Li Shimin, one emperor through the ages

Chapter 43
Li Yuan smiled with satisfaction.Nowadays, among the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, some are in favor of King Qin, some are in favor of the crown prince, even Pei Ji, Xiao Yu, and Chen Shuda are veterans, but they are loyal to themselves.Just thinking of this, someone came to report:
"King Qin is here!"

"I'm back so soon." Li Yuan looked at Pei Ji in surprise.

"It's just Qingzhou, can the King of Qin succeed immediately?" Pei Ji smiled and said, "I will take my leave first."

"Stay here, I still have something to ask you." As soon as Li Yuan finished speaking, Li Shimin came in hurriedly.

"My son sees my father."

"Is everything done?"

"Relying on the might of my father, my son's army was still on the way, Yang Wengan's subordinates started a riot, killed the rebel Yang Wengan, opened the gates of Qingzhou, and welcomed my army who conquered the rebels."

Li Yuan let out a soft "oh", thinking: what kind of my heavenly power is here?Thinking of this, I didn't feel very happy in my heart, so I asked with a serious expression:
"Qingzhou surrendered troops and officials, are they all settled?"

"It has been settled, and some adjustments have been made to the surrendered general. Almost all the officials have been restored to their original posts, except for the post of governor of Qingzhou. My minister wants to appoint Zhang Shuwan to take up the post. I wonder what the father wants?"

"Zhang Shuwan, good!"

Li Yuan's face showed genuine joy.Li Shimin saw this clearly, and said to himself in his heart: Du Ruhui's suggestion is really brilliant, and when I encounter problems in the future, I really need to listen to other people's suggestions.Just thinking about it, I heard Li Yuan say again:

"Okay! The emperor did a good job this time. The matter in Qingzhou is settled, and I also want to go back to Chang'an. How does King Qin think about the prince's private recruitment of soldiers?"

"My son implores the emperor to forgive the prince for the first time he committed a crime."

"Is the emperor saying that you don't want to hold your elder brother accountable, but let him return to Chang'an and still be the prince?"

"I implore my father."

Li Yuan's face became serious again, his sharp eyes fixed on Li Shimin closely, and he said after a while:
"Is this what you have in mind?"

"Of course!" Li Shimin replied calmly: "The crown prince is my own brother, so I naturally hope that he is safe and sound."

"Okay! Well said, Erlang can think of the brotherhood, and I feel at ease for my father." Li Yuan was touched in his heart as he spoke, and he paused before saying, "Since Erlang also pleaded for your elder brother, I will obey what you said. , Let Jiancheng go back to Chang'an. Pei Ji, hurry up and bring the prince here."

Pei Ji went out in response, Li Shimin looked at Li Yuan: "I still have something to say."

"Say it."

"My ministers interrogated the surrendered generals in Qingzhou, and they all said that the private recruitment of soldiers and bravery was done by Wang Gui and Wei Ting of the Prince's Mansion. Start this private recruitment business."

"There is such a thing?" Li Yuan was startled, the little touch just now was gone.He wasn't surprised about Wang Gui and Wei Ting, but because of his Erlang, but he still tried his best to calm himself and came to ask Li Shimin.

"My minister has brought the general of Qingzhou, and the emperor can interrogate himself."

"No need!" Li Yuan said with a wave of his hand: "Since this is the case, how should we deal with this matter? King Qin let us know."

"My son believes that the crown prince should forgive, and Wang Gui and Wei Ting should be severely punished."

It seems that my Erlang has both wisdom and courage, foresight and foresight, and has fully matured.He knew that I would forgive the prince, so he offered a favor.However, he was not reconciled, and wanted to take advantage of this opportunity, except for Wang Gui and Wei Ting.These Wang Gui and Wei Ting are both wise and brave, and they are all first-class talents in the Prince's Mansion.This time, Erlang wants to use my hand to kill them quietly, so as to achieve the goal of cutting off the power of the prince.This time Erlang seems to have done nothing, making it seem like I have no reason to refuse.Thinking of this, Li Yuan couldn't help but secretly sighed, and said:
"According to the crime, Wang Gui and Wei Ting should be executed. I guess they have followed the crown prince for many years and made a lot of contributions. Let them be exiled to Juanzhou!"

Li Shimin was a little disappointed after hearing this.But from his father's tone, he already felt that this was the only way to go. No matter how persistent he was, he still couldn't kill Wang Gui and Wei Ting, so he responded straightforwardly:

"My son obeys!"

