Before the three of them walked to the gate of the West Courtyard, the second son, Shimin, had already greeted him from afar. Seeing this, Liu Hongji and Wu Shitong hurriedly stepped forward and bowed with fists. But Li Shimin held his arm one by one, and made amends again and again: "Shimin's behavior is unreasonable, and the cold weather has caused the two brothers to eat back and forth, you don't scold me for cheapening me, don't be so polite!" ”

Because of the snow that had just fallen, the generals and staff in the house rarely came out and walked around. At the gate of the huge west courtyard, only four people were polite to each other. The cold white-haired wind blew people's clothes and hunted, but it could not blow away the eagerness between the guests and the host.

"The second prince said that, Shi Tong and I are both walking in the Tang Mansion, this humble gift ......" Liu Hongji shook his head with a smile, and his elbows were still sinking down. He has always been serious in his work, although the Li family is like a brother, in front of everyone, he never lacks courtesy.

"This is the West Courtyard, not the main hall. Brother Hongji, don't be polite to me. Otherwise, if we cross the threshold behind us, I will have to pay a big gift to my brother! Li Shimin added another bit of strength to his hand, stiffly straightened the bodies of Liu and Wu, and said with a smile.

"The second son laughed!" Liu Hongji's waist couldn't go down, so he had to raise his fists between his eyebrows and shrugged twice before giving up.

"People say that the second son has an extraordinary bearing, and when I see him today, he is much stronger than his uncle!" The warrior Tong, who straightened up, secretly glanced at the eldest grandson Wuji, and said secretly in his heart. Since Li Xu left the grain protection army, Li Shimin rarely ran into the army. He hadn't been in contact for some years, and he wasn't sure what kind of temper this boy who was born with a golden spoon in his heart. But the other party's polite words sounded very useful, not at all like some of the people who assisted him, and their eyes grew to their scalps.

was secretly commenting, and heard Li Shimin continue: "I think that back then, my second sister and I went to the grain army every day to watch Brother Shitong and Brother Zhongjian perform in the army, until later because I had to deal with housework for my father, I had to interrupt. When I think about it now, it feels like yesterday. ”

There is a good word, although he knows that the other party is saying a polite word, Wu Shi Tong also feels that his heart is warm, as comfortable as drinking half a catty of old wine. Due to his background in a merchant, he has never been welcomed by everyone in the Li Mansion. Except for Tang Gong Li Yuan, Shizi Jiancheng and his immediate boss Liu Hongji, there is basically no fourth person who is willing to take the initiative to talk to him. Occasionally, a colleague spoke, and most of them spoke in a commanding tone, calling to and fro, so not arrogant. Today, Li Shimin talked about a few words, but there was no slightest. Hearing it, he was agitated, and for a while he even had the urge to sell his life to the other party.

"The scene when the second prince waved the flag and shouted for us in the army, I think many brothers in Huaiyuan Town remember it!" Speaking of the past many years ago, the expression on Liu Hongji's face was also much warmer. At that time, the second son was only fourteen years old, and Zhong Jian was less than sixteen, and it was as cold as that winter, but what remained in the snow was full of happy memories.

Now the second son is seventeen, and he will be eighteen years old after this year, full of domineering, and he can no longer see the naughty boy who was unwilling to admit defeat and chased people all over the school field between his eyebrows. But if you have a choice, Liu Hongji prefers the naughty boy who is obsessed with martial arts and the art of war, rather than the heroic young hero in front of him.

and the martial idiot back then, Liu Hongji can be unscrupulous. With the current domineering second son of the Li Mansion, Liu Hongji asked himself if he had the courage to cause so much trouble for himself.

"Yes, if everyone is here, the things in front of you will be much easier!" Li Shimin shook his head and sighed. He didn't mean it, but the sigh made Liu and Wu's hearts tighten. Of the eight hundred brave men who went on the expedition, less than forty returned. That sudden fire changed many people, including three of the four of them.

Those who died will never return, but those who survive will have to remember the lesson of blood. His own back road cannot be handed over to those who are not capable of taking responsibility, which is one of the reasons why Samurai Tong has not been promoted for a long time. He didn't dare to get too close to Jiancheng again, although the other party was the direct heir of the Li Mansion.

"Is there anything else that makes the second son embarrassed? This is rare! Liu Hongji smiled slightly and asked.

"Brother Hongji made a joke about my younger brother again, I haven't learned half of my skills from you. Could it be that Brother Hongji also hid a lot of private teachings, causing the younger brother to be in a hurry to do things? Li Shimin asked with a smile, and his slightly complaining tone caused a knowing laugh.

