A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 598 Oath of Allegiance to the King of Qin
Li Yi sat there quietly, holding a cup of tea in his hands.

His mind was far from calm. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Li Shimin's face, who was also holding a cup of tea, sitting as still as a statue.

But Li Yi knew very well that beneath his calm, still face, his heart was churning with turmoil.

Anyone who received the emperor's edict would find it difficult to remain calm, and Li Yi was furious. He had previously been extremely disappointed in Crown Prince Li Jiancheng, and now he was increasingly disappointed in Li Yuan as well.

What kind of things are these people doing?

While the soldiers at the front were advancing triumphantly, the emperor, instead of issuing an edict of commendation and reward, urgently dispatched messengers to deliver a decree ordering a truce.
The imperial court wants to negotiate peace!
The lamplight illuminated Li Shimin's face, making him appear even more solemn. Having been appointed to a critical mission and led the army into battle, he had, in just half a month, restored order to the situation that had been deteriorating under the Crown Prince.
Li Yi annihilated 12,000 enemy soldiers, but lost only 72. He also annihilated 8,000 enemy soldiers.

But can't the emperor see that?

Should we now cease hostilities and negotiate peace?

"The birds are talking!"

A furious roar exploded, making Li Yi's eardrums buzz.

It wasn't Qin King Li Shimin who erupted. He gripped the cup tightly with both hands, his knuckles white and the veins on the back of his hands bulging, but he was still trying his best to control his emotions. The cup hadn't been crushed yet, and he still retained some rationality.

The birds that made noise and,

It was the young Prince of Huaiyang, Li Daoxuan, who roared out in anger. The nineteen-year-old Li Daoxuan found it difficult to accept the peace negotiations.

"There must be treacherous officials trying to mislead the sage and deceive his ears!"

Li Daoxuan's eyes were red.

"The situation is so favorable, why bother with negotiations? If we don't negotiate, we won't agree."

In the main hall of Lingshi County Government Office,
Qin Shubao, Yuchi Gong, Cheng Yaojin, Niu Guoda, Luo Shixin, Shuang Shilu, Yun Shiduan, Duan Zhixuan, Zhang Shigui, Qu Tutong, Zhai Changsun, Qiu Xinggong, Zhang Gongjin and other military generals all stared wide-eyed and clenched their fists.

Meanwhile, civil officials such as Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Changsun Wuji, Wei Zheng, Yu Wenshi, and others also wore dark expressions.

Changsun Wuji said, "The situation is excellent, and we should press our advantage. Even if we want to negotiate peace, it's not now. There's no reason to stop now."

Even the usually composed Qu Tutong couldn't help but say, "Back when Emperor Yang of Sui was conquering Goguryeo, hundreds of thousands of troops besieged Liaodong City. Every time the city was about to fall, the Goguryeo people would surrender to the Sui army."

Emperor Yang ordered a halt to the attack, but the city used this time to repair its defenses and regroup before continuing to resist. This repeated itself, and the Sui army was unable to capture Liaodong City. When the rainy season arrived, supplies from the rear became scarce, and the Sui army had no choice but to withdraw.

"Using war to force peace is not the right time."

All the civil and military officials present were dissatisfied with the court's decision to halt the offensive and its eagerness to initiate peace talks.

You said one thing and I said another,
Everyone expressed their dissatisfaction.

Finally, everyone surrounded the two peace representatives of the court, Prince Xiangwu Li Chen and Minister of State Ceremonies Zheng Yuanzhu, demanding an explanation.

The two men were sprayed with spittle all over their faces, but dared not utter a word of anger.

"Your Majesty, please obey the imperial edict, for the sake of the greater good of the court," Li Chen advised.

Li Daoxuan glared at his cousin, "Your own sister is going to be sent to the grasslands to be Jieli's concubine, and you're still so eager to negotiate peace. You're really generous!"

"What a good older brother."

"Li Chen, I, Li Daoxuan, look down on you."

Li Chen's face flushed red as his younger cousin berated him. The emperor wanted to marry Ah Wu to a foreign land, and how could he possibly agree to that? But the decree had already been issued, and what could he do?

He didn't want to negotiate peace with Jieli, but it was an imperial decree.

