This place is where the capital of Li and Tang Dynasty is located, at the foot of the emperor, the important place in the capital.
At this moment, we are outside Xiangyang City, on the official road.
A carriage came slowly.
The person riding in the carriage was an elegant and indifferent old man with a tall crown and elegant belt.
This man's name was Shusun Tong, a civil servant under Liu Bang. After Zhang Liang arranged for someone to return to Chengdu, he asked Xiao He to send someone to Xiangyang for help, so he arranged for Shusun Tong to come to Xiangyang for help.
During this trip, Shu Suntong was responsible for the life and death of the big man, and there was a hint of worry deep in his eyes.
He was worried about Dahan's situation.
Under the current situation, Liu Bang could not hold on, and the loss of Ba County and Guanghan County put the Han Dynasty into trouble. Every day of delay, Liu Bang's situation became more and more dangerous.
Therefore, Shusun Tong was very anxious.
The carriage entered the city smoothly, and Shusun Tong went straight to Fang Xuanling's mansion.
Fang Xuanling was an important minister of the Tang Dynasty.
Shusun Tong wanted to go directly to the audience, but he might not be able to see him immediately. He only needed to see Fang Xuanling first. With Fang Xuanling's identity, it would be easy to see Li Shimin.
When the carriage arrived outside Fang Xuanling's residence, Shusun Tong personally got off the carriage and came to the door of the Fang family's residence. He handed over the greeting card and asked the concierge at the door to pass it on.
After a while, Fang Xuanling came out.
Fang Xuanling is nearly forty years old, with a handsome appearance and a pair of eyes as bright as stars. As he walks, his clothes catch the wind, and he has a faint smile on his face.
Seeing Shusun Tong, Fang Xuanling looked respectful, stepped forward and cupped his hands and said: "Mr. Shusun is here to make your humble house shine. Mr. Shusun, please come quickly!"
In history, Shusun Tong helped Liu Bang formulate etiquette and called Shusun Tong "Han Confucianism".
Although, this is not recognized by many people.
But aside from other things, Shusun Tong himself is talented, proficient in all kinds of allusions, familiar with etiquette, and very talented. It is precisely because of this that he was arranged by Xiao He to come to Xiangyang.
Shusuntong waved his hand and said: "Please!"
The two of them entered the house hand in hand, and the host and guest took their seats in the hall.
Fang Xuanling said with a smile on his face: "Mr. Shusun came to Xiangyang, what's the big deal?"
Shusuntong did not beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "I am here to meet the Prime Minister this time on behalf of His Majesty the Han Dynasty. I want to see the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty and ask the Emperor to send troops to save the Han Dynasty."
After hearing this, Fang Xuanling raised his brows, showing an unexpected look.
Is the big man in crisis?
Although Li Shimin was concerned about the situation of the Han Dynasty, he was not focused on it. After all, Yizhou was located in a remote area. Although it was a fertile and wild place thousands of miles away, it was difficult to attack and enter.
Therefore, the attention is not high.
Fang Xuanling said: "The road to Shu is as difficult as climbing to the sky. Whether it is entering or leaving Shu, it is not an easy task. Besides, the big man is not in any danger, so how can he ask for help?"
Shusun Tong said seriously: "Dangers are already everywhere in the Han Dynasty. On the one hand, Han Xin, Peng Yue, Ying Bu, Zang Tu and others rebelled, causing internal chaos; on the other hand, Wang Can has intervened in the war and conquered
Han Xin and others."
"The army of Shu has entered Yizhou on a large scale, and I, the big man, can hardly stop them."
"According to news from the front line, the Shu Kingdom has an explosive weapon that can be thrown into the crowd. It is shaped like a thunderbolt. After the explosion, the soil will fly up and people will be turned upside down. There is no way to resist it."
"It is precisely because of such weapons that the big man cannot stop the enemy's attack."
Shu Suntong said seriously: "Prime Minister, I need to meet with the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty immediately to finalize the rescue. If the Tang Dynasty does not send troops to rescue, I must return immediately and bring the news back."
After hearing this, Fang Xuanling's expression suddenly became solemn.
Unexpectedly, Wang Can's hand had already reached the territory of Yizhou, and had already set off a huge wave.
Fang Xuanling said: "Mr. Shusun, even if you meet the emperor now and inform the emperor of the news, I'm afraid it won't help, because the emperor also needs to summon his ministers to discuss matters."
"How about this? I will enter the palace immediately. I will inform the emperor about the matter first and let the emperor know about it. After the emperor summons his ministers to discuss it, I will invite you into the palace."
Fang Xuanling said: "What do you think?"
Shusuntong said: "No problem!"
Fang Xuanling then said: "In that case, please ask Mr. Shusun to stay at the house for the time being."
"Okay, I'd like to trouble the room manager."
Shusun Tong stroked the beard under his chin and breathed a sigh of relief.
Fang Xuanling immediately called his attendants and asked them to take Shusun Tong to the backyard to rest. He hurriedly left the mansion and went straight to the palace. When he went to the palace, he arranged for someone to notify Du Ruhui and Changsun.
Wuji invited these two people to the palace.
When Fang Xuanling arrived outside the city gate, Du Ruhui and Changsun Wuji happened to arrive.
Du Ruhui said: "Brother Fang, what happened?"
Changsun Wuji's eyes also fell on Fang Xuanling, with a curious look on his face. He was actually curious about what kind of thing made Fang Xuanling call them both here at the same time.
