"On the eighteenth day of the first month of the second year of Wude, Li Shentong, the pacifying ambassador of Shandong Province and King of Huai'an, attacked Wei County, defeated Yu Wenhuaji, killed 20,000 thieves, and captured the luggage of Sui ministers..." Li Shentong, the eunuch of the eunuch
Zhong unfolded the imperial edict and publicized the news of Hebei's victory to a group of Tang Dynasty ministers.
When Xiao Yu heard that "the former Empress Dowager of the Sui Dynasty was captured", tears burst into her eyes. That was his biological sister.
"Therefore, I was granted the title of Minister of Rites of the King of Chu, the Order of the Minister of Daoxingtai in Shandong, the General Manager of Liangzhou, and the reward..."
"My dear father, I thank you for your kindness." Li Zhiyun bowed.
Dozens of carts of treasures were not given to Li Shentong in vain. In the success report presented to Lao Li, Li Shentong truthfully wrote down Li Zhiyun's achievements.
However, Lao Li's rewards seemed very useless. Except for the gold and silver treasures, the rest were all empty titles, used to decorate the appearance, and were of little use.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty." Prince Li Jiancheng said with a smile.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty." The ministers quickly followed suit.
Li Yuan felt very comfortable in his heart. Killing Yu Wenhuaji was nothing. The main thing was capturing the former Sui Empress Dowager and a group of Sui officials. Of course, the dozens of carts of treasures also counted.
"This great victory of our country is all due to the strategic planning of all my dear friends, and the bloody battles of the soldiers on the front line. I am very pleased."
Lao Li's daily imperial humility.
Pei Ji laughed and said: "The ministers have merit, the soldiers have merit, but the most important thing is your majesty's wise commander. Therefore, I believe that without your majesty's wisdom in selecting people, it would be difficult for the Tang Dynasty to be as prosperous as it is today."
nausea!
Li Zhiyun felt sick to his stomach. Pei Ji, this old boy, is really an expert at saying disgusting things and flattering.
Lao Li was humble again, and then named him a general with meritorious service.
After the award process was completed, Lao Li gave the order for Empress Dowager Xiao and other Sui ministers to enter the Tai Chi Hall.
When Empress Dowager Xiao walked into the hall, the Tang officials all looked sideways. Most of them had been Sui officials before and were no strangers to this empress of the Sui Dynasty. When they met again, they were in a trance.
As the saying goes, things go round and round, and that's probably the case.
The former queen is now the former empress dowager.
Very sad.
Empress Xiao looked at Li Yuan on the throne, feeling very complicated, including hatred, regret, fear, jealousy, etc.
The man on the throne should have been her husband, but now he has become Li Yuan, the same timid Li Yuan from before.
This person once knelt before her husband.
Now, it was her turn to grovel before him.
"Mrs. Yang Xiao, pay homage to Your Majesty." Empress Xiao bowed slightly.
"Meet the saint." Pei Ju, Yang Gongren and other Sui officials came to greet him one after another.
Li Yuan stared at her for a while, then laughed and said, "No courtesy."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Li Yuan recalled: "Speaking of which, Yang Guang and I are cousins. At that time, he went against the grain and harmed the people. I tried to dissuade him many times, but he turned a deaf ear. The Sui Dynasty was shattered and the people were wailing. I won the support of all the ministers with my insignificant body.
, to establish the Tang Dynasty, we should use Yang Guang as a mirror and always be wary of ourselves and the Tang Dynasty."
"Your Majesty, I'll see you soon," Pei Ji praised him every day.
Empress Xiao lowered her eyes slightly. She was a slave to others and a fish to others. She could only helplessly listen to Li Yuan's disgusting display of power.
Prime Minister Xiao Yu came out of the queue, cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, Yang Guang is dead. I beg your Majesty to forgive the Yang Xiao family and show the kindness of the Tang Dynasty."
Li Yuan smiled and said: "There is always a wrongdoer and a debtor. Yang Guang's crimes have their own historical records. I am not Yang Guang, so how could I kill innocent people indiscriminately? Xiao Aiqing, don't worry."
"Your Majesty is truly a benevolent master." Xiao Yu praised.
