Li Shimin's refusal to let Li Chengqian is actually a matter of face.

First, he is the emperor who has to be responsible and can't make it difficult for his son, and second, he can't let Li Chengqian steal all the limelight, in the final analysis, it's a matter of face.

But the emperor has personally gone out, can Li Chengqian and the ministers not follow?

Therefore, all the ministers who were on the line, including the leaders of the various tribes who were standing at the door waiting for the court, followed, plus Li Shimin and the guards of the East Palace, and a group of thousands of people went straight to the south gate of Lingzhou City.

Li Chengqian, under the strict protection of a group of guards, followed Li Shimin's guard of honor closely, and soon arrived at the south gate of Lingzhou City.

Li Shimin jumped off his horse angrily and was greeted by Li Shiji and other generals.

Li Shiji saluted Li Shimin in shame and said, "See Your Majesty, the ministers are incompetent." ”

Li Shimin waved his hand with a calm face and said, "I'll take a look at the situation first." ”

As he spoke, he walked straight to the gate of the city, and saw nearly a thousand archers drawing bows and arrows in the hole of the city gate, and looked very nervously at the soldiers sitting on the ground opposite.

Li Shimin looked at the tens of thousands of ordinary soldiers sitting on the ground opposite him with a calm face, turned around and asked Li Shiji and several generals around him gloomily, "Who is this person?"

Several generals turned pale and lowered their heads, and Li Shiji had no choice but to bite the bullet and say: "The minister has asked, and there are soldiers in several battalions." ”

Li Shimin was irritated when he heard this: "You ordered them not to listen?"

"The ministers are incompetent." The generals will have no choice but to plead guilty.

Li Shimin snorted angrily when he heard this, stretched out his hand and pulled away a few archers and was about to go out, and Li Chengqian was ready to follow.

"Your Majesty can't help it!" Fang Xuanling hurriedly grabbed Li Shimin's shirt and didn't let Li Shimin go out.

"Why don't you go over?" Li Chengqian proposed behind Li Shimin.

When Li Shimin heard this, he turned his head and found that Li Chengqian was standing behind him, his face was slightly warmer, but then he subconsciously glanced at Li Chengqian's injured foot.

"What are you doing here?" As he spoke, he looked at Wang Fangyi, who was behind Li Chengqian, and ordered sternly: "Protect the crown prince, there must be no mistakes." ”

"Obey the order!" Wang Fangyi said solemnly.

Ministers: ......

Li Shimin did not step forward again, but turned his head and asked Li Shiji, "Did they make any requests?"

"I only said that I wanted to see Your Majesty, and I didn't say anything else." Li Shiji is embarrassed.

When Li Shimin heard this, he couldn't help but say: "Let the person in charge of them come to see me." ”

When Li Shiji heard this, he hurriedly sent someone to deliver the edict to the soldiers opposite.

Li Chengqian walked to the front and saw the archers waiting for battle, frowned and said, "Withdraw the archers, these soldiers don't look like they are going to rebel." ”

"Your Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince are still careful here." Hou Junji hurriedly said.

Li Chengqian said angrily when he heard this: "Your Majesty and King Gu's courage is not so small, and they can't be looked down upon by the soldiers outside. ”

Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "Withdraw first." ”

Before the archers withdrew, the people sent out by Li Shiji to deliver the decree returned in a daze, walked in front of Li Shimin and bowed down and said: "Your Majesty, the soldiers said, 'They have no one in charge, but they have heard that there are traitors in the court, and they want to tell Your Majesty that they can't believe the slander, and let the traitors harm the Tang Dynasty. ’”

"Presumptuous!" The green tendons on Li Shimin's forehead were exposed.

After all, Li Shimin was born in a martial arts family, and he could accept the advice of the scholars, but when he suddenly heard that the big-headed soldiers were also going to give him advice, he was really not angry.

"If that's the case, they can be regarded as good intentions for the country and the people!" Li Chengqian said lightly.

