"Erlang, it's your turn." Li Yuan reminded Li Shimin when he saw that he was distracted.
Since the last time they beat Li Shimin, the relationship between Li Yuan and Li Shimin has eased a lot.
Although it has not reached the level of a loving father and a filial son, it is not as tense as before.
"Oh." Li Shimin came to his senses and took a step forward without looking carefully.
Li Yuan shook his head, jumped on his horse, and said: "General."
"Ah!" Li Shimin looked at it carefully and said, "Father, I lost."
Li Yuan shook his head and said: "You didn't lose to me, you lost to yourself because your heart is not peaceful."
Li Shimin couldn't help but smile bitterly. His mind was focused on the situation in the grassland, so how could he calm down?
Li Yuan saw Li Shimin's expression and asked, "Did something happen?"
He had lived in the palace for a long time, and Li Shimin deliberately blocked it, so he was not very clear about what happened in the court.
Li Shimin was a little hesitant, wondering whether he should talk to Li Yuan about the grassland.
Seeing Li Shimin's hesitation, Li Yuan said calmly: "If you don't want to say it, forget it. If you have something to do, go back."
"Father, it's not that I don't want to say anything, but I want to think about how to say it." Li Shimin told Li Yuan the situation in the grassland.
After hearing this, Li Yuan said: "You are wrong."
Li Shimin was stunned and asked: "Please give me some advice, Father."
Li Yuan stood up, turned his back to Li Shimin and stood with his hands behind his back, and said in a deep voice: "Nothing is 100% sure. Even if there is a big change in the grassland, so what? With the strength of Datang, it is nothing more than spending more time.
That's all. Your great success is your biggest flaw."
After hearing the previous words, Li Shimin nodded in agreement.
Even if the Western Turks and Xue Yantuo did not fight, with the strength of the Tang Dynasty, he would be completely confident that he could pacify the grassland after only a few years of accumulation.
Not to mention that it is not impossible for Western Turks and Xue Yantuo to fight now. Even if something happens, it will just take more time.
But what Li Yuan said later made Li Shimin look a little ugly.
"What? Do you think what I said is wrong?" Although Li Yuan did not look back, he could guess that Li Shimin was definitely not convinced by what he said next.
"My father taught me that there is nothing wrong."
Although he said this, Li Yuan could certainly hear the displeasure in Li Shimin's tone.
"Zhizi Mo Ruofu, you were upset before because you wanted to calm down the grassland all at once. You couldn't have thought of what I said, but that would be too slow and you don't want to wait." Li Yuan said calmly.
He knew Li Shimin's character very well.
He had predicted from the beginning that Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin would one day meet in war.
For the stability of the Tang Dynasty and for the eternal foundation of the Tang Dynasty, he had already made plans to sacrifice Li Shimin and began to weaken Li Shimin's power early on.
In Li Yuan's view, as long as he lives, neither Li Jiancheng nor Li Shimin will fight each other to the death, even if they fight fiercely.
It was precisely because he never thought that Li Shimin would take action while he was still there that it was so easy for Li Shimin to succeed.
As the founding emperor, which one is simple?
If Li Yuan had been prepared, Li Shimin would not have been able to succeed.
Li Yuan also thought about why Li Shimin took action?
Later he figured it out, it was all because of him.
Faced with his suppression, Li Shimin may be willing to tolerate it, but those under him are not.
Li Shimin could have tolerated it until Li Yuan died before taking action, but what about the people under him?
Who knows if he can persist until Li Yuan dies?
Those people are all human beings, and no one is a fool. For their own sake, they will naturally force Li Shimin to take action.
But from this incident, Li Yuan understood Li Shimin better.
Li Shimin could completely wait for Li Jiancheng to take action against him after he succeeded to the throne, and then take advantage of the righteousness and fight back.
In this way, Li Shimin would not have to bear the bad reputation of killing his brother and imprisoning his father.
Many people will say, if you wait so long, who knows what might happen, and why should you take such a big risk and wait.
But was there no risk when Li Shimin launched the Xuanwumen Revolution?
At that time, Li Shimin only had 800 people. If he could not quickly deal with Li Jiancheng and control Li Yuan, he would be the one who died.
But Li Shimin was full of adventurous spirit in his heart.
When Li Jiancheng takes over, even if he succeeds, who knows how long it will take?
When he defeats Li Jiancheng, how will the Tang Dynasty be ruined?
How could the Xuanwu Gate change come so quickly?
Now Li Shimin is doing the same to the grassland. If the Western Turks and Xue Yantuo cannot be destroyed this time, he will wait for the Tang Dynasty to save up for a few years and then fight for a few years. This has been delayed for too long and he simply cannot wait.
Goguryeo, Tuyuhun, Tubo...
There were so many countries around Datang waiting for him to conquer, and he was unwilling to waste too much time on the grasslands.
Li Shimin said nothing. Although what Li Yuan said was true, he did not feel that he had done anything wrong.
During his lifetime, he wanted to pacify the threatening countries around the Tang Dynasty and leave a prosperous Tang Dynasty to future generations.
Li Yuan continued: "Do you know why I chose to build it in the first place?"
"Because he is the eldest son." Li Shimin said unwillingly.
He does not think that he is worse than Li Jiancheng, just because he holds the title of the eldest son. Li Jiancheng is the prince and he is the prince.
Li Shimin was very unwilling. He believed that he had the greatest contribution to the establishment of the Tang Dynasty.
Li Yuan nodded and said: "I admit that there is indeed this reason. The position of emperor is too tempting. It is normal for you to have this idea. But have you ever thought about it? Since you have this idea, your children will also
If you have this idea, your grandson will also have this idea. In the future, when the imperial power of the Tang Dynasty changes, there will be never-ending troubles."
Li Shimin was silent. Over the years, he slowly understood Li Yuan's approach.
His favorite son is actually Li Ke, and among his legitimate sons, his favorite is not Li Chengqian.
But for the stability of the Tang Dynasty, he had to make Li Chengqian the crown prince.
Even if Li Chengqian was not very satisfied with him in various aspects in the past few years, he did not give up his idea.
On the other hand, his dislike of Li Chengqian was also related to his status as the eldest son.
But understanding is one thing, accepting is another.
Li Yuan sighed and said: "This is not the most important reason. Among all my children, you are my favorite. But for Datang, what is needed is stability."
"Father, will the Tang Dynasty be unstable if my son is the emperor? I think he has worked hard over the years to manage the Tang Dynasty in an orderly manner." Li Shimin retorted.
Li Yuan nodded and said, "Yes, you did a good job."
A smile appeared on Li Shimin's face. Wasn't his hard work over the years just to prove to Li Yuan?
Li Yuan felt a little bitter. He naturally knew what Li Shimin had done in these years.
But these are all based on the continuous natural disasters in the Tang Dynasty.
It's not that he didn't know what Li Shimin wanted to prove to him.
It was precisely because of this mentality that he suppressed Li Shimin's character.
He could imagine that without him, Li Shimin would definitely return to his original character.
"What do you think of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty?" Li Yuan asked.
Li Shimin was stunned and said: "Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty defeated the Xiongnu and opened up the Silk Road. Later generations called him and Qin Shihuang together, they were the heroes of the generation."