Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

A few days later, in the Tang Dynasty, the Imperial Palace.

The morning mist in the Taiji Hall had not yet dissipated, but the celadon teacup in Li Shiming's hand had already shattered into powder.

The bloodstains on the messenger's armor glowed dark red in the morning sun, and the winding bloodstains on the golden brick floor were like a poisonous snake spitting out its tongue.

The urgent document sent from Jinyang City over an distance of 800 miles was spread out on the imperial desk. The last word "death" was soaked in cinnabar, like a death warrant crawling out from the underworld.

"Fifty thousand elite soldiers! A full fifty thousand men from Guanlong!"

Li Shiming slapped the rosewood imperial table with his palm, and the inlaid mother-of-pearl burst.

His finger ran across the mark on the sand table that read "Mangshan Valley". There should have been a red Tang flag flying there, but now there was only a broken flagpole standing alone.

The Minister of Revenue suddenly started coughing violently, and scarlet spots appeared on the handkerchief he was holding.

The old minister, who had always been prudent, stepped out tremblingly: "Your Majesty, the grain stored in Luoyang's granary is only enough to support three months. If we recruit more civilians..."

Before he finished speaking, the Minister of War stepped forward with his sword drawn: "How foolish! If Jinyang is captured, the Chu army can go north along the Wei River, and then the gate to the southern border of the Great Tang will be wide open!"

"That's right!" The Minister of Industry said in a deep voice: "The Chu army has just won a victory and is in high spirits. If we don't teach them a lesson, they will definitely invade our dynasty!"

"Humph, is our dynasty still afraid of the Chu State?"

"Our army lost 50,000 soldiers at the hands of the Chu army. We must settle this account with Chu Ning!"

"Master Fang, you worry too much. If the Tang Dynasty needs food, we can always gather it."

"No, if our army goes out again and is defeated, our dynasty will suffer heavy losses!"

For a moment, everyone had different opinions and spoke out their reasons.

The argument was interrupted by the sudden sound of a bronze bell outside the hall.

Two dusty messengers knelt under the steps carrying a gilded wooden box, on which the Jin Emperor's handwritten letter was sealed with three lines of wax.

When Li Shiming read "Jinyang City is high and can be defended for three months", he suddenly stood up and walked to the bronze crane palace lantern in the corner of the hall and held the letter close to the flickering candlelight.

"Everyone, just look!"

Li Shiming's voice was strangely calm: "Jinyang City has a three-meter-high brick wall, twelve urn cities that support each other, and the granary is filled with the entire autumn harvest of Hedong Road last year."

His slender fingers traced the ink stains on the letter paper: "This Ji Yingjie is quite shrewd. He wants me to help him get out of trouble."

At this time, Changsun Wuji walked out slowly, and the nine rings on the jade belt around his waist collided with each other, making a clear sound.

The ivory tablet he held was inscribed with tiny calligraphy: "I observed the celestial phenomena at night and found that Mars was guarding the heart."

Why not order the Jiangnan Dao Zhechongfu to gather 50,000 soldiers and station them in Fuzhou, and then send an envoy to inform the Emperor of Jin, saying...”

He suddenly raised his hand and pointed to the location of Jinyang, the capital of Jin State, on the sand table: "Let's say that our army needs to wait until the autumn grain is stored in the warehouse before we can set out."

It is now almost July, and autumn will come in October, which means that Jin State has to defend itself for more than two months.

On the one hand, it consumed the strength of the Chu army, and on the other hand, it also consumed the food of the Jin State.

By the time the Chu army enters Jincheng, there will be no food left in the city. If the Tang army launches a sudden attack at that time, it will surely be twice as effective with half the effort.

Li Shiming certainly understood the meaning of Zhangsun Wuji's words. After a moment's hesitation, he finally nodded and agreed:

"Okay, I'll leave this matter to you, Wuji!"

"The rest of you please leave first. Wuji, stay and read my reply!"

"We will take our leave!" The other ministers bowed and left.

