My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 142: War preparations against Goryeo, economic sanctions

The Arab envoys paid a visit to the King of Wei.

Li Chengqian received the news quickly, but did not care too much about it.

At present, the entire civilized world, Central Asia, West Asia, and South Asia are in a state of panic because of the rise of the Arab Empire.

However, in the east of the entire civilized world, there are North Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Because of the Tang Dynasty, it is very stable.

The Eastern Turks in North Asia had been destroyed, and the Xueyantuo took the opportunity to rise and become the overlord of North Asia. However, last winter, Zhenzhu Khan suffered heavy losses after his marriage proposal failed.

The Western Regions are already under the control of the Tang Dynasty. Because of Princess Wencheng, Tubo and the Tang Dynasty are now in a close relationship.

There are many scattered small countries and tribes in Southeast Asia, each of which has a relatively independent political system and ruling area.

The Southeast Asian countries close to the Tang Dynasty all established tributary relations with it and regarded it as a powerful suzerain state.

For example, countries like Annan, which were close to the Tang Dynasty, paid tribute and became vassal states.

The Tang Dynasty during this period did not ignore its vassal states.

To a certain extent, they will intervene in and influence the political affairs of these dependent countries.

The succession to the throne of a vassal state needs to be recognized and conferred by the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty to be legitimate.

For example, the king of Silla was the Prince of Lelang, the king of Baekje was the Prince of Daifang, and the king of Goryeo was the Prince of Liaodong.

When the new kings of these vassal states ascended the throne, they would usually submit a petition to the Tang Dynasty requesting enthronement, and the Tang emperor would decide whether to recognize and enthronize them based on the circumstances.

If the Tang dynasty believed that the succession to the throne was controversial or not in its interests, it might intervene or support a specific successor candidate to ensure that the political stability of the vassal state was in line with Tang expectations.

The Tang Dynasty's enthronement of the kings of vassal states was not only a formal recognition, but also a means to strengthen control over vassal states. The enthroned kings became "foreign ministers" of the Tang Dynasty politically, and were required to pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty and accept its political leadership.

This system of enfeoffment enabled the Tang Dynasty to exert influence in the political systems of vassal states and maintain its status as a suzerain state in East Asia.

This also included the recommendation and appointment of officials from vassal states. Some of these officials were Tang Dynasty officials who were sent to serve in vassal states, and some were people from vassal states who returned to their own countries to take up important positions after studying or working in the Tang Dynasty.

These officials influenced the political decision-making and administration of the dependent states to a certain extent.

They also interfered in the appointment and removal of important officials in vassal states, spread the political system of the Tang Dynasty, and assisted vassal states in formulating laws.

A series of actions including quelling civil unrest in vassal states and resisting external invasion.

The reason for attacking Goryeo, from a legal perspective, was that Yeon Gaesomun of eastern Goryeo killed Go Geonmu, the king of Goryeo, and became the ruler of Moliji, which was a rebellion.

The new king of Goryeo, who is supported by Yeon Gaesomun, has not been recognized or enthroned by the Tang Dynasty.

Attacking Goryeo was politically correct and would safeguard the political status and authority of the Tang Dynasty.

In other words, the ministers felt that Goryeo was difficult to conquer, so they opposed it.

Early morning, Taiji Palace, Liangyi Hall.

The king and his ministers discuss matters.

Li Chengqian also came this time.

The main topic of discussion was about the crown prince's enthronement ceremony tomorrow morning.

There are also sanctions against Goryeo.

"Since Goryeo has decided not to obey the Tang Dynasty anymore, we must first impose economic sanctions on Goryeo."

Li Chengqian looked at the ministers around him and expressed his thoughts first.

As the commander-in-chief of the attack on Goryeo, Hou Junji naturally got involved in Goryeo's affairs.

He is now in high spirits. He was originally demoted because of the Gaochang Kingdom incident, but now he has become the commander-in-chief in the attack on Goryeo, and is also a core secret member of the Prince's Party. His future is promising.

Hearing the prince speak, Hou Junji immediately agreed: "It is time to impose sanctions on Goryeo."

The term economic sanctions is relatively new, but as the name suggests, everyone can understand its meaning.

Li Shimin nodded: "Prince, tell me what you think."

Li Chengqian said: "Although Goryeo has some special products, our Tang Dynasty is vast and rich in resources, and it is not necessary to be inseparable from Goryeo's goods."

"The first step is to cut off all trade with Goryeo, set up checkpoints, and refuse to purchase any goods from Goryeo."

"At the same time, Tang silk, porcelain, tea and other commodities are prohibited from entering the Goryeo region."

"Without the goods from the Tang Dynasty, the commercial economy in Goryeo will inevitably be severely damaged."

After saying this, everyone nodded.

The goods of the Tang Dynasty were in great demand by the surrounding countries, but the Tang court did not have much interest in this. Moreover, banning only Goryeo would not cause any loss to the Tang Dynasty.

