Man Tanghong

Chapter 1038 Xue Li and Gao Kan

"Any more?"

Li Yuanji asked next.

Yin Kaishan was stunned for a moment before he understood what Li Yuanji was asking. After a slight hesitation, he said, "There are two more soldiers. Because of their special status, I don't know whether to talk to them or not."

"Oh?"

Li Yuanji instantly became interested, and Li Shimin slowly turned sideways and raised his ears. Obviously, he was also very interested in the two pawns mentioned in Yin Kaishankou.

If Li Yuanji remembered correctly, the scope of this competition was limited to the circle of generals, and pawns were not eligible to participate.

Now two pawns have appeared, which shows that these two pawns have not taken the usual path, and there is a story inside.

Seeing that both Li Yuanji and Li Shimin were interested, Yin Kaishan said strangely: "One of them defeated their captain and won the qualification for the competition from their captain, and the other one was Because their captain accidentally fell off his horse when he was mounting his horse, so he was recommended by their captain to make up the number.

As a result, after they entered the ring, one easily pierced his opponent with a spear, and the other, riding on horseback without even moving, sealed his opponent's throat with one arrow. "

Li Yuanji became even more interested when he heard this, and asked enthusiastically: "So, one of them is good at spearing and the other is good at archery?"

Yin Kaishan shook his head and said: "That's not true. The one who uses the spear said that he is better at horse fighting, and the one who uses the bow said that he is better at halberds."

Li Yuanji chuckled and said: "They are two people who defeated their opponents with the least good means. It seems that there are many people showing off their skills in this competition. Tell me, what are the names of these two boys."

Yin Kaishan said truthfully: "The one who wields the spear is called Gao Kan, and the one who wields the bow is called Xue Li!"

When Li Yuanji heard this, he looked at Yin Kaishan in shock.

Do you know what you are talking about?
Gao Kan didn't mention it for now. If Xue Li was the Xue Li he knew well, then he should be doing long-term work in other people's homes right now.

Although Xue Li's life is not as legendary as that in later film and television dramas, later film and television dramas can be regarded as restoring part of Xue Li's life.

Xue Li came from a wealthy family, but because his father died early and he was young, his family fell into decline and he made a living by farming and doing casual work for others.

Historically, Xue Li did not join the army at the suggestion of his wife Liu until he got married. Only then did the appreciation of governance begin to rise in earnest.

According to historical records, Xue Li is estimated to be around 14 years old at this time. He is leaving his family to farm and working as a long-term laborer. How could he appear in the army?
"Is there something wrong with the two of them?"

Yin Kaishan felt a little uncomfortable and couldn't help but ask.

Li Yuanji came back to his senses and said, "Do you know their place of origin?"

Yin Kaishan hurriedly said: "Gao Kan is from Bohai, Xue Li is from Hedong..."

After saying this, Yin Kaishan asked again: "Do they have any problems?"

Li Yuanji did not answer, but said directly: "Bring them to see me!"

Yin Kaishan was stunned, and immediately ordered someone to bring Gao Kan and Xue Li.

Not long after, a burly young man who looked like a little tiger, and a young man who was not burly but whose arms looked very powerful were brought up to the high platform.

The burly young man has a good background and has seen the world, so even when facing nobles, he is polite and polite, neither humble nor overbearing.

The young man with strong arms looked a little reserved, and he was very serious when giving gifts.

"The villain Gao Kan..."

"The villain Xue Li..."

"I met His Highness King Yong, met General Yin, met Erlangjun..."

Since the two people now have relatively humble status, they almost saluted everyone on the high platform one by one.

After they finished saluting, Li Shimin looked them up and down, pursed his lips and said, "You look very ordinary, especially you. You don't even have the stature of a military general."

What Li Shimin said "doesn't even have the stature of a military general" was referring to Xue Li.

Most of the military commanders at this time were fat men with big shoulders and round waists, so they were not favored for their thin stature.

Faced with Li Shimin's comments, Xue Li didn't know what to say or what to do. He could only stand there awkwardly and felt uncomfortable.

Li Yuanji and Li Shimin had completely different views. If this Xue Li was that Xue Li, then Li Shimin's face would be completely swollen.

Li Yuanji stared at Xue Li and said, "I heard that you are from Hedong?"

Xue Li was stunned for a moment, then quickly lowered his head and replied, "Yes..."

Li Yuanji nodded and continued: "Who else is at home?"

Xue Li hesitated for a moment and whispered: "There is no one at home anymore."

Li Yuanji nodded again and said, "Then how did you appear in the army?"

In this expedition against the Western Turks, no more soldiers were recruited from the civilian population, and no troops from within the Tang Dynasty were brought here. Therefore, Xue Li must have enlisted in the army a year ago, and also participated in the Tang Dynasty's campaign against the Jieli tribe. It is possible that he even participated in the Tang Dynasty's war against Suni's lost troops.

A year ago, Xue Li was only twelve or thirteen years old, and the Tang Dynasty now banned recruiting people under the age of 15 into the army.

Therefore, Xue Li must not have joined the army through normal channels.This also explains why his destiny has changed, and his destiny has obviously been interfered with.

When Xue Li heard this, he hesitated again. This time, he remained silent.

Seeing this, Yin Kaishan quickly kicked Xue Li and urged: "Your Highness is asking you something, why don't you answer it quickly!"

