This is Chang'an City, and it is late at night. At this time, people riding horses on the road must have important things to do, and it is definitely not something that ordinary people like them can watch.
The horse galloped all the way to the palace.
When they arrived at the palace gate, the guards on horseback dismounted, explained their purpose, and handed the letter to the general guarding the gate.
The General of the Central Army guarding the city gate did not dare to hesitate at all. After receiving the memorial, he immediately went to the palace to ask for an audience with the new emperor.
Although the new emperor has not yet ascended the throne, he has already begun to handle government affairs. On weekdays, he sleeps behind the imperial study.
The General of the Household knew this very well, so he took the memorial and went straight to the imperial study to ask for an audience outside.
Soon, he was invited in by a young and handsome eunuch.
The emperor was wearing his nightgown, but with his casual attire on the outside. He sat on the dragon throne and asked calmly, "What is it that the General of the Central Army wants to see you so late at night?"
"In reply to the Emperor, there is a memorial sent urgently from 800 miles away, stating that the Turkic army is invading, with a force of 50,000 men, and is currently outside Tingzhou City."
The General of the Household knelt down and raised the memorial high above his head with both hands.
The new emperor, who had just been calm, suddenly changed his expression after hearing the words of the General of the Central Army. "What?! Quickly bring the memorial to me."
The young eunuch stepped forward quickly, took the memorial from the General of the Central Army, and held it in both hands as he walked to the side of the new emperor.
The new emperor snatched it away and read the contents at a glance.
There is not much content on it, and the handwriting is a bit sloppy, which shows the panic of the writer.
The new emperor read these words and his heart sank to the bottom.
Before he ascended the throne, the Turkic army attacked. If Tingzhou was captured and the Turkic army fought all the way, wouldn't he become the emperor of a fallen country?
He has spent these years studying the art of being an emperor, learning how to balance the relationships between ministers, and learning how to rule the country, but he hasn't put these things into use yet. How could he become an emperor who destroyed his country?
The new emperor looked grim, and he held the memorial with such force that he almost broke it.
After a moment, the new emperor said in a deep voice, "Quickly summon Prince Chen."
Li Junyan had been waiting there for a long time and appeared in the imperial study a quarter of an hour later.
The new emperor looked grave, and had the eunuch hand the memorial to Li Junyan. "Third brother, take a quick look. Why did the Turkic army suddenly attack? Didn't you sign an agreement with the Turkic king before?"
Li Junyan looked at the new emperor expressionlessly, "If the Turks had abided by the agreement, there wouldn't have been a war a few years ago."
Hearing what Li Junyan said, the new emperor looked embarrassed.
In fact, he regretted it in his heart right after he said that, but the words had already been spoken, just like spilled water, which could never be taken back.
After taking a deep breath and adjusting his expression, the new emperor said, "Third brother may have misunderstood. I didn't mean to blame you for what I said just now. I was just asking you, what should we do in this situation?"
"Of course, I will lead the army to resist the enemy."
The new emperor was waiting for these words and immediately said, "After much thought, I think that the most suitable person to lead the army in the court is you, my third brother. Tingzhou happens to be your fiefdom, and you are more familiar with the situation there.
If I give you 20,000 troops and send you out to fight, can you possibly defend Tingzhou?"
"able!"
Li Junyan's answer was so straightforward that the new emperor was a little surprised.
It was clearly written on the memorial just now that the Turks sent 50,000 troops, and he now gave Li Junyan 20,000 troops. Li Junyan didn't even bargain and just agreed to it. It was really strange.
But no matter how puzzled he felt, the new emperor knew that he had no other choice now, and there was no one more suitable than Li Junyan in the court.
After a brief thought, the new emperor said, "If only Third Brother goes, I'm a little worried about his safety. Eldest Brother is very good at both civil and military affairs. Why not let him and Third Brother go together this time? What do you think?"
A hint of mockery flashed in Li Junyan's eyes.
Even with a powerful enemy at hand, he still has to use this kind of checks and balances tactics. It seems that the Seventh Brother has learned a lot from the late emperor over the years!
Despite being so young, he has already mastered the art of checks and balances so skillfully.
Although he thought so in his heart, Li Junyan did not refuse, but agreed directly, "Your Majesty, please make the arrangements."
The new emperor was still worried that Li Junyan would not agree, but now he was relieved when he heard that Li Junyan agreed.
"Okay, then let's arrange it this way. I'll issue the order now, and the army will set out tomorrow morning. Third brother, hurry back and pack up. I'll have someone notify eldest brother."
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