Li Shimin, one emperor through the ages

Chapter 39 The Heart of the Father (1)
100,

Li Shimin stood solemnly in front of the window for too long, Changsun looked distressed, and she gently came to her husband's side.Seeing a crystal clear teardrop in the corner of his eye, Changsun couldn't help feeling hot in his heart, stretched out his white and slender hand, and carefully wiped it away for him.

"Husband!" She looked at him with tears in her eyes and called out emotionally.

"Why are you crying?" King Qin woke up from his sadness, holding Changsun's beautiful face with both hands.

"The husband shed tears for the court ministers, and the courtiers shed tears for the husband. The tears of the husband are sentimental pain, and the tears of the courtiers are touching happiness."

"why?"

"My husband's love is so touching." Mrs. Changsun looked at Li Shimin with respect, her beautiful eyes were like a pool of clear spring water.

"Thank you!" Li Shimin stretched out his arms and held her in his arms.

"My concubine just heard that you said that the imperial power is ruthless, but this is not the case. The concubine thinks that any power is exercised by humans. The same is true of imperial power. In the hands of a lover, it will not be ruthless."

"Princess, my concubine." Li Shimin hugged her tightly.

Eunuch Liu from the palace came, swaying like a duck, came to Qin Wang and his wife, and said happily:

"The emperor's sage Yu, because the king of Qin conquered Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande made great achievements, he specially rewarded Hongyi Palace to live in it, hereby."

After hearing this, Li Shimin smiled at Changsun and said, "You're really sure, the imperial power is not all ruthless."

On the day King Qin moved into Hongyi Palace, he went to the palace to thank Li Yuan.It was almost evening at this time, amidst the sound of autumn leaves, the time for thousands of families to fall.As in the past, Li Yuan is currently in the harem, spending his time happily with Concubine Yin Gui or Zhang Jieyu.Since Dou's death, Li Yuan has not established the main palace.After flirting with hundreds of women, Li Yuan, who is over half a century old, finally chose the most suitable woman for him.Perhaps it is a mutual understanding of psychology, or it may be the most suitable physiologically.In short, at this time Li Yuan insisted on letting Li'er in the first palace sit in the vacant room, only willing to be with Yin and Zhang Erfei.Even if I occasionally want something new, I always regret it afterwards.A person, when he really becomes an emperor, of course it is impossible to have the love of ordinary people, let alone have any specificity.All he has is desire and venting, the treatment that can make him the happiest.Concubine Yin and Concubine Zhang could get Li Yuan's favor in this way, apart from their own conditions, they naturally had a heart like Pei Ji who could understand him.It's a pity that at this time tonight, Li Yuan can't be happy with the conditions and understanding of the two concubines Li.When Li Shimin left Qin Wangfu and went straight to the harem, Zhang Gonggong stopped him and told him:
"The emperor is still in the hall."

When Li Shimin heard this, he knew that something serious must have happened again, so he hurried to the main hall.

Sure enough, as expected by King Qin, another big thing really happened: Li Shentong and Li Shiji and other famous generals went to conquer Liu Heita, but they were defeated by him.Now, Liu Heikai's power has grown to the original scale of Dou Jiande's. Not only has he regained all the old places of Dou Jiande's original regime, but he has also established a new regime based on Dou Jiande's old regime.

This matter is directly related to Li Yuan and the local officials in the Kanto region.Originally, after Dou Jiande was captured, his wife Cao and Xia Guo's left servant shot at Qi Shanxing to distribute the treasury property to the soldiers and let them disperse separately.Then the left servant shot Qi Shanxing and the right servant shot Pei Ju, etc., led the remaining subordinates, and surrendered to the Tang Dynasty with the Jade Seal of Chuanguo.The officials of prefectures and counties in Henan, Hebei, Shandong and other places who belonged to the Zheng and Xia regimes also descended to Tang Dynasty one after another.So far, Dou Jiande's Xia Kingdom has completely perished, and the resistance forces in the Kanto region have basically calmed down.However, after Dou Jiande was escorted back to Chang'an, he was killed by Li Yuan.The magistrates sent by the Tang Dynasty to the Kanto area began to greedily pursue the belongings of officials and soldiers who surrendered to Dou and Wang.They used high-handed means to intimidate these surrendered officials and soldiers, causing them to feel fear and hatred.At the end of the war, the 5 prisoners of war condemned by Li Shimin could not get basic arrangements.They have no food and clothing, and they suffer from discrimination and poverty, which is unbearable.At this time, Dou Jiande's young friend and general Liu Heita, who claimed to be a general, raised his arms and set up an altar to worship Dou Jiande in order to avenge Dou Jiande.For a while, those officials and soldiers who surrendered, the 5 prisoners of war who were condemned by Li Shimin, all joined Liu Heitai one after another, and the original officials of Dou Jiande everywhere also responded and supported them.Soon set off a larger uprising against the new Tang Dynasty.

