The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 497

At the southwestern foot of the Funiu Mountains, surrounded by continuous mountains, there is a gorge several miles wide in the middle of the mountain ridge. Zhuyang Pass is built in this gorge. It is considered a dangerous pass. It is a difficult mountain road, and it is very difficult to march, so it can only be regarded as a small pass, but its geographical location is very important. It is one of the important gateways of Heluo, but it deviates from Henan County and has never been included in the core system of Luoyang defense circle. middle.

For Li Jiancheng who sits here, it can be regarded as a kind of sex-changing exile!This day, after inspecting the city as usual, Li Jiancheng wanted to read a book for a while after returning to the city tower, but he couldn't read it anyway.

As the Crown Prince of the Li Tang Empire, Li Jiancheng was not really happy these days when he was the "Marshal of the Second Route". With Li Xiaogong helping to arrange the military, he basically doesn’t need to worry about anything, he follows the instructions every day, and then he has nothing to do... He feels that this is a waste of time. If he is in Xiangyang, he can visit many places these days, representing Li Tang’s royal family He has won the hearts and minds of many counties, but the reality is so helpless. Even though every moment is precious to him, he has to live a life of eating and dying.Many times, I hope that my father, who is personally on the expedition, will use Li Xiaogong and let him take over the military power of Zhuyangguan, so that I can return to Xiangyang to sit in the town and handle various daily affairs, but my father seems to have other plans, and I have repeatedly rejected him. Views.

Why?

The generous and benevolent father, who is both civil and military, has become so self-willed, unreasonable, and unreasonable?
Li Jiancheng couldn't figure it out, nor did he understand it.

After these days of calm thinking and sorting out, he found that Li Tang's predicament seemed to be caused by his father; at the beginning of the uprising, Li Tang's territory was not weaker than Yang Tong, and his army, wealth, population, talents, and background were not. Yang Tong can be compared. According to relevant reports, heroes and talents from all walks of life rushed to Daxing. funeral.On the other hand, Yang Tong, because he is the grandson of the "Tyrant and Faint King", all the elites in the world who are deeply hostile to the "Tyrant Sui" regard him like a wolf, a tiger, or a scourge. Every step he takes is not smooth. The little prince didn't take it seriously, but it was this little prince who pressed Li Tang to the ground time and time again.

From the beginning to the end, the officials of the Li Tang Dynasty gave Li Jiancheng the feeling that they were a group of second-generation ancestors, each of whom was immersed in the glory of their ancestors. The blind arrogance inherent in them made them look down on Yang Tong, and even more on Jiancheng. The underprivileged scholars of the Sui court system were obviously beaten by others, but they looked down on each other in their bones. These people have nothing but arrogance and nostalgia for their family's past glory.

For this kind of person, Li Jiancheng felt helpless, ridiculous and sad. What was even more sad was that this kind of person occupied [-]% of the official positions in the Li Tang Dynasty. Relying on this kind of person to fight against the Sui Dynasty?Go ahead and daydream.

Sometimes, Li Jiancheng was really envious of Yang Yu. Although it was difficult at first, after he established a foothold in Jizhou and laid a solid foundation step by step, the fighting power released by the land of Hebei, which was not favored by the princes of the world in the past, was really horrifying. The later the stage, the smoother the road for Yang Tong.On the other hand, Li Yuan, Li Mi, Xiao Xian, etc., although they had the support of the aristocratic family, they developed rapidly in the early stage, and there was a sign of arrogance, but in the later stage, it became more unsatisfactory, and the aristocratic family became the source of disease that restricted the development of the country. , For their own selfishness, they unite to constrain the imperial court everywhere. Many times, to implement a decree, they have to weigh the pros and cons before it can be promoted to all officials, and then they have to compromise countless times and delete countless times before it can be promoted. A lot of time is wasted, and the good decrees that benefit the country and the people are completely different. They are thousands of miles away from the original intention of the decrees, and some even run counter to them. Even if some decrees are successfully promoted, it is the sacrifice of the country in other aspects. due to;
And what about Yang Tong?As soon as the decree is issued, it can be quickly promoted in various places under the rule, and it can be implemented quickly and effectively without even a voice of opposition. Isn't this efficiency the best in the world?It is completely unprecedented. The reason is that there is no family group under his rule, so Yang Tong acts without scruples. Even if someone objects, it is a small group of people whose interests have been damaged. The vast population of the Sui Dynasty was like a drop of water in the sea, which would be quickly melted and swallowed by the sea without the slightest disturbance.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Li Jiancheng walked to the top of the city tower, looked at the beautiful scenery in the sunset, and his eyes flashed with deep melancholy. This situation made him feel "the sunset is infinitely beautiful, but it is only near dusk".

