Li Yuan stayed in Nao County until half past two o'clock before leaving the city. His Royal Highness Yang Hao, who had a great conversation with Li Yuan and reached some secret agreements, was about to fall asleep when his confidant Pei Gai came to report that Chen Yingliang had sent Ma Yi Li Jing, the prefect of the county, came to see him, and he wanted to report important military affairs to Yang Hao. Hearing this news, Yang Hao, who was suffocated by his failure to recruit Chen Yingliang during the day, suddenly became angry, and shouted: "What time is it, what important military affairs can't be discussed tomorrow? Tell him to get out, we can talk about it tomorrow!"
In normal times, Pei Gai would have obeyed the order to drive Li Jing out without saying a word, but the time was different, Pei Gai, who was not considered extremely treacherous, rarely advised Yang Hao, and said with his hands together: "Your Highness, Qin Wang is a big deal. Not only is it related to the life of His Majesty the Emperor and the safety of the Sui Dynasty, but it is also related to your top priority in the future, Your Highness. Since Chen Yingliang has informed you about the military situation, if you don’t see his envoy, you will inevitably give up your excuses. In the emperor's ears, I'm afraid there's something wrong, for His Highness's sake, I think it's best for you to meet him."
Feeling that Pei Gai's words made sense, Yang Hao, who wanted to be a prince and was about to go crazy, also changed his mind, and agreed to meet with him with a cold snort, then Pei Gai hurried out to summon Li Jing to enter. Li Jing stepped inside quickly, saluted Yang Junji very respectfully, and said in a loud voice: "My minister Li Jing, Prime Minister of Mayi County, pays homage to His Royal Highness King Qi, His Royal Highness Jin An."
"What's the matter, let's talk." Yang Hao yawned and didn't answer angrily, and didn't even bother to say a word of courtesy.
"His Royal Highness King Qi, Marshal Chen ordered my ministers to inform you that the military situation is like fire. Our army will march to the Yanmen battlefield tomorrow morning. Please sit in the county seat and wait for the good news." Li Jing played respectfully.
"What? Ask Your Highness to stay in Nao County?" Yang Yan was furious when he heard this, and said angrily, "Father, he was trapped in Nao County by hundreds of thousands of Turks. My Highness is so anxious that I can't sleep at night and don't think about food and drink. Chen Yingliang He still wants His Highness to stay in Nao County instead of rescuing the father? What is he, why should His Highness obey his orders?"
"As expected, we will follow to the Yanmen battlefield." Li Jing snorted coldly in his heart, but said respectfully, "Your Highness, forgive me, Marshal Chen is the emperor's personal commander-in-chief of King Qin's army and horses. All the soldiers and horses of King Qin must listen to him. Order to dispatch."
"It is true that Chen Yingliang is the commander-in-chief of King Qin appointed by my father, but he still has no power to command and restrain His Royal Highness." His Royal Highness Yang Hao really played a rogue, and said confidently: "Don't forget, the soldiers under my Highness The horses are not King Qin's army, but the escort soldiers and horses who protected the emperor before, did the emperor say in the imperial edict that Chen Yingliang should also order the escort army under my highness to be restrained?"
"I was hit by Chen Yingliang, so I really used this excuse to play a scoundrel." Li Jing sighed softly in his heart, but his face remained calm, and he just cupped his hands and said, "So that's how it is. I understand, I will leave."
After all, Li Jing saluted again, and really got up and turned around to leave. As a result, Yang Hao, who was playing a rascal, felt a little guilty, and hurriedly said: "Wait, just leave when you say it? You didn't understand what you said. Why did you leave?"
"Your Highness, have you made your words very clear?" Li Jing asked strangely, and then said: "Your Highness, you have made it clear that you are leading an escort of soldiers and horses, and you are not under the command and restraint of Marshal Chen. This humble minister is here to replace Marshal Chen. As for the report on the military situation, I have received your reply from Your Highness, so of course I will go back to answer Marshal Chen."
Yang Hao was at a loss for words, and Pei Gai who was next to him hurriedly stood up, cupped his hands and asked, "Li Juncheng, what about our Highness King Qi? Tomorrow Marshal Chen will lead the army north to Yanmen, what about the escort army under His Highness King Qi?"
"Pei Jishi, why do you ask me this question?" Li Jing smiled wryly, and spread his hands and said: "The lower official is just a mere county magistrate, and he is not qualified to make decisions for Marshal Chen, and he dare not send and mobilize the guards under the command of King Qi. Ma, how will your Highness do next, how will your servant know?"
Pei Gai was also a little tongue-tied, but Yang Hao had already recovered, and hurriedly said: "Then you go back and tell Chen Yingliang that His Highness will also go to the Yanmen Battlefield to fight to rescue my father, and my army will fight against him." Walk together."
