"Father!"
Li Shimin still wanted to fight. He raised his head and looked at Li Yuan and said: "My son led the troops to fight against Xue Ju. This is the decree issued by your father at the meeting of ministers not long ago. Ministers, the left servant of Shangshu shot Pei Ji, Na Yan Liu Wenjing, General Xiaowei on the left and Xiaowei on the right all agreed that their ministers would lead the troops!
Now, Father, you have listened to other people's slanderous words and mistakenly thought that your minister had something to hide...My minister, you are really unjust! "
The target is pointed at Yin Shishi, the aide in the prince's palace.
Prince Li Jiancheng's face darkened, and when he was about to speak, Master Yinshi winked at him.
Li Yuan said angrily: "Supervisor Pei told me later that he thought King Qin was not suitable to lead the army. He just didn't say anything to the court... On the contrary, the prince, who has always been prestigious in the army and is not inferior to you in general ability, is more suitable." Lead the troops to fight Xue Ju! Just stay in Chang'an."
Supervisor Pei is Pei Ji, so called because he served as the supervisor of Jinyang Palace.
Among all the civil and military officials in the dynasty, only Pei Ji was so trusted by Li Yuan. Every time he went to court, he would sit next to Li Yuan. When Li Shimin came to see his father, he was often seen drinking with his father in the inner garden.
Pei Jisu and Liu Wenjing were at odds with each other. At court that day, Liu Wenjing strongly supported him in leading troops to fight in Longxi alone. Everyone also agreed, but Pei Ji did not speak.
Only then did Li Shimin learn that Pei Ji had later spoken to Li Yuan against him leading the army.
"I would like to ask why my father suddenly changed his mind?"
Li Shimin asked again, looking closely at Master Yinshi.
"Why do I need to ask you for my decree?"
"Prince, are you willing to lead the troops into battle?"
Li Yuan asked Li Jiancheng.
Li Jiancheng, who was sitting on his knees, saluted him and swore an oath: "My son is willing to lead the army! I will defeat Xue Ju's 100,000 thieves for my father!"
"Okay! He's my great man!"
Li Yuan stroked his beard and laughed, glanced at Li Shimin and said, "King Qin, please step back."
"Father, Master Yin Shi is instigating..."
"go out!"
"Father!"
"Get out!!"
"..."
Li Shimin couldn't say a word, and didn't even have a chance to confront Yin Shishi, so he had to kneel down and leave the Hongwen Hall.
Before walking out of the palace door, he glanced back inside the palace and vaguely saw Master Yinshi looking at him with a smile on his face.
Li Shimin clenched his fists, looked away, and walked out of the palace door.
But he still refused to give in.
Stay in the inner garden and wait.
Not long after, I saw Pei Ji and Liu Wenjing arriving almost at the same time.
"Prime Minister Pei, Mr. Liu!"
Li Shimin hurried forward to greet him, telling the difference between the two of them in just one sentence.
Pei Ji was the minister Zuopushe, a serious prime minister, and Liu Wenjing was Nayan, whose status was far inferior to Pei Ji.
"Your Highness!"
The two of them saluted him in return.
When Li Shimin told him that he had been captured to conquer Xue Ju in Longxi, Liu Wenjing was immediately surprised and quickly said that he would persuade his majesty to withdraw his decree later, but Pei Ji did not say anything.
Li Shimin had no choice but to send the two of them in.
Not long after, Liu Wenjing came out alone with a very ugly look on her face.
"Your Majesty asked Sima Yin and I to open the mountain to assist the prince in sending troops."
Li Shimin's face turned gloomy.
Liu Wenjing got angry and cursed: "Sure enough, Yin Shishi should have been killed that day. It was this remnant of the Sui Dynasty who was behind it! He encouraged the prince to lead the army. Can the prince lead the army? The men he recruited in Hedong were no better than Princess Pingyang's people. General Talent is no more than mediocre talent..."
"Mr. Liu!"
Li Shimin stopped him and sighed: "My brother is no less capable of leading troops than me. The men and horses my brother and I recruited that day are not as good as my third sister. With Mr. Liu assisting my brother, this battle will be won."
After that, he said goodbye, got on his horse and left.
This time he left from the north gate of the inner garden, that is, from the Xuanwu Gate, and was worried all the way.
Not the Xuanwu Gate.
But it happened suddenly, which made him worried.
