Li Shimin, one emperor through the ages

Chapter 6
About ten miles south of Yanmen County, there is a beautiful canyon.The mountains around here are ups and downs, the cliffs are towering, and there is a small village in the overlapping peaks and forests, with about a hundred families.Li Shimin rescued Hou Junji, and sent him to this small village overnight to recuperate in order to avoid people's eyes and ears.After setting up Hou Junji, it was already dawn. After looking at the sleeping Hou Junji, Li Shimin raised his head and said to his eldest grandson Wuji who came with him:

"You can go to sleep?"

"you……"

"I want to go out for a walk."

"Let's go together."

The two of them walked out of the door and walked along a small stone path to a stone arch bridge.The fiery red sun has just exposed half of its body from the top of the peak. Looking up, under the reflection of the morning light, the quiet cliffs, stone walls, and surrounding mountains are full of red, vivid and compelling.

"It's really a kind of crazy beauty!" Li Shimin said excitedly.

"Beautiful! So beautiful." Changsun Wuji couldn't help muttering to himself, forgetting the exhaustion of following Li Shimin all night.At this moment, he suddenly saw some women digging at the foot of the mountain in front of him.When I walked in, I saw that they were digging the white soil between the rocks one by one.

"Auntie, what did you dig it for?" Li Shimin asked a thin woman curiously.

"What are you doing?" The thin woman turned her head, looked at Li Shimin with dull eyes, then at Changsun Wuji, and asked:
"Are you foreigners?"

"Yes, we came up from the Yellow River."

"Are there many people starving to death in your place?"

Li Shimin was taken aback: "Starved to death?"

"Yes, are there many people who starved to death?" the thin woman asked persistently.

"No...no one died of starvation."

"Really? People on the banks of the Yellow River are really blessed. Sister." The thin woman called to a thinner woman beside her: "If we still have the strength to walk, we will go to the banks of the Yellow River."

"I can't go! I'm afraid I won't have the strength to walk in this life..." the thinner woman said weakly.

"Auntie, you haven't told me, what are you digging the soil for?"

"Eat." The thin woman said vigorously.

"What is this? Can it be eaten?"

"It's called Avalokiteshvara soil. If you eat it, you can live longer."

"How could this be?" Li Shimin asked anxiously.

"How could this happen?" The thin woman said to herself: "When the men went to build the canal, few came back, and those who came back were arrested and beat Goryeo. The village was full of women, old people and children... A long time ago, everyone Working at sunrise and resting at sunset, hunting and farming, I used to be happy, but now..." The thin woman sighed for a long time, did not speak again, and went to busy with her own affairs.

Seeing Shimin and Wuji, he was no longer in the mood to appreciate the crazy beauty of the mountains, and walked back depressed.

"My mother said that if the emperor is doing well, you can tell by seeing how the people are doing and listening to what the people say. Now that the people are like this, it's no wonder the world is in chaos." Li Shimin said.

"It's not that there's some chaos, it's that there's a lot of chaos." Changsun Wuji said worriedly.

"That's right, now King Qin's officers and soldiers are saying that the emperor broke his word, and the people are complaining about the emperor's military service..."

"No, the emperor is getting more and more frustrated."

"This reminds me of the words of a rebel leader at the end of Qin Dynasty, emperors, generals, and ministers, would you rather be kind?"

"You mean Wu Guang? It's a pity he can't be the emperor."

"Yes, the emperor finally let Liu Bang do it."

"Liu Bang is not a good emperor either. He killed so many heroes and lost all his humanity."

"Emperor, you need capable people... no, you need wise people to do it."

"A sage cannot be an emperor." Wuji said: "A person who is an emperor must first have ability."

"Yes, you need to be able, and you need to be virtuous."

"Be able to do it first." Wuji insisted.

"Yes, I'm not capable. The emperor can't do it. Even if he does, he has to be pulled down."

"that is……"

Two 16-year-old youths walked and talked all the way on the small road in the mountains. The more they talked, the more speculative they were, and the more they felt that their hearts were very close and close.At this moment, they suddenly saw Hou Junji staggering towards him. "Master!" He called Li Shimin.

