The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 306 Li Yuan has grown up

Fangling County, Guangqian County.Three days had passed since the southward move, and Li Yuan had locked himself in the room for three full days. When he reappeared in front of everyone, even Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji brothers, Liu Wenjing and other close officials almost didn't recognize him. In just three days, Li Yuan seemed to have aged ten years. Only his eyes still carried the vigor of the past, letting Li Jiancheng and his brothers know that his father had returned.

"Xuanzhen, send a letter to notify the counties in Bashu to send five thousand soldiers and horses from each county. Hurry up." Li Yuan looked at Pei Ji and said in a deep voice, "Remember, what I want is to be able to train for a month or two. Those young and strong who are ready to fight, whoever pretends to be a good one, will be punished. At the same time, the big county sent 20 shi of grain, the middle county [-] shi, and the small county [-] shi."

Calculated in this way, about 20 soldiers can be recruited again, and they will not be recruited in one county, so it will not cause unacceptable pressure on all places.

"Here!" Pei Ji bowed slightly.

"In addition, send someone to inform the king of Jin that Hehuang, Liangzhou, is no longer able to do anything. Let him lead the main force to Fangling, appoint Liu Hong as the general manager of Wudu, take charge of military affairs in Wudu, Dangchang, and Tongchang, and lead [-] elite troops. Defend against the Sui army." Li Yuan's eyes were full of resentment, but so what?Li Tangjun and ministers were thrown out of Guanzhong by Yang Tong like dogs in mourning, and Yongzhou was completely lost.When you are not sure about defeating the Sui Dynasty, you can only take a defensive position.

The most important thing is that after the first battle in Guanzhong, Li Yuan really didn't want to fight the Sui Dynasty again. He didn't want to fight, and he couldn't afford to fight.Li Yuan's main enemies now are the princes such as Xiao Xian, Wang Shichong, and Li Mi in the south.He can draw 50 million people from various counties, but there is obviously insufficient food and grass in Bashu.Bashu is known as one of the major grain-producing areas, but Yang Tong bought up all the previous ones, and all the output was taken to Guanzhong to support the army. The remaining large amount of grain, except for compensation for Yang Tong, was mostly stored in Taicang and Guangtong. Cang and Longxi are all owned by Yang Tong now, so there is not much food left in Bashu.Now, apart from Lumi, who is an official at the end of the year, it is also difficult to raise an army of 20.What's important is that this year's severe drought has affected Bashu a lot, and I'm afraid not much has been handed over to the treasury.And the scene of Yang Tong shooting down the banner that day is still a nightmare that Li Yuan can't get rid of. If Yang Tong wanted his life, he would have died at that time.

"Yuanji!" Li Yuan looked at the ugly son, his eyes softened.For this son, he is a hundred times headache.

In fact, the Li family's family education is very good. Li Jiancheng, Li Xiuning, Li Shimin, Li Xuanba, and Li Zhiyun are all extremely remarkable figures. Li Xuanba was weak and died early, but he was recognized as a child prodigy; Li Zhiyun was killed by the Yin Shishi , died young but was also a character with both civil and military skills. He inherited the excellent blood of the Li family who was good at shooting, and he was also good at calligraphy and chess.

Only Li Yuanji is a strange thing, because he is too ugly. When he was born, his own mother, Dou Shi, took a look at him and disgusted him so much that people lost him. , Li Yuanji, who had no one to take care of and teach him, became a lawless bastard.If Li Yuanji could receive a good education and be loved by his mother like other children, Li Yuanji may not become the current Li Yuanji.

From a psychological point of view, generally, people with physical defects or ugly appearance have a natural inferiority complex in their bones. Once such people have outstanding abilities in a certain area, they will develop into extreme pride. In order to attract attention, He often does disgusting things, ugly people do strange things more often, and he is talking about people like Li Yuanji.

"My son is here!" Li Yuanji bowed respectfully.

