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

Chapter 218 Ask the King of Wei if he wants to charge Xuanwu Gate (Part )

The emperor sat on the imperial couch and looked at his ministers, especially Li Chengqian, Hou Junji and others, all of whom had surprised expressions on their faces. He nodded with satisfaction.

"In previous years, my eastern tours were generally held in late March. This year, I will be making my tour twenty days earlier, allowing me to observe the spring planting progress in various places." Li Shimin briefly explained, then said, "After my eastern tour, the Crown Prince will remain in Chang'an as regent!"

Li Chengqian immediately stood up, holding his hu tablet and bowing solemnly: "Your son obeys the order!"

"Yes!" Li Shimin nodded and continued, "The Crown Prince will stay in Wude Hall to supervise the country, the Duke of Liang will stay in Chang'an to assist in the administration, and Wuji will come with me."

Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling bowed at the same time.

Hou Junji stood at the back and couldn't help but frowned slightly.

The Crown Prince resides in Wude Hall to govern the country, not in Chengtian Gate or Zhaode Hall, which is a bit troublesome.

On the imperial couch, Li Shimin's eyes quickly swept over Hou Junji, and then continued, "The Imperial Counselor Chu Suiliang will be the Acting Minister of the Secretariat and will remain in Chang'an to assist in the administration."

Chu Suiliang immediately stood up and bowed, saying, "I accept your order."

"The Imperial Court Minister Yu Zhining will remain in Chang'an to assist in the administration."

Yu Zhining immediately stood up and bowed: "Yes!"

"The Right Minister Yuwen Jie stayed in Chang'an to assist in the administration."

Yuwen Jie immediately stood up and bowed, saying, "I obey your order."

After Wei Cong, the Right Chancellor of the Secretariat, was promoted to the Left Chancellor, Yuwen Jie, the former Left Secretary of the Secretariat, was promoted to the Right Chancellor.

The Secretariat was headed by the Shangshu Zuo Pushe and Zuo Pushe, followed by the six ministers, then the Shangshu Zuo Cheng, the six vice ministers, then the Shangshu Zuo Si Langzhong and Shangshu You Si Langzhong, and then the six ministers.

Generally speaking, the positions of Shangshu Zuocheng and Zuocheng are second only to the six ministers and above the six vice ministers; the positions of Shangshu Zuosilangzhong are second only to the six vice ministers and above the six ministers.

However, from the Langzhong of the Shangshu Zuosi, one can be directly promoted to the Shangshu Zuocheng.

He could become Shangshu Zuocheng, and further become the Vice-President of State Affairs, and the Prime Minister of the State Affairs Hall. This was the path Wei Zheng took at the beginning.

……

The emperor did not keep Wei Cong in Chang'an to assist in the administration, which made Li Chengqian feel a little depressed.

Doesn’t the emperor know the relationship between Li Tai and Wei Ting?

Li Chengqian thought for a moment that if the Jingzhao Wei family also intervened in this matter, there would probably be trouble.

Li Chengqian collected his thoughts and continued listening.

Minister of Personnel Hou Junji, Vice Minister of Revenue Cui Renshi, Vice Minister of Rites Wen Wuyin, Minister of Works Zhang Liang, Vice Minister of War Cui Dunli, Vice Minister of Punishment Li Shangzhen and others stayed in Chang'an.

Imperial Censor Wei Ting accompanied the emperor on his eastern tour, while Chief Censor Ma Zhou stayed in Chang'an.

General Li Daliang of the Left Guard, General Qibi Heli of the Right Guard, General Zheng Rentai of the Left Jinwu Guard, General Zuo Kuangzheng of the Left Jinwu Guard and other generals stayed in Chang'an.

The Right General of the Guard Zhishisili, the Right General of the Thousand Oxen Guard Xue Guwu Ren, the Left General of the Thousand Oxen Guard Chang He, and the Right General of the Jinwu Guard Liang Jianfang accompanied the emperor on his eastern tour.

Li Chengqian had been paying attention to Hou Junji's movements intentionally or unintentionally.