After Li Yuan heard about it, he immediately sent famous generals Li Shentong and Li Shiji to conquer.Unexpectedly, in just two months, Liu Heitai repeatedly defeated the armies of famous generals Li Shentong and Li Shiji of the Tang Dynasty, and his power quickly developed to Dou Jiande's original scale, regaining all the old places of Dou Jiande's original regime.When the news came today, Li Yuan was greatly shocked, and he no longer wanted to go back to the palace to have fun with Concubine Yin or Zhang Jieyu.It was long past the time of going to court in the past, and all the ministers were left in the hall to discuss this matter.

Everyone has been talking about Liu Heita's raising of troops for a long time, but there is still no practical solution. When King Qin came in, they all pinned their hopes on him.

Li Shimin has been paying attention to Liu Heita's rebellion.He always thought that it was not a big deal, and that it could be resolved with Li Shentong, Li Shiji and other famous generals going to conquer.This time, Li Shimin never expected that Li Shentong and Li Shiji would be defeated by Liu Heita.It seems that Liu Heitai has really become popular again, so he has to do it himself.Thinking of this, he walked forward slowly and said to Li Yuan:

"Father, Liu Heikai is Dou Jiande's subordinate. The reason why he raised his troops today is because his sons and ministers have not been able to suppress them before. Now he is willing to command the troops and go to conquer them. He must wipe them out in one fell swoop."

When Li Yuan heard the news that Li Shentong and Li Shiji had been defeated, he wanted Li Shimin to fight against Liu Heitai again, but he was worried about his friend Liu Wenjing who had just killed him, and also worried that it would make him feel proud to always let him go out alone. There was no one else in the room, and after thinking about it, no one was going to inform him of his son who had made many military exploits.Unexpectedly, he came by himself and asked for a conscript.Pushing the boat along the way is the director of Li Yuan, and King Qin became the commander of the fourth Eastern Expedition.

10
After Liu Heitai defeated the conquests of Tang famous generals Li Shentong and Li Shiji, his military power was greatly enhanced and his power increased greatly.Under the persuasion of everyone, Liu Heita became the king of the Eastern Han Dynasty in Xiangzhou and changed to Yuan Tianzao.He appointed Fan Yuan as Zuo Pushe, Dong Kangmai as Shangshu of the Ministry of War, Gao Yaxian as the leader of the right army, Zheng Wang Cong as the order of Zhongshu, Liu Bin as the servant of Zhongshu, and restored the civil and military officials of Dou Jiande's period to their original positions.Trying to administer is modeled on the original Xia State.

Most of Liu Heitai's troops were former troops of Dou Jiande's. They were deeply humiliated by the defeat, and they fought more bravely and tenaciously than before.Li Shimin's soldiers arrived and fought Liu Heita for many days near Mingshui, but they couldn't take advantage of it.Liu Heita and Li Shimin fought each other near Mingshui for more than two months, and each had a small victory or defeat.During this period, Li Shimin was trapped twice and almost died. Many of his generals were killed or injured.Li Shimin was shocked when he encountered such a stubborn enemy, and said to Yuchi Jingde with emotion:

"The new reunion of the defeated army is so powerful. It is all because of the hatred in my heart and my negligence. If I made some arrangements to disperse the Xia army at the beginning, if I didn't threaten the local officials who surrendered, even if Liu Heitai Even if you raise your troops, you won’t see anything in front of you. It can be seen that if you want to defeat the enemy army, you must first subdue his heart, and then you can get away with it once and for all!”

