In the Liangyi Hall, the emperor's ministers sat opposite each other, and the three princes sat on the side. In the middle, a middle-aged man with slightly white temples was talking, with an excited expression and a slight blush on his face.
"The southern Turkic bandits mostly passed through Shuozhou to the east, crossed Yanmen to invade Daizhou, and went south to face Taiyuan Prefecture. The most serious among them was Mayi'er."
Pei Shiju squinted his eyes and listened, nodding slightly, "That's true. Without Ma Yi, Turks can travel easily."
Among the people in the hall today, Pei Shiju is second to none in terms of understanding of Turks. Even Li Yuan and Li Shimin cannot compare with him in this regard.
"Now Yanmen is difficult to defend. If we can place a wise and brave general in Guocheng, store up a lot of gold and silk, and give generous rewards to those who come to surrender, we will often send out surprise troops to attack the city of Mayi, trample the crops, and destroy their livelihood."
The middle-aged man said loudly: "If he is not more than a year old, he will have no food, and Ma Yi will not have enough money."
Li Yuan listened with rapt attention and nodded repeatedly. In the past few years, the main force of the Turks has come from Yunzhou and Shuozhou every time, passed through Mayi, invaded Yanmen, and then went all the way south... If you can hold Mayi in your hands, it will be equivalent to By inserting a nail in Shuozhou, the Turks would no longer be so unscrupulous and lack necessary supplies.
It's sad to think about it. Li Yuan's family was in Jinyang, Taiyuan, which was only across Xinzhou from Yanmen in Daizhou. The Turks fought from Yanmen to Taiyuan from morning to night.
Guocheng is located on the south side of Daizhou and just north of Xinzhou. If you go north, you can plan to attack Mayi, and if you stick to it, you can protect Taiyuan, so that the general manager of Bingzhou can raise troops to deal with it.
After pondering for a moment, Li Yuan smiled and said: "Liu Qing is the only one who can be such a wise and brave general."
The middle-aged man prostrated himself on the ground and said in a loud voice, "I would like to serve as the order of Guocheng."
Indeed, it must be this person.
This middle-aged man was not well-known in later generations, but at this time, especially in the northern part of Hedong Road, he was an unparalleled general. Although he suffered defeats against Xue Ju and Lu Chongmao, he faced the Turks with unparalleled integrity and integrity. There were many gains, and the Turks were quite afraid.
A typical layman in civil war and an expert in foreign war.
This is Liu Shirang, who was granted the title of Duke of Hongnong County by Zeng Jue. He successively served as the military commander of Anding Road, the governor of Pengzhou, the military commander of Shaanxi Province, and the military commander of school inspection and prefecture.
In the third year of Wude, the Tang Dynasty mobilized troops to attack Luoyang. Liu Shirang, then the general manager of the school and the state, led an army to attack Luozhou, the home base of the Xia army. Coinciding with the Turks' attack, Liu Shirang led 800 cavalry to gallop back for reinforcements.
Jieli Khan joined forces with Gao Kaidao and Yuan Junzhang to storm Daizhou for more than a month. Liu Shirang stood firm in Wuzhou and drove away the lobbyists, causing the Turks to return without success... Without Liu Shirang, Li Yuan would have ordered the troops to attack Luoyang. Li Shimin returned to the teacher.
Since then, Liu Shirang has been quite domineering and domineering, and he was at odds with Li Shenfu, the king of Xiangyi, who also guarded Hedong Road. He was eventually removed from the throne last year and moved to Kangzhou.
However, Li Yuan has a nostalgic side in some aspects... although it is a bit fake.
Half a year later, Li Yuan summoned Liu Shirang back to the court and appointed him as the general manager of Guangzhou. Today he asked about the border affairs.
Li Yuan stood up and said: "I am granted the title of Governor of Dai Prefecture, Chief of the Palace, and also the Order of Guocheng."
"Liu Qing is here. He has a heavy responsibility on his shoulders. I will give him a good horse. I hope he will be careful in his words and deeds."
Liu Shirang bowed deeply in response. Of course he understood Li Yuan's warning... Li Shenfu, the king of Xiangyi who had pulled him down, is now the general manager of Bingzhou and is stationed in Taiyuan Mansion.
In fact, Hedong Road does not have the so-called administrative area of Bingzhou. The so-called Bingzhou General Manager actually governs most of Hedong Road, including Taiyuan Prefecture. In other words, Li Shenfu is riding on Liu Shirang's head.
