Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 263 The younger brother of the emperor killed his elder brother, and the country was conquered

"Li Tai is in Hebei, begging me not to kill him? Tsk..."

A few days before the Battle of Hengshan, in Pingzhou Prefecture.

Li Ming frowned as he finished reading the letter from Chang'an. He snorted and casually threw the letter onto the table in front of him.

Chief Secretary Sun Yan took the letter and said:

"Who sent this? It's so funny?"

Li Ming shrugged:

"Li Zhi."

Chang Sunyan immediately fumbled to pick up the letter and put it back on the table.

Afraid of seeing something I shouldn't see.

"There's nothing special about it. It's just that my stupid brother wanted to use me to kill Li Tai." Li Ming said lightly.

"Huh?" Chang Sunyan felt that his brain was not enough:

"Brother Ming, didn't you just say that he begged you not to kill him in the letter..."

"This is a provocation. Do you think he thinks I will listen to him? He can't just write clearly in the letter asking the younger brother to kill the older brother. You should be more polite in your eating manners. This will be written in history books." Li Ming said.

It is somewhat humorous that a usurper asks the usurped to show mercy to another usurper.

"He was tipping me off, telling me that Li Tai himself was in Hebei, staying with the plundering Xueyantuo tribe."

Li Ming took a sip of tea and almost laughed out of anger.

That little thing Li Zhi is really something.

The brothers in Wagangzhai around him are all talented people. After all, they were bandits who had served in the rebel army and decisively gave up their evil ways to join the Tang Dynasty. They are very good at riding the fence.

On the night of the Suzaku Gate Incident, Li Zhi's group mutinied, but it was not a complete mutiny.

Li Ming was given a chance to live, but he was expelled from Chang'an and sent back to Liaodong.

From then on, Li Zhi spread the false news about Li Ming's "glorious sacrifice" while secretly exchanging letters with Li Ming.

After learning that the Liaodong Army entered Hebei and fought against the coalition forces of Xueyantuo and Li Tai, he did not forget to press 666 and send a barrage with a delay of half a month.

The approach of these two ends of the rat was most likely guided by the elder brother of Wagangzhai to Li Zhi.

Li Ming also despised this practice and always read but never replied to the letters sent by Brother Shan Ji.

"He knew I would not let Li Tai go, so he used this method to inform me of Li Tai's location in order to kill someone with a borrowed knife, while he stood on the dry shore and continued to play the role of loyalty, filial piety and brotherhood.

"Oh, my ninth brother is becoming more and more hypocritical and cunning."

In Li Ming's mind, Li Zhi's image is rapidly sliding towards the sinister Emperor Gaozong of Tang in history.

Zhang Sunyan was quite disdainful of the information sent by Li Zhi:

“We didn’t need him to notify us, we already knew that the King of Wei’s troops were coming to Hebei.

"The soldiers on the front line have all fought each other, and there are a lot of Weizhou soldiers who have rebelled, surrendered, or been captured."

"This is different. We have our own channels, but Li Zhi also has his own channels." Li Ming asked back:

"Li Tai's troops have indeed come to the front line, but can you be sure that Li Tai himself must be acting with his troops, rather than hiding in an underground palace somewhere in Luoyang?"

Although Li Ming organized three independent intelligence systems, it was impossible for him to have a complete view of everything in the world.

Intelligence is about human relationships and worldly wisdom, and it takes time to accumulate.

Zhang Liang, the leader of Wagangzhai under Li Zhi, and the spy network he has run for many years have unique advantages in obtaining personal intelligence of the royal family and senior officials.

It takes years of hard work to bridge the gap, not just the creation of a set of institutions and systems.

"This..." Chang Sun Yan was speechless for a moment.

"Besides..." Li Ming pointed to a paragraph in the letter:
“According to the intelligence provided by Li Zhi, Li Tai has been staying with his troops since leaving Luoyang, fearing that they might mutiny.

"According to the front-line information we collected on our own, the troops under Li Tai acted together with the main force of Xueyantuo, following Xue Rengui and Su Dingfang's troops all the way and moving towards the northwest.

"That is to say..."

Li Ming looked at the map hanging on the wall:
"He's probably in Yunzhou now."

Without his strategic decision, Li Jing took the lead, Su Dingfang and Xue Rengui served as bait, and prepared a surprise for the invading Tiele fellows in the Hengshan area of ​​Yunzhou.

