The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 688 Ten Years of Freedom is a Bet

Li Yuan was a little hesitant about Chen Shuda's idea of ​​turning a small matter into a big one and seeking the benefits of the Guanlong nobles for the country's use. When the soldiers approached the city, there were many internal turmoil in Li Tang. What chance of winning?

Both people present understood Li Yuan's concerns, and Li Jiancheng said to Li Yuan, "Father, please forgive me for speaking frankly."

"Speak." Li Yuan glanced at Li Jiancheng and nodded.

"The crime of treason has been the crime of punishing the nine clans since ancient times. How the father dealt with these rebels is reasonable and correct, and no one will say that the father punished the heroes. If only the evil leaders were punished, the land, money, Grain is state-owned, and it is already a great kindness. At present, most of the Guanlong nobles are involved in the rebellion case, as long as we deal with these people, it will be difficult for the Guanlong nobles to pose a threat to the court."

"That's right." Li Yuan's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly: "After dealing with these rebels, there are not many families left in Guanlong nobles, and these families that did not participate in the rebellion, after the persuasion of Prime Minister Dou and Prime Minister Dou Lu , I have long agreed to hand over the private army, [-]% of the land, [-]% of the slaves and half of the wealth, so the Guanlong nobles who can threaten the imperial power are actually dead in name only. What else do I have to worry about?"

"This is just one of them; second, all civil and military officials agree to hand over the private army, whether it is voluntary or forced to follow the trend, it is a fact that cannot be changed. And civil and military officials include almost all the family members. Father Although I don’t want to go to war, in fact I have already done so.” Li Jiancheng said with a smile.

Li Yuan was startled when he heard the words, and then he understood Li Jiancheng's true meaning, and couldn't help laughing: "The emperor's words are reasonable, but I was too worried. If that's the case, then we'll come to him once and for all."

"Father is wise."

"Saint is wise."

Li Jiancheng and Chen Shuda were really afraid that Li Yuan would be indecisive on this matter, and now when they heard that he had a firm stand, their suspenseful hearts immediately fell back to reality.

"The top priority is to resist the rebels. After the rebels are wiped out, we will settle with these Guanlong nobles one by one." Li Yuan felt that he was a little worried, but he wanted to seize the control of the Guanlong nobles over a large number of fields, and then divide them equally Fields, rewards for meritorious officials, and a wrong step in the appointment may lead to rebellion by the powerful families under the rule, and there is no room for carelessness.

"Father!" Li Jiancheng cupped his hands and said, "I suggest that my second brother lead the army to put down the rebellion."

Li Yuan glanced at Li Jiancheng, but didn't say anything. He didn't want Li Shimin to be responsible for countering the rebellion.

On the one hand, Yiling cannot do without Li Shimin. What if the Sui army sent troops from Nanjun while Li Shimin was away?
On the other hand, Li Yuan is the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and the most important thing for an emperor is to consolidate his throne. Generally speaking, his son will be the biggest threat to him as an emperor, and there is no father-son relationship at all.That's why he tried every means and racked his brains to try to drive a wedge between the three sons.Li Shimin had hundreds of thousands of troops before, and he seemed extremely powerful. The combined army controlled by him and Li Jiancheng was far inferior to Li Shimin's, which made Li Yuan very afraid.Now that Li Shimin has finally weakened, how can Li Yuan let Li Shimin, the number one in the army, fight this kind of battle that must be won?Isn't this creating another big trouble for yourself?
After pondering for a long time, Li Yuan slowly shook his head and said: "Xue Wanjun dispatched troops in Xiyang. I think this is a precursor to the invasion of the Sui army. Yang Tong has many generals, so he will definitely not confine the war to Xiyang; and Yiling It is the gateway of our Tang Dynasty to enter Shu. Once we lose it, our way to enter Shu will be completely interrupted, and the supplies of Yizhou will not be able to be allocated. Its strategic position is self-evident. This kind of throat is only for the people of the world. , I can sleep with peace of mind. By the way, what do you think of supernatural powers?"

Chen Shuda shook his head, sighed and said: "If the emperor appoints King Huai'an, please allow me to retire and return to my hometown, because I really don't want to see the Great Tang Guozuo collapse."

