On the twenty-third day of the twentieth year of Zhenguan, the prince Liangdi Du Shi Niang gave birth, gave birth to a dragon child, Emperor Dayue, named Li Lin, Yu auspicious meaning, so far, Li Zhen has four sons and one daughter, a total of five sons, the population of the East Palace is gradually increasing, and the country is worry-free. On the eighth day of the first month of the twenty-first year of Zhenguan, just after the Spring Festival, the emperor suddenly sent a decree in the Daming Palace: Goguryeo jumped off the beam clown, repeatedly offended my Tang Tianwei, and the tiger and wolf of the real border trouble, I decided to conquer Goguryeo again, and I will not win or return! As soon as this edict came out, there was an uproar when the Manchu Dynasty Wenwu Deng, however, no one dared to go to the book to admonish, but they flocked to the East Palace, and asked the prince Li Zhen to preside over the overall situation.

The ministers are so unconcerned that they don't care about it, it's just standing and talking and not tired of their waists, but they make Li Zhen miserable - since the case of Zhang Liang in the middle of last year, the old man has become lazy, and he ran to the Daming Palace to play Danshu, but he threw all the affairs of the court to Li Zhen, which is considered to give Li Zhen the right to approve the fold, but he did not give the final decision, which makes the whole decision-making process a lot more cumbersome. I have to rework again, not to mention the low effectiveness of decision-making, even the workload has increased a lot invisibly, it was very difficult to deal with it, and then it was so mixed up by the ministers that Li Zhen couldn't say it, and what made matters worse was that Fang Xuanling and Ma Zhou, who was promoted to Zhongshuling because of the trial of Zhang Liang's case, fell ill one after another, and couldn't even get out of bed, let alone take care of court affairs, as for the remaining three prime ministers, Comrade Xiao is a decoration that is not of great use, And the eldest grandson Wuji and Zhu Suiliang are not people that Li Zhen can fully trust, such a thousand things will come down, Rao is Li Zhen is strong and healthy, and he also feels that he will not be able to bear it, but at this moment, the old man came to add chaos - just when Li Zhen was tired of dealing with the ministers' complaints, the old man suddenly came to the holy decree, announcing that Li Zhen would meet immediately, but did not explain the reason for the urgent summons, even Liu Donghe, who came to deliver the decree, did not know the details, the only thing he knew was that the kings were in the Daming Palace at this time.

The old man has a trick, so he can't delay, even if Li Zhen is full of thoughts, he can only hurry towards the Daming Palace, and just when he walked into the Zichen Palace, he saw that the old man was making a long speech with great interest, talking about how to break Goguryeo, and the kings stood on both sides, each with his hands down to listen to the old man's grand arguments.

"Erchen has seen his father." As soon as Li Zhen saw Li Shimin's unhealthy flush, her heart suddenly sank, but she didn't dare to say anything about it, and walked forward quickly, and greeted the old man very respectfully.

"Zhen'er came just in time." Li Shimin was very interested, and when he saw Li Zhen coming in, he raised his hand with a smile and said: "The spring hunt has not been done for several years, and now the Northern Expedition is imminent, why not take this opportunity to gather the ministers and have fun together, what does Zhen'er think?" ”

The royal spring hunt is not only for entertainment, but also for the relationship with the ministers, a good thing is a good thing, but the cost is not small, and now the Tang Dynasty has been fighting again and again, coupled with the old man's lazy government, the savings of the imperial court are really not much, if you count the needs of the Northern Expedition to Goguryeo, it is already stretched, Li Zhen does not want to do some tricks of spring hunting at this hour, but he also knows that the old man's move is to show that he is not old, it is really difficult to stop, and he can only bow down and reply: "What my father said is very true, It's just that now that the ice and snow have melted, the weather is cold and the ground is freezing, and there is really no prey to fight. ”

"Well, this is natural, let Qin Tian check and check, there will be an auspicious day for the zodiac in early March, and this matter will be decided." As soon as Li Shimin heard Li Zhen's words, he knew that Li Zhen did not approve of the spring hunting in his heart, and he didn't want to discuss this matter with Li Zhen more. Can it be applied? What is the current situation of the mobilization of various types of grain and straw? ”

