Tang Dynasty

With a bang, the door was pushed open.Li Jiancheng strode in hastily, seeing the situation in front of him, his eyes slightly widened.

Li Shimin stood with his back, the sword in his hand was stuck in Gao Deru's chest, Gao Deru's limbs twitched slightly, and finally hung down feebly.Hearing the sound, he turned his head to see Li Jiancheng, a look of surprise flashed across his expression, and then he pulled out the sword with all his fingers.

He turned around and looked at Li Jiancheng, as if he was about to say something, but Li Jiancheng lowered his head and said to the left and right: "You guys step back first." He sighed inwardly, knowing that it was a step too late after all.

After everyone closed the door and retreated, Li Shimin took a step forward and said, "Brother." Under the reflection of the candlelight, his eyes were a little red, which was the trace of extreme anger.However, the tone of the mouth was calm after trying to suppress it.

Li Jiancheng looked down along his arm, and saw blood gurgling out along the blade of the sword, falling to the ground drop by drop.

He walked behind Li Shimin, looked at the candlestick on the wall, and said slowly: "Shimin, I tried my best to appease the people, and strictly ordered the three armies to have no crimes, so that people can know Tang Guogong's benevolence. Yumin is like this, so Yu The same is true for generals. Although this Gao Deru is only a mediocre person, he is the first general you and I have won. If he is recruited, it will also show the illusory demeanor of our army to the world, so that the four sides can vote." After a pause, Turning around and looking at Li Shimin, "But now that you have killed Gao Deru, who will dare to vote for the defeated general in the future?"

Li Shimin still turned his back to him, but just said nothing when he heard the words.

Li Jiancheng waited quietly, and then said again: "I heard that you were drinking with others, and when you were intoxicated, you suddenly came here with a sword. Shimin, why?"

Li Shimin's impulsiveness, which had been ignited by the alcohol, gradually calmed down a bit with Li Jiancheng's words.However, knowing how reckless this move is, but there is no half regret in my heart.

"Brother," he threw away his saber, turned around and clasped his fists at Li Jiancheng, "Shimin knows that this is a mistake, so please punish him."

Seeing that he avoided answering his own question, Li Jiancheng became more and more puzzled, turned around and took a step forward, and asked, "Shimin, you are a general of the three armies after all, so reckless killing like this is not like your usual style. "

Li Shimin was still silent when he heard the words, hesitated for a long time, and finally said in a low voice: "This person insulted elder brother in front of thousands of people. How can this crime... be forgiven?" Although his voice was low, he gritted his teeth every single word.

Li Jiancheng was slightly taken aback, not knowing how to speak.For some reason, he suddenly remembered that when he was still young in Luoyang, when he was playing and playing, Shimin always fought with children of the same age, but the reason was always "they bullied the elder brother".

He remembered that Li Shimin was different from himself, he was good at punching and kicking since he was a child, and every time he fought, he always made the opponent's child suffer serious injuries. For this reason, his parents often punished him.

When you are young, you can only hurt people with fists and feet, but when you grow up, you just swing your sword at each other, and no matter how big...is it just an arrow piercing through your heart?

Li Shimin defended himself, it's not that he didn't see it, but perhaps it was because he saw it too clearly that he ignored the word "ruthless" under this defense.And the word "ruthless" will eventually be returned to him.

Concentrating his thoughts a bit, Li Jiancheng raised his eyes to look at Li Shimin, paused, and said, "I don't need to mention this matter anymore, I just told other people that he didn't want to vote for me, so he swung his sword and killed himself." Sighing, he went straight to the door and said, "The banquet has been going on for a long time, so just let me go."

In fact, as soon as Li Shimin said the words, he felt a little regretful.It seems that the most ulterior matter in my heart has been known to others in this way.However, Li Jiancheng looked calm and noncommittal about this, which made him feel even more at a loss.

He stood there in a daze, until he saw that Li Jiancheng had disappeared outside the door in white, and then he came back to his senses and followed silently.

----

Gao Deru was defeated in the first battle of Xihe, and the round trip took only nine days.When the army returned to Taiyuan, Li Yuan went out of the city to meet them in person. He was overjoyed to see the two brothers, and immediately awarded many rewards.

The West River has been leveled, and the rest is to raise troops.A few days later, Li Yuan gathered important ministers in the conference hall and said: "In the past few days since Jianjian and the people of the world went to war, Shibi Khan sent someone to send a letter, suggesting that when the old man raises troops, he should replace Yang Guang. I don't know what you think How about next?"

As soon as this remark came out, Liu Wenjing, Pei Ji and others immediately stood up and expressed their agreement.Liu Wenjing said: "Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty has no way, and the world is against it. If the Duke of the state can establish himself as emperor at this time, he will surely attract all heroes to come and join him."