Li Yuan was shocked: "Why did Chen Xiangguo say such shocking words?"

"Most of the private parts of the Guanlong nobles are the generals who use their powers to take advantage of their positions. They are selected from the army to be depressed and unsatisfactory elite soldiers. Their equipment and training are comparable to those of the Xiaoguo Army. The Xiaoguo army who were in Jiangdu at the beginning was homesick, launched the Jiangdu change, and then returned to Guanzhong. They encountered the Wagang army on the way. The morale of the Xiaoguo army was low, and the stomach was still empty. They do not account for peace, number of people, etc. However, under the circumstances of incompetent generals, internal strife, low morale, and no food in their stomachs, they are faced with a large number of soldiers, experienced in battles, outstanding people, and ambushes everywhere. After repairing the fortifications, the Wagang Army still showed amazing combat power. In the face-to-face attack, they took advantage of the right time, place, people and numbers, as well as elite soldiers and fierce generals. The Wagang Army was defeated. Zhai Rang died. His personal guards were also dispersed, and Liu Ya was seriously injured, and was almost killed by the Xiaoguo army, but because the Xiaoguo army was hungry and had no energy to chase, the Wagang army escaped by luck. A catastrophe."

Speaking of this, Chen Shuda took a deep breath and continued: "The [-] troops of the Guanlong nobles have no worries about food, are eager to save the savior, and have many generals in command. The army is within reach. The king of Huai'an is a man who cherishes his life very much. He is good at fighting with the wind, but he is not good at attacking tough battles and responding to battles. If he leads the army, it will definitely end in the destruction of the entire army like the Battle of Hedong City. At that stage, how could there be any elite troops in Xiangyang to resist the rebels? Even if they were transferred back to King Jin and King Zhao Jun, not only would it be too late, but it would also give the Sui army a chance to break through the line of defense. I have the idea of ​​resigning my old age and returning to my hometown.”

"Father, my son thinks that Chen Xiangguo's words are justified." Li Jiancheng said: "The king of Huai'an loves money like his life, and he only needs to keep all precious things by his side before he can rest assured. Once he is out of sight, he will feel uneasy. Walking away, snatching away, stealing away, his problem is directly reflected in his use of troops. Back then, he refused to concentrate and deploy the troops to Hedong City, which led to the reinforcements being intercepted by Yang Yu first outside the Hedong City. People and combat power are also weaker than the opponent's, command and response ability is not as good as Yang Tong, who will fail if he does not fail? If he does not fail, it is unreasonable."

"The king of Huai'an has fatal flaws, and the same is true of King Yong'an and King Xinxing. It is a matter of Tang Dynasty's life and death. My son suggested that the father and emperor transfer these three uncle kings to the rich county of Yizhou as county guards. They wear Shu brocade and eat delicious food. , Drinking strong wine, counting money, dominating the fields, and leisurely embezzling and extorting bribes, that is the life the three of them should live... The battlefield is too dangerous, and it is really not suitable for them." Li Jiancheng said solemnly.

"puff!"

"puff!"

Li Yuan and Chen Shuda laughed.

Li Yuan glared at Li Jiancheng fiercely, tried his best to hold back a smile, his old face flushed instantly, and he nodded solemnly.

The crown prince and Xiangguo are right, Li Shentong, Li Xiaoji, and Li Deliang are really unreliable in leading troops to fight, and they are good at eating and waiting to die, embezzling and extorting bribes.

Thinking carefully about Li Jiancheng's words, Li Yuan suddenly found that there was a job suitable for his three brothers, so he said with a smile: "Forget it, let them abandon martial arts and follow literature, and go to Shu to search the property of the Guanlong nobles."

"Wonderful, His Majesty is really a man who can give full play to his talents, I admire you."

Chen Shuda was full of praise, "The position of 'family raiding' is quite suitable for these three county kings. If they are responsible for raiding the villas and manors of the Guanlong nobles in Yizhou, even stones can blow up two or three taels of oil. Isn't that right? What is it to do your best?"

"Reconsideration." Li Jiancheng nodded, emphasizing very worriedly: "But you must make it clear to them in advance that these fields and property are related to Tang Guozuo, and each person can only embezzle three of the hundred shares at most. .”

