Chapter 861 Li is the king and Luo is the prince!
With his army stationed at Longmen, Li Yuan felt extremely happy. Looking at the city and the surging Yellow River, he recalled the time when he started his army in Jinyang, and felt a kind of lofty ambition like a fish leaping over the Dragon Gate.
Everyone under Li Yuan's command was looking at the ever-flowing Yellow River. Longmen was located in a relatively flat section of the Yellow River. At this moment, it looked like a flowing golden ribbon, extending to infinity.
When Li Yuan and his companions arrived here, the only county left to the east of the Yellow River and the west of Taihang Mountain was Hedong County. The one guarding Hedong County was the Sui Dynasty general Qu Tutong, who was known for his bravery and loyalty. Even when the Sui Dynasty fell to this point, he remained loyal to it and was unwilling to surrender to Li Yuan in order to seek wealth and honor.
There are now two paths before Li Yuan's forces. One is to cross the Yellow River directly through Longmen and enter Guanzhong. Li Yuan already knows that Li Xiuning has developed some forces in Guanzhong. As long as he can recruit other forces, entering Guanzhong will be a good move.
But having Hedong right behind them always makes people feel uneasy. The logistics from Chang'an to Jinyang may be cut off by Hedong. If the offensive in Guanzhong is not successful, Hedong will cause great harm.
…
“Ding ding ding!”
The sound of the gong rang out. Luo Xuanye looked at the corpses lying in front of him and the red blood all over the ground. His face was covered with sweat and dust, and he felt quite unwilling. The Hedong City guarded by Qu Tutong was easy to defend but difficult to attack. He personally attacked the city with a spear, but to no avail.
He walked up to Li Shimin and looked at the city where many people were buried. He said angrily: "Erlang, we can't waste any more time here. We must leave Hedong and go to Guanzhong immediately!"
Li Shimin also nodded solemnly.
In the military camp, Li Yuan sat at the top, with a row of people sitting on each side, including civil officials and military generals.
Luo Xuanye, Li Shimin and others were sitting on the left, with unhappy expressions on their faces. Just now they once again expressed to Li Yuan their request to enter Guanzhong directly.
Both Li Shimin, Luo Xuanye, and Li Jiancheng believed that they should march directly into Guanzhong now.
However, Pei Ji and other old ministers who were most trusted by Li Yuan always believed that keeping Hedong would be a disaster and still opposed entering Guanzhong directly.
"Hedong is the gateway to Chang'an. There is no reason in this world to enter a house without opening the door!
Chang'an is the imperial capital and the strongest city in the Sui Empire. It is extremely difficult to capture Chang'an. If our army wastes time in Chang'an and wants to withdraw to Jinyang, Qu Tutong, who is still defending in Hedong, will send us to the grave!
Doesn’t the Second Young Master understand this truth?
Lord Tang, you must not attack Guanzhong so rashly. The military book says that only by being in an invincible position can you have a chance of victory!"
Pei Ji's voice echoed in the military camp, and his words represented the opinions of the majority of people.
Li Shimin was about to speak but was held back by Luo Xuanye. Luo Xuanye shook his head, signaling him not to conflict with Pei Ji.
Luo Xuanye stood up, stared at Pei Ji and said coldly: "Pei Changshi, the world is full of changes. If we can capture Hedong City, we must naturally remove this thorn.
But Hedong City is difficult to capture now. I, Luo Xuanye, can defeat ten thousand enemies. I am sure you all know this. I can say now that it is impossible to capture Hedong City without more than 30,000 casualties.
Hedong City is a tough nut to crack. Our army has won battle after battle since we started our uprising in Jinyang. We relied on my father's family prestige and the support of the heroes of the world. If our army suffers a heavy setback at the gate of Hedong City, what will be the result?
And what about Guanzhong?
I come from Guanzhong, where there is absolutely no strong force. My father is an old noble in Guanlong and enjoys high prestige among the scholars and common people. My army has won battle after battle, which has shocked the people's hearts. Then, together with the people inside and outside, Guanzhong and Chang'an have suddenly opened up!
