Dugu Chi was killed and shot to death by three poisonous arrows a hundred feet away from Dugu Mansion. When the news came out, it caused an uproar in the Li Tang dynasty. Li Yuan issued an order to dismiss Yu Yun, the family of the Yu family of Jingzhao, and to investigate it. Zhao Xiaoci, the Minister of War, and ordered the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate and Dali Temple to examine the cause of Dugu Chi being assassinated. The case was led by the Ministry of Justice. The three departments each selected elite personnel to jointly investigate, and the murderer was found in ten days.

Li Yuan also ordered the prince Li Jiancheng to visit Dugu to show his sincere condolences to his uncle. He posthumously awarded him the Duke of Zheng and granted him the title of the Duke of the Pillar Kingdom, allowing Dugu to be buried with Duke of the State. On the day of the coffin collection, Li Yuan took off his dragon robe and knelt down to worship as his nephew. He was very caring and won praise from all over the Li Tang dynasty, and praised Li Yuan for his great kindness and righteousness.

Five days later, the Ministry of Justice came up with a more detailed investigation plan and pointed out that Dugu Zheng was most likely to be murdered by Li Mi. There are three reasons: one is that Dugu Zheng's cold arrow was made of elm, which is the special arrow rod of Li Mi Neijun; the second reason is that on the day before the incident, three men with southern accents asked for a guest room at Lingyun Brewery and asked about the location of Dugu Mansion. Then someone saw them wandering near Dugu Mansion for a long time. After the incident, they never returned to Lingyun Brewery. They left in a hurry and did not even come back to pick up their luggage. The materials for their clothes were produced in Jiangnan.

The third reason is more reasonable. It is said that Fang Xuanling's visit made Li Mi worry that the Sui and Tang dynasties would quit, which led to the Sui army's full efforts to attack Wei. Therefore, in order to undermine the agreement between Sui and Tang dynasties, Li Mi attempted to blame the Sui Dynasty.

Of course, these three reasons are far-fetched and lack direct and strong evidence to prove it, so it is impossible to issue a formal proof. However, in any case, the investigation pointed the finger at Li Mi. Various statements were also spread in Xiangyang, but the official has never had a formal statement. Under the guidance of those who are interested, various rumors have become increasingly absurd.

...

Although there were many different opinions in Xiangyang City, Li Yuan had no choice but to take into account the chaos in the city. Shortly after Fang Xuanling left, the surrounding Sui army pressed towards the Tang territory. This time, except for Nanyang and Xiyang, the Sui army in Hanchuan, Shunzheng, Hanyang, Lintao and other places showed off their power in the Tang Dynasty border city from time to time. Although the battle did not officially start, they would fly to the top of the city with one arrow, which was full of provocation, so that the letter of request for help was sent to Xiangyang like snowflakes.

This is actually a strategic deception implemented by Yang Tong. The purpose is to make Li Mi think that the Sui Dynasty adheres to the tactics of the Tang and the Wei, and at the same time, it is also to further force Li Yuan to get into civil strife faster and prevent Li Yuan from having enough time to use gentle measures to boil frogs in warm water against the Guanlong nobles.

Li Yuan's main forces were all stationed in the Jingxiang area. Although Bashu was not empty, except for the soldiers from each border county, there were only county soldiers inside. These Bashu army, which had no war and had been separated for a long time, could not resist the Sui army, which had been through many battles. If Bashu was lost, Li Yuan would only have the five counties of Jingxiang left. This is something that Li Yuan could not tolerate. Then, when Li Yuan was attacked from all sides, where would he draw troops back to defend Bashu? It was obviously impossible to seize the Jingxiang army, which was too late. Second, Xiangyang, as the imperial capital, was also important and could not lose.

He transferred Jingxiang Army into Shu, and then there would be a fatal loophole in the Han River defense line. The Sui army only had to break the Han River embankment and flood the Xicheng City. The Seventh Army went downstream to occupy Xicheng County and Fangling, and then occupied Badong, cutting off the connection between Bashu and Jingxiang, resulting in Jingxiang not getting a grain of food from Bashu and a reinforcement. At the same time, the troops in Xiyang and Nanyang could also point directly to Xiangyang. Therefore, the one in front of Li Yuan could only continue to force recruitment in Bashu, which would inevitably lead to further deterioration in the situation in Li Tang. Yang Tong wanted Li Yuan to take this step and create a situation of military force.

