Chapter 644: Fight for the rise of the Tang Dynasty!
Five days later, the army returned.
Tang Emperor Li Ke personally led hundreds of officials to greet General Li Min outside Chang'an City.
Five miles away, Li Min ordered the army to stay where it was.
Li Min, on the other hand, was preparing to take several generals to meet the saint.
Li Min led an army of 200,000 to attack the Japanese state, brought back an army of 140,000, and left 50,000 troops to guard what is now Haibei Province.
Li Min ordered these 140,000 troops, including 40,000 navy, to return to Weihaiwei.
There were 50,000 imperial soldiers and horses, all recruited nearby, and Li Min sent them all back.
And now, what Li Min brings with him is Yizhou's 50,000 troops.
And even with these 50,000 soldiers and horses, the threat to Chang'an City outside Chang'an City is still very huge.
Although Li Min and Emperor Li Ke were brothers, they had no suspicion of each other.
But Li Min also needs to be careful of what others say.
Therefore, Li Min decided to lead only a few generals to meet the Holy Spirit.
Soon, they arrived in front of the Holy Banquet.
Li Min and other generals dismounted from their horses. Li Min cupped his fists towards the emperor and said, "I have seen the emperor! I am surrounded by troops and cannot perform a full ceremony. I hope that the emperor will atone for his sins!"
Li Ke laughed loudly and said: "Sixth brother, you guys have worked hard!"
"You are fighting desperately overseas to promote the prestige of the Tang Dynasty and expand the territory of the Tang Dynasty!"
"This is Yan Ran's achievement of breaking the stone and sealing the wolf to Xu! It is my role model for the generals of the Tang Dynasty!"
"This time, I must reward the three armies and reward the meritorious soldiers!"
Li Min quickly said loudly: "My lord, on behalf of the soldiers of the three armies, I would like to thank the emperor for his grace!"
Li Ke said affectionately: "There is no need to thank me, they all deserve this! It should be me who thanks them!"
"Come here, show off, I'm going to see who the warriors are!"
"Your Majesty, no!"
Li Ke's personal guards were startled when they heard that the emperor was going to visit some soldiers in the army.
When the emperor went to the army, they were not prepared in advance. It would be risky to go like this!
After hearing the words of the personal guard, Li Ke's face could not help but darken and said: "What? I am visiting my soldiers. Is there still any danger?"
"No, no, my slave said something wrong. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
"Since you haven't, what are you waiting for? Just show off!"
"Sixth brother, come on, get in my chariot, and we'll go there together."
Li Ke looked at his younger brother, his eyes full of doting.
This younger brother of mine was extremely naughty when he was a child, and his father hated him very much.
Every time he got into trouble, I was the one who shielded him from the wind and rain.
And he also likes to stick to himself the most.
Unexpectedly, now that he has grown up, the younger brother he always protected would protect himself in turn.
The emperor has always been called a loner, which means that the emperor is a loner.
There is no family affection in the royal family, and as for friendship, it is even less likely to exist.
But Li Ke feels that he is lucky because he has family ties.
His queen mother and sixth brother are his most important relatives.
This time, his sixth brother once again made great achievements, making Li Ke even more happy.
Li Min couldn't help but be shocked when he heard what the emperor said.
He quickly said: "Brother, this is inconsistent with etiquette, I dare not make any mistake!"
Li Ke couldn't help but said with a straight face: "How dare you not listen to my golden words? Come on, get in the car!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
In desperation, Li Min had no choice but to board the Dragon Boat Festival, ride with the emperor in the carriage, and march towards the army together.
On the other side, someone had already informed the 50,000-strong army in front that the emperor had come to inquire personally.
These 50,000 soldiers, I didn't expect that the emperor would value them so much.
These people were moved to tears.
In fact, they themselves feel a little guilty in their hearts.
Because this time they went to Japan to fight, they basically didn't contribute much.
First, they have too many troops.
With a navy of fifty thousand, they have the advantage of tools, so naturally they are the ones who contribute the most.
There are also 100,000 imperial soldiers and horses. Although their combat effectiveness is not as good as theirs, they are better because their number is twice theirs.
The number of enemies is actually a bit smaller.
Easily, there is no opportunity that requires them to appear.
Secondly, the Japanese country also had Yeon Gaesumun's army, so they were a little timid.
In many battles, when they saw the Tang army, they all fled and did not dare to fight them at all.
When they arrived on the battlefield, they never fought a truly tough battle to the fullest.
As a result, these fifty thousand soldiers fought a hearty battle.
Open up territory and expand territory for the Tang Dynasty!
But none of them was killed, and they truly achieved the goal of zero casualties.
Therefore, now they feel that they are somewhat unworthy of the emperor's appreciation!
Not long after, the emperor's dragon chase came to them.
