Datang: Starting from Li Jiancheng

Chapter 88 Li Jing rejects Li Shimin

Li Jingfu.

"General, the emperor is here."

The waiter handed Li Jing a cup of hot tea, then leaned over and said.

Li Jing's hand holding the latch slightly shook, then nodded and said, "Got it."

As soon as the words were finished, Li Shimin, Changsun Wuji and a group of imperial physicians entered the door with smiles on their faces.

Upon seeing this, Li Jing immediately stood up and saluted, "Old Minister Li Jing, pay homage to Your Majesty!"

"Aiqing, please get up quickly." Li Shimin stepped forward to help Li Jing, and then said with a smile: "Aiqing is not feeling well, so there is no need to be polite."

Afterwards, Li Shimin looked at the imperial physician behind him again and said: "I heard that Aiqing is seriously ill, and I happen to be free today, so I brought some imperial doctors to show Aiqing."

Li Jing's eyes trembled when he heard the words, and then he said: "Please trouble Your Majesty for thinking about it."

"The old general has served my whole life as a soldier in the Tang Dynasty. I should do everything I should." Li Shimin smiled, and then immediately called the imperial doctor behind him to come forward, "Give old general Li a good look."

"Yes."

After hearing the words, the imperial doctors stepped forward and felt Li Jing's pulse one by one.

Then he said to Li Shimin: "Your Majesty, Old General Li's pulse is weak and he is a little weak. He should be adopted."

Li Jing pursed his lips slightly, and breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

Li Shimin nodded, then raised his eyebrows and asked, "What's the problem?"

"No major illness has been detected in General Li for the time being." The imperial doctor shook his head and said, "It may be related to General Li being a martial arts practitioner, and his body is stronger than that of his peers."

"But after all, General Li is old and has the root causes of diseases left over from the wars in previous years. It would be better for him to rest."

"Understood, you go down first." Li Shimin responded, then waved his hands.

The imperial doctor stepped back.

Li Shimin handed the supplements he had brought to the boy beside him, "This is the ginseng and deer antler I brought for you, I hope the old general can use it."

"No, no, Your Majesty, this is too precious." Li Jing waved his hands repeatedly and said, "I deserve it."

"The old general has served the Great Tang army all his life, and you will not be ashamed of what I give you, and you deserve it." Li Shimin shook his head, with an undiminished smile on his face.

Seeing this, Li Jing could only sigh softly, "In this case, the old minister will reward you more from His Majesty."

Li Shimin nodded when he heard the words, then glanced sideways at Changsun Wuji, and then asked in a deep voice, "The old general hasn't been to court for a while, so he understands the battle ahead?"

Li Jing sighed slightly, then nodded and said: "Although the old minister did not go to court, he has been sending people to keep an eye on the battle ahead, so he knows more or less."

After hearing what Li Jing said, Li Shimin pursed his lips and said, "Now the Turkic army must be pressing on the banks of the Weishui River. General Yuchi, General Li, General Zhang and General Tang are really resisting, but they probably won't be able to hold out for long."

Li Jing also showed grief when he heard the words, but he didn't say anything in the end.

Anyway, he also spent half a year in the palace, so how could he not know what Li Shimin meant?
But maybe others don't know, but he is good at arranging troops and predicting things like a god on the battlefield, but he can see through Li Shimin's mind at a glance-Li Shimin wants to get rid of Luo Bin.

Since Li Shimin ascended the throne, others may not be able to see his changes in Luo Bin, but he is indeed the best at observing these minutiae series.

For example, Luo Bin made outstanding achievements in succession, but Li Shimin was not rewarded.

Another example is that Wang Changming went to Luo Bin's Taiping Academy. How proud is Wang Changming?How could he teach the children of poor families if he was not instructed by others?
Another example is that Luo Bin chose to engage in business when he was most favored and famous.

As well as Luo Bin's invitation to fight this time, everything clearly shows Li Shimin's position on Luo Bin.

After all, Luo Bin's skill is so high that he has to guard against it.

And Li Jing, who has been a soldier for a long time, has long regarded military power very lightly. Now he only wants to take care of his children at home to ensure the safety of his children, and he does not want to cause more troubles.

So when he learned that the Turks were harassing the border, he went home from illness and stayed away from the court.

But he didn't expect that he had been hiding for so long, and Li Shimin still thought of him.

Thinking of this, Li Jing leaned slightly and said: "Your Majesty has just ascended the throne, and there is a lot of waste waiting to be done. It is normal that the troops are not enough to defeat the Turks."

"........."

Li Shimin frowned slightly, and then continued to seduce: "Although those generals are powerful, they are all generals, not handsome talents. If Old General Li is willing to take command, there may be a glimmer of life."

Changsun Wuji on the side saw this and agreed: "Yes, General Li has sufficient experience in fighting Turks and is also known as the God of War. If General Li takes command again, he will be able to turn the tide."

"Oh, Mr. Changsun thinks highly of me." Li Jing shook his head, and then sighed softly: "I am old, and my brain is not very bright anymore."

"In addition, my health has been getting worse and worse in recent years. Even if I go to the front line, I can only cause trouble for those old generals."

"How could Li Aiqing cause trouble for them?" Li Shimin frowned slightly, and then continued: "Combat requires experience, and no one in the civil and military of the Manchu Dynasty has as much experience as Li Aiqing in fighting the Turkic army."

"Your Majesty, old minister..."

Li Jing looked embarrassed and wanted to refuse.

Li Shimin saw Li Jing's thoughts, interrupted him, and said in a deep voice: "Li Aiqing, the Tang Dynasty is in danger now, and it is all up to you, General Li, to turn the tide."

"If you reject me today, I really have no choice but to send someone to beg for peace from the Turks."

When he said this, Li Shimin's face was deep, with a hint of unwillingness, "General Li also knows what the Turkic barbarians are like. Once the Tang Dynasty lowers its posture and begs for peace with them, they will definitely squeeze us with all their might."

"This will be a stain written in the history books by my Tang Dynasty, which will never be erased..."

Li Jing's fists under the long sleeves clenched tightly upon hearing this, and a look of embarrassment appeared on his face.

Just when Li Jing was hesitating, another boy came in and said, "General, Marquis Wu is here to visit."

The phrase "Visit by Marquis Wu" brought Li Jing back to reality again.

Why was Luo Bin suddenly attacked by an assassin?
Marquis Wu was praised by the people for his service to the people. How could anyone assassinate him if he had such a high reputation among the people?
And even if the people in the court were jealous of Luo Bin, they would not be so jealous that they wanted to find an assassin to kill him.

Then there is only one person who can touch Luo Bin, and he is really the "Holy King" in front of him!

Thinking of this, Li Jing suddenly knelt down and kowtowed heavily to Li Shimin, "Li Jing is not talented, I'm afraid he will fail His Majesty's expectations."

"The difference in military strength between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks is too great, and the Turks are far ahead of us in terms of horses and crossbows."

"Even when Li Jing was in his prime, he might not have been able to defeat the Turks, not to mention that Li Jing is now in his twilight years."

(End of this chapter)