Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 135 With this army, Lao Hou dares to attack Tokyo
King Qi?

Li You???

The fifth prince who is addicted to horseback hunting?
Why would Li You get involved in this matter?
Why did he do this?
How did he get in touch with Zhang Liang?

Li Shimin's brain was spinning rapidly, trying to find relevant clues from his memory.

However, there was nothing.

Li You is reckless and impulsive by nature, and it is impossible to associate him with "conspiracy"...

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty?"

Seeing his master's expression changing from gloomy to bright, Li Junxian couldn't help but get nervous.

Li Shimin woke up as if from a dream and said only three words:

"Keep checking."

Li Junxian retreated in a sweat as if he had been pardoned.

Li Shimin sat cross-legged on the couch alone, muttering to himself.

Impossible, impossible?

How could it be him? How could it be Li You?

What does this have to do with him? And what does Li Ming have to do with him?

After all, since Li You was not a legitimate son and had room for self-struggle, being the King of Qi was almost the end of his life.

He has no brains and indulges in fun all day long.

The fact that such a dandy boy could hang out with the spy prince was itself eerie.

Coupled with the various anomalies on the Liaodong front, the truth of the matter becomes even more confusing.

It is certain that Li Ming did not abide by the rules and set up his own business, and Hou Junji also admitted it.

However, it remains to be confirmed whether Li Ming really colluded with foreign enemies to rebel.

Assuming this is not the case, there are two possibilities.

First, Zhang Liang’s skills were not good enough, and he jumped to conclusions and wrongly blamed a prince.

almost impossible.

Then there is another possibility.

"Zhang Liang was instigated by someone to wrongly accuse a loyal and honest person...?"

Hypothesis, Li Shimin was just assuming.

It was Li You who colluded with Zhang Liang to fabricate - or to be more precise, to deliberately misinterpret the intelligence from the front line and frame Li Ming...

However, the first question is, what is Li You’s motive for doing this?
What grudge did Li Ming have against him that made him frame his younger brother like this?
Doesn’t Li You know that colluding with bureaucrats to fabricate intelligence is a serious crime of deceiving the emperor?
Don't you know this is a betrayal to your father?!
"Is it because of the adoption dispute?"

After much thought, Li Shimin concluded that the only connection between his two eldest sons was the adoption before the Liaodong incident.

It just so happens that Wei Zheng was the one who took the lead in this adoption...

"No, you can't make such a far-fetched assumption. Xuancheng...is ill from overwork. It's just a coincidence, not a conspiracy.

"Besides, adoption is just a status, and all benefits will remain the same. Li You won't hold a grudge against me for this."

Li Shimin dispelled this speculation.

If it weren't for the hatred between the two princes.

Then, the problem is even more serious.

"The oriole is behind..."

Is there someone manipulating the King of Qi?
She could give him advice and help him connect with important officials in the court...

"Yin Hongzhi? Consort Yin De?

"Or maybe..."

Anyone who can control a prince and an important minister must be of extremely noble status.

Li Shimin was unwilling and dared not to think about it too much.

He even had the urge to call Li Junxian back and put the matter to rest.

Don't check it. What if you find out something?

"Father..." Li Shimin murmured for no reason.

impossible.

He surpassed his father in his contributions to the founding of the country and his governance, and he must have surpassed his father in educating his children.

His beloved sons will never betray him.

Never will!
"His Majesty."

A gentle voice interrupted his belly lawsuit.

Concubine Wei held a bowl of lamb with sour milk, her face full of sorrow:
"You should take a break and recuperate."

Li Shimin frowned instinctively:
"It's too greasy. I really can't eat it. Some sunflowers are good."

"Your Majesty, your health not only concerns your family, but also the world of the Tang Dynasty." Concubine Wei was tough for once.

"Please take care of yourself!"

Li Shimin smiled helplessly:

"If we don't eat this mutton, will the Tang Dynasty be destroyed? All right, all right."

He still took the bowl.

Concubine Wei said:
"Your Majesty, a group of dragons cannot be without a leader for a day. All officials are still waiting for your decision."

