After an hour of duel between the emperor and his ministers, although the king of Goguryeo had not yet figured out the identity of this young general of the Tang Dynasty, he figured out another thing.
That is, it is not impossible for Datang to send troops, but the amount of money spent in a war is not a small amount. Datang cannot provide this money, right
And not only that, since you are asking for help from the Tang Dynasty, you naturally cannot let the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty completely resist foreign enemies for Goguryeo, right? With so many people in your barracks, you can't just watch our soldiers of the Tang Dynasty fight for you through life and death. You just sit back and enjoy the blessings in the barracks, right
In short, according to the wishes of this young General of the Tang Dynasty, it is not impossible for the Tang Dynasty to send troops immediately. If the money and people are in place, everything else will be easy to deal with.
And this made him completely desperate. Leaving an army to guard the royal city was equivalent to giving money to the Tang Dynasty, and then the generals of the Tang Dynasty took some soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, and then brought their own soldiers, mainly from Goguryeo. They defended themselves against Silla and Baekje.
If that's all, you can do it yourself, why do you need them to help you
But no matter what he said, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty had already closed his eyes and rested his mind. It seemed that he had completely left this matter to this young general to handle.
After pondering for a long time, even Li Zhi couldn't help but quietly opened his eyes because he couldn't hear the bargaining sounds in the court. He only heard Gao Zang gritting his teeth and saying: "Okay, I agree to the request of the superior country and am willing to send my soldiers from Goguryeo to connect with the superior country." The Chinese soldiers helped us to defend Goguryeo against foreign enemies.”
"Oh, that's right. Don't forget, if it weren't for us, you would have become the subjugated king of Goguryeo. So, no matter what, this account is a good deal for you." Li Hong wears a helmet, and no matter how he smiles, he always gives people a ferocious look.
"But I don't know how much money this general wants me to allocate... to help my country help Goguryeo resist foreign enemies?" Gao Zang nodded with difficulty. When talking about the money, he was still a little nervous and aggrieved. He had no choice but to lie to himself. was changed to a fee.
He was also wondering why the Tang Dynasty did not directly capture him, but continued to maintain his identity as the King of Goryeo? Although I had doubts in my heart, I didn't have time to think too much. What's more, since the country can not be destroyed, but it is surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, it is not a big deal, then the same is true for Silla and Baekje. They enter the Tang Dynasty every year and pay tribute every year.
"It's easy to say, we can just let them discuss this matter later. Do you think that such a small matter needs to bother His Majesty the Tang Dynasty?" Li Hong smiled naturally, but he still looked very ferocious.
After the business was settled, the natural next step was the banquet hosted by the Goguryeo royal family for the Emperor of Tang Dynasty, and the Emperor of Tang Dynasty's current visit to the Goguryeo royal family.
With Hua Meng and the others accompanying them, including the elite soldiers and generals of Jinwu Guard, and the entire royal city being controlled by the Tang Dynasty, Li Hong felt relieved and did not follow.
Ge Xiyuan wanted to continue following His Majesty, but was stopped by Li Hong. But Li Hong didn't know that because he didn't notice it, his father Long had a second youth here and had a cross-border love affair.
Ge Xiyuan is still a little afraid of Li Hong, especially when the sharp horizontal knife was placed on his neck that day at the foot of Anshi City, his legs were already weak, otherwise he would not be able to let the prince His Highness slapped the back of the knife and knelt on the ground.
At this time, when he heard His Highness the Crown Prince calling him, his heart suddenly started to tumble. He looked calm on the surface, but inside he was already filled with fear. He didn't know how he had offended His Highness the Crown Prince.
At this time, Li Hong slowly took off his helmet, and his smile became much softer. Ge Xiyuan's somewhat sluggish expression also softened for a moment. He walked quickly to Li Hong and asked: "Your Highness, I don't know what you are doing." What's the matter?"
"It's no big deal. They're going over there, and we're going to go over here." Li Hong threw his helmet and sword to Hua Meng behind him, and pointed to the pavilion in the small garden.
The two of them strolled to the garden pavilion and sat down. Li Hong stretched himself out in a hurry and murmured: "Among the people who are following His Majesty's imperial conquests, I look around and you are the only one who compares with Shi Zangjie." It’s suitable for this matter, but Shi Zangjie is far inferior to you, so after careful consideration, I still think it’s up to you to do it.”
"Your Highness, please give me your orders. I will fulfill my mission." Ge Xiyuan had just touched his butt on the stone bench and stood up quickly again.
"Sit down, don't be surprised. You heard what I said in the palace just now. Maybe you don't agree with my proposal and feel that I have harmed the Crown Prince by bargaining with the King of Goguryeo and extorting their money. Identity is a bit too philistine..."
"I dare not..."
"Can you please sit down and talk properly?" Li Hong stared impatiently with his eyes like bells.
Ge Xiyuan had no choice but to sit down again, and said with a straight face, "Your Highness, I have absolutely no intention of doing this."
