Chapter 27: Okay! Then let Shiro lead the troops to the battle!
Li Jiancheng frowned and shook his head slowly.
Li Xiaogong led more than 100,000 troops to eliminate the rebellious forces in Jingzhou, Jiaozhou, Yangzhou, Yizhou and other places.
If the Tang Dynasty sent more troops to quell Liu Heita's rebellion, it would require at least 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers and horses.
If we fight against the Turks again, we will have another 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers and horses.
More than 200,000 soldiers and horses were fighting in three places, and the consumption of food and fodder for men and horses was extremely high.
The Tang Dynasty had a small population and was plagued by wars every year.
There was hardly any food left.
If we mobilize more than 100,000 troops to fight Liu Heita and the Turks, there will be no food supply.
As Li Jiancheng shook his head, the hall fell into silence again.
The Tang Dynasty was not short of money. Li Shimin, Li Xiaogong and others seized a lot of money when they conquered the enemies of the Tang Dynasty.
But no one dared to say anything about using money to buy food, because the Tang Dynasty was now in a stage where it had money but no food.
Li Yuan looked at Li Jiancheng and asked, "Is there any way to raise more food and fodder?"
Li Jiancheng hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "If it's a few hundred thousand dan of grain, I can still think of a way. If it's more, I can't do anything."
Li Jiancheng also wanted to get more food so that the Tang Dynasty could attack Liu Heita and the Turks together.
But a good cook cannot cook without rice.
There was no grain in the Tang Dynasty, and there was no grain in the government warehouses in various places.
Even for the hundreds of thousands of shi of grain that he mentioned, he still had to negotiate with the Five Surnames and Seven Families and the wealthy families to exchange interests.
The Five Surnames and Seven Families and the wealthy families do have grain.
But they definitely won’t take it out easily.
If you can't give them what they want, or if you don't recognize their special status in the Tang Dynasty, how could they give you food for no reason?
Pei Ji reminded him, "Hundreds of thousands of dan of grain are only enough to support 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers fighting outside."
Pei Ji was reminding Li Shimin that the Tang Dynasty did not have enough food to support hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses to go to war with Liu Heita and the Turks at the same time.
Li Shimin had something to say, but after thinking for a while, he didn't speak.
Chen Shuda said slowly: "Is there any way to delay the Turks and give us a chance to catch our breath?
Or reduce the number of troops required?"
The ministers in the hall fell into deep thought again.
After a while, Yuwen Shiji suddenly spoke up and said, "When the Turks go south to Hebei, some of them will definitely pass through Weize Pass. We can let Princess Pingyang defend Weize Pass to see if we can get a chance to breathe.
If we order the Prince of Yan, the Prince of Huai'an, and the Duke of Cao to lead the remaining troops to resist, we should be able to delay the enemy for a while.
In this way, we only need to pacify Liu Ze as soon as possible, and we will have enough energy to deal with the Turks."
After Yuwen Shiji finished his speech, some people in the hall nodded in agreement, while others carefully considered the feasibility of this idea.
Qu Tutong pondered and said, "If we summon the King of Wu to lead his troops north and attack from both sides, it would take much less time to pacify Liu Heita. We wouldn't have to send so many troops."
The King of Wu mentioned by Qu Tutong is Du Fuwei, or to be more precise, Li Fuwei.
After Du Fuwei surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, he was not only granted the title of a king of a different surname, but was also given the surname Li.
Du Fuwei was the Minister of the Southeast Road and the Ambassador of Pacification south of the Jianghuai River. He had a huge army under his command, and the Tang Dynasty did not have to pay for its support.
If Du Fuwei was summoned to the north to form a two-pronged attack with the troops sent by the court, Liu Heita could be pacified more quickly and the number of troops required could be reduced.
Afterwards, the ministers discussed and gradually came up with a highly feasible combat plan.
During this period, no one talked about giving money and food to the Turks, nor did anyone talk about compromising with Liu Heita to buy the Tang Dynasty a chance to catch its breath.
Li Yuanji listened to the whole story from beginning to end and admired the Tang Dynasty officials' style of fighting the enemy.
If the same scene happened in the Song Dynasty hundreds of years later, I'm afraid there would be voices of seeking peace, calls for appeasement, and tribute.
"Who will lead the troops, then?"
After his ministers had discussed and come up with a highly feasible combat plan, Li Yuan asked a very crucial question.
All the ministers kept silent.
Because they know that nothing they say will help on this issue.
According to Li Yuan's style, the person leading the troops to the expedition must be surnamed Li.
The difference lies, is it Li Shimin, or... Li Yuanji.
Li Yuanji shrank back, looking as if it had nothing to do with him.
The ministers didn't count on him much either.
Li Yuan was not very confident about him either.
After all, he had led troops alone once before, and his military exploits were truly 'glorious'.
Unless it was absolutely necessary, Li Yuan and his ministers did not dare to let him lead the troops alone.
So there was only one candidate from beginning to end, and that was Li Shimin.
Only if Li Shimin led the troops to fight could he be sure to quickly pacify Liu Heita.
Only when Li Shimin led the troops to fight could he deal with Liu Heita while guarding against the Turks.
The others, even with the assistance of Li Shentong, Li Xiuning, Li Yi, Du Fuwei and Li Shiji, could only barely deal with Liu Heita and might not be able to win.
If the Turks broke through the defense line formed by Li Shentong, Li Xiuning, Li Yi and others and appeared on the battlefield, they would immediately turn the tide of the battle.
The reason why Li Yuan asked this was that he was waiting for Li Shimin to volunteer.
