It was late winter, and the city of Chang'an was also covered with a white blanket. Li Shimin, who stood outside the Chengqian Hall early in the morning, looked around and saw the snowy scenery all over the place. Although it was not as magnificent as the mountains and rivers, it was as beautiful as the pavilions.
But how many days can I see this scenery?
During these days, surrounding the war in Hebei, the East Palace and Prince Qin's Mansion were fighting for each other. It was said that it was because of the war in Hebei, but in fact the focus was on Shaanxi East Road.
The East Palace insisted on changing the Shanxi Daxingtai Shangshu of Shaanxi Province, Yu Zhining, and Han Liang, while the Qin Palace was quarreling with each other. These two were direct confidants of the Qin Palace, and Li Shimin even refused to acknowledge the previous promise to control the East Palace.
The incident in Daxingtai, Shaanxi Province.
Anyway, for Li Shimin, delaying is the right thing to do now.
And Donggong was not stupid. He arranged people in the east of the river and heard the news that the Turkic army might return north.
Well, now, before the Qin Palace urged the East Palace to send troops, now Li Jiancheng wants to do it himself, and Li Shimin is holding back.
At the end of the commotion, Prince Li Jiancheng resorted to a desperate plan and told the sage Li Yuan... The second brother's military exploits were unparalleled and he was invincible in all battles. It was better for the second brother to lead the army and conquer it himself. He would definitely win a great victory. After the war, Hebei Daoxing was established.
tower.
Li Shimin is already the Shangshu Ling of Yizhou Dao Xingtai, Shaanxi Dao Daxingtai Shangshu Ling, and if Hebei Dao Xingtai Shangshu Ling is added.
Tsk tsk, that means that in addition to Lingnan and Jiangnan, Li Yuan's decree also took effect in Guanzhong and Hedong, and other places were Li Shimin's sphere of influence.
Li Jiancheng's move could not be said to be very clever, but it was so vicious and cruel that Li Shimin had to stand up and say a lot of unintentional words... For example, the child had been fighting for many years, suffered frequent knife wounds, and was exhausted. He hoped that his father would be considerate.
One or two.
So, with a wave of his hand, Li Yuan ordered the Ministry of Industry to add additional manpower to build Hongyi Palace for Erlang's training... In other words, Li Shimin was about to be kicked out of the imperial city.
Under this situation, Li Shimin had to swallow his anger, take a step back, and allow the prince to control Daxingtai of Shaanxi Province.
And today is the day when the sage issued the edict.
"Why are you so depressed, husband?" Princess Qin put a coat on Li Shimin's shoulders and said softly: "The hidden dragon is trapped in the water, but it eventually rises from the abyss."
Li Shimin held his wife's hand and said with a wry smile: "There has been no news yet, maybe Gu is too impatient... Huaiyang can't stand alone, Tian Liu'an, Qi Shanxing is more than successful, but not aggressive enough, and lacks some sharpness."
Princess Qin said nothing more, she just accompanied her husband silently and stood on the steps for a long time.
Snowflakes were flying in the air again, and a strong wind blew. Li Shimin stepped forward, letting the large snowflakes hit his face, and blocked his wife behind him.
"It's almost time." Li Shimin took a deep breath, walked down the steps, and walked towards Liangyi Hall.
The sage Li Yuan could not be said to be a diligent king. The court meeting was just a decoration, and the main discussions were held in the Liangyi Hall.
The prince went out for an expedition. It was such a big event that all the important ministers from the court arrived. The left servant of Shangshu shot Pei Ji, the right servant of Shangshu shot Xiao Yu, the Zhongshu Province Zhongshu ordered Deyi to be granted the title, and the subordinate ministers Chen Shuda and Pei Shiju were appointed.
In addition to the princes, these five people are now the real prime ministers. Zhongshu Province and Menxia Province are all served by chiefs. In Shangshu Province, because Li Shimin holds the concurrent post of Shangshu Ling, the left and right servants are also regarded as prime ministers.
Prince Li Jiancheng had arrived a long time ago and was chatting with Li Yuan and Pei Ji. Feng Deyi on the side was a slippery man who talked casually. Pei Shiju was an old fox who only closed his eyes to meditate. Xiao Yu and Chen Shuda had strong temperaments and kept silent.
Although he was not a high-ranking minister, because he was favored by the saint, Shangshu Zuopushe Pei Ji actually became the prime minister. He had a strong influence on the saint, and his relationship with the East Palace was extremely close.
Li Yuan was quite dissatisfied with the war in Hebei that had lasted for more than three months. Well, in fact, Liu Heitai started his troops to go south in June, and it has been half a year now.
