A few days later, the snow on the ground melted almost. After all, it was early winter and the weather was not so cold. Li Xiu was also ready. He led his team to leave Chang'an on a clear morning. He wanted to rush to Taiyuan to move Empress Dou's tomb to Chang'an. Li Shimin also prepared a large team for him. In addition to the guards protecting the tomb, there were officials of the Ministry of Rites and a group of Li clan relatives. Among these people, the status of Li Xiaogong, the prince of Hejian, was the most noble.

"Mr. Prince Consort, I am in poor health. This time I go to Taiyuan, I have to worry about my husband!" As soon as Li Xiaogong saw Li Xiu, he immediately smiled and greeted him.

Li Xiaogong is a thin middle-aged man in his forties. His face is a little bad, and he seems to be a little overly drunk. In fact, since Li Shimin ascended the throne, Li Xiaogong no longer leads troops and entertains himself in the mansion every day. There are frequent reports of his health. Now, he looks like a lie.

"You are polite to the prince. This time, the movement to the tomb for Empress Dou is very complicated. I am young and have no experience, so I still need more guidance from the prince!" Li Xiu said very politely at this time.

Although the Prince of Hejian in front of him looked sick, Li Xiu did not dare to underestimate him at all. You should know that Li Xiaogong was a famous general in the Tang Dynasty. He also cooperated with Li Jing to destroy Xiao Xian in the south. Later, Li Shimin established a hero in Lingyan Pavilion, and Li Xiaogong ranked second, only under Changsun Wuji. This shows how capable this person is.

"I don't dare to take the advice. Although I am called Da Zongzheng, I am a martial artist after all, and I dare not say that I am proficient in etiquette. Fortunately, Your Majesty has sent many officials from the Ministry of Rites. When I arrive in Taiyuan, we will just listen to their orders!" Li Xiaogong also said very politely.

Although the position of Da Zongzheng does not have much real power, he can manage all members of the royal family. In other words, Li Xiu is also under the jurisdiction of the Hejian prince in front of him. For example, if Li Xiu violated the law, the government is not qualified to interrogate him. At this time, he needs to be handed over to the Zongzheng Mansion for trial. The royal family has always been famous for being difficult to manage, so those who can serve as Da Zongzheng have always been respected.

Li Xiaogong spoke very straightforwardly, and Li Xiu was used to getting along with military generals like Ma Ye, so the two of them had a very speculative conversation. It is worth mentioning that Li Xiaogong is also Li Jing's friend, but Li Xiaogong knew the awkward between Li Xiu and Li Jing, the father and son, so he tried not to mention Li Jing in his words.

However, Li Xiaogong only talked for a while when he first met, and then hid in the carriage and refused to come out, and no longer took the initiative to talk to Li Xiu. Li Xiu was not surprised by this. He even deliberately did not contact Li Xiaogong, mainly because he was afraid of making the other party worried.

Speaking of which, although Li Xiaogong is one of the twenty-four heroes of Lingyan Pavilion, when Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng competed for the throne, Li Xiaogong actually favored Li Jiancheng more because Li Xiaogong is not only their cousin, but also about the same age as Li Jiancheng, so the two have been playing companions since childhood. With Li Xiaogong's position in the army, if Li Jiancheng got the throne, he would definitely become the first person in the army. Even when Li Jing attacked the Turks, he might not have been able to get the position of the commander.

But it is a pity that Li Jiancheng died in the Xuanwu Gate Incident, and Li Xiaogong lost his power all at once. However, Li Shimin didn't want to kill him. He even appointed him as the Prince of Hejian to appease him, but it was impossible to lead troops. In order to avoid suspicion, Li Xiaogong was addicted to wine and sex every day, and at the same time tried not to contact officials in the court to avoid suspicion. It can be said that everything he did now was to self-deprecating and protect himself.

In contrast, Li Daozong and Li Shentong, who are also famous generals of the royal family, are much stronger than Li Xiaogong. They supported Li Shimin at the beginning, so after Li Shimin ascended the throne, they were also valued. Li Xiaogong now has to stay away from home, and even important officials like Li Xiu dare not get too involved, so as not to cause trouble.

Thinking of Li Xiaogong's experience, Li Xiu was very sympathetic, but he couldn't change it. After all, the success and defeat of the enemy. Although Li Xiaogong is a rare good general, unfortunately, the most lacking thing in the Tang Dynasty is good generals. Whether it is Li Jing or Hou Junji and others, the talent of leading troops is no worse than Li Xiaogong. This has also caused the tragedy of Li Xiaogong now. And if Li Xiu remembers correctly, Li Xiaogong seems to have passed away in his forties. In short, he seems to have lived a few years.

Taiyuan is one of the accompanying capitals of the Tang Dynasty, so the official road connected to Chang'an is also very wide. After leaving Chang'an, Li Xiu and his huge team of tombs arrived in Taiyuan very smoothly after more than ten days of travel. They didn't have enough time on the road, but because the winter was too cold, the road was a little frozen, and there were too many people in the team, such as those royal family members often dragged their backs, which wasted some time.

Local officials in Chang'an had long received a notice that when Li Xiu and his team arrived, the Taiyuan governor was named Li Chujie, and it is said that he was from the royal family. However, he had a very long bloodline with Li Shimin's branch and could only be considered as having some relatives with the royal family. In addition, his talent was good, so he could take charge of such an important prefecture as Taiyuan.

Li Chujie had already made preparations. After welcoming Li Xiu and the others into Taiyuan City, he immediately arranged for everyone to stay. When Li Xiu entered the city, he kept looking at the city defense of Taiyuan City. It was not the first time he came to Taiyuan. When he went to the Turks, he had passed by Taiyuan twice, but there was a military order at that time, so he just passed by in a hurry and did not look closely. Now he can finally appreciate the scenery of Taiyuan carefully.

Taiyuan is the second largest city after Chang'an and Luoyang, and it is also the place where the Tang Dynasty grew. Therefore, after the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan and Li Shimin carried out large-scale reconstruction of Taiyuan City, which also made the walls of Taiyuan City very tall and majestic, no worse than Chang'an and Luoyang.

Moreover, the business here is very prosperous. When Li Xiu entered the city, at first glance, a considerable number of the streets were Hu people on the grassland. Most of them came to Taiyuan City to do business, because Taiyuan is the most important commercial and military center of the Tang Dynasty and the grassland. Almost half of the goods transported to the grassland need to be transferred here, so it also attracted a large number of grassland merchants to do business. It is said that one-tenth of the people who live in the city are Hu people.
Chapter completed!