The crowd was bustling about.

Li Shimin remained silent throughout, holding his teacup as if lost in thought.

The argument among the crowd seemed to have nothing to do with him.

But how could this be unrelated?

He was determined to come out of Beijing this time, both for official and personal reasons.

It is our duty to resist the Turks and protect our homeland.

Defeating the Turks and being made crown prince was something he couldn't refuse.

Now, a ceasefire and peace decree has been issued.

That finally made him realize the truth.

The emperor is still the same emperor, and the father is still the same father.

He would never make himself the crown prince.

That promise only came from the emperor's mouth and entered his ears; no third party knew about it. Since the emperor didn't acknowledge it, who could prove that it had ever happened?

Now, the emperor has issued an edict to cease hostilities and negotiate peace.
If the Turks really withdrew, it wasn't because Li Shimin defeated and repelled them, but because the court negotiated peace and withdrew its troops. What does that have to do with Li Shimin?
"enough!"

Li Shimin smiled wryly.

The hall fell silent, and Li Shimin rose and left.

That same day, Li Chen and Zheng Yuanzhu left Lingshi City and headed to Taiyuan to negotiate peace.

at night,

Li Daoxuan brought a jar of wine to Li Yi's room.

"Brother Wang, have a couple of drinks with me, I'm feeling really pent up."

Li Yi put down the letter from home.

"You've brought wine but no snacks? Are you just going to drink it all on its own?"

He stood up. "I'll go get some snacks to go with the drinks."

After leaving, he came back a while later and put dried horse meat, braised donkey meat, smoked chicken, stir-fried broad beans, fried peanuts, and other side dishes on the table.

"Brother Wang, where did you get so much delicious food in the middle of the night?"

"Just eat," he chuckled. These things were actually from his spatial storage, which was essentially a giant room where things wouldn't change. Hot items would stay hot no matter how long they were stored away.
If you put ice in, it won't melt no matter how long it's been there.

Li Yi usually stores a lot of food, both raw and cooked, hot and cold, because it's not very convenient when he's often away on campaigns.

Li Daoxuan opened the sealed clay.

Li Yi brought over two wine glasses.
"Brother Wang, let's change the bowl. I don't want to just have a small drink; I want to drink to my heart's content." Li Daoxuan was seething with anger and had nowhere to vent it, so he just wanted to drink to his heart's content.

"Row."

Li Yi placed two earthenware bowls on the table, and Li Daoxuan picked up the wine jar and poured two large bowls full. After setting down the jar, he picked up the bowl in front of him, tilted his head back, and gulped down the wine in one go, finishing the entire bowl in one go.

He put down the bowl, filled it again, and picked it up to drink.

Li Yi quickly pressed his hand down.

"Can't you see all these snacks on the table? What's the rush? Drink slowly."

"Brother Wang, I'm so angry, I feel so suffocated."

Tears actually streamed down Li Daoxuan's bloodshot eyes.

"If we lose the war, we have to negotiate peace, pay tribute, and cede territory. We'll endure it all, bear the humiliation, and find an opportunity to fight back."

But now that we've won, and won so decisively, we're about to split our forces into two groups to annihilate the tens of thousands of troops that Jieli has been raiding on both flanks, and then deliver another fatal blow to Jieli.

What does it mean that the imperial court called a halt at this time?
I don't understand why they're in such a hurry to negotiate peace!

"I feel aggrieved, I feel sad, we couldn't win, we military generals were incompetent, but now that we've won, why is this still happening?"

"I refuse to accept this,"

Li Daoxuan picked up his wine bowl and drank it all in one gulp, then slammed the bowl down on the table. "Brother Wang," he said, "we cannot allow treacherous officials like Pei Ji to run rampant in the court."
"A general in the field may disobey orders, but we will proceed with the original plan and set out tomorrow."

"Let Li Chen and the others go talk their business, we'll fight our own battle, to hell with the peace talks!"

"What's the point of negotiating peace multiple times if we don't cripple Jieli?"

"Brother Wang, you are the deputy commander, you should persuade the King of Qin."

The King of Qin's attitude is crucial.
But now the King of Qin remains silent, and no one knows what he is thinking.

