Li Xiang didn't know what to say at this moment. There were people standing behind every prince. Even if Wei Wang Li Tai and Jin Wang Li Zhi were beaten by him and could not raise their heads, there were still people behind them speaking for them. Only Qi Wang Li You was the worst. No one stood up to speak for him.
According to the original history, many princes might have been demoted to princes, but since Li Xiang came, many contradictions have been covered up, and the current trend is different from the original history. At least these princes are still princes now, and Prince of Qi Li You can be said to be the first to be demoted.
All the civil and military officials in the court showed shock on their faces, mainly because they had never encountered such a thing before. However, it was obvious that this imperial edict had been written long ago, and the reason why it was chosen to be taken out at this time was to calm Li Xiang's mood.
To be honest, when we just left Chang'an, Li Xiang really wanted to cut that guy into pieces. We finally had the perfect situation we have now. After you went there, you couldn't control yourself and almost dragged all of us into the abyss. Fortunately, this matter was resolved well. If it hadn't been resolved, Li Xiang would have wanted to kill that guy with one knife.
Although there were reasons for this, Li Xiang had also investigated. If Li You's moral character was acceptable, then this matter definitely had nothing to do with him. As long as you are strict with yourself, others will find no flaws in you. How could they use such a thing against you? The reason why you were taken advantage of by others is that your own moral character is not up to par.
Then they talked about some trivial matters. Of course, there were one or two more important ones among these trivial matters, which was to let Su Dingfang follow him to Nanzhao.
Li Shimin naturally agreed to such a thing. Now all places are submitting to the Tang Dynasty, and Nanzhao is no exception. If Li Xiang can trick us into stationing troops there, Nanzhao will now continue to expand the influence of the Tang Dynasty like the countries in the Western Regions.
In order to commend Li Xiang's contribution in the Western Regions, Li Shimin asked all members of the royal family to stay for lunch. This was also a gathering within the royal family. Although the people present were unwilling to flatter Li Xiang, they did not dare to go against Li Shimin's wishes. They could only stay and face Li Xiang with their stiff smiles.
Li Xiang could see that, apart from Prince Wu Li Ke who sincerely wished him well, no one else in the royal family was sincere. While these people were toasting each other, there were always some words that meant to attack him, but they just didn't have the strength to do so.
"You should have been prepared for something like this. If you haven't, then you're not fit for this position. When I returned from the Turks, I received more than ten times as much cold shoulder as you do. Not to mention these royal family members, even some of the top officials in Chang'an didn't take me seriously, and the eunuchs in the palace didn't even take my mother seriously."
Prince Wu Li Ke saw that the smile was gone from Li Xiang's face, and then he picked up his wine glass. The last time he came back from the Turks, Prince Wu Li Ke understood everything. Later, he stayed at home for a while and saw through life and death. Although the emperor allowed Prince Wu Li Ke to continue to attend court, he did not have any serious tasks at the moment. It was just slightly better than before. To put it bluntly, the emperor was disappointed in him and was not confident in assigning him any tasks.
"Uncle San seems like a high-level monk. After the last great change, I feel that Uncle San has restrained all his edge. If there is such an opportunity in the future, Uncle San should be able to make meritorious deeds on the battlefield."
What Li Xiang said was his true feeling. It turned out that King Wu Li Ke had a good relationship with him, but because of Li Shimin's deception, King Wu Li Ke could not resist the temptation. This is also very normal. As the emperor's son, who doesn't want to ascend to that position?
Unfortunately, the battlefield was misjudged, mainly because the expedition was too hasty. The reason why Li Xiang was able to win in such a hurry was purely because he had a system. If King Wu Li Ke also had a system, he would not have failed on the Turkic battlefield. Unfortunately, he did not have it.
"Whether I can go to the battlefield depends on you. The entire court is disappointed in me. Even if I just come here to listen, it makes many people very uncomfortable."
In such an occasion, King Wu Li Ke was able to say such words, and Li Xiang could also understand what the other party was thinking. There were many villains in the entire court, and they were willing to see people of noble blood like King Wu Li Ke suffer defeat, or even be in trouble at their hands. In this way, the sense of satisfaction in their hearts was extremely overwhelming.
"Don't worry, Third Uncle. There will be plenty of battles to fight in the future. For example, we still have to continue to advance north of Goguryeo. There are also some places to conquer there. Although there is no pressure on us now, those who are not of our race must have different hearts."
While Li Xiang was speaking, he took out some recorded letters. Some generals in the north of Goguryeo had already written letters. There were also some nomadic peoples in their north. Although they had not yet formed a unified country, small-scale regimes had been formed between the tribes. When they became strong, these people would probably move south.
It is almost a common point that nomadic peoples plunder farming peoples, and no form of attack can stop them.
Li Xiang knew that the most powerful tribes there were the Heishui and Limo tribes. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the Bohai Military Governor's Office would be set up there, but it had not yet formed a large force, so there was no need to worry about it for the time being. However, according to letters from some generals, these people in the north were becoming more and more excessive. If they continued to invade our border, we might have to send troops to conquer them.
King Wu Li Ke is a talented person. He is good at logistics. Such a person should realize his glory on the battlefield. The purpose of Li Xiang saying these words is to hope that King Wu Li Ke will know that he may go to the battlefield one day in the future, so he must not remain silent at home during this period of time. If you lose your fighting spirit, then there are some things that no one can save you, and you may never be able to make achievements on the battlefield in your life.