"General Huo, don't worry about me. He is still the Protector General of Annan. I know exactly how we fought in the past. I will never allow him to change our previous rules."
After hearing what Chang Sun Ze said, many people felt relieved. They were afraid that he would listen to Jin Wang Li Zhi and order his brothers to attack Vietnam.
If this is the case, even if we win, we may not get any credit in the end, because the power of the court is now in the hands of Li Xiang, and they are all very clear about this. Victory at the cost of casualties among soldiers is something that Li Xiang had absolutely forbidden before. Although Li Xiang is no longer in the south, everyone remembers clearly the ideas he left behind, and no one dares to touch such a reverse scale.
"Thank you, Lord Protector, for your understanding..."
Led by Huo Qubing, the rest of the people saluted Changsun Ze.
"We're all family, there's no need to get into all this nonsense. We need to hurry and figure out how to get rid of this great god. Although His Highness has given us information and asked us to keep a close eye on him, I don't think that's going to work. Even if we keep our eyes on this prince, he'll have new ideas all the time, and it'll be very difficult for us to deal with them. We've finally got the chance to attack Vietnam, and if we let him get involved, there will be endless trouble."
This may be the first time that Chang Sun Ze opposed Li Xiang's decision. According to the decision made by Li Xiang and Li Shimin, Li Zhi must serve as the commander-in-chief of the border and lead them to attack Vietnam. However, after just two days of getting along, the generals present knew that Li Zhi was not the right material at all. If he really took this position, even if we could avoid the fate of a strong attack, we would fall in other places in the future.
"Swords on the battlefield are blind..."
As soon as Huo Qubing said this, Zhang Sun Ze immediately held his hand. It was far from that point now. If heavy losses were caused to the front line, then even if this guy died here, no one would pursue him. After all, he was a prince of the court. If something really happened, not only would we not be able to escape, but even His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in the capital might follow suit and watch the gossip.
"We shouldn't reach that point yet. We should first report the situation here to Chang'an. After all, his position is higher than ours, and we can't confront him head-on. Everyone, please stay hidden for the next few days. Also, everyone in the barracks must be taken care of. Without your own orders, no one else's orders will do anything. You must not mobilize a single soldier."
What Chang Sunze feared most was that this guy would mobilize troops without authorization. After all, he had the emperor's edict in his hand, and he was also a prince of the court. If he could fool some low-ranking officer, he might be able to mobilize some soldiers.
After listening to Chang Sun Ze's words, the people around nodded. The gathering was not long. While Li Zhi was not making any other moves, they hurried back to their military camp. They were not allowed to show up in the military camp. They called all their confidants over, gave them some instructions, and then took them to find a place to relax.
In fact, King Jin Li Zhi was quite smart. He quickly thought of the idea of mobilizing troops across levels of authority. He asked his men to call some captains and generals, but these people pretended to be confused after they arrived. They did not dare to mobilize the army directly, and also posed a difficult problem for Li Zhi. There was no problem in mobilizing the army, but what about the logistical supplies?
As the saying goes, "Food and fodder must be prepared before troops move." If you can't even feed your soldiers, how can you expect them to follow you into battle? We can rely on enthusiasm to skip a meal or two, and we can get through three or four. We can even get through five or six by scavenging on the side of the road, but what about after that? Furthermore, fighting is physically demanding. If we don't have enough food, how can we continue to fight?
At this point, Prince Jin Li Zhi and his men finally understood another truth: even if they controlled the army, they couldn't control the logistics. How could they control the army without money? Did they really think their men would listen to them just by saying a word? Including his father, Li Shimin, if they wanted to control the army, they had to either show them a bright future or immediate benefits. But now, he had neither. Even if he promised a big deal, that big deal wasn't made of grain.
At this moment, Li Shimin also received a report in Chang'an about Jin Wang Li Zhi...
Sending troops rudely and insulting subordinates...
When Li Shimin saw the above words, he knew what was going on. In fact, Li Shimin had also placed people around Li Zhi. Because all these things were true, when Changsun Ze's memorial was submitted, Li Shimin was not angry at all.
Logically speaking, if we have the support of naval warships, then the war is half won. Without the support of naval warships, although we can still win, it will be more difficult.
The most important thing is that we have no roots in the area. If we suffer heavy losses, we will not be able to occupy this place after the war. What is the point of fighting this war then? Therefore, we must occupy this place at the lowest cost and make them quickly serve our entire Tang Empire.
Li Shimin was very angry and wrote three words on the memorial: three months...
The meaning is clear. No matter how Prince Jin Li Zhi acts, he has to wait for the arrival of the navy warships within three months. If you want to go to war now, you have to see the emperor's approval.
Li Xiang didn't say a word, and the court ministers didn't say anything either.
Everyone knew what was going on, but acting rationally gave the other party an advantage. Without the support of naval warships, even a civil servant in the court knew that this war would definitely be difficult to fight.
You, a prince, actually ordered your men to attack violently. Besides, we don't care about these three months. If speed were of the essence, we would have launched the attack long ago. This is just a side battle. I believe anyone would be willing to sacrifice three months of time in exchange for the lives of eight or nine thousand soldiers...
