"In the process of a dynasty reaching its peak, it always has to go through three stages of war, the first, that is, the battle for the founding of the state, to proclaim its prestige, so that the four sides do not dare to invade wantonly, the second stage, that is, the battle of development and consolidation, so that everyone understands that the victory of the empire is not accidental, and the third stage, that is, the incredible battle of Xuanhe, under the sun, the invincible, the scope of domination even beyond the extreme wall of the empire."

This passage is excerpted from the declaration of dynastic war by Luo Su, the national teacher of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin, the son of heaven of the Tang Dynasty, was the first listener of this passage, and Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng, Luo Xuanchen and other prime ministers, Li Xiaogong, Li Daozong, Li Daoxuan and other princes and nobles, Li Jing, Luo Xuanling and other generals, were the second group of listeners.

The Son of Heaven said such a thing on such an occasion, so it is self-evident, and combined with the previous situation, the ministers generally have a spectrum in their hearts.

Sure enough, Li Shimin, who was getting older and more calm, said slowly but resolutely and forcefully with a look of not anger and self-authority on his face: "I have been in the body of the son of Zhu Xia and the Khan of the Heavens, and it has been four or five years now, and over the years, the border has been stable, and there has been no war in my Tang Dynasty."

The country's situation is thriving, and the grain prices in the country have changed from the high level in previous years, which is the credit of your ministers, and it is due to the rule of culture and martial arts.

To maintain such a national situation, I and the ministers have an unshirkable obligation, and now, there are thieves who want to provoke again.

The small country of Xiyan.

He dared to provoke the prestige of my country, invaded the land west of the Tang River, invaded my Tang Liangzhou, and wanted to cut off the passage between my Tang Dynasty and the Western Regions.

It's really arrogant, arrogant to the extreme, if I don't crusade against Xiyan, I will be brilliant and disgraceful?

How can I be the Khan of this day?

What do you think? ”

As long as there is a war, there must be people who oppose it, but Luo Xuanye didn't give anyone else a chance to speak, and directly stood up and said: "Your Majesty, the emperor is the lord of the Tang Dynasty, and the Heavenly Khan and the King of Kings are the masters outside the Tang Dynasty.

Xiyan, the origin of the Liaodong Murong clan, the Miao descendants of the Han family, the genus of Zhuxia, is the Northern Dynasty Yan State after Murong, to avoid the Xitui Plateau, His Majesty walks the way of the Son of Heaven, Xiyan does not surrender, this is a sin.

Xiyan claimed to be blended with the Tibetan tribes, during which the feudal tribes were mixed, saying that Yan did not take Han as the name, but His Majesty was called Tian Khan, and Xiyan should also obey the orders of Tian Khan, and Xiyan did not surrender, which was the second crime.

Now that Xiyan is provocative, there are two major crimes, and a large army must be sent to move it, the world is turbulent, all countries are looking at my Tang Dynasty, the Heavenly Khan is invincible, and the Son of Heaven cannot be tolerated and insulted.

Pacify Xiyan and let all allies see the results of not obeying orders. ”

Luo Xuanye's emotions were so fierce that Wei Zheng immediately took it back when he was about to say it, this old boy is very ghostly.

According to his experience, if it is necessary to discuss, Luo Xuanye, the king of Zhou County, will not make a sound, once the king of Zhou Jun speaks, it means that this matter, Li Shimin's attitude is irrefutable.

Li Jing and others are also watching their nose and ears, and they are attacking Xiyan, and it is urgent to attack Xiyan, and Li Shimin asked about the attitude of these military commanders.

At the beginning, the Tang Dynasty directly showed its sword against the strong Winter Turks who occupied the north and south of the desert, and what was there to be afraid of against the Western Yan?

"King Zhou Jun said it well, I have always disliked the use of military force, so I Datang will not take the initiative to provoke war, but any provocation against my Datang will usher in the harshest blow from me, this is not for my merits, but to defend the hard-won achievements of Datang!

After defeating Xiyan last time, this Xiyan still dared to attack.

I thought to myself, Xiyan is nothing more than relying on being on the plateau, and there are thousands of miles of glaciers, and the grass and trees do not grow, I think that my Tang Dynasty will not travel thousands of miles to go, if it is the Tibetan tribes, I may really forget it, but Xiyan, it is not far to the extent that I can't conquer.

Dai Guogong, I plan to make you the chief of the Qinghai Road march, the head of the five-way march, and attack Xiyan, if you have any ideas and needs, just say it here! ”

Li Jing was instantly excited, and many people did not dare to take on heavy responsibilities, but Li Jing was different, the war made him rejuvenated, as if he had returned to his youth.

Li Jing sometimes thinks about his position, he is now the acting prince, the Shangzhu country, the right servant of Shangshu, between the princes of the Tang Dynasty, although there is no setting of several princes, but in fact, there is, the Spring and Autumn period is the most noble prince, or the great country of the Warring States Period, and the acting prince belongs to the top of the second-class princes.

This attack on Xiyan, if he wins, he is very likely to be given the title of a big country in Zhou after the class, and he will be able to take the position of Shangshu and shoot on the left, so it will be impossible for him to take command of the expedition again.

After all, he is not Luo Xuanye, Li Shimin cannot give him a higher political status, and even after reaching the position of Shangshu's left servant and first-class duke, he will be cautious in his words and deeds, and even close his door.

Faced with what was likely to be the last chance to command the army, Li Jing only wanted to win, and after thinking for a while, he immediately said: "Your Majesty, the minister does have a request.

