First Minister of the Tang Dynasty

...

On the south bank of Heshui, the Tang army camp.

Li Shimin was dressed in ordinary clothes, and sat in the main seat, while Gao Chong, Fang Xuanling and others sat in rows in the tent.

Qin Qiong looked solemn, and said bluntly: "Your Majesty, I only have [-] troops, and your majesty has a body of ten thousand gold, so you really shouldn't come here to take risks."

Li Shimin waved his hands indifferently and said with a smile: "Shu Bao need not worry, he is suspicious by nature, he will never dare to attack."

Seeing that Qin Qiong was still frowning and full of worry, Gao Chong laughed lightly at the side and said, "Jie Li thought that His Majesty had just ascended the throne and wanted to maintain stability, so he sent troops to attack, but now His Majesty's attitude is extremely tough. Come on, then Xieli should weigh up his retreat."

Hearing Gao Chong's words, Qin Qiong seemed to understand a little bit, but he was still a little worried, how many Turkic troops were on the other side? 20, how much is our army?Twenty thousand, if Jieli Khan directly attacked with the whole army regardless of this, then Li Shimin would be in danger.

Of course, if the [-] troops desperately blocked Li Shimin's escape on a fast horse, the Turks would have to watch with open eyes.

"Decree, the other four troops can send troops," Li Shimin subconsciously tapped his fingers on the desk and ordered.

Qin Qiong was taken aback, "Four people?"

Gao Chong continued to play the role of commentary, "Li Jing of Lingzhou".

Qin Qiong suddenly realized.

After everyone retreated, Li Shimin left Gao Chong alone.

Looking at the complete map of the Tang Dynasty on the desk, Li Shimin's face gradually sank, "What do you think those people are thinking, so eager to die?"

Gao Chong also suppressed his smile, "Don't say you want to die, but it's just at this time, how is it different from a traitor?"

After a pause, Li Shimin soon understood what the traitor meant, and looked up at Gao Chong, "Do you think they really did it on a whim?"

Gao Chong just shook his head. In fact, he had some suspicions in his heart, but he couldn't say it. He could only wait for Li Shimin to bring it up, and immediately sighed: "People's hearts are not enough to swallow an elephant."

Li Shimin snorted coldly, "Since I have a big appetite, then this time I will feed them all to death."

After he finished speaking, his eyes shot out fierce and fierce, he stared straight at the area of ​​Bashu on the map, and said in a hateful voice: "I have sent an order to Duke Bing to let go of his hands and feet, and be sure to eradicate them all."

Gao Chong's heart was shaken, he had to get rid of it all... According to Duke Dou Gui's staunch temper of jealousy, it seemed that Bashu was going to bleed this time.

The main reason is that the timing of those people's choices this time is really too much. In normal times, although Li Shimin is angry, he would not be so ruthless. He chose to plot a rebellion when the Turks invaded the south. Isn't this an act of a traitor?
If the Bashu rebellion really shook the foundation of the Tang Dynasty, Jieli took the opportunity to invade and occupy Guanzhong. If he was not careful, he would repeat the story of the Wuhu. Li Shimin could not accept this kind of thing anyway.

The time can be traced back to when Li Shimin ascended the throne. When the new emperor ascended the throne, not all foreign officials had to return to Beijing to watch the ceremony, but the officials appointed by the new emperor must enter the court.

For example, Governor of Gaozhou, Duke Geng Feng An, Governor of Shezhou, Duke of Yue Wang Hua, etc., among this group of people who returned to Beijing to watch the ceremony, there was another person who was quite special. He was the governor of Lizhou and King Yi'an Li Xiaochang.

Li Xiaochang, courtesy name Xiaochang, was born in the Li family in Longxi. According to seniority, he is Li Yuan's younger brother.

During the Daye period of the former Sui Dynasty, Li Xiaochang was awarded the county magistrate of Huayin because of his family background. His father was Li Yuantong, the former Shangshu of the Ministry of War of the Sui Dynasty and the Duke of Wan'an County.

After Jinyang raised troops, Li Xiaochang raised troops in Huayin to respond and donated Yongfeng warehouse.

