In the East Palace, Li Jiancheng's study was already in a mess.
Liu Zhiyuan, Wei Zheng, Wang Gui, Qin Hui and other close confidants of Li Jiancheng in the East Palace came after hearing the news. They looked at the livid Li Jiancheng standing in front of the window sill and forgot what to say for a moment.
After a long time, it was Li Jiancheng who was the first to break the silence: "My father has become more and more obedient to the people in recent years. Is it possible that my father really has the idea of changing the prince?"
"impossible!"
Wang Gui shook his head decisively and said: "Your Majesty is from a noble family. He always values etiquette and will never do anything to abolish the elders and establish the younger ones!"
Liu Zhiyuan also echoed: "The ritual and music system is the foundation of the family's millennium inheritance, and the Guanlong nobles are the foundation of our Tang Dynasty. They will never allow your Majesty to do something that goes against the ancient etiquette of abolishing the elders and establishing the younger ones." .”
Wei Zheng even straightened his back and said loudly: "His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, has worked very hard over the years and handled government affairs diligently for His Majesty, and has done nothing immoral! If His Majesty really deposed His Highness and established King Qin as the Crown Prince, Wei Zheng would rather die. Even if I am killed in the Jinluan Palace, I will dissuade His Majesty!"
The persuasion of several subordinates made Li Jiancheng's face look much better, but he still said with some worry: "But the second brother has made extraordinary achievements over the years, and his reputation in the Tang Dynasty has been at the peak, so I always feel a little uneasy."
Liu Zhiyuan nodded and said: "Your Highness is concerned about this. Over the years, King Qin has conquered the east and the north and made countless military exploits, so your Majesty will rely on His Highness the King of Qin militarily. I think that if Your Highness wants to compete with His Highness the King of Qin militarily, he must You have to have some military merits that you can show off."
Li Jiancheng sighed and said: "Why don't I know this? It's just that I was accidentally defeated and captured in Jingxiang, which greatly disappointed my father. Now my second brother is responsible for almost all wars, and I can't get involved at all." !”
Qin Hui said in a low voice: "Your Majesty will indeed not allow His Highness to take action in large-scale military operations, but this does not mean that Your Highness cannot intervene in the military!"
Li Jiancheng glanced at Qin Hui and asked, "What does Hui Zhi (character Qin Hui) mean?"
Qin Hui slowly took out a letter from his sleeve and said in a deep voice: "This letter was written to me by Mr. Wu Yong from Qingzhou. When I was ordered to go to Shandong to recruit the rebel army, I had a little friendship with Mr. Wu Yong. Now. Now the Sui generals Qin Qiong and Di Qing are urgently leading an army to attack Qingzhou, so Wu Yong sent people to find Wei Chen, hoping that Wei Chen could put in a few good words to the court and send troops to rescue Qingzhou."
"Wei Chen thought that His Highness could take the opportunity to ask His Majesty to lead troops to rescue Qingzhou. If we win, His Highness can take advantage of His Highness the King of Qin to lead an army to attack Luoyang to contain the Sui army in the Central Plains, and lead an army to invade Xuzhou, and even attack Jiangdu in one go. must."
Li Jiancheng's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he seemed to be moved, but soon his expression dimmed again, and he sighed and said: "Qingzhou is thousands of miles away from Guanzhong, and there is Zhu Yuanzhang in the middle. Even if he is alone, I am afraid there is nothing he can do. !”
Liu Zhiyuan smiled slightly and said: "No, Your Highness, I think this matter has great potential. Zhu Yuanzhang just defeated Liu Heitai, and Hebei is full of waste and waiting for prosperity. Our sending troops to Qingzhou at this time will definitely attract the attention of the Sui army, which is a wish for him. . Because this will give him more time to appease Hebei and rectify the internal situation. In addition, Youzhou Luo Yi is like a sharp sword hanging over his head. If Luo Yi is not destroyed, he will not have the courage to follow him. The Tang Dynasty is in disgrace."
