Chapter 25 Chapter 25

Wei Ting stopped the convoy led by Xuanling that day, and according to Li Jiancheng's idea, drove the car to the city and handed it over to Chen Shuda, the servant of the Dianzhong Province, and asked him to hand it over to the Shangshi Bureau.Li Jiancheng knew that Chen Shuda and Li Shimin had a good relationship, and with this inspector, if the treasures were really shaken out of the car, it would be more credible for Chen Shuda to play with Li Yuan.Unexpectedly, Wei Ting opened his eyes wide to inspect, and saw that the car was indeed filled with bags of Shanzhou rice, and where there were any gold and jewels, he was suddenly dumbfounded.

"How could this be? Erlang must have lost his bag." After Li Jiancheng learned of this result, his full of expectations turned into ice, and he walked back and forth anxiously in the Xiande Hall. Wei Ting said: "There should be no mistake. The people we sent have been keeping an eye on the gate of the manor. Even if someone proposes a package from it, they must try to check it out." "What if the things don't come out of the gate of the manor, what if the slipping car is a trick used by Erlang to divert your attention and transfer the treasure?" Wei Ting thought about it, there is indeed a loophole in this matter.At that time, when they saw the car going out, they believed that there were treasures in it, so they removed the watchers around the manor and watched along the way.Looking at it now, maybe Fang Xuanling was really bluffing.Thinking of this, Wei Ting couldn't help feeling extremely depressed, and sighed: "Prince, I'm still incompetent. I didn't finish the matter well, and saw the cooked duck fly away again. What should I do next?"

Li Jiancheng stopped wandering around, and said decisively: "This batch of goods must not be in the manor now! You take someone there, find out who the owner of the manor is, and tie him back to Chang'an quietly, and ask him carefully." Wei Ting accepted the order. and go. Unconsciously, it was March, and the weather was getting warmer day by day. The ice in the Wei River had already melted, and the water was rushing down.During this period of time, Li Jiancheng had been looking for an opportunity to chat with Feng Deyi, who knew that after the Spring Festival, Feng Deyi was sent by Li Yuan to East Turkic as an envoy, and did not return until early March.

The relationship between Datang and East Turks is very delicate.Feng Deyi's mission to East Turkistan this time, the two countries are at a moment of confrontation.When Li Shimin was besieging Luoyang, Luo Khan at the East Turkic Office followed Lao Yehu's idea and appointed Yang Zhengdao, the grandson of Emperor Yang of Sui, as King of Sui to divide the power of Tang Dynasty.Chuluo Khan also sent people to closely contact Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande in order to contain Li Yuan and try to make Tang, Zheng, and Xia form a tripartite situation, so that Turks can get some benefits from it.Unexpectedly, Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande collapsed soon, leaving Lao Yehu dumbfounded.At this time, Shuofang Liangshi's army was flourishing day by day, and it was in the same situation as the Tang Dynasty. They took the initiative to come here to curry favor with the Turks in order to win the help of the Turks.Lao Yehu thought of one plan and another plan when he failed. Seeing that Master Liang came to throw himself into his arms, he immediately made up his mind and offered advice to Chuluo Khan.Chu Luo Khan was benevolent and weak, thinking that Li Yuan would pay tribute to him now, and it would be difficult to show his shame and send troops directly to attack, and in his heart he thought that indirect restraint was the best policy.He followed Lao Yehu's idea, and Feng Liang Shidu was the Dadu Vija Khan, and gave him money and horses, making Liang Shidu a vanguard to harass the Tang Dynasty.

But He Dun (the title of the Turkic Khan’s wife) Princess Yicheng felt that Chuluo Khan was indecisive and cowardly, and she wanted to help Yang Zhengdao restore the Sui Dynasty. Now she feels that if she relies on Chuluo Khan’s power, her hope is too slim, and she is gradually graying out. heart.At this time, she saw that Chuluo Khan's younger brother Mohe Dushe had grown into a robust young man, and he had a strong personality, superb riding skills, and outstanding martial arts, so she decided to go to hook him up.At that time, Princess Yicheng was just in her early thirties, she had a beautiful face and a charming figure.Although she has already raised two children, her natural beauty and the temperament of a master cultivated in Chang'an City for many years make her behave elegantly, and she still looks very outstanding among the girls in the Northern Kingdom.Mo He Dushe was not yet twenty years old at this time, how could he resist Princess Yicheng's teasing several times, and soon fell under her pomegranate skirt.Soon, Chuluo Khan fell ill, and Princess Yicheng took medicine for him. Chuluo Khan died of gangrene for unknown reasons.With the strong support of Princess Yicheng, Mohe Tuoqi quickly succeeded to the throne. He was called Jieli Khan, and Princess Yicheng became his Kehe Dun logically.Counting, he is the fourth husband of Princess Yicheng. His father, Qimin Khan, and his two elder brothers, Shibi Khan and Chuluo Khan, are his predecessors.

