The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 674

In the afternoon, there was a strong wind in Xiangyang, the sky was covered with black clouds, lightning and thunder, which indicated that a heavy rainstorm was coming.

"Boom."

After the bursts of dull thunder, bolts of lightning pierced the sky, and the pitch-black Taiji Palace suddenly lit up, but quickly dimmed.But the lightning also illuminated Li Yuan's face. Under the dark shadow, Li Yuan's old face looked a little eerie.

He sat in the imperial study room like an old monk, and no one knew how long he sat there.On the imperial case in front of him, there was a piece of paper pressed by a paperweight. On it was a letter written by Li Xiaogong from Chongling. There was only a short line of writing, which read, "Li Mizhan died under the city of Wanqiu. The battle of Sui and Tang Dynasties is imminent. The Holy One made preparations early. '

Although the Sui army did not attack the Tang Dynasty, Li Gongxiao's note made Li Yuan feel a faint sense of despair. He didn't even know how he returned to the imperial study from the Wude Hall, but he felt that his mind was muddled. ,
With the situation developing to this point, Li Yuan felt nothing but worry and despair, and he didn't feel that he had the possibility of turning things around.If he still had the confidence to compete with Yang Tong three years ago, all his fighting spirit now has been completely shattered with the arrival of this piece of information.

Since the failure of the Eastern Expedition, Li Yuan has considered moving his capital to Chengdu to stand up against the Sui and Wei dynasties. Li Mi has now been ruined and died. It will not be long before the south returns to the Sui. The Sui army will definitely attack Li and Tang next, with hundreds of thousands of troops. Under the offensive of the Sui army, Li Mi could not last for two months, so how long could his Li and Tang Dynasty last?
Li Yuan didn't know.

What made him even more desperate was that Sui Jun was too strong, so strong that he had no way to deal with it.

Surrender?
Li Yuan stared blankly at the imperial garden outside, a hideous look flashed across his face, he would never bow his head to Yang Tong, never.But what if you don't surrender?

At this moment, a noisy sound sounded from a distance, Li Yuan stood up with a slight frown, and walked outside the door, only to see someone walking quickly from a distance.

It was his eldest son Li Jiancheng who came.

In fact, Li Jiancheng had been waiting outside the imperial study for nearly two hours. He didn't know what happened, he only heard that his father was in a very bad mood and locked himself in the imperial study. At first he didn't dare to disturb, but he didn't dare to leave. go.But after such a long time, he broke in worriedly.

However, although Li Jiancheng had no conclusive information, he vaguely guessed in his heart that something might have happened to Li Mi, because although the Sui army invaded the Chongling area, they never launched an attack, and Bashu was also very peaceful during this period.Thinking of Zheng Yuanbi's request for help, and Li Mi's initiative to attack Huainan County, etc., he felt that the war in the south might have reversed, and only Li Mi's defeat would lead to the father's behavior.If the Sui army had been defeated, I am afraid that they would have shared their joy with others, instead of being locked in the imperial study room alone.

"What happened?" Li Yuan looked at Li Jiancheng who had barged in.

Li Jiancheng hastily saluted and said: "My father, I heard that you have been meditating in the study for a long time, and you are not at ease, so..."

"Go in and talk about it." Li Yuan was no longer in the mood to worry about these things. After finishing speaking, he turned and walked into the study, and asked the eunuch to light the lamp. After they retreated, he said worriedly: "Xiaogong sent someone to send urgent information. , saying that Li Mi has already died in Huaiyang, let me hurry up and prepare for the battle."

"what?"

Li Jiancheng was taken aback. Although he had already guessed that something happened to Li Mi, the news of Li Mi's death still made him hard to accept for a while.

Who is Li Mi?

That was the leader of the rebel army who once had an army of 70 to [-], as powerful as Zhang Jiao at the end of the Han Dynasty. After a bloody battle, he dealt a heavy blow to the prestige of the Sui Dynasty, which led to one after another rebelling against the Sui Dynasty.

But now, father actually said that this big man is dead?

It's no wonder that Li Jiancheng was so shocked. All this is because Li Tang is still in the era of manpower transmission of information, and it takes a lot of time to go back. In addition, the battle between the Sui and Wei Dynasties happened too quickly and ended too suddenly, so Li Tang is still in the cloud until now. In the fog, there is no detailed history of the Sui and Wei battles.

"It should be as we guessed before. The Sui army went south from the sea route and conquered Li Mi's rear area dominated by Jiangdu, making Li Mi difficult to care about, and thus lost step by step."