Yuchi Jingde listened and nodded in agreement.Just as he was about to speak, a spy brought news of Chang'an.

The remaining snow drips secretly with the ice bamboo shoots, and the new spring stealthily returns to the willow branches.Near Mingshui, the two armies are in a fierce battle; in command of the camp, Li Shimin is talking with Yuchi Jingde; in Chang'an City, Li Jiancheng is busy expanding his power.

Since entering Chang'an, the East Palace, Prince Qin's Mansion, and Prince Qi's Mansion all had their own guards, but they were not satisfied with it.In private, the three brothers are expanding their personal armaments.Before sending troops to conquer Liu Heita, nearly 2000 warriors had been secretly recruited in the Palace of King Qin, while the prince secretly recruited more than [-] warriors, known as "Changlin Soldiers", who were stationed on the left and right sides of the East Palace.Li Yuan knew about this, and warned them through Pei Ji that no one should increase the matter of private placement of warriors so far.Li Jiancheng got his father's warning, so naturally he didn't dare to make mistakes. In recent years, he has not added any more guards.However, since Li Shimin defeated the king and Dou returned triumphantly, he felt the pressure of King Qin. Taking advantage of Li Shimin's further eastward expedition, behind his father's back, he sent his confidant Da Zhi to the Yan Wang Li Yi to transfer three hundred elite Turkic knights from Youzhou. Quietly arranged in the East Palace.In addition, he also sent his confidant Yang Wengan to various places to recruit strong men with high martial arts skills.

Li Yuan pushed the boat along the river and asked Li Shimin to conquer Liu Heita, and he felt a little relieved. He wanted to take this opportunity to rest his very tired body, so he took Yin and Zhang Erli to Renzhi Palace.He also knew nothing about Li Jiancheng's recruitment of warriors.However, Li Shimin knew it.The spy from Chang'an reported to him about Li Jiancheng's auspicious recruiting of a strong man. After Li Shimin listened quietly, he remained silent for a long time. Yuchi Jingde couldn't help it, and said angrily:
"The prince's guards are already several times larger than ours, so why recruit like this?"

Li Shimin didn't answer, but instead asked Yuchi Jingde: "Now the war here needs to be resolved quickly, what strategy should we use?"

"Flooded." Yuchi Jingde blurted out, and then added: "It's just that, in this way, many innocent people will be affected."

Li Shimin's heart moved when he heard this, and then he calmed down again, and said: "General, hurry up and make arrangements, and use the water to drown Liu Heita's army."

In the middle of the night, Yuchi Jingde led tens of thousands of soldiers, felled trees and built piles on the upper reaches of the Mingshui River, piled rocks and filled them with soil, and quickly built a high dam to cut off the water flow.Early the next morning, Li Shimin's entire army was dispatched to a decisive battle with Liu Heita on the bank of Mingshui.Liu Heikai was delighted to see him, and personally led 3000 infantry and cavalry to forcefully cross the Mingshui River, intending to fight the Tang army to the death.However, he never dreamed that when 1 infantry cavalry were crossing the river, a sudden torrent surged in, and the river rose to a depth of more than ten feet in an instant. Thousands of Liu Heita's army would drown.When the torrent came, Li Shimin led the Tang army to climb the hill by the river early, and when the flood passed, they swarmed to kill them.More than [-] people who survived Liu Heitai's "flood disaster" were drowned and slaughtered like cattle and pigs. Liu Heitai was defeated and only [-] riders including Fan Yuan escaped.

Li Shimin defeated Liu Heita, and he didn't want to fight any more. He led the army and returned to Chang'an City quickly.

10
Li Shimin returned triumphantly again, and he no longer had the joy in his heart when he returned triumphantly in the past.He arranged for the victory division, and immediately went to Renzhi Palace to meet his father.Renzhi Palace is located in Yijun County, north of Chang'an, where the mountains and scenery are as beautiful as paintings.Coupled with the shade of trees and the gurgling stream, it is really a good place to escape in summer.