At the beginning of June last year, when the battle of Pingxue Yantuo was in full swing, Li Shimin bypassed the center and directly issued a decree to Wang Boli, the assassin of Songzhou (now Huaiyang), and ordered Wang Boli to send craftsmen from 12 prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River, Xuan, Run, Chang, Su, Hu, Hangzhou, Yue, Taiwan, Wu, Kuo, Jiang, and Hong, to build 600 large ships for the requisition of the expansion of the naval army. The states and counties urged the craftsmen and the people to be very anxious, almost causing a civil uprising, Wang Poli couldn't bear it, and he couldn't bear it until October, and he stabbed the matter to Li Zhen in an urgent way, asking to adjust the progress and reduce the scale of the shipbuilding, Li Zhen knew that the old man had made such a will, for this matter, Li Zhen convened the prime ministers to discuss it, and finally agreed to Wang Poli's request without telling the old man, and reduced the original old man's edict to 600 large building ships and warships, and at the same time allocated a special amount to Wang Poli, For appeasement of the people, the whole process of this matter has not been shown to the old man, at this time, when he heard the old man ask about this matter, Li Zhen's face remained unchanged, but a trace of light quickly flashed in his eyes, and he muttered for a while: "Father Emperor Mingjian, the king of the history of the assassin before the month of the month had come to the urgency, saying that the project is too tight, the resources are not enough, the people's hearts are unstable, and there is a fear of a change in the people, after the ministers and the ministers discussed the matter, they have allocated 100,000 yuan of money and food to the king of the history of the assassin for emergency, and reduce the scale of the ship as appropriate, the matter is still in the process of handling, and has not yet had time to submit it to the emperor. This son's dereliction of duty, please forgive your father. ”

The conquest of Goguryeo has always been a heart disease of Li Shimin, in the past two years, he repeatedly thought about the gains and losses of the first two personal expeditions, and finally decided that everything was because of logistics problems that led to the overall passivity, therefore, in order to conquer Goguryeo for the third time, Li Shimin painstakingly planned to use sea ships to transport grain to the front line of Liaodong to solve the problem of difficult transshipment and excessive loss on the road, but because the battle of Pingxue Yantuo was in full swing, Li Shimin did not want to be obstructed by the ministers and made extraneous branches, so he bypassed the center and directly gave Wang Poli a secret decree, However, the old man was disheartened, obsessed with Danshu, and had long forgotten about the shipbuilding in Songzhou, but a few days ago, under the provocation of Li Tai, the king of Wei, Li Shimin had the idea of conquering Goguryeo again, and naturally remembered the shipbuilding in Songzhou, so he hurriedly called Li Zhen, the prince who presided over the affairs of the court, and thought that he could hear some good news, but he didn't expect Li Zhen to hide that he suppressed the shipbuilding in Songzhou. He glared at Li Zhen angrily.

"The father is angry, the father is angry, and the sons think that although His Royal Highness the Prince's move is a loss to Meng Lang, it is also for the sake of the court, and there is nothing wrong with it, and this matter can still be turned around, and the sons have two strategies for the father to refer to." Before Li Zhen could defend herself, Li Tai, who was standing on the side, came out first, and earnestly begged for Li Zhen's affection, which made everyone a little ignorant.

Li Shimin knew that Li Tai and Li Zhen were not in harmony, and the two sides had always been-for-tat, and when he saw Li Tai standing up for Li Zhen to intercede, he was very confused in his heart, and he couldn't get angry for a while, and then thought about it, the secret decree he had made before not only did not pass the court referendum, but also did not attach the opinion of the province, strictly speaking, it was very contrary to the court system, Li Zhen did not comply with this will, from the general principle, it can be said, and most of the anger in his heart has disappeared, but his curiosity has risen, After muttering for a while, he glanced at Li Tai and said, "Oh? What's your strategy? And the Tao will come out. ”

"Father Mingjian, the son of the army is slightly less than the father of the emperor, compared to His Royal Highness the prince is also much inferior, but the son of the son of man, for the father to share the worries of the matter of course, day and night hard thinking, occasionally get two strategies, do not dare to cherish the broom, but also ask the father and the prince to correct the axe." Li Taiyi was full of vigor against the past, and behaved extremely humble, and after talking nonsense in a sprinkled manner, he said with a solemn face: "Father, the sons thought that the first two expeditions to Goguryeo were not victorious, and the crime of non-war was really because the grain was not enough, if it can be improved, think about how rampant the Goguryeo Xiaokou is, how can it be the opponent of my Tang Dynasty's strong army, and the sons think that the father and the emperor built a ship, not for the transportation of troops, but for the transportation of grain, and now the king of Songzhou can not catch up with the progress on time, however, I think half of them are still there, There is not much missing, Erchen heard that Lai, Guangzhou, Yue, Hong and other coastal states of maritime trade prevailed, and there were many private buildings, if in the name of the imperial court to collect, give enough money and grain, so that it can be transported into Liaodong, it seems to be feasible, this is one of them; Second, the sons reflected on the first two expeditions, both of which were advancing on the one hand, although there was a strategy for dividing the troops, but failed to achieve the momentum of the front and rear attacks, if a general could lead tens of thousands of male soldiers to cross the sea to Silla, and join the troops of Silla, and attack them from behind, when there would be a miraculous effect, this is what the sons and daughters think, and may not be accurate, and please ask the father and the emperor to judge it as a pity. ”

