Chapter 23 The 23rd Hebei Gathered People to Raise the Anti-Flag at the Golden Temple

The time has entered the deep winter, and the temperature plummeted after a series of snowstorms. Every household in Chang'an City lit up Nanshan charcoal to keep warm. In the past Spring Festival, according to the usual practice, all officials had a three-day holiday.This year is special, Li Yuan decreed that from the three days before New Year's Eve to the third day of the first month, there will be a holiday, a total of seven days.During the Spring Festival, people get together with their families and hold a family banquet to celebrate. Before dawn on Yuan Ri, the court held an early court ceremony to celebrate the New Year.Li Yuan wore a crown of heaven and a big fur coat, and sat facing south, receiving congratulations from all the officials.For example, the crown prince offered his birthday, followed by Li Shimin, Pei Ji, Feng Deyi, Xiao Yu, Li Yuanji, Chen Shuda and others in turn.

Afterwards, Zhongshu ordered Feng Deyi to play Zhuzhou Jinbiao, the Minister of Huangmen to play the auspiciousness of the New Year, the Minister of the Ministry of Households to play the contributions of the states, and the Minister of the Ministry of Rites to play the contributions of various places. Finally, Feng Deyi led the officials to offer birthdays. In the left and right corners of the Taiji Hall, musicians played court music, and the officials congratulated each other.Li Yuan had a smile on his face, his eyes wandered to the officials, and his thoughts flew out of the hall: what a good time, Datang has been busy eliminating the princes in the past few years, and now he can finally breathe a sigh of relief.Thinking of this, he stared at Li Shimin in the front row again, and saw that he was wearing a crown of virtue, a gown with a round collar and narrow sleeves, a fish bag on his waist, and black leather shoes on his feet. Angry, I was happy again.

At this time, all the officials knelt down in unison, and the sound of "long live" resounded in the hall.Li Yuan stood up from his seat, waved his hand and said, "Loves are flat. The weather in the first day is very prosperous. I hope you will cherish it. The court affairs are over, let's go, and go home and have a good time with your family. Have a great day." The ministers withdrew from the hall one by one, and Li Jiancheng saw the worrying expression on Qu Tutong, Minister of the Ministry of War, even though he was in a happy environment, he couldn't hide his expression.With a heart move, he walked over and said quietly: "Qu Gong, hold off for a few days. If this matter is reported to the emperor today, I am afraid that today's celebration will be ruined. We will also act according to what we said the day before yesterday, and we will report it in the morning next time." Report it to the emperor."

Qu Tutong was anxious, seeing today's situation is really unthinkable, nodded and said: "What the prince said is very true, the old minister understands, I will watch the movement over there closely in the past few days, and report to the prince in time if there is any new situation. .” Li Shimin quickly left the Tai Chi Hall, and from the corner of his eyes, he saw Li Jiancheng and Qu Tutong talking there, and knew what they were talking about.Years of service in the army made him attach great importance to information from various places. Every day, news from various places was continuously reported to Tiance Mansion, collected in Du Ruhui's hands, and then summarized and reported to Li Shimin.Li Shimin knew earlier that there was a big mess in Hebei.

When Li Yuan killed Dou Jiande, he really made a huge mistake.Gai Liyuan's family is a nobleman in Guanlong, and in his bones, he is quite contemptuous of the leader who rose from the grass.On the contrary, Wang Shichong, who was an official of the Sui Dynasty, was quite lenient and only punished him into exile.In fact, Dou Jiande, who started out as a farmer, made his fortune, treated his subordinates with kindness and peace, and did not search the people in the territory. He and his wife, Mrs. Cao, had no clothes, and still ate rough food. His good reputation is in Shandong, Hebei, etc. The ground is like thunder, and the people and their officials admire it very much.In the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, it was indeed quite rare to meet such a good master who understood the people's sentiments.The news of his killing in Chang'an spread to Hebei, and many people were very sad and even shed tears.

At this time, Li Shentong came to the territory under his jurisdiction as the comfort ambassador of Shandong. This was Li Yuan's second mistake.Li Shentong is brave and simple, and he relies on the royal family. His vision is very high and he doesn't listen to others' persuasion.After leaving Luoyang in the east, he passed through Xiangzhou, Mingzhou, and Beizhou along the way, and finally arrived in Jizhou. He was quite busy along the way, busy dispatching officials to various places.Some of these officials heard that when Dou Jiande's generals and old officials returned to the countryside, they brought a lot of gold and jewelry with them, and they were jealous.They asked people to guide them, and they specifically asked these people to be brought into the government office, brought to justice, tortured and beaten, and forced to take treasures.All of a sudden, these news spread all over the land of Shandong, and those old officials of Dou Jiande's old generals were all terrified and uneasy, like ants on a hot pot.At this time, Li Shentong issued another announcement, saying that according to Li Yuan's will, Fan Yuan, Dong Kangmai, Cao Zhan, Gao Yaxian and others were sent to Chang'an to recruit Dou Jiande, intending to confer additional official positions on them.