Apart from the fact that he himself was appointed to oversee state affairs in the Wude Hall, which surprised Hou Junji, almost all other appointments were within Hou Junji's expectations.

……

After returning to the East Palace, all officials went to handle their affairs.

Li Chengqian sat alone in the Chongjiao Hall, thinking about what was happening. The emperor must have noticed Hou Junji's actions, but at the moment, the emperor's plan did not seem to target Hou Junji in particular.

Li Tai, Hou Junji, Zhang Liang, and perhaps Fang Xuanling may all be on the opposite side of Li Chengqian.

He himself had some, including those of Chu Suiliang, Yu Zhining, Ma Zhou, Li Daliang, Zuo Kuangzheng and Qibi Heli.

Among these people, there must be someone who will be entrusted with an important task by the emperor. What about Qibi?

Do not!
This person needs to be out of Fang Xuanling's sight.

Who will this person be?
Zheng Rentai?
Li Chengqian pondered for a moment. He hoped that the emperor would loosen Zheng Rentai's power, but Zheng Rentai was his father-in-law after all, so it would not be easy.

The people Li Chengqian can mobilize include Li Jing, Du He, and...Qiu Xinggong?

The figure of Qiu Xinggong suddenly jumped out of Li Chengqian's mind. Will the emperor keep him?

Given his temperament, if Hou Junji really did something, Qiu Xinggong would really kill him.

Wude Hall!
Li Chengqian pondered for a moment. Why did the emperor want him to be regent in the Wude Hall this time?
By April, Li Chengqian's legs will be completely healed, so he doesn't need to stay in Wude Hall for long. Zhaode Hall or Chengtian Gate will do.

Why does it have to be the Wude Hall?

……

Hou Junji calmly pushed open the study door, and Chai Lingwu was already standing there. "Duke!" Chai Lingwu immediately bowed when he saw Hou Junji.

"Why does the King of Wei feel a little uneasy?" Hou Junji walked to the desk and sat down.

Chai Lingwu bowed somewhat awkwardly and said, "Your Majesty suddenly went on an eastern tour, and many matters have been finalized. Many of the King of Wei's plans need to be adjusted, so I asked this humble official to come and see the Duke to see whether this matter has any advantages or disadvantages...especially regarding the Crown Prince's supervision of the Wude Hall."

"Although the Crown Prince is the regent in the Wude Hall, he still has to go back to the Eastern Palace on weekdays?" Hou Junji looked at Chai Lingwu in surprise.

Chai Lingwu shook his head and said, "The Eastern Palace cannot be taken immediately. If the Crown Prince rushes into the Wude Hall to protect himself... we can rush into the Eastern Palace, but not the Wude Hall. If we do that, the North Gate Guards will take action."

The North Gate Forbidden Army, you can usually pretend that they don't exist. Even during the Xuanwu Gate Incident that year, the entire North Gate Forbidden Army did not move at all.

But it is different now. If Li Tai and Hou Junji rush into the East Palace as quickly as possible and stop everything before the North Gate Guards can react, they will still choose to remain silent.

But if you rush into the Wude Hall, no, you don't even need to rush into the Wude Hall. When you try to attack the palace, the guards will kill you without hesitation.

Although Hou Junji served as the Minister of War, the Minister of Personnel, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Army for many years, he had no relationship with the North Gate Forbidden Army.

The North Gate Guards only obeyed the emperor's orders.

"Yes, the North Gate Forbidden Army today is very different from the North Gate Forbidden Army back then." Hou Junji sighed lightly.

He was also a member of the Xuanwu Gate Incident. Although the North Gate Guards were soldiers who started the uprising in Taiyuan, most of them had followed the emperor to fight. They trusted the emperor even more than the Crown Prince Li Jiancheng did.

Today, the North Gate Forbidden Army is commanded by the Imperial Guard General Zhang Shigui. Zhang Shigui is strict in commanding his troops, and it will not be as easy as before to attack the Xuanwu Gate again.