Li Tai has never been known for his military strategy, but he is a good hand when it comes to wind and snow, and this cold and casual big chase has talked at length, and it is the first thing to say, which makes Li Shimin's eyes light up, and after looking at Li Tai with interest for a while, he said with a smile: "Tai'er has been working hard recently, and it is good to be serious in everything, and I am very commended." ”

"The sons don't dare, this is all the work of the emperor's teaching." Li Tai was praised, not only did he not be complacent, but he bowed down very humbly and thanked him.

"Hmm." Li Shimin didn't say anything more, looked sideways at Li Zhen, and said in a deep voice: "Zhen'er, do you have any opinions on this?" ”

Li Tai has a few catties and a few taels Li Zhen has a lot in his heart, how can he not know that these two strategies are not Li Tai's little ability to think of at all, but for Li Tai's two strategies Li Zhen really can't put forward too many objections, after all, although these two strategies are not very surprising, but they can indeed be regarded as a decent strategy, at this time I heard the old man ask, Li Zhen sighed slightly: "Father Emperor Mingjian, the policy that the fourth brother said is indeed feasible, however, there are two obstacles, one of them, The requisition of sea ships in the coastal states may be suspected of disturbing the people, and the household department does not have much surplus now, so it is necessary to take out a lot of resources to collect civilian ships at once, and I am afraid that the operation will be poor; Second, the troops of Silla are easy, but the dispatch is difficult, and those who lead the troops to the army are not the talents of the generals, and if they are entrusted to non-people, not only can they not win, but there is a lonely army trapped in the misfortune, which is really not negligent, and I hope that the father and emperor will see it. ”

"Hmm." What Li Zhen said was right, Li Shimin was a person who knew the soldiers, and when he heard it, he knew that Li Zhen had pointed to the key points of Li Tai's two strategies, and he snorted lightly and bowed his head slightly, but he did not make a ruling on this.

Li Tai seemed to be determined to promote the Northern Expedition, at this time, seeing that Li Shimin had a tendency to accept what Li Zhen said, he immediately stood up and said with an impassioned expression: "Father, although what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said is reasonable, however, according to the sons and daughters, it is not a very big problem, the resources are insufficient, the sons are willing to donate half of the family wealth, and the total amount is 100,000 yuan to fund the army. According to Erchen, General Xue is brave and experienced in battle, and he is the best candidate to lead the army. ”

As soon as Li Tai said this, Li Shimin immediately became cautious, frowned and pondered, and did not make any comments, and the expressions of the kings standing in the hall were wonderful-Li Zhen stood silently with his head bowed, as if he had not heard Li Tai's generous statement, but a trace of disdain quickly flashed in his eyes; Li Ke, the king of Wu, who had always lowered his head and did not say a word, raised his head suddenly, looked at Li Tai with flickering eyes, and opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but when he got to the bottom, he forced himself to endure it, but a cold smile appeared on the corner of his mouth; Li Shen, the king of Shu, had a bitter face and made a thinking state, but a pair of eyes were rolling around, looking back and forth between Li Tai and Li Ke from time to time, as for Li Shen, the king of Ji, who didn't understand anything, was stunned by Li Tai's courage to donate 100,000 yuan in one go, his mouth was wide open, and his face was full of disbelief.

"It's not good for Tai'er to destroy the family for the country, I'm very relieved, however, this state affair is also so troublesome that the prince wants to destroy the family, but it's not appropriate, well, Zhen'er, Yi'er calculates, if it really acts according to Tai'er's words, the household department still needs to prepare more?" After Li Shimin thought about it, he waved his hand with a smile, and did not accept Li Tai's kindness in donating, but turned his head to look at Li Zhen and asked quietly.