"Today, I will restore you, King Qi, and appoint you as the general of the town army. I will recruit [-] soldiers from the nearest place."

Li Yuan was extremely furious at his son Li Yuanji's "leading" Yang Tong into Chang'an and burning down the Daxing Palace. He immediately cut off Li Yuanji's title of king of Qi and demoted him to a commoner.But after going south, he seemed to be a different person. He not only carefully chose the site of the capital, but also stopped idleness and troubles everywhere, and began to care about and participate in state affairs. This made Li Yuan somewhat relieved.

"Here!" Li Yuanji was overjoyed, finally able to take over the military power.

"Be sure to train to become a strong and elite soldier that surpasses the Xiaoguo army. If you need supplies, I will find your elder brother." Li Yuan learned from the pain and decided to spend a lot of money to build a strong army that is not weaker than the Xiaoguo army.

"My son, I must live up to my father's entrustment." Li Yuanji laughed, and said to Li Jiancheng with a smile: "Big brother can't deduct my younger brother's military salary?"

"How could it be? It's too late for the elder brother to be happy." Li Jiancheng patted him on the shoulder and said with emotion: "You have grown up too, and you should serve your father and the Tang Dynasty well."

"Here!" Li Yuanji nodded excitedly. If Li Yuan gave him power, then Li Jiancheng undoubtedly gave him family affection and warmth. In the family, only the eldest brother and third sister really loved him.

After making arrangements for Li Yuanji, Li Yuan pondered for a while, and said to Xiao Yu and Chen Shuda: "My Tang Dynasty has a foothold in the south, and we cannot do without a navy. I beg you two prime ministers to recruit good craftsmen to build warships and practice sailors."

"Minister, take orders!" Xiao Yu and Chen Shuda retreated as ordered.

All of a sudden, only Li Yuan, Li Jiancheng and Liu Wenjing were left in the mansion.

Li Yuan bowed to Liu Wenjing, and said sincerely: "After I entered Guanzhong and ascended the throne as emperor, I not only became arrogant and lost myself, but also kissed villains and far away virtuous ministers! Please don't blame me if you are benevolent."

"My lord, how dare I be a minister!" Liu Wenjing hurriedly avoided.

Liu Wenjing was the mastermind behind Li Yuan's plan for the Taiyuan uprising, and he planned and single-handedly arranged the missions to Turks before the uprising, which made Liu Wenjing make a very special contribution to the establishment of the Tang Dynasty.Therefore, Liu Wenjing was appointed Nayan and became prime minister.However, due to the defeat in the battle against Xue Ju, Liu Wenjing was once dismissed from his post.Soon after, he followed Li Shimin in the conquest of the Western Qin Dynasty and made great contributions. He was able to restore his title and feudal city, and was worshiped as Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

However, Liu Wenjing's mentality has undergone a subtle change.

This was caused by old friend Pei Ji.Pei Ji's role in Taiyuan's army was not as good as his, but his official position was promoted higher and higher. The official worship of Shangshu Youpushe was far above Liu Wenjing.Li Yuan respects him very much, and every time he goes to court, he must be invited to sit with him.After the court ended, he was left alone to discuss matters and obey his advice.

Liu Wenjing was very dissatisfied with Pei Ji being favored alone.This kind of dissatisfaction can't be vented on Li Yuan, it can only be vented on Pei Ji.When he went to court, as long as Pei Ji expressed his opinion, Liu Wenjing immediately expressed his opposition and blatantly sang against the stage.If things go on like this, Liu Wenjing and Pei Ji, good friends who once shared the same goals and talked about everything, have become fierce enemies.Because Liu Wenjing is very bookish and not very good at speaking, she always expresses her ideas bluntly when she presents political affairs, which makes Li Yuan very unhappy. Every time at this time, Pei Ji will always make a few slanderous words, which gradually marginalizes Liu Wenjing and makes Li Yuan jealous.

