Traveling through the troubled times of Sui and Tang Dynasties

In the Wagangzhai deliberation camp, the atmosphere was dull. Luo Cheng knelt in the middle, clenched his hands into fists and put them on his legs. He lowered his head and pressed his thin lips tightly in the face of questioning, without saying a word.

"Your Majesty, please take back your life!" As soon as Li Mi finished speaking, Xu Maogong stood up first, knelt aside and said, "Your Majesty, it was not General Luo's fault that he couldn't save General Pei. In this way, General Luo's crime will be punished, and General Luo will be punished." It is really inappropriate to take back General Luo's right to command the entire army after taking away the title of General Protecting the Nation."

Just as Li Mi was about to refute, Qin Qiong also knelt down: "Your Majesty, when you understand the Emperor's sympathy for General Pei, you are all crying out for the death of General Pei, but it is true that General Luo cannot be blamed for this matter. The situation at that time, Everyone saw it, and no one thought that Xinyue'e would set up a trap in the city. If General Luo hadn't been quick to rein in the reins in time, I'm afraid the ending would be the same as that of General Pei. In this case, General Luo It is God’s blessing to be able to save General Pei, it is reasonable for General Luo not to be able to save General Pei, I beg the emperor to see clearly.”

Shan Xiongxin, Wang Junke, You Junda, and Xie Yingdeng all knelt down: "I beg the emperor to forgive General Luo."

Li Mi clenched his fists behind his hands, squinted his eyes slightly, and asked in a low voice, "Okay, okay, do you all want to disobey the imperial decree because of Luo Cheng? Do you still have me as the emperor in your eyes?"

Everyone gritted their teeth tightly and did not let go.

Uncle Wang saw that the atmosphere between the monarch and his ministers was extremely awkward, so he quickly knelt down and kowtowed: "I don't dare to wait, I beg the emperor to appease his anger."

As soon as these words came out, everyone kowtowed and said, "I beg the emperor to appease his anger."

Seeing all the ministers kowtowed and pleaded guilty, Li Mi's eyes were dark and his face was calm, but he secretly said in his heart, it seems that Luo Cheng has won the hearts of the people, and his determination to seize his military power has become more and more firm.

Thinking this way in his heart, but there was some rhetoric on his lips. Li Mi sighed with great regret and said: "You think that taking away Luo Cheng's title and military power will make me feel good? But you can do it for Pei who is far away in Wagang Have the father and son thought about it, how can I give them an explanation? Why did Luo Cheng survive when the two went together?"

Hearing these words, Xu Maogong, who had always been flexible in mind, frowned. What did he mean by these words?Could it be that the two of them must die together?The person who came back alive became a criminal, and immediately replied: "If the emperor said so, then the guilty person should be me, not General Luo."

Xu Maogong said calmly: "On the battlefield yesterday, everyone saw it. It was my servant who saw that General Pei rushed into the enemy's army rashly. I was afraid that something might happen. I asked General Luo to chase him back. Now that the matter has come to an end, General Pei's If death has to be punished by someone, it is a humble minister, not General Luo."

Qin Qiong also took up the conversation and said: "My minister is also at fault. Yesterday the emperor clearly sent Wang Bo as General Wang and Little General Pei to lead the battle together. General Luo didn't want to go out at first, but it was Weichen who pulled him forward. Come to watch the battle."

When the crowd was making a fuss, and they rushed to confess their guilt, they suddenly heard a calm voice in the middle saying: "Everyone's kindness, Luo Chengxin accepts it. This matter is my fault, how the emperor wants to convict, Luo Chengcheng pleads guilty." gone."

"Brother Luo Cheng!"

"Luo Cheng—"

Seeing this, Li Mi immediately continued: "Luo Cheng, you said this! Okay, then I will—"

"Your Majesty, it's my old Cheng's brother-in-law who died. I'm naturally sadder than anyone else. Does my old Cheng have a position to say something?" Cheng Yaojin knelt down with a plop. His eyes were still red because of Pei Yuanqing's death. of.

Li Mi nodded: "Cheng Aiqing, but it's okay to say."

