Traveling through the troubled times of Sui and Tang Dynasties

Back in the apse, Li Yuan was so angry that even though Empress Dou had been softly comforting him, it didn't work at all.

"Pa——" a loud noise startled Empress Dou, "Your Majesty, what's wrong with you? Isn't the siege of Chang'an City already lifted? Why are you still so angry?"

Li Yuan was panting with anger: "What about the siege of Chang'an City? If it weren't for that brat, would our Chang'an City have almost fallen to Liu Wuzhou's hands?"

As soon as Dou rolled his eyes, he knew that he was angry with his son, and said in a good voice: "Your Majesty, don't be so angry, the child made a mistake, just teach him a lesson, and it's all my fault. When Yuan Ji was young, he didn't teach him well, so he developed his reckless temperament. This kid Yuan Ji made a big mistake this time, and it was outrageous. Fortunately, he also knew that he was wrong. Liu Wuzhou's rebellion, so he came here non-stop to plead guilty to you? If you are angry, just punish him, and there is no need to make trouble with your own bones."

After all, Empress Dou and Li Yuan are a married couple. They have shared hardships for many years, and they have survived until today. They know the nature of their husbands well.Although she felt guilty for ignoring the third son back then, and now she has been trying to make up for it, but she must never say a word of intercession.If she really spoke for Yuan Ji, she might make Li Yuan even more angry. She could only say the opposite, and reminded her husband from time to time that this was his biological son after all, and no matter how big a mistake she made, it would still hurt to break a bone. It's a muscle.

Li Yuan sighed deeply, looked at Empress Dou, and said with a dejected expression: "You think I'm angry because he left Bingzhou with his troops?"

"Isn't it?" Empress Dou was also a little confused about what Li Yuan meant, was it this one or which one?Isn't this the same thing—Yuan Ji led the troops away from the garrison without authorization, putting Chang'an in danger.

Li Yuan said angrily: "I've been mistaken! I thought that Jiancheng has the ability to govern the country, the people of the world are quick-witted, brave and good at fighting. Although Yuan Ji lacks a little brain, he is extremely brave. He is a fierce general and my right-hand man. Who would have thought that even Yuan Ji has learned to lie and play tricks with me, will he really treat me as a fool?"

"What does the emperor mean?"

"Queen, you don't know what nonsense that brat Yuanji said in the court today. He said that he was afraid of Liu Wuzhou and the Turkic army, and that he led his troops out of Bingzhou overnight for fear of being defeated. Liu Wuzhou's army marched straight in and besieged Chang'an City."

"Isn't it?" Besides this reason, is there any reason for her son to leave Bingzhou?

Li Yuanxin said that you don't know your son too well, and explained patiently: "As far as his temperament is so strong, it is harder to make him admit defeat than to kill him. The reason why I took a fancy to him at the beginning is not Is it because of the ruthlessness in his bones? If you say that he has lost the battle, I believe it, but if you say that he was afraid of Liu Wuzhou and the Turkic army and withdrew from Bingzhou overnight, I will definitely not believe it. What's more, even if he is really afraid of Liu Wuzhou , and withdrew troops and merged the state, at least reported a letter to Chang'an City, what happened and there was no news? That's not enough, inexplicably, it suddenly appeared again and broke the siege of Chang'an. If it was because he was afraid of Liu Jun at the beginning, is it possible Are you not afraid now?"

Li Yuan clasped the table with his index finger, and analyzed them one by one for Empress Dou: "Empress, empress, what's more, there is a first comer, right? Why did Liu Wuzhou attack Bingzhou and besiege Chang'an? After leaving, Bingzhou became an empty city, so I thought of taking advantage of the opportunity to enter and besiege Chang'an! The timing is not right!"

When Li Yuan said this, Empress Dou also murmured in her heart, these three sons are not stupid, why do they still pour dirty water on themselves?

Empress Dou said worriedly: "Your Majesty, what do you think Yuan Ji is thinking?"

Li Yuan said angrily: "I don't know what he thinks, but I know I'm about to be pissed off by him. Just now in the court, I gave him the opportunity to question him over and over again, be sure to tell the truth, but He was fine, but he just knelt in front of him, insisting that he was greedy for life and afraid of death, and ran away before the battle, and he never let go. In front of all the civil and military officials, I can't get off the stage. How do you say I let him go? I can't let him go If I let him go, will I be worthy of the soldiers who are fighting to the death? If I let him go, how will I explain to the civil and military officials? I am being partial."