Each and every one of these 50,000 troops has their chests straight.
The entire queue, front, rear, vertical and horizontal, no matter from every angle, is a straight line, without any chaos.
And every soldier has that strong and bloody aura.
This made all the civil servants feel that their legs were weak and they had difficulty breathing when they saw the procession of purging and killing people.
Seeing these 50,000 troops, Li Ke couldn't help but admired: "What a mighty army!"
While he was speaking, Li Ke waved his hand, and immediately a bodyguard came up with an electric horn.
I have to say that technology is really developing and the times are progressing now.
In the past, I spoke in front of an army of 50,000 or even hundreds of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people.
No matter how loud you speak, you can't make everyone hear you clearly.
You know, the formation alone of hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people can be several or even ten miles long.
Even if Zhang Fei were reincarnated and summoned Li Kui, it would be impossible for everyone to hear him from such a long distance.
The method used at that time was that the emperor said something from above, and someone would repeat it at a distance below.
Pass it on from station to station.
This is how information is conveyed.
And now?
If there is an electric speaker directly, just using one speaker is enough.
There is no need to use so many people to deliver the message.
A powerful man held a trumpet high in his hand and placed it near the mouth of Emperor Li Ke.
Li Ke cleared his throat and said loudly: "Soldiers, thank you for your hard work!"
After Li Ke finished speaking, Li Min made a slight gesture.
Many soldiers below suddenly burst into a loud roar:
"Fight for the rise of the Tang Dynasty!"
"Fight for the rise of the Tang Dynasty!"
"Fight for the rise of the Tang Dynasty!"
The sound made by fifty thousand soldiers together was so loud that it stopped the moving clouds.
This sound made the vibrating ground tremble slightly.
This voice could be heard clearly by the people in the entire Chang'an City.
All the people know that today is the day when the King of Shu returns in triumph.
It was the day when their soldiers from the Tang Dynasty returned in triumph.
And their emperor has already led hundreds of civil and military officials to welcome the return of the King of Shu.
Now, when they heard this sound, all the people were shocked!
These soldiers are definitely the pride of their Tang Dynasty!
But now, when they heard the soldiers shouting and fighting for the rise of the Tang Dynasty, their hearts were deeply shocked.
Countless people were shocked to the point of bursting into tears, even bursting into tears.
Even the civil and military officials were shocked to the point of tears in their eyes!
Emperor Li Ke of the Tang Dynasty was even more moved.
Li Ke couldn't help but said loudly: "All officers and men, you are all our elite soldiers of the Tang Dynasty!"
"You have gone through life and death for me, the Tang Dynasty! You have fought bloody battles for the Tang Dynasty!"
"Without you, there would be no stability and unity in the Tang Dynasty! Without you, there would be no prosperity and strength in the Tang Dynasty!"
"I am so proud of you!"
"Please, accept my obeisance!"
Having said that, Emperor Li Ke actually bowed deeply to the soldiers in front of everyone.
This scene moved all fifty thousand soldiers to tears.
At this time, they saw the general's gesture again.
So, they shouted loudly: "Use me in the first battle, use me in the whole battle, and you will win if you use me!"
Such momentum and prestige made everyone feel moved and proud of it.
Emperor Li Ke laughed loudly and said: "Okay! You are all good!"
"All of you, don't be in a hurry to go back! In addition to the normal rewards based on merit, I will hold a banquet for three days outside the city to entertain all of you, the meritorious officials!"
"When the time comes, I will lead all the civil and military officials to get drunk with you! When the time comes, you heroes will never return until you are drunk!"
"good!"
"good!"
"good!"
After speaking to the soldiers, Li Ke returned.
When he returned, the emperor directly called Li Min and several generals to Long Chu.
Then, take them into Chang'an City.
After entering Chang'an City, countless people were surrounded on the streets.
They were all watching the emperor and the king of Shu.
This is their emperor!
This is their King of Shu!
Datang is lucky to have them!
With them, how lucky are the people!
…
After entering the palace, the two of them first went to visit their mother.
The former Concubine Yang has now been named Queen Mother.
"My son, I pay my respects to the Queen Mother!"
Seeing Li Min, the Queen Mother's eyes suddenly turned red.
He couldn't help but walked forward quickly, pulled Li Min up, and looked at his face carefully.
While watching, she shed tears and said, "Yin'er, you have been wronged in the past six months. You have lost weight and become darker."
"You are suffering outside, but my mother is in the palace, worried about you! She reads scriptures for you in the palace every day and prays for you."
After saying that, he turned to look at Li Ke and couldn't help but said angrily: "Your Majesty, you are the elder brother, and Min'er is your biological brother."
"In this world, besides him, do you have any relatives?"