Needless to say, the idea behind this matter was that one.

Li Shimin chewed the tender and greasy meat and murmured:

"We really can't delay this any longer in Liaodong."

Whether the bandit governor of Liaodong rebelled or not is another matter, but we must strike hard at Goguryeo who dared to take advantage of the situation.

Each person must deliver a knife, otherwise our friendly countries will think that we, the Tang Dynasty, cannot afford it.

After Concubine Wei left, he called Li Shiji.

"Your Majesty." Li Shiji, one of the Ten Sages of the Temple of Martial Arts who captured Jie Li Khan and was as famous as Li Jing, clasped his fists and came to the audience.

He also came from Wagangzhai, and deep in his meticulous eyebrows and eyes, there was always a faint, lingering bandit spirit.

Li Shimin smiled at his beloved general:
"Do you know why I asked you to take care of the mess in Liaodong?"

Countless thoughts popped up in Li Shiji's mind, but he shook his head wisely:
"I am a fool, and I beg Your Majesty to give me some advice."

Li Shimin was blunt:

"Because you were the chief secretary of Jin Wang Li Zhi and his confidant."

Li Shiji immediately knelt down:
"I dare not! I will always be your Majesty's lackey..."

"Alright, alright, I got here this way too, how could I not know?"

In front of the sweaty Li Shiji, Li Shimin looked at his sick body with self-mockery and talked and laughed:
"I look so sick, I don't know how long I can continue to work. You, as ministers, are foolish if you don't think about your future. I despise you."

"Your Majesty's blessings are as high as the sky..."

"Okay, let's get down to business." Li Shimin interrupted Li Shiji's defense:

"The King of Jin is kind to others and has no personal grudge against the Liaodong Jiedushi. And you, too, have no entanglement with that fellow."

Apart from his grandson Li Jingye being his lackey... he added in his heart.

"Therefore, I hope that when you go to Liaodong, you can act impartially and handle matters according to their importance."

Li Shiji immediately stated:
"I obey your Majesty's orders!"

"This battle is mainly to resist foreign aggression and punish the Goguryeo people." Li Shimin slowly stood up:

"If the bandits don't move you, don't move them either. If the bandits move you, you can fight back in self-defense, but don't go deep into the fight."

Li Shiji originally wanted to raise an objection, but after what the emperor had just said, he didn't dare to talk back.

Li Shimin paced with his hands behind his back and spoke slowly:

"Second, investigate the strength of Liaodong and the people's sentiment. Pay special attention to the local noble family Murong Yan.

"If he has rebellious intentions, he will be executed immediately without any prior notification."

"Yes, sir!" Li Shiji answered immediately.

"And the most important point."

Li Shimin stopped, stood in front of Li Shiji, and looked down at him.

"Bring back Liaodong Jiedushi Li Ming and the three young men who were fooling around with him alive and well.

"If there is any misfortune, there will be severe punishment."

Li Shiji lowered his head, feeling the pressure like a mountain pressing down on him.

"According to the order!"

After Li Shiji left, the study returned to peace.

Li Shimin stood in front of the huge feng shui map and stared at it for a long time.

He is not a nerd, he is a real soldier.

The courier cavalry ran as fast as they could and could indeed travel hundreds of miles a day.

But a large group of people and horses, carrying food and supplies, could only travel thirty or forty miles a day, which was considered fast.

Li Jing set out on his own from Chang'an to the Weizhou Governor's Office, which was closest to Pingzhou, and then reorganized his troops and headed north...

The whole process will probably take nearly a month.

"One month, one month..."

Li Shimin muttered these three words unconsciously and his eyes moved to the northeast.

If Li Ming was still my grandfather's good son and a loyal minister of the Tang Dynasty.

Then, can he withstand the attack of Goguryeo?
Far water cannot quench near thirst, Pingzhou's crisis still needs to be rescued by the troops of Yingzhou next door. When he had a headache some time ago, the urgent report sent to Yingzhou Governor's Office should be almost reaching Liucheng.

"and many more!"

