The imperial capital of Chang'an, within the imperial city.
The fourth day of the first lunar month is the day for the royal family banquet. Early in the morning, the Penglai Hall in the harem of the Daming Palace became lively. Kings, princesses, concubines and relatives came to the scene to pay New Year's greetings to Emperor Li Shimin. Changsun Wuji, a powerful and powerful uncle, will naturally be present. What is striking is that he actually arrives alongside Wei Wang Li Tai.
In addition, the four concubines and nine concubines from the harem were all present. Concubine Wei Guifei, Concubine Yan Xian, Concubine Yin De, and Concubine Yang Shu, who rarely appeared in public throughout the year, were arranged in separate seats. However, the appearance of the four concubines together is not as eye-catching as a newcomer, that is Xu Hui, one of the nine concubines who is most favored by Li Shimin recently. It is said that this little girl is extremely intelligent, erudite and talented, has a photographic memory and is highly accomplished in poetry and calligraphy. In terms of character, she is gentle, kind, generous, and generous. She also has political opinions and can advise the emperor. She has the demeanor of Empress Changsun back then. At first she was just a talented person, but because she won Li Shimin's favor and met her late, she was quickly promoted to Jieyu, and then to Chongrong. Now she is one of the nine concubines second only to the fourth concubine.
Regardless of the establishment of a queen or a heir apparent, it is not only a family matter for the emperor, but also a major matter for the country. Since ancient times, China has had emperors, and it has always been "the mother is more valuable than the son, and the son is more valuable than the mother." After the death of Empress Changsun, Li Shimin never established another queen. The officials speculated that he did not want to affect the establishment of a heir apparent by establishing a queen.
Many people secretly speculated that since the death of Queen Changsun, the harem has been without an owner. Concubine Wei, whose status was second only to the empress, had never been authorized to take over the harem in place of Empress Changsun. Although "Wei Du in the south of the city has gone five feet to the sky" and the Wei family is one of the prominent families in Chang'an, the Wei family has not produced one or two outstanding top figures to take charge of the banner. The Du family has also produced a Du Ruhui. ! In addition, Concubine Wei was in love and was not favored by Li Shimin in recent years. The sons she gave birth to were relatively mediocre and none of them caught Li Shimin's attention, so they were not considered by Li Shimin at all. Therefore, people speculate that there is almost no possibility that Concubine Wei will be corrected in the future. Not to mention Concubine Yan Xian, who has long since fallen out of favor. There are rumors that Li Shimin also intends to demote her to a concubine and make Xu Hui a concubine. Therefore, Concubine Yan Xian, who is already lacking in her natal family, has been walking on thin ice, and there is no possibility of establishing a queen. .
The remaining two imperial concubines are Concubine Yin De and Concubine Yang Shu.
In the past few years, Concubine Yin De, who has always been low-key and tolerant, seems to have been at the forefront of the limelight, but unfortunately it is all "negative news". Her daughter got married and her son rebelled. It was a miracle that she could still exist in the harem. There is no doubt that the only thing this noble lady with a miserable life experience may have is the emperor's tolerance for her, the world's compassion and respect for her, and the ancient green lantern Buddha.
Concubine Yang Shu was left, the mother of King Wu Li Ke. She is the biological daughter of Yang Guang, the last emperor of the Sui Dynasty. After being accepted as a concubine by Li Shimin, although she ranked last among the four concubines because she entered the family late, she was one of the most respected women in the harem. Even when Empress Changsun was still alive, she traveled in the same chariot as her sisters and were almost equal to each other. However, Concubine Yang Shu, a subjugated princess, obviously had no political ambitions. Over the years, she had never been heard to be domineering or interfere in state affairs. Her low profile and silence are even worse than Concubine Yin De's. If she didn't have a dazzling son who often appeared in politics and court, she would almost be forgotten by others.
From this point of view, it is unlikely that the fourth concubine will be crowned queen. Therefore, people can't help but turn their attention to Xu Hui, who has been in the limelight recently. It is expected that if she can give birth to a dragon son for the emperor, it is not ruled out that she may come from behind and be made the queen. However, the emperor already had several grown-up sons who were fighting for his heir apparent. Even if Xu Hui can give birth to a prince in the future, once the emperor dies, will this pair of orphans and widows with shallow foundations survive
This is no wonder why Li Shimin has never reestablished himself as a queen. It sounds nice to say that he misses Empress Changsun, but in fact, he can't make a decision. This queen cannot be established. Without the queen, the harem would be in chaos, there is no doubt about it.
