Chapter 133: Imperial Grace Earth-Smashing Fist

Lao Li was a little angry, but only a pitiful little bit.

After all, Gao Jianwu was the King of Goguryeo appointed by his father, so he had to act like one.

Now you, the powerful ministers of Goguryeo, ignore the majesty of the Tang Dynasty and want to kill the king at will. I dare not imagine what you will do in the future!

But Lao Li’s anger was not because of this, but mainly because Yeon Gaesomun chose an unfortunate time.

The New Year is coming soon, can't you let Gao Jianwu spend the New Year with you? You can wait until next spring, when the flowers are blooming and the little swallows have returned to the north, and then you can kill the king, right?
At least don't make me want to beat you up but have no way to do it, right?
Goguryeo was a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty. In theory, the Tang Dynasty had jurisdiction over the matter of a powerful official murdering the king.

At the same time, Lao Li was actually very happy.

The Tang Dynasty had always wanted to find a legitimate reason to beat up Goguryeo, but Goguryeo was very sensible and behaved in a very impeccable manner, leaving the Tang Dynasty with no excuses.

Now is like having a pillow stuffed into your stomach when you are dozing off. It’s a perfect opportunity!

"Auntie, this is a serious matter." Li Xiang immediately stepped forward to persuade him: "It is already the middle of winter, Liaodong is extremely cold, and the New Year is coming soon. It will be disadvantageous to the army to mobilize troops at this time."

"Read it yourself." Li Shimin said nothing and put the urgent report in front of Li Xiang.

This is no longer an ordinary act of rebellion, the Emperor's Grace Earth-Shattering Fist must be used!

Li Xiang took a quick glance and knew what was going on.

Isn't it just that Yeon Gaesomun murdered Go Geonmu? It happened in this period of time in history, so it seems to be pretty much the same.

"The reason is right in front of me. It would be inappropriate not to beat him up." Li Xiang put down the urgent report and said with a smile.

Li Shimin knocked on the table and said, "You are right. It is very cold in Liaodong now, and it is the New Year. It is not suitable to go to war. Moreover, this is a national war, and it will take time to prepare. But I am worried that if the Tang Dynasty has just finished preparing, Yeon Gaesomun will have already sorted out the situation in the country. What should I do?"

"My grandson heard that Goguryeo is not a monolithic country. Yeon Gaesomun has his own mortal enemies." Li Xiang said with a smile: "What's more, Yeon Gaesomun's regicide will inevitably cause an uproar in the country. In order to calm public opinion, what do you think he will do?"

"What?" Old Li's interest was immediately piqued.

"The best way to calm public opinion is to create a bigger one to cover him up." Li Xiang spread his hands and said, "According to Yeon Gaesomun's character, he will definitely choose to start a war, such as invading Silla, to divert domestic conflicts."

Li Shimin raised his eyelids slightly. This grandson... is a real character.

"Silla's strength is not enough to resist the joint attack of Goguryeo and Baekje, and the Tang Dynasty cannot sit idly by and watch Silla being destroyed. Otherwise, Goguryeo, which has unified Liaodong, will no longer be a threat to the Tang Dynasty and will become a major concern." Li Xiang continued.

"So the main contradiction now is not whether the Tang Dynasty should send troops, but how to send troops, and how to send troops as soon as possible. We must send troops before Yeon Gaesomun cleans up the domestic opposition and destroys Silla, and interrupt his momentum."

"If we sit back and watch him unify the three kingdoms on the peninsula, his reputation in Goguryeo will be at its peak, and the problem of the opposition will naturally be solved. At this time, Goguryeo will be difficult to deal with."

"What Xiang'er said really struck me as true." Li Shimin changed his sitting position.

"Then the question is, Aung." Li Xiang looked at Li Shimin with a burning gaze: "What is the purpose of our Tang Dynasty's military deployment? Is it to destroy Goguryeo, to rescue Silla, or just to hurt Goguryeo, balance the situation of the three countries on the peninsula, and consume Goguryeo's national strength?"

"Of course it is to destroy Goguryeo. Is there any need to ask?" Li Shimin snorted and said, "When Emperor Yang of Sui conquered Goguryeo, he was defeated. Goguryeo actually used our Han people to build Jingguan! If I don't take revenge, I am not a gentleman!"

Li Xiang immediately raised an objection and said, "Goguryeo is a big country in Liaodong after all. If we aim to destroy Goguryeo from the beginning, it will be easy to injure 3,000 enemies and 800 of our own. Our goal is to consume the enemy's national strength. First, we must eliminate all of Goguryeo's vassals, and then completely demolish the defense line that they have spent a hundred years and the whole country's efforts to build."