Li Yuan smiled when he heard the words, and said: "Yang Guang has no way, but he is the emperor in the end. Although the old man has no way, it is really inappropriate to call himself emperor." Having said this, he shook his head and stopped talking.

Pei Ji stood up and said, "Have you not heard the nursery rhyme that 'the Li family should take the world'? Many nursery rhymes have been circulated among the people for a long time. It can be said that the Duke of the country is in line with the will of heaven and the hearts of the people. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it."

Li Yuan still refused after hearing the words.Li Jiancheng sat on the chair, observed his words and expressions, and knew that he had an idea in mind, but he didn't want to say it out, waiting for someone to speak out.After pondering for a moment, he stood up and said, "Father, Jiancheng believes that the world is in chaos at this time. If Fang proclaims himself emperor with a big fanfare, it will be tantamount to putting himself in the position of being targeted by the public. As the saying goes, 'shoot the first bird' That's it." Li Jiancheng raised his head and saw that Li Yuan's face was somewhat satisfied, so he expressed his position, "Jiancheng believes that at this time, my father should definitely not proclaim himself emperor early, the best time to become emperor, Undoubtedly after occupying Guanzhong and taking control of Chang'an."

As soon as this remark came out, Li Shimin seemed to have suppressed it for a long time, and he stood up and said, "Father, what brother said is very true. Shimin thought that the word 'righteousness' is the most important thing for an uprising army. At this time, Yang Guang still Lord Dongdu, if he proclaims himself emperor, he will lose his morality first, which is really inappropriate."

The smile on Li Yuan's face became very obvious, and he said at this moment: "Then, what do you two think should be the case?"

Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin looked at each other for a moment, then looked at Li Yuan and said, "Jiancheng thinks that we can follow the example of Duke Huan of Qi in the Spring and Autumn Period and the strategy of Cao Mengde in the Three Kingdoms——take the emperor to command the princes."

As soon as this remark came out, there was a lot of discussion among the people, some were confused, some were surprised, some were amazed, and some had doubts.At this time, Pei Ji, who had originally comforted Li Yuan to proclaim himself emperor, stood up again, cupped his hands at Li Jiancheng and said, "Your Highness, this strategy is very clever, Pei Ji sincerely admires it."

Li Jiancheng didn't have time to make more modest remarks, so he saw that Liu Wenjing also stood up and said, "Master Pei was still persuading the Duke to proclaim himself emperor, how did he change his mind so quickly? Besides, the Duke is in Luoyang at this moment, and he has never Bring the 'Son of Heaven' to coerce him?" He is free and unrestrained, and at this moment he is confronting Pei Ji with sarcasm, but his face is full of indifference, completely disregarding that this strategy was proposed by the prince of Tang Guogong.

When Pei Ji heard the words, he just smiled and said: "Things can change at any time, if you really can 'command the princes', why do you have to 'hold the emperor' in your hands?" After a pause, he walked to Li Jiancheng and said, "I don't dare to guess, The meaning of His Royal Highness's words is to suggest that the state government appoint Yang Guang's son as emperor and enshrine Yang Guang as emperor. Defeat Yang Guang and respect the new emperor. If this is the case, we will not be unrighteous teachers."

Liu Wenjing was speechless when she heard the words, but Li Jiancheng had already stepped forward, bowed to Pei Ji and said, "Mr. who knows me."

Li Yuan was already beaming at this time, seeing that the matter was almost settled, he said, "This is a very good strategy. In my opinion, among Yang Guang's sons, the acting king Yang You is generous, so he respects him emperor."

The next day, he again ordered the construction of the General's Mansion and the formation of the three armies.The eldest son Li Jian was appointed as the Duke of Longxi, the governor of the left army, and the third commander of the left army; the second son Li Shimin was the Duke of Dunhuang, the governor of the right army, and the third commander of the right army; the fourth son Li Yuanji was named the general of Zhenbei and succeeded Li Yuan in Taiyuan , temporarily staying in Taiyuan.

On the eve of his departure, Li Jiancheng was flipping through military books in his room when he suddenly heard a knock on the door.

Walking to the door, as soon as Fang opened the door, he heard "big brother".

Although it is the same name, but the voice is a little more immature than Li Shimin's.Li Jiancheng looked at the man in front of him who was only 15 years old, but his stature was growing day by day, and he smiled and said, "How did Yuan Ji come here in the middle of the night?"

Li Yuanji did not enter the room, and looked around the simple furnishings in the room for a while, and finally fixed his eyes on the candle on the table and on the half-open book.After a pause, he smiled and asked back: "Brother is leaving tomorrow, why are you still reading until late at night?"

Li Jiancheng motioned him to sit down, and said: "Everything is ready, we just need to send troops. If Yuanji is replaced, can we still sleep peacefully?"