11
Li Yuan and Li Shimin had just discussed how to deal with Wang Gui and Wei Ting, when Pei Ji brought the prince in.After Li Yuanji went to see the prince, the prince knew that his father would not punish him severely this time.But since the matter has been exposed, it will inevitably make the emperor dissatisfied with him. In addition, there is Li Shimin who has made great military achievements, so his position as the crown prince is still in danger.Thinking of this, I always feel uneasy in my heart, coupled with the darkness and dampness of the stone house, after two days, I have already aged more than ten years in vain.

When the prince came in, he bowed his head and buried his head on the ground, weeping uncontrollably.After Li Yuanji came in, he saluted his father and stood beside the prince, staring at Li Shimin with resentment.Yuan Ji already knew from Li Jiancheng at this time that Li Shimin was responsible for the leakage of the recruitment.When he arrived, the prince had repeatedly told him that the emperor was in a rage right now, so he must not be in a hurry to reveal this matter.

Although Li Shimin focused his attention on the prince, he still saw Yuanji's resentment towards him.In recent years, Li Shimin looked down on this fourth brother more and more, so he only responded with a contemptuous smile to his resentful gaze.Li Yuan, who sat behind the desk, could see all of this clearly.As an emperor, Li Yuan killed countless people, and gave many enemies the most brutal torture. He once turned every living person into a pile of broken bones and flesh in a blink of an eye, and he couldn't feel any pity in his heart.But now, when he saw his beloved son, Prince Li Jiancheng haggard and old, he couldn't help feeling a pain in his heart.Li Yuan adjusted his mood a little, coughed seriously, showing Didi's majesty, looked closely at the prince and asked:

"Do you know what crime you committed now?"

"Disobeying the order of the emperor, the son deserves death!" The prince replied weeping.

"Okay, you finally understand. Disobeying the emperor's orders deserves death! From now on, you must chew these words thoroughly and melt them into your heart."

"My son would like to obey my father's order, I must, I must have chewed these words thoroughly and melted them into my heart."

"This is the only time in your life, and because your younger brothers King Qin and King Qi pleaded for you, I pardon you this time."

"Thank you, father, Huanglong! Thank you, father, Huanglong!" Li Jiancheng fell to the ground, weeping and sobbing.

"Don't just thank Zhen, but also thank your two younger brothers." Li Yuan reminded the prince loudly.

The prince raised his head in a panic, thanked King Qin and King Qi one by one with tears streaming down his face, and said, "Thank you second brother, thank you fourth brother!"

Li Shimin and Li Yuanji stepped forward at the same time and helped the prince up.Li Shimin said: "Brother, please stand up, we will go back to Chang'an together with Father!"

The crown prince stood up, gently broke away from King Qin's hand, leaned on Qi Wang Yuanji, and said: "Brother is too dirty, don't dirty the second brother."

The prince was imprisoned in the iron stone house for two days. It seemed that he hadn't eaten anything. In addition to the mental blow, his body was already very weak. As soon as he broke free from King Qin's hand, he staggered and almost fell to the ground.Qi Wang Yuanji hastily stretched out his hands and embraced the prince.Leaning tightly on Yuan Ji's chest, the prince barely stood his ground, staring at Li Shimin gloomyly, and said "thank you" between his teeth.Li Yuanji didn't wait for the prince to utter the word "Thank you" for the second time, and immediately mixed with the prince, turned around, bowed deeply to Li Yuan, and walked out the door slowly.King Qin watched Li Yuanji's back with deep hatred in his eyes.

Seeing Li Yuan after the book case, he couldn't help being shocked.He slowed down his voice and said to Li Shimin: "King Qin has just returned from suppressing the rebellion. He has worked very hard. You can rest here for a few more days before returning to Chang'an."

"Thank you for your concern, my son, I will go back to prepare and return to Beijing with my father."

Li Yuan nodded, watched King Qin leave, then turned his head, looked at Pei Ji, sighed a long time, and said:

"I originally wanted to use this to resolve the grievances between their brothers, but it seems that things backfired. How can I do it in the long run?!"

It was the first time that Pei Ji saw the decisive Li Yuan lose his mind, so he blurted out in a hurry: "It's better to let the King of Qin go to Luoyang and take care of the east, so as to avoid the dispute between brothers."