What does Pei Changshi think? "
Luo Xuanye's words were extremely chilling, and he almost uttered them with gritted teeth. He had no weapons with him, but his hands were always on his waist, as if he was ready to draw his sword at any time.
The holy mark on Luo Xuanye's forehead has now recovered. When he first appeared in Jinyang, he shocked all the officials. No one could have imagined that Lord Tang's son-in-law would be a direct descendant of the Luo family.
In the past few months since the uprising in Jinyang, Luo Xuanye, the direct descendant of the Luo family, has shocked everyone so much that under the shining holy marks, few people dare to look him in the eye, as if he were a killing god.
When in Taiyuan, even Li Yuanji became much quieter when he saw Luo Xuanye. At this moment, he stared at Pei Ji closely, causing Pei Ji to feel a chill in his tailbone and shiver.
Li Yuan felt a headache when he saw this. Luo Xuanye was completely different from the legendary gentle and kind young master of the Luo family. He quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "What my dear son-in-law and the chief secretary said makes sense. In this case, why not do both? The generals will stay here and continue to besiege Hedong City, and all the food and grass will be supplied by Jinyang.
I will go to Guanzhong with Dalang, Erlang and Qingyang, is that a good idea?"
Things have come to this, as long as they can advance into Guanzhong, Luo Xuanye sat back at the table. Li Shimin pinched his arm with a look of gratitude. Luo Xuanye nodded imperceptibly, indicating that he didn't need to worry about it.
…
Relying on his previous advantage in Guanzhong, Luo Xuanye sent letters to the leaders of the rebel army in Guanzhong, persuading them to surrender with reason. Li Yuan's army started from Jinyang and reached the Yellow River in just a few months. This military force shocked many people in Guanzhong.
After Li Yuan entered Guanzhong, it was as if it was destiny, and it went so smoothly that he couldn't believe it. The heroes in Guanzhong and the former officials of the Sui Dynasty could almost be described as "bowing their heads in worship".
As soon as he crossed the Yellow River, a large granary north of Tongguan came to surrender to him, and then he gained control of Tongguan without any effort. During the time when he entered Guanzhong, he did not need to march at all. Wherever his flag arrived, the powerful officials in the counties and prefectures would submit to him without hesitation.
He did not look like a rebel who wanted to destroy the Sui Dynasty, but rather like an emperor reviewing his own territory. This made Li Yuan feel deeply that the Sui Dynasty was really doomed, and those nobles and powerful people had abandoned the Sui Dynasty.
After realizing this, Li Yuan immediately ordered Li Jiancheng to garrison Tongguan to prevent Qu Tutong from entering Guanzhong, and then ordered Li Shimin to capture the counties north of Chang'an. As for the south of Chang'an, Li Xiuning was leading an army of 100,000 gathered from the rebel forces to capture it.
Just as Luo Xuanye said, one plus one is greater than two. The internal and external cooperation of Li Xiuning and Li Yuan put the rebel army in Guanzhong under great pressure. No matter whether they were facing Li Yuan or Li Xiuning alone, they would not be too afraid.
But when faced with both at the same time, they only wanted to surrender. Half of Li Xiuning's 100,000 troops came in this way.
Li Yuan gave Li Xiuning the power to open a government office, which meant that he could have his own army. Under Li Yuan's command, only Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin had this power.
Since the uprising in Jinyang, Luo Xuanye and Li Shimin separated for the first time, because Li Yuan asked him to go to meet Li Xiuning, which was reasonable, after all, Li Xiuning could not charge into the battle.
A few months later.
Before Luo Xuanye left Guanzhong, the trees were just sprouting new buds, but now that he is back, it is already autumn. The green mountains have turned gray, and fallen leaves are scattered everywhere.
Luo Xuanye and Li Xiuning were not the gentle Jiangnan girls. When the couple met, they just held hands tightly and smiled at each other. Luo Xuanye said in a gentle voice: "Madam, I am glad to have fulfilled your mission!"
Hearing this, Li Xiuning smiled and patted Luo Xuanye on the shoulder and said, "Okay, confer the title of mighty general on your husband, the Duke of the State!"
