Chapter 1254 tacit understanding

  The time is ripe to destroy Goguryeo, and Qin Lang is also in favor of sending troops to destroy Liao this time. It is said that there are also ministers who oppose it in the court. For example, the Prime Minister Fang Xuanling, who has retired, has tens of thousands of words saying that Liao should not be conquered.

  He believes that the world is peaceful. The Tang Dynasty conquered east and west in these years, and the territory conquered is already large enough. The imperial court should stop expanding externally and concentrate on repairing internal affairs. The emperor decided with anger, and none of his subjects dared to offend him. This is a national disaster.

   But even Fang Xuanling's ten thousand words of advice did not dispel the emperor's determination.

However, Li Jing, a veteran in his seventies, believed that the eradication of the Liao Dynasty should be done as soon as possible. What his generation can do well should not be left to the next generation. He even volunteered to fight, even though he was sick and weak and old. , but still expressed his willingness to fight for the country. It is said that he made some small contributions in the past, but he also relied on the power of the emperor. Now he is dying, but only the emperor does not give up. He is still willing to march eastward and make another effort for the Tang Dynasty and the emperor.

  The emperor was very moved by the loyalty of the old Situ. He gave six horses and two sets of armor, and let Li Jing participate in the deployment decision-making of the Liaodong battle.

   However, the commander of the Liaodong War was useless to Li Jing, who was thin and became a little old man.

  The crown prince recommended Li Ji, the British prince, as his commander-in-chief, and Su Dingfang as his deputy.

  After careful consideration, the emperor finally issued an edict. Li Ji, the governor of Diezhou, was promoted to the Minister of the Ministry of War, and he was added to the third rank of Zhongshumen, Prince Zhan Shi and Luoyang Governor.

  Bai Ma Xuan Xiang, entered the court to be in power.

  When Li Ji was demoted to Diezhou, he worked hard without any complaints. He performed well in governing the local area and training the army.

  Recall the court to participate in secrets, and enter the political affairs hall as prime minister to replace Xiao Yu who died of illness.

  After Li Ji returned to Beijing, the prince went to the suburbs twenty miles to meet him in person, and entered the city with Li Ji. After entering the city, the prince also took Li Ji's hand and took him to meet the emperor.

  The emperor said to Li Ji, in front of the prince, that if it wasn't for the prince, I would not use you again, and you should always remember the prince's kindness.

  Li Ji thanked the emperor and the crown prince.

  The emperor appointed Li Ji as the general manager of the Pyongyang Road March, responsible for the preparations for the expedition to the Liao Dynasty, and Xue Wanche and Pei Xingfang as deputy generals.

  In the city of San Francisco.

  Qin Yong sighed, "Has the British Duke finally made his debut?"

  Qin Lang just smiled, Li Ji was indeed both used and oppressed in his life, but it also has something to do with Li Ji's character. When Li Ji was called Xu Shiji, he was a powerful local, similar to Cheng Yaojin's background. When I was in my teens, I was an unstable person. I made friends with black and white people everywhere, and met people like Zhai Rang and Shan Xiongxin.

Later, Zhai Rang, the law of the East County, was imprisoned due to some incidents. Huang Junhan, the head of the prison, released Huo Rang privately. Shan Xiongxin embraced Huo Rang and went to Wagang to become the king of the mountain. Instead of looting houses and neighbors nearby, you should pull a team to the canal to rob merchants, vehicles and boats.

  Xu Shiji's proposal allowed Wagang to grow bigger and stronger quickly, and attracted Li Mi, who had failed the rebellion and hid for a good year, to join him.

  It’s a pity that Li Mi turned against the guest and killed Huo Rang instead. Shan Xiongxin and Xu Shiji, who were the second masters, were almost killed. Shan Xiongxin was forced to kneel down and beg for mercy, and Xu Shiji was also cut on the neck.

   In the end, he had no choice but to surrender, but who was Xu Shiji, and he was very young at that time, and he always remembered this matter in his heart. So although Wagang became stronger and stronger under Li Mi's hands, Xu Shiji and Shan Xiongxin have always been secretly selfish.

  So in the decisive battle between Li Mi and Wang Shichong, Shan Xiongxin deliberately led his troops to wait and see, watching Li Mi collapse. Xu Shiji, who sits on the north bank of the Yellow River, guards the Liyang warehouse. Xu Shiji, who is strong and strong, even stands still after Li Mi's defeat.

  Finally, after Li Mi surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, Xu Shiji even borrowed a knife to kill people with one move, forcing Li Tang to kill Li Mi. At that time Li Tang came to recruit Li Mi, but Li Mi was sitting on most of Wagang's territory and tens of thousands of horses, but he refused to surrender, saying that he only listened to his lord Li Mi.

Then Li Mi sent a letter to Xu Shiji under the order of the imperial court, and Xu Shiji surrendered immediately. He sorted out the military register, name, treasury, etc., and asked Guo Xiaoke to surrender in Chang'an, but he did not dedicate it to the imperial court, but gave it to Li Mi, saying that these should be handed over to Li Mi .