If you don't sweep one house, why sweep the world? Li Shimin really has a headache.
War was raging around the Tang Dynasty, and the factions in the court were fighting for their secrets. Even in the harem, there were treacherous and undercurrents.
The Tang Dynasty, which had been peaceful for more than ten years, ushered in a troubled period.
Today at the royal family banquet, Changsun Wuji and Wei Wang Li Tai, who had never known each other until death, were now chatting and laughing together. Many people saw this in their eyes and realized it in their hearts, thinking that these two people who had the same problem must be making peace and forming an alliance. Now the military's strength has greatly expanded, and even Chang Sun Wuji's limelight has been suppressed. When Li Chengqian was still in the East Palace, Li Shimin thought about naming Li Tai as his heir. An important reason why he didn't make a decision was that Changsun Wuji disagreed.
Fortunately now, the uncle and nephew have changed their minds faster than flipping through a book, and they have actually formed an alliance. However, Li Tai has fallen out of favor, and Changsun Wuji is not as powerful as he was before. Can their temporary alliance, which may break down at any time, impress the emperor
After Li Chengqian's fall, the situation in the court that seemed to have become clear has now returned to chaos. No one knows who will be the Prince of the East Palace and who will lead the court in the future.
Looking at the "family members" at the banquet who seemed to be enjoying each other's drinks in harmony, Li Shimin smiled on his face but felt bitter in his heart. In his opinion, wherever there is a smile on the faces of these people, it is clearly a conspiracy of Yin and Yang; wherever there is wine, meat and delicacies in their mouths, it is clearly power and interests.
But he couldn't blame these people, because why didn't he do the same? Living in this field of interests is like sailing against the current, unable to control oneself. Not everyone can be as calm as Concubine Yin De, with no desires or desires.
Thinking of this, Li Shimin raised his glass and said to Concubine Yin De: "My beloved concubine, I propose a toast to you."
"I would like to thank you, Your Majesty." Concubine Yin De stood up and raised her glass to drink. After finishing the drink, she sat down, still calm and calm.
Li Shimin sighed secretly, feeling depressed.
In recent days, border officials have sent reports of military intelligence, which brings both joy and sorrow. On the northern grassland, Li Ji reported victory and described in detail the battle in which Xue Rengui led the remnants of the Kansai brigade and shocked Erhunhe to defeat Yi Nan in a battle. Now, Li Ji led the Imperial Army of the Tang Dynasty to join forces with the nine Tiele surnames in the grassland to conquer Xue Yantuo with successive victories, defeating the enemy and capturing the chieftain in just one day and night.
Li Shimin was already preparing to deal with the aftermath of the grassland, and at the same time he also began to pay attention to Xue Rengui, a once unknown general of the Kansai Army. I heard that he made an unconventional decision when the opportunity came. He went all the way north to defeat the generals and fought thousands of miles across the desert. In the end, he preserved the strength of the Western Expeditionary Army. After defeating Xue Yantuo, he also borrowed tens of thousands of soldiers and horses from Huihe to return to Kansai. He regained the lost territory, and all the grassland tribes respected him like a god... All these were done by famous generals and geniuses.
This is good news. The bad news is that Li Daozong of Shanzhou reported that not long after the victory at Huanyue Valley, Yangguan fell and Xue Wanche died in battle. Qin Mubai had already led his troops to rescue him.
Li Shimin knew that after Yang Guandu's victory in Huanyue Valley, it didn't actually matter. The main battlefield is still Dafeichuan. As long as the situation there does not get out of control, even if Yumen Pass and Yang Pass fall together, the Tibetans on that side will not be able to determine the outcome. What's more, Qin Mubai personally leads the troops to rescue him, and he will definitely be able to reverse the situation and ensure safety.
What depressed Li Shimin was the death of Xue Wanche. He once said personally that now (after Li Jing retired) there are only three famous generals in this dynasty, Li Ji, Li Daozong and Xue Wanche. And Xue Wanche's battles were either a great victory or a great defeat. Now, as he said, he lost control and died in battle.
Xue Wanche is Li Shimin's brother-in-law. Now, Princess Danyang, Xue Wanche's wife and daughter of the great ancestor Li Yuan, happened to be sitting at the table, smiling and drinking wine with everyone. She didn't know the news of Xue Wanche's death in battle.
"Forget it, let's wait until the Spring Festival is over in a few days and Xue Wanche's coffin is delivered to Chang'an. I'll tell her then!" Li Shimin thought to himself.
