"Just try your best and I'll let you go. Besides, I won't be short of you for the supplies!" Liu Hongji reached out and patted Li Xu on the shoulder, and suddenly realized that compared to the moment when the two first met, Li Xu
He has grown much taller and his shoulders have become stronger. Sitting there, he looks like a hill, with a sense of stability in his silence.
"Take care of yourself!" Liu Hongji shook his head and warned with a smile, "I think the appointment given to you must be beyond the expectations of many people. It won't be long before someone will place a trusted subordinate under your command. If the person who comes here is really
If you have talent and can pretend to be stupid, then use it! If someone deliberately holds you back, don't be soft-hearted!"
"Yes!" Li Xu nodded heavily, "Thank you, Brother Hongji, I will try my best!"
"It's not about trying your best, you have to do it!" Liu Hongji stood up, "If the facts are as you said, I'm afraid there are many unknown secrets behind your promotion. On the surface, it looks smooth.
, In fact, it may not be a complete blessing for you. Things in officialdom are often more dangerous than fighting between two armies!"
"So I would like to ask Brother Hongji for some advice. You know, I don't have much knowledge about these things!" Li Xu shrugged and said.
"Come with me to thank Tang Gong. If he doesn't care about you starting your own business, he will definitely help you make decisions. He has experienced many things and has a far-sighted vision than you and me!" Liu Hongji walked to the tent door and ordered his soldiers to take his place.
He prepares his horse.
"I also wanted to express my gratitude to Mr. Tang in person!" Li Xu stood up and gently put down the tea cup. The water had cooled down, but there were still a few pieces of tea powder in the brown liquid, rolling and struggling unwillingly.
At this moment, the family of Tang Gong Li Yuan was also shrouded in an atmosphere of joy. His Majesty the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty had decreed that because Li Yuan had made meritorious service to the country, he specially gave Li Shimin, the second son of Tang Gong, an official position with a high caliber. Although this
It is a common false position among the children of an aristocratic family, but with this status, Li Shimin can legitimately work under his father, and can also be recommended by Li Yuan to work under other close friends in order to find more opportunities to make contributions. (Note 5)
When they learned that the two rising stars were visiting, Li Yuan took Jiancheng and Shimin personally to welcome them out the front door. Liu Hongji and Li Xu greeted them as juniors, but Li Yuan returned the favor, then laughed and invited the two to chat in the courtyard.
"I'm preparing to hold a family banquet to celebrate Shimin's fame. You two are here. You might as well celebrate together, lest I have to prepare for you separately and waste a lot of money!" Li Yuan pretended to be very stingy and frowned.
proposal.
"Shibo will save money!" Liu Hongji and Li Xu replied in unison, and the doubts in their hearts instantly eased a lot.
Tang Gong was a man of magnanimity, which Liu and Li had to admit. Regarding Li Xu's departure, during the banquet, he not only showed no dissatisfaction at all, but instead took the initiative to pave the way for Li Xu to relieve his suspicion.
.
"Who can take away the credit that Hongji and Zhongjian gave their lives for? Ever since the day you two came back safely, I knew that you two were going to go out and experience some wind and rain. Instead of begging for nothing, let you stay here.
If I am wasting my future here, I might as well watch you make your wife a shadow!"
"Thank you for the recommendation, Uncle Shi!" Li Xu and Liu Hongji stood up in emotion and saluted again.
"Thank you. This is a real contribution. I am not the only one who recommended you. I thought that both of you would be transferred to the march and accompany His Majesty in the expedition to Liao. But I didn't expect that one of you would still stay under my command. What about the other one?
, to be able to lead a battalion of soldiers at such a young age!" Li Yuan took a sip of wine and said with emotion. "You two need to be careful. The older you become, the greater your responsibility. Hongji can't discredit his father.
Xuzi also shoulders the burden of the family’s rise!”
"Thank you for your teachings, Duke Tang!" Liu Hongji bowed and saluted.
"No matter which army you are in, I am still your nephew!" Li Xu stood upright and clasped his fists. In an instant, he felt the ice in his heart melting little by little.
"Sit down, sit down, it's a family banquet, don't talk to outsiders!" Li Yuan raised his wine glass and ordered the two juniors not to be polite, "I am already old. I am happier to see my juniors succeed than to see myself promoted.
.If Hongji and Zhongjian have any difficulties in the future, feel free to speak up. I may not be able to help you, but it will definitely not be too bad to help you make up your mind!"
"Thank you so much, uncle, my nephew is very grateful!" Li Xu wanted to stand up again, looked at the wine glass that Mr. Tang held high, smiled, sat up straight, and poured the wine in the glass into his mouth without dropping a drop.
"You're welcome. Neither of you are useless. Although you don't have much experience, you learn faster than anyone else!" Li Yuan tipped the wine glass in his hand to his mouth, his smile full of encouragement.
The wine was very strong and burned Xuzi's face red. The heat flowed along the blood veins through his limbs, warming his body bit by bit. Did I misunderstand Mr. Tang? Was it too cold? Was it not too early?