Li Daoxuan had a bowl in the left and a bowl in the right.
I drank one bowl, then had another.
The table was full of snacks to go with drinks, but no one ate a single bite.

Soon, Li Daoxuan passed out drunk, muttering "I'm drunk" over and over again.

Li Yi sighed and helped him to the bed.

Looking at the untouched dishes on the table, he simply packed them back into the food box, picked up the food box in one hand and half a jar of wine in the other, and went to find Li Shimin.

Li Shimin was still awake; he couldn't sleep.

"Your Highness, would you like a couple of drinks?"

"it is good."

Li Shimin, who doesn't usually drink much, was unusually willing to have a couple of drinks today, and even had the urge to get drunk.

How to relieve worries?Only Dukang.

The snacks are set out, and the wine is poured.

Li Shimin drank slowly and deliberately, and he was very satisfied with the snacks that Li Yi brought, especially the fried peanuts.

"These peanuts were also seeds that your master obtained from the Eastern Sea Barbarians, right?"

"Yes, peanuts are a good thing. They can be used to make oil, or cooked in dishes. You can stir-fry them in their shells or braise them."
Alternatively, you can stew the ribs after removing the shells, or you can pan-fry them.
It's especially good with alcohol.

"Your master has done a great service. Potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, and peanuts are all good things that can fill the stomachs of countless people." Li Shimin exclaimed as he ate the fragrant and crunchy peanuts.

Eat slowly, talk slowly.

After a few cups of wine, Li Shimin became more talkative.

"The generals are very dissatisfied with the court's decision to cease hostilities and negotiate peace at this time. Just now, Liu Lang even bluntly stated that he would disregard the court's edict, saying that a general in the field may not obey the emperor's orders. Let them negotiate their peace, and we will fight our own battle."

Li Shimin was well aware of the soldiers' feelings.

He himself didn't want to pay attention to it either.

But his experience of being sidelined and idle in Beijing over the past two years has made him more composed.

The emperor's edict was not so easily disobeyed.
The consequences will be severe.

Especially given how wary the emperor was of him.

"What are your thoughts?" Li Shimin asked him.

"My thoughts are similar to Liu Lang's. Even if we can't wipe out the Turks in one battle right now, it's too early to negotiate peace."

We need to eliminate several more of Jieli's forces to gain more leverage at the negotiating table.

Li Shimin took a large sip of wine and found it very bitter.

“But His Majesty has ordered us to cease hostilities and cease fighting, and we are forbidden from attacking. If we openly disobey his decree, the consequences will be severe,” he said, looking at Li Yi. “I will not hide it from you; I am in a difficult situation right now.”

Before leaving the capital this time, the Emperor appointed me as commander-in-chief, but I declined, claiming illness. That day, you accompanied the Emperor to my residence, where he spoke with me privately.

He had promised that if I defeated the Turks this time, the day of my triumphant return would be the day I was made crown prince.

A shocking secret.

But Li Yi wasn't shocked at all after hearing it.

"Aren't you surprised?" Li Shimin was somewhat surprised.

Li Yi refilled their cups. "In fact, Prince Qin is qualified to be made crown prince. The Tang Dynasty needs a crown prince like Prince Qin more than the current one."

If the King of Qin were the crown prince, how could he tolerate the Turks being so arrogant?

I believe that if the King of Qin were to become the crown prince, it would be a blessing for the country and its people.

"I fully support the King of Qin as the Crown Prince, and I believe the soldiers in the camp are also willing to support the King of Qin as the Crown Prince."

Taking advantage of his drunken state, Li Shimin revealed a huge secret, which was not without the intention of testing him. Although Li Yi had deliberately chosen to be closer to him and distance himself from the Eastern Palace several years ago,
But after all, it was a matter of vying for the throne, which involved the confiscation of property and the extermination of

Li Yi's power and status, his talent and ability, and even his prestige in the army were all things that Li Shimin needed to win over.

He needs Li Yi's support.

Taking advantage of his drunken state, he revealed the secret of the emperor's promise to establish an heir, which was also a complete revelation to Li Yi.

Li Yi's immediate support was indeed somewhat unexpected, as most people would have to think carefully about such a big matter.

"I toast to you," Li Shimin raised his cup.

(End of this chapter)