Let's talk about it, the four of them have unconsciously entered the lobby of the West Courtyard. Li Shimin has a good martial nature, so even in the lobby used to entertain guests and meet with subordinates, the decorations used are all weapons. The largest and most striking piece of furniture in the room was a weapon rack made of pear wood with various kinds of long soldiers lying horizontally. Diagonally above the shelves is a row of wall hooks, with more than a dozen horizontal knives of different widths and widths. From short to long, the closer to the owner's seat, the closer to the actual battle. The innermost handle abandons the shape of the Central Plains horizontal knife, one foot longer and two inches wider than the horizontal knife used in ordinary battle formations, and has a beautiful arc from the head to the handle, although it is separated by a thick scabbard, it still seems to reveal a bit of edge.

"This is a weapon I have used in martial arts since I was a child, and I am reluctant to give it to Yuanji, so I put it all here!" Li Shimin invited everyone to sit down, and pointed to the weapons that occupied half of the room.

"The second son's martial arts cultivation must have entered the hall!" When it comes to martial arts, Liu Hongji is also a little interested. He could see that the horizontal knife closest to Li Shimin's seat was made with reference to Li Xu's weapon. Li Xu's sword skills are a mixture of Hu and Han, which is suitable for people with a certain amount of strength to fight the battlefield. No matter from the point of view of the weight of the blade and the style of the knife technique, it is not suitable for a noble son like Li Shimin to practice. Unexpectedly, since the second son got Li Xu's guidance, he insisted on practicing for three years. It's not a matter of being fresh for a while and throwing it away later.

"Compared to Brother Hongji, it must be far behind. But if you ask Uncle Qian for advice, you can win occasionally! Li Shimin smiled and said modestly.

The Uncle Qian in his mouth is the commander of the Li Mansion's guards, born in the green forest, and killed countless people when he was young, so he is extremely experienced on the battlefield. An ordinary samurai can make a dozen moves in front of his old man, and he is already a good hand. Li Shimin can win occasionally, and his martial arts are naturally far superior to the guards in the palace.

However, it was not Li Shimin's bravery that shocked the warriors. The people of the Great Sui are strong, and Guan Long is still very strong. In a family of military generals like Tang Gong Li Yuan, it is rare for the children of the clan to not be good at martial arts. To the surprise of the samurai, the other party still kept the scimitar, as far as he knew, this knife was imitated by the blacksmith in the army with reference to Li Xu's scimitar, because the same meteorite could not be found in his hand, so it was only a defective product. It looks like it's going to be sharp, but it's actually a little wrong to use it to chop wood.

When he was surprised, he heard Liu Hongji say again: "The second son said that he was joking, Hongji's little ability, how embarrassed to show off!" ”

"Call me Shimin, Brother Hongji, this is my yard, you often came back then!" Li Shimin's voice came from beside him, not high, but it was always unexpected.

"At that time, the second son was not yet an adult, so the last general could regard the second son as a younger brother. Right now, the second prince is already standing alone in the mansion..."Wu Shi Tong saw Liu Hongji's face blushing and explained very clumsily.

He understands Li Shimin's painstaking efforts and Liu Hongji's embarrassment. So don't open your mouth, and watch the two sides endlessly involved in a matter of one name.

"If you are alone, you can't be Brother Hongji's younger brother?" Li Shimin put the tea bowl in his hand on the table heavily, and asked with round eyes. "Could it be that my age has been growing, and Brother Hongji's age has been decreasing?"

"The second son laughed, Hongji ......" Liu Hongji arched his hand and insisted.

"Call me Shimin, no matter how old I am, I have always regarded Brother Hongji as my biological brother!" Li Shimin is colored, adding.

Liu Hongji couldn't resist him, so he had to respond. In this way, Hongji will trust it again. But it's just the queen of people, if it's the front of people, the second son and don't force Hongji to be humble! ”

"Is it in front of people or behind people now, Brother Hongji?" Li Shimin looked at Liu Hongji, his eyes were full of smiles.

"Naturally, the queen of men, Shimin, you elven and eccentric! Liu Hongji was forced to breathe by him, and only scolded with a smile after a while.

"You don't need to use some extraordinary means, how can you peel off this square layer on Brother Hongji's face!" Li Shimin was like a child who had stolen sugar, and his laughter was full of pride. Turning his head, he looked at the warrior Tong again, "Brother Shitong......."

'It's my turn so soon?' Wu Shi Tong secretly complained in his heart, and without waiting for Li Shimin to finish speaking, he quickly stood up and excused himself, "I don't dare to be lowly in my position, I have a humble background, and I don't have ...... ability" He nervously followed the words, but he didn't know how to refuse the other party's kindness.