"In this way, won't there be two families of talents at that time, each with its own thing?" Li Yuan looked at Pei Ji, as if asking him, but also as if asking himself, seeing that Pei Ji had nothing to say, he said: "Despite this , is always better than his brothers fighting each other, brother killing each other, don’t you think so?”

Hearing this, Pei Ji didn't dare to answer, looked at Li Yuan, squeaked, and didn't have a complete sentence.Li Yuan waited patiently. He hoped that Pei Ji could give a clear answer to such an annoying matter. At this time, someone in the palace sent an urgent message:

"Turkic Yuxie She has led tens of thousands of cavalry to enter the pass, and is now stationed in the south of the Yellow River, and is preparing to go south." Li Yuan frowned when he heard the report, looked at Pei Ji and said:

"It's really troublesome. The flames of his brother's dispute are still alive, and the Turks in the north are troubled again. It's really hateful! It seems that this time when we return to Chang'an, we have to discuss the matter of the Turks first. Then, try to resolve the conflict between their brothers." strife among them."

"Your majesty is wise, I will prepare right now." Pei Ji replied respectfully.

11
King Yuanji of Qi sent Prince Jian Jiancheng back to the East Palace. Seeing that the Prince was very tired, he couldn't bear to disturb him, so he left.After this blow, the prince became tired physically and mentally, and fell asleep when he fell down.After a while at noon on the second day, the scorching sun had shot into the window lattice, and through the golden curtains, it sprinkled strips of golden red light on the bed.The prince opened his eyes and was imprisoned in the dark prison for two days. Seeing this gorgeous sun, he couldn't help but feel happy.He stared and meditated, trying to recall the scene of the past two days. At this moment, the palace attendant told him:

"King Qi and Wei Zheng have been waiting outside the palace for a long time."

The prince is in his prime, and his body is very healthy. After waking up, his spirit has fully recovered. Hearing that King Qi and Wei Zheng came to the East Palace early, he knew that there must be something, so he hurriedly invited them in.Now that Wang Gui and Wei Ting have been dispatched to Juanzhou, only Wei Zheng is the three most capable civil and military talents around him.Seeing Wei Zheng coming in, the prince thought of Wang Gui and Wei Ting, looked at him, and couldn't help but sighed extremely sadly.

Wei Zheng is such a scheming person, he has already seen the prince's thoughts, so he comforted him: "His Royal Highness, please take care, when I bid farewell to Wang Gui, he once said that as long as the prince perseveres, we all have hope. It can't hurt anything."

The prince nodded and said, "Don't worry, this prince will not be replaced."

"That's right." King Qi took the prince's words and said, "No one can take my elder brother's position as prince. I came so early, and I have something to tell my elder brother. The Turkic people have come to attack me again."

When Li Jiancheng heard this, he couldn't help being startled, and urged him to ask, "Please explain this matter to my fourth brother in detail."

"I also just heard from Prime Minister Pei Ji that the tens of thousands of cavalry set up by Turkic Yuxie have now crossed the Yellow River and are heading south."

"Is there such a thing?" Li Jiancheng said to himself, his eyes stopped on Wei Zheng.

"I think this is a good opportunity for the crown prince." Wei Zheng said slowly, "The king of Qin has made great achievements many times, all of which were obtained from various conquests. His highness is only in the east palace because of his age, and he will inherit great achievements for the future." In this way, the king of Qin took advantage of this. Now, since the Turks invaded the Tang Dynasty, His Highness can take this opportunity to take the initiative to invite Ying to pacify the Turks. In this way, It can not only establish unrivaled merits, but also use it to cut off the strength of King Qin."

"Exactly. Eldest brother asks for orders to go out, and fourth younger brother is willing to accompany you." Li Yuanji nodded.

"If you defeat the Turks, you can build fame, but how can you cut off King Qin's strength?" The crown prince asked Wei Zheng puzzled.

"Most of King Qin's strength is in the hands of Yuchi Jingde, Qin Shubao, Duan Zhixuan and other powerful generals. If His Highness can get the emperor's permission this time to take command of the Turks, he can justifiably request the emperor to transfer Yuchi Jingde, Qin Shubao, and Duan Zhixuan." Wait for a few generals to come under your command. At that time, His Highness will treat them kindly and win them to submit to His Highness."