Li Yuan glanced at Li Jiancheng, and sighed deeply. This look and a sigh have already expressed his unfinished words: that is, Li Shimin had seen through the Sui army's strategy of attacking Jiangdu across the sea in advance, and expressed his heart. , asked the Li Tang Dynasty army to support Li Mi in every possible way, and cooperated with the attack on Jianghuai, Jingxiang, and Guanzhong to relieve Li Mi's pressure, but was rejected by Li Yuan. If he had listened to Li Shimin's words at that time, what would have happened?

Li Jiancheng heard what his father meant, and he was blaming himself for opposing and supporting Li Mi's proposal. This attitude made him feel extremely uncomfortable. He was silent for a while before pleading in a low voice: "Although the people of the world judged that the Sui army went by sea, Attack Jiangdu, but that is just his personal inference. There is no accurate information to support his statement; and some of our soldiers are not only trained, but even have insufficient weapons and equipment. Sending troops, and the Sui army frequently mobilized at the border. Everyone thought that the Sui army was attacking our Tang Dynasty. Starting the Sui and Tang Dynasties battle?"

Li Yuan also realized that his mentality at the time and the difficulties faced by the court could not put the responsibility on the conscientious eldest son. Inference, and let the army with low morale and insufficient equipment take the initiative to attack the Sui Dynasty. If we do that, maybe we will be defeated now. I don’t regret my original decision, but what should we do now?”

Li Jiancheng also thought about this question for a long time, pondered for a moment and said: "Father, the reason why Li Mi was defeated so quickly is because his army was divided into two by the Huai River, and the end cannot be connected. If he abandons Huaibei and Jianghuai early, he will decisively If he retreated to the south of the Yangtze River, he might be able to use his power to bully others and force Lin Shihong and Meng Haigong to surrender, so as to realize the dream of ruling the river. It is a pity that he not only failed to rule the river thoroughly, but also provoked Yang Yu. This is the end of the country's collapse and death. We should take it as a warning."

"Father, Li Mi will not talk about it. Isn't the Battle of Guanzhong a living example? Shimin had an army of more than 20 in the Hehuang area at that time, and he had swept all of Xue Ju's territory by now. If we don’t move, we can get more land, more food and horses for us, but because of an accident in Chang’an, we had to take the risk to return to the teacher. In the end, not only could we not save Chang’an, but fell into Yang Tong’s plan, and was annihilated by Li Jing outside Sanguan .”

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Li Yuan's chest heaved violently several times, and his complexion became very ugly.

Li Jiancheng glanced at his father, but he was not intimidated by his father's stern gaze, and then said: "I feel that our current situation is very similar to the battle in Guanzhong and Li Mi. The only way we can do it now is to concentrate all the troops. Twisted into a powerful force, looking for a decisive battle with the Sui army, defeating the Sui army all the way or even a few soldiers, so that we have a chance to survive. If we continue to disperse the army in various places like this, the Sui army will definitely be defeated one by one. That’s the real powerlessness.”

"Take the defense line of Hanshui as an example. It is too long. Although there are troops defending everywhere, on the other hand, it is weak everywhere, with front lines everywhere, and it is hard to defend everywhere. Our army is so scattered that it is impossible to form a fist. Once the Sui army concentrates heavy troops to contain one or two places, it can send an army to attack one place and directly approach the city of Xiangyang. The soldiers and horses distributed on the Hanshui defense line still have to abandon various places, and then return to aid Xiangyang. Since you can’t keep it, why continue to perpetuate your mistakes?”

Li Yuan's stern expression gradually faded, and he nodded involuntarily. Li Jiancheng's words touched his heart. Datang's elite soldiers were not many, but they were wasted in many places, resulting in pitifully few troops that could be mobilized at any time.

He let out a long sigh and said, "I understand what you mean, that is to move the capital to Chengdu, right?"

"It is the move of the capital. Only by keeping the capital away from the front can the armies have no worries and focus on fighting. If we retreat into Bashu, we will be in a position that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The offensive and defensive momentum has completely reversed, forming a state of suppression for the Sui Dynasty. Even if we can't attack Yongliang in the future, we can still attack Jingzhou and Yangzhou along the river, and Qin destroyed Chu and Cheng destroyed Chen, isn't it the best example?" Li Jiancheng said.

Li Yuan frowned and said: "Before, just probing caused chaos in the government and the public. If we really decide to move the capital, the chaos will probably be worse than last year."

"As long as the news of Li Mi's defeat comes, those who have knowledge will know that joining forces is the best strategy, and it is also the only choice for our Tang Dynasty." Li Jiancheng said: "Didn't the father decide to deal with the Guanlong nobles? I think this is an opportunity. As the saying goes, a friend in adversity is a friend, and the proposal to move the capital just distinguishes who really supports the imperial court and who has different ideas."