This kind of affection between husband and wife is rare, and they both laughed in unison. If Pei Ji and others saw this scene, they would definitely think, "So you can laugh too."
After the joke, the two did not delay and Fang Xuanling and others came to pay their respects to Luo Xuanye.
They were not surprised that Luo Xuanye was a direct descendant of the Luo family. After all, the holy mark on the forehead of his and Li Xiuning's daughter was not concealed.
…
In August, Li Shimin swept across Wannian, Gaoling and other counties north of the Wei River.
Luo Xuan crossed the Fengshui River at night and approached Chang'an.
In September, Honghua, Beidi and other counties north of Guanzhong surrendered.
At the end of September, Li Shimin crossed the Wei River to the south and entered the Han Chang'an City, while Luo Xuan entered Acheng at night.
In October, Li Yuan led his troops to Chang'an and stationed outside the city gate.
At that time, flags covered the sky and an army of 200,000 surrounded Chang'an. The defenders in the city had no way to escape or get out.
There were no beacons on Mount Li, only fallen leaves all over the mountain.
Countless dark brown fallen leaves were floating in the bleak Wei River. Under the autumn wind, the whole Chang'an was filled with fallen leaves and swirling clouds of dust. Anyone could see that the sun was setting here.
The royal family of the Sui Dynasty who were guarding the city of Chang'an could only look at the falling leaves in despair. Just like the paper money flying all over the sky at a funeral, it was ringing the death knell for the Sui Empire.
Everyone looked at the center of this former empire with fiery eyes. As long as they could break through here, they would be able to occupy the vast Guanzhong Plain. At that time, they would truly have the ability to fight for the world to the east.
If Guanzhong and Jinyang could be combined and Shuzhong could be captured, Qin would be invincible in the world. The most critical step is now.
After looking at Chang'an City with great enthusiasm, everyone turned their eyes to Li Yuan.
There was only one meaning in his eyes: Duke Tang, give the order!
This is different from capturing Hedong City. Under the city of Chang'an, no matter how difficult it is, no matter how heavy the casualties are, we will never retreat until the day when Chang'an is opened.
Li Yuan felt the will of everyone. On a sunny morning, he swore an oath to everyone and then ordered an attack.
During the days that Luo Xuanye, Li Shimin and others were waiting, the Tang army had already made countless preparations, and countless siege equipment was piled up under the city.
This was not a fair battle. The Tang army attacked almost day and night, and the city of Chang'an was on the verge of collapse.
After seven days of continuous attack, Luo Xuanye began to put on armor and led the three hundred most elite warriors to the front under the cover of spiritual soldiers.
"mighty!"
"mighty!"
On the city wall, he killed hundreds of people with his weapon in hand, his body covered in blood, like a demon. Behind him, Tang soldiers continuously climbed up the city wall, and Chang'an was completely doomed.
As the city gate collapsed, thunderous cheers erupted in the Tang army. After paying a bloody price, they finally won the final victory, and the soldiers rushed in one after another.
"Mr. Tang has issued an order that no one is allowed to burn, kill or rob. Violators will be killed without mercy!"
Luo Xuanye rushed to the front and shouted loudly, but after months of continuous fighting, how could the soldiers control the situation when they entered the magnificent Chang'an City, especially when there were already many rebel forces here.
Luo Xuanye showed no mercy. The brave warriors who had just followed him on the climb mounted their horses and started killing those soldiers who acted recklessly.
Luo Xuanye rode past on his horse and killed dozens of people with his own hands. Almost all the soldiers knelt on the ground in fear, lowering their heads and not daring to look at Luo Xuanye. It was not until they faced Luo Xuanye in front of them that they felt the horror of Luo Xuanye.
Luo Xuanye's face was covered in blood, dark blue and terrifying, like a ghost from hell. He roared again: "Duke Tang has ordered that burning, killing and looting are not allowed. Take up your weapons, and kill anyone who dares to resist!"
