The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 616 Cut off a family relationship

In the imperial study room of Wude Palace, Li Yuan with a pale face was sitting in front of the window in a daze. His right hand was holding a large stack of letter paper with such force that even his veins bulged out.These are the letters that his daughter Li Xiuning secretly obtained from the archives of Ziwei City. All of them are letters secretly written by Duguzheng to Yang Tong, and each letter represents a shameless betrayal.

In order to regain Guanzhong, Li Yuan planned the Daxing Palace Change.In that battle, he received the full support of the nobles of Guanlong. In total, in addition to the more than [-] dead soldiers in Daxing, there were still [-] to [-] soldiers outside the city. The dead men cooperated with the palace guard Chang He to capture and kill Yang Yu. The famous general Dou Kang led more than [-] to [-] troops to Fufeng Taibai Mountain. Intercepting the northern Sui army in Beidi County was the closest Li Yuan was to capturing and killing Yang Tong. As long as Yang Tong was killed in Daxing Palace, the Li and Tang Dynasty could regain Guanzhong, and then recover Yongbei and Bingzhou, and then advance step by step. Annihilated the chaotic Sui forces, but in the end they were still defeated!
Li Yuan originally thought that there was too much commotion, and Yang Tong knew about someone's plan in advance. Unexpectedly, this failure was actually due to Duguzheng, an old thief, who betrayed Li Tang, causing him heavy losses and losing all the dark forces in Guanzhong. Lost the opportunity to slaughter Yang Tong.

And last year!

The secret agreement between him and Li Mi was also disclosed by Duguzheng in advance, which made Yang Tong see through Li Tang's Eastern Expedition plan and all the arrangements.The final targeted deployment of troops first wiped out the East Route Army led by Li Xiaogong in Xiangcheng; The people of Yanhe Henan County threatened Li Shimin's entire army. Although he retreated to Zhuyang Pass as he wished, Xue Wanjun took advantage of the victory to pursue and annihilated the main force at Zhuyang Pass, and finally pushed the battle line to the Han River. north.

Seeing that the Li Tang dynasty is in danger, Duguzheng, an old thief, even made a promise to donate [-]% of the land, [-]% of the family wealth, and serve as the internal support!

In addition, there are many secrets of the Tang Dynasty, all of which were sold to Yang Tong by Dugu one by one. Judging from the time when each letter was signed, the number of secret letters written to the Sui Dynasty is increasing year by year. The number of months is more than one month, and it can be seen from this that Dugu is eager to descend to the Sui Dynasty.

This old thief is going to punish Li Tang to death.

If Li Xiuning hadn't risked his life to send these secret letters, he still wouldn't know where he lost and who was betraying him.

In the past, Li Yuan doubted many people, even Li Jiancheng, who was exactly the same as Yang Tong, but he never thought about Duguzheng, because everything Li Yuan did today was driven by Duguzheng.

Li Yuan was bleeding with hatred, and gritted his teeth to the silent Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin, "I finally understand why I, Li Tang, lost so badly. It turned out that this old thief Duguzheng was betraying us."

"Father, could it be that Yang Tong forged the letter to alienate people? It is also easy to imitate the handwriting of the third sister. I heard that the words written by Yang Shidao have the ability to confuse the real." Li Jiancheng asked in a low voice, his face It was full of worry.

"Your third sister's handwriting may be forged, but Duguzheng's handwriting can't be faked by anyone!" Li Yuan's whole body collapsed, like a startled leopard, and his murderous aura quietly permeated, and then he said in a gloomy voice: " The quality of the characters written by Dugu is determined by the piece of paper; he has always regarded himself as a famous calligrapher, but he was afraid that he could not write well, so a paper workshop in Dugu's family specially made paper according to his needs, and it was only for him. At this point, he raised a large stack of letters in his hand, and said: "These are the papers just for his use. Except for a few people, outsiders will never know his habit."

