Guanzhong, Chang'an, Daxing Palace, Wude Palace.

The hall was brightly lit, and the important ministers of the Tang Dynasty led by the crown prince Li Jiancheng, Xiangguo Liu Wenjing, Pei Lian, Dugu Zhen, Dou Wei, Chen Shuda and the general Dou Liang all sat solemnly on their seats, bowing their heads and frowning in contemplation.

Li Yuan, who was dressed in a yellow dragon robe, sat on the dragon chair and slowly said to everyone: "Everyone, Aiqing, in recent days, there have been frequent reports of the defeat of our Tang Dynasty, first Li Yuanji, the king of Qi, was captured in Hanoi, and then the concubine Chai Shao was captured in Jingxiang. Last night, there was another report of defeat in the state, General Li Keyong was ambushed by Zhao Kuangyin and the grassland Hu people, and suffered a fiasco, losing the fortress of Bird Mouse Valley. Now the situation in the state is worrying! ”

Li Yuan's voice was very hoarse, not only because of the blows caused to him by the frequent reports of the defeat of the Tang army in recent days, but also because of his excessive indulgence since he ascended the throne.

Xiangguo Liu Wenjing got up and said, "Your Majesty, the state is extremely important to my Tang Dynasty. Not only because it is His Majesty's Longxing land, but once the entire territory of Bingzhou is lost, Zhao Kuangyin can follow His Majesty's marching route and raise troops to invade Guanzhong. So Weichen thought that at this time, he could only recall the army of King Qin, and first pacify Zhao Kuangyin who merged with the state. ”

Since Pei Lin was humiliated by Yang Gao in Jiangdu for a while, he has always regarded Yang Gao as an enemy who does not share the sky. Letting Li Shimin withdraw his troops would be tantamount to giving the Central Plains to Yang Gao, and Liu Wenjing, who put forward this opinion, has always been at odds with him, so he will not agree with it.

Pei Lin immediately got up and retorted: "Liu Xiangguo's words are wrong. If His Royal Highness the King of Qin is allowed to withdraw his troops back to Guanzhong, it is tantamount to giving the Central Plains to Yang Gao'er, which is absolutely not good! ”

Liu Wenjing glanced at Pei Lin with disdain, and said coldly: "Then what better idea does Master Pei have?" ”

Pei Xiao said in a deep voice: "Although the Bird Mouse Valley has been lost, there is still a dangerous pass in the Pass, so why not be afraid of Zhao Kuangyin, a rat!" ”

Liu Wenjing didn't raise her eyelids, and said lightly: "Even the Bird and Mouse Valley can be lost, how can Master Pei ensure that Pujin Pass is not lost?" ”

"This..."

Pei Lin was speechless for a while, not knowing what to say.

At this time, another member of the Xiangguo Chen Shuda also raised objections: "Liu Xiangguo, let the Qin Wang's class return to the dynasty can certainly stabilize the situation in Guanzhong." However, this time, the scale of our Datang Five-Way Expedition is huge, with 300,000 troops, and it will be a huge blow to the prestige of my Datang Dynasty, and the Central Plains family will also be disappointed in us. ”

Liu Wenjing arched his hand slightly towards Chen Shuda and said, "Lord Chen is worried, but compared to the safety of Guanzhong, he can only give up this face. Moreover, the Central Plains has gone through many years of military disasters, and the displaced people are everywhere, and the people are not able to make a living. Yang Gao's occupation of the Central Plains actually got a huge burden, in order to appease the local Yang Gao It will take at least a year or two, and I, Datang, can also take this opportunity to exterminate Zhao Kuangyin and accumulate strength. ”

Li Jiancheng also spoke out to persuade Li Yuan: "Father, the second brother has been blocked by Wang Shichong in Hongnong County for more than a month, and I am afraid it will be difficult to make a difference if I stay any longer." According to Erchen's opinion, it is better to let the second brother retreat to defend Guanzhong. ”

Li Yuan nodded slightly, then turned his head and asked Dou Wei, Dugu Zhen and the others, who had not spoken: "What do you think?" ”

