Chang'an City.
"His Royal Highness King Qin, the Generalissimo of the Western Conquest, has returned victoriously!!"
"really?!"
"How can it be false? The news spread all over the west side of the city, and the prince led hundreds of officials to greet him in person! I heard that a businessman saw the Tang army from a distance and captured Xue Bawang's tens of thousands of horses and rushed back!"
"Hahaha, it's good that we won the battle and we can feel at ease."
The news that King Qin Li Shimin had returned with his army made the people of Chang'an City talk about it with excited expressions on their faces.
They may not all be happy that Tang Dynasty won, but at least they were relieved that Chang'an was spared from the war.
At the west gate of Chang'an, many people poured out of the Jinguang Gate and looked behind the officials of the Tang Dynasty. The prince led the officials one mile out of the city gate to welcome the victorious army back.
Soon after, the sound of horse hooves sounded like muffled thunder, and amid the billowing smoke, a mighty army came from the west.
Li Jiancheng sat under the canopy of the chariot to enjoy the cool air. He listened to the people behind him start cheering. He could hear many people shouting that the King of Qin was brave. It seemed that he also heard harsh words like the prince was defeated, but the King of Qin captured the overlord in one battle.
His face was very ugly, and his eyes were staring into the distance.
On the side, Li Gang, the Minister of Rites and the Crown Prince, came up and saluted and said: "Your Highness, you should now lead all the officials to welcome the king's army back after their victory."
Li Jiancheng said angrily: "They are still two or three miles away from here. If we go now, are you going to be exposed to the sun alone?!"
The nearby officials lowered their eyebrows and pretended not to hear.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
Li Gang insisted on admonishing.
Li Jiancheng was agitated. When he saw Li Gang, he thought of what Master Yin Shi said about Yang Yong and Yang Guang.
This Li Gang was the former Xi Ma of Prince Yang Yong. After Yang Yong was deposed, he was promoted instead.
The army was approaching, and the officials were watching. Li Jiancheng had no choice but to suppress his thoughts, get out of the car and lead all the officials to meet the Marshal of the Expedition to the West, his second brother King Qin.
A team galloped out of the army.
"Brother!"
The leader, General Li Shimin, was wearing silver-white armor and galloping towards him on horseback. He first called his brother, then stood up and dismounted when he came near, and then saluted the prince respectfully.
"Why does Erlang need to be so polite?"
Li Jiancheng forced a smile on his face, helped him up, and congratulated him on his victory.
Qu Tutong, Yin Kaishan, Chai Shao and others also rushed there on horseback, and hundreds of officials came forward to greet them and salute and congratulate them.
The people at the city gate stretched their necks and looked excitedly at the approaching army.
Li Jiancheng rewarded the three armies on behalf of Li Yuan, and also rewarded all the soldiers in the name of the Prince's Palace.
After the group of people entered the city, the people along the street cheered and the city of Chang'an was boiling.
"Erlang." Chai Shao rode his horse to the side and said to Li Shimin with a smile: "Fortunately we won the battle, otherwise we would have been too embarrassed to come back."
"Stop talking about this."
Li Shimin patted him on the shoulder.
Only then did Chai Shao realize that the man who had lost the battle was now in the team.
One thousand Tang troops escorted dozens of people, including Xue Rengao and Zong Luohu, into the imperial city through the Suzaku Gate, and escorted Xue Rengao and others to the Taiji Hall.
Li Yuan is sitting in the Tai Chi Hall.
In the hall, Pei Ji knelt and sat at the head of the left side, while the other officials either knelt or stood at the back.
Before Li Jiancheng left, Li Shimin led the generals into the Tai Chi Hall after he left.
"Your Majesty! The general is here to take the blame!"
Qu Tutong was the first to kneel down. The generals were stunned, and then they also knelt down one after another.
Those who knelt down to accept the crime were undoubtedly the first generals who followed Li Jiancheng to fight the defeated battle.
Li Jiancheng didn't stand, walk, or kneel. He stood there frozen, and all the officials looked at him one after another.
Li Yuan, who was sitting on the couch, said with a smile: "Generals, please rise. Victory and defeat are common occurrences. What crime do you have?"
Qu Tutong, Yin Kaishan, Chai Shao and others stood up.
Li Jiancheng's face was in burning pain.
"Erlang!"
Li Yuan walked around him again and shouted to Li Shimin behind him: "Come forward quickly!"
"yes!"
Li Shimin walked past his brother, saluted his father, handed back the tiger talisman, and resigned from the post of Generalissimo of the Western Conquest.
Li Yuan ordered the eunuch to collect the tiger talisman, smiled from ear to ear, and said to the officials:
"Everyone, look at this. This is Han Xin of the Tang Dynasty. When the situation was extremely critical, he led the army, burned his beams and boats, fought with his back to the water, and captured Xue Ju in less than two months!!"
"The King of Qin used his troops like a god."
All the officials praised him one after another, but Pei Ji did not dissuade Li Yuan and continued to praise him.
Li Shimin gave the credit to Li Yuan who was in charge of Chang'an, saying that it was the sufficient logistics supplies that allowed him to hold on to the road and Xue Qin's army was defeated.
"Ha ha!"
Li Yuan was very satisfied and said with a smile: "This is the prince's contribution."
Li Jiancheng's complexion improved a lot.
"but!"
Li Yuan's expression changed and he shouted: "Bring to me all the guilty officials who lost the battle!"
Chai Dong, the supervisor standing aside, immediately delivered the order.
The expressions of Qu Tutong and other generals changed slightly. They stood at the door of the palace with their hands down, not daring to say a word. Li Shimin also became nervous.
After a while, Liu Wenjing and Yin Shishi, who had been demoted to common people, were brought up by the guards.
