When Yan Ling returned, he took tens of thousands of prisoners into custody in batches and was extremely cautious. If any of the prisoners made any move, he immediately suppressed them violently and killed the chickens to scare the monkeys. He arrived at Jincheng safely all the way.
Jincheng is the place where Xue Ju proclaimed himself emperor. It has a vast area and perfect buildings. Yan Ling does not have to worry about having no place to deal with these surrendered troops.
As soon as Yan Ling returned to Jincheng with the cavalry battalion, he was taken to discuss military affairs by Fang Xuanling. As for the prisoners in the cavalry battalion, Fang Xuanling had already vacated the place and arranged everything properly, so Yan Ling had to bring back tens of thousands of prisoners.
"Brother Yan, it won't be long before we can return to Chang'an City!" Fang Xuanling said with a smile on his face.
Yan Ling looked at the simple and elegant buildings around him. This was originally the palace built after Xue Ju became emperor. At this time, it was transformed by Fang Xuanling into an office space similar to the county governor's mansion. However, some of the distinctive buildings were not
It was not destroyed and was completely preserved by Fang Xuanling.
"Did King Qin send someone here?" Yan Ling replied casually.
Fang Xuanling responded: "Well, I reported the situation here to the King of Qin in detail. The King of Qin personally petitioned the Holy Emperor for us and sent people to take over our follow-up work. Then we can return to Chang'an!
"
"That's fine!" Yan Ling nodded: "Anyway, the matter here is over. There is no point in us staying any longer. We might as well go back to Chang'an first and see if it can be used!"
However, although he was about to leave Longxi, Yan Ling still cooperated with Fang Xuanling to sort out Longxi and Hexi to facilitate the management of Longxi and Hexi areas by latecomers.
A few days later, the troops sent by Li Shimin finally arrived in Jincheng. After Yan Ling and Fang Xuanling finished explaining the matters at hand, Yan Ling led the cavalry battalion back to Chang'an.
Compared with the nervousness when setting off from Chang'an, the atmosphere of the entire cavalry battalion was extremely relaxed on this return trip. They all understood that they had won such a big victory, annihilated two major rebel forces in succession, and recovered large areas of land for the Tang Dynasty.
, only rewards are waiting for them!
Early that morning, Li Shimin led a group of people to wait on the outskirts of Chang'an City, causing people who passed by to talk about it. With Li Shimin's current reputation in the Tang Dynasty, the person who can make Li Shimin wait for him again must be extraordinary!
"Coming!"
Someone among the staff behind Li Shimin suddenly exclaimed.
Li Shimin quickly looked up, and sure enough he saw Yan Ling leading over ten thousand cavalrymen slowly coming side by side with Fang Xuanling. The sun shone on Yan Ling's black armor, giving off a cold and dazzling light!
Yan Ling is not a handsome man, but he has handsome features and a tall figure. Years of military life have left him with a cold and indifferent temperament. Now the shining black armor adds a bit of arrogance and domineering.
After discovering Li Shimin's figure, Yan Ling waved to Li Jing to lead the cavalry battalion, and then he and Fang Xuanling rode up to Li Shimin and stopped in front of him.
"I told you about King Qin!"
Yan Ling and Fang Xuanling dismounted their horses at the same time and bent down to salute.
"No gifts, no gifts!" Li Shimin stepped forward to help the two of them up, and said: "Yan Ling, originally I just asked you and Xuan Ling to conquer Longxi, but I didn't expect that you also took Hexi as well. I really didn't watch.
Wrong person!"
Before Yan Ling could reply, Li Shimin continued: "Yan Ling, you have done a great job in regaining the land of Western Qin and Hexi this time. My father has specially summoned you. Please follow me into the palace now. We will discuss the rest after we come out."
!”
"Okay!" Yan Ling responded simply.
Although Yan Ling had accompanied Li Shimin to the Tang Palace when Li Yuan held court meetings in the past, this was the first time he was summoned by Li Yuan.
The imperial palace of the Tang Dynasty was composed of two parts: the imperial city and the palace city. The imperial city was where all the offices of the central government of the Tang Dynasty were located; the palace city was where the royal family conducted business and lived. There was a road in the middle that was more than a thousand steps wide.
