To answer or not to answer?
Looking at the Emperor's Sword with dragon patterns hanging high on the wall, Li Yuan's eyes were confused for a moment, as if he had forgotten that he was guarding the emperor at this time.
Today, Li Jing took great pains to sing a harmony with Liu Shaojian in front of him in order to elicit this scene. However, Li Jing did not state his true intention in advance from beginning to end, but awarded him this extraordinary sword of emperor in such a playful way. , how can this not seem strange?
The Emperor's Sword can command the six armies of the Forbidden Army to perform ceremonies in front of the emperor. It is true that this is the supreme honor that many generals dream of. But in the eyes of Li Yuan, who is familiar with the emperor's character, there is no such thing as a good thing in the world. The probability is that he will block the gun, and the trouble behind it is definitely not small. Li Yuan gradually calmed down and already made a rough guess.
All in all, in Li Yuan's view, the Emperor's Sword has an extremely powerful temptation for those who are greedy for power. Even he can hardly resist it. However, taking charge of the troops in the capital is not what Li Yuan wants, because in his heart It is clear that once this authority, which is equivalent to that of a privy envoy, is attached, it may not be easy to remove it.
Afterwards, if Li Jing transfers himself to serve in the central government and is firmly locked in the capital, then all his previous painstaking planning will be in vain...
Thinking of this, Li Yuan stood up and held up his hands, looking embarrassed and said: "I thank your Majesty for your great kindness! Since I have earned the emperor's salary, I am naturally willing to die for your majesty! But I never dare to accept the Emperor's Sword. I am only twenty-one years old. , how can you receive this special honor with only a few military exploits? The Six Forbidden Army is the foundation of the country, and it is important to protect the emperor. I believe that I am not qualified to receive this sword, so I boldly ask your Majesty to take back my order."
"You have no joke." Li Jing's eyes flashed with indifference, and he waved his hands with a smile: "Sit down and talk. Li Yuan, since I have spoken to grant you the Emperor's Sword, I entrust the safety of the capital to your hands. , it means how much I trust you. This is an honor that many civil and military officials will never envy in their lifetime!"
Li Yuan lowered his head and said: "Your Majesty, I have been favored by your Majesty several times since last year. Although I am far away in Chu, I often hear criticisms from some people in the court, and some even think that I am virtuous. He is not worthy of his position and is arrogant because of his favor. If I take over the Emperor's Sword again this time, I may lose it to everyone, and I am filled with fear."
Staring at Li Yuan's trembling and sincere look, Li Jing couldn't help but sigh softly and said: "Li Yuan, you don't have to listen to some people's nonsense. Although you are young, you have been loyal to the country and have made extraordinary contributions. , no one among our generals in the Tang Dynasty can compare with you, I can see your loyalty and bravery.
There were indeed some rumors before, but I have scolded those talkative people. Those are pedantic people. They only know how to find faults, but they don't understand the hardships of guarding one side outside. You don't need to pay attention to them.
I hope you don't think too much about it. I have a strong balance in my heart, and I know who is sincere to me and who is fake. You and I, the monarch and our ministers, should treat each other sincerely and do not need to pay attention to other people's words. You have to remember that I always trust you. "
Li Yuan hurriedly pretended to shed tears of gratitude, cupped his hands and said solemnly: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your consideration! Your Majesty's words today warm my heart."
Li Jing chuckled and said in a deep voice: "So, are you willing to accept the Emperor's Sword?"
Li Yuan felt helpless, clenched his teeth and cupped his hands and replied: "Your Majesty, I dare not disobey you. I thank you for your kindness. I will go through fire and water no matter what your majesty orders."
Li Jing smiled calmly and said: "Young prisoner, get the Emperor's Sword. I will give it to him personally."
"Old slave obeys the order."
Liu Shaojian immediately and carefully took out the Emperor's Sword from the wall. Li Jing stood up and stood solemnly, sending it out with one hand with a solemn expression. Li Yuan hurriedly stepped forward, not daring to look at each other, but leaned over to take the Emperor's Sword with both hands, and then thanked him. , and then carefully tied the heavy sword to his waist.
