Recruiting the Xue brothers is not Li Zhiyun's impromptu idea. He knows history and naturally knows how powerful Xue Wanjun and Xue Wanche are.
When Xue Wanshu did not submit to the prince but to the King of Qin, Li Zhiyun temporarily suppressed this idea because he knew that once Luo Yi entered the court, the Xue brothers would definitely be attracted by the King of Qin.
Now that the King of Qin was dead, Li Zhiyun found out that Xue Wanshu had been dismissed when he was integrating his troops. Naturally, he was happy to win over people's hearts and brought Xue Wanshu under his command. And because both Xue Wanshu and Xue Shou were from the Xue family in Hedong, Xue Shou took the initiative to ask for orders and captured Xue Wanshu.
.
Things went well, and Xue Wanshu submitted to the Shence Mansion.
This time Cen Wenwen went to Youzhou as an envoy, firstly to take away Wen Yanbo and stabilize Luo Yi. Secondly, he also wanted to plant a nail.
If the imperial court raises troops to attack Luo Yi in the future, it will undoubtedly be much smoother with the Xue brothers as internal responders.
Of course, Li Zhiyun mainly valued the abilities of the Xue Family Tigers.
After nightfall, Cen Wenwen stood by the window, looking a little melancholy. He didn't know the content of Xue Shou's letter, so he was worried that he would not be able to complete the task assigned to him by the King of Chu.
At this time, Xue Wanshu came to report and secretly asked to see him.
When the two met, Xue Wanshu's attitude was no longer unfamiliar, but slightly enthusiastic.
"Brother, thanks to His Highness the King of Chu for taking care of me, Wan Shu is very grateful."
"General, you are so polite." Cen Wenwen said with a smile: "I said, His Royal Highness the King of Chu is a meritocracy. Not only General Xue Wanshu, but also you and your brothers, His Highness is thirsty for talents."
"Thank you for your attention, Your Majesty the King of Chu." Xue Wanshu said: "I have received a letter from my brother, and I will cooperate with you. If you have any instructions, Wan Shu will do my best to help."
"Okay, Your Highness is indeed right about the person." Cen Wenwen said: "Big things will happen in the future. Your Highness, the King of Chu, will definitely receive a high official position and a generous salary to treat the general."
"Don't dare."
Cen Wenwen said a few polite words and then asked: "How is Youzhou's military strength now?"
"To be honest, sir, due to the successive invasions of the Turks and Gaokaidao, and the famine in Youzhou this year, the military strength can only be maintained at about 50,000."
"How much control can you brothers have?"
"Twenty thousand people."
"Twenty thousand?" Cen Wenwen looked a little dissatisfied.
Xue Wanshu hurriedly explained: "Sir, you don't know that the troops and horses of Youzhou are controlled by Luo Yi and his younger brother Luo Shou."
Hearing this, Cen Wenwen was thoughtful. After a moment, he said: "General, don't be nervous. I'm just asking."
Xue Wanshu asked: "Sir, is the imperial court planning to launch troops against Youzhou?"
"No." Cen Wen said: "Although the sage was very dissatisfied with Luo Yi for not sending troops to help His Royal Highness King Chu defeat the Turks, for the sake of stability in Hebei, the sage did not plan to send troops to Youzhou. In the future, if Luo Yi is wise, he may be able to let Youzhou
To avoid suffering from war.”
In fact, the reason for not attacking Youzhou was not at all, but that the imperial court needed to recuperate.
"What do you need me to do?" Xue Wanshu asked.
Cen Wenwen said: "Your Highness means to prepare for emergencies."
Hearing this, Xue Wanshu understood instantly.
If Luo Yi is willing to obediently give up Youzhou in the future, everything will be fine. If Luo Yi disobeys, the Tang army will definitely attack Youzhou.
And when the time comes, their brothers will be the internal agents.
After thinking this, Xue Wanshu clasped her fists and said, "Sir, please tell the King of Chu that Xue Wanshu will wait for the imperial decree at any time."
"With General Xue's help, great things will be accomplished and Youzhou will be safe." Cen Wenwen praised.
Immediately, Cen Wenwen had a deep chat with Xue Wanshu about various matters in Youzhou.
On the other side, Wen Wuyin was meeting and talking with Wen Yanbo.
"Uncle, does Luo Yi agree?"
