Li Yuan was already very alert. The reason why he did not think that his son was responsible for the wars on the border fortress was because he was busy planning how to protect his family in troubled times and was under too much pressure. Second,
It is because of a father's love for his son. In the eyes of Ma Yuangui and others, Shimin may have been regarded as a rising star who cannot be ignored. In Li Yuan's own eyes, Shimin, who is barely eighteen years old, has already passed the age of 18.
No matter how old it is, it will always be a child.
Although, these two "children", like their parents, have already shown their prowess from a very young age.
"This daring little brat!" In the end, Li Yuan used a smile to express that he had completely figured out the whole story. He glanced over the faces of Changsun Shunde, Chen Yanshou and Ma Yuangui, and saw pride, happiness and a little bit in turn.
Dissatisfied. As the head of the family, Li Yuan understood everyone's thoughts, so he added with a smile, "Send someone to order Shimin to bring the new army back to Honghua. I also want to see this army in the hands of our Li family."
new force!"
As soon as the word "Li family" came out, even if several close aides had something to say, they couldn't find an excuse for a while. Sun Shunde, the eldest son, walked quickly to the desk and picked up a pen to draft a general order for Li Yuan. Seeing that Lang Hao was about to touch it
At the end of the paper, he suddenly put down the pen again and suggested in a low voice: "In my opinion, Duke Tang should order the people to lead the new army to fortify the wolf cavalry, so that they can deal with Gesana and others.
Please, secondly, let those wallflowers see the power of my Sui army!"
"Such a sinister eldest grandson, Shunde, are you still planning to collect some more carriage fees from Gesana Khan?" Ma Yuangui shook his head and scolded with a smile, "This would be unkind to a benevolent person!"
"Why not? To be kind to your enemies is to be unkind to yourself!" Changsun Shunde responded with a smile.
"I agree with Lord Changsun's suggestion!" Chen Yanshou, the first counselor of the Li family, said before Tang Gong turned around to ask. In any case, Changsun Shunde's suggestion would do more good than harm to the court and the Li family. Although in this way
, I am afraid that the leadership of the new army will be decided forever. But the prince’s specialty is assisting Tang Gong in handling government affairs, so it is really difficult for him to lead the army in battle.
In troubled times, a family needs bears who are good at protecting the foundation, and tigers and leopards who can show their teeth. In this way, the family can withstand the wind and rain. Li Yuan smiled with some pride and agreed with the suggestion of eldest grandson Shunde, "
Okay, let Shimin lead the troops to walk around the fortress. Go back as soon as possible, don't delay our trip to Hedong! Don't add any more extraneous things, this kid, I didn't notice it at a glance, so I just started to mess around.
Something unexpected is coming!"
"Yes!" Chen Yanshou, Ma Yuangui and Changsun Shunde handed over their hands at the same time, and then asked almost in unison: "Wolf Riding is a fake thing he sent someone to do. Does Mr. Tang need to point it out?"
"Let's make it tacit. This matter is only known to a few of us. No matter how others guess, everyone will not admit it!" Li Yuan thought for a while and decided.
"The Second Young Master's move is unbelievable, and it is difficult for others to guess it. Even we, if we have not read the family letters sent back by the Second Young Master, we will probably be kept in the dark!" Sun Shunde, the eldest son, nodded and said with emotion.
After all, people of his own generation are getting old, and they have to be dissatisfied. This world belongs to the younger generation, and the future of the Li family will also be created by the new generation. Mentioning the family letter, he thought of another important thing, and asked
Li Yuan walked a few steps beside him and asked solemnly: "The second young master also mentioned the marriage between Qi'er and Zhong Jian in his letter. Zhong Jian has become famous now. Since you had this intention back then, why not put the marriage on the agenda as soon as possible?
?”
"Yes, Zhongjian is a loyal and honest man, and he knows how to repay kindness. It turns out that his family background is indeed a bit poor, but in recent years he has repeatedly made outstanding achievements and is waiting for a title. I heard that he just followed Zhang Zhang in November last year.
Your Excellency forced Zuo Xiaoyou to surrender, and then in December, together with Qin Shubao and others, he defeated the Hebei giant Lu Mingyue. It is said that His Majesty was extremely surprised when he heard about it, and was considering adding him to the ranks!" Ma Yuangui's opinion is rarely shared with his eldest grandson.
Shunde agreed for a while, and instead of rejecting the other party's proposal, he enthusiastically expressed his merit for Li Xu.