After hearing the news, these people gathered together to discuss.During this period of time, they have all experienced the power of Tang officials, and they are very suspicious of Li Shentong's announcement.Fan Yuandao: "At the beginning Wang Shichong raised Luoyang to surrender, and his generals Shan Xiongxin, Duan Da and others were all wiped out. If we go to Chang'an, there is no reason for us to save them. In addition, King Xia captured Li Shentong in the past, sacrificed his life, and sent him back. .Li Yuan captured King Xia and killed him immediately, which made us feel cold. Since they are all dead, we might as well turn against each other and raise troops to avenge King Xia."

Fan Yuan's words touched everyone's hearts, and they all said in unison: "That's what you said, let's reverse it." They picked up earth for incense and made alliances as brothers.Immediately, a divination was made, which showed that the person who must have the surname Liu is the main Fangji.When everyone thought about it, they all thought of Liu Heita at the same time.Fan Yuan said: "Donggong Liu Heikai of the Han Dynasty is courageous and ingenious. He is tolerant and tolerant of everyone. He is gracious to the soldiers. If you want to take over the old king of Xia for a big event, if it weren't for this person, it would be difficult for him to have appeal." Others immediately agreed.Hearing that Liu Heita was hiding in Zhangnan County at this time, they got up to look for it.

Liu Heikai is a native of Zhangnan, Beizhou. He was a rascal when he was young, addicted to alcohol and gambling.The world was in chaos, which gave him a chance. First, he followed Hao Xiaode and became the king's minions. During the war, he was rogue and cunning, and gradually gained some fame.Afterwards, they successively served in Li Mi's Wagang Army and Wang Shichong's Army. Hearing that Dou Jiande's army was powerful, the two had been friends since they were young, so they escaped and came to Dou Jiande's camp.Dou Jiande immediately named him Duke of Handong County, in charge of the scout army.Liu Heikai led the scouts into the enemy's formation to inspect the real situation. He not only scouted the enemy's situation, but sometimes turned the scouting into an opportunity to attack by surprise, playing the role of a surprise soldier, often winning big, and the army said he was a brave general.Dou Jiande was captured, and he fled back to Zhangnan in a desperate situation, hiding behind closed doors to avoid the search.

One day he was hoeing vegetables in the garden, Fan Yuan and others rushed in and explained to him why he came.Liu Heikai was overjoyed when he heard this, threw away his hoe, and said with a laugh, "That's exactly what I mean." He brought a cow to kill and cook it, and everyone discussed important issues while drinking and eating meat.In the next few days, they raised more than a hundred soldiers and attacked Zhangnan County.At the same time, they sent people to Chang'an to steal Dou Jiande's body, buried it generously by the Zhang River, and then raised the banner of revenge for Dou Jiande, recruiting troops wantonly.Many people around were dissatisfied with the behavior of Tang officials, and they all stood up to respond. In ten days, Liu Heita pulled up a team of 3,000 people.After that, he called himself a general and marched southward with his troops, easily capturing Qi County.Dou Jiande's old generals heard the news, and all led their troops to gather here, under the command of Liu Heita, and the number of people snowballed like a snowball.Soon, Yan, Yun, Chen, Qi, Yi, Ming, Cao, Dai and other eight prefectures rebelled against themselves, or some people killed Tang officials to take advantage of it, and successively raised troops to respond to Liu Heita.

When the news reached Chang'an, it was already winter. Li Yuan didn't think the situation was serious, and felt that a little suppression would stabilize the situation.Sui Zhao set up Shandong Dao Xingtai in Mingzhou, and ordered Li Shentong to shoot and lead the troops as the right servant of the Xingtai; he also ordered Li Yi, the general manager of Youzhou, to lead the troops to the south, and let them join forces to attack Liu Heita. Li Shentong didn't care about it at first, and he led troops to fight Liu Heita several times, but he was defeated.Only then did he feel that Liu Heitai was not easy to deal with, and while returning to Jizhou to wait for Li Yi, he issued a letter to call more than 50,000 soldiers from Xing, Ming, Xiang, Wei, Heng, Zhao and other states to Jizhou to gather in Jizhou and prepare to join forces with Li Yi. Destroy Liu Heitai in one fell swoop. On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the two armies met in the south of Raoyang City. Li Shentong brought 50,000 troops to the front, and the troops stretched from north to south for more than ten li, and Li Yi stayed behind.Liu Heitai led only 30,000 troops, which was at a disadvantage in terms of numbers.Seeing that there were many people on the other side, Liu Heitai thought that if he lined up against each other like Li Shentong, he would be defeated one by one, and he would not get any benefits.Because of ordering the team to form a long line, they attacked along the Zhanghe embankment. Li Shentong saw that Liu Heita had taken such a formation, and he believed that he had a large number of people, so he ordered a change of formation to press eastward along the embankment.It began to snow early in the