discussed such a major political matter, and announced that the ministers would disperse without any results, which made Liu Yi a little surprised.

Originally, when Liu Yi got these news, he felt that this time the court would definitely decide to send a large army to quell the rebellion, but Li Zhi, who presided over the court meeting, did not make a decision, why is this?

Could it be that Wu Zetian, who was sitting behind the curtain, said something to Li Zhi that made him unable to make up his mind?

Liu Yi walked out of Wucheng Hall with a big question mark in his mind, ready to go back with Pei Xingjian and talk to Pei Xingjian about this matter, but just when he and Pei Xingjian were talking and walked out of a distance, a eunuch hurriedly ran over and said to Pei Xingjian and Liu Yi: "Pei Shangshu, General Liu, the queen of heaven is invited!"

Pei Xingjian and Liu Yi looked at each other, their eyes were full of surprise, but they didn't say anything, and followed the eunuch in the direction of the Immortal Palace.

Liu Yi and Pei Xingjian had just arrived outside the Xianju Palace, when Shangguan Wan'er, dressed as a female official, came out of the hall and saluted Pei Xingjian and Liu Yi: "Pei Shangshu, General Liu, the Queen of Heaven invites you two in!"

Liu Yi stared at Shangguan Wan'er with inquiring eyes, but Shangguan Wan'er's eyes were very complicated, so that Liu Yi couldn't read the meaning, but it was not easy to ask in front of Pei Xingjian, so he had to follow Shangguan Wan'er into the inner hall depressed.

Liu Yi followed Pei Xingjian and saluted Wu Zetian, after Wu Zetian received the salute, he did not have any politeness, but directly asked Pei Xingjian, who was standing in front: "Pei Shangshu, this palace wants to ask you, why did the Turkic rebellion repeat so quickly?" ”

"Hui Niangniang, according to what the minister saw, it must be due to the fact that the last attack on the Turks was not strong enough and did not make the Turks feel afraid!" Pei Xingjian replied respectfully. He is also sighing, it is precisely because of the order of the imperial court class division that hundreds of thousands of troops have withdrawn from the Yinshan area, and those armies that have embarked on the campaign in Mobei have also retreated one after another, it is the behavior of our army that makes the tribes in the Anbei area think that our Tang army cannot fight and stay on the grassland for a long time, which makes some leaders have a fluke mentality, thinking that it is impossible for my Datang to organize forces to enter Anbei, especially the north of the desert, in the short term, even if the imperial court may react, It will only be a small-scale intervention, and there will no longer be hundreds of thousands of troops on the march.

"What does General Liu think?" Wu Zetian asked Liu Yi.

"Niangniang, the minister thinks that what Pei Shangshu said is the main reason," Liu Yi bowed and said, "This rebellion is the remnants of Ashdwin Fu who was hit by me last time, and the Ashina Funian Department who supported the rebellion last time, I once felt that the Turks rebelled against my Tang Dynasty again, if they don't give it a resolute blow, there will be more and more other tribes in the Anbei area that will follow, and even the Turks in the Anxi area will follow the rebellion, then my Datang border pass will be turbulent, so the minister feels that he must send a large army to suppress it!" Liu Yi paused slightly, and then said in an accentuated tone, "The minister is willing to lead the troops to the battle..."

When Liu Yi said this, he subconsciously glanced at Shangguan Wan'er, who was standing on the side and listening to them attentively, Shangguan Wan'er's face was full of nervousness, her face was also a little pale, and she kept glaring at him with her eyes.

"Niangniang, what General Liu said is very reasonable, and the minister also believes that it is necessary to raise a large army to suppress the rebellion, and when the rebellion is not large-scale, all the rebellious troops will be annihilated, and at the same time send a large army into Mobei, intimidate the tribes, and prepare to garrison the Anbei area for a long time!" Pei Xingjian said very resolutely, "The minister feels that the strategies proposed by General Liu in the previous days are very reasonable, and these governance methods that can effectively strengthen the control of the Beihu tribe must be implemented!" The minister is willing to lead the army to the expedition and garrison Anbei for a long time..."

After listening to what Pei Xingjian and Liu Yi said, Wu Zetian did not say anything, his eyes kept looking at Pei Xingjian and Liu Yi's faces, and after a while, he said: "If my army goes out again to quell the rebellion, and the Tubo people take the opportunity to attack my border, what will be good?" ”

Hearing Wu Zetian say this, Pei Xingjian and Liu Yi glanced at each other, and they both read a trace of joy in each other's eyes, it seems that Wu Zetian also advocated sending a large army to quell the rebellion, but he was worried that the Tubo people in the Qinghai area in the northwest would make moves, but the threat of the Tubo people was still potential, and the rebellion of the Turks was real, and the rebellion that had occurred must be extinguished.

At that moment, Pei Xingjian said again: "Niangniang, the minister thinks that the Turkic forces in Anbei who dare to confront my Tang Dynasty are not what they used to be, after a battle at the beginning of the year, the vitality of the Turks was greatly damaged, and it is no longer possible to have hundreds of thousands of men and horses to confront my Datang, so the minister thinks that this expedition, only less than 100,000 men and horses, can put down the rebellion of the Turks, in order to prevent the invasion of the Tubo people, the imperial court can send a large army to the northwest from Qinghai to Songzhou to set up defenses, strictly prevent the possible attack of the Tubo people, and our army will hold on to the city, The Tibetans are not so easy to take advantage of!"

