Tibet

Li Ye led an army of 100,000 to Puyang. According to his order, a temporary pontoon bridge had been laid on the Yellow River in Puyang. Hundreds of small boats were lined up side by side, fastened with iron chains, and wide wooden boards were built on top.

The engineering soldiers on several large ships were still driving wooden piles in the river to fix the pontoon bridge.

It was getting late at this time, so Li Ye ordered the entire army to camp in place. The army set up a large tent and the soldiers fetched water for cooking. They did not need to find wood. They could boil water for cooking with the briquettes and marching stoves they carried with them.

Nowadays, military regulations are very strict. All soldiers are not allowed to drink raw water and must drink boiled water. The soldiers also comply with it. Who wants to drink raw water when there is boiled water? If you catch the disease, you will lose your life.

At this time, several officials came from Puyang County, headed by Chang Gun, the left minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs. He followed Liu Yan to resettle the Goguryeo people. When he heard that the regent was out of Beijing and came to Puzhou, Liu Yan couldn't leave, so he sent him to report. .

Chang Gun greeted Li Ye, and Li Ye smiled, asked him to sit down, and asked, "Is the resettlement going well?"

"In general, it went smoothly. These Goguryeo people had a very low status in Silla. They were almost semi-slaves. At first, they all wanted to live together as clansmen. Liu Shangshu refused. They had to be separated, and they had to be far apart. Liu Shangshu He just said that if he didn’t want to stay in the Tang Dynasty, he could go back to Silla. As a result, everyone accepted it honestly and did not dare to cause trouble. "

"Then what?"

"Then it was very interesting. When the allocation was made, many young couples were very happy and said that they actually did not want to live with the clan at all."

"Why?" Li Ye was puzzled.

"Let's exploit the clan! Half of the harvested food must be given to the clan. It is said to be clan food to take care of the clan members in need, but in fact it has been embezzled by a few powerful clan elders."

"Is that true?" Li Ye asked with a smile.

Chang Gun bowed and said: "There are humble positions that take care of tribesmen in need, and there is also corruption. The key is that we pay too much food to the tribe. Half of the food we have worked so hard to grow has to be handed over. No one can bear it. It stands to reason that we should take care of tribesmen in need." In fact, it doesn't cost much, most of them are still corrupted. Our Tang clan also has to pay for food, but we only need to pay a little bit, how can we pay half of it? I feel that the Goguryeo nation is very extreme, and it is easy to go to extremes in everything. ”

"You're right. It's the same for both Goguryeo and Silla. That's why Fang Xuanling called them 'frontier barbarians and lowly people who cannot be treated with kindness and righteousness'. For more than a hundred years, they have never forgotten the restoration of the country. No matter how good they are to them, they They will not be grateful. This is the last chance I give them. If they dare to cause trouble again, they will be executed."

At this time, Chang Gun said again: "Your Highness, Li Jing helped us do a lot of things this time and was of great help. Liu Yan appreciates him very much."

"Li Zhengyi's son Li Jing?"

"Exactly!"

Li Ye thought for a moment and said, "He came with you too?"

"He's right outside the tent!"

"Now that he's here, let him in!"

Not long after, Li Jing, who was fat, hurriedly walked in, knelt down and paid homage: "Sinful minister Li Jing, pay homage to His Highness the Regent!"

Li Ye looked at him for a long time and said, "Who is your wife?"

"The guilty minister's wife is the daughter of the famous Feng family in Qingzhou."

"Did she give birth to your child?"

"She gave birth to a son and a daughter to the sinner."

"Do you have a concubine?"

"I have two concubines, both girls from good families."

"Besides my wife and concubine?"

Li Jing immediately understood what the regent meant. He was dissatisfied with his indulging in women. Li Jing quickly said: "Your Highness, except for one wife and two concubines, the guilty subjects will not have any other women. Those who used to be sent back were paid a heavy sum of money." Go home."

Li Ye nodded, "Since Liu Shangshu appreciates you, you can follow him in the future! If you work hard for a few years and you have achieved results, the Political Affairs Hall will consider promoting you. I hope that one day, I will appoint you."

Li Jing knew that he had been pardoned. He was so excited that he choked with sobs and said, "Thank you for your generosity, Your Highness. I am so humbled, but I am willing to die for Your Highness!"

"Don't be so exaggerated. Do what a minister should do. Live a more disciplined life. Take away the things that belong to you. If they belong to the people of Ziqing, just keep them. Go!"

"Wei Chen will bear this in mind!"

Li Jing kowtowed three times and slowly retreated.

Li Ye then said calmly to Chang Gun: "Don't think that I can forgive him just because he did something for you. I know his situation very well. He is just drunk and lustful, and has no other evil deeds. As long as he is like Li Ye." If he kills innocent people like that, he will never end well."

"Wei Chen understands, and Liu Shangshu also said that he is a relatively tolerant man and has never done anything that would make people and gods angry, so he was given the opportunity to serve, otherwise he would be taken directly to Chang'an."

"That's it! If you have any difficulties, you can cross the Yellow River and come to me."

"Wei Chen obeys the order!"

Chang Gun bowed and retreated. Li Ye walked to the sand table with his hands behind his back. He was now more concerned about the war situation in Hebei.

Just after Tian Chengsi's army captured Xindu City, Guo Ziyi made a jaw-dropping move. He abandoned Beizhou and led his army to retreat to Weizhou.

In the dark of night, 50,000 troops left Qinghe County and retreated southward in a mighty manner.

Cui Ze, the head of the Cui family in Qinghe, was shocked and came to see Guo Ziyi personally.

Guo Ziyi reined in the horse and ordered Cui Ze to come up. He also turned over and dismounted. After a while, Cui Ze hurriedly stepped forward and saluted: "Why does General Guo want to withdraw his troops?"

Guo Ziyi smiled slightly and said: "The tiger retreats in order to better jump up and hunt, and I am the same."

Cui Ze was stunned for a moment and then asked: "Is the old general just retreating strategically?"

"of course!"

Guo Ziyi's statement made Cui Ze feel a little relieved, but he was still worried and said, "Will Beizhou become the main battlefield?"

Guo Ziyi shook his head, "Don't worry, sir. Beizhou is not a strategic place. The main battlefield is either Weizhou or Cangzhou, and it will definitely not be Beizhou!"

Cui Ze was completely relieved and clasped his fists and said, "Then I wish the old general a successful start and unify Hebei as soon as possible."

"Thank you! Thank you!"

Guo Ziyi pondered for a moment, and then smiled and said, "I have to tell the old general one thing. His Royal Highness the Regent has arrived in Hebei!"

Cui Ze was shocked and asked anxiously, "Where is His Royal Highness the Regent?"

"I don't know the details, but I know he crossed the Yellow River from Puyang, so he should be in Weizhou."

"Thank you for the news from the old general!"

Cui Ze was really grateful. It was related to the future and fate of the Qinghe Cui family, and he had to meet the Regent as soon as possible.

Tian Chengsi also deployed countless scouts in Beizhou. The night after the Tang army retreated, Tian Chengsi received accurate news.

Tian Chengsi was also very anxious these days. His eldest son Tian Wei gave up Weizhou and led 10,000 troops to retreat westward to Mingzhou, but there has been no news so far.

There was no news from Li Baochen either. The eldest son and the 10,000 troops seemed to have disappeared, which really made Tian Chengsi restless.

Tian Chengsi was especially afraid of hearing the news that his eldest son's army was annihilated. He sent more than a dozen scouts to Mingzhou to inquire about the news.

But now he received news that Guo Ziyi gave up Beizhou and led the army to retreat southward, which made Tian Chengsi completely confused.