At dusk, Li Shimin and others, guided by Ma Cheng and Liu Lin, rushed to Zhang Yi's camp overnight.
Everyone walked quickly with little rest, and arrived at Zhangyi Dazhai at nightfall the next day.
At this time, Zhang Yi was discussing the military situation with Pang Hong in the stronghold. Seeing a large group of people galloping outside the stronghold, Zhang Yi hurriedly put on his clothes and left the camp to take a look.
By the moonlight and the torches in the village, Zhang Yi could barely see clearly that the people coming were carrying official and military flags.
When everyone arrived outside the village gate, Zhang Yi did not dare to open the door immediately. He just asked from the observation deck:
"Who is coming? Why are they all raising my banner?"
Outside the village gate, Ma Cheng quickly rode his horse to the bottom of the observation tower, raised his head and said:
"Is that General Zhang Yi above? The last general, Ma Cheng, has finished pursuing the defeated barbarian army. We happened to meet His Majesty at Fenghuang Ridge. Now His Majesty has followed us to the outside of the village gate!"
Zhang Yi heard this and was sure that the speaker was Ma Cheng. Hearing that His Majesty was coming in person, Zhang Yi hurriedly ordered the gatekeepers to open the gate of the village.
"When Your Majesty arrives in person, I will go out to greet you. The soldiers on duty will quickly open the gate of the village!"
As he spoke, Zhang Yi quickly got off the observation tower and headed straight outside the village.
When he saw His Majesty, Zhang Yi knelt down on one knee and said:
"The last general is Zhang Yi. I didn't know that Your Majesty was coming in person, so I couldn't welcome him from afar. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me!"
Li Shimin took advantage of the moonlight and firelight, dismounted and walked to Zhang Yi, helped Zhang Yi up, and said softly:
"Bo Gong worked tirelessly to quell the chaos for me in the dangerous mountains and rivers. I didn't have time to reward you. How can I blame the general?"
As he spoke, he motioned for everyone to go to Dazhai first and discuss the rest later.
Everyone looked tired after running around all night. After receiving His Majesty's order, they followed His Majesty and filed into the stronghold.
That night, Li Shimin briefly exchanged greetings with Zhang Yi and Pang Hong, and then rested in the Chinese army's tent.
Zhang Yan and Chen Zhong each led the flying cavalry guards and His Majesty's personal guards to camp in the stronghold to rest.
There was nothing to say all night. The next day, Li Shimin got up early and climbed to the observation deck in the village to enjoy the scenery.
But wherever you look, you can see steep mountains and crisscrossing mountains and green waters.
A large river flows turbulently between two mountains in the northwest of Dazhai. As far as the eye can see, there is a steep canyon blocking the main road.
While looking out, I suddenly heard someone talking under the stage.
When Li Shimin looked down, he found that Ma Cheng was bowing to him in the audience:
"Your Majesty, we have prepared breakfast for your Majesty. Do you want to eat first?"
After hearing this, Li Shimin touched his abdomen and suddenly felt a sense of hunger.
"Very good! Just wait a moment, and I will go down with you."
The two were heading to the military tent. On the way, Li Shimin suddenly remembered what happened yesterday and asked casually:
"There are many mountains and rivers here, and it is extremely difficult to find the enemy hidden in the mountain paths.
Yesterday you said that you knew in advance the movements of Qiang Duan and other barbarian reinforcements, and then you went to intercept the enemy troops.
It's just that time is urgent and you have few soldiers. How did you get the news? "
Hearing this, Ma Cheng smiled and said:
"Your Majesty, we really have no spare time to carefully observe the enemy's movements. We have received a letter from our uncle Ma Dai in advance, so we are prepared."
When Li Shimin heard the word "Ma Dai", he couldn't help but suddenly realized.
"Ah! How could I have forgotten this person! Ma Dai is Wei Yan's deputy general. Since Wei Yan supervises the army in Hanzhong and is also in charge of counterinsurgency matters, it is natural for Ma Dai to inform Zhang Yi and others about the barbarian military situation."
After saying this, Li Shimin suddenly thought of something again and subconsciously said:
"Oops! I was careless when it came to forcing the situation!"
Seeing His Majesty, Ma Cheng sighed for a while, regretted for a while, and was a little confused. Then he asked His Majesty:
"How could His Majesty be so careless about the matter of force?"
Li Shimin saw Ma Cheng asking himself, adjusted his mood and said in a deep voice:
"I take full responsibility for this matter. Yesterday you asked me how to deal with the strong end. I didn't think much about it and just asked you to release it.
When I mentioned Wei Yan and Ma Dai just now, I remembered that in the old days of Hanzhong, Qiang Duan killed our Han general Wu Lan in Yinping and used Wu Lan's head to show his favor to Cao Mengde!
Such a person should be taken into custody. After returning to Chengdu, he should be convicted and beheaded in public! "
Ma Cheng couldn't help but feel shocked when he heard this. He never imagined that Qiang Duan could be so vicious!
Then I thought again, when I was in Hanzhong, His Majesty was just a teenager.
I can still remember this matter now. I am worthy of being the son of the late emperor, and he is extremely kind and righteous to everyone around him.
While Ma Chengzheng was sighing with emotion, Li Shimin was secretly weighing his thoughts in his heart.
What he said just now is only one of them. Of course, there is another thing that cannot be said casually.
There are some records in the history books, saying that in the 13th year of Jianxing, Qiang Duan and Fu Shuang, another leader of the Di tribe, wanted to lead 6,000 soldiers and horses to join the Shu Han.