Faced with the letter of help from Bashu, Li Yuan had to overturn Liu Wenjing's previous inference, believing that the Sui army had really attacked him, but when he wanted to rush to Bashu, he found that he, with more than 300,000 troops, was insufficient and had no army to send.

A large wooden frame was erected in the imperial study room, with a map of the territory of the Li Tang Dynasty nailed to a wooden board. The white flag represents the deployment of the Tang army, and the red flag represents the military strength of the Sui Dynasty. Chen Shuda and Liu Wenjing were analyzing the situation in various places for Li Yuan. Li Yuanji, who came to the palace to report, stood aside, as if he wanted to say something, but because he was worried that there was someone next to him, it was difficult to say it, so he could only wait patiently.

"The Master, don't be too anxious. We are already full of dangers, but now the crisis is just that the crisis has really come. In fact, the real situation is not much different from before. As long as we take advantage of the convenience of mountains and rivers and deal with it properly, we can still persist."

While comforting Li Yuan, Chen Shuda pointed to the map on the wooden frame with a wooden pole and explained in a deep voice: "At present, we have invested 120,000 troops in the Han River defense line, including the new soldiers from Xiangyang and Yiling. Jingxiang has 220,000 troops; in Qinghua, Yicheng, Wudu, Dangchang, and Tongchang, each with 10,000 troops; in Shu County, 20,000 troops from Tongchuan, Brazil, Pu'an, Pingwu, and Wenshan counties, it is the second defense line of Bashu and Shu, as well as the support. In addition, Xiangyang has 20,000 troops from the imperial guards, 20,000 new troops, and 10,000 Wuchuan soldiers, a total of about 380,000 troops. This is the entire force of our Tang Dynasty."

"Although the Sui army is invading a large number of times, it is unexpected, but it is also within our expectations. It is just that it comes too suddenly, which makes us panic. However, the mountains and rivers of Bashu are steep and the Sui army cannot capture them for a while. We can support the county soldiers of Tongchuan and Brazil to Qinghua, Pu'an supports Yicheng, Pu'an and Ping'an supports Wudu, Wenshan supports Dangchang, and the 20,000 new soldiers of Shu County moved to Brazil to support the defense line that had flaws at any time. Although there are no troops in these six counties, as long as the outer defense line is in hand, the Sui army cannot fly."

"In fact, if our army defends well, it can not only stabilize the situation and train troops through battles, but also use the advantage of mountains, rivers and territories to annihilate some of the main battles in the Sui army. The longer the war is delayed, the greater the consumption of the Sui army's troops, morale, and will. On the other hand, our army has higher morale and gradually transforms into an elite army. Our Tang Dynasty only has one enemy, while Yang Tong and Li Mi, Lin Shihong and other enemies. If the Sui army makes a major mistake in a certain battlefield, all the princes will not need to contact us in the Tang Dynasty, and they will counterattack each other at the same time. Although it will not cause the Sui army to be defeated on the entire line, for us, at least we have gained valuable breathing time, and the army will also grow in the battle. The next battle is tenacity and national strength."

"Yang Tong is like a tiger, looking down on the world, but later he was repeatedly counterattacked by Eastern Wu and Shu Han. The heavy losses in the Battle of Red Cliff were one reason, and another reason was that Cao Wei killed and fought for half his life. Once this momentum was released, he was immersed in peace and lost his previous ambition to advance. On the other hand, Shu Han and Eastern Wu, who lived under the pressure of Cao Wei, always had a sense of anxiety and always tried their best to drive themselves toward prosperity. As the momentum and the desire to win increased, the counterattack naturally became more and more." Seeing that Li Yuan's face was pale and extremely scared, Chen Shuda came to comfort the Three Kingdoms.

Liu Wenjing also said: "Ba Shu is easy to defend and difficult to attack. You only need to send generals who are good at fighting to the center to dispatch them. Jingxiang, the core of the Tang Dynasty, is the top priority. I think they want to drag the Bashu army to Bashu and cannot support Jingxiang. However, although we cannot mobilize the Bashu army, at least 50,000 people from the King of Jin in Yiling can be mobilized at any time. Whether these 50,000 troops are thrown into Bashu or Jingxiang, they can even use the strategy of surrounding Wei to save Zhao to counterattack Nanjun. Under the cover of the Chongling Army, they occupy Mianyang, Jiangxia, Yong'an, Anlu, Yiyang and Handong counties. Therefore, I repeatedly persuaded the emperor to form a second line of defense in Yiling, and this is the reason."

