Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4400 Open and honest

The soldiers set up a simple canopy in front of a woods by the roadside. Cheng Yaojin and Li Xiaogong sat opposite each other. The charcoal fire in the stove quickly ignited, the flames licked the kettle, and the spout popped out after a while heat.

Outside the canopy, the rain was pattering, and tens of thousands of troops marched forward and back, and the front army passed by, but the shadow of the rear army company had not yet been seen, and there was no time to finish the journey...

"The king of the county came here, but what teachings do you have?"

Cheng Yaojin stroked his beard with a smile, and his posture was very relaxed.

In recent years, Li Xiaogong pampered himself and smeared his reputation. He enjoyed and had fun in the mansion all day long. Although he returned to the Western Regions for a short time to serve as the Anxi Grand Protector, he also showed some signs of returning to the top. It is not as good as before, and the top military officials have only respect and no fear of it.

If it was placed in the early years of Zhenguan or the years of Wude, how dare Cheng Yaojin sit against Li Xiaogong?The place where the king of the county is sitting, absolutely does not have Cheng Yaojin's seat...

Li Xiaogong's own mentality has long since calmed down. The previous years' majesty and arrogance have disappeared, replaced by more calmness. At this moment, Cheng Yaojin smiled in front of him and didn't think he was disobedient. He just said indifferently: "Your Duke Lu is now in charge of the army , like a hero, compared to the time when Wagang was so proud of the world, how could I dare to teach you something? I have to be trembling when I speak, lest my words be disrespectful, and you will order my head to be chopped off and thrown into the water by the side of the road ditch."

"Hey! The king's words are embarrassing. You are the king at any time. You can beat and scold at will! It's just that now that you are old, you will inevitably be rough. If you can’t do it, it looks more casual, but we respect it in our hearts!”

The kettle was bubbling, Cheng Yaojin raised the kettle to make tea, and chattered in his mouth.

Li Xiaogong nodded: "It's better to be casual, after all, today is different from the past, if you still look like a county king wherever you go, wouldn't it be disgusting?"

He took the teacup offered by Cheng Bite Jin with one hand, blew on it, took a sip, and praised: "The tea is good."

Cheng Yaojin said with a smile: "When the king of the county is here, he will naturally take out the good things from the bottom of the box to entertain, but this year is not peaceful, and half of the autumn tea from Jiangnan has not entered Guanzhong, so we just drink it up It's gone."

Li Xiaogong said: "Go to Fang Er and ask for some, if others don't have it, his family will always have some."

"The general has thought about it, but even though Fang Er's guy is known as 'Yibo Yuntian', he is actually a miser, and he is the best at doing business. Even if he has good tea at home, he will not give it to the general. He will ask for a sky-high price." Maybe, although the general likes this one, but if the price is too expensive, he will feel distressed, haha."

……

The two exchanged words, but most of them felt that it was meaningless, so they all remained silent and only drank tea in silence.

The rain outside the shed, the fire inside the shed is booming, the water vapor is curling up, and the fragrance of tea is dense, which is quite artistic.

After drinking a cup of tea, Cheng Yaojin poured tea from the pot again, and then asked: "The king of the county is always cheerful, why do you come here this time?"

Verbal confrontation is boring, and hiding it is equally boring, it's better to be open and honest.

Holding the teacup, Li Xiaogong felt the heat, and asked: "You are not an idiot, but I really don't understand what you are doing, what is your plan?"

Cheng Yaojin was silent for a while, took a sip of tea, and said: "The general has no plans."

Li Xiaogong nodded: "It's fine if you don't plan."

Then he said: "This time I came here to appease you by His Majesty's oral order. Your Majesty has something to tell you not to be afraid. As long as you are loyal to the king's affairs and the country, you can know your way back. Don't blame the past for all the past. When meritorious deeds are rewarded, they will not be treated lightly."

Cheng Yaojin drank tea and didn't speak, the footsteps of soldiers and horses outside the shed were chaotic and clear, but he was a little distracted.

After a long time, he sighed faintly: "Your Majesty is generous."

Li Xiaogong deeply agreed: "Throughout the ages, such a lenient and benevolent monarch is indeed rare, you and I are blessed."

He could see that His Majesty did not force himself when he said these words in the Hall of Wude, every word and every word was sincere, and he really never thought of severely punishing Cheng Yaojin, it was definitely not a soft policy under the tense situation. Bear the grudge.

With Cheng Yaojin in his hands, no one can touch him, but the emperor really didn't want to touch him...

Sometimes he couldn't figure it out, how could he be kind and open-minded when he was the prince, who was sensitive and perverse and violent?
How can a person's personality change so much?
Or, Emperor Taizong's strategy towards the prince was completely wrong, which caused his son to be in collapse and despair all the time, resulting in extreme personality and perverse behavior?
But in any case, it is a blessing for the common people to have such a monarch.

Cheng Yaojin sighed unceasingly: "The final general has no objection to His Majesty, of course, he also has no objection to King Jin. It doesn't matter which of the two brothers is the emperor, as long as he is the son of Emperor Taizong, otherwise the final general must not stand idly by even if his body is smashed to pieces... ...In the final analysis, I am still fascinated by power. The promise of King Jin's "feudal side" is too tempting. Endless glory?"