Donating Yongfeng Warehouse is of great significance. It not only guarantees Li Yuan's military food supply, but also allows Li Yuan to open a warehouse to help the victims, so as to stabilize the people's hearts. Another point is that Yongfeng Warehouse is located on the bank of the Yellow River. To fight for the world.

Relying on this great contribution, Li Xiaochang quickly became Li Yuan's confidant. He became the governor of Lizhou and controlled most of the counties west of Bashu.

In fact, since then, Li Xiaochang has no meritorious service.

When Li Shimin ascended the throne, Li Xiaochang returned to Beijing to participate in the enthronement ceremony, but after attending the enthronement ceremony, Li Xiaochang became a little weird.

During the enthronement ceremony, the people Li Shimin recalled were generally very powerful officials of the borderlands. To be precise, they should be the officials of the borderlands that he was not very worried about. Naturally, this group of people received extra attention.

Xue Bobao and Xue Yuanjing's uncle and nephew did not show up during the enthronement ceremony, which puzzled many people. In fact, they focused their energy on supervising the states.

With the development of Weifengwei up to now, it can be said that it is pervasive. Soon after the enthronement ceremony, an unusual news spread to Xue Shou's desk: Yi'an King Li Xiaochang had a banquet at the home of Youwuwei General Liu Deyu.

Banqueting among colleagues is a very common thing, and it is not worth paying attention to. What surprised Xue Shou was that Li Xiaochang went to Lizhou in the first year of Wude, while Liu Deyu left Li Mi after Li Shimin put down Liu Wuzhou. Li Tang, the two have no intersection.

Two people who don't know each other actually have a banquet at home, and more importantly, Liu Deyu is in charge of the palace ban, and Li Xiaochang is also the chief official of the frontier, which is intriguing.

Even if Xue Shou and his nephew were to focus on monitoring Li Xiaochang, this monitoring was truly extraordinary, and they immediately discovered something unusual, not only General Liu Deyu of the Right Martial Guard, but also Sun Anye, General of the Zuojian Gate, also He has a close relationship with Li Xiaochang.

General Zuo Jianmen is in charge of the gate control and guarding of the palace. He has important responsibilities, guarding the gate of the palace, while Liu Deyu is in charge of patrolling the palace. These two people are actually mixed up with Li Xiaochang.

While Xue Shou was under close surveillance, another person approached Weifengwei's sight. Jia Runfu, governor of Xiongzhou, asked to enter the court, and Li Shimin agreed.

Jia Runfu is Liu Deyu's sworn brother. They were under Li Mi's command and joined the Tang Dynasty together. They have a deep friendship. After Jia Runfu entered the court, the first thing he saw Li Shimin was to report his sworn brother Liu Deyu.

Li Shimin was shocked and furious, but he didn't say anything.

It turned out that after Li Xiaochang entered Beijing, he secretly contacted Liu Deyu and others with the intention of rebelling against him, and wanted to win over North Korea's Zhongwen Wu.

Li Xiaochang first dragged Sun Anye, the general of the Right Prison Gate, into the water. With Liu Deyu and Changsun Anye, the two followers who were in charge of the palace ban, the power in Beijing was already there, so there was no need for external assistance. Li Xiaochang asked Liu Deyu to contact the local officials. .

Most of Liu Deyu's contacts are old people from Wagang, and the first thing he thought of was his good brothers, Xiongzhou governor Jia Runfu, Huazhou governor Du Caiqian and others, all of them were from Wagang, and they had an inseparable relationship with Liu Deyu back then.

Du Caiqian was Li Mi's loyal loyalist. Not long after Li Mi voted to Tang, he took Wang Bodang to rebel and was soon killed by the Tang army. Du Caigan was very sad and offered to collect Li Mi's body. Inspired by him, Liu Deyi, Duke Wei Bao of Yangwu County and others buried Li Mi generously and worshiped him every year.

Du Caiqian hated Li Tang in his heart for killing his old master, now he was invited by Liu Deyu and immediately agreed to participate.