Unexpectedly, the big fish Li Tai actually came in on his own initiative!

"Brother Ming, what should we do? Should we fulfill Li Zhi's wish?" Chang Sun Yan was unsure.

Li Tai, the origin of all conspiracies, is also one of the strong competitors in the second Xuanwumen Chicken Eating Contest.

Killing him is much more cost-effective than killing tens of thousands of people.

However, the blame for killing his brothers would undoubtedly fall on Mingge, causing damage to his reputation.

How to weigh it?

"What should I do? Oh, give me my pen."

Li Ming wrote a few words in a very impressive manner, put them in a brocade bag and gave them to Chang Sun Yan.

"Give it to Li Jing immediately."

Chang Sun Yan looked solemn and took the brocade bag carefully, as if it weighed a thousand pounds.

After watching the secretary leave, Li Ming sighed, turned his attention back to governing the country, and picked up the stacks of documents left by Chang Sun Yan.

Now that he, Li Tai and Li Zhi "divide the world into three parts", the fight for the throne has long since transformed from a military coup into a seesaw-like all-out competition.

As time went on, the importance of war gradually gave way to domestic affairs.

The window to end the game early by taking advantage of opportunistic actions such as assassinations has passed.

Only by practicing internal skills well can we have a chance to win in this long-term confrontation.

And the biggest trouble Li Ming is facing in his governance now is not the war in Hebei.

But it is the integration of Liaoning and Gao.

Since we have annexed Goguryeo, we must take responsibility.

We can't continue to treat the newly incorporated Goguryeo people the same way we treated our colonies before, right?

In the past, we could shift the blame to the “corrupt and backward landlord class”, but who can we shift the blame to now?

However, from folk customs to development levels and other aspects, Liaodong and Goguryeo are, if not completely different, very different.

It is not easy to bring the people of these two places together.

"What? Someone froze to death in Pyongyang in the middle of winter?
"If this gets out, Liaodong will become the laughing stock of the Tang Dynasty!

"What? A mysterious explosion occurred in Pingzhou? Taoist Priest Yuan Tiangang was almost killed in the explosion?"

What’s going on every day… Li Ming scratched his head in despair.

…………

Back to the day of the Battle of Hengshan.

Night falls on the battlefield.

After a whole day of massacre, the air was filled with a strong smell of blood.

The Liaodong Red Turban Army and their Goguryeo comrades did not stop their butchering knives, but continued to clean up the battlefield with torches in hand.

There was a bright moon in the sky and bright flames on the ground, illuminating the snow-capped mountains as if it were daytime.

"I suspect that the Xueyantuo chieftain and the King of Wei are commanding the battle on the opposite hill right now."

Li Jing spoke to his two generals in a consultative tone, but his expression was extremely serious, with a bright light flashing in his eyes.

This is the thrill of catching a big fish.

Obviously, the old general is very confident in his judgment.

Su Dingfang and Xue Rengui looked at each other.

They could more or less sense that the one fighting against them was Xueyantuo Khan himself.

No other Tiele chieftain would be able to gather such a large army.

But if Li Tai is on the other side...

How do you know this?
“In the afternoon, I happened to catch a glimpse of Li Tai’s army, hiding deep in the mountains and forests on the other side of the river.

“Although presbyopia makes it difficult to see things in front of you, it does not affect your vision in the distance.”

Li Jing pointed to the other side.

Now there was only darkness.

"So I left the central army unmoved, as the sharp knife force to capture the thieves and the king." Li Jing still spoke in a negotiating tone:

"Would you like to come with me and take a look?"

The God of War has keen insight, so what else do Xiao Su and Xiao Xue have to doubt?

"I wish to follow Lord Wei!"

In the Hengshan Mountains, which were lit up by torches, the central army, which had been sitting still, received a secret order and deliberately avoided the flames and went down the mountain along the hunter's trail on the side of the mountain.

The entire army marched in silence under the cover of darkness.

Su Dingfang suddenly thought of something, chased after Li Jing, and asked in a low voice:

"No matter what, the King of Wei is still a royal relative, how should we deal with him?
"Swords have no eyes. If we, the outsiders, accidentally hurt him..."

He had suffered a loss once. He almost killed Li Ming, a relative of the emperor, and was burdened with a huge blame that was enough to make all nine clans guilty.

