Li Yuan was in a dilemma, looking at a group of subordinates who were a little depressed, and somewhat depressed in his heart.

The weather, which was not alive and did not kill him, did not expect this result. But now he knows that the arrow is ready to be sent and he has no turning back.

He has 30,000 elite soldiers in his hands, but many of them are temporarily recruited, and it was expected that he would continue to recruit new soldiers during the march, but now he can't advance, and the army's morale is slightly sluggish.

It is said that if you go out again, the morale will be weakened, and it can be said that victory or defeat is unpredictable.

The only thing that made Li Yuan feel at ease was that although he did not occupy the time, he still had the right place and people, Li Liang, Liu Wuzhou, and Xue Ju all had the heart to dominate Guan Long, causing a pincer attack on his Taiyuan. But in Li Yuan's view, these three people lack the ambition to dominate the world, and only want to protect themselves, and they have no idea of plotting against Guanzhong at the moment. Don't look at Xiao Buyi and Li Mi's current arrogance, but this competition for the world is not an overnight success, not to mention that Zhou, Qin, Han, and Sui all prospered from this place, and he Li Yuan followed the example of his predecessors, and the world may not fall into his hands.

Li Yuan is over half a hundred years old, and he has been living in a nest, and in the eyes of Yang Guangqunchen, he is just a drunken man. But I have ambitions in my heart, and I have thought about all the plans in my heart for too long, and this time it seems that I have to raise troops, but I have been brewing in Taiyuan for at least a few years, and in my mind, I have been thinking about it for ten years.

"Now morale is low, and I don't know when the rain will stop. If you follow my thoughts, it is better to return to Taiyuan and plan again. ”

"Absolutely not, if the morale is low and turns around, most of them will collapse. It's a pity that we have worked so hard to build momentum for so long, and once we lost it. ”

"But now I can't advance, I can't retreat, I don't know what the best way to build it?"

"Well...... Everything is still under the orders of the general. ”

Li Yuan looked down and saw that it was Pei Lin who said that he had turned back to Taiyuan, and it was his eldest son Li Jiancheng who said that he could not turn back. Li Yuan nodded secretly, and the people of the heart and the earth were all newborn calves, and now they needed their sharpness. Pei Lin is old, and it is the opinion of most older people that he wants to return to Taiyuan.

This time, he brought a lot of elders with him, and of course Li Yuan was unwilling to return in vain, but he also knew that it would not be easy to convince them. The revolt of the people lies in unity, and if there is a disagreement, it is a harbinger of defeat.

Pei Lin looked at Li Yuan and said, "I don't know what the general has to say?" ”

Li Yuan coughed lightly, and when he was hesitating, a soldier from the Chinese army tent came in and said loudly: "General Qiyu, there is an urgent military situation in Taiyuan." ”

The ministers in the Chinese military tent are all discolored, and their hearts are the fundamental place of Taiyuan, if they fall, everyone can be regarded as dead and have no place to be buried.

Li Yuan stretched out his hand to take the paperwork, looked at it twice, snorted coldly, threw the paperwork on the ground, and just rolled down at Pei Lian's feet. Pei Lin picked it up and looked at it, and said in a lost voice: "It turns out that there is news that Liu Wuzhou wants to unite with the Turks to attack Taiyuan!" ”

As soon as he said this, everyone in the tent was shocked and looked at each other. Tang Jian came out and said: "General, Taiyuan is the fundamental place for us, and besides, the families of the righteous army here are all in Taiyuan. It's better to turn around for the time being, I don't know what the general thinks? ”

"No!" Although Li Jiancheng is a humble gentleman, he did not let it at all at this time, looked at the clerk and said: "The clerk is just a rumor, how can the rumors be taken seriously, Yuan Ji is really abrupt this time." ”

Li Shimin took the document and looked at it again, frowned and said: "Big brother, it is Dou Dan's letter, and it is not as exaggerated as Pei Changshi said." Dou Dan was not too nervous, and the letter was just to ask the general for advice, and it was estimated that Yuan Ji made a big fuss. ”