The army of Qijun defeated Lu Mingyue, which was an exciting feat that happened at the end of last year. At that time, Zhang Xutuo and his generals were fighting fiercely with Zuo Xiaoyou in Donglai County. Lu Mingyue learned that Qijun was empty,
He led his troops across the Yellow River and captured Zhu'a, a territory of Qi County on the edge of the Yellow River. The bandit originally planned to make a big profit by taking advantage of Zhang Xutuo's inability to return reinforcements, but who knew that after these two years of fighting, Qi County
The prefect Pei Caozhi became more courageous. He actually sent someone to ask Zhang Xutuo for help, and at the same time he rushed to the edge of Jishui River with five thousand old, weak, sick and disabled people who were left behind in Licheng to confront the bandits across the river.
After Zhang Xutuo made an emergency landing at Zuo Xiaoyou, he ordered Dugu Lin to lead the infantry to slow down the squadron. He, Li Xu, Qin Shubao, and Luo Shixin led two thousand cavalry to fight back at night. The two sides fought fiercely by the Jishui River for more than ten days. Because of the huge disparity in numbers, they
The outcome was hard to decide. Seeing this, Zhang Xutuo decided to use a clever plan to defeat the thieves. He summoned all the generals and said, "The thieves are greedy for our Qi County's property and do not know how to advance or retreat. If I retreat and the thieves see the troops retreat, they will surely come to chase me. All of them will come after me."
Once we are out, the camp will be empty. If we attack the camp with a thousand people, we will be very profitable. This is really dangerous, who can go there?"
Li Xu, Qin Shubao, and Luo Shixin asked for a fight. Zhang Xutuo ordered Qin Shubao and Luo Shixin to lead more than a thousand men each to ambush in the reeds. He and Li Xu led more than 3,000 old and weak men brought by the old prefect Pei Caozhi.
Slowly retreating. Lu Mingyue didn't know what the opponent was up to. She thought she had defeated the world-famous Zhang Xutuo in one fell swoop. She was overjoyed and pursued him desperately. Zhang Xutuo and Li Xu used their old and weak hands to trap the main force of the thieves.
Luo Shixin and Qin Shubao led the ambush troops to seize the opportunity to rush into Lu Mingyue's old camp and burned all their food, grass, baggage and camp. When the thieves saw the fire behind them, they were confused. Zhang Xutuo, Li Xu, Qin Shubao and others led their troops to attack from behind.
More than 100,000 thieves were killed. The battle lasted until dark, and Lu Mingyue only led more than a hundred cavalry to break out of the encirclement. They escaped across the Yellow River overnight and did not dare to look back south again!
Because the battle took place at the end of the year, it was only in February that the imperial court sent a report to all counties about the specific situation. According to reports from Tang Gongfu’s confidants who stayed in the Eastern Capital, the imperial court had already begun to discuss how to reward meritorious personnel. Because
Zhang Xutuo and others have just been promoted, so this time they are mainly conferring titles. Li Xu's title is already that of county magistrate. If no one blocks it, he may be granted a title of marquis within this year.
A country prince who was just twenty years old was worthy of being the apple of Tang Gong's eye anyway. So Chen Yanshou and others all spoke out, suggesting that Li Yuan should take action as soon as possible. It was inevitable that the proposal of marriage would be late and others would take the lead. Unexpectedly, everyone had just
At the beginning, the joy on Li Yuan's face because he had received an elite soldier turned into deep depression. Instead of immediately responding to the words of his confidants, he remained silent for a long time, then sighed and said: "Zhong
Don’t I know you are a talented person? But don’t mention this matter again! Today is no better than before..."
"Why? Does Tang Gong still care about those boring customs?" Ma Yuangui asked in surprise before Li Yuan finished speaking.
People in the Central Plains have a tradition of not intermarrying with the same surname. However, as the Jin Dynasty moved southward, Hu Feng was victorious in the north. Not only did some people get married with the same surname, some aristocratic families with Xianbei or Xiongnu ancestry even had the Five Clothes War. There is a precedent for marriage between people with the same surname.
"Yes, besides, Tang Gong's family is in Longyou, and Zhongjian's family is in Shanggu. Although they have the same surname and the same clan, they are far apart from each other, so they may not be allowed to intermarry!" Seeing Li Yuan shaking his head, the eldest grandson Shunde also stepped forward to persuade him.