Cheng Yaojin said: "I am also deeply relieved that the emperor took action for Yuan Qing's death. I also hope that Luo Cheng can save Yuan Qing. But speaking from the heart, the situation at that time would be different for any of us." , It is not bad to save one life, and it is more likely to die together. The situation is so dangerous, how can we ask Brother Luo Cheng to save people at the same time."

"I, Cheng Yaojin, put my words here today. I have never blamed Brother Luo Cheng for not being able to save Yuan Qing. I am just glad that Brother Luo Cheng didn't make a move. The consequences could be disastrous."

"You—" Li Mi frowned. He was about to lose Luo Cheng's official title just now. He never thought that Cheng Yaojin would appear suddenly and say such a phone call, which made him very sad. Speaker.

"Brother Cheng...don't speak for me anymore, Luo Cheng can't afford it, Luo Cheng is willing to be punished." Luo Cheng raised his head with red eyes.

"Good brother, your fourth brother Cheng is not a person who spends money on public affairs for personal gain. If you can't trust your character, who else can I trust? My brother can see that Yuan Qing's death, you are more sad and guilty than anyone else."

The more Li Mi thought about it, the angrier he felt, thinking that he was still the emperor after all, and someone dared to refute his idea, did he still have some prestige?He attributed the main reason to Luo Cheng, who took away the prestige that should belong to him.

Thinking of this, Li Mi dismissed all the arguments, and said, "Well, there is no need to say more about this matter. I have made a decision on Luo Cheng's matter long ago, and you are not allowed to question it. What's more, Luo Cheng is also willing to admit it. Needless to say."

"Your Majesty, you—" the officials wanted to say something, but they heard a voice outside the door saying that it was Li Shimin, the son of Tang Guogong Li Yuan, who was asking to see him.

"Okay, you all go down first." Li Mi turned his back and ignored everyone.

Everyone had no choice but to stand up one after another, salute and leave.

When Li Mi met Li Shimin and read the letter in his hand, his gloomy mood finally receded.His brows and eyes were stretched, and his face was rather self-satisfied. Because of Pei Yuanqing's death, Hong Niguan was blocked, and Luo Cheng was obstructing other things, his anger also dissipated a lot.

Li Shimin's attitude was respectful and his tone was humble, which made Li Mi, who had just been questioned by the officials, very helpful.It seems that, as Li Yuan said in the letter, this time he went south to Yangzhou City to kill the faint king, and he had to rely on his Western Wei Kingdom.

Li Mi received the letter, and laughed loudly: "Mr. Tang is really polite. If you look down on me so much, I don't know what to say."

Li Shimin said earnestly: "My father said that he didn't want to come here. He once said that in terms of belonging to the world, it must belong to Wagang Village. Who dares to compete with Wagang Village. The anti-army sent out hero posts, and my father also received them. If you don’t come here, you seem to be afraid of Yang Guang; but come on, my Li family has no soldiers, no generals, and only fills in the numbers.”

"Hey, that's Mr. Tang's self-effacing. Who doesn't know that Li Yuanba is very brave. In the past, Yuwen Chengdu was defeated by him." Li Mi said meaningfully.

Li Shimin waved his hands again and again: "The emperor only knows one thing, but not the other. Although my younger brother is very powerful, his brain is not very good since he was a child, and no one can control his madness. Therefore, in the past, my father was kept in prison." The backyard is not allowed to go out easily, how can there be anything to say about it."

"Oh? And this?"

"I don't dare to hide anything, the emperor can find out after a little inquiry."

Li Mi raised his brows lightly, and this "officer" made him feel elated, and the Li family's words were all about his own opinion.

Li Shimin said again: "So, before I came to Yangzhou, my father urged me thousands of times that our Li family will not participate in the ceremony of seizing the jade seal in Yangzhou City. My father said that the king of the Western Wei Dynasty understands righteousness, is generous and kind. Since then, my father wanted to make friends with you, but unfortunately, I didn't have the chance to make friends. Now that I hear that you have become the emperor of the Western Wei Dynasty, my Li family must be attached to you."

"Hey, Mr. Tang is too far-fetched. In the past, I was an official in the same dynasty as him. I also admire Mr. Tang's character. Now that I read Mr. Tang's letter, I understand what Mr. Tang means." Li Mi helped Li Shimin up personally with a kind face.

