Chapter 479 Foresight
The evening breeze blew through the pavilion, making the tipsy people a little more sober.

Both parties understood what Li Si meant. They were fighting for the throne. The old man was not young anymore, so why not just let him be the emperor?

Now that you, Li Er, have secured the throne, it's time to seriously consider the strategic direction, right?
If we take control of the Jianghan Plain in Jingzhou, you, Li San, will have your achievements, your prestige will be raised to a higher level, and the national strength of the Tang Dynasty will be greatly enhanced.

After taking Jingzhou, a strategic advantage would be formed over Jiangdong, and they could go downstream from the upper reaches of the river, and the destruction of Eastern Wei could be put on the agenda.

The Eastern Wei occupied Jiangdong and fought against the Tang Dynasty. Its land and population were actually not less than those of the Han Dynasty in Hebei. However, due to the lack of cavalry and the lack of organization of the army, it was blocked by the Tang army in the south of the Yangtze River. It never gained any advantage in attacking Jiangbei and Huainan by land battles or sieges.

Therefore, the real enemy is still the Northern Han.

What Li Si meant was that instead of competing in the court, it would be better to deal with these easy-to-defend foreign enemies first. The best way to divert internal conflicts was to declare war on foreign countries.

You, Li Er, just sit on the throne first, and we will take over the world first.

He knew that neither of them would refuse this plan.

Because Li Er could not resist the temptation of the throne, Li San had no intention of fighting Li Er to the death now.

As for what will happen next, we'll talk about it later. Let's solve the problem in front of us first.

Princess Pingyang was also speechless, and she could no longer participate in these matters. She could persuade the brothers not to fight too hard, but that was just persuasion.

Although Li Si didn't say it directly, she understood the meaning, so she could only say: "Aye is old, don't let his later years be miserable."

After saying that, she, as the host, took Chai Rong away and left the place to the three brothers, meaning that you can discuss whatever you want.

Li Yuanhui continued, "I have already communicated with Aye about this matter today, but as sons, we should always be dignified and not push him too far. Tomorrow, the three of us can go to the Secretariat together and let the prime ministers take turns to persuade Aye that things should not be rushed."

"Whether it's the north or Jingzhou, we brothers will have to work together. That's all I have to say. You two brothers can make your own decisions."

After saying the last words, Li Yuanhui picked up the wine glass and drank it all, stood up, laughed at the two of them, and then left.

The two were silent for a while. Li San personally filled Li Er's glass with wine, then raised his glass and said, "Second brother, today's talk has come to an end. We have said everything we need to say. If you and I continue to confront each other, we will be laughed at by outsiders. Why don't we join hands to fight the enemy and unify the world? How do you think?"

Li Er looked at Li San's eyes, but couldn't see anything. He nodded, then picked up the wine glass and clinked it with him.

Drink it all in one gulp.

But I thought to myself, Sanlang, will you be able to face Silang calmly and without any grudges in the future?
Then he thought about his sons, how could they compete with these two uncles? So, he might as well hope that they would be mediocre.

After the show, the three of them went home.

The next day, the Crown Prince, the Prince of Jin, and the Prince of Qi each brought hundreds of soldiers to gather at the Secretariat, shocking the prime ministers.

All of these people are here, and they also bring troops with them? What are they doing? But it is certain that something big is going to happen.
After the three brothers finished explaining their purpose, all the prime ministers were silent. What? Persuading the emperor to abdicate? Who could do this?

In the end, it was the Palace Attendant Pei Ji who was the first to speak up and said, "Your Highnesses, are you discussing with me about His Majesty..."

Li Si said, "Minister Pei, you were the chief author of the Luoyang Golden Casket Alliance, and it was witnessed by Pei Pushe and Su Guogong. It has been almost five years now, which is already decent enough."

Pei Ji was speechless for a moment. He was Li Yuan's confidant, so naturally he had to speak on Li Yuan's side. However, this matter was not something that could be solved by just saying something.

