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

Chapter 55 The Emperor is always mean, this is very him
In the Guande Hall, the emperor sat on the imperial couch with a calm expression.

Li Chengqian stood on the third step of the Danbi, lowered his head slightly, looked at the people below, and breathed slowly.

Li Zhi stood two steps below Li Chengqian, looking solemn.

Civil and military officials stood on both sides of the hall, holding their tablets in their hands.

Hou Junji, the commander-in-chief of the Jiaohe Road army and the Minister of Personnel, stood in the center of the hall, with a dozen generals in red clothes and golden armor behind him.

Hou Junji bowed solemnly and said, "... Your Majesty, Hou Junji, the commander-in-chief of the Jiaohe Road Army, reports: This time, our 100,000-man army conquered Gaochang, lasting a total of eight months and ten days. We conquered Gaochang, capturing a territory of 800 li from east to west and 500 li from north to south, three prefectures, five counties, 22 cities, 8,446 households, 37,738 people, 4,300 horses, and countless precious jade artifacts..."

As he spoke, Hou Junji glanced at the four huge black boxes placed before him, then continued, "...the land has been mapped, the people have been recorded in a yellow book, all the war horses and treasures have been compiled, merits have been recorded, and punishments have been regulated. Your Majesty, please review them."

The emperor nodded slightly and said, "Duke Chen is the Minister of Personnel. I still trust what you do, but there are rules and regulations. You still need to go to the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War. Minister Cui, Minister Tang, you will immediately inspect and verify it. After the inspection, I will reward the generals."

"Yes!" Cui Dunli, the Vice Minister of War, and Tang Jiao, the Vice Minister of Personnel, immediately stood up and bowed to receive the order.

Four black boxes were also carried away by soldiers.

In the side hall, officials from the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War have begun intensive verification.

Hou Junji's breathing became a little heavy. His eyes fell on the table on the left side of the hall, and he could clearly see the imperial edicts placed on it.

However, for some reason, Hou Junji felt inexplicably uneasy when he heard the very slight sound coming from the side hall.

"Come here, tell the king of Gaochang, Qu Zhisheng, and his brother Qu Zhizhan to come to the emperor." The emperor's voice suddenly turned harsh.

The generals immediately became solemn and retreated to the sides.

……

Standing to the upper left of the ministers, Wei Zheng looked towards the entrance of the hall while also gently scanning the ministers.

Sure enough, the figure of Du Chuke, the Chief Secretary of King Wei, was nowhere to be seen.

Just after they finished offering sacrifices at the Taimiao, Wei Zheng saw a eunuch holding an imperial edict and quietly approaching Du Chuke.

Then, Du Chuke, with a look of astonishment on his face, was half-escorted and half-sent out of the palace by the Qianniu Guards.

He was transferred to be the governor of Xiangzhou and set off upon receiving the imperial edict.

It's not just about leaving the palace. With the emperor's methods, I'm afraid he won't even let Du Chuke return home and will throw him out of Chang'an directly.

The emperor's character has always been so harsh.

This is very him.

Wei Zheng sent someone to investigate briefly and found out that the transfer documents and procedures of the Ministry of Personnel had been completed.

In the current Menxia Province, the position of Shizhong is vacant.

Before this, the position of Shizhong was held by Yang Shidao. After Yang Shidao was transferred to the position of Zhongshu Ling last year, the position of Shizhong became vacant.

Of course, the person who is in charge of the affairs of his subordinates now is Wei Zheng.

Before Yang Shidao, Wei Zheng was the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and later he was promoted to Special Advancement and Canzhi Zhengshi. Now that the position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was vacant, Wei Zheng temporarily took charge of the Ministry of Personnel.

In fact, he was watching for Hou Junji.

Now that Hou Junji has returned to the court, after his merits are commended, he will be appointed as the Shizhong and become the prime minister of the three ministries.

……

Wei Zheng's gaze could not help but sweep upwards. Although Jin Wang Li Zhi had a solemn expression, there was a hint of panic in his eyes that was visible to the naked eye, but the Crown Prince was so calm that he could not see anything.

Today, Prince Jin was ambushed on Chang Street.

It is time for meritorious generals to ride horses and boast about the streets.

Things like this will immediately cause a huge uproar if there is any slight movement.

So, at this time the emperor took decisive action.

He had no intention of letting this matter ferment, and in the blink of an eye, he dealt with the matter fiercely and harshly.

Before that, Wei Zheng and the Yellow Gate Minister Liu Li had accompanied Hou Junji to offer sacrifices to the Taimiao.

While they were away, the emperor made a direct decision to demote Du Chuke, the chief secretary of King Wei, to the position of governor of Xiangzhou.

Although Wei Zheng and Liu Li were not there, there were still people in the Menxia Province, and the imperial edict was quickly reviewed and carried out.

This is the emperor’s response to the people of the world regarding today’s events.

Du Chuke, the chief secretary of King Wei, was demoted to the governor of Xiangzhou.

If nothing unexpected happens, people will not see Du Chuke appear in the entire Chang'an City again within three or four years.

He has always been like this. If the prince is not a good person, he will punish him and demote him to the position of chief official of the palace.