"What's the matter with you, you ran out before your injury healed." Li Shimin stepped forward to touch him.

"I thought, thought you left me and left?"

"How is this possible? We will leave you and say goodbye to you."

Hou Junji heard this, knelt down with a bang, took Li Shimin's hand and said, "Young Master's great kindness, Jun Ji will never forget it. From now on, Jun Ji is willing to follow you, and only you will follow."

"Junji, please, Shimin will follow you." Shimin helped Junji up and said.

1
The siege of Yanmen has been lifted, and the emperor went to work in Chang'an. Along the way, Fendai, the kings, ministers, and escort soldiers are brave and mighty, stretching for more than ten miles, so majestic and majestic!Li Shimin and Changsun Wuji, together with Hou Junji and his servants, walked slowly along with the long river-like team.Because Li Shimin wanted to see his father and elder brother earlier, he often walked a few steps, and had to stop and wait when he reached the front.From Yanmen to Taiyuan, it only took one day to travel, but it took two full days.

Li Yuan asked someone to bring a letter to Li Shimin, saying that he was waiting for him in Taiyuan, but after Li Shimin arrived in Taiyuan, he could not see his father.Even his eldest brother Li Jiancheng could only nod to his second brother from a distance, and left in a hurry.The father is going to discuss matters with the emperor, and the eldest brother is busy arranging the accompanying personnel.Li Shimin felt very tired when he realized that he would definitely not be able to see his relatives for a while.Look at Wuji and Hou Junji, they were already in a dream, Li Shimin just fell down with his clothes on, and fell asleep soon.

Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty originally planned to rest for two days after arriving in Taiyuan, and immediately headed southwest, passing Linfen and Yuncheng, and returning to Chang'an.However, as soon as he entered Taiyuan, a special envoy came to report that there were riots by unruly people near Luoyang and Chang'an.When Emperor Sui Yang heard this, he was very disgusted. He stayed on the dragon chair and didn't respond for a long time.Yu Wenshu saw it, rolled his eyes, and immediately went up to the prelude and said:

"There have been constant wars in the north this year, and I suggest that the emperor move to Yangzhou, Jiangsu, where there are rich products and a mild climate. The emperor can maintain his health and avoid danger, so he can command and quell the riots there."

This Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty was originally the second son of Emperor Wen Yang Jian of the Sui Dynasty. At the age of 20, Yang Guang was worshiped by Emperor Wen as the Grand Marshal of the Sui Dynasty. He personally led an army of 51, went south to destroy the Chen Dynasty, and completed the unprecedented unification of the Sui Dynasty.Because of his outstanding military exploits and armed forces, Yang Guang was dissatisfied with his elder brother Yang Yong being the crown prince of the Sui Dynasty and inheriting the throne, so he did not stop doing anything, killing his brother and father, and seized the throne.After ascending the throne, he made a big effort to build and go to war, opened commercial routes in the Western Regions, and built the world-famous Grand Canal.But the common people were unbearable, and they launched uprisings one after another; the subordinates were unbearable, and they all launched rebellions one after another.In the 14th year of this great cause, the world of the Sui Dynasty has long been in chaos.Although Emperor Sui Yang felt it, he didn't understand the seriousness of the situation. He was really tempted to hear that Yu Wenshu asked him to move to Yangzhou to command the quelling of the riots.Because Yang Guang made great achievements at a young age, and now that he has been the emperor for so many years, he has already become supercilious and eager to enjoy himself.Yangzhou's beauties and beautiful scenery are quite attractive to Yang Guang, but he has just been taken into danger by the Turks, and he still has some considerations in his heart, so he said:

"The riots in Chang'an and Luoyang are not to be feared. It's just that the Turks retreating to the north may soon come to riot again. If I go south to Jiangdu and the Turks from the north come to riot, how should I deal with it?"

"Taiyuan is an important military town in the north. If it can be defended safely, there will be no major problems in the north." Yu Wenshu replied.

"However, who can guard Taiyuan, reject the Turks for me in the north, and protect Luoyang and Chang'an in the south, so that I can go to Jiangdu with peace of mind?"