Li Yuan said with a smile: "Although Yang Guang has committed serious crimes against the people, since he has been executed, I will never continue to pursue his family. Furthermore, I accepted the abdication of the Sui Emperor and established the Tang Dynasty, so naturally I must treat the widow of the previous dynasty well.
Madam Yang Xiao, I will make you the wife of the Sui Dynasty and support you in Chang'an."
"Thank you, saint."
Empress Xiao silently agreed.
Then, Li Yuan looked at Yang Gongren.
"Gongren, it's a little late for us to meet each other."
Yang Gongren smiled helplessly, "The guilty minister also misses Your Majesty."
"Hey, you are loyal to the Sui Dynasty, and you are not a criminal. I have long wanted to meet Gongren again."
"I am terrified."
Li Yuan and Yang Gongren were old acquaintances, so they inevitably flirted with each other in the court and talked about the glorious past.
Finally, Li Yuan appointed Yang Gongren as the Minister of Huangmen and the Duke of Guanguo.
Yang Gongren originally wanted to resign, but Lao Li was very insistent, so he had no choice but to accept and thank Li Yuan for his love.
Later, Li Yuan also granted Pei Ju the title of imperial censor and Duke of Anyi County.
But this time, Pei Ju refused very simply.
"Your Majesty, the guilty minister has just returned to the Tang Dynasty and has no merit. If he is awarded a title, it would be inconsistent with etiquette. Please take back the order."
Li Yuan said unhappily: "Mr. Pei, you are just like Duke Guan Guo. You just fell into the hands of thieves and had no choice but to do so. You are not a criminal. Don't refuse my good intentions."
Pei Ji also jumped out and said with a smile: "Brother Pei, this is a gift from His Majesty, you can't refuse it."
Which onion are you?
When I was at my peak, you were just a contractor building Jinyang Palace.
Pei Ju despised Pei Ji from the bottom of his heart. In his opinion, Pei Ji was just a bad luck guy.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I dare not accept it."
At this time, Liu Wenjing, who had always been a transparent person, said: "Your Majesty, I think it is inappropriate."
"What's wrong?" Li Yuan frowned.
The courtiers were not surprised when they saw Liu Wenjing jumping out, and they all showed expressions of normality.
The antagonism between Pei Ji and Liu Wenjing has gradually shown signs. Whatever Pei Ji agrees with, Liu Wenjing will definitely oppose. Whenever Liu Wenjing speaks, Pei Ji will definitely find fault.
"Pei Ju was a minister of the previous dynasty. When he first entered our dynasty, he was awarded an official title. This is inconsistent with our Tang Dynasty system. Once this precedent is set, it will not be appropriate for future generations to follow suit."
Hearing this, Li Zhiyun glanced at Liu Wenjing, who was serious, and thought to himself, this guy really knows how to tell lies. Just now when Yang Gongren was conferring the title of Duke, why didn't you speak out.
Thinking of this, Li Zhiyun suddenly frowned.
Liu Wenjing and Pei Ju seem to have nothing in common, so why would he target Pei Ju?
Li Zhiyun suddenly didn't understand.
After Liu Wenjing finished speaking, Pei Ji jumped out to object.
It's turn-based. Anyway, the two of them were refuting each other in the palace, just to defeat each other.
The more Li Zhiyun listened, the more uncomfortable he became.
He remembered that he once talked about Pei Ji with Pei Ju. At that time, the former felt very indifferent towards Pei Ji. Logically speaking, Pei Ji shouldn't be so friendly to Pei Ju.
Is it because both of them have the surname Pei?
Li Zhiyun smiled inwardly, feeling that his idea was quite ridiculous.
Pei Ji was born in Sangquan and Pei Ju was born in Wenxi, but they had not known each other before.
Wait, Sangquan? Wenxi?
An idea suddenly flashed in Li Zhiyun's mind, as if he had grasped something.
Narrowing his eyes, Li Zhiyun carefully observed Pei Ju and Pei Ji.
This seems a bit strange.
The two men named Pei rejected each other's kindness, but Liu Wenjing helped Pei Ju reject Pei Ji's kindness.