After being silent for a while, Li Jiancheng said in a low voice: "The matter has come to this, father should put the dragon's body as the most important thing."

"What a Dugu old thief."

Li Yuan was so angry that he roared and kicked the wall, scaring Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin to persuade him.

After a long time, Li Yuan said again: "Actually, the nobles of Guanlong had two choices at first. The Yuan family is the first choice, and our Li family is just a backup."

Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin were stunned, this was the first time they had heard of this.

"At the beginning, Duguzheng and Dou Wei forced me to revolt many times. The purpose was to let us serve as Yuan Min's shield, withstand the attack of the army loyal to the Sui Dynasty, and let us consume the last trace of vitality of the Sui Dynasty. In order to introduce the power of Turkic To deal with Yang Tong, he made a promise that all the children in Guanzhong would be owned by the Turks. After the news spread to Jiangdu, Jiangdu’s Xiaoguo army panicked and fled, and was finally used by the Guanlong nobles. Min and Sima Dekan launched the Jiangdu mutiny. The reason why Yu Wenhuaji was established as a puppet was actually to make him bear the name of regicide. However, it is not as good as the sky. In the end, the Xiaoguo army and Li Mi were both defeated, and the Guanlong nobles supported him. The plan of the two forces to divide the world equally was shattered, and in the end they had to fully support our Li family."

"Why do you support the two families to divide the world equally?" Li Shimin frowned.

Li Yuan said lightly: "At the beginning, they fully supported Yang Jian to usurp the Zhou family, but Yang Jian pressed on every step of the way and cut off their flesh one by one. In order to avoid another loss, they supported the Li family and the Yuan family to divide the world equally. Once this happens, the world will fall into a protracted war, and the Guanlong nobles can seize good land and hide the population during the war, and finally sway the imperial power of both sides, relying on their strong actual strength to make both sides equal in strength, so that It won’t let the past happen again.”

Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin felt a chill in their hearts.The two brothers never imagined that the Guanlong nobles would have such a big plan. In order to protect their own interests, they would not hesitate to split the world and make the war endless.

But I don't know why the father told their brothers these things, neither of them spoke, but continued to listen.

Li Yuan said again: "The reason why I told you this is to let you know that the Guanlong nobles never really wanted to support us. If they had concentrated on us from the beginning, they would not have lost today."

He remembered how high-spirited he was when he was supported by the nobles of Guanlong. His popularity gradually accumulated in the Sui Dynasty, and he gradually gained the trust of Yang Guang. If you have your own military power, you don't have to lower your eyebrows and lower your voice to the Shangguan Long nobles, so you can become a real emperor.However, shortly after entering Guanzhong, the Tang army was defeated so quickly and thoroughly. Although Li Shimin, Li Xiaogong and others had performed very well on the battlefield, they still could not reverse the defeated situation, which caused Li Yuan to lose popularity and deter the world. majesty.The people below are panicked, the hearts of the army and the people are useless, and now Li Yuan feels that he is almost at the end of his rope.

All this, whose fault is it?

Duguzheng who supported him and betrayed him!
"The so-called success is Xiao He's defeat, and Xiao He is nothing more than this!" Li Yuan said lightly: "Other Li Mi are also troubled by the Jiangnan gentry, but the influence of the Jiangnan gentry mainly lies in knowledge and county prestige. The influence of the Guanlong nobles lies in land and land. The army, this is the biggest difference between the two, the influence of the gentry can be balanced by imperial examinations, and can be deterred by the army; while the Guanlong nobles with a powerful private army can only be eliminated by violence."

Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin were silent. They knew that their father was completely disappointed with the Guanlong nobles, and they had already decided to do something. The reason why they mentioned the idea of ​​the Guanlong nobles dividing the world was actually to find a reason for their enemies.

