The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 1150 The Court’s Response

Taiji Palace, Chengqing Palace.

As the highest representative of the aristocratic families in the court, Changsun Wuji is reporting the troop deployment to Li Yan.

"Your Majesty, I and several colleagues in the central government have consulted with various parties and have decided to mobilize 200,000 cavalry from Dingxiang and Hexi to Hebei. In cooperation with the surrounding infantry, we will strive to completely wipe out the Turks within two months."

"Two hundred thousand cavalry?"

Li Yan was surprised: "Uncle, when did the northwest have so many cavalry? How come I didn't know?"

"Also, we need to send troops to garrison the north. If you really want to gather all the cavalry, how will we defend against the Right Wise King?"

"Although the relationship between the Tang Dynasty and the Right Wise King has been good in recent years, we cannot let down our guard. Compared to the Right Wise King, Shi Luodie is just a clown. I said in the court that I would deal with them before the New Year, but that also shows my determination."

"Things on the battlefield have their own rules. I know that they cannot be determined by determination alone. Uncle, please don't make a wrong decision because of what I said."

There were no outsiders in the imperial study. Seeing his nephew, the emperor, change his status, with a worried and understanding look on his face, Changsun Wuji also relaxed and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, rest assured, I know that I would never dare to joke about military and national affairs."

As a bridge between the two sides, he had to represent the nobles and negotiate with his nephew, the emperor, on the one hand; on the other hand, he had to represent the imperial power and deal with the nobles. It was precisely because of this mission that he was able to suppress Fang Xuanling and serve as the chief minister.

The nobles agreed to send troops, but there was still an important step, which was to conceal the matter from the emperor and make it happen perfectly.

Li Shimin ruled for twenty years during the Zhenguan period. It is impossible to say that he was completely unaware that the aristocratic families had an unparalleled force.

However, these forces are the foundation of the aristocratic families, and he dare not move them easily.

Even before he died, he did not dare to reveal this matter to Li Chengqian, for fear that Li Chengqian would not take it seriously. With Li Chengqian's current level, he could not control it at all. Knowing too much would only make him confront the nobles too early, which would do more harm than good.

This force has the dual function of restricting imperial power and safeguarding the country, and Li Shimin was very conflicted towards them.

Moreover, these forces existed before the Sui Dynasty or even earlier, and had made great contributions in the process of establishing the Tang Dynasty. At that time, they had only 50,000 or 60,000 men at most. They were the most elite forces of the era, and quality was more important than quantity. Each of them was a brave soldier picked from a hundred.

After twenty years of prosperous development during the Zhenguan period, the foundation of the aristocratic families also grew rapidly and now exceeded two hundred thousand in size.

These people in the Tang Dynasty are enough to resist nearly one million infantrymen. This is also the fundamental confidence that allows them to act recklessly when facing the imperial power.

Normally these forces were kept very secret, and they had never shown their true colors since the new emperor ascended the throne. Now that the situation was extremely urgent, the nobles were also afraid that the Turkic people's action of dividing the land would spread from Hebei to the entire Tang Dynasty.

In order to protect the foundation of the aristocratic family and to defend the Tang Dynasty, they had to take action.

These people would directly enter Liaozhou from the grasslands outside the Great Wall instead of passing through the Tang Dynasty in order to avoid attracting the emperor's attention. Even so, they had to find a plausible reason to explain to the emperor, which depended on Zhangsun Wuji's own wisdom.

"Your Majesty, strictly speaking, they are not regular cavalry."

Zhang Sun Wuji smiled and gave the reason he had thought of long ago: "You also know that the equipment, training, and support of cavalry are all very expensive. In fact, after our Tang Dynasty recovered Hetao and the land south of the desert, we are not short of war horses."

"We are not short of soldiers. The reason why there are few cavalry is because the cost of maintaining a cavalryman is more than ten times that of an infantryman."

"When the emperor conquered the Western Regions in his later years, he had already made the national policy of 'stopping expansion, strengthening military power and cultivating culture'. Therefore, the cavalry used for charging into battle were naturally eliminated, in order to save money and develop people's livelihood."

Li Yan nodded silently when he heard this. The Tang Dynasty had already expanded to its limit, and basically conquered all the places that could be conquered. At this time, making such a strategic shift was in line with the general trend.

There was nothing wrong with what Changsun Wuji said, and the two of them walked to a corner while talking.

There was a huge charcoal basin near the window of the imperial study, which was originally used to warm up the room. Li Yan was used to life in the desert, so he asked Wang De to put a tripod on it and hook a copper kettle in the middle, just enough to boil some water.

Li Yan took it down and brewed two cups of hot tea.

Zhang Sun Wuji quickly stood up and took it, holding it in his hand, feeling the warmth coming from his palm, and his mind began to relax. He continued: "However, the Turks are strong, and we in the Tang Dynasty cannot completely give up our cavalry. But the court has limited income, and we can't afford to support so many cavalry. What should we do?" "So in Dingxiang and Hexi, these northern border towns, a large number of war horses were stored."