Empress Dou's face tightened, she grabbed the silk handkerchief in her hand and asked, "Then what do you do with Yuan Ji?"

Li Yuan waved his hands helplessly and said, "I've sent him to prison, wait for him to be released."

Seeing Li Yuan's dejected appearance, Empress Dou knew that it was not appropriate to persuade her anymore, so she had to give up, but she thought in her heart that she should talk to Yuan Ji, so she knew something, what happened to this silly boy?

Not to mention that Empress Dou was in a hurry, once Li Yuanji was imprisoned, Li Jiancheng couldn't sit still. First, he stopped Li Yuan on the road, pleaded guilty, and after Li Yuan sent him back, he hurried to the dungeon.

No, as soon as the cell door was opened, Li Yuanji raised his head and looked at the familiar person in front of him, and said with a smile: "I knew that elder brother loved me the most, and he was the first to see me."

Li Jiancheng was not in such a good mood as he was, and said straight away, "How can you still laugh? Didn't you see how angry your father was just now in the court?"

Li Yuanji shrugged his shoulders: "Then what can I do? I did something wrong in the first place, and the Chang'an City was almost destroyed by others. It's only natural for my father to be angry with me."

Li Jiancheng became angry when he saw that he had nothing to do with him: "Are you really stupid, or are you just pretending to be stupid? Do you think you said that you were afraid of Liu Wuzhou and the Turkic army, so you fled the battle and withdrew your troops out of the city, and your father believed it? Not to mention the father, even I don't believe it. Chang'an almost broke the city, and someone has to take care of it. Therefore, all the civil and military officials are looking for a scapegoat at this moment, so they unanimously appeal to the father to punish you severely. But As long as they think about it carefully, they will find that something is wrong. Liu Wuzhou led his troops to attack Bingzhou and you withdrew. The time is not right. It is obvious that you withdrew first, but Liu Wuzhou took advantage of the news and attacked Bingzhou later. Although the difference is not a few days, but if you investigate carefully, you will definitely be able to find out the truth."

Li Yuanji smiled wryly and said, "Brother, can you not be so shrewd."

Li Jiancheng hated iron and steel, and said angrily: "Tell me, what's going on? Where did you take the defenders of Bingzhou? What did you do?"

Li Yuanji rubbed his head: "Brother, don't ask, just treat what I said in the court as true. Father is angry and angry, maybe he can kill me."

"Killing won't kill you, but withdrawing your military power is certain. I don't know if your title will be withdrawn." Li Jiancheng said angrily, "Also, I'm afraid you have to stay in the dungeon for a while. It's time, wait for the father to relieve his anger."

"It's okay, I'm fine here, no one dares to suffer for me." Li Yuanji folded his hands peacefully, lay down with his head on his pillow, looked at the top of his head with his eyes open, and said expressionlessly, "Brother, just let me I'll just stay here alone. Brother, do you know? The nanny is dead."

Li Yuanji said in a flat tone: "I feel uncomfortable, and I blame me for this matter. I also said to be filial to her. I never thought that she would not enjoy any blessings by following me, and in the end she would risk her life."

Li Jiancheng frowned, but he didn't know about it.Chen's status in Li Yuanji's mind is probably more important than their biological mother.

Because he had never seen his younger brother look so sad yet so peaceful, Li Jiancheng didn't know where to comfort him.

After a long time, Li Jiancheng sighed and said, "Tell me what you thought at the time. Who told you to transfer troops to leave Bingzhou?" suffer.

Before Li Yuanji could speak, Li Jiancheng said again, "Don't talk to me about greed for life and fear of death, I don't believe it at all."

"Then what do you want me to say?" Li Yuanji pursed his lips, and finally chose to shut up.

There was a moment of silence in the small cell, and Li Jiancheng said abruptly, "Is it related to Luo Cheng again?"

Li Jiancheng was just guessing at first, but when he saw Li Yuanji move his body unnaturally, lying on his side avoiding his eyes, he knew he guessed right, although he didn't fully understand the twists and turns.

"Tell me honestly, what is the relationship between you and Na Luocheng? Are you thinking about him over and over again?"

Li Yuanji's eyes dodged: "Brother, what are you talking about? What does this have to do with Luo Cheng?"