Three years ago, the governor of Anzhou and King of Wu, Li Ke, was impeached by the censor Liu Fan for harassing the people while hunting.

The emperor immediately dismissed the King of Wu from his post as governor of Anzhou, reduced his fiefdom by 300 households, and threatened to execute the King of Wu's chief secretary, Quan Wanji. It was only through Liu Fan's strenuous intervention that Quan Wanji was spared. However, just one year later, the King of Wu was reappointed as governor of Anzhou.

The emperor will listen to your advice seriously, but how he will listen and how long he will listen is another question.

Of course, the biggest significance of punishing the Prince's Chief Secretary is symbolic.

Because most of the real power of the palace is in the hands of the chief secretary of the palace. Once the chief secretary is transferred, big problems will immediately arise in the operation of the palace.

The King of Wei is plotting to appoint the Crown Prince. Without the King of Wei's Chief Secretary, what can you rely on?

After all, the prince is not allowed to make friends with court ministers at will. These things were done by the chief secretary before, and it will be difficult to find someone to replace him in the future.

Not only that, Wei Zheng was certain that the King of Wei would be confined to his house for a long period of time in the future, so that he could concentrate on compiling the "Expanded Geography", and the court would finally be able to have some peace and quiet.

Wei Zheng accidentally glanced at Li Chengqian, and Li Chengqian happened to see it.

Li Chengqian nodded slightly to Wei Zheng, his expression calm and without any sign of abnormality.

It seems as if everything is under control.

The flash of Helan Chushi's sword flashed through Wei Zheng's mind. How much of today's events were completely under the control of the prince?

Will the prince let go of what happened today?

……

Wei Zheng suddenly felt inexplicably terrified.

……

"Thump thump..." Heavy footsteps were heard outside the hall. The disheveled Gaochang King Qu Zhisheng and his brother Qu Zhizhan, escorted by four Qianniu Guards, finally entered the hall and kowtowed heavily to the ground.

"I, the sinner, King Qu Zhisheng of Gaochang, pay my respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty." Qu Zhisheng's choked voice rang out in the hall.

His younger brother Qu Zhizhan could only kowtow, his body trembling uncontrollably.

The emperor sneered softly from the Danbi. "Qu Zhisheng, I still remember your father, Qu Wentai. After cutting off the Silk Road, I ordered him to come to Chang'an, and I will never forget his arrogance in refusing to come."

Li Shimin suddenly slammed the table, and with a "bang" sound, the whole hall was startled.

"Yes!" All the civil and military officials in the hall bowed at the same time.

As the loud noise rang out, countless cold gazes fell on Qu Zhisheng.

In an instant, Qu Zhisheng was shaking like a sieve.

"And you? I read the military report. General Hou told you to surrender, but you dared not surrender." Li Shimin slammed the table and shouted, "Come here."

"The sinner is guilty, the sinner is guilty, Your Majesty, please punish me, Your Majesty, please punish me!" Qu Zhisheng was so scared that he kowtowed again, trembling incomparably.

When the ministers in the hall saw this scene, they couldn't help but laugh.

Li Shimin swept his cold gaze over, and the ministers became solemn again.

Li Shimin then turned to Qu Zhisheng again, his expression calm. "Since you have admitted your guilt and Gaochang has been destroyed, you should stay in Chang'an from now on and don't go anywhere else...Issue an imperial decree to confer upon Qu Zhisheng of Gaochang the title of Duke of Jincheng County and the rank of General of the Left Guard; and upon Qu Zhizhan, the title of Duke of Tianshan County and the rank of General of the Right Guard."

"Your Majesty, we thank you for your kindness. May Your Majesty live forever." Qu Zhisheng and Qu Zhizhan kowtowed quickly.

"Go down." Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "The Guanglu Temple will arrange accommodation for you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The two brothers Qu Zhisheng and Qu Zhizhan bowed and retreated. Although they were sweating profusely, they felt a little relieved.

……

After Qu Zhisheng and Qu Zhizhan completely disappeared, Li Shimin smiled and said, "Looking at the way they look, I'm really worried. They're going to pee in the next moment!"

"Ah!" The ministers were slightly stunned, but then they all couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Okay, everyone, take a seat." The emperor waved his hand, and the ministers immediately sat up in their respective seats in the hall.

Li Shimin looked at his generals, raised his glass and said, "This Western Expedition has destroyed Gaochang. From now on, the Silk Road will be stable. I will reward you all with a toast."

"A toast to Your Majesty!" The generals and ministers immediately followed suit, raising their glasses and shouting, "Congratulations to our Emperor, may his military fortune flourish and his life be long and prosperous."

"Drink!" Li Shimin laughed and drank the whole glass of wine.

Inside and outside the hall, all the soldiers drank up the wine in their cups.

"Come here, give me some silk!" Li Shimin waved his hand and looked at his ministers, saying, "I will deal with your military achievements later, but this red silk is my gift. I will give you three pieces each. Don't think it's too little."

"We thank Your Majesty very much." The ministers bowed again.

Watching the eunuchs delivering red silk to more than 3,000 soldiers, Li Shimin nodded with satisfaction.

But deep in his eyes, while he felt a little relieved, there was also a cold and gloomy look.

(End of this chapter)