In the morning.
Li Er did not tell the story of Li Tai's arrest in front of the civil and military officials. On the one hand, he felt that it was his family matter and there was no need to bring it up in court; on the other hand, regarding Li Tai He has done all he can to get caught. Whether he can rescue Li Tai now depends entirely on Li Junxian's personal ability. Even if he tells the courtiers, he has no idea of the final outcome of the matter. What a help!
The main topic of today's morning meeting was the issue of 150,000 soldiers from various provinces entering Beijing for training.
"... Shangzhou, Puzhou, Ningzhou, Liangzhou, Qizhou, Qingzhou and other twelve prefectures have chosen the Chongfu. More than 8,000 elite soldiers have arrived outside Chang'an City and have set up camp in the Niushou Mountain area! South of the city The construction of the main camp is expected to be completed in two days. By then, all the soldiers from all over the country can move into the camp! In other prefectures and counties far away from Chang'an City, the elite soldiers selected by the local Zhechong Prefecture will also be able to move into the camp. We are all on the way and will arrive in Chang'an City soon!"
Li Jing, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, was reporting to Li Er in the Taiji Hall on the progress of 150,000 elite soldiers entering Beijing.
The previous fund-raising meeting held by the Yanhuang Chamber of Commerce in Lantian County was a great success beyond everyone's expectations. It raised a total of 428,500 yuan of military supplies for the imperial court. With the money, the Ministry of Household Affairs was finally able to release funds. They worked hard and worked with the Ministry of Works to recruit civilian laborers and craftsmen, and worked day and night to build camps for the 150,000 troops that were about to enter Beijing. The progress was nearly twice as fast as before!
"Well! Pharmacist Lao has to worry about the placement of these soldiers!"
After hearing this, Li Er nodded expressionlessly and said: "Since soldiers from various places have arrived in Chang'an City one after another, those who arrive first will be trained first. The war between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks will take longer than we expected." It will be sooner rather than later. Yao Shi and Shu Bao must seize the time to allow these elite soldiers from all over the country to form combat strength as soon as possible!"
Li Erlao had long wanted to attack the Turks. If Wu Jie's sneaking into Yanhuang Academy to steal information was just a catalyst, then last night's kidnapping of Li Tai by Turkic spies was equivalent to directly igniting the powder keg. Those Turkic spies had already touched Li Tai. Er's reverse scale, after all, if a man can't protect his wife and children, what kind of man is he? Not to mention that Li Er is not an ordinary man, he is the emperor, and the king of a country!
When the emperor was angry, he laid down millions of corpses and bled for thousands of miles!
Now Lao Li is extremely eager to attack the Turks. However, because the logistics are not fully prepared and the Northern Expedition army lacks training, Li Er has to postpone the date of the national war to two months later!
"Old minister, I obey the order!"
Li Jing and Qin Qiong could both hear the urgency in Li Er's tone, and upon hearing the words, they stepped forward and clasped their fists.
Previously, Li Er appointed Li Jing as the general manager of the 150,000 elite soldiers and Qin Qiong as the general. They were respectively responsible for the daily management and training of this army.
After a pause, Li Jing showed hesitation. After several hesitations, he still cupped his fists towards Li Er and said: "Your Majesty, the soldiers from various provinces who recently arrived in Chang'an City were supposed to be soldiers and horses from Bingzhou, but the old minister got the news that Taiyuan The gates of the city have been closed in recent days, and no one can enter or exit, so Bingzhou’s soldiers and horses may not be able to reach Chang’an in the past few days!”
Taiyuan is closed!
Hearing the news from Li Jing, the ministers in the court couldn't help but be shocked. At this time, they recalled that Li Jing had just said that among the twelve state troops who arrived outside Chang'an City, there were no soldiers from Bingzhou. Logically speaking, this is very inappropriate! Because the distance between Bingzhou and Chang'an City is closer than many of the twelve states! Now when they heard Li Jing say that Taiyuan was closed, everyone was first stunned, and then shocked!
Taiyuan City is the largest city in the north of the Tang Dynasty. Why was it closed for no reason? What happened there
Li Er, who was sitting at the top, changed his expression slightly at this time, but soon returned to normal. He said calmly: "Don't worry about Bingzhou's soldiers and horses! A large number of Turkic spies were discovered in Taiyuan City a few days ago, and I have sent hundreds of cavalry there. Taiyuan is captured, so the whole city of Taiyuan is under martial law these days. After the storm calms down, the government soldiers in Taiyuan will naturally come to Chang'an!"
"Turkic spy?"
Hearing this, the courtiers in the palace couldn't help but be shocked and started talking among themselves.
Li Er was unwilling to say anything more on this topic. He coughed lightly and signaled the courtiers to be quiet. A glint flashed in the corner of Li Jing's eyes, as if he understood what Li Er meant. He stepped forward and clasped his fists and said, "Old minister, I obey!"
Li Er nodded, looked at the group of civil servants on the left side of the court, and asked in a deep voice:
"Xiao Aiqing, how are the provisions for the 150,000 soldiers in the next three months being prepared?"
As the saying goes, before the troops move, food and grass go first. Although most of the 150,000 soldiers are still on the way, the court must prepare at least three months of food and grass for them in advance! And the Tang Dynasty, which had just received a huge sum of money from a fund-raising meeting, now indeed has the confidence and strength!
"Back to Your Majesty! About 70% of the food and fodder required by the army has been prepared. All preparations will be completed before the entire army of 150,000 arrives in Chang'an City!"
Xiao Yu calmly stepped forward and cupped his hands.
The Ministry of Revenue is not short of money now, and the efficiency in getting things done is unparalleled. Therefore, Xiao Yu, the steward of the Tang Dynasty treasury, is now more confident in speaking than before!
"very good!"
Li Er nodded with satisfaction, then turned his eyes, looked at the ministers and said seriously:
"Two months later, the imperial court will send its troops north to attack the grassland. By then, not only will the 300,000-strong army composed of major battalions in the capital be the main force, but this elite army recruited from the various states of the Tang Dynasty will also be the main force in the northern expedition!
There was a sentence in the "Datang Daily" that I think is very good. All the people are responsible for the rise and fall of the country. At the previous fund-raising meeting in Lantian County, the businessmen and ordinary people in the market all had the country's righteousness in their hearts and were willing to fight for the imperial court. The Turks have generously donated their money, and the princes have read the books of sages, are in the court, and have the country's salary, so they should work hard and seize the time to prepare for the imperial court's northern expedition!
In the past two months, I hope that all the officials in the six departments of the court can put aside all selfish thoughts and concentrate on making various preparations for the Northern Expedition Army before the expedition, and strive to ensure that the combat strength of the 450,000 Northern Expedition Army can be achieved within two months. A few months later, we’ll reach another level!
In this battle, you can only win but not lose. If you win, all the ministers can continue to be prosperous and wealthy. If you lose, your country will be ruined and your family will be destroyed! "
As soon as the four words "the country is destroyed and the family is destroyed" came out, the atmosphere in the entire hall suddenly became a little tense. Li Er did not deliberately yell, but every word he said was sonorous and powerful, resounding throughout the room. In every corner of the hall, all the officials in the hall were moved, and all the officials bowed down and said:
"I obey the decree and must work hard to prepare for war against the Turks!"
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