Chapter seven hundred and seventy-six good news arrives in Beijing
On March 27th of the first year of Tiaolu, the rain that had lasted for nearly a month finally stopped, but the sky was still overcast, with no intention of clearing up. Even though it was almost noon, the humidity in the air was still there.
It was so big that it made people wet and uncomfortable. Even though a large fire pot was lit in the room, it still couldn't completely dispel the annoying moisture. This made Gaozong, who had not seen much improvement in his illness, even more uncomfortable.
For a few minutes, he felt uncomfortable, but Gaozong, who was lying on the soft couch, still supported his sick body and listened quietly to Pei Xingjian's military intelligence report.
Gaozong has been in power for thirty years. During these thirty years, the Tang Dynasty destroyed countless countries. Although Gaozong himself has never personally fought, in military terms, except for the battle to destroy Tubo, he was
He never relies on others, but always takes control of military equipment personally. As long as the illness is not too serious, Gaozong always has to do a thorough job on military equipment before he can rest assured. Especially when Emperor Gaozong felt that his health was not good,
He was even more unwilling to make any mistakes in the last large-scale war during his tenure. Even though his illness was getting heavier and heavier at this time, Gaozong still refused to relax a little in the military and political affairs, even though Empress Wu was on one side.
Sitting, the same is true.
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is here."
In this expedition against the rebellious Turkic tribes, a total of 380,000 troops were sent. Except for the 100,000 troops sent by the South Camp of the capital, the rest of the troops were mobilized by the various governors. Each army ranged from 5,000 to 30,000 to 40,000.
The supply of food, fodder and baggage is naturally very cumbersome. Even though Pei Xingjian is a man who is good at using troops, he is also very busy. Reporting on armaments is naturally very lengthy. It has been almost an hour and a half, and it has not been completed yet.
After finishing all the reports, just when he was talking and his mouth was dry, he saw Liu Ruming, the eunuch in charge of Zichen Palace, hurried in from outside, rushed to the couch, and reported in a low voice.
"Well... let's announce it."
Upon hearing that Li Xian had arrived at this time, Gaozong couldn't help but hesitate a little, not for anything else but because Gaozong really didn't want Li Xian to get too involved in military and political matters, but Li Xian had already arrived outside the palace, so
Xuan seemed a little unreasonable. After Gaozong hesitated for a moment, he opened the mouth of Chrysostom.
"promise."
After Gao Zhi's intention was made, Liu Ruming did not dare to delay at all. He hurriedly responded and hurriedly exited the palace. Without turning around, Li Xian, who was already dressed in neat court clothes, turned back.
"My son, I bow to my father, the emperor, and my mother, the queen."
As soon as Fang turned around the screen, Li Xian strode to the couch and bowed with great respect.
"Excuse me. Someone comes and shows the prince his seat."
Although he was reluctant to see Li Xian at this time, Gaozong still suppressed the irritability in his heart and shouted calmly.
"Thank you for your kindness. I have some good news to convey to my father."
After Li Xian thanked him, he did not sit down, but bowed respectfully and reported the report with a happy face.
"Oh? A happy event? Where does this happiness come from?"
When he heard about the happy event, Emperor Gaozong became more interested and asked with a smile.
"So that my father will know that on the way back, the Persian garrison was surrounded and suppressed by the Great Food Army in three directions, totaling more than 537,000 people. We, the brave warriors of the Tang Dynasty, were not afraid of powerful enemies and fought nearly a thousand miles in three days, with 30,000 soldiers.
With a small army of two thousand, we defeated two enemy armies in one fell swoop, beheaded hundreds of thousands of them, and captured nearly 200,000 well-bred war horses alone, as well as countless weapons. However, our army only suffered 5,000 casualties.
More than a hundred, it can be said to be a great victory, and it is undoubtedly a great joy to spread our country's prestige outside the territory! The battle report is here, please father and mother to read it!"
Li Xian first reported the results of the battle impassionedly, then reached out from his wide sleeves and took out a battle report covered with yellow silk, held it in both hands, and handed it to Gaozong with great respect.
"Huh? There is such a thing!"
Upon hearing that the Persian garrison defeated a powerful enemy of more than 500,000 with only a little over 30,000 troops, Gaozong's spirit was immediately lifted. He sat up straight, eagerly took the victory report from Li Xian's hand, and read through it with great interest.
Got up.
"Okay, okay, such a big victory, okay, okay, Mei Niang, look at it, only 30,000 cavalry can win so heartily, it is really gratifying and congratulatory, okay! I will reward the soldiers of the three armies heavily!"
Emperor Gaozong saw the news very quickly and had already received the good news in an instant. Overjoyed, he shouted "Hello" over and over again, and his originally pale complexion instantly turned red.
"If it is such a great victory, it would be a gratifying thing. However, it is difficult to make a decision based on this battle report alone. I think it is better to wait until the army returns before making a decision."
Empress Wu did not receive the good news from Gaozong, but just said something in an understatement, full of disdain for the victory of the Hexi Army. Of course, preventing the generals of the Hexi Army from being promoted again was also her hidden intention.
one.
"This..., okay, just wait a little longer."
After being reminded by Empress Wu, Gaozong couldn't help but hesitate. He was already extremely worried about the growth of the Hexi Army. If he was promoted again, the strength of the Hexi Army would inevitably expand again. This was obviously not what Gaozong wanted to see.
After pondering for a moment, he looked at Li Xian with an embarrassed look, and finally agreed to Empress Wu's suggestion.
