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

Chapter 445: The Emperor's Innate Instinct for Political Power (Part )
Under the dark night sky, countless cavalrymen, holding torches in their hands, descended the mountain trail of Maji Snow Mountain.

A total of 30,000 cavalrymen.

Against the backdrop of the snow-capped mountains, it looks like a torrent.

A straight figure wearing black armor, an iron mask, and riding a horse under the lion and elephant banner came down with the army.

At the end of the mountain road, there is the Dafei River.

The banner waved gently.

A group of over ten thousand cavalrymen rushed directly towards Shanzhou.

A group of over ten thousand cavalrymen marched westward to the Tuyuhun capital, Fuxi City.

A group of 5,000 cavalrymen marched eastward toward the Yellow River.

You can go down to Hezhou along the Yellow River.

Although the journey is rugged and difficult, if successful, capturing Hezhou and Taozhou will directly threaten the southwest of Lanzhou and even cut off the connection between Lanzhou and Chang'an.

Under the lion-elephant banner, a black figure raised his eyes with cold eyes.

Look directly towards Chang'an.

……

Chang'an, Liangyi Palace.

The candlelight is bright.

Yang Wulian stepped into the hall and bowed to Li Chengqian, who was sitting on the imperial couch. He said, "Your Majesty, the last batch of 10,000 crossbows and 60,000 crossbow arrows for this month has just been sent away."

Li Chengqian put down the memorial in his hand and looked up. "The governors of the northwestern provinces have returned one after another to guard against Tubo and to transport food, troops, and military equipment... My dear minister, do you think the Tang Dynasty can win this battle?"

"Your Majesty!" Yang Wulian bowed and said, "I don't understand military warfare, but I do know that for the past twenty years, the Tang Dynasty has not lost a single battle, but has always been victorious, earning the respect of the world. This battle will be the same. We will surely defeat the enemy and achieve a great victory, bringing honor to Your Majesty and the Tang Dynasty."

"Alright!" Li Chengqian smiled and stood up, then waved his hand and said, "Tell the craftsmen in each workshop to be busy these days. Once the war is over, I will give them a month's vacation."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"In addition, from today onwards, everyone's salary will be tripled." Li Chengqian waved his hand.

"Your Majesty is wise." Yang Wulian bowed gratefully.

Li Chengqian looked at the ministers inside and outside the palace and said, "You ministers should work harder and take turns on duty to keep an eye on the situation in the northwest. During these days, everyone's salary will be tripled."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" All the ministers smiled and bowed.

Li Chengqian stood up and said, "Alright, those who need to be busy should be busy, and those who need to rest should rest. I have to go too."

"Farewell, Your Majesty!" All the ministers bowed.

Li Chengqian smiled as he walked towards the side hall. Just as he reached the door, he stopped and said sideways, "Tell Liu Rengui to keep an eye on the movement of military equipment after he arrives at the front of the army."

"Yes!" Dou Dexuan stood up and bowed.

Li Chengqian nodded and walked out of the Liangyi Hall.

Outside the hall, the sky was dark and the air was cold.

Under the eaves of the surrounding houses, big red lanterns were hung high, and the word "Fu" written in gold lacquer was illuminated on the ground by candlelight.

Some even shone on Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian smiled lightly, then walked down the golden steps, sat on the imperial sedan chair, and headed towards the Lizheng Palace.

At Xianchun Gate, Li Chengqian couldn't help but look towards the direction of Ganlu Palace.

This battle was a war between him and Songtsen.

He didn't expect that this battle would come so early.

Li Zhi's war with Tubo ended with a defeat at Dafeichuan, which laid the foundation for his disadvantage for the next sixty years, but that was twenty years after Li Zhi ascended the throne.

During those twenty years, Li Zhi destroyed Goguryeo and Western Turks. The veteran generals and capable soldiers were almost completely killed, and the subsequent reinforcements were seriously insufficient.

Coupled with the serious underestimation of altitude sickness, the team was ultimately defeated in the first battle.

But now everything is different.

Li Jing, who once presided over the extermination of Tuyuhun, and many veterans and elite soldiers from that battle are still alive. They have a full understanding of altitude sickness.

Li Chengqian was confident of winning this battle.

But war is never a matter of a single moment. How far the battlefield will continue and how it will end require careful consideration.

