The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 1178: Turning Defeat into Victory
He sat there for seven days, and finally all the black energy was consumed by himself, and the golden energy in his body was also consumed. Li Yan woke up and sighed slightly. It might take a year or two to recover.

At the same time, Li Yan felt a little scared. He didn't expect that even if it was not a world of immortal cultivation, killing too many people would generate so much hostility. No wonder those veterans on the battlefield were not very old and had difficulty in having a good end.

Li Yan had experienced this before when he was roaming the grasslands, but it was not serious. Unlike this time, in the battle of Hengling in the grasslands, more than 200,000 people died; in the battle of Hebei, more than 400,000 people died, and in total 600,000 to 700,000 people died. These karmas will all come back to him.

After all, everything was planned by himself behind the scenes. Those tricks can deceive the world, but they cannot block the way of heaven.

Fortunately, I think the Heavenly Dao also knows that what he does is for the benefit of the people of the world and his starting point is good, otherwise he would probably die!

"Your Majesty, several important officials from the central government request to see you."

While he was thinking, Wang De's voice came in. After sorting out his confused thoughts, Li Yan slowly stood up, walked out of the quiet room slowly, and opened the door.

Passing through the corridor separating the inner and outer palaces, we arrived at the imperial study in front.

"Your Majesty, your servants, are here to see you!" Everyone was not surprised to see the emperor in a Taoist robe. Usually, the emperor would be meditating and practicing in the afternoon when he was asked to see him.

Li Yan waved his hand and said, "Gentlemen, there is no need to be so polite. What is the matter today that has brought you all here?"

"Your Majesty, great joy!"

". Hongwen Palace has received an urgent report from Hebei that our army has won a great victory, annihilating more than 200,000 Turkic barbarians. The enemy chieftain, the Great Khan Shiluodi, led the remaining defeated troops and fled in a desperate manner. He is no longer a threat. I, your servants, have come to congratulate the emperor."

"Yes, congratulations, Your Majesty. This is the greatest congratulations from the soldiers at the front to Your Majesty in the new Kaiyuan Dynasty."

Xiao Yu, Cen Wenben and others all spoke in unison. Except for Zhangsun Wuji who was unconscious and was carried to the Imperial Medical Bureau, the other six important officials of the Central Government came to the Imperial Study in Chengqing Palace. And everyone had an expression of ecstasy, and their mouths were full of flattery.

Li Yan was stunned. The military force of the Guanlong nobles was wiped out in one battle. He was worried about how to deal with it. After all, it was a defeat. The Tang army suffered heavy casualties. It was very ominous to face such a defeat in the new year of Kaiyuan. If the news got out, the people would also feel uneasy.

Who would have thought that these old ruffians could turn defeat into victory? This was really unexpected, yet seemed reasonable.

Li Yan felt extremely awkward and took the two battle reports with a complicated expression.

After reading it, his face suddenly turned ugly, and he asked tentatively: "How come from the military report of the King of Qi, we have suffered a defeat and suffered heavy losses."

"How can it be a victory? Are you mistaken?"

The embarrassment on everyone's face flashed away, but Xiao Yu had already told them before that they must insist that it was a victory, otherwise they would not be able to explain to the ministers and the people. It was a new dynasty, and they could not leave the impression of being ineffective in assisting the government.

This is not only for their face, but also for the dignity of the court. The stability of people's hearts is much more important than the death of 100,000 or 200,000 soldiers in the front line and one or two defeats. The troubles in people's hearts are the biggest troubles.

The Tang Dynasty now has an army of three million, and a mere 200,000 are not worth mentioning. Now the court has money and food, and it only needs one decree to double the replenishment.

In public and private terms, Xiao Yu's words touched everyone's heart. Especially from the perspective of the overall situation, it made everyone feel relieved and reassured, and strengthened their determination to win. They must win.

Everything the court does can only be right, not wrong. It can only be a step from one victory to another. Even failure is also a victory.

"Yes, Your Majesty, it is indeed a victory."

Facing the emperor's uncertainty, Liu Bo stepped forward to explain, repeating his previous argument: "Although we also lost 200,000 men, we are just infantrymen on horseback, while the Turks are all elite warriors with excellent cavalry and archery skills."

"From the time of Emperor Yang of Sui to the time of Emperor Wude and Emperor Zhenguan, in the wars between the Central Plains Dynasty and the Turkic Khanate, it always took two or three cavalrymen on our side to exchange for one cavalryman on the other side. If it was infantry, the gap would be even greater. Even a hundred or eighty thousand men would be helpless against ten or twenty thousand cavalrymen on the other side."

"Don't even mention that we paid 200,000 yuan, but the other party paid more than 200,000 yuan."

"Even if it means the loss of 100,000 cavalrymen, it is still a good deal for us, not to mention that we won a one-on-one victory. This is truly an unprecedented victory. I suggest that the emperor immediately hold court and announce it to the whole country for the whole world to celebrate."

'Well'

Li Yan's expression changed. That's right, why didn't he think of that? Zhangsun Wuji actually said that they were infantrymen on horseback, so such casualties were not surprising. In this way, this was not a great defeat, but a great victory.

It’s just that the aristocratic families are like dumb people eating bitter herbs, unable to express their grievances.

