Chapter 363 Husband and Son
Princess Li Sujin of Han was the daughter of Li Shenke, Prince of Wudu County in the Tang Dynasty. According to seniority, she was the niece of Li Yuan and the cousin of Li Er and others.

The greatest help she gave Liu Xuanji was not to give him soldiers and horses or money and food, but to allow his vision to evolve continuously and to provide him with some key advice at critical moments.

The most crucial thing was that during the power vacuum in Youzhou after Xue Shixiong's death, he sent people to contact the generals to push Liu Xuanji to the position of commander-in-chief of Youzhou's military affairs.

If the father and son of the Li family knew that it was Li who had contributed to the creation of today's powerful enemy of the Tang Dynasty, how would they feel? But now Li is a daughter who has been married off, and the water has been spilled. Since the two sides fell out, Li has cut off contact with her natal family.

Liu Chengye, who had a rather naughty temperament, looked up and saw his father Liu Xuanji, and as if he had found a savior, he immediately prepared to jump off the chair and go play with his father.

Liu Xuanji doted on his eldest son, but Princess Li Sujin was the strict mother. She had the final say on her son's upbringing, when he should study, when he should practice martial arts, what etiquette he should learn, and what he should eat.

Although Liu Xuanji had the final say in the court and the army, he became discouraged when he met Princess Li Sujin in the inner palace.

"Aye, you are finally here."

Liu Chengye jumped off the chair, ran to Liu Xuanji, and complained: "My mother asked me to write 100 big characters today, one hundred at a time."

Liu Xuanji smiled and asked, "How much have you finished?"

Liu Chengye shook his head and said, "I have only written less than fifty."

Liu Xuanji smiled again, then looked up at Li Sujin and said, "Princess, how about..."

"Ok?"

Liu Xuanji wanted to plead for his son, but after hearing Li Sujin's "hmm", he immediately said with a stern face: "It's only a hundred characters, why haven't you finished writing it yet? And you let your mother watch over it personally? Go and write it!"

When Liu Chengye heard this, he felt hopeless and saluted with very childish movements, then said dejectedly, "Yes, Aye, I understand."

Li Sujin waved his hand, and the maid stood up and carried Liu Chengye to the side to continue writing. Then she looked at Liu Xuanji and said, "Okay, stop pretending. Don't I know you?"

Liu Xuanji came over and said with a smile: "Princess, Chengye is still young. Isn't the schoolwork you set for him too heavy?"

Li Sujin laughed when he heard this, "Heavy? This is the homework that the children of the Li family have to do since childhood. My brothers from my mother's side, Xiaojie, Xiaoke, my eldest uncle's cousin Huaizhen, are all like this. My fourth uncle's cousin Xiaoyan has already learned poetry at the age of five. You, Liu Xuanji, were born in a humble family, and you have worked hard for your achievements. But you are a born hero, but do you think your son is the same as you? Born with knowledge? Or do you plan to let your son be a rich and idle person? If you are ready to submit to the Tang Dynasty, then I won't teach him anything. Just eat and wait for death, what do you think?"

When Liu Xuanji heard this, he was speechless. He knew without thinking that Princess Li was right. The Li family had been passed down for many years and generations? What was Liu Xuanji's origin and background? How dare you interrupt the matter of educating children?
If he didn't have great skills, help from noble people, and good luck, how could he, a commoner from a peasant family, have the chance to succeed in this world full of noble families?

In fact, marrying the daughter of Longxi Li was equivalent to raising his family status. This factor must have been the reason why the aristocratic families in Youzhou were willing to support him.

And his eldest son will inherit his inheritance in the future.

If he is really preparing to submit to the Tang Dynasty, then he really doesn't need to learn anything. He can just be a useless person who is waiting for retirement. Anyway, he will not have the opportunity to hold power and serve as an official.

But since he annexed the two states of You and Ji, he was destined to fight for the world.

Judging from the current momentum, although the Tang Dynasty has strong military forces, a large population and vast territory, Northern Yan is still not without a chance.

So Princess Li Sujin's words directly enlightened Liu Xuanji. He also knew that he was short-sighted, so he quickly apologized, "What are you talking about, Princess? From now on, the affairs of the inheritance will be decided by the Princess. I will definitely not interfere or ask."

Li Sujin laughed and said, "Why, King Han, have you figured it out? Aren't you afraid that I will lead your son astray?"

