Chapter 562 It's better to miss than to meet

On a sunny day in autumn, the sun shines brightly, and the golden chrysanthemum is in full bloom.

There is a fragrance of flowers everywhere in the imperial garden, and the stream is bright and gurgling, taking away a few rootless duckweeds.

Li Shimin sat on a teacher's chair by the stream, leaning against his body and squinting his eyes, lazily basking in the sun.

Between the nose is the fragrance of soil and the wet smell of water plants. Behind it are several Taihu stones polished by running water.

It's quiet all around.

Not far in front of him, Xiao Yanzi sat on the pu seat and was seriously painting with a pen. Li Shimin asked him to draw a portrait of himself, and Xiao Yanzi agreed. At this time, she looked up at her father from time to time, and then lowered her head and drew carefully.

After a long time, Li Shimin almost fell asleep. Xiao Yanzi smiled and called out, "Father, I've drawn it!"

Li Shimin just woke up and yawned and said, "Come and show it to your father."

Xiao Yanzi took the picture with a smile. Li Shimin took a look and laughed on the spot.

"Xiaozi, you are so naughty! How can you draw the way your father is asleep? Li Shimin pointed to the painting and said with a smile, "Look, the father's belly is so big, and there is a bird standing on his belly!"

"Hee hee, that little bird is a little bird!" Xiao Yanzi smiled and said, "Is the painting good, father?"

"Okay, that's great." Li Shimin nodded and smiled, touched Xiao Yanzi's head and said, "As the saying goes, calligraphy and painting are like a person. Looking at the thickness of ink and the hardness and softness of the lines, I know that you are kind and kind."

Speaking of this, Li Shimin sighed again, as if to say to himself: "Little son, you may be the smartest, smartest, the most clever and tame of my children."

Although Xiao Yanzi is young, she has always been extremely smart and understanding. She muttered, "Father, do you think of the fourth brother again?"

Li Shimin smiled slightly, but his smile was a little bitter. He said, "It's not just your fourth brother? And your eldest brother who is far away in Lingnan, the second brother who died, and your fifth brother who left his golden body in Famen Temple..."

Xiao Yanzi's mouth pouted and whispered sadly, "Father, why did these brothers leave us so early? ... Brother Jiu didn't come to the palace to see me, and the royal sister Gaoyang also left. I miss them so much!"

Li Shimin is speechless. He stared at Xiao Yanzi for a long time, and his eyes were full of lingering love and sadness.

"Little son, I will marry you to an ordinary family in the future, okay?" Li Shimin suddenly said.

Xiao Yanzi blinked his eyes half-in-understand and shook his head again, "I don't want to get married."

Li Shimin smiled, "Why? Girls are going to get married when they grow up.

"Because I'm married, I have to live with my husband and leave my father." Xiao Yanzi said seriously, "Sie many royal sisters are all like this. When they get married, they will not come to the palace to accompany their father. Sister Gaoyang, you have gone far away... I don't want to get married. I want to accompany my father forever!"

Li Shimin's heart seemed to be pierced by a red iron sign, touching the gentle place that had been buried in his heart for a long time. Suddenly, bitterness, emotion, regret and sadness all surged up.

I almost had red eyes and couldn't stop crying.

"Father, what's wrong with you..."

"Nothing..." Li Shimin smiled hard, touched Xiao Yanzi's head, and said softly, "You know, Xiao Yanzi. When you were a child, your royal sister Gaoyang was as clever as you, and she also said the same thing to your father..."

Xiao Yanzi listened very seriously. First, he nodded, and then shook his head decisively: "Sister Gaoyang won't keep her word. I won't. I'm sure I'll keep my word!"

"Stupid girl!" Li Shimin smiled, and a long-lost warmth appeared in his heart.

Finally, I temporarily left the court and was able to return to the harem to rest. Here, Li Shimin is accompanied by the little son every day, and the old and the young are inseparable. It seems that only when he is with Xiao Yanzi can Li Shimin definitely feel that he is a father, not the king of a country.

Instead of that, the king of the Tang Dynasty must make a choice and give up between family affection and the imperial industry.

The imperial doctor decocted the medicine and sent it to him. Xiao Yanzi took the bowl and fed Li Shimin medicine spoon by spoon. Like a child, he blew the medicine spoon and said, 'It's not bitter, father, be good, drink it quickly, and you will be fine'!

Li Shimin was really 'obedient' and drank the medicine with a sip of a smile.

When the palace people and eunuchs next to them saw this scene, their faces were as warm as sunshine, just like the autumn chrysanthemums blooming in the imperial garden.

Just after drinking the medicine, Li Shimin was gargling his mouth with tea when Li Ke came.

Xiao Yanzi greeted him from afar, "Third brother, you're here!"

Li Ke laughed cheerfully, "Xiao Yaner, you are accompanying your father again!" How's it going? Did your father take the medicine today?

