"The emperor blindly seeks stability, which will affect the morale of the army!"

In the study, the Li brothers sat opposite each other, Li Xiaogong's eyes were red. He put the wine glass on the table and said to Li Shimin with a heartache: "Everyone in Tongguan knows that the bastard snatched Huang Junhan's woman. Everyone knows that he is jealous and refuses to send troops, but the emperor believes in his words. Are all soldiers fools?"

Li Shimin silently poured him a glass of wine and sighed, "In fact, some details can tell the truth. Huang Junhan sent five thousand troops back to Tongguan in the evening of that day. These troops and generals knew that Huang Junhan was going to surrender. It was still early for Yang Yuanqing to launch an attack. He could lead his army to take over the defense of Yanxiang County and prevent Huang Junhan from surrendering, but he did not do it, but waited for Yang Yuanqing to cross the river to occupy Yanxiang County.

From this we can see that he hoped that Yang Yuanqing would cut off the retreat of Hongnong's army and retaliate against you for impeaching him. This was his cruel heart, but it was not the fundamental cause of defeat. I know very well what the problem was? He clearly led 20,000 troops to help you, but his father appointed him as the commander of Tongguan, which confused his responsibilities. The father had great responsibility for the defeat in this battle. In fact, Qu Tutong was right, and the second commander could not be appointed in one battle."

Li Xiaogong raised his neck and drank the wine in his glass, and squirted it and said, "You are right. Tongguan has 10,000 troops stationed, which can defend 100,000 people from attacking Tongguan, but he used 30,000 people to defend Tongguan. Later, Zhao Cijing wanted to save me, and he only gave Zhao Cijing five thousand people, obviously asking him to die. The scout of Tongguan found that Zhao Cijing's army was surrounded and in danger. He ordered the closing of the gate of Tongguan and not allowed any entry and exit. It was obvious that Zhao Cijing died. He was cruel and even his brother-in-law could be sent to die. Do he really think he could deceive his superiors and hide his subordinates?"

Speaking of this, Li Xiaogong ordered loudly: "Bring them in!"

After a moment, the personal soldiers brought two middle-aged men in. They fell to the ground, "Small people meet the prince."

Li Xiaogong pointed at them and said to Li Shimin: "These two are witnesses. They are businessmen outside Tongguan. They witnessed the bastard snatching Huang Junhan's woman with his own eyes. I sent someone to Tongguan to find them."

"Tell me what happened at that time."

A businessman nodded and said, "The villain was selling dry food among the people retreating west. On the official road, about two miles away from Tongguan, we saw more than one hundred soldiers rushing up on horseback and surrounding a carriage. Four people next to the carriage fought with them, and they killed two people on the spot. The other two were surrounded. The cavalry dragged a woman out of the carriage, beautiful, and ran across the horse and headed towards Huayin County. Later, the soldiers came back and we realized that they were the personal soldiers of His Highness the King of Qi. They reported to the prince that there were many soldiers transporting food on the official road at that time, and they also saw it."

Li Xiaogong waved his hand and asked him to take them down, then sighed and said to Li Shimin: "At first, I was a little suspicious that Huang Junhan lied to me, but now the evidence is as strong as a mountain. The emperor would rather believe the bastard's side than investigate in detail in Tongguan. I know that he is trying to maintain stability. But people's hearts have their own justice. Has he ever considered the feelings of the soldiers in his favor with his son like this?"

Li Shimin slowly drank a glass of wine without saying a word. In fact, his purpose today was to reach a consensus with Li Xiaogong and to win him over to him. But he also knew that his father had made a conclusion and nothing could be changed. No matter how much evidence Li Xiaogong found was useless. The question now is how to make Li Xiaogong choose his position and stand on his side.

He pondered for a moment and said, "I will go to my father today and convince him to send Huang Junhan's wife and children to Hedong. We have already broken our trust in the army. Doing so can at least save a little."

Li Xiaogong's eyes showed gratitude. He also wanted to convince the emperor about this matter. Since Shimin was willing to come forward, it was the best. At this moment, there was a sound of running outside the door, and a personal guard anxiously reported, "Prince, the prince is here."

Li Xiaogong and Li Shimin looked at each other, and both were stunned. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince actually left the palace. Li Xiaogong quickly stood up, "I'll go to welcome His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

He looked at Li Shimin again, meaning to ask him if he would go? Li Shimin pondered for a moment, stood up and said, "I'll go with you."

In front of the mansion, Li Jiancheng was wearing a green robe, a small hat, and was waiting on the steps with his hands behind his back. He was here to appease Li Xiaogong. Li Jiancheng did not blindly favor his brothers. As the crown prince, he knew very well that the stability and unity within the royal family at the beginning of the founding of the country were conducive to the expansion and growth of the empire. On the contrary, premature internal strife and division would cause the empire to fall into internal friction and be unable to continue to expand.

Protecting the fourth brother Yuan Ji can avoid royal scandals, maintaining the image of the Li Tang royal family and father, which is conducive to winning the support of the Tang Dynasty by the people of the world. However, he also knows that protecting Yuan Ji is not enough, and he also needs to appease another party involved, Li Xiaogong, so as to avoid the split of the royal family. Li Jiancheng can also be said to have good intentions.

At this time, Li Jiancheng stood on the steps with his hands behind his back, squinting his eyes at the group of horse-holding guards waiting opposite him. This was the guard of his second brother Li Shimin. He recognized it. It turned out that his second brother was also in Li Xiaogong's mansion, which was a bit coincidental.

At this time, a series of footsteps came from behind him. Li Xiaogong hurriedly walked out and bowed to apologize, "Let His Highness wait outside the mansion for a long time, this is my fault!"

"Nothing, I came here uninvited. It was abrupt. I probably apologized."