"Li Yuan, the consolation envoy of Hedong in Shanxi, is courageous and resourceful, and a relative of the state, so it is very suitable for him to stay in Taiyuan." It doesn't mean that Wen Shu opened his mouth, but Su Wei blurted out.

When Emperor Sui Yang heard this, he immediately thought of Li Yuan who was often teased by him in the past.I remember one time he laughed at Li Yuan for having a long face like a grandma, which made Li Yuan's face even longer, and he was so happy that he burst into tears.Li Yuan's aunt is Empress Dugu, and she is my aunt's cousin. Although I often tease him, I have always been kind to him, so I think she should be loyal to me.Thinking about it this way, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was about to deliver an edict to announce Li Yuan's meeting with Jin, but Yu Wenshu took a step forward and said:

"Your Majesty, I still have something to say."

"You speak."

"Taiyuan is our gate in the Sui Dynasty. The minister who stayed behind has a heavy responsibility. Although Li Yuan is brave and resourceful, his strength alone is limited. I suggest that Hu Benlang general Wang Wei and Hu Yalang general Gao Junya be appointed as deputy posts, and Li Yuan Let's stay in Taiyuan together, what is the Emperor's will?"

Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty listened and bowed his head in thought: Hu Benlang general Wang Wei and Hu Yalang general Gao Junya were the same as Yu Wenshu, they were his cronies. Emperor En, he was dismissed from office because he didn't take the initiative to donate horses. I really don't know if he will be loyal to me. It is right to be on guard.Thinking of this, Emperor Sui Yang raised his head, looked at Yu Wenshu and nodded, clearly saying: Thanks for your reminder.In this way, with Li Yuan dealing with the Turks, and Wang Wei and Gao Junxiong restraining Li Yuan, I can sit back and relax!Thinking of this, Emperor Sui Yang looked at Yu Wenshu again very happily, and said with a smile:
"It's still General Yu Wen's consideration, let's do it like this, hurry up and announce Li Yuan to see you."

Li Yuan was waiting outside the palace at the moment, when he heard the emperor's summons, he came in immediately, and stood respectfully after the ceremony.When Emperor Sui Yang saw him, he stroked his beard, looked at Li Yuan for a while, and then said:
"Li Yuan, I think you have performed actively in the king's court this time and lived up to my expectations. I now appoint you as the ambassador of Taiyuan Dao and be responsible for the guard of Taiyuan, an important northern town. You must not disappoint my kindness."

Because of his father's early death, Li Yuan received deliberate care from Yang Jian, the prime minister of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the father of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, and Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty when he was young.Yang Jian forced Emperor Jing of the Northern Zhou Dynasty to abdicate, pretending to be abdicated three times and accepting the destiny. After becoming emperor, he first gave Li Yuan the title of Qianniu, and then appointed him as the governor of Qiao, Long, and Qi.Emperor Sui Yang had usurped his father Yang Jian's throne for six or seven years, and Li Yuan's official position had not progressed, so he was always depressed.Deep in Li Yuan's heart, he was not satisfied with Yangdi, but he deeply missed Yangdi's father, Wendi.This point, due to Yangdi's somewhat romantic temperament, has never been clarified.In order to show that he is unwilling to be content with the status quo and seeks to make progress, Li Yuan named his eldest son "Jiancheng" and his second son "Shimin", which means that he desires to be successful and to help the world and the people. Li Yuan and Sui Yangdi, because They all had an ancestor who was good at training horses and started their careers with horse training skills, so they all have the same hobby, like horses. When Li Yuan was the prefect of Fufeng, he got a few horses. Unfortunately, Emperor Sui Yang discovered them and even praised them. His horse is good. Li Yuan has high ambitions in his heart and never covets the advantage of others. Therefore, he never thought that his cousin Yangdi praised his horse. He wanted his horse. He told his wife Dou Shi about the matter in detail. After hearing this, Dou Shi immediately persuaded Li Yuan: "The emperor praised your horse because he wanted to get it. You should give it to him quickly, lest he do you any harm. "Because of his true love for horses, Li Yuan hesitated for a while, and ended up losing his post as prefect. It was not until he realized that and dedicated more horses and eagles to Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty that he was promoted to Wei Shaoqing and took charge of the imperial palace guards. Later, although Li Yuan also got some promotions, the rank of the official did not change much, always below the third rank. He never dreamed that this time, he would be able to go straight to the third rank, and be able to stand alone and bear this. , the great responsibility of protecting Luoyang and Chang'an in the south, I couldn't help being very excited, busy suppressing my extreme joy, knelt down and said:
"Thank you for the trust of the emperor. Li Yuan will do his best to guard this important town in the north even if he risked his life."