It turned out that Li Yuan went south to plot against Guanzhong, but he couldn't rest assured that he would not be able to build on Taiyuan, and of course he would not hand over this kind of place to others, so he would hand over the heavy land of Taiyuan to Li Yuanji to sit in town. He has a lot of concubines, but the only ones who can really use his power are the children born to him by the Yuan Dou family. But even so, Li Yuanji is a little young and unworthy of the great responsibility of guarding Taiyuan. Therefore, he ordered Dou Dan and Yu Wenxin to assist Li Yuanji, plus the Li clan, so that he could go south with peace of mind. Dou Dan married his daughter, and he is also a close relative of his son-in-law, plus some clansmen, which can ensure that Taiyuan is worry-free.

Therefore, the real decision-maker in Taiyuan now is not Li Yuanji, but Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin pushed the problem on Li Yuanji, because they didn't want the ministers to take the problem too seriously.

Pei Lin shook his head, "According to the military situation, Song Laosheng and Qu Tutong are both holding on to danger, and it is not easy for us to capture them." Besides, although Li Mi has formed an alliance with us, he may attack us at any time through Luoyang, and the Turks are greedy for profit and forget their righteousness, and they can't believe it. If Taiyuan is occupied by Liu Wuzhou and the Turks, I am afraid that everyone will really have nowhere to stay. It's better to turn around to rescue Taiyuan for the time being, and then raise a charity act, I don't know what the general thinks. ”

After Pei Lian's words, some of the ministers were silent, but many people nodded, Tang Jian, Yin Kaishan, Wen Dayou and others echoed it, but Liu Hongji, Duan Zhixuan, Liu Zhenghui and others did not approve. Li Yuan frowned secretly and said softly: "This matter will be put aside for the time being, and it will be decided tomorrow." ”

"General, saving soldiers is like fighting a fire, this matter can't wait." Tang Jian said hurriedly.

"It's late today, it's still raining heavily, and the march is not proper, so I will send troops back tomorrow." After Li Yuan said this, he brushed his sleeves and left the Zhongjun tent. A group of old courtiers glanced at each other and followed closely behind, obviously to finalize the matter of the turnaround.

Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng glanced at each other, retreated to the corner and whispered.

The dark curtain fell, the rain was pouring down, and the sky was like a hole, constantly tilting the rain.

Li Yuan's tent was brightly lit, and he didn't sleep in the middle of the night, and all the courtiers tried their best to persuade Li Yuan to turn around. Li Yuan was unhappy in his heart, but these people were all his righteous ministers, and they couldn't be held responsible, but it was definitely very difficult to convince them.

Listening to Tang Jian analyze the matter again, the old courtiers all nodded, and Li Yuan could only say helplessly: "Okay, if it rains heavily tomorrow......

Before he finished speaking, a soldier rushed in and said, "General, the Duke of Dunhuang asks to see you." ”

Of course, the Duke of Dunhuang is Li Shimin, all the old ministers looked at each other, they all looked at Li Yuan, everyone knew what Li Shimin was doing!

Li Yuan saw the faces of the ministers, coughed and waved his hand: "Said that I had already gone to bed, but I didn't see it." ”

All the old ministers were relieved, and they were all grateful for Li Yuan's understanding, and the soldiers hurriedly went out to inform Li Shimin. Just turned back after a moment, Li Yuan asked in displeasure, "What's the matter?" ”

The soldiers were embarrassed: "The Duke of Dunhuang knelt on the muddy ground and wept bitterly, only asking to see the general. ”

Li Yuan said angrily: "No! ”

The soldiers could only go out again, and a lightning bolt struck outside the tent, shining brightly outside the tent, and the old ministers were thrilled. Immediately after the rain fell, the 'ping pong' hit the camp tent, the rain was mixed with howling and crying, desolate and sad, and all the old ministers looked at each other.

Li Yuan was unmoved, but said, "What does Lord Yitang mean, are we ......?"

