Tang Dynasty

Hearing what he said, Li Mi felt suspicious, but after all he was tactful and sophisticated, he didn't show anything on his face, he just smiled slowly and said: "I don't know who is under the old man's account, so fortunate to be favored by the crown prince?"

Li Jiancheng smiled slightly and said, "Wei Zheng."

Hearing this, Li Shimin glanced at him sideways.His eyes were full of suspicion, but he didn't speak after all.

"Wei Zheng?" Li Mi didn't expect that what he wanted was an unknown person. After a moment of contemplation, he laughed, and immediately responded, and said generously, "Since His Highness has opened the mouth, how can the old man refuse? This Wei Zheng He will be a member of the Eastern Palace in the future."

"Uncle is worthy of being a hero at the time, so he is so forthright," Li Jiancheng clasped his fists and said with a smile, "Thanks to Jiancheng."

After the three said goodbye, Li Shimin looked at the back of Li Mi walking away, Li Shimin looked at Li Jiancheng and said, "I thought that elder brother was going to ask Li Mi for an important minister and cut off his wings, but why did you just ask for an unknown person?"

"As a minister, the fate depends entirely on his master. If you respect him, you will be a general, and if you are humble, you will be a prisoner; if you use it, you will be a tiger, and if you don't use it, you will be a rat." Li Jiancheng smiled, turned and walked in the opposite direction, and said, " Kuang Li Mi is proud of himself, such a talent, rather than letting him be buried, it is better to ask for it early and take it for his own use."

"In this way, elder brother has already taken a fancy to this talent?" Li Shimin looked up at him, paused, and lowered his voice a little, "It's the first time Shimin has seen elder brother in so many years... who is he looking at? .”

Li Jiancheng paused slightly, and murmured with a smile: "Naturally, a good minister and general is only once in a hundred years."

Li Shimin looked at him sideways, but there was a hint of admiration faintly visible in the smile on the corner of the other's lips.Feeling a little unwilling in his heart, he stopped talking for a while, and finally said: "The people of the world will definitely pay a visit to this Master Wei someday."

Li Jiancheng smiled when he heard the words, but did not answer.

----

However, the next day, Li Shimin received an imperial edict from Li Yuan, and he was still appointed Marshal of Xichao, leading an army of [-] to beg for Xue Renguo.

After Xue Ju's sudden death in August, Xue Renguo inherited his father's behest and used Gaoqi as his base to continue eastward, encroaching on the land in Guanzhong.The battle reports piled up in the corner of the case became thicker and thicker. Seeing that Li Shimin had recovered, Li Yuan finally made up his mind and sent him to go west for the second time.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China was surrounded by heroes and the army was constantly mobilizing troops, the order was issued in a hurry, but it only took five days to complete all the preparations.

On the sixth day, Li Shimin drank the wine and rode his horse westward.On the outskirts of the city, among the teams who came to see him off, Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng were not seen, but Liu Wenjing was the only leader.

Liu Wenjing handed the practice wine to Li Shimin, smiled, and said, "I hope Your Highness will return triumphantly."

Li Shimin took the wine bowl, raised his head, and drank it cleanly.Immediately, he slammed it forcefully on the ground, and the wine bowl shattered into pieces with a bang.

Liu Wenjing looked away from the ground, looked at Li Shimin, and said slowly: "Your Majesty's behavior today is to prevent His Highness from repeating the same mistakes."

"Of course I understand." Li Shimin nodded, paused slightly, and said again, "Zhao Ren was in a hurry to fight at that time, presumably it was all about letting Shimin win the first prize."

Liu Wenjing was taken aback when she heard the words, but lowered her eyes and said, "Even if it's intentional... I just hate that it will end up being a mistake."

Li Shimin smiled instead, stretched out his hand and patted him on the shoulder, said: "Zhao Ren doesn't need to blame himself, Shimin naturally understands how you treat Shimin."

Liu Wenjing raised his eyes suddenly, but Li Shimin still lifted the reins and said with a high-spirited neigh, "Wait for my triumphant return!"

Liu Wenjing looked at his far away back for a long time, and finally smiled self-deprecatingly.

At that moment, he thought that Li Shimin had already seen through what he was thinking.

However, after thinking about it, the other party was full of satisfaction, and there was only one person.How is it possible to really understand my own mind.

Seeing that the figure had already disappeared behind the boundless mountains, he finally shook his head, hit his horse and turned back.

----

When Li Shimin led troops to station in the outskirts of Zheqian City, Xue Renguo had already dispatched general Zong Luohou, leading more than [-] troops to prepare for the battle.

Zong Luohu relied on his bravery, and Xue Jun defeated Tang Jun in the last battle, so he didn't pay attention to Li Shimin even more.A few days after Tang Jun arrived, he personally led his troops out of the city to provoke.

The generals under the tent were eager to avenge their shame, and they came to Li Shimin's tent to ask for a fight.However, it was learned that Li Shimin was not in the tent, but went out early in the morning, leaving only one sentence: Those who go into battle rashly will be dealt with by military law.