After everyone left, the Ganlu Hall was filled with the cold light of bronze candle trees. Li Shiming casually fiddled with the gilded clepsydra on the desk. The sound of water droplets falling into the bronze plate was particularly clear in the empty hall.

When the last drop of clean water passed through the Hai hour scale, his eyes suddenly narrowed, and a gleam of light flashed in his eyes that was unnoticeable.

"Chu Ning should be 24 years old this year?"

Li Shiming's fingers stroked the mark of the city wall on the Jinyang city defense map, and cinnabar suddenly spread bloodstains on the rice paper.

"I heard that he and Shen Wanying have been married for so many years and only just gave birth to a son?"

Changsun Wuji's pupils suddenly contracted.

He was very familiar with this tone - the emperor in front of him had the same expression before he decided to launch the Xuanwu Gate Incident twenty-three years ago.

The twelve-bead lamp hanging in the corner of the hall suddenly burst into flames, casting a distorted shadow on the screen painted with "The Admonitions of the Court Instructress to the Court Ladies".

"Your Majesty, Chu Ning's eldest son has just turned two years old."

The prime minister tapped the ivory tablet of the prime minister lightly on the Huai River basin on the sand table: "A man like him shouldn't have only one son, he should marry more women!"

"We can take the initiative to propose a marriage, on the one hand to delay time, on the other hand to delay Chu Ning."

"If we choose a suitable age woman from among the royal family..."

"A royal daughter?"

Li Shiming suddenly grabbed the celadon paperweight on the desk, which was still stained with ink spots from when he was reviewing memorials at noon.

He turned and pushed open the carved wooden window. The summer breeze made the candlelight in the room flicker. "Logically speaking, with Chu Ning's status, the person my Tang Dynasty should marry is a princess!"

After saying that, he turned and walked to the bookshelf.

The heavy golden nanmu cabinet opened with a sound, and on the scroll that Li Shiming pulled out, Princess Jincheng was playing the piano by the Qujiang Lake.

The shawl worn by the figure in the painting was deliberately painted with the tulip grass pattern popular in Chu, and the shape of the belt around the waist was somewhat similar to the attire of Princess Changping.

Changsun Wuji finally saw the date at the end of the scroll - it was clearly the handwriting from half a year ago, before the Tang army set out on the expedition.

It seems that the emperor had already made preparations for both situations, but there are some things the emperor cannot say actively!

"Three days from now is an auspicious day calculated by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory."

Li Shiming pressed his right hand on the scroll, and the flickering candlelight in the hall shone on his face, sometimes bright and sometimes dim.

"Ask the Honglu Temple to prepare ninety-nine carts of Shu brocade as a wedding gift, and say..."

He suddenly narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice: "It is said that Jincheng has admired the elegance of Chu since he was a child."

Zhang Sun Wuji's ivory tablet hit the golden nanmu pillar with a "click" sound, and his larynx rolled three times before a sound came out:

"During Princess Jincheng's coming-of-age ceremony last month, His Majesty allowed her to choose her own husband..."

Before he finished speaking, Li Shimin snorted coldly:

"When Princess Pingyang Zhao led the women's army to defend Weize Pass, did you ever ask her if she was willing?"

Li Shiming narrowed his eyes and snorted coldly: "As a princess of the Tang Dynasty, you should make sacrifices for the Tang Dynasty!"

After he finished speaking, Li Shiming had already picked up the red brush to write on the marriage certificate, and the brush suddenly stopped above the four words "eternal love":

"Tell the Ministry of Rites that the dowry must be generous and must not diminish the reputation of the Tang Dynasty."

A drop of cinnabar fell on the corner of the princess's eye, just like the flower ornaments worn on the wedding night.

"But if the princess insists..."

"Then let the Imperial Hospital prepare the medicine!"

Li Shimin casually threw the brush in his hand against the palace pillar, and the splashing ink left a black mark on Changsun Wuji's forehead.

"This matter is settled now, you will handle it yourself!"