"We have so many generals in the Tang Dynasty, do we have to go to Zhen'er? If anything happens to Zhen'er, wouldn't you feel uncomfortable in your heart?"
Being reprimanded by the Queen Mother, Li Ke stood with his hands down and did not dare to argue.
Li Min said with a smile: "Mother, how can you blame my imperial brother for this matter?"
"This time, I actually want to go."
"Think about it, Queen Mother. When my imperial brother ascended the throne, there were many people who were secretly opposed to it."
"Even after the emperor ascends the throne, there are still many people who are still evil!"
"The so-called brothers fighting tigers are father and son soldiers in battle."
"Isn't the imperial brother's matter my matter?"
"Queen Mother, you also said that in this world, apart from the Imperial Brother and the Queen Mother, what other relatives do I have?"
"This is my biological brother. If I don't help him, who will?"
Li Min's words could not help but make the Queen Mother burst into laughter.
The Queen Mother took Li Min's hand and said with a smile: "You were so naughty and naughty when you were a child. I didn't expect that you would become so smart when you grow up."
"My mother likes to hear what you are saying. You and your royal brother must love each other and be good to each other!"
Li Min chuckled and said: "Queen mother, just don't worry, this is all necessary, necessary!"
Just after she came back, the Queen Mother held Li Min's hand and kept asking questions.
And Li Min's eloquence is also quite outstanding.
The situation on Haibei Road was described vividly and with ups and downs.
Not only did the Queen Mother listen, but even the Emperor Li Ke was quickly attracted to it.
It turns out that the waves on the sea are actually so big.
It turns out that somewhere, they actually learned from their Tang Dynasty and liked to eat sashimi.
However, now we here in Datang rarely eat sashimi.
We now eat it after it is cooked.
I have to say, they really haven’t learned enough!
And when the Queen Mother and the Emperor heard that there were constant earthquakes and tsunamis in Haibei Province, it was a disaster.
Resources are extremely scarce there.
But it is rich in gold and silver.
The wind speed there is also completely different from that in the Central Plains.
These exotic customs made both the Queen Mother and the Emperor extremely curious.
In fact, as Li Min said, they all want to go to Haibei Road to see it.
Next, the two brothers had dinner with the Queen Mother.
The Queen Mother held Li Min's hand again, and after talking nonchalantly, she let Li Min leave.
Later, Li Min followed the emperor Li Ke to the imperial study room.
After Li Min came in, Li Ke dismissed everyone, leaving only Li Min by his side.
Li Ke couldn't help but said to Li Min: "Sixth brother, this time, you send troops to the Japanese country to capture the Japanese country and expand the territory of the Tang Dynasty."
"This contribution can definitely be regarded as Yan Ran's stone, sealing the wolf as a surrogate!"
"This time, I have to reward you well!"
Li Min laughed and said: "Brother Emperor, this is my duty. Please don't reward me for this kind of thing!"
Li Ke said seriously: "Brother, this reward is not for yourself. If you have merit, you will be rewarded, and if you make mistakes, you will be punished."
"If merit is not rewarded, how will the meritorious ministers view me?"
"From now on, who else is willing to serve me with peace of mind."
This is true too.
Those who have merit must be rewarded, and those who have made mistakes must be punished.
If the rewards and punishments are unclear, how can we get people to work for us in the future?
However, the problem Li Min is facing now is that there is no reward.
Last time, the emperor had already granted Li Min the title of Shangshu Ling.
In the end, he was rejected by Li Min.
Could it be that this time, he should be granted the title of Shangshu Ling again?
Then, Li Min resigns?
Being rewarded for nothing is the most embarrassing thing and the biggest problem faced by the emperor.
You have made great contributions, and there is nothing left to reward you!
what to do?
Do I want to give up this throne to you?
Therefore, the consequence of receiving no reward for your merits is that your achievements will be shocking.
The result of great achievements is that one will either rebel or be killed.
Now the emperor's brother insists on giving him a reward, which makes Li Min feel awkward.
Now that I have become a highly respected minister, how can you still grant me the title?
Then, I heard Li Ke say: "Sixth brother, I have decided to entrust Yizhou to you."
"With your ability, it is not difficult to conquer Nanzhao and other places. By then, the territory of your fiefdom will be considered very large."
"And Yizhou is where you have been operating for many years. If you are in Yizhou, I don't have to worry about threats from the West."
Enfeoffment?
Is it actually enfeoffment?
Enfeoffment and fiefdom are two different things.
Although in principle, the eldest son also has the right to inherit a fief.
But for your fief, the emperor has the right to change it at any time, or simply withdraw it.
But enfeoffment is different.
After being enfeoffed, Yizhou would be equivalent to an independent country.
Finance, official system, and everything else are independent.
Although everything in Yizhou is not independent now, there is still a lot of room for independent operation.
