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

Chapter 573: Stand Up Again
"Yes, Father."

Ignoring the doubtful looks of the ministers, Li Yan was not afraid of the stage and spoke eloquently: "What I mean is that if we want to start a war for the sake of fighting, then we can naturally fight it vigorously and vigorously. Since the establishment of our Tang Dynasty, there has never been a shortage of warriors who dare to draw their swords against the Turks, and there has never been a shortage of ambitions to charge at Jie Li."

"But only God knows the final result?"

"But if our goal is the final victory, then we must know that this war between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks will be a clash between the two largest forces in the Central Plains and the grasslands. Once this war is launched, it will be a war that will destroy the country and last for a long time. It may take three to five years."

"May I ask you, ministers, are our soldiers well-trained? Are our horses sufficient? Are our treasuries well-stocked? Can our weapons and armor support the needs of this war? Can food and fodder be continuously delivered to the front line for consumption?"

"War requires passion and heroism, but it requires a country's strong comprehensive strength even more!"

"Cheng Qian doesn't know much about military affairs, and doesn't quite understand the current strength of the court, but he also knows that military affairs are no joke."

"Every minister present here knows better than Cheng Qian what the current financial situation of the Tang Dynasty is like."

"In the final analysis, if we can win, we will fight. If we can't win, then we might as well wait until we have accumulated enough strength to defeat the enemy. What the people need is not a court that 'wants' to uphold justice for them, but a court that 'can' uphold justice for them!"

As soon as Li Yan finished speaking, Cen Wenben stood up and refuted: "Your Highness, you are exaggerating too much. It is simply Chang Jieli's momentum that will destroy his own prestige. Is our Tang Dynasty inferior to the Turks? If a war really breaks out, does Your Highness predict that our Tang Dynasty will be defeated without a doubt?"

Cen Wenben's words and deeds misinterpreted Li Yan's meaning, which sounded a bit harsh to many court officials.

Li Yan glanced at Cen Wenben calmly and said, "Strength is always the basis for maintaining justice, dignity is only on the edge of the sword, and truth is only within the range of the bow and arrow."

"Buzz".

Li Yan's words exploded in everyone's ears like thunder. His words were powerful and his tone was passionate. They echoed in the empty sky above the Taiji Hall, causing many officials to discuss quietly.
After finishing speaking, Li Yan returned to his seat, kept silent, and stopped arguing with Cen Wenben. Li Yan knew very well that Cen Wenben had replaced Feng Deyi as the standard-bearer supporting Li Ke, and he came forward just to get himself involved in a dispute with him.

Instead of smearing his own reputation, he dragged himself down with the embarrassment. Firstly, it was to suppress his own prestige, and secondly, it was to highlight Li Ke's calmness and decency. So after expressing his own views, no matter how Cen Wenben provoked him, he would not speak again.

The Sui and Tang dynasties were an open-minded era, without so many constraints of Confucian etiquette. Everyone relied on scimitars and bows and arrows to conquer the world. Especially some experienced military generals, Li Yan's last words made their blood boil and the crowd was excited!
'Strength is always the foundation for maintaining justice, dignity lies only on the edge of the sword, and truth lies only within the range of the bow and arrow.'

Even Li Shimin, who was sitting on the dragon throne, raised his eyebrows slightly, clapped his hands and applauded, and repeated it involuntarily.

As an iron-blooded emperor who ascended the throne from the battlefield, he could best feel the profound truth contained in Li Yan's words, but no one had ever summarized it as succinctly and shockingly as Li Yan!

"Well, Your Highness the Crown Prince is right!"

Zhang Sun Wuji was the first to come out to help, and said excitedly: "Your Majesty, although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince does not understand military affairs, he has made the principles here very clear. A country's war is not a joke, and it is not fought for the sake of fighting. It is fought to achieve the ultimate victory."

"Talking about revenge without strength is just empty talk. It will only lead to the misfortune of the country and the people. It will drag the country, which has finally emerged from poverty and weakness and regained some vitality, back into the quagmire of war. If we cannot win the war, the people of the world will suffer and live in misery again!"

"Your Majesty, although the people are looking forward to the court to make decisions for them and avenge their previous humiliation, they hope that the court can be more fully prepared and lead them to victory. Only the final victory can comfort the countless soldiers and civilians who sacrificed in the war against the Turks?"

The singing and shouting of Li Yan and Zhangsun Wuji made the ministers hesitate. The court, which should have been in a fierce debate, fell into an eerie silence. Cen Wenben, who returned to the crowd, looked at Li Yan, who was standing in the first place, with a little fear.

However, he felt that Li Yan's outstanding performance at this time was the result of Changsun Wuji's advance instructions. The two of them were just playing a double act. Changsun Wuji was a close minister of the emperor. He guessed the emperor's intention and then gave this speech to the prince.

Not only Cen Wenben thought so, in fact most of the ministers in the hall had the same idea, including Li Shimin who was sitting on the dragon throne.