This was the scene that Li Yuan and his companions saw when they entered the city. Luo Xuanye was riding on Li Shimin's favorite Saluzai, holding a horse spear dripping with blood, and surrounded by soldiers kneeling in front of him. He could not help but exclaim, "Brother-in-law is really the pillar of our army."
Pei Ji and others who followed Li Yuan shrank their necks even more. This Luo Xuan Ye was truly too fierce. The most evil thing about him was his murderous intent. He was totally unlike the gentle and jade-like Luo in the legend. Those who didn't know him would think he was the reincarnation of Bai Qi.
At this point, the nobles in Chang'an City and the royal family of the Sui Dynasty had no choice but to leave the palace and surrender. As for the royal family of the Sui Dynasty, Li Yuan basically chose to pardon them. Even the grandson of Yang Guang, a close relative of the royal family of the Sui Dynasty, he chose to pardon them. He did not follow the example of the Yang family and kill all the royal family of the previous dynasty.
He still remembered the care that Yang Jian and Dugu Jialuo had given him. He was indeed a person who valued family affection very much.
But there are some people he will never let go, such as Yin Shishi. This guy actually dug up Li Yuan's ancestral tomb and destroyed Li Yuan's ancestral temple. This is simply like lighting a lamp in the toilet and seeking death. Sometimes people really need to have some moral bottom line and do things without leaving themselves a way out. If they do such immoral things, even if Luo Su comes, he will not be able to spare their lives.
When facing Li Shimin, Luo Xuanye and other family members, Li Yuan told the truth, "My Tang army paid such a high price to enter Chang'an, with so many sacrifices, the soldiers are full of anger, and we must kill some people to vent this anger.
It is just right to kill all these people who have hatred against me, to set an example for others, and let the world know that my father is also capable of killing people."
This is Li Yuan. Anyone who offends Li Yuan will basically end up in trouble. For him, forgiving one's enemies basically does not exist.
It was really bad to offend Li Yuan, and the soldiers soon found out a person who had a grudge against Li Yuan - Li Jing!
Li Yuan was about to kill Li Jing immediately. At this time, Li Jing already knew that Luo Xuanye was in Li Yuan's army. He said loudly: "Lord Tang, I have met Lord Luo before, and Lord Luo also appreciated me as a warrior. Does Lord Tang want to kill a warrior?"
His roar saved his life. Luo Xuanye came and recognized Li Jing, so he said to Li Yuan: "Father, Li Jing is indeed talented and a brave man. Why not save his life and let him serve you in the future."
Li Shimin naturally trusted Luo Xuanye, and he admired Li Jing's courage. Even if he had no talent, he was extraordinary just by his courage. Li Xiuning also tried his best to protect Li Jing when he heard about it. With these three people as guarantees, Li Yuan reluctantly released Li Jing.
Li Yuan was very smart in this regard. He knew that Luo Su valued talents, but not too much.
Luo Su may really appreciate Li Jing, but appreciation does not mean valuing him, nor does it mean that he is willing to waste time and energy on Li Jing.
Li Yuan knew that even if he really killed Li Jing today, Luo Su would not care. But as a father, since his son and daughter both wanted to save Li Jing, it would not be a big deal to spare Li Jing's life.
But it was impossible for Li Jing to be reused by him because Li Yuan was a vengeful person!
Li Jing was a man of outstanding military ability, but his political ability was even more worrying than Luo Xuanye. After he survived, he was incorporated into the army of Li Shimin, but he was not loyal to Li Shimin in his heart, or he did not have this awareness.
Li Shimin didn't care. After all, he didn't know Li Jing's talents. In fact, even Luo Xuanye didn't know it. His ability to judge people was far inferior to Luo Su. Only Luo Su knew that Li Jing was the real commander.
…
Li Yuan had been in Chang'an for a month and had killed only a dozen or twenty people. In particular, he only killed the main culprits and basically did not implicate their families.
The sky over Chang'an was not shrouded in depressing clouds. Even though the autumn wind was still bleak, the change in the political atmosphere only brought a sense of ease and joy. Everyone felt that a new era had truly arrived.
For Li Yuan, a new controversy arose.