The three brothers came to the Secretariat with their soldiers not to do anything to them, but to send a signal.

If the soldiers can reach the Secretariat, they can naturally enter the palace as well.

But it would be too undignified to do so. Forcing Ling Tianzi would be a bad example, and it cannot be done casually. It would be best if Li Yuan was willing to take the initiative to hand over the position.

In the end, Yang Sui and Pei Hongde expressed their willingness to go to the palace to explain the pros and cons to His Majesty.

After leaving the Secretariat and walking towards the palace, two prime ministers in purple robes started talking on horseback.

Yang Sui said: "Mr. Pei is really foresighted. Your Majesty asked the King of Qi for advice and hoped that the King of Qi would settle the dispute between the Crown Prince and the King of Jin. It really is like inviting thieves to come."

Pei Hongde shook his head. "How can I have foresight? I have seen this scene before in Luoyang. There were 8,000 soldiers in the palace last time. This time in Chang'an, you have given your majesty too much respect."

Yang Sui fell silent after hearing this.

In fact, in the last Battle of Baigou, Yang Sui, Pei Hongde and many Guanlong nobles were actually the driving forces behind the battle.

It was they who encouraged Li Yuan to visit Luoyang and take back the Guandong states from the King of Qi. Who would have known that the Battle of Baigou would lead to the annihilation of Li Yuan's Yuancong imperial guards and the elite troops in Guanzhong.

Now Li Yuan's Yuancong imperial guards have less than 10,000 people, and the more than 100,000 new troops in Guanzhong are all organized and trained by the Crown Prince and the Prince of Jin.

The generals are all confidants and old subordinates of the Eastern Palace and the Prince of Jin's Mansion. Most of Li Yuan's original heroes are now basically unemployed.

Naturally, it was unable to control or influence the more than 100 newly established Zhechoufu.

If the Crown Prince had not been seriously ill, allowing the Jin Palace to rise in power and forming a check and balance between the two sides, Li Yuan would probably have taken the process of abdication long ago.

Under such circumstances, Li Yuan actually lived a pretty good life.

However, as the conflict between the Eastern Palace and the Prince of Jin's Mansion became more serious, Li Yuan was unable to control the situation. It seemed that the only way was to let Li Yuanhui come to mediate.

But who could have thought that Li Yuanhui would bring up the old matter again and use his throne to calm the situation.

Yang Sui and Pei Hongde entered the palace and went all the way to Taiji Hall to meet Li Yuan.

When Li Yuan saw the two men, he said directly, "Yesterday, Silang told me that the brothers had dinner at Pingyang's house last night. I guess they have already discussed it, right?"

Yang Sui and Pei Hongde could only remain silent. But they did not think that this time, things went very smoothly.

It was even unimaginably smooth.

Li Yuan continued, "Since ancient times, no one has gained the world as smoothly as I have. Emperor Gao of Han rose from humble beginnings and it took him twelve years to gain the world. He had to brave arrows and stones himself, but I have you sons who have done it for me. It's easy to gain, but it's also easy to lose. Forget it, Lord Yang and Lord Pei are my relatives. You two can go and tell them that the chair can be given to them. Just don't follow the example of the Yuan brothers and make a fool of yourself for eternity."

After saying that, a man walked out of the hall somewhat dejectedly.

Yang Sui and Pei Hongde understood after seeing his somewhat desolate figure that Li Yuan finally chose to exit in a dignified manner.

He threw the chessboard of the highest power in the Tang Dynasty to his sons.

When Yang Sui and Pei Hongde returned to the Secretariat, the three brothers sat in the lobby, discussing military issues around a map.

Before the two men came back and spoke, the three brothers already knew the result.

Li Si asked directly in class, "I have to return to Luoyang before the autumn harvest to guard against the invasion of the Northern Han. Maybe I have to wait until the end of the inner abdication?"

(End of this chapter)