Chapter 408 Change of Mind
In the tenth month of the fourth year of Wude, Chang'an.

The news that Northern Yan had sent troops to Henei and attacked Sili had already been known to the court in Chang'an.

This situation might have been welcomed by Li Yuan before, but now it makes him very worried.

At the beginning of the year, he was still forcing the King of Qi to send troops in the court, but now that Li Sizhen and Liu Xuanji were confronting each other, he began to worry about the impact of this result on the strategy and overall situation of the Tang Dynasty.

After all, his favorite sixth brother, Prince of Wei Li Xiaozheng, had shown his ability to show his ability. Now that the situation in Hedong had finally stabilized, he didn't even dare to call Prince of Jin Li Xuanqing back to Chang'an.

The Minister of War Yuwen Chengye submitted a petition requesting to send troops to retake Jinyang. The Crown Prince did not express his opinion, but the King of Jin in Hedong raised objections.

Because the people in Taiyuan were not in agreement with the Tang Dynasty, the reasons were highlighted in the letter.

The King of Wei allowed his men to plunder, rape women, and trample on farmland when hunting. And Li Xuanqing was not just talking nonsense, but bound all the evidence and documents and sent them to Chang'an.

Li Yuan was furious when he saw this and sent people to beat Yin Ashu up.

But now that the incident has happened, it is too late to regret.

At this time, the King of Qi also came to Chang'an to report the situation on the battlefield in Hanoi. However, he did not request Chang'an to send more reinforcements, but Li Yuan was a little anxious.

Because of the example of Li Xiaozheng, he was a little worried about Luoyang. He even said that he wanted to issue an edict to let Silang hold his ground, and then he wanted to send more reinforcements to Luoyang.

However, several prime ministers, including Pei Hongde and Sima Xiuye, tried to comfort him, saying that the King of Qi had led troops in battles for many years and was a very prudent person. His subordinates were all elite soldiers and generals, and they would definitely not be like the King of Wei, so he should be at ease.

Prince Li Er even said, even if I lead the troops myself, I may not be able to win against Silang. How can Liulang compare to Silang?

After much persuasion, Li Yuan gave up the idea of ​​intervening in the Luoyang battlefield.

But there is still room for worry. After all, the last victory in the Battle of Jinyang was achieved because the three brothers mobilized more than half of the Tang Dynasty's army, and that was with the cooperation of the Turks.

Can Shiro handle it on his own?
So Li Yuan was extremely worried. But all the ministers including the crown prince opposed him sending troops and issuing an imperial edict. So he had no choice but to give up.

But some people are not at peace.

When Li Xiaozheng returned to Chang'an, he was immediately treated coldly. Li Yuan did not punish him not because he loved him, but for his own face.

After suffering this blow, Li Xiaozheng actually understood that he could not be compared with the King of Qi, the King of Jin and the Crown Prince.

But he was somewhat unwilling to just be an idle member of the royal family.

So after returning to Chang'an, he immediately wanted to be a filial son and went to the Taiji Hall every day when he had nothing to do.

Li Yuan was naturally furious and just walked away.

However, he ran every day, and his sincere attitude finally eased Li Yuan's mood and allowed him to enter the Taiji Hall to pay his respects.

"Your Majesty, may your Majesty live forever."

Li Yuan looked at Li Xiaozheng who was kneeling on the ground and snorted coldly: "Get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Li Xiaozheng got up from the ground, looked at Li Yuan who was frowning slightly and said: "Your Majesty, is there anything bothering you? I am willing to share your worries."

Li Yuan sneered, "It's good enough that you don't add to my worries, but you're sharing my worries. If it weren't for the incident you had in Jinyang, how could I have any worries?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xiaozheng immediately knelt down again and cried, "Father, it is my son's incompetence. They all advised me that this is a rare opportunity and asked me to seize it. They thought that if I could take Shangdang, I could also win face in the court, so that my brothers would not always look down on me. Only then did I listen to them. Liu Wenhui also asked me to be the vanguard." Li Xiaozheng's words almost completely threw away all the blame on himself. He also highlighted his filial piety.

Li Yuan actually didn't want to punish him. After all, he was his own son. Although he was born out of wedlock and could not be as affectionate as his legitimate son, he was also raised by him. After all, they were father and son.

Li Yuan was quite moved by what he heard. He knew that the legitimate sons would stick together. Not to mention the illegitimate son, even he, as the father, sometimes had to look at his son's face.

This made him very unhappy, but sometimes he had to rely on them.

Even if he wanted to do something sometimes, he was unable to effectively restrict the power of his sons due to the current situation.

The only way was to place Li Er in the position of crown prince by promoting him openly but demoting him secretly. As for the King of Jin and the King of Qi, the local forces were even more difficult to eliminate.

The King of Jin has ruled Shu, Jingzhou and Hedong, and the King of Qi even controls half of the land of the Tang Dynasty. How can he be weakened?

If this knife strikes, his hands and feet might be cut off. Can he be so cruel as to do this at this time?
The main thing is that the world is still unsettled.

Looking at the sixth brother, although he is not as capable as his older brothers, he is still obedient.

Those are much stronger in this regard.
However, he had never thought of letting the sixth son replace anyone else. He just wanted to support an obedient son and restrict the other disobedient ones.

But in the current situation, it seems that this old man can't be saved.
"Forget it, these things are in the past, you don't need to mention them again in the future, you should stay in Chang'an, study hard and practice martial arts, and temper your anxious temper. If I find out that you have done evil again, I will not forgive you."

"Yes, Father. I know I was wrong. I will definitely not disappoint you in the future. But I still want to do something for the Tang Dynasty and make some contributions."

Li Yuan frowned upon hearing this, and then said: "Take care of yourself. There are memorials impeaching you in the court now. I suppressed them. Otherwise, how could you still be standing here? Wait until the storm passes. I will think of you when there is a chance."

"Thank you for your love and care, Father. I understand."

Li Xiaozheng heaved a sigh of relief, because he knew that this hurdle was over. As long as Li Yuan did not pursue the matter, the rest would not be a problem.

Just as he was about to get up and say goodbye, Li Yuan looked at the battle report of Luoyang on the table and muttered, "Luoyang. Hey. Luoyang"

After hearing this, Li Xiaozheng suddenly had an idea and asked casually, "Are you worried about the war in Sizhou?"

Li Yuan did not hide it from him. The most eye-catching thing now was definitely the war in Hanoi. As an emperor, he was naturally worried about the progress of the war.

Li Xiaozheng thought for a moment and said, "I heard that Brother Qi Wang is a steady warrior and good at striking back. Every time he uses his troops, he will confront the enemy for a long time, and then launch an attack when the opponent reveals a flaw or runs out of food and grass. Although Liu Xuanji is in full swing now, you should not worry too much about Brother Qi Wang's ability. Even if you can't win, it should be no problem to stop Liu Xuanji in Hebei."

Li Yuan's eyes lit up when he heard this, and then he said, "You have made some progress recently. Have you started to study the art of war?"

Li Xiaozheng replied: "I know I made a big mistake by losing Jinyang, but I think we should remember this and learn how to use troops so that we can regain our face on the battlefield in the future."

Li Yuan nodded: "Knowing shame leads to courage, good, great good."

Although it was just talk, Li Yuan was still very satisfied that he could explain the idea, and his opinion of Li Xiaozheng changed a little.

And the advice Li Xiaozheng gave him afterwards made him feel that this boy had some ideas.

"Since Father is worried about the war in Sizhou, why don't you go to Luoyang in person to supervise the battle and urge Brother Prince Qi to fight the enemy."

"Ok?"

(End of this chapter)