"I see your Majesty." Hou Junji saluted respectfully.
Li Shimin said calmly: "Forgive me."
Hou Junji straightened his body and stood there with his eyebrows lowered, thinking in his mind why Li Shimin suddenly summoned him.
Yesterday, an urgent report from the border was sent eight hundred miles away, and he naturally got the news.
Although he knew that it was unlikely that Li Shimin would summon him to discuss matters, he still changed his clothes and had his horses ready.
Naturally, he was not among the people Li Shimin summoned in the end.
Hou Junji was unwilling to accept it, so he sent someone to investigate.
Although the content of the emergency report could not be investigated, it was discovered that the emergency report was sent from Songzhou.
With this, Hou Junji also breathed a sigh of relief.
What he was afraid of was that if Li Shimin excluded him from the urgent report from the grassland, it would mean that Li Shimin had no intention of using him.
Li Shimin looked at Hou Junji with complicated eyes.
Li Shimin had great expectations for Hou Junji.
Otherwise, when Li Jing refused to teach Hou Junji the art of war, he would not have personally come forward to let Li Jing teach Hou Junji.
In terms of military command alone, except for Li Jing and Li Ji, no one in the Tang Dynasty can surpass Hou Junji.
Of course, both Su Dingfang and Xue Rengui are definitely better than Hou Junji.
It's just that the two of them haven't shown their prominence yet, needless to say Xue Rengui, and for some reasons, Li Shimin did not reuse Su Dingfang.
"Tubo invaded Tuyuhun. Tuyuhun was defeated and asked for help from the Tang Dynasty. Tubo was ambitious. Once it annexed Tuyuhun, it would border the Tang Dynasty. For the sake of future stability, Tubo must not be allowed to annex Tuyuhun. I am going to let you lead the troops." Li Shimin.
said.
A trace of joy flashed across Hou Junji's face, but he quickly calmed down and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will definitely fight back the Tibetans and prevent them from succeeding."
Although there were many opportunities to make meritorious deeds in the grassland, he knew that he could not be the head coach.
In this way, the credit he can get will be reduced.
It was different when he went to fight against Tibet. Although he didn't get much credit, since he was the main general, he naturally got the lion's share of the credit.
When the time comes, we can do some tricks to wipe out all the Tuyuhun royal family. After driving away the Tubo, we can annex Tuyuhun, which will be a great achievement in opening up the territory.
Not to mention reinstatement, it is possible to go further.
Thinking of this, Hou Junji's heart was filled with passion.
Just when Hou Junji was dreaming about the rewards he would get after he had made great achievements, Li Shimin said: "No, what I mean is that we cannot let Tubo annex Tuyuhun, but we cannot really fight Tubo. The best way is
Force Tibet to retreat."
The joy on Hou Junji's face disappeared instantly, and Li Shimin's words were like a basin of cold water, directly extinguishing the hope that had just been ignited in his heart.
Even if it succeeds in forcing Tibet to retreat, how much credit will it receive?
"What? You can't do it?" Li Shimin frowned and asked when he saw Hou Junji standing there stunned.
Hou Junji came back to his senses and said quickly: "Your Majesty, I just feel that if we just force Tubo to retreat, Tibet will still invade Tuyuhun after they understand the Tang Dynasty's intentions. Only if they beat Tubo painfully will they invade Tuyuhun."
honest."
No matter how much dissatisfaction he felt in his heart, he did not dare to show it in front of Li Shimin.
But he still wanted to try again.
Li Shimin waved his hand and said: "Now the Tang Dynasty's main energy is on the grassland. There are no extra troops and supplies, so we can only hold off until the war on the grassland is over before we can free up our hands."
When Hou Junji heard this, he understood that there was no room for change in this matter, and Datang did not have the ability to support multi-front operations.
"Your Majesty, what if Tibet still refuses to retreat? What should I do?" Hou Junji asked.
Although it is said that the general will not accept his fate, how many of them really dare to do this?
During the Warring States Period, Lian Po and Li Mu disobeyed the king's orders, and as a result, they were deprived of military power and laid off by King Zhao.
Even Yue Fei had to compromise due to Song Gaozong's intervention.
Looking at ancient and modern times, how many people can truly accept the fate of a foreign king?
This sentence is actually the same as the prince committing the same crime as the common people.
Which emperor in history has never made mistakes? The most serious ones are just issuing edicts to sin against oneself.
Is it possible that if the emperor unjustly killed someone and found out later, would he still have to pay with their lives?
Hou Junji knew very well that Li Shimin was a man with a strong desire for control. If he was forced to fight Tubo, Li Shimin would definitely not say anything and would reward him afterwards.
But Li Shimin will definitely have a grudge against him, and he will have no choice but to take care of himself at home in the future.
Li Shimin pondered for a while and said: "I will give you 20,000 people. If Tubo does not retreat, we can fight one or two small-scale battles to let Tubo know how powerful the Tang Dynasty is."
According to intelligence, Tubo only has about 200,000 soldiers and horses. Tubo's country is also unstable, so there will not be too few soldiers and horses left behind.
Tubo attacked Tuyuhun with a maximum of about 150,000 soldiers and horses. Now that Tubo has occupied some of Tuyuhun's territory, the soldiers and horses are bound to be dispersed.
Li Shimin was very confident in the combat effectiveness of the Tang army. As long as 20,000 people were not ambushed by the Tibetans, even if they encountered 100,000 people, they would be able to retreat unscathed.
"I understand, I will live up to His Majesty's expectations."
Hou Junji was a little happy in his heart. As long as war with Tubo was not completely prohibited, there would always be opportunities as the battlefield was changing rapidly.
"The war is urgent. Take my order and go directly to the camp outside the city to order troops. We will set off immediately tomorrow." Li Shimin said.
"yes."
…
Hou Junji left the palace with the order. He did not go to the military camp immediately. Instead, he returned home first and explained to his eldest son Hou De before going to the military camp to order troops.
Hou De received the order, and after Hou Junji left, he went to the painting boat where he often went.
"Young Master, you haven't been here for a long time, and Miss Qingqing has been waiting for you for a long time." The madam said with a smile.
In fact, Hou De is a frequent visitor to their place, but for a brothel, they only wish for guests to stay here every day, especially a high-roller like Hou De who spends a lot of money.
"Haha, of course I am here to see Miss Qingqing." Hou De said with a smile.
"Come here, lead Young Master Hou to Qingqing's house quickly." The old bustard shouted.
The boy who led the way took Hou De to Miss Qingqing's door, knocked on the door and shouted: "Miss Qingqing, Young Master Hou is here."
Not long after, the door to the room was opened, and a woman wearing light pink clothes came out.
The woman wears light makeup, her skin is as beautiful as snow, she is extremely beautiful, her face is gorgeous, and she has a sense of weakness about her that makes people feel pity for her.
"Young Master, please come in quickly." Qingqing said with a smile.
Hou De nodded and walked in.
Qingqing closed the door and led Hou De into the inner room.
"Go outside and take a closer look." Qingqing said to the maid.
The maid nodded and withdrew.
"Young Master, please sit down."
After Hou De sat down, Qingqing poured a cup of tea for Hou De.
Hou De hugged Qingqing, but Qingqing did not resist and sat in Hou De's arms.
"Young Master, I haven't come to see you for a long time." Qingqing ran her hand across Hou De's chest and said in a feigned annoyance.