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

Chapter 223 Anyone who betrays His Majesty must die
In the Wude Hall, Yu Zhining expressed his gratitude, and Li Xuansi placed the imperial edict in Yu Zhining's hands before stepping back.

Seeing Yu Zhining stand up, the others stood up and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Prime Minister Yu."

Yu Zhining looked at the imperial edict in his hand, still feeling a little bit unbelievable, as if everything was a dream.

He is now the Minister of State Affairs.

Suddenly, Yu Zhining came to his senses. He quickly bowed to Li Chengqian and said, "Your Highness, what exactly is going on? Why did Your Majesty allow me to participate in government affairs, assist Your Highness, and even act at your own convenience and make decisions on the spot?"

All the ministers in the hall looked at Li Chengqian at once.

Li Chengqian looked at everyone and said indifferently, "Because someone is planning a rebellion."

Li Chengqian's words made Ma Zhou, Chu Suiliang and Yu Zhining all feel their scalps tingling.

Li Daliang, who was standing by, stepped forward quickly and asked solemnly, "May I ask, Your Highness, who is plotting a rebellion?"

Li Daliang was the General of the Left Guard, and all the troops in Chang'an were under his command. Even in today's Chang'an City, his status was only second to Li Chengqian and Fang Xuanling.

If someone wants to rebel, he is the first person responsible.

……

"Please sit down first." Li Chengqian sighed, then walked to the main couch and sat down.

Under his gaze, the others had to kneel down on both sides.

This time, Yu Zhining sat at the top seat on the left, with Ma Zhou and Chu Suiliang sitting behind him; Li Daliang sat at the top seat on the right, with Li Xuansi sitting below him.

Li Chengqian looked to one side and whispered, "Cousin, tell me the news from your side."

"Yes!" Chang Sunxiang stepped forward, then bowed solemnly and said, "Just today, the Ministry of Works sent two thousand newly produced crossbows and ten thousand crossbow arrows out of the city, saying they were going to Luoyang. However, neither the Secretariat nor the Chancellery has the relevant official documents on file, nor does it have an imperial decree from Your Majesty."

Everyone was in disbelief and fell silent.

Two thousand crossbows is a considerable number even on the battlefield.

Add to that 10,000 crossbow arrows, and if used skillfully, it could even be enough to decide the outcome of a major battle.

Of course, such a number may not be large in the Ministry of Industry.

After all, ever since the Eastern Palace reformed the forging technique, the efficiency of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Works in producing military equipment has more than doubled.

Especially now that the emperor is going on an expedition to the east, almost all the craftsmen that can be found in Chang'an and Luoyang have been transferred to the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Works.

Now, for the imperial court, the real limitation on the production of bows and crossbows is the stockpile of iron.

But for now, the number that the Ministry of Industry has put all its efforts into creating is terrifying.

In other words, such a transfer can at least be decided by the Minister of Works, but the paperwork process cannot be skipped.

How could we not inform the Secretariat and the Chancellery when we dispatched two thousand crossbows and ten thousand crossbow arrows out of the city?

Even with your majesty's decree, this cannot be done!

"Also," Chang Sun Xiang continued, bowing, "outside the Tonghua Gate of the East City, over a thousand soldiers have been gradually transferred here over the past ten days."

Li Daliang raised his head, looked at Chang Sunxiang and said, "Before His Majesty left, he mobilized a lot of people. Some went to Hebei, and some went to Luoyang. Naturally, they needed to be replaced after they left."

"Of course, but these were all organized transfers. However, these more than a thousand people were transferred from the Sixteen Guards in groups of thirty to fifty. And each time, there was a larger-scale transfer, as if they were afraid of being discovered. And they all eventually gathered outside Tonghua Gate." Chang Sun Xiang emphasized seriously, "And only at Tonghua Gate."

Li Daliang fell completely silent.

If we deduce from the results, it is easy to see that these are completely purposeful transfers.

But judging from the process alone, all of this is very reasonable. It can only be said that all of this is hidden very deeply.

"Everything is still under observation." Li Chengqian glanced at Li Daliang and said, "No one wants to see things go to that point, not even my father. So let's wait and see if there's any more activity outside Tonghua Gate in the next few days."

If someone really wants to plot something, a thousand people are not enough.

This is not the Xuanwu Gate period. Those guarding the palace are all the emperor's diehards. The truly powerful soldiers among the sixteen guards outside the city have been transferred out of Chang'an. The remaining ones can never be compared with the black armor cavalry of the Tiance Mansion back then.

