Chapter 57: The thief is still determined, guard against him
Li Shimin was preparing for a battle with Liu Heita.
That warrior thought that Li Tang's throne was too stable, so he did something weird at this time?
No one knew what Li Yuan was thinking when he sent Liu Jun to test his attitude. Wasn't he afraid that Liu Jun would leak some information to Li Shimin and force Li Shimin to give up the expedition against Liu Heita and run back to Chang'an to fight?
"Your Highness?"
Seeing that Li Yuanji remained silent for a long time, Liu Jun couldn't help but speak.
Li Yuanji glanced at Liu Jun and said speechlessly, "I really want to know which expert submitted this memorial to my father?"
Li Yuanji must find out who the warrior is so that he can stay away from him in the future to avoid being killed by him.
Liu Jun smiled dryly and said nothing.
Li Yuanji rolled his eyes at Liu Jun and said unhappily, "Go back and tell my father to either behead this man and give me his head, or make him the King of Qin."
Liu Jun widened his eyes in shock.
Li Yuanji ignored Liu Jun and got up and left the pavilion in the garden.
Li Yuan was obviously addicted to playing with fire.
He promised Li Shimin the position of crown prince once and twice, but then went back on his word, and Li Shimin didn't do anything to him.
Did he mistakenly think that Li Shimin could be manipulated by him at will and allowed to be flattened or rounded as he pleased?
He didn't even think about the fact that the reason why Li Shimin was controlled by him time and time again was because Li Shimin still believed in him.
When his trust in Li Shimin was completely lost, that was when Li Shimin turned against him.
Li Yuanji knew what Li Shimin had done in history, so he was clear that Li Shimin's trust in Li Yuan had a bottom line.
Li Yuan didn't know what Li Shimin had done in history, so he felt that his majesty could intimidate Li Shimin.
Li Yuanji walked out of the corridor and pavilion, passed through the flower garden and returned to the front hall of Luoyang Palace. Xie Shufang came forward to greet him with joy.
Seeing Li Yuanji's gloomy face, Xie Shufang's smile froze, and he hurriedly approached Li Ji and asked, "Your Highness, what happened?"
Li Yuanji put on a smiling face and said, "What could be the problem? Nothing."
Xie Shufang looked at Li Yuanji doubtfully.
Li Yuanji smiled and said, "Your appointment as Marquis of Pingyao County is also a happy event. I will send someone to tell the cooks to prepare some wine and food, and we will celebrate together in the evening ."
When Xie Shufang heard this, a smile reappeared on his face, and he said awkwardly: "The reason why I was awarded the title of Marquis of Pingyao County is also due to Your Highness's contribution. How can I be embarrassed to..."
Li Yuanji did not wait for Xie Shufang to finish his words, raised his hand to interrupt Xie Shufang and said: "Your contribution is your contribution, don't say such things again in the future.
You are a member of my family. If I don't help you celebrate when you are awarded the title of county marquis, people will think I am a miser."
Xie Shufang smiled and scratched his head.
Li Yuanji immediately ordered the guards to pass the message to the cook, and asked Xie Shufang to invite some people who were on good terms with him to a banquet in a side hall of the Luoyang Palace in the evening to celebrate his being conferred the title of Marquis of Pingyao County.
Xie Shufang left Luoyang Palace happily to invite his guests.
Li Yuanji frowned and entered the side hall.
After sitting down behind a long table in the side hall, Li Yuanji took paper and pen and began to write a letter home to Li Yuan.
Li Shimin had just led his troops out of Chang'an City when Li Yuan started to think of playing with fire behind his back. His behavior was not only excessive but also outrageous.
Li Yuanji must write a careful letter to Li Yuan, implicitly reminding him of the interests involved and letting him give up the idea of playing with fire as soon as possible.
Li Yuanji didn't care how Li Yuan cheated Li Shimin, but he cared about whether the Tang Dynasty could successfully accomplish the great cause of unifying the Central Plains.
