The weather is getting colder and colder, there was a first snow last night, although the snow is not big, but when you go out in the morning, the eyes are also silvery, Li Xiu sits in the carriage, while walking and enjoying the snow scene on the road, the farmland on both sides of the road has long grown green winter wheat, and now it is all covered by snow, only occasionally can you see a few strong wheat seedlings from the snow quilt tenaciously stretching out a few green leaves, to the snow-white earth dotted with a trace of green.

However, after the carriage entered Chang'an City, the surrounding snow scene has been replaced by the secular scenery between the cities, although the weather is very cold, and it is morning, but there are already many stalls selling food on the street, some people who work in the morning are also shrunk around their necks, sitting in front of the stalls and eating breakfast, people and cars on the street come and go, and the snow on the ground is also trampled into sewage.

Li Xiu's carriage went straight to the imperial city, and then he also came to the Liangyi Hall again, when he entered the main hall, he found that Li Shimin and the eldest grandson Wuji were also discussing things, speaking of which he was a lot more leisurely during this time, but the eldest grandson Wuji and Li Shimin seemed to be busy all the time, and it was really a little ashamed to think about it.

"See Your Majesty!" Li Xiu immediately stepped forward and saluted, yesterday Li Shimin sent someone to inform him that he should come to Liangyi Hall this morning, Li Xiu probably discussed with them the choice of the main general to attack Goguryeo, so he still made an appointment to come.

"Don't be polite, Li Xiu, wait a minute, I'll talk about it after Wuji and I deal with this matter." Li Shimin immediately raised his head and smiled, then pointed to the seat next to him and asked Li Xiu to sit down and rest first.

Li Xiu was also used to it, so he nodded and sat aside, and immediately a palace maid sent tea, he sat there while sipping tea, while listening to Li Shimin and the eldest grandson Wuji discuss government affairs, after listening for a while, he finally understood, Li Shimin and the eldest grandson Wuji were discussing the deployment of various materials to cooperate with the plan to attack Goguryeo next year, and it was estimated that they were also bothered about this matter every day during this time.

After waiting for a while, Li Shimin and the eldest grandson Wuji were only processed, and the folds after the review were also sent to Shangshu Province, speaking of which the three provinces performed their own duties, of which Zhongshu Province was responsible for decision-making, and Menxia Province was responsible for auditing, and then handed over to the emperor for approval, and after getting the emperor's consent, it would be sent to Shangshu Province for implementation, so although the three provinces were tied, in fact, Zhongshu Province had the greatest power, because they held the power to make decisions, and generally the decisions they made, the emperor would at most make some modifications, and rarely overturn them completely.

"Li Xiu, the strategy you thought of to attack across the sea is really good, and Zhijie also praised you, and now that the imperial court has decided to adopt your strategy, if you destroy Liaodong in the future, you will also be a great achievement!" Li Shimin raised his head at this time and praised Li Xiu.

"Your Majesty is polite, the minister just put forward his own ideas, and it is General Cheng and Su Dingfang who really perfect this strategy, after all, the minister is also a layman when it comes to marching and fighting." Li Xiu hurriedly said modestly at this time, he really didn't contribute much in this matter, after all, an idea is not valuable, what is really valuable is the energy and sweat that goes into turning this idea into a feasible plan.

"Cheng Yanjin and Su Dingfang also have their own merits, but don't be modest." Li Shimin spoke again at this time, then paused and then said, "I summoned you here today, in fact, I want to hear what you think about the selection of the main general?" ”

Li Xiu also raised his eyebrows when he heard Li Shimin's words, thinking that this is the case, now the candidates for the main general are nothing more than Cheng Yanjin and Li Ji, Li Ji originally occupied an absolute advantage, but with Cheng Yanjin offering a cross-sea strategy, now Cheng Yanjin and Li Ji are almost equal, no wonder Li Shimin is also difficult to decide.

"Your Majesty, the minister doesn't know much about military pragmatism, so Your Majesty's question is really asked to the minister, I don't know what kind of candidate Your Majesty has in mind?" Li Xiu deliberately made an embarrassed expression at this time and said, after staying in the court for a long time, he sometimes learned to play tricks, after all, Li Shimin didn't make a decision, and it was a bit too much for him to hurry up and express his position.

Seeing that Li Xiu pushed the problem to himself again, Li Shimin was also a little helpless, but he still replied: "There are two people in the minister's heart, one is Zhijie, and the other is the British Duke Li Ji, originally Li Ji was more suitable, but the strategy of crossing the sea is offered by Zhijie, and he is more familiar with this strategy, so I am also very embarrassed now." ”

"Ahem~, Your Majesty, the minister thinks that Lu Guogong is more suitable to be the main general this time, after all, the strategy of attacking Goguryeo is his dedication, if the British Duke is the main general in the end, I am afraid it will hurt Lu Guogong's heart, and it will also discourage the enthusiasm of the generals in the future, plus Lu Guogong's talent is not worse than that of the British, so the minister thinks that Lu Guogong should take the position of the main general!" Before Li Xiu could speak, he suddenly saw the eldest grandson Wuji next to him speaking first.