When Li Yuan came to Renzhi Palace, he arranged for Li Jiancheng to stay in Chang'an, and brought Qi Wang Li Yuanji here to enjoy leisure. Hearing that Li Shimin returned triumphantly, Li Yuanji was welcomed outside Renzhi Palace.

Although Li Shimin disliked his younger brother more and more, and Li Yuanji became more and more jealous of his second brother, but in such an occasion, the two brothers still showed due enthusiasm. They greeted each other and came to the palace.Li Yuan rushed up to meet him, took Li Shimin's hand, and let him sit beside his dragon chair. After asking about the battle, Li Yuan seemed a little embarrassed and said:

"You have made such a marvelous achievement, Father really doesn't know how to reward you. Why don't you just stay in this Palace of Renzhi, and I'll send someone to pick up the princess, and you will spend the night here in this scorching summer, so be good!" Treat your tired body."

When Li Shimin came back this time, he had a lot of things to deal with urgently. Now that he heard what his father meant, he thought about it and replied: "My son will accept the gift of my father. The mountains and rivers are beautiful here, and the scenery is beautiful. Cool and quiet, it is a good place to study. In recent years, I have been fighting repeatedly, and I seldom study. I want to call a few bureaucrats to take advantage of this time to explain poems and classics to my son. I also invite my father The emperor can grant it."

Li Yuan laughed loudly when he heard this, and said: "The emperor never forgets to study, and he is very happy for his father. Although this Palace of Renzhi is not as big as Chang'an Palace, it can accommodate tens of thousands of people. You just need to call a few bureaucrats here. The houses in the west are for the emperor to choose."

Li Shimin was very happy when he heard this, and hurriedly summoned Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling, and Yuchi Jingde to discuss how to deal with the prince's private recruitment of warriors.Seeing that King Qin was so anxious about this matter, Du Ruhui smiled slightly and said:

"Now the first summer is peaceful, and the grass is still there. The mountains here are pleasant, and the forest is green and the wind is cool. We just spread out to enjoy the shade, open a pavilion to lie down, and enjoy ourselves with the King of Qin. Then we will solve the prince's problem of recruiting warriors."

Hearing what Du Ruhui said, Li Shimin immediately relaxed.He knew that this gentleman would not have ridiculed so easily if he hadn't made comprehensive and ingenious arrangements.So, staring at Du Ruhui, he said:

"Having said that, it's up to you to know about this matter. Let me be anxious. There is no one in the world who is like a courtier. You should quickly tell me about your arrangements, so that I can rest assured. Otherwise , everyone can only stay here tonight and continue to discuss."

After hearing King Qin's words, Fang Xuanling said, "Yang Wenqian is the governor of Qingzhou. He was originally a Muliao of the Prince's mansion. He was single-handedly promoted to Qingzhou by the Prince. Although this man is quite talented, he has no strategy. After the governor of Gyeongju, he did nothing but recruit knights and warriors with great fanfare, and publicly said that they were for the prince's mansion. Now, he has recruited 43 knights, and the weapons have been forged. Armor equipment."

"Joining the army, how do you know such details about him?" Li Shimin asked with interest.

After Fang Xuanling heard this, he glanced at Du Ruhui and said, "It's all due to Ruhui. It's his careful design to place a few of our cronies among the strong men recruited by Yang Wenqian."

"It's very kind, sir, and I want to reward you."

"This is impossible." Du Ruhui said, "The proposal for this plan is still his Fang Xuanling."

"Okay, I will reward you both."

"Heavy rewards are not necessary." Du Ruhui said: "Since King Qin is concerned, we will tell the next step and ask King Qin to express it."

"Say it!" Li Shimin urged.

"The next step, we will send Huang Tie to contact Yang Wenqian to order the armor. On the day when the loan is due, please ask the King of Qin to try to disclose this news to the emperor through the people in the palace, and let him send the imperial army to arrest him on the spot." Traitor'. At that time, even if the prince has a thousand mouths, he will not be able to escape the private recruitment of soldiers and his attempt to rebel."

"Who is Huang Tie?"