"Yes!" Everyone bowed and nodded, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. At least everything wouldn't happen immediately.

"Also, the crossbows and arrows from the Ministry of Works." Li Chengqian looked at Changsun Xiang and said, "Send someone to keep an eye on the Ministry of Works. If they want to take action, they're short on bows, crossbows, and weapons. If they need to deploy them later, please report back promptly."

"Yes!" Chang Sun Xiang immediately bowed.

Li Chengqian nodded, then looked at Li Daliang and said, "County Lord, please send someone to investigate the whereabouts of the 2,000 crossbows and 10,000 crossbow arrows, and see if they have reached the military camp outside Tonghua Gate."

"Yes!" Li Daliang had come back to his senses and bowed solemnly.

No matter what, secretly mobilizing two thousand crossbows and ten thousand crossbow arrows, even if it was not intentional treason, could still be charged with treason according to Tang law.

Li Daliang is in charge of all the soldiers inside and outside Chang'an. He has enough ability to investigate quietly, and he must investigate quietly.

Li Chengqian nodded, looked at Yu Zhining and asked, "Mr. Yu, how many days does it usually take for the Ministry of Personnel to notice something wrong with something like this?"

The Menxia Province had the power to supervise the six ministries. Yu Zhining was the Yellow Gate Minister. When the emperor and Liu Li were away, he was in charge of supervising all officials in Chang'an.

"Generally speaking, within five to ten days." Yu Zhining nodded solemnly, and everyone couldn't help but hold their breath. That means everything will happen within five to ten days.

Li Chengqian sighed softly and said, "Gentlemen, no one wants any unforeseen disaster to happen. I also hope that they can stop before it's too late, but the necessary preparations must be made. Only in this way can I and your lives be preserved."

"Yes!" Everyone bowed in unison, their expressions stern.

"Therefore, in all these matters, you should take the lead. You should formulate the response measures. All the information should be transmitted to the Ministry of Personnel and then to me." Li Chengqian looked at everyone.

"Yes!" Everyone looked up and looked at Yu Zhining. The Menxia Province was the closest to the Wude Hall among all the official residences in the court. Even Fang Xuanling was not as close as Yu Zhining and Li Chengqian.

Yu Zhining nodded, looked at the others and said, "Still in the name of compiling the 'Five Dynasties History', Lord Chu, please pay attention to the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Shangshu, the Chief Censor, please pay attention to the Censorate, and the Duke of Wuyang, please pay attention to other parts of the army. If they really want to move, although Tonghuamen is the main force, other places will definitely have support."

"Yes!" Everyone bowed slightly to Yu Zhining.

"Very good. You are in charge of all matters. I will also do some things here to divert their attention to me." After a brief pause, Li Chengqian looked at Yu Zhining and said, "Your Excellency, I want to transfer someone back to Beijing to investigate the situation in Chang'an City." "May I ask, Your Highness, who is it?" Yu Zhining looked at Li Chengqian cautiously.

Li Chengqian lowered his head and said softly, "General of the Right Tunying, Duke of Qiao, Chai Zhewei!"

Everyone looked up and looked at Li Chengqian in surprise.

They originally thought that Li Chengqian was going to transfer his confidant back to Chang'an, but they didn't expect that the person he transferred was Chai Zhewei.

"If Chai Zhewei knows nothing about what's happening in Chang'an, then we can quietly transfer him back to Chang'an and have him show up at the critical moment. Then everything can be resolved quickly, or even silently." Li Chengqian looked up and said softly, "If he knows, perhaps they can focus more attention on me."

Li Daliang bowed his head, then clasped his hands and asked, "Your Highness, if that's the case, why don't you arrest him right now?"

If we arrest the person now, we can completely eliminate all hidden dangers.

"What do you rely on?" Li Chengqian looked at Yu Zhining and said, "Although Mr. Yu is now the Vice-Chancellor and has the power to make decisions on the spot, it is only a decision on the spot. We have no right to investigate beyond the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court. Moreover, it seems that the emperor does not want to make a big fuss about this matter. After all, what happened that year has already happened once, and the emperor definitely does not want to see it a second time. The history books will..."

When everyone heard the word "history books", they immediately understood everything.

