Liu Ziqiu had strict military discipline. After the camp was set up, the rangers were released fifty miles away. The farthest ones had already reached the foot of Luoyang City. Hexi cavalry appeared in all four gates of Luoyang, which caused huge psychological pressure on Li Yuan in the city.
Just an hour before Pei Ji returned to Luoyang, Li Yuan had just received the battle report. Yingchuan County was captured by the Changshan Army. Li Jiancheng, who led the army to reinforce, was defeated and captured.
It was dark at night, but the hall of the Tang Palace was still brightly lit. Li Yuan glanced at the last two cronies around him, sighed, and said: "Where should I go alone? I would like to ask you two to give me some advice."
Liu Wenjing said without thinking: "Your Majesty, although Liu Ziqiu's troops are approaching the city, there are still 100,000 troops in the city. With the city firmly defended, we can still fight! My subordinates are bold and ask the prince to open the Sishui Pass and let the Wagang army in, so that both of them can fight."
Tigers fighting each other!"
Pei Ji held up his hands and said, "Your Majesty, take a step back and the sky will be brighter. From my subordinates' point of view, the Wagang Army is no match for Liu Ziqiu. Moreover, the Wagang Army is so easy to deal with? Maybe it's easy to invite gods to send away gods."
Disaster!"
Liu Wenjing said angrily: "Pei Ji, do you want to be the seller for glory?"
Pei Ji smiled and said: "Master Liu misunderstood, Pei meant to keep Qingshan here."
Li Yuan nodded thoughtfully: "It doesn't matter, as long as Liu Ziqiu releases Gu's three sons, Gu will not destroy every plant and tree in Luoyang City."
Pei Ji reminded from the side: "Your Majesty, only the eldest son and the second son are being detained by Liu Ziqiu."
Changsun Wuji witnessed Li Xuanba being struck to death by thunder, and Changsun Wuji felt guilty since he was released by Liu Ziqiu. Even his uncle Gao Shilian rarely appeared in front of Li Yuan. Li Yuan naturally knew that
Gao Shilian was already dissatisfied, but everyone had their own ambitions, so he had no choice but to turn a blind eye. Now looking at the situation, his old friend Pei Ji also had the intention of finding another job.
But Liu Wenjing frowned and said, "I heard that Liu Ziqiu values family ties the most. The second young master went to Jiangnan to arrest his son, and I'm afraid he won't be able to come back."
Pei Ji smiled and said: "As long as the prince offers one person, he can definitely get the second son back!"
Li Yuan said with great joy: "Tell me quickly, who do you want to sacrifice?"
Pei Ji stroked his beard and said, "The second young master was just bewitched by others. The real culprit is Xiao Dapeng. If he hadn't proposed this strategy, how would the prince know that Liu Ziqiu's childhood was in Jiangnan?"
After a pause, Pei Ji continued: "Your Majesty, what everyone hates the most is the capricious villain, and Liu Ziqiu is no exception. If Xiao Dapeng betrayed him, he would definitely want to eat his flesh and bones. If the prince
If Xiao Dapeng hands it over, then Liu Ziqiu will naturally understand the prince's painstaking efforts."
Li Yuan thought for a while and finally made up his mind: "Forget it, Mr. Pei, please escort Xiao Dapeng to Liu Ziqiu's military camp!"
Pei Ji accepted the promise and left the palace. Looking at Pei Ji's back, Liu Wenjing sneered and said, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid he will never look back once he leaves."
Li Yuan waved his hand and said: "When disaster strikes, let's let each of them fly. However, what he said is right. If you keep the green hills, you won't be afraid of running out of firewood. Now that Liu Ziqiu is at his peak, let's let him take another three points."
What’s the harm?”
Liu Wenjing frowned and said, "I'm afraid that once Liu Ziqiu gains power, he won't spare the prince."
Li Yuan smiled and said: "The world is uncertain, and Liu Ziqiu is trying to win people's hearts. He has promised to pardon us, so how can he go back on his promise? Once he has secured his position, as long as you and I don't make big mistakes, what can he do to me?"
At this point, Li Yuan stood up and relaxed his muscles, and said: "Don't worry, villains often get carried away when they succeed. Liu Ziqiu, a pariah, has turned around and taken over the world. What do you think will happen to him? Those Yingying Yanyan in the Sixteenth Courtyard of Shanglin
, I’m afraid he will be so confused that he doesn’t know where to go from east to west. By then, are you worried that you won’t have a chance?”
…
It was already late at night when Pei Ji escorted Xiao Dapeng to Liu Ziqiu's military camp. At this time, Liu Ziqiu had not yet fallen asleep. After hearing the news, he was silent for a long time, waved his hand and said: "Take him first, Liu Ziqiu doesn't want to see him now."
Liu Ziqiu hated traitors the most, but Xiao Dapeng's situation was quite special. Back then, he had promised Xiao Xin that he would take good care of Xiao Dapeng. He did teach Xiao Dapeng martial arts, and assigned him important tasks, including the management of Changshan Carriage and Horse Racing Shop. Now,
Xiao Dapeng betrayed him. If Xiao Dapeng was executed, he would feel sorry for Xiao Xin. If Xiao Dapeng was let go, it would be difficult to convince the public.
Of course, Pei Ji didn't know the story. He raised his head and looked up, but couldn't see any change on Liu Ziqiu's face. He quickly raised his hands and said, "My lord, Li Yuan has agreed to surrender unconditionally, and I respectfully invite my lord's army to enter the city overnight!"
Liu Ziqiu asked in surprise: "Why did you enter the city overnight?"
Pei Ji smiled and said: "Enter the city overnight and exchange city defenses during the night, so as not to disturb the people. Li Yuan thought very carefully this time."
