In fact, not only Zhang Xiao and Li Chengqian, but everyone present was stunned.
None of them expected that the one who finally stood up to plead for Zhang Xiao would be Yuchi Jingde.
You know, after Gao Zhixing, it was Yuchi Jingde who was always fighting against Zhang Xiao.
Many of Yuchi Jingde's brothers also died at the hands of Zhang Xiao.
But at this moment, Yuchi Jingde actually stood up to save his life. How could this not surprise anyone?
Looking at the surprised expressions of Li Chengqian and everyone else.
Yuchi Jingde smiled slightly.
"Your Highness, you also know that our Tang Dynasty is in a period of drought."
"The generals of the older generation are old, dead, injured, and sick."
"Brother Qin has been on the bed for a long time, and that guy Lao Cheng is also over fifty years old and half buried in the grave."
"This is not to mention Brother Li and His Highness's teacher, Brother Li Ji."
"Even I, Yuchi, am fifty years old this year."
"But among the younger generation of the Tang Dynasty, apart from you and your subordinates, how many are worthy of use?"
Yuchi Jingde glanced at Zhang Xiao and said, "In my opinion, Yuchi, seventeen or eight of those individuals are probably not as good as this kid."
"So, I, Yuchi, am also bold. I beg Your Highness to show mercy to me, Yuchi, and give him a break."
With that said, Yuchi Jingde walked up to Zhang Xiao, and his words seemed to be addressed to Zhang Xiao and Li Chengqian.
"This kid is not a bad person, at most he was deceived."
"As long as he is well trained, he will definitely become a good general in the future."
"Although I, Yuchi, am not a prominent figure in the capital, I am somewhat thin-faced."
"Thinking about it, it shouldn't be a problem to find a well-known and orthodox general for this guy to recognize as his master..."
When these words came out, the whole place was filled with gasps.
If Yuchi Jingde wanted to recruit Zhang Xiao out of love for his talents, or to save his life, it would be enough to surprise the people present, but it would not be enough for a police detective.
So now, Yuchi Jingde not only wants to save Zhang Xiao's life, but is also willing to introduce Zhang Xiao to his master.
This clearly wants to give Zhang Xiao a chance to rise to prominence.
You know, Zhang Xiao was a rebel general, and he killed countless soldiers of the Tang Dynasty at the beginning.
But now, Yuchi Jingde treated him with such courtesy, which was really unexpected.
Even Li Chengqian couldn't help but said: "Uncle Yuchi, if you do this, I'm afraid my father will..."
"Your Highness does not need to worry about this."
"When I return to Chang'an City, I, Yuchi, will naturally go to His Majesty to explain."
"I think your majesty can also give me, old Yuchi, some face."
Yuchi Jingde looked at Zhang Xiao and said, "Now, I, Yuchi, just want to ask you one thing. Are you willing to change your mind and make contributions to the expansion of the territory of the Tang Dynasty?"
To be honest, Zhang Xiao had already planned to die when he started.
After all, how many traitorous generals like him could survive?
But now, Yuchi Jingde was doing this to him.
Zhang Xiao was unable to speak for a while.
"I know that you value love and righteousness, and you are thinking about the King of Shu."
"But you boy have to know what you should fight for, what you should fight for."
"Today, I give you this opportunity, not because of how powerful you are, but because I don't want the Tang Dynasty to lose a good general and a hero who can expand the territory of the Tang Dynasty."
Yuchi Jingde raised his hand and patted Zhang Xiao on the shoulder, saying: "You have to consider everything by yourself. I am not in a hurry for you to give me an answer, but at least you have to tell me what you mean before you get to Chang'an City."
After hearing these words, Zhang Xiao said it was impossible not to be moved.
He pursed his lips tightly, then bowed deeply to Yuchi Jingde and said, "Thank you, old general..."
On Zhang Xiao's side, Yuchi Jingde stood up to plead for mercy.
But Shang Yunxian was not so lucky.
After all, the target of his battle was the Liangzhou Army.
Those people in the Liangzhou Army are typical hot-blooded men, they don't care who you are.
If anyone touches their brother, it is equivalent to touching their own limbs, and they will definitely fight for you.
Guys like Liu Qi and Feng Guangyao all wanted to detain Shang Yunxian and eat him alive in front of the entire army, so as to comfort the spirits of the fallen soldiers in heaven.
Therefore, even if Li Chengqian had some love for talents and wanted to keep Shang Yunxian, he could not speak at this time.
After all, speaking now would be equivalent to breaking the hearts of the soldiers of the Liangzhou Army.
Similarly, he has hinted that Yuchi Jingde will protect Zhang Xiao, and it would be unreasonable to protect Shang Yunxian.
So in the end, Shang Yunxian was put on the prison car and sent to Chang'an City along with the rebel generals.
As for Zhang Xiao, he left with Yuchi Jingde.
Yuchi Jingde was a man of his word.
Since he said he wanted to protect Zhang Xiao, he must protect him to the end.
In the end, Li Chengqian left Changsun Chong and Cheng Hualiang to lead the team to complete the finishing work in Shu.
He himself took Gao Zhixing, Li Tingxue and others on the return ship.
…
It was late autumn when the war began.
But now it has already entered midsummer.
Spring is warm, flowers are blooming, people are coming and going on the pier, and when the ship is sailing, the scenery on both sides is even more pleasant.
It seems that all the bad moods are slowly changing with this scenery.
on board.
Li Chengqian had someone move out a small wooden table and sat cross-legged on the bow of the boat alone, looking at the scenery on both sides.
His hand holding the tea bowl was always still, and his expression was always in a daze, as if his mind was wandering in a trance, or his soul was out of the body.
Seeing his appearance, Li Tingxue couldn't help but step forward.
She was not polite to Li Chengqian, so she casually took the tea cup from his hand, drank the tea in one gulp, and said, "You guy, what are you doing here?"
In one sentence, Li Chengqian woke up from a dream.
He raised his head and glanced at his sister, then chuckled and said, "It's nothing, I just thought of something."
"What a nonsense."
“Isn’t the scenery around here good enough?”
Li Tingxue sat casually next to Li Chengqian and said, "Such beautiful scenery can make people feel better from a bad mood. Don't think too much about it."
Obviously, Li Tingxue thought that Li Chengqian was still struggling with Li Ke's matter.
But she obviously guessed wrong this time. This was not what Li Chengqian was thinking.
What happened to Li Ke was not enough to keep him in a daze on the boat, thinking about it for half an hour.
"What I'm thinking about is not about Li Ke."
"It's about today's Tang Dynasty."
Li Chengqian curled his lips, and then said: "Don't you think that the Tang Dynasty just looks strong, but inside it is actually in danger of approaching disaster?"
Hearing this, Li Tingxue raised her eyebrows in confusion.
She said: "Are you stupid?"
"Today's Tang Dynasty is so powerful that no one in the neighboring countries dares to confront it."
"And the people in the country are living and working in peace and contentment. Even in the face of today's rebellion, the vast majority of the people have not been affected at all."
"This is clearly a sign of prosperity. How can there be a disaster approaching?"
Li Tingxue was right. The Tang Dynasty was indeed very prosperous.
But as a later generation, Li Chengqian could naturally see things that Li Tingxue could not see.
And it is those invisible things that are the biggest problem in Datang today...
