Wang Wei sat up straight and said, “According to what I know, Liu Wuzhou is merely a colonel. How could he have such audacity? Could the information be wrong?”

Li Yuan glanced at Li Shimin standing nearby, who took out an urgent military report from his sleeve and handed it to Wang Wei, “Please examine this, Lord Wang.”

After reading the letter’s contents, Wang Wei’s face showed panic. After the others read the letter one by one, their expressions were all similar. Gao Junya was the first to speak, “So what do we do now?”

The general sitting beside him said, “Need you ask? Of course we send troops to suppress him.”

Wang Wei also agreed, “Liu Wuzhou, as a court official, doesn’t know how to serve the court loyally, but instead raises an army in rebellion. Such a person deserves ten thousand deaths. He should be immediately suppressed, and Liu Wuzhou captured alive to be escorted to Jiangdu for His Majesty’s judgment.”

Li Yuan sighed, “Both of you speak reasonably, but we currently don’t have many troops. Moreover, we recently suffered a defeat with heavy casualties. With our current forces, even if I had heavenly powers, it would be difficult to oppose him.”

Wang Wei smiled, “Duke Li is too modest. You defeated Zhen Di’er’s hundred thousand troops with only two thousand soldiers – we all witnessed this personally. With you here, pacifying Liu Wuzhou’s rebellion should be easy, shouldn’t it?”

Li Yuan smiled bitterly, “Lord Wang thinks too highly of me. Zhen Di’er’s forces were a scattered rabble, and he was brave but lacking in strategy. Combined with some luck, I achieved that great victory. But Liu Wuzhou, starting as a mere colonel and accomplishing this much – though I haven’t fought him, I know he’s definitely superior to that Zhen Di’er. Given our current situation, defeating him would be truly difficult.”

Gao Junya thought for a moment and said, “If that’s the case, then we should request the court to approve conscription.”

Li Shimin shook his head, “His Majesty is thousands of li away in Jiangdu. A round trip would take countless days. To speak bluntly, by the time His Majesty approves conscription, Liu Wuzhou will have already attacked, perhaps even captured Taiyuan. If we lose this crucial military stronghold, Great Sui would truly be in danger.”

Wang Wei’s eyes rolled as he said, “According to the Second Young Master’s meaning, you want to conscript directly?”

Li Shimin lowered his eyes, “This is the only method I can think of. Whether to use it or not is for the generals to decide – I dare not say more.”

Wang Wei looked at him deeply and said to Li Yuan, “What does Duke Li think?”

Li Yuan lowered his head briefly, then said, “Private conscription could resolve the Liu Wuzhou crisis, but it doesn’t follow regulations. In my opinion, we should first report to His Majesty and only conscript after His Majesty’s approval.”

Upon hearing this, a general immediately said, “The Second Young Master was right just now – before the conscription order comes down, Liu Wuzhou will have already attacked. What should we do then?”

Li Yuan sighed, “We can only delay as much as possible. Once the conscription order arrives, we can turn from defense to offense and suppress him.”

That general shook his head, “With respect, sir, you just said Liu Wuzhou is no fool. He’ll certainly try every means to completely destroy us before the conscription order comes down. Or he’ll recruit troops extensively – then the able-bodied men of Taiyuan will become Liu Wuzhou’s soldiers, and even when the conscription order comes, it will be useless.”

Li Yuan said with difficulty, “This won’t work, that won’t work either – I’m out of options. You all discuss it.”

After these words, chaos erupted below, with everyone speaking at once. It was lively, but no one could propose a perfect solution, and the matter reached an impasse.

After long discussion without result, the general who had spoken earlier said, “Lords Wang and Gao, you were personally appointed by His Majesty. Don’t you have any solutions either?”

Wang Wei and Gao Junya exchanged glances and said, “Though we two are His Majesty’s appointed Deputy Administrators, Duke Li is the Administrator – you should ask his opinion.”

These words once again drew everyone’s attention to Li Yuan, who sighed heavily, stood up and said, “I’ll immediately send someone to Jiangdu. Until then, I’ll use my available forces to delay and maneuver with him as much as possible. As long as I, Li Yuan, have breath in my body, I absolutely won’t let him take Taiyuan. I hope everything will be in time.” After saying this, he actually strode toward the exit.

Wang Wei was stunned – he had originally thought Li Yuan was putting on an act, wanting to use Liu Wuzhou’s rebellion to privately recruit soldiers and expand his own power. Now it seemed he had guessed wrong.

Gao Junya whispered beside him, “Brother Wang, are you really prepared to let him do this? Actually, you and I both know that when facing emergencies like sudden rebellions, one can act according to circumstances. If Liu Wuzhou attacks Taiyuan and Li Yuan can’t withstand him, you and I will both be finished.”

Wang Wei’s expression was uncertain, not knowing what he was thinking. Just as Li Yuan was about to step out the main door, he suddenly said, “How many troops does Duke Li think we need to conscript to withstand Liu Wuzhou?”

A strange glint flashed in Li Yuan’s eyes, but when he turned around, his expression had returned to normal. “Twenty thousand. Conscript twenty thousand, and combined with my current forces, it will be enough to contend with Liu Wuzhou.”

Wang Wei nodded, “Good, then let’s first conscript twenty thousand soldiers. I hope Duke Li can accomplish what you just said.”

Li Yuan was startled, then shook his head, “No, absolutely not before His Majesty approves conscription!”

“Following the sacred will is naturally important, but the situation is urgent now – some flexibility isn’t impossible. If Duke Li truly loses Taiyuan, that would be the greatest loss for His Majesty.”

“But…” Li Yuan seemed moved by their words but still shook his head, “What if His Majesty blames us?”

“Brother Gao and I will memorialize His Majesty to explain. Given His Majesty’s wisdom, he won’t blame Duke Li.” Facing Wang Wei’s words, Li Yuan still showed hesitation. Gao Junya said beside him, “Duke Li, since even Brother Wang says so, you can conscript with peace of mind. His Majesty’s side – we’ll take responsibility.”

Under their persuasion, Li Yuan finally made up his mind, “Good, then I’ll listen to you two brothers and first suppress Liu Wuzhou’s rebellion. His Majesty’s side will depend entirely on you two brothers.” Naturally, they both readily agreed.

Thus the matter was settled. Li Yuan immediately posted recruitment notices. When Taiyuan’s citizens saw the government’s announcement saying that those who enlisted to pacify Liu Wuzhou wouldn’t have to go die in Goguryeo, they responded enthusiastically. Soon twenty thousand were recruited, and combined with his original forces, there were nearly thirty thousand men – enough to match Liu Wuzhou.

After Liu Hongji and Liu Wenjing separately reviewed the conscription registers, they smiled and said to Li Yuan nearby, “Congratulations, Duke Li. Everything is as you wished.”

Li Yuan smiled, “This is also thanks to both Master Liu’s brilliant strategy – otherwise how could it have proceeded so smoothly?” Saying this, he solemnly bowed to Liu Wenjing, “Thank you, Brother Liu, for risking yourself to incite Liu Wuzhou to seize Yanmen and Loufan commanderies and aim his troops at Taiyuan. Without this, I couldn’t have conscripted forces so smoothly.”

Whether Wang Wei, Gao Junya, or Liu Wuzhou – all were chess pieces in Li Yuan’s hands. From the day Li Shimin went to see Liu Wuzhou, the game had begun, playing out silently and invisibly until now.