"Do you want to try to storm Xuanwu Gate?" Hou Junji looked up at Chai Lingwu with a half-smile and said, "Perhaps if His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei shows up, the North Gate Guards will let His Royal Highness pass?"

"Duke, don't joke. The prince is the regent, and the palace is heavily guarded. If we are blocked by one palace gate, we may not be able to get through." Although Chai Lingwu couldn't help but think of trying Xuanwu Gate again for a moment, he quickly suppressed the idea.

"Okay." Hou Junji shrugged and said, "So what does Your Highness the Prince of Wei think?"

"Your Highness said that the princess will give birth next month. Is it possible to host a banquet for all the important officials in Chang'an, even the crown prince, three days after the birth?" Chai Lingwu paused for a moment and said, "Your Highness, this is just an idea. What do you think, Duke?"

"Get the Crown Prince drunk, and he'll naturally return to the Eastern Palace that night. Furthermore, Fang Xiang, Li Daliang, Zheng Rentai, Chu Suiliang, Yu Zhining, and Ma Zhou can all be drunk. Then, all we need to do is act quickly." Hou Junji looked at Chai Lingwu, nodded, and said, "Your Highness's method is feasible. Let's proceed accordingly."

"Yes!" Chai Lingwu immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, it was not that they did not want to get rid of everyone at the banquet, but before convincing Fang Xuanling, it was impossible for them to set up an ambush quietly in the Prince of Wei's Mansion.

And Li Daliang.

Li Daliang stayed in Chang'an and commanded all the military forces in Chang'an, including the Qianniu Guards, the Jinwu Guards, and even the Chang'an Baiqi Division.

He is Hou Junji's real biggest rival.

Li Tai's method might really allow him to get rid of Li Daliang.

Recovering his thoughts, Hou Junji looked at Chai Lingwu and said, "Many problems can be solved, but if we want to quickly resolve everything, we need to deal with one person."

"Who?" Chai Lingwu's expression turned serious.

"Li Anyan!" Hou Junji's expression grew serious, and he said, "Li Anyan, Feng Li, and Xie Shufang all participated in the Xuanwu Gate Incident back then, and they were on Prince Yin's side. It was during the Xuanwu Gate Incident that Lü Shiheng and Jing Junhong died at their hands.

Feng Li and Xie Shufang are both far away now, but Li Anyan is right beside the Crown Prince."

During the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Anyan held out to the end before being forced to surrender. If he holds on to the Xuanwu Gate now, it will not be so easy to capture it.

"With him around, there will be variables, so we need to eliminate variables in advance." Hou Junji took a deep breath and said, "Therefore, I will petition His Majesty in advance to transfer Li Anyan to the position of General of the Right Guard. While having him away from the Crown Prince, I will also test how much the Crown Prince, and even His Majesty, know about our affairs."

Chai Lingwu's breathing stopped instantly, and he was completely overcome by panic in an instant.

But he quickly reacted and nodded vigorously, "Okay!"

"As soon as Princess Wei gives birth, my people will be in place exactly where is Zhang Liang?" Hou Junji raised his eyes and looked at Chai Lingwu.

"Same." Chai Lingwu nodded vigorously.

"Very good, that's it!" Hou Junji took a deep breath and said quickly, "From today onwards, the Prince Consort should not come here again. Please ask the King of Wei to prepare the seal of the General of the Left Golden Guard on the day of the banquet."

"Okay!" Chai Lingwu stood up, then bowed and said, "In that case, I'll take my leave."

"No need to see him off." Hou Junji nodded. It was not easy for his people to bring Chai Lingwu in quietly. If he saw him off, it would be easily noticed by others.

Only after Chai Lingwu left did Hou Junji's expression become serious, and he couldn't help but look towards the direction of the imperial palace.

His biggest enemy was not the prince, but the emperor.

He didn't know how much the emperor knew about his affairs, nor did he know whether the emperor had made any preparations.

But everything has already begun, he can only hurry.

Solve everything as quickly as possible.

(End of this chapter)