The soldier ran in again, "General, the Duke of Dunhuang has been poured through outside the tent, I'm afraid that it will go on like this......" The soldier wanted to speak and stopped, Tang Jian finally said: "General...... With such a heavy rainfall, Dunhuang is outside, and I am afraid that it will damage my body. ”

"Ignore this rebel!" Li Yuan said angrily, "Lord Tang, you said yours. ”

Hearing the cries outside, how did Tang Jian continue to speak? After a while, there was a noise outside, and another soldier rushed in and said, "General, the Duke of Dunhuang has drawn his sword and said that he wants to kill himself!" ”

Before Li Yuan could say anything, all the ministers got up and rushed out in a swarm, and after a while, Li Shimin was embraced in.

Li Shimin was fished out of the water, rain and tears dripped by bit, and when he saw Li Yuan, he knelt on the ground and cried bitterly: "The child is not filial." As he spoke, he was about to wipe the knife on his neck, Duan Zhixuan grabbed his wrist tightly, and the ministers also blocked him, Li Yuan said angrily: "What are you going to do?" ”

Li Shimin's tears and rain flowed down his cheeks, and he said sadly: "The child is only sad for his father, sad for the righteous army, and sad for the world." As soon as the child died, he just wanted people to understand that the child had no selfish intentions. If you can save the rebels with death, why die? ”

Everyone was shocked, and Tang Jian hurriedly asked, "What do you mean by Duke Dunhuang?" ”

Li Shimin said indignantly: "We are supposed to be righteous, save the people from fire and water, enter Xijing, and command the world. But now it's just a thief, and he can't wait to return to defend the city, so how can he call the world to such a move, and won't it chill the righteous people who follow? Besides, what can you do if you turn around and stick to Taiyuan, what is the difference between what you do and Liu Wuzhou, and it is not to the point where people in the world will laugh at it and become a thief? We will raise troops for the sake of righteousness, and if we advance, we will win, and if we retreat, we will be defeated. If you retreat today, the people's hearts will be lost, and destruction can be said to be waiting, in this case, even if you hold the city of Taiyuan, what can you do? What's more, Liu Wuzhou's attack on Taiyuan is just a rumor! ”

The old ministers looked at each other, Tang Jian saw that Li Shimin was about to move the knife again, and hurriedly held it down and said: "Dunhuang Gong don't be in a hurry, I am all thinking about Tang Gong, and I will slowly say something about it." ”

Li Yuan asked in a cold voice, "Song Laosheng and Qu Tutong are in danger, what should I do if I can't advance or retreat?" ”

Li Shimin said solemnly: "Qu Tutong is old and incompetent, he only knows how to hold Hedong, give up Hukou and Longmen, maybe Hedong City is urgent, but I wait for the banner of righteousness to be held high, as long as Huoyi is broken, there will be countless righteous troops to follow." When the time comes, we will divide our troops into two routes, besiege Hedong, cross the Yellow River, and attack the Weihe Plain. Song Laosheng was born from a humble background, frivolous and impetuous, as long as he was lured to fight, he could be captured in one battle. In my opinion, the two dangers mentioned by my father can be easily solved. ”

The ministers were moved, but Li Yuan sneered: "Then if Li Mi goes west, how should we deal with it?" ”

Li Shimin said with a straight face: "Li Mi is short-sighted and only cares about the eastern capital, not to mention that he is reluctant to Luokou and Liyang granaries, and he can't care about plotting far away!" ”

Tang Jian nodded, "What the Duke of Dunhuang said also makes sense. ”

"But what if Liu Wuzhou unites the Turkic troops to attack Taiyuan?" Li Yuan asked again.

