Chapter 2998 The Emperor’s Forbearance
After inspecting the shores of Liao River and feeling the vastness of Liaodong land, His Majesty Li Er rode and led a group of civil and military personnel back to the camp.
The spacious tent was stationed less than ten miles away on the west bank of the Liao River, completely ignoring the Goguryeo army on the east side of the Liao River. In fact, the Tang army was eager for the Goguryeo army to come out and steal the camp. After all, the enemies huddled in the city were very dangerous. It's hard to chew, but if it's a field battle, the enemy is no match at all...
Returning to the main tent of the Chinese army, His Majesty Li Er took off his armor and robe under the service of the army's chamberlain. The middle coat inside was actually a little wet with sweat. I washed my hands and face in the basin and wiped them clean with a wet handkerchief. Then I sat down on my seat, took a sip of tea, and let out a long breath.
After all, it’s because I’m getting older, and my body has been severely weakened in the past two years...
A group of cultural relics sat down together, and Zhang Liang asked: "Your Majesty, when will the general attack be launched?"
His Majesty Li Er took another sip of tea and said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, wait until Lu Guogong's troops move to the rear of Far East City and form a pincer attack from east to west. After stabilizing the position, they will conquer Far East City in one fell swoop and win the first victory in the war. , to scare the enemy!”
Everyone understands.
Although the key to the Eastern Expedition lies in the speed of march, once it is delayed, it is easy to fall into passivity, or even repeat the mistakes of the previous Sui Dynasty. However, after the rain fell in the past two days, the Liao River's surface swelled and its current flowed rapidly, which caused some difficulties in crossing the river. It was very likely that they would encounter a sniper attack from the Far East City enemy troops when they were halfway across the river, and the casualties would be heavy.
It would be safer to wait for two days to get a firm foothold and then decide at once.
After all, it is the first battle of the army, and it is too important for the morale of the army. It is better to go slower than to ensure that nothing goes wrong.
While he was talking, he suddenly saw Ashina Simo, who was leading his Turkic headquarters to go out with the army, hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, there is an urgent message from Chang'an!"
His Majesty Li Er's face sank, he stretched out his hand and said: "Send it up!"
He had only left Chang'an for more than a month, and he had already made proper arrangements for all matters in advance. Suddenly an urgent message arrived in the army. It must have been something big, and the prince had difficulty making a decision.
"No."
Ashina Simo stepped forward quickly, bowed slightly, and presented the envelope to His Majesty Li Er with both hands.
His Majesty Li Er picked up the envelope and first checked that the wax paint on it was intact and the seal was intact. Then he took out a small silver knife from his pocket, opened the wax paint and took out the letter inside.
After reading ten lines at a glance, a surge of anger suddenly rose from his chest and abdomen. He placed his palms on the table beside him and shouted angrily: "You are really a coward! I'm not in Chang'an. Is there no royal law?" Can you do whatever you want with restraint? This is simply unreasonable! ”
Several civil and military officials in the big tent were as silent as cicadas.
His Majesty Li Er has been fighting for many years, and his bravery has not been diminished by living in the deep palace in recent years. Now he is in the army, surrounded by swords, guns, swords and halberds, which adds even more power and anger. With the sudden burst, the aura of the Prince Commander permeated the air, making people feel shocked and stressed.
Li Ji hurriedly asked: "Your Majesty, I wonder what happened in Chang'an?"
His Majesty Li Er looked angry, handed the letter to Li Ji, and said coldly: "See for yourself what crazy things these bastards have done!"
Li Ji took the letter and quickly read it, then handed it to Yu Chigong beside him with a serious face.
Everyone circulated it one by one, and finally Zhu Suiliang carefully folded the letter, stuffed it into an envelope, and placed it on the desk next to His Majesty Li Er.
His Majesty Li Er said angrily: "How dangerous is the Xuanwu Gate? Normally, even if a bird flies over, the defenders will be alerted, but Chai Zhewei brazenly set fire to the account books. Not only did he ignore the laws of the court, but he also He took the safety of Xuanwu Gate so lightly that the whole city of Chang'an was shaken, damn it! ”
To say "damn" from the emperor's mouth means that the seriousness of the situation cannot be increased...
Li Ji thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. There was a fire in the Zuotunwei barracks, and Chai Zhewei could not escape the blame. However, His Highness the Prince's letter also stated that there was no witness or physical evidence to prove that Chai Zhewei was intentional. Arson… ...Although the fire is a fact, there is a big difference between intentional and unintentional. Wei Chen believes that it is not too late to discuss the punishment of Chai Zhewei after the court’s further investigation results are released.”
Why are there so many coincidences in your mind, His Majesty Li Er? The imperial court sent people to inspect the account books, but the account books caught fire before the inspection was completed. The fire burned all the account books, leaving no evidence at all...
There was a sudden movement in his heart, and he turned to look at Li Ji with a frown.
Their eyes met, Li Ji nodded slightly.
