The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 426 Li Yuanmou Luoyang

Xiangyang is the capital of Li Tang, and also the most prosperous city under Li Tang's rule. However, with the influx of business travelers from all over the world, Xiangyang looks quite small, especially the imperial palace is too small, which looks very shabby, which does not fit the style of an imperial city at all, let alone It is said that when it rains in the heavily supported capital, the whole city will be filled with mud, and more importantly, the small and small Xiangyang cannot realize its commercial potential.

There are many Guanlong, Guandong, and Southern families based here, and their income has been affected by the scarcity of shops and demand that exceeds supply. Therefore, shortly after Li Tang established his foothold here, calls for expanding the city continued to be raised by the government and the opposition.

The expansion and renovation of the capital is the general trend. Li Yuan finally approved the plan to expand the city and the palace. Xiangyang expanded ten miles to the east and west, and the imperial palace also expanded ten miles to the north. The imperial city covers an area of ​​ten miles and the palace city occupies three miles.

After more than a year of urgent construction, the new Xiangyang City has sprung up. The city is tall and spacious, with a large population. It is a big city comparable to Daxing, Luoyang, Yecheng, Taiyuan, Zhuojun, and Jiangdu.

The imperial palace named Taiji Palace is grand, majestic and majestic, not inferior to Daxing Palace, Ziwei Palace, or Shenwu Palace.

In Xiangyang Taiji Palace Wude Hall, an extremely important meeting has just ended. At this meeting, Li Yuan officially made the decision to seize Luoyang, which is the general trend.

If Li Tang wants to conquer the world, he cannot avoid the Central Plains, and if he wants to seize the Central Plains, he cannot avoid Luoyang.Yang Tong's next step must be to go south to the Central Plains. Instead of competing with the powerful Sui Dynasty for the Central Plains, it is better to take the initiative to send troops to take Luoyang before the Sui Dynasty sends troops.

Then use the Yellow River to reject the Hebei Sui Army, use Hangu Pass and Waiwu Pass (a pass built by Li Tang outside Wuguan) to reject the Sui Army in Guanzhong, use Shiquan City and Ankang City in Xicheng County to reject the Sui Army in Hanzhong, and use the terrain of Bashu to reject the Sui Army. The Liang Sui army then used Hulao Pass and the canal to resist Li Mi's soldiers.

This is also the reason that Li Tang's rulers and ministers reached a consensus at this military meeting. Since ancient times, those who win the Central Plains will win the world. Li Tang cannot passively wait for the Sui army to strike first.

The point is that Li Tang can't afford it.

Because today's Great Sui Dynasty has a strong army, clean officials, and people's living standards are booming. It also has business contacts with the Western Regions, Eastern and Western Turks, and Liaodong, making the entire Great Sui Dynasty full of vitality and unlimited potential. If the war to seize the Central Plains is dragged on , the situation is unfavorable to only Bashu and half of Jingzhou Li Tangyue.

Li Yuan returned to the imperial study from the main hall, and he was accompanied by Prince Li Jiancheng and Feng Lun who had just been promoted to Minister of Internal History.

Feng Lun, courtesy name Deyi, is very knowledgeable. He was Yang Su's staff at the beginning and advised him. Yang Su admired and trusted him very much. He not only recommended him to be an official in the court, but also married his cousin to Feng Deyi. As an in-law, in the period of Emperor Wu, he was put into the system of Yu Shiji, the minister of internal history, and let him flatter and flatter the emperor, seize memorials that violated the holy will, suppress talents, and blur all kinds of anti-king forces.Since then, Yu Shiji's favor has been deepened day by day, and the state government of the Sui Dynasty has become increasingly corrupt, making the government increasingly corrupt.After the change in Jiangdu, Feng Lun followed Yu Wenhuaji and served as the internal historian.After Yu Wenhuaji's defeat, he returned to his former friend Li Mi, and gradually gained Li Mi's trust.

Half a year ago, he came from Pengcheng to seek refuge with Li Yuan. In his own words, he did not want to humiliate himself as a thief and was willing to serve the orthodox dynasty.

Li Yuan had a very good relationship with Feng Lun in the past, and Feng Lun had rich experience in writing imperial edicts, so his arrival was highly valued by Li Yuan.

Li Yuan wanted to ask him something today, so he called Feng Lun to the imperial study.

