Chapter 119 Asking for Advice from Zheng Yuan

"Okay! Get up!" Li Er said, very satisfied with Cheng Mingzhen's observation.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Cheng Mingzhen stood up and said.

Li Er looked at Cheng Mingzhen who was calm and composed, and sighed: "Xuanling is more than 20 years old around me. Every time he saw me reprimanding others, he would be terrified and indecisive."

"Mingzhen has never seen me in his life. Once I blamed him, he was not shocked or panicked at all, and what he said was correct. He is really a strange man!"

"Cheng Mingzhen, listen to the title!"

Cheng Mingzhen hurriedly stepped forward and knelt on one knee.

"Start now, I appoint you as the general of the right guard!" Li Er said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Cheng Mingzhen bowed and thanked him! Then he stood up and stepped aside.

Li Chengqian also came and sat down, Wang Fangyi sat next to Li Chengqian, and Cheng Wuting sat next to Cheng Mingzhen.

This was a special arrangement by Li Chengqian to facilitate the closeness between father and son.

"I guess this elder should be Zheng Yuan, the former governor of Yizhou!" Li Chengqian looked at the old man and asked.

"I am Zheng Yuan, and I have met the prince!" Zheng Yuan bowed to Li Chengqian.

"I heard that during the Sui Dynasty, the elder followed Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty to attack Goguryeo. I think he should be very familiar with Goguryeo."

"This time, my father is going to lead the army to attack Goguryeo. Since the elder is familiar with Goguryeo, please give me some advice!" Li Chengqian bowed.

"Your Highness, please help me! I am an old man who is not talented enough to help the Tang Dynasty. I really don't deserve your teaching."

"In the past, I followed Emperor Yang to attack Goguryeo. The journey to Liaodong was long and it was difficult to transport food. The Goguryeo people were good at defending the city,

so it was difficult to capture the city quickly." "Forgive me for being frank. With the strength of the Tang Dynasty, if we want to attack Goguryeo, we will inevitably repeat the fate of Emperor Yang. It is better to stop now!" Zheng Yuan stroked his beard.

He was not optimistic about Li Er's attack on Goguryeo. After all, he had fought against Goguryeo before, so he knew the situation on the peninsula better than Li Er.

Li Er felt a little dissatisfied after hearing this. He was just going to attack a small Goguryeo, so why did so many people oppose it!

Even Zheng Yuan, this old man, looks down on my Eastern Expedition. I still don't believe that I can't conquer Goguryeo.

Li Er said, "This is a different time. Today is not the same as the Sui Dynasty. You just wait for the good news of victory!"

Since Li Er said so, even if others have other ideas, they can't change Li Er's decision. It's better not to say anything.

Li Er asked someone to take Zheng Yuan down to rest. Although he didn't provide any substantive suggestions, it was a kind reminder, not to mention that he was still an old man.

"General Cheng hasn't seen your son for a long time. I believe he has a lot to say. Why don't you and your son talk more? Anyway, the expedition to Goguryeo will take a long time, and there is no rush."

​​"Cheng Qian, what do you think?" Li Er looked at Cheng Mingzhen and said.

The specific time for attacking Goguryeo has not been determined yet, so it's better to let them reunite.

Cheng Wuting is a military officer of the Eastern Palace, Li Chengqian is the crown prince of the Eastern Palace, Cheng Wuting is his man, Li Er always has to give Li Chengqian some face, so he asked.

"Father, this is what I mean! Wuting doesn't have to be on duty with me these few days, so let him listen to General Cheng's teachings!" Li Chengqian said, if you can help others, why not do it!

"Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Crown Prince!" Cheng Mingzhen and Cheng Wuting stood up and saluted.

Just like that, in a warm scene, Li Er ended the meeting with Cheng Mingzhen today, and everyone dispersed, letting the father and son go back to have a good chat.

Since the meeting with Cheng Mingzhen, Li Chengqian, in addition to writing, flirted with the palace maids every day, and his life was really comfortable.

The maids thought the prince had taken a fancy to them, and they tried their best to show their advantages, hoping to be valued by the prince, so that they could fly up to the branches, turn old hens into phoenixes, and live in glory and wealth.

Unfortunately! The prince always knew when to stop, and after teasing the maids for a while, he immediately stopped.

Everyone thought that the prince had a problem with his sexual orientation, only loved handsome men and didn't like women.

In the words of later generations, true love is between men, and love between men and women is just for the continuation of the family line.

Just when the prince Li Chengqian was living a very comfortable life, His Majesty Li Er, the leader of the Tang Empire, was very angry.

Why was Li Er unhappy? Who provoked our His Majesty Li Er again?

It was Zhang Jian, the governor of Yingzhou, who made Li Er unhappy. Who was this Zhang Jian? Why did he make Li Er unhappy?

Zhang Jian, courtesy name Shiyue, was the great-grandson of Li Yuan, the first emperor of the Tang Dynasty. He was the grandson of Zhang Wei, the governor of Xiangzhou and Duke of Wancheng County in the Sui Dynasty. He was the son of Zhang Zhi, the general of chariots and cavalry and Duke of Liancheng County. He was awarded the title of Duke of Wancheng County for his meritorious service.

He was the cousin of Li Chengqian. Because of this relationship, Li Er deliberately asked Zhang Jian to lead the foreign soldiers as the vanguard to test Goguryeo and find out the bottom of the opponent.

But Zhang Jian's luck was bad! On the way to the march, the Liao River rose, and Zhang Jian had to stop moving forward and stay where he was to wait for the Liao River to drop.

This means that they will not be able to cross the Liao River for a long time. The army will consume a lot of food and grass every day, which is a considerable expense. When Li Er heard about this, he was naturally furious.

As a result, Li Er, who was waiting for good news in Luoyang, wondered if Zhang Jian was afraid to march after learning about this.

Li Er became more and more angry, so he sent someone to recall Zhang Jian to Luoyang Palace to reprimand him.

Zhang Jian returned to Luoyang from the front line in a dusty manner and went to see Li Er without stopping.

Li Er had a gloomy face and slapped the table and roared: "Shi Yue, you actually have the nerve to come to see me, do you know your crime?"

"Your Majesty! I don't know what crime I have committed to make you so angry." Zhang Jian said neither servilely nor arrogantly.

"I ordered you to lead the foreign troops to attack Goguryeo. That was my trust in you, but what about you? What did you do?"

"You are timid and cowardly! You were afraid of Goguryeo, but you stopped at the Liao River. You ruined my great cause of conquering Goguryeo. How dare you say you are innocent?" Li Er said. "

Your Majesty! I am not afraid of the Goguryeo people. It was because the Liao River happened to rise. The foreign troops I led were all cavalrymen who were not good at swimming and could not cross the river at all! It was definitely not dereliction of duty! Please judge for your majesty!" Zhang Jian said.

"Humph! This is just your family's words. How can you believe it?" Li Er said, his tone softened, indicating that Li Er listened to Zhang Jian's words.

"I have all the information about Liaodong here. Your Majesty, please take a look and you will know if I have deceived you." Zhang Jian said, and took out a report and handed it to Li Er.

Li Er took it and read it. It detailed the dangerous and easy terrain of the mountains and rivers, the richness and badness of the water and grass, etc.

Although he had stopped moving forward due to the rising water level of Liao River, he had been searching for relevant information.

Li Er was very happy after reading it, and he praised Zhang Jian endlessly.