In terms of obsession with territory, Li Xiang is definitely Li Shimin's grandson. Li Shimin also has his own obsession with territory. If it is the land of another country, Li Shimin may not care so much, but if someone occupies his land, then he must find ways to take it back.
Although he may not have had the strength at that time, Li Shimin would immediately launch a war after accumulating strength for a period of time. The Turks were destroyed because of this. Although the comprehensive national strength of the Tang Dynasty was not that strong when the war against the Turks was launched, Li Shimin felt that the Weishui Alliance was a shame, so he had to destroy the Turks in order to wash away his shame.
Today, the Tang Empire is extremely powerful, and it exudes strength from top to bottom. If the territories lost have not been recovered, it will not be able to justify itself to anyone. You boast about your strength in Chang'an City, but the Kingdom of Annan still occupies your land. What can you say?
Because it was a memorial from the first year of the Zhenguan reign, it was quite difficult to find. It took me a full half an hour to finally find it. Some of the words were blurred, but it was still clear enough to read. The Annan army marched north, and our army was defeated. After more than a month of fierce fighting, we suffered heavy casualties...
When he saw the handwriting above, Li Shimin suddenly remembered this incident. At that time, Li Shimin was young and energetic. He did not look down on a small country like Annan. Unfortunately, the biggest threat to the Tang Dynasty at that time was the Turks in the north, so this matter was put aside. Unexpectedly, it has been shelved until now.
"No one can say anything more about Nanzhao's affairs. We must fight."
At that time, Li Shimin even made a mark on the memorial, thinking that he would fight back when he was strong enough. Unfortunately, he has been busy until now, either with threats from the north or disasters at home, so he has never accumulated strength. Later, Goguryeo appeared, and he forgot about the affairs in the south.
Li Shimin had already taken out the memorial from the first year of Zhenguan. If those present wanted to stop him, it would be a bit unreasonable. What's more, what we have to do now is not to invade other countries' lands, but to take back the land that once belonged to us. This is equivalent to recovering our country, which is of a completely different nature. There was no legitimate reason just now, but there is a legitimate reason now.
And if you object, what are you really thinking? If the Emperor doesn't regain the territory he lost, wouldn't that make him a territorial loser? How would history record this? Would the Emperor be condemned to endure centuries of infamy?
Things came to a standstill here. After Li Shimin finished speaking, the generals didn't know how to carry out this war because they lacked understanding of the south. Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji did not support it, and it was already very kind of them to just stand by.
"Please rest assured, my lords. I have taken every word you said today to heart. We will definitely resolve most of the issues before launching an attack on Nanzhao. This is just a plan, not something that will become a reality immediately. The most important thing for us to do when we go to Nanzhao this time is to investigate their situation and the route of our advance."
Li Xiang's words eased the atmosphere here. Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling both nodded. Although Li Xiang was not very old, everyone could see his sophistication over the years. As long as Li Xiang could take this matter seriously, then the issues mentioned just now might be resolved. What's more, as Li Xiang said, it's too early to talk about going to war now. We don't even understand the situation in this area. How can we just start a war?
"How is the Dengzhou Navy doing? I've handed this matter over to you and haven't asked about it in these years. When the day is right, I'll go and take a look myself."
Li Shimin suddenly thought of the Dengzhou Navy, which was not loved by his grandmother and uncle. Although it was the property left by Emperor Yang of Sui, Li Shimin had never thought much of the navy, so the annual allocation was in a state of half-granting and half-not-granting, which was also the reason for the decline of the Dengzhou Navy.
Later, after Li Xiang took over the Dengzhou Navy, everything could be said to be completely renewed. A large number of ships were exchanged from the system, and there were also some naval instructors. At present, Li Xiang has taken all of this into his own hands. Even if Li Shimin wants to inspect and has some bad ideas along the way, Li Xiang has enough strength to deal with it.
"In reply to Grandfather, the Dengzhou navy has already received initial training during the Goguryeo War, but they are still in training recently. Their original target was Fuso, but if they attack Nanzhao first, we can also transfer them to the south."
After Li Xiang finished speaking, everyone present was stunned again. Many people were confused. When did he say he would take action against Fuso?
Li Xiang also knew that he had let the cat out of the bag, mainly because there were too many places he wanted to fight in. There couldn't be a single place in the world that could pose a threat to us, and we had to keep some good places in our hands. So Li Xiang planned more than one war, but he just didn't tell everyone.
Li Shimin looked at Li Xiang with some displeasure. This kid must be hiding something else from him, but it was just not convenient to tell him now. When there were no outsiders around, Li Shimin planned to pull Li Xiang over and have a good talk about these things.
"Let's settle it like this for now. Go back to your great uncle and get all the people who need to be brought out. Your men are all experts in fighting. When it comes to gathering information and recording routes, your great uncle's men are more suitable."
Li Shimin had essentially decided on this matter. Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji looked at each other, and both thought that this matter could be postponed for a while, but Li Shimin did not give them a chance. However, just as Li Xiang said, it was impossible to start a war this time. It was just a matter of recording some news, and we still had plenty of time.
What's more, after Li Xiang leaves, he might not plan to start a war because of this incident.
The situation in the south is changing rapidly. If something else happens, or if the attack route on the road cannot be resolved, we don’t need to worry about it. Li Xiang will stop the war himself.