"Father, the annihilation of the Beizhen army is not opposed, but it has to do with taking the initiative to attack the Sui Dynasty. Is Father ready? At this time, Li Jiancheng asked again.

"This ......" Li Yuan, who had finally hardened for a while, heard Li Jiancheng say this, and regretted his impulsiveness a little, and after a long silence, he asked, "What does the emperor think?" ”

"Erchen believes that the time is not yet ripe to take the initiative to attack the Sui Dynasty." Li Jiancheng threw out his own opinions, and then said the reason that 'the time is not yet ripe': "We are not prepared to fight the Sui army now, not even the most basic general strategy, there is not much contact between the various armies, and the generals of the various armies lack the most basic pre-war communication; If one army is defeated, the other armies will neither be able to support it, nor will they dare to let go of their duties, but boldly support it; And if they win, other armies will not dare to rush into the army because of lack of preparation, resulting in a missed opportunity. Isn't the failure of the Eastern Crusade due to the fact that they are fighting for each other? ”

Li Yuan's expression was solemn and ugly, the 'Eastern Crusade' made the Li Tang Dynasty lose the last chance to seize the Central Plains with the Sui Dynasty, and it almost became a taboo in Li Yuan's heart, in addition to throwing Li Xiaogong out as a substitute for the dead, he didn't even have the most basic post-war summary. Because he knows that once the reasons are summarized, all the problems will be borne by him.

"Father." Li Jiancheng said earnestly: "The reason for the fiasco of the Eastern Crusade is entirely a major mistake in our strategy, or simply that our strategy is not clear. Whether we want to go east to the Central Plains or occupy the Heluo area, we have not figured it out ourselves. If we were just to occupy the territory vacated by Li Mi going south, then we should not let Shimin attack Wang Shichong, it was because Shimin occupied Hongnong and threatened the safety of Guanzhong and Bingzhou that Yang Tong turned his attention from Li Mi to Datang. If our goal is to eliminate Wang Shichong, use Heluo as a wedge, and nail the Sui army to Guanzhong and Merge Prefecture, then we should not let Xiaogong take away half of the army, but should hand over the army to Shimin, eliminate Wang Shichong with a thunderous force, and then fight against the Sui army in the south to achieve the goal of completely occupying Heluo; On the Xiaogong side, in fact, only one or two thousand troops are needed to occupy Xiangcheng and other counties where Li Mi retreated. But we didn't distinguish between priority and priority, which not only made the people of the world threaten Guanzhong and Bingzhou, but also let Xiaogong threaten Xingyang, which caused Yang Tong to go crazy. Father, the failure to include the Sui Dynasty in the consideration of the Eastern Crusade, and the vague strategy of not separating priorities from priority to priority, was the fundamental reason for the failure of our Eastern Crusade. ”

Regarding the Eastern Crusade, Li Jiancheng has long wanted to put it forward, but the core problem of the Eastern Crusade fiasco was that Li Yuan's strategic thinking before the war was not clear, on the other hand, Li Yuan's army fighting in Xiangyang was remotely controlled in the front, and any major adjustment of the front generals needed to be reported, and it could only be implemented with his consent, and the consequence of this rigid command method was that Li Xiaogong's entire army was annihilated, resulting in Li Shimin becoming a lone army, and finally ended in a fiasco. It was precisely because the reason for the failure was Li Yuan that Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, Li Xiaogong and others did not dare to mention the 'Eastern Crusade' at all.

Now with the passage of time, the shadow of the fiasco of the Eastern Crusade has faded, and because Li Yuan is hot-headed to attack the Sui Dynasty, Li Jiancheng is afraid that the old things will repeat, so he took this opportunity to bring it up.

"I also know that the defeat of the Eastern Crusade was caused by the lack of division of priorities, the erection of enemies around us, and the dispersion of troops." Li Yuan's voice was very low and gloomy, although he never admitted that it was his own mistake, but he knew in his heart that it was his strategic mistake that led to the fiasco of the Eastern Expedition, and finally brought Datang to this desperate situation.