Fang Xuanling quickly talked about Shusun Tong's matter, and then said as he walked: "Liu Bang blocked Wang Can's offensive and sent Shusun Tong to come for help. This matter requires the emperor's decision."
Du Ruhui and Changsun Wuji both looked solemn when they heard this.
When it comes to Wang Can, it's difficult to deal with.
You know, Li Yuanba and Li Xiaogong were members of the Tang clan, and they all died at the hands of Wang Can. For Li Tang, he had a deep hatred for Wang Can.
"Let's go. After seeing the emperor, let's see how the emperor decides."
Changsun Wuji also felt that the situation was complicated at this moment, because sending troops involved various things.
The current temporary stability must be broken.
The three of them entered the imperial city, and not long after, they came to the main hall and saw Li Shimin who was reviewing memorials. Li Shimin already knew that the three of them were coming through the eunuch's report, so he waved his hand and said: "Everyone, sit down!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The three of them thanked each other.
After the three of them sat down, Fang Xuanling was the first to speak, explaining why Shusun Tong came to ask for help.
After hearing this, Li Shimin said in a deep voice: "Xuanling, what did you think about it?"
Fang Xuanling has always been known for his resourcefulness. He had already thought about it many times on the way here. He had an idea in his mind and said: "Your Majesty, I believe that no matter what, we must send troops to Yizhou to support it."
Li Shimin asked: "What's the reason?"
Fang Xuanling replied: "I have three reasons."
"First, if Liu Bang is defeated just after we send troops to enter Yizhou, and Wang Can has already captured Chengdu, then we can use the banner of supporting Liu Bang to occupy the strategic location of Yizhou first. In this way, we will have the opportunity to enter Yizhou.
As the bridgehead of Yizhou, if you want to break into Yizhou in the future, it will be easy and not difficult."
"Second, if Liu Bang and Wang Can are still in a stalemate after we enter Yizhou, we can assist Liu Bang to defeat Wang Can. After defeating Wang Can, we can either destroy Wang Can in one go, or support Liu Bang in Yizhou
All states are feasible.”
"Third, this is an excellent opportunity to attack Wang Can."
"What's more, there are countless people in the country who hate Wang Can. If there is a chance to attack Wang Can, both the clan and the generals of the imperial court will be happy to go."
Fang Xuanling said: "So I believe that Liu Bang must be rescued."
Li Shimin was also thinking politically.
As a king who has killed enemies on the battlefield and experienced countless battles, he also has his own considerations.
Li Shimin thought for a while, looked at Changsun Wuji, and asked: "Wuji, what do you think?"
Changsun Wuji said: "Your Majesty, I also think that troops must be sent. If we don't send troops in this battle, we will allow Wang Can to capture Yizhou. Now that Wang Can has captured the entire Liangzhou, if he captures the entire Yizhou, he will have
We have a stable rear. It will be difficult to contain Wang Can again. So this time, we must prevent Wang Can from seizing Yizhou."
Li Shimin nodded.
Regarding the matter of rescuing Liu Bang, the opinions were the same.
Li Shimin turned his eyes and looked at Du Ruhui again, saying, "Du Qing, what do you think?"
Du Ruhui said seriously: "Your Majesty, there is no problem about entering Yizhou to fight. I believe that both your Majesty and the important officials in the court are willing to send troops. The only problem now is, after entering Yizhou, what should we do?
How to fight. In this matter, we must first set a policy."
Li Shimin said: "What Du Qing said is reasonable, what do you think?"
Du Ruhui said seriously: "We will not take the initiative to attack Liu Bang, but if we want to rescue Liu Bang now, we have to get the benefits. Then, we can let go and help Liu Bang."
Du Ruhui has always been very decisive under Li Shimin.
His decisions are often correct.
Therefore, Li Shimin trusted Du Ruhui very much, and he asked again: "Du Qing, what kind of conditions do you think are most appropriate?"
Du Ruhui said in a deep voice: "I believe that if Liu Bang cedes Ba County to the Tang Dynasty, then we can send troops to rescue Liu Bang. Under the current situation, Liu Bang has already lost Ba County, so Liu Bang will not have much resistance if he cedes Ba County to the Tang Dynasty.
.Even if Liu Bang feels distressed, he will definitely agree in order to survive."
"If the conditions were more stringent, I'm afraid Liu Bang would not agree."
"Furthermore, Bajun is bordered by Datang. As long as we control Bajun, we can enter Bajun from Nanyang County or Wuling County. No matter what, it will be good for us.
.”
“Especially the vast area of Berkshire County, which is extremely beneficial to us.”
Du Ruhui said seriously: "So I think that under the current situation, it is most appropriate for Liu Bang to cede Ba County."
Changsun Wuji nodded and said: "Your Majesty, I agree with Du Ruhui's suggestion. If we can get Bajun, we will send troops to rescue Liu Bang. In fact, even if Liu Bang does not come up with this condition, for the sake of the overall situation of the world in the future, in order to contain
Wang Can, we must also save Liu Bang, we cannot let Liu Bang lose like this."
Fang Xuanling said: "Please ask your Majesty to judge."
After Li Shimin thought about it, he said: "Since all the dear friends unanimously agree, let's send troops into Yizhou. But before that, we have to meet Shusun Tong."
"Someone is coming!"
Li Shimin gave an order.
A chamberlain entered and bowed respectfully to Li Shimin.
Li Shimin ordered: "Immediately send a car to the prime minister's residence and bring the Han envoy Shusun Tong to the palace."
"Here!"
When the chamberlain received the order, he immediately went to make arrangements. (To be continued)
