Chapter 521: Unfortunately, we can’t see each other
Having said this, Li Sanlang naturally understood.

How did the Yuan brothers fall after Yuan Shao's death? Internal strife! Brothers fighting against each other! Fighting against each other!

These words didn't sound new before, but ever since he had been fighting with his second brother, he hadn't heard anyone mention this.

But now there are only him and the fourth brother left. If they cannot work together and still want to take all the credit for destroying the Han Dynasty, what's the difference between them and the Yuan brothers?

Li Sanlang not only wanted to be an emperor, but also wanted to be a great emperor with great talent and achievements comparable to those of the Qin Shi Huang and Han Wudi.

Although the second elder brother did not ascend the throne alive, his martial arts prowess in his final battle was so great that even if he unified the world, he could barely match it.

Moreover, he had to share the profits of his great achievement of unifying the country with Silang. Therefore, Li Sanlang now attached great importance to his own achievements.

When a person starts to worry about gains and losses, he will no longer be able to distinguish right from wrong.

Xue Shou's advice served as a wake-up call, and Li Sanlang quickly figured it out.

"I understand what Minister Xue meant. If it weren't for his frank words, I would have almost made mistakes in state affairs."

Li Sanlang, who had figured it out, no longer hesitated and immediately summoned Cui Xiaotong, the Imperial Court Minister, to draft a secret decree, ordering the King of Qi to lead his army to rush to Pingyang for assistance.

But before the imperial edict was sent out, scouts reported that the Han army had made unusual movements.

After seeing the actions of the Han army on the opposite side, Li Sanlang was almost certain that the Han army was going to retreat.

The situation is very complicated, and the confrontation is long-term. Why did they withdraw without fighting a single battle? What does this mean?

Could something have happened in Yecheng or Jinyang?
Things turned out to be pretty much as Li Sanlang had expected. Something had indeed happened in Yecheng.

Liu Daohe, the Minister of the Interior, Minister of the Chancellery, Co-Prime Minister, and Duke of Chu, was seriously ill and unable to manage affairs.

Liu Daohe and Liu Xuanji are from the same clan, both descendants of King Daohui of Qi, and are figures like Xiao He in the Northern Han Dynasty.

Whenever Liu Xuanji led troops outside, Liu Daohe was the one left behind to guard the house. He would pacify the local areas and continuously supply food and soldiers to the front line to ensure stability in the government and the country.

Without Liu Daohe's support, Liu Xuanji was naturally very worried. After all, he knew that the battle on the Qishui front was not going well.

Liu Daohe was seriously ill and unable to take charge of affairs. If the Tang army intensified its offensive and pushed the front line to Yecheng in one go, it would be a catastrophe for the Han Dynasty.

It's not that there are no good generals guarding Yecheng, but Liu Daohe's symbolic significance is too great. Without him guarding the rear, it is hard to feel at ease.

Moreover, given the current situation, the Tang army has already pressed forward. If they continue to confront each other in Pingyang, they will not achieve any results in the short term.

Therefore, after receiving the news, Liu Xuanji immediately chose to retreat.

Because of the trenches dug before, the Tang army wanted to fill them up and pursue, so the Han army could retreat calmly. So they left General Dongfang Di, the commander of more than 10,000 infantry and cavalry, to cover the rear, and the main force of the Han army began to move north to Jinyang.

Liu Xuanji led 3,000 cavalrymen and rushed back to Yecheng overnight.

The idea of ​​a decisive battle at Pingyang immediately became a pipe dream, but Li Sanlang did not want to waste his efforts. Since the Han army retreated, he went north to pursue them.

He immediately ordered his soldiers to carry soil to fill the trenches. Dongfang Di ordered the archers and catapults to use their strength at the same time to stop the Tang army from filling the trenches. However, the Tang army filled the trenches in multiple sections, and the Han army was unable to focus on one thing while focusing on another. They could only withdraw while the Tang army had not yet completed filling the trenches.

A large number of Han troops retreated to Jingling and Jiexiu, south of Jinyang, to set up defenses and build fortifications before the Tang army arrived. The general Wei Xiaoju was ordered to take charge of the defense of Jinyang. He built garrisons and deer horns around many cities south of Jinyang, creating a very complete defense system.

On the other hand, Liu Xuanji returned to Yecheng in ten days. He was relieved immediately. Although Liu Daohe was seriously ill, the Tang army did not seem to increase its offensive on the Qishui line. The force was only tens of thousands of people, and did not form an overwhelming advantage. It seemed that they did not know the real situation here.

