Outside Lianglang Mountain, Yang Jiye stood respectfully before Li Shimin.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the inventory is complete."
"This battle, we killed over 5,700 enemies, captured over 9,000 Liao soldiers, and seized 800 carts of grain and supplies!"
With twenty thousand Liao troops routed, it was natural that small groups managed to escape the battlefield, and the numbers might not be perfectly aligned.
"After this battle, will you return to Great Tang with me and guard the border for me?"
Li Shimin was not concerned with the battle results; he directly brandished his hoe in front of Zhao Guangyi.
Fang Er was left stunned by this approach.
Back in the Great Ming dynasty, he hadn't seen Li Shimin poaching generals, so why was he suddenly setting his sights on the Yang family?
However, upon seeing Li Shimin's gaze fixed on Mu Guiying, he immediately understood.
Damn it, good wives were comparable to Boss Cao. What kind of twisted habit was this!
Moreover, even if the Yang family was brought to Great Tang, there was still the young Yang Zongbao, still in his diaper. Was it appropriate to compete with a toddler for a wife?
Zhao Guangyi's face was bruised and swollen like a pig's head, making it impossible to discern his expression.
Mu Guiying, upon hearing this, was overjoyed. This way, her family could be reunited, fulfilling her past regrets.
But soon, Yang Jiye provided his answer. He cupped his hands towards Li Shimin.
"Thank you for Your Majesty's favor."
"However, your humble servant has already made a vow: born a man of the Great Song, dead a soul of the Great Song, I will never betray Song for all eternity!"
"Therefore, please forgive this humble servant for being unable to comply."
"Slap!"
Li Shimin slapped Zhao Guangyi's head in return: "Listen to that!"
"Such a loyal minister and capable general, and you don't know how to cherish him! I truly want to kill you!"
Zhao Guangyi was bewildered. Why was he being hit when the other person refused to go with him?
But he could only reply with a smile: "Taizong, please calm your anger. I promise that I will greatly value the Yang family in the future!"
"For any military matters, decisions will only be made after obtaining the Yang family's consent."
"You better keep your word, otherwise, when I come again, it won't be just a few slaps!"
After pointing at Zhao Guangyi's nose and warning him, Li Shimin said to Fang Er, "Go to Huanzhou! I want to see if that bastard Pan Renmei has been completely flayed!"
Everyone returned to the helicopter and flew directly towards Huanzhou.
The more than nine thousand prisoners of war, with their hands bound tightly behind their backs, were escorted by the Yang family army, along with the supplies, towards the Wutai Mountain camp.
Outside Huanzhou City, the helicopter did not stop. It flew directly over the city walls and, to the shocked gazes of the city guards, landed outside the Huanzhou Prefectural Office.
"Your humble subordinate pays respects to Your Majesty!"
"Your old servant pays respects to Taizong Heavenly God~"
Jie Bi'an and Fan Wujiu, having heard the commotion, were already waiting at the entrance. Seeing Li Shimin disembark from the helicopter, they quickly bowed.
Zhao Pu, who had accompanied them, also bowed alongside them.
"Have the matters I entrusted to you been handled?" Li Shimin asked as he walked into the prefectural office, only glancing at Zhao Pu without further acknowledgment.
Zhao Pu advocated governing the world with half an Analects, which was why Li Shimin did not favor him.
Knowing that the Confucius family of the Great Tang had been eradicated, how could a Confucian minister like him receive any favorable treatment?
"Reporting to Your Majesty, there have been some changes. Pan Renmei claims that the decision to withdraw troops at Jinshatan was the supervising censor's idea."
Jie Bi'an respectfully recounted what had happened after they arrived in Huanzhou.
After listening, Li Shimin turned to look at Fang Er and Mu Guiying.
"Anzhi, Sister Guiying, is the situation as Pan Renmei described?"
Fang Er scratched his head, unsure which version was correct.
Historical records did mention a man named Wang Shen, and it was due to his jealousy and desire for credit that the Yang family met such a tragic fate.
But unofficial histories and legends stated that Pan Renmei was the mastermind. Which one was the truth?
Mu Guiying bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I only recall that in my world, the seventh son was shot to death by Pan Renmei's arrows outside this very city of Huanzhou."
"As for Wang Shen, he was indeed punished and exiled after the Battle of Jinshatan."
Upon hearing the word "punished," Fang Er suddenly recalled the content of historical records.
《Song History: Biography of Yang Ye》: Shen was arrogant and stubborn, provoking Yang Ye with his words, causing Ye to fight valiantly and fall into the enemy's formation. Shen was dismissed from his post and exiled to Jinzhou.
"Punished" in this context usually meant collective punishment, meaning Wang Shen was not necessarily the primary perpetrator of the crime.
And in historical records, Pan Renmei's role after this battle was described as poor command, and he was only fined three ranks, only to be reinstated as Grand Tutor a year later!
A dead general could be appeased with a title and some money.
A living imperial father-in-law, if killed, would surely cause resentment from the empresses.
Given Zhao Guangyi's lecherous nature, and the favored treatment of Consort Pan~~
Hiss~~~~
Upon deeper consideration, Fang Er became even more convinced of his suspicion.
Wang Shen was likely just a scapegoat pushed forward!
As the supervising censor, he bore undeniable responsibility for the major battle's failure.
Adding another charge to allow Pan Renmei to escape was not impossible!
Therefore, he suggested, "Father, I believe it is still best to have someone interrogated."
Li Shimin waved his hand: "A supervising censor, a commander-in-chief. If they did not collude, I wouldn't believe half a word of it!"
"If they should be killed, kill them; if they should be dismembered, dismember them! Where do we have the spare time to handle their cases?"
"Taizong, please calm down. Young Master Fang is right. In my opinion~~" Before Zhao Pu could finish speaking, he noticed Li Shimin looking at him with an unfriendly expression, so he quickly changed his tune, "In my opinion, Taizong is more correct!"
Fang Er: ............
As expected, whoever had the stronger fist was right?