Chapter 333: Literature Museum

Liu Xuanji's letter was for the captives to take back to the Tang camp, and it stated that it was a handwritten letter from General Liu to the Tang Emperor Li Yuan.

Under such circumstances, the generals at all levels of the Tang army did not dare to report it themselves, so they sent people to Chang'an.

The content of the letter seems very humble.

Liu Xuanji first asked Li Yuan about his health as a junior, and then talked about his friendship with the Li family in Chang'an and Luoyang. He made it clear that I did not intend to be an enemy of the Li family, but only wanted to support Dayan and so on.

After some polite words, the real story came.

Liu Xuanji wrote directly in the letter, "I heard that the Tang Dynasty was conquered by your sons, and you have no achievements. I think this is all nonsense from outsiders who don't know the inside story. The achievements of your sons must have been completed under your leadership. Outsiders say that you are just sitting back and enjoying the fruits of others' labor. They must not know the inside story. If you had personally led the troops to Yecheng this time, I am afraid I would have been captured alive by you now."
If Li Si reads the letter, he will definitely give him a thumbs up, calling him "Brother, Master of Yin and Yang".

After reading the letter, Li Yuan burst into laughter. He was laughing out of anger.

However, he did not make any unwise decisions in anger, so he still had some self-control.

But he had already made up his mind that he would deal with Liu Xuanji, the young man, personally.

Pei Ji had previously advised him that several princes had too much power and too high prestige, and suggested that he reduce the power of several princes.

Although Li Yuan also listened, he did not plan to take action immediately because the world was still in a state of fragmentation.

If you want to reduce power at this time, it will inevitably cause internal turmoil.

Although Liu Xuanji's words were unpleasant to hear, they actually made sense. When all the forces in the world mentioned Li Tang, they would first mention the three brothers Li Er, Li San, and Li Si.

Although Li Yuan felt that he could control the situation, there were some things that he could not tell outsiders.

He didn't want to give up power too early. Firstly, he was in good health, and secondly, he was afraid that if he gave up power, it would be just like what Yuan Xiangshi said.

So even though he knew that the second oldest was the most suitable candidate to lead the team, he still sent the fourth oldest.

If the fourth brother wins the battle of Yecheng this time, his prestige will be almost the same as that of the second brother. Then he can signal some people to support the fourth brother, let the second and fourth brothers fight for it, and let the third brother mediate in the middle, so that the fight will not be too excessive.

But the battle of Yecheng was lost. Although it had little to do with the fourth brother, it planted the seeds of conflict between him and the Guanzhong nobles and the Yuancong faction.

This was also acceptable to Li Yuanhui.

The one in power is afraid of a strong opposition from below. Now most of the noble families in Guanzhong have begun to support the second one, which Li Yuan can see.

For example, the Wei family married a woman from the previous dynasty who had served as a royal concubine to Li Er as a concubine.

At the same time, the Qin Palace also established a literary institute to recruit talented people from Guanzhong as staff, among whom were the children of the Jingzhao Du family.

All signs indicate that after becoming the de facto eldest son, Li Erlang has gained the support of the Guanlong clans and the Guanzhong army with his prestige and achievements.

Under such circumstances, Li Yuan dared not to hand over the position of crown prince to his second son casually. He could not let him make any more outstanding achievements. He was afraid that he would be sidelined.

Therefore, Li Yuan felt that he could personally tackle the tough challenge of Hebei. Although Dayan had in fact been destroyed, Liu Xuanji was still nominally fighting under the banner of Dayan.

If the Battle of Yingchuan was considered the founding battle of the Tang Dynasty, then the recovery of Hebei was the battle to establish the dynasty.

It was already October in the golden autumn. In the palace of the Prince of Qin, a group of staff members were discussing matters with Li Er. The letter from Liu Xuanji was sent over by Li Yuan.

After reading it, Li Er leaned back in his chair, shook his head, and sighed, "After Liu Xuanji's letter, His Majesty will never let me lead the expedition to Hebei again."

