Tang Dynasty: A Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls for Li Er at the Start

Chapter 90 Your Highness must not personally lead the troops.
Li Shimin, who wanted all the people in the world to be his subjects, was about to ascend the throne.

Even Wen He, who lived deep within her mansion, sensed that something was amiss in the atmosphere of Chang'an.

After the people who went out to buy supplies returned, Wenhe would ask them about Chang'an.

It is said that Wei Zheng went to Hebei yesterday on orders.

The imperial guards in the city were frequently rotated.

However, the most significant news was that His Majesty the Emperor moved out of Daxing Palace and renamed Hongyi Palace to Da'an Palace, saying he was going there to escape the summer heat.

But anyone with eyes can see that Li Yuan was making way for Li Shimin.

"Is this the butterfly effect?"

Wen He was shocked when she heard the news.

Historical records indicate that Li Yuan was forced to move out of Taiji Palace in the third year of the Zhenguan era.

Of course, this is just speculation from later generations. How could those who wrote history later possibly know the specifics?

Across hundreds of years, could they possibly have traveled through time like me and even crawled under Li Shimin's bed to eavesdrop?

"In this way, the transition of power after Li Er ascends the throne will be smoother than before."

Li Yuan voluntarily withdrew, and Li Yi is now confined to Chang'an.

Now, Li Shimin only has one problem left to solve.

That was the Turks.

"Urgent report from Lingzhou?"

Inside the Guangtian Hall, Minister of War Jing Junhong hurriedly handed over a dispatch.

Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and others all looked astonished.

"Didn't you say there was still a month left... how could it be Lingzhou?" Changsun Wuji was extremely surprised and hurriedly cast a questioning glance at Li Shimin.

Li Shimin, sitting at the head of the table, calmly accepted the urgent report from Huang Chun.

Everyone held their breath and stared at him intently.

"Snapped!"

Li Shimin suddenly slammed the urgent report onto the table.

"You little devil, Jieli!"

The report was brief, consisting of just one sentence: "Thirty li outside Lingzhou, the Turks have been sending cavalry to harass the area for ten consecutive days."

"Your Highness." Fang Xuanling stepped forward and bowed. Li Shimin gently raised his hand, signaling Huang Chun to take the urgent report over for reading.

Everyone looked at them one by one, and their expressions were not good.

His Majesty has decided to abdicate the throne, but if turmoil occurs at this time, there may be twists and turns.

"Your Majesty has something to say!"

The veteran minister Xiao Yu suddenly stepped forward, and Li Shimin looked at him and nodded: "Minister Xiao, please speak."

As a veteran official and the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Xiao Yu only needed to nod when meeting the emperor, except for when he performed a grand ceremony.

Even when facing the Crown Prince, one can be exempt from formalities.

However, he still bowed deeply to Li Shimin.

"This old minister has only one piece of advice: please, Your Highness, consider the overall situation and do not personally lead the troops."

Seeing Li Shimin's anger, Xiao Yu felt a sense of unease.

This former King of Qin, now the Crown Prince, is known to all for his delight at the prospect of war.

Since Yanmen saved Emperor Yang of Sui, he has been almost undefeated in battle.

In the Battle of Wulao Pass, two kings were captured, and more than 3,000 cavalrymen charged into Dou Jiande's army of 100,000.

Even if Huo Qubing were alive, he wouldn't be any better.

Even Liu Heita, who had won consecutive victories and defeated Li Shentong and Li Shiji, was defeated by this Crown Prince.

Even that one and only defeat was due to his malaria, which led to his subordinates' reckless advance and disastrous result. However, he quickly led his army to a victory.

Xiao Yu was genuinely worried that, given the current situation, the Crown Prince might act rashly and launch another campaign.

He can't leave Chang'an now.

“What Lord Xiao said is very true, I agree.” Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling and others also stood up.

Although Changsun Wuji was a step behind, he still agreed.

From now on, it would be better for His Highness the Crown Prince to avoid personally leading military campaigns.

They must not leave Chang'an until the heir is able to oversee the country.

Otherwise, the lesson of Emperor Yang of Sui might very well be repeated. Looking at the opposition from his ministers below, Li Shimin felt rather helpless.

He knew perfectly well what these people were worried about, and he never once considered personally leading the army.

Jingzhou had Li Jing, Youzhou had Li Shiji, and Lingzhou had Li Xiaogong.

With the three of them there, he didn't need to lift a finger.

However, he also had some regrets.

'Once I'm in that position, I'm afraid I'll find it difficult to lead troops. So be it, let them go and achieve their goals.'

"I understand what you all mean. With Li Jing and the others ahead, I have nothing to worry about. Besides, this is just a test by Jieli."

In Li Shimin's view, Jieli's behavior was extremely naive.

Before the main army had moved, they sent scouts to harass Li Shimin, as if to tell him that they were going to attack Lingzhou.

If it weren't for Wen He's earlier prediction, Li Shimin would have simply assumed it was a provocation by Jieli, as he was certain the Turks wouldn't dare attack Lingzhou.

But now he understands that Jieli is indeed deceiving him, only in a way that is different from what he thought.

Jieli wanted Li Shimin to mistakenly believe that they were going to march south from Lingzhou.

Having figured this out, Li Shimin made a decisive decision.

"This matter must be kept secret and not spread."

He also wanted to launch a surprise attack on the Turks.

"The Ministry of Civil Affairs quickly inventoried the grain and sent it to Youzhou."

"The Ministry of War shall conscript soldiers from various prefectures and gather them in Chang'an under the pretext of summer training. In addition, we must expedite the teaching of how to make fried noodles, so as not to be caught off guard."

"promise!"

Everyone knew that this was Li Shimin's first battle after he truly seized power.

They can't lose!
Li Shimin clenched his fist and slammed it heavily on the table.

'The Alliance at the Wei River? I will not allow that to be recorded in history!'

Everyone left.

Although we don't know when the Turks will make their move, it's better to be prepared.

They must prepare in advance.

As for the saying "the first strike is the best policy"?

The Tang Dynasty was not ready at the moment.

When the small court meeting ended, all the officials left the palace.

Li Shimin then changed into civilian clothes and sent someone to the Chongwen Hall to summon Li Chengqian.

“Follow me out of the palace.”

Li Chengqian, who had just arrived, was slightly taken aback when he saw Li Shimin, who had changed into coarse cloth shorts.

But he quickly came to his senses and changed into casual clothes.

The father and son did not leave through the Xuanwu Gate, but instead exited the palace through a side gate and took a detour to Zhuque Avenue.

We headed straight for Yonglefang.

……

Wenhe Mansion.

A new area that Wen He had just developed in the side courtyard.

Li Tai and Li Ke stood with their hands down, watching Wen He making something on the side.

"Are you done yet, sir? I still need to go look after Big Bear and Little Bear," Li Tai asked impatiently.

Li Ke rolled his eyes at him speechlessly: "Why do you only think about your pigs all day long?"

Li Tai is now preoccupied with raising the pigs to adulthood, and sometimes he even forgets to eat.

"What do you know? The master said that once the pigs are fattened up, we can eat meat. When that happens, everyone in the Tang Dynasty who can eat pork will thank me."

Li Tai was unimpressed by his disdain.

Upon hearing this, Li Ke was too lazy to argue with him.

He was now curious whether what the man had said about being able to see things hundreds of steps away was true.

The three were so engrossed in their work that they didn't notice Wen Zhong walking in with a bow in the archway not far away.

Behind him, Li Shimin was frowning, while Li Chengqian beside him had a bitter expression on his face.

(End of this chapter)