The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 544 Retreating as Advance, My Brother is Superior

"Qi Zou Shengshang, His Royal Highness the King of Jin is seeking an audience outside the palace." More than an hour after Li Jiancheng left with the imperial decree to enshrine Dou Gui, the eunuch's voice came from outside the palace.

"Who?" Li Yuan, who was a little dazed, didn't react for a while.

"Your Majesty, it is His Royal Highness the King of Jin who is asking to see you." Feng Deyi, the Minister of Internal History who had prepared the imperial decree and had not yet left, reminded him.

"Hmm!" Li Yuan frowned. He believed that Li Shimin's withdrawal of troops without permission caused chaos at Zhuyang Pass and gave Xue Wanjun a chance to break through.However, Li Shimin's attitude of admitting his mistakes was good, which reduced Li Yuan's nine points of murderous hatred to eight points; moreover, Li Shimin was his son, and letting his son control the army would help suppress the forces in Guanlong in the army. One point was deducted; and the Guanlong dignitaries collectively threatened themselves to make Li Yuan realize the importance of family affection, which reduced another three points. He sighed and said, "Let him in."

Feng Deyi hurriedly bowed and saluted, "Your Majesty, I will avoid you."

Li Yuan said with satisfaction: "Go!"

"My minister retire."

Feng Deyi saluted respectfully, stepped back slowly, and left the Imperial Study Room. He walked quickly to the outside of the Hall of Martial Virtue, met Li Shimin who came in a hurry in front of the steps, and hurriedly saluted: "Your Highness, slightly The minister reminds me."

Li Shimin's impression of Feng Deyi is quite bad. This person has been under Yu Shiji's command for many years, and he has learned Yu Shiji's way of trying to figure out people's hearts. He went to Datang again to curry favor with Li Yuan. Although he came to Datang not long ago, he became Li Yuan's confidant with his tricks, which made Li Yuan's trust in him surpass that of Pei Ji.

However, although Li Shimin didn't like him, he knew that this person was not only his father's confidant, but also a villain through and through. All ears."

Seeing that there was no one around, Feng Deyi said in a low voice: "The officials in Guanlong were worried that the flames of war would spread to Bashu and harm their interests, so they collectively went to the court and asked the Holy Majesty to fight to the death with the Sui army in Jingxiang. The Holy Majesty was furious. Your Highness Qian Do not offend the Holy One."

"Thank you for reminding Feng Gong, the people of the world will remember it in their hearts!"

Li Shimin thanked him respectfully. In fact, he had heard what Feng Deyi said. He admitted that the strategy formulated by his elder brother was the best way out for the Tang Dynasty at present, but his father's temptation to the powerful and powerful in Guanlong was extremely confused. Faint move, now people are in a panic, can the powerful officials in Guanlong who fully support Li Tang not be chilled by the emperor pouring cold water on him?In fact, the eldest brother's method of "doing and not talking" is the most brilliant way to deal with it, but the father refuses to listen.why?Father was afraid, he feared Yang Tong like a tiger, and wished he could leave Xiangyang immediately and go to Chengdu to enjoy a stable life, so after hearing Li Jiancheng's proposal to move the capital, he couldn't wait to carry it out.Now that everyone knows about it, how will it end in the future?

He rushed to the palace to meet his father just because he got this news. On the one hand, he wanted to tell his father that the situation was serious and he had to take action. Dong took all of Xiao Mi's territory, so they were in danger of being encircled by the Sui army on three sides; on the other hand, he asked his father to come forward to resolve the conflict between him and Li Jiancheng. Li Tang has reached the point where life and death are at stake, and he should put the overall situation first, brother Join forces and unanimously speak out, anyway, the father and emperor are in their prime of life, and whoever of their brothers will come to rule the country in the future can completely wait for the unification of the world. The most important thing now is to keep the Tang Dynasty, otherwise, let alone the prince, even becoming the emperor will also perish the country My lord, what's the point of that?
Li Shimin heaved a sigh of relief after quickly understanding how his father treated the powerful officials in Guanlong. After bidding farewell to Feng Deyi, he quickly walked to the door of the imperial study room. : "My son, please see my father!"

