Chapter 473 Disagreement
Outside the city of Chang'an, children were playing and frolicking under the weeping willows beside the official road.

The adults in the fields were harvesting summer wheat in the fields. They were busy under the sun and occasionally looked up to see the children playing. They were told not to play in the middle of the road because there were often post horses galloping past on the official road. If they were hit by them, they would at least break bones and tendons, and in serious cases, they would lose their lives.

Moreover, you were hit by the official's horse and you had no time to complain. You were all delivering military intelligence and orders, and the situation was very urgent. If you were charged with obstructing military intelligence, you would be beheaded.

Children probably dared to play by the roadside or under the trees between fields because they were often warned by adults, because adults always threatened them that they would be caught and spanked by the government if they went into the middle of the road.

However, seeing military horses galloping by always attracts the attention of children.

In particular, you can occasionally see cavalry responsible for catching thieves. These soldiers riding tall horses and wearing leather armor look very tall in the eyes of children.

If you could see someone wearing iron armor, you would brag about it for a long time.

But today, the children on the roadside were able to see something new. First, dozens of riders galloped past, carrying flags. All of them wore armor that seemed very new to them. It was made of cloth with buttons on the outside. They carried bows and arrows, spears, and swords.

Some of them had never seen a cavalry of this size galloping.

Not far behind, there seemed to be a sound coming from the ground, and a large group of soldiers were marching in neat rows on the road.

The noise attracted the adults who were working in the fields to temporarily put down their work and come to the sides of the road. Most of them liked the hustle and bustle, regardless of their age.

Whether it's a large-scale military mobilization or a big shot's travels, the common people always like to speculate secretly.

"Is a war about to start? I haven't seen so many soldiers in a long time. Are they going to assemble in Chang'an?"

"What a ridiculous battle! I'm from the Zuo Xiaowei. We in Guanzhong have never assembled our own soldiers. What kind of battle can we fight? This is probably a noble returning to Chang'an. With such a large team, it must be the kind of show that only a great general can have." A soldier from the palace army in the crowd looked at the team and showed off what he had seen, but he couldn't explain clearly.

At this time, an old soldier who had fought in battles for more than ten years and had become the captain of the palace soldiers looked at the team and said, "This is the prince's ceremonial guard. Look, do you see that big carriage over there? It's called an elephant carriage. It's 11 feet 6 inches and 9 points high. It's for the prince to use. It's so big. The king is back."

Finally, the team appeared in front of them. There were rows of soldiers wearing the same uniform, all holding colorful flags and weapons, including halberds, staffs, ceremonial swords, class swords, standing melons, lying melons, bone flowers, and stirrup staffs. The infantry guard of honor alone stretched for more than a mile long, and there were cavalry and huge carriages behind them.

Behind the elephant carriage, a large banner and many flags indicated the identity of the owner of this huge team.

"The King of Qi is back. The King of Qi is back."

The banners were inscribed with the following inscriptions: "General of Heavenly Strategy", "Grand Commander", "Commander-in-Chief of the Military Affairs of Guandong", "Retainer of the Eastern Capital", "Grand Administrator of the Eastern Shaanxi Road", and "King of Qi".

It turned out to be His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi? This great prince had not been back to Chang'an for some years. No wonder there was such a grand ceremony, he was a big shot who was in charge of the six states in Guandong.

The elephant carriage that Li Yuanhui rode on was 11 feet 6 inches and 9 minutes high and 7 feet 9 minutes wide. It had a flat plate on top, front and back lattices, and phoenix-wing boards. There were three shafts underneath, all painted red. Each shaft was 18 feet and 5 inches long. It was nailed with a gilded copper dragon head, tail, and leaves. There was a piece of red-painted horse bridle leather in front.

The flat plate has two wheels on the left and right sides, fenders, and one axle. Each wheel has eighteen spokes, all painted red. The rim is complete and nailed with gold-plated copper blades.