Li Hong sighed, tapping his fingers rhythmically on the stone table, looking into the distance, and said solemnly: "We, the Tang Dynasty, are working on expeditions and sending out troops. Is it too much to ask them for some money? This is not philistine, let alone philistine. It's not an insult to the country's prestige. Besides, do you think I asked for this money from the royal family? The soldiers of the Tang Dynasty are also human beings. They are all born and raised by their parents, and they are all treasures in the eyes of each other's parents, right? But war has always been ruthless, and when there is war, there will be death, but we cannot let them fight thousands of miles for the Tang Dynasty. When they finally die in a foreign land, we cannot get even the most basic comfort. Bring them back safe and sound, but we also need to give their parents some support while bringing their bodies back as much as possible. Otherwise, who will work for me, Datang, in the future? I wonder if the people of the Tang Dynasty don't understand the principles of Wang Chen. They only know that they go to battle to kill the enemy because they are powerful to the Tang Dynasty, so they will sacrifice their lives if we can't do anything after their death. If we can compensate as much as possible, no one will be willing to go to Liaodong to fight for the Tang Dynasty in the future."
Of the nearly 200,000 soldiers, no matter who died or lived, some of them would always shed tears of sadness when they returned to the Tang Dynasty. But no matter what era it was, people could not be resurrected after death, and they could be compensated with money. The sadness of others is not the best way, but it is the most practical way.
Ge Xiyuan was stunned. Although His Highness the Crown Prince's statement was biased, it... was indeed a good way for the court to win over people's hearts and gather the people's centripetal force.
What's more, the money was not provided by the Tang Dynasty, but by the King of Goguryeo. In this way, it was indeed more justified. Naturally, it would also allow more Tang soldiers to go on expeditions in the future without hesitation.
"Your Highness, I am ignorant. Listening to your Highness's words really enlightened me. As you said in the court, the division of the old and the weak in the government's military system is too serious. It can support us in the Tang Dynasty to be invincible on the battlefield. The backbone of the army in the land is weakening. The derivation of the recruitment system needs to let the people understand the great love of the Tang Dynasty for those who serve in the army. Only in this way can more sons of the Tang Dynasty choose to join the army and serve their country. " Xiyuan stood up again, saluted Li Hong and said.
Li Hong ignored his salute this time and murmured: "I listened to a scholar's poems before. Apparently he wrote them because he was tired of the war. So, from now on, everything on the battlefield is important. , but the source of the troops behind is the more important part. You all know the principle of drinking water and remembering the source. Isn't war a waste of human life? If you don't appease the source, it will naturally lead to the depletion of the source. But right?"
"Yes, what His Highness said is absolutely true. I understand what should be done." Ge Xiyuan said clearly.
"It's good to understand, but you can't be too harsh. There must be room for everything. As for the negotiation of territory, the Datong River will be used as the boundary. The reason... is naturally to facilitate the Tang Dynasty to mediate the conflicts between them, so for the time being, the Datong River The Tang Dynasty cannot return the land that has gone north." Li Hong made a general argument for the negotiation that Ge Xiyuan was going to face.
"Yes, Your Highness. Then... when do you think it is best for us to agree to send troops to him? As you just said in the palace, our Tang soldiers have been working hard to go on an expedition. Now they are short of men and horses, so it is not suitable to go out immediately. Should we wait for a while before agreeing? "
"That is naturally the best. This is naturally a way for you to fight for the interests of the Tang soldiers during your negotiations. As for sending troops, they are fighting on the border now anyway. Just let them spend a few more days. In this way, I am sure The casualties of Tang soldiers can also be reduced, right? Even if it is for the stability of the Tang Dynasty in the future, it is a matter of benefit and harm. It is entirely up to you to handle it. It must be reasonable and not lose the identity of the country. "Li Hong. He said easily that the maid of the Goguryeo royal family actually brought them tea and snacks.
Ge Xiyuan was not polite. After pouring tea for Li Hong himself, he felt even more determined. It was naturally his blessing to be favored by His Highness the Crown Prince. In this case, he would naturally handle the matter that His Highness the Crown Prince had told him. Beautiful and proper.
So in the following chat, Ge Xiyuan became a little absent-minded because he had to think about the negotiation. So when talking to His Highness the Crown Prince, he was repelled by His Highness the Crown Prince after he made a few indifferent remarks about him.
His Royal Highness was left sitting in the pavilion, watching the graceful palace maid shuttle back and forth in the garden.
"Your Highness, Lin Shiling, Zong Chuke, Zhang Jianzhi, Lu Zhaolin, Wang Mingyuan and others jointly sent you a memorial." Cheetah had disappeared for a while, and then suddenly ran over and said.
The above-mentioned people jointly submitted a memorial to His Highness the Crown Prince, and coupled with Cheetah's cautious and solemn expression, it is obvious that the importance of this memorial is self-evident.
(End of chapter)