It is separated by a square-style Daheng Street that crosses the east and west. All the Yuan Dynasty, amnesty, New Year's Day, Winter Solstice meetings, military parades, prisoner receptions, etc. are all held here, so it is called "Wai Chao".
Yan Ling followed Li Shimin and entered the palace through the Chengtian Gate, the main gate in the south of the palace. There are heavy towers on the Chengtian Gate, which is magnificent, and there are many government offices on both sides, which is very dignified!
Li Shimin led Yan Ling straight ahead and entered the Liangyi Palace in the Taiji Palace. The Liangyi Palace is known as the "Inner Dynasty". Only a few close ministers of Li Yuan who are qualified to make decisions can enter and exit the Liangyi Palace. Major national affairs of the Tang Dynasty.
It is often discussed and decided here first, and then proposed at the large-scale court meeting on the first two days of each month.
Li Shimin and Yan Ling were waiting outside the Liangyi Palace. It was not until the chamberlain who went in to report Li Yuan came out to inform them that Li Shimin and Yan Ling stepped into the Liangyi Palace.
"Wei Chen (son minister) pays homage to the Holy Father (Father Emperor)!"
Yan Ling and Li Shimin came to the center of the hall to conduct a ceremony. At this time, the status divisions in the Tang Dynasty were not as serious as those in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Court officials did not need to kneel down to salute when meeting the emperor. At this time, the backs of the people in the Central Plains were still straight!
Li Yuan said calmly: "Ping Shen!"
Yan Ling then stood up and looked up at Li Yuan. Li Yuan was the overlord. This was the thought that everyone who saw Li Yuan would have. His sharp eyes and deep momentum gave people a great sense of oppression!
Although Li Yuan's sons are more outstanding, this cannot cover up Li Yuan's talent at all. Without enough talent, it is impossible to train talented sons such as Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji and Li Shimin.
Although Li Yuan has been addicted to wine and sex recently, according to Yan Ling's perception, Li Yuan's strength is not weaker than that of the rebel leaders such as Du Fuwei, and he is worthy of being the leader of the Li clan!
"Yan Qing has made great contributions to regaining the land of Western Qin and Hexi. After discussion, I and I have appointed you as General Lingyun, and your cavalry battalion will form its own army, named Lingyun. Are Yan Qing satisfied?"
Li Yuan's eyes were full of energy, and he was extremely satisfied to see Yan Ling, the general who opened up the territory for the Tang Dynasty!
Yan Ling responded in a deep voice: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"
After the reward was given, Yan Ling stood behind Li Shimin and carefully looked at this sacred place among the officials of the Tang Dynasty. The layout of Liangyi Hall was slightly more primitive than the Taiji Hall where the court meeting was, but it also had dragons and phoenixes carved on it, giving it a royal look.
majesty.
At this time, in addition to Li Shimin and Yan Ling, there were several important ministers participating in the hall, but Yan Ling was attracted by two of the young men at a glance.
One of them is slightly older than Li Shimin, with soft and handsome facial features, a warm smile, but deep eyes, as if there are thousands of emotions hidden in them, and a deep temperament; the other person is the opposite, with deep facial features, similar to a barbarian, with eyes that are deep.
Domineering and arrogant!
These are Li Shimin's two brothers, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji. Now Li Shimin is fighting abroad with great achievements and great momentum. Li Jiancheng has already had a rift with Li Shimin. Li Yuanji is close to his elder brother Li Jiancheng, and his relationship with Li Shimin is not harmonious.
When they heard that Yan Ling had been granted the title, both of them turned their eyes. However, this matter had already been decided before Yan Ling returned to Chang'an. The two of them could only suppress their displeasure and discuss state affairs with Li Yuan together with the important officials of the court.
After Yan Ling listened for a while, he completely lost interest. He found that the meetings in the Liangyi Hall were not much different from the meetings in the Taiji Hall. It was just that the number of participants was much smaller, and it was still boring!
After finally finishing the discussion, Yan Ling and everyone asked Li Yuan to resign, and then walked side by side with Li Shimin towards the outside of the palace. (To be continued)