Chapter 21 Who is the main person

The news of Yang Yuanqing's eastern expedition was spread to Chang'an through the eagle letter from Taiyuan City. (-< Shuhai Pavilion >-net.)

At this time, Xue Ju's army had retreated to Tianshui County. Li Yuan used 3,000 taels of gold to redeem the captured Liu Hongji, Murong Luohu and Li Anyuan, and Chang'an was relieved. Xiaoguo and Guanlong nobles who fled back from Luoyang and even Jiangdu arrived in Guanzhong one after another. There were hundreds of officials who fled back. Even Dugu Zhen led the Dugu family to escape back.

Li Yuan was overjoyed. He appointed Dugu Zhen as the Minister of Shangshu and Wei Jin as Na Yan. All the officials who fled back were granted official positions and appointed them all. Everyone praised Li Yuan as a generous elder.

The Guanlong nobles fully supported Li Yuan. The major families had money and made great efforts. The Dugu family alone offered two million stones of grain to Li Yuan and 30 million yuan to hang it, which made Li Yuan's treasury abundant and his troops sufficient. The escape of tens of thousands of fruits strengthened Li Yuan's military strength.

At this time, his troops in Guanzhong had reached 200,000, of which half of the children of Guanlong accounted for. In addition to the 80,000 troops in Hedong and Taiyuan, his army had nearly 300,000 troops, and was powerful. At the unanimous request of the officials, Li Yuan officially changed his army to the Tang Army, known as the Tang Army for short.

He ordered Chai Shao to lead 30,000 troops to build a city in Qianshuiyuan, Qu Tutong was responsible for defending the northern route, and appointed his second son Li Shimin as the marshal of the Western route and Dou Kang as the deputy commander. The two led an army of 50,000 to fight Xue Ju. Li Shentong persuaded Li Gui of the Western Liang to form an alliance. Li Gui sent 30,000 troops south to Jincheng County to cooperate with the Tang army to deal with Xue Ju.

Although Li Xiaogong was defeated by Xue Ju in Senshuwon, he led 30,000 troops to defeat Zhu Jie, the bandit in Shangluo County, recovered Shangluo County, and sent heavy troops to guard Wuguan. Li Yuan then ordered him to be the marshal of the Southern Army and led 50,000 troops into Bashu, Hanzhong.

Just as Li Yuan attacked from all directions and played the songs of triumphant songs, a news that made him extremely panic came. Yang Yuanqing personally led a heavy army to the east and appeared in Mayi County.

In the Wude Hall, Li Yuan had been sitting in front of the map for almost two hours. Although he was powerful at this time, he was afraid of Yang Yuanqing in his bones. He always regarded Yang Yuanqing as his enemy. Now that Yang Yuanqing led his army to the east, he immediately thought of his old nest, Taiyuan, and Yang Yuanqing's eastward expedition, and it was inevitable that the attack on Taiyuan would be attacked.

How should we deal with Yang Yuanqing's strong eastern expedition and how to protect Taiyuan? At this time, Li Yuan finally believed what his second son Shimin reminded him that Yang Yuanqing's intention to enter Guanzhong was to drag his army, and Yang Yuanqing's real purpose was to advance eastward.

But even if he believes, he can't do anything. He is now unable to take care of Hedong and Taiyuan. He attacked from all directions and had only 50,000 troops to mobilize, and these 50,000 people still have to guard Chang'an, unless the Li Xiaogong army who went south was transferred back to Bashu, but this was not realistic. If he gave up Bashu, he would be occupied by Xiao Xian's Western Liang army first, and all the counties in Bashu in Hanzhong expressed their willingness to be loyal to him, which was another price he could not afford.

Li Yuan was worried and anxious. At this time, Li Jiancheng, who had been accompanying him, whispered: "Father, the child thinks the situation is not that serious yet, so there is no need to worry too much."

Li Yuan glanced at his son and said, "Tell me your reasons."

Li Jiancheng made a mistake in his last judgment on Yang Yuanqing's entry into Guanzhong. He was really uneasy. He never dared to say too much. It was just because his father's anxiety made him feel unbearable that he finally spoke to him.

"Father, the child thinks that Yang Yuanqing had just fought with the Turks and suffered serious losses. He wants to defend Fengzhou and Lingwu County. He cannot send too many troops to fight. The news he has received now is that he only brought 30,000 people, which confirms the child's judgment. Even if he wiped out Liu Wuzhou and obtained a lot of troops, the combat effectiveness of Liu Wuzhou's army is much weaker. In fact, we are not weaker than him in terms of military strength, and we have the benefits of the strong city of Taiyuan. The child thinks that the key is to choose a good general, and the father should focus on this."