That is to become a king or an emperor!
After occupying Chang'an, the title of Duke of Tang was naturally insufficient. Everyone and all the heroes in the world needed a more appealing position.
For a leader, the change in status is not only to consolidate his position, but also to show his ambition to the people of the world. If a person does not even have the ambition to become an emperor, many talented people will not join him.
After a debate that was not very intense, the emperor's opinion was directly rejected. The reason was simple: "Now our army has Xue Ju and other princes in the west, has not occupied Bashu in the south, and has Qu Tutong nailed in Hedong in the east.
It is still a place surrounded by wars. If he proclaims himself emperor now, he will definitely become the target of public criticism. Many heroes such as Dou Jiande of Hebei, Wang Shichong of Dongdu, and Li Mi of Shandong have never proclaimed themselves emperors.
If Duke Tang had directly proclaimed himself emperor, the people he had previously connected with, such as Li Mi, would have been ruined.
If I can pacify the princes in Guanxi and occupy Bashu, and achieve great success, then it won’t be too late to become emperor.”
These words touched Li Yuan's heart, and he decided to become king first. Luo Xuanye nodded secretly. Although the ancestor looked down on Li Yuan, Li Yuan was still very good in some aspects, at least wiser than most of the current heroes.
As far as Luo Xuanye knew, Liu Wuzhou, who only occupied Mayi, had proclaimed himself emperor, and Xue Ju, who occupied Liangzhou, had also proclaimed himself emperor. It could be said to be ridiculous. The title of emperor was really worthless.
Li Yuan was crowned king, but he was not an ordinary prince, but a vassal king. He set up his own office in full accordance with the standards of the imperial court, except that he added "Tang Palace" in front of it.
The person who was most happy about Li Yuan's becoming king was not himself, but the ministers under his command. The ministers sacrificed their lives and shed their blood, risking their lives to follow Li Yuan, wasn't it just for today?
Li Yuan was promoted to King of Tang and established the Tang Kingdom, with the Chang'an Imperial Palace as the Palace of the King of Tang. Except for the title of emperor, he was almost no different from the emperor.
Over the next month, imperial edicts continued to come out of the palace.
Naturally, old ministers like Pei Ji and Liu Wenjing were immediately promoted to become de facto prime ministers. All of Li Yuan's old ministers in the palace were transformed from a small Jinyang Palace lady to an assistant to the Tang Dynasty.
Not only was there a huge change in the official positions, but also in the titles. Li Yuan gave the title of County Duke to old ministers like Pei Ji. Everyone was very satisfied, and they all knew that the reason why they were not promoted to Duke of the State in one go was because Li Yuan would become emperor later. At that time, the current title of County Duke would become Duke of the State.
Of course, the most prominent ones are Li Yuan's sons.
The first imperial edict was given to Li Jiancheng. He was named the Crown Prince of Tang. This was normal and no one thought it was unreasonable. Except for Luo Xuanye, who had already been biased towards him because of Luo Su's teachings, even Li Shimin sincerely congratulated Li Jiancheng.
Li Jiancheng was very outstanding. In the eyes of almost everyone, he was a very suitable crown prince, especially compared with the sons of other princes. Li Jiancheng was simply too outstanding. The Tang Dynasty could foresee that even if Li Yuan encountered an accident, there would be no accidents as long as Li Jiancheng was there. This made the court officials feel at ease.
…
As the court angels left, Luo Xuanye and Li Xiuning stood up. Li Xiuning was a little confused, but Luo Xuanye was a little enlightened and whispered, "Madam, it should be that the ancestors and father said something."
Li Xiuning recalled what Luo Su had said to her at the beginning, and suddenly realized that this was probably the case.
The reason why the couple behaved like this was that Li Yuan's edict was too unexpected.
Li Jiancheng is the crown prince and follows all the standards for a crown prince. Needless to say, he is the heir to the throne and can no longer be treated as a subject.
But Li Shimin and Li Xiuning were completely different. They were ministers, so naturally they had to follow the path of ministers.