"Director Li, if you use this sword to kill the enemy from now on, it will be equivalent to killing the enemy on behalf of His Majesty. Don't betray His Majesty's trust." Liu Shaojian said with care.
Li Yuan bowed to Li Jing in a deep voice: "I will never let down your majesty's great kindness."
"Get up!" Li Jing patted his thigh and said with a smile, "Very good, very good. When I heard this, I was greatly relieved. With you quelling the rebellion for me, I should sit back and relax."
"Counter rebellion?" Li Yuan looked shocked, but he became more and more sure in his heart. The situation in Jinling now confirmed his previous suspicion.
Li Jing took a few sips from the teacup, put it down and said in a deep voice: "Li Yuan, just now I said that I absolutely trust you, and that you and I, the king and our ministers, should be honest and sincere with each other, so I will tell you the truth."
Li Yuan thought to himself, My Majesty, you have finally come to the point.
"Oh? I really don't know what happened." Li Yuan asked doubtfully.
Li Jing secretly observed Li Yuan's face. Seeing Li Yuan's blank face, she thought to herself, isn't this guy one of the boss's? After all, he was able to keep his composure and pretended not to know.
"I previously ordered Li Zhenggu to lead the Zhennan Army to the north to attack Zhou, but now he and Song Mojie, leading the 100,000 Zhennan Army, are staying outside the city of Hezhou and pretending to be delayed. Then Li Zhenggu even came to me. The rebellious memorial actually dared to threaten me with military force to allow them to lead the army into Hezhou City. How arrogant this is! There are also Zhongshu’s disciples and the Privy Council..."
Li Jing gave an overview of the whole matter with a sullen look, but Li Yuan just nodded slightly but did not say anything, because he subtly discovered that in Li Jing's words, Li Zhenggu, Wei Cen, and Xu The names of Xuan and the Song family's father and son were all mentioned, but the sensitive name was not mentioned.
Afterwards, Li Jing said quietly: "Li Yuan, Hezhou is less than a hundred miles away from Jinling. If there is a danger of losing the country and the dynasty! And now in Jinling City, although I have ordered Zu Chongen to lead the palace army to take over the defense of Jinling quickly, but for the palace You should be aware of the Zhizhi Army. The soldiers have always been disorganized and weak in fighting strength. These 40,000 weak brigades alone will never be enough to compete with the 100,000 elite enemy troops.
Therefore, I need to mobilize the Sixth Army of the Forbidden Army from Beiyuan Camp to quell the rebellion. This rebellion involves traitors from the Privy Council. At this time, I can no longer believe any generals on the roster of the Forbidden Army. Therefore, I can only place my hope in your hands. I am giving you the Emperor's Sword, which means that you will go to Beiyuan Camp to take over the Sixth Army of the Forbidden Army. This is related to my country and the country. If the Sixth Army of the Forbidden Army also responds to the rebellion, the consequences will be disastrous..."
Li Yuan immediately replied in a deep voice: "I understand. Your Majesty, since I have a proposal like this, can you please issue an order to order His Highness the King of Qi to go with me?"
Li Jing frowned and said, "Why recommend King Qi?"
Li Yuandan said: "Your Majesty, I am far away in Chu to establish a festival, and I am not familiar with the six armies of the Forbidden Army. It may be difficult for me to complete my mission with my own strength. And His Highness the King of Qi is the deputy marshal of all the troops and horses, and he is not familiar with the six armies of the Forbidden Army." The generals of the army must be familiar with each other, and they are nominally under the jurisdiction of the King of Qi. The most important thing is that His Highness the King of Qi is the emperor's stomach. If he goes with me, the power of heaven will be even greater, and he will definitely take over the Beiyuan camp. Get twice the result with half the effort.”
"You have the Emperor's Sword given by me, so why worry about this?" Li Jing took a breath and finally couldn't help but express his inner doubts: "King Qi is the emperor of the clan, but he is only my younger brother after all. If Regarding Tianwei, why don’t you recommend King Yan? Wouldn’t it be more appropriate for my eldest son to go?”