Jieli Khan's attitude towards Tang changed drastically after he came to power. First, he detained Tang envoys Sun Shunde and Zheng Yuan, and then ordered Liang Shi to leave Shuofang to attack Tang.But the situation of the Tang Dynasty is no longer what it used to be, and the frontier defense has been quite stable. When the Turks came to attack, officials from all over the city held their ground. Jieli Khan was unable to go deep, so he had to wander around the border for several days and then retreated. Li Yuan was unwilling to turn against Jieli Khan at this time, mainly because the country was not yet completely stable. Now that Liu Heita was making trouble in Hebei, and he had to guard against riots in various places, it was difficult to deploy all his troops to defend the border.When he saw Jieli Khan retreating, he sent Feng Deyi to bring a large number of treasures to seek peace.When Feng Deyi arrived at the Turkic Yazhang, he quietly gave gifts to the Turkic officials one by one, and at the same time, he encouraged Jieli Khan to tell Jieli Khan Li Yuan's intention of seeking peace, and promised to marry him.A few days later, Jieli Khan thought about it, and couldn't stand the persuasion of some high-ranking ministers who had accepted bribes, so he agreed to make peace with Tang Yan, and released his eldest grandson Shunde and Zheng Yuan.

The northern border was calmed down.Seeing Li Yuan beg for peace and send a large number of treasures, he couldn't help feeling distressed, but after all, he bought time for the stability of the country, so the court praised Feng Deyi for fulfilling his mission, and asked Li Jiancheng to give the banquet on his behalf. Li Jiancheng was overjoyed, and thought it was a good time to have a good talk with Feng Deyi about this.After returning to the palace after going down to court, he ordered the Shangshi Bureau to send exquisite wine and food, and at the same time asked Feng Deyi to be invited.Li Jiancheng set up the banquet and asked everyone to leave, Feng Deyi also entered the palace to sit down, and there were only two people in the room drinking together.

After drinking a few cups together, Li Jiancheng talked about this mission, and repeatedly praised Feng Deyi for fulfilling his mission. Feng Deyi shook his head, his face full of shame, and said: "Prince, don't praise the old minister anymore. In fact, until now, I don't feel like it. Thinking about the nomadic Hu tribe, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty extended a helping hand when he was in the most difficult time. How can I know them?" Taking advantage of the chaos in the country, he came to take advantage of the fire and loot. Alas, if the country is not strong, it will be insulted."

Li Jiancheng said: "It doesn't matter, given time, wait for my court to rectify the country, and I am not afraid that he will not come to court." "That's the reason, the old minister is looking forward to this day every day." "According to Duke Feng, how long will it take for us to surrender to Jieli?" "It won't be too long. This time Xieli led his troops to the south, and he thought that the momentum would be like a broken bamboo. Who would have thought that he would come back as soon as he reached the border. Our frontier is stable, and Xieli didn't expect that our dynasty will be different from the past at the beginning. From this point of view In other words, the power of both sides has been growing and disappearing, and there has been a subtle change. The old minister has an idea, which should be the emperor's decision, that is, our attitude towards Xieli in the future, and we can't blindly soften it. If he comes to attack, I will also attack him. If you make peace after victory, you will have both grace and power!"

"Yes, I agree with Feng Gong's proposal. Turkic wolves are ambitious, and they have to suffer a little before they can understand the truth. Come, Feng Gong, please drink this cup." The two chatted for a few more words, and Li Jiancheng slowly turned the topic to Li Shimin: "Oh, how many treasures I have sent to the Turks over the years, if Erlang hadn't won so many victories, I'm afraid the treasury will be emptied sooner or later." It's empty. By the way, Lord Feng, I heard from Supervisor Pei that he caught a group of treasure hunters, do you know about this?"

Feng Deyi glanced at Li Jiancheng, thinking that you don't know something for the prince, and you are still asking here knowingly.He knew in his heart that this was Li Jiancheng testing himself, so he said: "The old minister has just returned from a mission, and he only heard a few words, so he knows little about it." That day Wei Ting was ordered to arrest Du Chuke, and even brought back everyone in the manor.Wei Ting set up a torture hall and tortured him day and night. Du Chuke gritted his teeth and said nothing.In the end, he couldn't bear it anymore, so he bit his tongue and killed himself in a dark night.After finding out Du Chuke's identity, Wei Ting became even more aggressive and forced Zhuang Ding to confess one by one.But these Zhuang Ding didn't know much about it, only that there was something hidden in the secret cave in the back garden, and someone was guarding it.That day a group of people picked up the goods and transported them away beyond the back wall.Wei Ting heard that, as if he had found a treasure, he asked them all to write a defense statement, put their fingerprints on it, and then report it to Li Jiancheng. Li Jiancheng thought hard, and felt that although he knew that the owner of the villa was Du Ruhui's younger brother, and Zhuang Ding's testimony, after all, the