The Villain's Counterattack

Emperor Li Yuan of the Tang Dynasty urgently summoned all important members of the royal family and important officials of the court, and announced the next direction of expansion: King Li Gui of Liang!

Everyone was surprised at his decision. You know, Li Tang bordered on many places on all sides. Although it was difficult to expand into the Heluo area in the east because of the loss of Tongguan, Jinyang in the northeast, Sichuan and Shu in the southwest, and the Western Regions in the west were all possible. There was no need to provoke Liang Shidu, Li Gui and other Turkic lackeys.

Although they didn't want to admit it, they had to admit that the current Li Tang was indeed no match for the Turks.

Don’t look at the fact that the Duke of Liao defeated the Turks twice in Yanmen City and Hebei, and even killed Shibi Khan. However, in the eyes of Li Tang, Li Gui of Xiliang, Liang Shidu of Shuofang and others, the Turks, the overlord of the grassland, were still invincible.

Li Yuan did not explain too much. The news that Yang Guang was not dead must not be leaked, otherwise the rebels in the world would be in chaos, and Li Tang would lose the opportunity to grow and develop.

The Sui and Tang dynasties were not as full of incompetents as the Song dynasty. All those who could hold high positions were smart. Moreover, in such a chaotic time, no hero would send a good-for-nothing to a high position and ruin his own foundation. Li Yuan, the leader of the Tang dynasty, was naturally no exception. When Li Yuan had made up his mind, they could only follow Li Yuan's wishes and make suggestions, and they actually did a pretty good job.

An important meeting lasted for two full days, during which Li Yuan took the opportunity to take stock of his own strength and the forces that could be borrowed. However, whether intentionally or unintentionally, Buddhism and Cihang Jingzhai were "ignored" by everyone.

Li Yuan was both "relieved" and annoyed by this. He thought to himself that there was a reason why his cousin wanted to destroy Cihang Jingzhai. He was the head of the Li family and the leader of Li Tang, but the people around him had been so seriously corrupted by Buddhism.

After sending away the others and leaving only Li Shimin, a trace of fatigue inevitably appeared on Li Yuan's face. Li Shimin hurried forward to rub his shoulders. Li Yuan felt a little warm in his heart and a smile appeared on his face. He enjoyed his son's rubbing and heard his son's warm and concerned voice in his ears.

Patting Li Shimin's hand, Li Yuan suddenly smiled and said, "Erlang, play a game of chess with me."

Li Shimin asked with concern: "Father, you have been very busy these days, have you..."

"It's okay, just relax."

Li Shimin: Father, are you underestimating me too much? If so, let me see my son's true ability.

The game was not over until the middle stage, and Li Shimin was unable to place the chess piece in his hand. His brows were furrowed and his forehead was slightly sweaty. He had clearly not made any mistakes from the beginning, so why did it suddenly become like this?

"Alas!" At this moment, Li Yuan, who clearly had the upper hand, suddenly sighed and looked out the window. "With the lack of rain this year, I wonder if the harvest will be poor. Before the troops can set out, food and fodder are the most important. Now that Tongguan has been lost, the trade route to Heluo has been cut off. Obtaining food and fodder from Heluo and the Central Plains will be extremely difficult."

Li Shimin sighed inwardly upon hearing this. His father was indeed still worried about the current situation. After a brief pause, he dropped his son and said, "Your Majesty, there is no need to worry. Although Guanzhong may not be as barren as it was during the Qin and Han dynasties, it is by no means a barren land. Furthermore, the Zhengguo Canal irrigates vast expanses of land. If it weren't for the severe drought, Guanzhong would be worry-free."

Li Yuan nodded slightly and said softly, "Yes, the Zhengguo Canal is indeed the lifeline of Guanzhong. The Zhengguo Canal played an indispensable role in the Qin Dynasty's rise from desolation to unification of the world. What do you think of the Zhengguo Canal, Erlang?"

Li Shimin's heart moved slightly when he heard this. Is his father testing him?

Not the eldest brother, but myself!

Thinking of this, Li Shimin shifted his gaze from the chessboard to Li Yuan. Seeing his father's expressionless face and calm aura across from him, a thousand thoughts raced through his mind. After a moment, he spoke, "The Zhengguo Canal was built in the first year of the reign of Qin Wangzheng. At the time, Han, fearing Qin, sent hydraulic engineer Zheng Guo to Qin to offer advice on building the canal, hoping to drain Qin's manpower and resources and weaken its army. Unexpectedly, this move backfired, making Qin even stronger. Upon completion, the canal filled the silted land with water, irrigating over 40,000 hectares of marshy land. As a result, Guanzhong became fertile, free from disasters, and Qin prospered and eventually conquered the other states."

