Chapter 441: Too Many People
The struggle for power and succession in Luoyang ended. After the temporary dust settled, the Crown Prince and the Prince of Jin left one after another.

Following Li Er were Duan Xiong's ten Zhechoufu of the Right Guard and the remaining several thousand elite guards.

General Zhao Da of the Left Guard, General Chai Rong of the Right Guard, Prime Minister Pei Hongde, Minister of War Yuwen Chengye and others all followed Li Er back to Guanzhong.

Prime Minister Pei Ji, Duke of Su Dugu Huaiyi, several old friends, plus several thousand people from the Left and Right Guard Offices stayed in Luoyang to accompany Li Yuan.

However, Li Si was still very careful. He did not hand over the defense of Luoyang Palace to the people from the Left and Right Gate Guards. Instead, he let the personal troops under the Tian Ce Mansion continue to be in charge. Li Si was still very cautious about some things.

At this time, we need to be on guard against fathers, sons and brothers.

In Hebei, Liu Xuanji was unable to pursue immediately because the military food transfer point was burned down by Li Yaoshi. Instead, he returned to Yecheng with tens of thousands of troops and prisoners to find food.

He didn't expect that before he even arrived in Yecheng, Wei Xiaoju had given him such a huge gift and brought him tens of thousands of captives.

For a time, the issue of prisoners became the top priority for Northern Yan.

In Yecheng, in Dongbai Hall, Liu Xuanji's residence, almost all the high-ranking officials and generals of Northern Yan were present.

"There are nearly 50,000 more mouths to feed. Where will we get all the food to feed them? And these 50,000 are all young and middle-aged. If they are short of food, it will easily cause riots. Otherwise..."

Liu Xuanji asked directly: "What else?"

Zhang Shiwu had a loud voice, but when he said this, he still lacked confidence. After Liu Xuanji asked this, he was even more silent.

After all, there are 50,000 people, and if they are defeated, it will be no small matter, and it will also have a very adverse impact on Beiyan's future domination of the world.

Liu Xuanji then asked Liu Daohe who was standing beside him, "How much food is missing?"

"To keep these 50,000 people through the winter, we still need more than 100,000 shi of grain, but the main reason is that it is difficult to transport grain in winter. If it weren't for Li Yaoshi of Qingzhou sending troops to cause a sharp drop in grain harvests in the plains, Hejian, and Bohai areas, we should have enough grain to eat."

Liu Xuanji thought for a moment and said, "Then select the best and brave ones to keep and send the rest to Hanoi to give the Tang Dynasty a headache."

"General, I have a plan that can solve the problem of feeding the prisoners and also allow you to get a new elite army."

Tuoba Tianbao, Duke of Dai and General of the Northern Expedition, suddenly spoke, which aroused Liu Xuanji's interest.

"Tianbao can tell me."

Tuoba Tianbao said: "We can let the captives build a long enclosure that can accommodate thousands of people, and then drive the captives in batches, give them weapons, and let them fight each other. A thousand people only need us to have 300 people. These people can join our army, but they must form a separate army. In this way, because they killed their own people, these survivors will not be able to return to Datang, and can only serve Dayan.

And we, Dayan, can also solve the problem of too many prisoners, no longer have to worry about not having enough food, and we can also get more than 10,000 elite soldiers.

And it also avoids the infamy of killing prisoners with one's own hands."

Li Yuanzhong interrupted directly, "This method is against the harmony of nature! There are nearly 50,000 Tang soldiers who surrendered to our army. How many of them are fathers, sons, brothers, relatives, old friends, and fellow countrymen? Now let them kill each other for their lives. I think this method is against human ethics. The commander must not follow it."

Ling Jing also said, "General, what Lord Li said is true. General Tuoba's plan is really appalling. Forcing prisoners to be captured and killing them is no different from killing them yourself."