Li Yuan's face turned black, and he gave Li Jiancheng an angry look: "Are you three Uncle Wangs so unbearable?"

"Hehe..." Li Jiancheng laughed dryly, "If the emperor didn't declare in advance, they would dare to embezzle more than half of the property."

"That's right." Chen Shuda nodded approvingly.

Li Yuan asked suspiciously, "How dare they?"

Li Jiancheng nodded firmly and said: "If the father doesn't believe it, there is no need to declare in advance, just wait and see. If it is not found out afterwards that they are greedy for half of the property, I am willing to abstain from drinking, sex, and meat for ten years."

"..." Li Yuan was dumbfounded.

How confident Li Jiancheng must be to bet on abstinence from alcohol, sex, and meat for ten years. His confidence also indirectly shows that at least [-]% of the three kings dare to be greedy, or even more.That is to say, the theory that Li Shentong used wooden knives for soldiers to use Sui Junxizuo last year may not be groundless.If this kind of corrupt person continues to serve as a general in the army, he will crazily deduct the military salary. If the army is messed up, the Tang Dynasty will be over. Thinking about it, Li Yuan's idea of ​​​​removing the three kings became more determined.

After a long while, Li Yuan, who was so scared by the daring three kings, came back to his senses, coughed dryly, and said very straightforwardly: "To avoid trouble, I'd better warn them in advance."

Li Yuan frowned again and said, "Since the three of them can't do it, is it true that Shimin can only put down the rebellion?"

"Your Majesty." Chen Shuda cupped his hands and said, "

I don't know much about military affairs, but I also know that there are two important points in fighting: one is that the soldiers and horses have not moved, and the food and grass go first, and this rebel army is a lone army that has penetrated into Xiangyang. As long as they all reach the city, they can let the army outside the city Cut off its food path.The second is to use our strengths to avoid weaknesses, and use our own strengths to overcome the enemy's weaknesses. Our strengths and advantages are the tall and strong walls of Xiangyang. We fully use this advantage to kill the spirit of the rebels.This rebel army similar to the Xiaoguo Army is too capable of fighting. It is not appropriate to confront them head-on when they are in full swing, otherwise they will become the original Wagang Army. The morale of the army.After all, the defenders of Xiangyang are the guards of the Gyeonggi, giving the impression that they are the most capable elite troops in the Tang Dynasty. If the guards of the Gyeonggi cannot even beat a rebel army, what will the soldiers think?How can the common people have confidence in me, Datang?Which is more important, please the Holy Majesty to consider. "

Li Yuan was persuaded, he nodded and said, "According to Xiangguo's words, I will let the people of the world return to Yiling immediately, lead the army to roam outside, and attack when the opportunity arises. But who should be the main defense general of Xiangyang City?"

Chen Shuda thought for a while and said: "My minister recommends General Qu Tugai as the main general. He is highly skilled in martial arts, familiar with the art of war, and is especially good at defensive warfare. His military ability and previous achievements are not inferior to his brother Qu Tutong's. General Qu Tutong is too famous, so General Qu Tugai has never been famous all over the world."

As a person of the same generation, Li Yuan naturally knew Qu Tugai's ability, so he decisively ordered: "I will pass on my will, appoint Qu Tugai as the general of the left guard, and order the army to guard Xiangyang. The eldest sun Shunde and Murong Luohu will be the deputy generals. The emperor will rule Baiguan, responsible for the security of the people."

Li Jiancheng said hastily, "I obey."

Li Yuan reminded: "Be careful of assassins."

"Thank you, Father, for your concern." Li Jiancheng quickly thanked him.

Li Yuan's eyes flashed, and he said in a serious tone: "Order Wu Chuan to control the speech, and anyone who spreads rumors will be arrested. If anyone dares to resist, they will be shot dead on the spot. In addition... those collateral children and disciples who conspired against the nobles of Guanlong will be punished." Arrest them, and if anyone dares to resist, they will be shot dead on the spot."

Li Jiancheng was startled, and quickly responded, "My minister will explain clearly to Han Zhi."

(End of this chapter)