Li Ji's fall shocked Li Shimin and Du He in the palace, and they rushed out in panic.
The guards at the door had already helped Li Ji up.
Li Ji had always treated Du He well. When he saw something strange about his old boss, he came closer in twos and twos and called out, "Uncle Li, Uncle Li?" It felt warm, and I secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Li Shimin also came close at this time. Seeing Li Ji's condition, he immediately took out a gold seal from his arms and said decisively: "Take the gold seal and use my horse to quickly take Li Aiqing to the Imperial Medical Office for treatment."
Du He glanced at the golden seal. In the Tang Dynasty, this golden seal was almost equivalent to the Shangfang Sword of the Song and Ming Dynasties. Holding it was equivalent to Li Shimin's personal visit. With it in hand, no one dares to stop him even if he sets fire to the palace, not to mention breaking into the palace. He reached out and took it without any hesitation, put Li Ji on his back, got on his horse, and galloped outside the palace. Although it will be tiring to put someone on the back, it can relieve the patient from some of the pain of bumps.
With the golden seal in hand, Du He galloped through the palace, and naturally no one dared to stop him until he arrived at the Imperial Medical Office.
As soon as Du He arrived, Li Shimin also arrived with his rear legs. His face was anxious and not regal at all. Seeing that the imperial doctor was taking Li Ji's pulse, he stayed aside quietly.
Seeing that the imperial doctor withdrew his pulse-taking wrist, he couldn't wait to say: "Imperial doctor, what's wrong with Li Aiqing? How can he be unconscious when he's fine?"
The imperial doctor respectfully said: "Your Majesty, please rest assured. It's just overwork and overwork. As long as you get more rest and pay attention to your health, there will be no serious problem"
Li Shimin said in disbelief: "How can you faint from overexertion?"
The imperial doctor explained: "I don't know much about this. According to my analysis, the key lies in the wind-cold a few days ago A few days ago, Mr. Li asked me to prescribe several medicines to treat wind-cold. This wind-cold is a minor illness. If you take a good rest, you will be safe. But if you are exposed to wind and cold and overexert yourself, your body will collapse and the disease will relapse tenfold."
Du He whispered: "A few days ago, the army went out for battle. As the Minister of the Ministry of War, Uncle Li has the most arduous task."
"This fool" Li Shimin cursed, "He is still holding on even when he is sick. He deserves to suffer" He paused and said, "In my palace, there are thousand-year-old ginseng, snow ginseng, Ganoderma lucidum and other tonics paid tribute by other countries. I have them all." Have someone send it here. You can see if there is anything that can help Li Aiqing's health. Although you can use it, you must make sure that he recovers as soon as possible. Qinglian, please notify the Ministry of War. Matters with the Ministry of War will be handled by the Minister of War for the time being. In addition, notify Li Aiqing¡¯s family and ask them to take Li Aiqing back, and tell them that before Li Aiqing fully recovers, I will ask them who dares to let Li Aiqing leave the house.¡±
Li Ji's illness caused quite a stir in the court.
As the Minister of War, Li Ji¡¯s popularity is still very broad. There is an endless stream of people visiting the British government. Even Li Shimin went to visit the British government in person
Du He is no exception.
As the imperial doctor said, Li Ji had no serious illness. He was just weak due to wind and cold, and his condition was ten times worse due to fatigue. He woke up the same day and was talking normally, but it would take at least a month or two for him to fully recover.
Just when Li Ji fell ill, a major event occurred that alarmed the government and the public.
The envoy that Li Shimin asked Zhang Liang to send to Tubo was attacked by mysterious robbers and the entire army was wiped out.
The reason given by Tubo was that he was a bandit from the Xiangxiong Kingdom, but being a thief will eventually leave behind clues. Zhang Liang secretly sent two groups of people, one was an upright mission, and the other was a spy mission, intending to investigate the true and false situation of Tibet.
Two groups of people came one after another. The people sent by Songtsen Gampo surrounded the mission in the open, but left the secret spies behind. As a qualified secret agent, you must first have the ability to adapt to changes in circumstances. There were not many of them, and they knew they were unable to rescue them, so they made up their mind to watch from the sidelines, and then followed the thieves in the dark until they saw them entering the Tibetan military camp with their own eyes.
It¡¯s obvious who the murderer is.
After Li Shimin heard the news, he was furious and furious. In anger, he slapped the table with his palm. Because he couldn't control the strength in his anger, his palm was swollen like a bear's paw.
The higher the status, the more attention is paid to face. As a unique empire in the world, the Tang Dynasty did not allow anyone to shit on his head or do evil. This is true for any country. The more powerful they are, the less they will allow the weak to run wild.
Gritting his teeth, Li Shimin summoned the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs to discuss the matter.
The news spread, and everyone in the civil and military dynasties became pale after hearing the news.
As ministers of the Tang Empire, they have innate superiority and are superior to others. Even if they had any conflicts with each other, when the prestige of the Tang Dynasty was challenged, everyone would put aside their prejudices and work together to deal with the outside world.
"How unreasonable!" Changsun Wuji was furious and shouted: "Young Tubo boy, you have gone too far to bully others. Your Majesty, the envoy, is the dignity of the country. The envoy sent by your Majesty, he represents your Majesty. The Tubo army surrounded and killed them, and there really was no general. We, the Tang Dynasty, take it seriously. His crimes deserve to be punished. He deserves to be punished." He shouted "to be punished" twice in a row.