Li Yuan looked at the son who looked the most like his dead wife with complicated eyes, and his tone softened, "Get up, emperor!"

"Thank you, father!" Li Shimin got up, walked slowly to his father and stood with his hands down.

"The emperor should have heard about the rich and powerful in Guanlong!"

"Returning to the father, the minister is here for this matter."

"How do you think I should handle it?"

Although Li Shimin had already learned about the way to deal with it from Feng Deyi, he was afraid that if his father got too hot-headed and would go back on his word, it would be over, but he couldn't say straight to the point, but instead asked: "Your father, do you know where Li Mi is in the south of the Yangtze River?" Situation?"

"I heard that the development is not going well, what's the matter?" Li Yuan asked puzzled

"I don't think it's surprising that Li Mi is not going well."

"Why?" Li Yuan was even more puzzled.

"Father, Li Mi came from the Wagang Army. His roots were in the Central Plains and Xuzhou, but he gave up the Central Plains and moved to the South, so even if he won the brilliant military victory of forcing Li Zitong to surrender and annihilating Shen Faxing, he still had to The reason for receiving the support of the famous families in the south of the Yangtze River is that he is an outsider, an invader, and he is like a floating weed, so how can he progress to victory? And my Tang Dynasty has the support of the powerful and powerful in Guanlong, so I can easily sit in Guanzhong."

Li Yuan understood, and looked at the pile of memorials unconsciously, and the anger that was finally suppressed gushed out, and he asked sharply, "Where is Yang Tong, who supports him? What do you say?"

"The system of equal land, the system of dividing the land into mu, the four schools of the county, county and county, the imperial examination system, and the military merit system are Yang Tong's five invincible swords. .”

"I know it all!" Li Yuan only felt pain in his heart: "But you missed the most important point."

"My son doesn't understand, please tell my father clearly." Seeing that his father was no longer angry, Li Shimin finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yang Tong is the grandson of Yang Guang!"

"This?"

"Still don't understand?" Li Yuan sighed for a long time, and said with a wry smile, "Yang Tong and Yang Guang are in the same way, so Yang Guang strongly supported him behind the scenes and helped him stop several prominent families in Jizhou. When Yang Guang was incapable of controlling the world, no one could shake Yang Tong's position in the land of Yanzhao. Yang Tong's path will be smoother in the later stages."

Li Shimin pondered for a while and said: "Father, it is precisely because we do not have the land equalization system that the people are more eager for land than those under Yang Tong's rule. If we promote the land equalization system and the military merit system, I think the effect will be significant."

Li Yuan was speechless, and it took him a while to say: "I have thought about it a long time ago! But it is impossible. First of all, the Chengdu Plain in the Land of Abundance is occupied by a large number of Guanlong dignitaries, and most of the rest are from Bashu. There are few, I have no land in my hands, how do you ask me to equalize the land? The reason why Yang Tong is successful is because he has the support of the common people. Anyone who opposes is the enemy of the ordinary people. He can easily kill all the opponents. In the end The land is all his, and then he will distribute it to the people. Can the people who value the land more than their lives not support him? Can they not work for Yang Tong for the land that was finally obtained? Secondly, our soldiers are mainly The servants and tenants of each family have an interdependent relationship with the family. Most of their relatives live in the manor of the family, and it is difficult to get rid of the control of the family. Once I distribute the land to the soldiers, they will become free people, and this But it violates the most fundamental interests of the aristocratic family, so let’s not say that there is no land, even if there is, the land equalization system cannot be implemented, as for the system of sharing the land into the mu, the four schools of the township, county, county, and state, and the imperial examination system.”

