Chapter 18 seventeen

three days Wei Zheng's idea was to hand over the Tiger Talisman to Qi Wang Li Yuanji, and let him lead the troops to save Wucheng.Li Jiancheng was always thinking about how to keep the tiger amulet from Li Shimin, and never thought of handing it over to anyone else, so when Wei Zheng proposed this plan, he didn't know his intention for a while, and his expression seemed a little dazed. Wei Zheng sat down and asked what mystery was hidden here.Wei Zheng didn't answer directly, he asked Li Jiancheng if he remembered the story of two peaches killing three men.Li Jiancheng has read a lot of books, so he naturally knows that this anecdote is about something that happened in the Spring and Autumn Period. The three warriors of Qi State, Gongsun Jie, Tian Kaijiang, and Guy Yezi, had big tails. Yan Zi asked Qi Jinggong to reward them with two peaches. It caused them to fight, forcing the three of them to commit suicide.At this point, Li Jiancheng somewhat understood Wei Zheng's intentions. He wanted to throw the military amulet to the Qi mansion, so as to cause the Qin and Qi mansions to fight each other, so that the East Palace could benefit.

Li Jiancheng said to Wei Zheng: "It's a good plan, but this king of Qi has always been very close to me, and he has confessed his loyalty to me many times. After Yang Wengan's incident happened last time, the father once gave birth to the abolitionist." It means that my position is almost lost, and he saved me in front of the emperor! Doesn’t this mean that he is not regarded as his own family?” Wei Zheng smiled: “It seems that His Highness still doesn’t understand King Qi. Man, he was born as a soldier, he thinks highly of himself, he looks down on anyone in his bones, and his ambition is probably bigger than King Qin. You see, he has been jumping left and right over the years to encourage His Highness to fight with King Qin, and at the same time Secretly expanding his own troops, he quietly gathered a force within a few years. His Highness has been keeping an eye on the Qin Mansion, but the minister thought that if the Qin Mansion wanted to keep an eye on it, the Qi Mansion would also want to keep an eye on it."

Li Jiancheng looked at Wei Zheng, and the handsome face of King Qi with a smile flashed in front of his eyes, but he held a long sword dripping with blood in his hand, and a chill came down his back immediately.Li Yuanji was a little ghost, and he went to the battlefield when he was fourteen or fifteen years old. After that, he played a single role in the establishment and unification of the Tang Dynasty many times, and made a lot of military exploits.Although his face is like a beautiful jade, he is very powerful. He has been good at bow and horse since he was a child. Li Jiancheng knew that Wei Zheng was a wise man. He said that he should beware of the Qi Mansion, and he was right. In the game of power, there are no permanent friends. Li Jiancheng, who has read many ancient books, of course understands this truth.After some calculations, Li Jiancheng decided to adopt Wei Zheng's suggestion, but he felt a little worried again, and said to Wei Zheng: "Let Yuan Ji lead the army, I am afraid that the father will not agree. Ash’s cavalry are as fearful as tigers, and they are not experienced generals, so they dare not be sent to the front line to fight the enemy!” Of course, Wei Zheng understood the subtext in the words, if everyone could lead the army If we go, wouldn't it be enough for Li Yuan to send him, the crown prince?It was inconvenient for him to break through this meaning, and said with a smile: "Your Highness, don't worry. King Qi has commanded troops for many years. Although he is not as successful in battle as King Qin, he has fought many tough battles after all. If anyone doubts King Qi's ability, There is another way to stop their mouths and at the same time dig another part of the Qin family's foundation."