However, the war situation took a turn for the worse within a month. After Liu Heita defeated Dingzhou, he seemed to be sure that Luo Yi in Youzhou behind him would not send troops, so he marched southward and destroyed the main force of the Tang army in Hebei in the battle of Xiabo. Now he has invaded Weizhou and is about to
Drinking from the Yellow River.
Under such circumstances, the eldest son and the second son were holding each other back... Li Yuan was naturally dissatisfied.
Li Yuan knew very well why Li Jiancheng kept delaying the dispatch of troops. He just wanted to wait for the Turkic troops to return north during the cold winter... This is understandable. Li Shimin urged the East Palace to send troops as soon as possible, which was really harboring evil intentions.
But this is a helpless move. Without Li Jiancheng, how can we suppress Erlang?
But Li Yuan also had to admit that in this regard, Li Jiancheng was a bit far behind Erlang... After delaying it to this point, although it was safe, it lost its sharpness.
For a prince, this is the right choice.
But for Prince Li Jiancheng, who hoped to make military exploits to suppress the King of Qin, this was a choice that made it difficult for him to establish prestige in the army.
On December 16, the fourth year of Wude, Li Shiji was defeated in Mingzhou and his entire army was wiped out. He only escaped with his own life. The battle report was sent back to Chang'an on the 19th.
King Qin Li Shimin requested an expedition that day. Just three days later, on December 22, Li Yuan, who had no other choice, ordered Li Shimin to send troops to attack Liu Heita.
People in the world are not blind, but they cannot see everything... They will not see the Turkic army coming when Li Shimin goes to war. They will only see the defeat and the King of Qin stepping forward.
.
Of course, the sharpness of Liu Heitai's army last year was by no means comparable to this year's.
By the same token, they would only know that Li Daoxuan, the king of Huaiyang, was defeated in early October, and that the prince Li Jiancheng did not ask himself to go to war until the beginning of November... There is no way to compare with the king of Qin!
The hall suddenly became quiet. Li Yuan straightened up and looked at his second son Li Shimin, who was slowly walking into the hall, with mixed emotions in his eyes.
This was a son that made him proud. Before he was crowned, he had already secured Hedong in Guanzhong in two battles, and swept through the Central Plains and captured 20,000 men in one battle.
This was also a son who gave him a lot of fear and headache. Such military achievements and power made the eldest son's position as the crown prince precarious, and even made him feel that he was in danger.
Of course, Li Yuan knew that in terms of qualifications, ability, and leadership, Li Shimin was stronger than Li Jiancheng in most aspects, but the appointment of a prince was always based on the establishment of a direct descendant.
Li Xian was a helpless choice, and it was also a choice that would affect the entire dynasty, and might even shake the foundation of the Tang Dynasty's rule.
From a long-term perspective, choosing to establish a direct descendant is the choice to maintain the continuation of this dynasty... I have to say that Li Yuan's considerations are reasonable.
The atmosphere in the palace was a bit depressing. Pei Shiju's eyes seemed to be closed. Although he was a high-ranking official, he was rarely involved in political affairs. After all, there were only two senior officials and servants, and there was Chen Shuda in front.
Pei Shiju was one of the seven nobles who selected Cao Cao in the previous dynasty. He was good at recognizing people and had met countless talented people in his life. However, he was a little impressed by the twenty-four-year-old young man in front of him, but he was more wary.
Pei Shiju clearly remembered how the King of Jin jumped from the second son to the crown prince, and how he easily caused the decline of the powerful Sui Dynasty within ten years.
Thinking of this, Pei Shiju glanced at Pei Ji from the corner of his eye. Maybe his cousin's choice was right, maybe it was right for his son-in-law to enter the East Palace.
This is also a major reason why many important ministers in the court did not want to see King Qin take over the East Palace. When the country was first established and the world was peaceful, Li Jiancheng did nothing immoral. The right thing to do is to be steady and moderate. Emperor Sui Yang can learn from his mistakes.
Pei Shiju closed his eyes again. Chen Shuda beside him raised his head and said, "Your Majesty, is King Qin guilty?"
"What does Chen Qing mean?"
"If you are innocent, why don't you have a seat?"
Li Yuan was stunned for a moment, turned his eyes, and glared at his eldest son Li Jiancheng... The latter was also speechless. It really wasn't intentional. I'm not that stingy!
But no one present would think so. Li Shimin sat above Pei Ji with an expressionless expression... He would normally choose another seat modestly.
But in terms of position, Li Shimin, who is the Minister of the Order, has this qualification, and the Minister Zuopu She Pei Ji is his subordinate.