Chapter 727 Discussing the Battle of Crossing the Sea

Wang Ping'an thought to himself: "It is certain that Li Ke is unlucky, and it is certain that Changsun Wuji is in power. As for all matters in the Tang Dynasty within four or five years, Changsun Wuji must have the final say. It would be too unwise and unnecessary if he could not get along with him!"

He whispered: "Your Highness, you must not blame Lord Changsun for this matter. Just imagine, no matter who it is, it is impossible to hide it from Li Ke's evidence of collusion with the Gentiles. It is just that Lord Changsun was sent to the palace. Therefore, Lord Changsun, you must not blame Lord Changsun, and you must not create estrangements!"

Li Zhi nodded and said, "This loner is naturally free. If you are sick, you are worried too much. The loner is not the kind of king who is unreasonable and will only blame others for his random blaming others."

Wang Ping'an nodded and said, "Li Ke's affairs are not yet confirmed. I don't know if he was exploited by the Goguryeo people, and it is impossible to prove that he has betrayed now. This matter needs to be investigated in detail, so that he must not be wronged. Also, Your Highness, we can only discuss the matter on the matter and never involve others. This matter has nothing to do with Concubine Yang. She lives in the deep palace. She doesn't know what Li Ke does. If you involve things on her, it will be unfair!"

Li Zhi was speechless for a while. After a while, he said, "Fortunately Wuyan, please remind me, otherwise Gu would really treat her... Alas, Gu ignored her at all during this period, and she had been kneeling outside. Her son had caused such a big disaster. I guess she felt uncomfortable. Gu would not hold her accountable, that's it!"

Wang Ping'an breathed a sigh of relief and thought to himself: "That's right. Although Concubine Yang is not very intimate to me, she is my mother's distant relative. If you can take care of her, just take care of her!"

He also said: "The affairs in the capital are handled by the prime ministers, and there is no need to worry about them. But what should Li Ke do? It is impossible to hide the affairs of the late emperor's great actions for a long time. I believe that there have been Goguryeo's secret spies at this time, and the news has been passed. Goguryeo must have made great moves and will start very quickly. So how should we deal with it?"

Li Zhi said in a daze: "This matter... do you have no idea? I'm not sure what to do. What should you do!"

Wang Ping'an frowned and said, "Your Highness is about to ascend the throne, but when he first ascended the throne, he encountered such a major military situation. The burden on your shoulders is very heavy!"

Li Zhi's mouth sagged and he choked again. He raised his sleeves to wipe his tears and said, "What should I do? I'm not sick. Gu has long lost his opinion at this time. You and your uncle have to make a decision!"

Wang Ping'an looked at the coffin, sighed, and said, "Does the emperor have an order before the grand trip? What should he do to Goguryeo?"

Li Zhi lowered his sleeves and said, "My father wants to destroy Goguryeo, and the Turks must be included in the territory of our Tang Dynasty. This is all about fighting, but I have no idea!"

Wang Ping'an said: "Since it was the order of the late emperor, it's okay for us to talk about it now. I will call Lord Changsun and let's discuss the countermeasures together."

Seeing that Li Zhi agreed, Wang Ping'an stood up and invited Changsun Wuji. How to deal with the upcoming Goguryeo attack is an urgent task and must not be delayed.

Changsun Wuji has been waiting in the outer hall. Although he is the uncle of the emperor who is about to ascend the throne, he cannot enter the inner hall without being summoned.

Wang Ping'an bent over and walked to Changsun Wuji, leaned close to his ears, and whispered: "Sir Changsun, can you move? Let's go into the inner palace and talk about Goguryeo, okay?"

Changsun Wuji nodded and said, "That's right. Actually, I have wanted to say this for a long time, but the prince has always been confused... he has been overly sad, so this matter is put on hold." He stood up and waved at several old friends.

Chu Suiliang, Fang Xuanling, and Ma Zhou stood up together and followed Wang Ping'an to the inner hall. Seeing this, the generals of the Guardian knew that they were going to discuss Goguryeo, but Wang Ping'an did not call them, and Changsun Wuji did not suggest anything, so they could not follow him and could only continue to wait outside.

In fact, Wang Ping'an only called Changsun Wuji, but did not call anyone else, but a group of prime ministers wanted to go in, so he couldn't stop him!

After entering the inner hall, Changsun Wuji waved his hand again. Except for Shi Zhongchen curled up from a distance, he sent out all the eunuchs inside. He glanced at Shi Zhongchen, and Changsun Wuji sighed in his heart. In just a short time, Shi Zhongchen was as old as in his twenties, and he was no longer different from the old man in his twenties. It is estimated that his days are not far away!

