Voluy to Invade Southern Chu (1/2)

Voluy to Invade Southern Chu

Li Zhi followed the eunuch into the I for an invasion of Southern Chu a few days earlier, but had received no response Today, now that his Imperial Father finally had called him into the Palace, he could not help but feel overjoyed at the turn of events¹ The official discussion was held in the I Emperor Li Yuan sat behind the imperial desk, his eyes subtly narrowed His expression was not at ease Behind hi court dress In front of the desk in the first seat on the left sat Crown Prince Li An, followed by Pri Shu, the Duke of Wei On the right hand side, aside from the first empty seat, sat the General Who Pacifies Distant Lands, Qin Yi, and the Prince of Qi, Li Xian Although Li Xian’s face an and looked sickly, he seeorous

Crown Prince Li An was thirty-six years old, older than the Prince of Yong by two years But he had never trained anyappearance Although he seemed to properly maintain himself and did not look old, one could discern a shred of exhaustion in countenance He watched Li Zhi enter the roo in his eyes Without consulting with anyone, Li Zhi strode before the i, “This child² salutes Imperial Father”

Li Yuan inquired, “Zhi’er, why are you so late in arriving?”

S, Li Zhi answered, “Before this child arrived, I had just received an intelligence report fro it here so that Iave Li An a baffled look, asking, “An’er, didn’t you already present the intelligence report on Jiangnan?”

Li An smiled and replied, “Presumably second brother does not yet know that I have already received the intelligence report on Jiangnan”

Across Li Zhi’s face flashed an icy shness, the Crown Prince, is froence report is different and therefore, presumably, has details that Imperial Father does not yet know”

Li An’s expression treence netith great difficulty having used every possible means³ He could not believe that Li Zhi still had his own intelligence sources How could he not be resentful? He coldly replied, “So that’s the case … Just a few days earlier, sixth brother was attacking Xiangyang If second brother had shared these intelligence reports, then surely sixth brother would not have been so badly defeated” He was only concerned with striking a blow at Li Zhi and forgot that Li Xian’s h, a look of cold fury flashed across Li Xian’s eyes

In a coer brother⁵ only realized, after sixth brother’s first caence network in Jiangnan was inco’s defensive positions was extre’s garrison co it to the Ministry of War Froence network controlled by Lady Liang has already caught the attention of Southern Chu’s knowledgeable and experienced individuals It is only because they are safeguarded by the sovereign and vassals of Southern Chu that they have not been elio to ith Southern Chu, our intelligence netill inevitably be destroyed Facing this obstacle, this younger brother could only establish a neork Finally, at least, there has been sohness, the Crown Prince, does not know the details is because the neork has only just gotten results Thus, could not help sixth brother in ti to this point, Li Zhi looked at Li Xian and bowed slightly to signal his apology Li Xian lowered his head lightly, signaling that he did not mind

Fro verbal swords with the crown prince Seeing that they had te E behind hireet Li Zhi The Prince of Qi, Li Xian,⁷ had originally wanted to stand as well, but seeing the anger in Li An’s eyes, remained seated Li Zhi sat down at his own seat at the first position on the right, greeting all one by one Fro Wan, the beautiful woman’s expression became as cold as ice When Li Zhi had sat down, she opened her hness’s words,has toiled under bitter hardshi+ps in Southern Chu, and yet hasher speak, Li An lowered his head slightly, the corner of his htly as he replied, “Lady noble Consort, this child dares not evaluate Lady Liang’s contributions That year when Princess Changle ed to Southern Chu, both Ientle and soft tempera to accoh Over these years, our successes in Southern Chu have been in large part due to Liang Wan’s meritorious service It is only that the current situation has changed Lady Liang has basically already placed herself out in the open Thus, this child had no choice but to ensure that we do not lose access to infor is forced to withdraw”

The woman’s tender and dimpled face revealed a faint smile, as if she accepted Li Zhi’s explanation All the men in the study could not help but be mesmerized by her smile which was like the plum blossoms after snowfall But since she was a noble consort, everyone quickly averted their eyes

Seeing the atmosphere shi+ft, Li Zhi continued, “Since Ience report brought by His Highness, the Crown Prince, then Hethe Imperial Throne?”