Li Jiancheng smiled slightly, and his eyes fell on Li Shimin behind Li Xiaogong, "Are you here too?"

Li Shimin stepped forward and bowed to salute, "I know that Xiaogong is in a bad mood, so I will comfort him."

"Is that so? What a coincidence, I'm here to comfort Xiaogong."

Li Jiancheng looked at the sky again, trying to hide the unnatural slightest on his face, "The weather is not very good, it should be raining soon!"

Although his second brother Li Shimin could not say that he threatened his position as the crown prince, the precedent of the Sui Dynasty would still make people involuntarily think about it in that direction, not being in his position or not planning his own affairs. Since he became the crown prince, Li Jiancheng would naturally consider the stability of his position as the crown prince. In addition to gaining the trust of his father, he also had to prevent external threats. Among all his brothers, the second brother Shimin was undoubtedly his greatest threat.

Li Jiancheng said that the weather was bad, and reminded his second brother that he should say goodbye and leave. Unexpectedly, Li Shimin had no intention of leaving. He just smiled and still stood behind Li Xiaogong.

Li Xiaogong was the master. Seeing that the atmosphere was a little awkward, he quickly smiled and said, "Don't stand at the door of the mansion and talk. Your Highness the Crown Prince, please come in."

Along the way, Li Jiancheng wanted to say a few words to his second brother, but the two of them looked at each other but couldn't find anything to say. He originally wanted to ask about the war in Longxi, but when he mentioned Longxi, he would inevitably touch Li Shimin's failure to enter Beijing, which would be even more embarrassing. Both of them were silent.

Li Xiaogong invited Li Jiancheng to your guest room. The three of them sat down. Li Jiancheng sat in the first place. Li Xiaogong and Li Shimin sat on both sides. Two maids served incense tea.

As the prince, Li Jiancheng could not leave the palace at will. He could not stay outside for too long, and it was impossible to greet and test. Since his second brother refused to leave, he could only make it open and honest.

Li Jiancheng pondered for a while and said, "I'm here today. I mainly want to talk to Xiaogong. I hope you can understand the good intentions of the emperor."

Li Xiaogong held the tea cup and savored the tea slowly. He didn't say anything, and Li Shimin next to him didn't say anything, but a little absent-mindedly fiddling with a jade pendant in his hand. It seemed that his brother Li Jiancheng's words had nothing to do with him, he was just a listener.

Li Jiancheng said while his eyes were gradually attracted by the jade pendant on his second brother's hand. He suddenly recognized that the jade pendant was the butterfly-shaped jade pendant that his fifth sister Princess Guiyang took out when she complained in front of her father the day before yesterday. Zhao Cijing asked his personal soldiers to bring to Princess Guiyang a token. How could the jade pendant be in the hands of his second brother Shimin?

Has Princess Guiyang already talked to her second brother? Li Jiancheng found that his second brother Shimin was actually deeply involved in this matter. He was shocked and wondered how this matter would evolve?

He was thinking in his heart, but his words did not stop. He said earnestly to Li Xiaogong: "The Tang Dynasty has just been established. At this time, maintaining unity and stability within the royal family is particularly important. It is related to whether we can finally achieve the world. The Master actually knows that things are not as simple as King Qi said, but he has no choice. At this time, he can only calm the situation and let everyone forget this matter as soon as possible, so as not to affect the reputation of the royal family. I hope Xiaogong, you can understand the Master's painstaking efforts."

Li Xiaogong still didn't say anything, but Li Shimin finally couldn't help it and sneered, "I can understand the good intentions of my father, but my brother's explanation is unconvincing, and it is even counterproductive!"

Li Jiancheng had a very unhappy expression on his face. The reason why he didn't want his second brother here was because he was afraid that he would interfere in this matter, so he put his efforts to persuade Xiaogong to waste. Now that what he was worried about really happened, the anger in Li Jiancheng suddenly ignited. He took a deep breath, restrained his dissatisfaction, and said in a rare and tough tone: "You said! How could it be difficult to convince, and where would it backfire?"

Li Shimin didn't care about his brother's attitude, he still said calmly: "In the Middle Ages, floods flooded, Gun used the law of encirclement to control the flood, which made the flood even more overwhelming. Yu used the law of evacuation to control the flood, and finally calmed the flood. It was very similar to today's affairs. King Qi broke the law and revoked his military post and punished him seriously. The matter was solved. The soldiers only felt that the emperor was fair and strict. The prince violated the law and committed the same crime as the common people. This would only make the father's reputation higher, but the father took the method of blocking the law and refused to control the king of Qi.

The crime directly led to the disastrous defeat of Hongnong County. Was Huang Junhan's surrender accidental? But now the father still refused to admit it and continued to block it even more and more, thinking that a block could be resolved. However, although this could block the mouths of the soldiers, it could not block the hearts of millions of soldiers. A small thing became more and more troubled, which was heartbreaking. As the prince, the elder brother did not persuade the father to be brave enough to admit his mistakes, but instead covered up the King of Qi and helped him to fuel the fire, so that the elder brother should not reflect on himself?”

Li Jiancheng was furious and stared at his second brother Shimin and said fiercely: "What do you want to do? Let your father beat the fourth brother to death and then issue a self-criticism? Maybe this is exactly what you hope for. Anyway, brotherhood is optional for you."

Li Shimin quickly glanced at Li Xiaogong from the corner of his eyes. Seeing that he looked resentful, he knew that this anger was not aimed at him, but at his brother Jiancheng. His purpose was achieved. Li Shimin's tone gradually became flat, "I just talk about the matter. Since there was a conclusion at the court meeting, can I still force my father to admit his mistakes and blame him? I still said the same thing, justice is in the hearts of others. One day my brother will regret protecting Yuanji."

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Chapter completed!