If Chen Shuda's words gave Li Yuan a little comfort, then Liu Wenjing's counterattack idea made Li Yuan feel disgusted. He suddenly stood up and said angrily: "The territory is lost, at least there is an army. The army is lost, and one hundred are over. Can 50,000 new recruits occupy Nanjun, Mianyang, Jiangxia, Yong'an, Anlu, Yiyang and Handong? This is simply a big joke. I have fought too, and I am not a fool who is ignorant of military affairs."

Liu Wenjing was so scared that she dared not speak again. In the final analysis, it was the emperor who made Yang Tong afraid of fighting and had lost his ambition. Now, not only did he dare not fight, but he even dared not challenge Yang Tong's bottom line.

Li Yuan seemed to have a bad tone, sighed and said slowly: "I also want to expand my army of millions, and I also want to counterattack. I wish I could recover Guanzhong, Bingzhou, and fight to Luoyang tomorrow... But we have no money and food, no population... What can I do? Now we can only stabilize for a while and train the army to strengthen before talking about counterattack."

Seeing Li Yuanji constantly winking at him, he immediately looked dark and said, "If you have something to say, is it reasonable, I will make the decision!"

Li Yuanji took a step forward and said, "Father, Jingxiang and Bashu are not without population, nor without military sources. The key is whether the father can make up his mind."

Li Yuan frowned and said, "Where did the source of troops come from and the population?"

Li Yuanji said respectfully: "Father, in the midst of great cause and chaos, the northern land was greatly damaged, and a large number of people fled from the war. When the Nanyang Plain was at its highest population, there were more than four million people. This was the main activity of the man-cannibal demon king Zhu Can. Under his destruction, the people fled in all directions. At that time, Li Mi and Wang Shichong were in a big battle, while Jingzhou governed by Xiao Xian was relatively quiet, so the people mainly fled to Xiangyang, Chongling, Fangling and other counties. Bashu also accepted many refugees in Guanzhong, but as far as my sons knew, these people had never been registered in the official status. If we follow Emperor Wen of Sui and strictly implement the "remittance law" in Jingxiang and Bashu, we can get two or three million people? If we have people, we don't have to worry about taxes and military sources."

Li Yuan was so moved by his words.

This "Loss Export Law" was a method for Emperor Wen of Sui to formulate the levels and tax payment standards for each household. He used this method to search and hide household registration to prevent the people from evading taxes and suppress the gentry and powerful people from occupying the population, thereby ensuring the income of the court and strengthening centralization of power

At that time, after hundreds of years of turmoil, the household registration leak became increasingly serious. Aristocratic families, wealthy families, gentry and wealthy families covered a large number of people without land or with little land, and the court directly controlled very little labor. Especially in the north, the provision that unmarried people only paid half of the rent and tax, the local household registration was registered with only one person. Some families hid hundreds of families in one household, with a population of more than 100,000, and the court's tax revenue was sharply reduced. In addition, many people either falsified at the legal service age in order to evade heavy taxes and corvee, or concealed their household registration. These phenomena seriously affected the court's taxes and corvee, weakened the strength of the court, and made it difficult for the equal land system to put it into practice.

Emperor Wen first checked the household registration in the north, rectified the household registration, compiled a "determined book" and collected taxes based on this. In the third year of Kaihuang alone, more than 1.6 million people, including 500,000 Dingnans, were cleared out.

In the fifth year of Kaihuang, Emperor Wen of Sui, who tasted the sweetness, searched the national public and checked the household registration. The so-called "big search" means to count the household registration, and record the names, dates of birth, appearance and physical characteristics of the members of the registered household registration in detail; the so-called "big search" means to check the people and the appearance described on the household registration one by one to verify the correctness. It stipulates that if the household registration is false, the local officials, the chief of the security chief, and the party chief will be exiled, and the punishment is quite severe. At the same time, it is also stipulated that all relatives and clans below must be divided into households, greatly increasing the fiscal revenue of the court and strengthening the national strength of the Sui Dynasty.