Within the confines of the palace, even a family banquet is strictly hierarchical and the atmosphere cannot be very lively. It can be considered peaceful at best. The princes, nobles and relatives came one after another to congratulate Li Shimin on the New Year. In private, they were busy exchanging cups and cups with each other to exchange feelings. It was not so much a family dinner as a round of political capital exchange meeting.
There was something on his mind, and Li Shimin was a little unhappy. I drank a few glasses of wine, but it was tasteless. Just as he was about to change his clothes and leave the table to take a breather, his close attendant Huan Huan walked to him softly and whispered: "Your Majesty, Chu Suiliang, who is staying at the Hongwen Hall, said that an urgent military report was sent from the front line, so he asked to see your Majesty."
Li Shimin felt a sudden thought, thinking that if it weren't for a major military situation, Chu Suiliang would not have sent the military report to the harem at this time. So he calmly got up and walked out, secretly asking his attendants to ask Chu Suiliang to meet him in the imperial study room of Zichen Hall in Daming Palace.
Soon after, Li Shimin arrived at Zichen Hall, and Chu Suiliang was already waiting outside the imperial study room. As soon as they met, Chu Suiliang exclaimed in a low voice: "Your Majesty, there are changes in Western Xinjiang and it is extremely urgent!"
Li Shimin's heart was filled with confusion, "Xijiang? Not Guanxi, not Mobei, not Jiannan?"
"Taozhou!!"
"Enter the imperial study!"
The monarch and his ministers walked in quickly, and Chu Suiliang sent the military report. Li Shimin hurriedly opened it and sat down to read it. As soon as he sat down, he suddenly stood up again.
Chu Suiliang looked at the emperor nervously, and the expressions of both the emperor and his ministers changed.
"How... is this possible?" Li Shimin's face was filled with shock and anger, "How did the Gar Qinling attack Taozhou?"
"Even the humble ministers don't know! However, this is clearly the fact before us!" Chu Suiliang said anxiously, "The city of Taozhou was destroyed, and the two counties of Taoyang and Lintan under the rule were massacred with blood. The total number of soldiers and civilians was 13,000. No one survived, and the city was burned! After the incident, Yuchi Jingde, the commander-in-chief of the march in Jiannan Road, rushed to save him, but in vain. Gar Qinling withdrew and turned to Yuchi. Jingde led his troops in pursuit and ordered the soldiers and horses of the nearby military headquarters to be on guard against the enemy to prevent the Garqin Ling from attacking Guanzhong!"
"Confused!" Li Shimin suddenly shouted, "Why is Yuchi Jingde so confused!"
"What's wrong, Your Majesty?" Chu Suiliang asked in surprise.
"He was led away by the nose of Gar Qin Ling!" Li Shimin raised his eyebrows and said in a deep voice, "Gar Qin Ling deliberately set fire to massacre the city in order to attract the nearby Jiannan Army to rescue him. He was trying to lure the tiger away from the mountain. !”
"But General Yuchi doesn't dare not to save him! What if Gar Qin Ling is still bloodbathing the city nearby or even attacks Guanzhong?" Chu Suiliang said in surprise, "After the defeat of Gar Qin Ling, he has been retreating to Qingluo Plain. , the surprise attack on Taozhou is already an amazing move, is he still able to divert the tiger away from the mountain and then divide his troops to seize Sichuan and Shu? "
"That's not true. Cutting off the pass and seizing the city is not the ultimate goal of the Garqin Mausoleum." Li Shimin's face darkened as he said, "Otherwise, he would not come to my hinterland like a moth to a flame. Unless he Crazy, otherwise, with just a few men, can he destroy the Tang Dynasty?"
Chu Suiliang suddenly realized it and said: "So... he has another purpose? Is he trying to disrupt our army's defense line in Western Xinjiang?"
"He wanted to escape!" Li Shimin said resolutely, "However, there were Dafeichuan troops chasing behind him and Jiannan Army blocking them in front. He did not dare to retreat easily! So, he used offense instead of defense to divert our army's attention and draw attention. Our troops will give us time and space to evacuate the camp!”
