While Pei Ju and the others were trying to create a gap between Li Yuan and Li Xu, the Li family in Hedong was already ready to make the final preparations for the south.

The war that took place next door benefited the Li family in Hedong. The situation is as judged by Pei Ju, and Hedong, where Li Xu is the neighbor, is much more stable than Dou Jiande and Luo Yi. What made Li Yuan even more satisfied was that through the unremitting efforts of Liu Hongji and others, the reinforcements of the 3,000 Boling were finally ready to go.

Although compared to the 100,000 elite soldiers that the Li family now has, the support of 3,000 from afar is just a drop in the bucket, what Li Yuan needs is not reinforcements, but a gesture. Even if Liu Hongji only "borrowed" a hundred soldiers from Li Xu in the end, in the eyes of outsiders, it would mean that the six counties of Boling would be tied to the chariot of the Li family in Hedong from now on.

The "accession" of the six counties of Boling increased the strength of the Li family on the surface by several percent out of thin air, and at the same time, Liu Hongji's outstanding performance in the process of this mission also provided Li Yuan with a sufficient excuse to entrust him with important tasks.

"Hongji's envoy this time has indeed gained a lot!" Put Liu Hongji's report letter on the side of the table, Tang Gong Li Yuan commented with a smile. The expression on his face was not only relieved, but also vaguely detached.

"Yes, he and Zhong Jian were originally close friends, and after this hardship together, the affection between them is even heavier. In case we have a need in the future, as long as Hongji comes out, Zhong will be hard to refuse! Chen Yanshou, who has the reputation of being the first wise man in the Li Mansion, nodded again and again, deeply agreeing with the mastermind's statement.

Changing Liu Hongji to envoy Boling on behalf of the Li family was a plan he made for the Duke of Tang. In the eyes of many old strategists of the Li Mansion, among the young generation of heroes, Liu Hongji is the most calm. He does not inappropriately display strength, nor does he cast doubt on his ability to guarantee promises. In addition, knowing that he thinks about each other when acting and leaves room for each other to maneuver is also his specialty. Let him take on the task of the messenger, even if he can't win an ally for the Li family, he won't create an enemy for no reason.

"That is, Hongji, if you change to someone else, it will be difficult to grasp the balance here!" Ma Yuangui, an old soldier, swept his gaze from the faces of Li Shimin and the others intentionally or unintentionally, and echoed.

"Well, you guys, you have to learn more from Hongji in the future. Be thoughtful about everything, and don't be impulsive and ignore everything! Li Yuan's gaze also swept towards his sons, and his tone was very kind, but the meaning contained in it was very profound. Especially in the ears of those who have a heart, it is already a kind of dissatisfaction and rebuke.

"Yes, we know!" As the eldest son, Jiancheng naturally took the lead in standing up and taking the lead in expressing his position to his parents.

"The son must remember his father's teachings!" Li Shimin stood up behind his brother and saluted his father with a red face. At the moment of bowing down, he peeked at his wife's uncle, Changsun Shunde, hoping to get some hint from the other party's eyes. But he was terrified to find that his eldest grandson, Shunde, who had been strongly supporting him, had his head bowed to his chest, as if the three souls and six souls had been stolen by someone.

'Something happened! Li Shimin felt a little ominous and speculated nervously. But from his father's laughter and the performance of the old people in the Li Mansion, he couldn't see any clues.

In the midst of confusion, the third brother Yuanji had already jumped up to him happily, smiling proudly while shouting: "The child must keep in mind his father's teachings and think about many aspects of his work. Don't just patronize the momentary pleasure and cause endless trouble to others! ”

'You! Li Shimin's heart sparked in the fire, and in front of everyone, there was no way to take his living treasure brother.

"Motoyoshi is right today!" Li Yuan nodded with satisfaction, his eyes were full of love and encouragement, "Whether it is a prosperous era or a troubled era, if you want to achieve a career, you have to be tolerant." Your grandfather once said to me that the bigger a person's heart is, how big the career he builds. After turning his gaze to the rest of the generals, he continued to add, "Among you people, Hongji is the oldest and has the most experience. Therefore, after the army is raised, all things in the army must also be consulted by Hongji. He is a handsome man in his own right, and his future achievements are limitless! ”

"Yes, the last general respects the teachings of Tang Gong!" Regardless of whether they are convinced or not, the Li Mansion will stand solemnly at the same time and respond in unison.

No one can deny the importance of the other party, since the six counties of Boling are willing to lend troops to Liu Hongji, it means that Liu Hongji has officially become a bridge between the two families. As long as Li Xu's importance to the Tang family continues to diminish, Liu Hongji will be looked at differently one day. Everyone can't blame Tang Gong for being eccentric, if it's weird, they can only blame themselves for their bad fate, they didn't see Li Xu's future a few years ago, and then made friends with such a strong reinforcement.

