Chapter 2: Xuanzong grants marriage

After Li Longji ascended the throne, the court stabilized. While preparing for the marriage, Chen Wanrong focused on military weapons supervision.

On that day, as soon as Chen Wanrong arrived at the military weapon surveillance, he saw Ye Tianheng, Liang Lingzan, Guan Yibing, Liu Huaide, Seng and others gathered together, discussing it all. When he saw that their faces were filled with joy, as if there was a huge happy event.

"Early early in the morning, you are so happy, have you found a treasure?" Chen Wanrong teased.

"Picking up treasures? It's so vulgar!" The monk and his party teased: "Mr. Chen, are you looking at money? You always think about gold and silver treasures?"

He had a good relationship with the monk and his party. Chen Wanrong slapped his shoulder and smiled and said, "Master, you don't like gold and silver treasures, what do you eat? Oh, you know fasting skills and don't need to eat or drink."

"I don't know how to fast, Taoist master will do it." The monk and his side laughed.

Ye Tianheng held Chen Wanrong's hand and kept it in hiding: "My friend, guess why we are so happy? For the sake of our good friendship, I tell you that this is more happy than picking up a baby."

"Master, it's better not to say this reminder." Chen Wanrong smiled and retorted, making everyone laugh, and then said: "It's not difficult to guess. If I guessed correctly, the steam engine should have made progress, right?"

"It's so amazing!" Liang Lingzan praised: "I'm a general who has been a general, and I'll be right at first guess."

Chen Wanrong waved his hand and said, "It's not difficult to guess. Our military weapon supervisor has many treasures to do. The only thing that can make you so happy is this steam engine. The steam engine is the heart. With the steam engine, our workshop will not need to be built on the shore of the Wei River, but will be driven by hydraulic power."

"Hey, if I had known that you could think so, I wouldn't have had to kindly remind you." Ye Tianheng looked regretful.

Kou Yibing patted his shoulder and said, "Master, are you kind-hearted? You are keeping it!"

Everyone burst into laughter again. Ye Tianheng touched his face and said, "Luckily, I'm not afraid of you making fun of it."

Chen Wanrong asked with a smile: "Tell me, what's the progress?"

"Master Liang's case is about this." Liu Huaide patted Liang Lingzan's shoulder and said, "This is all Master Liang's idea."

Liang Lingzan was not polite and drew on the table: "General Chen, I think this steam engine is indeed a good baby, but it is quite troublesome to do it. Fortunately, with the machine tool, it is not difficult to do it. I think that my staff has been taught almost enough, so I should add some more people to it."

Ye Tianheng interrupted him: "Master Liang, what kind of manpower is added? I'll let you take care of it. My friend, do you agree?"

"If you want to talk about the military weapon supervisor's understanding of these, no one can be above Master Liang. I do not agree, but completely agree." Chen Wanrong agreed happily and asked: "Master Liang, if you were asked to make this steam engine, how much time would you expect to complete it?"

The steam engine is power, which is really important. With the steam engine, many things are easy to handle. Chen Wanrong hopes to do it now.

Liang Lingzan estimated briefly and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, it can be completed in three to five months."

"Three or five months? It's much shorter than the year and half we expected." Ye Tianheng was the happiest and reminded him: "Master Liang, everything is difficult at the beginning. This first steam engine is more difficult to manufacture. The main reason is that we have no experience, need to explore, and need to practice. Once the first one is done, we will become familiar with it, and it will be much faster to do it in the future. Master Liang, you must teach more disciples!"

"That's right!" Everyone agreed in unison.

Liang Lingzan nodded and said, "That's certain."

This matter was decided and was officially assigned to Liang Lingzan for management. Although Liang Lingzan had not been in the military weapon supervision for a long time, Chen Wanrong had a deep understanding of his outstanding mechanical talent. He said that he would definitely be able to complete it in three to five months, so he couldn't help but feel relieved.

At this moment, we discussed the issue for a while and went to work.

In a hurry, an eunuch came hurriedly and greeted him: "I have met General Chen. General Chen, the emperor has ordered you to enter the palace immediately."

