Chapter 45 Meet
None of them took the loss to heart, and the four of them smiled and sat down by the stream to rest. The servants had already built a fire and cooked soup, waiting for the fresh game to be put into the pot. The four of them sat opposite each other and raised their glasses to drink together.

These three elders had very similar temperaments and spoke casually to each other outside the capital. Chang Sun Sheng was ordered to support Qimin Khan as the leader of the Eastern Turks, and this time he returned to the capital to accompany the Turkish envoys.

Qimin Khan sent a congratulatory message saying, "From the sky below to the earth above, wherever the sun and moon shine, there is only the Saint Khan. Today is a great day. May the Saint Khan live a thousand years like today!"

"The great sage of the Sui Dynasty, Mo Yuan Khan, cared for the people, like the sky that covers everything and the earth that carries everything.

All the families have been blessed with great power and grace, and have submitted with all their hearts, and have brought their tribes to the holy Khan. Some have entered the Great Wall in the south, and some have lived on the White Road. The people, sheep, and horses have filled the valleys, and the withered trees are like dead trees that have grown branches and leaves again, and the dead bones have grown flesh again. For thousands of generations, they will be like the sheep and horses of the Great Sui Dynasty!"

The Turks had always been a great enemy of the Sui Dynasty. The fact that they were so obedient today was undoubtedly the emperor's credit. The court officials also came to congratulate the sage emperor. Yang Jian was very proud of himself for a while and indulged himself more in his desires.

He formally married the former Princess Chen and the woman from Cai's family in Jiyang, and the empress became increasingly depressed and no longer cared about the affairs of the court. Perhaps she was powerless to do so.

The Dugu family had long since fallen into decline, and when the queen was involved in government affairs, she did not promote any of her relatives to prominent positions. I wonder if she regrets this now.

Unconsciously, the topic turned to Yang Su. At least six points of the emperor's current arrogance was caused by him, the Zuo Pushe. When Gao Zuo was assisting in the administration of the country, he would at least advise the emperor, but Yang Su would never do that.

At present, apart from Li Jiancheng, even Xiao Cong does not expect the demise of the Sui Dynasty. After experiencing the turbulent times from the Wei and Jin Dynasties to the present, everyone knows that now is the best era.

Everyone was unhappy with Yang Su's disruption of the government, and such sentiment was gathering in the court. Duke Baoguo Yuwen Shu was the main force. Just as Yang Su had envied Gao Zuo before, others now viewed him in the same way.

Chang Sun Sheng put down his wine bowl and said, "I have been back in Beijing for only half a month, and I found that the government is not as good as before. Fortunately, the Turks suffered a defeat and Bujia fled, and his life and death are unknown. The situation has returned to the state of confrontation between the East and the West. Otherwise, it would be really dangerous."

Xiao Cong drank one bowl of wine after another, and finally stopped to say something: "Your Majesty, losing the Duke of Qi and the Queen is like losing your eyes and ears. You only have a strong body left, but it is difficult to move forward in the right direction."

"But your majesty may be very satisfied with the current situation." Li Jiancheng stirred the soup pot: "The correct direction is the steep slope, you need to bend down and lower your head, but now it is downhill, you can hold your head high and your chest high."

The two of them remained silent. The emperor was no longer someone who had to rely on Gao Zuo and the queen to find the right path. He knew very well what the right path was, but he had suffered all his life and was becoming tired as he grew old.

"I can only hope that the prince can continue the glory of our Sui Dynasty in the future."

.........

Li Jiancheng welcomed his third brother, a little baby with some imperfections in the womb, but a boy after all. The Li family held a grand banquet, and many relatives and old friends came to attend the banquet. There were many high-ranking officials and dignitaries, and even rewards from the prince. Compared with last year, the family seemed to have recovered a bit.

It was also on this day that Li Jiancheng met his future wife for the first time. Miss Xiao was one year older than him. They were about the same height now. They met in a hurry and didn't have time to talk before they parted again.

Li Xiuning came up to him and teased him, "Brother, look at your smile. Now everyone knows how much you like your sister-in-law."

Li Jiancheng then realized that the corners of his mouth were raised a little too high, and he quickly calmed down and said, "If you say one more word, don't even think about going out to play."

Li Xiuning stuck out her tongue and made a face: "Then I'll go talk to my sister-in-law and see if you dare to bully me again in the future."

With Li Xiuning leading the way, the other sisters also happily chased in the direction of Miss Xiao. Li Jiancheng didn't know whether this was a good thing or not. The Yang family and the Yuwen family also sent people to show their respect. After all, they were all under the command of the crown prince, so they had to keep a decent appearance. It was also the custom of the noble families. It would not be good to kill everyone who won or lost.

But what was surprising was the visit of Liu Shu, the Duke of Jian'an. The Li family had no dealings with the Liu family of Hedong, and Liu Shu had a feud with Yang Guang because he married Princess Lanling. No matter how you look at it, he should not have come today.

Princess Lanling was beautiful, gentle and bookish. She was the youngest among all the princesses and the most beloved by her parents. When Princess Lanling had just become a widow, the emperor was planning to marry her to Xiao Rong, Yang Guang's brother-in-law, at the request of Prince Jin.

But in the end, out of consideration for the crown prince, the princess was married to Liu Shu, who was then the crown prince's left guard. It can be seen that the emperor really wanted to pass the throne to his eldest son.

Li Jiancheng was welcoming and seeing off guests at the gate of his mansion, so naturally he could not refuse guests, as that would make the two families enemies, so he respectfully invited him into the mansion.

He had heard that Liu Shu was a talented person, but he was more famous for being arrogant and domineering because of the emperor's favor. The favor naturally came from the emperor's love for him. He was a few years younger than Li Yuan, but he was already the Minister of War.

After the banquet, Li Jiancheng went to the back bedroom and saw his father Li Yuan walking around the room with his hands ready. When he asked the reason, it turned out to be because of Liu Shu.

This person came here to make an appointment to attack Yang. He didn't even need the Li family to do anything, they could just stand by and watch.

Li Jiancheng was a little surprised. He didn't expect that Yang Su had reached this point. Gao Zuo had been the Zuo Pushe for 18 years, but Yang Su had only been there for less than two years.

Making an agreement to attack the prime minister is no small matter. Once the contact is started, it cannot be kept secret and Yang Su will inevitably strike hard.

"Father, are you a little moved?"

"Yang Su is ruthless and has evil intentions towards you. I am holding him back now only because of the Crown Prince. But when the Crown Prince no longer cares about you, my family will be in danger."

Li Jiancheng said: "But now the prince still cannot do without Yang Su, and the Li family cannot replace the Yang family. After Yang Su falls, the prince will definitely rely more on Yuwen Shu, and this person has no good intentions towards me."

"Besides, the prince will definitely ask us to protect Yang Su in this matter. How can we stand by and watch the prince tolerate this?"

Personal grudges are small, but the struggle for power is big. If Yang Guang falls, or the Li family is abandoned by Yang Guang, the Li family will immediately return to their original situation, or even worse.

"I understand the truth, but..."

Li Jiancheng looked a little strange, and asked doubtfully, "Father, do you want to be a loyal minister and general to your majesty?"

Li Yuan's face flushed: "Jiancheng, although His Majesty suppressed my position, he still gave our Li family the honor and title of Duke of Tang..."

"The title of Duke of Tang was earned by our ancestors through hard work, and the Yang family relied on the support of us Wuchuan nobles to establish the country. Your Majesty naturally wants to not confer titles on any of them, and only grant titles to the Yang family clan members, but is that possible?"

...............

(End of this chapter)