The old man didn't favor him, and I heard Zhixuan, who came back to deliver the letter, say that the strategy of avoiding the real and making up for the false came from Brother Hongji. The Boling army was able to hold the upper valley thanks to Hongji's help there. In order to show justice, Tang Gong Li Yuan raised the letter in his hand, "With Zhongjian's temperament, of course he wants to repay the favor." Although there are not many soldiers in the three thousand, they are all veterans of a hundred battles, far better than our newly recruited soldiers! ”

"With Hongji's talent, it is more than enough to lead the soldiers and horses all the way!" The eldest grandson, Shunde, smiled and took Li Yuan's words. "Although Tang Gong arranged, I think the sons should be convinced!"

"The old man arranged it like this, and he also thought about it for a long time!" After his eyes swept over the faces of the eager crowd, Li Yuan continued, "From now on, our Taiyuan soldiers and horses will be divided into left, middle and right roads, and the old man will lead the Chinese army by himself, cheering for you and others, waving the flag and shouting. Under the old man, Pei Lin is the long history, Liu Wenjing is the Sima, Tang Jian and Wen Daya join the army for the secretary, the warrior Tong is the armor, Liu Zhenghui, Cui Shanwei, Zhang Daoyuan are the Hu Cao, and Jiang Jian joins the army for the Sigong! ”

"The subordinates are willing to go to the soup for Tang Gong!" The generals whose names were called immediately strode forward and stood solemnly. Some people were obviously surprised on their faces, some people were so excited that their foreheads sweated slightly, and some people's eyes secretly glanced to both sides, secretly looking at Li Jiancheng, who had just been named the Duke of Longxi by Li Yuan, and secretly looked at Li Shimin, who had just become the Duke of Dunhuang, I don't know what kind of wind is blowing in the sky above their heads today?

'Alas! After seeing everyone's performance, Li Yuan sighed secretly in his heart. The people he left in the Chinese army to obey orders are not all old people who have followed him for many years. This consideration balances the forces of all aspects, some are Li Jiancheng's descendants, some are Li Shimin's close friends, and some are deliberately left by Li Yuan's side, so as not to cause more trouble to the family for various purposes after he is out of his sight.

"The left army is divided into three battalions, the front, the middle and the rear, with the Duke of Longxi as the governor and the commander of the three battalions. Yan Shou, you come to be the marching history. ”

"Erchen obeys! Thank you for your father! Li Jiancheng suppressed the excitement in his heart, stood up again, and saluted his father. Chen Yanshou is Li Yuan's most trusted arm, and Li Jiancheng has tried to draw him into his camp many times, but the other party has skillfully shirked it. At the critical moment when the army was about to go south, Li Yuan arranged this person to his side, and his care was obvious.

"The old minister is willing to plan for the son!" Chen Yanshou walked from Li Yuan's side to Jiancheng's side, and gave his hand to the future head of the family.

"Jiancheng is good at government affairs and clumsy in war, with you on the side to help him plan, the old man can rest assured!" Li Yuan smiled and nodded, and motioned left and right to hand over the seal letter to Jiancheng and Chen Yanshou, "As for the commander of the three battalions under Jiancheng, according to the old man's opinion, Wang Changhui, Jiang Baoyi, and Dou Cong are appointed respectively, you two can have objections!" ”

Wang Changhuan and Dou Cong turned out to be the Eagle Yang Lang generals of the Great Sui, although the two are not very famous, they have been trained in the army for many years and are more experienced. Dou Cong is a green forest tycoon who avoids his enmity in Taiyuan, and his martial arts are second only to the old guard Qian Jiulong among the generals under Li Yuan. Of course, such a combination is very appetizing to Li Jiancheng and Chen Yanshou. The two hurriedly bowed down to thank them and responded loudly: "General Xie is very kind, and the ministers will do their best to live up to the general's expectations!" ”

"Xie Tanggong trusts, and the last general will try his best to run for the prince!" Wang Changhuan, Jiang Baoyi, and Dou Cong came out one after another, first thanked Li Yuan, and then gave gifts to the prince.

The Li family's soldiers and horses were about to move south, and from Taiyuan to Jingshi, the enemy's strength was very limited. Therefore, many people are staring at the position of the main generals of several roads. And those who can be entrusted with important tasks by Li Yuan at this moment are equivalent to laying the foundation for themselves in the future imperial court. As long as you are not unlucky enough to fight halfway, the position of the founding prince is almost in the palm of your hand.