But when he went to Liu Daohe's private residence and saw the haggard and terminally ill Liu Daohe, he felt sad and shed tears.

After Liu Daohe saw Liu Xuanji, he said weakly: "It is me who has burdened Your Majesty."

Liu Xuanji shook his head and said, "The situation is serious. If it weren't for you trying your best to maintain the peace and keep Yecheng in order, I'm afraid the Tang army would have attacked us long ago."

In fact, Liu Daohe's health was not good when he set out, but he did not expect that in more than two months his condition would deteriorate so rapidly that he was unable to perform his duties.

"It is a pity that I cannot see Your Majesty unify the north and the south and revive the Han Dynasty."

After Liu Daohe said this, he fainted again. Liu Xuanji sat on the couch and held Liu Daohe's hand for a long time, unwilling to let go.

Yes, the most important minister of the Northern Han Dynasty is on his deathbed. This is a huge blow to the Northern Han Dynasty and Liu Xuanji.

This was mainly because of Liu Daohe's identity. He was of the same clan as Liu Xuanji and also came from a poor family. As the top civil servant, he could help Liu Xuanji control the government and suppress the Hebei gentry in the court.

Such as Li Yuanzhong, Cui Zhongfang, Lu Qinzhi and so on.

Although these high-ranking families in Hebei were also Liu Xuanji's helpers, they were all from wealthy families and had to consider their families when doing things. Naturally, they were not as devoted as Liu Daohe to the restoration of the Han Dynasty.

Whether it was the Eastern Wei, Northern Han or the Tang Dynasty, they could not get around these aristocratic families.

In Jiangdong, there were Jiangzuo noble families such as Gu, Lu, Zhu, Zhang, Shen, and He, who were the surnames of Wuzhong. In Guanzhong and Luoyang, there were Xianbei clans such as Yu, Murong, Yuwen, Lu, Mu, Dugu, and Duan, as well as Zheng from Xingyang, Li from Longxi, Yang from Hongnong, Wei and Du from Jingzhao, Pei from Wenxi, Liu from Hedong, and Xue from Fenyin. The Xianbei Hu surnames and the Guanxi clans had long been mixed together.

As for Hebei, Fanyang Lu, Taiyuan Wang, Zhaojun Li, Qinghe Cui, Boling Cui and Qinghe Zhang were all the most prosperous Shandong families since the Han and Wei dynasties.

The aristocratic families and the imperial power were both cooperative and antagonistic.

On the one hand, the imperial power relied on the aristocratic families to control the local areas and exercise the national operating system, but on the other hand, the imperial power had to restrict the aristocratic families from becoming powerful, annexing land, keeping slaves, hiding households, and even controlling the government, controlling public opinion, and undermining the imperial power.

Therefore, to some extent, Liu Daohe, who came from a humble family, was even more important to Liu Xuanji than Xiao He was to Emperor Gaozu of Han.

Liu Daohe was a member of the imperial clan, and he could devote himself to the cause of restoring the Han Dynasty until his death. And as the head of the prime minister, he could also lead a group of officials from humble backgrounds to efficiently implement Liu Xuanji's various resolutions. This was difficult for others to do.

Although You Pushe Li Yuanzhong was born into the Zhaojun Li family, he was honest and incorruptible. However, it would be difficult for him to strike at the power of the aristocratic families without causing trouble for himself.

Ling Jing, the left servant, also came from a poor family and was also trusted by Liu Xuanji. However, Ling Jing was proficient in military tactics and had a broad mind. His suggestions were always practical, but he was a strategist rather than a talent for governing the country.
But now looking at Liu Daohe lying on the sickbed, Liu Xuanji was also somewhat disheartened.

He is almost fifty years old and he is not sure how long he can live, but he knows that at the current momentum, it will be difficult for him to accomplish the great cause of restoring the Han Dynasty.

Shortly after Liu Xuanji visited Liu's house to treat his illness, Liu Daohe died at the age of 49.

Liu Xuanji was extremely sad, and posthumously awarded him the titles of Grand Tutor, Prime Minister, Governor of Youzhou, Grand Minister of the Imperial Court, and Prince of Zhuo, and gave him the posthumous title of "Zhongwu" and offered sacrifices to him with the ritual of Tailao.

The last minister to be posthumously named "Zhongwu" was Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of Shu Han.

(End of this chapter)