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

Chapter 217: Breaking News, the Emperor Sets Off on Eastern Tour Ahead of Schedule (First Update)
Clouds cover the distant mountains, and rain falls on the long river.

It flies low over the dark mountain belly, and its feet splash onto the rocks.

In Liangyi Hall, Li Shimin stood in front of the hall door, looking at the heavy rain drifting above his head, and couldn't help but have a trace of worry in his eyes.

It seems that there is extra rain this year.

In the past ten days alone, there have been several heavy and light rains. If this continues, what will happen if there is a flood?

Looking at the dark clouds in the distance that looked like mountains, with heavy rain pouring down from them, and the whole world seeming to be sinking in a long river, Li Shimin's expression became more and more solemn.

"Your Majesty!" A voice suddenly sounded beside him.

Li Shimin suddenly woke up, turned around and looked at Li Wu next to him, nodded and said: "You are back!"

"Yes!" Li Wu bowed meticulously.

"How's the investigation going?" Li Shimin turned around, walked towards the couch, and sat down.

"Your Majesty!" Li Wu bowed and said seriously, "Duke Chen secretly met with the King of Wei half an hour ago!"

Li Shimin suddenly paused and asked in a low voice: "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Li Wu nodded and said, "My people didn't notice Duke Chen at first. It was only when the King of Wei suddenly went to the secret room, seemingly to meet someone, that they attracted attention. Later, that person left quickly, and my people didn't catch up for a while. But suddenly, it started to rain heavily, and that person subconsciously looked up. The people outside happened to..."

"I just happened to see his face." Li Shimin suddenly laughed, a little ridiculous and a little sad.

After it rains, normal people should lower their heads to avoid the rain, but at the moment it rains, people can't help but look up to confirm whether it is really raining.

This subconscious action completely exposed Hou Junji.

"What did they say?" Li Shimin looked up.

"I don't know." Li Wu bowed and said, "The prince consort is guarding the gate, so my men can't get close. However, after Duke Chen left, the King of Wei laughed three times in his study and ate two extra bowls of rice at lunch today."

"Hahaha!" Li Shimin looked up, squinted his eyes, and said through gritted teeth, "He's completely relieved and has dragged Hou Junji into this!"

"Afterwards, Duke Chen returned to his official residence in Yongzhou. A man who looked similar to him, wearing the Duke Chen's official robes, quietly disappeared."

"A substitute, a death squad." Li Shimin sighed and said, "He's prepared quite well."

Li Wu lowered his head with an indifferent expression.

"What is the reaction of the Eastern Palace?" Li Shimin looked up and his expression became serious.

"No response!" Li Wu bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the Eastern Palace seems to have not noticed Duke Chen's actions. Their personnel have been very quiet recently."

"Quiet, not quiet, but not enough." Li Shimin shook his head and said, "But it's true. He has reminded me of everything he should have. I will naturally investigate the rest."

Li Wu bowed slightly.

Li Shimin tapped the table lightly and said seriously, "Qingque, Zhang Liang, Hou Junji... Li Wu, how many more people who are dissatisfied with me will jump out?"

Li Wu remained silent.

"Qingque was so close to the Crown Prince, yet he ruined himself because of his stupidity; Hou Junji was so close to the Minister of the Interior, yet he ruined himself because of his own mistakes; as for Zhang Liang, he was too greedy." The Emperor sighed softly and shook his head. "Don't they understand that everyone has equal opportunities? I gave them opportunities, but they couldn't seize them, and now they blame me."

Li Wu was silent.

"That's good. It's a good opportunity for everyone to step forward and resolve all potential problems before the expedition. It also allows us to have a good look at the Crown Prince." Li Shimin turned sideways and looked to his left. "Have you prepared the list of Zhang Liang and Hou Junji's trusted aides?"

Zhang Ananda stepped forward and placed a memorial in front of the emperor.

Li Shimin opened the memorial, which was filled with a series of names, including several military colonels, lieutenants, chief secretaries, and even several lieutenant generals and lieutenant generals.

Fortunately, there are no generals at the level of generals.

In the current Tang army, most of the generals are those who fought with the emperor in the past. Their relationship with Li Shimin is much closer than that with Hou Junji.

Li Shimin issued an edict that there was no problem for them to follow Hou Junji to fight, but if Hou Junji asked them to follow him to rebel against the emperor, they would kill Hou Junji immediately.

Even many people on Hou Junji's list of confidants are the same.

"In half a month, pass on the message that those not on this list should not act rashly without my imperial decree." Li Shimin looked at the list in front of him and said, "As for those on this list, it would be a pity to leave some of them alone. Transfer them to Liaodong."

As he spoke, the emperor began to sketch it himself.

If the Tang Dynasty wanted to conquer Goguryeo, it would need a lot of manpower and military strength, among which military generals were the most important.