It's just that Jia Runfu didn't respond. When Li Mi took Zuo Wuwei General Wang Bodang to rebel against the Tang Dynasty, he asked Jia Runfu for advice. Jia Runfu tried to persuade him not to, but Li Mi didn't listen to his advice.

Li Xiaochang has returned to Lizhou a few days ago, according to Li Shimin's plan, Yizhou governor Dou Gui has already cooperated with Wei Fengwei to make arrangements in Lizhou, as soon as Li Xiaochang returns to Lizhou, he will be captured and killed immediately.

The reason why he didn't act immediately in Chang'an was because he was afraid of the influence. Like Lujiang King Li Yuan, he needed to resolve it to the greatest extent, and he must not create momentum.

However, Liu Deyu and others were not so lucky. When Li Shimin left Beijing, he had already ordered someone to arrest him secretly, without a sound and without causing any disturbance.

Soon Li Shimin looked away from the map, "Don't mention this kind of waste, everyone knows about the rebellion."

Gao Chong laughed in astonishment, this was really difficult to answer.

Li Shimin continued to say: "Youzhi, I don't think we should fight this battle."

Gao Chong sighed in his heart when he heard the words, he knew what Li Shimin was thinking, he had a good reputation, but after all he didn't dare to abolish Guanzhong.

"Give me three years, I will definitely be able to do it," Li Shimin gritted his teeth, "In three years, I will capture Jieli alive."

"That's a must," Gao Chong said with a smile: "Three years later, I will definitely let the old man Duobi perform a dance in the Tai Chi Hall."

"So I'm going to talk to Dubi." Li Shimin narrowed his eyes slightly, "This time, although I won't fight, it's not the same as asking for peace. I want him to take the initiative to retreat."

Gao Chong nodded in response, and said directly: "Then contact the people from all directions in advance, and on the day of the meeting, troops will enter Tongzhou."

"It's exactly what I want," Li Shimin raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, "you still understand me."

Just imagine, when Li Shimin talked with Xieli, soldiers and horses gathered from all directions, how could Xieli not panic.

Gao Chong's heart moved, and he continued: "Before the meeting, you can talk to Tuli in advance."

Li Shimin paused, then smiled, "You are really cruel."

"This effect is what I want."

The monarch and his ministers looked at each other and laughed.

The next day, Li Shimin sent someone to inform Jieli that two days later, they would hold talks on the He River, and Jieli readily agreed.

Then Tang Jun found a big boat and stopped in the middle of the He River.

Two days later, on the banks of the He River, banners and flags covered the sky, and soldiers followed one after another.

Jieli Khan led Tuli and others out of the camp to the north bank, while Li Shimin led Gao Chong and others to the south bank, and the two sides faced each other across the river.

Seeing the endless Turkic soldiers on the opposite bank, Xiao Yu, the right servant of Shangshu who followed, looked solemn.

"Your Majesty, the Turkic soldiers are very aggressive. Your Majesty, the king of a country, really can't put himself in danger. Why don't you send an envoy to talk with him?" Xiao Yu remonstrated earnestly.

Gao Shilian also nodded in agreement, "The thieves have no confidence, and they are afraid of sudden trouble. Your Majesty might as well sit in the central army, and the old ministers can go to negotiate."

Originally, they had no scruples about the talks, but now it seems that the Turkic people ride fast horses and are arrogant and rude. If they attack Li Shimin during the talks, it will be too late to regret.

Li Shimin was wearing a bright yellow cloak, and sat on the horseback. He looked at the Turkic soldiers and horses on the opposite bank motionlessly, and just shook his head, "It's come to this point, please don't persuade me anymore."

Gao Chong saw that the Turkic soldiers and horses on the opposite bank had already set up their battle formation, and the leader of more than a dozen people had slowly stepped forward, and immediately said: "Your Majesty".

Xiao Yu looked sad, and was overjoyed to see Gao Chong coming out of the queue. It seemed that Gao Chong still knew the general situation at critical moments, and knew that this move was too risky.

But then I heard Gao Chong say directly: "We can't hesitate anymore, Xieli has already come, if we hesitate any longer, Xieli might think we are timid."