"What are you talking about, my son?"

As the couple was talking, someone came to invite them, saying that there was military intelligence. Liu Xuanji left the back hall and went to the meeting place in the front hall of the palace.

The contracts of several aides have all expired, including Li Yuanzhong, Chief Clerk of King of Han, Lu Rou, Assistant Military Officer of the Recorder's Office, Wang Sizheng, Military Advisor and Chief Academician, Liu Daohe, Chief Clerk of the Cavalry Palace and Shangshu Zuocheng, and several core aides' contracts have all expired.

"Greetings, King of Han." "Gentlemen, please don't be so polite. Please take a seat. I haven't seen you for a few days. What is the military situation in the south?"

Liu Xuanji respected all these staff and scholars, and among them he was most influenced by two people.

It’s still Li Yuanhui and Princess Li Sujin.

When I was working under Li Yuanhui, I saw that he always treated his staff with courtesy and great kindness. Later I learned that this is called respecting the wise and humble.

After they got married, Li Sujin often advised him to ask these capable scholars for help when he was in trouble, and she also helped him collect books and read them to him.

Therefore, Liu Xuanji, who was good at learning, also learned these methods of respecting wise and humble people after he established his own government.

Every time he asked for advice or discussed matters, he attached great importance to the opinions of his staff, and facts also gave him positive feedback.

Although these scholars could not charge into battle and fight bravely for him like generals, they could give him advice, govern the local area, manage warehouses, and establish systems.

And he finally fully understood what Li Yuanhui had understood since he was a teenager.

Li Yuanzhong, the chief secretary, said, "Today, news arrived from Jizhou that there have been unusual movements in Qingzhou. Yang Kan has attacked Xuzhou several times and sent people across the river, saying that he wants to offer Qingzhou to Dayan and ask Dayan to send troops to support him."

After saying that, he handed over the letter.

After reading the letter, Liu Xuanji was somewhat puzzled and said, "It was the King of Qi and I who captured and killed Yang Xun. It was precisely because of this great achievement that I was able to leave a name in front of Emperor Zhaowu. Later, I was successful all the way. Until now, it has been almost eight or nine years. This Yang Kan hates the King of Qi, but doesn't he hate me? Will he really surrender to my Great Yan?"

At this level, Liu Xuanji's vision and cognition are completely different from those of the cavalry team back then.

So he quickly realized that Yang Kan wanted to kill someone with a borrowed knife, to drive the tiger to devour the wolf, and to watch the Tang Dynasty and Dayan fighting each other so that he could survive.

Yes, that’s right, it’s not about being the one who benefits, but about lingering on.

Because even if you want to be a fisherman, you need to be strong. When lions and tigers fight, is it worthy for a rabbit to participate and reap the benefits?

Therefore, Liu Xuanji was not willing to get involved in such matters at this time, especially when going to war with the Tang Dynasty in Qingzhou.

In his opinion, the current primary strategic goal should still be Bingzhou.

Because Jinyang poses too great a threat to Dayan, it has a geographical advantage. Moreover, the failure to capture Jinyang last year was due to the invasion of the Turks, and the outcome of a comeback is actually uncertain.

However, the Chief Secretary Li Yuanzhong was obviously very interested in the affairs of Qingzhou.

"King of Han, Qingzhou is rich and fertile. If we can seize Qingzhou, it will be of great benefit to us. Besides, even if I cannot take Qingzhou, will I just watch Li Tang take Qingzhou? By then, the Tang Dynasty will be much stronger, and it will be disadvantageous to us if one side gains while the other loses."

After Li Yuanzhong finished speaking, Liu Xuanji frowned slightly. He felt that it made sense. Yang Kan's letter made it clear that he was loyal to Dayan, but Yang Sui and others wanted to surrender to Tang.

If Yang Sui and others were really willing to surrender to the Tang Dynasty, the Tang army would only need to send troops to cooperate and capture Qingzhou would be a piece of cake.

As a result, the situation became very unfavorable for Dayan.

But Liu Xuanji was a little hesitant about sending troops. On the one hand, Hebei, which was ruled by Dayan, needed to recuperate after years of war. If he sent troops to fight for Qingzhou with the Tang Dynasty, Hebei would not be able to recover and would not have enough food and grass.
"King of Han, I think that we can give up Qingzhou now, but we must not let Tang Kingdom settle down."

Someone said it with certainty.

(End of this chapter)