The Bad Guys: Everyone, let’s revive the Tang Dynasty together!

Chapter 420 Please Return to Jin
"Li Keyong died in a hurry..."

Bianjing, Tiance Mansion. Xiao Yan, who had just returned from the Jinshui Camp outside the city without even having time to change his clothes and armor, sat in the main seat in the lobby, looking at several trusted officials who were hastily summoned from various public houses in the mansion and were now delivering letters, and his face became unusually serious.

"Li Siyuan is quite ambitious. He has been serving his father in Tongwenguan for many years and has been coveting the throne. This is not difficult to guess, but since he has been able to endure for decades and has built a good reputation with Tongwenguan, he is not a stupid and reckless person. He failed to assassinate Li Keyong in Taiyuan a month ago, and his embarrassing escape is too strange, so we can put it aside. This time, he took advantage of the mutiny to plot against Li Keyong in Xicheng... What do you think?"

"Don't trust it easily!" As the confidant and chief, Han Yanhui naturally took the lead, but he just shook his head and frowned.

"Li Keyong is a man who only knows military affairs and does not care about political affairs. However, he has been the King of Jin for many years. How deep is his foundation and prestige in Hedong? If Li Keyong died and Li Siyuan rose up to fight with Li Cunxu, it is possible that the civil and military officials would choose a king or protect themselves. But since Li Keyong is still here, how many people dare to rebel against him or even threaten his safety? Not to mention that the commander of the Jin State's Western Army in the so-called mutiny was Zhou Dewei. He is not only an old minister who has followed Li Keyong for many years, but also a firm supporter of Li Cunxu. Even if he blindly approached Taiyuan because of unclear intelligence, as long as Li Keyong showed up, he would definitely restrain his troops at the first time. How could Li Siyuan find an opportunity to murder Li Keyong?"

After Han Yanhui finished speaking, some people in the hall agreed with him, some pondered over it, and some twirled their beards in silence. In short, no one expressed a second opinion for a while.

Xiao Yan stayed in the military camp outside the city, and he was personally in charge of the reform of the imperial army as the King of Qin. If it weren't for the news of Li Keyong's death, how could he let go of this important matter at this critical moment? But the news from the north was too incredible, unexpected, and too sudden, so even Xiao Yan had to summon his advisers to discuss a response strategy as soon as possible.

The so-called sudden death of Jin Wang Li Keyong, although the first-hand news that came back was a bit rough, the cause and effect could be barely considered clear.

A month ago, Li Siyuan and Li Sizhao of Tongwenguan tried to kill their father in Taiyuan but failed. The latter was captured and didn't know whether he was dead or alive, while the former escaped by luck. However, Tongwenguan had great influence in Jin State. Although the King of Jin summoned Li Cunli back to Taiyuan to take care of the affairs of the Tongwenguan, it was a matter of course. No one knew whether Tongwenguan had enough strength to start a second uprising. It was said that tens of thousands of troops from the west of Jin State marched eastward to Taiyuan with the intention of killing all Tongwenguan.

This is puzzling. Since Li Keyong had already issued a warrant for the arrest of Li Siyuan and summoned Li Cunli back to appease the people in Tongwenguan, he had obviously adopted an attitude of only killing the main culprit. Why did the Western Route Army want to kill him all?

According to the analysis given to Xiao Yan by the ministers before, the faction of the Crown Prince of Jin State who followed Li Cunxu had no intention of stopping now that they saw the butcher knife had been drawn.

After all, except for the Crown Prince Li Cunxu, each of the so-called Thirteen Guardians of Tongwenguan was the father of the Prince of Jin. Getting rid of Li Siyuan would certainly greatly reduce the power and reputation of Tongwenguan, but with only Li Siyuan dead, who could guarantee that the subsequent Four Guardians, Five Guardians, and even the final Thirteen Guardians would not have the mind and energy to continue to lead Tongwenguan to rise up?
Killing Li Siyuan alone is killing, and eliminating all the people in Tongwenguan is also killing. We have finally seized this opportunity, and it would be a shame if Tongwenguan is not completely wiped out.

Moreover, according to everyone's analysis, Li Keyong founded Tongwenguan many years ago. Although he initially intended to use it to fight against Xuanming Sect and Huanyinfang, but in fact, Tongwenguan eventually became a means for Li Keyong to maintain the balance between the Jin court and the military. If the Jin military became powerful and threatened him as the King of Jin, Li Keyong would activate Tongwenguan to dilute and suppress the power of the military or even the Crown Prince Li Cunxu, and vice versa.

