Li Shimin was very happy when he saw that all the barbarian kings had completely returned to their hearts.
"My lords, if you do this, my great Han will become stronger and stronger day by day!
Although I cannot accept all the gifts that you sent to the harem yesterday, I accept them with your heart.
The days are long, you can do whatever you want to do with this matter, and I will handle it as appropriate. "
The barbarian kings couldn't help but smile knowingly when their majesty mentioned the matter of "gifts to the harem".
"We will not disappoint Your Majesty, thank you for your understanding!"
The matter of the barbarians was decided, and Li Shimin ordered the princes to stay in Chengdu for a few days, wait for the Shangyuan sacrifice, and then return to their respective places.
Before the Shangyuan sacrifice, there was no court meeting, and officials were relatively free.
Unless something big happens, His Majesty will organize political discussions.
After the competition, everyone paid homage to His Majesty and left.
Li Shimin ordered Huang Hao to invite Wei Yan, Jiang Wei, Chen Dao, Ma Dai and other veteran generals to the Gold and Silver Palace.
When several people arrived, His Majesty was already waiting in the palace.
As soon as everyone entered the hall, they knelt down and worshiped at the same time.
"I will see you, Your Majesty!"
Li Shimin smiled and asked several people to get up and sit down at the table, and then ordered Huang Hao to serve wine and food to them.
"Today is New Year's Day, the beginning of the new year, and I would like to discuss with you the New Year's governance plans for various places.
Once our discussion is complete, the generals can return to their bases and implement the new plan. "
After saying this, Li Shimin picked up the wine glass in front of him and greeted everyone:
"In the twelfth year, you first followed your prime minister in the Northern Expedition, and then you suppressed rebellions and guarded the area for the Han Dynasty.
Whether you are facing enemies in war or governing the place in peace, you all do your best.
I would like to express my gratitude to all of you for your hard work and loyalty! "
After hearing this, several people quickly raised their wine glasses and clinked glasses with His Majesty from a distance.
"We are willing to work hard for the Han Dynasty, dedicate ourselves to the court, and serve His Majesty!"
Afterwards, Li Shimin and several others drank the wine in one gulp.
After putting down the wine glass, Li Shimin first looked at Chen Dao and asked:
"Uncle to General, in the past the late Emperor's White Soldiers were still in the same organization now?"
When Chen Dao heard the words "Xiandi" and "Baizhenbing", he seemed to have thought of something sad, and his nose was sore that he was about to shed tears.
After calming down a little, he said sadly:
"When Your Majesty mentions the 'Late Emperor' and the 'White Guards', I can't help but think of what happened in Yiling in the past..."
A fire that day burned most of the inheritance that the late emperor had accumulated over the years.
If Zhang Nan, Feng Xi, Fu Wei and other Jingxiang generals had not died, the late emperor would not even be able to reach Yong'an Palace..."
Speaking of sadness, Chen Dao wiped away his tears, took a deep breath, and then continued:
"I am the general of the late emperor's personal guard, and at the same time I am in charge of the late emperor's personal army, the Baijie Army.
At that time, seeing that the late Emperor was in danger, I and all the soldiers of the White Army guarded His Majesty's return to the west with all their lives.
It was not until Yong'an was reached that General Zilong's troops were seen, and they escaped from danger.
In this battle, almost all the 3,000 white soldiers under my command were lost.
Many officers and men in the army followed the late emperor when he raised troops in Zhuojun, and some even succeeded him after his father died.
In addition, there were Danyang elite soldiers recruited by the late emperor of Xuzhou, and soldiers from the Central Plains recruited by the late emperor of Xinye.
Nowadays, it is difficult for the troops in central Shu to replenish the Baijie soldiers, even if the prime minister intends to replenish the Baijie soldiers and re-activate them.
But after all, the effect was not good, so I gave up.
Although the Baijie Bing system still exists today, it has long ceased to exist in name only.
There were no more than a hundred survivors out of 3,000 soldiers, and many of them were disabled.
Nowadays, some of these people are guarding the old palaces of the late emperor in Yong'an, and some have taken off their armor and returned to the people or are hiding in the mountains.
Since your Majesty has asked, I should inform Your Majesty of the details.
If Your Majesty needs to order the Baijie soldiers to regroup and then contribute to the imperial court.
As long as His Majesty opens his mouth, the elite soldiers of the past will surely wear military uniforms again and be at your Majesty's command! "
Most of the people in the hall had seen Bai Jiebing's former heroic appearance with their own eyes. Chen Dao's words also aroused the dusty memories in everyone's hearts.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the palace became sad.
Especially Wei Yan, Chen Dao and Ma Dai could not hold back the tears in their eyes.
Chen Zhong, who was beside Li Shimin, saw his father sad and couldn't help but feel sad when he remembered the fun he had with his father's soldiers when he was a child.
Zhang Yan saw that all the generals of her uncle's generation were hiding their faces in sorrow on the festive day of New Year's Day, and she couldn't help but jokingly said:
"Unexpectedly, a general in the army, a man who has passed his forties, is not as good as a young woman like me.
It is too inappropriate to cry on such a day of celebration because of some regrets that have happened many years ago! "
When Li Shimin heard this, he quickly stopped Zhang Yan who was about to continue talking nonsense.
