My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 293 Commendable Loyalty
Yang Guang was talking to Yuwen Shu at that moment.

He saw that Yuwen Shu was covered in sweat and was restless.

"Your Majesty...it's too much, far too much."

"In my opinion, this is not much! Don't forget, we are not only going to punish the Koreans, but also the Turks! They may also get involved, so we must be prepared!"

"First, have Yuan Hongsi build three hundred large warships at the Donglai estuary."

"Once the warships are almost finished, we can summon all the military garrisons in the world to Zhuojun."

"Think about it, soldiers all over the country are eager to earn military merits. In the past, the war in the north involved dozens of military prefectures, while the war in the south only involved a dozen or so. The soldiers in the other military prefectures also need merits. How can we let them not have any military merits to earn?"

Yang Guang said earnestly, "Once the army arrives, we can recruit new troops and let each region make the most of its advantages. The people of Huainan are good at water, so we can recruit naval forces and crossbowmen from Huainan. We can recruit halberd operators from Lingnan, and we can build war chariots from Henan."

"I've done a rough calculation. By gathering troops in this way, we can assemble about 1.5 million soldiers. Then we can claim to have 2 million, and divide our forces into three routes. You can be the commander of one of them! We will then advance by land and sea, first destroying Goguryeo, and then the Turks."

Yuwen Shu trembled as he listened to the emperor's plan.

Summoning all the imperial guards in the land? Are you serious?

Are there other large-scale conscriptions being carried out in various regions? If the more than one million mentioned earlier are all combat soldiers and auxiliary troops, then at least three to four million people would need to be conscripted for maintenance. Moreover, with so many troops gathered together, what if something were to happen?
Yuwen Shu was completely dumbfounded.

He hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I believe that Goryeo is not a great enemy. If Your Majesty wants to attack them, you do not need to use such national strength. You only need to conquer the military garrison in the north, with me as the commander-in-chief, and advance by both land and sea. Two hundred thousand men will be enough!"

"Too many soldiers would actually be detrimental to the war effort."

Yang Guang raised his head and said, "Duke Xu, since ancient times, has the world ever seen such a prosperous era? Throughout history, who has ever had an army of a million like mine?"

"This time, I am not only trying to make Goryeo bow down, but I also want the whole world to see the strength of the Sui Dynasty, and to show those who have not yet paid tribute. After this war, I predict that all the barbarians from all directions will come to surrender, and no one will dare to disobey anymore. The Sui Dynasty will then become a powerful nation that the whole world admires and longs to rely on. At that time, I can begin to temporarily cease hostilities and focus on domestic affairs."

As Yang Guang spoke softly, he seemed to already envision a scene of tribute coming from all directions, his eyes shining brightly.

"Civil and military achievements"

Yuwen Shu really didn't know what to say; he just felt that this matter was somewhat terrifying.

Whenever too many soldiers gather, various diseases will occur, causing heavy casualties. Yuwen Shu had lived for so long and had never heard of a million soldiers being mobilized. It was said to be two million, with all the troops in the world gathered together. Yuwen Shu could not imagine what would happen.

He didn't even dare to think about what would happen to the rear if all the armies in the country went to the front lines. Would the local militia be left to maintain order?
Just as Yuwen Shu was wondering how to answer, someone came in to report that Li Xuanba was requesting an audience.

Yang Guang now highly values ​​Huo Qubing. Upon learning of his arrival, he smiled and ordered him to enter. He then said to Yuwen Shu, "Previously, Duke Xu said he wanted to become Wei Qing. Now that such a good opportunity has come, are you going to miss it?"

Yuwen Shu dared not answer.

A moment later, Li Xuanba strode in, the golden mace at his waist left behind by the guards, and he entered empty-handed.

"His Majesty!"

Li Xuanba performed a deep bow with a blank expression.

Yang Guang realized something was wrong. "What happened?"

"I was ordered to thoroughly investigate the matter of the traitor's accomplices. The confidants around the Prince of Qi repeatedly urged me to arrest people indiscriminately, saying that as long as they could be handed over, it didn't matter whether they were true or false. I disagreed, so they arrested a group of people, saying that His Highness had identified them as traitors. I questioned these arrested people and only then did I learn that they all had beautiful daughters in their families, and the people around the Prince of Qi were asking their daughters to serve the Prince of Qi."