Pursuing fame? Should he listen to Brother Liu, rely on the Li family, and share the prosperity and loss with them? At this moment, Xu Zi had countless questions in his mind, and each question made him dizzy. He couldn't find the answer, so he had to
Pour the wine into your stomach cup after cup.
"You two are considered to have entered the ranks of high-ranking officials from now on. When you do something, you have to think more and see more! Often, your unintentional words can determine other people's lives! One thing you do unintentionally
, will make people jealous for a lifetime. So, be careful, be careful, be careful again, it is always right!" Li Yuan introduced his experience as an official while drinking.
Li Xu and Liu Hongji nodded repeatedly and tried their best to write these experiences into their hearts.
The more the wine drank, the more lively it became, and some troublesome things that were usually difficult to mention were brought to everyone's mind one by one. Tang Gong Li Yuan either analyzed the key points himself, or asked Chen Yanshou and others to consult, and actually analyzed every problem clearly and clearly.
In this way, not only the questioner will gain a lot, but the observers will also benefit a lot.
Tang Gong is an experienced senior official, and several of his staff also have unique insights. Everyone is talking about it, congratulating the three young people on their steady progress and bright future, and talking about some of the troubles they may encounter in the future.
During the chat, we listed them out, reminded each other, and found corresponding solutions. The more everyone talked, the happier they became, making gestures, and it was getting dark before they knew it.
"The war is about to begin, so I don't want to play any tricks like lighting up the candles and drinking at night, so as not to offend others." Seeing that it was getting late, Li Yuan clapped his hands and ordered the servants to come forward to remove the food and drinks and replace them with new tea, "Everyone, please wait a moment.
, drink a cup of tea to relieve the hangover. I still haven’t picked up the gift for the younger generation!”
After that, he gave a few instructions to a general. The general nodded and hurried into the back hall.
"How can I, my juniors, let Shi Bo spend so much money!" Liu Hongji and Li Xu quickly declined.
"Don't refuse, if you still think of me as an elder!" Li Yuan said carelessly with some drunkenness. "One of your two children has an upright father and has left no savings. The other is from a humble background and will probably have nothing.
Yu Cai. Now that he is a general, how can he not use money for food, clothing, and socializing with others? Do the generals who came out of my sect, Li Yuan, still be laughed at by others?!"
Liu Hongji and Li Xu saw that Duke Tang insisted on this and did not dare to say any more polite words. After a while, a dozen servants came in carrying two wooden boxes. Li Jiancheng stepped forward and directed everyone to open the lid of the box and put out two plates of yellow food.
Things and a cloth bag were placed in front of Li Yuan.
"This little gold is a gift from me. Use it as a reward for your brothers and for socializing with your colleagues. No one is allowed to refuse, otherwise I will slap him!" Li Yuan stared at him and started talking to the juniors.
joke.
"I want one too!" Li Shimin jumped up in protest.
"This family property belongs to your brothers, aren't you satisfied?!" Li Yuan blew his beard and glared, making an angry look.
Everyone laughed and clamored to persuade Liu Hongji and Li Xu to accept the gold. The two juniors couldn't resist, so they had to stand up again to thank the reward, and then received a plate of gold ingots in their hands.
The rich gold glows faintly under the oil lamp, making people's faces warm and their hearts extremely warm.
"This is a set of armor. I got it from the Western Regions. Hongji won't need it in the rear, but Zhongjian will rush to Liaodong soon. With a good set of armor to protect yourself, you will be more sure of returning safely!" Li Yuan personally
Opening the cloth bag in the servant's hand, he held up a set of armor.
The armor is completely black, with a layer of orchid floating on the surface, like water rippling under the lamp. I don't know what material the armor is made of, and it looks very heavy. Tang Gong Li Yuan found it difficult to hold it with both hands.
Seeing this, Xu quickly ran forward, bowed and took the gift from Li Yuan's hand. The moment their eyes met, his eyes became moist.
"Thank you, Shibo!" Li Xu hugged the black armor and bowed to salute.
"Be careful, as a general, it's not just as simple as going into battle to kill the enemy!" Li Yuan looked at Xu Zi with a kind face.
Note 1: Wuliluo is located at the big bend of the Liao River. Its ruins are found in Faku County, Liaoning today. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty could not conquer Liaodong, so in order to save face, he changed the name of the city to Liaodong.
Note 2: Flowers fall like rain. According to Buddhist legend, eminent monks lectured in Jinling for three days and three nights, and flowers fell from the sky like rain. Therefore, the ruins of the Yuhua Terrace and Yuhua Stone are left.
Note 3: In the first month of the ninth year of Daye (613), Yang Guang issued an edict to gather troops from all over the world in Zhuo County. He also recruited people as Xiaoguo and appointed generals such as Zhechong, Guoyi, Wuneng and Xiongwu to lead them.
Note 4: This is the author's inference based on the military system of the Sui Dynasty. Yang Guangda vigorously reformed the military system and repeatedly destroyed and established it. Therefore, the records of military positions in the Sui Dynasty books are confusing. Please do not blame us if there are any errors.
Note 5: Qianniu Preparation, a fifth-grade military position, in charge of a brigade of palace guards. Most of them are fictitious positions, specially given to the eldest son of a hero. (To be continued)
