Chapter 393 Face
Li Yaoshi, Li Baishi, Dugu Ying and others wanted to comfort him at first, but they saw that His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi was furious and even smashed the teacup, which was rare.

However, these shrewd people discovered that the eyes of His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi were extremely clear.

In other words, although he was cursing Wei Wang Li Xiaozheng and even accused the emperor of not being able to judge people in a good way in anger, it was clear from his eyes that the anger was probably pretended.

Because when you are truly furious, your eyes won't be so clear.

In other words, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi may have anticipated the loss of Jinyang long ago.

Li Yaoshi, Li Baishi and other people who stayed in Luoyang had anticipated this only after Wei Xiaoju's letter of surrender was delivered. They even asked Zhu Yuanzhang to strengthen the defense of Luoyang and prepare to support Hanoi.

Although I had a premonition, I was still surprised and worried when Jinyang was actually lost.

As for Li Yuanhui's outburst, they could guess what he meant by taking advantage of the situation. He probably wanted to make the generals think that the emperor in Chang'an had become a little stupid.

Even if I were to do something out of the ordinary, it would be a prelude, and I would make it clear to people that no matter what I do next, I will have no choice, because the emperor is old and confused.
A few smart people naturally understood why Li Yuanhui did this. After all, they were kings and ministers, fathers and sons, and there was a righteous cause. Even if they wanted to fight, they had to have a legitimate reason and not be too wrong.

The purpose of taking advantage of this incident is to make the generals who participated in the Battle of Jinyang feel that their efforts were wasted because of the emperor's wrong decision in appointing the waste Li Xiaozheng.

So Li Yuanhui was actually just acting as a mouthpiece for everyone. After all, there were some things that Li Yuanhui could say openly in front of everyone, but the generals under him could not.

But after Li Yuanhui said this, it still made everyone feel a kind of emotion similar to sharing a common hatred of the enemy.

This is what he wanted to achieve by getting angry.

In fact, it was actually achieved.

The generals standing below all thought that His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi's scolding was really good.
On the other hand, after Wang Yi's news was sent to Chang'an, Li Yuan was also shocked and hurriedly summoned his ministers to discuss countermeasures.

The Crown Prince, Prince of Jin, the Prime Minister and the generals all went to the Taiji Palace.

When the Minister of War Yuwen Chengye finished reading Wang Yi's military report, almost everyone in the hall gasped.

Jinyang is gone just like that? That is Jinyang, the most important strategic hub north of the Yellow River, the foundation of the kingdom that can compete for the world.

Apart from the crown prince, only Jin Wang Li Xuanqing and Prime Minister Sima Xiuye ​​remained calm, as if they had expected this.

Li Xuanqing was the first to add fuel to the fire, "I knew this slave would ruin the country's affairs!"

Li Yuan on the throne was so angry after hearing this. Who are you trying to offend by saying this at this time? But Li Yuan couldn't reprimand him directly because he was the one who insisted on appointing the unlucky sixth son, Li Xiaozheng, the Prince of Wei, as the governor of Bingzhou, and hoped that he would be as brave and good at fighting as the crown prince Li Erfeng, so that he could check and balance the three legitimate sons whose power was growing day by day.

But it turned out that the lottery ticket bought at a high price was a failure.

Not everyone is as majestic as Li Erfeng, not everyone is as strong and resolute as Li Sanlang, or as calm and steady as Li Silang.

Li Yuan's heart bleeds as he pays the tuition fee.

But there is no other way, I can only swallow my anger and accept the consequences.

Li Yuan said immediately: "The King of Wei, Li Xiaozheng, is young and ignorant. I originally left Murong He and Liu Wenhui to assist the King of Wei, but they did not fulfill their duties. I am really disappointed. Jinyang City has 20,000 elite soldiers and enough food for several years. They did not persuade the King of Wei to defend such a strong city. Instead, they let the King of Wei believe what the thieves said and lost Jinyang. If they are not dead, I must kill them to enforce military law."

When the court officials heard this, they were all stunned.

Isn't it the leader who's here for you? Murong He and Liu Wenhui both died fighting for you, Li Tang. Now they're dead and you have to blame Li Xiaozheng, the loser? Li Yuan knew it was not right to do this, but he had no choice. He didn't mean to protect the King of Wei until his death. He was just a bastard.

But he had to maintain his dignity.

There was the Crown Prince, the Prince of Jin, and the Prince of Qi, so it was not that there were no capable sons. But such an important place was entrusted to the Prince of Wei, who had never led troops, and still he was lost. Should someone pay for this mistake?
We can't let the emperor take the blame, right? How can the emperor be wrong?

How could someone supported by the emperor be incompetent?
There must be something wrong with the people working below.

Anyway, the dead can’t talk back now, so where else can we put the problem if not on them?

As a result, Liu Wenhui and Murong He, who died in the battle, became the targets of Li Yuan's scapegoating.

But the Tang Dynasty certainly had loyal ministers. Li Yuan’s confidant, the Minister of Revenue Wen Daya, who was one of the prime ministers, directly stood up and refuted.

"Your Majesty, although the King of Wei is young, he is the commander-in-chief after all. Even if Liu Wenhui and Murong He made mistakes, their mistakes cannot exceed those of the commander-in-chief."

After hearing this, Li Yuan's face darkened and he quickly glanced at Pei Ji.

Pei Ji immediately understood what Wen Daya meant and stood up to refute him, "Liu Wenhui and Murong He were both experienced and prudent people, but they did not advise the King of Wei to defend Jinyang. This was their fault. Although they died in battle now, their fault cannot be ignored."

Jin Wang Li Xuanqing said, "After all this talk, who is the governor of Bingzhou?"

This sentence directly rebuked Pei Ji, but it also saved him at the same time.

He could refute his colleague Wen Daya, but he didn't want to confront the King of Jin head-on. Especially in this kind of situation, helping Li Yuan to pass the buck was actually a very offensive thing. But he couldn't pretend not to see Li Yuan's hint.

After all, you are a confidant, and that's what you do. If you don't speak for the emperor, what's the point of having you?
However, the emperor's son cannot be offended at will. This is not within the scope of the mission.

The situation became somewhat awkward, and many people were unwilling to speak up and get involved in such matters, because it was obvious that this was related to the emperor's reputation.

However, Prince of Jin Li Sanlang did not care about all this and stated directly and openly that Prince of Wei Li Xiaozheng should be executed for losing such an important place.

Li Yuan was so choked that he was speechless. If he really did that, wouldn't that be a slap in his face?

Finally, the prince spoke up.

"I think the most urgent thing is not to care about who is to blame, but to send troops to rescue Hedong immediately. Jinyang has been lost. If Hedong is lost, Guanzhong will be in danger. I beg for permission to go to Hedong in person to save the situation."

Li Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. "The prince's words are mature and prudent for the country. Now is not the time to pursue responsibility. The crisis in Hedong does need someone to deal with it, but you are the prince, the foundation of the country, and you cannot touch the King of Jin lightly. I now appoint you as the commander-in-chief of Bingzhou's military affairs and the chief commander of the army. Bingzhou is handed over to you."

Li Sanlang hesitated for a moment after hearing this, but still stepped out and said, "I obey your command."

He actually didn't really want to take over this mess, but Li Yuan was destined not to let Li Er go.

Because the crown prince is the foundation of the country, if a country needs the crown prince to lead troops to fight, it proves that the situation is very dangerous.

So whether it is for the sake of people's hearts or out of fear, the options Li Er has now are his last resort.

(End of this chapter)