Li Chengqian continued: "In addition, all Goryeo merchants in the Tang Dynasty must be expelled, and no Goryeo merchants are allowed to enter the country."

"If any Tang merchant dares to trade with Goryeo privately, not only will his property be confiscated, but he will also be severely punished."

"Send another envoy to inform the surrounding countries to do the same, cut off all channels of trade between Goryeo and the outside world, and turn Goryeo into a commercial island."

"This will cause Yeon Gaesomun's ruling position in Goryeo to be questioned, and now there is a trend of opposing Yeon Gaesomun in Goryeo."

Economic sanctions rarely occurred during the dynasty era, which had a lot to do with the commodity economy. Before the Tang Dynasty, the world's commodity economy was in decline, and only the Silk Road of the Han Dynasty began to have an impact.

It was not until the Sui Dynasty, when Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty initiated a campaign to attract all nations to pay tribute, that the world commodity economy began to flourish.

By the time of the Tang Dynasty, the world's commodity economy had already taken shape, and many countries relied on commercial development to maintain their domestic finances.

For example, in the nine countries bordering the Tang Dynasty, the domestic finances of the Sogdians were almost 80% dependent on the development of the commodity economy of the Tang Dynasty.

Only the Tang Dynasty could launch such means as economic sanctions. However, during this period, the Tang Dynasty did not have a deep awareness of such means as economic sanctions.

Li Shimin nodded and did not object to the prince's proposal.

"Okay, let's do as the prince said and impose economic sanctions on Goryeo."

For Li Shimin, it was just a matter of a few imperial edicts. If he could strike against Goryeo, it would also be more convenient for subsequent military operations to conquer Goryeo.

Fang Xuanling suggested: "Your Majesty, launch economic sanctions against Goryeo. If the effect is significant, Goryeo will surely do something desperate."

"We should strengthen the defense of the Goryeo border. First, it can increase the pressure on Goryeo, and second, it can prevent Goryeo from taking the opportunity to provoke."

Although Fang Xuanling is now on the side of King Wei, he is different from King Wei. He still knows his limits when it comes to major issues.

Naturally, I would not specifically target the prince's proposal.

Moreover, in Fang Xuanling's view, the economic sanctions proposed by the prince are indeed likely to weaken Goryeo's military strength.

If Goryeo lost the huge market of the Tang Dynasty, its internal finances would suffer losses and its military spending would also be affected.

Moreover, if economic sanctions put Goryeo's domestic economy into trouble, people's living standards will decline and social instability will increase, which will make it difficult for Goryeo to concentrate all its energy on war preparations and gain more advantages for the Tang Dynasty to attack Goryeo.

Chu Suiliang said: "Your Majesty, Goryeo intends to unite with Baekje to capture Silla. You can warn Baekje to immediately stop any exchanges with Goryeo."

"At the same time, issue an imperial decree, ordering them to prepare their troops and cooperate with our Tang Dynasty to put pressure on Goryeo."

In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, the Khitan completed the formation of the "Daha Alliance" and its strength increased, but it was still no match for the Eastern Turks next to it.

The leader of the Daha clan alliance, Daha Mo, saw that the Tang Dynasty entered the Zhenguan prosperous era under the rule of Li Shimin, and believed that Li Shimin was a monarch he could rely on, so he broke with the Turks and his entire clan submitted to Li Shimin.

Later, the Eastern Turks were destroyed, and Khitan naturally became a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty. The current Khitan leader is Li Kuge, who is a pro-Tang element and particularly admires the Tang Dynasty and Li Shimin. After all, he witnessed the demise of the powerful and arrogant Eastern Turks at the hands of the Tang Dynasty.

In the past two years, Li Kuge was no longer satisfied with just being enthroned, and he kept writing letters to request the Tang Dynasty to strengthen its management of the Khitan and to set up government offices directly in the Khitan.

"it is good."

Li Shimin readily accepted these proposals.

The next topic of discussion was the preparations for war against Goryeo.

The Tang Dynasty was divided into ten regions.

The area close to Goryeo was mainly Hebei Province.

To raise troops, it is necessary to mobilize soldiers from the Zhechoufu in the three major regions of Hebei, Henan and Hedong.

The number of people to be transferred from various places and the route arrangements must all be discussed in advance.

Including granaries, supplies, and arrangements for laborers.

With 150,000 troops, the number of civilians to be mobilized would need to be hundreds of thousands, at least not less than 300,000.

These laborers were mainly used to ensure logistical supplies, including transporting materials and building fortifications.

Whenever a war breaks out, the large-scale mobilization of civilians will inevitably bring a heavy burden to the people.

This is also why every time a war is launched, civil servants will jump out to oppose it.

Because the war is felt most clearly by the civil servants in power.

Therefore, the war usually takes place after the autumn harvest.

