Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

After hearing what Du He said, Li Chengqian's face turned a little ugly.

"Du He, why do you say that?"

Although the King of Han was not capable, he was still a prince who supported him.

It is better to have one's own supporters in charge of the big city of Youzhou than officials close to Li Tai.

Du He shook his head and said, "Yinan plundered the entire Xueyantuo to gather more than 100,000 livestock. Now because the livestock died or were injured on the way, the betrothal gift was insufficient and His Majesty rejected his marriage proposal."

"Besides, Yi Nan is vomiting blood and is unconscious. Given all these contradictions, Xueyantuo might retaliate against our Tang Dynasty."

"If they send troops out of Youzhou to cut off our retreat while we are conquering Goguryeo, our 100,000-man army will be in danger!"

After a pause, Du He guessed in the worst direction.

"The King of Han has now been appointed Governor of Youzhou. He must have pestered Your Majesty to get it."

"If it's just his personal wish, then it's nothing. But if he has contact with the King of Wei, then he has ulterior motives!"

On the one hand, whether Li Yuanchang, a prince who only knows how to eat, drink and have fun, has the ability to stop the Xueyantuo army is one issue.

Whether or not there is any ulterior motive is another matter.

Du He guessed that judging from the current situation, Li Yuanchang was mostly the former.

Li Chengqian said in a deep voice: "During this period of time, I will send someone to investigate the King of Han!"

Du He nodded, didn't say much, but clasped his hands and left.

...

The next day.

Before dusk.

Du He and Li Yi were chatting sweetly in the lobby.

Suddenly Linglong ran in from outside and shouted.

"Sir, the Duke and Duchess of Lai are here to visit you."

Hearing that his elder brother and sister-in-law had returned, Du He stood up excitedly and said.

"Linglong, please invite my elder brother and sister-in-law in."

Linglong nodded, then ran out with her long legs again.

My eldest brother Du Gou is now the Shangshu Zuocheng, and he will be working in Chang'an in the future. He doesn't need to go to remote places like Cizhou.

Soon, Linglong came in with her elder brother Du Gou and her elder sister-in-law Wen.

Before Du He could speak, Du Gou and Wen Shi took the lead to bow respectfully to Li Yi.

"Meet Her Royal Highness the Princess."

Li Yi waved his hand and said softly, "Brother, sister-in-law, there's no need to be polite. We are all family."

Li Yi pointed to a chair on the side and said with a smile.

"This is a chair that my husband made. It's cushioned and very comfortable to sit on."

Li Yi's belly is getting bigger and bigger, and it is inconvenient for her to sit down, so Du He asked a carpenter to make a chair for her.

Moreover, the materials used are all blocks of purple trembling wood, which looks calm and grand.

"Thank you, Your Highness Princess."

Mr. and Mrs. Du Gou bowed again and then sat down on the chair stiffly.

Sister-in-law Wen touched the chair up and down, leaning comfortably against the backrest, secretly marveling at the feeling.

"This chair is really well made. I don't mind my legs getting numb when sitting for a long time."

"I don't know what's going on in Erlang's brain. How come he suddenly knows so many things?"

"Could it be possible that there is someone who has an epiphany?"

Wen was both grateful and curious about the second son of the Du family.

When she first married into the Du family, Du He, who was still a teenager, would never even look at her all day.

He was even very rude to her and looked down on her as someone from a small family.

Erlang is illiterate and has an unparalleled ability to get into trouble. Every day her husband is either cleaning up Erlang's mess or on his way to apologize.

The only good thing he did was not get into trouble that day.

But after just a few years, Erlang, this super playboy, became the backbone of the Du family.

Not only did she become a popular figure around the prince, but she also became the Yellow Gate Minister of the fourth rank, and assisted her husband in being promoted to the position of Shangshu Zuocheng.

Even Sanlang Du Aitong was promoted to Sima of Jiangzhou.

Jiangzhou was a superior prefecture, and the Sima of Jiangzhou was an official position below the fifth rank.

Du He asked softly, "Brother, sister-in-law, have you just returned to Chang'an?"

Du Gou nodded and said, "My belongings are still at the entrance of the princess's mansion. I just happened to be passing by, so I came to see you."