"Okay, this plan is very clever! Call out these powerful generals, and most of Qin King's power has been lost." Qi Wang Yuanji said happily.

"It's just, can the emperor agree?" The prince was still a little worried and asked uneasily.

"This battle is related to the safety of our Tang Dynasty. The emperor will definitely agree to it. More importantly, I dare to conclude that the emperor does not want to see that King Qin alone is powerful."

"Yes, Father will definitely agree to this matter! Let's go, the three of us will go to see Father together." Li Yuanji urged, pulled the prince up, and was about to go out.

"King Qi, please wait a little longer." Wei Zheng stood in front of them and said, "I still have something to report to the crown prince."

"What's the matter, I will report it later." King Qi said.

"No, this matter is equally important. Now that I have said it, the crown prince and King Qi have an arrangement."

What King Qi wanted to say was stopped by the crown prince. He pulled King Qi to sit down and nodded to Wei Zheng: "Sir, if you have anything else to say, please speak slowly."

"Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui are the most counselors in Prince Qin's mansion. If they can be separated from King Qin, King Qin will have nothing to fear." At this point, Wei Zheng stopped and looked at him. Prince.

"This prince also knows about this." The prince said: "It's just that the King of Qin now believes Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui deeply. Did they leave Prince Qin's mansion?"

Wei Zheng listened, smiled slightly, and said in a low voice: "When the minister sent Wang Gui, Wang Gui told the minister that he had set up a perfect plan to make Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui leave the Qin Palace."

It turned out that when Wang Gui, on behalf of the crown prince, contacted Yang Wengan, the governor of Gyeongju, about the private recruitment of soldiers, he placed a cronies named He Xianglin among Yang Wengan's generals.After Wang Gui knew about the recruiting and let the emperor know about it, he sent someone to secretly order He Xianglin to report himself first in order to save the pawn.Now He Xianglin has been reused by Li Shimin and is still serving as a general in Gyeongju.

"If He Xianglin were to tell the emperor now that Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui knew about the recruitment, they would definitely be involved."

"It's just that there is no evidence, how can father believe it?" Qi Wang Yuanji asked.

"I will believe it, I will definitely believe it." Wei Zheng said affirmatively: "He Xianglin is the general appointed by the King of Qin. More importantly, as I just said, the emperor does not want to see the King of Qin being powerful alone. In such a situation Under the circumstances, no matter who it is, as long as they give the emperor an excuse, he will definitely seize it and cut off King Qin's strength."

The prince listened, nodded frequently, and said: "You send a message to Wang Gui, and the prince must thank him again in the future."

"The minister must deliver the prince's message."

"The crown prince would like to thank you, Wei Zheng. When the crown prince returns triumphantly, I will thank you first."

"I dare not, but I am willing to go out with the prince."

"No, you want to stay in the Eastern Palace. After the prince leaves, you will preside over many affairs of the Eastern Palace for me."

"Wei Zheng thanks His Royal Highness for your trust."

11
In the main hall, the ministers stood on both sides, Li Yuan was high above him, and Di Di looked majestic and dignified. After Pei Ji read the military situation ahead, Li Yuan looked down at the ministers, and said slowly:

"The military situation is urgent, and all the lovers are invited to speak freely and express their opinions."

As soon as Li Yuan's words fell, the crown prince stepped forward, met Li Yuan's gaze calmly, and said: "Since the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, my ministers have not made an inch of success in conquests. Drive the Turks north of the Yellow River."

Li Yuan was a little surprised when he heard this, but after thinking about it, he immediately understood the prince's intentions.My prince, you also want to make meritorious deeds through conquest and expand your power.Well, I will fulfill you.Thinking of this, Li Yuan turned his attention to King Qin Li Shimin.

Seeing that King Qin's face was serious, but a little unnatural, Li Yuan couldn't help being a little surprised, so he signaled with his eyes that he wanted to hear his opinion.Li Shimin heard yesterday that the Turks crossed the Yellow River and wanted to invade the Central Plains, so he has been thinking about how to meet the enemy from the perspective of military strength.When I came to the main hall, I thought that this battle must be fought by myself. The rest is just to talk to my father about my views on this battle, how to arrange it strategically, and how to arrange it tactically.However, he did not expect that the prince would take the initiative to invite Sakura.When he was surprised, he saw his father's signal to let him talk about his opinions, and just about to speak, he heard Su Yu say:
(End of this chapter)