Li Yuan pondered for a while, and felt that Li Jiancheng's method was good, and he could take the opportunity to test the hearts of many civil and military and aristocratic families. Those who supported the move of the capital were naturally loyal ministers who really cared for me, and those who opposed were undoubtedly those who longed for the Sui Dynasty. It is clear at a glance who is loyal and who is evil.The more I think about it, the more I feel that this method is wonderful, and it can achieve multiple effects at once. I smiled and said: "The emperor's method is indeed good. But I am a little worried."

"Father please make it clear." Li Jiancheng bowed respectfully.

"In addition to the reasons mentioned by the emperor, there is another reason for Li Mi's destruction. Think about it carefully, even if it wasn't for the Sui army's sneak attack across the sea, he shouldn't be able to go far."

"But why?"

"Li Mi's Wei State was inherited from Wagang, and his foundation was in the Central Plains, but he moved to the south of the Yangtze River. So even if he destroyed Li Zitong and Shen Faxing, he still could not get the support of the Jiangnan nobles. We first got the support of the Guanlong nobles. Only with support can we sit firmly in the pass. Li Mi is like a duckweed without roots, how can he be undefeated?"

Li Jiancheng heard what his father said, and was worried that he would compromise with the Guanlong nobles, which would result in a lot of hard work in vain, so he said quickly: "That's the case. But when he wiped out the Jiangnan gentry, it was not a one-shot job." Afterwards, he divided the land evenly, and immediately won the hearts of the people in the south of the Yangtze River. From this, it can be seen that the people in the south of the Yangtze River are fundamental. Although the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River are famous, they have no effect on the rule of Wei. If Li Mi did it one day earlier, it would not be a waste We spent a lot of time dealing with the nobles in the south of the Yangtze River. After all, the nobles in Guanlong are only a minority, as long as we win the hearts of the people with the land, we can still sit firmly in Bashu."

Li Yuan nodded again and again, "That's very good, it inspired me a lot."

Li Jiancheng went on to say: "I have one more thing to say, I hope the emperor will consider it."

"you say!"

"Because the world has been divided between the North and the South for hundreds of years, the north is ruled by Hu people, and the south is ruled by Han people. As a result, the north and the south do not recognize each other, and because of the continuous war, the hatred between the two sides has further deepened. Although the Sui Dynasty unified the world, the Sui Dynasty The important officials in the court are still dominated by Guanlong nobles with Xianbei blood, because the southerners do not recognize this court, which led to continuous civil upheavals in the south, but after decades of running-in, especially Yang Guang's policy of supporting the Han and suppressing the Hu, made The conflict between the North and the South has changed from a dispute between Hu and Han to a dispute of interests."

"Go on!" Li Yuan was very interested.

Li Jiancheng went on to say: "I have handled government affairs for so many years, and I have discussed the issue of the North-South split with Xiao Xiangguo and Chen Xiangguo many times. They are from the south and know the situation in the south of the Yangtze River very well. According to them, due to rice The output is large and the price is high, so many Guanlong nobles occupied a large amount of fertile land in the south of the Yangtze River, forming countless manors. Many declining gentry or local powerful lands were also occupied by them by taking advantage of Taotian power. There are no prominent figures in the city, so they are often at a disadvantage, and the land dispute is a dispute of interests. In fact, the business in Jiangdu was also fought by the Guanlong nobles and the Jiangnan gentry. Compared with Jiangnan, there is no big person who can speak , so the situation of the Bashu aristocratic family is even worse than that of Jiangnan. If we destroy the Guanlong nobles, it will be beneficial for the Bashu aristocratic family to be powerful. They will support my Tang Dynasty and allow the court to quickly gain a foothold in Bashu. With the army in hand, and the people who have acquired the land as the base, are you afraid of the powerless Bashu tyrants?"

Li Yuan was all worried, nodded and said, "Okay, let's release the news of the capital move, and then let Wuchuan Division supervise everywhere, and record the remarks of an opponent. Tomorrow morning, the official decision on the capital move will be made."

Li Jiancheng said solemnly: "My son obeys orders."

. . . . . . . . . . . .

It was evening.

It was reported from the Taiji Palace that the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty decided to use Chengdu as the accompanying capital of the Tang Dynasty. He would soon tour Bashu in the west, and Prince Li Jiancheng would supervise the country.This news immediately caused a sensation in Xiangyang City. The emperor's tour has been a major event in the world since ancient times, and the tour when the country is in crisis is actually the meaning of escape.Li Yuan had the ambition to move the capital to Chengdu last year, and now he will release this rumor again.

Why?It goes without saying.

So when the news came out and was guided by some people, there was a lot of discussion in Xiangyang. Many people were panicked and deeply anxious about the future of the Tang Dynasty; Happy.

(End of this chapter)