A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 576 Please go to Lingyan Pavilion temporarily

Changan.

Tai Chi Palace.

"The saint summoned me at Lingyan Pavilion."

The eunuch Zhang Anan personally led the way, and Wu Huaiyu, who rushed back all the way, still carried a few traces of dust and autumn on his body.

In ten days, he rushed back to Chang'an from Youzhou City, and his secretary, Lang Chang Sun Chong, didn't even follow him.

Arriving outside the Lingyan Pavilion, Zhang Anan announced that Li Shimin's majestic voice came from inside, "Come in."

Lingyan Pavilion is a three-story attic in Taiji Palace. It is a small attic that is not very eye-catching. There is a large Sanqing Hall in front of it.

The emperor often came to the Sanqing Hall to pay homage to the founder of the Sanqing Dynasty, and then rested in Lingyan Pavilion, and occasionally summoned his ministers here.

Huaiyu entered from the north gate,

The emperor was standing on the first floor of the attic, where there were several portraits, Wu Huaiyu was quite familiar with these portraits, most of them were written by him, some were painted by brothers Yan Lide and Yan Liben, all of them were lifelike.

Liu Wenjing, Du Ruhui, Du Yan, Qu Tutong, Yin Kaishan, Xue Shou, Xue Yuanjing, Wen Daya, Huangfu Wuyi, Su Shichang, Changsun Cao, Li Shousu, Wei Lun, Tang Jiao, Li Daoxuan, etc.,
These are basically Li Shimin's former confidants, including the bachelor of literature, the guards and commanders of the Qin Prince's Palace, and the confidants of Tiance Palace.

But they are all deceased.

Many of them have not even met Wu Huaiyu.

Unexpectedly, the emperor placed all their portraits here.

But the deputy portrait in front of the emperor now is that of Dugu Yanyun.

Dugu Yanyun in the portrait was tall and heroic, wearing bright armor and holding a horse spear. He remembered that Dugu Yanyun came to ask him for portraits several times and gave him many gifts. Later, he finally got around to it and asked Dugu Yan Yun also dressed up specially. She insisted on wearing a military uniform. She originally wanted to ride a horse.
Wu Huaiyu's hyper-realistic painting style not only restored Dugu Yanyun's tallness and prowess, but even added a bit of a general's toughness to him, giving him a truly indomitable aura of looking down on the world.

After the portrait was finished, Dugu Yanyun was very satisfied and said that he would put it in his family temple to pass it down from generation to generation and leave it to his descendants to see. Who would have thought that it is now hanging in the Lingyan Pavilion of Tai Chi Palace.

"Looking at this portrait, Dugu Yanyun seems to be standing in front of me," Li Shimin whispered, "I still don't want to believe that he actually died, died in the hands of the unknown Beishan Xihu,"

"Your Majesty, if the earthen pot is not broken outside the well, the general will inevitably die on the battlefield," Wu Huaiyu said.

The emperor reached out to touch the portrait, but he didn't actually touch the person.

"Dugu Yanyun and I were born in the same year. He is only one month younger than me. We grew up in martial arts in West Beijing. At that time, I had the best relationship with Qiao Gui, Xu Luoren, Hou Junji, and Duan Zhixuan. Dugu Yanyun He also played with us all the time,"

"I always called him cousin at that time. In fact, Dugu Yanyun's surname was Li. His grandfather Dugu Tun was originally the son of Li Zhu, the Duke of Yongning County in the Northern Wei Dynasty. He followed Gao Huan to attack the Northern Zhou Dynasty and was defeated in Shayuan. He was captured by Dugu Xin. Later Because of his loyalty, he became Dugu Xin's retainer and gave him the surname Dugu."

Wu Huaiyu naturally knew what Li Shimin said. Duguxin was one of the Eight Pillar States of the Western Wei Dynasty, and Li Shimin's great-grandfather Li Hu was also one of the Eight Pillar States. Yang Zhong, the father of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Jian, was only one of the twelve generals.

Duguxin had seven daughters, the youngest was married to Yang Zhong's son Yang Jian, and the other was married to Li Hu's son Li Bing.

Li Tun was captured that year and became Dugu Xin's retainer, and later became his adopted son. Therefore, when it comes to Dugu Yanyun, he is Li Shimin's cousin in terms of seniority.

"I remember that in martial arts at that time, they were all in their eighties and nineties. Children liked to play around. They only knew how to cross swords and dance horses. They didn't know anything else. Jingxi martial arts had many other courts of Chang'an imperial relatives and nobles. , where many noble children live,

At that time, Jiancheng was much older than me. He lived in Chang'an and played with Chai Shao and others."

Li Shimin squinted his eyes and talked about the past of his youth. Although the Li family at that time were also relatives of the emperor, Li Yuan's father died when he was only a few years old, and his brothers also died early. Jue, but the family's fortune began to decline.
Fortunately, he was selected later, relied on his archery skills to win the Dou family's competition, and established a strong wife family.However, Li Yuan's official career was mediocre in his early years, and Yang Guang was very suspicious of his senior ministers and relatives, especially the clan, so he would not reuse Li Yuan.

