With two stunning beauties in front of him, Yang Gao was stunned for a moment. He stared blankly at the two women and forgot to speak.
Empress Dowager Xiao on the side couldn't help but pursed her lips and smiled when she saw this: "Does the Emperor like such a beautiful woman?"
Only then did Yang Gao come back to his senses, looked at the two girls up and down, nodded and praised: "It is really beautiful and fragrant!"
Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Xiao put her hands on her hands and smiled and said: "Since the Emperor likes it, the Ai family will take the initiative to arrange the marriage for the Emperor's son. I wonder if Mrs. Xue and the two young ladies have any objections?"
Naturally, Liu Yinhuan, Xue Baochai and Lin Daiyu had no doubts about being able to marry the royal family. They immediately knelt down and said, "The queen mother will be the one to grant the marriage, and the court ladies (women of the people) will be overjoyed!"
In this way, under the direct control of Empress Dowager Xiao, on the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, an auspicious day, Yang Gao married two beauties, Xue Baochai and Lin Daiyu, and named Xue Baochai Chongrong and Lin Daiyu Chongyi.
After that, Yang Gao successively married Xiao Yuexian and Dou Xianniang into the palace on the eighteenth and twenty-fourth of the twelfth lunar month.
However, due to the relationship between their fathers, these two weddings were not as grand as the one between Xue Baochai and Lin Daiyu. They were just a little fun with lights and colors in the palace, and even the officials were not entertained.
Of course, this is what Empress Dowager Xiao meant, because once the wedding is held, the identity of the bride will be revealed by bad actors, which is not what Empress Dowager Xiao wants to see.
. . . . . . . . . .
Time flies like a shuttle. The New Year has passed in the blink of an eye, and spring is here again.
Guanzhong, Chang'an, Imperial Study Room.
Li Yuan, dressed in a yellow dragon robe, sat behind the case, glanced at the important ministers who were bowing respectfully in front of them, and said loudly: "My dear friends, now Xue Ju and Li Gui have been defeated one after another, Longxi and Hexi They all surrendered to the Tang Dynasty one after another. Except for the remnants of Xue Ju who fled north to Yan'an County and attached themselves to the Turks, we no longer have any constraints on the Tang Dynasty. I decided to wait until the spring of next year to send troops to the Central Plains to have a showdown with Yang Gao'er."
Qu Tutong, Minister of War, was once the most trusted general of Sui Emperor Yang Guang. Although he had defected to Li Tang, he still retained his loyalty to the Sui Dynasty deep in his heart.
After hearing Li Yuan's words, he frowned slightly, hesitated and finally said: "Your Majesty, the Tang Dynasty and the Sui Dynasty signed a contract, agreeing not to attack each other within three years, but now we have torn up the agreement in just one year. Wei Chen I am worried that the people of the world will accuse my court of betrayal, and I hope your Majesty will think twice."
Li Yuan couldn't help but his face darkened when he heard the words. He was about to speak, but unexpectedly, someone from the crowd had already flashed out and retorted sharply: "Shang Shu Qu Tu's words are wrong. As the saying goes, a war is never tiring of deceit. If the two armies clash, you will die or I will die. Lord Shangshu thought that If Yang Gao ends the Central Plains campaign early, will he not march into Guanzhong but also Bashu?"
Everyone saw that the person who refuted Qu Tutong was Chai Rong, the brother of Chai Shao, the prince-in-law. Although he had not been in office for a short time, he had mastered the art of war and repeatedly performed extraordinary feats in the battles against Xue Ju and Li Gui. Even Qin King Li Shimin also expressed his disapproval. He was full of praise.
"What General Chai said is absolutely true!" Pei Ji, who was slapped dozens of times by Yang Gao in Jiangdu, immediately agreed. Looking at Qu Tutong, he said in a strange way: "Even I don't understand such a once-in-a-lifetime fighter plane. A layman in the art of war can see why General Qu Tu turned a blind eye to the powerful warriors on the battlefield? Is it because the general still has his old master in mind?"
