Chapter 274 A word that wakes up the dreamer
Chang'an, Yankangfang, the residence of Prime Minister Pei Hongde.

As the prime minister, Pei's residence was magnificent, richly decorated and extremely exquisite.

Pei Hongde, one of the prime ministers, was born into the Wenxi Pei family, a noble family in Hedong. Since the reign of Emperor Zhaowu Murong Ying, he had been a very trusted and confidant minister. He served as the Prince's Groom, the Left Son of the Eastern Palace, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, the Chief Censor, and finally one of the prime ministers, the Right Minister of the Secretariat.

Now Emperor Zhaowu has been dead for more than five years. The emperors in Chang'an and Luoyang have changed again and again, and Pei Hongde has also been changed from Zuo Pushe to You Pushe.

He is still the prime minister, like a tumbler in the court.

Pei Hongde, who had just turned fifty, was resting at home because of a rare day off. He sat on the couch and read the popular novels in Chang'an. It was summer, and the weather was hot. In addition to a few maids fanning him, there were also ice cubes placed beside the couch to cool him down. He was very comfortable.

While he was flipping through the storybook, the steward from the mansion came hurried over to report.

"Master, the King of Tang has arrived at your residence and is already in the front hall."

If others heard this, they would have rushed to entertain the guests, but Pei Hongde was not panicked at all. He closed the storybook and said, "Please invite the King of Tang to the back hall to chat. Tell the kitchen to prepare some food and bring the chilled wine from the Western Regions."

Afterwards, he put on his home clothes and walked out of the back hall to the courtyard to greet the most powerful man in the entire Chang'an City - the Prime Minister, the General, the Commander-in-Chief of the Military Forces at Home and Abroad, the Recorder of the Secretariat, and King of Tang Li Yuan.

"Greetings, King Tang."

"Mr. Pei, there is no need to be so polite. I came to visit you rashly today and am an unwelcome guest. I hope you will not be offended. I am sorry for bothering you."

"The King of Tang is now shouldering the heavy responsibility of the country. It is a great honor for my humble abode that he has condescended to come here."

The two men bowed to each other, and then Pei Hongde led Li Yuan into the hall to chat.

"This is the first time I've visited Pei Gong's mansion since I returned to Chang'an. The mansion is elegant in shape and has pleasant scenery." Li Yuan sat in the hall, took a sip of tea, and looked at the furnishings and arrangements on both sides. There was an air of wealth and elegance everywhere.

Pei Hongde laughed and said, "Your Majesty, you are overpraising me. I am just a slow horse that likes to eat beans in the barn. If Your Majesty is concerned about the great affairs of the world, he would not have the leisure time like me."

"Hahahaha, you are too polite, Lord Pei. You are also the prime minister. Please don't shirk your responsibilities when it comes to state affairs. During the time of Emperor Zhaowu, Lord Pei offered many brilliant plans and had many wise strategies. Now, Lord Pei, please try your best in state affairs."

The two old foxes had a verbal confrontation in just a few words.

After saying this, they all laughed in unison.

"Ha ha ha ha"

"Ha ha ha ha"

After laughing, Pei Hongde also knew that Li Yuan came to his house today and must have something important to ask him, and he would not allow him to refute what he said.

After all, as the actual controller of the Western Yan regime, coming to your house to ask for advice is already giving you enough face.

If you don't give a satisfactory answer, it means you are not giving me face. At this time, few people in Chang'an City dared to offend Li Yuan.

Pei Hongde was a well-known smart man in the court, otherwise Li Yuan would not have come to him for advice.

After a few words of small talk, some cold dishes, fruits, and chilled wine were served. After the maid poured the wine, Pei Hongde waved his hand and asked everyone to leave.

Li Yuan raised his wine cup with great satisfaction and gestured. Pei Hongde also raised his wine cup to echo him. After they drank the first glass of wine, Li Yuan turned the topic to business.

"Mr. Pei should have known recently that the troops of Yangzhou and Jingzhou have already marched to Yingchuan. Runan, Liang, and Chen have all fallen into our hands. Luoyang must be shocked. In fact, Duan Yihong, who was originally stationed in Hongnong, has led his troops back to Luoyang. This happened half a month ago. Now he is probably not far from Yingchuan. My Sanlang and Silang have a combined army of more than 100,000 and are being blocked by Mr. Lou Zheng Guo in Yingchuan. When Duan Yihong arrives with his troops, there will be a big battle. As for the current plan, Guanzhong is exhausted. As the prime minister, Mr. Pei should be aware of this. At this time, there is not enough food and grass to send troops from the Yaohan Road. If we force the conscription, it will inevitably affect the autumn harvest. At that time, Guanzhong may be in chaos, but if Guanzhong does not send troops to support, the battle of Yingchuan may be lost. Mr. Pei, in your opinion, what should we do?"