As Li Shimin watched, he suddenly realized the problem.

Yingzhou, reinforcements to the west.

To the south is the sea and to the north is Goguryeo.

The flank is exposed, cut off from the waist...

"It's bad, Gao Jianwu's real target turns out to be here!"

He wanted to slap himself.

I was really confused at that time, how could I fall into the trap of luring the tiger away from the mountain!

"Someone...come here!"

…………

"Chairman... Chairman... We have returned from delivering the letter..."

Li Ming was talking to his left-hand man Wei Daijia and his right-hand man Hou Junji when the two rebels came over with bruised faces and noses to report.

Li Ming was stunned:
"So soon? Less than half a day has passed?"

After listening to Hou Junji's speculation that the court officials were slandering him for treason, Li Ming...

He did not find it that surprising and quickly wrote a letter, describing in detail the whole process of how the rebel Murong Yan slaughtered the people and killed the governor, and how he was forced to go to Yanshan by this wolf in sheep's clothing and had to put up an armed resistance.

The key point is to express his own intentions. He has no intention of establishing a new central government, let alone rebelling. He is a very loyal minister.

After writing the letter, he divided his troops into two groups, sending it northeast to Yingzhou and southwest to Youzhou respectively.

If it weren't for the minor frictions between Goguryeo and the Tang Dynasty in the past two years, he would have wanted to send a letter to the King of Goguryeo.

However, even if Yingzhou and Youzhou are neighbors, it won’t take them half a day to return.

"And what's wrong with your faces?" Li Ming asked puzzledly.

The two guys who delivered the letter were also very upset:
"I don't know. We were heading west as usual, when suddenly a few minions of the Murong family jumped out from the mountain path. They were all wearing helmets and armor and were very difficult to deal with.

"We ran away quickly and fell down the mountain stream in such a hurry that we were able to save our lives."

Li Ming was shocked.

Didn't the morale of those servants drop to zero after being defeated by me?
How can they be so highly organized?

"Disperse small forces and block the mountain road. These are no longer ordinary servants. Don't rush through the checkpoint rashly. It's easy for them to track you back and find you here."

Hou Junji gave professional advice:
"If we want to get in touch with the outside world as soon as possible, we have to fight them head-on and wipe out those elite soldiers. Can your peasant soldiers handle it?"

I've been waiting for you to say this, Marshal Hou!

Li Ming jumped up at once:
"You can't fight, and I can't fight. I'll leave it to you, Junji, to train the army to break through the blockade.

"I appoint you as a member of the Political Committee, in charge of military direction."

What is the length? Am I not the Sima of Song Wang? Hou Junji did not understand.

"You have a share too!" Li Ming pulled Lawei's trouser leg.

"I have it too?"

"Yes, I have also reserved a seat for you as a committee member, focusing on economic development. See how much I value you."

What's going on here...the two were confused.

"Waiting for the price, you go to the Wuli Township Government Office, which is the largest house halfway up the mountain, and check on Changsun Yan and Fang Yize.

"Jun Ji, let's go to the training ground first!"

…………

When the two arrived at the place, they happened to catch the soldiers taking a break from training and sat cross-legged on the ground to rest.

Xue Wanche sat among the soldiers and boasted to them about his glorious deeds of "back then, I only needed a hundred men to disperse Dou Jiande's 100,000 peasant army", but the peasant soldiers rolled their eyes at him.

Although he no longer wanted to get involved in the mess of the Li family's descendants, after Li Ming assured him that he was definitely a loyal subject, this wooden-headed man really believed it.

After Li Ming used his mother's and Lao Hou's face to persuade him, Xue Wanche was finally bewitched by the little succubus and officially joined to train the army for him.

"Tsk, there's no distinction between superiors and subordinates, and no discipline." Hou Junji curled his lips in disgust, and heard singing coming from a corner of the training ground.

It was another group of soldiers, led by Yuchi Xunyu, who sang together.

Hou Junji said he was not surprised by this abstract behavior of dancing on the battlefield.

The peasant army is disorganized and undisciplined. What can we expect from them?

"What are they singing?"