Xiao Yu was so angry that he blew his beard and stared, and shouted angrily, "You are putting Your Majesty in danger."

Before Gao Chong could speak, Fang Xuanling, who had been silent all this time, said, "If you hesitate any longer, all previous efforts will be wasted."

Li Shimin nodded, looked around, and immediately said: "Shiwen left behind to assist Shubao, who is in charge of the central army, and the rest will follow me to meet for a while, and call the troops from all directions, come quickly."

After finishing speaking, Li Shimin kicked the horse's belly and rushed out. Gao Chong and others followed closely, and a group of six came to the river.

Looking at Gao Chong, he saw Gao Shilian with white beard and hair, mature and dignified, he could tell at a glance that he was a veteran minister of the country, Fang Xuanling had a calm temperament and was a resourceful person, while Li Mengchang and Li Junxian were wearing armor and wearing armor. The two are tall and handsome, with a heroic spirit.

At the front, Li Shimin was wearing a bright yellow cloak, majestic and majestic. Looking at himself, he was wearing a moon-white robe, like a nobleman on a safari. Gao Chong subconsciously straightened his chest. underestimate.

"I am Li Shimin, Emperor of the Tang Dynasty." Li Shimin reined in his horse and stood by the river, "Where is Ashina Shibobi?"

Jie Li and the others on the other side were startled when they heard the words, while Little Khan Tuli looked around in a daze, "Is Li Shimin calling me?"

Ashina Simo nodded with a strange expression on his face.

Little Tuli Khan glanced at Jieli Khan, "Uncle, that nephew has gone. If he doesn't go, Tang Jun may think we are timid."

After finishing speaking, he ignored the gloomy Jieli Khan and rode to the river.

"Brother, don't come here unharmed," Tuli Khan crossed his hands to salute when he came to the river.

"Shibobi", Li Shimin pointed to the Turkic army on the other side and said in a deep voice: "You and I formed an alliance in Wulongban, Binzhou, and agreed to advance and retreat and help each other. Today you lead troops to invade the border, what is the reason? "

In the seventh year of Wude, the Turks invaded south, broke through Daizhou, Yuanzhou, and Longzhou, and reached Binzhou. Li Shimin led only a hundred riders to Wulongban in Binzhou, met Tuli secretly, persuaded him to retreat, and formed an alliance with him. Brother, afterward Jieli became jealous, fearing that Tuli would rebel, so he had to retreat.

When Tuli Khan heard this, his expression was complicated, and he said straightaway: "Forgive me, brother, it's not because Shibobi did this on purpose, but it's the order of the great Khan who dare not disobey."

Li Shimin looked up to the sky and laughed loudly, and then his face became serious, "So you came here today to turn against me?"

"Brother, calm down, Shibobi has no such intentions," Tuli Khan hurriedly waved his hands.

At this time, Li Shimin called Gao Chong to come forward, "Shibobi, who do you think this is?"

"Gao Youzhi," Tuli Khan exclaimed with his eyes fixed.

"Little Tuli Khan", Gao Chong saluted with his arms crossed, and said with a calm smile: "Seeing me here, you may remember something, to tell you the truth, chaos is about to break out in Youzhou, and the tribe under your tent is about to rebel , do you still have the heart to help Xieli?"

Tuli Khan's face changed suddenly when he heard the words: "What do you mean?"

"Khitan, Heishui Mohe", Gao Chong said in a deep voice, "I believe Little Khan knows what they are thinking."

"Are you threatening me?" Tuli Khan's eyes showed sternness, and he said through gritted teeth, "Brother, is this how you welcome brother?"

"Brother?" Li Shimin said with a light smile, "If you don't fight with swords, I will welcome you with fine wine. It's a pity that you want to turn against me. Youzhi hasn't finished talking yet. I'll tell you that the Great Tang River East, Long River Right, Daibei, Shannan, Sifang King Qin's army has arrived in Tongzhou, Shibobi, are you sure you want to be my enemy?"

I stayed up too late yesterday, and my head was dizzy all day. I felt like I was going to go to bed, so I hurried to catch up on sleep.