In fact, Li Xiaogong is not a coward, he is a very thoughtful person.
When he informed his close ministers of his decision, he had actually already sent envoys to Xiao Mian, even before the fall of Jinzhou.
In other words, when he realized that the situation was not good and felt that he could not compete with the enemy with the manpower and material resources in Shu, he had already made a decision and put it into action.
After that, he made a lot of preparations, such as summoning Liu Hongji back to discuss matters, and writing letters to Chai Shao to state his interests.
Furthermore, this year's autumn grain, in addition to meeting the needs of each county, was all shipped back to Chengdu and stored in warehouses. Another example is that some of the barbarians he recruited received soldiers, armor, grain and other baggage from him and began to prepare for war.
Also, he sent people to appease the local officials and soldiers who were guarding the territory in various places. The effect was unknown and could only be seen during the war.
Li Xiaogong still had some confidence in this. He believed that even though Li Dingan was powerful and had a strong army, his background was too low to be recognized by the officials in Shu. Even if he sacrificed the city and territory due to force, he would only need to
If there is a slight setback, there will be repetition.
In fact, according to his opinion, Li Po is no different from Xue Ju, Dou Jiande, Li Gui and others. They are all the culprits in troubled times and just gangs of thieves showing off their power. If it were a normal time, they would not even be given the qualification to be gatekeepers to the Li family in Longxi.
None. Now they are taking advantage of the situation, but they can only achieve temporary power.
There are so many descendants of noble families in the world, how can we allow such thieves to succeed?
This is the standard way of thinking of the disciples of aristocratic families. It originated in the Qin and Han Dynasties, flourished in the chaotic times of the late Jin Dynasty, and continued until the late Sui Dynasty. Its power gradually declined, but the poison remained the same and there was no fundamental improvement.
No matter from which aspect you look at it, the world is still a world of clans. Although most of the leaders in the late Sui Dynasty came from poor and humble backgrounds and came to the fore one after another, if you look at the people they appoint, high-ranking officials and generous salaries are still designed for those in the clan.
Everyone who became emperor also moved closer to the family. Dou Jiande became a descendant of the Dou family in Qinghe, Li Po also became the bloodline of Li Guang, and Li Gui wanted to go to heaven to welcome fairies to the earth, but it was just an alternative embodiment of this idea.
.
So what Li Xiaogong was thinking was not surprising, it was just a deviation, because if you go to Chang'an now, you will understand. How many people still care about Li Ding'an's origin?
It has only been less than half a year, and the proud Guanxi clans have begun to surrender one after another. There have been few rebellions. People seem to have forgotten that the Li family in Longxi had an emperor named Li Yuan who died just a few months ago.
That's all.
The world has been in chaos for too long, and both the people and the powerful families hope to settle down as soon as possible. Since Li Yuan cannot give them peace and order, it is natural for them to change.
So far, it seems that Li Po has done pretty well... The disciples of the Kansai clan don't seem to take his status too seriously.
Of course, Li Xiaogong didn't think so, and his logic was very normal for the time, but it coincided with Xiao Mian's, so their alliance was grounded.
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In early September of the first year of Yuanzhen in the Tang Dynasty, Yu Wenhuo, Zhang Lun, Li Jing and others completed their army reorganization in Jinzhou, and then led their troops into Shu. Soon after, they separated their troops and Yuwen Huo led his army southwest towards Nanzheng.
Zhang Lun and Li Jing marched towards Jiannan. The march was very slow. The weather and terrain in Sichuan did have a great impact on them.
The total strength of the two armies was nearly 40,000. Almost the entire army of the two guards entered Shu to participate in the war. According to the guard system formulated by Li Po that year, that was half the strength of the infantry guard.
Even if times have changed, and Li Po is trying his best to limit the size of the Tang army, the number of troops entering Shu has also accounted for a large proportion of the Tang army. If they cannot win, it will be very uncomfortable.
Therefore, after entering winter, the rapid expansion of the Tang Dynasty has gradually stopped. Except for the war in Shuzhong, other places have returned to calm. Li Po also plans to digest the income of the whole year during this winter.
………………………
Chang'an, Xijing.
At this time in Chang'an, it was already the time when the north wind was raging, the weather was freezing, and everything was withering. The cold weather quickly extinguished people's enthusiasm, and the streets and alleys were gradually becoming less crowded.
A group of knights slowly walked out of Chengtian Gate, walked east along the palace wall for a long distance, and then turned north. After walking for almost half an hour, a mansion appeared directly in front of them.
The big words "Xiao Ting" directly above the gate of the mansion shine brightly in the winter sun.
Li Po, who was wrapped tightly, looked up and smiled with eight teeth exposed.
The emperor's life was not colorful, and even a bit boring. The heavy government affairs seemed endless. As long as an emperor wanted to do something, there would be endless things to do. As long as an emperor wanted to see his ministers, there would be countless things to do.
Qing's ministers want to see you.
So Li Po soon learned some tricks. When he was an emperor, he had to have fun for himself. Otherwise, over time, he would inevitably have some extreme or dangerous, or even distorted thoughts and ideas.
The emperor is the evolved version of the King of Han. As long as he does not go too far, he will definitely find a lot of fun. For example, if he teases the former queen, the Lanling Xiao family still has to shed tears of gratitude to him. Isn't this interesting?
