"Qu Tutong asked for orders to go west. Everyone has different opinions, and it is difficult for me to make a decision. Mao Yue has always known the army, can you give me some good advice?"
While walking, the west hall was already in sight. Li Yuan stopped for a moment, waved his hand to reject the entourage, and asked Tang Jian, the assistant minister of Zhongshu who was accompanying him.
Tang Jian, also known as Maoyue, was a former minister of the Northern Qi Dynasty. His father, Tang Jian, the governor of Rongzhou, had a good relationship with Li Yuan, so Li Yuan regarded Tang Jian as his nephew.
The Tang family came from Bingzhou and was a member of the Jinyang clan.
Tang Jian himself was smart since he was a child. He was familiar with military books and was very good in knowledge. He also had a heroic temperament and liked to associate with heroes. Therefore, he was quite famous in Jinyang when he was young.
When Li Yuan was in charge of Taiyuan, Tang Jian joined his disciples and had great merits. At that time, he was highly trusted and reused by Li Yuan. When he went south to Chang'an with Li Yuan, he joined the army for the reporter's office and held the rank of Marshal Sima of Weibei Province.
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Later, Li Yuan entered Chang'an and immediately promoted him to the office of the Prime Minister's Office. Not long after, Li Yuan proclaimed himself emperor and established himself, and Tang Jian moved to Zhongshushe.
With such a trajectory, one can tell at a glance that he is Li Yuan's confidant, who has always been with him as counselor and military secretaries.
According to this person's original life trajectory, he should have left Chang'an to lead troops to fight, become a general and become a prime minister. This is the ultimate pursuit of ministers since the late Han Dynasty.
But Li Po appeared in Jin. His little wings became stronger and stronger, and a strong wind blew up, blowing the man sideways.
Of course, for Tang Jian himself, this is not necessarily a bad thing, because this man's military ability is really inconsistent with his reputation. He can be regarded as the late Sui Dynasty version of Zhao Kuo.
The overall situation is good, but leading the troops is bad...
Of course, Tang Jian himself would not be aware of this. He is now in the same situation as many others, having been caught up in the political struggle in Chang'an and unable to extricate himself.
After Li Yuan entered Chang'an, Tang Jian was promoted steadily, but it is an indisputable fact that Jin people were severely marginalized. For example, Tang Jian suffered greatly.
When Li Po fell into Jinyang, Li Yuan was furious and wanted to raise an army to attack him. The competition for the choice of coach was fierce, and Tang Jian was very vocal, but in the end Li Shentong won.
After Li Xiaogong was defeated in Shu, he needed someone to lead troops to help Shu. Tang Jian tried his best to fight for it, but it was Li Shimin who shouldered the responsibility.
Then he challenged Xue Ju and his son, and Tang Jian once again acted as a foil. First, Li Shimin served as the commander-in-chief of Shu Zhongxingtai, and defeated Xue Rengao.
Finally, when Li Po reached the edge of the Yellow River and Li Shimin suffered a lot, Li Yuan finally relented and ordered Tang Jian and Li Shenfu to garrison Feng Yi together to defend Li Ding'an.
But a few days later, Li Shimin killed Dugu Huai'en, which almost immediately became the target of public criticism. Tang Jian had always been on good terms with Li Shimin, and Li Shimin privately discussed with him to let him return to the capital and speak for himself in court.
Ever since, Tang Jian returned to Beijing...
Well, this is a rather sad story.
But having said that, there must be a reason for what happened to Tang Jian. In addition to him being from Jin, his good relationship with Qin King Li Shimin was also one of the reasons.
Most of the old officials in Taiyuan back then had friendships with Li Shimin, but look at it now, how many old officials are there in the court?
Liu Wenjing was killed, Liu Hongji, Chai Shao and others were away and had not returned for a long time. Liu Zhenghui, Ashina Danai and others were captured, and uncles and nephews of the eldest grandson Shunde, Xiao Yu and others were convicted from time to time.
And people like Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Yu Shinan, Yu Wenshiji, Duan Zhixuan, Liu Shirang, Hou Junji and others are all members of the Qin Prince's Palace. Their labels are too clear. Without Tiance Palace, they are nothing.
In fact, Tang Jian was also implicated in this, and was not as trusted by Li Yuan as he was at the beginning.
Just like when Yin Kaishan returned to Beijing after recovering from his injury, Li Shimin had always wanted to recommend Tang Jian to be temporarily appointed as the Minister of War. However, Yin Kaishan only returned to court once and took the position of Minister due to his military achievements, leaving almost no chance for Tang Jian.
Therefore, when Tang Jian heard the words "always know the enemy" from Li Yuan's mouth, it was actually full of irony.
It's just that he also knows very well what the emperor wants to hear, but the tragedy is here. He can't help himself now, and he must also be in a state of insincerity.
After pondering for a moment, he bowed and said: "Jian is an internal minister, so it is not easy for him to speak about military affairs. However, the Supreme Lord asked me, and I dare not not answer. I think that in the desolate land of the northwest, various ethnic groups live together, and it is useless to take advantage of it..."
"However, the center of Shu has always had a reputation as a heavenly mansion, and it was also the backbone of Guanzhong. At that time, the Qin Dynasty used it to be richer than the six countries, and the Shu and Han Dynasties took it, and they could also attack the Central Plains. The former Wei Dynasty also used it as a basis, and then there was the Sui Dynasty. Since
So, why would you want to give up a fertile land and become barren?"
