Tang Dynasty

The man sighed and said: "Jiangcheng, with our friendship, why are you still calling me Wang Ye so unfamiliarly at this moment?"

Li Jiancheng smiled again after hearing the words, and then said: "Brother."

It turned out that when Li Jiancheng was in the Hedong area in his early years, he met a Turkic person by chance.At that time, Li Jiancheng was secretly trying to win over a righteous man in the name of Li Yuan, seeing that the man didn't look like a man from the Middle Earth, he made up his mind to make friends with him.Having known each other for more than a month, I saw that he was a bold and upright character, he was indeed a hero, and after coming and going, the two of them called each other brothers.

It was only when the Turkic man left that he told Li Jiancheng the truth: it turned out that he was the prince of the Turkic, the younger brother of Sibi Khan, named Duobi.Because I admire the culture of the Central Plains, I often come to enjoy it.

Li Jiancheng considered that he would have something to do with him in the future, so he also confessed his identity frankly.At that time, the identity of a mere prince of the Tang Dynasty was naturally nothing in Duo Bi's eyes, but he was quite impressed with Li Jiancheng.

It's just that a few years have passed, and the situation in the world has changed unexpectedly. The current Tang Guogong's incident in Taiyuan looks like he will become a master of tigers and wolves.As the son of Tang Guogong, Li Jiancheng must be worthy of being an adult, but he himself holds a heavy army and looks at the Central Plains like a tiger. Maybe one day he will meet with swords and soldiers... The reunion on the battlefield is not unexpected.It's just that he never expected that Li Jiancheng would appear in front of him alone in this way.

But the Li Jiancheng in front of him at this moment seems to be the same as before.In the barracks on the battlefield, as an envoy, he is wearing a plain white gown with splashed ink and flowing water and cloud patterns wandering freely and gracefully, as if he were a rich and noble idler.There is a smile in the eyes most of the time, although they are sincere and coquettish, they always seem to be separated by a layer of veil.

Does he treat everyone like this, or is he like this only to himself?Aggressively thought to himself, maybe he has a hostile relationship with himself, so he can't be completely honest.

So he paused, then turned around and walked to the window, looked into the distance and said, "But I don't know Jiancheng came all the way, what kind of favor do you want from me?"

"Brother must also know the purpose of this visit." Li Jiancheng walked to his side and stood still, smiled slightly, and said bluntly, "To tell the truth, what Jiancheng asked for... is to ask Brother not to violate my request from Taiyuan."

He Bi raised his eyebrows slightly when he heard the words, and then smiled, "Jianjian, even if I want to help you, I can't be the one to decide this matter."

"Just now I handed over Tang Guogong's letter to Khan. Tang Guogong promised that as long as the Turks sit back and watch the dispute between China and Earth, the king will definitely not treat you badly in terms of money and food. Shibi Khan has already wavered a little under my persuasion , However, just based on my one-sided words, Khan may not be able to make a decision for a while. Everything is ready, but there is only one windfall.” Holding a heavy army must be someone who is trusted by elder brother, if elder brother is willing to blow this gust of wind in Khan, things will be easy."

Aggressively looked at him, noncommittal, just smiled and said: "Jiancheng, why are you sure I will help you?"

"Based on this matter, if this is accomplished, both the Khan and the Duke will take what they need, which is really beneficial and harmless." Li Jiancheng said with a smile, "With the wisdom and insight of Khan and Eldest Brother, we must have resolved this matter long ago. You can see clearly."

Ke Bi still looked at him steadily, his voice slowed down a bit, "But Jian Jian, big brother believes in me, how can you teach me to believe in you?"

Li Jiancheng smiled when he heard the words, and asked back: "What kind of person is Jiancheng, brother, still don't know?"

Duobi was silent when he heard the words, stared at him for a long time, then looked out the window in a blink of an eye.Li Jiancheng didn't urge him, but raised his eyes and followed his gaze towards Taiyuan City.The night was getting deeper, and the lights of thousands of families in the city were not as dense as before, but the lights of the city head were still standing firmly in the wind.

At this moment, he heard Tuobi say beside him: "Jiancheng, I believe you won't lie to me."

Li Jiancheng understood immediately when he heard the words, and immediately turned around and clasped his fists and said, "Thank you in advance, brother."

Duo BiDing also turned to look at the person in front of him, but there was no smile on his face, he just said slowly: "Jiang Jian, you asked me for this favor today, but I don't know what you will give in return in the future?"

Li Jiancheng was slightly taken aback, and smiled after a while.

"As long as Big Brother wants it, as long as Jiancheng can give it." After a pause, he said each word slowly and clearly, "Jiancheng...will never refuse."

Duo Bi was also taken aback when he heard the words, and looked at him fixedly.After a long time, he suddenly laughed, stretched out his hand and patted Li Jiancheng's shoulder and said, "Jiangcheng is really a refreshing person, why don't you come and have a few drinks with me?"

