Chapter 2438 Li Tang was frightened, Ban Chao sent Tang
Chapter 2435: Li Tang is frightened, Ban Chao is using Tang
Sanguan is really too important for Li Tang.
Li Tang also knew the importance of Sanguan. In order to prevent the Qin army from raiding Sanguan, Li Shimin not only sent 20,000 elite troops to guard, but also allowed the royal general Li Siyuan to serve as the guard, as well as the three war-level generals, King Kong Peng, Lion King, Elephant.
Li Shimin believed that even if the Qin army would target Sanguan, with his arrangements at Sanguan, he could at least persist until the reinforcements from Hanzhong arrived.
But no matter how strong the fortress is, it is difficult to resist threats from the inside.
What Li Shimin was most afraid of was the appearance of traitors within Li Tang, so he was very cautious about the candidate for Chen Cang San Pass, but he didn''t expect that he would come whatever he was afraid of. In the end, Li Cunjin, a traitor.
Li Cunjin (Sun Chongjin) rebelled and surrendered to the enemy, causing Chen Cang to surrender without fighting.
After the Qin army took Chen Cang without bloodshed, they rushed to Sanguan without stopping. Sanguan, which was not in response, finally fell into the trap within only one night.
After learning about the fall of Chen Cang and Sanguan, it was not only Li Shimin, but most of the senior executives of Li Tang felt that the sky was about to collapse.
The retreat route is cut off and there are enemies on all sides. If the passage cannot be opened, the Qin army will be trapped to death. How can we fight?
After Li Tang became a vassal of the Great Qin Dynasty, the pro-Qin faction within Li Tang began to rise, and even Li Shimin could not suppress it.
Now that the four passes have been lost, Guanzhong has turned into a cage. Seeing that Li Tang is gradually becoming a country destruction, many anti-Qin faction officials have also changed their attitude and joined the pro-Qin camp.
Donggong Prefecture Conference Hall.
Senior executives such as Changsun Wuji, Li Kui, Li Si, Yang Jian, Yang Biao, Yang Xiu, Yuwen Tai, and Li Yu all gathered together.
But among these people, which are pro-Qin factions and which are anti-Qin factions, even Li Shimin himself doesn''t know.
Changsun Wuji was captured in the First Guanzhong War. Later, because Li Tang became a vassal state of the Qin Dynasty, and he said he refused to surrender, so he was released by the Qin Dynasty.
The senior officials in the pro-Qin faction obviously would not express their attitude easily, but those who stood up were middle and low-level officials, with only a few representatives of senior officials.
Although their level is not enough, they are large in number. They all expressed that they could not go to war with the Qin Dynasty and sought peace from the Qin Dynasty at all costs. Even if they gave up their land and paid compensation, they would be willing to cede compensation.
The anti-Qin faction claimed to fight the last soldiers and soldiers.
The two sides argued over this.
Li Jing had not yet arrived in Chang''an, and Li Tang became in chaos.
"Report... Report to the lord, the Qin envoy is here."
"So brave."
Li Shimin''s eyes flashed with a cold light, and he couldn''t help but feel anger in his heart.
The Qin Dynasty fought undeclaredly and unilaterally provoked the war, but it still dared to send envoys over. Do you really think that Li Shimin has no temper?
"Let him come in."
After saying that, Li Shimin took a deep breath and said coldly, "Come on, set up an oil pan outside the hall."
"No."
When the pro-Qin faction heard this, they were shocked and thought that Li Shimin had turned against the Qin faction and was ready to resist to the end.
The anti-Qin faction and the pro-Qin faction thought the same way, so they all showed joy.
Ban Chao arrived at the hall under the guidance of the guards and saw the oil pan that had been boiling until it was boiling. Even though he had long guessed that Li Shimin would make things difficult for him, he was also frightened by the scene in front of him.
If you throw someone in, it won''t be long before you will be blown up.
Not afraid, I am not afraid.
Ban Chao took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, walked into the center of the hall with his head raised, bowed to Li Shimin, and said, "Ban Chao, the envoy of the Great Qin Dynasty, met Duke Tang."
"Ban Chao?"
Li Shimin narrowed his eyes slightly. The first top scholar of the Qin Dynasty had a bright future. How dare he come to Chang''an at this time?
Is it because I am eager to make contributions and lose my mind?
Or was he considered an abandoned child?
In an instant, Li Shimin thought a lot, but he didn''t go into it. Obviously, he didn''t care about Ban Chao''s intentions.
"Envoy Qin, are you here to seek death?"
Li Shimin said indifferently, without any concealment of the murderous intent in his eyes.
Even though Ban Chao is so talented, he is just a young man in his twenties. He has never seen such a scene. He was so scared by Li Shimin''s murderous aura that he trembled. He pinched his thigh hard and dispelled his fear with the pain.
After taking a deep breath, Ban Chao said, "I am ordered to come and issue a letter of war to the Tang Kingdom."
Li Kui stood up when he heard this and said coldly: "The Qin Dynasty fought unannounced and attacked Sanguan. Now that he has broken Sanguan, you have asked you to issue a letter of war. Don''t you think it''s too late?"
"San Pass has been broken? Why is it so fast?"
At this moment, Ban Chao showed his best eyes in his life, and his face showed various emotions such as surprise and joy.
Seeing this, Li Kui couldn''t help but twitch and said angrily: "Envoy Qin, is it me asking you or you asking me?"
"Ah, this is not the case. I''m a little out of control. I''m eating my stomach. I''m delaying on the road for two days, but I didn''t expect that Gongsun Xuanyuan could actually conquer San Pass in just two days. I was surprised."
"you…"
When Li Kui heard this, he was so angry that he wanted to hit someone. He had never seen such a shameless person in his life.
