Chapter 420: The relationship between the ruler and his subjects, and the love between father and son
For Li Yuanhui, after giving up Luoyang, the best outcome would be to return to Jianghuai, where he had been operating for many years.

In the future, when the time is right, I will directly conquer Jiangdong and settle down in Jianye.

Secondly, go west to the Western Regions. With the talents under his command, wouldn't it be easy for him to bully those city-states in the Western Regions? At that time, he would directly establish a great khanate in the Western Regions and Central Asia, and recite the Yuefu Poetry Collection and Xuandi Wenxuan for me.

The Western Regions don't just have raisins.
The last option is to go to the land of abundance in Sichuan and retire right away. There is no point in fighting a war. We can also start the Chengdu nightlife a thousand years in advance and play mahjong and eat hot pot when we have nothing to do.

But Li Yuanhui didn't expect that Li Yuan rejected them all.

What else are you talking about? You’re going to Hedong?

Li Yuanhui was stunned at the time, and then he understood the old man's plan, which was to let the two brothers swap places.

Moreover, Hedong is not a place for retirement, it is a strategic location, and you have to open one eye even when you sleep.
Li Yuan did not accept the invitation after careful consideration.

If Li Yuanhui returned to Jianghuai, it would lead to separatist rule.

It was similar to the Western Regions, where the situation was more complicated. He also guessed that the fourth brother was planning to retire from the army when he went to Shuzhong.

But the world had not yet been unified. How could Li Yuan let such a capable son like Li Si give up?
When Li Si heard Hedong, he stopped talking.

Both father and son fell silent again.

Li Yuan said helplessly: "When the world is settled, whether you want to go to the Western Regions or to Shuzhong, it's up to you. Now the Tang Dynasty is in need of people. Your second brother is the crown prince and the foundation of the country. You and Sanlang have to help me."

After hearing this, Li Si finally softened his attitude and nodded: "Okay, I'll follow your arrangements."

When Li Yuan heard Li Si's resignation, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. After all, if Li Si refused to cooperate, he would have no other choice.

After all, Li Yuanhui still has a great influence in the area east of Hangu Pass. If he just drags his feet, how can you go to war with him?
In other words, the fact that they agreed to give up their territory was enough to give him, the emperor, face. This was also the duty between the monarch and his subjects.

Now Li Yuan wants Li Si to go to Hedong again. He has just taken power from Li Si and wants him to continue working. The emperor's face is not enough, so he has to use the affection between father and son.

Li Yuanhui has nodded and agreed to hand over Luoyang, and agreed to go to Hedong to continue to contribute to the construction of the Tang Dynasty.

But Li Yuan was a little hesitant about who should stay in Luoyang. Even if he asked Li San to come to Luoyang, it would take time.

It is impossible to come here just like that. It will take at least several months, and it may take half a year, including the handover and the journey. Luoyang is also a strategic location, so who will be in charge of guarding it?

"How about me? The King of Qi returns to Chang'an. If it were me, would it be possible?"

"no way."

In the residence of Duke of Yue Yang Sui in the west of Luoyang, Prince of Wei Li Xiaozheng and his father-in-law, Duke of Yue Yang Sui, were sitting in the hall feasting.

Li Xiaozheng asked Yang Sui hopefully if it was possible for him to stay in Luoyang.

However, Yang Sui told him directly not to think about it.

"Your Highness, you just lost Jinyang last year, and Luoyang is ten times more important than Jinyang. Even if His Majesty lets the King of Qi continue to guard Luoyang, he will not let you stay."

The truth was hard to hear, and Li Xiaozheng's face turned ugly after hearing it, but he also knew that his father-in-law was right. But some things are just delusions, and once the idea arises, it is difficult to suppress it. Li Xiaozheng picked up the wine glass, drank it all, and sighed: "I thought that I would have the opportunity to make merit on the battlefield by following the emperor to Luoyang, but who knew that Liu Xuanji of Northern Yan had withdrawn his troops early, and at this time, Tuyuhun and Qiang Hu were in chaos in Longyou. Your Majesty will never use troops against Northern Yan at this time. I want to lead the troops to fight and make merit, but I don't have the opportunity. Father-in-law, do you have any good advice for me?"

