There were faint clouds in the sky, covering the myriad buildings below. A row of axles in the distance raised a faint cloud of dust.
"Your Highness," a man in a blue shirt walked up to the rockery quickly, his face solemn, and said in a deep voice, "There is something going on in the front hall early in the morning. Please go and take a look."
Li Ce turned around, his face no longer as calm and gentle as before. He slightly frowned and said in a deep voice, "What's the matter?"
Sun Di also looked serious, with a frown on his face, and said in a deep voice, "Something happened to the princess of Daxia who was to be married to the emperor."
Many years later, the following bloody and tearful words were recorded in "The Chronicle of Simon": On the third day of September, Zhao Chun, the eighth princess of Daxia, was raped in a bedroom outside the palace. Before her death, the deceased shouted the slogan of "Great Harmony in the North of Yan". The Xia and Tang countries were in an uproar one after another. For a time, the call to destroy Yan resounded across the country and swept across the land. The empty Imperial College Hall was filled with Bian Tang's civil and military officials. The Tang Emperor, Li Yizhou, sat high in the shadows of the magnificent palace. The emperor, who was over fifty years old, looked old beyond his years, with grey hair and beard, deep wrinkles, and a pair of slender eyes that had long lost the sharpness and hostility of his youth. They were like a deep well, quietly reflecting the inquiring gazes from outside.
A 70-year-old Confucian official knelt on the ground in grief and said loudly: "The northern barbarians are so bold that they ignore the majesty of our Bian Tang and deliberately provoke the orthodoxy of the East Land with a tiny piece of land. If we don't teach them a lesson with the power of thunder, where is the national prestige of our Bian Tang? Where is the military prestige of our Bian Tang? How can our Bian Tang stand in Simon and among the Three Kingdoms?"
As soon as this was said, everyone rushed to agree, but a young official stepped out and said earnestly: "Daxia is currently at war with Yanbei. I think it is not appropriate for our country to join in rashly."
The 70-year-old Confucian official was immediately furious and shouted, "Xue Changling! You keep saying that it is not appropriate to send troops. What is your intention? My Bian Tang has been established for thousands of years, and has never suffered such a great humiliation. Once this matter spreads to the mainland, how will our country survive and how will we deal with it? You blindly protect Yanbei, but you have secretly communicated with Yanbei. Do you have any hidden dealings?"
"Your Majesty!" A cry was heard immediately, and another old official with a white beard shouted in a sad voice, "Such a great shame and humiliation has never happened before! Our ancestors founded the country for thousands of years, established the country with virtuous governance, governed the court with filial piety and integrity, pacified the world with Confucianism, and conquered the four directions with education. We can be called the leader of the Three Kingdoms. How could we be provoked like this? If this trend continues, we, Bian Tang, will lose face, feel ashamed of our friendly countries, and be ashamed of our country!"
Xue Changling stepped forward and said excitedly: "Your Majesty, there are many doubts about the insult to the Princess of Daxia. We cannot rely on the one-sided words of Daxia officials and devote our national strength to participate in the civil strife of another country!"
"You are such a treacherous villain, you dare to speak nonsense in the Imperial Palace. How important is the reputation of a princess? The palace maid has verified her identity. The Eighth Princess of Daxia has just signed a marriage agreement with our Tang Dynasty. Now she is being insulted in our territory, even in the capital. We are to blame! If we don't give Daxia an explanation, how will it end? Is it just based on the doubts you said with your eloquent tongue, Xue Changling?"
"Lord Luo! I didn't say that we won't punish the person for this matter. I'm just afraid that we will act too hastily and fall into the trap of someone with ulterior motives!"
"A trap?" General Qi sneered, "What trap? The trap is that Yanbei is afraid of our marriage with Daxia and is trying to sabotage it!"
"I don't rule out this possibility, but I can't rule out other possibilities. If it was really Yan Bei who did it, why did they shout out their identities before they died? How would it benefit Yan Bei to anger Bian Tang in this way without confessing?"
Lord Luo snorted coldly and said, "The Datong warriors have always acted insanely. How can we judge them by common sense?"
A major general beside General Qi said, "Maybe they are just trying to confuse us and make us suspect that it is a frame-up. Look, isn't Lord Xue suspicious?"