Li Yuan nodded slightly, a smile on his face, and then suddenly said: "In Erlang's opinion, is the strength of Qin really better than the peace of the six kingdoms?"

Li Shimin was slightly startled, then pondered for a moment and shook his head softly, saying, "In my opinion, that's not necessarily the case. Looking at the Seven Kingdoms, although Qi was the strongest during the reign of King Zheng of Qin, it's unlikely to be comparable to the combined might of the Six Kingdoms. It's just that the Six Kingdoms were still six kingdoms, not a unified whole, which gave Qin an opportunity to exploit. Of course, a strong iron must be forged with strength, and a strong Qin is the foundation. Just like the Li Tang Dynasty today, although it's slightly disadvantaged by the combined hostility of Dou Jiande, Luoyang, and Liaodong, facing any enemy alone, I believe that the Li Tang Dynasty will ultimately have the upper hand."

Li Yuan was very pleased with Li Shimin's flattery, but he did not get cocky. He nodded slightly and continued, "If the six kingdoms were to resist Qin, what would happen if Erlang were on the Qin side?"

Li Shimin had never considered this. In his view, the Six Kingdoms were just the Six Kingdoms and had never been a unified entity. Not to mention the Six Kingdoms, even the three Kingdoms of Han, Zhao, and Wei that separated from the Jin State would be above the Qin State if they united.

After thinking about it carefully, Li Shimin suddenly found that the current Li Tang was very similar to the Qin Dynasty in history, but slightly inferior. After all, Sichuan and Tongguan were not in their hands, and Luoyang (the Sui royal family and Wang Shichong combined), Dou Jiande, Liaodong and the three kingdoms of Han, Zhao and Wei in history were also very compatible. They joined forces to suppress the current Li Tang.

Thinking of this, Li Shimin suddenly realized that his father was giving him a reminder. The history of the Qin State quickly emerged in his mind. In history, the Qin State was able to defeat the six kingdoms and unify the world, so why can't the Li Tang Dynasty do the same?

"The Qin State is powerful and constantly consolidating its foundation to enhance its national strength. The six states are riddled with contradictions and unwilling to make progress. They are constantly disappearing under the Qin State's strategy of making friends with distant countries and attacking nearby ones. What does my father mean?" Countless fantastic ideas kept emerging in Li Shimin's mind. If he really adopted the Qin State's strategy, it seemed that history might really repeat itself.

Jin Gong also said that Dou Jiande, Liaodong and Luoyang had all clearly expressed their hostility towards Li Tang, and his father Li Yuan had made it clear that he wanted to attack Li Gui, the Prince of Liang. He didn't quite understand why his father did so before, but now it seems that this is indeed the best way at the moment.

Firstly, it shows weakness to the enemy and avoids a head-on confrontation with three powerful enemies at the same time. When facing the powerful enemy Li Tang, Dou Jiande, Luoyang and Liaodong can temporarily join forces, but if the threat of Li Tang is gone, can they still cooperate sincerely?

I'm afraid not. Dou Jiande was expelled from Hebei by the Duke of Liao. If it weren't for the threat from Li Tang, how could he live in peace with Liaodong? My father's move was indeed brilliant.

In addition, there is another benefit, which is to maintain the combat effectiveness of Li Tang's troops and horses, eliminate worries about the west, and lay the foundation for defeating the three forces one by one after they fall out in the future.

As the saying goes, a tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. Wagang was very powerful before, but was targeted from all sides. Wang Shichong, the Sui royal family, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and others worked together to beat Li Mi miserably. In the end, he ran to Chang'an and defected to Li Tang, and his elite troops were all divided up.

Xu Shiji joined his army, Wei Zheng became a general under his brother, and although Wang Bodang remained loyal to Li Mi on the surface, he had secretly been flirting with his brother Li Jiancheng, and even showed signs of trying to curry favor with the wealthy families in Chang'an.

After Li Mi left, Wang Shichong did not become the first to stand out because the Sui royal family was entrenched in Luoyang. He did not even proclaim himself king or emperor. Instead, he promoted Li Tang, who had accepted Li Mi, and showed signs of becoming the world's most powerful force. Even the Duke of Liao, who had defeated the Turks, was slightly inferior in momentum.

It would be fine if Li Tang had the might of the Qin Dynasty in history, but even though Li Tang had Guanzhong Chang'an as its base and Cihang Jingzhai to promote it in the world, it still could not sweep away all the evil spirits and monsters, and was forced to stay in the east by Luoyang, Liaodong and Dou Jiande.