Chapter 27 7. Heroes don't ask where they came from: Knowing heroes in prison

In the stage of preparing for the army, Li Yuan told Li Shimin to "make friends with heroes" and asked him to keep making friends with heroes and heroes to prepare for the incident.In order to establish a team to help him kill and make decisions as soon as possible, Li Shimin searched every possible corner, even in prison.Because he knows that in troubled times, it may not be criminals who are thrown into prison, but only opponents of those in power.Since you are your enemy, you can be your friend.Liu Wenjing was just such a talent who was rescued from prison by Li Shimin. He was discovered and rescued, and later became one of the most important members of Li Yuan's think tank, providing a very important plan for Li Yuan's army.

Li Yuan was appointed as the left guard in Taiyuan and came to Shanxi. The strength of the rebel army here was not strong, so he got a temporary respite.Li Yuan took this opportunity to seriously think about his future. Although he was frequently lobbied by Li Shimin, Pei Ji and others, he still had some concerns about making trouble.He asked his second son Li Shimin who followed him to Taiyuan to count the overall situation of Taiyuan's arsenal, military strength, land, taxes, etc., but he still felt that the reserves were insufficient, so he was hesitant. When Li Shimin checked the people's situation in Taiyuan, it was inevitable to check the situation in the prison.Here, he suddenly discovered that the former Jinyang Ling was also in prison.It is said that Jinyang Ling is the leader of one party, so how could he be thrown into prison?Looking through the files, it turned out that when Li Mi raised his troops, Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty ordered him to intercept and kill him, but with the strength of Jinyang's troops, he was not Li Mi's opponent.Therefore, he was angered by the emperor and thrown into prison.

Seeing this, Li Shimin was a little curious, so he said to Hou Junji: "The Wagang Army is powerful. To stop them with the strength of the Jinyang Order is like hitting a stone with an egg. But the emperor still blames him. Very strange!" Hou Junji said: "It seems that the emperor intends to punish him. As for the guilt, it's just random addition, right?" Li Shimin thought for a while, and asked the prison officers accompanying him, "What kind of person is Jinyang Ling?" The prison officer replied: "Your Excellency is very lenient and kind to his subordinates, and he is kind to the people, and he is praised by the people in the city."

Li Shimin asked: "Since he is such a good official, why was he thrown into prison?" The prison officer replied: "Your Excellency can't be blamed for this matter. It was because Li Mi rebelled, but the Lord and Li Mi are in-laws, so the emperor blamed him and asked the Lord to lead the army to attack, but the army was defeated and returned. The emperor said that my lord was not dedicated, so he was thrown into prison." Li Shimin nodded, and said, "So that's what happened. From this point of view, he was wronged. I want to go and see him." Saying so, let the prison officer lead the way, and a group of people came to Jinyang Ling's prison door.Li Shimin pushed the door open and went in, only to see a thin, middle-aged man reading a book with a little light in the simple prison room, which was only paved with thatch.

Seeing Li Shimin come in, the middle-aged man raised his head, nodded slightly, and bowed his fists: "The sinner Liu Wenjing has seen the general." Li Shimin looked him up and down, and found that although he was in the prison cell, he was still neither humble nor overbearing, and a haughty attitude made his eyes quite calm and firm.Li Shimin asked: "Lord Liu, do you feel wronged in this prison?" Liu Wenjing smiled lightly and said, "In a troubled world, no injustice is an injustice. In a peaceful world, injustice is not an injustice." Li Shimin asked suspiciously, "What do you mean?"

Liu Wenjing said: "The emperor blamed me for my ineffectiveness. How can I judge whether it is wrong or not? As a subject, all I can do is obey the emperor's order and serve the emperor." Li Shimin said: "If the emperor is not for the people, will you still serve him?" The cell suddenly fell silent, Liu Wenjing looked at the young general in front of him meaningfully, Li Shimin also looked at him, and the two remained silent.After a while, the two suddenly broke out into hearty laughter at the same time.Liu Wenjing said: "It seems that the day I was looking forward to is coming soon."

Li Shimin asked: "What are you looking forward to?" Liu Wenjing said: "In troubled times, when all heroes rise together, there must be a person like Yao and Shun who will raise his arms and make the world peaceful. What I am looking forward to is exactly such a person." Li Shimin nodded and said, "Lord Liu, let's rest early today." He took Hou Junji and others out of the cell, and went straight to Li Yuan's residence. He wanted to tell his father about the man he found today. Came to Li Yuan's study, Li Yuan was playing chess with Pei Ji.Li Shimin didn't care to interrupt, so he detailed the whole process of meeting Liu Wenjing today.Before Li Yuan could speak, Pei Ji who was beside him said, "I also know this Liu Wenjing."