It's just that their brothers also know that this is definitely not a momentary impulse of the father, but the result of careful consideration. When the uncle and grandpa used the Li family as pawns, it was Yuan Min, an outsider, who really supported him. Grandpa had deep dissatisfaction; but after the Yuan clan's defeat, uncle and grandpa not only failed to make up for it, but betrayed the Li Tang Dynasty even more, which led to the fiasco of Tang Dynasty again and again. affection.

The two brothers were a little confused for a while, and they were also very angry at Duguzheng for going too far, but they didn't go to the point of murderous intentions. According to their brothers' thinking, Duguzheng didn't have a few years to live. Confinement until death will do.After all, no matter what, Duguzheng is also their uncle, the father's uncle...and he has indeed helped the Tang Dynasty a lot as the leader of the Guanlong nobles, otherwise this country would not have existed at all...

But they also knew that under the seemingly calm surface of the father, the emperor was already extremely angry. If he persuaded him at this time, he might be scolded and roared like a storm.Especially Li Shimin, he dared not persuade him even more, because his first wife was Duguzheng's granddaughter, and if he persuaded him at this time, he would not be able to get rid of it.

In the silence, an old eunuch trotted in, bowed and saluted, "Qi Zuo Your Majesty, Xiao Xiangguo asks to see you."

"Oh!" Li Yuan's eyes flashed, he locked the letter in his hand into a drawer, tried to calm down the murderous intent and anger in his heart, and then said: "Xuan!"

After a while, Xiao Yu walked into the imperial study room angrily, and saluted: "My minister pays homage to the Holy Majesty, the Crown Prince, and the King of Jin."

"Xiao Xiangguo doesn't need to be too polite, please sit down!" Li Yuan said gently.

"Thank you for sitting down!" Xiao Yu sat down.

"Okay, now tell me, why did Fang Xuanling come here?" Li Yuan looked at Xiao Yu curiously, no matter what, it was Fang Xuanling who was able to annoy the gentle Xiao Yu like this. The lion breathed heavily enough.

"Returning to the Holy Lord, Fang Xuanling asked us to exchange the five counties of Jingzhou for a one-year truce. My minister saw that he was not sincere at all. In addition, Yang Tong also sent envoys to Jiangdu on the condition that Li Mi give out the seven counties of Huaibei. In exchange for a one-year truce." Xiao Yu angrily explained the ins and outs of the incident.

Li's father and son were stunned.

Li Yuan's eyes flickered a few times, and he fell into a brief thought, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

"Xiao Xiang means that if we don't agree to Yang Tong's conditions, we will attack Xiangyang first; if we agree, he will attack Li Mi. Or vice versa?" Li Jiancheng asked.

Xiao Yu smiled wryly, "That's exactly what it means!"

"Blackmail! Shameless blackmail." Li Yuan suddenly became furious, slapped the table again and again, and roared angrily: "Xiangyang is the imperial capital of the Tang Dynasty. He wants to take down the five counties of Jingxiang without bloodshed? Dreaming, I won't accept Yang Tong." I am not afraid of him, if I have the ability, I can beat Hanshui. Tell Fang Xuanling to leave today, I don't welcome this kind of scoundrel!"

"..." Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin looked at each other in blank dismay. Neither of them thought that their father would be so furious and deny the other party's plan without thinking.You must know that before withdrawing to Xiangyang years ago, the father wanted to move the capital to Shu. If it hadn't been coerced by the Guanlong nobles, the Tang court would have moved to Chengdu long ago. How could it have stayed until now?And at that time, there were only more than 20 Sui troops at the border. The Sui army already had more than 20 at the border, and now it has expanded its army to 50. If it were to attack with all its strength, at least 70 million troops would invade Datang from various places. , Today's Tang Dynasty is surrounded by leaks, the morale of the army and the people are all lost, and the urgently formed army lacks training. Where is the opponent of the Sui army? , They don't know at all that if the Sui army invades before the internal worries are resolved, all the troops will disappear in Jingxiang, and they will not last long if they hide in Bashu.On the contrary, if Fang Xuanling's conditions are agreed to, Datang will have at least one year to eliminate dissidents and create a Bashu like an iron barrel.If Li Mi is more aggressive, they still have more time to prepare.

