Chapter 44 Hunting
After returning home, Li Jiancheng ordered people to settle the Turkic slaves and asked Zhao Da to keep an eye on them. If necessary, he could kill the chicken to scare the monkey.

After meeting his younger brothers and sisters, he distributed some gifts, such as eagle feathers, wolf fangs, and deerskins. The Scouting Cavalry Battalion had no shortage of these, so Li Jiancheng asked for two full carts of them. He picked out some for his own family first, and prepared to give the rest to other children as well, showing his thoughtfulness.

Then he talked with his parents in the front hall, and he had to explain to his family about his enmity with He Ruobi and his friendship with the Changsun family.

Li Yuan and Dou Shi did not care too much about He Ruobi. Although he had been prominent, he was old after all. He had such a personality that he didn't want to be on good terms with anyone, so naturally no one would stand up for him.

And the friendship with Changsun Sheng is a happy thing. Whether in the Sui Dynasty or the Turks, Changsun Sheng has a wide network of contacts. It's a pity that this is only based on himself and cannot be used as a legacy of the Changsun family.

But Dou has already decided to send a visiting card tomorrow to meet Changsun Sheng's wife Gao. Bohai Gao has no dealings with the Li and Dou families, but has close contacts with the Dugu family and they are related by marriage, so she is not afraid of having nothing to say.

Li Jiancheng said, "You may as well bring Ah Ju along. General Changsun is eager to form an in-law relationship with my family."

Li Yuan thought, "It's a good thing, but I remember that Changsun Sheng only has three legitimate daughters, and the youngest one who is married is five or six years older than Erlang. Could it be that he wants to marry his concubine's daughter to my legitimate son? That's not allowed."

Dou said, "Gao just returned to Beijing a while ago. Although I haven't heard anything about her, she may be pregnant. Otherwise, she wouldn't have said that. I will know when I see her tomorrow."

"Besides, she is still young and can give birth to another child. If she really wants to marry, she can only marry the eldest daughter of the Changsun family."

.........

At this time, Shi Wansui was still trying to comfort his subordinates, "I will try my best to report your merits to the emperor, and the matter will be resolved."

He begged to see the emperor, but Yang Jian did not want to see him. Yuwen Shu took the opportunity to persuade him to pay a visit to the deposed crown prince. Shi Wansui was not stupid, so he naturally did not go. However, sometimes it didn't matter whether you went or not.

When the emperor asked Shi Wansui if he could behave himself, Yang Su frowned and said, "I heard that Shi Wansui went to see the deposed crown prince and wanted him to make decisions for the soldiers."

Yang Jian was so angry that his hair stood on end. He ordered people to drag Shi Wansui over, then stood up and turned around a few times before giving another order: "Yuan Min, Tang Lingze, the Prince's Household Manager Zou Wenteng, the Left Guard Commander Sima Xiahou Fu, the Food Supervisor Yuan Yan, the former Ministry of Personnel Assistant Minister Xiao Zibao, and the former Chief Seal Officer He Song should all be beheaded and executed. Their wives, concubines, and descendants should all be confiscated by the government.

"General of Chariots and Cavalry Yan Pi, Duke of Dongjun Cui Junchuo, Cavalry Commandant Shen Fubao, and Yingzhou sorcerer Zhangchou Taiyi are pardoned and spared from death. Each will be punished with 100 strokes of the cane. They, their wives, children, and all their property and houses will be confiscated by the government."

Yang Su did not expect there would be an unexpected surprise. The deposed prince was completely deposed, and all his close confidants were wiped out.

Yang Su hurriedly accepted the order and carried it out as if he was afraid that the emperor would go back on his word.

When Shi Wansui was dragged here, he thought they were talking about the war with the Turks and shouted, "The soldiers have made great contributions, but they are suppressed by the court!"

Upon seeing this, Emperor Wen of Sui said no more, but coldly ordered his warriors to kill Shi Wansui. Facing the golden words of his king and father, the invincible general who could tear tigers and leopards apart with his arms could only sit there and wait to die.

