Is the Crown Prince in charge?
Upon hearing this news, Ba Zhuo immediately became restless.
If we could capture the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, wouldn't we be able to ask the Tang Dynasty for benefits at will?
In fact, neither Bazhuo nor the other nobles of Xueyantuo ever dreamed of defeating the Tang Dynasty. At most, they just wanted to tear a piece of flesh from the Tang Dynasty to feed themselves.
Even tearing off a piece of flesh is an extremely difficult task; one wrong move and it's like a lion challenging an elephant—easily trampled to death.
Having matured considerably after the battle of Xiazhou, Ba Zhuo did not tell anyone about this bold idea, but instead secretly plotted and selected his trusted confidants to infiltrate Shuozhou City little by little.
While Ba Zhuo was secretly plotting to capture the Tang Dynasty's Crown Prince alive, Crown Prince Li Zhi was in dire straits in Shuozhou City.
Although the Mid-Autumn Festival is just around the corner in Chang'an, it has already started snowing in Shuozhou.
Li Zhi brought many things with him when he came to Shuozhou, even several chamber pots, but he didn't bring any winter clothes.
This caused him great distress, and he could only make do with wearing the sheepskin coat that his men had bought from Shuozhou City.
Besides, he also couldn't get used to the food in Shuozhou.
It's almost all meat here: lamb, beef, and stinky pork.
Li Zhi only ate it for half a month before he no longer wanted to eat it, preferring to eat vegetables every day rather than touch meat.
Although life in Shuozhou was very difficult, Li Zhi still managed to suppress his inner boredom and would set aside an hour each day to patrol the city walls and chat with the soldiers guarding Shuozhou to build rapport.
Li Zhi's daily performance would also be copied down and sent to Li Shimin by a special person.
Li Shimin was very pleased to see that Li Zhi was able to inspect the city walls every day.
He had long since given up on Li Zhi being able to govern the country. As long as he could become a prince who guarded a region, it would be the greatest blessing for the Li family!
Li Shimin put aside Li Zhi's mundane daily schedule and then picked up Li Jue's schedule with a headache.
Compared to Li Zhi's obedient and compliant nature, Li Jue was the complete opposite.
Zhi Shisi had complained to Li Shimin three times in a row. The reason was nothing more than that Li Jue asked for battle every day, saying that if he was given 10,000 elite troops, he could crush the Xueyantuo and bring lasting peace to the northern border of the Tang Dynasty!
Zhi Shisi dared not believe this grandson's words. Even if this grandson had the ability, he would not dare to actually let Li Jue lead troops to fight Xueyantuo.
Xueyantuo was, after all, a major northern country with a population of millions and tens of thousands of archers.
Even with the Tang Dynasty's formidable military strength, it would have taken at least 50,000 men to destroy such a powerful nation.
Therefore, he could only complain to Li Shimin, hoping that Li Shimin would bring his eldest grandson back as soon as possible.
He was terrified that Li Jue would sneak out. If he hadn't been keeping a close eye on him, that bastard would probably have already led his thousand-plus men to attack Xueyantuo!
Li Shimin put down the letter from Zhishi Sili complaining, then picked up his pen to reply, instructing him to keep a close eye on Li Jue. If Li Jue ventured deep into enemy territory alone and fell into the Xueyantuo's ambush, Zhishi Sili would be held accountable!
After Li Shimin finished writing his reply, a cunning smile immediately appeared on his face.
He could already guess the expression on Zhishi Sili's face when he saw the reply—he would be very surprised and helpless, hahaha.
"Ananda, send out all the letters!"
"promise!"
"By the way, call Li Jing over. I haven't played chess with him for quite some time."
"Your Majesty, Li Jing won't go easy on you. Why don't you choose someone else, such as Cheng Zhijie or General Yuchi?"
Li Shimin rolled his eyes at Zhang Anan upon hearing this.
"Can't you just stop pointing out my weaknesses?"
"I may not be able to beat Li Jing at chess, but no one else dares to beat me either. I can only play with Li Jing!"
Before long, Li Jing dragged his old, cold legs into the Ganlu Hall.
Li Shimin had been waiting in front of the chessboard for a long time. When he saw Li Jing come in, he didn't get up, but just waved to her.
"Lord Wei, do you think there's a solution to this unsolvable problem?"
Li Jing stepped forward and saw that the black pieces were like two tentacles surrounding the white pieces.
But the white flag is not a dead end; it allows them to firmly hold the middle lane, with a large area behind them where they can maneuver and evade.
Even if some pieces are destined to be lost, there is still a possibility of escape if the game is played properly and the space in the back is utilized.
Li Jing glanced at the chessboard and immediately guessed what His Majesty was thinking.
"Your Majesty, are you considering how to deal with the Xueyantuo?"
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin immediately threw the chess piece in his hand into the box and then laughed heartily.
"Nothing can be hidden from Duke Wei!"
"To be honest, Lord Wei, I am indeed thinking about how to subdue the Xueyantuo, and it would be best to wipe them out in one fell swoop!"
"Eliminate?"
Upon hearing this, Li Jing neither agreed nor disagreed, but simply picked up the white flag and placed two rows of pieces to the left of the large black dragon in the upper left corner.
"Your Majesty, I believe there is no need to eliminate the Xueyantuo..."
Li Shimin looked at the chess pieces that Li Jing had placed, and then listened to Li Jing's words, and immediately became puzzled.
What does Duke Wei mean by this?
"Your Majesty, matters of war are simple. As long as there is sufficient food and supplies, and enough troops, I can conquer all disloyal subjects on Your Majesty's behalf."
"But the world situation is complex, and things rise and fall in a constant cycle."
As Li Jing finished speaking, he immediately placed several more black pieces on the chessboard, capturing the few white pieces he had just placed.
"Your Majesty, look, after these white pieces are captured, it seems like Black has won a great victory, but for the white flag on the far left, their eastward advance is now unimpeded..."
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