However, for some reason, Qiang Duan regretted his decision midway and privately led his troops to defect to Cao Wei.
At that time, Ma Dai was Wei Yan's deputy general, but he helped Yang Yi attack Wei Yan. After returning to Chengdu, he was treated coldly by Liu Chan.
Just at this time, Qiang Duan's affairs were exposed, and Ma Dai led his army north to pursue Qiang Duan. Later, he encountered Guo Huai, Niu Jin and others at the border of Shu and Wei. After the battle, Ma Dai was defeated and disappeared from the history books.
Thinking of this, Li Shimin felt that although Ma Dai had made a mistake by rebelling against Wei Yan, the situation at that time meant that Wei Yan had been tacitly accused of treason, and Ma Dai had no choice but to do so.
After that, Ma Dai was left out and his whereabouts were unknown. In Li Shimin's view, it was not a big regret.
After all, among the forces in Liangzhou below Ma Chao, Ma Dai was the only one left who made great achievements in the southern and northern expeditions.
"Ma Cheng, you immediately send your confidants to summon your uncle Ma Dai in my name. You must be quick, I have important matters that need to be discussed with Ma Dai!"
When Ma Cheng saw His Majesty, he felt emotional for a while, regretted for a while, and now suddenly wanted to see Ma Dai again, feeling puzzled.
I couldn't help but mutter in my heart:
"Could it be that His Majesty has returned to the same 'crazy' state as when he fainted from crying?"
Without thinking too much, Ma Cheng immediately accepted the order and left. Li Shimin, filled with worries, went to the military tent alone.
Regarding the surrender of Qiang Duan Fu Shuang's troops, Li Shimin could not directly inform everyone about this, but he had to make preparations for this matter in advance.
This kind of prophetic feeling that could not be expressed clearly made Li Min deeply troubled.
Before arriving at the military tent, Li Shimin accidentally saw a female secret guard talking with his subordinates, seemingly arranging tasks.
Seeing this situation, Li Shimin suddenly patted his leg with his hand and said:
"Yes, among the three guards of the Baiqi Division that I have established, isn't there a 'Honglu Guard' who specializes in foreign affairs?"
While excited, Li Shimin made a plan in his mind and waited for Ma Dai to arrive to deal with it.
During breakfast, Li Shimin intentionally ate military rations with the lieutenants and officers. While chatting and laughing with the officers and soldiers, Li Shimin tasted the military food with relish.
When all the officers and soldiers saw that His Majesty had no pretensions and was so approachable, they all admired him in their hearts.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Yi, Ma Cheng and other generals also expressed respect for His Majesty.
During this period, Pang Hong saw that His Majesty was in high spirits, so he hurriedly approached His Majesty and whispered:
"Your Majesty, I admire you greatly when I see that your Majesty is so approachable and able to share joys and sorrows with all the soldiers.
But now that winter is approaching, I have no time to laugh and laugh with the soldiers here.
The minister and General Zhang Yi have been discussing for a long time the matter of suppressing the rebellion.
Now that His Majesty is here in person, I hope that Your Majesty can understand the situation here earlier so that he can make an early decision based on the content of the discussions between the ministers and others.
When this matter is over, the day when all the soldiers return in triumph will be the time when Your Majesty and all the soldiers will laugh together. "
Pang Hong's voice was very low, and he always had a smile on his face.
None of the officers and soldiers knew what Pang Hong and His Majesty were talking about. Seeing the smile on Pang Hong's face, they all thought that Pang Hong was just chatting with His Majesty.
Li Shimin saw that Pang Hong properly reminded him of important military affairs at such an opportunity, and couldn't help but nod with satisfaction at Pang Hong.
After a while, Li Shimin had finished eating. While ordering all the soldiers to perform their duties, he motioned to Pang Hong and other generals to follow him to the Chinese army's tent to discuss matters.
After entering the account, Li Shimin sat down to discuss the case with the commander-in-chief, and Zhang Yan and Chen Zhong stood around.
Next, Zhang Yi, Pang Hong, Ma Cheng, Liu Lin, etc. all sat on the marching bed in turn.
After everyone sat down, Li Shimin said:
"I came here mainly to reward and motivate the frontline soldiers. I don't want to get involved in other strategic matters.
However, the day before yesterday on Phoenix Ridge, I was almost defeated by the barbarians, which forced me to re-evaluate the strength of the barbarians here.
This morning, I went up to the stage and looked out, and saw that the terrain here was extremely complex and steep.
In addition, winter has arrived, and the barbarians here will definitely become more aggressive in order to avoid the cold winter.
After going back and forth, I am really worried about the success or failure of counterinsurgency here.
The great master just now said during breakfast that you have discussed the countermeasures and are about to let me make a decision.
In this case, how about Bo Gong explain to me in detail what you are discussing, and then I will give you suggestions as appropriate. "
Zhang Yi couldn't help but feel a little ashamed when he heard this.
It seems that His Majesty was very confident in himself. He traveled across mountains and rivers to come here just to reward and encourage the soldiers, and did not intend to take away the credit for his work in countering the rebellion.
But now that he has been unable to surrender the barbarians, his majesty was almost defeated by the barbarian reinforcements.
Although His Majesty has never blamed himself, the meaning behind His Majesty's words is somewhat filled with disappointment and distrust...
While Zhang Yizheng was thinking wildly, His Majesty spoke again:
"Bo Gong, why are you so thoughtful and silent? Haven't you made up your mind yet?"