His Majesty Li Er frowned deeper and deeper, thinking deeply...
The big tent became quiet.
After a long time, His Majesty Li Er was sipping his tea cup and said slowly: "The words of Mao Gong are reasonable, but I am a little impulsive. There are many things involved in the court, and the slightest carelessness will have far-reaching consequences, so we should be safe. , Don't rush to deal with it. Dengshan drafted a letter for me, telling the prince not to shake the stability of Chang'an, to carefully investigate the case of Zuotunwei fire, and not to be reckless. "
"Dengshan" is the name of Zhu Suiliang. Zhu Suiliang was brought to Liaodong by His Majesty Li Er, and was regarded more as a marching secretary...
"No."
Zhu Suiliang hurriedly agreed, then immediately stood up, went to the desk on one side to grind and spread paper, and wrote with one wave of his hand.
Such a letter, with its connotation of fire, is naturally not difficult for the talented Zhu Suiliang...
Then the ink was dried and handed over to His Majesty Li Er for inspection.
His Majesty Li Er read it carefully, and found that the letter not only had the intention of knocking him out, telling the prince not to rely on the power of supervising the country to be arrogant, but also secretly reminded him not to deal with Chai Zhewei hastily, which would cause instability in Chang'an and then affect the entire Guanzhong... …
After reading it, he nodded slightly, stamped the seal, and asked Zhu Suiliang to carefully put the letter into a new envelope, seal it with fire paint, and before the fire paint had cooled and solidified, he added an imperial seal. This makes the fire paint have a complete graphic to prevent people from peeking.
Then Zhu Suiliang took out the envelope, handed it to the army's fast horse, and quickly sent it back to Chang'an.
In the central military tent, all the people who came were gone, and only Li Ji was left behind by His Majesty Li Er.
The chamberlain made another pot of tea, poured a cup for each of them, bowed and left, and stood outside the big tent door to prevent anyone from eavesdropping.
His Majesty Li Er picked up the tea cup and took a sip, savoring the sweetness of the tea, and then said: "Mao Gong means... is he afraid of causing unrest in Chang'an? Chai Zhewei doesn't have the guts."
According to his idea, he simply sent an imperial edict back to Chang'an, depriving Chai Zhewei of his military power and imprisoning him in the mansion, and appointed a Zuo Tunwei general to guard Xuanwu Gate together with the Right Tunwei.
After all, the act of setting fire to and burning the account books outside Xuanwu Gate is really too bad. If it is not severely punished, where will the court's laws and the emperor's majesty exist?
But Li Ji's attitude forced him to be cautious... In the final analysis, although he was usually very unhappy with Li Ji's "not caring about his own affairs" temperament, he had an absolute respect for his ability and loyalty. of trust.
Li Ji rarely refuted His Majesty Li Er's words: "Courage is not constant. Under certain conditions, it can completely stimulate a person's courage and make him do things that he would never dare to do. Xuanwu Gate is the key to the palace, the palace. Inside the throat, the left and right guards plus the Baiqisi Suwei. Outside the Xuanwu Gate, the palace The guards are stationed on Xuanwu Gate, and all parties cooperate with each other and restrain each other. This can ensure the safety of Xuanwu Gate. If there is a sudden change, it will inevitably cause a chain reaction, causing loopholes in the strength of Xuanwu Gate's guards. Once something happens, it will happen. , the consequences are disastrous.”
This is serious.
His Majesty Li Er stared at Li Ji with burning eyes and asked slowly: "Are you saying that someone took advantage of the courage of a leopard and dared to take advantage of my imperial command to raise troops in Chang'an to cause rebellion and usurp the throne?"
As an emperor, this is the thing you fear most.
Once such words are spoken from the emperor's mouth, it often means that a bloody storm is coming. After all, the creed of "I would rather kill the wrong person than let go" is the emperor's unquestionable way of dealing with those who conspire. Who is right and who is wrong? , Who lives and who dies depends only on the emperor’s thoughts.
evidence?
At stake is the stability of the throne and the country, and evidence is never needed...
Li Ji shook his head and said softly: "People's hearts are dirty. Who has disobedient thoughts in their heart? How can others know it before the signs are revealed? It's just that the current situation is that the army is out on an expedition, and His Majesty is personally conducting the expedition. The most important thing is The most important thing is to ensure the stability of Chang'an. As long as Chang'an is not in chaos, anything can be tolerated. When His Majesty returns to the court in victory, those monsters will be like boiling water and throwing snow. Where can they escape? "
"Heh."
His Majesty Li Er sneered.
He heard what Li Ji meant. In addition to patience, he could also let those who had evil intentions jump out on their own... Killing decisively was not an emperor's art, but patience was.
If Qin Shihuang could endure it, why would his empire collapse and his second generation die?
If Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty could endure it, why would the great Sui Dynasty be full of wars and the country would be cut off?
After a moment of patience, the little rebels all jumped out, and it was easy to deal with them. (End of chapter)