Seeing that Wang Changhuan and others were reused, other generals who were not named by name were also eager to try. Everyone is looking forward to the next person to be named is themselves, even if they can't be the commander of a battalion, they can get a deputy under the commander, a lieutenant and other errands, which is equivalent to having a chance to show their talents. As if guessing everyone's thoughts, Li Yuan quickly established the system according to the standards of the Great Sui and equipped the generals under Li Jiancheng with grassroots officers. When the structure of an army full of talents was almost completed, he stroked his beard and said with a smile: "The old man is not a man of the world, and he may not be able to let you do your best. But fame and fortune are all in front of you, if you have the ability, take it yourself. The old man can't guarantee anything else, "If you don't punish and do not make a mistake, you will be rewarded for your merits", but you can make a covenant with you in public! ”

"I am willing to die for Tang Gong!" The officers and men of the left army shouted in unison, and their morale was as high as boiling oil on a blazing fire.

Li Yuan pressed down with both hands, suppressed the cheers of everyone, and then loudly said the configuration plan of the other way of soldiers and horses. The right army was also divided into three battalions, the front, the middle and the rear, with the Duke of Dunhuang as the governor and the commander of the three battalions. Chai Shao, you come to be the marching chief! ”

"Erchen obeys!"

"The last general obeys!" Li Shimin and Chai Shao hurriedly came out and gladly accepted the coach's arrangement. At the moment when he picked up the seal, Li Shimin's hand trembled slightly. But soon, he covered up his heartfelt disappointment with a vibrant smile.

My father was unfair to the staffing of the left and right armies. Since he transferred Chen Yanshou, the first strategist of the Li Mansion, to his brother, the long history assigned to him should be the scheming Ma Yuangui, and no matter how bad it is, it should be the eldest grandson Shunde, who is good friends with him, not his sister-in-law Chai Shao. Although Chai Shao's bravery is very famous in the Guanzhong area, what Li Shimin needs most now is an experienced strategist, not a puppet who can even throw away his wife.

"Yuan Gui wants to stay in Taiyuan to ensure the grain and grass of the army. Therefore, the father can only appoint Chai Shao to be your long history. He has a wealth of experience and long-term vision. In terms of human sophistication, just do more planning for you! As if anticipating his son's reaction, Li Yuan smiled and added kindly.

He himself knew very well in his heart that in terms of his ability to lead the army in battle, the talent of the second son Shimin far exceeded that of the eldest son. This second son, who grew up in the army, is resourceful, brave, decisive, and ruthless, which can convince his followers and has a strategic vision that is difficult for ordinary people to achieve. These advantages can be seen from his record in leading the Flying Tigers in the Plug. But the more this happened, the more Li Yuan didn't want to elevate him to the same position as Jiancheng.

As the first heir of the Li family, Shizi Jiancheng is familiar with government affairs and has a benevolent heart. But his adaptability is far inferior to that of his younger brother Shimin. Especially at some critical moments, its cowardly shortcomings are always fully manifested. The reason why Liu Hongji, Wu Shitong and others were estranged from him was because of the fire on the Liao River that year. A coach who can't keep his brother's back can't really make people feel at ease to buy his life. Li Jiancheng not only failed everyone's trust that time, but also made the survivors completely lose confidence in his ability.

If Li Shimin is also assisted by a capable adviser, it is foreseeable that in the next battle to the south, he will firmly cover up his brother's limelight. What are the consequences of a cowardly heir to the head of the family and a strong and ruthless younger brother in the family at the same time, as Li Yuan, who has seen countless tragedies of fratricide, he knows better than anyone.

There was a time when Li Yuan pinned his hopes on Li Xu, the "nephew" of the six counties of Boling, to completely throw himself into himself. In that way, he could take advantage of the situation to hand over the position of the governor of the right army to Li Xu. No matter from the perspective of strength or personal prestige, no one can find fault with this arrangement. And with Li Xu's identity and character, he will never be able to challenge the status of Jiancheng. But Li Xu was only willing to help each other, so Li Yuan had to retreat to the next best: try his best to give Jiancheng a chance to exercise, and suppress the people a little. Even if you delay some serious work, you must maintain stability within the family.

"I am willing to do my best to assist the second son!" Chai Shao didn't seem to know the privacy of Li Yuan's family at all, and in front of everyone, he happily greeted Li Shimin.

At this time, even though there were a thousand kinds of unhappiness in his heart, Li Shimin had no choice but to knock out his teeth and swallow it in his stomach. "I hope that the Duke of Cheshire will give more guidance in the future!" He first returned the salute to Chai Shao, and then turned around and bowed his hand to his father, "The son will definitely live up to his father's trust!" ”

"My father has always admired your bravery and courage!" Li Yuan smiled and nodded, and continued to improve the selection of the core generals of the right army, "The three commanders of the right battalion, my father suggested that Liu Hongji be in charge of the first battalion, Yangtun in charge of the second battalion, and as for the third battalion, it will be commanded by the eldest grandson Shunde for the time being, you two, are you willing to accept such an arrangement?" ”

In an instant, Li Shimin's mood was thrown from the trough to the clouds, and then fell back from the clouds. In a voice that was almost trembling, he bowed down and replied loudly: "Son, thank you father!" ”

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