"I've drunk it, my father is very good!" Xiao Yanzi smiled, showed two small tiger teeth, and said, "Third brother, is the village head back?"

Li Ke was stunned, smiled again, and squatted down to prepare to hug Xiaozi.

Xiaozi suddenly took two steps back, "No!"

"What's the matter?" Li Shimin and Li Ke were stunned.

"The third brother is a boy, I'm a girl, I can't hug!" The little boy is serious.

Li Shimin and Li Ke both laughed so much that they burst into tears.

"Third brother, why are you laughing? Let me ask you, is the village head back? Xiao Yanzi is still a little angry.

"Not yet." Li Ke smiled and said, "He... there are still some things to do. When he is done, he will come back to play with you.

"I don't want him to play with me." Xiao Yanzi looked a little unhappy, and his mouth pouted. He muttered, "I want him to see the portrait I drew for him. My father said that he would build a Lingyan Pavilion and pay tribute to the portraits of the meritorious officials of the Tang Dynasty. The portraits of other meritorious officials were painted by my teacher (Yan Liben); only the village head was painted by me!"

"Is that so? The little boy is really amazing!" Li Ke nodded gently and said with a smile, "When he comes back, I will definitely let him come into the palace to find you and make a special trip to see this portrait, okay?"

"Okay, it's a deal!" Only then did Xiao Yanzi smile happily.

"Good boy, my father wants to say something to your third brother. You can go to enjoy chrysanthemums with the wet nurse first! Wait a minute, my father will teach you calligraphy. Li Shimin said with a smile.

Xiao Yanzi obediently left.

Li Ke saluted Li Shimin and said, "Father, the main force of the Kansai Army, 300,000 troops, has been returning to the dynasty for many days. The minister has issued an edict, and the British father Li Xun will return to Chang'an in a few days. I want to ask my father, how should these 300,000 troops be organized, and who should be under the command?

Li Shimin leaned lazily on the chair and said, "Why don't you have the right person?"

"It's about military and state affairs, and I still want to ask my father what he means."

"Since I let you supervise the country, I will leave all these things to you." Li Shimin said, "What's wrong with the military affairs? Can't you deal with it?"

Li Ke smiled bitterly and said, "I will talk about my shallow opinion there. I thought that the Kansai Army was the elite division of my Tang Dynasty. It was not only the war brave army, but more importantly, the army was very united and banned. Erchen thought that it was not appropriate for this army to break up and reorganize it after returning to the DPRK, so that it could be attributed to various military mansions. When it is recalled during the war, the military will be lax. Therefore, the minister suggested that the original general of the Kansai Army should still lead this army. Let them stay in Chang'an in the future and be the main force of Gongwei Chang'an.

Li Shimin did not say anything, but said, "If you think it makes sense, just do it."

"I suggest that the four pillars of the Kansai Army continue to serve as the general of the Kansai Army." Li Ke said, "A long time ago, my father issued an order to form a new army of two guards, namely the left and right dragon and martial guards. After the battle of Pingbo, Zuoyou Longwuwei caused the loss of casualties and various reasons for his return to the house, which led to the loss of personnel and chaos, which was dead in name only. Therefore, my son suggested that Pang Fei, who returned to the court, and Xue Rengui, the first fierce general of the Kansai Army, serve as the new general of the left and right Longwuwei. These two guards and horses usually guard the imperial city of the imperial capital; during the war, they were the main vanguard to destroy the city.

"Good." Li Shimin finally made a statement and said, "You have to work harder to convince everyone about the transfer of the generals. The original left and right generals of Longwuwei, Qin Tong and Li Junxian, were both inspectors. Now Pang Fei and Xue Rengui are officially appointed as generals. You have to appease these two people first.

"My son obeys the order."

"Bear by the way, did you just say... Sitingzhu?" Li Shimin frowned slightly, "I seem to remember that in addition to the four pillars, there are also 'Eight Military Taiwan' in the Kansai Army?"

"Yes." Li Ke said, "In the Kansai army, good ministers and generals gathered together. The four pillars and eight military platforms are all great meritorious officials on the unique side, and they are also rare tiger generals in the world. Especially the Sitingzhu, Su Dingfang is now sitting in the Western Regions. Pang Fei once acted as the governor of Lanzhou, and Xue Rengui is a rare general in a hundred years. The rest of the eight military platforms, after pacified the Western Regions, were ordered by Qin Mubai to establish their own governor's office. Now the temporary consular office sits on one side in the Western Regions to protect the people of the Tang Dynasty... Yuwen Hongtai, one of the four pillars, resigned and left with Qin Mubai.

Li Shimin meditated for a moment and said, "Since you are a talent, you should reuse it. After a while, when the Western Regions stabilized, the Eighth Army Taiwan was transferred back to Chang'an and held important positions in the left and right Longwuwei, or held important positions in other Weifu.

At this point, Li Shimin paused and said, "In the future, they can also serve in the six rates."