Li Jiancheng didn't know what Li Shimin was thinking. Anyway, he was a little tempted when Xiao Yu said it. In fact, he didn't have any hope for the so-called Hanshui defense line. Attack Xicheng County, attack Fangling County from Xiyang, attack Chongling from Handong, attack Jingling from Anlu, attack Yiling and Jingling from Nanjun, then attack Wudu from Hanyang, and attack Dangchang from Lintao... Then Li Tang Dynasty persisted for less than half a moment.

These crises caused by the disparity in strength are actually an open secret. Even Li Shimin, the main combat faction, dare not fight and kill now, because each of their soldiers is precious, and they can't consume Da Sui at all.

"There is another thing!" Xiao Yu's expression was very embarrassing. He didn't know whether he should mention the matter of twenty Guanlong noble patriarchs visiting Fang Xuanling. Xiao Yu's dereliction of duty, and the emperor might know about it in less than half an hour, so Xiao Yu was a little tangled in his heart.

"Tell me, what happened?" Li Yuan tried his best to calm down the anger in his heart.

Xiao Yu then explained in detail how he met the Guanlong nobles who visited Fang Xuanling collectively. As expected, Li Yuan's face became even colder, and it took a long time before he said coldly: "Twenty Guanlong nobles The head of the family visited Fang Xuanling collectively, thinking that the law does not blame the public, so there is nothing I can do about them?"

"I feel that they are not betraying the Holy Majesty; it's just..."

"Just what?"

Xiao Yu saw sweat on his forehead, and said cautiously: "The pursuit of profit is the instinct of the aristocratic family. There is no exception in the past and present. The ministers believe that the combination of kindness and power is a long-term way. Appropriate appeasement can stabilize their emotions. Now they are just fighting with the officials of the Sui Dynasty. Contact, if the emperor suppresses, I am worried that they will substantively support Yang Tong in the next step."

Li Yuan shook his head, and said in a deep voice: "Xiao Xiang is wrong, the nobles of Guanlong are completely different from the nobles of the Guandong and the south."

"Please make it clear!"

"I am also a member of the Guanlong nobles, and I know their thoughts very well. Even though they have been breeding in Guanzhong for nearly a hundred years, their conduct is not substantially different from that of the barbarians. In the final analysis, what they believe in is that the strong are respected. The loyalty of the Han people, they are not ashamed of submitting to the strong, they are proud of it, they surrendered to Yuwentai before, then they surrendered to Yang Jian, and then they assisted the Tang Dynasty against the Sui Dynasty. , nothing surprising."

Xiao Yu sighed and summoned up his courage and said, "My lord, the situation in the Tang Dynasty is not as good as before, and the Taihe army has risen in Bashu. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is internal and external troubles. If they are punished, I am afraid they will really lure the Sui army into the city." .”

"Then Xiang Xiang said, what should I do?"

"My lord, there are actually many ways, such as expanding the business palm to seven phases, so that the people of the Dugu Clan can also get one phase, and they will stabilize."

Most of the patriarchs that Xiao Yu saw in the posthouse were members of the Dugu faction, which shows that the Dugu family was very upset about the expansion of the prime minister last time. .If the Dugu family is given the position of prime minister, the Dugu family can be appeased. As long as the Dugu family is stable, the actual Patriarch of the Dugu faction will naturally not make trouble, nor will they.It's a pity that Xiao Yu, who is well-intentioned, doesn't know that Li Yuan has developed a strong murderous intention towards Dugu, and he no longer trusts Dugu.

"Let me consider this matter. After all, expanding the appearance is a major matter. We can't rush it for a while." Li Yuan felt that this was an opportunity to paralyze the Dugu family. "After the imperial court is over tomorrow, we will discuss the conditions of the expansion and Yang Tong together."

(End of this chapter)