In fact, this is also what Li did in history. When he conquered Goguryeo for the first time, he successively captured ten cities including Xuantu, Hengshan, Gaimu, Momi, Liaodong, Baiyan, Beisha, Maigu, Yinshan and Houhuang, and moved 70,000 households from Liao, Gaimu and Yanzhou to the country.

In the three major battles of Xincheng, Jian'an and Zhubi, a large number of Goguryeo troops were wiped out and more than 40,000 Goguryeo heads were captured.

Generally speaking, beheading 40,000 people means that the number of kills is far more than 40,000, which means that Goguryeo's manpower has been greatly consumed.

However, the Tang army's losses were not great compared to those of Goguryeo, with only more than 2,000 casualties and the loss of 8,000 war horses.

If not for this, Li Zhi would not have been able to destroy Goguryeo so easily.

Of course, Li Shimin's followers couldn't stand this. In their opinion, Li Shimin was a loser if he couldn't defeat Goguryeo. Li Xiang could only mutter that he was a moron.

If Goguryeo had really exhausted its vitality, how could it have launched a war of annihilation against Xueyantuo in the second year after returning from the expedition? Did they really think that a war of annihilation could be launched casually?
Sometimes it is not a good thing for Lao Li to be too strong, as it gives people the illusion that "the opponent is a weakling".

"I don't want to leave trouble to future generations, I must accomplish my goal in one battle!" Li Shimin snorted coldly.

Old Li has never been a person who believes in the wisdom of future generations. This can be seen from the fact that after Li Zhi was made the crown prince, he began to overdraw his health and work frantically.

"But there has to be a gradual process, right, Aung?" Li Xiang said with a smile, "First, the Tang Dynasty's conquest of Goguryeo is an expedition; second, our Tang Dynasty navy is not strong enough to deal with the complex situation at sea. The temporary navy is not strong, so it is very difficult to achieve success in one battle."

Of course, Li Xiang also wanted to achieve success in one go, but he had to digest things slowly. It was not advisable to try to eat a fat man in one bite. Our Internet Temple's chief philosopher, Guangshen, was a good example.

Sima Zhong, this fool, failed to destroy a unified country in thirteen years, but Guangshen did it - and the foundation left by Yang Jian for him was extremely solid.

Even if Hu Hai, the initiator of the one-child policy, were to exchange with Guangshen, he might not be able to achieve his goal.

"What you said makes sense." Li Shimin nodded. He was not someone who would not listen to opinions.

"Also, Grandfather." Li Xiang struck while the iron was hot and said, "My grandson believes that if the Tang wants to dominate, it must have a navy that can match our status."

"Hmm?" Li Shimin became interested: "Why do you say that?"

"Think about it, Aung. In the future, when we conquer Goguryeo, we will also need the navy to cooperate with the army, or even fight independently, with both land and sea advancing at the same time." Li Xiang's words were persuasive: "In addition, there are many islands in the South China Sea. Those islands are not only rich in food, but also in precious spices such as black pepper. Without a strong navy, how can we take these islands? Even if we take them, how can we protect them?"

"What's more, during the Han Dynasty, there was a maritime Silk Road. The silk and porcelain of our Tang Dynasty were transported to the far west, and the profits were considerable. And to protect the sea route, a strong navy is necessary!"

This is the ultimate goal of the elephant. People in later generations all know how important it is to have a strong navy.

With a navy, many things can be done.

Old Li was persuaded. He nodded calmly and said, "What you said makes sense, but the ships of the Tang Dynasty are not suitable for fighting at sea."

Li Xiang chuckled and said, "Hehe, Uncle, I'm sorry, but I just happened to see some knowledge about ships from Big Ears Teacher..."

That's what I said, but in reality it was just a combination of history and physics, the sketches in history and the buoyancy in physics. "Okay!" Li Shimin knocked on the table, "Then I'll ask Yan Lide to supervise the construction of warships and form our Tang Navy!"

He looked at Li Xiang again and said with a smile: "Yan Lide needs you to help him improve his warships!"

"Yes, old man!" Li Xiang said with a smile.

Li Xiang has always believed in the wisdom of ancient craftsmen.

Even the sound amplification problem can be solved, let alone the warship problem, which just lacks some direction.

Li Xiang planned to be their guide. In fact, he didn't need to give any specific opinions, just help correct the general direction.

"Xiang'er is so awesome." Li Mingda held his face and looked at Li Xiang with a smile.

Li Xiang put his hands on his hips and smiled without any modesty.

Li Shimin couldn't help but patted his waist and said, "You kid, you start panting when I tell you you're fat. You're not even modest."