Li Yuan nodded, the eldest son made sense, and he asked again: "Who do you think will be more secure?"

"The child suggested that Qu Tutong be the main player, he has strong defensive ability, and Yang Yuanqing is also quite afraid of him."

When Li Jiancheng mentioned Qu Tutong, Li Yuan frowned slightly and asked Jiancheng: "Why do you see that Yang Yuanqing is afraid of him?"

"Did your father forget it? Qu Tutong was appointed as the chief supervisor of the county in the pass in the ninth year of Daye and led 50,000 troops to Yan'an County. For two years, Yang Yuanqing did not dare to touch him. It was not until the siege of Yanmen last year that Qu Tutong was withdrawn. This did not conform to Yang Yuanqing's strong style. There can only be an explanation. Yang Yuanqing was quite afraid of him."

Although Li Jiancheng's words made sense, Li Yuan did not believe in Qu Tutong very much. He remembered that Qu Tutong was loyal to the Sui Dynasty in Hedong County, and was forced to surrender to him. In less than two months, how could he appoint Qu Tutong as the main general? It was just that he didn't want to say this real reason.

"But I am worried that Qu Tutong might not be able to get along with Yuan Ji, and they have not even met. (-< Shuhai Pavilion >-net.)"

"Father, Yuan Ji guards Taiyuan City, and Qu Tutong is a foreign aid. In fact, there is no contact between the two, so it should be fine."

"Let me think about it again! You retreat first."

"Yes, the child is leaving."

Li Jiancheng knew that his father was not willing to send Qu Tutong as the main general, and he felt a little regretful, but he had no choice but to give a tribute and retreat.

Li Yuan pondered for a moment, and at this time, the guards reported at the door, "Report to the Prime Minister, and Chief Pei asked for a meeting."

Li Yuan always trusted Pei Ji very much, and he hurriedly said, "Please invite him in!"

After a moment, Pei Ji hurried into the room and bowed to Li Yuan, "Mr. Pei Ji, please see His Highness the King of Tang!"

Li Yuan did not allow others to call him the King of Tang or to submit to his subordinates. However, Pei Ji insisted on calling Li Yuan the King of Tang and called himself a humble minister. For this reason, Li Yuan scolded him in public several times, but he refused to change, and Li Yuan had no choice but to deal with him.

At this time, he no longer cared about Pei Ji's name. Li Yuan sighed and said, "Is the Chief Secretary here to see me for Yang Yuanqing's affairs?"

“That’s right!”

"Sit down first!"

Li Yuan asked Pei Ji to sit down and ordered someone to serve tea. Pei Ji then suggested: "I advise Your Highness not to send more troops. Sending 20,000 people is enough. The key is to choose the right general?"

Li Yuan nodded, "Jiancheng also advised me like this, and I accepted it. The key is that this master is not sure about me."

Pei Ji asked curiously: "I wonder who the prince recommends to be the chief general?"

"The recommended general for Jiancheng Qu Tutong is the main general."

"inappropriate!"

Pei Ji immediately shook his head, "I will never agree with the recommendation of the prince."

"Why?"

"Your Highness, Qu Tutong has surrendered for less than two months, and his family is still in Luoyang. Once the King of Yue pardoned him for his crimes, he would be summoned to guard Luoyang. Your Highness said he would go or not?"

Pei Ji's words hit Li Yuan's mind. He was a little hesitant at first, but now he made up his mind to never send Qu Tutong as the main general, nor the deputy general.

Pei Ji said again: "I came here today to remind Your Highness that Hedong has rich money and food and a large population. It is a treasure land for self-reliance, and outsiders cannot be used as the main general. I recommend Li Shuliang as the main general and Liu Hongji as the deputy general."

"But Yang Xuangan's defeat still has the lesson. If you use Li as a general, you may repeat Xuangan's mistakes."

"otherwise!"

Pei Ji smiled and said, "Yang Xuangan is not wrong with using the family strategy, but most of his tribe members are mediocre people, and they have ruined major events. His Highness has a lot of talents, so we should use them for great use. Besides, the Wu Chong tribe members and the Wen Chong tribe members are good at talented people. This is a good strategy to stick to the country. Your Highness does not need to be suspicious."