treasures were missing, as the saying goes, the thief did not take the stolen goods.He came up with an idea, ordered Wei Ting to hand over these defenses to Pei Ji, and let Pei Ji listen to Li Yuan, so that no trace would be revealed. Sure enough, Pei Ji worked hard, and heard about it in court in the early court.After Li Yuan heard it, he didn't express anything in particular, he just said "Understood", and then ignored it. Feng Deyi knew about Pei Ji's ability, and also heard that Wei Ting was in charge of this matter, so he understood that Li Jiancheng was behind the scenes.Seeing that Li Jiancheng had brought it up on his own initiative and didn't want to discuss it in depth, he prevaricated a few words.He also thought that the reason why he asked must have a deep meaning, paused, and said: "If it is as Pei Jian said, this group of people is so well-organized, and Du Ruhui's younger brother is also the owner of the villa, it can be said that there is a lot of history, King Qin seems to be unable to get rid of it." related." "That's right, it's common sense. But Erlang has always been upright. I don't think he would make such a trick. Maybe Supervisor Pei is too suspicious." Feng Deyi nodded in agreement, thinking to himself, the prince's temper has changed a lot recently, such a trick like this where there is no silver three hundred taels, he also wants to show off in front of me, it's too far-fetched.He thought this way in his heart, and said something else in his mouth: "The King of Qin has won many battles in recent years, and he is very generous. This kind of private treasure collection does not seem to be what he does in the eyes of the old minister. In fact, the King of Qin Years have accumulated three treasures, the most precious." "Which three treasures?" "One is that I am very courageous, able to decide on major events, and calm and moderate, with an open mind. This is the most important thing." "That's right, Erlang has been tempered over the years, the so-called sharpness comes from self-sharpening." "Both, the King of Qin has a group of conspirators, such as the Eighteen Scholars. The King of Qin was able to win all the conquests, thanks to this group of brain trusters. Back in Luoyang, Dou Jiande came to help, and Duke Xiao and I wanted to retreat to protect Xin'an. Du Xueshou tried his best to fight against the crowd and demanded to divide his troops to block it. Now it seems that our opinion is still a bit conservative, it is better for Xue Shou to stand high and see far." This sentence obviously touched Li Jiancheng's mind. Li Shimin recruited many talents into the mansion, which can be said to be far-sighted. He sighed and said: "What Feng Gong said is very true. Erlang has been recruiting talents these years, and has already collected top talents. The world is big , Such people are indeed rare.” Feng Deyi smiled and said: "Actually, the prince should not underestimate himself. Wang Gui, Wei Zheng, Ouyang Xun and others in His Highness's house are all talented people, and they are not far behind. From now on, the prince will just let them make the best of their talents. "At that time, Wang Gui served as the prince Zhongyun in the East Palace, Wei Zheng served as the prince washing horses, and Ouyang Xun served as the prince. "What about another treasure?" "The king of Qin vomits food, and the fierce general will return to his heart. This is the third treasure. For example, Luoyang, the eastern capital, the king of Qin ordered Zhang Liang to guard it, and no outsiders can enter." When Feng Deyi said this, he had already blatantly suggested Li Jiancheng.The latter second treasure he mentioned was to tell Li Jiancheng tactfully that he should try to cultivate his own power, enrich the shogunate, recruit powerful generals, and establish his own sphere of influence outside the capital.Feng Deyi had long judged that Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin would inevitably fight. In comparison, he felt that Li Jiancheng's character was generous and simple, and he would be quite comfortable as a subject.On the other hand, Li Shimin, his personal abilities are outstanding, and his subordinates are like a cloud of literati and fierce generals. It would be difficult for him to make any achievements under his rule.Moreover, Li Shimin has a very suspicious personality, and his reputation in the court is not very good, and it is difficult to tolerate it after a long time.Feng Deyi originally planned not to fall into the vortex of the two people's struggle, but deep down in his heart he resisted Li Shimin, and seeing that Li Jiancheng is now in the position of prince, he usually advances and retreats without loss, so he put his heart's The balance fell to Li Jiancheng. At this moment, Li Jiancheng savored Feng Deyi's words carefully, and immediately understood its deep meaning.He frowned, raised his lamp and said, "Feng Gong's words are incisive, which made Jiancheng understand a lot. Come, Jiancheng will toast you again, and I hope you will come to teach me from time to time. You are right, Erlang now has the 'Three Treasures', Why do you care about such a little bit of broken gold and rotten copper. It seems that Supervisor Pei is more worried about this matter." Li Jiancheng understood Feng Deyi's intentions, and he didn't want to speak too plainly.As long as Feng Deyi's heart is towards him from now on, and there is one more seemingly neutral person in the court, maybe the effect will be better. Feng Deyi didn't dare to drink too much, so he bowed his hands and said goodbye.Li Jiancheng was full of joy and sent him out of the palace in person. Li Shimin