Yang Sui was silent for a moment, then said: "We have no say in this matter, it depends on the north. Perhaps you can also seek the post of governor of Jingzhou. Previously, the Prince of Jin has always held the post concurrently. Now the Prince of Jin is stationed in Hedong, and will move to Luoyang soon. By then, Jingzhou will no longer be in the hands of the Prince of Jin. You are not on good terms with the Prince of Jin, so if you ask for the post of governor of Jingzhou, His Majesty should not refuse."

Li Xiaozheng was thoughtful when he heard this. At present, the two most important outer towns in the Tang Dynasty were Hedong and Luoyang.

They all need to face Beiyan directly.

But Li Xiaozheng also understood that Li Yuan would not give him these two most conspicuous places where it was easiest to make achievements.

Then, as a second best option, going to Jingzhou to confront the Western Wei would be a good choice.

After all, the Western Wei Dynasty was weak, and had always relied on the less than 20,000 garrisons in Wancheng and Xinye to pin the Western Wei Dynasty firmly to the north of the Han River, preventing it from advancing an inch.

So it is a good choice to go here to accumulate some experience.
"Then, how about Jianghuai? If..." Li Xiaozheng suddenly had an idea, if he went to Jianghuai, would he have a chance? Maybe he could dig up the foundation of the King of Qi.
"Absolutely not." Yang Sui said directly and clearly, don't even think about it.

"Why?"

"The King of Qi has been managing Jianghuai for nearly ten years and has won the hearts of the people in the three counties. Both the powerful and the common people are loyal to the King of Qi. Now he has transferred the elite troops of the left and right guards back, telling Your Majesty that Luoyang can be given up, but Jianghuai will never be allowed to be touched by others."

Li Xiaozheng nodded upon hearing this, and then said, "If that's the case, I'll go back and ask His Majesty to let me go to Jingzhou for training."

After seeing off Prince Wei Li Xiaozheng, Yang Sui returned to his study and drank some strong tea to sober up. Then he leaned on the couch and closed his eyes to rest, thinking about the recent situation and what the Yang family should do next, and he couldn't help but feel a little upset.

After a while, his son Yang Duan came in and signaled all the maids serving on both sides to go down.

"Aye, there's a letter from the north."

Upon hearing this, Yang Sui immediately sat up, opened his eyes with a clear look, and then took the letter to read it.

The letter was written by Yang Kan. It talked about the current situation in the north. In addition, he told Yang Sui that he hoped he could take care of his wife and children.

When Yang Kan lost Qingzhou, he didn't have time to return to Linzi, Qi County, and was caught up by Chang Yanheng's cavalry. He had no choice but to flee to Le'an. Later, his wife and family were all in Linzi.

Later, when Linzi City was captured, his family members, wives and children were captured by the Tang army. Li Yuanhui took them to Luoyang for resettlement and also kept them under surveillance.

After reading the letter, Yang Sui sighed and said, "If I had known this would happen, I would have advised him to let go of the past hatred. At that time, it was just a battle between the two armies. Now his family is in the hands of the King of Qi, how can I have a say?"

"But Uncle Twelve's family."

"Let's go back and see the King of Qi. What else can we do? Our Yang family is now on the side of His Majesty and we are related to the King of Wei. We should not expect the King of Qi to give us face. But we are a family after all, so we should always do our best."

Yang Duan said: "Father, let's not talk about the family of the twelfth uncle. Although my Yang family is on the side of His Majesty now, what about the future? Do we have to rely on the King of Wei? Do we have to follow the King of Qi?"

Hearing this, Yang Sui was silent for a moment and said, "The King of Qi is different from the King of Wei. Although the King of Wei is now a relative, it was granted by His Majesty. It's okay for us to get closer, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince won't care about this. But if we get close to the King of Qi, it would be a gamble, and it would be difficult to get away in the future."

(End of this chapter)