Liu Ziqiu nodded: "Li Yuan thinks so much, probably for his two sons."
Pei Ji praised: "My lord is wise. What Li Yuan is thinking can't be hidden from my lord's wisdom."
Although he knew that Pei Ji was flattering him, Liu Ziqiu still felt a little comfortable in his heart. He waved his hand gently and said, "Go back and tell Li Yuan that when my soldiers successfully take over Luoyang and Sishui Pass, I will let him go."
Son, go back."
…
There was no obstacle in taking over Luoyang and Sishui Pass this time. Li Yuan's army had already left the city and was reorganized. Liu Ziqiu's army controlled the palace city, the imperial city, Sishui Pass and various granaries. The Chang of Yingchuan
The Shan army also went all the way north and reached the southern suburbs of Luoyang, where they successfully joined Liu Ziqiu's army.
Li Yuan was very conscious and moved back to his own mansion from the palace.
His wife, Mrs. Dou, held her youngest son Li Yuanji in hand, with a worried look on her face: "Alang, you have handed over Luoyang, why didn't Liu Ziqiu let Jiancheng and Shimin go?"
Li Yuan was very calm: "There are no soldiers sent by Liu Ziqiu around our house, which means we are still free. Liu Ziqiu will not break his promise. Just wait."
…
Liu Ziqiu did not live in the palace vacated by Li Yuan, but stayed in the military camp, drinking and talking with Li Jing, Hua Yun, and Han Shi'e, and reminiscing about their friendship in the past.
After drinking for three rounds, Li Jing cupped his hands and said: "My lord, now that Chang'an and Luoyang are all conquered, Zhai Rang, Liu Wuzhou, Lu Mingyue and others are not of concern. Only Xiao Xian is a descendant of Xiliang, and now he has occupied Bahan."
If given time, if the weather becomes bad, it will eventually be a serious disaster. I boldly ask for orders and would like to lead an army to pacify Xichuan!"
Liu Ziqiu said with a smile: "Brother, why are you alienated? No matter where Liu goes, he is your brother after all. He will never be treated like a lord again."
Li Jing shook his head: "The etiquette cannot be discarded!"
Liu Ziqiu knew what Li Jing was thinking. He was a man of great wisdom and would never forget about his sworn relationship with Liu Ziqiu. Moreover, Liu Ziqiu was very clear about Li Jing's talents. Historically, after Li Yuan established the Tang Dynasty,
, it was he who led his army to pacify Xiao Xian of Xiliang.
However, Liu Ziqiu did not want to use troops against Xiao Mian now. Xiao Mian was very good to the people and won the hearts of the people in Bahan's generation. Under his rule, the people of Bahan were getting better and better day by day. At this time, how he treated Xiao Mian
The policy is still based on appeasement, hoping that Xiao Mian can listen to Empress Xiao's advice and surrender voluntarily.
Seeing the humility on Li Jing's face, Liu Ziqiu sighed secretly. If he wanted to return to the previous situation of being as close as brothers, he might never be able to do so again. Liu Ziqiu didn't say anything more, waved his hand and said: "Brother
, Xiao Mian, leave it for a while. Now that spring plowing is coming, the first thing is to organize the people as soon as possible and not let the fields become barren. Otherwise, the people will not have an easy life this winter. "
Hua Yun patted his chest disapprovingly: "Second brother, just leave the farming matters to those civil servants. We warriors should still take it as our duty to pacify the world! Second brother doesn't want to attack Xiao Mian, so please give me a
People and horses leveled the Wagang!"
Hearing that Hua Yun still regarded him as brothers, Liu Ziqiu felt particularly happy and said with a smile: "Third brother, you are still so impatient. Don't worry, you will fight the battle. The most important thing now is to recuperate and wait for the autumn harvest before making big moves."
With troops, one battle can determine the world! I just got a piece of news for you. Our eldest brother Yuchi is now Liu Wuzhou's most powerful general. I don't know how to meet him on the battlefield in the future."
Hua Yun said carelessly: "Second brother, don't worry. If the younger brother catches him, I will spare his life. However, there will be ugly words ahead. I will only spare him once!"
Wen Hao, Zhang Liang, Shi Danai and others were also in the big tent, but their relationship with Liu Ziqiu was not as good as that of Li Jing and Hua Yun, so they just drank and did not interrupt.
Since Liu Ziqiu had already decided to use troops after the autumn harvest, Li Jing stopped trying to persuade him and said, "I wonder what my lord is going to do with Li Yuan?"
Liu Ziqiu muttered: "Brother, Liu has already promised to pardon him, so we can't break his promise."
Li Jing frowned and said: "My lord, Li Yuan is the best at forbearance. Even if you spare his life, you can't take it lightly. I think it's better to put him under house arrest!"
Liu Ziqiu shook his head and said: "As long as Liu cares about all the people in the world, why worry about Li Yuan? If he just stays there, that's all. If he dares to have strange thoughts, even if Liu doesn't deal with him, God will
I won’t tolerate him!”
In fact, Liu Ziqiu has a real idea. Yes, Li Yuan is indeed very forbearing. Yang Guang has been staring at him for so long, but he can't find a reason to punish him. If Li Yuan is put under house arrest, he will definitely hide deeper and become more secretive.
It is impossible to discover his flaws. Only by letting him go and giving him freedom will he be ready to make moves, and it will be easier for him to reveal his flaws. This is not Liu Ziqiu's insidiousness, but a hard-to-get strategy.
At this moment, Daleng suddenly walked in, raised his hands and said: "To inform my lord, the Empress Dowager has returned to the palace. Please come into the palace to have a chat!"