He actually wanted to express his gratitude to his second brother, but with Princess Li Yi present, he couldn't say these words out loud.

Du He suddenly asked, "Brother, have you been busy raising pigs for the past six months?"

Du Gou's face was full of confusion: "Why do you say that?"

As a provincial governor, he had too many official duties to attend to, so how could he possibly focus all his energy on raising pigs?

Du He glanced at his sister-in-law, then winked and said with a smile.

"If you weren't busy raising pigs, why hasn't your sister-in-law's belly shown any signs of pregnancy after more than half a year?"

Forehead...

Upon hearing these explicit words, Du Gou and Wen's faces turned red instantly.

Even Linglong, who was standing behind Li Yi, had a pretty face as red as a monkey's butt.

Li Yi said coquettishly: "Husband, how can you say such things? It's so indecent."

"Yes."

The damn girl Linglong also joined in the conversation.

Du He quickly raised his hand and said, "Hey, it was a slip of the tongue."

Du Gou looked at his second brother who got along very well with the princess, and a hint of relief appeared in his eyes.

After that, they briefly chatted about family matters and some recent events in Chang'an and the court, and then Du Gou and Wen said goodbye and went back.

...

The next day.

There was no court meeting for all officials in the Taiji Hall. Instead, a banquet was held to entertain important officials above the third rank.

Although Du Gou was a fourth-rank official, he was also honored with the title of Duke of Lai and was also invited to the banquet.

In addition, princes-in-law such as Du He and Wang Jingzhi were also invited to participate.

It’s just that the place where they sit is a bit off, basically in the corners.

Wang Jing pointed at Fang Yiai, who was sitting in the front row and looking very proud, and said with disdain on his face.

"Brother Du, look at how proud Fang Lao Er is. I really want to beat him up."

While he was speaking, Fang Yiai glanced over here proudly.

After Fang Yiai was reinstated, he started to act recklessly again.

Du He forced a faint smile on his face and said in a low voice, "Brother Wang, let Fang Lao Er vent the grievances he has suffered at home."

"He is a poor man indeed!"

Wang Jingzhi turned back blankly, not knowing what Du He meant by this.

However, his curiosity was also aroused.

He looked around and found that no one was paying attention, so he asked in a low voice like a thief.

"Brother Du, what happened to Fang Lao Er?"

Du He patted Wang Jingzhi on the shoulder and shook his head slightly.

Wang Jingzhi understood.

Things that cannot be said are those related to people in the royal family, and Fang Yiai, as a son-in-law of the emperor, is naturally related to Gao Yang.

Wang Jingzhi himself was also a royal consort. He often suffered from Princess Nanping's bullying at home, and he could empathize with Fang Yiai's experience.

Only the prince consort knows the suffering of the prince consort!

After the banquet began.

A group of court singers were performing a beautiful dance in the center of the hall.

Li Shimin interacted frequently with ministers such as Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Cheng Yaojin and Li Jing, drinking and chatting about interesting things in the past.

People like Du He and his gang are just like a bunch of invisible people.

They sat in the corner the whole time, silently eating the delicious food on the table, and no one came to ask about their food.

The banquet lasted for nearly two hours before it finally ended.

Du He was touching his bulging belly and was about to leave when suddenly a loud voice called him.

"Du He, wait a moment, kid."

Hearing a loud, somewhat arrogant voice behind him, Du He frowned and turned around to take a look.

I saw a burly old general with raised eyebrows, pimples on his face and strange flesh coming towards me with big strides.

I rely on!

How could it be Cheng Yaojin, the devil?

Du He's frown instantly turned into a smile.

"Meet Duke Lu."

Cheng Yaojin picked his teeth with a bamboo stick as he walked.

He came up to Du He and said with a bandit look on his face, "Du He, when I was the governor of Youzhou, why didn't you ask me to be the chief commander of the march?"

"Why, do you look down on me?"

"Do you still think that I am no match for Hou Junji and Zhang Liang?"

Cheng Yaojin's tone and manner were the same as Yuchi Gong's: God is the boss, His Majesty is second, and he is third.

They don't think highly of Hou Junji, Zhang Liang and others.