This made Li Shimin anxious, and he wanted to trade one for one with me.

Upon hearing this, everyone sat up straight.

Wen Yanbo said in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty, this must be a delaying tactic by Jieli."

Wei Zheng agreed wholeheartedly, saying, "That's right. Jieli is a wolf in sheep's clothing; how could he possibly be willing to submit to the entire country?"

"He probably wants to preserve his strength so he can make a comeback next year."

Li Shimin smiled and said, "What you, my dear ministers, think coincides with what I think."

Then he looked at Fang Xuanling and asked, "Minister Fang, what do you think should be done?"

Fang Xuanling stroked his beard and said:

"The current situation is favorable to our Great Tang. Jieli's troops have retreated again and again, all the way to Tieshan. His men are in a state of panic. At this time, our Great Tang should press on and not give the Turks any chance to catch their breath."

"However, now that Jieli has sent a special envoy to Chang'an to surrender, if our Great Tang does not accept, the Turks may be determined to fight to the death. Their desperate measures and do-or-die attitude will actually be disadvantageous to us."

Fang Xuanling said in a deep voice, "The art of war says that when besieging a city, one must leave a gap. Jieli's surrender is just a delaying tactic, so let's play along and agree to his surrender. This way, we can relax the guard of the Turks and create an opportunity for Li Jing to annihilate the enemy."

Li Shimin nodded and said, "Minister Fang and I have the same idea."

Upon hearing this, Fang Xuanling continued, "Right now there's only one problem: who should we send?"

"Such an important matter should be handled by the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, but the current Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies is currently preparing for the establishment of an embassy in the three kingdoms of Haidong and is unable to attend to the matter."

Li Shimin said, "I have decided to appoint a new Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies."

"My esteemed ministers, who do you think would be the best choice to go?"

The people present exchanged glances.

This job is not easy.

If it's simply a matter of sending an envoy to the Turks, then there are many more candidates.

But this time was different. This time, under the guise of appeasement and accepting the Turks' surrender, it was actually a scheme to create an opportunity for Li Jing to fight.

Once Li Jing finds an opportunity to launch a major attack on the Turks, this pacification minister sent to the Turks will most likely lose his head.

Therefore, at this time, recommending someone means offending that person.

Just then, Changsun Wuji suddenly spoke up:

"I recommend Cheng Jun!"

Cheng Jun glanced at Changsun Wuji.

Everyone frowned.

Wen Yanbo shouted, "No!"

"Anyone can go, except Cheng Jun!"

After saying that, he glared at Changsun Wuji and said, "Minister Changsun, you have ulterior motives!"

Changsun Wuji raised an eyebrow and said, "Me, harbor ill intentions? What a joke!"

"I, Changsun Wuji, serve the country and the public good. How can you accuse me of having ulterior motives?"

Wen Yanbo rebuked, "You have a grudge against Cheng Jun. Everyone in the court knows this. This mission to the Turks was fraught with danger. At this time, you recommend him. What are you up to?"

Changsun Wuji retorted bluntly, "Didn't I just say that my heart is set on serving the country and its people?"

Du Ruhui spoke up, saying, "Cheng Jun is of low rank and his words carry little weight!"

Changsun Wuji glanced at him and said, "His Majesty just said that he wants to reappoint a Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, and I think Cheng Jun is suitable."

Fang Xuanling frowned and said, "This kind of promotion is improper!"

Changsun Wuji said firmly, "These are extraordinary times, so we must use extraordinary measures. If you all still feel it is inappropriate, then let Cheng Jun take over for the time being."

Old Li must have spoken to him... Cheng Jun's eyes narrowed when he heard this.

His guesses about the Turks' movements were accurate because he had read historical records.

Changsun Wuji wasn't a mind reader for Li Shimin, so how could he possibly guess so accurately?

They must have known in advance!

Cheng Jun looked at Li Shimin and saw that he was calm and showed no surprise whatsoever. He immediately made his judgment: just as he thought...

