Chapter 13 3. The Game of Monarch and Minister: Seeking Life Between Trust and Suspicion

The relationship between Yang Guang and Li Yuan has always been full of contradictions.On the one hand, Yang Guang trusts his aunt and cousin who grew up with him, because Li Yuan's family has a blood relationship with him for generations, and his mother and Li Yuan's mother are sisters. But on the other hand, Li Yuan's generosity and kindness as well as his high position and authority are respected by all the ministers in the court and seem to be very popular, which makes Yang Guang a little worried.He wanted Li Yuan to be used better for himself, but he didn't want Li Yuan to be a threat to him.Since the later Wei Dynasty, the Li family has always been aristocrats in power, and their connections are intricate. Even if he wants to do something about Li Yuan, it cannot be done in a short while.

On this day, Yang Guang once again feasted all the ministers, and indulged in joy, a scene of prosperity with singing and dancing.When the wine was full, Yang Guang raised his glass and said to everyone: "Look at Tang Guogong, with such a long face, does he look like a grandma?" All the ministers didn't know what to do when the emperor said this about Li Yuan. On the one hand, the emperor, and on the other hand, Tang Guogong, neither dared or could offend them, so they had no choice but to go along with it, talking and laughing.Prime Minister Su Wei said: "The Duke of Tang's army is mighty, even if he is a grandma, he is also a meritorious grandma."

Xiao Yu, Minister of Internal History, said: "Your Majesty is such a wonderful person!" But Li Yuan just smiled mischievously, raised his glass and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty." Yang Guang looked at his unhurried and angry look, and felt even more angry: Li Yuan's city mansion is so deep, he can't be relieved after all if he stays by his side, so he said to Prime Minister Su Wei: "During this time, the border war Frequently. Why are there always so many disputes in the north? It’s not as clean and comfortable as the south.” This style of not reflecting on himself is inherent in Yang Guang, so his subordinates are used to it.Hearing what he said, Yu Wenshu hurriedly stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, there are frequent wars in the north now, it is better to move to the south of the Yangtze River. There are rich products and a mild climate. The emperor's dragon body is too bumpy these days, so it is just right there. Rehabilitate your health, and then command to quell the riots, the world will surely be peaceful."

These words touched Yang Guang's heart, and he was very happy: "This is a good way." After a little thought, he said: "It's just that this time the southern tour must be well arranged, and don't let me leave, this place will be chaotic. If it’s done, you can’t worry about it.” Su Wei said: "Your Majesty is wise, there are riots all over the place now, so important towns must be guarded by heavy generals, so that we can rest assured." Yang Guang said: "During the last northern tour, I found that Taiyuan is an important town that rejects the Turks in the north and protects Luoyang and Chang'an in the south. Who do you think is more appropriate to send to guard it?"

Su Wei looked at the ministers below and said, "I think Tang Guogong Li Yuan is the most suitable. First, he is a close relative of the emperor and can be trusted. Second, he has rich experience in leading troops and fighting. If there is any riot , and it can definitely be suppressed." After hearing this, Yang Guang squinted at Li Yuan.Li Yuan quickly got up and bowed down, and said with a flattered look: "Your Majesty, I am so stupid that I am afraid I can't take on this important task!" Li Yuan looked very honest on the surface, even a little dull, Yang Guang felt a little relieved when he saw how frightened he was.But he couldn't help staring at Li Yuan's eyes carefully for a long time. He felt that there was always something hidden in Li Yuan's eyes, which were bright and lively, which didn't match the embarrassing smile on his face.

But looking at the entire imperial court, apart from Li Yuan, Yang Guang really couldn't find another person to station in Taiyuan, so as to eliminate worries for himself.So, he said with a smile: "Since Su Wei admires you so much, and you are my cousin, I will entitle you to stay in Taiyuan and stay in Taiyuan for me." Li Yuan thanked the emperor sincerely and fearfully. He returned to the mansion and told his wife Dou Shi, but Dou Shi laughed. In the court, how many people does he trust? And since Yang Xuangan raised his troops, he has been suspicious of the courtiers, and now we can stay away from Chang'an, which is considered lucky."

Li Yuan changed his smile in the hall, and said solemnly: "It is precisely because he is more and more suspicious of me now that I dare not accept this appointment lightly." The next day, after Yang Guang woke up, he was admiring the flowers in the garden when Xiao Yu came to see him suddenly. He raised objections to Li Yuan's appointment yesterday. "Nowadays, there are many military generals who can stand alone in the court. Veteran Fan Zigai, Xue Shixiong, and younger Yang Yichen, etc. Why did the emperor appoint this Li Yuan? These days, the boys outside are singing a song. Singing 'Peaches and plums win the world', this Li Yuan has to guard against!"