led the people to fortify the wall in Mingshui City, and Li Yi led the army to station in the north of Mingzhou City.At that time, the two did not communicate with each other, Li Yi repeatedly wrote to Li Yuan, saying that Li Shimin stood still, what did he mean?After Li Yuan received the report, he repeatedly asked what happened.Li Shimin saw that no matter how detailed the prelude was, it would be better for someone to report to Li Yuan face to face, so he sent Fang Xuanling to Chang'an to explain the reason. Li Yuan met Fang Xuanling in the East Nuan Pavilion of Liangyi Hall. At that time, there were Li Jiancheng, Xiao Yu, Pei Ji, Feng Deyi, Qu Tutong and others in the pavilion.After entering the cabinet, Fang Xuanling kowtowed to Li Yuan first, and then bowed to everyone one by one, and then handed over the inscription played by Li Shimin to Qu Tutong, and asked him to pass it on to Li Yuan. Li Yuan ordered Xiao Yu to read the inscriptions played aloud in public, most of which were Li Shimin's narration of the reasons why he could not attack by force.After hearing this, Li Yuan asked Fang Xuanling about what he didn't understand.Fang Xuanling spoke concisely, with a clear voice, and answered the questions very thoroughly.Li Yuan sounded very satisfied, and finally said: "This matter is finally cleared up, Fang Jishi, you go back to Shandong quickly, and let King Qin stop it at the last moment, I will not interfere. You go back." Seeing Fang Xuanling exiting the pavilion door, Li Yuan sighed: "This man knows how to use the opportunity. Every time he makes a statement for my son, he will surely win people's hearts. Thousands of miles away, he is still talking to each other." Feng Deyi echoed: "Your Majesty's view is very correct, the Tiance Mansion belongs to the middle, and this person is the head of the strategy." Li Yuan frowned suddenly, and sighed: "Erlang has been away for many years, and has recruited a lot of people. These days, I quietly think about it, is it not the good and the bad? Peijian, what you said a few days ago, I don't know. I didn’t say it clearly at the court. After thinking about it, it’s a bit strange. If someone uses Erlang’s banner to commit crimes, I don’t know!” Pei Ji's eyes lit up, and he stood up and said, "Your Majesty is wise. If it was the King Qin's men who did it, let the King Qin restrain his men and not mess with the laws of the country." Xiao Yu also got up and said: "Your Majesty, the rumors are not to be believed. Now that King Qin's soldiers are fighting hard outside, if this matter is made public, I'm afraid it will chill the hearts of King Qin and all the soldiers." Li Yuan was noncommittal, and turned to say: "These days Li Yi came to play a lot, saying that Erlang's subordinates broke into the camp unreasonably, and Erlang ignored Li Yi. I sent someone to verify this matter, and it is true. Xiao Lang, You have said many times that Erlang is as modest as he is, so why is this incident so perverted? Li Yi voted for the Tang Dynasty at the beginning, allowing me to easily occupy the land of Youzhou, and I have a lot of credit. I promised him Xu Xuan but not transfer, Erlang is not unreasonable I understand, why is it so tense?" Li Jiancheng was already dissatisfied with Li Shimin when he heard Li Yuan's voice, and he felt ecstasy. He got up and said, "Father, don't worry, Li Yi has lived in Youzhou for a long time, and he is not used to the central dispatch, Erlang is difficult to command. It seems that Erlang cannot be blamed for this incident." Li Yuan said angrily: "The crown prince does not need to cover up for Erlang, there is also Erlang's fault. The so-called victory is not arrogant, and defeat is not discouraged. I dote on Erlang a little too much these years and make him proud. After all, he is young. Supervisor Pei, Xiao Lang , you are old ministers in the court, you can't just spoil Erlang blindly, and try to be nice and obedient, this is not good for Erlang." The officials were silent, with two thoughts in their hearts.Xiao Yu, Chen Shuda and Qu Tutong couldn't understand why Li Yuan was so kind to Li Shimin, why his words showed dissatisfaction today.But Li Jiancheng and Pei Ji were secretly happy, thinking that this period of time was finally not in vain, and Li Yuan really changed his attitude. Li Yuan has always loved Li Shimin very much, this time his dissatisfaction was revealed in his words, it seemed sudden, but in fact it was not a day's cold. Pei Ji formed an alliance with Li Jiancheng that day, and since then he has been blowing wind in front of Li Yuan non-stop.This Pei Ji has a special ability, that is, he seems to be talking and laughing with Li Yuan, but in fact, he always keeps his sense of proportion and doesn't say anything too much, which makes Li Yuan feel that Pei Ji is very intimate and not annoying.Pei Ji didn't directly speak ill of Li Shimin, he often praised Li Shimin's ability, the prosperity of Tiance Mansion, and the admiration of scholars and people.After such a long time, Li Yuan unconsciously felt a little worried.Li Yuan doesn't think that Li Shimin's radiance poses a threat to Li Jiancheng, but he is afraid that such a development will be detrimental to him.This year Li Yuan was fifty-seven years old, healthy and energetic.He thought that in history, due to the power of his courtiers and sons, forced palace incidents abounded, and he was very worried that this kind of thing would happen to him.But Li Yuan doesn't like to show emotions, Pei Ji can't appreciate the changes in his mood.Seeing that his words were useless for many days, Pei Ji resorted to the trick he used to deal with