Li Shimin's current army has all been recalled. Now the number of troops assembled in Jiangdu is as high as nearly 100,000. Although compared with the 200,000 to 300,000 troops in the Tang Dynasty, the number of 100,000 troops is very small, but in Li Shimin's view today, the current limit is to have an elite of 100,000 people, and it is already the limit. The highest standard that Li Shimin can achieve.
Inside the palace.
Li Shimin is reviewing the memorial.
He has a lot of things to do now, not only governing various places, but also strengthening the training of the army. What's more, it is necessary to let the people from all over the country return to them so that they can continue to be loyal to the Tang Dynasty. At the same time, there is also the development of Lingnan and the need to guard against Du Qi's attack, so Li Shimin has a lot of things to do now, and it is not possible to solve the current predicament overnight.
When Li Shimin was reviewing the memorial, Wei Shuyu stepped in. Wei Shuyu now has a very high status beside Li Shimin, even entering the palace, he can enter directly without a servant reporting to him. He entered and saw Li Shimin, with a solemn expression, even more mournful, and said: "Your Majesty, there is the latest news from Central Shu."
When Li Shimin saw this, his heart skipped a beat.
The situation is not good!
Especially thinking that Li Chengqian is in charge of Shuzhong, Li Shimin is even more worried, not only because Li Chengqian is his son, but also because Li Chengqian is the prince of the Tang Dynasty, which is of great significance.
Li Shimin took a deep breath, suppressed the emotional fluctuations in his heart, and said, "Is it news about the prince?"
Wei Shuyu nodded and said: "Your Majesty is wise, it is indeed the prince's news. The prince led the army to fight Xia Guo in the middle of Shu. He was already captured by Bingbai and fell into the hands of Xia Guo. Right now, the front line of defense in the middle of Shu has collapsed." The army of the Xia Kingdom began to seize various places in central Shu. Especially after the crown prince was taken down, various places in Central Shu issued notices, willing to respect Du Qi, all of which were surrendered to Xia Kingdom. Our arrangement has already failed along the way. .¡±
Li Shimin sighed inwardly.
He now has great immunity to these news. Even when he heard the news of Li Chengqian's arrest, he was not too surprised, and he was not as devastated as usual.
Li Shimin said: "Uncle Yu, Li Chengqian's defeat this time means that the Tang Dynasty is in a more difficult situation. Our original plan was to hope that there will be multiple ways to block Xia's offensive from all over the world, and strive to counterattack Xia from all directions. country. Right now the Crown Prince is defeated, and the Xia Kingdom is also attacking Youzhou and Bingzhou fiercely, it will not be easy for us to stop it!"
After a pause, Li Shimin continued: "The most important thing now is the battle with Du Qi. According to previous predictions, Du Qi's autumn harvest is over, and he should be going south soon. For this battle, Du Qi will definitely go south to Jiangdu by water. .We will stop Du Qi on the water and let him drink his hatred in the south of the Yangtze River."
Wei Shuyu said: "Your Majesty, the second news I want to report is about Du Qi. According to the news from our bad guys, Du Qi's party has indeed gone south by boat. This time Du Qi went south, there was a warship Thirty ships, with a force of at least 60,000, have already traveled south by water."
"From Chang'an to Yangzhou, we take the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and go south, so we are indeed going to engage in water warfare. In particular, we have been preparing for warships before. We have invited the most powerful craftsmen in the south of the Yangtze River to build countless warships. There are many small boats, boats, etc. Our soldiers also use this to practice, and they are already familiar with water warfare."
"Du Qi was extremely confident in this battle, but in fact, he was alone in the danger, and even more so. Du Qi seemed to be sure, but in fact he had already pinned his life and death on a desperate gamble."
Wei Shuyu said: "Your Majesty, this battle is our chance."
A gleam flashed in Li Shimin's eyes, and he said: "Under the current situation, water warfare is indeed our only chance. Our water army is more powerful, and our warships are even more powerful. As long as we can defeat Xia Guo's warships. This time The battle on the water was Du Qi's battle of Chibi, and after he was defeated, he would no longer be able to go south."
Wei Shuyu nodded and said, "Your Majesty is wise!"
Li Shimin said: "In this battle, who do you think is the most suitable general?"