Seeing Liu Shirang striding out of the palace, Li Yuan rubbed his eyebrows. The rebellion of the Jianghuai Army had a great impact on the imperial court. If Chai Shao was defeated in the west and the Turks invaded southward... Li Yuan really didn't have much confidence.
Therefore, after urgently ordering the Sixth Route Army to defeat the Huai Army, he immediately focused his energy on the Turkic side, so he remembered Liu Shirang who had just been recalled to Beijing.
The problem in the west is not big yet, but the Turkic invasion this year must be withstood, and the chaos in the south must be quickly quelled... in order to stabilize the situation. Li Yuan felt a little irritable and asked casually: "Is Du Fuwei still in the house?"
Pei Ji nodded and said, "I'm still in the house, terrified all day long."
"This officer is ferocious and barbaric. He is also the commander-in-chief of the Jianghuai Army. He should be removed from his rank and executed."
Looking around, there was basically no objection. Li Yuan hesitated... After all, he had learned from the past and killed Dou Jiande, and Hebei revolted twice.
At this time, a palace servant came over with a wooden box. Li Yuan smiled and said, "It's already summer. Please have some cold soup to relieve the heat."
Chen Shuda took the bowl and looked at it. It was cold mung bean soup. Before he even put it in his mouth, he could tell that it was not chilled in a deep well but filled with crushed ice. He couldn't help but frown.
Li Yuan noticed Chen Shuda's gaze and said with a smile, "Zicong, do you want to give me some advice?"
Among the prime ministers in the court, Chen Shuda was the only one who not only learned to argue clearly, but also had the talent of being a prime minister. He also often gave advice, so he was valued by Li Yuan and served as a high-ranking official under his sect.
But Chen Shuda was not Wei Zheng, so he just smiled and said, "Your Majesty is the lord of the world. It's just some broken ice. It's just that it's extremely difficult to store ice in the summer. It's not the hottest summer yet, so I'm afraid your Majesty's ice bank will be used up early."
Li Yuan laughed and said, "You may drink as much as you like, this is made by Huairen."
Pei Shiju was well versed in the art of health preservation, and he only drank slowly and did not dare to drink quickly. After hearing this, his white eyebrows trembled slightly, thinking that this young man...if he had been born ten years earlier, he might not have been able to live up to Emperor Sui Yang and Yu Maoshi. Compete for superiority.
Well, Yu Maoshi was Yu Shiji, the elder brother of the famous calligrapher Yu Shinan, the most famous flatterer of Emperor Sui Yang in the later period of his reign, and the most charming. Later, he was executed by Yu Wenhuaji together with Emperor Sui Yang in Jiangdu.
If Li Shan wanted to know Pei Shiju's thoughts, it would be really unfair... I really don't understand Mei Shang. Didn't he enter the palace for several days in a row? Li Yuan was discussing things and couldn't find a chance to speak, so he made a few pieces. Come here and show your courtesy.
After finishing a bowl of iced mung bean soup, everyone went back to their homes. Li Yuan took a nap in the side hall and asked casually: "Can Huairen leave the palace?"
The palace attendant on the side whispered: "The Duke of Guantao County is in the flower garden."
"It's not too hot either." Li Yuan muttered a few words, "Have you been in the palace for four days in a row?"
"yes."
Li Yuan stood up and walked around for a few steps, remembering what his daughter Pingyang said a few days ago, he couldn't help thinking with a smile that this young man was a bit strange. While others wanted to stay in Chang'an, he wanted to go out and start his career as a county magistrate.
Not far from the Liangyi Hall, Li Shan was observing several cotton plants under the bright sun. He cut open the cotton bolls and found that yellow-white fluff had filled the inside. Several cotton bolls had cracked, revealing soft fibers.
I will leave Chang'an soon, and I'm afraid I won't have time to collect the cottonseeds. Will Li Daoxuan or Princess Pingyang help me then?
Just as he was thinking about it, Li Yuan asked with a smile from behind.
"Huairen, there is no water or lotus here, why should you pay close attention?"
Li Shan turned around and saluted, looking at him with resentment... This emperor is so kind!
Seeing the young man's appearance, Li Yuan couldn't help laughing. The events of that day had already spread throughout Chang'an... Well, on the one hand, this was because Luo Yang was beaten so badly, and on the other hand, it was naturally because of the article "Ai Lian" said.
