Li Shimin, one emperor through the ages

Chapter 4 Yanmen rescue driver (2)
Mrs. Dou stopped talking, shook her head with a self-deprecating smile, and said to the eldest grandson who just married: "Look at the people in my generation who have bathed in the emperor's grace, they are also speaking ill of the emperor. You must not have such thoughts, let alone others. Mention this kind of thing in front of you."

"My child, please remember." Li Shimin and Changsun replied together.

At this moment, the manager opened the door and came in, and said respectfully to Mrs. Dou, "Madam, the servants have assembled, and we can go out to fight against the King of Qin."

Dou's heart was a little heavy after listening to the chief manager's report.The son got married, his father and elder brother couldn't come, and now he has to leave immediately, the emperor!Why do you always have to make so many things happen?Thinking so in her heart, Dou looked at Li Shimin affectionately with her beautiful eyes, and said, "My son, you can go at ease! No matter what, he is the emperor and your cousin. Whether in public or private , you have the responsibility to save King Jiaqin; no matter what, you must do your best."

Li Shimin nodded again and again, and said: "My son, please remember, please rest assured, even if you die on the battlefield, you will definitely rescue the emperor."

"Okay, my son is very loyal and brave, but you must remember that you have to use your brains and think of ways when you encounter problems, and don't show the courage of ordinary people. As a descendant of the Li family, you must not be greedy for life and fear death, but don't just go In war, it is said that you must fight to the death on the battlefield. These are the words of incompetent and low-intelligence people. Capable and high-intelligence people, no matter how cruel the war is, will try their best to protect themselves and let themselves survive well .Only in this way can we finally have a chance to defeat the enemy.” After finishing speaking, the mother looked at her son affectionately, and walked out of the house after a long while.

Unable to hold back anymore, Changsun took a step forward and hugged Brother Shimin tightly, hugging her husband who was already her own and had just had a wedding.

"Mother, mother is so kind, so kind!" Changsun said with a sob.

Li Shimin hugged her tightly, hugged the wife who was too late to enter the bridal chamber, then resolutely let go, and said very gently: "Mother is waiting outside." After that, he took Changsun's hand, and the two walked out together door to go.

Mrs. Dou brought Shimin and his wife to the backyard, and more than a hundred armed servants were standing in a row waiting for them.Walking in front of Shimin, Mrs. Dou looked at her son reluctantly and said, "Go ahead, talk to them if you have anything to say, and then take them away." I saw Xuanba, Pingyang and Yuanji three brothers and sisters rushing to surround Shimin in the center:

"I want to go with you!" Xuan Ba ​​stood in front of Shi Min, took the second brother's hand, and said bluntly: "We are blood brothers, so we should share good fortune and trouble together."

"That's right, everyone has a share in King Qin's meritorious deeds. I must go." Yuan Ji, who had just turned 12 years old, stood beside Xuan Ba, and said confidently.

"Second brother, just take us there! With us helping you, you will surely win the battle." Pingyang little girl shook Shimin's arm and begged.

Seeing Dou, she was a little happy and a little sad.She is happy that her sons and daughters have a deep brotherhood and know how to be loyal to the country; what is sad is that her son has just grown up and is about to leave her, bathe in blood on the battlefield, and even lose his own life.

The Dou family is the niece of Yu Wenyong, Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty who was a native of the Sinicized Xianbei. She was extremely intelligent and heroic since she was a child, so she won the favor of Emperor Wu, the hero who destroyed the Northern Qi Dynasty and was the first to rule the entire north, and was kept by Emperor Wu of Zhou to live in the palace.At that time, although Emperor Wu of Zhou entered Ye, destroyed the Northern Qi Dynasty, and possessed the Yellow River Basin and the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, because the Eastern Turks were already strong, they seriously threatened Emperor Wu's border.In order to stabilize the border, Emperor Wu had no choice but to accept Ashina, the Turkic princess whom he disliked very much, as his queen.Dou, who was less than eight years old at the time, saw him, and persuaded Emperor Wu of Zhou very seriously:
"Now that the Turkic power is strong, my uncle should treat the Turkic queen better, so that I can get the help of the Turkic, so that Jiangnan and the Kanto can be safe." Emperor Wu of Zhou was surprised when he heard this, and he not only treated Ashina well, but also Dou Shi. Look at it differently.After the death of Emperor Wu of Zhou, Yang Jian, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, forced Yu Wenyong's son Yu Wen to take the Zen position. After hearing this, Dou said angrily: "I hate that I am a daughter, and I can't save my uncle's family from the crisis!"