Li Yuan in Taiyuan, which was to seek the help of Concubine Yin De and Zhang Jieyu.At that time, the story of Yin Ahshu beating Fang Xuanling was widely spread in Chang'an Shilin, and everyone knew about Li Shimin's conflict with them.Pei Ji wanted the two girls to blow pillows in front of Li Yuan, so he discussed with Li Jiancheng, and the two selected some treasures from home together, and Pei Ji came forward to give them to the two women.Pei Ji didn't hide his intention of coming, and told them Li Jiancheng's idea on the spot.When the two women heard the words, they hit it off. Although Li Yuan dotes on young concubines a lot, he can't forget Yin and Zhang's amorous feelings, and the three of them always stay together for several nights every month.Seeing the invitation from the two of them that day, he agreed with all his heart, and in the evening, he asked someone to carry him to the Mingshan Palace where Concubine Yin De lived, and Zhang Jieyu had already come to wait early. Li Yuan entered the palace gate, and the two women knelt down to meet each other.Li Yuan took one with each hand, and the three of them walked towards the Nuan Pavilion.At this moment, Li Yuan saw Concubine Yin Defei's pear blossoms were raining, and her pink face was covered with tears, so she asked in puzzlement, "What's the matter? Do you hate me?" When Concubine Yin De heard it, she fell to the ground suddenly, wept bitterly, and kowtowed repeatedly: "Please the emperor be the master for my concubine." Li Yuan asked the truth carefully, Concubine Yin De burst into tears, Zhang Jieyu explained the whole story from the side. It turns out that Beiman in Luoyang has a prosperous Fengshui, and it has always been the burial place of dignitaries and dignitaries in the past dynasties.Concubine Yin Defei's father, Yin Ashu, had heard of her name a long time ago. When Concubine Yin Deconcubine went to Luoyang by order, she asked her to find a field after arriving in Luoyang, and asked her to use it as a shade field for her family. After her death, it would be a cemetery.Concubine Yin De entered Luoyang, and saw dozens of hectares of fertile land with its back against Beimang, the slope facing the sun, and facing Longmen. She also invited Mr. Fengshui to investigate, and they all said that this is a treasured land of Fengshui.At that time, Concubine Yin De was very dissatisfied with Li Shimin, and she was afraid of running into trouble again, so she didn't ask him for it.She went back to Chang'an, and told Li Yuan about it by her pillow. Li Yuan was in a good mood at that time, and he agreed with all his heart, so he wrote a letter on the couch, giving the land to Yin Ashu. Yin Ashu excitedly took Li Yuan's edict to Luoyang, and begged to see Wen Daya to show him the land.Wen Daya showed embarrassment at the first meeting, and said that the land had been allocated to Li Shentong by the order of the King of Qin, and asked Yin Ashu to discuss with Li Shentong first.Li Shentong was busy dealing with Liu Heitai in Jizhou. After Li Shentong was defeated and returned to Luoyang, Yin Ashu, who was ignorant of current affairs, showed Li Yuan's edict to him.Li Shentong was in a fit of anger at this time and couldn't find a place to vent it. He scolded on the spot: "What are you? You dare to find Lao Tzu's bad luck. Didn't you just take the emperor's edict? I'll go back to Chang'an, can you Go to the emperor and show ten copies for you to read. Get out of the way, don’t make me angry, I’ll be nice to you.” This scolding made Yin Ashu return to Chang’an disheartened. Later, when Li Shentong met Li Shimin, talking about this matter, Li Shimin felt that Li Shentong had done the right thing, and said: "At the beginning, the emperor ordered that Luoyang's gold and jewelry be rewarded to the meritorious soldiers. It was also an imperial decree. Response, since then he has done a lot of military service, and the credit is very great. What credit does he Yin Ashu have, and what reason does he have to fight for this land?" Afterwards, Yin Ashu came to Luoyang again, Wen Daya had been recalled to Chang'an by Li Yuan, and Luoyang affairs were presided over by Zhang Liang.Zhang Liang adhered to Li Shimin's meaning, and his words were very rude, which made Yin Ashu feel ashamed. Yin Defei listened to Yin Ashu's narration, her pink face turned crooked with anger.She wanted to cry at Li Yuan, and seeing that Li Shimin is powerful now, and Li Shentong is the younger brother of the current emperor, she didn't dare to go too far.Seeing that Li Jiancheng and Pei Ji took the initiative to contact him this time, he discussed with Zhang Jieyu about putting on a play tonight. Sure enough, after listening to Zhang Jieyu's narration, Li Yuan was furious and said, "This Erlang is simply lawless! I'm not dead yet, so the edict won't work? Concubine Yin, don't cry anymore, what I promised It must be done." Concubine Yin De stopped crying, and whispered: "Don't be angry, the emperor, don't hurt the dragon's body because of this little matter of the concubine. In fact, the concubine still has a lot to say, and has never dared to mention it in front of the emperor. His majesty strictly ordered the harem not to interfere. I am afraid that this will break the rules of the court." Li Yuan waved his hand and said, "But it's okay, no matter what you say tonight, I forgive you for your innocence." Concubine Yin De and Zhang Jieyu exchanged glances, and Concubine Yin De first said: "Actually, the emperor should have noticed that every year on the first day of the year, the emperor holds a banquet in the palace. Every time, I sigh and shed tears, yearning