After that, Li Shimin strode to the screen behind the imperial study, ordered someone to fetch a map of the military and political geography of Western Xinjiang, and hung it up. He pointed to Taozhou and said, "Look! He captured Taozhou and stationed troops in Song." Yuchi Jingde from Yuzhou must come to the rescue, because this defense area belongs to him. As you said, if this area is breached now, if the Gar Qinling sends troops to attack the two capitals in Guanzhong, Yuchi Jingde will surely die. At the same time, if there is a fire in the backyard, Lanzhou will be shaken. Dafeichuan and Lanzhou will be mobilized across the board, and they will have to shift from offense to defense, and the focus of their troops will shift towards the hinterland of Taozhou. You see - once Taozhou is defeated, we will be strong. The entire western territory of the Tang Dynasty was completely destroyed. Whether it was Guanxi or Jiannan, all the previous strategic arrangements were shattered! Although the possibility of Galqin Ling's attack on Guanzhong was extremely small, the two capitals in Guanzhong would still be in turmoil. !”
Chu Suiliang's face tensed up and he didn't dare to breathe. When he first received the military report, he knew the situation was serious, but he didn't expect it to be this serious. Now listening to the emperor's analysis, his heart was beating suddenly - he was so powerful that he came to the imperial capital! Gal Qinling's lightning-like surprise attack was like a sharp knife suddenly piercing into the heart of the Tang Dynasty. It was really powerful!
"This Garqin Mausoleum!..." Li Shimin gritted his teeth and spat out these words, his face becoming more solemn and serious. After pausing for a moment, he asked: "The guard of Dafeichuan seems to be Hou Junji, right?"
Chu Suiliang vaguely heard the evil meaning in Li Shimin's words!
"Your Majesty, it's Hou Junji."
"He was guarding Dafeichuan and suppressed the remnants of the defeated army in Garqinling. Why did he just let him slip away from under his eyes?" Li Shimin didn't roar, but every word and every glance was like a cold sword. The coldness and sharpness.
Chu Sui felt a chill in his conscience - murderous intent! His Majesty the Emperor... has murderous intent!
Li Shimin cut his back with one hand and pointed at the military and political geography map with one hand, thinking deeply. Chu Suiliang did not dare to interrupt, but said softly: "Your Majesty, would you like to inform the Prime Minister of the Cabinet to convene an emergency military meeting?"
Li Shimin didn't seem to hear, he still looked at the map with a stern face, moved his fingers slowly on it, and muttered something in his mouth: "To capture Taozhou, he can divert to Hezhou to continue the slaughter, or cross the Tao River and go straight to Lanzhou After his death, he might divert his troops to attack Minzhou, quickly seize the city, and then use it as a basis to fight against Yuchi Jingde's troops who came to rescue him, or even point his sword at Qinzhou and attack Guanzhong, endangering the two capitals, which are connected by water and land. , why didn’t Qin Mubai and Yuchi Jingde pay attention to such a military hub? "
Chu Suiliang didn't dare to talk. In terms of military attainments, Li Jing is almost the only one in this dynasty who can keep pace with the emperor. He was analyzing the battle situation, and there were really few people he could talk to. But Chu Suiliang vaguely heard the emperor's words, and seemed to be quite dissatisfied with Yuchi Jingde and Qin Mubai!
"Bah!"
Li Shimin slapped the map with his palm, which shocked Chu Suiliang. A hole was smashed out of the parchment map!
"The Garqin Mausoleum must be destroyed! Otherwise, the consequences will be endless!" Li Shimin said solemnly, "Now, he is like a winter flea that has slipped into the thick fur of a person. How abominable!"
"Your Majesty, would you like to inform the Prime Minister of the Cabinet to convene an emergency military meeting?" Unable to provide any useful military advice, Chu Suiliang had to repeat the words again.
Li Shimin paused, and this time he seemed to hear it. He said: "First of all, we must strictly guard against leaking the information, so as not to cause panic among the people and confuse the two capitals. The imperial military meeting cannot be held for the time being. It is during the spring break, and most of the ministers are there Visiting relatives for the holidays. In this case, you go and call me Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Li Daliang, and Li Junxian. These people are either in the imperial city or in Chang'an. "
"yes!"
"Wait!" Chu Suiliang was about to leave when Li Shimin called out. He hesitated for a moment and said, "There are also the King of Jin and the King of Wei, please call them together."
Chu Sui was a little shocked in his conscience and dared not say anything, so he accepted the promise and left in a hurry.
Li Shimin took a long breath and exhaled deeply, frowned and looked at the big map with a hole in it, and said to himself: "Under such circumstances, we can attack Taozhou to reverse the situation. The Garqin Mausoleum is indeed a military advantage. Genius! ...Qin Mubai, Yuchi Jingde, what can I tell you?"
"However, the move of the Garqin Mausoleum is just to dig a grave for Tubo!!" Li Shimin's eyes were cold and cold, "Do you want to put yourself to death and live another life? - I want you, only death and no future life! "