Xue Changling said angrily: "Military and national affairs must be considered carefully. How can you draw a conclusion without using common sense? I am an official in the court, receiving a salary from the court, so I must consider all situations carefully!"
"Really? I think that Lord Xue has considered it thoroughly enough. If he continues to think about it, the border troops of Daxia might attack us!"
"Commander Xu, you..."
"Your Majesty! The 30,000 soldiers in the Beidaying camp are ready to fight for the country!"
"Your Majesty! Blood debts must be repaid with blood. Give the order! After not fighting for many years, the old general's sword has become rusty!"
"Your Majesty! We, your subjects, beg for a fight to the death!"
The entire hall was densely packed with Bian Tang's ministers kneeling, with Xue Changling standing alone. The young official's face turned purple, his lips trembled with anger, but he was unable to speak.
At this moment, a nonchalant laugh suddenly came from outside the hall, and everyone turned their heads immediately. Li Ce was seen in a gorgeous green robe, with a golden crown on his head, a jade belt around his waist, and narrow eyes like a fox. He walked up to the hall with a smile, and said nonchalantly: "Today, all the people are here, even Elder Liu is here, is there anything new? What's going on? Did the Western Regions send a BMW, or did Nanqiu pay tribute to a beauty again?"
The crowd retreated in two directions. Li Ce led Sun Di through the crowd with their heads held high. Li Ce brushed his robe and knelt down at the bottom, saying, "I am late. I pay my respects to my father."
"Hmm." A slightly old voice sounded slowly from above, and Emperor Tang said indifferently, "Do you know what happened here?"
"Here? Oh!" Li Ce suddenly realized what was going on. He looked furious and stood up, saying angrily, "This is really too much. I came here just for this matter!"
The civil and military officials in the court were afraid that this unconventional prince would come up with some new tricks. When they heard what he said, they were immediately overjoyed and quickly agreed, "Yes! This is really too much. The prince is absolutely right!"
Li Ce nodded angrily and said, "Daxia sent two princesses in a row. The first one was not a virtuous woman, and the second one was not a faithful woman. They made me wear a big green hat. It's really unreasonable! Father, I think Daxia has no sincerity in the marriage. Let's send their princesses back. I think the eldest princess of Huaisong is good. It is said that she has a younger sister who is also a beauty..."
All the ministers were stunned. The seventy-year-old Liu Ge Lao cried out in grief, took a few steps forward, knelt down and said, "Your Highness, this is absolutely not allowed!"
Li Ce turned around, frowned and said, "Oh? Why not?"
"Daxia sent its princess to marry twice, which shows its sincerity. Now that the princess of Daxia has suffered such a great humiliation within our territory, if we do not hold Yanbei responsible, we will be pointed at by thousands of people, cursed by tens of thousands of people, and despised by all quarters. The fault of this matter lies with the thieves of Yanbei, not the princess of Xiaguo. I hope Your Highness will understand this."
Li Ce raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "Oh, what you said makes sense."
Elder Liu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and let out a long sigh, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is wise."
Li Ce said angrily: "In this case, father, my son's future concubine has been insulted by the people of Yanbei. Although I am not talented, I cannot sit idly by and watch my woman being bullied. I ask your father to send troops to Yanbei. I am willing to lead the troops myself and swear to destroy Yanbei with my sword!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole room was filled with joy. Everyone looked at each other happily, with great delight revealed in their eyes.
The prince has been naughty for so many years, but I didn't expect that he still had the demeanor of a king at the critical moment. The great country of Bian Tang should show such momentum!
"Also, Father, I have a small request."
Emperor Tang frowned slightly, said nothing more, and motioned for him to continue.
Li Ce spoke eloquently, standing in the hall in a gorgeous outfit, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, handsome and suave, and said loudly: "Since the Eighth Princess has made an engagement with me, she is already a citizen of Bian Tang. I hope to reject Daxia's request to jointly send troops. Yanbei is just a small place. As long as you give me 100,000 elite soldiers, it will be easy to capture Yan Xun alive and wipe out the remnants of Yanbei!"
When everyone heard this, they were stunned, but before they could say anything, Li Ce's bombshells came one after another.