But the words of Li Yan and Zhangsun Wuji blocked Cen Wenben's advice to be honest and loyal, because he also understood that his advice was just out of passion and regardless of practical actions, just to express his loyalty in front of the emperor.

If he came out to ask for a fight again, he would obviously be despised by everyone, so for a moment, Cen Wenben didn't know how to answer.

Although some of the generals wanted to fight, they also understood that the Tang Dynasty was not strong enough to fight a decisive battle with the Turks. They could see what Li Shimin could see, and now that they saw Li Yan gave a reason for his loyalty, they stopped arguing. After all, they were also fighting for victory. If they knew they couldn't win, wouldn't they be courting death?
"What the prince said makes sense."

Li Shimin looked at the prince he had chosen with admiration. He found that he was better than he had imagined. Seeing that his ministers were discussing the issue but no one stood up to refute him, he nodded with satisfaction.

Seeing that Li Yan looked confident, he wanted to test him, so he asked, "But Wei Zheng has submitted a memorial to me, saying that if I don't send troops to seek justice for the people of Suizhou, he will die in rebellion. What do you think I should do?"

Li Yan hesitated for a moment, then calmly said, "Father, Lord Wei is a minister of remonstration. He is also serving the court with all his heart, but he is not a military commander after all. He does not know the comparison of the strength between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks."

"How about this, Father, issue an order and have Lord Wei investigate and compare the number of Turkic troops and our Tang army, the strength of generals, the combat effectiveness of soldiers, mobilization capabilities, military horses, equipment and food. By then, perhaps Lord Wei will know whether it is possible to launch a national war with the Turkic army without Father saying anything."

Seeing that Li Yan's performance was so popular, Li Ke beside him could no longer hold back and stood up and said, "Father, I don't recommend starting a war now."

"Oh, what's the reason, King Shu?"

Li Ke imitated Li Yan, stepped forward, held up his tablet and said, "I went to the horse market the other day and found that the best horses from the grassland were only sold for fifty gold each, less than half of what I paid in previous years. After asking carefully, I found that the weather in the northern part of the Great Wall was good this year, the grass was lush and the horses were fat. From this, I can infer that the horses of the Jie Li army are very strong, and our army has always been short of good horses."

"I think the best strategy is to avoid the enemy and conserve our energy. If we go to war with the Turks at this time, wouldn't that be exactly what Jie Li wants?"

"Ok!"

Li Shimin nodded to Li Yan and Li Ke with satisfaction: "The Crown Prince has a broad vision, and the King of Shu has a keen eye for detail. Both are good."

The two princes had unprecedentedly consistent views on this issue. When the ministers below saw Li Shimin's expression of approval, they all agreed and agreed that peace talks should be the main approach for the time being.

This time, Jie Li abducted 30,000 soldiers and civilians from Suizhou, and extorted 300,000 dan of grain and 100,000 pieces of silk from the Tang Dynasty. All the ministers thought that the amount was too high, and the Ministry of Revenue even stood up and said that the current treasury could only provide 200,000 dan of grain and 50,000 pieces of silk.

It was nearly half of what Jie Li asked for, so when it came to choosing the person to go to negotiate the alliance, no one dared to step forward to take on the task.

Li Yan suddenly had an idea, and he stood up and said righteously: "Father, I am a humble subject, but I am willing to share your worries and take on this mission to negotiate peace with the Turks."

"no!"

Before anyone else could object, Li Shimin shook his head decisively: "Your Highness's loyalty is commendable, but now he is the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty. If you have to personally handle such a small matter, does Jie Li think that there is no one in our great country?"

Seeing that Li Shimin rejected his opinion, Li Yan looked disappointed, but he was actually secretly proud in his heart, because he knew that Li Shimin would never let him take risks. In the whole court, only Li Shimin and himself had natural amulets.

Standing up not only shows off, but also demonstrates loyalty and righteousness, and at the same time overshadows Li Ke who will follow suit later. Why not do it?

Li Shimin glanced at his eldest son gently, then looked at all the civil and military officials in the court who lowered their heads and dared not look at him, and felt a little angry.

Damn, you bastards.
Last time when Luo Yi’s incident happened, I sent my son to be a hostage. Now when I encounter difficulties, it is still my own son who stands up and shares my worries. You all are just sitting there doing nothing. Is there no one who dares to take on the responsibility?
"Cen Wenben, what does the Secretariat do?"

Li Shimin looked displeased at the middle-aged official who had just shouted the loudest: "Aren't you here to participate in government affairs and give me advice? Can you recommend someone to me?"

Seeing that no one spoke, Li Shimin threw the difficult question to Cen Wenben without hesitation.

Li Yan also secretly despised him. Although this man was extremely smart, he did not understand the essence of being an official and was very prudent. He followed Li Shimin many times at inappropriate times. One moment he wanted to go into battle to kill the enemy and pull the stirrup of a horse; the next moment he wanted to donate his entire fortune. It seemed that except for him, there were no loyal ministers in the court!

(End of this chapter)