As soon as Li Shimin walked out of the tent, the smile on his face disappeared. Seeing Li Yuanji standing outside looking around, his face became more relaxed, and he walked forward.

"Hey, second brother, you figured it out, Li... What did the emperor say?" Li Yuanji saw Li Shimin leaving the camp, and hurried forward to ask.

Li Shimin pulled the man aside, checked the surroundings, and said in a low voice: "Don't worry, it's exactly as father expected. Now let's surrender to the Western Wei Dynasty for the time being. Hold on, let's follow the army of Wagangzhai first." Let’s talk about Yangzhou City, since Li Mi wants to show off, let’s not stop him, let him stand in the front, our army preserves our strength, and we will fight it out in the future.”

Li Yuanji stared at him blankly, then smiled suddenly: "Er Fox, you can do it, but I heard that Li Mi is not easy to fool."

Li Shimin stared, pretending to be angry and said: "How do you talk? How dare you say the name of the emperor at will?"

Li Yuanji grinned happily: "Okay, okay, okay, I can't play you, so I can walk around in the Western Wei army now?"

"You also avoid suspicion, don't make the emperor suspicious."

Li Yuanji waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, I'll just go for a walk, take a walk."

The corners of Li Shimin's lips curled up: "I know you're going for a walk, that's just to go and see little brother Luo Cheng."

Then I saw that my brother, who was always very cheeky, blushed!This phenomenon stunned Li Shimin, who was not surprised.It was matched with this person's grinning teeth, fierce and irritable expression, and an indescribable sense of joy.

Li Yuanji didn't bother arguing with Erhu, anyway, he was definitely not his opponent when it came to bickering, if he had time to watch jokes here, he might as well go and see Luo Cheng.

Li Yuanji inquired all the way, finally came to Luo Cheng's big tent, straightened his clothes, and just opened the curtain, he heard the voice of the person inside said slightly unsteadily: "Cousin, don't comfort me, I It's okay, just leave me alone."

Li Yuanji paused, wondering who did he think he was?Continue to enter the big tent.

Hearing the person in front of him take a deep breath, he said in a depressed mood: "Cousin, I'm sad not because the emperor took away my title and military power, but because I failed the trust of my brothers."

"Li Mi demoted you?"

Hearing that it wasn't his cousin's voice, Luo Cheng suddenly turned his head and saw the person in front of him jumping up in front of him in three steps and two steps, staring at him gloomyly and asking, Luo Cheng was a little dazed: "Li Yuanji? Why are you here? ?”

No wonder Luo Cheng didn't think why Li Yuanji was here.When he was in charge of the tent, because of Pei Yuanqing's incident, he was in a trance, and he didn't hear someone tell Li Shimin to see Li Mi. Naturally, he didn't know why Li Yuanji appeared in Wagang's camp.

Li Yuanji looked at Luo Cheng's dumbfounded expression, and his anger was not in one place.It's only been a few months since I left, why did I become so dazed, even when I left, I was fine.

Li Yuanji grabbed Luo Cheng's arm and said, "Don't worry about why I'm here, I'm asking you, did Li Mi bully you? Did you get angry?"

Luo Cheng's eyes dimmed instantly, lowered his eyes, and remained silent.

"You're so anxious to death, what's going on? The one who was demoted and seized the military power, is it because he was afraid that your achievements would overwhelm the master, so he acted first?" Seeing that Luo Cheng was still silent, Li Yuanji even more He strengthened his mind, and said irritably, "You have the best temper, let you take all the bad things and troubles on yourself, look, you are jealous. I don't know why you want to go back to Wagang? Wouldn't it be good to stay with me in Chang'an City? Now in Chang'an City, it's not my Li family who has the final say, but as long as my Li family is around, you can do whatever you want."

Luo Cheng broke away his hand wearily: "Li Yuanji, stop messing around, okay?"

"Why am I messing around? Look at you, your eyes are red. Apart from the death of Yuwen Chengdu, what else can make you so sad? You said you were wronged."

"Li Yuanji, why do you have so many things, can you leave me alone? Whether I take medicine or not, whether I get sick or not, is it sad or not, what does it matter to you whether I shed tears or not?"

Li Yuanji was so choked by his words that he couldn't get over it for a long time, blowing his beard and staring, not knowing who he was angry with.

