At this time, Li Shimin was not wearing armor, only a thin robe. But when Li Shimin walked, his steps were steady and steady, and his bearing was extraordinary.
This was Li Shimin.
When Du Qi heard Li Shimin's words, he shook his sleeves and strode forward. Mordor wanted to follow, but Du Qi stopped him with a wave of his hand.
If Li Shimin could come alone, so could he.
Du Qi was only a little over twenty years old, and he was already very different from his past self. In the last few years in the Western Regions, Du Qi had matured, and his features were chiseled. Not only did he have the bearing of a superior, he was also extraordinarily handsome.
His white robe was extremely conspicuous.
Du Qi strode forward, and when he reached the center of the two armies, he sat down in front of Li Shimin. Soldiers had already laid out a carpet on the ground, and a canopy had been set up to block out the scorching sun. Thus, sitting under the canopy didn't feel very hot, and there was even a cool breeze blowing in. It was rather pleasant.
Besides this, there was also a table.
There was also a jug of wine on it.
Du Qi didn't immediately sit down. After standing still, he said, "Your Majesty."
Li Shimin said, "Sit!"
Du Qi expressed his thanks and sat down. No matter what the relationship between Du Qi and Li Shimin was, Du Qi still remembered the kindness of the past. Without Li Shimin, the current Du Qi would never have existed.
Li Shimin picked up the wine jug, filled it to the brim, and drank a cup. "Erlang, please!"
Du Qi raised the wine jug and drained it in one gulp.
After drinking, Du Qi said, "Now that I mention it, this is the first cup of wine that Your Majesty has personally poured for me. But today, Your Majesty has come with an army of more than two hundred thousand, and I am truly nervous! "
Li Shimin chuckled as he stroked his beard. "You, Du Qi, detained Our Great General Hou Junji and captured Our army. Now, you're standing before Us in apprehension, saying that you're afraid. I find it hard to believe that you're acting like this! "
Du Qi said, "Your Majesty, you know that I've always been an honest person. I never lie. Your Majesty is a wise ruler, and you have the spirit to be a great emperor. Naturally, I am nervous in front of Your Majesty. "
Li Shimin said, "Since you are so nervous, then come with Zhen back to Chang 'an. You are still Ping Xi Wang, Du Family is still Du Family, and your property is still your property. "
Du Qi shook his head and sighed, "Your Majesty, we can't go back anymore. His Majesty's eldest son, the current crown prince, Li Chengqian, sees me as a thorn in his side and hates me to the bone. "
"His Majesty's trusted aide, Zhangsun Wuji, is extremely jealous of me. Just like the Crown Prince, he can't wait to kill me. What's more, the Du family's business has already reached its peak. "
"At this stage, if we can't maintain it, then we're going downhill. In the Tang dynasty, even if we had Your Majesty's protection, there would still be a day when we would be surrounded by wolves. "
"I don't like to bet everything I have on the kindness and forgiveness of others."
"That's not my style."
Du Qi continued, "Your Majesty should still remember that during the crusade against the Turks, the officials led by Zhangsun Wuji said that the court was lacking in money and needed to gather it. In the end, the officials chimed in one after another, and my father agreed to transfer money from the Du family."
"At that time, Your Majesty, as a sovereign, was unable to refuse. Just like now, I've made a name for myself in the Western Regions. Zhangsun Wuji once again proposed to set up the Anxi Protectorate Jiedushi to control the Western Regions, and Your Majesty still agreed. "
"Originally, Your Majesty promised that the territories outside of Guazhou in the Western Regions, as long as they were conquered by me, would all belong to me. They would all be my fiefdom, and I would be in charge of all the power."
"But Your Majesty still set up the Anxi Protectorate Jiedushi and arranged for Gao Shilian to come."
"Why?"
"Because Your Majesty is the emperor, the sovereign of the Tang dynasty. As a sovereign, it's impossible for there to be an existence that you can't control. Thus, even though Your Majesty knew that Zhangsun Wuji's suggestion would cause a series of problems, Your Majesty still chose to agree in the end. "
Du Qi said, "It's because of Your Majesty's identity that we came to this step step by step."
