With Li Shimin's withdrawal from Luoyang and his return to Guanzhong via Pujin Pass, Li Yuan, who had withdrawn north to Xianyang, also mobilized 40,000 elite troops from Hexi, Longyou, and Hanchuan, and the two marches effortlessly recovered the empty city of Chang'an, which had been abandoned by Longzhi.

However, the series of military defeats such as the destruction of the capital, the loss of Bashu, and the defeat of the battle in Luoyang shrouded the sky over Chang'an City like a cloud, pressing Li Yuan, Li Shimin and others out of breath.

In the imperial study, Li Yuan, the son of heaven, leaned on the dragon chair, his face was pale and his spirit was sluggish, and he no longer saw the high spirits when Taiyuan raised troops and entered the army. A series of blows had already sent his body downhill.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is an eventful autumn now, Bashu fell, the capital was attacked, and the battle of Luoyang also ended with the defeat and retreat of our Tang army, the general Qu Tutong, the king of Zhaojun Li Xiaogong, and the horse Chai Shao were killed, and the king of Qi Yuanji, the king of Changping County, Li Shuliang, the secretary of the Ministry of Works, Dugu Huaien, and Wen Daya, the squire of the Yellow Gate, were captured. It is no exaggeration to say that my Datang has reached a critical juncture of life and death. I also hope that all Aiqing will help me and Datang to overcome this difficulty. ”

Li Yuan reluctantly sat up straight, looked around at the Tang court officials in the study, and said in a hoarse voice: "This time, I hope that you Aiqing can speak freely, as long as you are sincere in your advice for the Tang Dynasty, I will not care what you say." ”

"Father!"

The crown prince Li Jiancheng came out of the queue and said, "Can the retainer say a few words first?" ”

Although Li Jiancheng did not capture Qingzhou this time, the damage to the department was not great, except for the unfortunate death of the general Li Sheng, the main force of the Tang army returned to Guanzhong safely, which was much better than Li Shimin's record of losing troops under Luoyang City. Therefore, Li Yuan currently has a good impression of Li Jiancheng, and immediately smiled slightly and said, "The emperor said that it doesn't matter!" ”

Li Jiancheng cleared his throat and said loudly: "Father, the son thinks that the current situation, Sui is strong and Tang is weak, it is an unchangeable fact. Therefore, Erchen thinks that it is difficult to be the opponent of the Sui Dynasty with the strength of my Tang family alone, and the first step we have to do is to admit defeat, surrender to Yang Gao, and bring back all the important ministers who were captured by the Sui Dynasty and tens of thousands of soldiers from Guanlong. ”

As soon as Li Jiancheng's words fell, almost all the generals such as Li Keyong and Li Jilong, who were military figures in the Tang Dynasty, glared at him angrily, and their eyes were full of injustice and resentment.

Li Jiancheng had long expected the reaction of Li Keyong and the others, he turned around and looked at Li Keyong and the others unhurriedly, and said slowly: "I know that the generals are not convinced, to be honest, I am not convinced. But the situation is stronger than people, the defeat of Luoyang and Bashu, and the attack on the capital, which has brought Datang to the brink of collapse. Now that the people are war-weary and morale is low, we simply do not have any capital to continue fighting. ”

"Your Majesty, Weichen thinks what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said is very true!"

Xiangguo Chen Shuda came out and said: "In ancient times, there was a hook to practice lying on the salary and taste the gall, and ten years of life and gathering to destroy Wu. Temporary softening is nothing, winning the final victory is the most important thing. ”

"Your Majesty, the minister also seconded the proposal!"

Pei Lin also echoed: "As long as my Tang Dynasty can destroy the Sui Dynasty in the future." Thousands of years later, who will remember today's events, they will only remember Your Majesty's wisdom and martial arts, and in one fell swoop, he will wipe out the pseudo-Sui and dominate the world! ”

"But have you ever thought that even if we want to negotiate peace, will Yang Gao agree? Now that he has the upper hand, why should he give us time to breathe? ”

Li Shimin, who was standing opposite Li Jiancheng, said slowly.