"If Brother Shitong doesn't want me to force you like Brother Hongji, it's better to sit down and call me Shimin!" Li Shimin talked and laughed freely, but there was an irrefutable meaning in his tone.

Wu Shi Tong looked at Liu Hongji like a rescuer, and then turned his head to look at the eldest grandson Wuji. On the faces of the two, he could not find any hint. I had no choice but to thank the second son again for his appreciation, and then sat down with a smile.

"This time I blocked the two brothers back, is there really something to do?" After making a lot of efforts to determine the names between each other, Li Shimin finally turned his conversation to the main topic.

"I want to hear about it!" Wu Shi Tong and Liu Hongji gave up their hands at the same time and responded. They were all under Li Yuan's command, and Li Shimin could not have sent them to do anything without special authorization. But the seemingly unrelated gossip just now has brought everyone very close to each other, as long as Li Shimin's request is not too out of line, the two of them will not be able to pull their faces to shirk anyway.

"It's very difficult to leave this matter to the younger brother. But if you let the two brothers do it, it's actually not a big deal. Li Shimin waved his hand and motioned to the eldest grandson Wuji to take a piece of paper, "When I was discussing the matter just now, I suggested that the strongest people among the displaced people should be used as soldiers to prepare for bandits. After my father agreed, my brother gave me the task to be carried out. This is a relevant document that authorizes me to dispatch generals inside and outside the province at will. ”

The eldest grandson Wuji presented a formal official document, to the effect that as Li Shimin said, the official seal of the Duke of Tang was stamped on the lower left, and below it was the private seal built by the prince. With these two seals, Li Shimin could have directly ordered the generals, and there was no need to go around such a big circle as just now. But out of respect for Liu and Wu, he still climbed up to his personal relationship first, and then entrusted him with official affairs.

"I would like to listen to the second son!" Liu Hongji and Wu Shi Tong glanced at each other, then got up and saluted.

"Didn't you just say that you would call me Shimin?" Li Shimin shook his head again and again, revealing a bit of depression between his eyebrows, "I knew that I would be so boring when I grew up, I still didn't tie my hair well!" ”

"Shimin said very much, the two of us are too stubborn!" Liu Hongji saw that Li Shimin's lonely expression did not seem to be fake, sighed in his heart, and opened his mouth to respond.

"It's good for two brothers!" Listening to Liu Hongji's words, the expression on Li Shimin's face turned from anger to joy, and he ordered with a smile. "Regarding the selection and training of soldiers, except for my father, no one in our house is as experienced as you. So I don't want to be polite to the two brothers, the four of us will go straight to Hongde County early tomorrow morning, one out of ten, no, take out the strength of choosing one in a hundred miles, and form a county soldier like the Huaiyuan Town Grain Protection Army. There is no need for more, there are 5,000 people enough to make the heroes of Guanlong counties dare not move lightly! ”

After all, he was only seventeen years old, and when he talked about the elite teacher in his mind, he couldn't help but clench his fists, and his eyes were shining. At that time, he was only in his early 14 years old, and he did not know how to distinguish between the combat effectiveness of the army. But he has always been proud that the Li Mansion once had such a brave team. Now he has finally waited for a rare opportunity, he wants to reproduce the glory of this team, for the Li family, and for his own dreams.

"I'm going to do my best!" Liu Hongji got up again and gave up his hand. This time, he did not call Li Shimin the second son, nor did he guard against the other party's ulterior motives. The grain army is the pride of his life, although Liu Hongji, who knows the soldiers, understands that the team composed of cowards and sons who escaped from the battlefield that day may not be stronger than the combat effectiveness of the soldiers of the Great Sui Mansion who conquered Liao for the first time.

But everyone in the room, including Li Shimin and Wu Shitong, only remembered the heroic deeds of that team, and selectively forgot the purpose of the brothers who had infiltrated the grain protection army in the first place. Because no matter what kind of shady purpose everyone had at the beginning, they hid in the grain protection army, no matter how they drank and fought before entering Liaodong, and made trouble and lost their families, but in the last 20 days, everyone acted like a man, an upright man.

Qi Poning, who fainted when he saw blood, Wang Yuantong, who was so fat that he could crush a war horse, Qin Ziying, who couldn't even protect his own woman, and Zhang Deyu, who couldn't stretch his legs and stomach when he heard the shouts of killing, ....... Before the storm came, they all had cowardly faces. But at the moment when the sky was cracking, they straightened their backs proudly.

Alcoholics' note: Continue to pull VIP tickets, as for whether others swipe it, that's someone else's business, and alcoholics don't care. Alcoholics only care if the reader is satisfied. By the way, I recommend Xuehong's new book "Wu Song", the drunkard has written online articles for nearly five years, and among the authors who admire it, Xuehong should be at the top.

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