Walking into the imperial study room, Li Jiancheng bowed and said with a solemn expression: "Father, in this battle to attack Luoyang, the Sui army is very likely to go south at Wang Shichong's request, or to travel from Guanzhong, Yongliang and other places. The strategy of besieging Wei and saving Zhao may even turn into a war of annihilating the country between the Sui and Tang Dynasties. My son suggested that my father send capable generals to guard the dangerous fortresses so that the Sui army would not take the opportunity to invade Bashu from Yongliang. Ning, and then affect the battle ahead. Therefore, this battle must not only attack, but also make full preparations in logistics for an all-out battle with the Sui Dynasty and a long-term defense. One or two strategic alliances, among them, Li Mi is the first choice."

Li Yuan nodded and agreed: "I also understand that in order to capture Luoyang, it is imperative to form an alliance with Li Mi, but I am worried that it is our wishful thinking, and Li Mi may not go according to our wishes. After all, we have been fighting for Jingzhou and Li Mi for the past two years. He fought hard."

Li Jiancheng smiled and said: "Father is too worried. This is not a question of whether Li Mi wants to form an alliance. It's that he must form an alliance with us."

"What's the reason?" After Li Yuan sat down, he motioned for Li Jiancheng and Feng Lun to take their seats.

Li Jiancheng thanked him for being seated, and then said: "There are two reasons: First, Li Mi offended Yang Yu and suffered bloody revenge. Li Mi's grassroots officials were bloody massacred, and the entire grassroots official system was completely paralyzed. Not only did it affect Li Mi's two-year grain harvest, but it also made it impossible for Li Mi to expand the war last year. As a result, my Tang Dynasty seized the seven counties of Jingxiang without any worries. There were many places that Li Mi could have obtained in these seven counties. But because of Yang Tong, he missed a good opportunity to expand his territory, and he would not believe anyone who said he didn’t hate Yang Tong.”

"Continue." Li Yuan chuckled. Although there was no way to prove that Yang Tong was responsible for the horrific assassination, there was no need for evidence to prove it at this point. If the assassination caused heavy losses to Li Mi, then Li Tang is the biggest beneficiary.

"Here!" Li Jiancheng continued: "Second, if Yang Tong takes Luoyang, then Li Mi will be in the predicament of the Sui army attacking from the northwest, and he will be the one who will be unlucky next. I have to think about my own survival, I thought he would form an alliance with us to jointly deal with the Sui army, I am very confident about this."

"Your Majesty!" Feng Lun on the side was not stingy in his praise: "His Royal Highness, Li Mi said more than once that Yang Tong was his number one enemy. The reason why he tolerated Dou Jiande's survival in Qingzhou was actually to make Dou Jiande become the king of the Sui Dynasty. The buffer force between Wei defends the Sui army on his behalf. He does not enter Qingzhou so as not to irritate Yang Tong. If my Tang Dynasty took the initiative to form an alliance with him to deal with the Sui army, he would definitely wish for it. The two reasons of His Royal Highness, Li Mi's The situation is analyzed.”

Li Yuan brought Feng Lun here because he wanted to get to know Li Mi through him.How he could persuade Li Mi to form an alliance with Datang, Li Yuan pondered for a while and asked him again. "Feng Shilang, according to your understanding of Li Mi, what do you think Li Mi's attitude will be if my Tang Dynasty attacks Luoyang?"

Feng Lun thought about it carefully, then cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, this question is really difficult to answer. As far as I know, Li Mi has always been worried about Wang Shichong's occupation of Luokou City. For the sake of the generals captured by Wang Shichong and the family members of the entire army, he had to reach a settlement with Wang Shichong, so he gave up Xingyang, and he set his capital in Pengcheng, which showed that he did not want to fight Luoyang again. But If there is a heaven-sent opportunity to easily capture Hulao Pass, then he will definitely make a comeback. In fact, Li Mi is mainly influenced by the three major factions when it comes to whether to capture Luoyang, and he himself is quite contradictory."

Li Yuan asked with interest: "Which three factions does Li Mi have?"

Feng Lun stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Headed by Shan Xiongxin, Xu Shiji, and Fang Xuanzao, it is the Wagang Fathers faction. This faction believes that Luoyang has cost them too much energy, soldiers, money, time, and the opportunity to unify the south. It is unanimously advocated to develop southward.”

"Haha!" Li Yuan laughed heartily and said, "When Yang Xuangan rebelled against the Sui Dynasty, Li Mi, as a military adviser, offered three strategies. The best strategy was to send troops to Hebei, occupy Linyu Pass, and cut off the retreat of Emperor Wu of the Sui Dynasty; the middle strategy was to go west. Chang'an, occupying Guanzhong, and then closing the four fortresses, Xu map the world; the worst strategy is to besiege the eastern capital Luoyang. Yang Xuangan adopted Li Mi's worst strategy, but failed in two months. However, during the rapid rise of Wagang, Li Mi himself Honestly implemented the bad strategy, the result is that Li Mi has hundreds of thousands of troops, but he has repeatedly attacked Luoyang, suffered heavy losses, and missed great opportunities."

