Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 211: Duke, have you forgotten what happened at Jinyang Palace before the Taiyuan uprising? (First update)
The sharp sword blade was across the neck, a trickle of blood flowed along the blade to the hilt, and the bloody color was reflected in Li Tai's eyes.

Li Tai raised his head and looked at Hou Junji, whose face was indifferent but there was a hint of madness in his eyes. He couldn't help feeling a little panicked.

This is the result of overstimulating someone like Hou Junji.

Li Tai was looking at Hou Junji.

Hou Junji was also staring at Li Tai.

He was also panicked at this moment, but the tools he used to deal with the panic were his sword and his extreme calmness under the madness.

At this moment, panic was no longer what Hou Junji cared about most. His sword could cut through all obstacles.

"King Wei, please speak." Hou Junji spoke again. At this moment, there was only Li Tai in his eyes.

"The Duke's matter, actually..." Li Tai paused for a moment, then said carefully, "It's actually no longer a secret a long time ago. From my father to the prime ministers and the six ministers, basically everyone knows about it."

Hou Junji's right hand holding the sword suddenly tightened, and an inexplicable cold anger rose from the bottom of his heart.

This inexplicable anger made him angry but also strangely cold and calm.

"Your Highness, please continue!" Hou Junji said lightly.

"I don't know what's going on either. My father, my uncle, Prime Minister Fang, Prime Minister Wei, Prime Minister Cen and Prime Minister Liu, they all know about it. The other Duke Xun, Duke Ju, King Jiangxia, Duke of Pengcheng, they all know about it." Li Tai shook his head.

He also couldn't understand why the secret that happened to Hou Junji in Gaochang, two thousand miles away, eventually became known to everyone.

Hou Junji suddenly sighed and said, this is no big deal.

Zhang Liang, Li Daozon, and Liu Dewei were, and still are, generals in the army.

Zhang Liang was once the General of the Right Guard.

Li Daozon was once the General of the Left Guard.

Liu Dewei was once the general of the Left Jinwu Guard.

As for Tang Jian, although he was famous for being the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, in fact, in his early years he was a military officer in the General's Office of Emperor Gaozu, the Marshal Sima of Weibei Road, and even the Chief Clerk of the Tiance Palace.

Although Hou Junji was at the front of the army, as long as there was information exchange, there were many things they didn't know.

Not to mention the emperor, Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng and others.

Hou Junji thought he had kept this matter extremely secret, but in fact it had been leaked from the very beginning.

……

Seeing Hou Junji fall silent, Li Tai couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, but he also gritted his teeth. Everything now was completely different from what he had originally thought.

Now all the rhythm and initiative between the two fell into Hou Junji's hands.

He himself became very passive.

Li Tai was filled with hatred, but the sword hanging next to his neck made him dare not move at all.

"Actually, there's more to it than that." Li Tai raised his hand carefully, staring at Hou Junji, and gently pushed the sword from his neck away. He said, "Regarding the Duke's appointment as Prime Minister, before the Duke returned from Gaochang, my father had discussed the Duke's appointment with the other Prime Ministers and Chancellors, but almost everyone opposed the Duke's further advancement, and some even refused to allow him to continue as Prime Minister."

Before the expedition to Gaochang, Hou Junji was already the Minister of Personnel and Vice Prime Minister. After the battle of Gaochang, he had the opportunity to be the Minister of the Court or even the Minister of the Secretariat. Unfortunately, he was impeached and dismissed from the position of Vice Prime Minister and was appointed as the Chief Clerk of the Grand Commander of Yongzhou.

This has always been Hou Junji's obsession. He wants to be the prime minister again, but he never thought that his path has been blocked from the very beginning.

With a "pa" sound, Hou Junji slapped Li Tai's fingers with the back of his sword, and then put it back on Li Tai's shoulder.

"I know I'm not popular. Your Highness said almost everyone is. I think the only exception should be Prime Minister Wei." Hou Junji looked at Li Tai and said, "If that's the case, then why didn't Your Majesty punish me for this after I returned to Chang'an?"

Li Tai looked at Hou Junji in surprise and said, "The Duke has been dismissed from his post as Prime Minister and will never be allowed to serve as Prime Minister again. Isn't this the greatest punishment for the Duke?"

Hou Junji wanted to say something in rebuttal, but his lips trembled and he didn't say anything.

Yes, his punishment was not for condoning looting, but for that incident.

