Qin Qiong finished reading the military report, said nothing, and directly passed it to Cheng Yaojin and the others.
After everyone had finished reading.
Li Er stood up, looked at the ministers before him, and said, "My esteemed officials, the old man Jieli is preparing to invade the Great Tang from the south with a hundred thousand troops. How shall we resist? Speak your minds!"
Not a single minister spoke.
Li Er's expression grew more somber. He looked at Zhangsun Wuji and asked, "Wuji, what are your thoughts?"
Seeing he could not avoid it, Zhangsun Wuji stepped forward and replied, "Your Majesty, at present, we can only summon troops from various regions to defend Chang'an."
"Then, in your opinion, which troops should be recalled for reinforcements?" Li Er asked with displeasure.
"This..." Zhangsun Wuji was speechless. It wasn't entirely his fault, as this was the only solution he could think of. However, the armies outside of Chang'an could not be recalled immediately. Moreover, the Great Tang was surrounded by wolves at present. If word of this leaked out, they might drive away the tiger only to be faced by jackals!
"Shubao, do you have any suggestions?" Li Er glared at Zhangsun Wuji and then looked at Qin Qiong.
"Your Majesty, your humble servant is willing to lead his soldiers out of the city to intercept them. I implore Your Majesty to grant permission!"
Qin Qiong was indeed like the God of Doorways, thinking only of going to the battlefield without any other considerations.
"Shubao, you should not engage in battle. Your old wounds are acting up and it's not suitable for combat. Zhijie, what about you?"
Li Er dismissed Qin Qiong and then looked at Cheng Yaojin.
"Your Majesty, your humble servant is also willing to lead his soldiers out of the city to intercept them. I implore Your Majesty to grant permission!"
Li Er was speechless. What a group of rough men!
Is this a matter of whether to go out and intercept?
This is a tenfold disparity in troop strength!
Can simply going out to intercept solve the problem?
Seeing Yuchi was about to volunteer as well, Li Er flicked his sleeves: "All of you, withdraw! Think it over carefully tonight, and I will also ponder. Tomorrow, at the grand court assembly, notify all officials from the fifth rank and above in the capital to attend. You may all withdraw!"
"Long live Your Majesty!"
After the ministers kowtowed and paid their respects, they left the Eastern Palace one by one.
Yuchi Jingde and Cheng Yaojin did not leave. Qin Shubao and the Fang brothers also stayed. After the others had left, it was discovered that Li Jing and Li Ji had also remained, and even Zhangsun Wuji had stayed.
Well, it seemed they all intended to stay for a private discussion on military matters with His Majesty.
Yuchi Jingde went to the door, retrieved a wine jar from the guards, and returned to the hall.
Li Er looked at them without speaking, sat on the dragon throne, and pondered with a frown.
"Your Majesty, your humble servant has obtained two jars of fine wine today. I invite Your Majesty to taste it, and also to request the position of vanguard!"
Yuchi Jingde carried the wine jars and said cheerfully to Li Er.
Li Er looked up at the wine jars in his hands and gave a look to the eunuch by his side.
The eunuch quickly took the wine jars and handed them to Li Er.
Li Er broke the mud seal, sniffed, and a rich aroma of wine wafted towards him.
"Good wine! Xiao'anzi, go fetch wine bowls!"
The little eunuch quickly went to fetch bowls.
A long table was placed in the hall of the Eastern Palace, with nine large bowls lined up.
Xiao'anzi poured each bowl from the wine jar and then looked at Li Er.
"Alright, you may all withdraw. You are not needed here."
Li Er waved his hand, dismissing the eunuchs and palace maids.
"My esteemed ministers, come, taste the fine wine brought by General Yuchi. We shall think of a solution while we drink. You have all helped me to reach this point. Since this has happened, we shall devise a plan together! Come, drink!"
After Li Er finished speaking, he was the first to raise his wine bowl and drink.
The wine was strong, so strong that he temporarily forgot about Jieli.
Forcing back the urge to spit it out, the emperor's dignity compelled him to swallow the bowl of strong wine with all his might!
To spit out wine in front of so many ministers, would he still have any face?
As the strong wine entered his belly, it felt like a ball of fire burning fiercely inside him. Li Er felt his entire body invigorated, and he let out a heavy sigh: "Good wine! Wonderful!"
He then put down the wine bowl heavily and said to the others, "Taste it, this wine is truly excellent!"
Yuchi and Cheng Yaojin watched Li Er with some concern at first, as they knew the potency of this wine.
Seeing Li Er drink a whole bowl of wine without changing his expression, they were dumbfounded and didn't know what to say.
Zhangsun Wuji and Li Jing, seeing Li Er's high praise, also picked up their bowls and downed them in one go!
However, as soon as the wine touched their lips, they realized they had overestimated themselves.
Especially Zhangsun Wuji, who directly spat out the wine, splashing it all over Cheng Yaojin's face!
"Pah! Zhangsun Wuji, are you looking for a beating!" Cheng Yaojin wiped the wine from his face with his sleeve and glared at Zhangsun Wuji.
"Hahahaha!" Yuchi Jingde laughed heartily from the side.
Li Er also chuckled.
Seeing Li Er laugh, everyone else joined in.
As they all laughed, Li Jing was in a sorry state. He still had a mouthful of wine, and his laughter caused the wine to spray out from his nose!
One can only imagine! That feeling! Let's not even mention it!
Li Jing immediately choked back tears, covering his mouth and coughing incessantly!
This made everyone laugh even more heartily.
Li Er also felt his vexed mood greatly relieved. He stopped dwelling on military affairs and began drinking with his ministers, one bowl after another.
Gradually, they became accustomed to the wine's potency, and even Zhangsun Wuji and Li Jing began to enjoy it.
"Jingde, where did this wine come from?"
Zhangsun asked, sipping the Zui Xian Niang (Drunken Immortal Brew) in small sips, looking at Yuchi Jingde.
Li Er also looked over curiously.
Before Yuchi Jingde could speak, Cheng Yaojin interjected, "This wine was made by a young brother. It's the same young brother who reminded me last time about Jieli's sneak attack. How about it? Isn't it extraordinary?"
"Zhi Jie, tell me more about this young brother of yours."
Li Er's interest was piqued, and he said from the side.
"Your Majesty, I met this young brother about half a month ago."
Cheng Yaojin, while drinking, recounted how he met Fang Er.
He told Li Er everything about the winemaking, the refinement of salt, and even the waterwheel by the Longshou Canal, all of which he knew Fang Er had done.
Apart from Cheng Yaojin, only Yuchi Jingde knew a little about Fang Er, but not in such detail.
"So, your young brother is indeed extraordinary. At such a young age, he knows so many things that ordinary people don't."
Li Er found Fang Er increasingly remarkable as he listened.
"Oh, right, Your Majesty, that young brother Fang's wine shop opened today, and he made quite a stir. He made something called firecrackers, which can produce a loud noise and are quite frightening to hear at first! I estimate they might be useful in battles."
Qin Qiong, thinking of the firecrackers, spoke up.
"Oh? Firecrackers, what are they? How can they be used?"
Li Er's interest was piqued.