"Why Li Mi from the Central Plains?" Li Yuan asked puzzledly, "Li Mi is the strongest in the world. Although he failed in his previous attack on Luoyang, he only lost 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers and horses. If he fights with him, Yang Gao won't be afraid that both sides will suffer losses. ?”
Li Shimin said in a deep voice: "Father, I think that although it looks powerful on the surface, it is not actually the case. Now Wagang is already a terminally ill old man. Since Li Mi killed Zhai Rang, Wagang's heart has been scattered." Li Mi's failure to attack Luoyang actually depleted the last bit of morale of the Wagang army. In addition, Wang Shichong of Luoyang is also a master of military art. With his help, Li Mi's defeat is not far away!"
Li Yuan thought for a long time, nodded, and then changed the topic and said: "Then how does the emperor think your brother's matter should be handled?"
Li Shimin said without hesitation: "The prince is an important weapon of the country. I believe that no matter what the price, I must redeem the emperor's brother. Moreover, the Sui and Tang Dynasties are now equally powerful. The Sui Dynasty cannot destroy the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty cannot destroy the Sui Dynasty. The war between our dynasty and our country is the eye-catcher." It's urgent, why not take the opportunity of redeeming the emperor's brother to negotiate peace with the Sui Dynasty, buy time and accumulate strength for our Tang Dynasty to eliminate Xue Ju, Liu Wuzhou and other rebels."
Li Yuan glanced at Li Shimin approvingly. This approval was not because of Li Shimin's peace talks, but because of his attitude towards Li Jiancheng. If Li Shimin had just chosen to add insult to injury and take the opportunity to belittle Li Jiancheng, then Li Yuan would have been extremely disappointed, and He did not hesitate to give up the idea of supporting him as the prince.
After a pause, Li Yuan said with some worry: "The emperor also knows that when Xuanzhen was captured that day, I had already sent people to interview Yang Gao. The emperor must also know his conditions at that time. Now that it has been completed, it has been Prisoner, Yang Gao will definitely increase the weight. The rest is okay, since I took over Guanzhong, the nobles of Guanlong have fully supported me, and I have abundant money and food. I can still get hundreds of thousands of grain and grass, and tens of thousands of taels of gold. The key is Feng Deyi, he has done great service for me, how can I be willing to hand him over to Yang Gao?"
"this..."
Li Shimin also had a troubled look on his face when he heard this. After a long time, he raised his hands and replied: "Father, this matter is of great importance. I dare not speak nonsense. It is better for my father to decide the stakes!"
When Li Yuan heard this, he looked disappointed. He paused and waved his hand and said, "That's all, please step back first! I will think about it myself."
"My son, please retire!"
Li Shimin bowed and slowly exited Li Yuan's bedroom.
"well!"
Seeing that Li Shimin had gone away, Li Yuan sighed helplessly.
"Why is Your Majesty so worried? It would be bad if the dragon's body was injured!" the eunuch standing by said in a low voice.
Li Yuan glanced at the eunuch casually, "I don't want to do this either, but there are too many things to worry about!"
The eunuch smiled slightly and said, "Your Majesty, if you are worried about Lord Feng Deyi, this old slave can take care of your Majesty's worries!"
Li Yuan was overjoyed when he heard this and asked hurriedly: "What's your clever plan?"
The eunuch said slowly and calmly: "Your Majesty is most worried because Master Feng Deyi has made great contributions to your Majesty. If he were to be handed over to Yang Gao just like this, it would chill the hearts of all the officials of the Tang Dynasty!"
Li Yuan nodded and said: "Yes, Feng Qing has made great achievements for me. If I hand him over to Yang Gao for execution, who else will be willing to serve me in the future?"
The eunuch smiled sinisterly, "Then let's set up a trap to hide it from the public and make the world think that His Majesty did not intend to hand over Feng Deyi to Yang Gao!"
Li Yuan was stunned when he heard this and asked: "What game?"
"Didn't His Highness the King of Qin say that he would send an envoy to the Sui Dynasty to talk with Yang Gao? Your Majesty, why not appoint Feng Deyi as the deputy peace envoy? As for what will happen to him after he arrives in Jiangdu, you cannot blame your Majesty, but Yang Gao for violating it. The rule of 'when two countries are at war, do not kill but envoy'."