"Huh?" Li Shimin turned his head and looked at Li Chengqian angrily.

"But it's also possible that their kindness was taken advantage of by traitors, and the sons thought that their father still had to come forward to listen to him."

"The archers have withdrawn, they still dare not come, what can I do." Li Shimin spread his hands.

Li Chengqian looked up when he heard this, and said busily: "It's better for my father to climb the city wall and teach them a few words." ”

Li Shimin didn't think about it when he heard this, so he turned around and ran to the city tower, and Li Chengqian and the others hurriedly followed from behind.

Li Chengqian fell behind because of the inconvenience of his legs and feet, and when he helped Liu Kui up, the soldiers under the city saw that Li Shimin was already kneeling on the ground and shouting long live in his uniform.

Li Shimin looked at this kind of scene, and only then did he believe that these were villains, and they would never rebel now.

But the thought that they didn't know who told them something, so they didn't even listen to the military order, and in their hearts they broke the body of the person who encouraged them to make trouble.

"Soldiers, I heard that you have something to say to me, and I am here to listen, so say whatever you have to say." Li Shimin put on the demeanor of an emperor and shouted loudly below.

"Your Majesty, the ministers heard that Datang had a traitor, and they were afraid that he would harm Datang, so they wanted to tell Your Majesty." A middle-aged man below stood up and said loudly.

"Who told you that there was a traitor in the middle of the court?" Li Shimin still couldn't hold back when he heard this, and asked what was in his heart.

Li Chengqian sneered in his heart in the back, if you can ask this, then wouldn't I have arranged these days in vain.

"Back to Your Majesty, rumors have been circulating in various military camps these days, and the ministers don't know who said it."

Li Shimin was a little disappointed when he heard this, but he still asked a little perfunctorily: "Then what have you heard about that you have to see me?"

At this time, a person stood up from the crowd below, hugged his fist at Li Shimin and said: "Back to Your Majesty, the ministers heard that the traitors in the court are going to demote the 200,000 Mobei soldiers and increase the rank of official, and then release them back to Mobei?"

Li Shimin's face suddenly gloomy when he heard this, and he replied lightly: "This is a state affair, but can you ask?"

"Your Majesty's words are wrong!" It was a gray-haired old pawn who spoke.

Li Shimin's eyes widened when he heard this, and an old soldier dared to reprimand him in front of him.

"Bold, dare to offend Your Majesty." Hou Junji scolded loudly beside him.

The old man was unmoved, stood up tremblingly, hugged his fists at Li Shimin and said: "Your Majesty, you don't plan to go back alive when you go out on this expedition, can you let the old man finish his words and then kill the old man?"

Li Shimin gritted his teeth and said, "Say it!" ”

"Lao Yu is fifty-nine years old today, he joined the army in the former Sui Dynasty, and he has been in the army for more than 40 years.

But it's a shame to say it, the old man has fought for a lifetime, and he doesn't know why he is fighting. Sometimes I think that we are fighting for the imperial court, and it is indeed an order from the imperial court. is fighting for the emperor, and the emperor is sitting. Fighting for the general, and winning the battle is the general's promotion.

So we only follow orders to fight and never care about anything else, not for ourselves anyway......"

In the Tang Dynasty, not to mention the pawns at the bottom, they didn't know who to fight for, even ordinary farmers farming and paying taxes didn't know why they wanted to pay taxes.

The old man didn't seem to feel such an atmosphere, and the more he talked, the more energetic he said: "But a few days ago, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince told us that we are fighting for the Tang Dynasty, and we are defending the people of Datang and our families.

It's right to think about it, which time was the Yidian invasion in the north that was not the common people?

It's about our old surname, so why can't we ask?

Besides, if it's really a state affair, we can't ask about it, so why should we wait like us when we go to war?"

This old man spoke slowly and softly because of his old age and lack of strength, but every word was smashed on Li Shimin's chest like a hammer.

He couldn't breathe when he smashed it.