"Why did the King of Qin forget? The year before last, you went hunting in the West Mountain. In the forest, you found a businessman cut down in a pool of blood. It was the King of Qin who rescued him, and you gave him a hundred taels of gold to continue selling his fur goods in the capital." shop."

"It's him, okay! But, isn't it...too much to treat the prince like this?"

"However." Du Ruhui looked at Li Shimin calmly, and said, "In Chang'an City, the crown prince's power has far surpassed that of the King of Qin, but he still wants to recruit strong men, and his intentions can be seen. Besides, the emperor is so wise, even if he gets the stolen goods, I will not believe that the prince is rebelling, but he will be punished, warned, and restricted for his private recruitment of soldiers against the order. This is exactly what we need."

Li Shimin listened and nodded thoughtfully.I said to myself in my heart: I didn't want to kill each other, but I had to do this in order to protect myself in the palace.It's just that they are born from the same root, so they shouldn't be too hasty to fight each other, even if they give him a slap in return, they still have to be merciful.

Just thinking about it, someone came to report:
"Princess Qin is here!"

Li Shimin was overjoyed when he heard the words, and hurried out to meet his eldest grandson Wangfei.

10
Although Renzhi Palace is located in Yuhua Mountain, it is the largest of several palaces built by Li Yuan since he became the throne, with a majestic gate and a majestic palace.Among them, Yuhua Hall is even more magnificent and luxuriously furnished, and it is the main hall.

Although Li Yuan was born as a prince and was extremely dignified, but before he was appointed to stay in Taiyuan, he had been unsuccessful.After staying behind, he has been fighting for the throne.It turns out that the status is prominent and the heart is higher than the sky, but it is a low position and low position, and bears the burden of humiliation.Later, the arrow was on the string, the precious sword was unsheathed, and the army was commanded to attack the city and plunder the land.Until six years ago, he finally won the throne.Although it can be said that it is lonely, the Sangong and the Six Courts have not yet ended the separatism of the world.There are Xue Ju and his son in the west, Liu Wuzhou and Liang Shidu in the north, and Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande in the east.Now, these emperors have finally been wiped out one by one, and the threat to the Tang Dynasty has disappeared.During these six years, he, Li Yuan, did not dare to slack off in the slightest, and worked diligently to govern his Great Tang Empire.After six years of his governance, whether it is politics, law, economy, or culture, the Tang Dynasty has taken on a new look, stepped into the right path that Li Yuan wanted, and began to further improve and prosper.Li Yuan suddenly felt that he had reached the pinnacle of his life, his legs were already weak, and he no longer had the strength he used to, his mind was much slower, and he was no longer as sharp as before.

After all, Li Yuan has lived through the exhausting youth and prime of life, and now he is 58 years old. Even if he is lying on the crispy chest of the beauty, he often has more energy than he wants.He is getting old, and he has the wisdom of getting old.At the pinnacle of his life, he overlooked the future from a height, clearly saw his way ahead, and knew exactly what he would need and what he would get along the way.Although Li Yuan has become the emperor, at this age, like all wise old people, he has begun to become practical and tolerant.In addition to power and honor, he began to think about himself and treat himself more realistically.He wants to have the supreme power; he needs an ordinary and fun-filled life.Li Shimin quelled Liu Heita's rebellion, and in the vast land of the Tang Dynasty, only the Liang masters in Shuofang were still stretching.This guy is not very capable, as long as Yin Kaishan, the servant of the Ministry of officials, is sent to solve the problem.So Li Yuan called:
Order the minister of the envoy to send [-] soldiers to Shuofang to recruit the capital of Liangshi.

After the imperial decree was issued, Li Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and was very happy.He brought Yin and Zhang Erfei to the Yulong Pavilion in Lanzhi Valley to enjoy the cool air.Looking up at the front, I saw "the sky is clear and rainy, and the forest is hindering the coldness of the sun and summer." I was leisurely enjoying the beautiful scenery and beauties in this fairy mountain, laughing and flirting with Yin and Zhang Erfei unrestrainedly, and suddenly saw Li Lixin, a servant in the palace, rushed over and leaned close to Li Yuan's ear. After a few words, Li Yuan became furious and shouted loudly:

"Come on, send me a message for the prince to see you."

(End of this chapter)