Li Jiancheng cupped his fists and said, "Brother invites you, Jiancheng should accompany you!"

----

Hearing that Li Jiancheng was detained in the Turkic camp, Li Shimin was very anxious.Every day he is restless, wishing he could ride a horse and bring him back immediately.

Liu Wenjing had always been close to Li Shimin, but at this time he spoke out to comfort him: "Second Young Master, please be safe and don't be impatient. With His Highness's talents, you will definitely not put yourself in danger."

Li Shimin sighed: "Why did the Turks trap a mere envoy? If his identity is exposed, I'm afraid this trip will never return!"

"Second Young Master's words are probably over-concerned." Liu Wenjing said softly, "If the Turks really knew about it, they would definitely send an envoy to come and use this as a threat to negotiate conditions with us. I haven't seen the envoy for many days, which shows that this matter has not been exposed. The Turkic Khan may have hesitated and was unable to make a decision for a while, so he retained His Royal Highness."

Li Shimin knew that what he said was true, but for some reason, he still couldn't calm down in his heart.For more than a month, I have been used to going out and going in with my elder brother every day. Although the other party is gentle and distant, but after all, he is still by my side, which makes people feel at ease.At this moment, after leaving suddenly for several days, safety and danger are uncertain, for some reason, it seems that a piece of my heart has been dug out, and there is nothing left.

After being so anxious for several days, one day I suddenly heard that the son had returned.Li Shimin hurriedly changed his clothes and went to the hall.

When Fang walked to the door, Li Yuan laughed and said, "Jiangcheng took the risk alone, but he was able to say that Khan Shibi agreed to form an alliance. This is a great achievement! From now on, I will be safe from behind, and I can go south without worry!"

Then I heard Li Jiancheng say: "If there is no father and the people of the world to contain the Turkic troops with false and real tactics in the rear, what good fortune can be achieved just by relying on Jiancheng's three-inch tongue? It's just that although Shibi Khan agreed to this matter, But we have to beware of him changing his mind halfway. I think that when dealing with Turks, we need to stay low and be small at this time, and spare money and food. We will make a conclusion after we move to Guanzhong in the future."

While speaking, Li Shimin had already entered the room, first saluted Li Yuan, and then turned to Li Jiancheng.Seeing that the other party looked and behaved as usual, apparently safe and sound, he couldn't hide his joy and said: "Shimin heard that elder brother has returned after meritorious service, congratulations, elder brother!"

Li Jiancheng looked up, smiled faintly, and said, "I'm worried about Lao Shimin."

Li Shimin still wanted to say something, but Li Yuan said: "Shimin, my father is planning to call you over to discuss matters together, and you came just in time, so let's sit down first."

Li Shimin responded and sat next to Li Jiancheng, but saw that the other party was holding a tea bowl at the moment, looking down at the tea bowl quietly, with long eyelashes drooping slightly, faintly visible in the mist of tea.After a pause, he blew lightly to disperse the mist a little bit, before covering it with his sleeve, he took a small sip.

His gestures are gentle, calm and calm.For some reason, the word "quiet as a virgin" came to Li Shimin's mind in an instant.

Li Shimin stared blankly, until he heard Li Yuan's voice, he came back to his senses hastily.

"Today, I heard that Cheng Gao Deru, the prefect of Xihe County, was quite critical of my rebellion, and today he even openly opposed our army." Li Yuan glanced at the two eldest sons in front of him, paused, and said, "If there is such a serious trouble in Xihe County, The convenience of Taiyuan cannot be stabilized. This time I want to send the two of you to lead an army to pacify Xihe, what do you think?"

Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin immediately got up and clasped their fists together and said, "I would like to lead the army to eliminate this serious trouble for my father!"

In fact, he knew very well in his heart that his two sons would surely become generals in the army in the future, and the elder son Li Jiancheng would even sit on the position of prince. This time he sent the two of them to fight, and the military achievements they made would be the basis for gaining a foothold in the army in the future. Prestige, in this way, the country he built by himself can be safely entrusted to him.

However, he didn't say anything about this consideration, he just wanted the two of them to sit down, and said with a slight smile: "It's very good. Although you two have also been on the battlefield in the past, but this time you are leading the army alone, which is very different. The father sent the two of you to go together, because I hope that you brothers will take care of each other, fight against the enemy together, and capture the thief in one fell swoop, so that you can practice for the big and small wars that will follow in the future."

The two brothers nodded in agreement, then said their goodbyes and went down to prepare for the army.

----

Xihe County is only a thousand miles away, and it takes a day or two to go back and forth.

Camped on the outskirts of the city, Li Jian stood in his tent, looking at the sand table in front of him and pondering.

At this time Li Shimin lifted the tent door and walked in, saying: "Brother, our soldiers and horses have all settled down."

