Chapter 29: Are we setting off now?
"Duke Jiang is mature and prudent, and is more suitable to serve as the commander-in-chief of the rear army than me."
Li Yuanji said to Li Yuan with a sincere face.
Since Li Yuan and Li Shimin had reached an agreement, there was no need for Li Yuan to use him to control Li Shimin, and there was no need for him to take risks on the battlefield.
The few melons and dates in the Prince Qi's mansion would not be enough to feed the enemy on the battlefield.
Slow development is the principle to save your life.
If you rush onto the battlefield rashly, you might lose your life if you are not careful.
And according to the memory of his previous life, he went to the battlefield and was purely a drag.
Not only could he not help, but when he was in danger, Li Shimin had to allocate part of his troops to take care of him.
In the previous battle of Hulao Pass, Li Shimin ordered him and Qu Tutong to besiege Luoyang. In order to prevent him from being killed, half of the Qin Palace's troops were allocated to Qu Tutong to protect him.
The Qin Palace had six military commanders, three on the left and thirty on the right. Each commander was in charge of six prefectures, each with five hundred people.
The six armies had a total of 18,000 men.
Among them were some generals who exceeded the standard, such as Yuchi Gong, the right general of the Qin Palace, who led his old subordinates who surrendered to the Tang Dynasty with him, a total of 8,000 people.
In other words, the number of troops under the command of the Qin Palace exceeded 20,000.
If divided in half, that would be more than 10,000 people.
More than 10,000 people are enough to influence the outcome of a war, so using them to protect him is obviously a bit of a waste.
He only seeks to protect himself and does not seek to fight for power and profit. There is really no need for him to go to the battlefield to be a troublemaker and annoy others.
When Li Yuanji said this, Li Yuan was stunned, Li Shimin was stunned, and Li Jiancheng was also stunned.
The other people in the hall were also a little stunned.
Before, Li Yuanji refused to lead the troops to war alone, and everyone thought that Li Yuanji had some self-awareness.
But now Li Yuanji refuses to go to the war, which makes everyone a little confused.
In everyone's eyes, Li Yuanji is a cruel and merciless guy, as well as a warmongering guy.
Whenever there is a war, they always clamor to go.
Even if you go up there, you won't be able to play much of a role, and you still have to fall in love with it.
A typical person who is both bad at cooking and loves to play.
But this time, he was contrary to his usual behavior and was not warlike, nor did he clamor to go to the battlefield.
Li Yuan, Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, and all the ministers in the hall did not understand.
"Shiro is unwilling to go to war?"
Li Yuan asked in surprise.
When Li Yuanji saw everyone's reactions and heard Li Yuan's questions, he immediately realized that his reaction might be a little inconsistent with his previous personality.
Immediately, he coughed dryly and said, "It's not that I don't want to go, but I'm afraid that I'll get carried away and rush in and attack violently, disrupting the battle situation."
Li Yuan stared, "Are you afraid of disrupting the battle?"
Seeing this, Li Yuanji could only say a few words, "After the Yuanshuo period, I will be a young man. Some things that I didn't understand before, I can now roughly understand them.
The war situation in Hebei was very critical this time, and the Turks took advantage of the situation to rob.
If we are not careful, the Tang Dynasty will most likely lose Hebei, Youzhou and other places.
That was paid for with the lives of many soldiers.
I cannot disrupt the war situation in Hebei and lose the territory of Hebei because of my own willfulness.
Otherwise, how can you face the hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Tang Dynasty in the future? "
In order to make his abnormality seem more reasonable, Li Yuanji could only explain it by saying that he had grown up and understood more things.
Li Yuan looked shocked, and Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng also looked incredulous.
After a moment, Li Yuan's eyes turned and he asked, "Si Lang has been very close to Ling Jing recently?"
Li Yuan obviously couldn't believe that Li Yuanji suddenly had a brain, and he couldn't believe that Li Yuanji had such a change.
Before, Pei Ji praised Li Yuanji for becoming smart. The reason why he believed Pei Ji's words was because Pei Ji implicitly suggested to him that Li Yuanji could be used to check and balance Li Shimin, which was exactly what he wanted.
But after Li Yuanji did several things that almost pissed him off to death, he felt that Li Yuanji was still the same bastard son who had no other strengths except making him pissed off.
But Li Yuanji's words today really made people look at him differently.
Li Yuan suspected that it was not that Li Yuanji had become smarter, but that Li Yuanji had been with Ling Jing for a long time and had received some guidance from Ling Jing.
Li Yuanji saw through Li Yuan's thoughts and could have said what Li Yuan said, but he couldn't do so.
He is not his predecessor, he is not that stupid, nor that cruel and brutal.
He has already revealed a certain amount of wisdom, and is destined to continue to reveal wisdom in the future.
He can hide for a while, but not forever.
If he keeps hiding and revealing his true intentions, he will easily be feared by others and may even arouse their murderous intent.
Why would someone who has nothing to hide be so half-hearted?
"Father doesn't like Ling Jing, so naturally I seldom talk to him. I just asked him to help with some of Bingzhou's government affairs. The reason why I understand all this is because I was awakened by the lightning strike before.
I have been reading some books with the princess recently and have understood some things."
Li Yuanji gave Li Yuan a fairly reasonable answer.
It is understandable that after being struck by lightning as a punishment from heaven, one would repent, turn over a new leaf and start a new life.
It also makes sense that I read books with Yang Miaoyan, who was well-read, and understood some things.
Li Yuan was skeptical, Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin seemed to be thinking about something, and the ministers in the hall looked incredulous.
However, it is reasonable that Li Yuanji had some changes after being struck by lightning.
