Huang Hao knew that Zhang Yan had not left the palace at this time, so he took the order and went straight to the harem.
Not long after, a tall and handsome girl in elegant clothes, with a five-foot cold dew sword on her back, appeared in front of Li Shimin.
"Okay, okay! You deserve to be the daughter of Uncle Yide."
When Li Shimin saw this fierce and sassy woman, he couldn't help but say "good" three times in a row.
Zhang Yan tilted her head and looked at Li Shimin and said with a smile: "It turns out that Brother Adou can praise people. My little sister thought that Brother Adou only took pleasure in making fun of me."
Oh, it turns out that Liu Chan and Zhang Yan get along like this on weekdays. No wonder Zhang Yan felt that I was unfamiliar yesterday. Isn't it just like an ordinary brother playing casually with his sister? What's so difficult about this?
I'm really tired of the courtiers and guards in the palace who are giving me the "Your Majesty, Your Majesty" attitude all day long. It's not bad to have such an eclectic little girl by my side to protect me and occasionally make me laugh. Well!
Thinking of this, Li Shimin also imitated Zhang Yan and joked:
"You little girl, don't be too happy yet. I see that you are wearing a long sword all day long. You are not just a showman, are you?"
After hearing this, Zhang Yan pursed her lips and said in disbelief: "Brother Adou, don't look down on others. Your imperial guard is just a showman. Three or five of them together may not be a match for this heroine!"
Li Shimin also wanted to see Zhang Yan's skills, so he sent five forbidden soldiers and ordered them to compete with Zhang Yan.
Zhang Yan didn't have any worries, she drew out the sword from behind and opened her stance to take action.
This was a pain for the Imperial Guards. They all knew that Zhang Yan was the younger sister of the current queen, but it was difficult to violate the sacred order, so they just surrounded Zhang Yan and did not dare to take action first.
After all, Li Shimin had been on the battlefield, and he understood the concerns of the Forbidden Army at a glance.
"You just have to fight hard. If you lose my people, I will punish you!"
Compared to the Queen, the Imperial Guards were more afraid of His Majesty, and they heard that His Majesty ordered a few people to fight for "face", so they no longer worried and set up a formation to attack Zhang Yan from front to back.
Zhang Yan was still a little bored at first, but now she found that the Imperial Guards were getting serious. She was overjoyed and jumped out of the encirclement in an instant, changing her direction to face the enemy.
As soon as Li Shimin saw the situation, he had some concerns in his mind, but at this time he was very interested, so he did not interrupt Zhang Yan to play with the guards.
While everyone on and off the court was enjoying themselves, Huo Ge, the Huangmen servant, arrived.
"Your Majesty, ahead..."
Huo Ge was about to speak, but Li Shimin quickly interrupted him with his hand.
"Xiao Nizi, please accept your magical powers. From now on, you will be my personal bodyguard."
Zhang Yan still had some unfinished ideas, but the Imperial Guards did not dare to move anymore.
"You guys have performed well. Follow Huang Hao to receive the reward."
Li Shimin arranged all this, no matter how coquettish Zhang Yan was, he just led Huo Ge into the study.
Zhang Yan made a fuss for a while, and after making sure that no one was paying attention to her, she had no choice but to put her sword on her back and walk towards the study.
Although Zhang Yan is lively and willful, she is also a person who knows how to behave appropriately. Seeing the two people in the study discussing state affairs, Zhang Yan stood outside the door and really stood guard for His Majesty.
In the study, Huo Ge looked solemn, bowed and said:
"The Zhao brothers have just sent us urgent military information. They seem to have encountered a similar situation in Yuexi County."
Li Shimin's heart thumped: "I thought that the rebels in Yueqi County were strong and Guan Tong and the others would be hindered, but I didn't expect that the relatively simple Zang Da and Xing Gu would be the same."
Li Shimin did not express his opinion immediately, but just stared at the rafters and thought.
Huo Ge knew that the matter was of great importance and did not dare to breathe. He bowed and stood in the study, waiting for His Majesty to speak.
If this is the case, then Wenshan County may also be hindered, but why has the Wenshan County battle report not arrived yet?
Is it possible that Ma Cheng, like his father Ma Chao, still has a great reputation among the Qiang and Hu people?
If Ma Chengke united with the Qiang and Hu from surrounding Wenshan County, it would not be impossible to defeat the six barbarian rebellions in the county.
However, the other two groups have little foreign aid. It is difficult to achieve the goal of suppressing the rebellion with Yizhou County soldiers and the surrendered soldiers of the barbarians alone...
After much thought, Li Shimin decided that Guan Tong and Zhao Tong, the two anti-rebellion forces, would be on standby. He wanted to wait for Ma Cheng's report before making a decision.
"Xian Shao, did you hear any news from Macheng Office in Wenshan County?"
Huo Ge felt relieved when he heard His Majesty's question. His Majesty's question meant that His Majesty already had an idea.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, I have not received any news about Wenshan County yet."
Li Shimin nodded slowly, looked at the sun gradually setting outside the window, and said helplessly:
"Since there is no possibility of counterinsurgency in the direction of Yuexi and Zanggan for the time being, let them come back first. This matter needs to be discussed in the long term."