This concerns the greater good and also his own interests.
After writing the letter, Li Yuanji ordered his attendants to deliver it to Chang'an City day and night.
Not long after Li Yuanji returned to the side hall of Luoyang Palace, Liu Jun also appeared in the side hall of Luoyang Palace.
"Your Highness?"
Liu Jun stood at the door of the side hall and shouted.
Li Yuanji threw down his pen and ink, and walked behind the screen in the side hall without looking back.
Liu Jun wanted to say a few more words to Li Yuanji, but Li Yuanji was unwilling to pay attention to him, so he could only leave in disappointment.
Liu Jun left the side hall of Luoyang Palace and rushed to the front hall to pay a visit to Li Shimin. He handed over the first batch of Yuan clothes that he had escorted, exchanged a few words with Li Shimin, and hurried out of Luoyang City.
When he met Li Shimin, he dared not say a word about the matter of becoming a fiefdom.
Li Yuan just had some immature ideas, so he asked him to test Li Yuanji's attitude, and specifically told him not to let Li Shimin hear any news.
He didn't dare to talk nonsense in front of Li Shimin.
…
evening.
The cooks prepared the wine and food.
The guests invited by Xie Shufang also arrived at the side hall of Luoyang Palace.
Xie Shufang had few guests, only four people, one was a military officer and three were captains.
Li Yuanji smiled and asked Xie Shufang and his four guests to sit behind a long table in the side hall. He ordered people to serve wine and food so that they could celebrate Xie Shufang's title of Marquis of Pingyao County.
Li Yuanji put aside his airs as the King of Qi and had a good time with Xie Shufang and a few others. They drank until midnight, and then, drunkenly, he returned to the bedroom to rest with the help of the guards.
In the next two days, while Li Yuanji was waiting for Li Yuan's reply, he was also planning to establish the Left First Army among the Left Three Armys.
Li Yuanji enjoyed great prestige among the refugees in Luoyang City, so as soon as he leaked some information about the establishment of the Zuoyi Unified Army, countless warriors immediately rushed to the camp where the guards of the Prince of Qi's Palace were stationed with weapons to express their willingness to join the army.
The refugees didn't care about Li Yuanji's reputation or what kind of person he was.
They only knew that when their family was about to starve to death, it was Li Yuanji who stepped in and saved their lives.
Therefore, they were willing to entrust their lives and property to Li Yuanji. Even if Li Yuanji wanted to take them to do evil, they were willing to follow him.
When Li Shimin learned that Li Yuanji was preparing to unify the army with the left, he was not afraid. Instead, he sent a number of people to the place where the guards of the Prince of Qi's Palace were stationed to provide assistance and help the guards of the Prince of Qi's Palace select brave warriors and recruit talented people.
"Your Highness, His Royal Highness the King of Qin has sent a total of 8,000 people to the guards' base to help them recruit talented people."
Xie Shufang, the newly appointed Marquis of Pingyao County, reported to Li Ji in a state of confusion.
Li Yuanji put down the book he was reading and asked in surprise, "How much?"
Li Yuanji thought he might be hallucinating.
Xie Shufang smiled bitterly and said, "Eight thousand..."
Li Yuanji gritted his teeth.
The damn Li Shimin is no longer a human being.
It's shameless to the point of having no bottom line.
They said they were sending people to help him, but in fact they were sending people to work for him and get free meals.
It's just recruiting soldiers, do we really need eight thousand people?
Eighty people would be more than enough.
The officials of Prince Qi's Palace can gather up to eighty people, not to mention the guards of Prince Qi's Palace.
If you really need to use people, there are soldiers from Shanzhou that can be used.
Is it necessary for Li Shimin to mobilize so many people to help?
"Send someone to the place where the guards are stationed in the palace and tell the soldiers under the King of Qin that those who are willing to stay and work under my command will be promoted three levels if they have official status. For those who do not have official status, I will grant them official status and ten acres of land."