Li Ke's heart was shocked: Six rates?

Are the guards and horses of the prince's East Palace, the East Palace's six rates?

Hearing this, Li Ke's heart was not actually a surprise, but gradually relieved. Just now, he intended to mention the Kansai Army, the Four Pillars and the Eighth Army in front of Li Shimin, just to test his father's attitude towards these people. Now it turns out that after Qin Mubai left, the Kansai army would no longer be a "power group". The imperial court can easily control and absorb them, and measure them.

And listening to Li Shimin's words, the intention is obvious - he hopes that the Kansai Army can firmly unite around Li Ke and become the right arm to consolidate his position as a prince!

The father and son were silent for a tacit moment. Li Shimin suddenly said, "Qin Mubai... Is there any news?"

Li Ke whispered, "It's still in the desert. It's almost winter. The weather on the grassland desert is cold, windy, sand and snowy, making it inconvenient to travel far. It is estimated that he will stay there for three or four months before he turns to the Western Regions.

Li Shimin nodded and said, "What about your marriage?"

Li Ke frowned and said, "Please ask your father to choose a famous girl for your son... get married!"

Li Shimin smiled and said, "Why, I was rejected by others. I was disheartened and thought about it?"

Li Ke smiled and said, "People have their own aspirations, and they can't be forced. It's not what it used to be. It's natural for their brothers and sisters to have their own ideas. Shuang'er said it well in a letter to me... It's better to forget each other than to help each other. Maybe we are really predestined. We can only miss each other and can't stay together.

The expression on Li Shimin's face has not changed at all. He said lightly, "Kier, you are a person of your personality like a father. But you have to remember that God is actually fair to everyone: the more you get, the more you often lose. Don't think that the two are perfect, it will not be worth the loss.

"I understand..." Li Ke sighed softly, frowned again, and said, "I am now ordered to supervise the country, and I should put all national affairs first. My son's marriage is no longer just my personal matter, but a national event. Therefore, I also asked my father and mother to make the decision to confirm the marriage.

Li Shimin nodded gently, "I know."

"What else does my father have?"

"Remember, whether it is the emperor's own practice or the use of ministers, in the era of peace, the first priority is virtue and self-cultivation; in troubled times, it should be used as a skill." Li Shimin said, "It's okay. Go ahead!"

"I'm leaving..."

After saying goodbye to Li Shimin, Li Ke walked slowly in the royal garden, thinking about Li Shimin's last sentence, and thought to himself: My father suddenly said such a sentence to me, which must have been implied. In the era of peace, the most important thing is morality; in times of crisis in war, use a skill - is this talking about Qin Mubai?

Listening to the analysis of my father's words, people like Qin Mubai, according to the moral requirements of Confucianism, morality is only average, at least not compared with many famous scholars and moral monarchs in the court; but he is indeed a talented person with excellent ability. No matter how to govern the people with soldiers, he has its own uniqueness.

In connection with reality, Qin Mubai has gone to Lanzhou in recent years, and has repeatedly made amazing moves, from the initial migration of people into Lan, opening the market to attract merchants, monopolizing the grain market, self-use taxation, to the later recruitment and expansion of military force, private surrender of the rebels, and fraudulently defeating the enemy, including the private use of Hou Junji. , and a series of subsequent behaviors of Hou Junji can be calculated on Qin Mubai's head.

Measured by the standards of secular etiquette, Qin Mubai's behaviors are absurd and out of line. That is to say, in the eyes of many old people, he is actually a traitor of "bad conduct" and "non-respecting to his character".

However, these great achievements that Qin Mubai did alone could not be done by sending 10,000 old men.

In retrospect, Li Ke felt that his father's words just now really hit the nail on the head of the king's way to use people - the use of virtue in the prosperous world and the use of energy in the chaotic world!

"Mu Bai, I finally understand why you resigned." Only then did Li Ke suddenly realize and said secretly, "You are a pragmatic person and don't want to be famous. After the war, the Tang Dynasty will definitely return to Wenzhi. If you return to the court, you will work with countless Confucian scholars, and you will also throw swords and pick up pen and ink to do the same thing as them. Although you are famous in the world, most of the literary ministers in the court may not really respect and accept you from the bottom of their hearts. What is waiting for you will be endless intrigues and intrigues, and even settle accounts after the autumn. Once on my father's imperial court, there was a large pile of impeachment chapters, which I know...

"How similar is this to Hou Junji in those years?"

"Well, I won't force you anymore! But as my father said, if the Tang Dynasty is in trouble, you must stand up and fight side by side with me!"

Thinking of this, Li Ke smiled bitterly; Qin Mubai, Qin Mubai, now I am looking forward to seeing you, but I don't want to see you! - If you and I don't see each other, it means that everything is fine in the Tang Dynasty; if you and I meet, it is a time when the Tang Dynasty is in trouble!

"What should I do?"

"Do you really agree with that sentence... It's better to miss each other than to meet?"