Throughout history, there are many examples of countries winning first and then losing.

……

The Xianchun Gate slowly moved from above his head to behind Li Chengqian, and the Lizheng Hall in front was clearly visible.

The West Hall has fallen completely into darkness.

Su Yi often helped Su Shu take care of the children, so she often lived in Lizheng Hall.

Li Chengqian entered the East Hall. Su Shu was sitting in front of a short couch reading. Seeing Li Chengqian enter, she immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty!"

"Queen!" Li Chengqian raised his hand slightly, then opened his arms, allowing Su Shu and the maid to help him take off his coat, and then he walked to the short couch and sat down.

"Your Majesty, are you alright today?" Su Shu took the cup of hot tea and placed it on the low table in front of Li Chengqian. "Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded slightly and said, "I've been preparing for this battle for nearly six months. My biggest fear was that Songtsen wouldn't come. Now that he's here, all that's left is the battle."

"With so many great generals on the front line, we will definitely win this battle." Su Shu turned around and waved her hand. The maid behind her bowed silently and then retreated.

"It's not that easy. In a large-scale battle, even a single failure could lead to total defeat." Li Chengqian stepped back slightly and said, "This is especially true when it comes to coordination between the generals. If anyone disobeys or takes a slow step, not only will the trapped enemy escape, but they could even use it to their advantage and defeat us."

After a brief pause, Li Chengqian's eyes turned slightly cold as he spoke, "This kind of thing is not uncommon in history books."

"Your Majesty is worried that they will not obey the Duke of Weiguo." Su Shu sat down on the other side.

"Most people wouldn't worry, but there are many old people in the Eastern Palace, so I transferred Liu Rengui over there to give them a shakeup." Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. Take a look at this."

Li Chengqian took out an imperial edict from his sleeve and handed it over.

Su Shu opened it with some surprise. The emperor never told her in detail about state affairs.

"Promote Secretary Liu Shi to the position of Vice Minister of Personnel." Su Shu frowned and looked at Li Chengqian and said, "Your Majesty, this Liu Shi is Concubine Lan's uncle."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded and said, "When we were in Luoyang, my uncle once suggested that the Prince of Jiangxia be appointed as the Grand Commander of Yizhou, leaving the position of Minister of Rites vacant. He would then leave room for promotion for officials inside and outside the court. He mentioned the names of Du Zhenglun, Lu Chengqing, and Du Fengju."

"Aren't they all His Majesty's confidants?"

"Yes, but I had just ascended the throne and didn't want to transfer them back. So, my uncle and I finally decided to transfer Li Xizhi, the governor of Guizhou, to the position of Minister of Rites. He would be allowed to retire after a year, as he was old enough." After a brief pause, Li Chengqian continued, "After that, Xu Zhiren, the governor of Liangzhou, was transferred to the position of governor of Guizhou. He was the second son of Xu Shao, Duke of Qiao, and a native of Anlu, so he was suited to the southern climate."

Su Shu nodded slightly and said, "What happens next?"

"The Vice Minister of Personnel Cui Renshi was transferred to be the Governor of Liangzhou, and the Secretary of the Central Secretariat Liu Shi was transferred to be the Vice Minister of Personnel." Li Chengqian said everything in a calm voice.

"Your Majesty, are you saying that Duke Zhao's goal is to have Liu Shi appointed as the Minister of Personnel?" Su Shu frowned and said, "But Liu Shi is Concubine Lan's uncle. His appointment as the Minister of Personnel will not harm Your Majesty!"

"That's right. Internally, he is Lan'er's uncle. Externally, I know all about the appointments of officials in the Ministry of Personnel. If he doesn't meet my expectations, I have plenty of ways to deal with him. But I'm worried that my uncle's target this time is not me." Li Chengqian looked up at Su Shu with a worried look in his eyes.

"My concubine?" Su Shu was immediately surprised, then she shook her head and said, "Although Lan'er is your majesty's concubine, she has no children!"

"The Four Concubines: Imperial Concubine, Shu Concubine, Xian Concubine, and Virtuous Concubine." Li Chengqian sighed softly and said, "If my beloved concubine is the empress, then Concubine Zheng must be Imperial Concubine, Shu Concubine is Concubine Wei, and what about Xian Concubine and Virtuous Concubine? Have you thought about it, my beloved concubine?"

