The prince rebelled and was captured by the emperor. The news spread like wildfire within a day and had spread throughout the army. The soldiers all started talking in low voices about who would be established as the prince after the prince was deposed. Everyone thinks that Northern King Li Ke will be the only candidate. Because this time the battle under Baiyan City annihilated 100,000 Korean troops, and when Baiyan City surrendered, another 100,000 Korean prisoners were killed. The loss of these 200,000 troops was a heavy blow to Goryeo, which could even lead to collapse and destruction by the Tang Dynasty. What a great achievement this is. Only King Bei can do it. If King Bei doesn't become the prince, who else has the qualification? The simple thing is that the soldiers thought so in their hearts and said so with their mouths. Especially the captains and captains who graduated from the Royal Army Academy were even more eager for their principal to become the prince of the Tang Dynasty and then the emperor of the Tang Dynasty.
However, Li Ke didn¡¯t think so. He knew very well that Li Chengqian¡¯s removal would only give Changsun Wuji a chance to make a comeback. Because, he still has a card in his hand, which is more useful and better than Li Chengqian. He is Nanwang Li Zhi.
When receiving the news from Eagle Guard, Li Ke remained silent and did not take any action.
Zhu Tong, who is in charge of Chang'an City, sent the secret message to Liaodong this time through oral delivery by a real person instead of the usual letter, which shows the importance and top-secret nature of this message. In this case, you have to be more careful. Therefore, he has been waiting for a suitable opportunity to return to Chang'an. but not now. Because Li Shimin is critically ill, this is the time when he is most suspicious. If he loses his composure at this juncture and becomes suspicious in the slightest, it will arouse his suspicion and even disgust, and he will definitely not let him go. . )
Therefore, Li Ke strictly ordered the generals in the army not to discuss government affairs privately.
After ten days of waiting, Liu Rengui, the governor of Yingzhou, finally arrived at Baiyan City. This time, in addition to 20,000 elite soldiers, he also brought hundreds of thousands of dan of grain, which Li Ke asked Chai Zhewei to raise.
"See Your Highness¡ª¡ª" Liu Rengui saluted.
Li Ke has already lived in the General's Mansion at Gao Dezhu in Baiyan City.
"Zhengzhe, no need to be too polite -" Li Ke said with a smile, "This time your Yingzhou navy attacked the city and took on the power of the Tang Dynasty!"
"I dare not take it seriously - it is all the credit of His Highness!" Liu Rengui replied modestly.
"Zhengze, you're welcome. I know who gets the credit!" Li Ke said with a smile, and then his expression turned serious, "Have you heard about the situation in Chang'an City?"
¡°I heard something¡ª¡ª¡± Liu Rengui replied.
Because, after ten days, major events like Li Chengqian's rebellion will definitely spread.
"Then what do you think?" Li Ke asked.
"Your Highness, the situation in Chang'an seems complicated now. However, for us, the most important thing is to find out the emperor's condition. Only when the emperor's condition is confirmed can we make the next step." Liu Rengui analyzed.
However, his words revealed his loyalty to Li Ke. Because, his words indicate that as long as the emperor's condition is serious, your highness can send troops to Chang'an City.
¡°That¡¯s true¡ª¡± Li Ke sighed.
After a while, he asked Liu Rengui again, "Zhengze, what do you think of the war between Tang Dynasty and Goryeo?"
"Your Highness, Goryeo is now at the end of its war effort, so there is nothing to worry about-" Liu Rengui said.
¡°Explain explain¡ª¡ª¡± Li Ke said.
"There is a lot of public dissatisfaction in Goryeo because of the problem of Fu Shou Ointment. Many people have gone bankrupt. The soldiers have been taking Fu Shou Ointment all year round and have lost their combat effectiveness." Liu Rengui glanced at Li Ke and saw that Li Ke had no expression on his face. He continued, "Moreover, this time Goryeo sent troops with the strength of the whole country, using all the elite soldiers in the country, 400,000, to fight against the emperor's army along the way, losing seven to eight tenths, and another 200,000 were annihilated by His Highness at the foot of Baiyan City. , now there are very few troops and horses left in Goryeo."
"So, you mean the Koreans will come to seek peace?" Li Ke suddenly said.
"Yes - they will definitely adopt the method of suing for peace and paying tribute in exchange for peace!" Liu Rengui said.
"Peace¡ª¡ª?" Li Ke said coldly, "It won't work here with me¡ª¡ª" Then he said again, "I will recruit you to Liaodong this time so that you can command the Liaodong army and be destroyed by me." Goryeo.¡±
Liu Rengui was stunned for a moment, then showed joy, bowed and said, "I will live up to His Highness's high expectations -"
In fact, he knew very well that this was because King Bei wanted to give him a share of credit.
He knew even more clearly that as long as Goryeo was destroyed, the Northern King would definitely treat Su Dingfang just like he did.If you treat him like this, you will make him a king. Because he knew in his heart that King Bei would never forget the first people who followed him, such as Su Dingfang, Chen Qi and himself.
"What about you, Your Highness?" Liu Rengui continued to ask.
"In a few days, there will definitely be an imperial edict from the imperial court to Liaodong!" Li Ke sighed, "I will definitely return to Beijing by then¡ª¡ª"
After saying this, he remained silent.
Liu Rengui also knew that when the emperor fell ill, he would not give the Northern King a chance to support his troops outside, and would definitely transfer him back to Chang'an City.
"Okay - you go down first!" Li Ke said to Liu Rengui.
Liu Rengui said goodbye and left Li Ke's study.
Li Ke began to think quietly, what should he do? After a while, he sighed slightly, but after all, he still couldn't figure out the reason. Because he knew very well that there were still nearly 100,000 troops in Chang'an, and Changsun Wuji transferred 30,000 troops to Xiaoguan and set up 20,000 elite troops in Puzhou. Without confirming Li Shimin's condition, he rashly dispatched troops to Chang'an City. There was no other way except to fight.
So, he is waiting for the opportunity, waiting for the best time.
He was waiting for Li Shimin to see if he would make Li Zhi the crown prince.
" If he really wants to make Li Zhi the crown prince, he can only ask for an order to return to the northwest again, or ask for a war to destroy Goryeo. Only in this way can he ensure that he will not be ignored. Because during this period, Su Dingfang probably had friction with the countries in the Western Regions, so he had a chance to request an order, and Goryeo had not yet been destroyed. At this time, Li Shimin's condition was not serious. As long as he finds out that he is seriously ill, he will not sit still and wait for death. He must send troops to Chang'an and he must not let Changsun Wuji's conspiracy succeed.
Li Ke was thinking so wildly that ten days passed.
Ten days passed without any news from Chang'an. Instead, Goryeo sent an envoy to negotiate peace with the Tang Dynasty.
Li Ke¡¯s order to Liu Rengui was to destroy Goryeo and turn Goryeo into the territory of the Tang Dynasty. However, he also ordered Liu Rengui to deal with Goryeo calmly and not to rush into action yet. It would not be too late to wait until there is news from Chang'an before taking action. Therefore, the envoy from Goryeo did not see the Northern King Li Ke and could only discuss peace with Liu Rengui all day long.