Everyone surrounded Li Zhi's side, and Wang Ping'an whispered: "Your Highness, everyone is here, let's discuss matters!"

Li Zhi glanced at the prime ministers, then looked at his father's coffin, thinking to himself: "Just discussing matters here? Isn't it appropriate!"

Changsun Wuji knew what he was thinking and said, "This is what the late emperor told before the grand ceremony. There is no need to be a taboo. Discussing this matter in front of the spirit of the late emperor can comfort the spirit of the late emperor in heaven!"

Li Zhi nodded, but said, "But Gu is now upset and can't come up with an idea. You can discuss it first. If you agree, you will get the result. Just tell Gu with a sound!" As he said that, he picked up a handful of paper, put it in the brazier in front of him, and burned paper for his father.

The prime ministers all know that this future emperor is a person who cannot come up with no idea, which is the opposite of the late emperor who just passed away. However, the more powerful the emperor, the harder it is to be a subject, and the weak and incompetent emperor is much simpler. Li Zhi can't come up with no idea, which is a good thing for the prime ministers.

Changsun Wuji said to Wang Ping'an: "Goguryeo and Baekje attack Silla. Do you know this battle report without illness?"

Wang Ping'an whispered and shook his head and said, "I don't know yet. I only know that Li Ke has recruited a lot of county soldiers in Yingzhou, but Ding Zhuang is all from Goguryeo. I guess Goguryeo wants to take advantage of the situation!"

Chu Suiliang snorted and said, "They think so beautifully. How could my Tang Dynasty and Heavenly Kingdom have a chance to happen because of such a trivial matter? Even if they want to fight a civil war, they would not allow Goguryeo to intervene!"

Fang Xuanling said, "What's the use of saying these words of indignation? Let's quickly discuss how to deal with Goguryeo!"

Changsun Wuji looked at Wang Ping'an and said, "Before the late emperor's great journey, I told me that once Silla could not support it, they would send troops to conquer Goguryeo, and surround Wei to save Zhao, break the camp first, and then attack Liaodong City. Goguryeo naturally had to withdraw his troops from Silla. In this way, Silla would deal with Baekje alone, and it would be not difficult to defeat Baekje. How about you see if you don't have any illness?"

Wang Ping'an thought for a while and said, "I'm afraid the Goguryeo people have thought of this, otherwise how could they support Li Ke? We started attacking Yingzhou and attacking Liaodong City. Wouldn't the same strategy as the former Sui Dynasty and the former emperors attacking Goguryeo? Maybe the war will fall into the quagmire again. If it drags on for a long time, it will be extremely unfavorable to our Tang Dynasty!"

He remembered that Di Renjie once said that if he attacked Yingzhou, the prime ministers would definitely say that the troops were not prepared enough, and if they fought against Goguryeo immediately, it would be very likely that Turkic soldiers would be sent to attack. Although the Turkic soldiers in Zheliu County were very far from Yingzhou, who would let them be Turkic? Of course, they had to send them to the front line. If Turkic soldiers were sent, then Wang Ping'an would have to lead the troops!

Wang Ping'an didn't want to lead troops to fight, so luck couldn't always follow him. Goguryeo is so difficult to fight. If something unexpected happens, wouldn't he be too late to cry!

Changsun Wuji frowned and said, "What should I do? There is no other way!"

Ma Zhou kept silent. Seeing that everyone could not come up with ideas, he had to say, "I have a plan, but I was too risky and had to send the most capable general. In addition, I had to send an important official to supervise it, otherwise this plan would not work!"

In real history, Ma Zhou died before Li Shimin, and he did not live until Li Zhi ascended the throne. When Li Shimin fought eastward, he was not a high-powered person and did not participate in the formulation of the tactics of the Eastern Expedition. Strictly speaking, this was the first time he participated in the formulation of such a military plan. His character was steady, so he was the last to speak.

Everyone looked at him together, and Changsun Wuji said, "Brother Ma, you are the prime minister of the Secretariat and are in charge of planning. We attach great importance to your suggestions. You might as well speak out or not, and decide after the discussion!"

Ma Zhou said: "It is better to remove the firewood from the bottom of a pot than to surround Wei and save Zhao. Our Central Plains Celestial Empire has always been unable to destroy this country for many reasons, but one of the most important reasons is that Baekje always supports it later."

Everyone was shocked and Fang Xuanling said, "But we can't attack Baekje. If we attack Baekje, we have to pass through Goguryeo's territory. We have to wait until we destroy Goguryeo!"

Changsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang were on the verge of the head. Chu Suiliang said: "It is because Baekje understands this that they spared no effort to support Goguryeo, and our Tang Dynasty also strongly supports Silla and let them fight each other. This is not only what we understand, but even the three countries themselves understand!"