The Li family is no longer as prosperous as the Eight-Pillar Country in the early days. Li Shimin is quite ordinary among the young nobles who are famous for martial arts. At that time, they were dancing with swords and riding horses. Although they were carefree, they often competed with other nobles. Teenagers fight.

Some sons of powerful ministers in the court will bully him by taking advantage of their high status in the family and their own age.

But although Li Shimin is young, he has a character that refuses to admit defeat, and he will never give in even at a young age.

Friends like Dugu Yanyun and Hou Junji are also very strong-willed, so they just do it.

Although they were often beaten until their noses were bruised and their faces were swollen, they never gave up when they were young. It was not until later that Li Yuan became the governor of Xingyang and chose the daughter of the fifth surname Zheng of Xingyang for his eldest son Jiancheng to betrothed. He took Jiancheng over and also He took over Li Laoer who had been building martial arts all day long.

After Li Shimin arrived in Xingyang, he developed an eye disease and sought medical advice everywhere.

During that dark period when his eyes could not see, other friends still stayed in martial arts, only his cousin Dugu Yanyun stayed with him.

"Actually, I also know that Dugu Yanyun is good at charging into battle, but when it comes to command and strategy, he is really not good at it. When we were fighting in martial arts when we were young, he was only responsible for charging and didn't care about anything else.
I originally wanted him to go to Youzhou to make some contributions and share some of the burden with you for the Northern Expedition, but I didn't expect that he would disobey military orders like this, leading to a tragic defeat and death. "

"Your Majesty, this is all my dereliction of duty. If I had gone after him in person at that time, there would have been no tragedy later."

"It's not your fault,"

Li Shimin shook his head.

"Even if Dugu Yanyun is not defeated and dies this time, I will still hold him accountable for disobeying military orders afterwards. He is also a veteran on the battlefield. It is impossible that he does not understand the rules of the army. He is my cousin and I have a good confidant. But It is no bigger than the national laws and military regulations.

Now that he is dead and there is an impeachment case, I have thought about it, but after all, I still miss my old feelings, so I request not to pursue it any further,"

"Your Majesty is a tolerant emperor." Li Shimin turned around and took Wu Huaiyu's hand, "Don't worry too much about Dugu Yanyun's death. I have no other intention in letting Li Min be the governor of Youzhou.
The ninth son of the emperor, Li Zhi, was granted the title of King of Jin this time and also took over the post of governor of Bingzhou. Li Ji was also changed to the governor of Bingzhou. "

"The prince leads the Yongzhou Shepherd and the Grand Governor from afar. This is the imperial system."

"I understand."

"As for the promotion of Yingzhou to the Governor's Palace, and the appointment of Cheng Yaojin as the Governor, and the appointment as the Protector of Andong, it is also the result of careful consideration by the imperial court. Now that the three Tibetans have surrendered, if Youfu is used to protect the Three Tibetans, it really can't be managed. When I come, I will raise Yingzhou to be the governor's palace, and use Yingzhou to protect the three tribes."

"I very much agree with your majesty and the imperial court's move. It is indeed more conducive to ruling the three Tibetans. Youfu is in charge of the inside of the pass, and Yingfu is in charge of the outside. Each has its own focus, and we jointly guard the northern border."

Li Shimin patted Wu Huaiyu's arm, "Actually, you made a great contribution to the northern expedition to Shanxi. You fought beautifully. In this battle, you expanded the territory for 30 miles, killed more than [-] barbarians, and created peace in northern Xinjiang for at least [-] years.

Originally, I should have given you many rewards, including a national surname, a list of vassalage, a book of alchemy, and iron certificates, and even being summoned to the court to worship the prime minister. However, considering that you are still young, I want you to guard the court on the border again. In recent years, especially in the Youyun border area, the situation has been complicated. In recent years, the relationship with Goguryeo has become increasingly unstable. Sooner or later, there will still be a war.

And the Turks, who are close to me, have not been solved yet, so we need to be guarded by capable ministers and generals who I can trust."

"It's autumn now, and the decisive battle of the Northern Expedition against the Turks is about to start. I plan to make Li Jing, Minister of the Ministry of War, the chief general of the Northern Expedition, the commander of the Dingxiang Road March, and lead the Chinese army. , Yu Chigong was the pioneer.

You will command Youyun's troops for the Heng'an Road, and lead the main force from the east route to directly attack the hinterland of the Eastern Turks. You will be the general manager of the Heng'an Road and the deputy commander of the Northern Expedition.

Together with Li Ji, governor of Huazhou, and Chai Shao, governor of Huazhou, they advanced on the east and west roads of Hedong, echoing Li Jing and you.
Li Daozong, the king of the city, was appointed as the general manager of the Datong Road march, and Zhang Baoxiang was his deputy, advancing from Lingzhou to the northwest.