"Although my Tang Dynasty developed rapidly in the early stage because of the support of the powerful and powerful in Guanlong, but in the later stage, I was hindered more and more. Even if I implemented a government order, I had to weigh the pros and cons again and again, far from the current Yang Tong. Once a government order is issued, it can be effectively implemented everywhere, sometimes, I really envy Yang Tong."

Li Shimin was silent. He had been leading the army all these years, and he rarely asked about the government affairs of the court. He didn't know the dire problems that his father and elder brother were facing. .Li Tang started his career by relying on the nobles of Guanlong, but the possession of a large amount of land and population by the nobles of Guanlong became the biggest obstacle to the stable rule and development of the Li Tang Dynasty.

After hearing so much, Li Shimin also knew that his father would not be hot-headed to deal with the powerful officials in Guanlong, so he said, "My father, my son actually has two things to present to my father."

"Speak!"

"Father, the first thing is that I implore you to take back the position of Tianshu Great General, grant military attaches and the power to open the government. I have offended my brother a lot, and I would like to sincerely apologize to my elder brother."

Li Shimin's decision was beyond Li Yuan's expectations. He understood that Li Shimin's implication was that he would no longer seek the position of the East Palace, give up internal fighting, and unite with the outside world.

In fact, Li Yuan has also realized that it is too early to let the brothers fight each other, which is also one of the reasons why Datang has repeatedly failed. He also hopes that the two sons will work together to fight the outside world, but there is no turning back, and it is too late for him to make amends. ;
Li Yuan was greatly relieved by Li Shimin's statement now, and the unhappiness caused by the powerful officials in Guanlong also dissipated, and the murderous hatred for Li Shimin disappeared as early as during the conversation, he laughed and said: "The emperor said this for The most gratifying thing for my father in the past few years, I believe that our father and son will be able to overcome the crisis hand in hand."

"My son will never disappoint my father's expectations."

Li Yuan happily asked: "What's the second thing you said?"

"Secondly, it is about the Hanshui defense line. My son thought that if the Sui army could not break through the Hanshui defense line, they would definitely join forces with Xiao Mian. Xiyang Xue Wanjun and Nanyang Yang Shanhui each had more than [-] troops, and Qin Qiong also had about [-] troops. Compared with the strength of the Hanshui defense line, their mobile strength is at least about [-]. If this army bypasses Chongling and takes over Xiao Mian's Yiyang, Handong, Anlu, and Yongan north of the Hanshui, it only needs to move With [-] cavalry deployed at the junction of Eastern Han and Chongling, Sichang could not move. A large force could bypass the Hanshui defense line and attack Chongling and Jingling from Eastern Han. Sichang only had [-] troops in his hands. Your Majesty, the situation is worrisome!"

This is Li Shimin's real worry. If the Hanshui defense line is breached and Jing Xiang falls, Bashu will not be able to keep it for long.

Li Yuan was silent. Li Shimin's opinion was the same as what he worried about. He also believed that if the Sui army could not cross the Han River, they must break through from the east. Break without notice.It's just that he doesn't have many troops, and he can't make up his mind for a while.

"According to the emperor's opinion, how should we deal with the danger in Jingdong?" Now that the second son talked about this matter, Li Yuan knew that he must have an idea.

"My son has three strategies, the upper, the middle, and the lower, and I ask the emperor to decide." Li Shimin has also learned to be shrewd. In the past, every time he proposed a strategy, he was always rejected, and in many cases he was dealt with. The reason was that he did not understand the court. This time, he always cut straight to the point and asked his father how to fight and how he should fight, thus embarrassing his father who is a monarch.This time he prepared three strategies to offer his father a choice, no matter which strategy he finally adopted, he succeeded.

"Which three strategies?" Li Yuan asked.

Li Shimin said: "The best strategy is to use both offense and defense, and turn passive into active. We currently have an army of 30, and it is not without the power to take the initiative to attack. As far as I know, the [-] Sui troops guarding Shangluo are all county soldiers. Liu Gang led by Liu Gang, and most of the troops are in the Wuguan area; we can draw an army of [-] to sneak in from the Fengli Jiashui River Valley in Xicheng. Chang’an and the Sui Dynasty will also shake up and down, and Yang Tong will have to mobilize a large army to support Guanzhong, and the crisis in Jingdong will be resolved; this will also play a role in appeasing the powerful and powerful in Guanlong.”

