The civil and military officials in the court were pale and could hardly speak, but Li Ce's mood became better and better. He strolled and talked at the same time, "Also, Yanbei is a barbarian place, where there is no education, no filial piety, and the people are all ignorant. We have thousands of learned people in the Tang Dynasty. If the people of Yanbei dare to help the rebels to resist, we will send hundreds of learned imperial censors from our Imperial Censorate to explain the righteousness to them. I believe they will definitely submit to the words of the saints, feel ashamed of their actions, and turn to our arms. Although I heard that Emperor Xia had experienced the eight In the past 8 years, the emperor wanted to assimilate the people of Yanbei and make them loyal to the empire, but they still attacked the empire's army and the newly appointed commanders like locusts. There was no interruption in the past 8 years. But don't be afraid. How can Daxia compare with us? When we were receiving the teachings of the saints, Daxia's ancestors were still on the grassland without pants. Haha! And there is one more important point," Li Ce turned around with a smile, knelt on the ground, and said to the Emperor of Tang, "Father, this one is of vital importance. It is related to the prosperity of my Tang Dynasty. It must not be neglected. "
Emperor Tang looked at his son with a smile on his face and said, "You tell me."
Li Ce raised his head and said seriously, "I, your son, dare to request to move the capital."
"What?" After these words were spoken, all the civil and military officials in the court could no longer hold back and cried out in horror.
"Alas..." Li Ce sighed and said helplessly, "There is no other way. In order to maintain the dignity of Bian Tang, this battle must be fought, but what will happen after the battle? Although we know that we will win, the losses will be huge. The number of soldiers, financial resources, food, weapons, personnel, and civilians is too numerous to count. More importantly, this war will last for a long time and consume our national strength. Our army has penetrated deep into the territory of Daxia. It is hard to guarantee that Emperor Xia will not have a mean heart. Even if Emperor Xia is really as righteous as everyone thinks, we will suffer heavy losses after the war. Da, won't Huai Song take advantage of the opportunity to come in? You all won't forget, right? We are at war with Huai Song! Everyone should be prepared, we Bian Tang is about to usher in a new situation of historic two-front war, the outcome is unpredictable, and the future is unpredictable. So, I propose that we move the capital immediately, move it to the barren land of southern Xinjiang, and burn the imperial capital. Even if we are pursued by Da Xia and conquered by Huai Song in the future, they will get nothing. We hide in the jungle of southern Xinjiang, no one can find us, and we will be angry to death, haha!"
At this time, everyone's faces were so ugly that they couldn't be uglier, but Li Ce suddenly said excitedly: "Moreover, I just thought of a great plan. If we are lucky enough to survive this battle and maintain the supreme glory and dignity of my Bian Tang, then after this incident, we can send a royal woman to Daxia for marriage. Then send a large number of eloquent officials to accompany them. After arriving in Daxia, we will play along and say that the princess was insulted by the spies of Huai Song. While the public is excited, we will send our officials with a large amount of money to bribe the censors of Daxia. Haha, in this way, Daxia will have to go to war with Huai Song. At that time, we will sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, and reap the benefits. What do you think of my idea?"
No one said a word, and the entire Imperial College Hall was dead silent. Suddenly, there was a puff, and someone actually laughed out loud.
Everyone turned around immediately and glared at the man.
Xue Changling shook his robe, took a step forward and knelt on the ground, saying loudly: "Your Highness is wise, and I am convinced. I just lost my eyes, and now I believe that this battle must be carried out. If Your Highness does not abandon me, I am willing to follow Your Highness and serve you at your side."
"No problem. I remember you." Li Ce said with a smile. He then turned around abruptly and knelt on the ground. "Father, give the order. I have made up my mind. I will not be a human being if I don't destroy Yanbei. Even if I have a chance of death, I swear to die together with Yanbei to preserve the reputation of Bian Tang. What you said just now made my blood boil. I request to bring the few people who spoke the loudest with me to give you a chance to make achievements and go down in history. Please grant me your permission!" After that, he knocked his head deeply to the ground.
The Tang Emperor pondered for a moment and was about to speak when he heard someone suddenly shout "Your Majesty" and kneel on the ground.
Elder Liu suddenly said in a serious tone, "Your Majesty, I suddenly feel that what Lord Xue said just now makes sense. It is too hasty to launch an attack on Yanbei based on Princess Daxia's one-sided statement. We should do more investigation before making a decision on this matter."
"Oh?" Emperor Tang raised his voice and said, "Didn't Elder Liu just say that Lord Xue is a treacherous villain and that this statement is untrustworthy?"
Elder Liu's forehead was covered with sweat, and he tried to cheer himself up. "This is because I didn't think it through. Now that I think about it, what Lord Xue said... this does make some sense."
Emperor Tang turned to look at the veteran General Qi, "Qi Qing, what do you think?"
"I also think what Elder Liu said is very true. The army's expedition is a major military and national event, and we should...we should be more careful."
The Minister of Revenue spoke first: "I also feel that the Ministry of Revenue's food and grass are not enough to cope with such a large-scale military mobilization. We should discuss it in detail."
"Yes, yes, it's not a one-day thing for the Ministry of War to transfer troops to the northern border. Besides, our country has not been at war for many years. Even if we have to fight, we need to make more preparations."