In fact, Luo Cheng regretted it after he finished speaking. No matter how bad he was, he couldn't take it out on others, not to mention, this person still kindly cared about himself.

Li Yuanji was depressed, Luo Cheng didn't know what to say, there was a moment of silence inside the curtain.

After a while, Luo Cheng raised his head, looked at Li Yuanji with a lonely expression, and said, "I'm sorry, it's my problem. I shouldn't lose my temper with you carelessly."

If this was the past, the young master had never been wronged like this, he either yelled back or swung his whip.But right now, he held back his breath aggrievedly, thinking to himself that he is in such a distraught state now, what else do you care about with him?Don't care about it... don't care about it... Now that Luo Cheng personally apologized, the original resentment in his heart was immediately ironed out, and the anger and anger in his heart were completely dispelled.

Li Yuanji took another step forward, knelt down in front of him, looked at him at the same level, and asked in a low voice: "What happened?"

Luo Cheng stared at him blankly with red eyes, and said with a trembling voice: "At the beginning of the battle, the military advisor and I noticed that something was wrong, and the military advisor Xu asked me to chase him back, but I couldn't stick to my point of view and stop him." Next, Pei Yuanqing. Later, when he chased Xinyue'e, I was a horse away from him. I was worried that Xinyue'e would use a hidden weapon, and I had been paying attention to her every move. So, almost every time she moved, I could see Knowing her intention, I reined in the horse rope in time, but Pei Yuanqing didn't have time—"

Luo Cheng's eyes suddenly dimmed, lowered his eyes, stopped looking at Li Yuanji's eyes, and said in a low voice: "I could have saved him...but the moment I saw him fall into the pit, I suddenly remembered the scene when Yu Wencheng was forced off the cliff by him at Siming Mountain that day... I didn't save him." Luo Cheng closed his eyes, and tears rolled down his face.

"It was just that moment of hesitation. When I wanted to throw the whip out to save people, it was too late. I saw Pei Yuanqing's body was covered with sharp knives, and he fell into the pit covered in blood. He died tragically... I was the one who killed him." Kill him, he might not have died."

After hearing this, Li Yuanji was crying with a sad face, not knowing whether to comfort him or himself.You have to ask Chou Yinwu for your cheap mouth, and when you find out the truth, you feel very uncomfortable.Luo Cheng is no longer an ignorant young man, and he doesn't just pretend to be the people of Liming and the people of the country in his heart. He can accommodate others in his heart, but he also has selfish intentions, but that person is not Li Yuanji.

Li Yuanji's right hand hesitated for a moment, and finally landed lightly on his left shoulder. After ten lifetimes of patience, he softened his voice and said, "I can't blame you for this, it's not your fault."

"He hastily pursued the enemy general, underestimating the enemy first; disobeying military orders, insisting on going ahead and falling into the trap by mistake, this is his destiny, and he can't blame others. On the battlefield, everything changes rapidly, and no one knows what will happen in the next moment. He doesn't even cherish his own life, so why should he force others to cherish it for him?"

From what happened to Li Yuanji, it wasn't a big deal at all.This person is clearly looking for death, why are you guilty there?As far as his impulsiveness is concerned, even if he doesn't die this time, he will die next time. With such a mindless person, how can you protect him every time?Besides, whether Pei is dead or not has nothing to do with him at all. Isn't it just a dead person? What's the big deal? He even shot arrows at his half-brother with his own hands. When you die, you die.But he couldn't say that. If he really said "speak from the bottom of his heart" like this, Luo Chengcheng would react coldly and drive him out.

Seeing that Luo Cheng was not moved at all, Li Yuanji was also anxious, thinking of words to comfort him, but unfortunately his stomach was empty, and when the book was used up, he would hate less. He racked his brains and thought hard, and then slowly said: "Can't you listen?" Follow what I said, right? Okay, then I will ask you, and you will answer."

Luo Cheng looked up at him and nodded.

"There are so many generals in Wagang, and you are not the only one who found something strange. Why did you go after him? What about the others? What are they doing?"

Before Luo Cheng could speak, Li Yuanji said, "Because you have the kindest and most selfless heart. Everyone knows that going here is dangerous. Out of selfishness, you didn't go rashly, so you go. Even if you really hate Pei... , I hate him for knocking Yuwen Chengdu off the cliff, but you still care about the brotherhood of Wagang, and you are sincerely for his own good, so you rushed out to stop him first."

