Time soon came to the second year of Longshuo in the Tang Dynasty, this year is destined to be eventful, first of all, in February Jiazi, Gaozong issued an edict to change the names of the divisions and hundreds of officials in the capital: Shangshu Province as the middle platform, Menxia Province as the East Taiwan, Zhongshu Province as the West Taiwan, the left and right servants as the left and right Kuang Zheng, the left and right Cheng for the Su Ji, the service in the left and the left, the Zhongshu Order as the right and so on.

In March, Zheng Rentai, the general of Zuo Wuwei, and Xue Rengui, the general of Zuo Wuwei, won a great victory in the process of leading the army to conquer the Tongluo and Fugu of the Tiele Nine Divisions, Gaozong was overjoyed when he heard the news, and set up a banquet to entertain the ministers.

However, Li Xian behaved very plainly and low-key throughout the banquet, not laughing like Gaozong, nor flattering Gaozong by boasting about Zheng Rentai and Xue Rengui and others who had made a big splash through this battle, and Gaozong's mood was high at this time, and he didn't take Li Xian into account, but the Empress Wu noticed Li Xian's expression, and couldn't help but secretly wonder that this little guy who likes to join in the fun everywhere is so quiet today, which can be regarded as a miracle.

There is another person who noticed Li Xian's expression, this person is high-powered, very prestigious, he is the third old minister, and he is also known as one of the two great military gods of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Ji, formerly known as Xu Shiji, the word Mao Gong, that is, the legendary Shenji military master who made Taizong Li Shimin obey his words, because of his outstanding merits, was given the surname Li by Gaozu, and was named Li Shiji, and later changed his name to Li Ji because of avoiding Taizong's secrets.

As early as when Li Xian was born, Li Ji had heard all kinds of strange things about this prince who was the same age as his eldest grandson, Jingye, but he didn't really take all this to heart. Because for a slightly smart prince, it is not worth his attention at all.

But this time, Li Ji saw that Li Xian not only did not follow the crowd to express joy at the banquet celebrating Zheng Rentai's victory, but there was a faint trace of melancholy on his face, and he couldn't help but be surprised in his heart, and secretly thought: "It seems that this son is not as unfamiliar with government affairs as outsiders say, but is extremely shrewd, this son is very young, he is well versed in the art of Tao Hui, it seems that the plan is not small, if this is the case, I am afraid that my Tang Dynasty will be a disaster in the future, but for the sake of prudence, I still find an opportunity to test the good of this son." ”

Since he found that Li Xian's face was different, Li Ji's eyes never left him, and he waited until Li Xian finally walked out of the hall under the pretext of going to the toilet, and then quietly followed him.

When Li Ji came to the outside of the hall, he found that Li Xian was standing quietly under the moonlight, his face was not happy or sad, he couldn't help but stop for a moment, and then asked: "It's cold in the middle of the night, how can the king go out alone despite the wind and cold?" ”

Li Xian naturally noticed Li Ji's gaze a long time ago, and it was precisely because of this that he took the excuse to walk out of the hall and prepare to make friends with this veteran of the Three Dynasties.

Because he knows that this person in front of him is a rare wise man in the Tang Dynasty, not only in Gaozu and Taizong dynasties, but even if it is Gaozong, the glory of grace is unmatched, when Gaozong wanted to establish a martial arts, the courtiers objected, Gaozong was helpless, and asked Li Ji, Li Ji easily resolved the problem with a sentence of "Your Majesty's family affairs, why bother to ask outsiders" to solve the problem, so even the Empress Wu was grateful to this person, he believed that as long as he could get the praise of this old man, he would definitely be able to get very great benefits in front of Gaozong Wuhou.

But Li Xian knew that this person was a famous pure minister of the Tang Dynasty, and he was only thinking about the society, if he showed the slightest ambition in front of the other party, it would definitely arouse this person's vigilance, and with the shrewdness of the martial arts, as long as Li Ji had a little hint in front of her, he would not have a good life in the future.

Therefore, Li Xian decided to continue to adopt a vague strategy and find a way to hide the old fox in front of him, but this person is not an ordinary difficult person, if he pretends to have no trace, I am afraid that it will arouse the suspicion of the other party, so this matter must be done just right.

Although Li Xian deeply knows that with his current wisdom, it is probably not ordinary to hide from Li Ji, a wise man through the ages, but fortunately, he is only a five or six-year-old child now, and he has a relatively thorough understanding of the other party, it is not too difficult to hide this person.

Therefore, after Li Xian heard Li Ji's voice, he was suddenly frightened, as if he didn't notice that there was someone behind him, and when he saw that it was Li Ji, he bowed down and said: "It turned out to be Maogong's grandfather, and his grandson Li Xian is polite." ”

"Don't dare, don't dare, the king is called so with the respect of the prince, so polite, how can the old decay stand it? What's more, if you talk about the position, the king is the pastor of Luozhou, and the old and decayed governor of Luoluo should be a subordinate of the king, and it stands to reason that the old man should salute first. ”

After finishing speaking, Li Ji wanted to salute Li Xian, but saw Li Xian hurriedly grabbed it, and said with a smile: "Grandfather Mao Gong this is a torment of the little king, the prince has made outstanding contributions to my Tang Dynasty, assisting my ancestors, Taizong and today's son three generations, in the past my father was the governor of the state, the prince was the long history, and then my father was the prince, and the prince was carefully assisted in teaching, and the prince and my maternal ancestor Shi Yan Gong had a very good relationship, my mother has always regarded the prince as an uncle, and then got the power of the public, so he had to worship as the queen, Su Ri said in front of Xiao Wang, I want Xiao Wang to treat him as a grandfather, Gong has this relationship with my parents, and it is well deserved to be called a grandfather by Xiao Wang. I flaunt the world with filial piety, the public is the ancestors, how can I salute the little king, don't you want to torture the little king? ”

"In that case, it is rude to be old." Li Ji couldn't help but smile when he saw Li Xian praising him so sincerely, and said a word along the way, and he was more than half less wary of him.

