In fact, it is normal for Changsun Pingting to have such thoughts. Everyone only trusts the people around them, but Li Xiang has no way to explain that his people are from the system, so he can only watch it slowly.
Li Xiang couldn't stay here in broad daylight. He wanted to inspect his farm outside Chang'an City, but he didn't expect that an imperial edict from the palace came down, asking Li Xiang to go to the Qinzheng Hall immediately.
According to Li Shimin's order, Li Xiang would not attend the morning court for half a month after returning to Beijing, which was considered a vacation for Li Xiang. However, today's matter could not be handled without Li Xiang, as a letter came back from Gaochang.
Xueyantuo Khan still ran away.
According to the description in the letter, we went there as soon as we got the news, but the people in Gaochang had too many things to do, and there were traitors among them, so Xueyantuo Khan escaped.
In his letter to Li Xiang, Su Dingfang described this battle in detail. Originally, there should have been no problem, but because of a traitor in Gaochang, Xueyantuo Khan abandoned most of the army and fled with only a dozen followers.
"Look at what your people have done. When I asked you, you said there would be no problem leaving it to him. But how is Su Dingfang doing things now? He can't even catch a toothless Li Jue. Xueyantuo Khan can't even be considered Li Jue. After arriving in Gaochang, he was just a stray dog. Now he has fled to the Western Regions. This has left us with a huge hidden danger."
Li Shimin's words were not very pleasant, which was of course normal. Su Dingfang did not make excuses for himself. He had already submitted the memorial of apology. He originally thought that it was foolproof, but who knew that he would be allowed to escape in the end. Su Dingfang had nothing to explain, as this was a mistake on his part.
But if we analyze it carefully, our army is fighting in another country, and the people of Gaochang may not be able to cooperate with us fully. This time the traitor has been caught, which can be regarded as an explanation to the court. If we can still succeed when we encounter a traitor while fighting in another country, we will be really lucky.
But Su Dingfang became Li Xiang's disciple, which means he was Li Xiang's man. Li Shimin had always wanted to make trouble for Li Xiang, but he never had the opportunity. Now he has found an opportunity in Su Dingfang's case.
Several other generals wanted to stand up and speak, but they hesitated in the end. Li Shimin was now furious, and considering the wind direction in recent times, if they stood up casually, it would not be a good thing. Li Shimin was not someone to be trifled with.
Everyone was watching Li Xiang's reaction. It was completely understandable that Li Shimin was so high-profile this time. We were well prepared, but in the end, someone still escaped. Let's see how you, as the commander, will explain this.
Li Shimin has already thrown the memorial in front of Li Xiang. The meaning is very clear. You have to talk about this matter.
"Your Majesty, I believe that although this matter is wrong, we can let it go."
When Li Xiang said this, everyone present changed color. You have already admitted that you are wrong, so Su Dingfang will definitely be punished. You must know that Su Dingfang is a hero in two wars. If he loses his integrity in the end, the punishment will not be light.
"Haha, let's just go with the flow?"
Li Shimin was amused by Li Xiang's words. In fact, what Li Shimin wanted was Li Xiang to admit his mistake. As long as Li Xiang admitted his mistake, his strength in the military could be reduced. Su Dingfang was a general under Li Xiang. In time, he would be a capable marshal in the future. Now that Li Xiang admitted his mistake, Su Dingfang's future would be difficult. But he didn't expect Li Xiang to say that he would make the best of a bad situation.
If it were any other emperor, he would definitely not continue talking about this topic, but would first seize the grammatical error in Li Xiang's words and then punish Su Dingfang. Now that Li Xiang said he would make the best of a bad situation, Li Shimin immediately became interested. The ambitious Emperor Taizong of Tang was thinking about expanding his own power, so he felt that Li Xiang must have a follow-up.
"Your Majesty, I believe that this matter is our fault, and Gaochang's fault as well. We must make them give us an explanation. Lord Zhao has already agreed with the King of Gaochang that we can station troops within Gaochang's territory. Now, in order to capture the fleeing King Xueyantuo, we can not only station troops in Gaochang, but our troops can even cross Gaochang and enter the Western Regions..."
When Li Xiang finished speaking, the people present finally understood what it meant to make the best of a bad situation. If Li Xiang's plan could be realized, then Su Dingfang would not only be innocent, but could also be said to have made a contribution.
"You're underestimating Gaochang, and the other nations in the Western Regions, too. Although you've reached a so-called agreement, I believe Gaochang agreed to it out of sheer helplessness. As long as they recover, our troops there will be in great danger."
People who are familiar with Li Shimin know that if he had no interest in this matter, he would never raise questions. Now that he has raised questions, it means that he also wants to know the feasibility of this matter. If it is really feasible, Li Shimin will definitely agree for the sake of his own reputation.
The reason why Li Xiang said this was because he grasped Li Shimin's idea. From the day he became emperor, Li Shimin wanted to be a different emperor, so he broke the rules in many things. The emperors of the Han Dynasty ruled the Western Regions, and the emperors of the Sui Dynasty also ruled. Now it is the Tang Dynasty, and there is no reason to be weaker than them.
But before, the Tang Dynasty was dealing with various internal and external conflicts and had no ability to restore control over the Western Regions. Now it can be said that we have seized an opportunity. Our two great victories over Goguryeo and Xueyantuo are well known to all the countries in the Western Regions. We can take this opportunity to put forward some demands, and they should not dare to disobey.
But all of this is just our speculation and cannot be put into practice. Now that Li Xiang is willing to take on this responsibility, Li Shimin is willing to let him try. Anyway, it will be right to give this hard work to Li Xiang, and he will definitely be able to give you a satisfactory answer.
"Your Majesty is right, but as long as the calculations are correct, our plan should be able to proceed. Now let's stabilize Gaochang first and send our intelligence personnel to conduct a comprehensive investigation of Gaochang..."
Because of Xueyantuo Khan's escape, Li Xiang had no choice but to start the Gaochang plan ahead of time...