Li Jiancheng nodded, and said: "Be sure to tell anyone not to harass the people in the neighborhood. Not before the war, and the same is true after the war. Anyone who disobeys will be beheaded without pardon."

When he said this, Li Jiancheng just kept staring at the sand table without even moving his eyes away.

Li Jiancheng pondered for a moment, and then said again: "This is our army's first expedition. Military discipline is very important. If you hurt the people, how can you bear the title of 'rebel army'?"

The two voices fell, but there was no response. Li Jiancheng was silent, and then he raised his eyes, looked at Li Shimin and said, "Why don't you go?"

"Yes, Shimin will go now." When he asked, Li Shimin came back to his senses and prepared to leave.However, he turned around and paused, the sword hilt on his waist, but turned around again.

"What else is there?" Li Jiancheng looked at him, his eyes were half a smile, but they were as deep as a thousand-foot pond.

Li Shimin hesitated for a moment, and finally said: "Brother, what did Shimin do wrong that made him angry?" Originally, he was excited for a long time because he went out with his brother. On the way, Li Jiancheng kept a very clear distance from him, and he never even had the alienated but gentle smile in the mansion in the past.

In fact, Li Jiancheng had already noticed the changes in Li Jiancheng.He remembered that he loved being with his elder brother since he was a child, and his elder brother taught him to read and write, ride horses and shoot arrows until he grew up.Even before the two left for Hedong and Jinyang respectively, the elder brother had always been the object of his reliance and longing.

However, when Li Jiancheng came back this time, he was clearly estranged from him a lot. Although his whole person was still as warm and moist as jade, his emotions and anger were not visible, and his gestures and gestures were a little cold, and he did not give people a chance to get close.

This made Li Shimin a little at a loss, hesitated for a long time, and finally asked out the doubts in his heart.

Li Jiancheng was slightly taken aback when he heard the words, then smiled, shook his head and denied lightly: "Shimin, where is this talking?"

Although it is still the familiar smile, it seems to be thousands of miles away.

At this moment, Li Shimin regretted the slip of the tongue just now, and wanted to say something more, but how could he express his shameful thoughts.He could only sigh secretly and exit the tent.

After Li Shimin left, Li Jiancheng looked away from the sand table.Faintly hearing Li Shimin's voice giving orders outside the tent, he suddenly waved his sleeves irritably, destroying the sand table into a messy pool of fine sand.

----

The next day, the two armies faced off against the city.

Xihe County was originally sparsely populated. Although the governor of the county, Gao Deru, clearly opposed Li Yuan, there were thousands of people in the city, obviously unable to compete with Li's army.

Li Shimin advocated a quick battle and a quick decision. He stood alone in front of the battle, and after talking with the enemy generals, they fought.Li Jiancheng fell to the Chinese army and watched not far away, but he saw Li Shimin's gun head was covered with red tassels. After dozens of rounds, the enemy general was picked off his horse with a single shot.

The two armies lost their main general before the battle. Seeing that the situation was not good, the enemy immediately called for money to withdraw.Seeing this, Li Jiancheng immediately gave orders and led the whole army to attack the city gate.

All of a sudden, the sound of drums shook the sky, and horseshoes were like a tide.

"Brother, why bother you to do it yourself, I'm here!" Li Shimin saw Li Jiancheng rushing to the front of the battle, so he immediately leaned forward.

"Shimin don't want to stop me," Li Jiancheng cut down the soldiers in front of him with a sword, "If you and I can't take the lead, what are we going to be the commander?" After saying that, he patted his horse, threw Li Shimin away and rushed forward.

Li Shimin paused where he was, but hurriedly followed.During the fight, they just wandered around Li Jiancheng intentionally or unintentionally, defending him.

After the first battle, more than a hundred people were lost, but more than [-] enemies were killed, which can be described as a complete victory.It was night, and everyone was drinking and celebrating in the tent. Li Jiancheng made a toast to the generals and generals, saying: "Although the flag was opened to victory today, after all, it was to capture the thief Gao Deru. No one drinks three cups of this wine today. In the future, the city will be destroyed. , I will hold a banquet, please don’t get drunk and come home!” After saying that, he raised his head and drank the wine in the glass.

Li Shimin suddenly drank three cups with the generals, but he didn't want to gossip, so he got up and left.Looking around, he found that Li Jiancheng had disappeared at some point, and when he returned to his room, he deliberately stopped at the door of his room.

The lights in the room were on, and sometimes trembled slightly due to the night wind.Eldest brother is used to being alone, so he should be sitting at the table reading a book now.

Thinking of this, Li Shimin sighed secretly, ready to leave.

However, at this moment, he heard a crisp sound in the room, as if there was a cracking sound.

"Brother!" Before he had time to think, he pushed the door open and rushed in.

Then he saw Li Jiancheng curled up on the ground, holding his chest tightly.Not far from his sleeve was a broken porcelain vase.

Several pills are rolling away.One was rolling towards him, and it stopped slowly at his feet.