"That's good, get up!" Emperor Sui Yang kept his eyes on Li Yuan and said with a smile:
"This matter is very important, and I specially arranged two deputy envoys for you to help you protect the northern border of the Great Sui Dynasty." At this point, Emperor Sui Yang raised his head and said to the eunuch:

"Xuanhu Benlang general Wang Wei, Huya Lang general Gao Junya."

The eunuch announced the decree loudly, and Wang and Gao Lianglang will hear the sound.After the ceremony, Emperor Sui Yang announced the appointment, saying:

"From now on, the three of you must work together and discuss things carefully. Any major military action requires the consent of the three of you before you can act."

"I would like to follow the emperor's sage words." Li Yuan, Wang, and Gao Lianglang answered in unison.

After thanking the emperor for his kindness, Li Yuan couldn't help but thumped in his heart, and turned to look at Wang and Gao, who were also looking at him smugly.Li Yuan nodded to them, then smiled slightly.

1
Li Shimin returned to the small village surrounded by undulating mountains. He clearly saw his father and elder brother rushing in the mist among the mountains, so he called out to them, "Father! Father!" It can only echo in my heart, but I can't shout out.Shimin was in a hurry, and with a sudden effort, he finally yelled out, and finally woke up.

Li Yuan, Li Jiancheng and his son have been at Li Shimin's bed for a long time.Seeing that his son was sleeping soundly, Li Yuan signaled to Jiancheng not to wake his younger brother up, and the two just watched over him quietly.Now that the emperor went southeast to Yangzhou, the father and son had too many things to do, but they still couldn't help but look at their son and younger brother first. Seeing their son calling themselves in their dreams, Li Yuan couldn't help but feel a little moist in the corners of his eyes.

"Shimin, Shimin!" Li Yuan softly called to his long-lost son.

"Second brother, second brother!" Jiancheng excitedly called out to his long-lost brother.

"Father, big brother!" Shimin straightened up suddenly, and said very happily: "You guys, it's really you guys!"

The father and son looked at each other affectionately.

"Second brother has grown so fast, he is as tall as me." Li Jiancheng said, looking at Shimin.

Li Shimin stood in a row with his elder brother, compared each other, and said, "No, not as tall as elder brother."

"In two more years, it will be about half the height." Li Yuan said happily, "My son, grow up quickly, there are still many things waiting for you to do."

"I must grow up quickly, and I will be as tall as my elder brother." Li Shimin said.

"Let me tell you, the emperor just made my father the ambassador of Taiyuan Dao, and my mother and younger siblings can live together in Taiyuan." Li Jiancheng told his brother.

"Really?" Li Shimin looked at his father happily.

"Yes, this is the emperor's favor. Over the years, I have been an official everywhere, and I have been with your mother and son less often, and now I can finally reunite in Taiyuan. I have too many things here, so you can pick up your mother for me Come with your siblings."

"Just me going alone?"

"Correct."

"Where's the elder brother? My mother and younger siblings miss my elder brother very much. They will be very happy when my elder brother goes back with me."

"Your eldest brother can't go, he has to go back to Luoyang immediately, and do well the errands given by the emperor, so as to live up to the emperor's great love for our Li family."

Li Shimin looked at his elder brother reluctantly, smiled reluctantly and said: "I didn't expect that our brothers would be separated after meeting just now. It's a pity that Xuan Ba, Yuan Ji, and Pingyang sisters miss their elder brother very much, but they can't even see your face." .”