for the early death of Empress Taimu, and I will not see the emperor rule the world." Empress Taimu is Li Yuanfa's wife, Dou Shi, who is Li Shimin's biological mother. For Empress Taimu. Li Yuan nodded and said: "Yes, Empress Taimu is indeed unlucky. I was Tang Gong at the time, and she gave me a lot of help. Thinking about it today, I also miss her very much. However, Erlang cried at the festive feast, which was inauspicious. I He was already to blame on the spot." Concubine Yin De suddenly sobbed, and said intermittently: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, the ministers and concubines are discussing in private, Qin Wangsi... yearns for Empress Taimu, looks benevolent and filial, but actually hates concubines, etc. The ministers are very...very worried, If His Majesty is here, you can entertain each other. If Your Majesty is long... long live, the concubines and concubines will not be tolerated by the King of Qin. Looking at the land His Majesty gave to the concubines' families, the King of Qin... dared to resist the decree, which shows how he treats his concubines attitude." Zhang Jieyu said angrily: "Yes, King Qin is His Majesty's prince, born of his concubines, and is also His Majesty's flesh and blood." After hearing this, Li Yuan didn't say a word, and countless thoughts passed through his mind.He has always loved Li Shimin very much in his heart, and once had the idea of ​​making him the crown prince and promised it face to face.Now it seems that he is self-reliant, and his actions are becoming more and more domineering. If this continues, one day, he may have to passively abdicate the throne.Thinking of this, a trace of fear suddenly surged in Li Yuan's heart. From this moment on, Li Yuan became vigilant. Concubine Yin Defei and Zhang Jieyu saw Li Yuan meditating alone there, knowing that today's scene had an effect, they looked at each other and smiled, feeling very satisfied.The two had been in the palace for a long time, and they understood the principle of accepting when they see a good deal, so they got up and took Li Yuan up, one of them undressed him, and helped him into the gauze tent.The two of them cheered up, and served Li Yuan to their full satisfaction. The three hugged each other and fell asleep soundly. Li Shimin stationed troops in Mingshui City, and fought against Liu Heita every day, more than 60 days passed before he knew it.I saw that the Zhangshui and Mingshui in front of me were blue again, and the willows on the river bank slowly showed green buds, and spring had come. Seeing that Liu Heikai had been trapped in Mingzhou city for a long time, food and grass were not available, and people were moved, he discussed with Fan Yuan, Gao Yaxian and others, trying to break out of the siege and move to Beizhou.Li Shimin had already been prepared for this festival, and sent Li Shi to lead 5,000 people to garrison a place called Liushutun in the lower reaches of the Ming River.Liushutun is located at the confluence of Zhangshui River and Mingshui River, fifty miles to the west is Mingzhou. Li Shi is stationed here, echoing Li Shimin in the south, and connected with Li Yidaying and Shi Danai in the north. Heitai fled eastward. Liu Heikai made up his plan and planned to sneak attack on Li Shi's barracks in the dark tonight, so as to open up the road to the east, get rid of the siege of the Tang army, and turn to the east to seek areas that can be moved in order to develop.It was night, a dark cloud covered the moon and the stars, the earth looked pitch black, and you couldn't see your fingers.Liu Heikai first sent Fan Yuan and Gao Yaxian to lead 10,000 troops to Moying in Liushutun. He and Dong Kangmai split up into two troops, heading north and south, trying to block the Tang army's reinforcements. Fan Yuan and Gao Yaxian arrived at Liushutun at the second watch. They lit up torches and rushed towards Li Shi's village gate.Li Shiwen listened to the enemy's attack, so he put on his clothes and stood up to command.Li Shi ordered the cannons to be fired in the camp. He only heard two cannons sounding from north to south at intervals, and he naturally notified the friendly troops to come to help.Li Shimin heard that Liu Heita had mobilized and led ten thousand people to help.Walking halfway, he heard a shout from around him, and the torches lit up all around him. In the light of the fire, he saw a general beckoning everyone to kill him. Li Shimin knew that this person was Liu Heitai, the commander-in-chief of the bandit. Liu Heikai led nearly 20,000 soldiers to ambush here this time, more people than the Tang army, and immediately surrounded the Tang army.Seeing the ferocious approach of the enemy, Li Shimin looked fearless, and said to Cheng Yaojin and Qin Shubao beside him: "Brother Wang, we must not be scattered. To avoid being defeated by them one by one, we only need to form a tight group and last for an hour. , reinforcements will come." The two understood Li Shimin's intentions, so they conveyed the order step by step. After more than half an hour, I saw a stream of flames approaching rapidly from the south, obviously it was the reinforcements of the Tang Army from Mingshui City.They quickly tore open Liu Heita's encirclement, and the sound of the blow was like thunder, and the two bamboo whips in their hands hit left and right, and those who touched fell to the ground one after another.Soon, the brave soldiers opened a gap and met Li Shimin in the formation.Everyone had already seen clearly that the person who came was Yuchi Jingde.Li Shimin applauded there, looked back at Cheng Yaojin and Qin Shubao and said: "What a respectful