Datang Nongwang

Chapter 924 The Eastern Expedition Begins

The old lady was very happy.

He was so happy that he was drunk, but it scared Li Chongyuan and his brothers enough.

Fortunately, the old lady is fine, otherwise, Li Chongyuan and his brothers would not be able to sleep peacefully during the Lantern Festival.

that day.

After Li Yuan drank a bowl of wine, he was also drunk by the spirits.

to this end.

Li Chongyuan had to send Li Yuan back to Li Zhuang himself.

Why send it back to Li Zhuang?

Before returning to Chang'an, Li Yuan had confessed.

Otherwise, it's not like Li Yuan has never lived in the Xisha County King's Mansion.

The Shangyuan Festival is very lively.

Xisha County Prince's Mansion is lively, and Chang'an City is also extremely lively.

after all.

From the New Year's Day to the Shangyuan Festival, there is no curfew in Chang'an City.

and.

The Shangyuan Festival is the Lantern Festival, the day that all Chang'an people yearn for the most. Therefore, the excitement in Chang'an City cannot be described in words.

It can end with the end of the Shangyuan Festival.

Everyone has to go back to normal.

Those who should go to work will go to work, and those who should go to the government will go to the government.

In short.

Once the Shangyuan Festival is over, it means that the excitement is over. If you want to witness such excitement again, you have to wait another year.

The sixteenth day of the first lunar month.

Great court meeting.

With a pair of panda eyes and a sleepy face, Li Chongyuan reluctantly stood at the front and back of the court officials to participate in this big court meeting.

Li Shimin on the throne, seeing Li Chongyuan's yawning appearance, had a strange expression on his face.

Wang Li also frequently winked at Li Chongyuan.

pity.

Li Chongyuan, who was yawning, didn't notice this at all.

Li Shimin snorted softly, and then Li Chongyuan looked over with a pair of hazy eyes.

Seeing this, after Li Shimin glared at him, Li Chongyuan quickly straightened himself up.

The court meeting officially began.

After discussing what happened last year.

Cheng Yaojin suddenly stood up, "Your Majesty, I will follow His Majesty's order to reorganize the army and eliminate discipline. I also ask the Majesty to issue an order to be kind to all the soldiers."

Ok?
When Li Chongyuan heard Cheng Yaojin's words, he suddenly became sober.

He knew that the Eastern Expedition was about to begin.

Expedition.

It has been planned since the year before last, and it was already in preparation last year.

training.

forage.

ships and more.

Most of them are already prepared.

It only needs Li Shimin's decree, and the large army of the Eastern Expedition will be dispatched.

in fact.

Some vanguard troops had already set out last year, and they had already arrived near the border between Datang and Goguryeo.

Come on.

Goguryeo already knew about the Tang Dynasty's preparations for the Eastern Expedition.

The movement and stillness of the Tang Dynasty are frequent, and it is impossible for Goguryeo to know about it.

Moreover.

Inside the Tang Dynasty, there were many merchants who still had economic and trade relations with Goguryeo, even if there were few, there were still some.

Furthermore.

Since last year in Goguryeo, no, it should be the year before last, the big opponent Lu Yuangai Suwen slaughtered King Rongliu of Goguryeo, and even divided his body, and did not even hold a funeral for King Rongliu.

After Tang Emperor Li Shimin heard this, he wished that he would send troops to attack Goguryeo that year.

but.

Li Shimin finally chose to stand still and take it slowly.

In addition, envoys were sent to Goguryeo to confer the title of King Gaozang who was forcibly dragged to the position of King of Goguryeo by Yuangai Suwen.

even.

Li Shimin also sent envoys to Goguryeo to mediate the conflicts between Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla.

But in the end, Goguryeo refused, which cut off the access from Xinguoluo to Shangguo Datang.

This made Li Shimin even more angry, and he wanted to send troops.

Li Shimin naturally knew.

If Liaodong is uneven, he will not be able to sleep every day.

What the previous court did, Li Shimin will still do the same.

There is a saying.

The dog below is disobedient, if it goes crazy and bites itself, the loss outweighs the gain.

Moreover.

The Goguryeo dog is so disobedient that even the owner wants to bite it a few times.

Li Shimin, the master, how could he bear it.

This is not.

Preparations started last year.

And last year.

In November, Li Shimin issued an edict to the world, saying that there are five favorable conditions for attacking Goguryeo.

One is to attack the small with the big, the other is to fight against the adversary with the obedient, the third is to rule and take advantage of the chaos, the fourth is to treat labor with ease, and the fifth is to use pleasure instead of resentment.

but.

Although the edict was issued to the world, because Li Chongyuan copied the Fang family's affairs, Li Shimin's planned trip to Luoyang, the eastern capital, was delayed.

