Seeing Li Yuan coming, Li Shimin and Li Xuan hurriedly stepped off the bed and bowed to Li Yuan.

Li Yuan said to Li Shimin in a fierce voice: "Shimin, you go back first." The dignified prince of the Tang Empire, unkempt, what kind of system has he become? ”

Li Shimin glanced at Li Xuan, and after Li Xuan nodded to indicate that it was okay, Li Shimin turned around and said goodbye.

Li Yuan looked Li Xuan up and down with a very unfamiliar eye, as if Li Xuan standing in front of him at this time and Li Xuan he knew were not the same person.

After looking at it for a long time, Li Yuan finally asked, "Why did you choose the King of Qin instead of the crown prince?" ”

Li Xuan replied calmly: "The Tang Dynasty needs the King of Qin. ”

Li Yuan asked rhetorically: "Doesn't the Tang Dynasty need the crown prince?" ”

Li Xuan replied affirmatively: "The Tang Dynasty needs King Qin even more. ”

Li Yuan said disappointedly: "Are you so unoptimistic about the prince? Although the crown prince is not as good as King Qin, his essence is not bad, and he can become a generation of Ming monarchs with the assistance of all ministers in the future. ”

Li Xuan directly denied: "He can't make it." He lacked the extraordinary courage of the King of Qin, the thirst for talent, the ambition to tolerate the world, and the innate military talent of the King of Qin. By talking to King Qin, I became even more convinced of this. There are Turkic strong enemies outside the Tang Dynasty who are eyeing and ready to plunder at any time, and the internal country is exhausted, devastated, and the people's livelihood is withering, which will defeat the not very good prince. And throughout the world, only the King of Qin can subdue the Turkic beast and deal with the ills of the Tang Dynasty. It's not that I chose King Qin, but the whole situation in the world chose King Qin. His Majesty laid down the world of the Tang Dynasty, and the King of Qin will eliminate all kinds of internal and external hidden dangers faced by the Tang Dynasty, so that the Tang Dynasty will go to a prosperous era and lay the foundation for the foundation of the Tang Dynasty. ”

Li Yuan said sadly: "Are you so stubborn and insist on supporting King Qin?" ”

Li Xuan did not answer, but recited the oath to Li Shimin in an unusually low voice: "You are like a green mountain, I am like a pine and cypress, my body is broken, and I will never lose each other." ”

Li Yuan was silent, walked out of Li Xuan's study in an unusually low voice, and ordered the left and right Qianniu guards guarding the courtyard: "Protect King Yong'an, don't let him go out of this courtyard again." ”

After that, he drove back to the palace.

And Li Shimin, the king of Qin, returned to the palace of the king of Qin shortly after leaving the courtyard rented by Li Xuan. As soon as he entered the hall, Gao Shilian, who had been waiting in the hall, walked quickly to Li Shimin's approach and saluted, and said, "Your Highness, how is it?" How did His Highness talk to King Yong'an? ”

Although Li Shimin was physically tired, he was in good spirits. He said excitedly: "King Yong'an, unparalleled in resourcefulness, has a deep view of the situation in the world, there are many unbelievable and feasible strategies, I talked with him for three days and two nights, very happy, but unfortunately was interrupted by my father, if it were not for my father, I plan to talk to him all night for a month, discuss the situation in the world." Talking to King Yong'an is a kind of improvement and a kind of enjoyment. ”

Gao Shilian also said with a happy face: "Congratulations to Your Highness for getting another great sage." ”

Li Shimin said with a smile: "I have Li Xuan, like a tiger with wings." ”

Suddenly, Li Shimin's personal bodyguard Wang He entered the hall, and after saluting Li Shimin, he said, "Your Highness, King Yong'an has been imprisoned by Your Majesty. ”

"Huh? How so? Gao Shilian asked in surprise.

Li Shimin was silent for a long time, and shouted to the sky: "Father? Are you so jealous of your son? Are you so eager to cut off my wings? You can't do that to me, can't you? I fought a series of bloody battles for Datang, laid Chang'an, and laid the foundation of Datang; I defeated Xue Ju for the Tang Dynasty, pacified Longxi, and stabilized the western frontier of the Tang Dynasty; For the Tang Dynasty, I defeated Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang, and stabilized the northern part of the Tang Dynasty; Luoyang Wang Shichong, Hebei Dou Jiande, sitting on a million troops, the world, the Tang Dynasty is afraid of the tiger, I only took 100,000 Tang troops, they were defeated, captured Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande alive, and sacrificed them to Chang'an. It was you who promised me to defeat Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande, and then make me the crown prince. As a result, now, the world has just been unified, how can you do this to me? The most difficult opponents in Datang were all defeated by me, and I laid down more than half of the territory for Datang, how can you do this to me now? ”

Gao Shilian knelt down in front of Li Shimin, and said with moist eyes: "Your Highness, I know that you are wronged in your heart. But things have happened, and now it is important to rescue King Yong'an. ”

Li Shimin suddenly came to his senses and hurriedly said, "Yes, Li Xuan must have been imprisoned because of me." I'm going to do everything I can to get him out. ”

A few days later, news of Li Xuan's imprisonment by the emperor reached Yueyang in the south.