When Cen Wenben saw the emperor's face changeable after reading the battle report, his heart skipped a beat. He knew that the emperor might have also seen something, and he was probably also agitated and hesitant, wondering how to make a judgment.

We cannot just let the emperor do whatever he wants; we must take the initiative, exert influence, turn the situation around, and move it in a good direction.

"Yes, Your Majesty, Lord Liu is right."

After exchanging a glance with Xiao Yu, Liu Bo and the others, Cen Wenben hurriedly stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Now that the new dynasty has begun, the king of Qi has won such a great victory. This is really the greatest gift to our new dynasty!" "When the people of the world learn about this, they will surely be excited. This is God protecting our Tang Dynasty. In the future, we will surely be smooth sailing and usher in an even more glorious and prosperous era."

"Yes, God bless the Tang Dynasty," all the ministers agreed.

Li Yan heard the deep meaning in Cen Wen's words. If this battle was determined to be a defeat, it would be a huge blow to the Xin Dynasty; if it was determined to be a victory, then a bad thing would turn into a good thing. No matter what, stabilizing people's hearts was more important than anything else.

Li Yan turned to look at his most trusted old minister Xiao Yu, and asked hesitantly, "Old Master, is this really the case?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I think this is an absolute great victory."

Xiao Yu felt a little ashamed. The emperor asked him the only one among so many people, which showed how much trust he had in him, but he had to lie against his conscience. But he believed that he did this for the sake of the Tang Dynasty, not for his own gain or loss.

He had nothing to be ashamed of, so he said with a firm face: "Our 700,000-strong infantry and cavalry army faced the 300,000-strong Turkish cavalry. Although we were ambushed by the enemy, we showed incomparable perseverance. The soldiers fought bravely, exchanging their lives for theirs, and wiped out the enemy's main force."

"After this battle, we have 500,000 soldiers left out of our 700,000. The Turks only have tens of thousands of defeated soldiers left. We are no longer a concern. The overall situation in Hebei is settled!"

We exaggerated ourselves and belittled the enemy. If such a result were to be spread, officials and common people who did not know the truth would think that we had won a great victory. Only the nobles were bleeding in their hearts. They knew that this was a real defeat, a horrible defeat.

Sure enough, this matter still depends on how it is said and who says it!
Li Yan immediately smiled and said, "You are all so sharp-eyed that you can see through the chaos and see the truth. I am young and inexperienced. When I first saw it, I thought we were defeated. I almost made a fool of myself."

Well.
When everyone heard this, their faces turned red and they smiled awkwardly, feeling very embarrassed.

It was noisy just now, and now Li Yan realized that Changsun Wuji was not there, so he asked: "Such an important matter, why is Lord Changsun not here?"

"Your Majesty, Lord Changsun just heard the good news and fainted in excitement."

Cen Wenben bowed and said, "Your Highness, we have already carried him to the Imperial Medical Bureau. I think he will wake up soon. Your Majesty, don't worry."

Well.
For a moment, all the ministers became even more embarrassed, and the atmosphere in the study became extremely weird.

Lintao City, the ancestral home of the Longxi Li family.

Li Chongrui, along with several trusted family generals, traveled for several days and nights. Finally, on this morning, looking haggard and in tattered clothes, he knocked on the door of the Li family's ancestral mansion.

The old butler Li Zhong, who opened the door, could hardly recognize the young master whom the head of the family valued so much: "Who are you looking for?"

"Uncle Zhong, is it me?"

Li Chongrui felt sad and choked up as he said, "I am Chongrui?"

"Ah, young master?"

Zhong Bo was surprised and shocked: "Young Master, didn't you lead the army to attack Hebei? How come you are back now and look like this?"

"It's hard to explain in a few words. Uncle Zhong, hurry up and take me to see Grandpa. I have something very important to tell you."

Li Chongrui's urgent voice interrupted the servant who had followed Li Gu all his life. Seeing the young master in front of him, who was so arrogant and went to Hebei half a month ago, now in such a miserable state, an ominous feeling came over him.

"Also, these people have been escorting me home all the way. Please make some arrangements so that they can have a good rest."

Zhong Bo did not ask any more questions. He told the doorman to take a few followers to settle down. He personally led Li Chongrui to Li Gu's main courtyard.

Deep inside the main house, there is a Jiangnan-style courtyard with a different style from the desolate northwest. It is decorated very elegantly, with rockery, gurgling streams, and shady green plants. The small lake in the courtyard did not freeze in this cold winter, but surged with the wind.

Looking closely, there was a layer of fog floating on the lake.

If you look closely, you will find that water is bubbling up from the lake. It turns out that this is a natural hot spring that was discovered by the Li family earlier. They relied on their strong power to claim it as their own.

After improvements made by craftsmen, this courtyard combining northern and southern scenery was created. The nearby trees and plants have been preserved thanks to this warm land.

Li Gu, the patriarch of the Longxi Li family, lived here.

The howling north wind was blocked out by the tall walls and trees, but the warm sun was unaffected and shone warmly in the yard. Li Gu was practicing an ancient set of boxing techniques, slowly moving his body to maintain his vitality despite his old age.

(End of this chapter)