Until today, the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, just after the Lantern Festival, Cheng Yaojin took the lead to stand up, which showed that he wanted to fight the most, and it also meant that Li Shimin was about to set off.

"The matter of Goguryeo was decided last year. Today, I ordered Li Ji to lead the army first." Li Shimin began to speak.

After Li Shimin spoke.

The more Cheng Yaojin listened, the more he felt like he had nothing to do, "My lord, what about the old minister?"

"You stay in Chang'an." Li Shimin looked at his loyal little brother, and actually had a plan in his heart.

He himself wanted to conquer Goguryeo himself, and if there was no one he trusted very much in Chang'an, he would really feel a little worried.

after all.

The people of Prince Yin's family have not given up until now, and have always wanted to restore the eldest son.

although.

No one knows whether Prince Yin has any heirs.

Even Li Shimin himself didn't know.

Otherwise, why did he keep asking Wang Li to send secret guards to search and inquire all over the world, just to get rid of this hidden danger.

But it's been so many years.

Some of the main women of Prince Yin who sneaked away in secret back then have been found, but there are still some who have not been found.

This also made Li Shimin worry all the time, whether Prince Yin still has any heirs in the world.

And Li Shimin left Cheng Yaojin in Chang'an City, which is enough to show that the person Li Shimin trusts most is Cheng Yaojin.

When Cheng Yaojin heard Li Shimin's words, although he had some wishes in his heart, he also knew that if Li Shimin wanted to conquer himself, Chang'an couldn't do without someone, so he had to accept orders in the end.

After the Great Court Council disbanded.

Li Chongyuan came out of the palace, climbed into his carriage, and ran straight back to the mansion.

As soon as he returned to the mansion, Li Chongyuan went into the study.

Not long after, Li Chongyuan came out of the study, holding a letter in his hand, "Tang Li, send this letter to Xisha Island, remember, take the secret passage, and don't let anyone know."

"Yes, Mr. Xiao Lang." Tang Li took the letter without asking or saying anything.

Ever since Li Chongyuan came out of the palace and saw Li Chongyuan's nervous expression, he knew that something big must have happened in the court today.

And he also guessed that the Eastern Expedition should start.

above the hall.

Li Chongyuan didn't have any missions.

Although he was a second-rank minister, Li Shimin didn't make any arrangements, as if he didn't take Li Chongyuan seriously.

Actually it is.

Li Chongyuan is not a general, nor is he a civil servant.

Cheng Yaojin stayed in Chang'an, and Luoyang also sent Song Guogong Xiao Yu to press the field. As a second-rank judicial minister, I am not a servant, not a Zhongshuling, nor a servant, let alone something indispensable Civil servants or generals.

It doesn't matter whether Li Chongyuan has a mission or not.

The letter was sent away.

After Tang Li came back, he looked at Li Chongyuan's nervous expression, and asked aloud, "Young Lord, what preparations do we need to make?"

"Wait and see." Li Chongyuan shook his head.

What should I do to prepare?
I don't have a task, and there is no major event happening, so what should I do to prepare?
Are you going to rush into the palace, kill the little guy Li Zhi, and then help Li Ke to take the stage?
Li Chongyuan had thought about it, but it was simply not feasible.

Li Chongyuan even knew that Li Shimin was going to the east this time, not to die.

If Li Shimin's Eastern Expedition is really going to die, Li Chongyuan may still plan carefully, whether to send Li Ke to the top.

Even if Cheng Yaojin stayed in Chang'an, Li Chongyuan believed that as long as Li Shimin really died in Liaodong, Cheng Yaojin would not be able to stop Li Chongyuan.

Why?

Because Li Chongyuan has a big killer.

There are many soldiers and generals in front of Tie Leizi, they are just numbers.

Li Chongyuan's words of "wait and see" still didn't dissuade Tang Li from thinking, "Xiao Langjun, where is Xisha Island?"

"Xingba will know how to do it." Li Chongyuan said.

Tang Li was puzzled, "Where are the two aunts? After all, the ship is going to be requisitioned. Will the aunts and the others also go to Goguryeo with the ship?"

"It is because of this that I wrote a letter to Xisha Island. Ships are our life-saving means now. I don't want my ships to be destroyed in Liaodong, or the court will take them away by requisition." Li Chongyuan knew Tang Li worry about what.

Paracel Island.

Ships are still being built.

Although the progress is much slower than before.

But the speed is still much faster than the imperial court's shipyard.

last year.

Because Cui and Lu's two families were engaging in ties, Li Chongyuan was worried that his back would be cut off, so he sent Xingba to Xisha Island to prepare.

But the development of the matter changed Li Chongyuan's original idea.

Xingba worked tirelessly, and under Li Chongyuan's instructions, he rushed all the way to Xisha Island, told Chen Juan about Li Chongyuan's recent situation in Chang'an, and began to prepare.

Preparation is prepared, but it has never been used.

in the afternoon.