“They disagreed, so they were labeled as traitors, and their daughter was taken away.”

Yang Guang listened attentively to Li Xuanba's words, his expression gradually turning cold.

"I went to the Prince of Qi's residence, but the Prince refused to see me. So I barged in, injured his confidants, and found the three kidnapped women. They were almost dead, but I have sent people to treat them."

"Your Majesty, I must report that the King of Qi has seized women from the people, deceived the monarch, and indulged his cronies!"

Yang Guang flew into a rage, shouting, "Guards!!"

Soon, several soldiers came before him. "Go and bring that bastard Yang Jian back to me! And his cronies too!!"

"Yes, sir!" The soldiers hurriedly left, and Yang Guang angrily cursed, "That scoundrel! How dare he do this?!"

"I have failed in my duty to discipline them! I have failed in my duty to discipline them!"

Yuwen Shu hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, Prince Qi is not the kind of person who would seize a woman from the common people. He is just too young and trusts his favorite ministers too much. I think this matter was probably done by his confidants, and Prince Qi may not have known about it."

Yang Guang glared at him angrily, "Are you going to plead for this brat too?!"

Yuwen Shu bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I dare not! This is merely my speculation. Your Majesty should consult with the Prince of Qi before issuing any orders. You must not blindly believe the words of just one person."

Yang Guang kept a straight face and didn't say a word.

The atmosphere was extremely cold, and neither Yuwen Shu nor Li Xuanba spoke.

The atmosphere was only broken when Yang Jian walked in disheveled and knelt before Yang Guang.

"His Majesty!!"

When Yang Jian saw Yang Guang, he immediately burst into tears.

"Your subject mistakenly trusted a treacherous villain, resulting in this disastrous outcome. Your subject confesses his guilt! Your subject confesses his guilt!!"

He cried loudly, which enraged Yang Guang. He stood up and walked to the Prince of Qi, almost striking him. Yuwen Shu reacted quickly and stepped in front of Yang Guang, saying, "Your Majesty! Please don't be angry! Please don't be angry!"

Yang Guang stared at Yang Jian and asked coldly, "Speak! What exactly happened?!"

"Your Majesty once told me that I had too many confidants around me, and that these people might not all be trustworthy. But I was foolish and failed to realize this. I let my guard down. I never expected that those two beasts, Qiao Lingze and She Dizhongqi, would forge my orders, abduct women, and rape them!"

"Your Majesty, I only learned of this today, and I am devastated! This has all happened because I failed to discipline my children properly and trusted a villain. I beg Your Majesty to punish me! I have no complaints whatsoever!"

Yang Jian cried his heart out, and even hit himself hard a few times.

Seeing his son in such pain, Yang Guang sighed and then waved his hand.

"Get out! From today onwards, you are no longer the Prefect of Henan. Go home and leave whenever you are allowed to!!"

Yang Jian bowed to the emperor while weeping, and then left the place.

Yang Guang sat down again and slowly looked at Li Xuanba.

Yang Guang's expression immediately improved. "If it weren't for Xuanba, I would have been almost deceived by these treacherous villains!"

He looked at Yuwen Shu and said, "When Duke Xu first said that this man was my Huo Qubing, I was still a little hesitant to believe it. Now I believe it. For the sake of my reputation, and to prevent treacherous villains from fooling me, Xuan Ba ​​did not hesitate to force his way into the Prince of Qi's residence! He did not hesitate to offend the Prince of Qi!"

"Could you find another loyal minister like this in the world?"

"Actually, I have known for a long time that there are some wicked people gathered around Prince Qi, but everyone in the court either wants to curry favor with Prince Qi or is afraid of him, so no one dares to tell me about this. Only Xuanba is not afraid at all, which makes me very happy!"

Yuwen Shu pursed his lips. "Your Majesty, General Li is indeed loyal. His loyalty is commendable!"

Yang Guang looked at Li Xuanba and took a deep breath.

"Li Xuanba!"

"Chen is here!"

"You are hereby appointed as a General of the Vanguard to oversee the recruitment of elite troops! The Ministry of War and the other twelve guards must provide full cooperation!"

"You must recruit 30,000 soldiers for me within a year!"

"I don't want ordinary soldiers, I want fierce and valiant warriors! If you can do that, I will appoint you as the Valiant General and lead this fierce army!"

"Here!"

(End of this chapter)