Chapter 303 Open-minded
After everyone dispersed, only Li father and son, and the eldest grandson Li Cheng'an who came with Li Yuan to see the world were left in the huge central army tent.

The twelve-year-old Li Cheng'an first saluted his uncles, and then stood properly beside his grandfather.

Li Yuan looked at his three sons and said with a smile: "Cheng'an, you should learn more about military tactics and horseback archery from your uncles in the future. Our Li family is a family of military honors. No matter when, we must not lose the skills passed down in this family."

"Yes, Grandfather, I remember it."

"Okay, go out and walk around the camp."

"Yes."

After Li Cheng'an left, Li Yuanfu looked at his sons again and said, "Silang, you have worked hard in Jianghuai these years."

Li Yuanhui heard this and said, "Father, your words are serious. Whether it is state affairs or family affairs, I cannot afford to slack off. I will do my best."

"Good, I'll do my best. It's been several years since we last met. I see that you've grown taller and become more stable. Very good."

"Yes, we have been apart for five or six years. I miss you a lot in Jianghuai."

Li Yuan's impression of Li Yuanhui was when the five of them, father, sons and brothers, parted in Chang'an before they went to Shuzhong.

Sanlang went to Shu with him, Erlang went to Longyou to join the army, Dalang was an official in Chang'an at the time, and Silang was also a general of the Xiaoguo Army and needed to accompany the emperor.

Almost five years had passed in a flash, and Li Yuanhui was now an adult. He looked more handsome than ever, with a slender and strong figure. He was almost eight feet tall, and there was a sharp look between his brows.

The father and son haven't seen each other for a long time, and their identities and status are different now than before, so they are a little more distant.

After Li Yuan chatted with Silang about the past, he immediately began to ask about the latest military situation.

Li Er pointed to the map around Luoyang and basically summarized the upcoming war.

Li Yuan listened patiently to the reports on the war around Luoyang and nodded repeatedly.

"Very good, you did a good job. After taking over Luokou Granary, our army will have sufficient food and grass. If the city's population of one million cannot be replenished with food, even with Hanjia Granary, it will not be able to support it for half a year. Then, as you said, we will build catapults, prepare more strong bows and crossbows, and consume the defenders. However, have you noticed the situation in Hebei?"

Li San said, "My dear father, I have discussed this with my second brother and Silang. At present, Zhao Yi of Jizhou is guarding Yecheng. He can only control Weijun, while Zhaojun, Hejian and Pingyuan counties have almost all fallen into the hands of Liu Xuanji. Although Zhao Yi has tens of thousands of soldiers who can fight, Weijun will inevitably be difficult to maintain due to lack of food and grass. It will not last long. Without external forces, it is only a matter of time for Liu Xuanji to seize the two states of Hebei. As for Bingzhou, Tuoba Jun and Tuoba Tianbao are brothers at odds. Even with the advantage of cavalry, they cannot compete with Liu Xuanji who owns two states."

Li Er continued, "Some time ago, Ambassador Zhao sent a letter to deliver it, saying that he was willing to follow your orders and to obey Chang'an. He also requested our army to send reinforcements to help him recover Jizhou. At that time, we brothers did not dare to act on our own, so you had to make the decision."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan looked at Li Yuanhui and said, "Silang, you have worked with Liu Xuanji the longest. What do you think of him?"

After hearing this, Li Yuanhui thought for a moment: "Although Liu Xuanji comes from a humble background, he has an open-minded character and great ambitions, quite like Zhaolie. He is very popular in the army. Although he has not read any military books, he is well versed in military strategies and has a lot of strategies. I learned the method of setting up camp from Pang Zhenxi, but he is almost self-taught and can tell the key points. As for marching and arranging battle formations, it is even easier. He is brave and good at fighting in battle formations, making decisions on the spot, and is very decisive. He also has some ability to judge people. Now that he has obtained the land of Hebei, Yanzhao, and he is good at gathering people's hearts, although Zhao Yi is brave, he will definitely not be his opponent. Given time, he will definitely be a strong enemy."

Li Yuan nodded and said, "You brought him home and treated him as a brother. You transferred him to the Xiaoguo Army and asked him to marry your cousin. You treated him very kindly. But now he is a strong enemy of our Li family. Silang, do you regret it?"

Li Yuan was calm and didn't have any intention of reprimanding him. Li Yuanhui smiled after hearing this, and then said: "Liu Xuanji and I naturally have some friendship. At the beginning, it was because I saw that he had the spirit of a hero that I allowed him to enter the hall and became a confidant. Now he is dominating Hebei, doesn't it prove that I didn't make a mistake back then? However, it is fate. If we meet on the battlefield, there is nothing to regret. His talent will definitely take advantage of the situation even without my help. It will be a duel between the two armies, and we should accept our fate!"

After hearing this, Li Yuan smiled and said, "Well, you said Liu Xuanji is open-minded, and you, Li Silang, are not bad either! Since you have such a character, I have nothing to worry about. As long as you brothers work together, there is really nothing to worry about in this world!"

Li Yuan is not too worried about his sons fighting among themselves now. First, these sons are all good people, and the world is not yet pacified. A powerful opponent is about to emerge in Hebei, including the Yang family in Qingzhou, the Eastern Yan court in Luoyang, Cao Yuanjing in Jiangdong, and Cao Xuan in Jingzhou.

If the Li brothers really start fighting among themselves, someone will definitely take advantage of the opportunity.

The most important thing is that there is no need for the brothers to start fighting now.

Once Li Yuan accepts the emperor's abdication, no one knows what will happen.

However, Li Yuan still trusted his sons. He thought there wouldn't be any big problems. When the world was conquered, the weapons would be put into storage and the horses would be released to the mountains. Those who needed to have their power reduced would have their power reduced. There would be no problem governing the world as the eldest brother. Moreover, he was generous and should be able to accommodate the brothers who had made great contributions.
Of course, these are just some of Li Yuan's own thoughts. He naturally wouldn't tell his sons now, "Don't even think about it. Even if I become the emperor or the crown prince, I won't be yours."

We have to rely on these guys to conquer the world.

After Li Yuan arrived, people in the city soon noticed that the Western Army had been shooting arrows into the city all day long and carrying letters.

That means don't fight back. There are 800,000 troops outside the city. Just surrender the city. Why risk your life for Murong Yang, a villain who killed his brother? The orthodoxy of Great Yan is in our Chang'an.
The defenders on the city walls and the common people inside the city all saw it. People’s hearts were already unstable, and this made them even more so.

Some people have even begun plotting to open the gates and let the Western Army into the city.

However, no one expected that even though he was unpopular, the Eastern Yan court and Murong Yang himself still had some tricks up their sleeves.

In mid-November, thirteen officials and nobles were successively executed along with their entire families on the charge of treason.

All the officials and civilians in the city felt insecure for a while.

In other words, after these people were killed, the deterrent effect was not achieved, and people's hearts became even more unstable.

The Li family was still constantly shooting letters of persuasion for surrender into the city, and catapults were still constantly firing at the city.

Murong Fengxian went out of the city again and led a thousand cavalrymen to destroy the catapults outside Shangchun Gate, but they were surrounded outside the city and could not go back.

Of the more than a thousand men in his army, less than a hundred were killed in the battle, and the rest all surrendered.

Murong Fengxian himself was also captured alive.

The life and death of King Zhou, one of the commanders, was uncertain. Under such circumstances, the morale of the defenders in the city fell to the bottom.

And the day when the city will be captured is getting closer and closer.

(End of this chapter)