Chapter 504 Emperor Taizong Wen

Although he went to bed early, Li Si was woken up when he was sleeping soundly.

"What's wrong? Is it a night attack by the Han army?"

When Li Si stood up and saw who it was, he was stunned. "Brother, why are you here? Aren't you in Gaoping? How did you get here so quickly?"

Standing in front of him was none other than the Tang prince Li Er, dressed in robes and with a weathered face. Li Yuanhui could imagine that it was a thousand miles from Gaoping to here, and that he appeared in Hanoi just over ten days after the battle, which meant he had to ride horses and march hundreds of miles every day.

Li Er said proudly, "Haha, Silang, do you know that our Tang Dynasty won the Battle of Gaoping? I captured Jili Khan alive, and also seized hundreds of thousands of war horses. From now on, our Tang Dynasty will not lack war horses for cavalry, hahaha."

Li Si was also filled with joy upon hearing this, and then said: "That's great, I'm in great need of war horses, and my Beiwei Army doesn't even have spare war horses, but we do have quite a few pack horses."

Li Er smiled, and then said with some nostalgia: "I remember when you and Princess Jinyang just got married, I was envious of the fine horses in the stables in the princess's mansion. But now I don't have to envy your stables anymore."

Li Si also smiled when he heard this, and then asked about the course of the war. Li Er excitedly told the story of the war.

Hearing the excitement, Li Si took a jar of wine from the shelf beside him and poured it for his brother. The two brothers drank and talked together, and the fire in the military tent was burning brightly.

"Thanks to this heavy snow, the Turkic cavalry could no longer run and had to walk. The Turkic infantry could be a match for the elite troops of the Tang Dynasty. Only a few hundred of the two thousand Wolf Guards were left after being killed. Jili had no choice but to surrender."

"Hahaha, second brother, your achievements are worthy of being remembered for thousands of years. The martial arts of our Tang Dynasty will surely surpass those of the Han and Wei dynasties! Second brother, this glass of wine is in your honor!"

"Okay, come on Shiro."

The two brothers drank it all in one gulp.

After drinking, Li Er asked again: "I think you know about Sanlang's destruction of the Western Wei Dynasty?"

Li Yuanhui nodded and said, "Of course, but the reason why Third Brother was able to defeat Wei in March was all thanks to the Shenji Cannon built by my Shenji Army, which can fire at a range of 250 steps."

Li Er was surprised and asked, "Two hundred and fifty steps?"

He only knew that Sanlang had pacified the Western Wei, but he had no idea about the specific battle situation.

"Yes, 250 steps. I can't use it here. When the battle is over, I'll take you to Luoyang to see it. That stone cannon is so powerful that it can directly knock down a corner tower."

"Okay, then of course we have to take a closer look. By the way, what is the current situation here?"

Upon hearing this, Li Si stood up and pointed to the map to describe the current situation of the battle in Hanoi. "At present, I am leading 60,000 elite troops. We have built dozens of camps in succession along the deep trenches and high ravines along the Qishui River. The main force of the Han army has begun to attack the camps in the past few days. Both our army and the Han army have suffered heavy casualties, but we can still hold on. Zhu Deyu and Zhang Jian led 30,000 troops to besiege 10,000 Han troops in Yewang and Wenxian. The food in Yewang should be almost gone. By then, they must seek to break out and move to Shangdang. By then, Wenxian will also be unable to support themselves. As long as the troops in Wenxian and Yewang are eliminated, there will be no worries. In this battle, our Tang Dynasty will be invincible. When spring comes and the flowers bloom and the snow melts, how can the Northern Army's navy be a match for our Jianghuai warriors?"

After listening to this, Li Er nodded repeatedly, stood up and walked to the map, and said with a smile: "I knew that you, Silang, have always been cautious in using troops. There should be nothing to worry about the situation in Hanoi. Hahaha, I'm relieved."

Li Si said, "It's only been a dozen days since the Battle of Gaoping ended. Second brother has walked thousands of miles, making continuous raids, and arrived in Hanoi at about the same time as the messenger. He must have something important to say, right?"

Li Er nodded, but then shook his head. "Originally, I had a lot to tell you, but now I think there's nothing to say. Among the four of us brothers, you are the most stable."

Li Si felt a little helpless when he heard this. "Since Second Brother is here, there's no need to rush. By the way, Second Brother came in such a hurry that the abdication should not have been possible yet, right? But now it's the first year of Zhenguan. Hahahaha, Zhenguan, what a good reign title."

Li Er looked a little strange when he heard this, then he smiled and said, "It is a good reign title, but I don't know how it will be written in history books in the future."

Li Yuanhui said: "Such a good reign title will certainly lead to a great prosperity. By then, the world will be peaceful and history books will record that Emperor Taizong Wen had great military achievements and the Zhenguan Reign was a rare prosperous era."

"Hahaha, Emperor Taizong Wen? Is this the temple name and posthumous title that Silang prepared for me?"