"Oh, Pei Shangshu thinks that only 100,000 people can put down the Turkic rebellion?" Wu Zetian was a little surprised, and a little relieved, "Are you so sure?" ”

"Niangniang, if the minister leads the army to the expedition, there are 100,000 horses, and the minister will definitely be able to put down the rebellion of the Turks!" Pei Xingjian straightened up and answered, and then glanced at Liu Yi on the side, "But the minister hopes that General Liu can still go out with the minister..."

Pei Xingjian's words did not surprise Liu Yi and Wu Zetian, but they surprised Shangguan Wan'er on the side, the development of things has been far beyond her surprise, Pei Xingjian's words made Shangguan Wan'er's heartbeat intensify, her heart was full of fear, and she almost screamed, she was afraid that Wu Zetian would answer in the palace, so Liu Yi would definitely follow Pei Xingjian again, that feeling of longing was so torturous, she didn't want to taste it again.

What made Shangguan Wan'er even more annoyed was that Liu Yi immediately asked for his life again, only to hear Liu Yi say: "Niangniang, the minister is willing to follow Pei Shangshu to go on the expedition together, quell the rebellion and kill the enemy, and contribute to the stability of my Datang's border pass!"

"Pei Shangshu and General Liu's desire to kill the enemy and serve the country makes the palace very pleased, but whether to send a large army to quell the rebellion, how many troops to send, this matter has to be decided by His Majesty, and it has to be approved by the court!" Wu Zetian still did not have a clear statement.

However, Liu Yi and Pei Xingjian both read a meaning from Wu Zetian's words, that is, Li Zhi and Wu Zetian would agree to send a large army to Anbei to fight the rebellion of Ashina Funian and Ashdewen Fubu.

"As a military general, there is something at the border, it is the time for the ministers to play a role, no matter when there is a battle, as long as the court has an order, the ministers will not give up and take the order to go to the battle!" Pei Xingjian's words were full of pride.

Pei Xingjian's bold words that were a little incommensurate with his age and identity surprised Liu Yidu, and he also wanted to say a few similar words, but he heard Wu Zetian speak: "According to Pei Shangshu's opinion, if the imperial court sends a large army to fight, when is it appropriate to set off?" ”

"Niangniang, the minister thinks that this expedition should be placed when the weather will be warmer after the year!"

"Why?" Wu Zetian seemed a little puzzled.

"The last time my army went out was a year ago, and it marched to Anbei in the coldest day, and attacked the Turks when they were unprepared, and achieved very good results, but this time I still do this, I'm afraid it won't have such a good effect! The Turks will definitely strengthen their defenses and send scouts everywhere to investigate the movement of our army, even if our army can safely march to the Yinshan area under the wind and snow, I am afraid that it will not be able to sneak attack again, in this case, our army should not set off after the weather will improve, so that we can encounter less trouble to the army due to bad weather and other reasons, so that the soldiers will suffer less crimes..."

"Also, the minister thinks that before this expedition, the momentum should be sufficient, and the imperial court can inform the world of the fact that our army will go to Anbei again to quell the Turkic rebellion, and send the edict to the departments of Anbei and Anxi, strictly order other tribes not to collude with the Turkic rebels, and order the surrounding tribes to respond to the actions of our army, and warn that if there is a peace with the rebels, our army will definitely conquer its court, which can play a role in intimidating those wavering tribes, and at the same time show the confidence of our Tang Dynasty..."

"There's some truth to that!" Wu Zetian looked at Pei Xingjian and nodded, his expression was already much slower than when Liu Yi and Pei Xingjian entered the hall just now, and he immediately stood up and said to Pei Xingjian and Liu Yi: "Pei Shangshu, General Liu, the two Aiqing should step aside first, the palace will inform Your Majesty of what you just said, and let Your Majesty decide!"

"Yes, mother, the ministers are leaving!" Pei Xingjian and Liu Yi hurriedly straightened up and saluted, and left!

Just as Pei Xingjian and Liu Yi walked out of the hall and were about to leave, Shangguan Wan'er chased after him from the hall and said to Liu Yi: "General Liu, please stay first, Niangniang still has something to order!"

Pei Xingjian didn't seem to have the slightest surprise at Shangguan Wan'er's behavior, he bowed slightly, confessed his guilt, and didn't say anything, and didn't even give Liu Yi any looks, that is, he left first.

Liu Yi thought that Shangguan Wan'er had left him in the name of Wu Zetian, and he wanted to say something, but Shangguan Wan'er motioned for Liu Yi to follow her back to the palace.

Wu Zetian was still in the hall, and when he saw Liu Yi coming back, he got up and got down from his seat, until he was in front of Liu Yi, and Wen Yan said: "Virtuous nephew, this palace is really reluctant to let you go on the expedition again!"

Liu Yi, who understood the full meaning from Wu Zetian's words, hurriedly saluted: "Niangniang, the minister is a military general, there is something at the border, and the minister is ordered to go to the army, that is the mission of the general, and the minister hopes to make military merits again to repay His Majesty and Niangniang for their kindness!"

Wu Zetian seemed to be very satisfied with what Liu Yi said, stared at Liu Yi for a while, and still said in a very gentle tone: "Such a loyal, brave and resourceful person, the imperial court does not give him reuse, does not give due rewards, and it is impossible to say it..."

"Yes, sis!" Liu Yi, who was a little surprised, looked at Shangguan Wan'er with puzzled eyes, and got the same puzzled look back, so he had to bow and leave, but this time Shangguan Wan'er did not send him out of the palace...

(To be continued)