However, Dasuomei did not fundamentally change the reality of aristocratic families and the court fighting for population. As long as the court has taxes and labor service, it is impossible to fundamentally improve. In this case, Emperor Wen adopted Gao Bing's suggestion and implemented the "law of exporting households". That is, the court formulated the "classification of households" (standards for division of households). On the fifth day of the first lunar month every year, the county magistrate sent people to investigate, and ordered the five parties (500 families) or three parties (300 families) to re-dividate households based on the "classification of households" standard to re-dividate households, etc., as a basis for tax collection and taxation. Due to the tax stipulated by the court, the labor service was far lower than the exploitation of tenants by the family families, and many tenants who depended on the family families left one after another, took the initiative to declare household registration to the government, took the land issued by the state, paid taxes and served according to regulations, and became the official household registration of the court.

When the founding of the Great Sui Dynasty, the country's population was less than 4 million. By the fourth year of Renshou, the number of registered households had reached 8.9 million households, with a population of more than 55 million. Through these huge population bases, more than 20 million hectares of land were reclaimed in the ninth year of Kaihuang, and 55.85 million hectares of land had been reclaimed in the middle of Daye. This was just a check on the population obtained by tenants and official land. The land of the aristocratic families and the hidden population were not included.

The success of Emperor Wen of Sui was one of the suggestions that Li Yuanji had made to Li Yuanji. What’s more important is that his emergency execution of the Buddhist destruction in Jingxiang and Bashu was effective. The government added more than 300,000 hectares of new arable land, and the registered population increased by more than 100,000 households.

Most of these household registrations are composed of refugees and temple monks and nuns who forced to return to secular life and to start a family. In return for Li Yuan's destruction of Buddhism and respecting Taoist temples as the national religion, Taoism led by Guanludao took the initiative to hand over some land and release some serfs placed in the name of Taoist temples. This is just the beginning. If the "Registration Export Law" is implemented into the aristocratic families, it can at least increase one million households and four to five million people, which means that the trend of tax revenue decline will be fundamentally reversed, so there will be no need to look at the faces of the Guanlong nobles to rule.

Liu Wenjing and Chen Shuda were shocked. They knew that Li Yuanji planned to attack the aristocratic families in Jingxiang and Bashu. This time it was not only money and food, but also population and land.

But the two of them dared not persuade anything now. The emperor had something to say before, but Li Yuanji dared to say this in front of them. If he advised at this time, it would inevitably lead to a murder. Especially Chen Shuda, who knew the truth about Dugu Zheng's death, dared not say anything more. The emperor even killed his uncle who supported him to establish his country. What was Chen Shuda? So although the two of them were very anxious, they didn't know what to do.

At this time, Li Yuan glanced at them and said lightly: "You guys retreat first!"

"I'm going to leave!" Liu Wenjing and Chen Shuda knew that the emperor had something to do with King Qi, and they bowed and left.

When he arrived outside the palace, Chen Shuda said worriedly: "Liu Xiang, how should this be born? If the emperor touched the lifeline of the Guanlong nobles, civil strife would definitely break out in the Tang Dynasty. If the Sui army invaded from all over the world, the Tang Dynasty would be in danger."

Liu Wenjing sighed and said sadly: "My Tang Dynasty really cannot bear the price of civil strife. Unfortunately, the emperor no longer listens to our good advice, and we have nothing to do."

The two of them had no choice but to expect the emperor not to be impulsive and look down on Yang Tong.

In the imperial study room, Li Yuan praised Li Yuan for his good praise: "The emperor knows how to use public opinion to share the pressure on the court, and uses the remarks of the people to point the finger at Li Mi. This is a pretty move."

"This is the teaching of the father and the emperor." Li Yuanji bowed and said respectfully: "My son has lived under the wings of his father and brother since childhood. He has not known the world is high and has made many big mistakes before. Now, he is really ashamed when he thinks about it. From now on, Mr. Yuanji should change his past mistakes, do his best to share the worries of his father and the emperor."

"I am very pleased that the emperor has made great progress in the past two years." Li Yuan was very satisfied with his son's attitude.

Li Yuanji was very proud, "The filial son who only obeys his father's orders" was the image planned by Han Zhi for him. He is worthy of being a military advisor whom he relied on. He really understood his father's mind thoroughly. Just a statement made his father throw away his previous nonsense image, which made him trust Han Zhi more in his heart.