morning, and at this time, a strong west wind suddenly blew, and the wind carried snowflakes and blew towards Liu Heita's team. .Li Shentong was overjoyed when he saw this, and shouted: "God bless me too!" He urged his subordinates to step up and attack.With the help of the wind, Tang Jun quickly plunged into the enemy's formation, slashing with spears and knives. For a while, Liu Heita's army seemed flustered. Seeing that Liu Heitai was about to be defeated, the wind suddenly turned and turned into a strong east wind in an instant, blowing the oncoming Tang Jun tottering.Liu Heikai, who was in a desperate situation, jumped off his horse and walked to the forefront on foot with a machete in his hand. He shouted all the way: "Avenge King Xia, follow me." , all came to the spirit, and bravely moved forward with the help of the wind.From a distance, Liu Jun on the Zhanghe embankment looked like a rolling oolong, and soon broke into the enemy's line and rushed Tang Jun to pieces. Seeing that the momentum ahead was not good, Li Yi hurriedly led troops to help.At this time, a group of soldiers came from the northeast to block the way. It turned out that the follow-up rebels led by Gao Yaxian arrived.They started fighting on the spot, and Li Yi couldn't go to reinforce Li Shentong for a while. After such a delay, Li Shentong's position was in disarray. Although he tried his best to suppress the commander in the formation, it was of no use.The so-called defeat of the army is like a mountain. Although Liu Heitai has few people, his momentum of charging and killing remains undiminished. One counts as ten, and he slashes and kills the Tang army in the formation like a whirlwind.The Tang army fled in all directions, and countless people were killed and drowned in the muddy water.Li Shentong had no choice but to flee to Beizhou on horseback. When he collected the remnants of the army, there were only more than 10,000 people left with him. After Liu Heitai defeated Li Shentong, he joined forces with Gao Yaxian and rushed towards Li Yi together.Li Yi saw that he was alone and had no intention of fighting, so he retreated while fighting, until he retreated to Gaocheng to be safe. Liu Heitai didn't stop, and led his soldiers and horses to attack Beizhou without rest.When Li Shentong heard the news, he had already become a frightened bird, so he abandoned the city and fled south.Liu Heita, who was behind, did not take off his armor, and pursued him closely.Li Shentong had just entered Mingzhou, Liu Heita had already arrived, so he had no choice but to run towards Xiangzhou, but Liu Heita's pace was faster, he didn't even have a chance to enter the city, so he had to spread his hooves and run towards the river.Fortunately, Liu Heitai was satisfied with Xiangzhou and stopped pursuing him, so Li Shentong was able to cross the river to Luoyang calmly. Liu Heikai won this victory, and his reputation was greatly enhanced. All the places under Dou Jiande's jurisdiction raised their flags in response, and Dou Jiande's generals fought to kill Tang officials.Liu Heitai has restored Dou Jiande's old situation in only half a year since he started his army. When Qu Tutong heard the news of Li Shentong's defeat, it was the end of the new year, and it was not yet time to report to Li Yuan.He also didn't know that Liu Heita was busy with his enthronement ceremony when the Yuan Day morning ceremony was held here in Chang'an.Liu Heikai established his capital in Mingzhou, proclaimed himself King of Eastern Han, changed Yuan Tianzao, named Fan Yuan as Zuo Servant She, Dong Kangmai as Secretary of the Ministry of War, Gao Yaxian as Right Leader, and as for Dou Jiande's civil and military officials, they all returned to their original positions.If this news reaches Chang'an, it will take several days to report it quickly. On the third day of the first lunar month, Li An, the chief steward of Tiance Mansion, woke up early, entered the mansion and started busy with today's banquet.Li An had always been with Li Yuan. After Li Yuan became the emperor, Li Shimin felt that Li An was quite stable, and he was very stable at the age of nearly forty, so he asked Li Yuan to be his butler. Li An directed the servants to set up six large tables in the Renwen Hall, and set up more than a dozen cages of glowing red charcoal fires at the four corners, and the room was immediately warm as spring.Since the Qin and Han dynasties, large families have mostly used the system of sharing food when they have banquets. After the Southern and Northern Dynasties, with the appearance of high chairs, in order to enhance the atmosphere of the banquet, the way of people sitting around the table to drink has risen.Li Shimin was going to invite the Eighteenth Scholars and Tiance Mansion's subordinates to have a drink together today. Li An asked Li Shimin what method to use, and Li Shimin replied: "It's better to be more lively during the festive season, and these people have been fighting with me for a long time. , but I'm not used to the elegant way of sharing food. Li An, go get some big tables and place them in the hall without screens, that's the best." From 3:00 p.m., subordinates of Tiance Mansion and eighteen scholars entered the mansion in an endless stream.Seeing that everyone had arrived, Li Shimin picked up the teacup and said with a smile on his face: "Everyone, today is the last day of the seven-day holiday. I think everyone eats a lot of oily and smelly things every day. There should be something