The sneak attack that was undeclared was a sneak attack, and it was said so high-sounding. If you delay the road, you want to change the nature of the sneak attack? This is too shameless.
Not only Li Kui, but many ministers present were excited when they heard Ban Chao''s words, and they all glared at him and cursed him.
"Enough." As soon as Li Shimin finished speaking, he was silent again, which made Ban Chao sigh at Li Shimin''s prestige.
"Qin envoy, let''s talk about the reason why the Qin Dynasty started war on our Tang Kingdom.
Our Tang Kingdom has surrendered to the Qin Dynasty and paid tribute. He never looked down upon it. However, the Qin Dynasty fought undeclaredly and attacked its own vassal state. Is this a deception of Li Shimin, who can be bullied?
I believe you have seen the oil pan outside the hall. If your answer cannot satisfy me, don’t blame me for taking you to sacrifice the flag. ”
"Reported to the Duke of Tang, the State of Tang violated the regulations of the "Luoyang Treaty" many times... Moreover, Duke of Tang was obviously not sick, but he refused to give birth to the Empress Dowager..."
Ban Chaoyue said that Li Shimin''s face was worse.
In order to occupy the great power, the Qin Dynasty took great pains to find the Luoyang Treaty.
The Tang Kingdom did not complete several items in the Luoyang Treaty, but those were all a year and a half ago. The Qin Dynasty did not propose it at that time, but instead used this as an excuse a year and a half later. Isn’t this unreasonable cause?
Also, bring out the birthday of the Emperor Queen.
Although Li Shimin felt that the Qin Dynasty used all its best knitting interfaces to start a war, these reasons were indeed tenable.
"Envoy Qin, I am very dissatisfied with your answer."
Li Shimin''s face was gloomy and ordered coldly: "Come on, throw him into the oil pan."
"No."
Two burly men walked in, pressed Ban Chao and headed towards the oil pan.
Ban Chao was calm on the surface, but when he saw this situation, he was still a little panicked, but some people were even more panicked than him, that was the pro-Qin faction within Li Tang.
The pro-Qin officials came forward and said that killing the Qin envoy at this time would have no effect except venting anger, but would have no room for Qin Tang to turn around.
Many pro-Qin factions who were hidden but did not send out could not sit still after seeing this scene, and they all stood up to persuade Li Shimin, hoping that Li Shimin would dispel the idea of ??killing the envoy, including Li Si and Li Kui.
Seeing this, the anti-Qin factions could not sit still and refuted, saying that the Qin Dynasty fought unanimously and provoked the war without leaving any room for anything. At this time, we should give up our fantasies and resist to the end.
The two sides argued over this.
"Shut up to me."
Li Shimin''s angry roar came, and the noise at the scene disappeared immediately.
Although Li Shimin controlled the situation, his heart was cold.
The reactions of everyone just now have shown everything. Corps commanders Sun Wuji, Li Kui, and Li Si are all helping Qin envoys speak. Are they all pro-Qin factions?
If that''s true, even if he decides to persevere until the end, this battle will still be impossible.
Ban Chao seemed to be an outsider, looking at these things calmly, but he was secretly happy in his heart.
He was indeed not wrong. Even if Li Shimin lost the pass, he could not suppress it. Li Tang was no longer stable, and the pro-Qin faction had become mainstream. This time, the attack on Tang would definitely win a great victory.
After the Tang Dynasty completely lost Guanzhong and more than 100,000 troops, it was still insufficient to protect itself and could no longer threaten the Qin Dynasty.
"Twist him into the oil pan." Li Shimin said calmly.
The two soldiers were stunned when they heard this. Li Shimin continued, "What, don''t you understand me? Do you want me to say it again?"
The two shivered, carried Ban Chao and walked towards the oil pan, which also scared Ban Chao.
This is different from what he thought. Under such great resistance, even if Li Shimin didn’t think about his family, should he leave a way out for the Li family?
Looking at the oil pan getting closer and closer, Ban Chao''s heart was filled with bitterness and unwillingness. After all, he underestimated the nature of these heroes.
But at this moment, Li Kui and Changsun Wuji ran out together, blocking the oil pan, and preventing Ban Chao from being thrown in.
Li Si was originally going to rush out, but when he saw Li Kui and Changsun Wuji step ahead of him, he retreated.
"Li Kui, Changsun Wuji, what are you doing?" Li Shimin said angrily.
"Lord, Ban Chao cannot be killed." Li Kui said with a pleading look.
"That''s right, lord, please calm down." Changsun Wuji said in a deep voice.
"What if I have to kill me?"
Li Shimin said coldly, but his heart was aching.
Since Li Ru and Du Ruhui died in battle, Li Kui has become his planner. Although Changsun Wuji was captured alive by the Qin army, he is still his most trusted military advisor and general.
But now these two confidants are opposing him, so how can they not make Li Shimin feel sad?
After hearing Li Shimin''s words, Li Kui and Changsun Wuji looked at each other and said in unison: "If the lord has to kill him, then put us in the oil pan first."
After saying that, both of them raised their heads and closed their eyes, as if they wanted to sacrifice themselves for justice.
"You, you..."
Li Shimin was so angry that he couldn''t say it. The murderous intent in his heart continued to brew, but in the end it was still surging.
One of these two people is his brother-in-law and the other is a cousin of the same clan. He is reluctant to kill them at all.
Li Shimin sat down with a depressed look on his face and said powerlessly: "Let Ban Chao be taken into custody first."
"No."
Ban Chao felt relieved when he heard this. He knew that he had bet right and that this time he would have a strong score of his own attack on Tang.
Before being escorted out of the hall, Ban Chao turned his head and looked at Li Shimin above, sneering in his heart: "Li Shimin, you will definitely regret not killing me."
(This chapter ends)