The Chief Clerk Fang Qiao said, "Liu Xuanji must be aware of the situation in Chang'an, so he devised this strategy of division. This way, His Majesty will certainly become more wary of Your Highness."

Fang Qiao was from Qi County. His father was a famous Confucian scholar in Qi. He was well versed in the Five Classics and had great eloquence.

He was influenced by his father since childhood. He was smart, good at poetry and writing, read a lot of classics and history, and was proficient in Confucian classics. He also learned good calligraphy from his father, and was good at cursive and official scripts. At the age of 18, he passed the imperial examination and was able to serve as an official.

After Li Er entered Guanzhong, Fang Qiao went to Weibei from Chang'an to seek refuge, and served as a military officer in the Record Office, making plans and managing secretaries. Every time he conquered a place, others would scramble to obtain treasures, but he would first collect talents for Li Er's shogunate.

After the founding of the Tang Dynasty, Li Er was named King of Qin and Fang Qiao was appointed Chief Clerk, considered his chief strategist.

After hearing what Fang Qiao said, Li Er couldn't help but smile bitterly. "I never thought things would develop to this point. How could it be so between father and son and brother?"

"Your Highness, please do not act too hastily at this moment. Hebei is rich and fertile, and there are many heroes and talents in Yan and Zhao. Liu Xuanji has heroic ambitions and can win the hearts of the people. Even if Your Majesty leads the army in person, it may not be possible to recapture Hebei. At that time, Your Highness will certainly be appointed as the commander. If Hebei can be captured, then the matter of establishing a crown prince will be a matter of course."

The person who said this was Du Keming, a military officer in the record department, a descendant of the wealthy Du family in Jingzhao. His grandfather had been the Shangshu of Dayan, and his father had been the governor, so they were considered a prominent family. After Li Yuan led his army into Chang'an, Fang Qiao strongly recommended him to Li Er, saying that he was "intelligent, knowledgeable, and a talent to assist the king."

Fang Qiao also echoed, "This is reasonable. Your Highness should not be too impatient at this time. You should keep a low profile. The world is not settled yet. His Majesty will use Your Highness sooner or later."

Li Er nodded when he heard this, "What you two gentlemen said makes sense."

At this time, Su Xu, a military officer in the palace, said, "But if the Prince of Qi reorganizes his army and marches north to make achievements, then His Majesty will no longer use His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin as the commander."

Li Er just frowned when he heard this, but did not refute immediately.

However, Xue Yuanjing, who was also a military officer, laughed and said, "The Prince of Qi has just been defeated, and his military strategy is far inferior to that of His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin. Can the Prince of Qi defeat Liu Xuanji?"

At this point, Xue Yuanjing shook his head, a look of disbelief on his face, and expressed his opinion that his colleagues were worrying too much.

Xue Shou, the military chief, said, "I heard that Li Qinglian, the military officer of the King of Qi, once compared the King of Qi to Zhuge Wuhou in front of Your Majesty, and Your Majesty was very pleased. But in the battle of Yecheng, the King of Qi acted very much like Zhuge Wuhou's enemy."

Everyone understood what Xue Shou meant.

During Zhuge Liang's fourth northern expedition, Zhang He attacked Qishan, but was ambushed by the Shu army and died on Mumen Road.

"Wei Lue" says that it was Sima Yi who drove it.

Although the situations are completely different, there are similarities in their actions.

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's faces became solemn. Because in the defeat of Yecheng, only the Guanzhong army was damaged, while the King of Qi's troops took over Hedong with the help of reinforcements.

The most important thing is that the left and right guards, these arrogant and brave generals, are willing to die.
Can't even blame anyone.

There was no sign of any scheme, and the more this was the case, the more fearful the wise men in the Qin Palace became.

Li Er finally sighed and said, "Although Silang watched the defeat of Yecheng, Liu Wenhui underestimated the enemy. If Silang had not acted in time to save the defeat, the land north of the river would not belong to the Tang Dynasty. I'd better say less about speculation in the future."

(End of this chapter)