light to get rid of. Mr. Ci Yanhong resigned from Luoyang and brought everyone a good thing. Come, please have a drink first." After finishing speaking, he took the lead in drinking it.Everyone picked up a cup and drank it according to the words, and only felt a fresh fragrance permeate their hearts and spleens. The Mr. Yanhong that Li Shimin mentioned was Wen Daya, who served as the comfort ambassador of Henan Province, and was recalled by Li Yuan years ago. Li Shimin licked his tongue lightly, feeling the long aftertaste, still smiling and said: "According to Mr. Yanhong, this tea comes from the steep peak in Shanzhou, named 'Bijian', and the annual production is very small. This water is What's more precious is that Mr. Yanhong sent people to go deep into Tongbai Mountain, overcame the thorns and thorns, and drew it from the source of the Huai River. Everyone, if anyone sees Mr. Yanhong in the future, he must thank him face to face." Everyone held a cup to taste it, but the general among them didn't understand the taste. After Cheng Yaojin tasted the tea, he didn't feel it was special. Seeing that everyone was seated one after another, he said: "King Qin, there is nothing special about this tea. Old Cheng Suri I have a lot of food and my digestion is good, so there is no need to use these seeds to relieve my food. When I met Mr. Yanhong, I told him not to bring tea next time. I heard that there are many wild boars in Shanzhou, so I asked him to bring one back. Please enjoy it, everyone." As soon as this remark came out, everyone laughed.Li Shimin smiled unknowingly, pointed Cheng Yaojin and said: "Brother Cheng, I thought that you could get a little bookish no matter what you have been with these gentlemen all these years. Who knows I was still wrong. Listening to your words, it turns out You don't have any elegance in your whole body." Su Shichang interjected: "Why not? That day I saw General Cheng gnaw a pair of bull teeth desperately, and there was always a piece of tooth bone falling into his stomach." Everyone laughed again, Cheng Yaojin also grinned, not angry. Afterwards, everyone sat down one by one. During the banquet, there is a lot of joy, literati and military generals are integrated into one, all kinds of witty remarks, wine orders are fun, and there is no detailed list here.But at the end, Yuchi Jingde's eyes were already red, and he shouted loudly: "King Qin, I have been in the brocade of the capital for half a year, and I am so worried. I heard that Liu Heitai is now raising troops to make trouble, why not ask the emperor to go and kill him?" It’s a good time to come.” Yuchi Jingde came to Chang’an and went to Shuozhou to pick up his parents, wife and children. His son Yuchi Baolin was four years old, and he was born with a tiger’s head and a tiger’s head. Get together and enjoy family fun.However, after a few months passed, Yuchi Jingde's martial heart was born, his palms would itch after many days without fighting. As soon as Yuchi Jingde said this, the whole audience was silent, and everyone turned their attention to Li Shimin.Li Shimin was also drunk at this time, and he stood up abruptly, waved his hand in the air, and said with a sigh of relief: "Liu Heitai gathered a bunch of mobs, it's not a problem. Jingde, since you have the idea of ​​going out to fight Tomorrow, the king will report to the emperor, and we will go out for a walk." As soon as Li Shimin finished speaking, joy appeared on the faces of all the generals present.Sitting at the side, Fang Xuanling kept silent, thinking that Li Shimin's reputation was in full swing at this time, and it would be a sure thing to go to exterminate Liu Heitai.If there is another victory, it will definitely win Li Yuan's favor and increase his prestige among the officials, thus prompting Li Yuan to make up his mind to replace the prince as soon as possible. According to the system of the Sui Dynasty in the Tang Dynasty, the emperor visited the Taiji Hall on the days of Shuo and Wang every month, and the rest of the places where he listened to the court and watched affairs in daily life were in the Liangyi Hall.On the fourth day of the first lunar month, according to the usual practice, civil servants of the fifth rank and above and military officials of the third rank and above gathered to wait for the leaking courtyard, where they waited to enter the Hall of Liangyi to have an audience. At that time, it was two o'clock in the fifth watch, and it was still dark. At this time, Tongshisheren entered and shouted "Go up to the court", and all the officials followed Tongshisheren into the Liangyi Hall and knelt down to Li Yuan. Li Yuan's complexion was obviously good, and he waved his hand to the officials and said, "Forget it, all the Aiqings are at peace. Please act quickly if you have something to do." Li Jiancheng glanced back at the class and saw Qu Tutong flashing out of the group of officials. He held his wat and said: "Your Majesty, I received the report a few days ago. Then, the coalition forces of the King of Huai'an and Li Yi were defeated, and the land of Hebei was completely trapped. I hope the emperor will punish me for the delay in the matter." Li Yuan was very magnanimous, and said lightly: "Qu Aiqing, I know what you mean, I'm afraid I've disturbed the celebration of the festival, because I didn't come to play. I don't blame you, and I won't convict you. If you think about what the Liu thief can do, forgive him Can't make a big wave." "Yesterday, the minister