After returning to Chengqian Hall.
After thinking for a long time, Li Shimin finally rode out of the palace again and found Fang Xuanling.
"Your Highness!"
Fang Xuanling was also looking for him.
Because the men and horses of the Prince's Mansion have come to take over his work, taking the command on his behalf and preparing food and horses.
The sudden seizure of power caught Fang Xuanling and everyone in Prince Qin's palace by surprise.
"It doesn't matter."
Li Shimin smiled, pulled Fang Xuanling aside, and whispered to him: "On the redrawn map, you can ask someone to draw it simpler. Draw out all the roads and mountains. The rest does not need to be too detailed. After drawing it, Send it to the prince's house and tell him... just tell him that it was discovered by the scouts in the army!"
Fang Xuanling had a strange look on his face, "Your Highness, where did your terrain and mountain map come from? If it's inconvenient to tell others, why give it to the prince?"
In previous battles, the army had never had such detailed terrain maps, so why not still fight?
Now that the prince has suddenly seized the military power of the King of Qin, why does the King of Qin need to send him another map?
Even if you send a thousand scouts to walk on the mountain road, you won't be able to draw these pictures!
"I've made up my mind."
Li Shimin did not answer Fang Xuanling, but what Chu Zhen said came to mind again.
But now, we can only hope that his brother, Liu Wenjing and others can defeat Xue Ju in a single battle!
…
Three days later, Prince Li Jiancheng was named marshal by Li Yuan, and he led 80,000 troops to go up the Jing River to fight against Xue Ju, the overlord of the Western Qin Dynasty.
Yin Shishi, Liu Wenjing, Yin Kaishan, Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Qu Tutong, Minister of the Ministry of War, and others are the staff and senior officials of the marshal's tent. There are also General Liu Hongji of the Right Xiaowei, General Chai Shao of the Left Yiwei, and Tang Jian, the Minister of Internal History. As the commander-in-chief of the army.
On the day of the army's departure, the people in Chang'an City went out to watch the army depart.
Li Shimin came to see his brother off.
The brothers put aside their previous suspicions, galloped over, and held each other's right hands firmly.
"Brother!"
Li Shimin looked at his elder brother Li Jiancheng and expressed his analysis: "This time when we go to Gaoshan, we can hold on in the city. Xue Ju's army goes deep alone and it is difficult to supply food and grass. We must cooperate with the Jingzhou defenders to attack and encircle them in two directions and disturb their food routes. We must not Easily leave the city to fight. Just wait until Xue Ju's troops are exhausted, and then defeat him in one fell swoop!"
Li Jiancheng withdrew his right hand from his second brother and said in a nonchalant manner: "Wars in the army will be discussed by the generals under the marshal. The marshal will make the decision. The second brother can just wait in Chang'an to listen to his father's orders."
Li Shimin still wanted to say something, but Li Jiancheng had already pulled the reins and rode his horse back to the army.
Li Shimin could only watch him leave.
Tens of thousands of troops meandered forward, like a long dragon rushing towards the battlefield.
Du Ruhui, a staff member of the Prince of Qin's Palace, glanced at the people around him and said, "If the battle ahead does not go well, I'm afraid the people in the city will flee again."
Xue Ju and his son had a bad reputation in Longxi. Once the Tang army was defeated, the people in the city did not dare to stay any longer.
"In troubled times, people just want a place to live."
Someone sighed.
Li Shimin glanced at him. This person was Li Jing, one of the guards of Prince Qin's palace.
When Chang'an was first attacked, an unknown soldier who defended the city showed bravery and killed dozens of Tang soldiers.
After Yinshishi surrendered, Li Yuan summoned him and immediately recognized him as Li Jing, the Prime Minister of Mayi County who had disappeared when Jinyang raised troops.
Without interrogation, Li Yuan knew that he was absconding when he disappeared that day, and wanted to report him for treason.
Li Yuan was furious and wanted to kill Li Jing. Li Jing shouted loudly and Li Shimin happened to be beside him, so he spared him and asked him to come to the Qin Palace as a personal guard.
"Let's go back."
After looking at the people for a few times, Li Shimin turned his horse around and led everyone from the Qin Palace, including his staff Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, personal guard Duan Zhixuan, Li Jing, Zheng Rentai, Li Mengchang, Hou Junji, etc. back to Chang'an.
Also accompanying him was his eldest uncle, Changsun Wuji.