Chen Wanrong is a military official, and there is no major matter. Whether this court can go to the court or not. Now, the situation in the court has stabilized. Chen Wanrong focuses on handling military equipment supervision affairs and has not been to the court for a few days. Hearing this, he hurriedly asked: "What happened in the court?"

"General, it's okay, the emperor wants to summon you." The eunuch replied.

Without saying much, he left immediately. He entered the Daming Palace and rushed to the Luanxiang Pavilion. He saw a few people in the room, Li Longji, Yao Chong, Geshuhan, Wu Jing, Yang Sixu, and a few censors.

Yang Sixu has returned from triumphantly on the expedition to Annan.

"I've seen the emperor!" Chen Wanrong greeted him.

Li Longji waved his hand and said, "I'm fine, I'm fine, I'll sit there."

Chen Wanrong responded and sat down. Li Longji glanced at everyone and said with some emotion: "In the past, when my father discussed affairs, there were a lot of people here. When I came to discuss affairs, there were only you people here. The selection of talents must be carried out quickly. Yao Chong, how much you have to worry."

"Prince, please rest assured, I understand." Yao Chong took the order.

The case of Princess Taiping involves a wide range of issues. Most of the officials who can come here to discuss matters were killed by Ruizong. Now, less than ten people are sitting together, which is too few.

The reason why Wu Jing and the censors were able to participate in the discussion was because Li Longji restored the system of Emperor Taizong of Tang and allowed historians and censors to participate in the discussion of politics, otherwise there would be even fewer people.

Li Longji continued: "Before talking about the serious business, let's talk about a private matter. There are many major events in the court, and Chen Wanrong has to postpone the marriage. In order to compensate you, I decided to take charge of the marriage for you in person."

"Ah!" No one expected that Li Longji would have thought so, and he couldn't help but be surprised.

"Your Majesty, this is not allowed." Although Xuanzong gave marriage to the emperor, Xuanzong had just ascended the throne and was about to take action. There were too many things to do, and even the effort of drinking water was important. Chen Wanrong didn't want Xuanzong to spend his time.

Li Longji continued, "What's wrong? When I arrived in Ning County that day, didn't you still beg me to be a matchmaker for you? Now, I want to take the marriage for you, but you don't do it anymore. Are you pretending to be a hypocritical?"

This was a joke and everyone burst into laughter.

"Since this is the case, I am more respectful than obedient." Chen Wanrong simply gave up and was not polite.

Li Longji said, "Although I am coming, I do not want you to have a grand ceremony. I will set up a few tables of banquets to make everyone happy. For decades, extravagance has been prevalent, and I have decided to advocate frugality and suppress luxury. Chen Wanrong is highly valued by your father and has not been in the dynasty for a long time. He is also an old minister of the two dynasties. He has saved me his life. In the eyes of others, you must be a person who is deeply favored by me. Your every move is noticed by others. Therefore, I hope to start with you and let the world know that I advocate frugality and suppress luxury."

Is this too calculating? Chen Wanrong actually included Chen Wanrong's marriage in government affairs. Chen Wanrong really didn't expect it, and Wu Jing and the others couldn't imagine it, so they were stunned.

Chen Wanrong has no vanity, nor does he advocate luxury. Although Zheng Jianqiu is a wealthy businessman, he maintains his frugal nature. Chen Wanrong has no reason to object to this matter and nods, "Prince, please rest assured, I understand!"

"Then you're going to be determined." Li Longji joked: "No matter how frugal you are, you have to take care of enough wine. You must make everyone eat and drink well. You can't treat frugality as stingy!"

"Haha!" Yao Chong and the others burst into laughter, and the atmosphere suddenly became lively.

After talking about his personal affairs, Li Longji regained his meticulous nature, with a solemn face and said, "Summon you to discuss something big with you. You can take a look at this first." He picked up a piece of paper and handed it to Yao Chong.