It seems that the emperor's thoughts can no longer be hidden. Li Yuan knew what he was thinking and said calmly: "Your Majesty, His Highness the King of Yan is certainly suitable, but I heard that His Highness the King of Yan was ordered to reprimand him because of his defeat, so I feel uncomfortable. It's so appropriate... Your Majesty, follow the authority when things are urgent, and changes will occur when things are delayed. In order to quell the overall situation of rebellion, I ask your Majesty to quickly order the King of Qi to go with me."
Li Jing's mind was a little confused. He didn't expect such a result. He originally thought that Li Yuan must have discussed a lot of countermeasures with King Yan before entering the palace. This time King Zheng's rebellion was the reason why King Yan used it to regain control. It was a good time to make a comeback, and Li Jing herself was ready to ride a donkey along the slope. She just wanted to see if Li Yuan really wanted to favor King Yan, but the punch he punched with all his strength fell into the air. At this time, I feel unspeakably uncomfortable.
"You...really want to recommend King Qi?" Li Jing swallowed.
Li Yuan nodded, cupped his hands and said: "How dare I speak nonsense in front of His Majesty? Your Majesty, since I am in danger, and for the safety of Your Majesty and the capital, everything must be considered from the overall situation. Does Your Majesty think that I have a personal relationship with the King of Qi? ?
If this is really the case, I have nothing to say. After all, I did meet His Highness the King of Qi once when I was in Shouzhou, but His Highness the King of Qi is a kind-hearted man and has a good command of the army...
"Wait." Li Jing was already a little confused when he saw Li Yuan crackling and actually explaining. This inexplicable scene was obviously not what he had expected. Shouldn't Li Yuan say more good things about King Yan at this time?
So Li Jing hurriedly stopped him and said: "Li Yuan, I agree with your proposal. The counter-rebellion is an urgent matter, so I ordered the King of Qi to go with you. But you may not know that before you entered the palace, I had already Sun Cheng, Han Xizai and others have discussed it, and now King Yan's order of confinement has been lifted. This time, when we return to Beiyuan Camp, I will send an order to King Qi and King Yan to go with you. You will be the main one and they will be the supplementary ones. .”
Li Yuan cupped his hands and said solemnly: "It turns out that Your Majesty is already familiar with the candidates for his companions, and yet he is actually being assisted by two His Highnesses at the same time. I am honored to do so, and I will definitely fulfill my mission."
Li Jing was so embarrassed that she could only laugh twice. Then he flicked his sleeves. Liu Shaojian stepped forward at the right time and said that His Majesty was tired. Li Yuan walked out of the door knowingly...
After a long while, even though the counter-rebellion matters were all arranged, Emperor Li Jing, who was sitting alone on the dragon couch, could not help but feel his head was as big as a drum and his heart was as confused as numbness. After drinking a cup of aged wine, he called for pen, ink, paper and inkstone to wait on him, and ordered Liu Shaojian to take care of him. They were placed on the eucalyptus one by one. Li Jing took up the pen and looked at the scenery of falling snow outside the window. She pondered for a long time and finally started writing.
On the side, Shaojian Liu respectfully stepped forward to look at the words written by the emperor. He saw dragons and phoenixes dancing above them, which read, "Who is the master of the flowers falling in the wind? Thoughts are long. Blue birds do not convey foreign messages, and winter plum blossoms are filled with sorrow in the snow."
Then Liu Shaojian was stunned for a moment and said: "What does this word mean? I don't seem to understand the meaning of the word."
Li Jing said softly: "It's normal for you to have little talent and knowledge and not understand. My state of mind at this time is just like this poem, hazy and unclear. I am obviously the master of others, but I am also so confused."
Liu Shaojian was startled and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty is the king of destiny, why would you say this as a wise man? Could it be that Li Yuan has made your Majesty unhappy?"
Li Jing shook his head, then walked away with a straight face.