received another report that Liu Zei set his puppet capital in Mingzhou, and called himself King of Handong." "Where is King Huai'an, where is he now?" "The king of Huai'an has now retreated to Luoyang, and Li Yi has also retreated to Youzhou." "This supernatural power, why is it so useless. Erlang just regained Hebei, and he lost it in just a few months. Qu Aiqing, it seems that the Liu thief has caused a lot of harm. What does the Ministry of War think?" "Your Majesty, I have already discussed this matter with the Crown Prince. I want to take advantage of the fact that Liu Thief has not gained a firm foothold, and then send Li Yi to command the army to go south, and send someone to command Luoyang's army to cross the river to attack, and try to wipe it out in one fell swoop." "Just do it like this, Qu Aiqing, who do you think will handle this errand?" Li Jiancheng on the side hurriedly took a few steps after hearing the words, stood in a row with Qu Tutong, and said loudly: "Father, my son is willing to lead the army to destroy them." At this time, Li Shimin also stepped out of the class and said: "Father, the prince is troubled by managing the country, and it is not easy to go out lightly. The capture of Dou Jiande last time has made the thieves terrified. This time, if you can lead the order to send troops, you should be able to capture him with one go." Li Yuan laughed, and said: "The two emperors competed to be handsome and shared my worries. I am very pleased. Shiro, you are eager to try over there, do you have the same idea?" Li Yuanji also came to the front of the squad, and said leisurely: "I dare not lead the army, but I am willing to serve with my brother." "Would you like to follow the crown prince, or Erlang?" "My son is willing to send troops with the prince. The second elder brother was tired from the previous expedition and should not move again. I hope the emperor will take care of him." Li Yuan on the throne was speechless for a while, and the officials below felt strange when they heard Li Yuanji's words.They knew that Li Shimin and Li Yuanji had always been at odds, and that Li Yuanji had a straight temper and never turned corners in his speech. Why would he think of Li Shimin for the first time today? Li Shimin worshiped again: "It has been more than half a year since my son defeated Luoyang, and I have already rested. And my son is very familiar with the geography of Shandong, and there is another group of generals who can help. I hope that the emperor will issue an order to allow my son to lead the army." Immediately set off." Li Jiancheng was not to be outdone: "Father, please make a decision, and my son is determined to go out." The officials heard that the two brothers were fighting for the military power here, and the other one was there to help out there. Many people didn't understand the details, and thought that the Li family brothers were worried about the country, and they could be said to have successors.A few veteran ministers who knew a little about the inside story had seen the fire clearly, and they had already smelled the smell of gunpowder. At this time Li Yuan had made up his mind, and said, "Erlang really understands geography well, and he has the power to capture Dou Jiande. Prince, don't fight, let Shilang go with Erlang." The emperor's golden words are the ironclad imperial decree. Li Jian wanted to fight again, but his lips moved, and finally he calmed down. He bowed his head and said, "I accept the decree." After that, several people came up to play the game. After Li Yuan made an order, the east was already white.Li Yuan yawned and said, "That's it, let's all disperse. Jian Pei, Xiao Lang, Feng Aiqing, Chen Aiqing, follow me to breakfast." Li Yuan's breakfast is not complicated, there are nine dishes of light side dishes in front of the table, and there is little meat.The staple food is crystal rice and cheese cake.Crystal rice uses Wuxing crystal rice, boiled over slow fire to make porridge, the soup is thick and the rice grains are crystal clear.Cheesecake is from Hudi. Its filling is made of creamy cheese, covered with a layer of rolling cake, and baked in the oven.Several ministers followed Li Yuan into the east room, and they saw that everyone had prepared food before their desks. It seemed that Li Yuan had already made arrangements. Seeing that everyone was sitting down, Li Yuan raised his chopsticks and said, "All dear friends, let's eat. You are all elders at home, and you must be very busy these days. I wanted to invite you to a gathering, but now I want to The rules of the royal family are too big, so they can come and go freely like a small family. I just want to take advantage of the opportunity of breakfast today, let's talk about it." Li Yuan has a generous and simple personality, and is easy-going, especially for his senior ministers, who seldom scold him and caress him more. Several people hurriedly stood up and said: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the meal." Li Yuan waved his hand again, and said: "Forget it, everyone, don't have too many rules, sit down." He saw the cheese cake in front of Chen Shuda, turned around and reprimanded the eunuch standing there, "Chen Aiqing doesn't like cheese, don't you?" Do you know? Change it quickly!" Most of the people in the seat live in Chang'an and are used to eating cheese. Only Chen Shuda, the sixteenth son of Emperor Chen Xuan, grew up in the south and is not used to mare's milk and cheese. After a while, the