"I really miss them too." Li Jiancheng said, his voice choked up.

"Hey, look at you two brothers, the future will be long, and from now on..." Li Yuan paused here, and raised his voice, "After I lay a solid foundation in Taiyuan, I will take over Jiancheng. Well, let's not talk about this, we Now go and eat something, and I will tell you something, and then you two brothers will leave and go about your own business." Li Yuan stood up after speaking.

Li Shimin nodded, looked at his father and said, "This time I'm king, and I brought a person with me."

"Who?"

"Changsun's elder brother, Changsun Wuji."

"What about others?"

"Just rest next door, I'll call him."

Li Yuan nodded.

After a while Li Shimin led his eldest grandson Wuji in. Li Yuan saw him, looked at him happily and said, "Okay, very good, he looks exactly like your father. This time, you will go back with Shimin to pick up your sister." Come to Taiyuan. At that time, I will find you a job in Taiyuan."

"I want to be with brother Shimin all the time."

"Okay, I'll do it for you."

Just as he was talking, the servant Li Er staggered in and stood in front of Li Yuan, panting, unable to say a word for a long time.

Li Jiancheng became anxious and scolded him loudly: "What's the matter, tell me quickly."

"No... okay..." Li Er passed out after saying these two words.

Seeing Li Yuan, his heart sank.He knew that something bad must have happened at home.

1
Li Jiancheng saw that Li Er, the servant who came from Yuncheng, had passed out, so he went to suppress Renzhong for him.After a while, Li Er woke up, seeing Li Jiancheng's father and son in a hurry, tears streaming down his face.

Li Yuan saw him at the side and knew that something was wrong, so he comforted him and said, "Don't panic, what happened at home, please speak slowly."

"Ma'am, the fairy has passed away!" After Li Er finished speaking, he burst into tears again.

After hearing this, Li Yuan fainted.Jiancheng and Shimin hurried forward to support their father, calling anxiously:

"Father, father!"

Li Yuan slowly opened his eyes, looked at Shimin, then at Jiancheng with great sadness, and finally fixed his eyes on Shimin's face, shook his head, and said sadly: "I didn't expect that, I didn't expect it, your father You have been below the third rank for so many years, and now you have just given birth to Emperor Long En, and your career has developed so much, but your mother has gone. It shouldn't be, it shouldn't be!"

"Father!" Li Shimin called in a low voice. "You go, you hurry back and bury your mother."

"If you don't go, neither will elder brother?" Shimin asked anxiously.

"It's not that you can't go, it's that you can't go. In this case, your elder brother and I can't get away. You go, and after you bury your mother, take your younger siblings to Taiyuan."

Li Shimin was even more sad when he heard this.He knew that his mother had always missed his father and elder brother very much, and now that she was dead, his elder brother and father could not meet her or attend her funeral.This is really unbearable!
"Mother!" Li Shimin suddenly yelled sadly, and threw himself into his father's arms like a child.

Li Yuan hugged his son, thinking of Dou Shi, tears streaming down his face.Yeah, my son can't take it, he's just 16 years old.However, if you can't bear it, you have to bear it!Who taught him that he was Li Yuan's son.Li Yuan supported Shimin's shoulders with both hands, looking at his son with tears in his eyes.

"Be obedient, go, go today!"

Li Shimin wiped away his tears and nodded sensibly.After tidying up briefly, Li Shimin, accompanied by Changsun Wuji, took Hou Junji and all the servants, and hurriedly embarked on the journey home.After leaving Taiyuan City, he asked Hou Junji and his servants to follow, and he and Wuji ran at full speed overnight, and arrived in Yuncheng the next day.Regardless of the fatigue along the way, Li Shimin staggered towards his mother's mourning hall.

Under the candlelight, he saw his mother with light hair in the distance.I once remembered that his father told him that his mother's hair was as long as her knees when she was a child, and she was as beautiful as a fairy.Will such a person die?Li Shimin couldn't believe it, he was anxious to see what happened, but he couldn't move, his eyes darkened, and he fell to the ground.

(End of this chapter)