But the two are, after all, completely different things.
The enfeoffment system was implemented by Emperor Zhou at first, but later, the Zhou family fell apart.
Facts have proved that the enfeoffment system was not a good system, and eventually it was abolished.
Unexpectedly, Li Ke has brought up this matter again.
Li Min couldn't help being frightened, and said quickly: "Brother, this is absolutely impossible! My brother, I will never accept it even if I die!"
Seeing Li Min's reaction, Li Ke couldn't help but shook his head and said: "Sixth brother, the emperor really wants to entrust Jiannan Road to you. He is not testing you. Why are you so nervous?"
"Actually, this throne should have been yours. You gave it to the emperor. How could the emperor not be clear about it?"
"Since you can give up the throne to your brother, what's the problem if your brother entrusts Jiannan Road to you?"
What Li Min saw on Li Ke's face was sincerity.
This shows that Brother Huang really wants to entrust Jiannan Road to himself.
With Li Min in charge, the entire Tang Dynasty was still impregnable.
In fact, in fact, although Jiannan Road is not entrusted to Shu King Li Min.
But now Shu King Li Min's level of control over Jiannan Road is absolutely beyond the reach of others.
If the emperor wants to weaken the King of Shu's control over Jiannan Road, he must make a lot of arrangements and work.
Putting aside the brotherly love between the emperor and the king of Shu.
Now it is unlikely that the emperor will fall out with the King of Shu.
Because, once the emperor and the King of Shu had a falling out, the entire Tang Dynasty might not be able to deal with the King of Shu.
What's more, without the support of King Shu, he may not be able to secure the emperor's throne.
In this case, a better way would be to directly enfeoff Yizhou to the King of Shu.
Doing so may be a hidden danger in the future.
But for now, it is undoubtedly the most correct choice.
Of course, Li Min would never think about such a thing with such a dark mentality.
He also believed that the imperial brother would never entrust the entire Jiannan Road to him for such a purpose.
But even so, Li Min would definitely not agree.
Because if Jiannan Road is really entrusted to yourself, there will be no problems in this generation.
Sooner or later, something will go wrong.
When the time comes, there will definitely be fratricide.
Thinking of this, Li Min couldn't help but said: "I wonder if the emperor can listen to what my brother has to say?"
Li Ke nodded and said: "If you have anything to say, it's okay for Sixth Brother to say it. Brother Huang is where he is today thanks to Sixth Brother's help."
"The advice my sixth brother gave me was all good advice. I always obey my sixth brother's advice."
Li Min couldn't help but said: "If the emperor really wants to reward my younger brother, why not just place my younger brother's fiefdom overseas!"
"If it is placed overseas, I can naturally have an independent country overseas, surrender to the Tang Dynasty forever, and watch each other with the Tang Dynasty."
"Overseas, there is no competition, and we can watch each other. Even future generations will not lead to brotherhood."
Due to Li Min's consideration, the emperor now had to reward him.
But if the fief is placed on Jiannan Road, something will happen sooner or later.
If that's the case, why not just put his fiefdom overseas.
No one has yet discovered that part of America. Apart from some indigenous people, there are no other forces at all.
The fertile land there can be said to be uniquely blessed by nature.
The land of the Tang Dynasty is completely incomparable with that place.
If the Tang Dynasty does not occupy any place now, sooner or later, Western warships will overcome all obstacles and come here, and then rule here.
And now the Tang Dynasty, even if it occupied this place, it is unlikely that it would be able to manage it.
Because this place is really far away from Datang.
Even with the current speed of the ship, it will take a month or two to become navigable.
Once something happens somewhere, just the time it takes to travel back and forth will delay everything.
Li Min mentioned this matter to Li Ke before.
However, at that time, Li Min did not dare to say where he would seal his fiefdom.
If you say this, doesn't it mean that Li Min wants to be independent?
But now that the emperor wants to seal his fiefdom in Jiannan Road, Li Min can take the initiative to raise this issue.
Hearing Li Min's words, Li Ke's face showed a look of confusion: "Sixth brother, how can you say that?"
"Overseas is a barbarian land, full of miasma and wild beasts, and the land is barren."
"I, how can I let you go and suffer?"
"You are not allowed to go anywhere. The fiefdom will be sealed on Jiannan Road."
Hearing this, Li Min couldn't help but look dumbfounded on his face.
I don’t know who gave the emperor the courage to say that overseas is a land of barbarians.
Miasma and wild beasts are everywhere, and the land is barren. It is true that the ignorant are fearless.
However, people in ancient times did hold this view.
They believe that the sky is round and the earth is round.
They believe that if they keep walking in one direction, they will suddenly fall off.
They believe that the Central Plains is the center of gravity of the entire earth.
Here, there is the best land, the best culture, and the best inheritance.