eunuch replaced Chen Shuda with a plate of steamed cakes.The so-called steamed cakes are today's steamed buns. Everyone stopped talking, and saw Li Yuan eating with his head down, so he leaned over his desk to eat carefully.Soon, breakfast was over, and the eunuch tiptoed to remove the cups and plates. After eating, Li Yuan likes to eat fruit.After the eunuch removed the cups and plates, he knelt down and offered a plate of green plums to everyone.The original species of this green plum comes from Jiaqingfang, Luoyang, and it is called Jiaqing plum.After being introduced in Jingxian County, it is big and sweet and has become a tribute to the inner court. Li Yuan picked up a plum and took a bite, smiled and said to Pei Ji: "Eating this plum reminds me of the difficulties I suffered in Taiyuan in the past. Pei Jian, thanks to you, I let me eat a few pieces of Jinyang Palace hidden green." Li. The taste was so good at that time, and I can’t eat such good plums again these years.” Pei Ji thought to himself, you only ate a few pieces back then, the so-called rarity is the most precious, the taste is of course unforgettable.Now that you are the son of heaven, you can eat as much as you want, and of course there is no special taste.He thought this way in his heart, but he didn't say it in his mouth. He said: "After all, the emperor only managed a Taiyuan county at that time. He didn't have many affairs and wanted to relax. Now you are the emperor, rule the world, and work hard day and night, so you don't know what to eat. " Xiao Yu and the others were not surprised, knowing that Pei Ji had no other skills other than flirting with others. Upon hearing this, Li Yuan said: "Nonsense, no matter how busy I am, I still have to taste the taste of the food I eat. You say that I don't like the taste of food, but you just want to please me." Pei Ji didn't blush, but smiled at him. Li Yuan changed the subject again, and talked about the early dynasty: "My dear friends, I am very relieved when I think of the prince and Erlang competing for troops in the early dynasty. At the beginning, Yingzheng called himself the first emperor, and hoped that the second and third emperors of the Qin Dynasty would continue Passed on, who would have guessed that as soon as he let go, Qin II Hu Hai would lose his foundation and become a short-lived dynasty. It can be seen that to achieve great things, he must consider not only himself, but also future generations. The prince has been honest and dignified all these years, and he has been benevolent and righteous; Erlang is brave and good at fighting, and he is as good as others; even Na Shiro, after following Erlang for a while, has restrained his previous temperament a lot, and has become more and more mature through experience. Now that the country is in trouble, they are princes who are not afraid of hardships and dangers. Good luck." Feng Deyi then said: "Your majesty is wise, the crown prince has been in charge of the government these years, and the king of Qin has successively won great victories in battles. The two of them complement each other well. Talking about it in the streets, everyone praises the emperor's sage's good judgment. I think God blessed the Tang Dynasty and was born in this world." Several princes came to assist the emperor." Feng Deyi's flattery was just right, and Li Yuan sounded very comfortable.In fact, Feng Deyi's heart is like a mirror, and he has long seen the struggle between the prince and the king of Qin.He was taken aback by the conflict in the morning this morning, remembering that the previous conflict between the two was very secret, and there was no trace on it. From now on, the two of them could be regarded as lifting the curtain and putting it on the table from the bottom of the table.Feng Deyi had witnessed the process of Sui Yangdi cleverly seizing the crown prince Yang Yong, and he understood that above the court, this matter involved the biggest and most dangerous aspects.He had made up his mind a long time ago, when the battle between the two was not clear, he would stay out of it, follow Li Yuan's footsteps, and not obviously fall to any side. Pei Ji over there couldn't bear it anymore, and sighed a long time: "The emperor's imperial edict has been issued, and the old minister can't say anything more. However, the crown prince is the heir. In addition to managing the government in the court, it seems necessary to go out to practice the army. As a It is inappropriate for a prince to be absent from the army for a long time." Xiao Yu interjected: "The old minister thinks that Pei Jian's words don't make sense. Your Majesty, the main purpose of raising troops to be a commander is to win battles. In the current chaos, no one can guarantee that every battle will be won, let alone say that fighting is for experience. The emperor is currently Appointing the King of Qin to be the commander-in-chief is the most sage. One is that the King of Qin is good at conquering and winning all battles; the other is that the King of Qin has a deep understanding of geography; It cannot be said that the world is peaceful, and one should not take it lightly." Pei Ji used to make a fool of himself in court meetings, and there was a Liu Wenjing who often exposed his scars.Pei Ji was extremely annoyed, but he had nothing to do with Xiao Yu. Now that Xiao Yu is a relative of the state, Li Yuan was very friendly and called him "Xiao Lang".Xiao Yu was also an important minister in the two dynasties, and he