Chapter 138 Military Power
Seeing Li Jiancheng like this, Wei Wensheng's face turned a little ugly, but he still advised: "The rebels are fierce. Jiancheng's troops are mostly civilians. Although they have armor, they are definitely no match for the rebels. Let's combine our forces of 100,000 and discuss it later."

Li Jiancheng looked at Wei Wensheng and said, "Your Majesty has appointed me as the commander-in-chief, but has not ordered me to join forces."

Wei Wensheng was the official who had the final say in Chang'an, and he was also the Minister of Justice of Jingzhao. But once he left Chang'an, he had no right to be arrogant in front of Li Jiancheng.

Wei Wensheng also knew that Li Jiancheng was no longer under his command, and he also knew that his tough attitude in Chang'an had offended Duke Tang and his son, but for the sake of the Sui Dynasty, he could not care about his own face at this moment.

He led everyone into the tent, took Li Jiancheng to sit down, and said earnestly: "Jiancheng, you are a young talent, the future pillar of the country, this is known to everyone in the world, but you have little experience in war, and Yang Xuangan is no small matter.

Now Chang'an can no longer send out troops, and it will take some time for His Majesty's brave army to arrive. Although Lai Huer's navy is elite, without Lai Huer's personal command, it is most likely no match for Yang Xuangan.

"We will gather our forces together, a total of 100,000 men and horses, and threaten Yang Xuangan's rear army, so that he dare not attack Luoyang in a large scale. Wait until Yuwen Shu leads his troops to arrive, and then we can have a decisive battle."

No matter how nice Wei Wensheng's words sounded, he actually wanted to take away the military power in his hands and take care of the overall situation in his so-called good way.

Li Jiancheng glanced at everyone in the tent and found something interesting: his father Li Yuan did not even raise his head after sitting down, but the number of people sitting behind and beside him was far more than those sitting opposite him.

"This is inappropriate. It's not that I am greedy for military power. It's really that Minister Wei has already defeated 70,000 troops to such an extent. How can I easily hand over the military power?"

Wei Wensheng was not angry, but just explained: "Many traitors in Luoyang have betrayed the emperor's grace and surrendered to the thieves. If I don't fight with Yang Xuangan to break the siege, there will be chaos in the city, and Jiancheng..."

Li Jiancheng waved his hand and said, "Shangshu, please leave this to Your Majesty."

Wei Wensheng was still not angry, thinking that Li Jiancheng was just a young man with aspirations to lead the army and suppress the rebellion, so he said: "Then after the troops are united, you will still be the leader, and I am willing to assist you.

I am already over 70 years old, and my time is running out. I have long since stopped caring about fame and fortune. I only hope that the world will be peaceful and the country will prosper.”

Li Jiancheng still shook his head and pointed outside: "Joining forces will only make people panic. The remaining soldiers of the Shangshu can only defend the city."

The kindness on Wei Wensheng's face disappeared, and his wrinkled old face became dark. Li Jiancheng's expression did not change at all, and he even looked at him with contempt.

Wei Wensheng really wanted to order the capture of Li Jiancheng, who had arrived alone, and force him to hand over his military power, and then write a letter to explain to His Majesty.

But when he looked at Li Yuan who was lying motionless below, he couldn't help but regret that he should not have brought him here. Not only did he offend Li Jiancheng, but this man had quietly won over many generals to follow his orders.

People all over the world said that the Duke of Tang's mansion was a tiger son born from a dog father. Even he subconsciously felt that Li Jiancheng was a greater threat, so he trapped him in Chang'an and chose to take Li Yuan with him to the war.

"Then I will say no more, but I will be frank with you. I will petition Your Majesty to take charge of the Chang'an reinforcements. When the imperial edict comes, I hope that Mr. Li will not harm the country and the people because of his own emotions."

Li Jiancheng said with a smile: "Let the Minister know that I have already written to His Majesty, impeaching you for forming a clique and suppressing the loyal. In a short period of time, you have exhausted 70,000 elite troops, while the rebels have grown to 100,000."

"I have a clear conscience. Your Majesty is wise and will surely see through everything."

"Then I won't bother you any more."

Wei Wensheng suddenly said to Li Yuan: "Duke Tang, your son is young and does not want to follow the advice of the old man, so please go and persuade him."

Li Yuan finally raised his head and said, "No, my son has had his own ideas since he was young. He has made great achievements in the country and his family in Beijing and abroad over the years. The late emperor and Your Majesty have often rewarded him. Today is the day for him to serve his emperor and father. How can you call yourself an old man and hinder him?" Li Yuan said to Li Jiancheng, "My son, go ahead. I am here to hope that he will defeat the enemy, quell the rebellion, and protect the country and the people."

"Follow your father's teachings, and I will keep them in mind."

Wei Wensheng sighed inwardly, water can't wet it and a needle can't penetrate it, what can he do?

Before leaving, Li Jiancheng said to the generals who came out to see him off, "One general without strategy can tire out thousands of troops, and one commander without strategy can frustrate ten thousand troops. Do you agree with this?"

Since the relationship has been completely torn apart, there is no need to show mercy. Everyone looked at each other and said, "My lord, you are absolutely right. We will jointly file a petition!"

The only ones sitting in the tent who did not go out to see him off were Wei Wensheng and Li Yuan. Listening to the noise coming from outside, Li Yuan's expression did not change at all, and he even smiled at Wei Wensheng in a rather honest manner.

"I am a child, please forgive me, Shangshu."

Wei Wensheng shook his head: "I am not worried about this matter, I am just worried about the overall situation."

Li Yuan nodded: "The minister is loyal to the emperor and the country, Your Majesty will learn from it."

In fact, everyone knew that no matter how badly Wei Wensheng was defeated, the fact that he dug up Yang Su and burned him was enough to vent the emperor's anger, and all his other faults were not worth mentioning.

Moreover, Wei Wensheng did fight Yang Xuangan several times regardless of casualties in order to relieve the siege and stabilize the people of Luoyang. If it weren't for him, something might have happened in Luoyang City.

But it only means that the emperor can forgive this matter. Wei Wensheng has offended so many Guanlong nobles, and the Li family is leading the way. Considering the emperor's usual coldness, how long can he take care of him? I think it is unlikely that he will have a good ending.

…………

Yang Xuangan and Li Mi sat opposite each other. Yang Jishan served tea and sat on the outside: "Chang'an has sent reinforcements again, and the chief commander is Li Jiancheng. Can we win him over?

The three of us have been good friends with him for many years. Can you please keep your promise? As long as he is here, Luoyang City may be obtained."

Li Mi shook his head: "It's difficult."

Of course it was difficult. He was willing to follow Yang Xuangan in the rebellion because his family was in decline. He was over thirty years old but still had no power. And depending on the emperor's attitude, his title would probably be demoted.

Li Jian became successful and famous, and the prestige of the Duke of Tang's Mansion was restored. Although it was occasionally suspected by the emperor, as long as it reached that level, no one could avoid suspicion. The imperial power has always been so suspicious.

Yang Jishan said: "It's difficult but we have to try. So, I will go there myself. Li Jiancheng is worth the risk."

Yang Xuangan suddenly said, "Now that I think about it, Li Jiancheng seemed to have anticipated today's situation. When we met last time in Luoyang, he openly and covertly tempted me to think about rebellion."

"That would be even better. No one can stand Yang Guang, a dictator. If he wants to, we can give him the title of king. If Yang and Li join forces, not to mention Luoyang, Chang'an might be easily within our grasp."

…………

(End of this chapter)