"First of all, the Turks are also friendly with us, and secondly, I heard that the Turkic Shibi Khan has made a heavy oath that he will not march south in his lifetime. In this case, even if some Turkic soldiers do not obey the orders of Shibi Khan to attack, why should we be afraid? What's more, the Turks and Liu Wuzhou are also inseparable, he wants to plot against Taiyuan, how can he not consider that Ma Yi is being targeted by the Turks? What's more, the city of Taiyuan is thick and thick, and we also have a large army to guard it, as long as we are not stupid, it is not a problem to hold on for a few months, if it is really attacked, it is not too late for me to return to the army, if it is just a rumor, let me wait for the turnaround, and make the world laugh. ”

Li Yuan snorted coldly, "Yellow-mouthed boy, I don't know how thick the sky is. ”

Pei Lin looked left and right, and finally said with a smile: "Actually, what Shimin said is also very reasonable, I think the matter of turning Taiyuan should be considered in the long run." Everyone was eager to turn back to Taiyuan immediately, but they just forced Li Yuan, and when they heard Li Shimin's analysis, they were miserable and miserable, and they all hesitated.

Li Jiancheng didn't know when he got into the tent and said in a deep voice: "In my opinion, there is a compromise in this matter. ”

"How?" Everyone asked.

"It's really not the right time to turn around at this moment, why don't we wait here for another half a month to see how things change?" Li Jiancheng said cautiously.

When the ministers saw that Li Shimin was still carrying a knife, they could only nod, "What Long Guogong said makes a lot of sense. ”

Li Yuan sighed softly, "Alas...... In that case, let me listen to your ideas and stay here for half a month to observe the changes in the situation. It's late, let's all go back and rest. ”

When the ministers retreated, leaving only Li Yuan's father and son, Li Shimin suddenly sneezed. Li Yuan hurriedly ordered his subordinates to prepare clean clothes, and sighed lightly: "Shimin, I have wronged you, you really did not disappoint me." ”

Li Shimin rubbed his nose and smiled, "Dad, we are people who do great things, what is this grievance." But thanks to your thorough analysis and big brother's good teaching, otherwise it would be really difficult to convince them. ”

Li Yuan stretched out his hand and patted Shimin's shoulder, and said with emotion: "Shimin, what you said is good, some words are indeed better for you." ”

"I think I'm an ignorant boy who is the head of analysis, since I give them a step down, how can they not be interesting." Li Shimin smiled.

Li Yuan sighed lightly: "In the real crisis, only the two of you can trust your father. Fortunately, you didn't disappoint me, otherwise this time, I am afraid that I will be a prisoner of others. ”

"By the way, father, there is one more thing I want to tell you." Li Jiancheng said suddenly, "With the help of the eldest grandson Shunde, Caiyu has moved most of the family members of the Eastern Capital out, and Sanniang, Siniang and others have rushed to Taiyuan, and I have already sent someone to pick them up." ”

Li Yuan breathed a long sigh of relief, "Then when will the jade picking Chai Shao turn around?" ”

Li Jiancheng smiled and said: "Presumably, it will be within a few days, Daddy doesn't have to worry too much." ”

Li Yuan sighed and muttered, "That's good......"

**

Xiao Buyi has been recuperating for a few injuries in the eastern capital, and he is already well. He seemed to be seriously injured, but when Shi Danai still barely got up, he was able to move freely.

Remembering that when the bearded guest first taught him the Yijin Sutra, he mentioned a sentence that Lao Tzu said, the world is weaker than water, and the strong can win, it is not easy, Xiao Buyi is to understand some of the weak over the strong. Shi Danai had a hard job, and Fu Pingju had a hard encounter, and he was seriously injured. He changed his tendons for blood with the Yi Jin Sutra, although he was seriously injured at the time, but he finally got most of the strength of Yi Fu Pingju in time, and he recovered quickly after the fact. When he thought of the bearded guest, Xiao Buyi smiled bitterly at the corner of his mouth, and the kung fu of the heart and the way of living in peace, I am afraid that only the bearded guest can restrain it.

Moving her muscles in the courtyard, the woman in black saw it from a distance and breathed a sigh of relief.

Xiao Buyi knew that she was injured for a few days, and the woman in black had been on guard against Fu Pingju's plot, and she was on guard day and night, seemingly indifferent, but she was not far from him.

Although the woman in black didn't say anything, Xiao Buyi was grateful in her heart, and she was about to step forward to say a few words, but Huang Sheren hurried to ask, "Brother Xiao, are you better?" ”

Xiao Buyi was seriously injured, and the courtiers had to come to visit him for whatever purpose. However, he put down the gifts, said goodbye and left, and did not dare to disturb Xiao Buyi's rest. Huang Fujiang is familiar with him, and of course he has to come these days.