Cheng Yaojin, the governor of Yingzhou, Anton, the deputy governor, Li Mengchang, the deputy governor, and Wei Xiaojie, the chief minister, were all in charge of Chang Wudao. They led the three tribes and attacked the Turkic rear through the northeast, and monitored the three tribes and Tiele.

The six-pronged army, with a total of 12 elites, was under the control of Li Jing and you and divided into six routes to counterattack. "

Among the six armies, they were mainly divided into three legions.

The West Route Army, composed of Li Daozong, Zhang Baoxiang, Xue Wanche and others, are advancing northwest in the direction of Lingzhou. The main target is Shabolu Xiaohan.

The Central Army was actually the Hedong Army. Li Jing's Yunshuo Army left Shuozhou and directly attacked the Dingxiang Khan Court.Li Ji's Bingzhou Army headed toward Izuyun Prefecture, covering the main force on the east side, while Chai Shao's Guanzhong Army moved north along the Yellow River to cover Li Jing's west side.

The East Route Army Corps is Wu Huaiyu's Yanzhou Army and Cheng Yaojin's Yingzhou Army. Wu Huaiyu's mission is to go out of the Great Wall behind the mountains and go straight to the Yinshan White Road, responsible for intercepting the Turks' retreat.

Cheng Yaojin's mission was to lead the three tribes to block the east side of the grassland to prevent the Turks from escaping into the land of Xiqi. He also wanted to monitor the Turks who had surrendered.

Of the six armies, four went to Jieli, and two went to the other two young Khans.

Chai Shao also has another task on this road, which is to keep an eye on Yu Sheshe in the Loop.

This is a war of encirclement and annihilation, trying to encircle and annihilate the main force of the Eastern Turks in Monan, and never let them escape to Mobei, nor let them flee to the Western Regions and the East.

Wu Huaiyu was the commander-in-chief of the Six-Road Army, but also had the title of deputy commander of the Northern Expedition. The emperor really appreciated and trusted him.

"Li Jing, Li Ji and the others' mission is to defeat Jieli Khan's court, and your mission is to intercept Jieli and prevent him from escaping to Mobei,"

"I will never let down His Majesty's great hope."

"You fought very well in the battle of Yehuling and the battle of Zheng Beixi. It can be said that you already have the demeanor of a master of war. At your age, I am far behind you."

"Li Jing has taken in a good student. He is better than his master."

After coming out of the palace, Wu Huaiyu did not go home immediately, but went directly to Dugu Yanyun's house.

He went to mourn in front of Duguyan Yunling.

The people of the Dugu family were very polite to Wu Huaiyu's arrival. The Dugu family had gone through several dynasties and was very prosperous, from being a general in the Northern Wei Dynasty, to being the adopted son and retainer of Dugu Xin in the Eight Pillar Kingdom of the Western Wei Dynasty, and then to Dugu Yanyun's father, Dugu Kai. He led the troops of the prime minister's office for Yang Jian, and later took charge of Bingzhou.

At that time, Dugu Jialuo had two retainers to assist Yang Jian, Wen Gao Ying and Wu Dugu Kai. Their fathers were both adopted sons of Dugu Xin's retainers, and they were both given surnames, but Gao Ying later returned to his original surname.

The Dugu family was deeply trusted even by the time of Yang Guang. Dugu Kai was in charge of Bingzhou. When he was blind, he resigned, but Yang Guang asked his eldest son, Dugu Lingyun, to take charge on his behalf.

During the Jiangdu Incident, Dugu Kai's younger brother Dugu Sheng became the general of Zuotunwei and escorted Jiangdu. Pei Qantong and others rebelled against the Regicide Palace. The elderly Dugu Sheng had no time to put on his armor, so he and his younger brother Dugu Kaiyuan and others still fought against the rebels. In the end, they preferred to die. Not surrender.

In the Tang Dynasty, the Dugu family not only did not decline, but became even more prosperous. Dugu Kai had five sons, two county officials, two county officials, and one county uncle.

There are a lot of purples in the family.

The Dugu family is very grateful to Wu Huaiyu for collecting Dugu Yanyun's body on the battlefield, and sent people back to Chang'an all the way, and also grateful for his protection of Dugu Yanyun.

Dugumou was adopted by Li Shimin and kept in the palace as a companion to Jin King Li Zhi. He also said that he would let them worship Wu Huaiyu as their teacher.

The Dugu family is very willing to do this. Who doesn't know Wu Huaiyu's ability? Dugu Mou is so young and has no father. Even if he decides to marry Princess Shang, he is still young after all. It would be a good thing if he can become a student of Wu Huaiyu's family.

No one in the Dugu family would blame Wu Huaiyu for Dugu Yanyun's death. After all, the facts were clear and had nothing to do with him.

After comforting Dugu Yanyun's widow and agreeing to accept the young Dugu Mou, who was guarding his father's funeral, as his student, Wu Huaiyu also left.

Lingyan Pavilion's meeting with the Holy Empress made him feel more at ease.

(End of this chapter)