was indeed brilliant in seeing, seeing and arguing, and he had no room to take advantage of it.There was no way, Pei Ji could only laugh when Xiao Yu scolded him, and then remained silent.As the saying goes, "stretch out your hand and don't hit the smiling face", Xiao Yu saw him raise his hand in surrender, so he stopped his efforts to beat the dog in the water, and no longer blamed him deeply. However, Pei Ji's performance today is different from the past. He smiled and said to Xiao Yu: "Of course Duke Xiao is protecting the King of Qin. Thinking that you have been with the King of Qin for nearly a year, this relationship is different." Xiao Yu stood up with a "huh", looked directly at Pei Ji and said, "What are you talking about? Let the emperor judge." Chen Shuda beside Xiao Yu quietly tugged on his lapel, and said softly: "Xiao Gong, the emperor is before you, don't make mistakes." Li Yuan was slightly angry when he saw his two beloved veterans confronting each other in court.I thought I blamed myself for being too lenient with them, and made no rules.He snorted, seeing that Xiao Yu had already sat down, turned to Pei Ji and said, "Jian Pei, as an important minister of the country, how could you say such a thing? Feng Qing was also with Erlang at that time, wouldn't he even say that?" Did you go in? Xiao Lang, it is said that the older you get, the slower your temper will become. Why do you become more anxious? Well, from now on, you must not behave so unreasonably in front of me." Li Yuan didn't comment, and beat them each fifty times. After that, Li Yuan didn't want to talk any more, got up and left, and the four of them also left the palace slowly. In the evening, Pei Ji called four people, carried the warm shoulders, and sent him into the East Palace. Hearing that Pei Ji wanted to enter the palace, Li Jiancheng hurriedly ordered him to let him go, and hurried out of the gate of Xiande Hall to greet him.Li Jiancheng also looked down on Pei Ji on a daily basis, thinking that he was just a jester in front of his father, and the two had little contact.However, after July last year, the relationship between the two began to become closer.This kind of intimacy is actually a kind of tacit understanding, and the two of them couldn't figure out what was the reason that brought the distance between them closer. Now it seems that Li Shimin's sharpness probably made the two of them have a tacit understanding.Li Shimin has always hated Pei Ji, especially when Liu Wenjing was killed, he hated Pei Ji to the extreme, thinking that he was ignorant and incompetent, a jester who ruined the country's pillars.Pei Ji saw that Li Shimin's reputation was getting better and better, and heard some gossip, thinking that if Li Shimin's momentum continued, if one day Li Yuan really passed on the crown prince to him, he would lose his benefits, so he couldn't help being alarmed.Thinking of Li Jiancheng's peaceful personality and being kind to others, I feel very cordial.But Li Jiancheng looked at all the veterans in the court, and most of them had good relations with Li Shimin, except for one Feng Deyi who couldn't understand his inclination, only one Pei Ji had a bad relationship with Li Shimin, and suddenly felt the sound.Afterwards, when the two met, they talked a little more if they had nothing to do. Sometimes Li Yuan rewarded Pei Ji with some rare items, and Pei Ji would send some of them to the East Palace.The two knew each other's intentions in their hearts, but they didn't say it clearly. After a while, Pei Ji's stumbling figure appeared in the field of vision. Li Jiancheng went up to meet him, took Pei Ji's right hand and led him into the hall, and said softly, "Jiangsu Pei, if you have anything to do, just say hello, and Jiancheng will come to the mansion for inquiries. Now today The cold road is slippery, why bother to get out lightly?" While talking, they entered Xiande Hall.After Pei Ji entered, he felt that the hall was full of fragrance, he smacked his nose a few times, and said: "Your Highness is living a comfortable life, it is freezing cold today, and the fragrance is difficult to disperse, what method does Your Highness use to make the room full of fragrance?" Li Jiancheng smiled slightly and said: "Today, I lit a few incense candles from Jiaozhi Tribute years ago. As soon as the fire was lit, the fragrance came out. It is very strange. When Pei Jian returns later, you might as well take a few incense sticks with you. try." "The old minister knows about this object. There was also this tribute in Emperor Yangdi's palace. But the quantity is very small. I heard that Empress Xiao took it away, but the old minister has heard the name but has not seen the object." The two of them chattered here and there, but they didn't get to the point.In the end, Pei Ji couldn't help it, and slowly introduced the topic. He looked at Li Jiancheng's face and said, "I think of how handsome His Highness was when he ran from Hedong to Taiyuan. It has only been five or six years, and His Highness has been working day and night in these years Working hard on state affairs, the vicissitudes of life are already visible on the forehead." "Pei Jian's words are serious. Jian Jian is less than 30 years old this year and is full of energy. Why does he have a sense of vicissitudes?" "It's probably because His Highness has been in the capital for a long time, and he has been worrying too much about state affairs. I think His Highness commanded the left army back then, and