   This action made Li Yuan immediately want to kill Li Mi. Sure enough, Li Yuan pretended to let Li Mi go to Xu Shiji in Shandong to lead the old department, and when he left Beijing, he immediately recruited him back. After so many repetitions, Li Mi also understood that Li Yuan didn't trust him, so he refused to go back, and was immediately intercepted and killed by Tang Jun.

Xu Shiji played very beautifully, not only avenging Li Mi's revenge for seizing Wagang and killing Zhai Rang for beheading him, but also establishing an image of loyalty to himself, and at the same time letting Chang'an Li Tang understand that he, Xu Shiji, had great respect for Wagang's old troops. influence control.

  So when Li Mi surrendered, Li Yuan was only willing to give the false title of Jiuqing, but after Xu Shiji joined him, Li Yuan wanted to give his father and son the title of king together.

  Li Tang treated Xu Shiji, Jianghuai Du Fuwei, Youzhou Luo Yi, Beiping Gao Kaidao, etc. as equals, and they were all powerful warlords, so he was willing to give Li the surname generously and make him a prince.

  However, Xu Shiji is no longer the young man when he first went to Wagang, and he has experienced many years of experience in the world, so he repeatedly refused to be named king.

  In the end, both father and son were granted the title of Duke.

  Afterwards, he changed his name to Li Shiji to lead the old ministry, accepted the leadership of Li Shentong sent by the imperial court, and continued to fight in Shandong with Liu Heita of Hebei, Wang Shichong of Henan, and Xu Yuanlang of Shandong.

   It is strange to say that in the Wagang era, Li Shiji, who once ruled the banks of the Yellow River, has no record after returning to the Tang Dynasty. It can even be described as repeated defeats and repeated defeats.

   He was even beaten and taken prisoner at one point, even the father and the princess of Datang were taken prisoner by Hebei.

   Even so, after pacifying Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong, Li Yuan still arranged for Li Shiji and Li Shimin to wear golden armor and enter Chang'an City together in a chariot.

  Afterwards, Li Ji guarded Bingzhou, from Wude reign to Zhenguan, and stayed for twenty years.

   Li Jijiu was in Bingzhou, and many people think that it was mainly because he was suspected by the emperor. The reason for Li Yuan's suspicion is that Li Ji has always been the top of the Wagang Sect, and many meritorious generals in the Tang Dynasty came from Wagang. Li Ji's status in the Wu De Dynasty has actually been characterized as that of Luo Yi and Du Fuwei.

  In fact, the imperial court has always been suspicious of him. During the unification war, Li Yuan was very generous. But as long as the world is pacified, and warlords are sent to these powerful forces, they will be eliminated quickly.

  For example, Du Fuwei was killed after entering the court.

  Luo Yi was also transferred from the base camp Youzhou to Guanzhong in the last years of Wude, and took away his military power in a disguised form.

  Compared to Luo Yi, Li Ji is more low-key and cautious. He is well aware of the suspicion of the court, so he is also very cooperative with the transfer of the court.

  There are too many generals in the Kewagang Department, Qin Qiongcheng, Jinniu Jinda, Wu Heizai, Li Junxian, Liu Lancheng, Li Daliang, Huang Junhan, Guo Xiaoke, Zhang Liang, etc., are all made handsome.

  In the mutiny in the ninth year of Wude, the low-key and cautious Li Ji, like Li Jing, chose not to participate. This also laid the groundwork for him to be suppressed by cold storage after the Zhenguan Dynasty. Afterwards, Li Shimin succeeded to the throne. Although Li Ji was not liquidated, those generals in Wagang who were much lower than him were appointed as important generals. When he was an official, Li Ji silently guarded the border in Daibei and was forgotten.

After that, Li Shimin seemed to think of him again every few years, and added an official to him and promoted him to a higher rank, but in fact he never moved. The results have always been there.

  Although he finally paid homage to the prime minister, he was only an envoy and did not enter the court at all.

   Inexplicably, he was demoted by the emperor to Diezhou, Longyou as the governor, where he stayed for several years.

  In the final analysis, Li Ji’s encounters are all because he was the third head of Wagang. In the early days of Wude and Zhenguan, Li Shiji did not have any outstanding records. He guarded Daibei for many years, and his meritorious service was very limited.

  However, Li Shimin is also very clear that Li Ji still has the ability to fight. Although he is not outstanding, he is not outstanding compared with Li Jing, Qin Qiong, Li Daliang, etc., and may even be inferior to Xue Wanche and Cheng Yaojin.

   But Li Ji can also be included in the list of famous generals. After all, he has guarded northern Xinjiang for many years, and his basic military ability is not bad. It is more than enough to deal with the barbarians around him.

  The emperor deliberately suppressed Li Ji, also because Li Ji was younger than Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin and Li Jing, but had a special resume.