"Little sister, please be merciful! The generals suffered not only because of the soldiers of the Baijie soldiers, but also because of the late emperor who was protected by the white soldiers, and the great man who was protected by the late emperor...
As the saying goes, 'the heart is sad but the song is unhappy', this situation and situation are also reasonable..."
Everyone's mourning was interrupted by Zhang Yan and His Majesty's words. Seeing that they were so rude in front of His Majesty, they couldn't help but feel apologetic.
Li Shimin waited for everyone to relax and said harmoniously:
"I was too abrupt just now. I shouldn't have asked about Bai Jianbing so bluntly.
The generals also showed their true feelings, so there was no need to feel guilty.
When I ask this, I actually want to ask General Chen for a few elite soldiers to come to Chengdu to train the flying cavalry guards.
I wonder if General Shuzhi is willing to give up his love? "
When Chen Dao heard this, he thought for a moment, then bowed his head and said:
"Since His Majesty wants people, I should carefully select the best people for Your Majesty.
It just so happened that when I came to Chengdu this time, among the soldiers around me were the elite soldiers of the former White Guards.
If Your Majesty does not abandon them, I will keep them, thus saving time on the journey between Chengdu and Yong'an. "
"What General Uncle Zhi said is absolutely true. Where is the general's bodyguard currently encamped? Why not ask him to come to the Gold and Silver Palace to see me?"
"That's very good. Your Majesty, I will go look for it later."
After saying this, Chen Dao stood up and left.
Li Shimin said to Chen Zhong again:
"You go and assemble the flying cavalry commanders and above at the military academy. I will announce something later."
Chen Zhong also took the order and left.
At this moment Jiang Wei seemed to have remembered something, stood up and said to His Majesty:
"Your Majesty, now that you want to train the Flying Guards and expand the scale of your own army, where can the sources of the Flying Guards come from?"
When Ma Dai heard this, he stood up and bowed his head to His Majesty. After His Majesty nodded, he said to Jiang Wei:
"Boyue, now Ma Chenggong and I are collecting available troops from the Qiang and Di people as well as the northern border people for Your Majesty.
Send those who are qualified in age, ability, and loyalty to His Majesty.
Years ago, I had secretly transported more than a hundred people to Your Majesty.
According to this progress, I believe that within a year, the number of His Majesty's flying guards will exceed a thousand.
In less than three years, the size of the Flying Cavalry Guard may surpass that of the former Emperor's White Guards.
Regarding the source of troops, Bo Yue and others can rest assured. With me and Ma Cheng here, Your Majesty will not be disappointed. "
When Wei Yan heard this, he nodded and said to Ma Dai and Jiang Wei:
"I have also received your Majesty's decree on this matter, and I feel that your Majesty's choice of troops is excellent.
In the future, I will also reduce General Ma's tasks in Hanzhong so that he can have enough energy to select loyal and brave men for Your Majesty. "
"Since Generals Wei and Ma are dedicated to this matter, I can rest assured.
I only hope that your Majesty will stabilize Shuzhong as soon as possible, so that we can follow your Majesty north to the Central Plains! "
Li Shimin heard this and said with a smile:
"You don't have to worry, the journey north to the Central Plains will be in the next few years.
In the past, Xiangfu went out to Qishan six times, but most of them had little effect. In addition to the difficulty of traveling through Shu and the lack of food and grass, I also have a great responsibility.
Now that I have achieved great enlightenment, I am determined to strengthen my country in Sichuan and inherit the legacy of the late emperor and prime minister.
I have already made a comprehensive plan in my heart, and I am just waiting to realize the plan step by step.
Finally, when the country is strong and has no worries, I will lead the princes out of Hanzhong and Yong'an to compete with Wei and Wu in the world.
Everyone just perform their duties and fully implement my decision. The rest of the things are under my control. "
While several people were talking, Chen Dao brought two veterans to the Gold and Silver Palace.
As soon as they entered the palace, before Chen arrived and others could greet him, Wei Yan had already stood up to greet him.
"Ah! Am I not in a dream?"
Wei Yanxing came to the two people led by Chen Dao. He first glanced at His Majesty excitedly, and then looked at Chen Dao.
Finally, he focused on those two people and said excitedly:
"Counting from the time when the late emperor entered Shu, I'm afraid we haven't seen each other for nearly twenty years!"
When the two men saw it was Wei Yan, their faces showed surprise.
The two of them looked at His Majesty timidly at first, and saw that His Majesty was smiling and nodding towards them.
Then he felt relieved and looked at Wei Yan with joy:
"Wen Chang! The two of us also often miss the time when we followed the late emperor together. Now we are both over fifty.
There are only a few people around..."
After Wei Yan reminisced about old times with the two of them, he excitedly pulled them to his Majesty's presence.
"Your Majesty! You have gained a treasure this time!
If I entrust these two men to Your Majesty, it won't take long for Your Majesty's flying cavalry guards to surpass the late Emperor's White Guards in combat strength! "
When Li Shimin heard this, he couldn't wait to say:
"In that case, the two generals should quickly report their names!
I will definitely reward these two generals! "
