I am Li Shen and Li Shimin, the free kings of the Tang Dynasty

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."

Li Shen and Qin Qiong stood up and bowed deeply to Li Shimin.

"Okay, Lao Shi, tell us what happened in Yaoyi."

"Yes."

Li Shen responded and then told him about what he wanted.

From how Tubo used strategies, to sending troops to assassinate Li Shimin, to the arrival of reinforcements, and finally launching a siege.

He also told the whole process of how he discovered that Yang Shaowei was a spy, how Li Shen took advantage of the situation, concealed the truth, and finally caught the traitor.

"How dare Yang Shaowei be so brave?" Everyone was a little surprised.

After all, Yang Shaowei was a member of a noble family, and the Hongnong Yang family also had great influence in the court.

This Yang Shaowei actually rebelled against the Tang Dynasty. Isn't he afraid of bringing trouble to his family?

"Have you interrogated Yang Shaowei?" Li Shimin asked after thinking for a while.

"I'll give it a rough review, and the rest will be questioned by Aye himself."

Li Shen replied.

"Did he say why he rebelled? Is this incident related to the Hongnong Yang family?"

This was very important to Li Shimin. The Hongnong Yang family had considerable influence in Hongnong County, and their members were spread all over the place.

Occupied many of the lower-level county officials.

"I didn't say that. I didn't dare to torture him. I wanted to wait for Aye to come and interrogate him together."

Rebellion is a big deal, and Li Shen was unwilling to get involved in muddy waters. If he died during the trial, Li Shen would have no way to defend himself.

Even if it was an accident, Li Shen sent more people to guard Yang Shaowei, just in case something happened to him in prison.

"Well, I will personally interrogate him tomorrow. I want to see what could make a chief official of the Protectorate turn traitor."

Li Shimin was very angry about Yang Shaowei's rebellious behavior. No matter what the reason, as a Tang citizen, how could he submit to barbarians?

Everyone chatted for a while, then stood up and prepared to leave to let Li Shimin rest.

Just as Li Shen followed him out, Li Shimin stopped him:

"Li Shen, please stay. I have something else to ask you."

The others looked at Li Shen and then retreated.

"Aye, what else do you want me to do?"

"How do you think this matter should be handled?" Li Shimin asked Li Shen.

"What's the matter?" Li Shen was confused and asked in confusion.

"Of course it's about their attempt to assassinate me and their attack on important cities in Qinghai." Li Shimin glared at Li Shen.

"Oh, this matter is of course entirely up to Aye. Tubo is ambitious and bold enough to even dare to assassinate you, Aye.

As long as Aye gave the order, Er would immediately lead the soldiers of the Protectorate to attack Tubo. They would kill their royal capital, Lhasa, and break into the Potala Palace.

Catch that old thief Songtsen Gampo to vent Aye's anger."

Li Shen was filled with indignation and had an urge to fight bravely, but Li Shimin refused to buy it.

"Tsk~~ You? You want to fight your way to the Potala Palace? You can't even reach the Potala Palace on horseback."

Even if others don't know, how could Li Shimin not know Li Shen?

I can’t lift anything with my hands, I can’t carry anything on my shoulders, and even riding a horse makes me feel exhausted.

At home, never sit if you can lie down, and never stand if you can sit.

The princes of the Tang Dynasty were required to be both civil and military, and to be proficient in martial arts, horse riding, and archery.

Li Shen can be said to be the most useless prince in the Tang Dynasty. He is not even as good as the fat man Li Tai.

Hearing his father looking down on him like that, Li Shen immediately got angry.

"Father, I'm not kidding, I also practice martial arts from time to time.

He is proficient in riding and archery.

I’m not bragging, if I were on the battlefield…”

"He will definitely be hacked to death."

".....I mean, unless I don't go, if I do go..."

“It’s the same as not having any sex.”

"......." Li Shen was completely speechless.

"Okay, stop talking nonsense. You can say these things to other people, but why are you saying these to me? Do you think I don't know you well enough?"

Li Shimin looked at Li Shen with contempt and said.

"If you don't have any instructions, I'll take my leave."

Li Shen decided not to talk to his father anymore. He was too irritating and too confrontational.

"I really want to ask you, how should this matter be handled?"

Li Shimin repeated it again.

"I've already said that everything is up to Aye. This is a national affair and if you don't participate, you won't understand it."

What did Li Shencai not want to say?

"You know that if a war breaks out, your city will no longer be able to be used for trade.

At that time, it will be handed over to the imperial court as the gateway to the imperial court.

Unlike Goguryeo, Tubo had a diverse terrain and a relatively sparse population.

Therefore, it is not an easy task to conquer Tubo.

This will take a long time.”

When it comes to business, Li Shimin is also serious. After all, the city was built with money from Li Shen. If a war breaks out,

Li Shen’s money might be wasted.

"Aye, are you worried that the ministers in the court will oppose the expedition against Tubo?"

"Yes, the imperial court's campaign against Tubo will take a long time, maybe a year, or maybe several years.

If the imperial court were to continue supporting this war, the price it would have to pay would be very high.

Although the tax burden has increased a lot in recent years, the ministers in the court will definitely oppose it.

They even opposed my attack on Goguryeo. Whether it was Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling, or Zhangsun Wuji, they all opposed it."

Li Shimin nodded. He had been emperor for so many years and was very familiar with the ministers and the situation in the court.

No matter what the emperor wants to do, there will always be people who oppose it, and most people oppose it just for the sake of opposing it.

Because if he could refute the emperor or the emperor would listen to his opinions, then he could be recorded in history.

They don't care about whether it's beneficial or not, they will oppose anything that doesn't benefit them.

Li Shen also knew this deeply: the character of literati is deceptive.

"What does Aye mean? Are we just going to let it go? They sent troops to kill Aye and we must avenge them."

Li Shen actually also wanted revenge. The money for building the city could be earned back from anywhere, and for Li Shen, spending the money was a good thing.

Sooner or later, Tibet will be an inseparable part of our country, so it would be beneficial to take it back sooner or later.

If Tibet was conquered, it would be much easier for the Tang Dynasty to advance into the Western Regions.

You can go directly to India from Tubo.

"I will need to discuss this with the ministers after I return to the court, but I would like to hear your thoughts."

Li Shimin attached great importance to Li Shen's ideas. Sometimes the ideas Li Shen expressed were often fantastic and unique.

Li Shen thought for a while and said:

"Aye, that's the truth. It is indeed very difficult for us to conquer Tibet."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Aye, have you forgotten what I told you about altitude sickness?

Now the only ones who can fight are the soldiers of our Duhufu.

They have been here for more than two years, but I can't guarantee whether there will be any reaction if they really go deep into Tibet.

The geographical environment and terrain of Tibet are harsh and complex, so it would not be possible to annex Tibet in a short period of time.

If the troops from the rear were sent to attack, many soldiers would not be able to withstand the altitude sickness and would die.

Many people will be hurt by that.”