"Monster!" Looking at the brand-new "Renjin Poetry Anthology: Psalms of Praise" in his hand, Li Jiancheng smiled wryly and sighed: "Human, how can you beat a monster?"

"Your Highness!"

At this moment, a red-helmet general with a majestic physique and extraordinary bearing hurried over. He was Li Junxian who was ambushed by Xin Liaoer. Instead of being reprimanded by Li Jiancheng, he was praised, which moved him very much. After accepting the arrangement, he dutifully trained soldiers every day, intending to avenge his shame.

"What's the matter with General Li?" Li Jiancheng smiled and looked at Li Junxian, looking very gentle.

From the day he became the crown prince, it was doomed that Li Jiancheng would not be able to find and promote good generals through battle after battle like Li Shimin. In addition, he was in charge of political affairs, making it even more difficult for good generals to defect to him, because good generals have their own unique vision and heart. Knowing that he would fight with Li Shimin, he could be promoted through military merits, but it was very difficult for Li Jiancheng to get the chance to go to war. Therefore, although Li Jiancheng is the prince of Li Tang, he has no good generals to use, otherwise he would not have no generals to use when Li Xiaogong was deposed, and was eventually forced to visit Zhuyangguan in person.

As for Li Junxian who came to his door, Li Jiancheng has nothing to say. These days, Li Junxian is talking about the world, talking about the ancient and modern art of war and the pros and cons of the imperial court's policies, so he is not close.

The more we chatted, the more Li Jiancheng appreciated Li Junxian's. Not only was he well versed in military strategy, but he also had his own views on the general situation of the world. As far as Li Jiancheng knew among the generals, Li Junxian was already a rare man with both civil and military skills. Not to mention on his own side, even among the good generals of his second brother Li Shimin, he was also an outstanding figure, and he was valued more and more. Take it for granted.

Li Junxian had not been with Li Tang for a long time, and he didn't know the competition between the Li brothers. In addition, although Li Shimin admired him, he couldn't be too enthusiastic about a surrendered general, otherwise he would make all the descendants cold. Therefore, Li Shimin's attitude is not as good as that of Li Jiancheng, who is thirsty for talents. In this way, Li Junxian's heart is naturally more inclined to Li Jiancheng's side. There is no reason to miss Li Jiancheng, the crown prince.

Li Jiancheng also introduced Li Xiaogong and Changsun Wuji to Li Junxian from time to time. The two understood Li Jiancheng's intentions and saw that Li Junxian was really talented, so they naturally contributed to the flames and created a happy and harmonious atmosphere. When they learned about Li Junxian Xian has served as a cavalry general under Li Mi and Wang Shichong for three years. Li Jiancheng handed over his [-] "victorious army" to the opponent without hesitation. Allegiance to Li Jiancheng, in the eyes of everyone, he has been tied to Li Jiancheng's chariot.

Li Junxian did not feel this way, he had no trace of party affiliation, he was only moved by Li Jiancheng's actions, but had no other thoughts.As a result, in just one day, the most wronged bully in history became Li Jiancheng's man in a daze.

"Your Highness! His Royal Highness King Jin sent General Li Anyuan to see him, saying that there is an extremely urgent matter..." Li Junxian approached and reported in a deep voice.

Li Jiancheng was taken aback, then his heart suddenly tightened, and he hurriedly said to Li Junxian: "Let him come here."

Of course he knew Li Anyuan. This person was originally the governor of Shangzhu Kingdom and Yunzhou in the Sui Dynasty. He was a general in his family for generations. The county magistrate of Zhengping worked under Li Shimin's account. When he was young, he was indiscreet and made friends with gamblers and rangers, so that he went bankrupt. However, he also learned the skills of rangers, especially the skills of assassins such as hiding.Now that the dignified Youyiwei commanding army and the county magistrate of Zhengping are acting as scouts, the second brother is obviously in big trouble, or is directly defeated and lost, so he asked himself to help him.