Li Yuan was persuaded, but in fact, the most suitable one was his second son Shimin. However, Xue Ju directly threatened Guanzhong, and he could not resist it. Li Xiaogong went south to Bashu again, and Li Shuliang was slightly inferior. However, he was steady and skillful in the army. However, compared with Yang Yuanqing, Li Shuliang was still a little worse, and he needed a strategic person to assist him, so that he would be perfect.

Li Yuan smiled and said, "Li Shuliang, although Liu Hongji is a talented person in leading troops, his writing skills are not good. I want to ask the Chief Secretary to go with him to rescue Hedong in the north. I wonder if Mr. Pei is willing?"

Pei Ji bowed and said, "Your Highness has an order, how dare Pei Ji refuse to obey!"

Li Yuan immediately ordered Li Shuliang to be appointed as the marshal of the Hedong Road and the general of the Right Guard. All the troops and horses of the Hedong counties were dispatched by him. He also ordered Liu Hongji to be the deputy general and Pei Ji to be the marching Sima, and led 20,000 elite troops from Guanzhong to support Hedong.

At this moment, news came that Yang Yuanqing defeated Liu Wuzhou in Mayi County. The situation was critical. Li Yuan urged Li Shuliang to go north to support him immediately.

...........

Liu Wenjing hurried to the Wude Hall, and he said to the guards: "Please tell the Prime Minister that Liu Wenjing has urgent matters to ask for a meeting!"

Liu Wenjing only came back from Fengzhou two days ago. Li Yuan personally placed a drink to suppress his shock. He admitted that it was his mistake that caused Liu Wenjing to be humiliated by the captive. He also ordered Liu Wenjing to be rewarded for his unyielding character of starving to death, rewarding him with a thousand taels of silver, allowing him to rest at home, and then resume his post after his health recovered. All of this touched Liu Wenjing.

He was resting at home these days and did not participate in military affairs. Suddenly he heard Li Yuan send Li Shuliang as the commander to Hedong for rescue, which surprised him and rushed to stop him.

After a moment, the guard came out and said, "Prime Minister, please follow me!"

Liu Wenjing followed the guards and quickly walked towards the inner palace and entered the official room. Liu Wenjing stepped forward and bowed to Li Yuan deeply, "I am not aware of the prime minister."

"Mr. Liu is in better health?" Li Yuan asked with great concern.

"Thank you for your concern to the Prime Minister. Hu Yi's health has been cured and he is willing to serve the Prime Minister at any time."

"No hurry! No hurry!"

Li Yuan laughed, "You are the most talented person in the real world. If you have the opportunity to display your talents, I ask you to take care of your body thoroughly. If you need anything, just speak."

"The prime minister's good intentions are well-behaved, but the prime minister comes today to persuade the prime minister not to use Shuliang as the main general. Although he is talented, he is not the opponent of Yang Yuanqing. If he fails again, Taiyuan is in danger and Hedong is in danger. Beizhi recommends transferring back to Shimin to Hedong, and Dou Kang will defend the Great Zhen Pass first. Xue Ju will definitely go north to attack Li Gui, and let the two families fight in the internal struggle. We can reap the benefits of the fisherman. When the situation in Taiyuan stabilizes, take down Bashu, and then go back to deal with Xue Ju."

Li Yuan smiled and said, "Although Shimin is capable, I am not only a general. Shuliang is my cousin. I know him very well. He has been skilled in archery and horses since he was a child, and he is good at learning military tactics. He is both civil and military. Even if he is a little short, Pei Ji and Liu Hongjiu will assist him. Learning from his strengths and weaknesses is enough to deal with Yang Yuanqing. Besides, changing generals at the last stage is a taboo in military affairs. Since I have used him as a general, why regret it? Liu Gong doesn't need to say anything more. I have decided on this matter and don't want to change it."

Liu Wenjing was anxious and wanted to persuade him again, but Li Yuan smiled at the guard beside him and said, "Give me my thousand-year-old ginseng and I want to give it to Liu Gong to nourish my body."

Li Yuan personally sent Liu Wenjing away. He returned to the room, stood in front of the window and pondered for a moment, turned around and slowly took out a letter from the drawer. This was the letter of peace written by Liu Wenjing to his family in Fengzhou. When Li Yuan heard that Liu Wenjing had news, he asked the letter for it on the grounds of missing him.

Li Yuan read the letter again with expressionless face, and his eyes fell on the last line, "Fengzhou is rich, the people are stable, and the administration is clean, so that scholars all over the world yearn for it, it is a pure land in troubled times!"

A hint of undetectable sneer appeared on the corner of Li Yuan's mouth.

.........
Chapter completed!