The families of Li Yuan and Changsun Shunde both have obvious Xianbei imprints, especially the Li family. Although when the genealogy was compiled, the bloodline was traced back from Li Hao, the king of Liang, to the flying general Li Guang. But Li Yuan's grandfather actually had A resounding Xianbei name, Dayehu. Li Yuan’s wife Dou’s original surname was He Douling, and she was definitely from Xianbei. As for Changsun Wuji, whose original surname was Tuobao, she was an out-and-out Wei Dynasty The royal family has a remnant lineage. Therefore, it is inconvenient for everyone to say some things openly, but they know each other well. Although Li Yuan forced himself to have a cheap nephew because of his talent, in fact, the Li Yuan family and the Li Xu family are not connected by blood. I'm afraid we can't even count the family we had five hundred years ago.
"Oh, Shunde, the situation now is different from before!" Li Yuan shook his head and replied with a sigh. How could he, the father, not know what his fourth daughter was thinking? Since the family decided to marry her to Li Xu two years ago, , this sensible daughter has put all her heart on her husband's family. For more than two years, Qier has clearly inquired about Li Xu's every move. Since ancient times, beauties love heroes, not to mention that heroes are young! Until now , Xie'er's feelings for Zhongjian are probably ten times stronger than Wan'er's ignorant affection back then!
But as a father, he had to go back on his word, just because the Li family now is not the Li family then, and the Li Xu now is no longer the Li Xu he was then.
"Wasn't it Tang Gong who was the first to dig out Zhong Jian from the food guard army?" Considering the overall situation, Chen Yanshou also stepped forward to persuade him politely. "Zhong Jian is a pillar of talent. How can it be that he is such a beautiful jade?" Can Mr. Tang bear the heart of being snatched away by them?"
Li Xu was both wise and brave, and had a deep connection with Tang Gongfu. It was a good time to get married. In Chen Yanshou's mind, another benefit that this marriage might bring is to maintain the relationship between the next generation of Tang Gongfu. The balance. Li Xu and Jiancheng had a good relationship back then. If he is included in the Tang Gong family, his bravery can just be used to suppress Li Shimin's edge. In this way, not only can the Li family remain safe and sound while Tang Gong is still alive, Even if Tang Gong passes away a hundred years in the future, the Li family will still be able to thrive.
"Alas!" Seeing that no one under his command understood his difficulties, Li Yuan sighed and slowly explained: "You don't understand. At that time, Zhong Jian had not yet become famous, so he married Qi'er to him. Even though it was a marriage of the same surname, it was not It won’t attract too many people’s attention. But now,” he couldn’t help but shake his head as he spoke, “now Zhongjian has become famous in Eastern Xia! Even if he doesn’t think that Qier is a concubine, this marriage is between him and Have his family members become the master?"
Hearing this, Chen Yanshou, Ma Yuangui, and Changsun Shunde couldn't help but sigh at the same time. They were speechless for a long time. Troubled times have come, and the Li family is pursuing the principle of marrying with the strong to protect themselves. How can other families not see this? The situation at hand? Li Xu is both wise and brave, loyal, and has no family of his own. No matter whose family marries his daughter, it is tantamount to recruiting a capable person to join the family, and the interests of the two families will never conflict. Such a marriage is not so much It is better to say that you are marrying a daughter than a son-in-law.
The main reason why the families have not taken any action until now is probably because it is difficult to decide how much "dowry" to give, rather than turning a blind eye to this newly rising young military commander. Under such circumstances, if the Tang family sends people to propose marriage, there will definitely be many people
Jump out and intervene.
The fact that both parties have the same surname is just one of the very common reasons. The strength of the Li family and the rumors among the people are probably even more fatal. To put it bluntly, even if Li Yuan has the ability to keep other families silent, Li Xu
Will His Majesty the Emperor be happy if he is willing to accept this marriage because of the kindness of his acquaintance? I am afraid that the imperial edict has already left the palace before the betrothal gift has entered the door!
"It's just that I'm sorry for Zhen'er!" After a long time, Changsun Shunde sighed and said. This time, what he considered was no longer interests, but real favors.
"Fortunately, not many people know about this matter!" Chen Yanshou also sighed and agreed. Being a concubine was already helpless, but it would be strange if her husband's family found out that she already had a relationship before she got married, and her future life would be happy.
!
"When you get to Hedong and settle down, you can find a good family for your daughter to marry. She doesn't have to be a long-standing official, with a well-off family, good character, and being able to treat her well. That's enough!" Putting himself in his daughter's shoes, Li Yuan also felt in his heart
Feeling very uncomfortable, he sighed and warned.
"That's okay!" Chen Yanshou stroked his sparse beard and tried to say a few words of comfort. Before he could organize the words in his stomach, suddenly, there was a crisp sound from outside the door.
"Bang!" A plate and several bowls were shattered all over the floor in the cold wind. (To be continued)