"By the way, what's the streets and alleys in Xiangyang now?"

"Reported to the Emperor, the son of the Wuchuan Department, he asked the Wuchuan Department to investigate the rumor-monger. After these days of hard work, the chaos in Xiangyang has been stopped. Now the public opinion points to Li Mi, and there is no longer any unfavorable voice to the court. The son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the son of the

"Have you caught conclusive evidence?" Li Yuan asked afterwards.

Li Yuanji hesitated and said, "My son is pursuing it. Perhaps because of the tight wind, the real murderer was hidden."

"It's useless!" Li Yuan's face changed as soon as he said something. He snorted heavily in extreme anger and scolded angrily: "How many times do you want them to make trouble to give me a satisfactory answer?"

Li Yuanji whispered: "My son will increase his efforts and will definitely give the father a satisfactory explanation."

"Okay! I'll wait a few more days, you must twist this group of people out." Li Yuan had a large amount of evidence of Dugu's crime in his hand, and he believed that the real murderer of arson was from Dugu's mansion, and he was more capable of hitting the Dugu family in one fell swoop. But like Yang Tong at the time, he was afraid that the powerful dark forces of Dugu family would carry out endless assassination on him. He hoped that Li Yuanji would uproot this force first, and then attack the light forces of Dugu family.

Li Yuanji said solemnly: "My son understand!"

Li Yuan nodded and changed the topic: "What do you think of the 'Loss Law'? If I want to implement it throughout the country, what do you think I should do?"

Li Yuanji was excited and hurriedly said, "My son thinks the key is the private army of the Guanlong nobles. These people have been trained and well-equipped, no less than the most powerful army of our Tang Dynasty. If they gather together, there are at least tens of thousands of people. Now the situation in the Tang Dynasty is uneasy, and these people will be ready to move. If the Sui army invades, the Guanlong nobles will rise from Bashu to respond, and the trouble will be great."

"You said it well!" Li Yuan was very satisfied with his son's performance. He wanted to hear what he had to do and encouraged him: "Continue talking."

"Here!" Li Yuanji became more and more respectful and whispered: "If the father takes the lead and deprives the private army of the Guanlong nobles, they will be a group of lambs to be slaughtered. At that time, they can use their farm to reward the meritorious soldiers, motivate soldiers to fight bravely, and place tenants and slaves, and remove the powerful weapons of the Guanlong nobles, so that all kinds of government orders can be smooth and all internal worries, and ultimately allow the court to do their best to the outside world. As for the seized money, food, can not only supplement the national treasury and military pay, but also reward military merits, which will enhance our army's combat effectiveness."

Li Yuan pondered silently. This was indeed a good recipe. It coincided with his idea. It was not wrong in the general direction. It was just that many details needed to be improved one by one. This was also the fundamental reason why he could not break out by holding the evidence of his crime.

In fact, the early part of the matter was that Li Jiancheng advocated following the Great Sui Dynasty, implementing the equal-field system and rewarding the meritorious soldiers. However, the imperial court did not have much land at that time and could not continue to implement it. If the lands of the Guanlong nobles in Bashu and Jingxiang could be confiscated this time, the imperial court would have a large amount of land, and the equal-field system and the plan to reward military merits would be implemented smoothly.

A few years ago, when Li Yuan's reputation was at its peak, Li Jiancheng said that long pain was better than short pain. He could not indulge the Guanlong nobles, and could not let them penetrate too deeply, so as not to become a big one. In the end, the old important part of the Sui Dynasty was repeated in the Tang Dynasty. However, Li Yuan did not agree because the Guanlong nobles were the most important foundation and could not do anything to damage their foundation before the world was unified. However, since the Guanlong nobles kidnapped public opinion and did not allow the court to move the capital, Li Yuan's trust in the Guanlong nobles gradually faded. The evidence of Dugu's crime a few days ago appeared, and the collective visits of many heads of families made Li Yuan regard the Guanlong nobles as a confidant.

For this reason, Li Yuan was not disgusted with Li Yuanji's proposal to rectify the private army and confiscate the land and population. He had a deep impression of me. Of course, the premise of all this was to take away their army.

