Chapter 26 Chaos in Hebei
If Li Yuan summoned him to the Liangyi Palace or Ganlu Palace to see him, no one would say anything if he refused to go.
No matter what, a simple phrase like "a conflict between father and son" or "a family matter" is enough to deal with it.
But Li Yuan summoned him to the Taiji Hall to see him, and that was a matter of state.
Since he neglected state affairs, Li Yuan had to punish him even if he was very protective of him.
Li Jiancheng was still standing by, waiting eagerly to weigh him.
That bastard Pei Ji is probably also waiting for an opportunity to take revenge on him.
"The Wude Hall has not been unsealed yet, and I am still under house arrest."
Li Yuanji looked unhappy and struggled feebly.
Yang Miaoyan's face didn't look good either.
Just a few days have passed since we started living the life that a couple should have, and before we can even fully experience it, we’re about to lose it.
The eunuch bowed and said, "Since you have summoned me, there are naturally no taboos."
Before Li Yuanji could speak again, the eunuch continued, "We have not only summoned His Highness, but also His Highness the Crown Prince, His Highness the Prince of Qin, the Duke of Lueyang, and others."
The Duke of Lueyang was referring to Li Daozon.
After Li Yuan ascended the throne, he posthumously conferred the title of King of Dongping on Li Daozon's father Li Shao and gave him the title of Minister of Revenue. Li Daozon was then conferred the title of Zuo Qianniu Beishen and Duke of Lueyang County.
Historically, Li Daozon would not be crowned king by Li Yuan until the fifth year of Wude, which is next year.
The reason why the eunuch mentioned Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin and Li Daozon was to tell Li Yuanji that all the brothers who should be summoned have been summoned and you cannot be absent.
Li Yuanji curled his lips and said, "Lead the way."
As he said this, he turned his head and gave Yang Miaoyan an apologetic look.
The eunuch responded and took Li Yuanji to the Taiji Hall.
Yang Miaoyan looked at Li Yuanji's back as it disappeared in the wind and snow, feeling a little dazed for a moment.
Everything I've experienced these days seems like a dream.
…
Tai Chi Hall.
When Li Yuanji arrived at the Taiji Hall, it was already full of people, but in total silence.
Li Yuan had a gloomy face and sat high in the center of the Taiji Hall.
Li Jiancheng sat on one side below Li Yuan with a frown, while Li Shimin sat on the other side with a sharp look in his eyes.
Next to Li Shimin, there were two seats. One of them was occupied by a young man who was about the same age as Li Shimin, but not as tall or handsome as Li Shimin .
There is no need to guess that Li Yuanji is Li Daozon.
On both sides of His Majesty sat two old eunuchs with white hair and beards.
One has a strong face, the other has a kind face.
The one with a resolute face is Li Gang, the Prince's Guardian and Minister of Rites.
A guy who was later called the Prince Killer.
The man with kind eyes was Pei Ju, the Palace Attendant Censor, the Inspector of the Imperial Secretariat, and the Duke of Anyi County.
A guy who was written as the evil king in later novels.
The reason why Li Gang and Pei Ju sit on both sides of Your Majesty is not because of their high official titles, but because of their old age.
Li Gang was seventy-six and Pei Ju was seventy-five.
In later generations, he would be just an ordinary old man.
In the Tang Dynasty where life expectancy was extremely low, he was a centenarian and must be respected.
Sitting on either side of them were Pei Ji, Xiao Yu, Chen Shuda, Yang Gongren, Feng Deyi, Yuwen Shiji, Li Gai, Qu Tutong, Yin Qiao, Luo Shixin, Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Wei Zheng, Wang Gui, Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Li Sixing and others.
Anyway, at a glance, Li Yuanji saw people who were either already famous in history or about to be famous in history.
Among them, Li Gai and Luo Shixin are worth mentioning.
Li Gai, whose original name was Xu Gai, was the father of Li Shiji. After Li Shiji surrendered to Li Tang, Li Gai returned to his country with his son and was given the surname Li. He was also granted the title of Prince of Jiyin for his merits, but Li Gai insisted on not accepting it, so Li Yuan conferred him the title of Duke of Shu.
Luo Shixin was twenty-seven years old, older than Li Ji, Li Shimin, and Li Daozon, but he looked very young among Pei Ji, Qu Tutong, Qin Qiong and others.
More importantly, although he was a military general, he was not as strong and fat as Qu Tutong, Cheng Yaojin and others, but rather tall and thin.
Even Pei Ji, Chen Shuda and others looked fatter than him.
Only Wei Zheng was comparable to him, but Wei Zheng was not as tall as him.
Li Yuanji wanted to take a closer look at this group of people who have made their mark in history, but Li Yuan did not give him the opportunity.
"Yuanji, you're late!"
Li Yuan's voice was deep, and he was obviously dissatisfied with his late arrival.
Li Yuanji couldn't understand. Li Yuan should have sent a group of people to summon everyone at the same time, so why did he arrive later than others?
Could it be that someone was plotting against him?
Or maybe Li Yuan didn't intend to call him at first, but decided to call him after most of the others had arrived?
Li Yuanji apologized to Li Yuan with full of doubts, then walked to the seat next to Li Shimin and sat down.
As soon as I sat down, I felt unhappy.
Three brothers.
Li Jiancheng was handsome and bookish, looking like a handsome man with a wealth of knowledge.
Li Shimin was tall and handsome, with a sharp gaze. One could tell at first glance that he was a handsome soldier.
What about him?
Brown-red hair, deep eye sockets, and aquiline nose.
In later generations he could barely be called a handsome mixed-race guy, but here he is an outlier.