Different from Xuanming Sect and Huanyinfang, which are more like underworld forces, members of Tongwenguan can become generals or ministers in Jin State and possess special political and military power. If Li Keyong trains him properly, he can pass Tongwenguan to Li Cunxu as a political legacy in the future to maintain the balance of the court or use it to achieve other goals.

In short, as long as the Tongwenguan is there, even if Li Keyong dies, Li Cunxu will not only be able to command the military. The premise is of course that Li Keyong will eliminate ambitious people like Li Siyuan, and it is obvious that Li Keyong is doing this.

But for the military, if they can become the crown prince or even the entire Jin State's reliance alone, why should they keep the Tongwenguan, which they already dislike, to continue to disgust them?

Is there any reason in the world that a group of hypocritical literati from Tongwenguan can sit above us, the warriors of Hedong?

In other words, the military smelled an opportunity when they attacked Tongwenguan this time, and even Li Keyong could not withdraw his sword for a while. Whether the so-called Western Route Army was defending the king or mutinying, they had only one purpose in advancing to Taiyuan, which was to completely uproot Tongwenguan for the sake of the crown prince or for themselves. They strung the heads of these hypocritical people together like candied haws under the city of Taiyuan, so that the King of Jin would know what the Jin State and the crown prince would really rely on in the future.

But, so I said but, isn't Li Keyong still alive? Isn't he, the King of Jin, still powerful enough to intimidate Hedong?

According to intelligence, on October 13, the third day after the wanted order for the so-called Saint Lord Li Siyuan, Jin Wang Li Keyong first ordered the Crown Prince Li Cunxu, who was returning to Taiyuan from the east, to continue to station in Yanmen, and then personally led 500 Yaer soldiers, accompanied by the Tenth Taibao Li Cunxiao, the Eleventh Taibao Li Cunhui, and the Twelfth Taibao Li Cunyong, to march west out of Taiyuan.

When Li Keyong left Taiyuan and the news reached the Western Army of Jin State which had just arrived at Xicheng and was preparing to continue marching towards Taiyuan, more than half of the officers dared not advance eastward any further. Even some who still wanted to move forward, after seeing the several guardians who were Li Keyong's envoys and confirming that the Prince of Jin had really come, they immediately confessed their guilt and stayed where they were, waiting for the Prince of Jin's inspection.

At this point, the matter has actually been resolved smoothly. It can even be said that it has been resolved too smoothly. After all, the shadow of a person is the bark of a tree. Even the King of Jin, who has been in a wheelchair and has not left Taiyuan for many years, has come in person. How many people would dare to really rebel?

Do they have to kill the Prince of Jin first and then kill all the people in Tongwenguan? Not to mention whether the latter goal can be achieved after killing the Prince of Jin, I am afraid that the Crown Prince Li Cunxu will be the first to come with red eyes and slaughter everyone under Xicheng.

Just when this so-called campaign to support the king was about to end in this way, news suddenly came that Li Siyuan was found to be moving towards the western army. However, after being discovered, he immediately fled into Yinquan Mountain, which was only forty miles northeast of Xicheng.

And the turning point was here. Li Keyong, who was only a few dozen miles away from his army, had no idea what he was thinking. He suddenly stopped there and turned to Yinquan Mountain with 500 Yaer soldiers. Afterwards, he died there.

"How did he die? Was he killed by Li Siyuan, or did he die at the hands of someone else? Or was it just a scam? We can't tell based on this letter and untrue rumors."

Deputy Privy Councilor Li Ting also pondered: "No matter how bad Li Keyong is, he still has 500 Ya'er soldiers around him. With only Li Siyuan... even if the latter has some remnants following him, how can he threaten Li Keyong himself?"

"Let's talk about this." Li Ting continued, "According to what was written in the letter, the one who cleaned up the mess in the end was not Zhou Dewei, nor was it Li Cunxiao and the other three guardians. Instead, it was the fourth guardian Li Cunren who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. This whole process... is a bit too weird."

Xiao Yan, who was sitting in the main seat, frowned and said nothing. Although he knew that all of this was related to Yuan Tiangang, due to the lack of intelligence, all the information could not be connected together, making it difficult to see what the truth was.

"There should be no doubt that Jin Wang Li Keyong is dead..." Unexpectedly, Jing Xiang, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said to Han Yanhui and Li Ting, "This news has been passed to us, at least both sides of the Yellow River have roughly known it. There are millions of people in Jin State, among whom there are so many officials and generals. If they hear that Jin Wang has suddenly died, I'm afraid they will be the first to panic. This is really a scam. Who are they scamming? Us or the King of Qin? What is the purpose? To induce our country to send troops? But if you want to induce our country to send troops, there are so many ways. Why choose this one with the highest cost?"

Han Yanhui pondered and nodded.

