Traveling through the Gaowu Tang Dynasty, Li Kuan and Li Shimin became the second sons of the Prince

Qin Qiong's words undoubtedly set the tone for this expedition.

This battle must be fought!

But how to fight has become a problem...

“——How to fight? Do you even need to ask me this?” In the imperial study, the summoned Prince of Chu looked at the old generals in front of him, as well as Prime Minister Fang, Prime Minister Du, and a treacherous minister named Wei. He scratched his head, and then said to Li Er who was sitting behind the desk: “Your Majesty, my uncle Qin can be as powerful as 20,000 cavalrymen, so… just give me 30,000 cavalrymen. There’s no need for three cavalrymen per person, one cavalryman per person is enough. Anyway, when I get out of the border, I will rob them myself… Bah, bah, bah, requisition… requisition…”

"Ahem, ahem, ahem..." After hearing what His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu said, even Fang Xuanling, who was always serious, couldn't help but smile. But at the same time, he also gave His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu a thumbs up in his heart: Good guy... Your Royal Highness the Prince of Chu, you really give face to Duke Yi...

"Your Majesty, I think this is inappropriate." Duke Lu Cheng Yaojin and Qin Qiong were friends for life, so he knew very well that Qin Qiong asked for a fight this time, firstly to repay Lai Huer's kindness in recognizing him, and secondly to do a favor for His Royal Highness the King of Chu before he died.

But if His Royal Highness the King of Chu really loses 20,000 soldiers and horses because of Qin Qiong's participation in the war... wouldn't that be a hindrance?

That's why Cheng Yaojin objected to this: "I think that when His Royal Highness the King of Chu leads his army to fight in the Western Regions, we should fight quickly and decisively. Instead of dragging it out and wasting time, it's better to kill the enemy in one battle. So we should send more troops to the Western Regions."

"Wuji, what do you think?" After hearing what Cheng Yaojin said, Emperor Li II did not rush to make a decision, but turned his gaze to Changsun Wuji who was trying to hide behind Li Jing.

"Uh..." After being named by His Majesty Li II, Changsun Wuji first looked up at the roof, then looked down at His Royal Highness the King of Chu in front of him, and then turned his head to look at Chai Shao, the Duke of Qiao...

"Why are you looking around? His Majesty is asking you a question!" Chai Shao hated Zhang Sun Wuji's attitude of being ready to act at any time: "Besides, I'm not the most popular courtesan in the Jiaofang Bureau..."

"Sichang!" His Majesty Li II frowned upon hearing this and said unhappily, "We are discussing matters now!"

"Your Majesty, I know my crime." Upon hearing this, Chai Shao hurriedly bowed slightly to Emperor Li Er, and then stopped talking.

But after he made such a fuss, Changsun Wuji's face became even uglier.

But he couldn't get angry right away, because compared to the way Chai Shao had "stalked" him in the Taiji Hall before, the way His Royal Highness the King of Chu looked at him now... was the real danger...

So, Duke Zhao finally made his choice.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, the most critical point of this battle is whether we want to completely annihilate the Western Turks, or just drive them out of the Western Regions - if it is the former, then we should indeed send a large number of troops, and if it is the latter... 30,000 elite soldiers are enough for His Royal Highness the King of Chu..."

"Changsun Wuji... you are such a wicked bastard!" - Duke Qiao is a good uncle of the King of Chu. After hearing Changsun Wuji's opinion, he immediately expressed his anger: "What do you mean by 30,000 elite soldiers? Are they enough for the King of Chu? - You are also an expert in military affairs, not a layman. Let me ask you, if I give you 30,000 elite soldiers, can you drive the Western Turkic people with 200,000 soldiers out of the Western Regions?! If you can go out for a stroll and come back intact, I will kowtow to you!"

"Alas... Uncle... Forget it, forget it..." After Chai Shao finished scolding, before the gloomy Emperor Li II could speak, His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu stepped forward and grabbed Chai Shao who was about to go to the real Zhangsun Wuji: "This matter may be troublesome for others, but for me... it's really nothing - even if Tubo and Tuyuhun are doing bad things behind the scenes, I am not afraid!"

"Oh, right! There are also Tubo and Tuyuhun!" Chai Shao became even more excited when he heard his nephew say this: "You have to wait until His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu and Duke Yi meet with some trouble in the Western Regions before you give up, right?!"

"Your Majesty, if we must fight, I think we should just wait until after the spring equinox next year. Now it is almost winter, and the weather outside the Great Wall is even more difficult, which is not conducive to marching." Seeing that the battle was about to break out, Fang Xiang simply made a pertinent suggestion: "So the specific number of troops to send... There is a long time to come, we can discuss it again..."

"Wei Zheng, didn't you say earlier that we shouldn't send troops?" After listening to Fang Xuanling's words, Emperor Li II thought about it and decided to pull out Wei Zheng, who had been very hostile to him recently, and torture him: "Why did you shut up when Shubao started talking?"

"I think if Duke Yi is the one to fight, this battle won't take too long." Wei Zheng said, and then turned his head to look at His Royal Highness the King of Chu: "Because His Royal Highness the King of Chu will not let Duke Yi suffer in the Western Regions, so he will definitely--"

"——Duke Wei, wait a moment." His Royal Highness the King of Chu had never liked Wei Zheng as much as he did now: "Duke Zheng, what you mean is... if Uncle Qin doesn't go with me, I will just stay in the Western Regions forever?"

"Your Highness... that's not what I meant..." Wei Zheng suddenly realized that something unlucky was about to approach...

"That's what you mean!" His Royal Highness the King of Chu crossed his arms over his chest, his aura full of righteousness: "But Duke Zheng, you really underestimate me! Didn't you say in the court before that 'there has never been a country that has benefited from a long war'?!

In fact, Duke Zheng, your understanding of Sun Wu's words is too one-sided. You should know that war between countries is a loss for both sides. Since both sides are losing, then the saying "A country benefits from a long war" should be viewed from a different perspective."

When His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu said this, he suddenly pointed at his uncle Changsun Wuji and said, "Take the Duke of Zhao for example. He is a wealthy man, while you, the Duke of Zheng, are only a small member of the family. But one day, you suddenly started competing for wealth because of a dispute between you two, so you decided to go to the most luxurious restaurant in Chang'an, Xianke, to have dinner every day. Then, for you, the Duke of Zheng, you may become penniless after a month, while we, the Duke of Zhao, who is as rich as a country, can at least have the restaurant for ten or eight years...

This is the gap.

Of course, the losses of both sides on the battlefield must also be taken into account. If you, Duke Zheng, ordered a pot of muddy wine and two dishes of small dishes, while Duke Zhao ordered Sanlejiang plus a whole lamb banquet, then Duke Zhao might be able to hold out for two or three years, while Duke Zheng, although you are frugal, your foundation is too weak and you will still lose to him in the end..."