Chapter 234 Shocking Change
"I."

With this word, the civil and military officials straightened their backs consciously but lowered their heads, indicating that they were listening to the monarch's will with a serious attitude and were respectful to their lord.

"I want to fight first and then stop the war. All of you, prepare for battle immediately. Tomorrow I will personally lead the troops to resist the Turks!"

"Your Majesty, this is impossible. The emperor is so important that he cannot be easily moved!"

As the saying goes, if you seek the best, you will get the middle; if you seek the middle, you will get the worst; if you seek the worst, you will get nothing. Li Jiancheng said that he would lead the army in person, which actually showed his attitude of wanting to fight first. Sure enough, all the ministers now only advised him not to lead the army in person, and no one suggested negotiating first.

Li Jiancheng frowned and accepted the opinions of his ministers, preparing to select the commander of the army. All the military heroes rushed to compete for the first place, even Shan Xiongxin and Qin Shubao, whose bodies had not yet fully recovered, were no exception.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to go and destroy the Turkic arrogance!"

Qin Wang Li Shimin was carried in by someone, his arms and legs lifted off the ground. While speaking loudly, he did not forget to glare at his brother-in-law.

If Changsun Wuji had not advised him, he would not have taken the imperial staff. Otherwise, in the absence of Duke Weiguo, it would have been a foregone conclusion that he would be the commander-in-chief.

But in his current condition, he can’t even walk, let alone ride a horse to face the enemy. His position as commander-in-chief is most likely in jeopardy.

Sure enough, before Li Jiancheng could even open his mouth, the military heroes tried their best to recommend themselves, saying that the Prince of Qin was injured and should recuperate in the capital.

Among the generals Xu Shiji, Wang Shichong, Li Mi, Du Fuwei, Yang Jishan, Wang Bo, and Zhai Rang, the emperor appointed Xu Shiji, the Duke of Lihu and the General of the Left Guard, as the chief general without hesitation.

Li Shimin was certainly a good choice, but it was really too demoralizing for a general to command thousands of troops with his butt sticking up.

After the position of the main general was decided, the rest became easy. The emperor only left the Prince of Qin, Qin Shubao and Shan Xiongxin to guard Chang'an to prevent the Turks from dividing their troops and launching a surprise attack.

The rest of the generals, together with Wang Long, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui as military advisers, led 150,000 troops to the north to meet the enemy.

The military situation was urgent and the officials and generals in charge of military supplies left one after another, regardless of the fact that it was still dark.

On the second day, only tens of thousands of vanguards rushed to the front line to provide support, and it would take some time for the entire army to advance.

At this time, information from the grassland began to arrive one after another. A new emperor appoints new ministers. After Shi Bi's death, Jie Li came to power. Many of Li Jiancheng's old friends were expelled from Dali City, and the sensitivity of the news naturally began to slow down.

In addition to failing to help Princess Yicheng's son inherit the throne of Great Khan, she also began to use actions to hit the Tang Dynasty.

In addition, two envoys sent by the Khans of the two Turkic tribes also arrived. They were very arrogant and kept clamoring to turn everywhere into grassland along the way.

Tongyehu sent his uncle Gelulu, while Jie Li sent the chief of the Zhishi tribe under his command, Zhishisili.

Li Jiancheng did not know the former, but he had met the latter several times in his life.

Li Jiancheng was not too surprised by the Turkic envoys. Although they were very fast, they still failed to reach the city of Chang'an before the Tang Dynasty could react.

If Chang'an had been prepared in advance, it would have been the most easily defended and difficult to attack city in the world, and it would not have been possible to break through it with hundreds of thousands of cavalry.

Since we can't eat the fat, we have to bite off a piece of fat to go back for the winter.

"Xuan."

As the two Turkic envoys proudly entered the hall, they simply bowed perfunctorily to Li Jiancheng, then raised their heads and looked directly at him.

Qin Shubao's face, which had been slightly pale due to lying in bed for a long time, now turned blood red due to anger. He wished he could rush forward and crush them to death in the hall one by one.

However, Pei Ji, the Zuo Pushe who should have spoken at this time, did not utter a word. Just when Li Jiancheng was about to speak, a voice came from outside the hall: "The Supreme Emperor has arrived." This is the disadvantage of unifying the world as quickly as possible. Millions of people lived more, but because he relied too much on the royal family and Guanlong, he did not have such actual control over the court and the local areas.

In theory, this is not a big deal. At least he has absolute confidence that he can suppress any rebellion. And if he lacks power, he can replace his confidants with important positions through gradual progress over five or six years.

But unexpectedly, Li Yuan, who had always been law-abiding, suddenly became restless.

Li Jiancheng glanced at Pei Ji, then stood up and solemnly, but had no intention of going down the hall to greet him in person.

The civil and military officials were also astonished. This was the first time that the emperor had come to the Xuanzheng Hall since the founding of the country. They couldn't help but think about the implications of this.

But when they saw that the emperor had no intention of ordering them to welcome the retired emperor and their colleagues did not move, they remained standing.

But soon, Zuo Pushe Pei Ji moved and went out of the hall to meet them. His action naturally led his confidants, and the royal family also moved at this time.

The only things on the minds of the officials who had not yet taken action were internal and external troubles.

The least surprised were the two envoys sent by the Turks. They seemed to be waiting for this scene.

Soon, the retired emperor came to the palace surrounded by Guanlong and clan members.

Your Majesty, the current emperor, is arbitrary and has promoted too many scholars from Shandong, Jiangnan and other places to serve in the court. He has no intention of showing special favor to the nobles and royal family members, but instead constantly restricts them with criminal laws.

Are we, the royal family, supposed to be treated the same as the lowly people in the world?

If we look at it this way, the current emperor is not as good as Emperor Yang!
At least during the reign of Emperor Yang, they could still live happily in Chang'an.

Geluolu and Zhishishili suddenly saluted Li Yuan solemnly: "Father of the Emperor of the Central Plains, please accept the blessings of the two Khans."

Li Yuan is fifty-four years old this year, but he looks exceptionally young because of his wealth. There is no white hair on his temples. He walks in with the gait of a dragon and a tiger, wearing court robes that are almost the same as the emperor's.

Li Jiancheng had nothing to understand after seeing this. No wonder the Eastern and Western Turkic tribes suddenly stopped fighting, and no wonder the court only received the news after the Turks had already approached Chang'an.

These were what Li Jiancheng was best at, but once he stepped out from behind the scenes to the front stage, he lost the opportunity to shoot sneak attacks and instead became the most watched and immovable target.

Speaking of it, when Yang Guang was the Prince of Jin, he also came up with endless schemes to seize the throne, but when he became the emperor, he seemed stupid.

This is caused by the different positions. The same is true for Li Jiancheng now. As emperor, he is subject to far more restrictions than before.

Li Yuan looked at the shocked ministers and his expressionless eldest son. He felt a little nervous, but more excited.

He was only over fifty years old, and could still ride a strong horse and pull a strong bow. His ambitions had never been realized, and he was unwilling to just start playing with his grandchildren.

He left behind a reputation in history similar to that of Liu Taigong, the father of Emperor Gaozu of Han, and was ridiculed by later generations for being able to leave a name for himself thanks to his son.

If it had always been like before the founding of the country, everyone would have advised him to give up the throne, but in the past two years, more and more officials from aristocratic families and royal families began to support him.

And took the initiative to help him contact his followers, and even reached a tacit understanding with the Turks...

Li Yuan sighed in his heart. Just a few years, just a few years. Jiancheng is still so young. Then I will hand over the power to the government and go back to Tai'an Palace and never come out again.

...............

(End of this chapter)