Li Yuanji also smiled, and said: "Even if you just stay here in Taiyuan, thinking of the big brother and the second brother going to war, it's hard to sleep."

Li Jiancheng smiled when he heard the words, and said: "Yuanji wants to go to war, how can my father not know? However, Yuanji is still young, and it will take a few more years of experience before my father can rest assured that you will go to the battlefield. Besides, I will wait for the expedition However, my mother and younger sister are still in Taiyuan, but you still need to guard their safety. In the Li clan, you are the only one to take such a heavy responsibility."

Li Yuanji was delighted by what he had said, and immediately cupped his fists and said, "Don't worry, big brother, Yuan Ji will definitely fulfill his mission."

Li Jiancheng stretched out his hand to support his wrist and said, "This farewell will be at least a few months or a few years. Big brother hopes that you can go to the battlefield as soon as possible, grow into a general, and command the three armies."

Li Yuanji said with a smile: "Yuanji only hopes that in the future he can become a general under elder brother and make contributions to elder brother."

Li Jiancheng was slightly taken aback when he heard the words, and then reached out and patted him on the shoulder: "Brother is waiting for this day." After a pause, he got up and took out a pot of flower carvings from the cabinet, and said, "Since I returned from the expedition, I have been busy with government affairs day and night. , and never took time to get together with Yuan Ji. We are leaving tomorrow, how about Yuan Ji having a drink with elder brother today?"

Li Yuanji has always been close to Li Jiancheng, is there any reason not to agree to the words at this time?Immediately, the two sat opposite each other and drank [-] cups together. During the dinner, Li Jiancheng was gossiping, but he also took the opportunity to tell him about the negotiations with the Turks.

"Father originally entrusted me with the full power to negotiate with the Turks. However, I am about to go south, and I am beyond my reach in the north. To deal with the Turks, I still have to rely on Yuanji. My army is going south, and it is not appropriate to go with him at this time." If there is a conflict, even if you swallow your anger, you must stabilize it no matter what."

Li Yuanji raised his head and drank a glass of wine, looked at Li Jiancheng and nodded, his gaze was like a torch, "Yuanji will always remember what elder brother said."

Li Jiancheng smiled gratifiedly when he heard this, and chatted with him about many childhood memories.After a few glasses of wine, he felt that his thoughts were in a trance, but it was also at this time that his mind really relaxed.

In this room, without Li Shimin, there would be no entanglements and grievances from past and present lives.A moment of drunkenness and indulgence is enough to teach him to temporarily cast aside the heavy shackles in his heart, and teach him to temporarily forget the bloody wind in front of the Xuanwu Gate, even if it is only for one night.

After all, after tomorrow, everything will really begin.

In the middle of the night, Li Yuanji looked at Li Jiancheng, who was beside him, who was so drunk that he collapsed at the table, and silently put down the wine glass in his hand.

In his memory, he had never seen such a drunk elder brother.Perhaps as the eldest son, this trip to the south, what he bears in his heart is unimaginably heavy.

Li Yuanji stood up silently and helped Li Jiancheng to the bedside.Tucked the quilt up for him before pushing the door out.

However, as soon as Fang stepped out of the door, a figure flashed to the side.When Li Yuanji saw it, he recognized Li Shimin immediately, and called out, "Second brother?"

Li Shimin walked out from the bushes on one side, looked at Li Yuanji, and then looked behind him at Li Jiancheng's room.Li Yuanji said: "Just now I drank some wine with my eldest brother, and my eldest brother was drunk, so I helped him to sleep."

Li Shimin nodded, and said: "Tomorrow's battle, I'm a little sleepless, I don't want to be the same with my elder brother." After a pause, "Seeing that the light in the elder brother's room is always on, I wanted to chat with him...Since the elder brother is gone now Sleep, that's all."

Seeing him explaining a lot in one breath, Li Yuanji felt a little strange in his heart.But it was inconvenient to ask more questions, so I just said a few words of comfort, and went back to the room with him.

Saying goodbye to Li Yuanji, Li Shimin returned to the mansion, walked to the door and stood still, but did not go in for a long time.After a pause, he took out something from his bosom and spread it out in his palm.The hairpin made of jade was kicked in his arms for a long time, but it was still cold.

That was Li Jiancheng's hairbow at sunset, under the moonlight, a small luminous pearl at one end was particularly eye-catching.

Just looking at it is enough to think of Li Jiancheng's closed eyebrows, pale complexion, loose silk hair, and open skirt at the side of the bed that night... The rare fragility, in retrospect, is still so touchingly beautiful .

Li Shimin looked at it for a long time, and slowly folded his palms together to hold it.

After all, there is still no chance to return this hair to the elder brother.With a low sigh, he finally pushed the door open and walked into the house.