"wonderful!"
When Li Yuan heard this, Long Yan was overjoyed. He glanced at the eunuch with admiration and asked, "What's your name?"
The eunuch hurriedly knelt down on the ground, suppressing the joy in his heart and said: "Your Majesty, the villain Wei Zhongxian!"
. . . . . . . . . .
The city of Chang'an was gloomy because of the capture of Prince Li Jiancheng, but the city of Jiangdu was full of celebrations at the moment. The news of Shangyong's victory spread back to Jiangdu. Although Yang Gao had already known about it, how could he not tell him? His people could predict the news in advance, so when the good news came, Yang Gao made the good news public.
Yang Gao also rewarded the generals who made great achievements in this battle based on their merits.
Of course, the first achievement was to defend Xinye, which bought enough time for Chang Yuchun and Li Jing to encircle Li Jiancheng. In addition, now that Li Xiaogong has captured Bashu, the pressure in Jiangling and Yiling will increase greatly, so Yang Gao He promoted Zhang Xun to General Zuowuwei and led him as the prefect of Yiling County.
Lei Wanchun assisted Zhang Xun in defending the city and was promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry, and continued to serve as Zhang Xun's deputy.
Long Zhi made great achievements by capturing Li Jian alive, so Yang Gao promoted him to the rank of General of Zuo Yiwei Zhonglang, leading 15,000 troops to sit in Shangyong to prevent Li Tang from continuing to attack Jingxiang from Shangyong.
Chang Yuchun made great achievements when he attacked Jiangnan, but because Yang Gao was worried about the situation in Jingxiang at that time, he asked him to rush to Jingxiang before he was rewarded.
Now that the situation in Jingxiang has been stabilized, Chang Yuchun has made new achievements. Yang Gao immediately promoted him to the title of champion general, and led his troops to garrison in the new wilderness to peek at the Central Plains.
Li Jing was instrumental in cutting off Li Jiancheng's retreat. Yang Gao made him a general in the army and transferred him back to Jiangdu. Because Li Jing currently had too few meritorious deeds, Yang Gao decided to transfer him back to his side, and let him accumulate more merits when he went on the expedition the next day, and strive to promote him to the level of Xue Rengui, Chang Yuchun, and Yang Yanzhao as soon as possible.
At the same time, Yang Gao also announced personnel appointments in the Jiangnan region.
Yang Gao stayed in Jinling City for almost two months. During this period, Yang Gao suppressed a group of old Jiangnan nobles who were originally powerful, some even uprooted them, and attracted a group of new Jiangnan nobles. Taking this opportunity, he canceled the privileges of many Jiangnan dignitaries and firmly controlled the entire Jiangnan region in the hands of the imperial court.
After settling this matter, Yang Gao also felt that there was nothing to stay in Jiangnan, so he appointed Lai Hu'er and Wang Shouren as civil and military officials to take charge of Jiangnan, while he led a large group of troops back to Jiangdu to discuss the next strategic goals with the ministers.
. . . . . . . . . .
Luoyang, Zheng Guogong Mansion.
Although Wang Shichong was defeated at the hands of Li Mi in Luoshui and suffered countless losses, he was not discouraged. He gathered his defeated troops and retreated to Luoyang to continue fighting against Li Mi. He successfully defeated Li Mi and defended Luoyang.
Emperor Yang Tong of the Sui Dynasty was overjoyed and rewarded Wang Shichong generously. He was granted the title of Duke of Zheng and received the ministerial order.
However, Yang Tong's kindness to Wang Shichong deeply stimulated Lu Chu, Huangfu Wuyi, Yuan Wendu and other ministers.
Most of these ministers came from wealthy families, and they had always looked down on Wang Shichong, who was born in Hu Shang. Previously, it was just because Li Mi besieged the city, so they had no choice but to rely on Wang Shichong. Now that Li Mi has withdrawn, the proud aristocratic hearts deep in their hearts have begun to cause trouble again.