"Hehe." Li Xiang chuckled.

After leaving Lizheng Hall, Li Xiang did not rush to the Ministry of Works, but returned to the Eastern Palace and found Hegan Chengji and Zhang Sizheng.

"Prince!" After seeing Li Xiang, the two men looked as if they were willing to die for Li Xiang.

There was no other reason. Ever since the last time he threw the book, Li Xiang had really hurt the hearts of both of them.

If Li Chengqian asked them to jump off the cliff, they would probably cry and say that they still have a wife and children; if Li Xiang asked them to jump... then Li Xiang would definitely not be that kind of person.

"I have something I want to entrust to you two." Li Xiang said solemnly.

Hegan Chengji and Zhang Sizheng looked at each other and said with their arms folded, "Please give us your instructions, Your Majesty. Even if we have to climb mountains of swords or plunge into seas of fire, I will never frown!"

"Well, I'm not asking you to go through fire and water." Li Xiang smiled and waved his hand and said, "I heard that the Hegan guards once served under the King of Qi?"

"It is true. It happened a few years ago." Hegan Chengji replied.

Adhering to the principle of not asking questions that should not be asked, Hegan Chengji did not speak nonsense.

Li Xiang nodded and said, "If that's the case, then you should be familiar with the affairs of Prince Qi's Palace."

"My Lord, the Prince of Qi is very dependent on his uncle Yin Hongzhi, and he has entrusted all matters, big or small, to him to handle, while he only cares about eating, drinking and having fun." Hegan Chengji said, "Before I left, I heard that Yin Hongzhi introduced his uncles-in-law Yan Hongxin and Yan Hongliang to the Prince of Qi, and the Prince of Qi trusted them very much."

The wife's brother-in-law is the wife's brother, not her uncle.

The word "uncle" here means uncle.

Li Xiang nodded slightly. He knew what Hegan Chengji had just said.

"Yin Hongzhi persuaded the King of Qi to recruit strong men for self-defense, so with the King of Qi's heavy money, he really recruited many brave men. The King of Qi also hunted excessively and liked to make friends with treacherous people, so the sage thought that the Chief Secretary Xue Dading was incompetent in disciplining the King of Qi and dismissed him from his post."

"Later, the sage transferred Quan Wanji, the chief historian of the King of Wu, to Qizhou and made him the King of Qi's teacher." Hegan Chengji continued, "At that time, Zan Junmo and Liang Mengbiao were favored by Li You because they were good at riding and shooting. Quan Wanji dismissed them many times, but the King of Qi immediately recalled them and favored them more than before."

"I don't know what happened later, because I had already left Qizhou by then."

"Can the people I made friends with before still be of use?" Li Xiang asked with a smile.

"Yes, Prince." Hegan Chengji replied immediately.

Li Xiang nodded and said, "Okay!"

He pondered for a moment, organized his words and said, "In this case, I want the two of you to go to Qizhou to get information, especially about the King of Qi. Do you understand?"

The two looked at each other, took a breath and said, "Could it be that the prince thought that—"

"No." Li Xiang denied, "I just wanted to confirm the whereabouts of the King of Qi. I am not worried about the King of Qi, but I am worried about Yin Hongzhi."

Of course, some things cannot be said directly.

It's better if everyone knows it tacitly; it would be ugly if everyone speaks it out loud.

And Yin Hongzhi is also an excellent cover, after all, this person...

The two nodded and said, "We understand!"

Of course they knew about the feud between the Yin family and Li Shimin. Not to mention that Hegan Chengji had served under the King of Qi, even the ordinary people in Chang'an City knew what the conflict was back then.

If someone said that Yin Hongzhi had evil intentions, almost no one would doubt it.

He is the uncle of the King of Qi. What if he tries to persuade the King of Qi to do something?

"Go ahead." Li Xiang nodded. "Not only Yin Hongzhi, but also Yan Hongxin and Yan Hongliang. Keep an eye on them."

"Bring more people and investigate them thoroughly! What do these three people eat during the day, what women do they sleep with at night, who they usually make friends with, and what they do. I want to know everything about it!"

At this point, Li Xiang's eyes were extremely cold.

It's time to fight with Goguryeo soon. People like Yin Hongzhi and Li You may not be able to accomplish anything, but they will definitely cause trouble.

Their tendencies must be nipped in the bud!
Seeing Li Xiang's cold gaze, the two of them shuddered involuntarily.

"I understand!" The two did not dare to be negligent and took the order and left.

Li Xiang looked at the two men's backs and watched them walk out of the palace gate.

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(End of this chapter)