Liu Wenjing's face was ugly. She walked to Li Shimin and gave him a complicated look before kneeling down to Li Yuan.
Li Yuan scolded them heavily, blaming the two men for the casualties of tens of thousands of soldiers, and ordered them to be dragged to the West City to be executed.
The eunuch, Chai Dong, was a little slow in conveying his decree. He looked at Li Shimin. Just as he was about to announce the decree, he saw Li Shimin standing up, so he shut his mouth knowingly.
"Father!"
Li Shimin reported: "Mr. Liu used to be the Sima of the General's Office. After my father changed the Yuan Dynasty and ascended the throne, Mr. Liu revised the "Kaihuang Law" and made great contributions to the Tang Dynasty. I sincerely ask my father to forgive Mr. Liu's death!"
He did not mention that Liu Wenjing had a holy family that could forgive two deaths.
Li Yuan did not speak.
Officials who followed the uprising in Taiyuan at that time pleaded for mercy.
Li Jiancheng stood there, and the kneeling Yin Shishi glanced at him and couldn't help but sigh.
He had done his last for the Sui Dynasty.
"His Majesty."
Sitting on his knees, Pei Ji reported: "Liu Wenjing is a hero of Taiyuan Yuanmou. I sincerely ask your majesty to forgive him once, and just take back the holy family member who was spared two deaths and order him to reflect."
"you!"
Liu Wenjing, who was kneeling on the ground, suddenly raised her head and looked at Pei Ji with an angry expression.
Just one sin, and he needs to be spared from death twice? !
"Okay, let's do it!"
When Supervisor Pei spoke, Li Yuan no longer hesitated and ordered Master Yinshi to be dragged out and beheaded. Liu Wenjing was still demoted to a commoner, waiting to be called upon.
Master Yinshi stood up, looked at Li Yuan, raised his hands and said loudly:
"Please take back my official position, I am willing to die as a subject of the Sui Dynasty!"
All the civil and military officials looked at him one after another. Li Yuan's face was moved. After a while, he sighed: "It turns out that the general is such a loyal minister. It's a pity that he can't contribute to the Tang Dynasty."
The officials talked a lot, but no one interceded. Prince Li Jiancheng became even more silent.
Li Yuan said again: "Although you are a minister of the Sui Dynasty, you have also led the army in the Tang Dynasty. I heard that you have a daughter and a son. The daughter is beautiful and smart, so I will marry her to my son Shimin. I will give her to your son when he grows up." Official title."
Li Shimin was shocked.
Master Yinshi was silent for a long time, then looked at Li Shimin and said loudly: "The Great Sui Dynasty has arrived. The one who will bring peace to the world in the future must be the Li family...the Tang Dynasty!"
Thinking of a pair of children in his family, he finally changed the name of Erlang of the Li family to Tang of the Li family.
Li Yuan laughed and said, "Please go away, general."
Chai Dong understood the idea and declared loudly: "Your Majesty has a decree to grant Yin Shishi, General Zuoyiwei of the Sui Dynasty before his death!"
As we all know, death is also a holy favor.
Master Yinshi was escorted in.
Li Yuan ordered again: "Bring Xue Ju up!"
"Father, Xue Ju has been dead of illness for many days." Li Shimin quickly reported.
Li Yuan's expression remained unchanged, "Then take Xue Qin and all the big and small officials here!"
He didn't even know Xue Rengao.
When Xue Ju's son, who was in ragged clothes, knelt down and kowtowed violently to beg for mercy, Li Yuan began to curse. After scolding, he waved his hand and ordered him to be executed in the West Market. He had nothing to say. Li Shimin, who had surrendered earlier, would not take him back to Chang'an. Both the people and the Yin Shishi were used to appease the families of the tens of thousands of dead and wounded soldiers in the Tang Dynasty.
Li Yuan was in high spirits, began to discuss merits and rewards, and asked Li Shimin what he wanted.
"Father."
Li Shimin requested: "When I led the troops, I realized that our Tang cavalry had many shortcomings, and the Longxi cavalry..."
"I know what you are going to say, Erlang." Li Yuan said with a smile: "You are allowed to form a cavalry battalion, numbering three thousand, with armor, weapons, horses and personnel, and you can recruit them as you please. You must make our cavalry of the Tang Dynasty the most powerful in the world!"
"Yes, Father!"
Li Shimin looked happy.
Even happier than having a wife and concubine.
Li Yuan asked Qu Tutong and other generals to come forward and reward them one by one. All the generals in the Prince of Qin's palace also received promotions and titles.
After the rewards are completed, all officials will retire.
"His Majesty!"
Pei Ji followed Li Yuan alone from the back hall and whispered to him: "Liu Wenjing just received your Majesty's favor, but he didn't thank you..."
"Hmph, how could I not know? He knows I won't kill him, so he is confident."
"Oh, I'm afraid he still thinks that His Majesty is a general."
"Ignore him, go and have a drink with me!"
…
Outside the Tai Chi Hall, Liu Wenjing smiled bitterly and handed over to Li Shimin, "Erlang really... hurt me."
If Li Shimin had not defeated Xue Qin's army in a battle, he would have been safe in Chang'an. At most, he would have been reduced from his position. If the law does not hold everyone accountable, Li Yuan would not pursue him further and would still use him in the near future.
Li Shimin did not accept his joke and said seriously: "Mr. Liu needs to be careful in his words and deeds in the future. Don't -"
"What do you want?"
Liu Wenjing looked at him.
"Don't have another conflict with Prime Minister Pei." Li Shimin whispered.
"snort!"
Liu Wenjing immediately became angry. She talked about what happened in the palace just now and scolded Pei Ji for adding insult to injury.
Li Shimin had a headache and pulled him away quickly.
Hopefully his words didn't backfire.