Li Yuanhui was embarrassed when he heard this. "Oh, this..."

This person is still alive, and you have already thought of a temple name and posthumous title? This is somewhat embarrassing.

Li Er smiled calmly and said, "Yes, very good. Emperor Wen of Han was also the Emperor Taizong. During his reign, the people have rested and recuperated, which is not an insult to me. In fact, what I have always wanted is to end the war and bring peace to the world and bring peace to the people."

Li Yuanhui still smiled very awkwardly.

Li Er said without any grudge: "You and I are both warriors who have been in the military for half our lives. Why should we go into these matters in detail? Hahaha. But I do have one thing to tell you."

"Please speak, second brother."

"Sanlang is intelligent and has great talent, but he has no perseverance. The future of the Tang Dynasty will still depend on you."

"Why are you saying these things, second brother? With the second and third brothers here, the Western Wei has been destroyed, and the Turks have been badly hurt. The northwest is safe from now on. There are only the Northern Han and the Eastern Wei. I think it won't be long before they unify the world."

“Hahaha, I hope so.”

"Oh, by the way, second brother, you've been rushing all the way, haven't you eaten yet? I'll ask someone to prepare some food for you, second brother." Li Si came out of the tent and saw Xie Shufang on duty, saying, "Xie Hujun, go and ask someone to prepare food quickly. The prince and the guards haven't eaten yet."

Xie Shufang was stunned when he heard this: "My king, what are you talking about? The prince is coming over?"

Li Si was somewhat speechless and said, "The prince is not in my tent? Is it possible that his escort is still outside the camp? Go and settle them down quickly."

Xie Shufang said with a serious expression, "Your Majesty, I am on duty nearby tonight. I can ensure that no one has seen the Crown Prince tonight, and no one has passed by your tent."

Li Si's face suddenly turned ugly. He turned around and hurried back to his tent, but did not see Li Er.

"Second brother, second brother? Where have you been?"

Xie Shufang followed Li Si in and repeated, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince should be in Guanzhong right now, and it is impossible for him to come here. And I am on duty tonight, I am sure no one has entered your tent tonight, and no guards have entered the camp."

Li Si shook his head and said, "That's impossible. I was just drinking with my second brother. He told me about the Battle of Gaoping. Look, the wine glass is still here. Can I drink with two glasses?"

Xie Shufang looked carefully and saw that there were indeed two cups on the table, but he had never seen anyone come to the King of Qi's tent, and the surrounding area was heavily guarded, making it impossible for ordinary people to get close.

Xie Shufang immediately asked the guards guarding the tent, and the answers were all the same: no one had ever entered the King of Qi's tent.

Li Yuanhui sat in the second brother's seat just now, looking at the wine glass in front of him, puzzled.

Is it a dream?

Was it really a dream?

But this dream is too real.

At this time, it was a villa in Wugong County, Fufeng County, at the foot of Mount Qishan.

This is where the Tang prince Li Erfeng was born. On the way back to Chang'an with his army, he felt his body getting heavier and heavier, and finally he fainted. Even though this place is very close to Chang'an.

But he still understood that he might not be able to go back, so he ordered to go to Li's Villa in Wugong County.

Soldiers led by the Eastern Palace Guards surrounded the place in three layers, and no one could get in or out. Li Erfeng woke up from his coma and saw Chai Rong and Dou Gui standing beside him. Li Erfeng, who had not eaten or drunk anything for two days, smiled very weakly and said, "Uncle, brother-in-law, thank you for your help. Aning and Sanlang are not here yet?"

The two shook their heads.

When he just arrived in Wugong County the day before yesterday, he sent someone on horseback to Chang'an to inform the Crown Princess and Prince Jin who was on the Wuguan Road that they were coming.

It was not until noon that the Crown Princess appeared in the villa with her two sons and a daughter.

When Li Er saw his wife and children, he smiled, then reached out and held his wife's hand, but he said nothing. He just used his mouth to convey two words.

Crown Princess Gao held his hand, smiled, and nodded. She knew what he was talking about.

Those two words are "Luoyang".

As for the three children, they were already crying inconsolably.

In the evening, Li San finally arrived, and Li Yuan also arrived with him.

Li Er actually never thought that he would be able to see his father before he died. After all, it was not that close from Chang'an to here, and he was no longer able to withstand the hardships at this age.

But Li Yuan still knew about Erlang's situation because of the detail that the Crown Princess failed to visit him today.

Without hesitation, he led dozens of personal guards straight to Wugong, and on the way into Wugong County, he met Sanlang who was also galloping towards him.

Looking at his father and brothers, a smile appeared on Li Er's lips.

Then left the last two sentences.

"Sanlang, it's good to do it, it's good to do it."

"Aye. It's difficult."

He slowly closed his eyes and slowly loosened his grip on his wife's hand.

I have met everyone I wanted to meet, so this fifteenth day can be considered a reunion, right?
(End of this chapter)