Chapter 34

At this moment, Li Er had also arrived at the Furong Garden early.

Not only that, Li Er also brought Cheng Yaojin, Qin Qiong, Fang Xuanling, and Du Ruhui, as there were indeed some matters to consult Su Liang about.

Over these two days, Li Er had received news from the northern frontier of the Great Tang one after another, confirming that the Kumoxi and Khitan had formed an alliance, with a force of at least 100,000; this news was discovered by Su Liang's Unofficial Men.

Ever since the grand wedding with Changle...

Su Liang had gifted all 7,200 of the black-robed Unofficial Men to Li Er. From then on, the Unofficial Men were primarily under Li Er, though Su Liang could still mobilize them.

The two were primary and secondary.

Today, the several ministers came precisely for this matter; without a proper method, everyone felt uneasy.

If many small countries were to unite, there would be nearly 400,000 people, while the Great Tang at this time only had 600,000 troops.

If many small countries were to take military action against the Great Tang, it would be a force that could not be ignored, and the consequences would be unimaginable!!

Su Liang was naturally aware of the news from the northern frontier.

Just before Li Er and the others arrived, Su Liang was discussing countermeasures with Wang Xuance.

Su Liang intended to let Wang Xuance represent the Great Tang as an envoy to the Shiwei, Mohe tribes, and the Baiqi, to see exactly how capable Wang Xuance was.

Historically, Wang Xuance was someone who destroyed a country single-handedly; it is unknown why Li Er did not reuse him later.

It was not appropriate to ask Li Er about such things.

Su Liang still trusted Wang Xuance; the things Su Liang entrusted to him were all handled perfectly, and in some places Su Liang had not considered, Wang Xuance had considered them for him.

It was just that Wang Xuance was still a bit young now and needed to practice with a few countries.

Seeing that everyone had arrived at the Furong Garden, Su Liang immediately looked at Li Er and said: "Your Majesty, I would like to request a position for Wang Xuance."

Li Er immediately became interested and didn't bother with other things; since there was plenty of time today, he immediately asked: "Oh? I wonder what position my virtuous son-in-law wants to request?"

"Assistant of the Court of Diplomatic Reception!!" Su Liang said nonchalantly.

"This... this..." Fang Xuanling, who was on the side, was speechless for a long time.

This Assistant of the Court of Diplomatic Reception was a position of the upper sixth rank!

As one of the Nine Ministers of the Great Tang central government, the Court of Diplomatic Reception had one Minister of the third rank, two Vice Ministers of the fourth rank, and one Assistant of the sixth rank...

The highest official of the Court of Diplomatic Reception, the Minister, was not only equivalent to the current Minister of Foreign Affairs, but his power was even greater than that of the current Minister of Foreign Affairs.

One can imagine how important this Assistant of the Court of Diplomatic Reception was!

After a moment, Fang Xuanling continued: "Every move and every word of the officials of the Court of Diplomatic Reception represents the national prestige and face of the Great Tang; this cannot be a child's play... Imperial Son-in-law!"

Du Ruhui immediately took over the conversation and said: "Imperial Son-in-law, you are making it difficult for His Majesty! Regardless of what talents Wang Xuance has, conferring an official position without merit... is indeed inappropriate."

Li Er waved his hand to interrupt: "Keming, Xuanling, you two listen to what the Imperial Son-in-law has to say first; remember not to draw conclusions easily."

"Is it not enough that we have been slapped in the face enough times recently?"

"Yes, yes, yes, the Imperial Son-in-law never shoots without a target; you should listen to what he has to say." Qin Qiong also chimed in at this moment.

Seeing that everyone finally quieted down and stopped disturbing Su Liang.

Su Liang then spoke calmly: "I intend to let Wang Xuance represent the Great Tang as an envoy to the Shiwei, Mohe tribes, and the Baiqi. Since this trip represents the Great Tang, it would be inappropriate to go without an official position, so I ask Your Majesty to agree to this matter."

As his voice fell, Fang Xuanling immediately asked: "Is the Imperial Son-in-law trying to recruit them?"

Su Liang couldn't help but think to himself that Fang Xuanling's brain was fast enough.

He then admitted: "Yes! Subduing the enemy without fighting is the best strategy."

"If we can recruit them this time, that would be the best result, and it also happens to train Wang Xuance."

"Although the Shiwei and Mohe tribes dare not act rashly, one must always be prepared for the unexpected."

"What do the ministers think about this matter?"

Cheng Yaojin was unhappy upon hearing this and immediately said: "Is the Imperial Son-in-law looking down on us military generals? The Great Tang was won by us military generals; could it be that we are afraid of those foreigners?"

He then snorted coldly: "Hmph... if they dare to take up arms against our Great Tang, our Great Tang's Twelve Guards and over 500,000 soldiers are not to be trifled with."

"I, Old Cheng, will be the first to go to the front to kill the enemy..."