"Father, the battle between the Sui and Tang dynasties will be fought sooner or later, and it is indeed an opportunity now, but we must at least communicate with the generals of each army before the battle and assign tasks, so that everyone can have a clear idea of the battle."

"The emperor is right, and the previous mistakes must not be made again." Li Jiancheng changed the topic at the right time, avoiding Li Yuan's embarrassment, making him feel a little better, and asked, "Is there anything else to add?" ”

"We must have a clear understanding of the strength of both the enemy and the enemy. First of all, the imperial court is less than 200 miles away from the front line, if our army is unfavorable in battle, the Sui army will soon be under the city, and any county in the Three Gorges Road will be lost, and the imperial court will not be able to withdraw into Yizhou, so Erchen thinks that the imperial court should leave Xiangyang quickly. Secondly, because the families handed over their private armies, we have more than 40,000 troops, but most of them are new recruits, whether they are these soldiers or the previous ones; Although everyone is not afraid of Sui like a tiger, it is an unavoidable fact that the good and the bad are uneven, and the orders are not unified, maybe they will become the elite of my Tang Dynasty, but it is by no means now. Third, we do not have enough weapons and equipment, and if we do not capture enough, after a few battles, our army's existing weapons and equipment will suffer great damage, and many soldiers will fall into the dilemma of having no equipment available. Fourth, my Tang Dynasty was in chaos, but the Sui Dynasty was peaceful, and the ministers were worried that the war would collapse together and the army and the people would collapse. Li Jiancheng glanced at Li Yuan, and then said: "It's easy to understand the move to the capital. The other three problems show that we cannot sustain the war. This is the reality we have to face, if we don't think about these issues clearly, the foundation of our Tang Dynasty will be destroyed because of this war. ”

Li Yuan understood what Li Jiancheng meant, that is, the Tang Dynasty was inferior to the Sui Dynasty everywhere, even if Yang Shanhui was eliminated, Nanyang would be recaptured as he wished; Even if Duan Decao is eliminated and Nanjun is occupied, because of the weak national strength, he can't hold on for a long time, and in the end he can only evacuate in disgrace. Instead of bothering to do useless work, it is better to withdraw to Yizhou alone, concentrate on handling internal affairs, and train strong soldiers.

"But our army and the Sui Dynasty are in a state of dogs' teeth, especially the army on the Hanshui defense line is being targeted by the Sui army, if we retreat, the Sui army will take the opportunity to march, our army is not strict in discipline, there will be a big rout." In the final analysis, Li Yuan was not confident, and the reason why he gave the order to take the initiative to attack the Sui army was completely out of necessity. Now that I have listened to Li Jiancheng's analysis, the ambition to fight against the odds, which I finally born, suddenly ran away without a trace.

Li Jiancheng saw that his father's feverish mind had calmed down, and he was still able to concentrate on listening to his own suggestions, so he breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Father, Dou Xiang also advocated moving the capital just now, which shows that no one in the Tang Dynasty has any objections, the time is ripe to move the capital, and the only thing to worry about is the Sui Dynasty." Erchen advocated peace talks with the Sui Dynasty, exchanging the Jingzhou counties for a truce, and as long as an agreement was reached, our troops could withdraw safely. ”

"But...... Yang Tong already has an absolute advantage, can he agree? ”

"Father, this is actually a temporary armistice, not a covenant, and we can throw it away when the time comes. In fact, after Yang Tong eliminated the allied forces of Meng Haigong and Feng An, he would also concentrate all his strength on dealing with us. And this armistice agreement for us is to exchange the Jingbei counties for the safe return of the army, as long as the army is in hand, we can still make a comeback, if we lose the army, even if we give the whole world, we can't hold it. As for Yang Tong, he can take Jingbei without a single soldier. So this temporary truce agreement is beneficial to both sides, and Yang Tong has no reason not to agree. ”