"Oh? Mowgli, what do you think? Li Shimin also looked at the eldest grandson Wuji in surprise at this time, it seems that they have not discussed this matter before, otherwise Li Shimin would not have known the opinion of the eldest grandson Wuji.

"Yes, the minister thinks that Lu Guogong is more suitable for the position of chief general than the British duke!" The eldest grandson Wuji almost did not hesitate to speak again, Cheng Yanjin is a pure military general, even if he makes great contributions in the future, he will not be transferred to become a civil official, but Li Ji is more similar to Li Jing, both of them are capable of literature and martial arts, and compared to Li Jing, Li Ji is more trusted by Li Shimin, if the credit is too great in the future, it may pose a threat to him.

Hearing the words of the eldest grandson Wuji, Li Shimin also showed a thoughtful expression, and after a long while, he turned to Li Xiu again and said, "Li Xiu, what is your opinion?" ”

Seeing that the eldest grandson Wuji actually supported Cheng Biting Jin, Li Xiu couldn't help but be secretly surprised, but since even he had expressed his position, he couldn't shirk it anymore, so he thought for a moment and finally spoke: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that what Brother Wuji said makes sense, since the strategy was offered by Lu Guogong, then he should be more suitable than others to be the main general!" ”

The reason why Li Xiu supported Cheng Biting Jin, in addition to the reason he said, the most important thing was Ma Ye's evaluation of Li Ji that day, a military general is burdened by fame, and he will be timid when using soldiers, even if he has talent, he can't play it on the battlefield, and although Cheng Biting Jin has some shortcomings, he dares to fight, otherwise he would not have adopted the bold tactic of attacking across the sea.

"It seems that you are all more optimistic about Zhijie, since this is the case, then I will no longer be entangled, this time Zhijie will be the main general, and Li Ji and others will be dispatched by him!" Li Shimin heard Li Xiu's words and thought about it for a moment, then made a decision, and showed a relaxed expression after speaking, it seemed that he had been entangled for a long time for this matter.

Seeing that Li Shimin agreed to let Cheng Yanjin be the main general, Li Xiu and the eldest grandson Wuji couldn't help but smile at each other, although the two had their own plans, but the purpose was the same, and now the dust has finally settled.

"Now that the person in charge has been selected, then let's discuss the use of troops against Goguryeo next spring, and I plan to let Cheng Yanjin, Li Ji and others set off immediately, so that there will also be time to rectify the local military affairs!" Li Shimin suddenly spoke again at this time.

"Troops will be used next spring?" Eldest Sun Wuji couldn't help but exclaim in surprise when he heard Li Shimin's words, and then asked again with an eager face, "Your Majesty, is it early to use troops next spring?" ”

Li Xiu also showed a shocked expression at this time, although the weather was warmer in spring, but after a winter of freezing, after the spring frozen soil in Liaodong was civilized, the ground would also become muddy, not to mention transporting materials, it was very difficult to even march and walk, so he had always thought that Li Shimin might choose to use troops in autumn, and at most in summer, but he didn't expect Li Shimin to mention the time of the attack to spring.

"There are indeed many difficulties in using troops in the spring, but I have also considered it, even if we occupy the advantage of troops, it is impossible to destroy Goguryeo in a short time, if they are dragged until winter, no matter how many troops we have, we can only retreat, so I think it is necessary to give the army some time, if the spring is used, then the soldiers on the front line will have more than half a year, even if they encounter some difficulties, there should be enough time to overcome!" Li Shimin said with a serious expression at this time.

"This ......" Li Xiu heard Li Shimin's words, and he didn't know what to say for a while, but after thinking about it carefully, what Li Shimin said did make sense, and with troops next spring, he could also be caught off guard by Goguryeo, especially since Quangai Suwen had just killed King Rongliu before, and I am afraid that a winter time would not be able to calm down the domestic turmoil at all, so that Datang could occupy a greater advantage.

"Your Majesty, if we use troops in the spring, we only have a few months left to prepare, will there be problems with the mobilization of materials and troops?" Li Xiu finally asked at this time, a war with great rules often requires a long time to prepare, for example, in order to destroy the Turks before, the Tang Dynasty prepared for four years, although Goguryeo cannot be compared with the Turks, but it is normal to prepare for more than half a year, but now it seems a little hasty.

"Hehe, you don't have to worry about this, you should all know that I have long had the intention of conquering Goguryeo, so as early as a few years ago, I stored a large number of materials in Hebei, and as for the troops that need it, they have also received orders to rush to Liaodong, and they can arrive before the New Year, and then they will be ready for another month or two, and it will be enough to launch an attack on Goguryeo." Li Shimin smiled very confidently at this time.

Hearing Li Shimin say this, Li Xiu and eldest grandson Wuji couldn't help but glance at each other, and each saw a little helplessness in each other's eyes, since Li Shimin was ready, I am afraid that there would be no room for any changes.