Wang Li suddenly came to Xisha County Palace.

Seeing Wang Li coming, Li Chongyuan didn't know why, but he seemed to know something, and asked with a smile: "Director Wang, did the Holy Majesty let me into the palace?"

"Junwang Li, you guessed it right." Wang Li replied.

soon.

Li Chongyuan entered the palace and met Li Shimin.

As soon as Li Shimin saw Li Chongyuan, he brought Li Chongyuan to a large map.

When Li Chongyuan saw the big map, he realized that the map was made by himself.

Li Shimin pointed to the sea to the east of Goguryeo, "Sunde, are you sure that this map is marked in great detail and clearly?"

"My lord, I can only provide a relatively accurate map, but I can't guarantee it is absolute. After all, this is drawn after I sent people to investigate. I didn't go there, so I can't guarantee absoluteness." Li Chongyuan heard Li Shimin's words After questioning, I knew that Li Shimin wanted to use the map he had drawn for his Eastern Expedition.

map.

Li Chongyuan painted a lot.

The ones in the southern waters can be said to be the most accurate.

After all, Li Chongyuan had been there before, and Chen Juan and the others had been there several times, and corrected all mistakes.

The eastern area is also considered accurate.

As for the northeast, Li Chongyuan couldn't guarantee it.

Li Shimin nodded, "As long as it's precise. Shande, I haven't arranged anything for you this time. Do you have any objections?"

"I dare not." Seeing what Li Shimin said, Li Chongyuan felt that Li Shimin had eyes.

Li Shimin was still looking at the map, but said in his mouth: "You are the Secretary of Sinong Temple, and the matter of high-yielding grain requires your hard work. After all, this is the lifeblood of my Tang Dynasty. There are always people in the court. I want you to hand over the high-yield grain, but I have been suppressing it. So, you should know what the high-yield grain means to my Tang Dynasty."

"I understand." Li Chongyuan replied.

Li Shimin continued: "This time, I want to personally conquer, so I don't have any arrangements for you. You, I don't worry."

When Li Chongyuan heard this, he felt quite relieved.

Although Li Chongyuan wanted to change to a prince, he never thought of changing to an emperor.

even.

Li Chongyuan never thought in his heart that he would be the emperor.

Being an emperor is exhausting.

From ancient times to the present, how many emperors can live long?
even.

Li Chongyuan knew that in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, many emperors were killed by eunuchs within a few years.

Whether being an emperor is tiring or not depends on the person.

If you want to be a foolish king, don't get tired, maybe you can live a long life.

But to be a wise king, to be a good emperor, to be admired by the people all over the world, that would be too tiring.

At least, according to Li Chongyuan's temperament, even if he sent an emperor to do it for him, he would not be able to do it.

After waiting for half an hour.

Li Chongyuan left the palace.

In the palace, Li Shimin didn't say anything to Li Chongyuan.

But Li Chongyuan seems to understand that the purpose of Li Shimin calling him into the palace this time, the purpose is to say, you, I don't worry.

This is a vaccination, but also a kind of affirmation, but also a warning.

Li Chongyuan was like a mirror in his heart.

Li Shimin said this because he was afraid that after he left Chang'an, Li Chongyuan would use the power of gunpowder to overthrow Datang.

The eighteenth day of the first lunar month.

Li Shimin left Chang'an City.

A group of court officials and others who stayed in Chang'an City, including Li Chongyuan, went out of the city to see them off.

As soon as Li Shimin's large army disappeared from everyone's eyes, Cheng Yaojin looked at Li Chongyuan playfully, "Boy, the Holy Majesty personally conquered Liaodong. During the time you are in Chang'an, you'd better be honest with me. Otherwise , if the old man finds out that you have any abnormalities, the old man will not give you any face, even if your mother comes forward, the old man will still take you. "

Li Chong didn't care about him at all, and threw Cheng Yaojin the back of his head.

Cheng Yaojin looked at Li Chongyuan's leaving back with bitterness, and secretly thought in his heart, whether he should take advantage of Li Shimin's personal expedition to get the high-yield grain in Li Chongyuan's hands.

"Fourth brother, be careful Cheng Laohei. This old man has very black hands." Li Chongxuan quickly ran close to his fourth brother and reminded him.

Li Chongyuan nodded, "As far as that old man's thoughts are concerned, as long as he talks to someone, he can tell. You should also be careful, and don't let him take advantage of the loopholes."

What will happen to Cheng Yaojin, Li Chongyuan doesn't know.

But Cheng Yaojin can say such a thing, it is nothing more than staring at the high-yield grain in his hands.

Li Chongyuan is really not afraid that Cheng Yaojin will bite him, even if he makes a mistake, Li Chongyuan will not care about Cheng Yaojin.

If you really want to do it, you can take this old man's life at any time.

(End of this chapter)