Li Yuan thought for a while, but did not express his opinion, and asked, "What about the middle policy?"

"Returning to the father, the middle strategy is to use both offense and defense, but the direction has changed." Li Shimin glanced at the father, seeing that he had no intention of objecting, and then continued: "The meaning of this son is to use the one hundred thousand that can be drawn. The army is divided into two; one line of 11 troops goes south to defend Jingling, and the other line of [-] troops supports Chongling, bringing the Chongling army to [-] and swallowing Qin Qiong's troops in one go. Let's go to Xiaoxiao, so we don't have to go around and fight Lingnan."

This strategy can be said to have rejected Li Jiancheng's strategy of defending with all his strength and dividing his troops to the south.After Li Shimin finished speaking, he did not stop this time, and continued: "My son's worst strategy is to simply abandon Jingxiang, try to protect Bashu, and then concentrate on implementing the big brother's southward strategy. The good land and manor of our army will be equally divided between our soldiers, so that not only will the morale of the army be boosted, but it will also be able to deal with the powerful officials in Guanlong, so that the royal father can go into battle with ease."

Li Shimin's three plans made Li Yuan very contradictory, he could accept them all, and he couldn't accept them either.He didn't have the courage to fight to the death with the Sui army; but he could no longer accept Jingxiang and fled to Bashu now. It has become the timidity of the Guanlong dignitaries everywhere, how will they deter the officials in the future?Now he finally realizes that the temptation to move the capital was a stinking move by himself, which ruined the eldest son's strategy completely, but the matter has come to this point, so what if he regrets it?After thinking for a long time, he sighed, "Let me think about it."

"My son retire."

Li Shimin walked out of the Imperial Study Room, just in time to face to face with Li Jiancheng who came in a hurry, and quickly saluted deeply, "Little brother solemnly apologizes to Brother Huang!"

"Apologize? What are you apologizing for?" Li Jiancheng didn't react for a long time.

"My little brother used to have illusions about things that didn't belong to him. Now he has repented. He has resigned from the post of Tianshu General to his father and returned all the powers of entrusting officials to generals. It was my fault in the past, so I would like to express my gratitude to the emperor." My brother apologizes, and my younger brother will fully support my brother in exercising the crown prince." After Li Shimin finished speaking, he bowed deeply again.

Li Jiancheng finally understood, this is to reconcile with himself!But he is not as easy to be deceived by family affection as his father. After fighting openly and secretly with Li Shimin for so many years, Li Jiancheng really knows his second brother's personality very well. He knows that he has deep plans and will never give up the crown prince easily.

It's a good idea to take the initiative to resign. After the defeat of the army is eliminated at once, the dissatisfaction of the emperor against him has won the favor of the emperor. With the trust of the emperor, is it afraid that he will not be able to regain the military power?

And as a father, what is the emperor most afraid of?It was after he came to power that he slaughtered his other sons.If he cares about it again, in the eyes of his father, it will be too much for others, and his position as the crown prince will be unstable.

The second younger brother made a good move to retreat to advance.

Great!

Li Jiancheng took a deep breath in his heart, but he also knew that Datang was in dire straits. If the two brothers could temporarily reconcile, it would be beneficial to Datang. Thinking of this, Li Jiancheng smiled indifferently: "We brothers will get together some other day?"

Li Shimin knew that although the eldest brother didn't say anything like holding hands to make peace, but the words were full of reconciliation and kindness, so he quickly bowed and said, "Little brother is the host."

"Okay!" Li Jiancheng nodded with a smile, "Go ahead!"

