"It's better to be at home. If I can stay like this for the rest of my life, I don't want to leave the village at all."
Xiao Rui, who was accompanying Xiangcheng, said with emotion.
Xiangcheng covered his mouth and chuckled: "My husband is just talking nonsense. How can you use all your talents if you don't leave the village? Isn't it buried?"
"What kind of talent? I have never had ambitions to reach the sky, and I don't like fame and fortune. I can be a rich and idle man, fishing, reading, and spending time with you and your children all day long, and I wouldn't trade it for an emperor." Xiao Rui disdainfully said.
"Really? The emperor is not as good as a rich and idle man?" A man's voice came from the door.
Xiao Rui didn't notice, thinking it was Xiangcheng's question, and blurted out: "Of course, the emperor is like the caged bird, tied up in the palace all his life, trapped in the whirlpool of fame and fortune, unable to extricate himself. But I, Zhuangzi, are different, free and unrestrained, Although it is in the human world, it is no different from the carefree immortals in heaven."
"Father!" Xiangcheng quickly saluted the visitor.
Li Er stretched out his hand to support her, "You have a big belly, so you don't need to be polite. Pay attention to your health."
ah? who?
Xiao Rui turned around, "Good guy, an emperor in plain clothes?" Is this a private visit via incognito?
"Ahem, Your Majesty, why are you here?"
If this happened before, Xiao Rui would be able to detect someone a hundred steps outside the door without the emperor getting close at all. It's different now. Xiao Rui has no martial arts skills and is just an ordinary weak scholar. It's strange that he can hear footsteps.
Li Erbai glanced at him and reprimanded: "I'm going to be a grandfather soon. If you call me father or father-in-law, are you doing anything wrong?"
Forehead……
When Xiao Rui heard this, he thought to himself that something was wrong. He took the initiative to get close to me and wanted to play the emotional card?
"Father-in-law, please sit down quickly. I'll go get you some tea right now. Xiangcheng, tell the kitchen to get ready for the lunch banquet. Don't neglect it when father-in-law is here."
Li Er stopped and said, "Okay, I'm not here to eat. Xiangcheng, you go back to the house first. I have something to do with this guy."
Xiangcheng was too worried to leave. Li Er sighed and said, "Don't worry, I won't embarrass him. You girl, you really have your elbows turned out."
After hearing this, Xiangcheng bowed and left with the help of his maid.
Seeing his daughter walking away, the emperor spoke seriously, "Boy, don't you care about Cheng Qian's affairs? Don't forget, it was you who came up with the bad idea. What? My wings are so stiff that I can't even send someone to invite him. , do you have to come in person?"
"It's not my son-in-law's pretense. As you've seen, Xiangcheng is about to give birth. I really don't dare to leave without permission. I don't have time!" Xiao Rui spread his hands and said, "You can't rely on me to bear Qian's affairs. You gave the order. Yes. You also released the man from Chang'an on purpose. My son-in-law just made a suggestion."
"Say that again, kid?" Li Er asked in a dissatisfied tone.
Ahem...don't you think your voice is reasonable?
"Either send people to redeem people with money, or send troops to attack and rescue people. I can't get involved in either of these two. Although I have the title of Shaoqing of Honglu Temple, you can also see that my son-in-law has nothing to do now. Because of my strength, that Jieli hated me to the core and had to fake his own death to escape. So I can’t go on an envoy."
"However, Cheng Qian is one of our own, so I can't ignore it. Send someone to ask Jie Li what kind of bargaining chips he wants. You can see if the treasury has enough money. I'll help you get as much as you need."
"If we send troops to attack and rescue people, then my son-in-law really can't do anything."
Xiao Rui spread his hands in a shaky posture. He said there was nothing wrong with him, but his attitude made Li Er so angry that he thought to himself, "What are you pretending to be?" It's obviously just perfunctory.
Li Er had a dark face and almost shouted, "Boy, give you another chance to speak properly and say something useful. You'd better not make me angry!"
I……
Xiao Rui looked innocent: "Father-in-law, everything I said is useful. Besides, it has been a month since I came back from Luoyang, and it has been almost two months since Cheng Qian was taken away. You haven't done anything yet, please let Cheng Qian What do you think? Do you think you don't want him anymore? What do the civil and military officials think? The prince has fallen out of favor and the emperor wants to be replaced? Why do you come to me, a useless person? As long as you give the order, who in the Tang Dynasty will dare not to contribute? ?”