These powerful people in the world have high gates and walls, and their faces can be uncovered. They are actually no different from ordinary people.
With this understanding, Li Po got up today and left the government affairs to take people out of the palace for a tour. First, he found Empress Xiao's house. After all, he had been invited.
Some time ago, Empress Xiao went to the palace, but did not meet him as the emperor. She first talked to Li Bi and wanted to invite her to be his wife, because the plaque hanging on the mansion was too shameful and she wanted to replace it quickly.
Li Bi had already thought about it in advance and appointed the title of Mrs. Chengguo. In fact, she still followed the Sui system, with the title of "Mrs. of the State" for foreign-born women.
Moreover, because of Empress Xiao's special status, unlike the honorary title of a foreign wife, which does not involve salary, all expenses of Empress Xiao's work are paid by the palace.
This undoubtedly reflects the most tolerant and kind side of the current emperor and empress.
When they arrived, the door of the mansion was already open, and Empress Xiao, wrapped in mink fur, was greeted by the door surrounded by her servants.
Li Po came here not for a private invitation, but to greet everyone in an upright manner, and use this to tell everyone in Chang'an that this is the place where the emperor deliberately protects him. If anyone dares to cause trouble here, the Lanling Xiao family will not only be offended.
It also hit the emperor on the face.
Are there any such unreliable people? Who is not there in Chang'an City? Back then, a few captains from Qianniu Beishen Mansion dared to lead people to break into Princess Pingyang Mansion. Do you think they were brave?
Since he came justly, Li Po was accompanied by his eldest son Shunde, Yan Shigu and others, and the guards were led by Luo Shixin and Zhao Shixun. Feng Deyi also wanted to follow, but unfortunately he was old and prone to cold problems in cold weather, so Li Po
He was ordered to stay at Tai Chi Hall and wait for the palace door to be locked.
Empress Xiao raised her head slightly, the sun was a bit dazzling, and she could only vaguely see the man on the horse looking at the plaque with a bright smile. Even though he was in his forties and had experienced strong winds and waves, his liver still hurt from anger.
The weather was too cold, so Empress Xiao saluted the emperor in front of the door. Sun Shunde and others also saluted Empress Xiao and said hello. After a brief greeting, they rushed in and the door of the mansion was quickly closed.
When Xiao Yu arrived, he could only go through the side door, which was quite embarrassing for a prime minister.
Walking in the front house of the mansion, Li Po looked around, while beside him there were the eunuchs serving Empress Xiao in the mansion, pointing and introducing the layout of the mansion to the emperor.
Over there is the school ground, over here is the servants' quarters in the front house, and over there is the teaching workshop and library in the front house, which were built by the former Qin King Li Shimin and were used for reading by the gentlemen of the Qin Prince's Literature Museum.
In the past, there were many female prostitutes living there. It was easy for the gentlemen to sing and answer poems with others when they were tired from studying, or to wear red sleeves to add fragrance.
Li Po's eyes widened when he heard this, and he secretly thought that Li Shimin really knows how to win over people. If you had treated us like this back then, how could you have caused the disaster today?
Damn it, Li Er really doesn’t think highly of me, he deserves to die.
Of course, the Literary Library set up by Li Shimin had long been empty, but the library had not been much touched. Empress Xiao liked it very much and sent someone to guard it and tidy it up.
In fact, there is not much to say about the layout of the palace. The buildings in the Sui Dynasty, especially places like the royal residence, have similar layouts. They are open and bright at the front and back. The most prominent one is majestic and heavy, and the others are lackluster.
It is far inferior to southern gardens, which are covered by mountains and rivers, winding and secluded, and are of great artistic value.
The place where the emperor was received was in the Nuan Pavilion next to the main hall. It was also the place where King Qin Li Shimin used to entertain guests and talk. When they got here, the courtiers all went outside knowingly.
Yan Shigu Ke fulfilled his duties and wanted to go in to continue recording the king's words and deeds, but he was grabbed by Changsun Shunde and forcibly taken out.
When Xiao Yu arrived, he saw a group of people drinking tea silently in the main hall. His heart felt cold. After greeting everyone, he silently joined in without saying a word.
Sun Shunde, the eldest son, glanced at Xiao Yu twice and secretly thought that Xiao Shiwen was much more knowledgeable than before. If he had been like this, even the King of Qin's party would not have been repeatedly demoted from the capital.
But yes, Xiao Shiwen and Li Yuan are related by marriage, he is a descendant of the Lanling Xiao family, and he is marrying the daughter of the Dugu family, so he is naturally much more valuable than others, so it is understandable that he is not likeable.
The Nuan Pavilion is not as dirty as the guys outside think, but the coexistence of men and women, and the fact that they are both famous people, inevitably makes people think about it.
"Is your Majesty still used to living here? If there is anything missing in the palace, just ask. If there are people in the palace or outside the palace who are negligent, there is no need to be polite to them. It is normal to break one's hands or feet. No matter which house it is from, we will have to go there later.
Reason with them."
Empress Xiao personally served tea to Li Po. After hearing this, she wanted to laugh but held back, "There are many dandies in Chang'an, but I am old and don't want to be wronged by others, so I might as well forget about breaking people's hands and feet."