Liu Xuanji was really tempted when he first heard this suggestion. If he released these people, it would definitely be like aiding the enemy. But it would not be appropriate to take all of them. He still had more than half of the Central Plains, Guanzhong, Lianghuai, Jiangnan, Jingchu, and Bashu in his hands.

We must consider the impact and even more so the public opinion.

Therefore, Tuoba Tianbao's strategy was very attractive to him. He didn't have to do it himself, and he could get a group of elite soldiers who all had actual combat experience.

This combat effectiveness is definitely guaranteed.

But Ling Jing and Li Yuanzhong's words had to be considered. Li Yuanzhong was a leader of the Hebei gentry, always outspoken and honest, and a serious and upright person.

Although Ling Jing had only been under his command for a short time, after entering the shogunate, all his advice and plans came true.

Even the Battle of Baigou, which had just ended not long ago, was won because of his strong advice not to retreat, so he had to carefully consider the opinions of these two people.

But the generals could tell from their looks that they were more interested in what Tuoba Tianbao said.

In fact, they all wanted to see what the combat effectiveness of a team that had experienced infighting would be like.

At this time, Wang Sizheng also suggested: "Captain, I have heard that steel is easy to break. Although a double-edged sword is sharp, it is also easy to hurt oneself. If a person can completely abandon his brothers, how can you expect him to be loyal to you? What is the difference between such a team and wild beasts?"

After hearing this, Liu Xuanji finally fell silent. Since all his trusted advisers were against it, this thing might really not be done.

"I will think about this matter again, you guys take a rest first."

After dismissing everyone, Liu Xuanji returned to the backyard and saw Princess Li teaching her two sons, so he did not disturb them.

Instead, he listened from the side.

The book we read was Thousand Character Classic, which is said to have been written by Emperor Xuan of Wei for children's elementary education. It is easy to read and has good rhyme.

"The sky and earth are dark and yellow, the universe is vast and wild"

The eldest son Liu Chengyou is already five years old, and he can read along word by word with clear pronunciation. The youngest son Liu Chengye is almost three years old, and it is obvious that he still has some unclear pronunciation. In his mouth, it becomes "圈地宣航，玉秋弘方"

The boss Liu Chengyou at the side shook his head in a serious manner: "You are wrong."

Liu Xuanji couldn't help laughing, because he remembered that when he was in his thirties, Li Yuanhui asked him to study, and he was not much better than his youngest son now.

When the princess saw Liu Xuanji coming, she asked the maid to take the two children downstairs to rest, "Is there anything wrong, Your Majesty?"

At this time in the past, Liu Xuanji was either discussing matters with his staff, inspecting the army, or reviewing official documents. He was rarely seen until evening.

Liu Xuanji smiled when he heard this, "Nothing, it's just..."

When making many decisions, especially when he was undecided, Liu Xuanji would come and ask the princess for her opinion.

After hearing what Liu Xuanji said, Princess Li shook her head and said, "I don't want to give you any advice on this matter. Although I want to advise you to stop killing people, it concerns my family. If I advise you to release those people, I will become the Wen Ying who ruined the country in Xian Zhen's mouth. You should make your own decisions on these matters."

Liu Xuanji was somewhat helpless when he heard this. Who is this Wen Ying? Who is Xian Zhen?
He then ordered someone to call Liu Daohe, a member of the same clan, to question him.

"Wen Ying was the daughter of Duke Mu of Qin and the wife of Duke Wen of Jin. After the Battle of Yao, Wen Ying asked Duke Xiang of Jin to release the three generals of Qin. Then Xian Zhen spat in front of Duke Xiang of Jin."

Liu Xuanji had read a lot of books, but after all, he was not as knowledgeable as Liu Daohe, who had been reading since childhood. Only after hearing this did he understand the meaning of Princess Li's words.

In fact, I also wanted to persuade him to release the people and avoid killing.

Thinking of this, Liu Xuanji thought of Li Yuanhui who was in Luoyang.

If it were Li Silang, what would he do?

(End of this chapter)