The most important generals in the Zhenguan Dynasty were the Wagang Sect, but they suppressed the old leader and didn't use them. After Qin Qiong and Li Daliang finally passed away or became old, the emperor left Li Ji for the use of Prince Chengqian, which happened to be able to suppress the military upstarts. the younger generation.

   In this, there may not be any intention of restricting Qin Lang.

   After all, Qin Lang has become the leader of the military upstart group for many years, relying on his father and son worshiping the prime minister and his outstanding achievements in the Zhenguan Dynasty. Although Qin Qiong retreated bravely in the torrent at the beginning, and Qin Lang did not miss the center after worshiping the prime minister, but Li Shimin didn't know that after his death, the new dynasty that will inherit Qian in the future will inevitably be headed by Changsun Wuji and Qin Lang Auxiliary team.

  Changsun Wuji is the leader of the Guanlong faction, and Qin Lang is the leader of the military upstart faction. Can they guarantee the authority of the new emperor?

   Meet constraints and strike a balance.

  Letting Li Ji enter the court as chancellor was to divide the military upstart faction. Li Ji's qualifications and prestige, especially his position in the Wagang clan, would definitely weaken Qin Lang's influence in the military upstart faction.

  This set, in fact, even a fool can understand it.

   But sometimes, you are not afraid of such conspiracy-style things after seeing through them.

  On the contrary, just like Li Ji, couldn't he understand Li Shimin's intention to hit him suddenly? But what can he do, cooperate honestly. The emperor summoned him back, and the prince made a show of wooing him, and Li Ji could only express his gratitude.

   This is a tacit understanding.

The emperor wanted Li Ji to assist Chengqian, to balance Changsun Wuji and Qin Lang. Li Ji knew it very well, but he had no choice. If he didn't do it, it would be useless to the emperor and the prince. Will be kicked out again.

   "Li Ji's entry into Beijing at this time is because the emperor is going to give him a great achievement, so that he can gain a foothold in the court with more qualifications and prestige in the future."

  Qin Yong also nodded at this analysis, otherwise Niu Jinda, who is obviously guarding Liaodong, would be more suitable to be in command again.

   Li Ji took command of the Liao Dynasty, and with his achievements in destroying the Liao Dynasty, the political affairs hall would be stable at that time.

   After all, since Goguryeo lost the Liaodong region a few years ago, and then went through civil strife, although the Yuan family has usurped power and controlled the government, the court has not been idle in recent years.

  The navy has been harassing the coast of Koguryo, forcing Yuangai Su to ban the sea and move it to the sea. The Goguryeo people took the initiative to move the villages and markets within 20 miles of the coast to the inland.

  They also set up sharp piles and wooden fences at the mouths of every river to prevent Tang ships from entering, and they also did not allow Goguryeo merchants to go to sea.

This seems to have reduced the loss of the Tang army's naval raids, but it is also a cocoon. In the early years, the Goguryeo people had frequent maritime trade with Datang, and even a large amount of food was smuggled from the Central Plains. They manufactured and smelted by hand. The processing industry, etc., was destroyed by Datang's intentional smuggling and dumping.

When they lost more than half of the land in Liaodong, and there was no maritime trade, no Tang ships, no Tang goods, no cheap food, low-priced iron, etc., Goguryeo has lived in the past few years. pretty tough.

In order to prevent the Tang army from attacking, Yuangai Suwen built the Great Wall and built forts on the south bank of the Yalu River. He also set up wooden fences and forts at various river mouths along the coast, recruited a large number of people to train on duty, and built cities and fences. The pastoral damage was serious.

   There is famine every year.

  Goguryeo has spent most of its human and financial resources on the military just like a persecution paranoid patient in recent years.

  Guarding a small area of ​​the peninsula, but has trained 300,000 soldiers and 500,000 reserve militia, almost all the young and strong are included, and they are trained and rotated most of the time every year.

  Women are old and weak working in the fields, and the output of the fields has been greatly reduced, but they still have to hand over most of the small harvest.

  Yuan Gai Suwen went crazy, completely disregarding the life and death of the people. He knew very well that if the Tang army did not go all out on guard, the Tang army might lose the country once they attacked.

Every year, Datang only harassed the coast lightly, and occasionally launched a few attacks on the defense line of the Yalu River, but it was more like an actual combat mobilization exercise, but even such a small-scale action could make Yuan Gai Suwen have to go all out. Defending, maintaining agriculture without any extra energy, etc.

  Datang does not only do these things.

  Before, Yuangai Suwen had also drawn Baekje into an alliance with the Wa Kingdom, but in the past few years, Datang has used all kinds of methods against the Wa and Baekje, threatening and luring, anyway, he will use it if he has the means.

  In addition to supporting the three vassal states of Silla, Tamra, and Gaya, and the nomadic tribes such as Mohe, who continued to besiege Goguryeo, the Wa Kingdom had long since abandoned Goguryeo.

  (end of this chapter)