"Your Highness, what if Marshal Chen disagrees?" Li Jing suddenly changed his tone, and said in a deep voice, "If Marshal Chen categorically rejects your request, you won't let your army go with his King Qin's troops, nor will your Escort the army into the camp of King Qin's coalition army, what do you do?"
"He dares!" Yang Hao became even more furious, and said angrily: "My Highness is the emperor's own son, if he dares not to listen to His Highness, he is guilty of treason!"
"Your Highness, you really can't threaten Chen Yingliang like this." Li Jing said with a serious expression: "Although your status is noble, Your Highness, His Majesty the Emperor has not given you the power to restrain all officials. If you force Chen Yingliang to obey your orders, you will only People will say that you are overstepping. If Chen Yingliang clashes with you again and endangers the important affairs of King Qin, what will happen if His Majesty finds out about it in the future? Have you considered it, Your Highness?"
Speaking of this, Li Jing bowed his hands to Yang Hao again, and said in a low voice: "Your Highness, please don't forget that although your elder brother, Prince Yuande, unfortunately passed away early, he left behind three grandsons who are deeply loved by His Majesty." , His eldest son, His Highness King Yan, is twelve years old this year, and he is always by His Majesty's side. The two young grandsons have also been entrusted with the important task of staying in Daxing and Luoyang respectively. Behind you, Your Highness, there is also a five-year-old His younger brother, His Highness Zhao Wang, is also deeply loved by His Majesty, and His Majesty the Emperor is only forty-five years old this year, and his body is healthy and prosperous, His Highness, it is really unwise for you to offend His Majesty at this critical moment."
Yang Hao was also a little tongue-tied, subconsciously glanced at Pei Gai next to him, Pei Gai was also a little stunned, it took a long time to recover, and then Pei Gai hurriedly asked in a low voice: "Li Juncheng, are you not sent by Marshal Chen?" The person who sent the message? Why did you say such a thing to His Highness?"
"Pei Jishi, it's very simple." Li Jing said in a low voice: "I am a temporary subordinate of Marshal Chen, but I am also a subject of His Majesty the Emperor, and I will probably be a subject of His Highness King Qi in the future. What do you say about Pei Jishi? , Between His Royal Highness King Qi and Marshal Chen, who should the lower officials turn to?"
After quietly looking at each other with Pei Gai, His Royal Highness Qi showed a smile, quickly changed a friendly face, and greeted: "Li Juncheng, please sit down, sit down, sit down and talk slowly."
Li Jing was not polite either, and after saluting and thanking him, he sat down at the seat designated by Yang Hao, and then Yang Hao gave Pei Gai another wink, asking Pei Gai to check that no one was eavesdropping, and then Yang Hao said in a low voice: "Li Juncheng , there are no outsiders here, so if you have anything to say, just say it directly, His Royal Highness will listen attentively."
"Your Highness, you must not take risks at this time." Li Jing said in a low voice: "Unfortunately, Prince Yuande passed away early. Although you are older in age, Your Majesty has never revealed your intention to be crowned Prince. Quan, deliberately making things difficult for Chen Yingliang, once His Majesty finds out about it in the future, the consequences will definitely be unimaginable. Therefore, I believe that your Highness's goal this time is definitely not King Qin's military power, but King Qin's first contribution."
"But without military power, how can this king get the first meritorious service of King Qin?" Yang Hao said very depressed: "The father handed over the military power to Chen Yingliang, defeated the Turks and rescued the emperor, how come the first meritorious service of King Qin belonged to Chen Yingliang, this king At most it’s just a foil, how can you compete for credit?”
"Your Highness, I have the courage to remind you that the first achievement of King Qin is not obtained by those who lead King Qin's army to defeat the Turks." Li Jing said in a low voice: "It is whoever can break into the siege first, and whoever can break into the wild goose first." Meet Your Majesty in the gate city, whoever can win the first merit of King Qin."
"Your Highness, please think about it carefully." Li Jing described: "The emperor has been surrounded by Turks for more than a month, and he is desperate for King Qin's reinforcements. Your Highness, as the son of His Majesty, you are the first to lead King Qin's army into the siege, and the first to lead King Qin The army rushes into the city of Yanmen to meet His Majesty, so how grateful and appreciated is His Majesty the Emperor to you? Is it possible for His Majesty the Emperor to let you fulfill your long-cherished wish on the spot under the joy of Longyan? Compared with this kind of credit, what is the trivial credit of commanding King Qin's army to defeat the Turks?"
After hearing Li Jing's description, our Royal Highness King Qi was immediately tempted, and he said yes, if I was the first to lead the army into Yanmen City to meet the emperor father, the emperor would be overjoyed and canonize me as the prince on the spot. This is possible! Compared with the crown prince's throne, the credit for commanding the army to defeat the Turks is nothing? Does Laozi still care about the official rewards? What I care about is the crown prince's throne, the future emperor's throne!