There is one hub inside each wheel, nailed with gold-coated copper lotus petals and wheel discs. On the left and right sides of the axle, there is a red-painted iron plug, nailed with a gold-coated copper dragon-shaped tube core. The red velvet rope for the shaft is wrapped around the axle. The surface to the ground is three feet and a half.

In the huge carriage, two teenagers around ten years old were leaning against the window and curiously looking outside. It was already the tenth year of Wude. In the carriage sat Qi Wang Li Yuanhui himself, who had a neat beard and looked well-groomed. The princess Murong Jiayin and the concubine Zhang Yan were well-maintained, like young ladies in their twenties.

The two half-grown children are the eldest and second sons of Prince Qi’s Mansion, Chengping and Chengdao.

"It seems like a long time since I last went back to Guanzhong, at least more than ten years." "I haven't been to Guanzhong yet." Murong Jiayin and Zhang Yan were talking in a low voice, while Li Yuanhui was looking at a document whose content was unknown.

It’s just that I haven’t turned the page for a long time, maybe I was thinking about something.

Starting from the fourth year of Wude, he did not return to Chang'an for six years.

After the great war in the sixth year of Wude, during the seventh year of Wude, there were no major conflicts between the Tang Dynasty and its neighboring countries, and the scale of the wars was relatively small.

Both sides built garrisons and beacon towers along the Yellow River and Fen River, and most of the battles between attack and defense were small-scale battles involving thousands of people.

In the eighth year of Wude, the Han Dynasty, which had been dormant for a year, showed its murderous intentions. Liu Xuanji led his army from Jinyang and tried to capture Hedong, but was blocked at Yubi.

After losing thousands of soldiers in the siege, the Han army knew that it was basically impossible to capture the city by force, unless the defenders gave a big gift.

So the siege began. Liu Xuanji led an army of 100,000 and besieged Yubi City for several months. He originally planned to seize this important strategic node by siege, but he found that food could still be grown on the Emei Terrace where Yubi City was located. In addition, with less than three to five years of stored food, it was a bit of a pipe dream to expect to consume all the food of the Yubi Tang Army.

The Tang Dynasty's Bingzhou governor and Prince of Zhao, Li Huaizhen, also led tens of thousands of troops up the Fen River, forcing the Han army to retreat and return empty-handed.

Feeling that Yubi City was like a thorn in their side and that they could not use the Fen River to transport troops and food to attack Hedong, the Han strategists and generals turned their attention to Luoyang.

In the ninth year of Wude, Liu Xuanji sent another army of 200,000 to advance to Henei, intending to force a crossing of the Yellow River and attack Luoyang.

Li Yuanhui led an army of 100,000 to station at Mangshan to hold out against the enemy.

Seeing that the Tang army's defense line was impeccable, Liu Xuanji never acted rashly. The two sides confronted each other across the Yellow River for several months. The Han army retreated due to insufficient food supply.

As for Jiangdong, it has sent envoys to Luoyang for visits every year in recent years. The Eastern Wei Emperor Cao Yan also often praises Li Yuanhui, as if he has no intention of launching a northern expedition. However, Li Yuanhui knows that these are all illusions.

Therefore, strict orders were issued to all departments in Jianghuai not to relax.

As for the Western Wei, they fought every year, but they were unable to shake the important strongholds of the Tang Dynasty in Jingzhou, Wancheng, Xinye, and Xiakou in Jiangzhou.

This means that in the four years after the sixth year of Wude, the situation of all parties basically maintained that the actual control areas did not change much.

In the past few years, the Tang Dynasty has gradually recovered from the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Baigou, and the political situation in Chang'an has been relatively stable.

Basically, Li Yuan, Prince of Jin and the Crown Prince were in a three-way balance of power.

Li Yuan returned to Chang'an, and as emperor he still had the support of many of his old subordinates.

The Prince of Jin and the Crown Prince basically divided the court and the Guanzhong Military Headquarters, and gradually there were signs of a confrontation between them. In this situation, Li Yuan, who held the righteous position, was able to play both sides.

Li Yuanhui returned to Chang'an at the invitation of his father and brother to formulate new national policies.

First south then north, or first north then south?
(End of this chapter)