While Li Jiancheng was waiting anxiously, Li Junxian quickly brought Li Anyuan over. After seeing it, Li Jiancheng's heart sank. Li Anyuan who appeared in front of him was quite embarrassed, with his armor gone and his hair messed up like a chicken coop. , like a dog gnawed, the white cloth wrapped in a few places was still red, obviously injured, judging by the posture, it was just bandaged.

"The last general, Li Anyuan, sees Your Highness." Li Anyuan bowed and saluted.

"There is no need to be polite!" Li Jiancheng was anxious, but it was useless to be anxious at this moment. He had to restrain his inner worries and asked with a forced smile: "Why does the general look like this? It's really unexpected."

Li Anyuan smiled bitterly, took out a letter wrapped in layers from his arms, and presented it to Li Jiancheng with both hands: "This is a letter written by King Jin to His Highness, His Highness will understand after reading it."

Li Jiancheng read the letter in a hurry, and felt relieved. Although the situation of the second brother was bad, he was not completely wiped out as he thought, but he had a way to save himself.To let Li Anyuan risk his life to deliver this letter is to send troops out of the border to respond, but...Looking up at the boundless mountains, Li Jiancheng hesitated.

When Li Anyuan saw that Li Jiancheng had finished reading the letter, he fell silent. He was so anxious that he couldn't bear it any longer. He said, "Your Highness, the morale of the troops on the Eastern Expedition is low, and they are short of food. They are on the verge of collapse. The situation is critical now. I can listen to Liu Xiangguo's dangerous plan, build a dam on the Luoshui River, threaten the lives and property of the Heluo people, and force Yang Tong to let my army cross south, and then come from the south bank of the Luoshui River to meet His Highness. If there is no His Highness on the south bank Responding, Yang Tong, who became angry and angry, is very likely to turn his back on his words and deploy heavy troops on the south bank, so as not to give my Nandu army a chance to breathe. Your Highness, that is my Tang Dynasty's [-] army. These soldiers have now transformed into elite soldiers, yes We can't afford to lose the solid foundation of our Tang Dynasty."

Li Jiancheng pondered for a long time. It's not that he didn't want to send troops, but he was afraid that his own strength would also be trapped. However, when he thought that the main force of the Sui army was Yang Shanhui, who was a friend of the Changyuan Lu family, and Xue Wanjun from Shangluo, plus Li Shimin's strength was as high as ninety-nine. There are tens of thousands of people, and there are more than [-] brothers and soldiers. No matter what you say, you can't beat the Sui army in Lu's territory. Thinking about it, he nodded: "Just don't worry, General Li. Although I don't know military affairs, I can Knowing what is right and what is wrong, I will organize an army to bring my second brother back."

Li Anyuan was overjoyed, and gave a deep salute: "On behalf of tens of thousands of soldiers, the last general thanked His Highness for his righteous act."

"No need to thank! This is what I should do." Li Jiancheng felt extremely bitter in his heart. All these veterans in the army were like this. They only had King Jin in their eyes. Again, but Li Jiancheng still felt quite uncomfortable.He forced a smile and said, "Where is the second brother going to cross the river?"

"Xishui River Mouth." Li Anyuan replied quickly.

"I see, General Li rests in Guanzhong and recuperates in peace."

"Thank you, Your Highness, and please arrange it quickly."

"Don't worry! Jun Xian, take General Li down to rest, and be sure to take good care of him." Li Jiancheng was upset, and his tone became a little stiff.

"Here!" Li Junxian responded and took Li Anyuan away.

Li Jiancheng didn't know what he would save, but he knew that he couldn't just sit back and watch his defeat, and he had to try his best to save it.And this, perhaps, is the reason why the father did not agree with Yuanji guarding Zhuyangguan, because the father knew the temperament of each of his brothers, and he was more aware of his own character, knowing that even if he was uncomfortable or unwilling, he would not do it for himself. He missed the overall situation because of his own selfishness.

This feeling of being overwhelmed by someone really made Li Jiancheng feel uncomfortable. Even if the other party was his own father, he couldn't have any fun, and the resentment in his heart couldn't help but deepen.

Looking at the rippling river in the distance, Li Jiancheng let out a long sigh of relief, and finally put aside all kinds of distracting thoughts in his mind, and helplessly asked Li Xiaogong and Changsun Wuji to be invited to the tower to urgently discuss the matter of sending troops to respond to Li Shimin.

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(End of this chapter)