Li Yuanji ordered while gritting his teeth.
Since Li Shimin dared to send people to ask for money, don't blame him for keeping them all.
Xie Shufang's expression changed slightly, and he said, "If this happens, I'm afraid there will be a conflict with His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin."
Li Yuanji glared at Xie Shufang and said unhappily, "When he sent people to come to my house to eat and drink for free, did he ever consider that there would be a conflict with me?"
Xie Shufang was stunned, smiled bitterly, and without saying anything else, turned around and left the side hall of Luoyang Palace, going to where the guards were stationed in the mansion to deliver the message.
Not long after Xie Shufang conveyed Li Yuanji's words to the place where the guards were stationed, Li Shimin got the news and hurriedly sent people to recall 8,000 soldiers and horses.
But even so, there were still several people who stayed where the guards of Prince Qi's Palace were stationed.
Li Yuanji was generous enough, so some young people did not mind taking the risk of offending Li Shimin and working for him.
Li Shimin suffered a loss, but he did not make things difficult for those young men. Instead, he generously handed over to Li Yuanji.
They were just some small people who were blinded by official positions and land and could not see clearly who could give them a bright future. It was not worth it for Li Shimin to go to war for them.
From then on, Li Shimin never caused any trouble again.
Until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
Yuwen Shiji escorted the last batch of Yuan clothes to Luoyang City.
Li Shimin ordered all his soldiers to put on Yuan clothes and set out on the journey.
When he was about to leave, Li Yuanji did not see him off, but instead led a group of guards from the Prince of Qi's mansion and soldiers from Shanzhou to guard outside his own granary.
Li Shimin frequently sent people to invite Li Yuanji, saying that he had important matters to tell him, but Li Yuanji never left.
Li Shimin led the army and waited in a secluded place outside the city of Luoyang for most of the day. After Luo Shixin, Shuang Shiluo and other people he sent out to steal food returned empty-handed, Li Shimin could only sigh and lead the army on the road again.
Li Yuanji sent fast horses to run between Li Shimin's army and the granary in Luoyang City for two days. He left the granary only after he was sure that Li Shimin had led the army to completely leave Luoyang City.
Li Shimin left, but Qu Tutong and Yuwen Shiji stayed.
Qu Tutong stayed to guard Luoyang and protect Li Yuanji.
Yuwen Shiji had no choice but to stay.
However, when Li Yuanji returned to Luoyang Palace, he did not see Yuwen Shiji.
"Where is the Duke of Ying?"
In the front hall of Luoyang Palace, Li Yuanji did not see Yuwen Shiji beside Qu Tutong and could not help asking.
Qu Tutong had a strange look on his face, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.
Li Yuanji looked at Qu Tutong suspiciously.
Qu Tutong hesitated for a long time and whispered, "Duke Ying went to Fuqing Temple."
"He went to Fuqing Temple..."
Li Yuanji subconsciously wanted to ask Yuwen Shiji what he was doing at Fuqing Temple, but before he could ask, he found relevant memories from his previous life.
His expression also became strange.
Yuwen Shiji went to Fuqing Temple to visit his ex-wife.
Yuwen Shiji's ex-wife was Princess Nanyang of the Sui Dynasty.
After Yu Wenzhi launched the Jiangdu Rebellion, killed Emperor Yang of Sui, and killed almost all the former male royal members of the Sui Dynasty, their life together as a couple came to an end.
After Dou Jiande killed Yuwen Huaji, Yuwen Shiji abandoned Princess Nanyang and fled to Chang'an to join Li Tang.
After Princess Nanyang was abandoned, she was not only not troubled by Dou Jiande, but was treated with courtesy by him.
After Li Shimin conquered Dou Jiande, Yuwen Shiji ran to Princess Nanyang to remarry him. Princess Nanyang angrily rejected Yuwen Shiji's request and became a nun.