"So what if he doesn't agree?" Wen Yanbo sneered, "Gao Kaidao attacked Youzhou and caused him heavy losses. Famine raged and the people were panicked. If the court did not give him food and sent troops to attack, he would only die."
Wen Wuyin breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good, that's good."
"You are here as the deputy envoy, and you have a bright future." Wen Yanbo said happily.
Hearing this, Wen Wuyin smiled bitterly and said, "Uncle, things are not that simple."
Immediately afterwards, Wen Wuyin told Wen Yanbo about Wen Daya's speculations, the struggle between the East Palace and the Shence Mansion, and some simple situations in Chang'an.
After listening, Wen Yanbo thought deeply: "It seems that my brother is ready to support the King of Chu."
Wen Wuyin said helplessly: "After the death of King Qin, my lord, I planned to keep a low profile, but unexpectedly, I was assigned by the sage to King Chu."
Wen Yanbo said calmly: "My brother is originally from the King of Qin. The prince will not believe him. Even if the saint did not assign him to the King of Chu, the prince would not be able to tolerate him."
"What does uncle mean?"
"No rush, let me and my brother discuss it carefully when we return to Chang'an."
Soon after, Luo Yi accepted the imperial edict, accepted the grain, let Wen Yanbo go, and continued to lead his troops to guard Youzhou.
He didn't want to let Wen Yanbo go, but it was not up to him.
At this time, something neither big nor small happened in Chang'an.
In December of the fifth year of Wude, the weather was extremely cold, and Dou Wei died of illness in his mansion. He had been ill on the bed since Dugu Zhen's death, and now he has finally passed away.
According to rumors, Dou Wei died with his eyes closed and seemed to have something on his mind that he couldn't let go of.
Li Yuan personally went to Dou Mansion to express his condolences. After all, Dou Wei was the uncle of Empress Taimu and Li Yuan's cousin.
Later, the imperial court posthumously awarded Dou Wei the governor of Tongzhou and the Duke of Yan'an, with the posthumous title of Jing.
When the prince was banned and King Qi supervised the construction of King Qin's tomb, Li Yuan ordered General Shence and King Li Zhiyun of Chu to lead hundreds of officials to bury Dou Wei.
Another old fox died in Guanlong, and Lao Li cried miserably. It is said that he was so sad that he couldn't even eat.
Then, the next day, when Li Zhiyun entered the palace to attend Chen Douwei's funeral, he was pulled by Lao Li to have a delicious beef rice together.
"Wu Lang, please remember that Prime Minister Dou shed his blood for the Tang Dynasty. He is a great hero of the Tang Dynasty. You must take care of his posthumous affairs!"
Lao Li wiped the rice grains from the corner of his mouth, stuffed it into his mouth, and burped at the same time, showing that he cherished food very much.
"Yes, I will do my best to handle it."
Li Yuan nodded and continued: "I have read Youzhou's report. Cen Wenwen has done well. You can reward him as appropriate."
"My son, I obey the decree." After a pause, Li Zhiyun asked: "I wonder how my father plans to settle Wen Yanbo."
Hearing this, Li Yuan showed a smile on his lips.
"Do you have an idea?"
"My son just has an immature suggestion."
"Tell me about it."
"Yes." Li Zhiyun thought deeply: "My son has always heard that this person was well-read when he was young and was eloquent. He was also highly valued by Luo Yi when he was in Youzhou. It can be seen that this person is very talented. Please don't use it.
The great sage fell aside."
Li Yuan asked: "Then what position do you think I should give him?"
Li Zhiyun said respectfully: "This matter naturally falls under the authority of my father. How dare I say anything?"
"I forgive you for not being guilty, just say it."
Li Zhiyun thought for a while and said, "How about letting him take over Wen Dayou's old post?"
"Secretary Minister of Zhongshu?"
"yes."
Li Yuan thought for a while and said, "Let me think about it."
Li Zhiyun said: "My son has nothing to do, please leave."
"Go." Li Yuan waved his hand.
After Li Zhiyun stepped back, Li Yuan had a smile on his face.
Yes, yes, Lao Wu has finally begun to take the path, and all his painstaking efforts in training are not in vain.
Outside the palace.
Li Zhiyun stood on the steps, glanced back, and the corners of his mouth were slightly raised.
Lao Li was testing him, so he was testing Lao Li.
As a result, as expected, Lao Li deliberately wanted him to develop and prosper in the court.