Upon hearing this, Yeon Gaesomun immediately knelt on the ground and respectfully kowtowed.

"I am willing to serve the Tang Dynasty, the Minister of Works, and His Highness the Crown Prince for the rest of my life..."

Changsun Wuji nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this.

"Remember your words. If you dare to disobey, I will surely send a large army to annihilate you!"

"I dare not..."

"Please give your instructions, Lord Sikong. Is there anything else I can do for you now?"

After a moment's thought, Changsun Wuji replied.

"Could you order the remaining troops to cause some trouble in Goguryeo?"

Upon hearing this, Yeon Gaesomun's eyes darted around, and he tentatively asked.

"May I ask, Lord Sikong, what kind of matter do you desire?"

"It doesn't need to be big, but it needs to be suppressed by the military..."

Yeon Gaesomun understood instantly upon hearing this.

"able!"

“I still have many old followers who are loyal only to me, but they are scattered throughout Goguryeo.”

"But I am currently under house arrest by His Majesty and am unable to send messages..."

Changsun Wuji smiled slightly upon hearing this.

"This is simple. Whatever tokens or letters you have, I can deliver them for you!"

"If you can throw Goguryeo into chaos and prevent His Majesty from returning to Chang'an for a short time, I will persuade His Majesty to allow you to continue serving as the Grand Moli..."

Upon hearing this, Yeon Gaesomun immediately kowtowed repeatedly.

"Lord Sikong's kindness in giving me a second life is something I could never repay, even if I were to serve you like a slave for the rest of my life!"

The two quickly reached an agreement, and Yeon Gaesomun even wrote more than a dozen letters in his own hand under the watchful eye of Jangsun Wuji.

Three days later, flames of war were everywhere in Goguryeo, and even in Pyongyang, there were more than a dozen attacks on Tang troops.

The series of events gave Li Shimin a headache, so he immediately summoned everyone to the palace to discuss how to deal with the matter.

"As you all have probably heard, many cities in Goguryeo have rebelled, and a large number of rebels have destroyed roads and bridges, creating difficulties for our Tang army."

"I wonder if any of you have any good ideas on how to quickly quell these resistance incidents!"

Li Shiji was the first to step forward.

"Your Majesty, that's easy! Just send troops to kill them!"

"Although our campaign against Goguryeo went very smoothly, we killed too few people along the way, giving Goguryeo the false impression that we are very benevolent and easy to bully."

"If Your Majesty gives me 20,000 men, I guarantee I will wipe out all those rebels in Goguryeo!"

Upon hearing Li Shiji's words, Li Shimin immediately waved his hand dismissively.

"Stop talking!"

"Ma Zhou, what do you think should be done?"

"Your Majesty, Goguryeo and the Tang Dynasty do not speak the same language and have different customs. If we rashly take over, there will surely be various forms of resistance."

"Therefore, I suggest using barbarians to control barbarians, letting Goguryeo officials govern Goguryeo, and we should not directly participate in the governance of local affairs."

Li Shimin pondered for a moment upon hearing this, then nodded.

"This method is feasible..."

"But who should be sent to govern?"

Upon hearing this, Changsun Wuji knew that his opportunity had arrived.

"Your Majesty, I recommend someone!"

"who?"

"Yeon Gaesomun!"

"he?"

Li Shimin immediately revealed his habitual professional sneer.

"This man is ambitious and ruthless. If we continue to let him govern Goguryeo, wouldn't my campaign this time have been in vain?"

Changsun Wuji smiled slightly upon hearing this.

"Your Majesty, I haven't finished speaking."

"We can honor their position, but leave their duties vacant; we can use their name to govern their people..."

"Moreover, as long as this person is kept under strict control and not allowed to leave Pyongyang, even if he has great abilities, he won't be able to cause any trouble!"

Li Shimin instantly understood what Changsun Wuji meant: his brother-in-law wanted to use Yeon Gaesomun's reputation to deter rebellions in various regions.

Although this method was feasible, Li Shimin still felt uneasy about it.

Because he initially wanted to kill Yeon Gaesomun, but the guy knelt down too quickly and too thoroughly, leaving him unable to find a suitable reason for the time being.

Just as he was hesitating, he saw Li Jue sitting lazily to the side, and his heart was suddenly moved.

This grandson has so many brilliant ideas, why not ask him?

"Li Jue, what do you think of this matter?"

Upon hearing this, Li Jue quickly sat up straight and then said with a grin.

"Grandson, sit and watch!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin glared at Li Jue.

"With such a lax attitude, how dare I entrust the Tang Dynasty to you?"

Li Jue chuckled upon hearing this.

“Grandpa, your grandson is right. As for the chaos in Goguryeo, shouldn’t we just sit back and watch the tigers fight?”

"oh?"'

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin knew that this grandson must have some wicked ideas, and immediately pressed him for details with a face full of curiosity.

Do you have a good plan?

"There are a few..."

How many are there?

"I've discussed this with your uncles for a long time, but we haven't come up with many good ideas. How dare you claim to have a few?"

“Grandpa, I do have a few ideas, but I haven’t decided which one to use, which is why I’ve been sitting here without saying a word…”

When Li Shimin heard Li Jue say this, he began to believe him to some extent.

"Tell me your story. If it makes sense, I'll have someone prepare bear paws for you tonight!"

Upon hearing this, Li Jue couldn't help but roll his eyes. He realized that Li Er was incredibly stingy; the greatest reward he could give him was just a bear paw.

"I wonder if the old man is only temporarily suppressing the issue, or if he wants to resolve it in a long-term, peaceful way?"