Wei Shuyu pondered for a moment, and said: "Your Majesty, when it comes to the candidates for the war, His Majesty makes the decision. After all, in today's army, there are all loyal ministers and good generals, and His Majesty has a keen eye, so he can arrange it."
Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "Shuyu, don't talk about these things, just say who is the most suitable. You kid, the longer you follow me, the more slippery you become. You used to say something, what's the matter?" Just say it directly. But now, you have two hearts and other thoughts. "
?Wei Shuyu said: "Your Majesty has defeated the evil minister. Although the minister is a little clever, but the minister's structure is not good.You can't stand high and look far away, and your majesty's consideration is not as thorough as your Majesty's, so the minister's ideas may not be suitable. "
Li Shimin said: "Say it directly!"
After Wei Shuyu heard this, he said: "Your Majesty, the minister's plan is to lead the army with two brothers, Xue Wanche. Xue Wanjun is the elder brother, he is the commander of the army, and Xue Wanche is the deputy commander. The two lead the army from the waterway to face Xia Guo Army. If it's on land, our 100,000 people may not be able to win against Du Qi's 60,000 elite."
Speaking of this, Wei Shuyu said loudly: "But now we have a force of 100,000, and we are fighting on water. We have enough strength to win. Therefore, at the moment, I think we have a great chance of winning. Of course, Du Qi is very It¡¯s cunning, so you still have to be more cautious, be careful, and don¡¯t be careless.¡±
Li Shimin nodded with approval on his face.
He agreed with Wei Shuyu's words.
Li Shimin said: "If you want to talk about Xue Wanche and Xue Wanjun, they are capable, but they don't have enough prestige in the army. Shuyu, do you consider letting Chai Shao lead the army and let him be the commander. Then, Xue Wanche and Xue Wanjun will serve as deputy Handsome, are you in charge of this battle?"
Wei Shuyu shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, there is no doubt about employing people. What's more, it is an extraordinary time, how can we arrange Chai Shao to hinder him? Chai Shao is indeed capable, but when it comes to marching and fighting, he is still weak .¡±
"In this regard, after all, Xue Wanche and Xue Wanjun are the best at it. Your Majesty, both of them are powerful generals, so you don't have to worry about their lack of prestige. On the contrary, I think that these two are the most suitable candidates, whether it is resourcefulness or martial arts strength, All top notch."
Wei Shuyu still insisted on his suggestion.
In front of Li Shimin, what he wanted to insist on, regardless of Li Shimin's thoughts, he directly stated his suggestions.
Li Shimin thought for a while and finally nodded and said: "In that case, let Xue Wanjun be the coach and Xue Wanche be the deputy commander."
Wei Shuyu said: "Your Majesty is wise."
Li Shimin said again: "In addition, although there are two people leading the army to go. But in this battle, do you consider the way out?"
Wei Shuyu said: "Think about it, it's always good. In fact, we should consider this point, that is, prepare more small boats on the warships. Once something happens, you can use the small boats to evacuate in time. After all, large warships are driving on the river, and it is not easy to turn around. Direction. If you want to evacuate at that time, you can evacuate at any time. As for the other back roads, because the attack is on the river, it is useless to think about the back road. After all, it is impossible to do it, so it can only be like this."
Li Shimin nodded and said: "This is indeed the truth. The commander decides, so what about the counselors? They must be equipped with military advisers, so that someone can give advice."
Wei Shuyu said: "Your Majesty, I believe that Mr. Xu Jingzong is talented and capable of giving advice. He is the most suitable military adviser for the army. I believe that there will be no major problems with Mr. Xu's advice."
Xu Jingzong, in Li Shimin's time, was actually not considered prominent.
Even when Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, although Xu Jingzong was one of the Eighteen Scholars of the Qin Palace in the early years, his meritorious service was actually insufficient. Compared with Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Kong Yingda, etc. in the early days, it was far inferior.
Historically, Xu Jingzong prospered after supporting the abolition of Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty, and named Wu Zetian as queen. Since then, he has been on the rise and finally became a supreme minister. Today's Xu Jingzong is quite important in Li Tang's court. After all, the older generation of counselors has gradually withered, and Xu Jingzong's group has entered the prime of life and has begun to enter the peak period.
Xu Jingzong is around forty years old, and he is in his prime.
Especially his relationship with Wei Shuyu is pretty good, so this time Wei Shuyu recommended Xu Jingzong. (Remember the site URL: www.hlnovel.com