"It's good if it's related. When I left the palace just now, I saw Luo Cheng rushing into the palace from a distance. I'm afraid I heard the news of your imprisonment and came to plead with the emperor."

"What? Luo Cheng entered the palace?" Li Yuanji turned over and sat up.

"Didn't you say it has nothing to do with him?"

"Yes...it doesn't matter...but I am the father's son, and the tiger poison does not eat children. After the father's anger is over, it will be like this, but he is different. If he talks nonsense, It’s not good to excuse me, but it’s not good to involve yourself.”

"Since it has nothing to do with him, why are you worried that he will be involved?" Li Jiancheng asked back, "Shouldn't he attack Wang Shichong with Li Shimin? Why did he come back with you to relieve the siege of Chang'an City?"

"Big brother..."

"Okay, if you don't tell me, I won't ask. But if the matter is really related to him, it would be considered kind and righteous for him to enter the palace to explain to his father. Okay, just stay in prison obediently." Well, this is not necessarily a bad thing, maybe you are not wishful thinking, just to see what Luo Cheng is thinking."

Li Yuanji felt strange when he heard the first half, and felt even more wrong when he heard the second half. He looked at Li Jiancheng with wide eyes and said, "Brother, how did you know?"

Seeing his stupidity, Li Jiancheng finally softened his expression: "Who else knows?"

"Two foxes." Li Yuanji muttered in a low voice.

"No wonder you got together with him a few days ago. I said that the two of you have been at odds since you were young. When did you become so good?"

Li Yuanji quickly added: "Brother, don't think too much about it. If you fight with him, I will definitely be on your side. The second fox is cunning and scheming all day long. I'm not stupid."

Li Jiancheng looked at his younger brother's anxious appearance, and couldn't help laughing: "Second brother is not what you think, we are a family after all."

"Brother, it's one thing to have a good heart, but you have to guard against it. Let me tell you straight, I'm not interested in that position at all, but Li Shimin is different. Although you are already a prince, he can He is not a fuel-efficient lamp. He has been ambitious since he was a child, and he will calculate people. I wish I could compare you. This time Wang Shichong was put down, and he made him shine. Not only that, but soon, he will return to Beijing triumphantly , he has countless good generals with great military exploits, do you dare to say that he has no idea about father's position?"

"Yuanji, don't talk nonsense! Father is now in good health, so don't allow me to talk about it." Li Jiancheng scolded, looked around, and lowered his voice, "You are so bold, you dare to say anything, this is a big deal Respectful crime."

Li Yuanji didn't take it seriously, and curled the corners of his lips: "Aren't you my big brother, you can still hurt me."

Li Jiancheng was also comforted in his heart. This younger brother really didn't treat himself as an outsider: "Okay, you should reflect on yourself in prison. After a few days, the father's anger has subsided, and I will persuade the father to let you Officer reinstated."

"There's no need to be reinstated as an official. Brother, if you really want me, go and watch Luo Cheng for me. Don't think he's smart on weekdays, but he's very affectionate. If you know that I will do everything for you If he gets down, he definitely won’t do it, he might do something, don’t let him mess around, it’s enough for one person to go to jail, and two people are too crowded.”

Li Jiancheng glared at Li Yuanji and said, "What time is it? You are still thinking about others. Think about yourself. With your temperament, if you are kind to one person, you will let the whole world know about it." , I can see it, I guess the empress father is coming soon, you should think about how to deal with the empress father."

Li Yuanji frowned and said nothing.

"If the queen and father find out about this, Luo Cheng will definitely suffer. As you said, the poison of a tiger does not eat its sons, and the emperor will not do anything to you. But Luo Cheng is hard to say, even if he is a member of my Tang Dynasty. A rare and fierce general. Yuanji, think twice before acting."

"Thank you for reminding me, brother."

"My brother, you're welcome. Luo Cheng, don't worry. I'll keep an eye on him and nothing will happen to him."

On the other side, Luo Cheng learned from Li An that Li Yuanji rode back to Chang'an City alone to plead guilty without waiting for the army to return to court, and chased him to Chang'an City without saying a word.Entering the capital, entering the palace, kowtowing to Li Yuan, it was exactly as Li Yuanji thought - don't look at this person who is usually very smart, but cares about him, but he is chaotic, no, he immediately angered Li Yuan.