Li Xiaogong, the king of Zhaojun and the governor of Jingzhou, sat in the big tent and said to himself: "I thought that Li Xuan was smart and clever, and he was favored by His Majesty, and he would definitely be safe and sound in Chang'an and return to Wudang Mountain safely." Unexpectedly, he was imprisoned by His Majesty so soon because he was involved in the battle between the prince and the king of Qin. Li Xuan is a rare talent of my Longyou Li family, and I will never allow him to be ruined because of politics. I have to find a way to get Li Xuan back. ”

Thinking of this, Li Xiaogong summoned the deputy general Li Feihu and asked, "Hasn't Du Fuwei, the king of Chu, who is sitting on Jianghuai, surrendered yet?" ”

Li Feihu replied: "Du Fuwei intends to surrender, but he has not sent an envoy yet?" ”

Li Xiaogong stood up and ordered: "Then give him some more pressure, order the army, prepare to cross the river, and create a posture that my Great Tang is determined to annihilate his Great Chu State in one fell swoop." ”

"Yes." Li Feihu replied.

After Li Feihu left the big tent, Li Xiaogong sighed and said: "Now I can only exchange Du Fuwei, the king of Chu, for Li Xuan, I hope everything goes well and Li Xuan can come back safely as soon as possible." ”

A few days later, Du Fuwei's envoy, Yizi, and Wang Xiongdan, the right general of the Great Chu State, officially submitted a letter of surrender to the Tang Dynasty on behalf of Du Fuwei, the king of Chu.

On behalf of the Tang Dynasty, Li Xiaogong, the king of Zhaojun and the governor of Jingzhou, canonized Du Fuwei as the king of Wu, and awarded the order of Shangshu in the southeast province, the pacification ambassador and Shangzhu in the south of Jianghuai, and gave him the surname Li and summoned him to Chang'an.

The surrender of Du Fuwei, the king of Chu, surprised Li Feihu, the deputy general of Li Xiaogong, who had been in war for a long time, and Li Feihu asked Li Xiaogong: "Du Fuwei, born in a reckless background, was the first to raise troops against the Sui, and became the commander of the Jianghuai Army and the king of Chu with a small pawn. Back then, Du Fuwei, the king of Chu, Li Mi of Wagangshan, and Dou Jiande of Hebei were known as the commanders of the three major righteous armies in the world, with unlimited scenery, which can be described as a generation of heroes. Up to now, he has more than 200,000 elite soldiers, the power controls the entire 36 counties of Jianghuai, nearly a million people are willing to be driven by it, and his advisers are auxiliary to the public, full of wisdom, cunning and ruthless, and is known as the 'wise fox' by the whole world; With such strength, why did my Datang just put on a posture of crossing the river, and Du Fuwei was restrained and had no resistance? ”

Li Xiaogong replied: "Du Fuwei is indeed a generation of heroes, but he also understands that my Tang Dynasty has basically dominated the world, and there will be no good results if he resists, one of them; The second reason, that is, Du Fuwei's ambition, he was born recklessly, and only hoped to enjoy wealth and nobility all his life, and he had no ambition to be the king and hegemon, which was also the main reason why he surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. ”

Li Feihu said: "I see, will such a Chu King Du Fuwei still pose a threat to my Datang?" ”

Li Xiaogong replied: "As long as he surrenders, he will not have any threat, and my Datang should fulfill his wish and protect him for a lifetime of glory and wealth." ”

Soon, Du Fuwei, the king of Wu of the Tang Dynasty, crossed the Huai River and went to Chang'an under the escort of Li Xiaogong's lieutenant Li Feihu.

Before leaving, Li Xiaogong handed Li Feihu a letter and instructed: "Present it to Your Majesty in person." ”

Li Feihu knew Li Xiaogong's thoughts, and asked: "Is it the recommendation letter recommended by the Metropolitan Governor to Li Xuan, the king of Yong'an, to be the chief of the march of the Southeast Dao and replace Du Fuwei, the king of Wu, to lead the original Chu State?" ”

Li Xiaogong said slowly: "You guessed right. There's only so much I can do for Li Xuan. Now I only hope that Li Xuan can return to the south safely, away from the power vortex in Chang'an. ”