Before Cheng Yaojin could finish, Qin Qiong hurriedly pulled his good brother, telling him not to say more and signaling him to listen quietly to Su Liang's words.

Su Liang smiled indifferently: "Hehe... if the Duke of Lu wants to kill the enemy on the battlefield, there are plenty of places; there is no need to rush for this moment."

"If there is a chance, I will definitely accompany the Duke of Lu to the battlefield to have a good fight."

"At that time, I will definitely let the Duke of Lu enjoy himself!"

Just at this moment, Li Er spoke: "Virtuous son-in-law... Wang Xuance has no merit, so this matter is really hard to handle. The Assistant of the Court of Diplomatic Reception is a sixth-rank official position. Not to mention those ministers in the court, just Wei Zheng alone is enough to give me a headache; he has sprayed me enough."

"When I conferred the title of Prince of Chu upon you, I bore all the pressure from the court."

Su Liang was also aware of this; Li Er had indeed borne everything at that time.

He then looked at Li Er and said: "It doesn't have to be known to everyone; Your Majesty only needs to issue a secret decree. It is enough to prove to the foreigners that Wang Xuance is an Assistant of the Court of Diplomatic Reception of our Great Tang."

"Besides, Your Majesty doesn't need to worry about the envoy mission; the Unofficial Men have already arranged it over there."

"This time, Wang Xuance only needs to take thirty White-Robed Guards with him."

Seeing that Su Liang had already arranged everything, Li Er immediately agreed; if Wang Xuance succeeded in recruiting them, there would naturally be no criticism in the court.

Subsequently, Li Er issued the decree, and Wang Xuance immediately took the order and left.

After this matter came to an end, Fang Xuanling immediately looked at Su Liang and asked: "Regarding the remnants of the Eastern Turks, we all want to hear what good ideas the Imperial Son-in-law has?"

"Hehe... for those Turkic remnants who are unwilling to submit to the Great Tang, we will just return the favor for how the Turks treated us before!" Su Liang chuckled.

Su Liang then explained guerrilla warfare to everyone...

Using the advantage of light cavalry being as fast as shadows and wind, frequently harassing the Turkic remnants is enough; there is no need to kill them all, as they are a large amount of free labor.

Isn't it good to take them to mine?

Although the Turks were too cruel to the people of the Great Tang before, repeatedly entering the Great Tang territory to loot, Su Liang would not hold a grudge against the Turks who had already submitted to the Tang.

As for those Turkic remnants who are still unwilling to submit to the Great Tang, it is nothing more than doing things that the people of the Great Tang cannot tolerate: treating the people of the Great Tang as "two-legged sheep" and eating them as food.

By comparison, Su Liang's not killing them all is considered merciful.

It is also time to teach them a profound lesson.

A moment later.

Li Er spoke: "Virtuous son-in-law, are you trying to use their own way to treat them?"

"Yes!!" Su Liang immediately acknowledged.

"Each unit of light cavalry only needs one hundred people, using war to support war!"

"Good... good..."

"In this way, not only can we achieve the best deterrent effect with the minimum force, but we can also improve the quality of life of our Great Tang soldiers."

Du Ruhui clapped his hands in approval upon hearing this.

Fang Xuanling on the side also looked at Li Er with excitement and said: "The Imperial Son-in-law's move not only expands our Great Tang's territory, but also requires no additional military pay for the soldiers; it is truly wonderful... wonderful!!"

Following Su Liang's method, it is actually very easy for the Great Tang to take action against the Turkic remnants.

After all, the Turkic remnants have no city walls or gates; once they enter the Turkic territory, they will drive straight in without any obstacles.

Li Er heard everyone's words and nodded without any hesitation.

After this matter.

Su Liang looked at Li Er and said: "Your Majesty, can you lend me a team in a while? I have some things I want to experiment with."

Although he didn't know what Su Liang wanted to do, Li Er understood one thing: everything in Su Liang's hands was definitely good stuff, so he nodded heavily without any hesitation.

"Oh... when does my virtuous son-in-law need them? How many people do you need?" Li Er immediately asked.

"The sooner the better, of course. As for the number of people... only 10,000 are needed," Su Liang said.

At this moment, Su Liang was planning to make pistols and mortars as well.

This kind of thing must be borrowed from Li Er, and it must be the Qianniu Guards, who are closest to Li Er.

The current Qianniu Guards, both left and right, total 30,000 people; Su Liang doesn't need much, just 10,000 people to be responsible for this, and it can be built in a month at the fastest.

The equipment produced can just equip 10,000 people, and then Su Liang will return a 10,000-strong army with extremely strong combat power to Li Er.

"I want Your Majesty's Qianniu Guards, only 10,000 people," Su Liang said calmly.

As his voice fell, Li Er nodded heavily, watching Su Liang quietly, but his heart was extremely confused.