After marrying Li Yuan, the Dou family moved constantly with Li Yuan's changes in official positions, but no matter where she went, she put all her energy on the education of her children.Under her personal and careful training, the children are all very good. Not only are they all knowledgeable, studious and motivated, but they also understand righteousness, are open-minded and benevolent, and the relationship between brothers and sisters is also very deep.Shimin and Yuanji brothers and sisters are less than two years apart. They have been together day and night since they were young, and they are very close to each other. Now that they have to part with them, Shimin is naturally very reluctant. He is full of affection. looked at them and said:

"You are still young, you can go to war when you are my age."

"Yes, what your second brother said is right." Dou came to take Shimin's words and said, "Don't delay your second brother, even if he promised to take you, your father would not agree, and neither would I!"

"Why?" Li Xuanba looked at his mother in surprise: "Didn't you always want me to practice martial arts well and serve the country?"

"That will have to wait until you have passed the year of Zhixue. My son, be obedient, when you grow up, there will be plenty of opportunities to serve the country."

Xuan Ba ​​lowered his head when he heard this.Dou's eyes shifted to his beloved daughter Pingyang, Pingyang saw him, and slowly let go of Shimin's second brother's hand.

Li Shimin looked affectionately at his mother, then at his younger siblings, and finally fixed his gaze on Changsun's face.After coming out of the house, Mrs. Changsun has been standing beside her mother watching and listening to Shimin's brother and sister's conversation. At this moment, seeing Shimin's reluctant gaze, she finally couldn't help it, and a crystal clear teardrop came out of her eyes.

"Brother Shimin, brother Shimin..." She seemed to be calling Shimin, and she seemed to be muttering to herself.

At this moment, only a cry of "wow" was heard, and the little girl Pingyang who had just let go of her hand hugged Shimin tightly:
"Second Brother, Second Brother..." Little Pingyang called out loudly.Xuan Ba ​​and Yuan Ji couldn't bear it anymore, they both stretched out their arms, shouting and hugging their second brother.For a moment, the four brothers and sisters hugged each other, Dou held back tears, stared at her children affectionately, and said softly after a while:

"Let go of your hands, don't worry about your second brother anymore."

The three brothers and sisters let go of their hands, Shimin stepped forward, nodded to Changsun Wuji who had been standing beside Changsun, and turned his head to walk towards the neatly lined servants.As soon as he took a step, he heard Changsun Wuji calling:

"Brother Shimin."

After hearing this, Shimin hurriedly stopped and turned to look at Changsun Wuji.Shimin was in the same year as his eldest grandson, Shimin was born on December 599, 12, and Wuji was born on December 22, 599, 12 days younger than Shimin, so he was called elder brother.Shimin listened and turned around.

"I want to go with you!" Wuji said firmly.

Shimin looked at Dou inquiringly.

"I want to go with him." Wuji took a step forward, knelt in front of Mrs. Dou and said, "May I ask you to help me."

"However, your uncle is not here, and you are going again... You should stay, and there will be opportunities to serve the country in the future." Dou said after thinking.

"My uncle confessed that after my sister got married, I would follow Shimin and start a career. Besides, I have passed the year of ambition."

"In that case, you can go." Dou sighed softly and agreed.Under the envious gazes of Xuan Ba, Yuan Ji, and Ping Yang, Wu Ji walked happily to Shi Min's side.

It was the day of "the sound of autumn trees and the cold scenery of mountains and mountains". On the official road leading from south to north to Yanmen, there were troops rushing to King Qin.Li Shimin led the servants and was also among them.These troops range from thousands of people to dozens of people.There are servants of high-ranking officials and yamen messengers. From a distance, it seems a bit lively, but when you get closer, you realize that most of them are listless.Li Shimin led his servants and overtook several teams one after another. When he brushed shoulders with another team and rushed forward, the leader of that team, a stout young man called him: "Brother, are you also going to Qin Wang?"