Li Yuanji was full of malicious speculation in his heart. The reason why Dou gave birth to her predecessor and lost him was perhaps not because he was ugly, but because he looked different from his other two brothers. Dou was afraid that Li Yuan would wrongly accuse her of adultery, so she lost her predecessor.
After that, the rumor was spread and taken seriously and was even recorded in history.
Perhaps it was some of Li Shimin's fans who deliberately vilified his predecessor in order to maintain Li Shimin's great and upright image and to indirectly prove the legitimacy of Li Shimin's usurpation of the throne.
After all, the Old Book of Tang was compiled by the Later Jin Dynasty during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, and the New Book of Tang was compiled by the Northern Song Dynasty.
There were hundreds of years in between, and they had never seen what its predecessor looked like.
Aren’t they just a few words left behind by the Tang people that say what the predecessor looked like, and it looks like that?
It's just like Wu Dalang was arranged into a three-inch Ding.
The historical Wu Dalang was handsome and talented, but in Shi Naian's writing, he became a three-inch-tall man.
As the story spread, people who didn't know the inside story would immediately associate Wu Dalang with the three-inch Ding when they mentioned him.
Li Yuanji didn't want to face two men who were more handsome than himself, so he turned his eyes to the officials in the hall.
Then……
My mood became even worse.
The figures in the hall who have made great achievements in history have either the words "Li Yuan", "Jiancheng" or "Shimin" engraved on their heads.
There was only one person with the two words "Yuanji" engraved on him.
Li Sixing.
He is the only child like him, and he belongs to him alone.
Next to the two words "Yuanji" in his name, the two words "Li Yuan" were engraved in large letters.
Li Yuanji finally understood what it was like to be weak, helpless and pitiful.
Li Yuan had no time to care about Li Yuanji's mood.
After everyone arrived.
Li Yuan had a gloomy face and said in a heavy tone: "I just received a report that Li Shentong was defeated, Li Yi was defeated, and Li Shiji was defeated. More than 50,000 soldiers and horses, more than 9,000 died in the battle, more than 20,000 were captured, and more than 100,000 dan of grain were robbed by the rebel Liu Heita. 90,000 dan.
Lu Shirui, the governor of Yingzhou, Li Xuantong, the governor of Dingzhou, Wang Xiaoju, the governor of Dingzhou, Qu Ling, the governor of Jizhou and others were killed one after another, and the brothers Xue Wanjun under Li Shiji were captured alive.
News came from Weize Pass (Niangzi Pass) that the Turkic Khan Jie Li, seeing that Liu Bang was about to cause chaos in the Tang Dynasty, sent tens of thousands of cavalry to support Liu Bang.
Nowadays, the entire Hebei area has almost become a paradise for the thief Liu.
The thief Liu will soon recover all of Dou Jiande's old territory.
Hedong, Youzhou and other areas sandwiched between Hebei and the Turks were also in danger.
Tell me, how should we deal with this situation? "
After Li Yuan finished speaking, there was silence in the hall.
This should be the biggest trouble the Tang Dynasty has encountered since its founding.
Liu Heita caused chaos in Hebei and other places, and the Turks took advantage of the situation to rob.
If we are not careful, the Tang Dynasty will probably fall into chaos.
The ministers in the hall had different expressions, some were frowning in deep thought, while others looked eager to try.
The former include Pei Ji, Chen Shuda and others, while the latter only include Li Shimin and Luo Shixin.
Li Shimin was fearless, while Luo Shixin was eager to fight.
The only calm person in the hall was Li Yuanji himself.
When Li Yuanji learned that Li Yuan had summoned him, he had already guessed that the war in Hebei had fallen into a slump, so after Li Yuan finished speaking, he did not feel too much in his heart.
Pei Ji was the first to speak after thinking for a long time, "The Turks have always liked money and food. Can we send people to negotiate with the Turks and promise them money and food to make them withdraw their troops?"
When Pei Ji said this, Li Yuanji and Li Shimin both frowned, and many of the ministers also frowned.
The Turks went south this time not to seek wealth, but to disrupt the Tang Dynasty.
The Turks like money and food, but they like a Central Plains full of wars and disputes even more.
The Turks did not have much interest in the mountains and rivers of the Central Plains, but they were very interested in the crops grown on the fertile land of the Central Plains, the people raised there, and the cloth woven there.
The Turks regarded the Central Plains as their leek field, and would go south to harvest them every year when there was a good harvest.
A unified Central Plains would never give the Turks any chance to reap the benefits.
Only a Central Plains filled with constant chaos and wars can allow the Turks to have the best of both worlds and reap the benefits comfortably.
The Turks obviously saw that Liu Heita had the ability to keep the Central Plains in chaos, so they sent troops to lend a helping hand to Liu Heita and keep the Central Plains in chaos.
Therefore, a small amount of money and food could not satisfy the appetite of the Turks.
If Li Yuan really sent people to negotiate, the Turks might take the money and food and still refuse to withdraw.
Li Yuanji wanted to hide his shortcomings, so he didn't say anything even though he saw through the truth.
Li Shimin did not have such thoughts, so he said without hesitation: "The Turks are heading south this time, obviously to help Liu the thief, so that Liu the thief will completely disrupt our Tang Dynasty.
Therefore, it is absolutely unacceptable to allow the Turks money and food.
It is very likely that the Turks took the money and refused to withdraw their troops.”
Many of the ministers saw through the Turks' intentions, and when they heard Li Shimin's words, they all expressed their agreement.
Pei Ji raised his head, looked at Li Shimin and said, "Your Highness, do you mean to fight against the Turks?"
Without waiting for Li Shimin to speak, Pei Ji looked at Li Jiancheng and asked, "Does the Tang Dynasty have enough money and food to support the soldiers in three battles?"
