over and wiped Li You's hands with a handkerchief. The mouth was disgusted: "You don't pay attention to it, just touch your hair with oil in your hands." ”

Li You defended: "No, I rubbed my hair with the back of my hand. ”

Xiao Wanyu said: "You, you're a little careless, and you really can't leave people around you." ”

Li You said: "Oh, what a big deal! I'll pay attention next time. ”

Xiao Wanyu wiped Li You's hands, carefully checked his hair, and said, "Words must count." ”

Li You smiled and said, "Yes, madam." ”

The natural and casual conversation between the two aroused the laughter of the other women, who could not imagine that His Royal Highness King Qi, who was so bullish in the eyes of people, was a child who needed to be taken care of in the eyes of his wife.

From this matter, everyone can feel the harmony of His Royal Highness King Qi's family life.

Li You said: "Wanyu, you're right, Li Xueyan's matter must be done quickly, and you can't delay others." ”

After speaking, he said to Yin Guanghao: "Guanghao, why don't you go with you this time, and do me a favor by the way." ”

Yin Guanghao said: "It's okay if we go together, thousands of rivers and mountains are so far away, it's boring for me to go alone." Am I not going to do it? ”

Li You said: "You are right. If you don't want to go, forget it, communication with the big cannibals and Tu Shan people is really important! I think it's better to ask my uncle to go on a trip himself. ”

Yin Guanghao was a little anxious, and he said, "Brother You, what do you mean?" Because I'm not going, let my dad go? ”

Li You ignored him, he pondered in his heart: "This time is not only to greet relatives, there are many things that need to be communicated with the big cannibals and Tubo people, and there are also things to do about Li Xueyan."

Yin Guanghao is definitely not suitable, even Wang Jingzhi is not suitable. Because their age and status are a little low, and they are not experienced enough to deal with problems. It seems that it is really necessary to ask Yin Hongji, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, to take a trip. ”

Thinking of this, he said to Yin Guanghao: "Guanghao, when you go back, you will see your uncle and invite him to come to the Qi Palace." ”

Due to the unique geographical conditions of the Korean Peninsula and the harsh climatic conditions in winter and early spring, Yi Woo suggested that this expedition to Goguryeo should not be rushed, and it is not necessary to conquer Goguryeo within this year.

The strategy of steady and steady progress was adopted on the land route, gradually depleting the strength of the Goguryeo people and compressing their space. When the winter weather is bitterly cold, the army camps on the spot to avoid unnecessary non-combat attrition. Wait until the weather is right before going on the offensive.

At the same time, every time they occupied a place, they immediately strengthened their defenses, not giving the Goguryeo people any room for maneuvering in battle, forcing them to fight for attrition.

It didn't take long for the Tang Dynasty's strong strength to exhaust Goguryeo's national strength.

In order to speed up this process, Yi Woo led a large army of waterways, first conquering Baekje and cutting off the support of the Goguryeo people. Then, taking advantage of the navy, they attacked Goguryeo everywhere, undermined its war potential, forced its army to deploy everywhere, and weakened the pressure on the land army of the Eastern Expeditionary Army.

In accordance with this strategy, Li Shimin decided that Li You would set off first in early May.

In mid-May, the west gate of Luoyang City.

Gao Yong, the governor of Luoyang, was very happy when he heard that His Royal Highness the King of Qi was going to go east to Goguryeo this time, and he specially ordered him to follow him on the expedition. He was very nostalgic for the days when he followed His Royal Highness King Qi to fight together.

In the past two years, he heard that Li You had laid down a large territory for the imperial court on the Persian side, and he wanted to follow him to expand the territory for the imperial court. Now, he finally has the opportunity to go out with His Royal Highness King Qi again.

At this moment, he organized people from all walks of life in Luoyang, who were waiting at the gate of the city to greet His Royal Highness the King of Qi and the army he commanded.

Among the welcoming crowd was Shi Miao Xiting, the governor of Luoyang, and a beautiful young woman, who also looked into the distance with the people.