"Nonsense, if the matter is easy to decide, do I want to delay it until now? Send people to redeem, and where is the face of the Tang Dynasty? Send troops to attack, the Tang Dynasty is not strong enough. In recent years, the country has been fighting almost continuously, and the treasury is empty. It is hard to save some wealth. Last year, for Saving you is almost all a struggle. If it weren’t for the dilemma, wouldn’t I know how to make a decision? I don’t want to save my son? Will I come to chat with you?”
The two started arguing.
Xiao Rui thought about it for a while, but he still felt a little unreasonable. The shortfall in the Tang Dynasty's treasury was related to saving himself last year. Moreover, the prince's incident was indeed his own fault. Even if you have to banish the experience, you can leave it to grow up in a few years, there is no need to do it this year.
Alas... you can't always escape.
"Father-in-law, it's not that my son-in-law doesn't want to help. Xiangcheng she..."
Li Erbai glanced at him and said, "Don't I feel sorry for my daughter? I didn't say that you must take action. The situation is very complicated now, and there is a lot of noise in the court. Whether it is war or peace, please give me an idea. I want to hear your opinion. view."
"That's it. Then can you tell me about the recent situation?"
"You, what have you been doing these days? Haven't you heard anything?" Li Er was so angry that he reached out and wanted to hit someone.
Xiao Rui spread his hands innocently: "No, I'm just concentrating on spending time with Xiangcheng, and I don't care about anything else."
…
"Hmph, what a carefree and carefree immortal in the world!" Li Er laughed at him, but he was envious in his heart.
"Since your boy is willing to intercede for those secret guards and is sent to the Luoyang camp for training, it shows that you are a leader in the battle. But now that Goguryeo is involved, do you still have a chance of winning?"
Li Er recounted the recent situation. Xiao Rui cursed after hearing this: "Jieli is so despicable! Goguryeo originally sought refuge with him, but Jieli directly sold this ally and kidnapped Goguryeo together. Then we have to face siege from the north, northeast, and two directions."
"Jieli was sure that we didn't dare to go to war, so he made up his mind to blackmail us."
Li Er nodded and said: "That's exactly the reason. Xuan Ling and others also think the same."
"Then do they advocate war or peace?" Xiao Rui asked.
"He! But when it comes to the great cause of rescuing the prince, no one dares to say the word "harmony". They all face the battle, but in fact they are delaying."
I understand, they are all peaceful. Whoever calls for peace means not actively rescuing the prince. At this time, the attitude of standing in line is very important.
After thinking for a moment, Xiao Rui guessed and said: "If I'm not wrong, Jieli doesn't want to go to war with us. In other words, he is also afraid of going to war."
"Oh? They hold hostages and have countless cavalry under their command. This is a defensive battle. Why are they afraid?" Li Er was doubtful.
Xiao Rui analyzed: "Father-in-law, I led people into the Turks and fought for thousands of miles. Although the Tang Dynasty spent a lot of money to save me. But the Turks were the defeated side and they were not unscathed. They should have suffered more than us. . It’s not an exaggeration to say that my vitality has been severely damaged.”
"Besides, the climate of the grassland is severe, and it is not always possible to have a bumper harvest every year. We are different in the Tang Dynasty. We have new and improved varieties and countless cattle. In just one year, we have increased our food supply by countless amounts."
"The strength of both sides waxes and wanes, and a judgment is made. The Tang Dynasty is weak on the outside and strong on the inside, while the Turks are strong on the outside and strong on the inside."
"If we fight hard, the grassland has no chance of winning. Originally, we could still occupy the great righteousness. It was a battle to defend the land, and we called on the people of the grassland to join the battle. Now, if we capture our prince, if he is not returned to us safely, huh, then Don’t blame us for raising troops to destroy them. Even the great righteousness has been occupied by us, and they have no chance of winning."
hiss……
Li Er looked at his son-in-law with strange eyes as if he were a fool.
Xiao Rui asked in confusion: "Why are you looking at me like this?"