Li Ting frowned and said, "That's true, but we have to be on guard against the weirdness in it..."

"If you talk about the weird part..." Han Yanhui suddenly twirled his beard and sneered, "It is indeed a little weird."

Several people in the hall looked at him, but Han Yanhui only looked at Xiao Yan seriously and said, "Your Majesty, this time the Prince of Jin and Li Siyuan are both dead, who is the winner?"

Xiao Yan showed no expression: "If we put aside family ties, it's no different from Li Cunxu."

However, right after Xiao Yan finished saying this, he suddenly narrowed his eyes: "Tongwenguan...seems to have benefited as well." In fact, by this point, everyone had already understood, but Han Yanhui still nodded with emotion and said: "Yes! This time Tongwenguan is in trouble because of Li Siyuan, but as long as the King of Jin dies, regardless of Li Siyuan's life or death, Tongwenguan will inevitably be used by the Jin army to vent their anger, and then the Crown Prince Li Cunxu will probably just let it go. But if the current situation is that it was Li Cunren of Tongwenguan who chopped off Li Siyuan's head with his own hands... It is clearly written in the letter that after Li Siyuan succeeded, he still had the strength to escape, but it was Li Cunren who beheaded him in front of the remaining Ya'er Army and hung his head in the army."

Xiao Yan nodded slowly: "Since Li Cunren has come forward to settle the matter, it makes sense that Tongwenguan has shown its loyalty to Li Cunxu."

Li Ting shook his head suddenly: "Li Siyuan would have died sooner or later if he stayed in Jin State... Now it seems that only the King of Jin died inexplicably, and then Li Cunxu, Tongwenguan and even the generals who supported Li Cunxu were helped?"

"It's not that easy." Han Yanhui sighed: "You know, Li Keyong still wanted to keep the Tongwenguan for his own use. Who knows what Li Cunxu, who suddenly ascended to the throne, would think? Of the so-called Thirteen Guardians, there must be only a few who can be remembered by Li Cunxu as brothers."

However, Han Yanhui immediately cheered up and said seriously: "In short, regardless of whether Tongwenguan will be used by Li Cunxu to establish his authority, Jin will inevitably be weakened for a while..."

Li Ting was also excited, and even several other ministers such as Zheng Yu, who had rarely interrupted, became eager to try.

Xiao Yan summoned them here, and the reason for asking was not this matter. Putting aside whether Jin would have civil strife after losing Li Keyong, this sudden event happened within Jin. First, the throne was not smoothly transferred; second, there was a conspiracy behind Li Keyong's death; third, Li Cunxu, the heir, was still at Yanmen Pass, and tens of thousands of Western Route troops that should have been dealt with but were not, were still gathered in Xicheng, less than 200 miles away from Taiyuan. If Li Cunxu failed to return to Taiyuan in time to deal with the aftermath, who knows if there would be another incident?
A great opportunity is at hand. Compared with the so-called patricide of Li Siyuan not long ago, this is the real opportunity.

"King of Qin." Jing Xiang frowned, and suddenly stood up and said, "I think that if you want to fight against Jin, you should not start a war without the intention of destroying the country and the strength to attack Taiyuan directly! Otherwise, you may end up like the Tai Shang back then, trapped in the quagmire of Luzhou."

Xiao Yan nodded without thinking: "Your Excellency's words are correct."

As soon as Xiao Yan opened his mouth, those who wanted to refute Jing Xiang were almost instantly stuck. However, it was indeed not Jing Xiang's fault. Not long ago, everyone had agreed that they should rest for a few years to accumulate national strength before taking over Hedong in one fell swoop.

But...but isn't this a good opportunity?
So Li Ting finally stood up and bowed to Jing Xiang, saying politely: "Prime Minister Jing, as the saying goes, if the enemy has a gap, you should attack; if there is no gap, you should harass them to create a gap. The Jin State is bound to have civil strife this time, and we should seize the situation to make them trapped both internally and externally. And just to avoid being stuck in the quagmire again in the future, we should seize the opportunity and advance as soon as possible! Even if we can't destroy their country in one fell swoop, we can still capture their cities and plunder their land in one battle!"

Jing Xiang twirled his beard and laughed: "What Doctor Li said is indeed reasonable, but Doctor Li, haven't you heard that 'throw it into a desperate situation and then it will survive, and throw it into a dead end and then it will live'? Although Jin is in civil strife, where did the civil strife start? Although Li Keyong is gone, Li Cunxu is still here. Why is Li Cunxu not inferior to his father? It is because his ability, wisdom, and prestige are all the same, so he can make veteran generals like Zhou Dewei and Fu Cunshen work at his will. Li Cunxu is not a mediocre person, and he is also respected by the people of Jin. Even if there is a civil strife, what does he have to worry about? I am afraid that when our country marches in, he can force the people of Jin to put aside their past grudges and unite to fight against foreign enemies..."