Yang Guang frowned, it wasn't that he didn't want to appoint other people, it was other people who made him worry!As for the singing of nursery rhymes, it really gave him a headache. The saying "Yang's family will perish and Li's family will prosper" has made people panic. For this reason, Li Mi has already been forced away, and now there is another Li Yuan.He couldn't help but said to Xiao Yu angrily: "Don't you want me to kill them all?" At this time, Xiao Yu's sister, Empress Xiao, came out and said to Yang Guang: "The emperor calms down. My brother said this for the sake of the Sui Dynasty. That Li Yuan has a high position and power, and now he dominates one side. It is really impressive to say that." Very worried."

Yang Guang frowned and said, "He is my aunt's cousin. The Queen Mother and his mother are sisters. He will not have any disagreements." Seeing that Yang Guang seemed to be irritable, Xiao Yu had no choice but to go straight to the point and said to him: "Your Majesty, since this is the case, I have a plan so that even though Li Yuan goes to Taiyuan, he will not escape the Emperor's control." Yang Guang closed his eyes and waited for him to continue. Xiao Yu said: "I have two confidants, both of whom are extremely loyal. One is Hu Ben Lang General Wang Wei, and the other is Hu Ya Lang General Gao Junya. I can They were placed next to Li Yuan, so that Li Yuan could guard Taiyuan and monitor him for any trespassing behavior."

Hearing Xiao Yu's words, Yang Guang's brows furrowed slightly. After Li Yuan received the appointment of stay-at-home in Taiyuan, he was about to set off to move his family from Chang'an to Taiyuan. He seemed to be full of gratitude for Wang Wei and Gao Junya who followed him, and he kept saying along the way: "Thank you two General! My talents are really limited, and I overestimated my ability to accept this important stay-at-home task. If I hadn’t received the assistance of the two generals, I really don’t know what I should do after taking office.” Wang Wei and Gao Junya were well aware of their mission on this trip, so they could only greet each other with smiles: "Duke Tang is humble!"

When Li Yuan came to Taiyuan, a peasant rebel army called "Li Shanfei" was active in Taiyuan.They assembled more than 100,000 civilians and entrenched in the south of Taiyuan, blocking the roads from Shangdang, Xihe and other places to the capital Chang'an. The Sui army had sent troops to suppress it several times before, but all ended in failure. After Li Yuan arrived, he met "Li Shanfei" at the mouth of Queshu Valley in Hexi, and fought against the 20,000 rebels with 5,000 elite soldiers.He intentionally asked Wang Wei and Gao Junya: "What's the strategy of the two generals?" Wang and Gao looked at each other, because the "Li Shanfei" team was good at siege battles and had defeated the Sui army many times. As a result, the Sui army was a little terrified when they heard their names, and regarded them as a powerful enemy.Seeing Li Yuan asking himself such a question, both of them were a bit at a loss for words, so they could only say: "But follow the instructions of staying behind." Li Yuan said: "There is a gap in the strength of the two sides, but our army is well-trained and strong. According to the current situation, we can first lure the enemy to go deep, and then use ambushes to flank the left and right. This way, we will definitely be able to beat him. Defeating the enemy will be easy." After speaking, seeing that they had nothing to say, Li Yuan began to deploy troops.He first ordered the old and weak troops to form a large formation in the center of the camp, raising flags and beating drums, creating the illusion that this was the main force, and then divided the elite soldiers into two groups. To pinch.The rebel army of "Li Shanfei" was obviously a little bit confused by the sudden appearance of the two teams of fast-horse elite soldiers, so the Sui army took the opportunity to disperse them, and they were quickly defeated. "Li Shanfei", who has always been reckless, suffered this big defeat when Li Yuan first took office, and his strength was lost, but Li Yuan's reputation rose in the Taiyuan area.Li Yuan wrote a memorial to report this matter to Yang Guang. In the memorial, he did not mention the credit for leading the troops to defeat the enemy. Instead, he pushed all the credit to Wang Wei and Gao Junya, which made Wang and Gao Some unexpected. They came to Li Yuan's tent and wanted to ask what happened, but Li Yuan said: "The two generals have made great achievements, and you have won this! Without the help of the two generals, how could I win." After some compliments, both Wang Wei and Gao Junya felt deeply ashamed of such a kind Li Yuan.These two "pawns" placed beside Li Yuan were also sincerely impressed by Li Yuan's humility.Although they did not forget their responsibilities, they relaxed their vigilance against Li Yuan to a certain extent. After Li Yuan arrived in Taiyuan, he broke away from Yang Guang's control and gained a certain degree of freedom, which made him feel like a fish in water.After the death of his third son Xuanba, he ordered his eldest son Li Jiancheng and fourth son Li Yuanji to be in Hedong, while he and his second son Li Shimin were in Jinyang to develop their own power extensively and make sufficient preparations for the rebellion against the Sui Dynasty.It can be said that although Yang Guang has been guarding against Li Yuan, the situation forced him to reuse him.After vacillating between suspicion and trust, he sent Li Yuan to Taiyuan, that is to say, he sent him on the road of creating the Tang Dynasty and establishing extraordinary achievements.