"Father and Emperor Mingjian, the sons and ministers can't estimate a large number at this time, and the shortfall of two or three hundred thousand is probably indispensable, if you really want to calculate it accurately, I am afraid that it will take a few days for the household department to do it." Although Li Zhen knows the situation of the household department, he is not an immortal, so how can he calculate how much is worse at this time, so he can only answer in general terms.

"Twenty or three hundred thousand, hehe, it's really a lot." Li Shimin shook his head and said with a smile: "In this case, then pull it out from my inner library, early tomorrow morning, let the household department send someone to the Liudong River to settle the account, this matter is so decided, as for the candidate of the strange soldiers, well, Xue Wanche is also fine, I have decided to go on the Northern Expedition, it is better to move late than early, pass the decree, let Xue Wanche set off at the end of the month, lead 30,000 soldiers and horses to Laizhou to join the general Niu Jinda of Zuo Wuwei to train the water and land armies, go to sea in early March, be sure to arrive in Silla in mid-March, and be sure to wave the army south in mid-May to attack Goguryeo from the flank and rear. ”

"Father, Emperor Shengming." Since Li Shimin has made up his mind, although the princes have their own thoughts, no one is willing to come forward and disagree with the old man at this time, and everyone praises him.

"Zhen'er, everything discussed today will be handled by you, that's it, I'm tired, just wait for Dao'an." Li Shimin got up with laughter and gave the eviction order.

"Father Emperor Shengming, sons and ministers are retiring." The old man gave an order to expel the guests, and the princes did not dare to stay for a long time, so they each bowed and saluted, and exited the Zichen Hall in turn......

"Your Highness."

"Your Highness."

As soon as the two strategists Na and Mo, who were busy in the study, saw Li Zhen walking in with a bad complexion, they all stood up and saluted each other.

"Well, sit down." Li Zhen waved his hand a little absentmindedly, motioned for the two strategists to take a seat, and then glanced at the officials and eunuchs of the East Palace who were standing in the study, and said with a calm face: "You all retreat." ”

"Yes, the ministers obey." Li Zhen gave the order, and the others did not dare to snub the enemy dragon no study, so they hurriedly answered, and all of them withdrew from the study.

"So that the two gentlemen know that Mr. Mo's previous guess is afraid that he has been successful, and today his father called Gu to go, and this is how it happened......" Li Zhen walked to the top and sat down, and described the situation of today's meeting in detail with a gloomy face.

"What does Your Highness want to do?" As soon as they heard Li Zhen's statement, the two strategists came to the same conclusion as Li Zhen, and their faces became solemn, and after a long silence, Na Long took the lead in asking.

No matter what Li Zhen's plans are, it's time to make a decision, Li Zhen knows this in his heart, and he has thought a lot on the way back to the East Palace, but he has not yet made up his mind, after all, the military affairs are not trivial, once there is a loss, there is a risk of losing all the plates, Li Zhen must not be cautious, at this time, Li Zhen heard Na Long's question, Li Zhen did not answer directly, but slowly shook his head, indicating that he had not yet made up his mind.

"Your Highness, I think that this matter cannot be delayed, and if it is interrupted, there will be chaos afterwards, if you can take this opportunity to wipe out all the kings, it is better than bloodshed in the future, even if you take the risk, it is worth it." Seeing Li Zhen's hesitation, Na Long immediately stood up and admonished with excitement.

These days, the two strategists have communicated privately many times on this matter, but they still can't reach a consensus, just like Na Long insists on finishing his work in one battle, Mo Li still advocates being safe, at this time, seeing Na Long's words, Mo Li also stood up and said: "Your Highness, the time is in hand, you must not move blindly, just take time, everything can be under control, what a vain name." ”

"Hmm." As soon as Li Zhen saw that the two strategists were about to quarrel again, the already annoying heart became even more chaotic, and with a wave of his hand, he stopped the argument between the two strategists, and Huo Erqi paced back and forth anxiously in the study, his face was so gloomy that he could almost drip water.

Annoying, really annoying, all kinds of possibilities are churning in Li Zhen's mind, and all kinds of possible consequences are also coming to his mind one after another, and the benefits and disadvantages are repeatedly clashing, stirring Li Zhen's heart into chaos like a swamp, after a long time, Li Zhen finally stood still, raised his head suddenly, and said with a hideous smile: "Loneliness has been decided, the fourth child is going to kill himself, and he is good to be alone!" ”

Seeing that Li Zhen had made up his final mind, the two strategists didn't say anything more, they each glanced at each other, and both lowered their heads silently, and the atmosphere in the room was so depressed for a while that people couldn't breathe......

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