Li Ting broke out in a cold sweat and raised his eyes slightly to look at Xiao Yan, but saw that the latter still had no expression, so he could only ask reluctantly: "Then according to what Prime Minister Jing said, Li Keyong's death, is it still an opportunity for Jin State?"

"That's not what I meant." Jing Xiang laughed and shook his head, then turned to Xiao Yan and said, "King Qin, I have only one thing to say. Does the decision we made earlier to rest and recuperate still count?"

Xiao Yan couldn't help but laugh: "Why doesn't it count? As the Prime Minister said, just because Li Keyong lost his head, do we really want to let the whole world be implicated for this?"

Jing Xiang didn't feel relieved or show any emotion, but continued to ask: "Then will the King of Qin be willing to give up?"

Xiao Yan remained calm, but still nodded: "Jin will return to the Central Plains sooner or later, why rush now? If we can take it down quickly, we should conquer Hedong in one battle and give the people of Hedong an explanation. If not, even if the two countries are at peace on the surface, it will also give the people of Hedong and the world a break."

As he spoke, he looked around: "Li Keyong has been engaged in war for many years, and his death is not a pity, but it is a pity that he died too early... I think Hedong will be better off in Li Yazi's hands than his father. We are recuperating, and Hedong is also recuperating. There is no reason for the local people to be more breathless because of Li Keyong's death. The world has been in chaos for many years. No matter where, it is always good to preserve as much vitality and population as possible. We have two of the general trends of the world. You often say that I am benevolent and respected by the people of the world. Then I cannot only distinguish between enemies and me in everything. I must also have the awareness of taking the world as my own responsibility and act from a high vantage point."

Han Yanhui and the others either had just figured out Xiao Yan's intention or were overwhelmed by the monarch's sudden burst of heroism, and they all bowed their heads in worship.

Only Jing Xiang sighed and walked from his seat to the center of the hall: "Your Majesty is benevolent, but even if Li Yazi is better than Li Keyong, how much better can he be? I just said something but I didn't think about the people of Hedong. I am really ashamed."

Before Xiao Yan got used to the change of address, he saw Jing Xiang still bowing and not rising: "Your Majesty's ambition to help the world, how can it not be urgent. If you can't use troops in Hedong, why not use troops in Yinshan? The grassland is in chaos, undercurrents are surging, and the various tribes have their own ulterior motives. Shuliduo, Yelu Lage, Jin State and even others are involved, so the situation has deteriorated. Why?"

Jing Xiang raised his head and said solemnly, "If the king had not cared about the grassland, how could they have caused chaos there? I dare to assert that if the king is willing, Yinshan Mountain can be quickly conquered! If Yinshan Mountain is conquered, Yunzhong will be captured! If Yunzhong is captured, the king will be able to command the east of the river with a mighty power!"

The hall seemed to be shaken instantly, and everyone looked up in surprise. Han Yanhui stroked his beard and looked at Jing Xiang, sighing slightly without saying a word.

Xiao Yan first narrowed his eyes and said nothing, then laughed again, and stood up from the table: "Since you said so, why did you hide it until now? It really is... the clouds have been cleared and the sun has been shining!"

Jing Xiang smiled but said nothing.

In fact, this was not really a special strategic vision. Everyone present, including Xiao Yan, could have thought of it. It was just a matter of time. The news of Li Keyong's death suddenly came, and everyone's attention was drawn to it, but no one grasped the key as instantly as Jing Xiang.

Judging from Jing Xiang's expression, if it weren't for what Xiao Yan had just said, he would probably not even be willing to remind Xiao Yan at that moment.

As for the plan, of course there is no need to talk about it. As Jing Xiang said, there is only one reason why the grassland is so chaotic and so many people are jumping around.

The serious Khan Xiao really didn't care about anything except sending Zhu Youwen there. However, it was this Zhu Youwen who actually changed the situation on the grassland.

When Great Khan Xiao's attention shifts to the grassland, and Jin State has no intention of heading north for the time being, can Yinshan be conquered?
------

After the matter was settled, the ministers dispersed in twos and threes. Some continued to discuss strategic planning. Since Xiao Yan returned home, there was no reason for him to go home without taking a look. However, the first person who came out to greet him, or the first person who found him, was an unexpected but reasonable person.

"I am willing to give away everything I have, and ask the king to allow me to return to Jin."

In the corridor, Bago folded his hands in front of his forehead and groaned at the ground.

(End of this chapter)