Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

The news that Li Jing accepted a disciple spread throughout the court in an instant, and many people were asking about the identity of this new disciple.

But when they learned that Li Jing's closed disciple was a newly recruited soldier, and was not the offspring of an aristocratic family or the descendant of a famous general in recent dynasties, they all lost interest.

Many people secretly mocked Li Jing, saying that he was old and had nothing to do, but he actually accepted a grassroots person as his disciple.

These words also reached Li Jing's ears.

However, he didn't care and devoted himself to teaching Xue Rengui.

He found that Xue Rengui had a very high level of comprehension, understood things quickly, and had his own unique insights.

Li Jing was so happy that he taught this last disciple everything he knew.

Sometimes when Xue Rengui was too busy to come to the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion, he would go to the Eastern Palace to ask Xue Rengui for instruction in person.

Even Du He and Li Chengqian were envious of such treatment.

Time passed quietly, and it was early August in a blink of an eye.

The ambassador to Goguryeo, Prime Minister Li Xuanjiang, returned to Chang'an in disgrace.

He also brought back the Silla envoy who was also in a miserable state.

Tai Chi Palace.

A grand court meeting of all officials was being held.

In the center of the hall.

Xiangli Xuanjiang, who was very angry, reported to Li Shimin about his mission to Goguryeo.

"Your Majesty, during this mission to Goguryeo, I was contacted by Yeon Gaesomun of Goguryeo, and I was unable to meet King Go Zang."

"I handed the imperial edict to Yeon Gaesomun and ordered them to stop attacking Silla. Unexpectedly, Yeon Gaesomun not only showed no intention of stopping, but also spoke contemptuously of our Tang Dynasty!"

what!

How dare a vassal state despise the Tang Dynasty?

When the court officials heard Xiangli Xuanjiang's words, they were instantly excited.

Du He looked at Xiang Li Xuanjiang who looked excited and shook his head slightly.

Yeon Gaesomun was such an arrogant person that he not only failed to curry favor with the envoy Sangri Hyunjang, but also offended him.

Little did they know that the message the envoy brought back could directly affect the relationship between the two countries.

Xiangli Xuanjiang raised his voice and repeated the story vividly: "Yeon Gaesomun said that when the former Sui Dynasty attacked them, Silla took the opportunity to stab them in the back and seized 500 miles of their land."

"If Silla does not return the land they have occupied, Goguryeo will not stop fighting until the lost land is completely recovered!

Xiangli Xuanjiang paused and continued.

"I advise Yeon Gaesomun that those are all old grievances and there is no need to dwell on them."

"If you must dwell on the issue of land, this piece of land in Liaodong used to be a county in our Central Plains."

"We in the Tang Dynasty didn't care about the large amount of land we lost, so why should you, Goguryeo, care about it and insist on getting back the old land?"

"I didn't expect Yeon Gaesomun to not only refuse to listen to my advice, but also directly drive me out of Pyongyang."

At the end of his speech, Xiangli Xuanjiang's eyes were red, as if he had suffered a great injustice in Goguryeo.

The humiliation of the Tang envoys was a slap in the face of the Tang Dynasty.

After hearing this, all the civil and military officials stood up and slammed the table in anger, and they began to denounce fiercely.

"Yeon Gaesomun is too arrogant!"

"This time we will invade Goguryeo and take his head!"

"The homeland of Han and Jin has been occupied by Goguryeo for many years. It's time to take it back from them."

For a moment, all the ministers were excited, and shouts filled the entire Taiji Hall.

The civil and military ministers originally just wanted to give Goguryeo a lesson, to make an example of it and to intimidate the surrounding vassal states so that they would not dare to act rashly.

I didn't expect Yeon Gaesomun to be so disrespectful. There's nothing much to say.

The land that our ancestors conquered has been occupied bit by bit by Goguryeo over the years. It is time to take it back with interest.

Li Shimin's face didn't look good either.

However, he suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice: "My dear ministers, please sit down. We will discuss this matter later."

Then he ordered the provincial officials guarding the side of the palace: "Summon the Silla envoys in."

After a while.

A Silla envoy, whose attire was 70% similar to that of a Tang official, staggered in.

When he reached the center of the hall, he fell to the ground with a thud.

He kowtowed to Li Shimin and said sadly: "Great Khan, please save our Silla."

"Goguryeo and Baekje have already captured more than 40 of our cities. Their offensive is getting more and more fierce. Our soldiers have suffered heavy casualties. I'm afraid we can't hold out for much longer."

After saying this, the Silla envoy kowtowed to Li Shimin again.

Li Shimin frowned and asked, "When did Goguryeo start to attack you? Why did you come to the Tang Dynasty only now?"

The messenger replied: "Huitian Khan, Goguryeo and Baekje invaded our country in early spring. They had planned it in advance and were well prepared."

"In just over a month, they captured more than ten cities in our country, and in less than half a year, they captured more than forty cities."

Then he spoke with tears and snot.

"Since our country was attacked, Queen Seondeok has sent hundreds of envoys to the Tang Dynasty by ship to ask for help, but they were all intercepted by the people of Goguryeo at sea."

"We were also surrounded and intercepted by them along the way. It happened to be a thunderstorm, so they couldn't catch up with us. I was able to escape death."

"My followers and I sailed on the sea for half a month in a small boat, and finally landed in Jeju after many twists and turns."

The current king of Silla is named Kim Deok-sun, also known as King Seondeok, and is the first queen in the history of Silla.

Although Silla is a small country and its king is a woman, the poor and rugged land produces unruly people. Their customs are tough and their fighting capacity is very good.

In the 12th year of Zhenguan, Goguryeo attacked Silla and was defeated by Silla.

In the 16th year of Zhenguan, Baekje invaded Silla again, but was defeated again.

These two relatively large countries were so angry that they lost their martial ethics and now they are joining forces to deal with Silla and bully a woman.

It seems that they suffered a great loss at the hands of Silla.

"Tian Khan, this is the handwritten letter from Queen Seondeok, please check it out."

After the messenger finished speaking, he held up the letter for help written by Queen Seondeok in both hands and presented it to Li Shimin.

After reading it, Li Shimin said solemnly: "Silla is a loyal vassal state of the Tang Dynasty. Now that you are being attacked by Goguryeo and Baekje, I will definitely not sit idly by."

"I will send the navy to escort you back to Silla. You can tell Queen Seondeok to hold on for a while longer. I will definitely seek justice for you!"

The messenger was overjoyed when he heard this.

He kowtowed repeatedly and said, "Thank God, our Silla is saved!"

With Tian Khan's assurance, his uneasy heart finally settled down.

Li Shimin said to the official beside him, "Come here, take the Silla envoy away and treat him well."

The Silla envoy kowtowed several times again and then left the Taiji Hall with a happy face.

There was silence in the hall for a moment.

Li Shimin swept his tiger eyes over the ministers and said in a deep voice: "My dear ministers, the offensive of Goguryeo and Baekje is more swift and fierce than we imagined. What do you think we should do?"

The Tang Dynasty will not send out troops until the beginning of next spring, and now it is only early to mid-August, so there is still nearly half a year before the troops are sent out.

Following this trend, it is unknown whether Silla can hold on.

While the ministers were thinking with their heads down, Li Shimin looked at Du He, who had a calm expression.

Cheng Qian often praised Du He in his ears, and most of the battle plans for the attack on Goguryeo were also his work.

So Li Shimin wanted to test his background to see if he was as talented as Cheng Qian said.

"Du He, you are the deputy commander-in-chief of the central army, please tell us."