Hou Junji suddenly looked up at Li Tai and asked through gritted teeth, "Since I've already been dismissed from my position as prime minister and will never be allowed to serve again, and I've been directly dismissed from all my posts and exiled to the border, why did you still appoint me as the Chief Clerk of the Yongzhou Grand Military Governor's Office and also the Minister of Personnel?"

"Of course we have to monitor the Duke." Li Tai smiled, a hint of pride in Hou Junji in his eyes, and then he said, "Father is afraid that the Duke will leave Chang'an and do something else, so the best way is to keep the Duke under his nose and monitor him at all times. This is what Father does."

"Keep me here, let me continue to work for him, but never give me a chance to advance further." Hou Junji suddenly felt a pang of pain in his heart. He gritted his teeth and said, "He is so cruel. No, he has always been cruel."

Li Tai sat opposite, lowering his head slightly.

He seemed not to hear Hou Junji's two sentences.

"Hehe...hehe..." Hou Junji couldn't help laughing, feeling pain, despair, and self-mockery.

He shook his head, unable to believe it, and said, "They were just two women, even if they were Qu Wentai's former princesses. Gaochang was eventually destroyed. Even if I was wrong, I fought alongside him through many years, through life and death. Isn't that enough to offset his suspicion of me?"

"Not enough!" Li Tai suddenly said.

Hou Junji suddenly looked up, staring at Li Tai intently, and the sword in his hand straightened up again.

He didn't say anything, but if Li Tai's next words didn't satisfy him, he would kill him.

It would really kill him.

Li Tai looked at Hou Junji and sighed softly, "Duke Chen, the concubine of a king who lost his country, Duke of Chen, and the commander-in-chief of the army, doesn't that remind you of something?"

"What?" Hou Junji shook his head in confusion.

Li Tai smiled bitterly and said, "Of course it's Taiyuan, Duke. Have you forgotten? When the Taiyuan uprising began, my royal grandfather was the Duke of Tang of the Former Sui Dynasty. He was the Ambassador of Comfort in Shanxi and Hedong, and the governor of Taiyuan. There were also the Jinyang Palace, Consort Yin De, and Concubine Zhang... Duke, you're also a veteran of the Qin Palace. How could you have forgotten all this?"

Hou Junji was stunned.

Taiyuan, Jinyang Palace, Concubine Yin De and Concubine Zhang.

Emperor Gaozu therefore rebelled against the Sui Dynasty and eventually established the Tang Dynasty.

As for him, Duke of Chen, Gaochang, Princess Gaochang, Minister of War, Vice Minister of State Affairs, Commander-in-Chief of the Jiaohe Road Army, and in charge of an army of 200,000 men...

Thinking of this, Hou Junji naturally couldn't help but shudder.

The Taiyuan uprising was caused by Emperor Gaozu sleeping with two women, Yang Guang's concubines. He then rebelled against the Sui Dynasty, conquered the country, pacified the local areas, and finally established the Tang Dynasty.

Regarding the Gaochang incident, Hou Junji destroyed Gaochang and captured two Gaochang princesses. So what was the next step? What did he want to do?

Naturally, the emperor couldn't trust him.

Therefore, he was dismissed from his position as Vice Prime Minister and appointed as Chief Clerk of Yongzhou to keep a close eye on his every move.

Everything makes sense.

Hou Junji finally understood everything now.

In other words, he had never really thought about what to do, otherwise, he, the Chief Secretary of Yongzhou, would have died long ago.

Hou Junji suddenly felt bitter in his mouth. Yes, Li Tai was right. He would never have the chance to become prime minister in his lifetime.

Not only that, the emperor would keep an eye on him all the time and would not give him any chance.

……

After a moment, Hou Junji looked at Li Tai and asked gloomily, "I am already like this. What does the King of Wei want to do by seeking me out privately?"

"Of course it is to help the Duke become the Prime Minister." Li Tai smiled lightly.

"How is that possible? His Majesty is here..." Hou Junji looked at Li Tai, and he finally understood what he wanted to do.

As long as Li Shimin was around, Hou Junji naturally could not become prime minister, but what if the emperor was gone?
Hou Junji stared at Li Tai, feeling a little surprised.

The King of Wei actually dared to think so.

Li Tai lowered his head, raised the wine glass, and then pushed the glass towards the sword blade. This time, the sword blade was completely pushed off his shoulder.