Even if he did not suffer this loss personally, Cheng Ji followed Sima Zhao's suggestion and killed Wei Emperor Cao Mao with a single sword, and was later blamed and his three clans were exterminated. This incident is clearly recorded in history books.

Li Jing said nothing, but took out a brocade bag and handed it to his old subordinate.

Su Dingfang opened it doubtfully and took out a page of paper.

With the bright moonlight, he could see the handwriting on the paper clearly, but he became even more confused.

This page is not a secret letter, nor is it a magic trick.

Instead, it was an official document from the Liaodong government office, with a unique document number.

The contents of the official document were clearly written by His Royal Highness Li Ming.

"Anyone who kills Li Tai will be rewarded! No matter what method you use! All consequences will be borne by Li Ming!"

The words are concise and to the point, and they speak directly to the heart, leaving no room for ambiguity or prevarication.

"This……"

Su Dingfang was greatly shocked.

It's so refreshing to see a leader take the initiative to take the blame for his subordinates! "The son is like his father," Li Jing commented briefly.

These three short words can be said to be the highest evaluation of a prince.

This was what happened to Li Ming's father, Li Shimin. After the Xuanwu Gate Incident, he took all the blame for killing his two brothers on himself instead of putting the blame on others.

Who wouldn’t be willing to follow such a leader?
Su Dingfang carefully put away the brocade bag, and couldn't help but tighten the ring-handled sword at his waist, staring at the hill in front of him with burning eyes.

Li Tai, right? "General of the Left Wuhou Guard", right? You ordered me to kill Li Ming and then discard me after using me, right?

Okay, you wait!

…………

On the ridge outside the battlefield.

Li Shimin was observing the battle situation intently and had been lying in the cold snow for a whole day.

"Your Majesty, please take care of yourself and return to the camp to rest!"

"Yes, Khan. Lying on ice all day is bad for your internal organs!"

Qibi Heli and Ashina She'er cried and begged.

They both prayed countless times.

If he hadn't been afraid of being discovered by the enemy's scouts, he would have made a bloody remonstration with a stab in the face from the Turkic people anyway.

Even Li Chengqian couldn't stand it any longer.

It would be fine if my father froze to death, but his own small body cannot withstand the cold weather.

"Father, it's dark now and we can't see the battle situation. Let's go back first."

He also sincerely joined the team of persuading people to quit.

However, ever since he began to suspect that Li Jing was the commander of the Liaodong Army, Li Shimin seemed to have suddenly become a different person.

He became extremely serious and focused, turning a deaf ear to the pleas of his eldest son and subordinates.

"Cheng Qian, you are wrong. Darkness is the best time to observe the other side's battle."

Li Shimin spoke softly, as if talking to himself.

Although I have deduced this countless times in military books, seeing is believing.

After observing on-site, Li Shimin was still amazed by Li Jing's use of tactics.

Regardless of his position, Li Jing's sense of the battle situation seems to be innate.

Through geometric changes in the formation, they cleverly achieved the goal of using more people to defeat the fewer and using the well-prepared to defeat the unprepared on the local front, and ultimately achieved victory.

Go back to basics and focus on the most basic tactical core.

Of course, the battles during the day were all routine.

How to conduct night battles is the best stage to demonstrate a general's comprehensive strength.

No, Father... Didn't Ning understand? Am I talking about watching the battle? I'm talking about returning to the camp! ...

Li Shimin's irrelevant reply made Li Chengqian's mouth twitch.

In his heart, his eyelids rolled up to the sky.

But since the emperor didn't leave, he couldn't leave either, so he could only continue to lie in the snow with him.

Down in the valley, torches lit up like brilliant fire dragons.

Against the dark background, the Liaodong soldiers holding torches are very eye-catching.

The details of the formation's deployment and changes are much clearer than during the day.

However, the battle has entered garbage time.

The Liaodong Army was either engaged in unilateral massacres or accepting surrenders and taking prisoners. It gets boring after watching it for too long.

Li Chengqian yawned and immediately shook his head violently.

No, no, I'm not here to learn the art of war...

With this shake, his eyes fell on Li Shimin again.

My father's gaze left the monotonous battlefield and fell on a mountain on the north bank of the valley.

There were also flickering lights on the top of that mountain, and flags could be vaguely seen fluttering in the wind. It was obviously a command location.

The corners of Li Shimin's eyes twitched noticeably, and he suddenly whispered:
"broken!"