Li Ce frowned and said angrily: "What do you mean, my lords? Can't we fight back when we are bullied like this? If everything is as you say, where is the face of our Bian Tang? Even if we have to die, we will drag Yan Bei down with us."
"Crown Prince," Lord Luo shouted, "What kind of person is Yanbei? How could it be worth our lives to die for them? Let's take our time on this matter."
"That won't do," Li Ce said resolutely, "My concubine has been insulted. This is such a big deal. As a prince, I cannot tolerate others insulting my country. As a man, I cannot tolerate others bullying my woman. If I don't say anything, won't I be laughed at by the whole country and become a laughing stock of the world?"
Elder Liu said quickly, "Prince, calm down. If you can hold back your anger today, it will be a sacrifice for the people of Bian Tang, and it will save the lives of thousands of soldiers who might die on the battlefield. No one will say anything bad about you, they will only be grateful to you."
"That's right. Besides, the princess of Daxia hasn't officially married into Bian Tang yet. Although we are involved in this matter, their own guards are also to blame. Moreover, Yanbei is the mortal enemy of Daxia. What does it have to do with us, Bian Tang? At worst, we can just find another princess. Emperor Xia has so many daughters anyway."
"Yes! They have created such a scandal in our imperial capital, and we have not yet investigated. If they dare to make a fuss, we will definitely ask Emperor Xia for an explanation."
Li Ce frowned in embarrassment and said slowly: "But, can you gentlemen endure such humiliation? You are all important officials of the country, aren't you afraid that you will be heavily mentioned in the history books in the future?"
"It doesn't matter!" Everyone shook their heads. "For Bian Tang, this little grievance is nothing."
"Alas," Li Ce shook his head and sighed, "Seeing that you gentlemen are so understanding, I feel guilty. Since everyone is so calm, what else can I say? Secretary, draft a letter to comfort Princess Daxia, and then send her back."
Soon, the morning court ended and all the officials withdrew. The Emperor of Tang gave Li Ce a few instructions and returned to the harem.
Sun Di followed behind Li Ce, gave him a thumbs up quietly, and said, "Your Highness's Tai Chi skills are becoming more and more perfect."
Li Ce sneered and said with a smile: "They are just a bunch of useless old men."
"But sometimes, these useless old men can play a very important role." Li Ce sneered, and then said, "That Xue Changling is not bad, you should keep an eye on him. We can't use him for the time being, let's see."
"Yes," Sun Di nodded and said, "Your Highness, what should we do next?"
Li Ce stretched out his slender fingers, rubbed his temples, and said, "I haven't thought about it yet. Zhao Chun'er really caught me off guard. I didn't expect her to be so cruel. In order to cause a war between Bian Tang and Yanbei, she would not hesitate to use her own reputation to make a fuss. Have you met the palace maid who checked it out? Was her chastity really ruined? Also, who has met the man who claimed to be a Datong death warrior?"
"There were three palace maids in total, all of them old maids in the palace. Their testimonies were consistent, so it seems to be true. As for the Datong warrior, it is said that when the guards rushed into the princess's mansion, he had just gotten off the princess's bed, and then he shouted 'Yanbei Datong' and committed suicide."
Li Ce shook his head and sighed, "Emperor Xia is willing to gamble on this matter. He is really willing to spend a lot of money!"
"Your Highness, do you really want to send Zhao Chun'er back to Daxia?"
"What else can we do? Keep her here?" Li Ce snorted coldly, "If I send Zhao Chun'er back, Emperor Xia will know that his conspiracy has been exposed. He still has to rely on Bian Tang and dare not break up with me. As long as we suppress the officials, they in Great Xia will not be able to stir up any trouble."
Sun Di nodded and said, "That's right. No matter how strong the wind and waves are, I will remain unmoved."
At this moment, a guard suddenly ran up from a distance, his steps were chaotic, he was panting, sweating, his clothes were soaked, and he shouted all the way: "Your Highness, it's not good!"
Li Ce frowned, stepped forward quickly, and asked in a deep voice: "What happened?"
The man knelt on the ground with a thud and said in panic, "Princess Daxia, you committed suicide by banging your head on the Rose Square in the center of the Imperial City!"
"What?"
Sun Di exclaimed immediately, but heard the guard quickly say: "But fortunately, she just hit her head and it's not serious. It's just that the local people crowded around and caused a little chaos."
Li Ce snorted coldly and said disdainfully: "It's just a self-torture tactic, playing the sympathy card, trying to stir up the people of Tangjing to build momentum for her?"
Sun Di frowned and said, "You are so panicked over such a small matter. Whose subordinate are you?"
"Your Highness, this is not the main point," the guard said while panting with his face flushed with anxiety, "The key point is that just now, the Northern Camp was training in the Central Camp next to the Rose Square. Those soldiers witnessed the whole thing. The lower-level officers were simply unable to suppress those young masters and soldiers. The 30,000 troops of the Northern Camp have gathered on the Central Street, clamoring to attack Yanbei, and are now heading towards the palace gate!"
"What did you say?" Not only Sun Di, but also Li Ce changed color.
At this moment, another guard also rode up, completely disregarding court etiquette, and shouted as he ran, "Urgent! Urgent!"
"What's the matter?" Li Ce's face was grim, without any sign of amusement anymore.
"Your Highness..." The man fell off the horse with a thud, his clothes stained with blood.