Seeing that Huang Fujiang wanted to speak and stopped, Xiao Buyi smiled and said: "It's a lot better, not only can I walk, but it is not a problem to enter the palace." ”

Huang Fujiang was overjoyed and said: "King Yue is quite concerned about Brother Xiao's body, so he let Brother Yu come to visit, does Brother Dare to rest for a few more days?" ”

His concern was self-evident, Xiao Buyi was moved in his heart, but he thought of something, "Could it be that something big happened in the DPRK and China?" ”

Huang Sheren smiled wryly, but he gave a thumbs up and said: "Brother is as smart as he is, and he can guess it." As I said, don't talk about it to anyone, brother. Knowing that Xiao Buyi was tight-lipped, Huang Sheren lowered his voice and said: "Just now the news came that Pei Renji of the Tiger Prison has taken refuge in Wagang!" ”

Xiao Buyi was calm, and his face changed slightly, "What did you say?" Pei Renji surrendered to Wagang, this ...... "He originally wanted to say how could this be possible, but after thinking about it, it was very possible. The barrier on the east side of the eastern capital lies in the three big cities of Tiger Prison, Yanshi, and Kim Yong Yong, but Wagang conquered Xingyang early, Tiger Prison and Yanshi are all lonely cities, relying on the high walls of the city to support this for a long time, but the reinforcements have not arrived, and Pei Renji has no hope, how not to surrender? It's just that this news is somewhat abrupt, and it disrupts his original plan.

"That's why King Yue summoned me to the palace?"

Huang Sheren nodded, but shook his head again, "It's not all, in fact, this time it was the queen mother Xiao Liu Liangdi who mentioned you, and it happened that I was beside me, and they were always worried about the injury, and it was not good to come, so I recommended myself to come." Of course, it's best if you're okay, but as for whether to enter the palace or not, you have to make your own decision. ”

Xiao Buyi had already made a decision in a moment, "Okay, I'll enter the palace with you." ”

Huang Sheren was overjoyed, and naturally felt quite face-saving. Before the two of them could get out of the courtyard, the woman in black had already walked over, "Where are you going?" ”

She said indifferently, Xiao Buyi didn't care, and said softly: "Enter the palace." ”

"I'll go with you." The woman in black said.

Xiao Buyi knew that the palace was not peaceful, at least that Fu Pingju disappeared in the inner city, and his whereabouts are still unknown. Thinking of that person's elusive skills, Xiao Buyi was also furious in his heart, and nodded: "That...... There is labor. ”

The people of Huang She did not stop it, and the three of them went straight into the imperial city. The guards at the city gate felt that the masked woman in black was very strange, and it could be seen that General Xiao was coming, and they were all respectful and saluted, and they didn't dare to ask, but Huang Sheren took the two to Chengxiang Hall this time.

Longguang Hall has always been the place where the Yue Dynasty was in charge and lived, but the Chengxiang Hall was the place where the Queen Mother was.

The people of Huang She entered the communication, and after a while, they came out to welcome the two into the hall. The scale of Chengxiang Hall is smaller than that of Longguang Palace, and the image of auspiciousness is shown everywhere.

King Yue and Xiao Liu Liangdi are all high, but Lu Chu and Zhang Zhenzhou are sitting down, and the emperor is gone, and Xiao Buyi feels that the hall is also a lot more spacious.

Yuan Wendu, Duan Da and others are not here, presumably King Yue finally figured out that many things and mud can't solve the fundamental problem, and it is the royal way to really win over a few talents.

Seeing Xiao Buyi come forward, King Yue got up early to greet him and asked softly, "How is General Xiao's injury?" ”

"It's out of the way, I'm tired of King Yue." Xiao Buyi is not rude.

King Yue glanced at his mother and took Xiao Buyi's hand, "General Xiao, please take a seat." Xiao Buyi saw that Lu Chu still had a seat, most of the time it was for Huangfu Wuyi, but at this moment it was obviously for him.