Changsun Wuji finally understood why Li Shimin had summoned him to the palace yesterday afternoon to say those words.

Yesterday afternoon, in the palace, Li Shimin told him that he wanted Cheng Jun to serve as the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies.

Changsun Wuji, the Minister of Personnel, immediately objected, saying that such a promotion was not appropriate.

Li Shimin then said, "Let him take on the leadership first."

He was also told not to rush to object, but to wait until tomorrow to see what happened.

Changsun Wuji was overjoyed at this moment. It turned out that His Majesty wanted Cheng Jun to be sent as an envoy to the Turks. Such a good thing, if he still objected, he wouldn't be himself.

Everyone then realized that the newly appointed Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies would be sent as an envoy to the Turks.

Seeing that Changsun Wuji could refute each point, Wen Yanbo stopped arguing with him and instead looked at Li Shimin, saying with a solemn expression:

"Your Majesty, the flintlock musket, the elm cannon, and the gunpowder were all made by Cheng Jun."

“These things affect the future of our Great Tang. Such talents should stay in the capital. They shouldn’t even be allowed to go out of the capital for inspection, let alone be sent as envoys to the Turks.”

Wei Zheng then chimed in, "What Doctor Wen says is quite right."

"Your Majesty, please think again."

Seeing that Li Shimin remained unmoved, Wei Zheng immediately changed his reason and said:

“Your Majesty, Cheng Jun has served as an imperial censor for so long, yet he has never inspected any local areas, nor has he ever left the capital. Sending him on a mission to the Turks is probably inappropriate.”

Wen Yanbo immediately said, "That makes sense! I'm afraid Cheng Jun would be ill-suited to be the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies."

Li Shimin looked at them, sat up straight, and said in a deep voice:

"On this matter, my views differ somewhat from those of you ministers."

"What did you rely on to be an envoy to the Turks?"

"He is eloquent and persuasive."

Li Shimin pointed at Cheng Jun and said, "Cheng Jun has demonstrated his eloquence in court more than once."

"Therefore, Cheng Jun has this ability."

"Secondly, to completely put Jieli at ease, only a high-ranking official can do it."

Li Shimin raised two fingers and said, "Since Cheng Jun took office as censor, his efforts for the people, the country, and the nation have been witnessed by me and all my beloved ministers."

"The third point is that Cheng Jun is an imperial censor of our Great Tang Dynasty, the eyes and ears of the emperor, and my confidant. I feel at ease sending him as an envoy to the Turks."

"One last thing."

Li Shimin glanced at everyone and said solemnly, "Cheng Jun once analyzed the situation of the Turks for me. He predicted long ago that the Turks would surrender!"

"There's such a thing... " Everyone was taken aback and looked at Cheng Jun.

Changsun Wuji was no exception, looking at him with a strange gaze. This kid has such good judgment, so why is he going against me?

Li Shimin added, "Moreover, he even volunteered to be an envoy to the Turks!"

Everyone was shocked to hear this. Wen Yanbo couldn't help but glare at Cheng Jun. So you're doing this willingly? Then what's the point of us trying to persuade you...?

"..."

Cheng Jun twitched the corner of his mouth but said nothing.

Li Shimin looked at Cheng Jun and asked, "Cheng Jun, I have sent you as an envoy to the Turks. Are you willing to go?"

Cheng Jun pondered for a moment and said, "I am willing to go."

"However, I have a request."

Li Shimin was very satisfied with his attitude, and said, "Speak!"

Cheng Jun said earnestly, "I cannot go on this mission to the Turks alone."

Li Shimin laughed and said, "Of course, I would be worried if you went alone."

Cheng Jun said, "Therefore, I hope that the choice of the person who will accompany me on this mission to the Turks can be made by me."

Li Shimin replied without hesitation, "Sure, you can send whoever you want."

Cheng Jun raised his hand, pointed to Changsun Wuji sitting not far away, and said in a serious tone:

"Your subject has selected Minister Changsun."