It would be a pity to let some people die with Hou Junji. It would be better to let them fight on the battlefield together.

Hou Junji was once the Minister of War and later the Minister of Personnel. If the scope was not narrowed as much as possible, once the impact was too heavy, it would be Li Shimin himself who would suffer the loss in the end.

Putting down his pen, Li Shimin breathed a sigh of relief.

"The last one left is Fang Xuanling." When Fang Xuanling's name was mentioned, Li Shimin suddenly laughed and then shook his head.

What a stupid person he must be to believe that Fang Xuanling would betray him.

Li Shimin raised his head, his expression calmed down, and he said calmly: "Send the order to promote Li Xuansi, the Imperial Guards General, to the rank of Imperial Guards Lieutenant General, and then call the people over."

Li Xuansi, Duke of Shi'an County, was the eldest son of Li Xizhi, the governor of Guizhou. He even served the Tang Dynasty earlier than Li Xizhi.

Even Li Xizhi's surrender that year was persuaded by Li Xuansi who personally went to Guilin to persuade him.

"Yes!" Zhang Ananda immediately bowed, then turned around and left quickly.

Just then, a burst of hurried footsteps came in the rain.

Lai Ji, the attendant of the imperial court, braved the rain to enter the palace. He then bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the special envoy of the Queen of Silla has just arrived in Chang'an and requests an audience with Your Majesty."

"Yes!" Li Shimin nodded calmly and said, "Tell him to have a good rest for three days. After three days, he will go to court on the day of the Great Sun to meet the emperor."

"Yes!" Lai Ji bowed, then turned around and left quickly.

Lai Ji had just taken a few steps when the wind and rain above his head suddenly subsided. He didn't care and continued to head towards the Secretariat.

The emperor looked at Lai Ji's figure and suddenly smiled.

"There are still many loyal ministers in this world!" Li Shimin sighed and said, "Since Lai Huer came, many of them have died loyal to their country. If they can do the same, why should I worry?"

Zhang Ananda and Li Wu stood calmly on both sides.

Looking at the wind and rain outside, the emperor murmured, "Pearls cling to leaves in clusters, creating ripples like mirrors; willows in the mist add to the dense silk, weaving an empty net with the wind."

...Li Chengqian, dressed in a purple python robe, stood calmly on the third step of the Danbi, his eyes fixed on the Silla envoy who was kneeling on the ground.

Xue Xuantong, Lieutenant of the Left Guard of Silla.

A young man, a very young man, but his surname is Xue.

Of course, it has nothing to do with the Xue family in Hedong.

On February 15th, all officials above the ninth rank were present in Chang'an.

Queen Seondeok of Silla sent an envoy to Chang'an.

The emperor summoned him.

After Xue Xuantong kowtowed, the atmosphere in the entire hall became quiet for a while.

Xue Xuantong wanted to look up, but for some reason, he didn't dare. At this moment, the emperor's voice rang out from the Danbi.

"What about Liu Gongchuo? I remember that two years ago, it was he who came to Chang'an to present the ceremony in person." Li Shimin looked at Xue Xuantong in surprise.

Xue Xuantong kowtowed and continued, "Your Majesty, General Liu died in battle."

"What?" Li Shimin leaned forward slightly, looked at Xue Xuantong and asked, "What did you say?"

"Your Majesty, last November, Goguryeo allied with Baekje. The two countries joined forces and invaded our vassal state, attacking dozens of cities. General Liu Gongchuo of the Left Army and his wife died for their country."

After a brief pause, Xue Xuantong continued, "Silla is in danger of extinction, so it will launch a large-scale rebellion in September of this year. The country is in grave danger. The Queen has sent an envoy to the great country to request a small army to rescue it."

As soon as Xue Xuantong finished speaking, the ministers in the hall were in an uproar.

Goguryeo allied with Baekje to attack Silla.

Is Gai Suwen crazy?

Just last year, he had killed his own king and enthroned a new king.

This guy just secured his position and immediately turned around to attack Silla. This guy is too...

Soon, many people calmed down.

This isn't madness; it's a brilliant strategy.

Use war to divert domestic disputes caused by the change of monarchs. If they can even conquer Silla before the Tang Dynasty sends troops, they will be able to immediately deal with the Tang Dynasty wholeheartedly.

It would even be enough to just cripple Silla, and as long as they were not attacking Goguryeo when the Tang Dynasty was attacking, it would be enough to support them from behind.

"Silla is mountainous, so Goguryeo is easy to attack, but it would be difficult to destroy it. So, what they want is for you to take the initiative to attack." Li Shimin looked up at Xue Xuantong, shook his head, and said, "If you really send people to attack, I'm afraid that's what they really want."

Silla tried to fight back and begged the Tang Dynasty to send troops at the same time, but this was Gaesomun's strategy.

