In addition to the mentioned reason, another reason is that Lin Xuan does not want gunpowder to appear on the battlefield too early.
Lin Xuan had also read many time-travel novels in his previous life, and pig's feet were used to make both guns and cannons.
Many people may think that there is nothing wrong with this, but is it really that simple?
As we all know, gunpowder is one of the four great inventions in ancient my country.
Gunpowder had already been invented during the Warring States Period.
Some people in later generations laughed at it, saying that our ancestors invented gunpowder but used it to make firecrackers and fireworks, while others used it to make guns.
In fact, in the late Tang Dynasty, gunpowder had been used in military applications.
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang attached great importance to firearms. At that time, one-third of the Ming army was equipped with muskets and artillery.
Zhu Di suffered a big loss in firearms when he was in trouble. After he came to the throne, he also attached great importance to firearms. Not only did he order the vigorous research and development of firearms, but he also established the first army in history called the Shenji Battalion that specialized in the use of firearms.
Although China still lags behind Western countries in the use of firearms, the gap is not large.
What's the result?
By the end of the Ming Dynasty, firearms had not improved much compared to the early Ming Dynasty.
The reason for this is because of the emperor's stupidity.
The research and development of firearms requires a lot of money. The emperor is ignorant and does not pay attention to it, and the court has no money, so naturally there will not be much progress.
Many people may think that by traveling through time and getting the firearms out early, they can change the tragedy of being bombarded by the coalition forces later.
In fact, can the reasons for those tragedies be solved with guns and guns alone?
These reasons are basically the inevitable result of the centralization of monarchy in the feudal dynasty.
Take the Song Dynasty as an example. It should be regarded as the dynasty with the most famous ministers and good ministers among all dynasties in history.
But can they change the Song Dynasty's weakness?
It's not that he can change things if he gets gunpowder and firearms out.
From Li Shimin's point of view, he naturally knew the importance of firearms and would pay attention to them, but what about the emperors behind them?
In essence, the most important thing for the prosperity of a dynasty is the emperor.
As long as subsequent emperors and dynasties did not pay attention to it and brought out firearms, they would instead help those Western countries make wedding dresses.
Li Daozong was silent for a while and said: "No matter whether it works or not, I have to try it."
Although he said this, he no longer had much hope in gunpowder.
Although the Turks are much worse than the generals of the Tang Dynasty in using troops, it does not mean that they are fools.
They had just suffered a big loss on something, so there was no way they were unprepared.
"If we win this battle, the war on the grassland will basically be over, and the Tang Dynasty will have a hundred years of peace on the border. If you have good strategies, you can not only make great contributions, but also leave a name in history." Li Daozong looked at everyone and said.
Everyone was really moved when they heard Li Daozong's words, but still no one spoke.
The Western Turks and Xue Yantuo allied forces have more than 300,000 cavalry. Although they have reorganized 50,000 Turkic soldiers, they only have 130,000 cavalry, and there are more than 100,000 cavalry.
There doesn't seem to be much difference in numbers, but they are now the attacking party, and the Western Turks have suffered many losses and are unlikely to take the initiative to attack.
In this way, the role of infantry is not great.
Moreover, they were playing away from home, and there were no mountains or rivers around them to use. They couldn't think of a solution for a while.
Li Daozong is also a famous general. If the method was so easy to think of, would he not have thought of it?
"Uncle Wang, if the troops are insufficient, Duke Yun's 10,000 cavalry are at Uncle Wang's disposal," Li Chengqian said.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Although Zhang Liang only brought 10,000 cavalry, those 10,000 were the best of the best, but Li Daozong did not want to use them unless it was absolutely necessary.
Li Chengqian is the prince, if something happens, even if he wins, what will happen.
"General Manager, since Xue Yantuo has moved the tribe to the Western Turkic Royal Court, is it meaningless for Duke Qiao to stay in the city anymore?" Lin Xuan said.
In order to contain Xue Yantuo, Li Shimin arranged for Chai Shao to lead 50,000 troops and station them in the border city near Xue Yantuo.
Now that Xue Yantuo has joined forces with the Western Turks, Chai Shao's 50,000 troops can be mobilized.
Among the 50,000 soldiers and horses, there are 20,000 cavalry. This means that the Tang Dynasty also has 150,000 or 60,000 cavalry.
Although it is only half of the Western Turks, it is not without the power to fight.
"I have sent someone to report this matter to His Majesty," Li Daozong said.
Naturally, he would not forget that Chai Shao still had 50,000 soldiers and horses. When he convened everyone to discuss the matter, he had already sent people to report the matter to Li Shimin.
Although Li Daozong was the commander-in-chief of the army, Chai Shao's 50,000 soldiers and horses were not at his disposal. Li Shimin's consent was required.
After deliberation for a long time, there was no good solution, so Li Daozong could only let everyone go back first.
This is not to say that the coalition forces of Naxi Turks and Xue Yantuo have no way, but it is a bit difficult to win this war without losing too much on our own side.
If the Western Turks and Xue Yantuo coalition forces are destroyed, and there will be very few of our own forces left, then what is the point of this battle?
You must know that these hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses are already half of the Tang Dynasty's troops, including 80% of the Tang Dynasty's cavalry.
Once the damage is too great, Datang's strength will be greatly reduced.
Didn't you see, after the Ming Dynasty lost hundreds of thousands of elites in the Tumubao Incident, the Ming Dynasty also turned from prosperity to decline.
…
royal palace
Li Shimin rarely had free time, so he went to visit the Imperial Garden with Empress Changsun.
It was said to be the Imperial Garden, but there was not a single flower. If Li Shimin hadn't had some precious plants transplanted later, the entire Imperial Garden would have been bare.
"Your Majesty rarely has a moment of leisure today, why is he not in a high mood? Is there something on his mind?" Empress Changsun asked with concern when she saw that Li Shimin was not in a high mood.
A trace of uneasiness flashed across Li Shimin's face, and he said: "Although the frontline war has been a series of victories, it has consumed a lot of money and food, and the national treasury is somewhat tight."
"Your Majesty, I asked someone to transfer another two million yuan from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the national treasury."
Queen Changsun naturally knew what Li Shimin meant. This was the fifth time Li Shimin asked her for money after sending troops.
As the saying goes, when a cannon goes off, there is a thousand taels of gold.
Although there were no cannons at this time, the cost of money and food consumed by the war was staggering.
"Guanyin Maid is really my virtuous wife." Li Shimin said with a smile.
"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Internal Affairs does not have much money. I want to reduce the expenses of the palace and the expenses of the clan children." Empress Changsun said.
Although I made a lot of money from Liuli, it didn't last long after all. It seemed like a lot, and the cost of fighting was not small.
In addition to the cost of building roads and repairing rivers in Shandong and Henan to relocate people, a lot of money is needed, and it has long been stretched.
"You can't save much money by cutting expenses." Li Shimin shook his head and said.
The food and clothing of the concubines, princes, princesses, and clan members in the palace are all provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
If we cut it by half, we can save tens of thousands of dollars every month.
It would be a lot in normal times, but now that the war is going on, the money and food consumed every day is astronomical, and tens of thousands of guan is undoubtedly a drop in the bucket.