When the generals heard the words, they felt resentment in their hearts, but they could only return in resentment.

At the same time, Li Shimin's light fur and fast horse, with a few followers, stopped on a high ground in the mountains.

Looking down through the dense and dead branches, there is a flat and open land in front of you.This is the place where the Tang army defeated last time, Qianshuiyuan.Looking further into the distance, it was Zheqi City where Xue Renguo was located.

It's still Qianshuiyuan, and the opponent is still Xue Jun.And he will still adopt a late-strike style of play.

Only this time, victory or defeat will inevitably be reversed.He will also win, and this should belong to his own victory.

He lingered on the high ground for a while, and asked his followers to sketch the terrain until the sun was sinking, and then he rode back.After returning to the camp, all the generals who asked to fight were closed behind closed doors.The next day, he went out alone to check the terrain.

For several days in a row, they left early and returned late.However, no matter how Xue Jun yelled and provoked outside the city, he just evaded and refused to meet him, and he couldn't hold out.

Such a delay will already be more than a month.

The war situation has not progressed for a long time, but the grain and grass are constantly being sent westward.Since it was above the court, some people couldn't help raising doubts.

When Li Yuan heard the words, he only wrote lightly that in order to find a good opportunity, it would not be an exaggeration to stay dormant for ten years, let alone a mere month?As soon as this remark came out, all the officials knew that what he said was alluding to his forbearance of rebelling against the Sui Dynasty once every ten years, so there was silence for a while, and no one dared to persuade him any more.

After retiring from the court, Li Jiancheng returned to the East Palace.When Fang stepped into the backyard, he saw Wei Zheng wearing a half-worn green shirt, standing under a sycamore tree with his face slightly upturned and his hands behind his back.The fallen leaves of the sycamore tree had already formed a pool of red and yellow under his feet.

Li Jiancheng walked up behind him and stood still, followed his gaze, and said in his mouth, "Sir, why are you looking so engrossed?"

Wei Zheng came back to his senses, bowed his head hurriedly, and said: "When I entered the pass with Li Mi, the broad leaves on the branches of the phoenix tree were still thick, but now most of them have fallen off."

Li Jiancheng looked at him and said with a slight smile, "Mr. is not such a beating-eyed person."

"Your Highness really knows everything." Wei Zheng laughed loudly, paused, then turned his head to look at the dead branches and fallen leaves on the ground, and sighed, "The maple leaves have already fallen, but Li Mi can still hold his temper."

Li Jiancheng raised his eyebrows slightly, looked at him steadily, and finally sighed with a smile: "It seems that Jiancheng's sub-plan really has never been hidden from Mr. Wisdom."

"Don't dare." Wei Zheng said with a smile, "It's just... what I see is not the only thing."

"Then, in my opinion, the word "clear insight" should be bestowed on you." Hearing that his words were a little frivolous, Li Jiancheng didn't take it seriously, and just smiled, "It's not too late to ask you for advice on the rest, Li Mi. One thing... I don't know what you can teach me, sir?"

"Forcing against Li Mi should be done sooner rather than later. Although Li Mi is arrogant by nature, he is also a very kind and forbearing person. When he first entered Wagang Village, he made many military exploits, but he was low-key and small in every possible way. That's why he won Zhai Rang. Blue eyes make him worthy of him. However, once he ascends to the throne, Zhai Rang will be removed, which shows that he is only ruthless and must not stay." Wei Zheng's words were sharp and direct, but there was a leisurely tone in his tone, "Since I hit Wagangzhai He should have sensed His Majesty's and His Highness's various actions since everyone entered the pass, but I'm afraid he hasn't thought of forcing this level." After a pause, he raised his eyes and said, "If someone gives advice at this time, then It's good."

Li Jiancheng looked at him and said with a smile, "Sir, I'm willing to recommend myself."

"Naturally." Wei Zheng cupped his hands and said, "Wei Zheng used to be a minister under Li Mi's tent in the past, and he is ninety percent sure of where he will go."

Li Jiancheng raised his eyebrows and said, "Where does the one point go?"

Wei Zheng smiled and said, "Of course it depends on whether His Highness allows or not."

Li Jiancheng laughed lightly and said, "Then Mr. Lao will have to go."

"I obey." Wei Zheng bowed respectfully, paused, raised his eyes, and said again, "Actually, His Highness wants to take this opportunity to see what I can do?"

Li Jiancheng looked wrong, smiled and said: "In fact, Mr.'s words are frivolous, and he is also testing Jiancheng, do you have the heart to tolerate others?"

Wei Zheng also smiled and said: "Your Highness, Wei Zheng also wants to take this opportunity to make meritorious service to show his ability."

Li Jiancheng replied: "To tell the truth, sir, Jiancheng also wants to take this opportunity to show his strength."

The two looked at each other for a moment, then suddenly laughed lightly.

After laughing, Li Jiancheng said: "Mr. is really an interesting person." This point, he has felt it since the first meeting.However, after getting acquainted, I feel that this person seems to be completely exposed in front of my eyes, but I can't see through it no matter what.

Such a person is naturally the most interesting.