Li Chengqian and the other three immediately became nervous:

"What's broken? Were we discovered?"

"No." Li Shimin whispered, pointing to the foot of the mountain on the other side of the valley:
"During the day, a rebellious Tang army came to the battlefield together with the Tiele army, but they did not participate in the battle and hid under the mountain. You saw them during the day, right?"

Is this true? It was a mess at the time, with so many people everywhere, how could one tell who was who... Li Chengqian complained in his heart, and responded casually:
"Yes, father."

Li Shimin moved his finger upwards and pointed to the peak of the mountain:

"Do you see those little lights over there?"

"I saw my father." Li Chengqian didn't know what Old Li was up to, so he just responded like this.

"Your fourth brother is there." Li Shimin said in a low voice.

Li Chengqian: "???"

How did the topic suddenly jump from the fictitious "Tang army rebels" to the hateful Li Tai?

I hope Old Li's brain has frozen into oblivion, right?
Li Chengqian looked at his father the emperor in confusion, but saw that the other's eyes were no longer cold, but filled with extremely complicated emotions.

Love, guilt, anger, disappointment, anxiety...

"Father?"

Li Chengqian was frightened.

Not only him, but Ashina She'er and Qibi Heli were even more shocked by the boss's reaction.

"Tian Khan?!"

"His Majesty?!"

They were all worried that Li Shimin might be suffering from hallucinations due to the cold snowy night.

Li Shimin still ignored their words and continued to mutter something that made others confused:

"If it was Li Jing on the other side, he would definitely launch a night raid on the command center...

"Then Li Tai, my Blue Bird will..."

…………

The Xueyantuo army's headquarters, the commander-in-chief's tent on the top of the mountain, was surrounded by the Han army.

"Khan, please."

Li Tai extended his hand politely to Zhenzhu Khan.

Now the situation has changed. With the destruction of the main forces in the hands of his allies, he has become the more powerful party.

"Well...Please, King Wei."

A trace of resentment and unwillingness flashed across Zhenzhu Khan Yinan's face.

But the situation is stronger than the people.

After killing all his fellow tribesmen, Yinan didn't want to lose his own life as well.

Therefore, they had no choice but to abandon them with reluctance and return to the grassland under the escort of Li Tai's Han army.

He still wants to continue to be Khan.

"King Wei, can your Han soldiers really escort me back to the grassland?"

Yi Nan was not very reassured.

It sounds like he's worried about an enemy attack.

In fact, he was worried about Li Tai.

His army was almost wiped out, and he really didn't want to put his life and property into the hands of this "ally" who was plotting to kill his father.

Li Tai saw through the other party's thoughts at a glance and smiled gently:
"I just want to find a place to stay in the Khanate. Without the Khan's recommendation, how can I gain a foothold in the Khanate?
"I'm afraid it won't work if we only rely on these tens of thousands of unproductive soldiers, right?"

Yes, at least the Khan should live long enough to bring himself into the ruling circle of the grassland.

Li Tai suppressed the smirk on his face, opened the curtain of the carriage and was about to get in.

"call……"

Zhenzhu Khan heaved a sigh of relief after hearing his ally's assurances.

He felt that although Li Tai was vicious, he was not stupid.

Without the endorsement of the Khan, how could the Han people brazenly invade the Tiele people's territory and settle down on their own?
If Li Tai killed him, it would be tantamount to cutting off his own retreat.

For such a stupid thing, Li Tai should...

Whoosh!
The sound of the arrow breaking through the air interrupted Yinan's thoughts.

When he came to his senses, he felt a chill on his neck.

It was as if someone had lifted his neck guard and stuffed a handful of snow into his neck.

He raised his hand tremblingly and touched his neck.

It hit a piece of wood as thin as a willow branch, which just happened to be inserted into the gap between the helmet and the neck.

One of them dug deep into his neck.

Zhenzhu Khan did not feel any pain, but felt the chill gradually spreading from his neck to his whole body, and he subconsciously wiped the wound with his fingers.

Wet and sticky.

When I took it in front of me, I saw it was bright red.

is blood.

Zhenzhu Khan raised his head in confusion, his eyes fixed on Li Tai.

"You... click..."

No sound came out of his throat, and his consciousness immediately fell into darkness.

Li Tai was still in the motion of getting on the carriage, and watched Zhenzhu Khan being hit by an arrow in the neck and then falling straight down.

(End of this chapter)