Li Er immediately asked: "This... virtuous son-in-law, what exactly are you going to make? And you must have my Qianniu Guards."

"Hehe... the Qianniu Guards are His Majesty's personal guards; I suppose the Imperial Son-in-law doesn't trust the laborers to do some things, so he asked His Majesty for them," Cheng Yaojin said bluntly.

Li Er immediately looked at Su Liang and asked: "Virtuous son-in-law, could it be for the good thing you mentioned two days ago?"

"Hehe... it is for this matter; the things have long been prepared, let's go to Taoyuan Mountain to try them out in a while," Su Liang said.

Su Liang not only made pumpkin grenades, but also worked tirelessly for two days to make mortars.

It was just that the time was too short, and Su Liang could only make 60mm mortars.

A quarter of an hour later.

Su Liang took a carriage and led everyone to the desolate area of Taoyuan Mountain.

Inside the carriage at this moment, the five people besides Su Liang were staring fixedly at the large black box in front of them.

No matter how they asked, Su Liang wouldn't say what it was, only telling them that they would naturally know when they arrived.

Su Liang was really afraid that they would move it around; if they accidentally pulled the grenade ring, it wouldn't be a joke.

That would kill people.

Half an hour later.

The few arrived at a desolate place in Taoyuan Mountain.

Su Liang chuckled in his heart: Today, I will let you see what a modern weapon of war is.

"Don't you all want to know what this is? This is called a grenade; it looks like a pumpkin, so I call it a pumpkin grenade," Su Liang said, holding the pumpkin grenade in his hand and looking at everyone.

In the following ten minutes, Su Liang introduced the specific power and use of the grenade to everyone in detail.

After Su Liang finished speaking, he pointed to a dilapidated, uninhabited house in front of him and looked at everyone: "Let's take a look at the power of the grenade first."

Su Liang then pulled the ring and threw the grenade into the dilapidated house fifty meters away without any effort.

Then there was a violent explosion sound of "Bang...".

It immediately scared everyone, but fortunately, Su Liang had explained it to them before, and they had made corresponding preparations.

But the Qianniu Guards who were on alert nearby were not calm; Li Junxian heard the sound and immediately led dozens of Qianniu Guards to run over.

Seeing this, Li Er immediately waved his hand, signaling them to retreat.

After the smoke and dust dissipated, everyone was dumbfounded.

This... this...

Where is the trace of the house?

"Damn! Damn! Scared... scared me to death, Old Cheng..."

Cheng Yaojin, who was the first to come to his senses, immediately cursed and swore.

"Imperial... Imperial Son-in-law, this thing is a weapon of war," Qin Qiong also said with lingering fear.

"If it is combined with the Imperial Son-in-law's hot air balloon, wouldn't it be invincible?"

Du Ruhui, who had reacted at this moment, suddenly said.

Damn... worthy of being Duke Du; air-dropping was just... invented by him.

Su Liang couldn't help but think to himself that it hadn't been long, and "air-dropping" had already slipped out of Du Ruhui's mouth; he is worthy of being called Du the Decisive.

Li Er was silent at this moment, thinking to himself: The things in the small box are so powerful, then the things in the large box wouldn't be...

He then looked at Su Liang with deep eyes: "Virtuous son-in-law, what is in that large box?"

Hearing this, everyone reacted and stared fixedly at Su Liang.

Su Liang smiled slightly, then took out the mortar and looked at them: "This is called a mortar; it can be understood as using a bow and arrow to shoot a grenade."

"But compared to the range of a bow and arrow, it is much further; the grenade is also a large-sized grenade, called a mortar shell."

"If it were fired in the Furong Garden at this moment..."

Everyone pricked up their ears, waiting for Su Liang's next words.

Then Su Liang's words fell slowly.

"I'm afraid it could blow up the Pingkang Ward."

"Hiss..."

Everyone gasped, wouldn't that have a range of eleven or twelve li?

"Hehe... do you all want to try?" Su Liang asked with a slight smile.

Everyone became even more interested...

Half an hour later.

The Qianniu Guards reported that they had ensured that there was no one within a two-li radius of the hill ten li ahead.

Li Er signaled that Su Liang could begin.

Su Liang was already prepared.

The next moment, everyone only heard a "bang".

Before they even saw the shadow of the mortar shell, they heard a "boom" after a breath, and it was still that already broken house.

Then everyone immediately went up to investigate the situation.

They saw a crater nearly three feet deep; this was much more powerful than the pumpkin grenade Su Liang mentioned.

Then Su Liang introduced the PP93 60mm mortar in detail...

Everyone only knew that the mortar Su Liang mentioned weighed nearly 36 jin, and a shell was about three and a half jin.

The closest range could be fifty meters, and the farthest range could be a little over eleven li.

The killing radius was as much as five zhang.

With just a simple shot, a small house could be leveled to the ground in an instant...