Li Xiaogong nodded, expressing his understanding: "At the beginning, Emperor Taizong also consulted the ministers about the hereditary governor and the feudal side, but all the ministers objected unanimously, so it was nothing. That's all, if Emperor Taizong sincerely wanted to do this, how could the officials not be happy and accept it? No one is a saint without desires, and even saints have their own pursuits. But no matter what, the festival cannot be lost."

This is meaningless, just to pick up a secret from the past and talk about it casually, because when Cheng Yaojin's mercenaries sat back and watched the rebels enter the city and attack Chengtianmen, King Jin didn't promise Cheng Yaojin "the feudal side"... …

But at this time, His Majesty has not pursued it, so why should he pursue it?
Cheng Yaojin also understood the meaning of Li Xiaogong's words, nodded and said: "Don't worry, the king, if he didn't want to understand the truth, how could the general withdraw from Mingde gate and rush to Xianyang bridge? Please report to your majesty, the general will go to Xianyang bridge." Everyone is loyal to Datang, and we are willing to go to Xianyang Bridge to stop the rebels who may attack Chang'an, and do our best to reverse the situation in Chang'an."

"You can figure out the key to this, I am very pleased."

Li Xiaogong took a sip of tea and asked indifferently: "The Guanlong Clan has bet everything in this mutiny. It is either life or death. They will never sit back and watch the Jin King lose. The fish will die, the net will be broken, and the jade will be destroyed. So you rush to Xianyang Bridge this time, and you are very likely to face the rebels who came to attack Chang'an. I wonder how you plan to deal with it?"

This fellow said that he was trying his best to stop the rebels who wanted to attack Chang'an through Xianyang Bridge, but if there were really rebels attacking Xianyang Bridge, whether to fight or how to fight is another matter.

How you say it doesn't mean how you do it.

Why did Cheng Yaojin dare to sway from side to side, jumping back and forth between His Majesty and King Jin?
It is because he has a loyal and tyrannical Zuo Wuwei under his command. This army has been run by him for many years. It is full of his confidantes, who are willing to go through fire and water for him and obey his orders.

No matter whether the emperor is firmly on the throne or the king of Jin succeeds in ascending the throne, no one dares to attack such a powerful minister of Zhenguan.

If all the troops under his command were wiped out and disabled, why would Cheng Yaojin dare to march slowly and deliberately intimidate the emperor?
Therefore, if there are really rebels attacking Xianyang Bridge, Cheng Yaojin is not sure how to choose...

Cheng Yaojin shook his head and laughed, and his voice was like a bell: "We are still separated, the county king has forgotten the character of the last general... This delay in the march is certainly suspected of intimidating His Majesty, but the last general did it as a last resort. In other words, the general can ignore his willingness to be punished, but he cannot ignore the old brothers who have been with him for many years. He can't bear to let them be dragged down by me. But since your majesty never blames the past, then you will still be your majesty's courtiers. Reform is the right way, how can you make mistakes again and again? Don't worry, the king of the county, as long as there is one person standing and panting in Zuo Wuwei, the rebels will never think that one person can cross the Xianyang bridge!"

Li Xiaogong glanced at him and snorted softly: "I hope so."

Cheng Yaojin raised his eyebrows: "Why did the last general speak falsely in front of the county king? Please wait and see."

Then he turned his head and yelled at Niu Jinda who was standing outside the shed wearing a coir raincoat: "Send the order, the whole army will speed up, don't stop on the road, don't eat or drink, and go to Xianyang Bridge to set up camp before dark!"

"Here!"

Niu Jinda took the order, and immediately saw more than a dozen school lieutenants called to one place, and after carefully instructing them, those school lieutenants saluted in unison, turned around and mounted their horses, and galloped to convey military orders to various places in the army.When the military order was issued, the marching team, which had been procrastinating, was immediately reorganized. The corporal commander and the brigade leader shouted and shouted again and again, and the marching speed suddenly accelerated.

After all, it is one of the most elite troops in the world today, and orders and prohibitions are not a problem...

After Niu Jinda conveyed the order, he came under the canopy to greet Li Xiaogong first, and then said to Cheng Yaojin: "Commander, the order has been conveyed, the whole army hastened to the Xianyang Bridge."

Cheng Yaojin nodded, Li Xiaogong had already waved: "Old Niu, come and have a seat."

"Here!"

Niu Jinda took a look at Cheng Yaojin, stepped forward and sat on the side of the two of them.

Li Xiaogong personally held the pot and poured a cup of tea for Niu Jinda, and said with a smile, "It's been many years since you and I have been able to sit together and chat like this. Thinking about our military career back then, I'm very moved."

At the beginning, Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin led Wagang to be attached to the king of Qin Li Shimin among the heroes, and Niu Jinda, as the younger brother, also followed him. Over the years, he fought for the throne for the king of Qin, and fought for the frontier appeasement of the Tang Dynasty. Zhenguan Xunchen.

Then before Niu Jinda could speak, Li Xiaogong said with a smile that was not a smile: "The late emperor once told me that Niu Jinda was outstanding and loyal, enough to be in charge of one of the sixteen guards, but he was held tightly by Cheng Yaojin. Let people go, what can I do."

Cheng Yaojin's eyes widened immediately, "Wow, you Li Xiaogong has thick eyebrows and big eyes, and you are upright, but you don't think you are a treacherous person, and the trick of sowing discord actually got me here?"

(End of this chapter)