"Xianfei and Defei." Su Shu hesitated for a moment, but still said directly: "Yier should take at least one, right? The remaining one is Lanfei?"

"And Concubine Cui, uncle is helping Lan'er win the title of Virtuous Concubine. After all, the Taiyuan Wang family's family background is far superior to the Wugong Su family." Li Chengqian raised his head and said seriously, "Once Lan'er becomes the Virtuous Concubine, she will in turn support Liu Shi, the Minister of Personnel. If anything happens, Liu Shi will side with uncle."

Li Chengqian turned around, looked at Su Shu and said, "I am confident that I can control the affairs of state, but I am worried that they are not targeting me, but my beloved concubine, or even the emperor's father-in-law."

"Yeah!" Su Shu's face was suddenly filled with surprise.

"My father-in-law has made very good achievements in local governance over the years. It would be appropriate for me to directly promote him to the Minister of Rites." Li Chengqian pointed out the key.

"Duke Zhao was worried that Your Majesty would transfer Aye back to be the Minister of Rites, so he tested Your Majesty's intentions and ultimately obtained the position of Vice Minister of Personnel. This way, even if Aye returned to the capital, he could act as a check and balance." Su Shu instantly understood everything, her face darkening. "But doesn't he know that Your Majesty has other plans for Aye?"

"He doesn't know. I've only told the Queen about these things." Li Chengqian smiled and said, "My uncle is making plans for the future to prevent my father-in-law from becoming too powerful in the court. This is a brilliant move, because my uncle sees clearly that I do have the idea of ​​using my father-in-law to check and balance him. However, I want him to build his foundation for a few more years."

"Yes!" Su Shu nodded immediately and said, "As long as Aye has deep roots in the local area, it won't be a big deal if he joins the court."

"That's basically it." Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Actually, this will happen a few years from now. My father-in-law and uncle haven't suffered any major losses for now. The only one who has suffered the most right now is my family."

Su Shu was stunned and confused.

"The Boling Cui family." Li Chengqian spoke directly, shaking his head. "Master Cui Renshi lost his position as Minister of Personnel, and Concubine Cui didn't become one of the Four Concubines. Uncle is still deeply wary of the Shandong clans!"

Although Su Tan was the father-in-law of the emperor and might pose a threat to Changsun Wuji in the future, he was ultimately a member of the Guanzhong clan.

But the Cui family is different. Cui Dunli is now the Minister of War, and Cui Renshi is the Vice Minister of Personnel, and there is also a Concubine Cui in the harem.

If Concubine Cui became one of the four concubines, then the power of the Cui family would inevitably increase greatly, and that was what Changsun Wuji was really worried about.

"But Concubine Zheng is also a big family in Shandong?" Su Shu was a little puzzled.

"That's different. After all, the Duke of Susong is a veteran of the Qin Palace and a hero at Xuanwu Gate. The lineage of Crown Princess Yin is the direct descendant of the Zheng family of Xingyang." Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "So I plan to vacate the positions of Consort Xian and Consort De for now. I'll wait until they have sons. This will also allow their families outside to serve more attentively."

"Your Majesty!" Su Shu looked at Li Chengqian with some amusement.

"Let's not talk about this anymore. Tomorrow night is New Year's Eve and a war is about to begin. My father has already sent a message saying that we won't be busy with the New Year's Eve banquet tomorrow night, just in case something happens!" Li Chengqian stood up and walked towards the bed, ready to rest.

Su Shu walked out and blew out the candle, then walked to the bed and leaned into Li Chengqian's arms, wondering what was going on in her mind.

The hall was dark.

……

Under the dark night.

New Year's Eve.

New Year's Eve.

Shanzhou, Riyuebao.

Although the soldiers on the city walls were still somewhat vigilant, the New Year atmosphere still made them feel somewhat relaxed.

Just as the patrol was passing through the dark corner of the castle, a bunch of iron hooks were suddenly hooked up.

The next moment, soldiers wearing strange animal skins, with three-color oil paint on their faces and scimitars in their hands fell down silently.

In an instant, the knife flashed and blood splattered.

The blood beads reflected the Huangyuan County City, 40 miles away, and the Shanzhou City, 200 miles away.

(End of this chapter)