"My father is wise, and I also think that we should be more cautious about this matter. Now that the army has returned to the east, it will arrive in Anxi in more than a month. If we send people to check, it is the right time to set off now. I suggest that the Ministry of War
Send people there immediately. One can verify the military exploits, and the other can escort the captured war horses back to Guanzhong at will to facilitate the conquest of the Turks. As this is a humble minister, I would like to ask my father to judge."
Li Xianduo was a shrewd person. He knew at a glance that Gaozong was worried about something serious, so he would not say anything to tell the truth. Instead, he followed the words and made suggestions.
"Well, Pei Aiqing, when can the army be dispatched?"
Upon hearing that Li Xian planned to hand over the captured more than 200,000 fine warhorses to the imperial court, Emperor Gaozong was naturally a little moved, but he couldn't directly ask for it. After all, the relationship between the Hexi Army and Li Xian was there, so he just reached out and took it.
He was suspected of robbing his own son, but firstly, he did not want to see the Hexi Army grow stronger again. Secondly, with such a large-scale thoroughbred, Gaozong was really reluctant to give up. After hesitating for a moment, he threw the question to
Pei Xingjian.
"If I get back to your majesty, the northern armies will be able to march towards Shuozhou within the month. As for the capital army, it may not be ready until mid-May. If we can get good horses to help us, our chances of winning will be higher."
Pei Xingjian was a shrewd man, so he understood the subtext of Gaozong's words. Standing in the position of Prime Minister of the imperial court, he also did not want to see the scale of the Hexi Army expand again, so he followed Gaozong's wishes and answered.
"Well, then it's settled. When I get back, I will issue an order to the Ministry of War to carry out everything."
After hearing what Pei Xingjian said, Gaozong felt confident, nodded with a smile, and gave clear instructions.
"Father, Holy Ming!"
Since Gaozong had already issued the decree, Li Xian would not have any different opinions. After praising him respectfully, he chatted with Gaozong for a while before returning to the East Palace.
"Your Majesty, the Hexi Army is so brave and brave. It is truly the strongest army in the world. If we can have this army to defend Hexi, Chang'an will have no worries."
After Li Xian left, Pei Xingjian was anxious to rearrange the logistics due to the addition of more than 200,000 war horses, and soon resigned and left. However, Empress Wu did not leave, and retreated after all the attendants. , he said with emotion in his words.
"Um……"
Emperor Gaozong was afraid of his own country, but he was not stupid. He could tell that Empress Wu's words were ironic. Although he did not believe that Li Xian had the intention to rebel, he was still afraid. Although he never spoke, his muffled voice was a little longer. some.
"Your Majesty, it's March again, and the peonies in Luoyang should be in bud now. I haven't seen you for several years, and I miss you a lot."
Empress Wu knew Gaozong very well. When she saw Gaozong's brows frowning slightly, she knew that Gaozong was extremely afraid of the power of the Hexi Army, but she didn't really believe that Li Xian had any counter-intentions, so he stopped thinking about it. Moving on, this was Empress Wu's cleverness. After all, some things cannot be said too much, otherwise not only will they have no effect, but they will also cause bad things. Then the conversation changed and she suddenly mentioned the peonies in Luoyang.
"Well, the army will go out for the two months. In mid-May, when the peonies are blooming most beautifully, I will go with Mei Niang to enjoy the flowers."
After Gaozong thought about it, he still felt uneasy, so he followed Empress Wu's words and made up his mind to go to Luoyang.
"Your Majesty is Holy Ming."
Empress Wu had no intention of knocking Li Xian down with just one strike. What she wanted was for Gao Zong to be suspicious and fearful. When she heard what Gao Zong said, she was so excited that she hurriedly praised him. Whether this sage refers to Gaozong's suspicion and fear of Li Xian or whether he moved to Luoyang, only God knows...
"Your Highness."
In the study room of the East Palace, Zhang Jianzhi was immersed in official documents when he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps. He raised his head and saw that Li Xian was back. He quickly got up and greeted Li Xian respectfully.
"Um."
Li Xian was obviously a little absent-minded and didn't say much. He just said softly, walked up to sit down, and blinked a few times sleepily.
"Your Highness, did something go wrong with the good news?"
As soon as he saw Li Xian's appearance, Zhang Jianzhi knew that things were probably going to take a turn for the worst, but he still had a sense of luck and asked hesitantly.
"Well, sir, I really guessed it. My father didn't have any benevolence, he just wanted the horse. Hey, I still feel worried about being alone."
Li Xian was worried about the return of the Hexi Army to the east. He was afraid that if the Hexi Army made a mistake, it would end up with a disastrous result. Fortunately, the officers and soldiers of the Hexi Army fought hard and won a great victory. This made Li Xian'an happy. With this in mind, he thought about taking the opportunity to ask for credit for the generals, but he did not expect that the result would be as Zhang Jianzhi had analyzed in advance. He was inevitably extremely disappointed, not because the generals in Hexi could not receive rewards, but because the generals in Hexi could not receive rewards. The suspicion between father and son is getting deeper and deeper.
"Your Highness, the days ahead are long, but there is no need to rush."
Zhang Jianzhi was obviously aware of the discomfort in Li Xian's heart, but he couldn't say much about the dispute between the Tian family's father and son, so he could only offer vague words of comfort.
"Um."
After so many years in the maelstrom of the court, even though Li Xian was tough by nature, he was also a little tired mentally. He didn't want to talk about these nonsense any more. After making a noncommittal sound, he closed his eyes tiredly...