Seeing that Luo Cheng was silent, Li Yuanji asked again: "You have always regretted not throwing the whip out to save him, but even if you did, so what? You are on the verge of a trap. If you drag another person onto the horse, it is very likely that you will be killed." He was dragged into the trap together."

Luo Cheng hurriedly said: "No, others may not be able to do it, but I will definitely be able to pull him up."

"Okay, so what do you say when you pull people up? With more people on the mount and more burdens, the pace will slow down. You know better than me whether you can get out of the encirclement smoothly."

Luo Cheng remained silent, because he almost failed to rush out at that time, and the city gate was closed the moment he rushed out.If he failed to rush out before the city gate was closed, even if the brothers outside wanted to save him, they could only watch him helplessly, dying in the city from exhaustion.

Li Yuanji saw that he was a little moved, and continued to say: "Luo Cheng, you can't take all the responsibility on yourself. This is a battlefield, and it is inevitable that people will die on the battlefield. If you can't bear these, why did you take the responsibility in the first place?" Banner against the Sui Dynasty? Since you have chosen this path, chosen to overthrow the tyranny, rebuild the peaceful world, and let the people of the world live and work in peace and contentment, there will inevitably be sacrifices along the way, and maybe your family, brothers, cronies, and friends...then At that time, would you blame yourself again, if I hadn't brought them out of Beiping Mansion...wouldn't those people have died?"

Luo Cheng's expression finally began to loosen, as if he was concentrating.

Li Yuanji was crying in pain, his whole back was covered with sweat, and he said to himself, young master, why are you still trying to get into a dead end?If you drill down again, I really have nothing to say.

In the past, upon hearing these words, Li Yuanji would have been soured to death.Full of benevolence, righteousness and morality, deep brotherly love, and taking saving the common people in the world as his duty... Tsk tsk tsk... It's so hypocritical, do you think you're telling a story?He is determined not to be able to say these words, but don't forget that there are many people in their family who can speak, Li Yuan can speak, Li Shimin can speak, Li Jiancheng can also speak, even his mother-in-law Dou is also a good hand... Therefore, he still knows how to parrot or something, and it just so happens that it comes in handy.

Before this, Li Yuanji never imagined that one day, he would be able to say such sour words.

Forget it, whether it is sour or not, as long as it can appease the person in front of you, it is a good word. In order to match the benevolence and morality on his lips, Li Yuanji frowned tightly, with a dignified face, caring about the suffering of people's livelihood , if Li Ang was present, it would be a joke.

Third son, you are really not suitable to play the role of patriotism and love for the people like Qu Yuan!Terrible panic.

After a long time, Luo Cheng suddenly raised his head, looked at him, and said softly: "Then I am now like this, does it make many people worry?"

Li Yuanji raised his eyebrows and said, "What do you think?"

"Everyone is very worried about you, your father, your mother, your brother, your brothers... and me." The last word was almost hidden in the lingering sound.

"Well, I understand." Luo Cheng nodded.

Hearing these words, Li Yuanji's ups and downs finally settled down. He breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and with a smile on his face, he said, "If you're in a bad mood, just let it out. Don't hold back." In my heart, I can't live with myself."

"How to vent?"

"For example, find someone to go to the martial arts training ground and have a good fight."

As soon as Li Yuanji finished speaking, he saw Luo Cheng's eyes sparkle, and he was eager to try: "Are you free?"

Li Yuanji was dumbfounded by his question, and finally closed his open mouth. The smile on his face was uglier than crying. He swallowed stiffly, nodded, and said with a smile: "Yes."

Just after answering, Li Yuanji wanted to bite off his tongue, and the villain in his heart jumped violently: Li Yuanji, are you an idiot?Are you trying to die...

Outside the curtain, two people came and left quietly.

After returning to the big tent, Qin Qiong looked at Xu Maogong earnestly and said, "Military Master, can you pretend that you didn't hear anything about today's incident?"

Xu Maogong smiled and said: "General Qin, you and I have been in the camp all day today to discuss the plan to retreat from the enemy, and we have never been anywhere."