"Exactly!" Feng Lun smiled.

Li Yuan smiled and asked, "Where is the second faction?"

Feng Lun said with a smile: "The second faction is headed by Wang Bodang and Bing Yuanzhen. Since Luokou City was lost by Wang Bodang, he strongly advocates attacking Hulao Pass and regaining Luokou City. This faction opposes going south. .”

"It's unwise to do something knowing it can't be done." Li Yuan signaled Feng Lun to continue.

Feng Lun said knowingly: "The third faction is the Kanto gentry. These people have multiple interests in Luoyang, so they support Wang Bodang's faction."

Feng Lun's flattery from the bottom of his heart made Li Jiancheng feel very good about Feng Lun. He felt that the other party wanted to make friends with him, and Feng Lun's Zhongshu servant was extremely important, and he was a close minister of the emperor. Li Jiancheng felt that he was very important to him and had a heart for him. Make good friends, and said with a smile on the side: "So, it should be the Yuanxun faction that has the upper hand."

Feng Lun said: "That's true. After Zhai Rang died in battle, Li Mi tried to get rid of the reckless brand name 'Wagang'. This is a huge change. Civil strife and division. On this issue, with the full support of Shan Xiongxin and other Yuanxun faction, Li Mi successfully overcame the difficulty of changing the country name. Therefore, on the issue of whether to continue to attack Luoyang, Li Mi accepted the suggestion of Yuanxun faction, of course , perhaps because he himself realized that attacking Luoyang was indeed a bad idea, so he gave up Xingyang and redeemed the families of the soldiers with a lot of money, which made the whole army grateful. In the end, not only did he successfully change Wagang to Wei, but he also settled Dupont."

Li Yuan understood Feng Lun's analysis, thought for a while, and asked: "After listening to Feng Aiqing's analysis, I have come to the following conclusion: If my Tang Dynasty wants to form an alliance with Li Mi, I should go to Shan Xiongxin and Li Mi first." Fang Xuanzao communicates, and then talks with Li Mi, so nothing will go wrong. Isn’t that right?”

However, Feng Lun shook his head: "My lord, the Yuanxun faction of Wei Guoyuan is very determined to oppose the attack on Luoyang. It doesn't matter whether we talk to them or not. The key is Bing Yuanzhen. He is the think tank of Wang Bodang's faction, and he has a considerable status. Gao. As long as we can convince him, it is not a problem to attack the Luoyang faction. Moreover, this person is quite greedy. As long as he is bribed, let alone let Li Mi deal with Yang Tong. "

"If I can make Ai Qing, Li Mi will have no more secrets." Li Yuan praised with great joy.Then he told Li Jiancheng: "I will send an envoy to discuss with Li Mi. The emperor can let someone buy Bing Yuanzhen first. As long as he can buy this person, it will be worth spending a lot of money. The emperor must not be stingy."

"Your servant obeys!" Li Jiancheng got up and saluted,

"My lord, I have an idea, and I don't know if it will work or not." Feng Lun said suddenly.

Li Yuan happily said: "Ai Qing, please tell me."

Feng Lun bowed and said, "Your Majesty! Our Tang Dynasty not only assembled a large army in Xiyang County, but also deployed troops in the border counties bordering the Sui Dynasty. The Sui Dynasty must respond at the border."

"so what?"

"This move can make everyone think that my Tang Dynasty is going to have a decisive battle with the Sui Dynasty. I am afraid that Wang Shichong also has such thoughts. Therefore, I suggest that the emperor send someone to contact Wang Shichong and tell him clearly: just say that my Tang Dynasty is gathering an army. In the counterattack, he has nothing to do with Wang Shichong. If Wang Shichong is paralyzed because of this, our army may be able to catch him by surprise and attack him unprepared. Even if the lobbying fails, there is no loss."

"A clever plan, a wonderful plan. Feng Aiqing's plan is really worth a try." Li Yuan's eyes lit up, he walked around the room a few times excitedly, and told Li Jiancheng: "Leave this matter to the emperor."

"My son obeys, but my son needs a treasure from my father."

"Go ahead."

"I heard that Xiao Xiangguo treasured the authentic copy of Wang Youjun's "On Le Yi", and I hope that my father can ask for it." Li Jiancheng said with a smile.

"You mean the arty Wang Shiyun?" Li Yuan asked with a smile

"It's this person!" Li Jiancheng nodded affirmatively.

Li Yuan laughed: "Then I will give it a try, I believe that Prime Minister Xiao will take care of the overall situation."

"My son thinks so too."

(End of this chapter)