Wei Zheng also stood up and said: "Soldiers are also deadly weapons. We, the Tang Dynasty, are based on benevolence and do not want to use weapons rashly, but this does not mean that we, the Tang Dynasty, are afraid of trouble or war. Today, thieves and bandits are coming to the door, so we must use force to protect them." I am the great Tang Dynasty."
Chu Suiliang, Ma Zhou, Cen Wenwen, and other civil servants who had always advocated no war and anti-war, all agreed at this moment.
The majesty of the Tang Dynasty cannot be violated by anyone.
Looking at the irritated civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, Du Ruhui said: "The old minister thinks that Songtsen Gampo of Tibet has no intention of hiding it from us. He just expressed his position and gave us an explanation. He was eaten to death and we are now using troops against Goguryeo." And have no time to take care of them.¡±
Songtsen Gampo¡¯s move is not difficult to guess, and his intentions cannot be hidden from the high-end talents of the Tang Dynasty. But before telling everything, he let Li Shimin and the civil and military officials in the dynasty know his attitude. Now that Du Ruhui had made it clear, everyone started a real discussion.
Cheng Yaojin stood up carelessly and said: "What else is there to say? These bastards from Tubo have the guts to bully us. Damn it, how can I, the Tang Dynasty, make all the countries in the world surrender?"
Qin Qiong also stood up with a smile at this time and said: "Your Majesty, Zhijie's words are certainly vulgar, but they are reasonable. Tubo took advantage of the Tang Dynasty's expedition to Goguryeo to set a trap for us and threaten us. , setting a precedent. If we don¡¯t respond positively, if the same thing happens in the future, other countries will follow suit, and what will happen to us, the Tang Dynasty?"
Wei Zheng frowned and said: "But the two-front expedition is too expensive. Although our country has accumulated considerable economic supplies after one and a half years of training, it cannot support the two-front war for a long time. It's not that we don't want to fight back, but the national strength No. Excessive war is militarism and will cause huge harm to the country and the people."
Cheng Yaojin and Qin Qiong are right, and Wei Zheng is also right here.
Li Shimin was not Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty made great achievements externally, but internally he was "wasted at home and his household registration was halved." However, the Tang Dynasty continued to fight for years, but it was always able to maintain the prosperity of Zhenguan, because of reasonable conquests. The two-front expedition obviously violated the Tang Dynasty's fundamental troop dispatching practice. It was also because of this that Songtsen Gampo firmly believed in the Tang Dynasty, thinking that no matter how much he went too far, the Tang Dynasty would tolerate it.
Li Shimin was sitting on the dragon throne with a struggling expression on his face. He wanted to fight, but he was also worried about causing harm to Baixin and the economic development of the Tang Dynasty, which would bring an early end to the Zhenguan era.
As the Prime Minister, Fang Xuanling came out with a smile and said: "It depends on your Majesty's decision. Who is less important to fight Tubo or Goguryeo? It's not that the Tang Dynasty cannot support a two-front war, but it is that we cannot support a long-term war." Support the two-front battle. Even so, I feel that Tubo and Goguryeo can fight together, but set a time limit based on the remaining material strength. If the final victory cannot be achieved within the time limit, the troops will be withdrawn and fully support the First Army. , you can keep it for the time being, and then make a decision after you have recuperated."
"Wonderful!" Li Shimin's eyes lit up.
Du He, who was thinking hard to no avail, also grinned. They all fell into a misunderstanding. They all felt that if they wanted to fight, they must achieve results, but they did not expect that in addition to victory, the war also included retreat and peace. There was no need to hold on to the end.
Li Shimin set his sights on the Minister of Household Affairs. The Minister of Household Affairs said: "Your Majesty, because of the emergence of sweet potatoes, the harvests in various places in the Tang Dynasty were excellent last year. The grain stored in the treasury of various places can supply the needs of an army of 200,000 for two years. If we include this year's harvest, it will be More, of course, in order to ensure the occurrence of natural disasters, it is necessary to keep some inventory.¡±
Li Shimin calculated in his mind for a while and said decisively: "Of course it is. Come, please follow my instructions and send an order to the king of Jiangxia County. I will give him half a year to deal with Goguryeo. If he fails, he will return to Liaodong and fight another day." Then he continued. , he looked at all the civil and military officials in the court, stood up and shouted: "The dignity of the Tang Dynasty cannot be trampled on. Tubo Songtsan Gampo is so bold that killing our envoy from the Tang Dynasty is equivalent to declaring war with the Tang Dynasty. He wants to fight, I will fight. I will not give up until Tubo is destroyed"
With his lofty sentiments and ambition, coupled with the majesty of the emperor, Li Shimin's words made the civil and military officials of the dynasty excited, and they all shouted "The Tang Dynasty will be victorious".
Li Shimin¡¯s decision is still very rational.Li Li's purpose is to regain lost ground and avenge the Chinese people. As for the fight against Tibet, it was because Tibet blatantly killed the Tang envoys and declared war on the Tang Dynasty. Now that Liaodong has been recovered, as for revenge, it has been delayed for so many years, and it doesn't matter just one day. Tubo was the only country that could compete with the Tang Dynasty, and it was attacking the Xiangxiong Kingdom without delay. Choosing Tubo is undoubtedly the most correct choice.
Songtsen Gampo has exhausted all his mechanisms, but has neglected the bloodiness, pride and self-esteem of a dynasty.
Since you have decided to send troops, choosing a general to lead them is a top priority.
Suddenly everyone noticed that the most suitable candidate, Li Ji, was lying on the hospital bed.