after they left Taiyuan, they fought all the way to Tongguan. At that time, they rode horses and galloped, how heroic. Since His Highness became the crown prince, it's hard to take it easy again. Take a step out of Chang'an." Li Jiancheng laughed when he heard this: "Jian Pei's words are really high-spirited, according to what you said, this is a hard job for the prince. Haha, if you make this statement, I am afraid that no one will want to be the prince. " "Your Highness's words are wrong. The Crown Prince's position is extremely respected. If this wind blows and everyone comes to grab it, it's not a big deal. However, at the court this morning, the old minister saw that His Highness is eager to go to war. Do you want to get away and go out for a few days? Woolen cloth?" "Extremely, extremely, the one who knows me is Pei Jian." Seeing Pei Ji's probing words, Li Jiancheng replied jokingly. Pei Ji chuckled, and said: "I'm afraid His Highness didn't want to hide for leisure, but because the King of Qin has been victorious over the years, he couldn't stand the loneliness. Is the old minister right?" Li Jiancheng was taken aback, but he didn't expect Pei Ji to attack directly. Pei Ji continued: "Your Highness, please don't blame me. Forgive me for the old minister's blunt words. Nowadays, both inside and outside the court are praising King Qin's ability, and the name of the prince is not mentioned. If things go on like this, the country will not be a country, and there will be no rules. These gossips must have entered the ears of His Highness." , are you indifferent? Old minister, I can't see it. After the early court today, the emperor gave you a meal. For this matter, I argued for you in front of the emperor, and I was robbed by Xiao Yu. The more the old minister thought about it, the more It's not a taste, I came to the palace tonight just to remind His Highness." Li Jiancheng was greatly moved, thinking that Li Shimin was showing off his talent, after all someone had seen his tricks.Like the mediocre minister in front of me, who actually defended himself against injustice, it can be seen that his uneasiness these days is not unreasonable and sensitive, it should be Li Shimin's intentional provocation.Seeing that Pei Ji was so frank, Li Jiancheng didn't want to hide it anymore, and sighed, "It's still Pei Jian who knows me. To be honest, Erlang seems to be a different person since he returned to Chang'an from Luoyang. We get along pretty well in the past, and we don't mind. It's almost the same. He sometimes comes to me to ask for advice when he encounters something. This time when he comes back, he never goes to the gate of the East Palace. He just greets me lightly when he sees me. What eighteen bachelors, a group of generals surrounded him, Tiance Mansion seemed to be a military department, and he knew the news of the world faster than I did. Some people told me that Erlang is now arrogant, as if the world of the Tang Dynasty is thanks to him , In fact, he was fighting in the front, and we dispatched troops and money for him in the capital. Could it be that he alone deserved the credit for the victory? The opportunity to go to war is just because I don’t like looking at Erlang, I have experienced wars before, so what’s the difficulty?” "That's right, Your Highness should fight hard in the court. How can you stop talking after saying a word? In this regard, King Qin is better than you. He dares to fight to the death in front of the emperor. I think His Highness is too benevolent and filial. " "Whether you can go to war or not, you may not be able to win it in the open. Now I understand the father's intentions, and I put all my brains on Erlang, thinking that he can decide the overall situation in critical moments. This is indeed true." Pei Ji was silent, at first Li Yuan sent himself as the governor of Bingzhou to conquer Song Jingang, but he was defeated and fled back to Chang'an.It was Li Shimin who led the troops across the river, defeated Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang in one fell swoop, regained Bingzhou, and relieved Li Yuan of his henchmen.He suddenly sneered and said: "That said, Your Highness shouldn't feel uncomfortable, you should let the King of Qin concentrate on the campaign. Your Highness, the old minister pays more attention to the affairs of the court. With your kind heart, you will suffer a lot in the future! Thinking about Yang Yong's benevolence and filial piety, he was always cautious, but under Yang Guang's calculations, he found out his faults and was abolished as the crown prince. Please forgive the crime of the old minister's blunt words, you are now the crown prince, full of heart Speaking good words for King Qin, how do you know what King Qin is thinking? You have to be careful, of course, unless His Highness sincerely offers the crown prince." 裴寂这番话说得已相当露骨。这老儿没有别的本领，在宫廷中溜须拍马、察言观色的本领炉火纯青，他又多睹宫内阴谋伎俩，现在坦言说出，可谓一针见血。 李建成思索半天，最后下定决心。他知道裴寂没有太多本领，平素人缘又差，然他素得李渊信任，为其第一近臣，若能笼络为己所用，当为一强援。想到这里，李建成起身拜道：“建成幼稚，今后还望裴监多多教我。至于二郎，裴监的心意就是我的想法，还望今后每每关键时刻，能给建成援手。” 裴寂见状，也急忙站起还礼。 李建成紧锁眉头，忧心道：“我也想改变目前的情形，然苦于父皇对二郎信任有加，让我束手无策。裴监若有什么好法子，望能指点一二。” 这句话让裴寂犯了难。他踌躇半天，脑海里终于浮现出了一个人影，顿时灵光一现，展颜道：“殿下问计，你知道老臣的墨水太少，洵是难画。不过让我想起一人，你不妨一试。” "Who?" “封德彝，人言他狡诈多变，计谋百出。在这件事情上，我看他并未完全倒向秦王一边，你可以试探他的口气。” 李建成一拍大腿，心想自己怎么忘了这个人，遂赞道：“裴监不必自谦，此计大妙。今日你若不提，我如何想得起来？” 裴寂顿时洋洋得意。 送走了裴寂，李建成独自在殿内想他的心事。心想应该找一个合适的机会，试探一下封德彝的口气。 窗外暗影浮动，一阵北风刮来，将庭院里的树枝吹得“呜呜”作响。天刚刚晴了几天，今日又复阴沉，也许一场大雪就要翩然而至。这又触动了李建成的心事：史万宝和韦挺两人从洛阳访查归来，言说那批珍宝的去处有了线索，这几日韦挺又悄悄去洛阳访查，不知道现在有进展没有？