Li Shimin looked at him and nodded with a smile.Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty guarded Yanmen, and Xiao Yu, the minister of internal history, drafted the edict and sent it to various places in various ways.One of them is to tie the edict for help on a wooden board and put it into the Fen River in the Nanliu River, so that the counties and counties along the water will see recruits to come to rescue.Li Yuan, Li Jiancheng and his son saw the edict for help on the board on the way from Taiyuan to Yuncheng, so they reined in and returned, unable to attend Shimin's wedding.All the troops on the official road are rushing to King Qin.

"Brother, why are you rushing forward in such a hurry?" the young man asked again.

Li Shimin heard that there was something in his words, so he couldn't help pulling his horse, walked side by side with him, and asked:
"You don't want to go?"

"Don't say that, if I don't want to go, how can I walk on this official road. But, don't trust the emperor's words too much."

"What?"

"Officers who work hard for the king will be promoted three times in a row, and soldiers who work hard for the king will be rewarded with ten taels of silver. I bet that the emperor's promise will not be fulfilled."

"I'm not here for promotion, let alone for reward." Li Shimin smiled, and then said seriously: "But what the emperor said, I think it will be honored."

"Brother, you are too naive. When you finish this battle with Yun Dingxing, if you don't die, you will know what happened."

Li Shimin looked at him, then at Changsun Wuji beside him, and asked softly, "What do you think?"

Changsun Wuji shook his head seriously and said, "I don't know."

After hearing this, Shimin waved his horsewhip and ran forward.Not to be outdone, Changsun Wuji followed closely behind.After running for a while, Shimin saw that the servants were far behind, so he slowed down and said to Wuji, "Who is Yun Dingxing? Did you hear about it in the capital?"

"Yun Dingxing was a man deeply trusted by Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty. I heard that he was the General of the Zuo Yuwei in the Sui Dynasty's Zuo Yuwei Mansion. He was promoted to the General of the Right Tunwei because of his meritorious service in conquering Yang Xuangan." Wuji said.

After hearing this, Shimin turned his head to look at the servant who was following up out of breath, and said, "Cross the mountain in front of you and you will reach Yanmen Pass. Let's all work harder and hurry to save the emperor!"

After hearing this, the servants ran away one by one.After a while, Shimin brought his servants to the military training ground in the southeast of Yanmen Pass.I saw teams that had come here from dozens of places, some had been here for a long time and were already practicing, and some had just arrived and were resting aside.Li Shimin asked Wuji to lead his servants to wait by the school grounds, while he went to lead the army's general Yun Dingxing.Just two steps away, Li Shimin happened to see a man who looked like a military officer approaching. Li Shimin hurriedly stepped up to him, bowed his hands and said:

"Excuse me, General, where is General Yun?"

Hearing this, the soldier-looking man stopped to look at Li Shimin, only to see that his baby face showed adult sophistication, and his clear eyes revealed the light of wisdom and majesty.

"Who are you, and what do you want to do with General Yun?"

"My name is Li Shimin. I am the son of Li Yuan, the consolation envoy of Hedong. Now I have brought my family to King Qin, so I am looking for General Yun."

"Oh, you are Mr. Tang's son. I am Yun Dingxing."

"Shimin pay homage to General Yun."

"You're really a general, and you're still so young..." Yun Dingxing nodded at Li Shimin after saying this, "Go, let's talk in the big tent."

Li Shimin followed Yun Dingxing into the big tent, and after sitting down, Yun Dingxing asked him: "How many people did you bring this time?"

"There are only more than 100 households."

"Did your father send you here?"

Li Shimin nodded, and told about his marriage, and his eldest brother's report, and his father's request to Qin Wang.After hearing this, Yun Dingxing said: "Mr. Tang is really loyal. At such a critical time, he can ignore his own family and serve the king with all his heart. It is really admirable. Before coming to Yanmen Pass, this general was also entrusted with the emperor's order. Hebei went to suppress the bandit Li Shanfei. When he passed the Hutuo River, he received several seals of bamboo. Knowing that the Yanmen Army was in dire straits, he immediately led his troops to King Qin. Thanks to His Majesty’s appreciation, he named me the leader of King Qin’s army, and ordered All the reinforcements that come to King Qin will be under my unified command. Since the young master is here, please join the army in front of my tent."

Li Shimin nodded happily.

(End of this chapter)