The military report was not too long, only a few thousand words, and it only wrote about one thing - ten days ago, the Asugu Tsering and Chili Hezan troops in the hometown of Tubo suddenly joined forces with more than 70,000 troops to attack. Wang Bing, the commander-in-chief of the Tang army stationed at Hongshan Palace under Hertzzan's command, sent troops to coordinate. However, the battle was unfavorable and he had no choice but to retreat to Hongshan Palace and hold on. Now Hertzzan's troops have been defeated and his troops were divided into two parts. Denuo Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, the two tribes of Bu and Ersong also formed an alliance and raised troops. There were frequent wars in the Tubo homeland. The Tang army was weak and unable to suppress the rebellion, so it requested the imperial court to send a large army to quell the rebellion as soon as possible.
"This Wang Bing should really be killed. He only came to report the matter to such an extent. What has he done already!"
Empress Wu was very anxious and could read very quickly. She scanned the contents of the general's report almost at a glance. Her face instantly turned ugly, and she started to scold him angrily.
"Mom, please calm down. General Wang has only three thousand cavalry troops. It is really difficult to quell the rebellion. Now that this has happened, we must quell it as soon as possible. Otherwise, Tubo may be in trouble again."
"My dear, what Prime Minister Liu said is true. Now that chaos has arisen, it must be put down by a large army. It is absolutely impossible to raise tigers to cause trouble."
Pei and Liu were both versatile men in both civil and military affairs, and they were experienced leaders in fighting wars. They had good strategic vision. When they saw Empress Wu being angry, they did not care about calming down the chaos. They were all a little anxious and hurriedly came in from the side to give advice.
"Um!"
Although Empress Wu was not familiar with military affairs, she still had basic common sense. Naturally, she knew that what the two old ministers told was the truth. However, she was extremely unwilling in her heart because the only way to quell the chaos in the Tubo homeland was to rely on the Hexi Army to attack. As a result, Empress Wu's original plan was probably in vain. When she thought that the military and political power in Hexi was still firmly controlled by Li Xian, how could Empress Wu feel at ease? She was already in a state of confusion. Yi Tuan ignored Er Xiang's suggestion and just made a noncommittal sound, which was regarded as an answer.
"My Majesty has learned clearly that the army in the homeland of Tubo is pragmatic. Only His Highness in the world can deal with it calmly. I think this matter needs His Highness to be in the middle and strategize."
Liu Rengui was now under Li Xian's command, so he naturally had to cooperate with Li Xian's steps. He didn't care whether Empress Wu's face looked good or not, so he made further remarks.
"snort!"
As soon as she heard that Liu Rengui was so blatantly building momentum for Li Xian, Empress Wu felt angry in her heart, and she snorted with a gloomy face.
"Your Majesty, military affairs are not a trivial matter. I feel that I must report this to Your Majesty immediately."
Although Pei Xingjian also loved Li Xian, he was not Li Xian's confidant after all. Seeing Liu Rengui so highly respecting Li Xian in front of Empress Wu, he couldn't help but be a little surprised. He was afraid that Empress Wu would miss the point in anger, so he hurriedly interrupted. .
"Your Majesty, um... well, let's face the Holy Spirit first."
In her heart, Empress Wu really wanted to suppress this military report first, but then she thought about it, the possibility was really too low, and it would not be a good idea to lose the Holy Family because of it. After thinking for a while, So he agreed to Pei Xingjian's proposal, but did not mention the matter of summoning Li Xian to come for discussion, obviously intending to exclude Li Xian from the decision-making.
"My dear, wait a minute, His Highness the Crown Prince conquered Tubo, and most of the surrounding armies are His Highness the Crown Prince's old troops. If we want to discuss countermeasures, we must ask His Highness the Crown Prince to support us."
Although Empress Wu's plan was good, it was a pity that Liu Rengui did not agree. Before Empress Wu could leave, he intervened from the side.
"Well, let's announce it then. Come and show up at the Zichen Palace!"
Being distracted by Liu Rengui in this way, Empress Wu felt a lot of hatred in her heart, but it was hard to scold Liu Rengui for being rude. After all, what Liu Rengui said was correct. Even if Empress Wu was angry again, she had no choice but to say it casually.
She gave the order, but did not designate anyone to summon Li Xian. She made it clear that she did not want Li Xian to participate in the imperial proceedings. Then, before Liu Rengui could speak again, she quickly walked out of the study.
When Empress Wu left like this, Pei Xingjian and Liu Rengui couldn't help but shake their heads and smile bitterly, but they didn't dare to say anything anymore. They could only silently follow Empress Wu's driver, and the group went to the Zichen Palace in a mighty manner...
…
"The Queen of Heaven has arrived!"
It is almost October, the time of crisp autumn air. For Gaozong, who is afraid of cold and heat, it is the most relaxing day of the year. He has not been sick for more than half a month. Although his body and bones are still weak, his energy and spirit are still intact.
She was feeling much better. She had just finished her meal and was not very sleepy. She was leaning on the brocade cushion, reading miscellaneous books with great interest. Suddenly she heard a shout, and fearing that Empress Wu would be offended, she hurriedly put the miscellaneous books in her hands on the bed.
After stuffing it in, he turned over and sat up straight.
"I, my concubine (old minister), come to see Your Majesty!"
Emperor Gaozong just sat up straight, and before he could even smooth out the wrinkles on his clothes, he saw Empress Wu, Pei, and Liu Xiang walking in hand in hand. They all paid homage according to court regulations.