"you--"
When Qu Tutong heard this, he flew into a rage and yelled, "You traitor, how dare you slander me in front of His Majesty!"
Pei Ji snorted coldly: "I just said that casually, why is General Qu Tu so excited? Is there something wrong in his heart?"
"quiet!"
Li Yuan shouted loudly: "You two are both important ministers of the court, my humerus. Are you going to fight among us before the enemy is defeated?"
"Wei Chen is guilty!"
Qu Tutong and Pei Ji hurriedly bowed to apologize and returned to their respective queues.
Li Yuan was still angry and continued to speak loudly: "I have already decided to send troops to the Central Plains, so there is no need to give any more advice. The issue to be discussed in this court meeting is how to send troops. King Qin, as the general of Tiance, I am the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Commander-in-Chief, what do you think of this opponent?"
In fact, Li Shimin had long expected that Li Yuan would send troops to the Central Plains, so he had been planning this matter with his staff since returning to Longxi, and had already made a detailed plan.
When Li Yuan called Li Shimin, Li Shimin immediately stepped out and said loudly: "Father, I think that Yang Gao's son is also determined to win the Central Plains, so this dispatch of troops must be a multi-pronged attack to hit its vital points and conquer the Central Plains and even more." The territory was placed under the rule of our Tang Dynasty."
Prime Minister Dugu Zhen asked: "Why is there a multi-pronged attack? Could you please give us more details, Your Highness the King of Qin?"
Li Shimin said solemnly: "This march is divided into five routes. The first route is led by Gu, with Qu Tutong and Chai Rong as the left and right lieutenants. A hundred thousand elite troops are sent out of Tongguan to fight for Luoyang. The Yang family of Hongnong has secretly pledged allegiance to us in the Tang Dynasty. , so it won’t take long for Gu to reach Luoyang City directly.”
Dugu Zhen nodded, "What about the other four routes?"
"The second route, led by Qi King Li Yuanji from Hanoi, rushed to Luoyang together with Li Shiji from Liyang to help Gu take Luoyang."
"The third route, with Zhaojun Wang Li Xiaogong as its commander, sent troops from Bashu to threaten Yiling County. The fourth route, Prince Consort Chai Shao, led the troops to attack Xicheng, and the fifth route, led by Huai'an King Li Shentong, contained Nanyang Yang Yanzhao's tribe. The functions of these three routes are all The same one, that is, to intimidate Jing Xiang and force Yang Gao to withdraw his troops from the Central Plains."
After hearing Li Shimin's five-way march plan, everyone in the room beamed with joy and praised Li Shimin: "His Royal Highness the King of Qin strategized and won a victory thousands of miles away. This time we march into the Central Plains, the Tang Dynasty will definitely win a complete victory."
Seeing that all the important ministers agreed, Li Yuan immediately announced loudly: "Since all the ministers have no objections, we will march in five directions according to His Highness the King of Qin's plan. This time, we must give Yang Gao'er a hard look."
After the court meeting ended, Li Yuan swept away the depression caused by the defeat of Jingxiang in the past year and returned to the harem with a happy face.
As soon as he returned to the harem, he saw that his two most beloved concubines, Concubine Yin De and Zhang Jieyu, had already come forward to greet him. They hugged Li Yuan's arms on the left and right, and said sweetly: "Why is your Majesty so happy today? Can you tell me? To make my concubine happy?"
Li Yuan was originally an extremely lustful person. Before he started the army, he suppressed his lustful heart in order to pretend to be generous and benevolent to win the hearts of the people. Now that he has ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, his true nature has been completely exposed. In just two or three years, Li Yuan has married more than twenty concubines, among which Concubine Yin De and Zhang Jieyu are the most favored.
Seeing his two beloved concubines holding his arms and acting coquettishly, Li Yuan smiled broadly and proudly held the two concubines in his arms. He laughed and said, "I am happy today because soon the Central Plains will become the territory of the Tang Dynasty." , Shimin’s five-way march plan..."