Huo Ge accepted the order and was about to retreat when Li Shimin stopped Huo Ge again, "Shao Xian, tell Guan Tong and Zhao Tong to return secretly, and the rest are still in the army on standby."
After a moment's hesitation, Li Shimin continued: "After the two of them came back, they just asked me to wait at the place where they had the last secret meeting. They must not make any noise. I will go to see them when I make up my mind."
Huo Ge accepted the order and bowed out after seeing that His Majesty had no intention of supplementing other orders.
After watching Huo Ge leave, Li Shimin lay on his side on the couch and began to think about a way to solve the problem.
At this time, Huang Hao came to Li Shimin and said softly: "Your Majesty, it's dinner time. Would you like to eat in the study or..."
Li Shimin was very interested at this time, and his mind was only on how to use counterinsurgency to accumulate military exploits and experience for the descendants of the elders, so as to further promote them into talents who could be of great use.
"I feel bored, but I don't want to go to the harem. Do you have any other ways to relieve my boredom?"
Huang Hao was not sure whether His Majesty had returned to his previous playful temperament, or whether he just wanted to find a place to relax, so he had no choice but to test His Majesty's intentions:
"In my slave's opinion, although there are many ways to relieve boredom, not all of them are suitable for a wise king like your Majesty. I wonder which one your Majesty prefers: going on patrol incognito or fighting crickets in the royal garden?"
Li Shimin glared at Huang Hao and said displeased: "What do you think?"
Huang Hao looked at His Majesty's expression and listened to His Majesty's tone, and he started to think twice.
"Your Majesty is diligent and caring for the people, so naturally he disdains those little tricks. But the curfew is not far away. Even if Your Majesty wants to go to the palace to relax, I'm afraid it won't be until tomorrow."
Although Li Shimin did not answer, he did not show any impatience.
Huang Hao quickly continued what he said:
"If your Majesty has anything bothering you, you might as well talk to your majesty. Although I am not a great military and political talent, I follow your majesty every day and I know a little bit about it. Maybe what words can relieve your majesty's worries? "
Li Shimin thought to himself: "It's boring to hide, so why not just chat with this slave to relieve your boredom?"
"My only concern is the counter-insurgency and the future of the people around me. Especially the recent news that the counter-insurgency has been hindered has made me quite worried."
Since these two issues are already on the table, Li Shimin doesn't mind letting Huang Hao express his views.
Huang Hao had been prepared in his heart, but now His Majesty just raised the question, Huang Hao almost blurted out:
"Actually, His Majesty is just eager for success, and many things in the DPRK have caused His Majesty to overlook some things."
Hearing the meaning of Huang Hao's words, Li Shimin seemed to have already thought about how to answer in advance, so he nodded silently and motioned for Huang Hao to continue speaking.
Huang Hao saw that His Majesty was interested in listening, so he continued what he meant:
"In the past, when the late emperor started his business, he suffered from the lack of advisers around him to make suggestions, so he visited famous officials in Jingzhou. Prime Minister Zhuge is a good example."
The more Li Shimin listened, the happier he became, and his interest gradually increased.
I didn't expect that the eunuch in the palace would be so insightful.
It seems that I was still too impatient and thought about counterinsurgency too simply, so I suffered setbacks in counterinsurgency one after another.
"Go on, say it boldly, I can listen to good advice."
Li Shimin gave Huang Haochang the order he wanted to say. When Huang Haochang heard what his majesty said, he became more confident and bold.
"Your Majesty, you have the right to make decisions about the affairs of the world. What anyone else says is just your reference.
In this case, why is it limited to those above the court? There are countless hermits in the world today. If Your Majesty could get to know one or two, wouldn't that be another way to govern the country? "
Huang Hao paused for a moment, took the opportunity to glance at His Majesty, and found that His Majesty was listening with his eyes closed. So he continued:
"Leaving aside the lands of Cao Wei and Soochow, even in my state in the middle of Shu, there are many hermits and masters.
For example, if your servant hears that there is a hidden great sage who is teaching all the people in Chengdu, your majesty can take a few of his ministers and go on a tour incognito to meet the great sage for a while. Perhaps your Majesty's worries will be solved? "
Li Shimin's face lit up when he heard this, he opened his eyes suddenly, and said with a hint of joy:
"Huang Hao, take care of your confidants first and rush to Wenshan County overnight to ask about Ma Cheng's situation. If everything goes well, give him encouragement and then go back; if things don't go well, let Liu Lin hold on and Ma Cheng rushes back."
Huang Hao first accepted the order, then bowed and asked: "What about my slave's suggestion..."
Li Shimin could see that Huang Hao was worried that he would finally seize the opportunity to show off, but in the end he would not achieve any results.
In fact, Huang Hao was overly worried and searched for talented people. Li Shimin also wanted to listen to different opinions.
Moreover, the "great sage who can educate all people" is not an ordinary person. Li Shimin thinks it is worth going out of the palace to see him, and he has already planned how to use this "great sage who can educate all people".
"You are so smart and intelligent, how can you still ask questions knowingly? We will discuss the date of the patrol incognito. Your first priority now is to find out the situation of Ma Chengna."
After hearing this, Huang Hao looked happy and followed the order to exit the study.