"No, no, Mei Niang, but something serious has happened?"
As soon as he saw Pei and Liu, the two prime ministers and assistants who were on duty, Gaozong's heart immediately "thumped" and he hurriedly asked a question.
"Replying to Your Majesty, an urgent report came from Hongshan Palace, saying that war has broken out again in the hometown of Tubo."
Although she was reluctant to tell the truth about the war, Empress Wu did not dare to hide it when Emperor Gaozong asked her, so she responded with a worried expression.
"Ah, how could it be like this? Isn't Tubo destroyed? Why is it in chaos again? This, this..."
Gaozong's early ambitions had been tormented by recurring illnesses. Now he only had one thought, and that was to be the emperor in peace. When he heard that Tubo was in chaos again, his expression changed instantly.
He stood up angrily and made a series of questions.
"Your Majesty, don't be anxious. The situation has not yet reached a serious point. The Hongshan Palace military report is here. Your Majesty, please take a look."
Seeing Gaozong in such a panic, Empress Wu couldn't help but feel a little more worried, but she couldn't express it, so the general had to take it out and hand it to Gaozong.
"Hmph! These fanciers are really unreasonable, I don't believe they can't be treated as such! Well, where is Xian'er?"
General Gaozong hurriedly went through the report and saw that the Tubo people were killing each other. The panic in his heart calmed down a little, but he did not dare to take it lightly. After venting a few sentences, he suddenly asked about Li Xian's situation.
"As far as your majesty is concerned, I have already sent someone to invite you."
Empress Wu had only said that she was sending people to announce the mission, but actually she had not actually sent anyone there. Now when she heard that Gao Zong asked about Li Xian, she could not help but feel a little guilty. She did not want to say it clearly, but Liu Rengui stood up from the side and said,
He replied loudly.
"Well, okay, let's wait until Xian'er comes and discuss it together."
Although Gaozong was slightly suspicious of Li Xian, he had great faith in Li Xian's military talents. At this time, he felt relieved when he heard that Li Xian was coming. He did not rush to discuss the matter, but issued an order.
The accompanying eunuchs gave Pei and Liu a seat and waited for Li Xian's arrival.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Highness the Crown Prince is requesting an audience outside the palace gate."
Li Xian arrived very quickly, and not long after everyone had sat down, they saw Liu Ruming, the deputy chief eunuch of Zichen Palace, hurriedly turned out from behind the screen, rushed to the couch, and bowed to Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu.
The voice reported.
"Xuan, Xuan quickly!"
As soon as he heard that Li Xian had arrived, Gaozong suddenly felt that he had a backbone and announced the announcement without saying a word.
"promise!"
Since Emperor Gaozong had given an oral order, how could Liu Ruming dare to neglect it? He hurriedly accepted the promise and hurriedly exited the palace. After a while, Li Xian, who was already sweating through his clothes, came in from outside.
"My son, I bow to my father, the emperor, and my mother, the queen."
Li Xian hurriedly rushed to the couch and immediately bowed to pay homage.
"No, no, Xian'er knows that Tubo is in chaos again!"
Gao Zong was worried about the war, and even before Li Xian finished the ceremony, he started shouting urgently.
"Returning to my father, I was presiding over the peace talks earlier. Suddenly I heard that there was a change in Tibet, so I rushed over. I don't know the details yet."
The so-called Tubo Rebellion was the result of Li Xian's secret arrangements. He knew the details very well, but he would never behave inappropriately at this moment, so he responded with a fake panic.
.
"Oh, well, Xian'er, let's read the military report first."
Gaozong did not suspect that Li Xian had an ambush in this matter. Hearing that Li Xian did not know the specific contents of the military report, he quickly picked up the military report that was lying at hand and handed it to Li Xian.
"My father has clearly learned that the Tubo people are arrogant and poorly educated. Although the origin of this rebellion cannot be determined, it is not difficult to put an end to it. What is difficult is how to stabilize all parties. Therefore, I thought that we should suppress and appease them at the same time, and educate them in addition."
With the help of the people, we may be able to ensure that such chaos will never happen again.”
Although the military report was not long, Li Xian read it very slowly. After reading it carefully, he raised his eyebrows and spoke in a calm tone of voice the general principles for quelling the chaos.
"Your Majesty, I think your Highness's words are reasonable and feasible!"
Liu Rengui was proficient in military and political affairs, so he could tell that Li Xian's strategy was highly feasible. In addition, he was now Li Xian's confidant, so he naturally wanted to support Li Xian without waiting for Gao Zong to express his opinions.
, he already said a word of praise from the side.
"Use both suppression and appeasement, supplemented by education? Well, it sounds feasible. Mei Niang, Pei Aiqing, do you have any different views on this?"
Emperor Gaozong didn't want the war to last too long. Hearing what Li Xian said was quite suitable for him, he wouldn't object. Just to be cautious, he didn't rush to make a decision. Instead, he asked Empress Wu and Empress Wu inquiringly.
Pei Xingjian’s opinions.
"Your Majesty clearly understands this. I have no objections to this."
Although Pei Xingjian was not Li Xian's confidant, he was loyal to Li Xian in his heart. Of course, in his opinion, there was nothing wrong with this general principle. He would not have any other opinions to express, so he just agreed with him.
It was necessary to do what was necessary, but Empress Wu remained silent, her brows furrowed into the character "Chuan", as if she was filled with endless worries...