Ma Zhou said: "According to the previous style of play, attacking Baekje can only be done by land. This is difficult to do, and we have never done it. However, Baekje is in the sea, and we can go from the sea to attack the capital of Baekje directly!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a short silence appeared around him, so quiet that Li Zhi turned his head to look at them, wondering why they stopped talking!

After a while, Changsun Wuji said: "In this way, if you can attack the capital of Baekje from the sea, you can also directly attack the capital of Goguryeo Pyongyang!"

Ma Zhou shook his head and said, "Otherwise, the capital of Baekje is very close to the seaside. Our army can launch an attack as soon as they get off the ship. As long as they are not ready, they can directly enter the city. But Pyongyang is not at the seaside, so we cannot conduct a raid!"

The prime ministers never thought of fighting in the sea, so they had no clear concept of how far the capital of Baekje was from the sea. But after Ma Zhou said this, they all felt it was reasonable and nodded.

Changsun Wuji said: "In this way, it is not difficult. Baekje's army is attacking Silla. As soon as our army lands, Baekje in front of us will be an empty city. It will be no effort to capture this city!"

Wang Ping'an thought to himself: "Are you wrong? Fighting across the sea requires a long time to prepare. You can fight as soon as you say it, and you have to fight while the Baekje army is not there. That's so hurry! Don't send me there, I'm seasick!"

Wang Ping'an said: "This seems not so safe, right? Please think about it, even if our army occupied the capital of Baekje, what should we do next? The Baekje soldiers will rescue them as if they were killed when they learned that the capital of Baekje was lost. Wouldn't our army besieged in the city? The people of Baekje are in the city, and outside the city are Baekje's army. How can we fight this battle? It's easy for our army to go, but difficult for us to come back!"

This question... is indeed a problem! However, it is not within the consideration of the prime ministers!

Changsun Wuji said: "This is simple. If the Baekje army returns to rescue, the Silla soldiers will definitely pursue them, and a group of Baekje soldiers can be dealt with on the road. When the Baekje soldiers return to the capital, our army sets a fire and burns the city without having to defend it. Anyway, it is not our city. When the Baekje soldiers enter the city and put out the fire, their army will definitely cut off food and grass, and the soldiers have no food and horses. At that time, our army will go back and surround the city and starve them to death!"

The prime ministers used to say that when the Tang Dynasty unified the world, they often used this trick, and they were quite skillful. They destroyed the enemy's lair first, then retreated, waiting for the enemy to rescue, and then went to fight reinforcements. In fact, this is another way to use reinforcements in the surrounding points, and it is an absolute masterpiece of military use!

Fang Xuanling said: "If Baekje's army did not go out, then our army would be afraid of crossing the sea to fight. But if Baekje's army went to Silla, we only need to send 10,000 elite soldiers to destroy Baekje!"

Chu Suiliang smiled and suddenly felt that he could not laugh in front of the emperor's spirit. He hurriedly said seriously: "It will burn them all, burn them all, burn all the villages and towns around Baekje Capital. The food supply of the Baekje army cannot be provided. Even if they don't want to surrender, they have to surrender!"

Changsun Wuji nodded and said, "Yes, I'll do it like that. Send 10,000 elite soldiers to raid Baekje. Even if they can't really destroy them, they will have to be seriously damaged and they can no longer support Goguryeo. In this way, it will be much easier for us to concentrate on dealing with Goguryeo!"

The prime ministers were again gambled, and Fang Xuanling said, "Who should be sent to? This matter is important, so you have to send a capable general!"

While nodding, the old men looked at Wang Ping'an!

Wang Ping'an almost cried. Are you making a mistake? What do you think of me? He said: "Yes, I have to send someone who is capable. In my opinion, General Li Ji and General Li are a good candidate!"

The prime ministers shook their heads in unison. Li Ji was very powerful in the war, and other generals were not weak, but these good generals had to deal with Goguryeo, and Goguryeo was the key point. The Battle of Baekje was a surprise attack, and the outcome was unpredictable. The general was not necessarily willing to go!

Changsun Wuji said earnestly: "Wujian, this kind of combat method may win or lose. General Li is arrogant and arrogant. If he loses, he can't stand it and refuses to escape. Wouldn't that be dangerous?"

Chu Suiliang also said: "If you defeat and run away, it will damage General Li's reputation. But if some people can't beat him, it will be nothing. It doesn't matter. At most, don't be a military general or a civil servant in the future. So you have to send someone who can't beat him and run away, and you are not afraid of being laughed at by others!"

The implication is that as long as you are thick-skinned, you can do it. If you can't beat it, you can run away. What a big deal. At worst, you can change your career and become a civil servant in the future!
Chapter completed!