Li Shimin was the leader of the military faction in the Tang Dynasty, with civil officials in charge of peace and military generals in battle. This is the eternal law of dynasties for thousands of years. Therefore, Li Jiancheng had long expected Li Shimin's reaction, and immediately said: "Although Yang Gao won a big victory on all fronts this time, the loss was not small. According to our eyeliner in Jiangdu, the war has exhausted most of the Sui Dynasty's money and grain stocks, even if it is as rich as Jiangnan, now the doumi has risen to 40 yuan, not to mention the Central Plains, which has just recovered. ”

After finishing speaking, Li Jiancheng paused slightly, looked at Li Shimin and smiled playfully: "If the second brother doesn't believe it, you can send someone from your Tiance Mansion to Jiangdu to investigate." ”

"The news from the imperial brother is naturally believed by the younger brother."

Li Shimin also smiled slightly, and changed his words: "But because of this, my Datang must not negotiate peace with the Sui Dynasty, otherwise, Yang Gao Xiaoer will inevitably open his mouth and extort money and food from my Datang to fill the deficit for him." ”

"But has the second brother forgotten that Yang Gao captured a large number of court officials of my Tang Dynasty, as well as tens of thousands of prisoners of war from Guan Long, which are the foundation of my Tang Dynasty. Could it be that the second brother wants to let them fend for themselves under Yang Gao? Li Jiancheng glanced at the other ministers as he spoke.

"Your Majesty, the old minister thinks that what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said is really a good word, and it is a wise move for my Tang Dynasty to negotiate peace with the Sui Dynasty at the moment."

"Your Majesty, the minister seconded the proposal!"

"Your Majesty, the minister also seconded the proposal!"

Dugu Zhen, Dou Kang and most other important ministers of Guanlong nationality heard this, and they came out one after another to seconded Li Jiancheng. Dugu Huai'en, Dou Dan and others who were captured by the Sui Dynasty were the sons in law of the younger generation of their Guanlong nobles, and they were the hope of their family inheritance. Therefore, even if Dou Kang, who belonged to Li Shimin's faction, it was impossible for him to express his support for Li Shimin at this time.

Li Yuan's eyelids raised slightly, and he looked at the group of Guanlong nobles in front of him who were asking for their lives. He knew in his heart that the Guanlong aristocracy was the foundation of the Tang Dynasty, especially at a time like this, he must not turn his face against them. He immediately nodded and said, "Dugu Huaien and Dou Dan are both important ministers of my Tang Dynasty, and there is no room for mistakes." Built, the matter of peace will be left to you! ”

"Sons obey orders!"

Li Jiancheng gave up his hand to receive the order, and then said: "Father, when the situation is today, the Sui Dynasty is dominant. It was not only our Tang Dynasty that felt threatened, and Erchen thought that we could gather a group of allies to jointly curb the development of the Sui Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang and Yuan Chu in Hebei, Temujin, Wanyan Aguta, Yelu Abaoji, Goguryeo, and Oda Nobunaga in the Wa Kingdom are all objects we can woo. ”

"What the emperor said is not unreasonable, according to the current situation, it is indeed difficult for my Datang family to compete with Yang Gao'er."

Li Yuan nodded thoughtfully, his brows furrowed slightly, and he said with some concern: "However, there are many contradictions between the princes of the world, and it may be difficult to unite them. As far as I know, Zhu Yuanzhang and Yuan Chu have fought for the land of Hebei, and Temujin and Yelu Abaoji are also constantly fighting. ”

Li Jiancheng replied: "Erchen thinks that he can send an envoy to mediate first, and his words are powerful, if there are still people who don't know what to do, my Datang will do my best to help the other party." In addition, you can also use all the princes to deter all the princes, such as Nayelu Abaoji, whose cousin Xiao Yanyan is now Yang Gao's concubine, and it is very easy to be co-opted by Yang Gao. Erchen suggested that his father could order Chai Rong and Li Guangbi to send a small group of elite troops from the two roads of Bingzhou and Hexi to attack Yelu Abaoji's flank and assist Temujin. ”(https:)

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