Chapter 38: Li Shimin plays the emotional card?!
Li Shimin was suspicious, "What does Silang want so many heads for?"
Given their brothers' official positions and titles, the enemy's heads were of no use to them.
No one will reward them with official titles or money if they take it.
Just as Qu Tutong was about to answer, Li Shimin immediately reacted and asked with a strange look on his face, "Silang wants to seek military merit for the soldiers under his command?"
Qu Tutong and Yin Qiao nodded together.
Li Yuanji wanted so many enemy heads, which had no other use except to gain military merit for his soldiers.
Qu Tutong and Yin Qiao thought this was quite normal.
Li Shimin thought it was abnormal.
His fourth brother had never been willing to use this method to gain military merit for the soldiers under his command.
His fourth brother preferred to take the enemy's heads with his soldiers.
Although he could not capture many heads every time he took his soldiers out, he also lost many lives.
But his fourth brother never gets tired of it .
In the words of the common people, he doesn't have much ability and his nostrils are in the sky.
“I remember that there are still many vacancies in Qiwangfu, Bingzhou, and Xiangzhou Road. If Silang is willing to promote the soldiers under his command, he can find official positions for them.
There is absolutely no need to covet a few heads."
Li Shimin felt that Li Yuanji might not be mentally normal.
Given Li Yuanji's status and position, if he really valued that person, he could have promoted him quickly without having to do all these unnecessary things.
Li Yuan gave them great power, so much so that they could appoint officials below the fifth rank under their command without the approval of the court.
Li Shimin has used this power to the extreme. Not only does he appoint officials below the fifth rank under his own command, he also constantly bypasses the Eastern Palace and appoints officials below the fifth rank in local areas.
Li Yuanji could do so if he wanted to.
When Crown Prince Li Jiancheng, who was handling local government affairs on behalf of Li Yuan, found out about this, he only cursed behind his back and did not bring the matter to Li Yuan.
If such a small matter was brought to Li Yuan's attention, it would be like shouting in front of Li Yuan, "Dad, I am incompetent and can't even handle such a small matter."
If Li Yuan found out about this situation, he would definitely say without hesitation, "Since you can't handle it well, let your brother handle it."
Li Jiancheng did not dare to give the power in his hands to his brothers, because he would never be able to take it back once he gave it away.
So he had no choice but to agree to his brothers' appointment documents.
"Your Highness, the Prince of Qi may just feel that he has treated his soldiers harshly in the past, so he wants to use his military achievements to gain some rewards and land for his soldiers."
Qu Tutong said thoughtfully.
He felt that Li Shimin was over-complicating the issue.
Li Yuanji may have simply wanted to seek some benefits for his subordinates, win their hearts and minds, and prevent someone from shooting an arrow in the back on the battlefield. He may not have thought much about other things.
Li Shimin's own mind was too complicated, so he tended to guess other people's simple thoughts as complicated.
"Hey...according to what you said, my brother is trying to win people's hearts."
Li Shimin suddenly laughed.
Qu Tutong and Yin Qiao were stunned and their hearts skipped a beat.
Li Shimin's younger brother began to win people's hearts, which was not a good thing for Li Shimin.
"Tell me, what is my brother's plan to win people's hearts?"
Li Shimin stared at Qu Tutong and Yin Qiao and asked with a smile.
Qu Tutong and Yin Qiao looked at each other and didn't dare to speak.
This is not a topic they can discuss casually.
Qu Tutong actually wanted to say a few words in defense of Li Yuanji. Li Yuanji's actions in the past two days had changed his opinion of Li Yuanji.
But the questions raised by Li Shimin were too dangerous. If one did not answer them well or said the wrong thing, it would easily lead to problems.
Seeing that Qu Tutong and Yin Qiao were silent, Li Shimin knew that they would not discuss this issue , so he immediately said with a smile: "Whatever he is after, it's too late now."
Qu Tutong and Yin Qiao were stunned and didn't understand what Li Shimin meant.
Li Shimin did not help Qu Tutong and Yin Qiao to resolve their doubts.
Li Yuan promised him something, and it was enough for him to be clear about it in his heart. It would be inappropriate to publicize it, and it would make him easy to be targeted.
"Since Shilang likes enemy heads, I'll give him some of the heads I capture on the battlefield."
Li Shimin said generously.
He no longer needed to use enemy heads to gain military merit, and many of his subordinates no longer needed to use enemy heads to gain military merit.
He and many of his men are now more concerned about the outcome of a war.
And after winning the war, can he replace Li Jiancheng?
Everyone has different goals, so naturally what they need are different.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Yin Qiao bowed solemnly to Li Shimin.
Li Shimin was actually helping him repay a favor.
Although it was a bit shameless, Li Shimin did not arbitrarily erase Li Yuanji's life-saving grace, nor did he ask him to have less contact with Li Yuanji in the future. He could accept that.
"You should take good care of yourself here. When you recover, the position of the Left Army Commander will still be yours."
Li Shimin patted Yin Qiao on the shoulder and gave him instructions with a smile.
Yin Qiao nodded heavily.
Li Shimin added: "I brought the imperial physician with me, as well as some precious medicinal herbs, which will be delivered to your tent in a little while. With the imperial physician helping you, I believe you will recover soon."