After the changes from the end of the Han Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty, the titles held by an official now include not just one official position, but four types.
First, official positions, which are the source of power, are positions with real power and reflect the size and importance of power in the current situation, such as the Shangshu Ling, Zhongshu Ling, etc.
Second, there are Sanguan, which is mainly to show favor and nobility. It can also be awarded to children of aristocratic families who are too young to be officials. It is divided into civil Sanguan and military Sanguan.
The most famous civil official was "Kaifu Yitong Sansi" and the most famous military official was "General of the Cavalry", both of which were honorary titles and had no power.
Third, honors. The so-called "Shangzhuguo" of Li Yuan's grandfather was an honor. It also had no power but represented a kind of honor.
Fourth, the titles. There is no need to explain much about this. Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount and Baron are passed down from the ancient Zhou Dynasty and are the symbol of nobility.
Li Yuan sent two imperial edicts, one to Li Xiuning and the other to Luo Xuanye.
The problem lies in the imperial edict given to Li Xiuning. Li Yuan canonized Li Xiuning as Princess Pingyang, a princess of the first rank. The title of Princess is equivalent to the first rank title of Duke.
Li Shimin was conferred the title of Duke of Qin, Li Xuanba was conferred the title of Duke of Qi, and Li Yuanji was conferred the title of Duke of Chu. Naturally, he could not be conferred the title of Duke of Jin. Jin was the Tang Dynasty, and in the Tang Dynasty, the title of Jin was equivalent to nothing. This goes without saying.
From this perspective, the reward was normal, but the abnormal thing happened later. Li Yuan also appointed Li Xiuning as the Governor of Longzhou and the General of the Left Guard.
This is a real official position!
Li Xiuning created a history by obtaining the power of a minister other than the monarch as a woman. In the past, women either directly obtained the regency power equivalent to the monarch, or pure titles such as princess. No woman had ever obtained an official position as a minister.
One can imagine how much shock this will bring to the world!
Luo Xuanye couldn't think of anyone other than Luo Su who could make Li Yuan do this. Li Xiuning was still in shock, and murmured, "The ancestor really kept his word."
Luo Xuanye nodded first and then said: "Madam, you are very good, so good that you can help our ancestors to split that natural barrier. This is also an extremely important factor. Our ancestors always do things according to the trend."
Li Xiuning finally came back to her senses. A trace of panic flashed across her eyes, and then turned into determination. Later, she was full of excitement. Maybe she could really be more than just a person hidden behind the scenes.
She will have a life completely different from all the women in the past.
[Thanks to Luo's efforts, a precedent was set for women to participate in politics, and the world is striding towards a more enlightened level. The luck points increased by 20,000. The current luck points are 1,476,623.
Your family will receive a mysterious item. The world is modifying the parameters, so stay tuned. 】
Li Xiuning raised her head and looked at Luo Xuanye. She was already quite tall among women, but Luo Xuanye was a head taller than her. Her eyes were sparkling.
She asked with a smile: "Husband, how does it feel to get the title of Duke of the County?"
Luo Xuanye looked up at the azure sky and said with emotion: "How many years have passed?
I don’t care what title I can get. If one day my father can become the emperor and confer a title on my Luo family, I will surely cry with joy.”
[After hundreds of years, your family finally has a title again. Even though this title is only conferred by a king, be determined to move forward. The emperor of the Chinese nation will once again crown your family with a noble crown.]
Li Xiuning said seriously: "That day will come.
Li was the king and Luo was the duke of the county.
When my father becomes emperor, you, my husband, will become a duke.
When the Tang Dynasty unifies the world, perhaps you, my husband, will become the main branch of the Luo family?"
Luo Xuanye seemed to have thought of something when he heard this. He raised his eyes and looked in the direction of Duke Qin's Mansion.
————
From Jinyang to Chang'an, in less than ten months, Li Yuan went from being a garrison in the old empire to becoming the King of Tang, owning two thousand miles of land, just like a dragon entering the sea, with the sun shining in all directions. A glorious empire was born in it! - "The Rise and Fall of the Tang Empire"
(End of this chapter)
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