"No!"
"This is absolutely unacceptable!"
"Imperial Preceptor! I object!"
"I object as well! The Sage must never personally lead troops across the sea into battle!"
"Indeed! Indeed! The winds at sea are fierce, the waves high, and the clouds and currents ever-shifting. The Sage's body is worth a thousand in gold—he must never place himself in danger!"
"Sage! Imperial Preceptor! I recommend that the Duke of Lu lead the troops across the sea. He will surely crush Japan and return in triumph!"
After Qing Mo declared that none but Li Shimin himself could lead the troops across the sea into battle, the objections from the assembled ministers rose louder and louder, each one outshouting the last!
Yet with Qing Mo present, Li Shimin merely listened to their opposition with a blank expression and an easy air!
With Qing Mo here, after all, he had no need to spar with the ministers himself. He could simply let these old fossils trade shots head-on with the Imperial Preceptor!
As he looked at Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng, Zhangsun Wuji, Yu Shinan, and the other civil officials, all firmly opposed to Li Shimin personally leading troops across the sea, Qing Mo's expression remained perfectly calm!
Because he knew this was only to be expected!
For thousands of years, China had fought and bled on land. They knew little of the ocean and harbored an instinctive fear of it!
At the same time, Li Shimin was the emperor—the true helmsman of the Tang Dynasty's colossal ship!
If anything were to happen to him while he led troops out to sea, it would surely plunge the nation into needless turmoil!
"I understand both your reasons for opposing this and your concern for His Majesty!"
The moment Qing Mo spoke calmly to the ministers below, the previously