Yao Chong saw it and handed it to Chen Wanrong. Chen Wanrong was shocked when he saw it. This was a letter of intelligence sent by the Western Regions Protectorate. It was said that not long ago, he found that the team of big cannibals were heading east, with weapons and iron, which should have been from the Hou Turks.

The journey is too far, and the Western Regions Protectorate is beyond reach and cannot be stopped.

After reading, Chen Wanrong handed it to Geshuhan and finished reading it one by one. Li Longji then said: "As soon as Tubo is broken, the Tang Dynasty will lose one strong opponent, and the troops can be used in a concentrated manner. If Dashi and the Turks are not in a hurry, I will be surprised. Therefore, there is no need to make a fuss, which is normal."

This is right. At that time, the Tang Dynasty was the most powerful. None of Tubo, Dashi and the Later Turks could compete with the Tang Dynasty alone. For decades, the three parties colluded with each other and colluded to restrain the Tang Dynasty from three sides, dispersing the Tang Dynasty's power and unable to concentrate on using its troops.

Now, the strong enemy of Tubo is gone. The more than 100,000 troops originally used to guard against Tubo have become strategic mobile forces and can be invested in any battlefield that they want to invest. Later Turks and Dashi naturally feel threatened. They will inevitably take action and take corresponding measures.

"The emperor is wise!" Everyone was convinced by Xuanzong's calmness and analysis.

Li Longji continued: "I think Dashi sent people to come with a large number of weapons and titanium to the east, so he rushed to give Mochu a great gift. The purpose was to make Mochu a pawn for the Dashi people, so that Mochu could disturb the north of the Tang Dynasty and prevent the Tang Dynasty from reinforcement of the Western Regions Protectorate."

Wu Jing said angrily: "Dashi's abacus is very good, I'm afraid Mochu won't be fooled by him."

"No!" Ge Shuhan disagreed with Wu Jing's opinion: "Mr. Wu is a bad word. If I expected it to be good, Mochu would definitely send troops to attack the surrendered three cities in the next year."

Wu Jingda was surprised and asked, "General Geshu, what do you mean?"

Several censors couldn't figure it out, so they looked at Geshuhan and looked forward to his answer.

Ge Shuhan analyzed: "This principle is actually obvious. Lord Wu, please think, if Mochu doesn't defeat the three cities, what will happen? Tubo has been broken and the Tang Dynasty has lost a strong opponent. What will the Tang Dynasty do next? Anyone with discerning eyes can see that the Tang Dynasty must concentrate its troops and go north with all its might to defeat the Turks.

"If you want to minimize the attacks of the Tang Dynasty, you have to re-occupy the land in the south of the desert. To re-occupy the land in the south of the desert, you have to take down the three cities of surrender. If the Tang Dynasty does not have the three cities of surrender, there will be no place to establish itself on the north bank of the Yellow River. If the Tang Dynasty retains the three cities of surrender, Mochu will lose its foothold in the south of the desert.

"More important point is that the Tang Dynasty could start from the three cities that were surrendered and attack the northern desert. Although the desert was terrible, it was not inconquering. As early as the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, wouldn't the Han army cross the desert and attack the royal court of the Huns?

"Therefore, Mochu must have wanted to take down the three cities of surrender before the Tang army headed north. Moreover, this time, he must have no cost. As long as he can win the three cities of surrender, even if he loses 100,000 and 200,000 troops, Mochu will be worth it. Besides, his strength will be greatly improved by the weapons and iron he obtained from Dashi. He must be full of confidence and will win.

"The war next year must start with the surrender of the three cities!"

This analysis was intimate and thorough, and Wu Jing suddenly realized and felt ashamed: "What General Geshu said is reasonable, Wu Jing has been taught." He is a historian, and he must have a way of writing history. If he asked him to analyze these military strategies, he would be far inferior to Geshu Han.

"General Geshu's analysis is reasonable, I fully agree!" Yao Chong took the lead in expressing his opinion.

Yang Sixu also agreed. Chen Wanrong had no objection.

Li Longji nodded and said, "Brother Shuhan said everything I want to say. I think so, so I summoned you here to discuss countermeasures. What do you think, how should the Tang Dynasty respond?"