This made Liu Wenjing disheartened. Now seeing that Li Tang's days are getting worse and Kong has nowhere to use his talents, he has the idea of ​​​​retiring.Wan didn't expect Li Yuan to do this suddenly, which caught him off guard.

"I hope that Zhaoren will forgive me, help me regain my strength, and make great achievements for the Tang Dynasty." Li Yuan pleaded.

Liu Wenjing sighed, knowing that Li Yuan has realized his own value in the midst of difficulties, but the estrangement and suspicion have arisen, how can he return to the previous days?But after all, I have spent too much effort on Li Tang's foundation, as if watching my child grow up step by step, if it is not a last resort, I don't have the heart to give up, and immediately said loudly: "The sincerity of the Holy Majesty has moved me. "

"I don't know where Zhao Ren thinks I am, Li Tang Road?" Li Yuan asked happily.

"My Tang Dynasty lost Guanzhong, and my strength has been greatly reduced. Although there are many young and strong people in the south today, after all, they are not people who have gone through the war. Take a defensive position. If it presses every step of the way, our army can rely on the geographical advantages of Bashanshushui to consume the advantage of the cavalry of the Sui Dynasty, block it steadily, and slowly consume its national strength. Second, we will report to the princes from all walks of life the strong relationship between the dead and the cold, and form an alliance. Resist the Sui Dynasty. It depends on whether you can hold on."

"But the princes from all walks of life have not responded before."

"It's different today." Liu Wenjing smiled slightly, and said, "In the past, our Tang and Sui dynasties were comparable in strength. Everyone worried that after the collapse of the Sui Dynasty, they would become the next target of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, they all adopted a wait-and-see attitude. Now the Sui Dynasty The dynasty ruled the north and was as strong as the Northern Wei Dynasty in the past. Everyone knows that no one is an opponent of the Sui Dynasty. Only by forming an alliance with one heart and one mind can they be defeated. Therefore, if the Sui Dynasty is aggressive, it will be beneficial for everyone to form an alliance."

"Zhao Ren, having you following me is a blessing I have cultivated in my lifetime." Li Yuan looked at Liu Wenjing's firm gaze, and was a little moved in his heart.

In the past few days behind closed doors, he carefully sorted out everything in Taiyuan from now on, and found that Li Tang's defeat today was entirely caused by his own decision-making mistakes again and again. More importantly, after becoming the emperor, he blindly Arrogant, no longer able to listen to good words, only caring about playing with power, not paying attention to foreign wars at all.

Today, if one asks who contributed the most to Li Yuan, Li Yuan would say "Liu Wenjing" without the slightest hesitation. Only then did Li Yuan enter Guanzhong and establish the Tang Dynasty.

This time in the battle of Guanzhong, it was Liu Wenjing who seized the time to persuade the courtiers, quickly agreed to Yang Tong's conditions, and gave up Chang'an, avoiding the consequences of being captured alive in one fell swoop. Under such a passive situation, only he was methodical and calm. There are only a handful of people in the world who have the ability to calmly analyze gains and losses.

"The Holy Majesty is honored. It is an honor for me to be able to help the Majesty to establish the Tang Dynasty, and to be able to follow the Holy Majesty to manage the Tang Dynasty in a prosperous manner. Yang Tong is actually not terrible. He is just occupying a momentary power. They were all placed in the Hehuang area of ​​Liangzhou to fight against Liang Shidu, and were cut off by Yang Tong. How could the Holy Majesty fail so easily? I firmly believe that as long as the Holy Majesty is given time, the Holy Majesty will not be afraid of him at all." Liu Wenjing said affirmatively.

"In two years, the Holy Majesty can completely take over the fatuous and desolate country, and pacify the weak Jiangnan and Jianghuai. With the two vast lands south of Bashu and Huai River, the Holy Majesty will have the capital to run rampant in the south."

Li Yuan laughed loudly and said, "My thoughts are the same as Zhaoren's. Let's spend two years in the south and meet Yang Tong again."

……

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(End of this chapter)