When Li Shimin heard this, he hurriedly asked him to elaborate.Pei Ji took a sip of tea and said, "This man is extremely intelligent. He was originally an official in the capital. But he couldn't get used to the turmoil in the officialdom and the emperor's lack of morals, so he resigned and came to Jinyang, hoping to avoid a moment of peace. Who knows , Li Mi followed Yang Xuangan to rebel against the Sui Dynasty. Because he and Li Mi were in-laws, the emperor had doubts about him, so he was thrown into prison under the pretext of failing to dispatch troops. Fortunately, he was a clean and honest official, and he was popular among the people. Take more care, so I haven’t suffered any crimes. It’s just that I don’t know when I will be able to come out.”

Li Yuan said: "It seems that he was wronged by the current situation! You should visit him more often in the future, and don't let him be wronged in prison." Li Shimin took the order to leave, and from time to time, he would go to the prison to drink with Liu Wenjing and discuss current affairs.Every time the fine wine was brought, the two of them talked and drank it before they knew it.Liu Wenjing said: "The two of us drink together, maybe two jars are enough!" Li Shimin said: "If I can fulfill my wish for one day, I won't drink ten altars of wine with my husband!"

Liu Wenjing looked at the energetic young man in front of her, and couldn't help but said to him: "Young master is definitely not someone in the pool, I can see that you are a person with great ambitions. The world is so chaotic now, and there is no other young master. Are you going to?" Li Shimin said vigilantly: "Although it is a bit chaotic now, as long as we work together to help, the future will be very safe and stable." Liu Wenjing smiled and said, "Whether the world is safe or not depends not on your help, but on whether the emperor is a sage. Does the young master still think that the current emperor is sage enough to bring the world back to prosperity?"

After hearing this, Li Shimin put down his wine glass, sighed and said, "But my Li family has been favored by the emperor, and my father is loyal to the emperor, so how can I think otherwise." Liu Wenjing said: "Looking at history, if the king has no way, the courtiers can replace him. Let's not talk about it, let's take the recent emperor as an example. Don't you know how he came to the throne? Killing his father and brother How can he give us a peaceful world under the charge of crimes!" Li Shimin nodded and remained silent.Liu Wenjing continued: "Going forward, how did his father, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, win the world? Didn't he betray and kill the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and the person who replaced him was your mother's uncle! There are no rules to follow. Only those who are virtuous can take their place. Now that the emperor has no way, he just needs a wise king with a way. Nowadays, heroes all over the world are doing things one after another. In my opinion, those who can bring happiness to the people, But only one person." Li Shimin asked: "Sir, who do you think will win the world?" Liu Wenjing said: "It is you, Li Shi, who is far away in the sky and close in front of you. The one who can win the world must be you." Li Shimin was taken aback, and hurriedly stopped him: "Sir, don't talk nonsense." Liu Wenjing said: "I'm not talking out of thin air, but I have a basis. You can see that today's various rebels are either born in the grass, or from aristocratic families, but which one can have the potential of Taiyuan today? Whether it is military strength As for the geographical location, the conditions Taiyuan occupies are very unique. If your father is willing to raise a flag, as long as the banner of righteousness is unfurled, a large number of people will definitely come to join them. And Luoyang and Chang'an are close at hand. As long as they are deployed properly, they can occupy all First chance." Regarding Liu Wenjing's analysis, Li Shimin had actually thought about it many times in his heart, but he never dared to speak out.It's just because Li Yuan told him that he must be careful and not speak casually to others.But this Liu Wenjing in front of him, although he is in prison, knows the situation outside like the palm of his hand. It seems that he has long been interested in this, and finally met someone who let him speak freely. Li Shimin couldn't help being very excited.He confessed all his wishes, but his father did not support him, which made him very depressed. Liu Wenjing said: "This is an earth-shattering event, and it is inevitable for the adults who stay behind to be cautious. Although it is not possible to carry out major events immediately, you can still do a lot of things. Recruiting troops widely and storing food deeply are all preparatory work in advance. With sufficient preparation, we can succeed in one fell swoop!" Liu Wenjing's suggestion to Li Shimin was exactly what he thought, and the more they talked, the more speculative they became. Although Liu Wenjing is in prison and Li Shimin cannot rescue him yet, this does not hinder their communication.According to Liu Wenjing's suggestion, Li Shimin continued to enrich his military strength.During the whole process of Li Yuan's incident, Liu Wenjing put forward correct suggestions at critical moments.After Pei Ji, he became another capable assistant of Li's father and son. After getting acquainted with Li Shimin in prison, Liu Wenjing participated in the whole process of Li Yuan's rebellion, during which he was sent to Turkic as an envoy and contributed to the stability of Tang's border.After the establishment of Tang Dynasty, he not only participated in the drafting and revision of laws and regulations, but also performed outstandingly in the battle to put down Xue Ju.Li Shimin made friends with him eclecticly, and did not miss this talent because he was in prison. It can be said that Datang dug out a treasure from prison.In view of his meritorious service, Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan of the Tang Dynasty gave him, Li Shimin, and Pei Ji three special tokens to avoid death. Liu Wenjing's outstanding meritorious service can be seen.