If the Western Yan Kingdom dares to face my Tang Dynasty head-on, the ministers will attack and break it, behead the head of the King of Western Yan in Qinghai, pass the head to the Zhubians, and then pass to Chang'an.

The only thing the minister is worried about is that the Xiyan Kingdom has fled into the glacier and snow field, so the minister needs elites, the number can be small, but he must be able to ride a horse and endure hard battles. ”

Li Jing's words already have some golden sounds, and Li Shimin, who is also a top commander, almost immediately understood Li Jing's determination, and this determination reassured him, "Okay, I will send you 5,000 elite soldiers and cavalry, and then 20,000 light cavalry from all countries."

Since you want elite soldiers, then I will choose elite generals for you to choose the marching commander. ”

These five people are Li Ji, the general of the right Qinglongwei, the general of the left Canglongwei, Ashina Sheer, the general of the Qianniuwei on the right, the general of the Qianniuwei on the right, Xue Wanche, the general of the Vermilion Bird Guard, and Li Daozong, the governor of Jiangxia.

No one can pick out the candidates for these five people, they are all people with great achievements in the Tang Dynasty.

Li Ji is a legend.

When he was called Xu Shiyun, he was a second-rate general, and after changing his name to Li Shiyun, he became a first-class in the world, and finally changed his name to Li Ji, and he jumped to become a super-first-class military general second only to Li Jing, which can be described as an evolution of the generation version.

After Xue Wanche joined Li Shimin from Li Jiancheng's command, he fought bravely, and was a typical representative of Li Shimin's people's knowledge.

Needless to say, Li Daozong is under Li Xiaogong, there are not many people in the clan who can compete with him.

Ashina Sheer and Qibi He Li, that is Li Shimin's henchman and humerus.

General Zuo Qianniuwei, what kind of official position is this, you only need to know that General Zuo Qianniuwei is Luo Xuanling, the Duke of Yongguo.

Among the sixteen Wei generals, twelve Wei are the heads of the Zhichong Mansion who are in charge of the government soldiers, and the left and right Qianniu Wei and the left and right Yulin Wei are to protect the safety of the emperor and protect Li Shimin's left and right.

Now in the Taiji Palace, only Luo Xuanye and Qi Bi He Li are carrying knives, this is the status of the general of the forbidden army.

Moreover, the reason why he Li and Ashina Sheer went out on the expedition was also because a large number of Fanbang light cavalry had to be recruited this time.

This is not the first time that the Tang Dynasty has requisitioned Fanbang cavalry, but it is still the first time that 20,000 elite light cavalry have been transferred at one time, this is not only a war against Xiyan, but also a test of the leadership of the Fanbang army by Tian Khan.

The five named generals walked solemnly into the hall, all majestic and mighty, and shouted in unison: "The ministers must obey Your Majesty's order, and the Tang Dynasty will be ten thousand years." ”

……

As soon as Li Shimin sent an edict to the country, a strange scene appeared in an instant, that is, the government soldiers who were not on duty took the initiative to ask to participate in the expedition.

The government soldiers, in essence, are forbidden troops, but not the permanent forbidden army of Yulinwei and Qianniuwei, the duties of the government soldiers are called "Shangfan", the so-called Shangfan is to take turns to Chang'an on duty, Gong Guard the Son of Heaven, Chang'an folds the mansion, but also because it is close, good recruitment, and by the way, it can also achieve the political purpose of "raising the soldiers in the pass to face the Quartet".

Therefore, the government soldiers go out to fight, it depends on luck, usually the government soldiers on rotation will inevitably go to the battle, but the government soldiers who are not on duty will be transferred according to the military department and the Zhichong government, and then sent by the local government to the local government, and these recorded government soldiers will be transferred.

But the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, as soon as they heard that Li Shimin, the current son of heaven, was going to expedition to Xiyan, they were instantly filled with righteous indignation, and they enthusiastically signed up to take the initiative to participate in the war.

Li Shimin was stunned for a moment when he heard the report, and then laughed at Luo Su Langsheng: "National teacher, I am a soldier of the Tang Dynasty, I actually have the demeanor of being happy when I hear the war, and there are such warriors and people, why worry that my Tang Dynasty is not prosperous?" ”

Luo Su smiled and said: "The key to the soldiers' joy when they hear the battle is not the soldiers, but the court, the Son of Heaven, you, the government soldiers are willing to join the army enthusiastically, because you are cautious in fighting."

If you are not sure, you will not let Datang fight, so the probability of Datang winning is high, and the loss of defeat is also small.

It is because Datang's promotion is fair, and he can be promoted if he makes meritorious contributions.

It was because the distribution of the spoils of war was reasonable, and the soldiers could see where the benefits were.

This is all a manifestation of political clarity.

It's all your merit. ”

The more Luo Su said, the more Li Shimin's expression stretched, "It's always been like this, I actually think it's appropriate, but now when I listen to what the national teacher said, I know that it is not easy to just do this." ”

————

Judging from the experience of the Tang Dynasty in later generations, the government soldier system is far from the perfect army system, but in the hands of Li Shimin, it almost perfectly executed all the wars in the early days of the establishment of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin's ability to penetrate the war situation enabled him to always use the least strength at the moment when the enemy's moves were old, to achieve "the Tang army is like an arrow from the string, thousands of miles away, suddenly coming, once prompted, the enemy has to go into a desperate situation, and even if the Tang army is defeated, it will not affect the overall situation", this is Li Shimin and his government military system, and the government soldiers belong to him alone. ——"The History of the Rise and Fall of the Tang Empire"

(End of chapter)