Wei Zheng just smiled when he heard it, and didn't answer. He just poured two cups of tea and pushed a cup in front of Li Jiancheng.After a while, he seemed to think of something, and suddenly said: "Wei Zheng heard that today, the emperor has not had anything to do with the Warring States period for a long time, and someone seems to have questioned it?"

Li Jiancheng nodded and said, "It's just that my father finally suppressed me with a few words."

Wei Zheng looked down at the tea in the cup and said, "What do you think of this matter, Your Highness?"

Li Jiancheng paused while holding the teacup, and said, "King Qin is a natural general, so there is a reason for that."

Wei Zheng glanced at him, with the expression that he clearly wanted to say something, but in the end he just smiled and said: "What Your Highness said is very true."

Li Jiancheng put the tea cup in his hand to his lips, his eyes were clear, but he didn't ask any more questions.

----

In November, news of Li Shimin defeating Zong Luohu and surrendering Xue Renguo was sent back to Chang'an.

After a stalemate for more than a month, Li Shimin saw that the opponent had run out of food and grass, and the morale of the army was anxious. Even some of the troops had expressed their intention to belong to him, so he knew that the time was ripe.

He first sent a partial general to lead a group of people to set up camp in a conspicuous place on the shallow water plain, with the intention of luring the enemy into battle.Sure enough, Zong Luohu couldn't hold back, and led his elite troops to fight.However, Tang Jun still defended and did not attack, and only held a stalemate with him for a long time.When Xue Jun's elite division was already exhausted, he sent another light cavalry to charge out in the south of Qianshuiyuan, and attacked Xue Jun's right side by surprise.When Zong Luohu dealt with this army with all his strength, Li Shimin himself had already personally commanded another light cavalry, which rushed out from Qianshuiyuan's back and went straight into Xue Jun's back.

In an instant, Zong Luohu was under the enemy's back and forth, and he was overwhelmed, and his men and horses were at a loss.Knowing that he was in the middle of the trick, he had to lead his army to escape from the city in a hurry.When Li Shimin heard the news, he immediately ordered two thousand fine horsemen, intending to rush there first and block the gate of the city.At that time, someone advised Li Shimin not to advance lightly, but at this moment he was extremely decisive, he only said that this opportunity must not be missed, and immediately left on his horse.

The 2000 men and horses took advantage of the victory and went straight to catch up. After killing Zong Luohu's deserters and causing chaos, they fought another battle with Xue Renguo under the city.Several generals under Xue Jun surrendered to Tang, Xue Renguo hastily retreated into the city, and closed the door to resist the enemy.

In the evening of that day, all the Tang troops arrived, and Li Shimin ordered the siege of the city, which lasted for nearly half a month.In the end, Xue Renguo ran out of ammunition and food, and finally led more than ten thousand troops to open the city and ask for surrender.

Therefore, since the eradication of the Xue family in this battle, there is no longer any worries in the Longxi area.

On the day of Li Shimin's triumphant return, Li Yuan was different from the cold reception last time, he waited in person in the suburbs early.The size of the team and the grand guard of honor are also unprecedented.

Sitting high on the horse, Li Shimin is also in high spirits and high spirits.Walking in front of Li Yuan, he got off his horse and bowed. After exchanging pleasantries, he glanced around, but he didn't see the familiar white clothes.

The joy of victory, without that person, just feels a bit dull.

After hesitating for a moment, he finally asked innocently, "Why don't you see the prince?"

Li Yuan smiled and said: "The prince has been busy with Zuyong's adjustment of the law recently. In the past few days, he left the city early in the morning to observe the people's sentiments."

Li Shimin nodded when he heard the words. For some reason, he still couldn't get rid of the sense of failure in his heart.

After returning to the city, Li Shimin received the reward, and hosted a banquet for the generals at Qin Palace at noon.It wasn't until dusk that he was free, sat in the room for a while, finally couldn't hold back, got up, straightened his clothes, and left to look at the East Palace.

However, after several months of absence, the scenery in the East Palace has changed.The phoenix trees in the courtyard withered and spread all over the floor, but the red and yellow color did not show decay and bleakness, but instead showed a sense of coldness and wealth.

Just like his people.

Li Shimin thought to himself, people have already arrived outside Li Jiancheng's gate.He can move freely in the mansion without being introduced, which can be regarded as a special case for him, King Qin.

Everyone eagerly reached out to knock on the door, but the moment before the back of his finger fell, he seemed to hear a little laughter in the room.After a little hesitation, he knocked on it.

After a while, the door was gently opened, and Li Jiancheng appeared on the other side of the door in a gown with a cloud pattern trimmed with gold.Seeing himself, he raised his eyebrows slightly and said with a smile, "Shimin?"

"Brother!" After seeing each other for many days, Li Shimin's eyes flashed with eagerness, and he wished he could hug him immediately.

However, at this moment, a person slowly walked out from behind Li Jiancheng.The man was dressed in an old green shirt, which made him tall and thin.He stood still in front of Li Shimin, bowed respectfully and said, "I have seen His Royal Highness King Qin."