From on his desk, Li Yuan picked up a copiedZhe is sure enough an extraordinary individual The Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi have both recommended him to me I have read his poele poe of Shu to commit suicide Definitely an exceptional talent Today, after seeing this ifted scholar, but also an able minister If Southern Chu were to put him into an i Now that this person has been dismissed from office, presumably he can be recruited over”

“Imperial Father is correct,” replied Li Zhi with a hint of a smile “The man does indeed possess an extraordinary ability This child in Sichuan and sixth brother in Southern Chu have both met him Unfortunately, that man cares not for fame or fortune, and furthermore is a loyal subject of Southern Chu I’e allegiance”

Li Yuan nodded and replied, “That’s true We are also worried about this Seeing this man’s memorial, he must be a loyal subject of Southern Chu But as the proverb says, ‘a virtuous subject chooses a master to serve’ I have seen the freedom and easiness within this ht?”

Listening to his father’s words, Li Zhi understood that Li Xian had not told Li An aboutTherefore, Li Yuan would not conclude that Jiang Zhe would potentially not serve Great Yong Li Zhi glanced at Li Xian and saw his brother’s uneasy countenance Li Zhi smiled softly and continued, “That is true This ti his submitted memorial I found that this man maintained close ties with the Prince of De In Sichuan, he served as a close aide to the Prince of De Reportedly, while he was recuperating at home over the last two years, he maintained constant co Wan dispatched assassins to kill the Prince of De, it was this man’s servants who saved the Prince In addition, he personally traveled to Xiangyang to see Zhao Jue for the last time This child has also found that the newly appointed Chief Co Zhe Before passing the i Zhe was the teacher of Lu Xin’s son, Lu Can Therefore, this child fears that this iance”

Li Yuan listened with keen interest, while Li An and noble Consort Ji secretly exchanged looks It see Zhe Li Yuan looked to Wei Guan and asked, “Minister Wei, what is your view?”

Wei Guan answered, “There is no need for Your Imperial Majesty to be worried Southern Chu is exhausted The south will be pacified within a few years When the time comes, there will be peace⁶ andWe can tell, fro Zhe, is not a stubborn individual Why would he be unwilling to serve the E his response, Li Yuan beah thisput in an important position, there is no need to overly trouble ourselves with him When Southern Chu is conquered, We only need to issue an order decreeing he becolanced at everyone, noticing that Li An and noble Consort Ji had apathetic expressions, while Li Xian’s eyes were filled with derision Li Zhi knew that he had achieved his goal He had purposely estee Zhe in front of everyone in order to conceal the i the attention of Li An and co Zhe in secret would be difficult It was better to be upfront about it, expressing how he valued theZhe’s talent and not realize his importance In addition, they would not oppose hih his sche Zhe’s talent, but he probably also wished to recruit Jiang Zhe for himself, so held his silence After this, Li Zhi only needed to co his objective, Li Zhi asked without restraint, “Imperial Father has called this child to discuss theSouthern Chu Does Imperial Father have any plans?”

“This ti,” replied Li Yuan “I am worried that from now on Southern Chu will be difficult to control and I intend to dispatch you to co the iiven us the best excuse Last tins upon Great Yong That reason was too far-fetched This time, our invasion will be proper and expected What does Zhi’er think?”

“Imperial Father is correct,” answered Li Zhi “The Southern Chu arinal plan, our ar’s connection with Jiangnan and spending a few years to slohittle away at Southern Chu’s ain their breath, their army would have the opportunity to restabilize Without a decade or more, ould not be able to conquer Southern Chu If Ia the After that, ould pacify every resisting force one by one Although this planprotracted, within three years, this child can pro And then ill use another twenty years to acquire popular sentiment What does Imperial Father think?”

Li Yuan understood theto his view, the best and most perfect plan would be to sweep away all opposition in one go But the current Southern Chu was still capable of resistance To be able to conquer Southern Chu in three years at the cost of twenty years of chaos, which would unlikely spread to the Central Plains, would be hile, especially as Li Yuan’s desire to establish glorious achievereed with Li Zhi’s suggestion