"The song of discipline helps soldiers remember the discipline on and off the battlefield."

Oh? Your Highness Li Ming's idea is brilliant... Hou Junji sighed secretly.

The grassroots soldiers were generally ignorant and could not even understand simple marching orders, let alone discipline.

Singing can indeed help deepen your memory.

Hou Junji was quite pleased and stood there listening for a while.

I could vaguely hear the soldiers singing: "...all the spoils shall be given to the public"

He felt that the lyrics were implying something about himself, and his mouth twitched as he looked away.

Then I discovered abstract behavior -

A group of soldiers had a wooden board hung upside down around their necks, and the one behind them stared intently at the words written on the board by the one in front.

"What are those people doing?"

"I'm learning to read. I'll take some time to study between training sessions."

"Oh, Your Highness wants them to become scholars?"

"Commissioner Hou, when I'm at work, I'm called by my title, but in front of fellow villagers, I'm called Chairman."

"?"

Sometimes, Hou Junji really couldn’t understand what His Highness Li Ming was thinking.

You can eat meat and drink wine with the soldiers, and make money together.

But teaching them to read...seems a bit unnecessary, right?
God knows whether these cannon fodders can see the sun the next day...

"These are new recruits, good men from the villages who have just signed up to join the army." Li Ming and Hou Junji introduced:

"I'll leave it to you to train."

Hou Junji sighed silently, clasped his fists firmly and said:
"You will not disgrace your command."

He felt the burden on his shoulders was heavy.

These peasant soldiers, who came from remote rural areas and had just put down their hoes, were unconvinced when they heard this.

How can they compare to the government troops who have been soldiers for generations and come from good families in Guanzhong?
Looking at their various incomprehensible and abstract behaviors, his distrust of these recruits increased.

It would take a lot of effort for him to train them and turn them into useful filler babies...

Chairman Li Ming introduced Hou Junji to the new recruits. After officially transferring the command, he went back to the temporary government office.

Looking at the new soldiers sitting on the ground like old farmers drying grain, Hou Junji sighed slightly and shouted with all his strength:

"stand up!"

brush!
Almost at the same time, all the soldiers stood up on the spot, as straight as pine trees, and even created a gust of wind!
Hou Junji was choked by the sudden surge of murderous aura and subconsciously closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw countless young and resolute faces.

He suddenly felt dazed...

…………

"You have governed well, I just have a few suggestions."

Wei Daijia held a short meeting for Li Ming, Zhangsun Yan and Fang Yize.

It was dark after a few hours.

"You guys continue, I'll just do it."

Li Ming decisively used the pee escape method, cruelly abandoned the chief secretary and the finance chairman whose heads were about to explode, and went out for a walk.

When passing by the training ground, torches were ablaze and Hou Junji was still training.

Under his command, the soldiers' ranks moved like flowing water, changing smoothly through various melee formations.

"stop!"

Ming Jin withdraws his troops.

The recruits collapsed on the ground exhausted.

Hou Junji was also sweating in the hot January weather.

"You've been practicing until the evening. Aren't you afraid of catching a cold if you work so hard?" Li Ming handed him a towel.

"Huh... I haven't felt this good in a long time..." Hou Junji panted.

"Let's test the quality of these new recruits. If we're not careful, the time will pass."

"How is their quality?" Li Ming asked.

Hou Junji looked at Li Ming with doubts in his eyes:
"What have you been doing hiding in the mountains?"

"Huh?" Li Ming was stunned.

Hou Junji repeated it again:
"With such good soldiers, why are you still hiding in the mountains?!"

In an era when a good soldier was considered one who could understand the commands "forward" and "backward", not step on each other, and eat, drink, defecate and urinate according to orders.

For an ordinary general, it is simply a luxury to have an army like this peasant army, which can use its fingers as easily as its own, understand complex instructions, and execute them to the letter!

And these people are just new recruits!

I can’t imagine what a fierce and vigorous army the veterans are!

If he were given an army like this, Hou Junji would dare to attack Tokyo Luoyang!
(End of this chapter)