man! In a chaotic army, the head is taken lightly; under heavy siege, he dares to break the enemy's formation. Respect can make the enemy frightened. Even Fan Kuai and Zhang Yide from ancient times can't stop their bravery." Liu Heita's soldiers were all mobs recruited in a short period of time. How could they resist the well-trained Tang army's cooperation from inside and outside, and they were quickly defeated in Mingzhou.Li Shimin gathered his troops and instead of pursuing in the direction of Mingzhou, he swung his troops eastward and surrounded and attacked the enemy in Liushutun from behind.Fan Yuan and Gao Yaxian couldn't attack Liushutun for a long time, and when they heard that Liu Heita was defeated, they ordered their troops to rush towards Mingzhou.At this time, Li Shi ordered to open the gate of the village to attack. Li Shimin's reinforcements had arrived at this time, and they finally trapped one of the enemy's tails and ate 3,000 people. Early the next morning, dawn had dawned, and Tang Jun, who had been fighting all night, got together.At this time, Li Shimin ordered that the generals from all walks of life should enter Liushutun to discuss matters.At that time, the Tang army from the west was led by Shi Danai and Duan Zhixuan, and Li Yi also sent Xue Wanjun and Xue Wanche brothers with 10,000 troops to meet them.The Xue brothers were the first to encounter Dong Kangmai's troops. The two brothers led the troops to fight and broke up the enemy's formation. Later, Duan Zhixuan and Shi Danai led the troops to arrive, and Dong Kangmai had no choice but to retreat.When Li Shimin met the Xue brothers, he praised them warmly for breaking the siege of Liushutun.During this period of time, Li Shimin and Li Yi had a grudge against each other, and the Xue brothers also felt awkward towards Li Shimin.When I saw Li Shimin for the first time today, I saw that he was very humble and soft-spoken, and I felt a lot more comfortable, and felt that the distance between us was much closer. Li Shimin looked at everyone and said: "Everyone must be very tired after working hard all night. But after this battle, let us understand Liu thief's reality." "We have been in a stalemate with Liu Thief for more than two months. We are not showing cowardice, but to save lives. Liu Thief has been trapped in Mingzhou for a long time. We have cut off his food supply, and there is no food in his city. Duo, Guan Yelai's desperate efforts to break through the siege, he probably can't hold on anymore. Everyone, the opportunity to defeat the enemy is today. Let's find Liu thief for a decisive battle now." When the generals heard that they were going to fight Liu Heita, they were excited and applauded one after another.Li Shimin bowed his head and said to the Xue brothers: "Two Generals Xue, please go up to Duke Yan and explain Shimin's intentions clearly. If you want to defeat Mingzhou in one go, you will definitely need the assistance of Duke Yan." The Xue brothers nodded in agreement. Li Shimin said again: "For this decisive battle, I don't want to rely entirely on manpower. I asked General Shi and the others to prepare a powerful weapon in the upper reaches of the Mingshui River a month ago. When we go into battle, all generals, please restrain your subordinates and pay close attention to the Chinese army's order flag and Trumpet, follow the plan." The generals have long been convinced by Li Shimin's command, knowing that if they act according to the orders of the Chinese army, they will advance or retreat, and there will not be too many mistakes.Everyone likes it with all their hearts, and they are watching that the battle will end in one battle. The formidable weapon Li Shimin prepared was the surging blue waves of Mingshui. The Mingshui Riverbed is not too wide, only about twenty feet long.It flows eastward slowly, and when it reaches Mingzhou, it goes south along the west wall, goes around the south wall and then goes north again, flows along the east wall, and then makes a sharp turn and turns northeast until it meets Zhangshui.In this way, Mingshui walked around the city wall of Mingzhou from three sides, becoming a natural moat of Mingzhou.Liu Heita felt that he could rely on the situation to defend and did not need to invest too many troops, so he put the main defensive troops on the north wall. In order to find out the enemy's situation, Li Shimin came to the outside of Mingzhou City on Qingqi many times to observe.The generals in the entourage saw the terrain of Mingzhou, and they all said that Liu Heita had eyes and found this excellent castle that was easy to defend but difficult to attack.Li Shimin didn't think so, he said to Li Shi: "Brother Shi, Duan Zhixuan and the others control the upper reaches of the Mingshui River. If we build a weir there to block the water, and then break the embankment to release the water, will it be possible to flush Mingzhou?" Li Shi's eyes lit up, and he felt that this plan was great, and he said excitedly: "The city wall of Mingzhou is relatively high, and it is difficult for water to enter the city. However, Liu Thief came to fight every day, so he can lead it to a low-lying place, and then flush it with water. , will surely receive miraculous results.” The plan of flooding the enemy army was quickly settled in this way.Generals Duan Zhixuan, Shi Danai, and Zhang Gongjin received Li Shimin's general order. While guarding against Liu Heitai's attack, they sent people to build a high dam on the upper reaches of the Ming River to store water. On March 26, the Tang army lined up and marched towards Mingzhou.Hearing the news, Liu Heikai felt that although