Li Shimin knew Yin Qiao very well and knew that he was a man who liked fighting.
So he promised Yin Qiao that when Yin Qiao recovered, he would definitely let Yin Qiao go to the battlefield and would never let Yin Qiao make a trip in vain.
Yin Qiao naturally thanked Li Shimin with a delighted look on his face, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness."
Li Shimin pretended to be displeased and said, "You and I have fought together for many years and have long been brothers. Why are you being polite now?"
Yin Qiao scratched his head awkwardly.
Li Shimin gave Yin Qiao a few more instructions, asking him to take good care of his health and to send someone to inform him in time if he needed anything, and then he left the tent.
As soon as Li Shimin left, Yin Qiao breathed a sigh of relief.
Qu Tutong was stroking his beard and grinning.
"Brother Qu Tu, the misunderstanding between us and His Highness has been resolved. Why do you look unhappy?"
Yin Qiao noticed that Qu Tutong was acting strangely and couldn't help but ask.
Qu Tutong glared at Yin Qiao and warned him, "You must remember that you owe His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi a life, and you must pay it back."
Yin Qiao was stunned.
Qu Tutong snorted, "If His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi really has some plans, he will definitely oppose His Royal Highness. When that happens, you, Yin Qiao, will be caught in the middle, and you will suffer ."
Yin Qiao's expression suddenly turned ugly.
Qu Tutong saw Yin Qiao's frustrated look and immediately smiled.
Qu Tutong actually didn't like the way Li Shimin helped Yin Qiao to repay a favor.
The reason why favors are precious is that they cannot be measured by money or anything else.
Li Shimin used the enemy's heads to repay favors, which was a bit of materialization of favors and actually put him in a low position.
So he felt a little unhappy.
But it's just unpleasant.
After all, Li Shimin did not stop Yin Qiao from continuing to repay favors to Li Yuanji.
Li Shimin left Yin Qiao's tent and went straight into Li Yuanji's barracks.
Li Yuanji stared at Li Shimin as he barged into the barracks in a rude manner, walked to the long table, sat down beside him carelessly, and used his strong body to force him to give up half of the soft couch, grinning.
Li Yuanji really wanted to ask loudly, "Asshole, did you knock on the door?"
"Why are you grinning? Are you not happy to see me?"
Li Shimin sat next to Li Yuanji and asked casually.
Li Ji gritted his teeth and forced a smile, "Meet second brother..."
“Hiss…”
Li Shimin looked at Li Yuanji with disdain, "You have really made some progress. You were not so polite to me before."
Haha, I'm not the idiot that I was before. I knew that you had absolute power in your hands, but I still fought you to the death.
Li Yuanji mocked in his heart, but said: "Second brother, you are joking..."
Li Shimin put away the contempt on his face and stared at Li Yuanji seriously for a long time, which made Li Yuanji feel a little numb on his scalp. He didn't know what Li Shimin meant.
"After being struck by lightning that day, did you suffer any aftereffects?"
Li Shimin suddenly asked.
Oh my god! The great emperor Li Shimin is playing the emotional card with others!
Li Yuanji shouted in his heart and shook his head slowly.
"At that time, I was busy dealing with the collection of books shipped back from Luoyang, so I didn't come to see you in time. Don't blame me."
Li Shimin stared at Li Yuanji and said again.
Li Yuanji didn't know why Li Shimin played the emotional card, nor could he guess what Li Shimin was thinking. He could only echo Li Shimin's words and said, " I was struck by lightning, and it was my own fault. I can't blame others."
Li Shimin opened his mouth, but suddenly he couldn't continue speaking.
He, Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng all had the same attitude towards Chen Shanyi.
Although Chen Shanyi raised Li Yuanji, she cannot regard herself as Li Yuanji's adoptive mother.
The Li family can give Chen Shanyi wealth and glory, but they cannot give Chen Shanyi any status.
The existence of Chen Shanyi was a favor to Li Yuanji, but to him, Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng, it was evidence that Empress Dou was unkind.
The Queen holds an honorable position and is the mother of the country. She is a role model for all women in the world.
Li Yuan could not have an unkind queen.
No matter who came to power between him and Li Jiancheng, they could not have an unkind mother.
Therefore, Chen Shanyi was destined not to be able to claim herself as Li Yuanji's adoptive mother, and they could not give Chen Shanyi any identity.
In the matter of Chen Shanyi, even if the three of them, father and son, did something wrong, even if they were a little ungrateful, no one in the world would say anything.
Because the scholars in the world pay attention to "avoiding mentioning names of respected people, relatives and wise people".
They neither said nor admitted Empress Dou's mistakes, and the literati in the world only thought that they did the right thing.
But Li Yuanji obviously didn't think so.
So Li Shimin couldn't say some of the things in his mind.
"Ahem, I actually asked your sister-in-law to visit you, but at that time, the Wude Hall was sealed by my father, so after your sister-in-law went there, she was stopped and sent back."
Li Shimin coughed twice and said with a dry laugh.
Li Yuanji pretended to believe it and respectfully clasped his fists and said, "Thank you for your concern, second brother."