Upon hearing what Li Shimin said, Xue Xuantong immediately became anxious and said, "Your Majesty, please send someone to Silla immediately to stop the Queen from sending troops!"

"Why don't you go back yourself?" the emperor asked in surprise.

Xue Xuantong kowtowed and said bitterly, "The Queen sent 18 envoys to the Tang Dynasty this time, and I was only one of them. Now, I am the only one who has overcome numerous obstacles and reached the Tang Dynasty. I am afraid that the others have all perished under the blockade of Goguryeo and Baekje!"

"I will send someone." Li Shimin raised his head and said, "However, you still need to find a way to send someone across Baekje to pass the news back to Silla. You can go back to the embassy and rest first. I will send someone to notify you after we have discussed it here."

"I obey your order!" Xue Xuantong kowtowed heavily to the ground, then left the hall.

……

The emperor sat on the imperial couch, looked at Zhangsun Wuji, and asked directly: "Wuji, what do you see?"

Zhang Sun Wuji stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Your Majesty, this is our opportunity. Gaisuwen will simultaneously wage war in the north and south. Then, the Silla will strike back from the south, while the Tang will attack from the north. Goguryeo will be unable to respond, and the Tang will surely prevail."

"Duke of Liang!" Li Shimin asked Fang Xuanling directly.

Fang Xuanling stepped forward, holding his hu tablet and bowing, and asked, "Your Majesty, can the people of Silla be trusted?"

Li Shimin was slightly taken aback. Fang Xuanling continued, "Gaisuwen had just killed the King of Goguryeo when he launched a southern expedition, and he's joined forces with Baekje. This was likely planned long ago. Judging from the current progress, they're confident they can cripple Silla before the Tang Dynasty can send troops."

After a brief pause, Fang Xuanling continued, "Even if we notify the Silla people now and ask them to hold back until the Tang Dynasty sends troops before they counterattack, by then, I'm afraid Baekje alone will be enough to hold them back. Moreover, the Silla people may not be willing to truly launch a northern expedition... Perhaps they are waiting for both the Tang Dynasty and Goguryeo to suffer heavy losses."

“Your Majesty, when Yang Guang conquered Goguryeo, although Yang Guang died and his country was destroyed in the end, Goguryeo was still in a miserable state. If the Silla people had waited until that time to take action, they would have reaped greater benefits.” Hou Junji then stood up and bowed seriously.

Li Shimin nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "No matter what, Goguryeo's unprovoked invasion of Silla is unjust. As the suzerain of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla, the Tang Dynasty must force them to cease hostilities and immediately withdraw from Silla's territory... At the very least, a temporary ceasefire is necessary."

"Father, do you mean to let them fight longer?" Li Chengqian understood a little.

"Right!" Li Shimin glanced at Li Chengqian with appreciation before continuing, "This battle went too smoothly for Gai Suwen. We need to give him some time to recover, at least to give Silla a break. As for Silla's cooperation with the Tang Dynasty... as long as Silla's main force doesn't suffer heavy losses, Gai Suwen must leave enough troops in the south even if they don't cooperate with the Tang Dynasty."

"Your Majesty is wise!" All the ministers bowed in unison.

"We need someone to go to Goguryeo and convince Gaesomun to stop and at the same time, to relax and not assume that the Tang Dynasty will send troops." Li Shimin looked up at his ministers and asked, "My Lords, who is willing to go to Goguryeo?"

As soon as the emperor finished speaking, the hall immediately fell silent.

At this moment, an official in a light crimson robe came out, stood up and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I am willing!"

"Minister Li Xuanjiang of the Ministry of Agriculture." Li Shimin looked at Li Xuanjiang and nodded. "I remember your memorial. It was sharp and well-organized. Okay, you will go on the mission on my behalf."

"I obey your order!" Xiangli Xuanjiang bowed deeply.

"Tell Gai Suwen that Silla is a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty and has never stopped paying tribute to the court. Goguryeo and Baekje should withdraw their troops immediately. If they continue to attack Silla, I will send troops to attack Goguryeo one day!" The emperor's cold shout resounded throughout the hall.

The ministers immediately bowed and said, "Yes!"

……

Seeing Xiangli Xuanjiang return to the train, Li Shimin continued, "Goguryeo's army is attacking Silla, and things have changed. The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War need to increase the transportation of food and military equipment."

Tang Jian and Zhang Liang immediately stood up and bowed: "Yes!"

Li Shimin paused for a moment and said, "The imperial examination has ended. I want to see the results on March 1st."

"Yes!" Hou Junji immediately stood up and accepted the order.

"Also, after the first day of March, I will set out on an eastern tour." The emperor said this, and Li Chengqian and all the ministers in the hall looked up in astonishment.

(End of this chapter)