Including the timing of launching a war against Goryeo, it was also scheduled after the autumn harvest this year.

Firstly, the autumn harvest had just taken place and there was sufficient food to support the war for a longer period of time.

Secondly, large-scale conscription of civilians will not have too much impact on the family conditions of the people and can reduce losses.

All large-scale wars during the dynasty era took place in autumn.

This is how the autumn military review on the battlefield came about.

Of course, a single meeting between the monarch and his ministers cannot fully prepare for war.

After setting the tone, Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji, the two Shangshu and Zuo Pushe, would pass the requirements down to the six ministries and convey them to the three regions of Hebei, Hedong and Henan.

The six ministries will make arrangements, and the provincial governors of the three regions must also make preparations in advance, count the personnel, and then submit written reports.

The arrangements and preparations took at least two or three months.

After that, military generals must be appointed, military operations must be estimated, and strategic objectives must be discussed.

Later on, the soldiers in the palace also need to undergo training. Most of the soldiers in the Zhechou Palace are on duty in rotation, so pre-war training is essential.

This continued until late autumn in September, when the weather was cooler and more suitable for marching and fighting. The soldiers' physical energy consumption from long journeys was relatively less, so the war could be launched.

Of course, not all wars are like this.

A small-scale war does not require the mobilization of so many troops, and a few Zhechoufu can handle it.

The war launched against Goryeo was considered a national war.

Fifteen thousand troops may not sound like a lot in history, but in fact, it was a real war in any dynasty in history.

Many wars that claimed to involve 500,000 or 1 million troops actually only had tens of thousands of soldiers fighting, or even less than 100,000.

It sounds quite intimidating. Although the number may be about the same, in fact most of them are civilian laborers.

Of course, the one with the most powerful military force was Emperor Yang of Sui.

He mobilized more than 1.13 million soldiers and another 2 million civilians, a total of more than 3 million people to attack Goryeo.

If he hadn't been stupid enough to tell the generals in front that if Goryeo surrendered, he would stop attacking, then Goryeo would have been wiped out in one wave and eventually killed by himself.

The Sui Dynasty generals who attacked Goryeo for the first time could probably best understand the feelings of Yue Fei of the Song Dynasty.

I am about to destroy my country, and you asked me to stop.

Of course, perhaps Emperor Yang of Sui wanted to consume the military strength of the aristocratic families on purpose, but in the end he ended up ruining his own life.

Li Chengqian returned to the Eastern Palace.

Crown Princess Su Yuer came to tell them that the craftsmen had already made thirty sand tables.

"Your Highness, His Majesty said earlier that after the sand table is completed, a piece should be sent to the King of Wei as well."

Su Yuer actually didn't want to send it, but she had no choice.

Li Chengqian laughed: "Why are you in such a hurry? I won't send you off."

"But how is Your Highness going to explain to His Majesty?" Su Yu'er was a little worried. She felt that Your Highness had a good relationship with His Majesty during this period and didn't want to create any conflicts again.

"Let's talk about it after the Lantern Festival. Anyway, there's no need to send the sand table to the Military Academy now."

Li Chengqian had no intention of giving it to King Wei so easily. Giving this thing to King Wei would be tantamount to aiding the enemy.

It's easy to guess that the King of Wei can't use it himself and will definitely give it to a noble family.

"Ask General Su Dingfang to come to the East Palace." Li Chengqian instructed the eunuch Wen Zhong.

"Yes, Your Highness."

For Li Chengqian, Su Dingfang was his true trusted general.

Although Hou Junji was also a true prince's party member, his situation was different.

It’s not that Li Chengqian looked down on Hou Junji for betraying Erfeng to follow him, but to Li Chengqian, Hou Junji was more of a cooperative relationship.

Moreover, Hou Junji's contributions were too great. After this war against Goryeo, Hou Junji's reputation in the army would inevitably rise to a great level.

After destroying Tuyuhun and Gaochang, he achieved the goal of destroying the Three Kingdoms.

Li Chengqian still had to be wary of Hou Junji. After all, he had embezzled the Gaochang Kingdom's treasury in the past, and it was also a question whether he would embezzle the Goryeo Kingdom's treasury again this time.

In terms of strategic goals, after Li Chengqian returned from his conquest of Goryeo, he wanted to simultaneously clean up the Five Surnames and Seven Clans in the Hedong area.

If Hou Junji does not cooperate, Li Chengqian will seize power.

After all, Hou Junji's political goal was to improve his political status and strengthen his power, not to go against the aristocratic families.

At that time, Li Chengqian had to take strong control of the entire army, and conflicts with Hou Junji were inevitable.

This situation also requires coordinated arrangements in advance.

The 150,000-strong army must be firmly under control in his own hands. Only in this way can he complete the cleansing of the aristocratic families in Hebei and Henan regions.

Thereby raising one's own reputation to a new level.

Su Dingfang became very critical at this time.

(End of this chapter)