Li Shimin narrowed his eyes and said slowly, "Erlang, have you ever considered taking a step back? If you had allowed Gao Shilian to be the Jiedushi, things wouldn't have come to this step. "
However, Du Qi laughed.
There was even a hint of disdain in his laughter.
Li Shimin asked, "What are you laughing at?"
Du Qi said indifferently, "Your Majesty, the reason why I'm laughing is because Your Majesty is in charge of a country. As the sovereign of the Tang dynasty, you actually said such words to console me. Or rather, you're just trying to fool me. "
"Before this, there was no Jiedushi of the Anxi Protectorate. I accepted it as my concession to the imperial court."
"Now, I've become the Jiedushi of the Anxi Protectorate. The imperial court has removed me from my official position and even arranged for Gao Shilian to be the Jiedushi of the Anxi Protectorate. There's also Hou Junji leading an army of fifty thousand stationed in Guazhou."
"I took another step back and accepted this arrangement. The next step is probably that everything in my hands will be taken away and I'll fall into the abyss step by step. Boiling a frog in warm water is nothing more than this. "
Du Qi's expression sharpened as he said aggressively, "Your Majesty, in the past, I only wanted to live a lazy life. After all, my father is the prime minister of the imperial court and the Du family's wealth is unparalleled. I only needed to be a profligate son. "
"What I want is actually very simple."
"But people who are kind will be bullied. You're a delicious cake that will be coveted by countless people. You'll be targeted by countless people and treated as fish on the chopping board. With no other choice, I can only protect myself and seek my own development so that I won't be bullied by others. "
Du Qi said, "In the end, everything that I have today was created by Your Majesty."
Li Shimin muttered, "Was it really We who caused everything that happened today?"
"Yes!"
Du Qi firmly replied.
Even though Du Qi felt immense pressure from Li Shimin, Du Qi did not back down even a little. Even though he was only the Pacifying West King, Du Qi did not fear him.
Li Shimin stared at Du Qi, his eyes gradually changing, becoming unprecedentedly sharp as he said, "Du Qi, oh Du Qi, you must consider this carefully. If you start a war with Us, you may die and your clan may be exterminated."
Du Qi's lips curved into a smile as he said, "Your Majesty, in truth, this war won't happen. Unless Your Majesty really wants to witness the collapse of the Tang dynasty. The reason why I insist on stationing the troops at the border is to wait for Your Majesty to personally lead the troops. Because there are some words that I want to say to Your Majesty personally. After today's conversation with Your Majesty, I don't know when I'll have the opportunity to talk to Your Majesty again. "
Li Shimin said with a smile, "Du Qi, Us can immediately give the order to attack. You said that this war won't happen, but in fact, it's too easy to start a war. One order will trigger a war. "
Du Qi shook his robe and said, "Your Majesty's main thoughts are now focused on me. But Your Majesty, have you arranged people to pay attention to the situation in Tubo? "
Li Shimin's heart thumped.
The situation in Tubo.
What kind of situation could there be in Tubo?
Li Shimin twisted his buttocks, suppressed the faint uneasiness in his heart, and looked around. In the end, Li Shimin's eyes converged on Du Qi and asked, "Erlang, what does this war have to do with Tubo?"
Du Qi said with a smile, "Of course it's related, and it's very related."
Li Shimin said, "I'd like to hear the details."
Du Qi picked up the wine pot and poured himself a cup of wine. Drinking wine on a hot day could be considered as quenching his thirst. After drinking a cup of wine, he said, "Your Majesty, this year, Tubo was in turmoil. When Tubo's Zamprang Songtsan was about to die of illness, he had a conflict with the old noble Gongga, and a large-scale war broke out. Because I sent people to interfere and support Zamprang Songtsan's royal uncle Gongga, during the civil war in Tubo, Gongga eliminated Zamprang Songtsan and Songtsan Gampo, and became the Zamprang of Tubo. "
After a pause, Du Qi continued, "Today, Tubo owes me a favor, and they don't dare to provoke me, so when I gave the order, Tubo's Zamprang Gongga has already led his army to the border. As long as Your Majesty and I start a war, Gongga will loot a burning house. "
Li Shimin's expression changed again and again.
He didn't expect that Du Qi still had this trick up his sleeve. It was something that the court officials didn't expect.
This became a great killing weapon.
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