He was not bullying Xue Li, but helping Xue Li.

After all, if the person with the highest status in the Tang Dynasty asked a question, if a pawn didn't understand and didn't answer, he would probably be dragged down and buried.

Even if Li Yuanji doesn't care, his boss, his boss's boss, will care after he returns.

This is the deterrent power of the highest-status person in the Tang Dynasty.

Xue Li gritted his teeth and said: "The villain is a civilian who was temporarily recruited. When he went to Shuofang City to deliver food and grass, he showed some archery skills, so he was accepted into the army as an exception.

After the villain joined the army, he was assigned to the gangtou camp, where he remains until now. "

When Yin Kaishan heard this, he glared and wanted to kick Xue Li. Although Xue Li told the story of how he joined the army, he did not identify the specific person, so he felt that Xue Li was a bit dishonest.

However, before he could move, Li Yuanji raised his hand to stop him. Li Yuanji smiled and asked Xue Li, "If I asked you who made the exception to include you in the army, you wouldn't tell me, right?"

Xue Li lowered his head suddenly and said nothing.

Li Yuanji then smiled and said: "However, I can guess it without you telling me. It's Xue Wanche, right?"

Xue Li suddenly raised his head, with a look of astonishment on his face.

Li Yuanji continued to smile and said: "You don't have to be surprised. There were only a few generals in Shuofang City at that time. Among them, Su Dingfang, Yuchi Gong, Cheng Yaojin and others all acted in a measured manner. It was impossible to force civilians to join the army, let alone It is impossible to include someone who is not old enough like you into the army. Only Xue Wanche does not care about this, so only he will make an exception and include you in the army.

However, after he incorporated you into the army, he did not place you in the front, but placed you in the gangtou camp, which was quite appropriate. "

When Xue Li heard this, he couldn't care less and said quickly: "It was the villain who insisted on General Xue to include the villain in the army. General Xue is not to blame, everything is the villain's fault."

Li Yuanji chuckled and said, "You do speak of benevolence and righteousness, but you misunderstood. I didn't mean to blame Xue Wanche, but Xue Wanche did something wrong after all, so he had to be punished."

With that said, Li Yuanji looked at Yin Kaishan and asked: "According to military law, how should Xue Wanche be punished for what he committed this time?"

Yin Kaishan glanced at Xue Li and said thoughtfully: "Thirty sticks!"

Xue Li said eagerly at this time: "The villain is willing to take all the punishments on behalf of General Xue!"

Li Yuanji nodded, looked at Xue Li and said, "Okay, since you are quite capable and Xue Wanche has meritorious service for being promoted to the army, I will give you twenty in exchange for ten sticks!"

Xue Li's face tightened and he agreed solemnly.

Yin Kaishan immediately sent someone to take Xue Li down for execution.

After Xue Li was taken away, Yin Kaishan suddenly smiled and said: "What will His Highness do to him when he comes back?"

Li Yuanji knew that Yin Kaishan had read his thoughts, so he said unceremoniously: "Let him pour the chamber pot for me, how about you brush the chamber pot for me?"

Yin Kaishan decisively shut his mouth.

Only then did Li Yuanji have time to look at Gao Kan. According to historical records, Gao Kan should be regarded as a famous general. Although he was not as famous as Xue Li in terms of fame and perhaps not as capable as Xue Li, he was still a rare Talented.

What's even more rare is that he also has a famous grandson who is both civil and military, and that is the frontier poet Gao Shi.

So he is still worth cultivating.

"Are you from the Bohai Gao family?"

After Li Yuanji stared at Gao Kan for several times, he suddenly asked.

The Bohai Gao family can be regarded as an aristocratic family. Although it is more than a star and a half weaker than the top aristocratic families, it can still be regarded as a relatively high family. Compared with Xue Li's, the one that is already dilapidated cannot be dilapidated any more, and the one that has fallen into the middle can no longer be in the middle. I don’t know how many times my family status has become stronger.

It is precisely because of this that Gao Kan is qualified to maintain an attitude of neither being humble nor arrogant in front of the highest-status person in the Tang Dynasty.

This is what his background gives him.

Gao Kan was much more excited than Xue Li. Faced with the question, he answered with a smile, "It's the boy. The boy joined the army during the recruitment period, but he didn't go through the back door."

When Yin Kaishan heard this, he stared and scolded Gao Kan, "Don't be rude!"

Gao Kan glanced at Yin Kaishan sarcastically, but then his attitude did not change much. Instead, he stared at Li Yuanji with burning eyes.

Seeing this, Li Yuanji laughed and joked: "It seems you are a little naughty! Are you interested in becoming a halberd bearer in front of my tent?"

Faced with such a clever trickster, there is no need to make any convoluted tricks, just state the purpose directly.

When Gao Kan heard this, he was overjoyed. He knelt down on one knee and said, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your appreciation!"

There was nothing special about the halberd bearers before the Han Dynasty, but anyone who knows something about history will know what the halberd bearers after the Han Dynasty represent.

Gao Kan is a smart man. Just from Li Yuanji's words, he understands that Li Yuanji has high hopes for him. How can he be unhappy?
A leader who has already stood in the sky appreciates you. All fools know what this means!
(End of this chapter)