"In addition to daily duties and military drills, the infantrymen will also take time to do some horseback training. The North is vast and the defense mission is heavy. Riding a horse will not only allow them to patrol a larger area, but also increase their mobility."

"So there are some cavalrymen in various places in the name of infantry, but they are still mainly infantrymen, and they don't need to receive cavalry salaries from the court."

Li Yan seemed to have learned something new after hearing this, and said with a happy face: "This is a good idea. It takes into account the needs of the border towns and the lack of financial resources of the court. It is really a two-birds-at-one idea. I wonder who came up with this idea."

"Duke Weiguo Li Jing."

"I see. Only someone like Duke Wei, who has fought wars all his life, could have such a good plan. I have rarely seen Duke Wei since I ascended the throne. How is he doing?"

Seeing that he was fooled so easily, Changsun Wuji felt relieved and said quickly, "I'm afraid it's not good. The pharmacist is already 75 or 76 years old this year, four or five years older than Xiao Yu. In addition, he was born a military general and has fought on the battlefield all his life."

"Alas, many of our Tang Dynasty's generals passed away at the age of 40 or 50. Some died on the battlefield, and some died of injuries. It is rare for someone like him to live to this age."

"The pharmacist often said that his hands were stained with blood throughout his life. Although he did it all for the country, he inevitably killed many people in vain. It was reasonable that he would not live past fifty. But he lived to be seventy or eighty years old. It was God's love. Even if he died now, it was worth it."

The two of them sighed for Li Jing, and Li Yan frowned again and said, "The Turks are good at riding and shooting. Our cavalry, even if they are well-trained, may not be able to catch up with them. Now we are still using those mounted infantry, and the number is so small. Can we wipe out 300,000 Turks?"

Changsun Wuji was a new noble and Li Shimin's brother-in-law, so the final heritage of the Guanlong aristocratic family would definitely not be revealed to him.

However, after the new emperor ascended the throne, after several months of observation, everyone was sure that Li Chengqian was indeed harmless. In addition, the cooperation with Zhangsun Wuji needed to be further improved, so the Guanlong nobles absorbed the Zhangsun family as well.

Changsun Wuji only then realized that the Guanlong nobles had such a trump card. He was so scared that he broke into a cold sweat, but he also leaned over with all his heart. The nobles had already agreed to wait for a year or two until the government was more stable.

Just let Changsun Wuji pay a fee, and he can send a few of his sons and nephews to lead the Longxi Flying Cavalry, and from then on become a member of the core circle of Guanlong nobles.

Regarding the combat power of this cavalry, the nobles had only one thing to say: these 200,000 cavalry were enough to destroy the Turkic cavalry that was twice their number. Zhang Sun Wuji was relieved, but at this time, he still needed to find a reasonable excuse to prevaricate the emperor.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. Hebei is the heartland of the Tang Dynasty. The Turks just caught us off guard."

"During this period, under the deployment of the central government, 500,000 infantrymen have been surrounding Hebei. However, the Turks are all cavalrymen and run too fast. The encirclement of the infantry requires a highly mobile force to contain them."

"Although these cavalrymen are not as powerful as the Turks, they can cooperate with the infantry. Hebei is full of strong cities, and with a total of 700,000 infantry and cavalry, it is enough to destroy the Turks."

"Besides, I have read the recent military reports. Every time the Turks capture a city, they also lose a lot of people. According to officials in Hebei, the Turks have suffered losses of more than 100,000 in successive battles. Now it may be less than half of that."

Changsun Wuji lied with his eyes open and reported such false results.

First, to give the emperor and the court a decent face. The situation in Hebei was really shameful. If the Turks captured so many cities without bloodshed, and the people of the Tang Dynasty did not even resist, but actively welcomed the arrival of the Turks, I am afraid that everyone in the court would be embarrassed.

Secondly, if the losses of the Turks were exaggerated, then when the Longxi Flying Cavalry won, it would not seem too abrupt and would not attract the attention of the emperor and his ministers. This would also be more conducive to continuing to hide this force after the war.

Li Yan's heart trembled, but he didn't know what he was doing.

On the surface, his expression brightened up, and he said excitedly: "My uncle is right. The Turks started from the Liaohe Plain, passed through the Liaoxi Passage, and then went to Hebei Road. They have captured dozens of cities along the way. More than 3,000 people died in each city. Now the number is far more than 100,000."

"Seven hundred thousand against one hundred and fifty thousand, and in the heart of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty will surely win!"

Faced with the emperor's lack of military knowledge, he followed his own words, made a mindless inference, and finally made a conclusion by comparing numbers. Changsun Wuji smiled and stroked his beard. He did not explain, but nodded, agreeing with his nephew's opinion.

In this way, the uncle and nephew, each with their own thoughts, made arrangements for the military in Hebei while competing with each other in acting.

(End of this chapter)