Li Yuan pondered for a long time before he sighed and said bitterly: "The emperor is right, the strength is not as good as others, we have to admit it." The Crusade hit us too hard, and the important thing was that we were in turmoil, and we really needed time to recuperate and concentrate on dealing with internal problems. So be it! Send someone to Luoyang to contact Yang Tong, first see the other party's attitude, and then determine whether a temporary truce can be made. ”

Speaking of this, Li Yuan asked again: "Who do you think is appropriate?" ”

Li Jiancheng said: "The ministers of the DPRK and China can't make decisions, and they can't even see Yang Tong. And once the other party prescribes redundant conditions, the envoy can only give back to the court and ask his father to decide, which takes a lot of time to say. The point is that the Sui army is likely to start a war during this period, so it will be troublesome. Erchen thinks that Erchen himself is the best candidate, firstly, to be able to meet Yang Tong and handle this matter on behalf of his father, and secondly, to show that his father attaches great importance and sincerity to this matter......"

Li Yuan nodded, Li Jiancheng was indeed the most suitable, but he said with some worry: "You are the prince of the Tang Dynasty, what if Yang Tong detains you?" ”

"He won't."

"How so?"

Of course, Li Jiancheng can't say that he is in the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty is in the favor of the Sui Dynasty with the crown prince and the king of Jin seizing the heir, but said: "Since the army of Jinyang, Erchen has had many contacts with Yang Tong, if he wants to detain Erchen, how can he wait until now?" What's more, the Sui Dynasty was in an absolute advantage, and Yang Tong would not let himself have a bad reputation for detaining envoys. ”

Li Yuan thought about it, then nodded in agreement: "Since the emperor insists, then the emperor should be the right envoy, and you decide for yourself who you want to accompany you." ”

"The retainers obeyed." Li Jiancheng surrendered to the order.

Li Yuan urgently recalled the prime ministers and asked everyone to discuss the 'pseudo-imperial examination' set by him and Li Jiancheng, and the prime ministers agreed after several discussions. Li Yuan was in a good mood, and then he was very embarrassed to say the decision to make a truce with the Sui Dynasty, and withdrew the previous order.

Everyone saluted and left the political hall one after another, Li Jiancheng said goodbye to the prime ministers one by one, and hurriedly left through the side door, intending to go back to the East Palace to discuss the negotiation method with the staff.

He had just arrived outside the palace gate, but he was confronted by Li Yuanji, who was in the dust, judging from his appearance, he should have just arrived in Xiangyang, Li Jiancheng couldn't help but have a trace of doubt in his heart. You must know that Li Yuanji, as the secretary of Yizhou, not only supervises the military and political power of Yizhou, but also is responsible for the construction of the palace.

Li Yuanji, who was in a hurry, was also stunned when he saw Li Jiancheng, and then stepped forward quickly with a smile and saluted: "The younger brother has seen the eldest brother." ”

"Why did the fourth brother come back?" Seeing that the fourth brother was becoming more and more calm, Li Jiancheng felt very relieved and greeted him warmly.

Li Yuanji said with a smile: "It was my father who asked my little brother to come back." The eldest brother is in a hurry, but why? ”

Li Jiancheng was suspicious in his heart, but what he cared about now was the envoy, so he didn't think much about it, and said with a smile: "My brother sent an envoy to Luoyang on the orders of his father, and I was planning to go back to prepare." ”

"Envoy to Luoyang?" Li Yuanji asked.

"yes." Li Jiancheng smiled: "There are many internal crises in my Tang Dynasty, and the Guanlong nobles have rebelled, so it is really not suitable to fight with the Sui army." Therefore, the father decided to reach a truce agreement with the Sui Dynasty with the several counties of Jingbei. When the fourth brother came back, he could assist his father to quell the rebels and stabilize the Tang Dynasty as soon as possible. ”

"The younger brother will never let his father and eldest brother down, and we brothers will work together, and we will not be able to do social instability." Li Yuanji said with a smile.