If a person who has committed countless evil deeds does not repent after suffering divine punishment, it can only mean that this person is not afraid of death or has a problem with his brain.
Li Yuanji's past "great achievements" proved that he was a man who was afraid of death.
It is completely reasonable that people who are afraid of death would become obedient after being frightened by divine punishment.
Li Yuan pondered and said, "You are the commander-in-chief of the rear army this time. Your most important responsibility is to supervise the transportation of food and grass. You will not be asked to charge into battle unless it is absolutely necessary, so you don't have to worry about disrupting the battle situation."
It was not Li Yuan's style to let a son who had become smart and sensible hide behind.
The Tang Dynasty was in need of talents, and Li Yuan was a nepotist. How could he allow a son who was not only skilled in martial arts but also smart to eat idle meals in the palace?
To be honest, if there was really no one else in the royal family who could be used, Li Yuan would not have appointed Yin Qiao and Liu Hongji as the commander-in-chief of the left and right armies.
Li Yuanji still wanted to shirk responsibility.
"Father……"
"Are you afraid of danger?"
Li Yuanji had just said two words when he heard Li Yuan suddenly speak.
Li Yuan was almost asking Li Yuanji openly whether he was afraid of death.
As his ministers were still watching the show, Li Yuan had to change his words to save his son's face.
"I just..."
"Then I will ask General Qu Tu to serve as your deputy chief, and ask Yin Qiao to accompany you to Luoyang. What do you think?"
Li Yuan made the decision without giving Li Yuanji a chance to speak.
He seemed to be asking for Li Yuanji's opinion, but before Li Yuanji could answer, he looked at Li Shimin and asked, "Does General Qu Tu have an important position in this expedition against Liu Heita?"
There was nothing originally, but after Li Yuan asked, it appeared.
Li Shimin originally planned to let Qu Tutong have a good rest.
Qu Tutong was old and was no longer suitable for traveling long distances to fight in winter.
If you are tired from the journey and catch a cold or something, you will most likely die.
Qu Tutong had contributed a lot to Li Shimin, and Li Shimin hoped that Qu Tutong would have a good end.
However, Li Yuan intended to let Qu Tutong be Li Yuanji's bodyguard, and Li Shimin agreed wholeheartedly.
With Qu Tutong as Li Yuanji's bodyguard, he didn't have to worry about Li Yuanji's safety when fighting the enemy.
As for speaking up for Li Yuanji and asking Li Yuan to remove Li Yuanji from his position as chief of the rear army, Li Shimin didn't even think about it.
On this matter, Li Shimin saw it more clearly than Li Yuanji.
Li Yuan's nepotism has become an instinct. As long as his son is still useful, Li Yuan will never employ outsiders.
"I am going to ask General Qu Tu to guard Luoyang."
Li Shimin followed Li Yuan's wishes and arranged a position for Qu Tutong.
Li Yuan nodded and looked at Qu Tutong who was sitting in the hall. "General Qu Tutong, do you have any objections?"
Qu Tutong stood up and bowed respectfully, "I have no objection."
This was not the first time he served as Li Yuanji's bodyguard, and he had gotten used to it.
The others served as bodyguards for Li Yuanji and were not on the same page with Li Yuanji.
Because of his appearance, he could barely get along with Li Yuanji.
"That's settled then."
Li Yuan waved his hand and made the decision.
Moreover, Li Yuan had said so much and invited two dukes to serve as bodyguards for Li Yuanji, so Li Yuanji had no way to refuse.
If he refused again, Li Yuan would probably send people to tie him up and take him to the battlefield.
Li Yuanji also understood that Li Yuan forced him to go to the battlefield not because Li Yuan thought highly of him, but because Li Yuan's nepotism had reached an outrageous level.
Li Yuan would not feel at ease if he did not send a few of his own people to fight such an important battle.
There were many generals who surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, and there were also many generals who rebelled against the Tang Dynasty.
Especially after Liu Heita and other former subordinates of Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande rebelled, Li Yuan became even more worried about the surrendered generals.
Therefore, when the army goes out to fight, the military power must be in the hands of its own people.
"There is no time to lose, get ready and set off immediately!"
Li Yuan gave the order decisively.
Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin and other ministers paid their respects to Li Yuan and immediately went down to make preparations.
From the first year of Wude to the present, the Tang Dynasty has been at war almost all the time.
Everyone was already familiar with the process and the rules of the expedition.
So there was no oath-taking ceremony and no red tape.
Keep everything simple and do everything as quickly as possible.
Li Yuanji left the Taiji Hall with a helpless look on his face. When he returned to the Wude Hall, Yang Miaoyan, Chen Shanyi, and a group of wives, concubines, and children were already waiting respectfully at the entrance of the main hall .
When Li Yuan decided in Taiji Hall to appoint Li Yuanji as the commander-in-chief of the rear army, an eunuch had already rushed to Wude Hall to report to Yang Miaoyan, asking Yang Miaoyan to prepare for Li Yuanji's expedition.
The guards of Wude Hall have already put on their armor and held their swords, ready to go.
Xie Shufang had already ridden out of Taiji Palace and went to the farm outside the city to summon other guards from the Prince of Qi's mansion.
The Tang Dynasty's expedition was so efficient that Li Yuanji found it a little unbelievable.
By the time Li Yuanji came to his senses, Yang Miaoyan had already put on armor, hung a sword on him, and put on a helmet.
Chen Shanyi was leading a BMW with a longbow and quiver hanging on the horse's back. Another guard was holding a three-meter-long lance and standing bent on one side of the BMW.
Li Yuanji was a little dazed. Are they going to the battle now?
I'm not mentally prepared at all!