Li Yuan pondered for a long time and said to Li Yuanji: "The emperor's advice is very good, but it is important. If you are not careful, Bashu will fall into a long war. In the end, Yang Tong will only be cheaper. For your father, you need to plan for a better life!"

"Father, Bashu is not only the rear of our Tang Dynasty and a grain-producing land, but also the world of Guanlong nobles. If there is no credible person to make arrangements in advance, my sons are worried that they will use the military power to release the Sui army into Shu."

"boom"

Li Yuan felt that his head was as if he was hit hard by a hammer, and his head exploded, and the stars in front of him were leaping around, and he was dizzy for a while.

The Guanlong nobles used their children, disciples, and former officials to open various doors and let the Tang army go south. Only then did Li Yuan quickly conquered Bingzhou and Guanzhong.

Will the Guanlong nobles let the Sui army enter Shu?

Li Yuan’s answer is yes!

He made a lot of calculations, but he only did not do this.

If Li Yuanji hadn't reminded him, Bashu would have been lost, and he still didn't know that, and asked in a cold sweat: "Who is the emperor who believes that he is trustworthy?"

"Originally, the eldest brother was the most suitable candidate, but the father needs the eldest brother to assist him, so the eldest brother will definitely not be able to leave. The second brother is a rare general in my Tang Dynasty, and only he is in charge of Yiling, so my Tang Dynasty will not be cut off by the Sui army, so the second brother cannot leave either."

"Not bad!" Li Yuan nodded in agreement.

Li Yuanji felt his father's trust in him, and knew that the opportunity had come, so he mustered up the courage to say, "Father, my son is not as good as my elder brother in governance, and my second brother in governance, but his ability to eliminate evil people for his father is more than enough. Therefore, my son follows his example and recommends himself to his father."

Li Yuan was slightly stunned, but thought that Bashu was an internal problem and did not need to fight the Sui army. Moreover, Li Yuanji's performance since taking over the Wuchuan Department was in line with his wishes. After thinking about it, he found that Li Yuanji was more suitable than Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin.

As soon as he thought of this, he asked again: "What should I do if Wuchuan Department?"

Li Yuanji understood that his father agreed, and his heart was beating wildly, trying to calm down the excitement in his heart, and said in a calm tone: "Wuchuan Si was controlled by Han Zhi for this period and did a good job. Erchen thinks he can truly replace Erchen."

Li Yuan pondered for a while and asked again: "Does the emperor think this Han Zhi are reliable?"

"The son-in-law thinks he is very reliable because he is a lowly businessman and there is no force behind him supporting him. He has offended many aristocratic families these days. If he loses the protection of the court, he will never know how to die. Therefore, if he wants to survive, he can only be loyal to the royal family. To put it bluntly, he has no way out except being a loyal dog of the royal family."

"Haha! The emperor said it well..." Li Yuan suddenly became enlightened and said with a smile: "The emperor is meticulous, so don't worry about his father. So, I will appoint you as the Minister of the Daoxingtai of Yizhou. But you must not do anything wrong like Taiyuan at that time. Otherwise, my father will not spare you."

Li Yuanji felt cold and hurriedly promised: "Don't worry, my father, I know that my Tang Dynasty has reached a critical moment of life and death, so how dare I waste my good time and let my father down?"

"Well! The emperor can think so, so I feel completely relieved for my father." Li Yuan smiled with satisfaction and said solemnly: "There is a way to deal with the Guanlong nobles. After you arrive in Chengdu, you will first cultivate a force loyal to the Tang Dynasty and first eliminate the local Bashu tyrants. Don't rush to deal with the Guanlong nobles. Rampant actions will only miss my major affairs."

"My son will wait for the emperor's order in Chengdu."

Li Yuan was very satisfied with his son's attitude, "There is another important thing left to you to do!"

"Please give me instructions!"

Li Yuan sighed and said, "I don't know if Jingxiang can be defended. If it is lost, we can only retreat into Bashu. At that time, Chengdu will be the capital of my Tang Dynasty. When you set off, you will bring some craftsmen from the Ministry of Works into Shu, expand Chengdu and build palaces in the name of accompanying the capital."

The dangerous situation reminded Li Yuan of what Li Jiancheng said at the beginning, "retreat to Bashu, close the four passes, and develop westward to southwest"
Chapter completed!