As soon as Liu Zhiyuan finished speaking, Wei Zheng handed over his hand and asked for orders: "Your Highness, in the early years, Wei Chen had some friendship with Dou Jiande and some of his generals and counselors. Although Dou Jiande is no longer here, those generals and counselors should still be there." Many of them are under Zhu Yuanzhang's command. If His Highness can trust Wei Chen, Wei Chen is willing to go to Hebei to persuade Zhu Yuanzhang."
Li Jiancheng still had concerns: "But there are so many powerful generals in the Sui army, and most of our elite soldiers and generals in the Tang Dynasty have followed the people to attack Luoyang. I am afraid that Qingzhou will not be saved by then, but will fall to the same level as Jingxiang." fate."
Qin Hui smiled slightly and said: "Your Highness, don't worry. The main force of the Sui army is now in Bashu and Bashu in the Central Plains. Qin Qiong's troops attacking Qingzhou are just a partial force. Moreover, when Wei Chen recruited the Qingzhou rebel army, he discovered that there were crouching tigers and hidden dragons among the rebels. For example, Mr. Wu Yong is a rare resourceful man. There are also Chao Gai, Du Bo and others, who are all brave generals of the three armies. What's more, Qingzhou is a piece of land that was picked up for free, and it is isolated. Even if I don’t feel a pity if I lose it.”
Li Jiancheng shook his head: "These people are called rebels, but they are actually grass bandits. Although they have surrendered to the Tang Dynasty now, if our army is defeated by then, they will most likely turn against them. I must not put my own safety on these people."
Speaking of this, Li Jiancheng suddenly sighed: "It's a pity that Gu was too careless when he attacked Jingxiang, which caused his generals to die on the battlefield, so that now there are no brave generals available in the East Palace!"
"Your Highness, what you said is wrong. Who said that there are no brave generals in the East Palace?"
Liu Zhiyuan laughed and said: "Your Highness, the minister was ordered to take charge of the East Palace Guards, but he selected three strong generals from them. Although they are not as good as His Royal Highness King Zhao, they can at least be compared with Li Siyuan, Liang Shitai and others."
Li Jiancheng was overjoyed when he heard this: "Do you really mean what General Liu said? Who would have thought that there is such a person in my East Palace?"
Liu Zhiyuan still said with a smile: "How dare I deceive Your Highness? These three people are indeed people with outstanding martial arts skills. The first one is named Liu Yuan, and he uses an iron spear weighing more than fifty kilograms, and his shooting skills are outstanding. The second one is called Liu Yuan. His name is Yuan Lang, and his martial arts can be described as superb. The third man is called Yuan Lang, and he is also the bravest among the three. The mountain-breaking ax in his hand weighs eighty kilograms. , even when Weichen is at his best, he can't win with certainty, so now I can withstand him for ten rounds, which is already a blessing!"
"Such a brave general has always been subordinated to his subordinates. If it weren't for Liu Qing, Gu would have almost turned the pearl into dust. Come on, quickly go and invite three brave men, Yuan, Yuan Lang, and Liu Yuan, to come for Gu!"
Not long after, Sui, Yuan Lang, and Liu Yuan were brought into Li Jiancheng's study. When Li Jiancheng saw the appearance of the three of them, he was overjoyed: "With the help of such powerful generals, why worry about the uncertainties?" He immediately promoted the three of them to generals of the East Palace Guards.
When the three of them heard this, they were all overjoyed. They knelt on the ground and thanked each other: "Thank you for your humble position, His Highness the Crown Prince, for your appreciation. I am willing to hold the horse and stirrups for His Highness, and I will follow you to the death!"
Wang Gui on the side also advised Li Jiancheng: "Your Highness, although the two generals Li Shentong and Li Shenfu who support Your Highness have mediocre martial arts, General Li Sheng is a general with both wisdom and bravery. I think if Your Highness can get a good result during this expedition, General Li Sheng’s assistance will definitely get twice the result with half the effort!”
Li Jiancheng nodded when he heard the words: "Mr. Fei reminded me that Gu had almost forgotten General Li Sheng, a great talent. Gu immediately went to the palace to ask for an audience with his father, asking him to allow Gu to take command to rescue Qingzhou, and to send General Li Sheng as Gu's commander. Lieutenant General."