"In addition, if we send troops from our country to Yanbei, we will have to pass through the border of Daxia, which stretches for thousands of miles. I remember that our army once reached Zhenhuang, and we mobilized 300,000 troops and 2 million civilians. Although the number of troops is less than half of that time, the journey is very long. Therefore, I request the Ministry of Revenue to recruit 3 million civilians, 200,000 war horses, 200,000 matching weapons and armor, as well as cotton clothes to keep warm, accompanying medical officers, medicines for wounds, and fodder for horses. The Ministry of Grain also raises 300,000 dan of food and fodder for the northern expedition."
Minister of Revenue Qiu Shihai suddenly felt overwhelmed, as if he was on fire. He jumped out and said quickly, "Your Highness, I think Yanbei is a traitor of Daxia, and the cause of the war is Daxia's princess. Daxia should send troops to help as the main force of the war. Although we send troops, we can only serve as an auxiliary, and Daxia should also provide us with food and military supplies."
Li Ce smiled and turned around, blinking his narrow eyes and said, "Oh? Didn't Lord Qiu just shout about the national integrity and the prestige of Bian Tang? What's the matter? I am the crown prince of Bian Tang, and I have to rely on others to send troops to seek justice for me? What Elder Liu said just now is very right. Our Bian Tang has been established for thousands of years and has never suffered such a great humiliation. Being beaten by Daxia and fleeing, retreating to Jiangnan, ceding land and paying compensation, and paying tribute are all small matters. The Eighteen Prefectures of Hongchuan are also Don't worry about it. Those bandits in the north are too arrogant now. If we don't deal with them, they don't know who is in charge on the mainland. I believe that the generals' ideas must be consistent with mine. They will never say that they want to conquer Yanbei while they are secretly hoping to follow Daxia and wave flags and cheer. Moreover, Daxia has just experienced a war and has problems with its own food. It has to buy food and grass from our country. How do you think they will provide us with food?"
Li Ce stood in the hall with a smile on his face. The generals who had been so righteous before suddenly looked ugly. They looked at each other, grunted and agreed, but no one could say a word.
"I heard that Yanbei has many soldiers and generals, and Yan Xun is even more talented in managing the world. At the beginning, he relied on his own strength to instigate a rebellion against the Southwest Town Governor, and broke through the Zhenhuang City that our 300,000-man army had failed to break through in the past hundred years. He forced Daxia to move its capital northward for the first time in three hundred years and almost destroyed the country. Later, he fought all the way back to Yanbei. The entire northwest border army and the vassal kings and county governors were unable to stop his blade. He was called the new generation of 'Yanbei Lion King'.
And there has been no war in Bian Tang for many years. Except for a few border troops from the south that could not be withdrawn, most of the soldiers who had seen blood were over 50 or 60 years old. Moreover, the army was not well organized and most of the weapons were rusty. But I think that as long as we are united and work together, it is absolutely possible for us to cross the entire territory of Daxia and kill the crazy people who dare to offend Bian Tang. "Li Ce said as he walked in the hall, his voice becoming happier as he spoke," After all, as everyone has seen, at our annual military parade, the soldiers walk in neat rows and shout loudly. Even if they have never killed anyone, most of them have killed chickens. They are also very good at jealousy and fighting in brothels, and have very sophisticated practical experience. The young generals in our Shangwu Hall are all young talents, and most of the sons and grandsons of the adults are also among them. They are all the wealth of our empire!
Although these guys have never been to the battlefield and probably have never even killed a chicken, I feel that they all have a very high sense of battle and they shout slogans very loudly every day. I think I can keep them with me, and as long as they get some experience on the battlefield, they will definitely be an invincible elite force! Moreover, we have many treasures that Yanbei does not have. Although I have heard recently that generals like Bian Cang, Xi Rui, and Wu Daoya are quite capable, they can lead three to five thousand Datong warriors to massacre tens of thousands of troops and retreat unscathed. But we Bian Tang will not be afraid. They are only a few years old, too young. Among our generals, there are many experienced veterans like General Dou and General Bai. They all have life experience and combat skills that those people cannot match. As long as they sit on the battlefield, they will be invincible and the enemy will flee at the sight of them.
By the way, General Dou, I saw your dentures at the door when I came. I heard that you had a stroke a few days ago. Your speech is not very sharp now, right? It’s okay, I’ll send someone to make another agate one for you right away. ”