Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

what!

Hou Junji led the main force into an ambush?

When Li Shimin heard the news brought by Zhang Shigui, his face suddenly became extremely shocked.

He originally thought that by sending Hou Junji, he would be able to quickly chew through the tough bone of Western Turks, but he didn't expect that he would also suffer a defeat.

Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "Submit the battle report!"

"promise."

Zhang Shigui responded, and then respectfully presented the battle report to Li Shimin.

While Li Shimin was looking at the battle report carefully, Zhang Shigui and Lai Ji stood quietly by and waited.

Half a quarter of an hour passed.

Li Shimin said in a deep voice: "The army has been conquering the Western Turks for more than a year, and now we have only conquered 50% of the Western Turks' territory, while the main force of the Western Turks still remains!"

"If we continue to fight at this rate, we won't be able to conquer Western Turkestan in less than two years!"

Judging from the battle report written by Hou Junji, the Western Turks adopted a strategy of saving people but losing territory. They withdrew their main forces into the fortified city and fought a war of attrition with the Tang army.

Because the Tang army had a relatively long logistical supply line, it was at a disadvantage in fighting a war of attrition.

Hearing the anger in Li Shimin's tone, Zhang Shigui lowered his head in shame.

He had previously participated in the conquest of the Western Turks, but in order to save the greedy and reckless King Wu Li Ke, he withdrew from the battlefield early.

A moment of silence.

Li Shimin said in a deep voice: "Zhang Shigui, what do you think are the difficulties in attacking the Western Turks?"

"Why can't we defeat it even with half of our powerful generals and a hundred thousand elite troops?"

The generals currently attacking the Western Turks include Hou Junji, Su Dingfang, Xue Rengui, Xi Junmai, Wang Junkuo and others. This group of people is the current top combat force of the court.

However, even with all the elite troops deployed, there were still heavy casualties. This result was hard for Li Shimin to accept.

Zhang Shigui quickly responded, "Your Majesty, the cities of Western Turkestan are all built with strong stone walls, and they have plenty of water and arable land."

"Besides, the Western Turks are very cowardly. They stubbornly defend their city and refuse to come out. Our cavalry is helpless!"

If the Western Turks had been a little braver and dared to lead a large army to fight them head-on, the Tang army might have already defeated them.

But they were too cowardly and kept hiding in the city and refused to come out.

"Hey!"

Li Shimin sighed heavily.

Because the war to destroy the seven states in Liaodong went so smoothly, he had high expectations for other armies, hoping that they could defeat the enemy within a year.

But in fact, there are still great obstacles and difficulties.

Now Hou Junji and the others are thinking of a strategy to defeat the enemy, and he has to discuss this matter with the prime minister and important officials tomorrow!

Otherwise, by next year, we may not be able to defeat the Western Turkestan.

Li Shimin said to Lai Ji, "Lai Ji, please return to Chang'an tonight and present these two battle reports to the crown prince. Have him read them out at the meeting tomorrow morning."

"Tell the Crown Prince to host a banquet for all the ministers in Taiji Hall tomorrow."

"As for ministers like Zhangsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling, let them come to Cuiwei Palace the next day!"

The Eastern Turks are different from other ethnic groups. For thousands of years, the countries that have invaded the Han people are basically the Eastern Turks, a grassland people.

Now that we have conquered Eastern Turkestan, we can use this opportunity to hold a grand banquet for our ministers.

Unfortunately, he was not feeling well and was unable to travel back to Chang'an to participate in this grand banquet.

"promise!"

After receiving the order, Lai Ji walked forward to take the battle report, and then left quickly.

The hall fell silent again.

Li Shimin stared blankly at the dark night outside, his heart filled with urgency.

Since it took so long to fight the Western Turks, wouldn't it be even more difficult to attack the Western Regions and India, which were even farther away?

He doesn't have much time left, he can't wait too long!

Unfortunately, there is no elixir that can prolong life in the world. If he could live ten more years, he wouldn't have to be so anxious.

Li Shimin propped himself up and stood up, walked slowly to Zhang Shigui's side, then asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Zhang Shigui, do you think we should change the commander-in-chief?"

"Which general in the court do you think can lead the troops to quickly conquer Western Turkestan?"

this...

Zhang Shigui's expression paused.

He quickly advised, "Your Majesty, General Hou is one of the most capable commanders. If even he can't do anything, then the same will happen to other generals."

"Besides, frequent changes of commanders can easily shake the morale of the army."

"I hope your majesty will think twice."

When Li Jingnian was away from the capital, Hou Junji and Li Ji were the two strongest commanders.

No matter which of the two of them went to Western Turkestan, the result would be almost the same.

Li Shimin suddenly asked, "Zhang Shigui, do you think that sending Du He over there will allow us to conquer the Western Turks within this year?"

Du He?

Thinking of the genius Du He, Zhang Shigui's face showed a complicated expression.

Think for a moment.

Zhang Shigui bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have no idea of Duke Hanguo's abilities, so it's hard for me to comment on him."

"But Mr. Han's imagination is so unconventional, maybe it can work wonders."

There was a pause.

Zhang Shigui continued, "But the Western Turks are very difficult to defeat. If Duke Han is defeated, it might ruin this promising young man."

Hearing what Zhang Shigui said, Li Shimin nodded slightly.

Du He currently participates in too few wars, and when he was commander-in-chief, he had never encountered a strong enemy like the Western Turks.

Li Shimin patted Zhang Shigui on the shoulder and said with a tired tone, "It's getting late. You should go back and rest first."

"I'll take my leave first." Zhang Shigui bowed and turned around to leave the hall.

Li Shimin paced back and forth in the hall, struggling in his mind over whether or not to send Du He to replace Hou Junji.

I don’t know how long it took, but Li Shimin sighed.

"Hey~"

As the sigh fell, no more sound was heard from the hall.

...

The next day.

A meeting of hundreds of officials.

After the heads of various departments had finished reporting on government affairs, Li Chengqian announced loudly.

"My dear ministers, I have good news to tell you!"

"Eastern Turkestan has been defeated!"

wow~

There was a huge noise in the Taiji Hall.

The Minister Xu Jingzong was the first to stand up and shouted excitedly.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, Your Highness the Crown Prince! Now that the borders are settled and a new king has arrived, this is a great celebration for the nation!"

"May Your Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince live forever, their power spread far and wide, and their country remain forever strong!"

As he said this, he bowed deeply to Li Chengqian.

When the other officials saw Xu Jingzong stealing the show, they cursed him in their hearts, then stood up holding their tablets and shouted.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, and Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"Your Highness's virtue matches heaven and earth, and your prestige spreads far and wide. You are truly a wise and virtuous ruler!"

Although Li Shimin was not in the Taiji Hall, his name was always mentioned when civil and military officials expressed their congratulations.

After all, Li Shimin, the greatest emperor of all time, was also the ruler of the Tang Dynasty!

Li Chengqian threw his head back and laughed heartily. He said in a loud voice, "My dear ministers, this is a cause for universal celebration. We should announce it to the people of the world!"

"Today at noon, I will host a banquet in Taiji Hall on behalf of my father and entertain all the ministers!"