Dou Wei and Dugu Zhen are the leaders of the Guanlong aristocracy, Guanzhong is their nest, compared to the Central Plains, they are naturally more concerned about the safety of Guanzhong, and immediately bowed their hands together and said: "Your Majesty, Weichen thinks that Guanzhong is the foundation of my Tang Dynasty, and there must be no mistakes!" ”

Li Yuan saw that most of the important ministers supported Liu Wenjing's suggestion, and he himself was more worried about the safety of Guanzhong, so he made a decision immediately, "Deliver a decree and order the King of Qin to immediately give up attacking Hongnong County, return to the court, and defend Guanzhong." ”

The crown prince Li Jiancheng said again: "Father, now the king of Qi and the concubine Chai Shao are in the hands of the Sui army, these two are relatives of the emperor, and they also made a lot of contributions at the beginning of the establishment of the Tang Dynasty. Erchen suggested sending envoys to Jiangdu to redeem the two. ”

Pei Lin stood up again and objected: "No! Yang Gao Xiaoer is insatiable, this time my Datang Fifth Road Eastern Expedition has suffered a huge loss, if Yang Gao Xiaoer is allowed to blackmail again, my Datang's treasury should be bottomed out! ”

"Is it possible that Pei Xiangguo wants to let the third brother and Chai Juma be humiliated in Jiangdu?"

Li Jiancheng glared at Pei Lin unhappily, although Pei Lin was his help in the court. But Li Jiancheng is a generous person, except for Li Shimin, who threatens his status, and has an extremely good relationship with other brothers and brothers-in-law. Hearing Pei Lian's opposition at this moment, Deng Shi became angry.

When Pei Lin saw Li Jiancheng angry, he was shocked, and hurriedly sat down, not daring to speak again.

At this time, Xiangguo Chen Shuda got up and said, "Your Majesty, Weichen thinks that what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said is very reasonable. King Qi aside, since His Majesty raised the army, Chai and Ma have been working hard and complaining, leveling the pass, fighting Xue Ju, and making many military exploits. If he is allowed to be imprisoned, the ministers are afraid that the hearts of the ministers will be chilled! ”

Li Yuan nodded and said, "What Chen Xiangguo said is extremely true. It's just that I don't know who among the ministers can send an envoy to Jiangdu to meet Yang Gao? ”

As soon as Li Yuan said this, several Xiangguo quickly lowered their heads. This mission to Jiangdu is more difficult than last time. Last time, Liu Wenjing sent Jiangdu to sign a contract with the Sui Dynasty, agreeing that they would not attack each other for three years.

Although everyone knows that this is just a false finger, as long as it is profitable, no matter how Tang Sui will quickly tear up the contract. But now, after all, it is a contract torn up by the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty is in the first place, and this time the envoy will definitely be troubled by the Sui Dynasty in every way.

Seeing that several important ministers lowered their heads, Li Yuan's face suddenly sank, and he swept several important ministers with sharp eyes, and suddenly said: "Liu Xiangguo, last time you sent an envoy to Jiangdu, then this time I will hand over this important task to you again." ”

Liu Wenjing couldn't help but secretly complain when she heard this, but Li Yuan's golden mouth had been opened, and Liu Wenjing could only stubbornly take the order: "Wechen obeyed the order, but Wechen begged His Majesty to send someone to Wechen as a deputy!" ”

Li Yuan stroked his beard and smiled: "I don't know who Liu Aiqing wants?" ”

Liu Wenjing arched his hand and said: "Weichen hopes that His Majesty can send Lang Yu Wenshi of the military department and be Weichen's deputy. Princess Nanyang, the wife of Lord Yuwen, still stayed in Jiangdu, and Weichen thought that he might be able to take advantage of this relationship during negotiations. ”

When Jiangdu mutinied, although Yu Wenshi and Yu were not involved in this matter, he was afraid that he would be implicated because of his relationship with his brother Yu Wenji. So he followed Yu Wenhua and fled all the way north, and later Yu Wenhua was defeated by Zhu Yuanzhang in Wei County, defeated and died, and he defected to the Tang Dynasty.

Liu Wenjing proposed to let Yu Wenshi and serve as his deputy, Li Yuan thought about it for a while and felt that he had some sense, so he nodded and agreed to Liu Wenjing's request.