Li Jiancheng heard these words a little harshly, and said solemnly: "The fourth brother is not right, the Tang Dynasty cannot rely on our brothers alone; Externally, it is necessary to rely on the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty to fight bravely to kill the enemy, and internally, the ministers of the DPRK and China are the mainstay. The situation in our Tang Dynasty is not good today, and our brothers must not be arrogant and let the civil and military officials be separated. ”

"The words of the eldest brother Jin Yu, the younger brother always keep it in mind, the younger brother wants to obey the safety of his father, and he is one step ahead." Li Yuanji saluted his brother, let Li Jiancheng go, and went straight to the palace.

Li Jiancheng looked back at the back of his fourth brother, and was very worried in his heart, the reason why so many Guanlong nobles followed the Dugu clan to rebel was largely because Wuchuan Division had done some things very excessively. But Li Jiancheng knew that Wu Chuansi, who was also in charge of the fourth brother, was just faithfully carrying out his father's will, and if it was really too much, it was also too much for his father. But it had come to this, and there was no point in saying anything now, he shook his head and turned to leave.

But it was said that Li Yuanji came to the front of the palace, but after just waiting for a while, a eunuch brought back Li Yuan's will: "Your Highness, the Holy One will let you in!" ”

"Thank you!" Li Yuanji smiled, took the opportunity to stuff something to the eunuch, and walked in.

This old eunuch was promoted step by step by Li Yuan to the deacon of the imperial study because he knew books and etiquette, and his position was not high, but he could have access to secrets unknown to many people, and he used to be the object of competition between Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin.

He waited until Li Yuanji entered the imperial study, and then he took a peek at the things in his hand, a pearl the size of a pigeon's egg, the crystal clear beads shone with a soft luster, although it was not a night pearl, but it was also an extremely rare and priceless treasure.

When he chatted with a few eunuchs yesterday, he said that he had saved enough money to buy a rare pearl to bury him, and when he was about to die, he would hold it in his mouth. Unexpectedly, King Qi, who had just returned to Xiangyang, would give him a pearl today, and he was extremely surprised in his heart. But Li Yuanji's direct and decisive wooing made him very uneasy, and he didn't know whether it was a blessing or a curse for him.

Li Yuanji naturally didn't care about the eunuch's thoughts, for him, since this eunuch 'received' his gift, he had to give corresponding rewards in the future, otherwise, he would be an enemy of him Li Yuanji. He walked into the imperial study and saluted: "Erchen Yuanji sees his father!" ”

"Yuanji is back?" Li Yuan glanced at his son and said happily: "Get up and speak!" ”

"Thank you, father!" Li Yuanji stood aside with his hands down, looking harmless to humans and animals.

"I asked you to come back to learn about the situation in Yizhou, how are you preparing in Yizhou?" Li Yuan is now very satisfied with this son who suddenly 'had an epiphany', in order to faithfully implement all his intentions, he has borne all kinds of infamy without complaint, this is his most caring son, unlike the eldest son and the second son, who will only report worries and not good news all day long, making himself restless about food and accommodation.

"Please rest assured that everything is ready, all the information about the nobles of Long has been collected, and all the people who are related to the Dugu faction have been collected one by one in the way of touching the vines, and there are more than 2,500 households. As long as the father and the emperor give an order, the sons and daughters will be able to clear it with the force of thunder, and they will definitely be able to raise the money and food that their father needs in the shortest possible time, and they will definitely be able to annihilate it before the riot occurs, and they will never be given the opportunity to concentrate on rebellion. In the last sentence, Li Yuanji made a promise to his father in response to the 'Beizhen Army', and at the same time, he also implied that Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin were not decisive enough.