Li Jiancheng hurriedly asked: "What method?" Wei Zheng replied: "I ask the emperor to order the Qin family's elite soldiers and former generals to be dispatched by the King of Qi. This will increase the chances of the reinforcements defeating the enemy in Wucheng. To avoid public opinion, the King of Qin may have nothing to say!" This is really a good way to kill two birds with one stone, before Wei Zheng finished speaking, Li Jiancheng slapped his thigh and praised it, and then shouted: "Sun Da, Get ready, I'm going to the palace to face the saint." Sun Da answered "Yes" outside and left in a hurry.Here, Li Jiancheng said to Wei Zheng apologetically: "Xuancheng, three years ago, I relied on your ingenuity to win the Tiger Talisman and set up the great honor of pacifying Liu Heitai. Afterwards, you didn't reach out to me for a little bit of forgiveness." Reward, and as for me, I was surrounded by those vying for fame and fortune, and I really couldn't handle it, so I couldn't take care of giving you the reward you deserve. I feel ashamed of you for this matter, you Didn't you scold me in your heart?" Wei Zheng said with a smile, "Your Highness, what are you talking about? At the beginning, I was in the army of Li Mi, Wang Shichong, and Dou Jiande, worrying about rice grains all day long. After Jiande was defeated, I was desperate. I can’t thank you enough for taking in my minister, allowing him to live on until now, and even achieving the fifth-grade washing horse. I am already grateful, what other extravagances can I ask for.” Wei Zheng’s generosity and calmness made Li Jiancheng even more apologetic , He secretly made a wish in his heart that when he inherited the Datong, he would definitely give Wei Zheng the post of prime minister!

The subsequent events once again developed as Wei Zheng expected: Li Jiancheng went to Li Yuan and strongly recommended Li Yuanji to lead the expedition to save Wucheng, and suggested that Li Yuan issue an order to dispatch tens of thousands of elite soldiers who had been under the control of the Qin government before, including Li Shimin's troops. Xiao generals Yuchi Jingde, Hou Junji, Qin Shubao, Cheng Zhijie, Duan Zhixuan and others went out with Li Yuanji.Li Yuan, who has been unable to find a solution to the problem, was overjoyed when he got this suggestion that could not only solve the siege of Wucheng, but also prevent Li Shimin from re-in charge of Tiger Talisman. Yuan Ji summoned to the palace and announced the aid plan in public.

As soon as Li Shimin heard it, he knew that he had been plotted against again.However, the former enemy's military situation is urgent, and as a prince, he really can't speak out in front of everyone, because it will delay the rescue of Wucheng, and it has never been his style to abolish the public for personal reasons, so, He could only leave without saying a word until the end of the imperial meeting.The tiger talisman went around from the Qin Mansion to the East Palace, and then passed into the hands of King Qi Li Yuanji. In this quiet contest of power, the real winner is the Crown Prince Li Jiancheng who has lost his military amulet. Because of his many worries and insomnia for many years, he fell asleep as soon as he came back from the palace, and fell asleep until the next day. At noon that day, when I opened my eyes, there was still a smile left in my dream on my face.

Unlike Li Jiancheng's ecstasy when he got the tiger talisman at the beginning of the year, Li Yuanji didn't feel much joy when he got the tiger talisman.He has been calculating people since he was a teenager, and he is much more treacherous than Li Jiancheng. Since the East Palace gained momentum in the winter of the fifth year of Wude, he has been hiding behind Li Jiancheng, pushing Li Jiancheng to fight Li Shimin openly and secretly.His wishful thinking is to let his two elder brothers continue to compete, gradually weaken Li Shimin with the help of Li Jiancheng, and then work together with Li Jiancheng to completely drive Li Shimin out of the power center of the Tang Empire.As for Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji didn't pay much attention to him.He knew very well that once Li Shimin was defeated, it would be very easy to turn around and deal with Li Jiancheng.

Instigated by Li Yuanji, Li Jiancheng aggressively pushed towards the King of Qin's forces more and more recklessly. He once sent someone to send Yuchi Jingde a whole load of belongings in an attempt to lure the general of the Qin family to betray Li Shimin. An assassin was sent to put him to death, but the assassin failed. Li Jiancheng simply asked his minions to falsely accuse Yuchi Jingde of treason and put him in prison, but he had to be released later because of insufficient evidence.In addition, Li Yuanji also instigated Li Jiancheng to use more vicious means to deal with the fierce general Hou Junji of the Qin government, and sent people to pretend to be robbers, almost killing his family.After going back and forth, the East Palace and the Qin Mansion had already reached the point where a raging fire would ignite as long as a spark was splashed out.The confrontation between the three brothers presents the most favorable situation for Li Yuanji.But at this time, the Tiger Talisman passed into his hands, which meant that he could no longer hide behind Li Jiancheng and shoot Li Shimin with a cold arrow and Taipingquan.