Thinking of this, Yang Hao was greatly tempted, and at the same time began to think about it, and said in a deep voice: "The pharmacist's words are indeed very reasonable, but the question is, how can I get this credit? Besides, Ben There are only more than 4,000 troops under the king's command, and most of them are wounded. The strength in his hands is too weak, so how can he be the first to break into the siege and the first to meet the emperor?"
"Regarding this point, on the way here, I came up with an idea for His Highness." Li Jing said with a smile: "It's an idea that has the best of both worlds. It can not only give His Highness the strength to enter the siege to meet His Majesty, but also ensure that His Highness you establish This extraordinary feat of working hard for kings can even make Chen Yingliang cooperate with Your Highness to establish this meritorious service at any cost, and use all the power in his hands to help Your Highness enter Yanmen City first."
"What trick does the pharmacist have? Please tell me quickly." Yang Yan asked overjoyed.
After looking around again, and even raised his head to look carefully at the beams of the room and bent down to check under the table, Li Jing said in a low voice: "If His Highness does not give up, I am willing to negotiate a deal between His Highness and Chen Yingliang. trade."
"What deal?" Yang Hao asked quickly.
"Your Highness, help Chen Yingliang vent your anger, and Chen Yingliang will help your Highness build up your extraordinary meritorious service." Li Jing lowered his voice as much as possible, and said softly, "Your Highness, you should have heard of the grievances between Chen Yingliang and Ambassador Li Yuan, right?"
Seeing Yang Yan Zheng nodded, Li Jing said softly again: "Because of Ambassador Li's son-in-law, Chen Yingliang and Ambassador Li have long had a deep hatred, and they hate each other. The conflict is almost public. Please think about it, Your Highness. Under such circumstances, how could Chen Yingliang tolerate Ambassador Li's meritorious service and be rewarded and promoted by His Majesty again? In this case, if Your Highness takes over Ambassador Li's army, How could Chen Yingliang not be happy and support you when the army under the command of Ambassador Li made meritorious service on its own?"
"I will take over Ambassador Li's army?" Yang Hao was dumbfounded, and blurted out, "But I..."
When the words came to his lips, Yang Hao quickly swallowed them back, but Li Jing pretended not to notice, and said in a low voice: "Don't worry, Your Highness, the army under Ambassador Li's command has a total of 30,000 people, and there are many elite divisions among them. The number of cavalry is even greater. You are at the head of King Qin's army, and your strength can absolutely guarantee that Your Highness will be the first to enter Yanmen City to meet His Majesty. After you took over Ambassador Li's troops, Chen Yingliang let out a sigh of relief, but also thought about his future. I will definitely cooperate fully with Your Highness to establish this miraculous achievement."
Yang Hao's expression was hesitant, and he was even more hesitant in his heart. After a long time, he whispered: "But how can I take over the military power of Ambassador Li? Also, if I do this, this king will have a deep hatred with Ambassador Li. ?”
"Your Highness, compared with your crown prince's throne, is the crown prince's throne more important? Or is the enmity with Ambassador Li more important?" Li Jing whispered very directly, and then whispered: "Also, please rest assured, Your Highness. The way to prevent you from being a villain is to let Ambassador Li obediently hand over the military power to you."
"What way?" Yang Hao raised his head quickly.
"King Qin's army has 140,000 troops, and the food expenses are huge." Li Jing said with a smile: "I can persuade Chen Yingliang to arrange for Ambassador Li to return to Taiyuan to supervise the transportation of food and grass. The Taiyuan army has no leader. Wouldn't it be reasonable for you to take over the military power in Taiyuan, Your Highness?"
Yang Hao showed some joy, his heart began to waver, and after thinking for a while, His Royal Highness Qi Wang also resolutely left the secret agreement just concluded with Ambassador Li behind him, nodded heavily and said: "Okay, let's do it like this, you Go and tell Chen Yingliang that as long as he promises to let this king be the first to enter Yanmen City to meet his father, I will fully cooperate with his command and fight, and I will help him vent his anger! After this is done, I will not treat him badly! "
"My minister would like to obey His Highness's order." Li Jing agreed with his hands clasped, but Li Jing was still a little uneasy, and whispered: "Your Highness, please remember one thing, the commander of Qin Wang's coalition army, no matter what, it is impossible for him to come to the front line to charge. There is absolutely no possibility of being the first to enter the city of Yanmen to meet His Majesty! Therefore, the King Qin’s commander is actually of no help to His Highness, and it may be counterproductive to take it, which is not conducive to His Highness’s future plans!"
"Don't worry, this king knows." Yang Hao nodded and said in a low voice: "You can tell Chen Yingliang by the way, as long as he helps me with this favor, I will never interfere with his military command. I will definitely obey his command and never make trouble for him.”