"Your brother will take his leave first." Li Shimin saluted again, turned and left, looking at his leaving back, Li Jiancheng felt heavy in his heart, felt that Li Shimin was even more terrifying, and only hoped that he would stop messing around now.

At this time, an eunuch came out and saluted: "His Royal Highness, the Holy Majesty Xuan Jin sees you..."

"Okay!" Li Jiancheng withdrew his thoughts and walked quickly into the imperial study.

Li Yuan said cheerfully, "Should we meet Shimin?"

"That's right! The second brother apologized to the minister." Seeing his father's joyful appearance, Li Jiancheng felt bitter, knowing that Li Shimin succeeded in winning his father's favor by retreating as an advance.

Li Yuan stroked his beard and laughed loudly: "He should have apologized to the emperor a long time ago. I am very pleased with his awakening."

Hearing this, Li Jiancheng forced a smile and said, "Father, since the rise of the army in Jinyang, we brothers and sisters have been busy with our own business. We haven't met once in the past few years. We all have many identities, and many misunderstandings are often caused by unfamiliarity." , Erchen, who is the eldest brother, wants to have a banquet with his brothers and sisters, and talk about the brotherhood, so as to eliminate the estrangement caused by the age. I beseech the emperor to allow a day off."

"Okay, okay, okay!" Li Yuan was overjoyed immediately, and said happily: "You are ready, and I can approve it at any time. When the time comes, I, the father, will also attend. But let's declare in advance that when the time comes Only talk about family affairs, not about state affairs. Otherwise, I, a father, can't spare you."

"Father, please rest assured."

Li Jiancheng smiled, and then asked, "Second brother, did you come here for the affairs of the rich and powerful in Guanlong?"

"Exactly!" Li Yuan nodded, "He also proposed three solutions to the current crisis, and I'm a little hesitant for a while."

Li Yuan stopped talking nonsense, and directly explained Li Shimin's top, middle and bottom three strategies, and finally said: "I prefer the middle strategy, what does the emperor think?"

Li Jiancheng was full of dissatisfaction. Li Shimin's strategy for his stable development turned out to be the next best thing to do. However, he also knew that after his father's troubles, he really couldn't do anything in the near future. After reading the pile of petitions, He sighed helplessly.

Facing his father's expectant eyes, Li Jiancheng thought for a while, and then said: "Father, the three strategies of the second brother each have their own merits, but no matter which one is adopted, it is related to the life and death of my Tang Dynasty. There is no good or bad, as the saying goes, one person counts the short and the other counts the long, it is better to ask Xiangguo, Shangshu and generals to discuss together. Everyone will work together to choose the safest strategy, and it can be perfected to be foolproof."

These words also reminded Li Yuan, he laughed and said: "What the emperor said is very true, I almost forgot about the Zhengshitang. By the way, what did Dou Gui say?"

Li Jiancheng said bitterly: "Dou Xiangguo said that he was suffering from a cold and bad manners, and refused to benefit from the post of Secretary of the State Council."

Li Yuan's face turned livid immediately, he clenched his fists, and roared angrily, "Hey, one has a cold, the other is bad! I think he wants to join forces with the Dugu faction, and let the powerful and influential officials of Guanlong use one Come and fight against my royal family to the end."

"Father, calm down." Li Jiancheng showed a helpless expression: "They are sure that we will not dare to go too far in civil strife. Let me take responsibility for this matter. Let me go to talk to them and say that my statement is wrong. Mistakes, let them rest assured."

Li Yuan's face became even more ugly. The eldest son is his heir. He came to the door to explain in a low voice, but it was no different from his own visit. This was the loss of the dignity and majesty of the royal family. This retreat will make the Guanlong dignitaries go too far in the future, but the current situation But I had no choice but to say, after a long while, the words were as cold as ice: "Today's humiliation, I will deeply remember it in my heart, and I wronged the emperor to calm the matter."

"Here!" Li Jiancheng was deeply worried about his father's murderous intentions towards the powerful officials in Guanlong.

……

I wish you all a happy new week.

(End of this chapter)