If Li Shimin took the initiative to speak, he would immediately go along with it without having to promise Li Shimin any benefits.
But Li Shimin had his own plans, so he was not willing to speak.
For a moment, one could hear a pin drop in the hall.
Everyone's eyes involuntarily fell on Li Shimin.
Li Shimin kept silent, pretending not to notice everyone's gaze.
Li Yuan gritted his teeth in his heart, but he could do nothing about Li Shimin.
Now it is he who is begging Li Shimin, not Li Shimin begging him.
Li Yuan hesitated for a moment, then suddenly looked at Li Yuanji.
Li Yuanji was startled.
"Shiro, how about you lead the troops?"
Li Yuanji refused without saying anything, "I can't do it, I can't do it."
Li Yuan almost vomited blood from anger.
He really wanted Li Yuanji to lead the troops, and he just wanted Li Ji to show his attitude.
As long as Li Yuanji was willing to stand up with righteous words, shout that he was willing to lead the troops, and pat his chest to guarantee that they would win.
Then everyone in the hall would persuade him together and then attack Li Shimin together.
Although Li Shimin had his own agenda, he could not just watch Li Yuanji lead his troops to bring disaster to the Tang Dynasty, so he would definitely agree to lead the troops under the pressure of Li Yuanji and his ministers.
But Li Yuanji did not play by the rules. As soon as he opened his mouth , Li Yuanji immediately said that he was not capable of it.
Li Yuan glared at Li Yuanji fiercely, then looked at Li Jiancheng, "Prince, how about you lead the troops?"
Li Jiancheng glanced at Li Shimin, bowed to Li Yuan and said, "Your son obeys your order, but I don't have many elite soldiers and generals under my command, so I need to borrow them from the Tiance Palace. I hope your father will grant me permission."
At this point, Li Jiancheng bowed to Li Shimin and said, "I also hope that Erlang can release the person."
Li Jiancheng knew what Li Yuan was thinking, so he cooperated very well.
Li Shimin also knew what Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng were thinking, so he cooperated more closely.
Li Shimin smiled and said, "Since my brother is willing to lead the troops to the battle, then I, as your younger brother, will naturally spare no effort to help you. I will send someone to Tiance Mansion to pass on the order and ask the people of Tiance Mansion to go to the East Palace and obey your orders.
If that is not enough, you can also use the three thousand black armors in my house."
Li Shimin knew very well that Li Jiancheng could not lead the troops to war.
It was not because Li Jiancheng could not lead troops to fight, but because Li Jiancheng had to stay in Chang'an City to raise and mobilize food and fodder.
Only he can do this.
Even Li Yuan couldn't do it.
Li Yuan's order to let Li Jiancheng lead the troops was just a trap.
Li Jiancheng said he wanted to transfer people from the Tian Ce Palace in order to scare Li Shimin.
But Li Shimin didn't buy it.
Seeing that Li Shimin was not falling for it, Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng looked at each other.
Li Jiancheng gritted his teeth and said nothing more.
If his position was not irreplaceable, how could Li Shimin have controlled him?
Li Yuan's face was terribly gloomy.
He glared at Li Ji again, then looked at Li Shimin and asked, "Erlang, are you dissatisfied with me?"
Li Shimin hurriedly said, "Father, how can you say that? I respect and love you very much, how could I be dissatisfied with you?"
Li Yuan said without hesitation: "Then why don't you volunteer to lead the troops? In the past, when there was a war, you were the first to volunteer."
Li Shimin deliberately paused for a moment, and hurriedly said: "Father, didn't my brother already agree to lead the troops to the battle? How dare I go beyond my brother's authority?"
Seeing that Li Shimin was playing dumb, Li Yuan had no choice but to speak out, "The Crown Prince still has to stay in Chang'an to gather food and fodder. You know very well that apart from the Crown Prince, no one in my Tang Dynasty can raise the food and fodder needed for the army to go out at this time."
Li Shimin bowed to Li Jiancheng and said, "Father, you are right. I admire your ability."
Li Yuan stared at Li Shimin, "Since you know that the prince is too busy to handle everything, you should know that if he leads the army to war, no one will be able to supply food and grass for the army."
Li Shimin said solemnly: "I will assist you, father, and try my best to raise the food and fodder needed for the army's expedition."
Li Yuan was so angry at Li Shimin's words that his face turned purple.
It’s not Li Shimin’s problem that Li Jiancheng is unable to cope with so many tasks.
It was Li Yuan who left the government affairs to Li Jiancheng, while he himself indulged in eating, drinking and having fun in Liangyi Hall and Ganlu Hall, so that once the army went out to war, Li Jiancheng had to be responsible for the problem of raising food.
If Li Yuan had paid more attention to government affairs, spent more time and energy on them, and had had capable ministers to assist him, this kind of situation would not have occurred.
Li Yuan gritted his teeth, stared at Li Shimin, and shouted: "The Crown Prince is too busy to lead the troops, and you are unwilling to lead the troops. Who else can lead the troops?"
Li Shimin said without hesitation: "Fourth brother can also lead troops, Dao Zong can also lead troops."
Oh shit!
Li Yuanji stared at Li Shimin.
When you and
If I had that ability, would I back down?
This is a rare opportunity to recruit talents. If I can take Liu Heita away in one wave, Su Dingfang and other brave warriors under Liu Heita's command will belong to me.
But I don’t have that ability.
Although the guy in his predecessor had led troops for many years, he was only good at martial arts and was good at charging into battle, but he was completely incapable of arranging troops.
"Okay! Then let Shiro lead the troops to battle!"
Li Yuan suddenly stood up, stared at Li Shimin and shouted angrily.