Yao Chong took the lead in expressing his opinion: "Emperor, I think that Dashi and Turks seem to be two, but in fact they are one. Dashi's move is sinister. I think they will take advantage of Mochu's chance to fight in the north and make great battles in the Western Regions."

Wu Jing is a good historian, but not a very strategist. He couldn't figure it out and asked, "Yao Xiang, wouldn't Dashi use Mochu as a pawn?"

Li Longji took over the conversation and said, "Wu Jing, you, the historian, have written historian well, but you don't know these skills of power and strategy. Yes, Dashi has the intention to let Mochu be a pawn. But, you think, if Dashi does not occupy more places before the Tang Dynasty advanced westward before it was largely moving, and when will it be? They don't move now, and when the Tang Dynasty advances westward, they will have no chance. Therefore, Dashi will definitely make big moves in the coming year, occupying more land in the Western Regions and occupying a more favorable position, and will have more chances of victory when competing with the Tang Dynasty in the future!"

"Your Majesty, I am ashamed." Wu Jing suddenly realized.

"Are you a historian?" Li Longji said with a smile.

It is enough for a historian to write a good historical book, and he cannot be required to understand these strategic measures.

"Yao Chong, what do you think the Tang Dynasty should deal with it?" Li Longji asked for advice.

Yao Chong said, "Although Dashi's abacus is good, he made a mistake. The emperor, I think that the army should be increased to the north now. Although the north is now in the snow and ice, it is not conducive to war, so it is still feasible to mobilize troops."

Li Longji nodded and said, "It's feasible, I think so too. I think about it before and after that, this war will be inevitable next year, and the Turks will come in full force. They will not give up if they don't take down the surrendered three cities. This is so good, I will give him a trick and take this opportunity to annihilate Mochu's main force in the south of the desert.

"In order to completely defeat the Huns, Emperor Wu of Han sent out all the troops to cross the desert. Although he achieved great success, he also paid a huge price. When he left the pass, he had 140,000 official horses, but when he came back, less than 30,000 horses were found. If Mochu didn't move south in large quantities, it would be impossible for the Tang Dynasty to welcome him north. It was very difficult to cross the desert. When he came, he would save trouble."

Everything has two sides. Mochuo was ambitious to seize the three cities of surrender and drive the Tang army south of the Yellow River. However, for the Tang Dynasty, this was a great opportunity to annihilate his main force.

Everyone was very impressed by Li Longji's decision and said, "The emperor is wise!"

Li Longji continued: "There are more than 100,000 troops in the north, so there will be no problem in defending the three cities surrendered. It is far from enough to annihilate Mochu's 400,000 troops. The northern region is not as good as Tubo. The mountains are high and dense, and the terrain is dangerous, which is not conducive to the large army's combat. Therefore, in the battle of Tubo, the Tang Dynasty only used 100,000 troops. In this battle next year, I decided to mobilize 500,000 troops to completely annihilate Mochu's army, and to the north of Yongjing Desert."

Yao Chong pondered for a moment and asked, "Emperor, isn't there too many troops of 500,000 to be invested in Mobei?"

Li Longji waved his right hand and said, "Not much! The desert is wide and the grassland is vast and boundless, which is suitable for large army combat. Not to mention the 500,000 army, even a million army can be developed. Besides, I want to fight and make every effort. I will not put the 500,000 army in the surrendered city, but have other arrangements. I have already thought about this, but it is not convenient to reveal it to you here."

This is the highest military secret. The fewer people know, the better. Everyone has nothing to say about it.

It can be heard that Li Longji made great determination to completely eliminate the Turks in the post-year period. This battle next year will definitely be exciting. Chen Wanrong couldn't help but feel excited and stood up: "Your Majesty, I am willing to participate in the war, so please allow me!"

Also invited to fight were Geshuhan: "Your Majesty, Geshuhan is willing to die on the battlefield!"

Yang Sixu was not willing to fall behind: "Your Majesty, I ask for a fight!"
To be continued...