The Xuanwu Gate Incident had already caused the emperor's reputation in history books to be much worse. If it happened again, his contributions to governing the world over the years would be largely erased.

Not to mention that once things start, they may even be passed down to future generations.

You know, Li Tai is the emperor's second son just like him!

"So, it would be best if all this could end quietly; it would be best if the people of Chang'an didn't know about it at all; it would be best if by the time they wake up, all traces of it would have disappeared quietly." Li Chengqian gently tapped the black and gold wooden box in front of him, setting the tone for everything.

"Yes!" Everyone immediately bowed.

Although the emperor has now appointed Yu Zhining as the Vice Prime Minister, the person who truly calls the shots in Chang'an City is still Li Chengqian.

It’s not that others are not qualified to make decisions, but they just don’t dare.

Even though Yu Zhining was now the Vice-Chancellor, he did not dare to act recklessly in matters such as the struggle for imperial power, let alone Li Daliang, who was only the General of the Left Guard.

"Alright, since you've already received the imperial decree, you should at least write a letter to the Emperor. Please write a letter of thanks." Li Chengqian turned to look at Li Daliang and said, "Afterwards, the General will send someone secretly to Hebei... I hope the Emperor can receive the news before everything begins."

"Yes!" Li Daliang bowed seriously, and completely let go of the last bit of suspicion in his heart.

"Regarding Chai Zhewei's matter, have Lord Chu draft a document, signed and sealed by the Grand General, Lord Ma, and Lord Yu, and have it quietly sent to Yanzhou. Order Chai Zhewei to return within five days. Also, have someone monitor him. If he contacts anyone else, cut off all channels of contact. I will decide when he contacts anyone else."

Li Chengqian looked at Li Daliang and asked, "General, can you do this?"

Li Daliang lowered his head and pondered, then raised his head and said with certainty, "Okay."

Li Chengqian breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I actually trust Chai Zhewei. After all, his status is there, so there's no need for him to do anything."

"Yes!" Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Finally, send someone to keep an eye on Chai Lingwu." Li Chengqian looked at Changsun Xiang and said, "Whether this matter can be successfully resolved may depend on him."

"Yes!" The ministers finally understood what Li Chengqian was going to do!

……

Under the night sky, the bright moon hangs high in the sky.

Li Daliang stood on the Vermillion Bird Gate, watching the Jinwu Guards escort Yu Zhining, Chu Suiliang, Ma Zhou and others back, and a trace of sadness appeared on his face.

Although the prince did not reveal the names of those people involved in this rebellion until the end, Li Daliang already understood it in his heart.

If someone wanted to carry out the Xuanwu Gate incident, the only person in Chang'an City who was qualified was Li Tai, the Prince of Wei and the emperor's second son.

Everyone acts around him.

The only other person who could quietly transfer 2,000 crossbows from the Ministry of Works was Zhang Liang, the Minister of Works.

The only person who was able to avoid Li Daliang's attention outside Tonghua Gate and quietly mobilize two thousand absolute confidants was Hou Junji, the current Minister of Personnel and former Minister of War.

It is naturally not enough for the two of them alone. There is one person they cannot get around, and that person is Fang Xuanling, the Sikong, the regent minister, and the Duke of Liang.

However, Fang Xuanling's second son, Fang Yiai, the husband of Princess Gaoyang, was once the Sima of King Wei.

In the cold wind, Li Daliang's expression became solemn.

He knew that the reason why the emperor avoided Fang Xuanling in this arrangement and even let Yu Zhining participate in state affairs was because he was unsure about Fang Xuanling's attitude in this matter.

The emperor's heart, once it becomes suspicious of someone, will never stop.

Li Tai, Zhang Liang, Hou Junji, and Fang Xuanling.

Of course, there are also Fang Yiai and Chai Lingwu.

The prince's plan was to use Chai Lingwu to grasp all of the King of Wei's movements, and then completely take them down the moment they took action.

The most crucial person here is actually Li Daliang.

The General of the Left Guard who controls all the military forces in Chang'an.

This also means that he, Li Daliang, will become a thorn in the eyes of Zhang Liang and Hou Junji, his two most familiar partners.

And now they didn't do anything to him, no solicitation, no surveillance.

This shows that the two of them have made up their minds to kill him once and for all.

Li Daliang's face turned cold.

His right hand tightly gripped the long sword at his waist.

No one can betray His Majesty.

Anyone who betrays His Majesty will die.

(End of this chapter)