Li Yuan threw out the question exactly as it was, and Pei Hongde was ready to speak immediately after hearing it, because the situation was very clear.

He thought of the same example of the Battle of Hanzhong. After agreeing to the Battle of Yingchuan, he headed north to Luoyang.

What is there to hesitate about at this time? Support.

If there is a food shortage in Guanzhong, then send troops to Yingchuan. There is enough food in Jianghuai. But before he could say this, he realized that Li Yuan's problem might not be that simple.

Is it because they are worried that if Li Silang wins the battle of Yingchuan and then captures Luoyang, his achievements will be difficult to reward and his power will be difficult to control?
If he was a great general, it would make sense for you to be suspicious of him, but why are you and your son beginning to doubt each other before you even conquer the world?

However, Pei Hongde naturally could not bring this up, so he changed the subject and mentioned another major battle after the Battle of Hanzhong. "Does the Tang king think that Yingchuan will be able to achieve success? How does Li Sikong's reputation compare to Guan Yu's?"

As soon as these words came out, Li Yuan's face changed completely.

In those days, Guan Yu, the former general of Shu Han, was granted the imperial seal and axe and led his troops north to the battle of Xiangfan. He captured Yu Jin, beheaded Pang De, and flooded seven armies. He shocked the whole of China and saw that the revival of the Han Dynasty was imminent. However, the Eastern Wu army crossed the river in white clothes.

He was defeated and killed in an instant.

At that time, Liu Feng did not move his troops in the three counties. Although he was killed by Liu Bei afterwards, Shu Han also lost its only chance.

There are many conspiracy theories that Liu Bei did not take any action at that time. However, Liu Bei was in Shu at that time and had just finished the Battle of Hanzhong. How could he have the spare energy to support the battlefield in Xiangfan thousands of miles away?

But we should learn from the past and be prepared for the future. The whole world is not yet unified, and you are already beginning to suspect the general?

The suspicious person or the biological son?
Pei Hongde's words were a wake-up call to Li Yuan.

Li Yuan has always been a smart man, but due to some reasons that are not known to outsiders, some hesitation and hesitation are inevitable.

Because people are in high positions and have power, they naturally become suspicious.

But Pei Hongde's few words made Li Yuan understand many things in an instant.

First, the world has not yet been unified, so this is not the right time to guard against your son.

Second, if the battle of Yingchuan is won, it is indeed possible to march directly to Luoyang. But the prerequisite is that you can win.

But for this battle now, even if Li Yuan himself leads the elite troops from Guanzhong to fight, he will definitely win. At this time, it is a bit too optimistic to think that if the third or fourth brother wins, it will be difficult to control.

There is nothing else to do at this time. Support with all your strength. All the forces that can be mobilized must be mobilized.

Because this battle is very likely to be the battle to determine the throne.

Just try your best.

Even Li Yuan's thoughts were actually just influenced by Xin Yuan's fortune teller. In order to avoid a bad ending for himself, he felt that he had to be careful about his sons who were too capable and not let them be too successful to be rewarded or too powerful to be controlled.

But he never thought of killing these sons.

Borrowing a knife to kill someone, or not helping someone in need, were not options at all. After all, they were his legitimate sons who had been carefully nurtured and cultivated.

The love between father and son is beyond doubt.

Even if these sons really rebelled, he might not be willing to kill them.

After figuring it out, Li Yuan stood up and bowed to Pei Hongde.

"If it weren't for what Pei Gong said, I would have almost missed the big thing. Please accept my criticism, Pei Gong."

Pei Hongde immediately stood up upon seeing this and bowed back.

"Your Majesty, your words are too serious. Today, Pei Gong only said a few nonsense words, which do not deserve the courtesy of Your Majesty."

Li Yuan put his hands behind his back, as if he had instantly regained his heroic demeanor. He laughed loudly, "Hahahaha, you deserve it, you deserve it. If we win this battle, it will all be thanks to Pei Gong."

After that, he picked up the wine cup and drank a glass of wine. "Thank you very much for Pei Gong's teaching today. It can be said that it awakened me from my dream. I have something important to do, so I will leave now. Goodbye. Pei Gong, please sit down, there is no need to see me off."

After saying that, Li Yuan walked away.

Pei Hongde stood up and saw him off respectfully, watching him leave.

Er Er sighed, "The fourth son of Emperor Zhaowu became emperor, but no one knew that another of the Tang king's sons had ascended the throne."

(End of this chapter)