Glancing at Lu Chu, Xiao Buyi smiled and said, "How can Weichen dare to sit in this position." ”

Lu Chu shook his head, "General Xiao doesn't want to push, just talk about the counterinsurgency this time, General Xiao is the first." ”

"If it weren't for the help of Lu and Zhang, I wouldn't be able to help Huangfu Wuyi." Xiao Buyi said softly: "What's more, if there is no Miss Pei, they can't expose their tanuki for the prince's trick." ”

Everyone was stunned, not knowing what Xiao Buyi said about the tanuki changing the prince was an allusion to the Song Dynasty, and they all thought his analogy was weird. Lu Chu said softly: "Miss Pei has indeed worked hard, but she ...... has left the Eastern Capital. ”

Xiao Buyi was stunned, "Miss Pei left the Eastern Capital?" Seeing Lu Chu nodding, Xiao Buyi couldn't help but feel stunned. Pei Mingcui's trip to the Eastern Capital can be said to be very important, although Pei Mingcui said that she didn't care about his trip to the Eastern Capital, Xiao Buyi knew that she had done a lot of things for herself. If it weren't for her, she would have to fight hard back in Luocang, if it weren't for her, the emperor's plan to replace the prince with a tanuki was almost successful. If it weren't for her, it can be said that there would be no Xiao Buyi today!

Ability is important, struggle is important, but Xiao Buyi can't help but admit that opportunities are more important! Pei Mingcui's casual handwriting, the Eastern Capital asked for a decree, but it created a legend of his Xiao Buyi life!

But the two most peculiar people in the Great Sui are always like parallel lines, without any intersection.

Pei Mingcui has a delicacy and mind that ordinary people can't reach, but this time, the useless plan to bring down the emperor and lure the snake out of the hole was arranged by her and Xiao Buyi. Of course, Fu Pingju's sudden killing was something that neither of them expected, even if the two of them were shrewd, but after all, they couldn't do everything like a fairy. Originally, Pei Mingcui also arranged for the killers of the Shadow League to be present, but in the end he did not come forward, presumably because he noticed that Fu Pingju's martial arts were too high and knew that he couldn't intercept them, so he didn't make a move. Xiao Buyi has been recuperating from her injuries, thinking that after her injuries healed, she would find Pei Mingcui to study the details of the killer, but she would never say goodbye.

This doesn't seem to be her style, but Xiao Buyi thought about it carefully and felt that it was very much in line with Pei Mingcui's actions. Pei Mingcui is like fog and rain, which makes people wonder through. Why did she persuade herself to come to the Eastern Capital, which made Xiao Buyi even more incomprehensible. But in any case, the trip to the Eastern Capital was crucial for him.

"Didn't Miss Pei tell General Xiao about leaving?" Lu Chuwei was stunned and asked.

Xiao Buyi shook his head, and finally sat on the high seat. The woman in black had already picked up an inconspicuous position to sit down, and she followed Xiao Buyi into the hall, her shadow was like that, which was not in accordance with the rules. But whether it is King Yue or Lu Chu, they all turn a blind eye to her, and they are like her shadows, of course, because they want to show respect for Xiao Buyi.

Lu Chu said softly: "But before Miss Pei left, she mentioned the general to us. ”

Xiao Buyi asked curiously, "What did Miss Pei say?" ”

She said that the general's merits were great and he deserved to be rewarded. She also said......" Lu Chu hesitated and looked at King Yue, but King Yue said in a deep voice: "She said that if you want to protect the surname of the whole city of Dongdu, you have to rely on General Xiao." When King Yue said this, he made a pun. Xiao Buyi smiled, "Then Miss Pei really thinks too highly of me." ”

King Yue glanced at his mother again, and said softly: "General Xiao has made great contributions, first rejected Wagang, and then quelled the civil strife, this king intends to crown General Xiao as the Duke of Liang Guo, in charge of hundreds of officials, waiting for the opportunity to exterminate Wagang, I don't know what General Xiao wants?" ”

(To be continued)