But Li Ji did not forget his original intention of coming here, and brought up the old words again, and said to Li Xian: "Where did the old man ask?" By the way, in the middle of the night, how did the king go out alone despite the wind and cold? ”

"Hehe, why should the public ask knowingly? My grandson was really worried about the situation on the Western Front, so he was worried, but he didn't want to be seen by the public. Li Xian didn't hide it, and directly admitted his thoughts.

"Oh? Now that Zheng Rentai and Xue Rengui have defeated Tiele, and the whole dynasty is congratulating, what is the king worried about? Li Ji seemed to be very casual about this, and asked with a smile.

Li Xian's eyes were like torches, and he could see at a glance that Li Ji cared about this question, and since he had already known Li Ji's purpose from the beginning, he naturally had a countermeasure now, but he seemed to hesitate for a long time on the surface, and then he said: "Xiao Wang heard that although General Zheng was victorious, he plundered his troops, and although General Xue was determined by three arrows to the Tianshan Mountain, he was brave, but after the surrender of the Tiele troops, he was all pitted, so Xiao Wang was foolish, and the two generals were more than brave, but they were not benevolent, and they will definitely arouse stronger resistance. Even if we win for a while, it will ultimately be detrimental to the community. ”

"The king's words are deeply to my liking, Zheng Rentai and Xue Rengui pretend to be heroic, but they are easy to break, and the old man is also expected to fail in this trip. The king is so smart at a young age, and it is my blessing to the Tang Dynasty. ”

Li Ji praised Li Xian very much on the surface, but in his heart he did not agree with Li Xian's theory, because it is not benevolence to fight a war, and sometimes kindness to the enemy is irresponsible to his own people.

"Am I too prey-eyed? How old is this son? How can such a strategy be found? Li Ji couldn't help but secretly laugh at his suspicions, and at the same time secretly ashamed that he was so suspicious of a young child.

But at this time, Li Xian didn't want to let him go, but said loudly: "Since Grandfather Mao saw that the two generals were bound to lose this trip, why didn't he go to the emperor, or order the emperor to send an edict to make the two generals change their strategy so that they would not be defeated?" ”

Li Ji shook his head with a wry smile, and then gently touched Li Xian's head and said: "The king doesn't know, there is a system in the army, the generals are outside, and the king's order is not subject to it, the two generals are the chief and deputy commanders of the army, and they have full command power. ”

In fact, this is only Li Ji's superficial answer, and the deep meaning is not at all for outsiders, but this point Li Xian is clear, five years after Xianqing, Gaozong suddenly made a headwind, in view of the young prince, the power of the minister, he handed over the political affairs to the Empress Wu, and the Empress Wu took the opportunity to expand his power, Xu Jingzong, Li Yifu, Cui Yixuan, Wang Dejian, Yuan Gongyu, Hou Shanye and others also took refuge, which made Gaozong feel faintly uneasy, so he began to fight for power with Empress Wu.

This time Tiele nine rebellion, Gaozong in order to consolidate his power, he appointed his cronies Zheng Rentai and Xue Rengui to go on the expedition, so as to wait for the two generals to win the victory and meritorious service for the reward, the Empress Wu recommended Tiele from the general Qi Bi He Li, but was rejected by Gaozong, this time the two generals won, the Empress Wu was naturally displeased, so although Li Ji knew that with Zheng Rentai's ability, it was not enough to quell the Tiele rebellion, but he did not dare to beak, but he was afraid that this move would offend Empress Wu, so as to change his strategy of maintaining neutrality in the struggle for power between the two saints.

"Alas, my old man, the family business that has been painstakingly built up over the years cannot be destroyed because of a moment of confusion. Therefore, now that the two generals are defeated, they can only keep it secret, and let the situation develop naturally, as for this child, I must find a way to seal his mouth, otherwise once I am involved, I will not be able to watch from the wall like now. ”

Li Ji looked at Li Xian in front of him, thought for a while, and then asked: "The old man has heard that the king is smart, and when I see it today, it really deserves its name, but the king doesn't like to read, but it's a pity, for example, today's events, although the king can conclude that the two generals will be defeated, but it is only analyzed from the perspective of benevolence and righteousness. If not, there are a few military books here, obscure, and the old man concludes that with the talent of the king, it may be difficult to understand within half a year, you and I will come to gamble today, if the king can really understand it, the old man will teach the old man the art of war of Li Weigong annotated to the king, if the old man wins, the king needs to rely on the old man, I don't know if the king can gamble? ”