"Your Majesty, this matter is truly unthinkable. What happened back then is unlikely to happen again. If we were to go on a campaign, it would involve tens of thousands of troops. Without logistical support, it would be an unthinkable situation. Your Majesty, please reconsider."
Minister of Revenue Tang Jian said in horror that although what Li Xiang said might happen, it might not happen. If it did not happen, it would be a huge change for the entire Tang Dynasty and might even shake the foundation of the entire Tang Dynasty.
"Your Majesty, please reconsider. The nomadic peoples of the north are insatiable. If the Tang Dynasty suffers a loss on the Tuyuhun border, they will surely return. Then the Tang Dynasty will be caught in a situation where it is attacked from all sides."
Civil servants kept coming forward to submit memorials. In their eyes, what Li Xiang said was simply opportunism. How do you know that we can win every battle?
What's more, the situation in Tuyuhun is different from that in the northern prairie. The altitude there is relatively high. If we are not careful, we may even lose everything. The current situation of the Tang Dynasty is hard-won. How can we take action based on a few words from a child?
"Your Majesty, please think twice."
All the civil officials came to the battle and finally knelt down to Li Shimin in unison.
Although the generals supported the action, they did not dare to say that they would definitely win. Even when General Li Jing went north to fight against the Turks, it was a life-or-death experience. Now that they had won, it seemed easy, but for General Li Jing at that time, it was also a risky move.
"Father, this matter requires further consideration and we must not jump to conclusions."
Li Tai seized the opportunity and quickly stood in front of the civil officials, as if he was leading them.
"Our Tang Dynasty is the Celestial Empire. The dog-like Tuyuhun nation surrendered to us with only 20,000 people. This is truly a disgrace to our reputation. Moreover, we must not accept the marriage at this moment. If we open the door, even if our Tang Dynasty has a hundred princesses, it will not be enough."
Seeing that Li Shimin's thoughts were somewhat shaken, Li Xiang hurriedly stood out from the queue. He could no longer be as calm as before. Once Li Shimin decided on the policy of marriage alliance, it would affect the Tang Dynasty for the next two hundred years.
"You are simply exaggerating. You are completely unfamiliar with the surrounding situation, nor with the actual situation of our Tang Dynasty. You only know how to speak nonsense in the court. If you have the ability, lead your own troops to Tuyuhun, can you defeat them?"
Li Tai still remembered that Li Xiang had rejected his proposal of marriage alliance.
"I dare not say whether I can conquer it or not, but as long as I am still alive, I will not let my aunt and sisters marry into the imperial family. Men should be strong. If we rely on women to achieve peace, history books will curse us and say that the men of our Li family are cowards. Did Emperor Gaozu of Han's marriage bring peace? Did Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing's marriages bring peace? The men of our Tang Dynasty should be like Emperor Wu of Han. No one dares to disobey the heavenly army."
After Li Xiang finished speaking, there was silence in the court. You have to know that Li Xiang was just a child, how could he have such awareness?
While Li Xiang was speaking, he was secretly looking at Li Shimin. He knew what words to use to provoke Li Shimin. Li Shimin was an emperor of all ages and would never allow himself to have any bad reputation in history. Even if there was, he would find ways to cover it up. After Li Xiang said this, Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji knew that this battle was inevitable.
"Well said! This is a true son of the Li family. I hereby decree that from now on, anyone in the Tang Dynasty who dares to attempt a marriage alliance will be executed!"
In fact, Li Shimin was also unwilling to adopt the policy of marriage alliance, but due to insufficient national strength, he could only take the worst option. Now that Li Xiang has said all these words, if Li Shimin still does not express his position, he will inevitably be criticized in history.
In the eyes of the rulers, sacrificing one or two women is acceptable if the safety of the empire is to be guaranteed. Li Xiang also knew that Li Shimin was forced to say this because of him, but Li Xiang didn't care why he said this. As long as you have said it, there will be no more marriages in the Tang Dynasty from now on.
"Long live our emperor!"
Although many people present felt that His Majesty was being used by Li Xiang, there was a good atmosphere in the Tang Dynasty court. That is, when Li Shimin decided on something, no matter what these people thought in their hearts, they would honestly do what Li Shimin thought.
Li Tai and the other princes were almost furious. Li Xiang's suggestion in the court was immediately implemented. What did this mean? It meant that Li Xiang could influence the policies of the entire empire. If things continued like this, how could they have a say?
The most important thing is the thoughts of the court officials. Once they think that Li Xiang can decide the direction of the empire, these people will naturally lean towards him. If the princes want to stir up trouble again, they probably won't have such an opportunity.
"Regarding Tuyuhun, we must fight, no matter what difficulties we face. From today on, the Imperial Palace and the surrounding areas will reduce expenses. The Ministry of Revenue and the Internal Affairs Office will simultaneously raise funds to ensure that two million strings of cash are raised for military expenses."
At this moment, Li Xiang finally understood why Li Shimin was known as a man of great talent and strategy. In addition to his quick brain, he also had a courage that no one else could match. Now there were only two million strings of cash in the national treasury, but Li Shimin dared to take it all out. This kind of courage was not something that ordinary people could possess.
Of course, Li Xiang knew that this was also related to Tuyuhun's usual tendency to cause trouble. In recent years, Tuyuhun had been quite disrespectful to the Tang Dynasty. Li Shimin had long been unable to tolerate it, and now he finally exploded.
"Qin Shubao and Cheng Zhijie, you two are the master and the deputy..."
Li Shimin did not use General Li Jing, firstly because General Li Jing's contributions were too great, and secondly because someone had to guard the capital. So he let Qin Qiong be the commander-in-chief and Cheng Yaojin as the deputy commander-in-chief, and sent 30,000 troops to reinforce Liangzhou. In addition to the more than 30,000 defenders in the four local cities, as long as there was enough money, Tuyuhun would definitely be able to surrender.
"I want to send a member of the royal family to accompany the army. Does anyone have any ideas?"
"My grandson is willing to go..."
As soon as Li Shimin finished speaking, the other sons avoided his gazes. No one wanted to go to the front line to eat sand, but Li Xiang immediately stood up and said, "Why are you still hiding, you idiots?"
Don’t you know how rare this opportunity is?
The princes and grandchildren of the emperor have few opportunities to lead troops to war. With such experience in leading troops, their chances of becoming emperor in the future will be greater. With your brains, you can't even figure this out. Why would you fight us in the future?
"Your son is also willing to go..."
Is there someone here again?