Shi Wansui's head was covered in blood, his eyes were wide open and he fell straight into the hall. The blue veins on his arms slowly disappeared, and the man was dead.

Along with them were a group of officials and generals who were loyal to the court and the deposed crown prince. When the deposed crown prince learned about it, he climbed up a tree and shouted in the direction of the palace, wanting to see the emperor and empress. Yang Su was afraid that the eunuchs and palace maids would tell the emperor and empress, so he took the initiative to report it.

However, the explanation for Yang Yong's action of climbing up the tree and shouting was simply: "The deposed prince has lost his mind and is possessed by a demon. His soul cannot be recovered, so he has such a crazy behavior."

After hearing this, Yang Jian no longer had any desire to meet Yang Yong.

.........

In the autumn of the 20th year of Kaihuang, Li Jiancheng, his father Li Yuan, his uncle Changsun Sheng, and his future father-in-law Xiao Cong were riding horses and chatting outside the city. Not far away, whistles and shouts could be heard one after another. Dozens of riders could be seen galloping through the sparse woods and mountains, encircling the enemy and driving the wild beasts in the forests away in panic.

Behind the horse, there were servants leading a dozen hunting dogs. The dogs had narrow and long heads, pointed noses, long and thin necks, long bodies, thin waists, sloping shoulders and thin legs. Changsun Sheng also held a white falcon in his left arm. The falcon had black eyes and long feathers, and could catch large birds such as herons, as well as wild ducks and waterfowl.

The dozens of riders in the distance were only a small part of the hunting team. There were hundreds of people driving the prey further away. Each team listened to the orders, beat drums and gongs to drive the prey towards the center, and they did not complete the mission until they concentrated a large number of panicked beasts into a small area.

The four of them also agreed to start a good start, and rode their horses and drew their bows towards the forest. This was a specially selected hunting ground, and although there were trees, they were very sparse, which did not block the view and could add some excitement.

Li Jiancheng was good at riding and shooting among his peers, but he was much worse than these three. Li Yuan was chosen from the shortlist, and Changsun Sheng killed two birds with one stone.

When Xiao Cong was the emperor in the past, he once asked people to lie on the ground and hold up a post. Xiao Cong would ride his horse and shoot, and he could hit ten out of ten times. The people holding the post were not afraid at all, which shows how accurate he was.

Li Jiancheng's existence is to be the last one for the three elders. Otherwise, they are all well-known people. It would be ok if they were slightly inferior, but it would not sound good to lose and be the last one.

Li Jiancheng followed behind the three men and had almost no chance to shoot arrows. Whenever a living creature flashed by, he would immediately have three trembling arrows on his body.

Fortunately, they separated soon after, otherwise it would be hard to tell who shot the prey first.

Hunting is indeed an extremely exciting game, with horses chasing and arrows piercing the flesh in the forest, and hunting dogs chasing, biting and tearing, and the feeling of conquering everything arises.

Rabbits, deer, wild ducks, hogs, badgers, raccoons, tigers and wolves were no different in the large-scale hunt. Li Jiancheng was followed by servants wearing armor and holding spears, which were enough to protect his safety, allowing him to draw his bow and shoot them calmly.

They would return only after their arms were sore that they could not pull the bowstring, and their horses were tired and slowed down. Since there was a prize, there would naturally be people counting the prey, and they had their own way of evaluating them.

The result was not beyond Li Jiancheng's expectations. He was at the bottom of the list, followed by the oldest Changsun Sheng. Even a brave man could not resist the passage of time. Then came Xiao Cong. Although still in his prime, he was addicted to drinking, and his hands were no longer as steady as they were when he was young.

Li Yuan, who was in his prime, won the first prize, winning Xiao Cong's newly acquired leopard and a leopard-raising slave as a gift, while Chang Sun Sheng lost a trained goshawk and Li Jiancheng lost a good Turkic horse.

………………

(End of this chapter)