the army was defeated last night, after all, the loss was not much. Now the Tang army wants to take advantage of the victory and defeat it when it is tired to break through.He said to the generals: "Whether we can break through depends on whether we can win this battle now. Now Li Shimin is driving the exhausted army, obviously contemptuous of us. We can boost everyone's morale and use Han Xin's energy to burn the boat across the river. A bloody decisive battle with the Tang army." After speaking, he led 20,000 cavalry out of the north gate, and then crossed the Mingshui south to meet the Tang army. Li Shimin had already figured out the surrounding terrain, and ordered the battalions to be arranged at the designated positions. There was a fan-shaped highland, and there was an open low-lying land in front of them.At three o'clock, Liu Heita's cavalry came slowly eastward, and gradually came into Tang Bing's sight.They lined up in the low-lying land, holding shields and began to charge. As soon as they approached, Tang soldiers' crossbow arrows shot at them one after another, forcing them to retreat again.In this way, the Tang army occupied the high ground on three sides, just encircling the enemy in the low ground in front. At this time, the sun was approaching the sky, and the warm sunlight was shining on the earth, and the two sides could see each other's faces clearly.In contrast, the flags and banners of the Tang army on the slope are neat and well-groomed, and the armor is bright; while the enemy troops on the slope have been hungry for a long time, and everyone's face is disheveled, revealing a look of distress.Li Shimin rode his "fist hair" and stood facing the wind on the high slope in the south, carefully observing the formation of Liu Heita's army, with a trace of relief on his cold face, feeling that today's victory is assured.He turned his head and said to Li Shi: "Brother Shi, I will lead the charge, and you will be in charge of the central army. Let the infantry stick to the high ground and not allow them to move rashly. After the Mingshui breaks the weir, you can light the trumpet cannon to restrain the army from advancing and retreating. After finishing speaking, he waved his big hand and pulled the reins, and "Fist Hair" spread his hooves and rushed down the high slope first.Seeing this, Qin Shubao, Cheng Yaojin, and Yuchi Jingde who were behind him hurriedly led their horses to follow, and the 8,000-horse army rushed to kill. These 8,000 people rushed to the front of the enemy's formation in an instant, and after they entered the formation, they fought horizontally and vertically, killing flesh and blood.Seeing this, Liu Heita hurriedly drove his cavalry to fight.Reluctantly, the cavalry of the Tang Army led the strategy of killing the enemy's infantry first, and if they did not take the initiative to fight with them, they would often leave immediately.Horsemen from both sides galloped back and forth in the square formation of Liu Jun's infantry, and many Liu Jun's infantry became ghosts under their feet. Seeing that Li Shimin had already mobilized, the Xue brothers in the north led five thousand cavalry and rushed into the enemy's position.For a while, people and horses came and went in the huge depression, and the shouts of people and the wailing of wounded horses were mixed together. Seeing that it was difficult to stop the fighting footsteps of the Tang army's cavalry, Liu Heikai ordered his men to shoot arrows.Soon, their arrows rained down, and they shot at the Tang soldiers in the formation one after another. However, after the arrow feathers entered the formation, they did not recognize the enemy, and even injured many members of their own family. Li Shimin's "fist hair" couldn't dodge a few arrows, it neighed in pain, and then stood upright, almost knocking Li Shimin off his horse.Li Shimin clung to the horse's back to stabilize his body, and shouted: "Jingde, you lead 3,000 people to disperse Liu's horse team and prevent them from shooting arrows." Yuchi Jingde took the order and left.Li Shimin leaned over to look at the injuries of "Fist Hair", and saw that several injuries were not fatal.The wounds in three of them were very shallow, and the remaining arrow pierced through the horse's tail. He stretched out his hand and pulled out the arrow feathers for the horse, and shouted: "Good horse, bear with me for a while, and watch me avenge you." Yuchi Jingde's leader charged against the rain of arrows, and the two sides formed a scuffle.战斗进行到未时，李世民见己方显得力薄，遂命令秦叔宝道：“放号炮。” 混战军阵里响起了三声号炮响声，李世听到后，知道这是李世民的命令，就将手中红旗招起，唐军步卒队伍立刻起动，从三面蜂拥入阵。这二万步卒加入战团，顿时改变了双方态势。唐军渐渐将敌阵压迫后退。 此时天已经黄昏，范愿见大势已去，无奈对刘黑闼说道：“大王，唐军势大，西面的唐军还没有发动，不知又有什么名堂。我看今天凶多吉少。留得青山在，不怕没柴烧，我们要先找一条生路。现在向北突围已经无望，不如少带人马从唐军夹缝中逸出，向北投奔突厥，今后再徐图发展。” 刘黑闼此时人困马乏，又见喊杀声中，唐军推进的速度越来越快，遂叹道：“也罢。范将军，你派人去通知高雅贤他们，让他们也想法冲出去，我们先走，待潜出幽州后再会齐。”范愿一面派人通知高雅贤等人，一面和身边的二百余人掩护着刘黑闼，他们且战且退，悄悄脱离了战场。 这时，李世在中军又燃起了三声号炮，声音在夜空中异常响亮。这是退兵信号，唐军遂止住脚步，手执军械护身向高地撤退。刘军本来就陷入绝阵，见对方主动收手，一时不明所以，他们此时已经散了队列，凄惶惶如一群乱羊，踉踉跄跄向洺州退去。 这边的唐军缓缓上了高坡。 天色已经黑透，高雅贤、董康买等人向洺州狂奔，已经遥遥望见了城内的灯火。原来范愿派出通知之人乱军中没有找到高、董二人，反而遭到杀戮。这样，高、董二人没有意识到他们已经陷入绝境。他们先是听到一阵如惊雷的声音隆隆而来，继而听到前列之人呼喊惊号，很快，一片白漫漫的大水扑面而来，瞬间将他们冲得无影无踪。 李世民站在高坡上听见上面来的水声，知道大势已定。他令大军退回各自营地，好好睡上一觉，待明日天亮之后再来打扫战场，接收洺州。他习惯地拍了一下马颈，却触手空空。李世民忽然想起，那匹心爱的“拳毛”今日共中了九箭，力战而死。这会儿马尸被洪水裹挟，其身不知漂到何处去了，一刹那间，他心头泛出了无限伤感。 洺水一战，除了刘黑闼本人带领二百余骑投奔突厥之外，其余叛军悉被平定，大唐又重新控制了河北诸州。 由于刘黑闼的影响，任城的徐圆朗和渔阳的高开道起兵与之响应。李世民如今打败了刘黑闼，他与李艺商量，由李艺领兵北上剿灭高开道，自己则与李元吉一起向东南进发，准备擒拿徐圆朗，以彻底安定山东之地。 李元吉此次跟随李世民，一路上如同摆设，每及战事，皆让他守营，每议大事，压根就不与他商量。李元吉身在河北，有专使与长安相通，李建成写给他许多书信，将朝中之事通报于他。李元吉已经知道了父皇现在对李世民的态度，这天他见了李世民准备去进攻徐圆朗，觉得机会来了，遂修书一封，派专人送往长安。李元吉认为，父皇仅让你李世民讨伐刘黑闼，如今事已平息，却又节外生枝，而且当奏不奏擅自行事，其祸必咎由自取矣！