Li Tai breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at Hou Junji and asked, "I wonder what the emperor and the Duke said yesterday."

"The Crown Prince said that if we kill him, the matter will be over." Hou Junji raised his head, sneered, and said, "Your Majesty, who is this person? If I really did this, Your Majesty would be even more wary of me."

No one knew better than Hou Junji what kind of person Li Shimin was.

This had been the case for decades, from the founding of the Tang Dynasty, to the Xuanwu Gate, to the conquests of the Eastern and Western Turks, Tuyuhun, and Goguryeo, Hou Junji knew Li Shimin very well.

"Perhaps, the Duke can choose to place the people in Jiangnan, Jiannan, or simply send them back to Gaochang. Perhaps in this way, the emperor can be a little more at ease. Then, the Duke can make some contributions. Then, with the Duke's qualifications, it will be a piece of cake for him to be appointed as prime minister again." Li Tai pushed the wine glass in front of him to Hou Junji.

Hou Junji lowered his head, looked at the wine glass in front of him, and said softly and firmly: "Impossible, I want to stay in Chang'an, stay by my side, and I want to be the prime minister too."

Li Tai clenched his fists and didn't know what to say for a moment.

Hou Junji raised his head, looked at Li Tai, and asked, "What about the King of Wei? What does the King of Wei plan to do?"

"Of course, he will become the crown prince." Li Tai suddenly smiled and looked at Hou Junji and said, "That's why we need Duke Chen to help Qingque."

"Oh, Your Highness, please be careful."

"It's nothing. I just want to enter the East Palace and see if the prince has done anything wrong. Then, at the critical moment, Duke Chen can give him a hand." Li Tai looked at Hou Junji carefully.

"It's very difficult." Hou Junji sighed softly, then shook his head. "The Crown Prince has done a lot over the past two years and achieved many results. None of these things have offended Your Majesty. Do you know why?"

"why?"

"Because the Crown Prince has understood Your Majesty thoroughly. He knows what he is doing and would never touch Your Majesty's sensitive spots." Hou Junji looked up at Li Tai and sneered, "In this respect, the King of Wei is far worse."

Li Tai fell silent. He felt something was wrong in the past two years. The emperor was not satisfied with anything he did, but the emperor was happy with whatever the prince did.

"In the future, I hope the Duke will give me more guidance. I still lack a lot in many things." Li Tai stood up and bowed seriously to Hou Junji.

"Your Highness is too polite." Hou Junji looked at Li Tai, not knowing what he was going to do.

"Now, we will stop here today. I have something to do, so I will leave first. If the Duke has something to do, he can just send someone to find the prince consort. Of course, it should be kept secret." After saying this, Li Tai bowed, then turned around and left quickly without any reluctance.

Hou Junji was stunned by this scene.

He still has a lot to say.

……

On New Year's Eve, Li Tai sat in the carriage and breathed a sigh of relief.

Chai Lingwu sat across from them, looking surprised, but still asked in a low voice, "Your Highness, how did things go with Duke Chen?"

"Not really." Li Tai shook his head and said with a wry smile, "I had a lot to say at today's meeting, but Duke Chen was too imposing and controlling, so I was unable to say much."

Hou Junji was too strong. Li Tai tried to control the conversation several times, but was always suppressed by Hou Junji.

The entire matter was in Hou Junji's hands from beginning to end.

If this continues, Li Tai is worried that everything he has will be controlled by Hou Junji.

So, Li Tai stood up decisively and left.

Fortunately, Hou Junji did not stop him.

"No matter what, I have said everything I need to say to him, and he has figured out everything he needs to. What remains is for both of us to stay calm and wait for the next meeting." Li Tai was very fortunate that his true trump card was not exposed to Hou Junji much, which was very important.

"That's fine." Chai Lingwu nodded and said, "What I've always worried about is that Duke Chen wouldn't be so willing to assist Your Highness."

Hou Junji wanted to be the prime minister, but the emperor was not an option. However, if the emperor was not an option for him, Hou Junji still had other options, such as the crown prince, the Prince of Jin, or even the Prince of Wu.

Li Tai shook his head and said, "Don't worry about him. Let him do it first. When he gets hurt and bruised, he will come back and find me."

"Yes!" Chai Lingwu nodded.

Li Tai breathed a sigh of relief, then said, "Cousin, be careful and keep a close eye on him."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)