Sure enough, before he finished speaking, the wrinkles on Li Yuan's forehead seemed to be a little deeper.
"According to this, Maoyue also wants to persuade me to transfer Prince Zhao back to the capital? Then... who can replace him?"
Just one sentence made Tang Jian break out in cold sweat. In fact, no one in the court knew that what the emperor was struggling with at this time was not strategy at all, but personnel matters.
In other words, the Qu Tutong issue must be put aside. When we are in Chang'an, we will not be like the generals in front of the formation and only see the fighter planes in front of us.
Once Qu Tutong sent his troops to the west, even if he captured Liangzhou, what would happen? How much energy would it take to appease the barbarians? From the reign of Emperor Wen to the early years of Daye, how many famous generals were fought in the northwest.
But look at it now, the northwest is still like that, and there is Liang Shidu next to it... Therefore, everyone understands that since the Xue family was eliminated in the northwest, confrontation will be the main thing, and any war will be detrimental to the overall situation.
This is a problem that can only be taken into consideration after the Central Plains is annihilated.
Tang Jian's answer was very cunning, which made Li Yuan dissatisfied. Of course, what made him even more dissatisfied was that what Tang Jian said was highly consistent with the King of Qin. You must know that you are the Minister of Zhongshu, not the Chief of Tiance Palace.
ah……
Seeing that Tang Jian lowered his head and remained silent under his questioning, Li Yuan snorted and continued to move forward. After all, he was different from others towards Tang Jian and would not deliberately embarrass him.
But in my heart, I was also thinking that Li Xiaogong had indeed stayed in Shuzhong for a long time. Should I really recruit him back? You know, Li Xiaogong had not done much in Shuzhong, and he had gradually received more and more attention.
People criticized him, and the generals in Shu also complained. If this continues...
Thinking of this, Li Yuan sighed secretly. It was a pity that his fifth son was too young, otherwise it would be suitable to lead the army on behalf of Li Xiaogong.
It is conceivable that even at this time, in Li Yuan's mind, the candidate to lead the army in Shu still has to have the word "Li" on his head, otherwise he will not feel at ease.
Of course, the most troublesome ones are his two sons.
Prince Li Jiancheng has already expressed his desire to return to the capital, and at the same time recommended Qi King Li Yuanji to go to Shuzhong. Apparently he realized that once he left Zhongshu and King Qin returned to the capital, it would be extremely unfavorable for him. As the constraints became heavier, he also
He no longer cares about whether he has military power or not, or whether he has military merit or not.
The King of Qin, Li Shimin, was not idle either. Although he did not say it explicitly, his intention to enter Shu was already revealed. At worst, he also wanted to get Prince Li Jiancheng to go to Shu. That would be a good idea.
This was a strategy decided last year, and it was also a sign that Li Tang wanted to shift his focus to the southwest. It caused all kinds of discomfort, and even paid much less attention to the fierce enemy in Jin.
Li Yuan had many things in mind, but the battle for the reserve also involved the selection of generals for each army, so Li Yuan had to brace himself and deal with it carefully.
Full of thoughts, he arrived in front of the west hall and walked up the stairs. Heavy footsteps were heard in the distance. Jiang Baoyi, the general of Zuowuwei wearing a helmet and armor, came in a hurry. When he got close, he beat his chest and saluted.
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty. The Prince of Xiangyi County sent an urgent message from Feng Yi. Just after the morning meeting, the chief officials of each department were not there. I..."
When he heard that it was Li Shenfu, the king of Xiangyi County, Li Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and he waved his hand and said, "Come in and explain in detail."
……………………
Needless to say, Li Shenfu sent someone to report to Chang'an urgently because there was something strange going on in Jin, and he just noticed it.
This is not good news for Li Tang. They were defeated one after another in the Jin region, not to mention the loss of troops and generals. The whole Li Tang army has been beaten to a certain degree of fear. Otherwise, there would be no discussion of moving the center of gravity westward.
According to King Li Shimin of Qin, Li Ding'an was already full of wings and it was difficult to take him lightly when he was in a hurry... This actually represents the views of most military generals.
At this time, fewer and fewer people mentioned Li Ding'an's views on being born in a lowly position, being noble because of his wife's clan, being a rebellious thief, etc. Wise people would often unconsciously give a certain amount of respect to strong opponents.
, no one would deliberately belittle such an opponent unless necessary.
Because that will only make you look stupid, not anyone else.
Moreover, there are disputes in the world, and the secret of why a powerful family always remains standing is that you should not easily offend those who may become your masters. Otherwise, there are many tragic examples that can serve as lessons for others.
Therefore, unless there is deep hatred or showing loyalty, no one will use vicious words to criticize the princes in public, because if you are not careful today, then tomorrow you may be wiped out.
Chao Qin, Mu Chu, half-hearted...all this is the best portrayal of most nobles in the world.
Li Shenfu's urgent report actually didn't make much sense, because both families had heavy troops stationed by the river, patrolling back and forth, and spies were not allowed to go deep into each other's hinterland.
In other words, Li Po doesn't know what happened here in Li Tang, and now Li Yuan can't even hope to get any useful information from Jin. After all, this is no longer the time for Li Yuan, the king of Tang, to spread his reputation and everyone is eagerly waiting for it.
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There are still three or two kittens in Jinyang who want to run thousands of miles, which is already good. There is no need to expect a big boss in Jin like Pei to risk the fate of his family just to inform you.