…
When Li Jing returned to Qin Wang's coalition army with Yang Hao's reply, it was already the first quarter of the third watch, but Chen Yingliang's sleeping tent was still brightly lit. Li Jing knew that Chen Yingliang must still be waiting for his news, so he was not polite, and immediately entered Went to meet with Chen Yingliang's sleeping tent, but Chen Yingliang did not sleep as expected, still immersed in the mountains of official documents, until his personal soldiers came forward to report that Li Jing was asking to see him, Chen Yingliang raised his head, and then jumped up, eager to wait He asked, "Li Juncheng, what's the matter?"
Seeing the tiredness and dark circles on Chen Yingliang's face, Li Jing sighed lightly, and said in an extremely hypocritical whisper: "Marshal, although you are young, you still have to take care of your health, why don't you rest?"
"It's okay, I can resist." Chen Yingliang replied casually, while waving his hands to drive the soldiers out of the tent, he asked in a low voice: "How is it? How does His Royal Highness Qi reply?"
"It's done." Li Jing nodded, and said softly: "His Royal Highness Qi promised that as long as you promise to let him be the first to enter Yanmen City to meet His Majesty, he will promise not to interfere with your command, not to cause trouble for you, and will take action. Compete with Ambassador Li for the military power in Taiyuan. If the two of them fight together, your position as commander-in-chief will be as stable as Mount Tai."
Relieved, Chen Yingliang hurriedly bowed to Li Jingji, bowed to the ground, and thanked him in a low voice. Li Jing hurriedly returned the salute, and said with a smile: "You don't have to do this, the commander. It's just a matter of doing this, how can I be worthy of you?" Such a great gift?"
"Li Juncheng, I know better than you whether this is something you did with a little effort." Chen Yingliang shook his head and said in a low voice: "Negotiating with the prince in private, or doing this when His Majesty is worried about the national crisis when the emperor is besieged by the Turks. I am very clear about how dangerous it is. In order to eliminate hidden dangers for me and divide my two biggest and most dangerous opponents, you took such a big risk, and I don't even know how to thank you."
Li Jing smiled, first helped Chen Yingliang up, and then said in a low voice: "Commander, please remember, don't really drive Ambassador Li back to the rear, just let him and His Highness King Qi pinch each other. In this way, you can prevent Qi His Royal Highness sits big, giving birth to greater ambitions; second, the Taiyuan army is quite powerful and will be of great help to you. If you really hand over this army to His Royal Highness Qi, it is tantamount to abolishing this army and sending Shentong military affairs to you. Only if Ambassador Li stays, you can use this army better and more effectively."
Chen Yingliang nodded, and sincerely thanked Li Jing for his guidance, but Li Jing refused to give up, and said in a low voice: "Also, if possible, you must try your best to keep your promise and help His Highness Prince Qi meet His Majesty first. There are also reasons Two, first, you are the coach, it is impossible to go to the front line to charge in person, and it is almost impossible to get this credit. Rather than making it cheaper for others, it is better to give this credit to His Royal Highness King Qi, so as to prevent Ambassador Li from counterattacking more effectively. , you are still young, there is still a long time to come, you have to make some preparations for your future."
Chen Yingliang nodded again. He wanted to thank Li Jing for his thoughtful guidance, but suddenly his eyes went dark, and he almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, Li Jing had sharp eyesight and quick hands, and he helped the devastated Chen Sangliang in time without a wink. He also said hypocritically, "Marshal, you are too tired, go to rest, and we will talk about it tomorrow." After finishing speaking, Li Jing hurriedly put Chen Yingliang on the bed.
"It's okay." Chen Yingliang supported himself and shook his head, then said in a low voice: "There is another possibility, Li Juncheng, Ambassador Li and His Royal Highness Qi Wang may still make that move. How big do you think this possibility is."
"If they dare to take that move, it means that the time of their death has come together." Li Jing replied in a low voice, "Please rest assured, Commander, Ambassador Li and His Royal Highness Qi Wang probably don't have the guts to do so, and the humble officials will kill them for you." Keep an eye on it, even if they dare to do this insanely, I will let you know in advance."
Chen Yingliang nodded, just said please, he was already pressed on the bed by Li Jing, and just after Li Jing pressed him to lie down, Chen Sangliang had already snored loudly and fell asleep, Li Jing touched Chen Yingliang's forehead worriedly Until it was confirmed that Chen Yingliang had no fever, Li Jing carefully covered Chen Yingliang with a quilt, his movements were gentle and careful.
The sleeping tent was unusually quiet, only the sound of Chen Yingliang's tired snoring echoed. Looking at Chen Yingliang's tired face and stroking the messy hair on Chen Yingliang's forehead, Li Jing sighed softly, with a gentle expression on his face, and murmured softly, "Son, this is just Your first big trouble, there are countless difficulties and dangers waiting for you. But it doesn't matter, I... "