Li Yuan nodded slowly: "Regarding the seizure of the Guanlong nobles, I have four principles, you have to keep them in mind." ”

"Father, please wait." Li Yuanji sat down with a plan, prepared pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and then made a gesture of listening carefully.

Li Yuan smiled dumbly, although he felt that he paid too much attention to it, but he was actually very happy in his heart, and said: "First, I not only want to deprive them of their land, but also all the property outside the house, all their tenant farmers and domestic slaves must be turned into the people of the Tang Dynasty, and then choose young and strong to join the army, in order to avoid the reappearance of the rebels, it doesn't matter if the means are ruthless, in short, we can't let them have a chance to make a comeback." ”

"Erchen understands!" Li Yuanji solemnly recorded it

After he finished writing, Li Yuan said: "Second, the fields, money, grain, and pig iron are all handed over to the imperial court, the armor and young slaves are handed over to the military department, and the gold, silver, jewelry, and copper coins are to be handed over to the inner treasury; Third, in order to prevent the reputation of the imperial court from being ruined, you must restrain the army, not insult the women of every family, and ensure the safety of all families, so that the people of Yizhou will feel that I am merciful. Fourth, I hope that one day they will kneel in front of me and beg for mercy, so you have to let them live like dogs. ”

Li Yuan's gloomy voice was full of strong poisonous hatred, even Li Yuanji also had a sense of creepy, and after the record was completed, he got up and saluted: "Every word of the father and the emperor has been recorded by the sons. ”

Li Yuan nodded, "I have decided to let the King of Huai'an, the King of Yong'an, and the King of Xinxing enter Shu, and the King of Yong'an and King Xinxing are responsible for the aftermath, and the King of Huai'an is responsible for rectifying the young and strong tenants and domestic slaves of the various families of the Guanlong nobles. The three of them are unusually greedy, and you are in charge of overseeing them. ”

Li Yuanji was a little dumbfounded, in this way, he still has the benefits of fart to be fished?

Li Yuan asked, "What do you want to say?" ”

"Father, in order to avoid the leakage of news, some people concentrated on rebellion, and the sons wanted to suppress it at the same time. But the problem is that the Guanlong aristocratic manors are all over Yizhou, and the army in the hands of the sons and daughters cannot attack all the manors at the same time, can the father increase a little manpower? ”

Increasing the number of men and horses is Li Yuanji's ultimate goal, and he wants to take the opportunity to expand his army and train this army into an army loyal to him under his father's entry into Shu. But his father's scrutinizing gaze also made him extremely nervous, and he pretended not to care and said with a smile: "If the preparation time is insufficient, the father can also ask the second brother to transfer some soldiers and horses to help the son, and when the son's task is completed, all of them will be returned." ”

Li Yuanji's careless appearance made Li Yuan let down his guard, he pondered for a long time, and felt that Yizhou was his last place of belonging, and it was very inappropriate to allow Qingzhuang to hand over all of them to Li Shentong for training, and the separation of powers and checks and balances was the way of the emperor, so he said to Li Yuanji: "That's it!" You lead 15,000 soldiers into Shu from General Dou Cong, and I will give him an account. ”

Li Yuanji was overjoyed, and said quietly: "Thank you for your understanding, with this army in hand, the sons and daughters can definitely be foolproof." When the matter is settled, the father can call back the deployment at any time. ”

"It doesn't have to be this way!" Li Yuan smiled with satisfaction and said: "The Taihe army in Yizhou continues to destroy and plunder the Meishan mine, and it is impossible to defend it without soldiers. When your three uncles are in place, you will be responsible for annihilating this army. ”

"Thank you to your father, I will definitely be able to annihilate the Taihe Army." Li Yuanji thanked him with great joy.

"Okay." Li Yuan nodded, and explained not very reassuringly: "It's a matter of life and death in the Tang Dynasty, you can't revert to the old state." If I make the same mistake again, I will punish him. ”

"Father, don't worry."