Tang Dynasty: Taking the Empress Dowager to a brothel, Father Emperor, what a coincidence!

One hour later.

From the back gate of the Shu Prince's Mansion, a dark figure darted out and quickly disappeared into the darkness.

The Cui family of Qinghe lived in a secluded villa in Chang'an.

"Master, the King of Shu has replied."

Cui Mingan asked with his eyes closed:

"How so?"

"The King of Shu has agreed. He said that on the day of the funeral, he will lead the charge and cooperate with our men to seize the gate."

Cui Minqian sneered:

"A prince? Just a remnant of the previous dynasty."

He always pretends to be a dashing and talented scholar, but in the end, wasn't he intimidated by just a few words from this old man?

The butler hurriedly patted his hand and said:

"The patriarch's methods are truly brilliant. Once those letters were sent out, the King of Shu had no choice but to obey."

Whether he agrees or not is actually not important.

Cui Mingan waved his hand.

"All I want is his name. With him, we won't be rebelling, we'll be purging the court of corrupt officials and upholding the rightful ruler."

He stood up and straightened his robe.

"Is everything ready?"

"Go home, Lord. Everything has been loaded onto the wagon."

"Walk."

Cui Mingan walked out.

"Let's go and meet this close advisor of the Emperor."

In the south of the city, there was an inconspicuous house.

Hou Junji sat in the main room, holding a bowl of tea in his hand, but did not drink a drop for a long time.

Not long after, Cui Mingan walked in, supported by the housekeeper.

Hou Junji didn't even lift his buttocks, he just glanced at Cui Mingan.

"Lord Cui, it must be something important that you summoned me to this godforsaken place in the middle of the night. During this period of national mourning, I am required to inspect the city's defenses."

With a smile, Cui Minqian found a chair, sat down, and said:

"General Hou is very busy, so I naturally dare not bother him."

However, the winds of change have shifted in the Tang Dynasty, and I fear the general is still unaware of this, so I have come to offer a reminder.

Hou Junji snorted coldly:

"Which is the wind blowing in, Lord Cui's favor, or the wind blowing in the Tang Dynasty's favor? Your five clans and seven noble families have been getting into trouble with the Crown Prince lately, haven't they? What, want to complain to me?"

"The Crown Prince's eccentric behavior and arbitrary changes to the imperial examinations have indeed disheartened scholars."

Cui Mingan sighed.

"Are we, the aristocratic families, the only ones who have suffered injustice?"

He stared at Hou Junji and continued.

"The general holds the Ministry of War, a position of great power and influence. But what about the Crown Prince?"

He conjured up 10,000 royal guards out of thin air, who were not under the control of the Ministry of War and were entirely supported by the Crown Prince's own money.

What is this? This is like slapping a general across the face!

Hou Junji's face darkened, and he slammed his teacup heavily on the table:

"His Majesty will decide the matter of the Crown Prince; it is not for a mere outsider like you to gossip."

"Your Majesty's decision?"

Cui Minqian smiled.

"His Majesty is currently observing mourning at Da'an Palace, and even the Eastern Palace has been sealed off by the Imperial Guards. Who is in charge of Chang'an now?"

Hou Junji suddenly stood up, his hand on the horizontal sword at his waist.

"Cui Mingan! How dare you utter such treasonous words? Believe me, I'll throw you into prison right now."

Cui Mingan, however, remained as steady as Mount Tai as he looked at Hou Junji.

"General, please don't be angry. I'm not here to argue, but to deliver a gift of wealth."

He waved to the door.

Two burly men carried in two mahogany boxes and placed them in the center of the main room.

"Open."

Two full boxes were filled with gold bars.

Hou Junji glanced greedily at the box, then looked at Cui Mingan and asked:

"What does Lord Cui mean by this? Are you trying to bribe me? I've followed His Majesty in countless battles; what haven't I seen?"

Cui Mingan took a stack of papers out of his sleeve and slapped them onto the box.

"The gold is just a small gift. Here are the deeds for twelve iron mines in Hedong and Longyou, as well as the deeds for eight thousand acres of fine paddy fields outside Chang'an."

Hou Junji's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

Iron ore? Paddy fields? These aren't things you can buy just with money.

"What... exactly do you want?"

Although Hou Junji was a military general, he knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch.

Cui Mingan slowly began to speak:

"The Emperor Emeritus has passed away under suspicious circumstances. Your Majesty is overwhelmed with grief and has been misled by treacherous officials."

"As subjects of the Great Tang Dynasty, we should stand up, purge the court of corrupt officials, and rectify the administration of justice."

Hou Junji looked at Cui Mingan in shock:

"Are you planning a rebellion?"

"It is to purge the court of corrupt officials."

Cui Mingan corrected him.

"Bullshit! His Majesty has the Xuanjia Army under his command, and there are also the Sixteen Guards camp outside the city. Do you think your aristocratic families' spies and assassins are enough to fill His Majesty's teeth? If you want to die, don't drag me down with you."

Hou Junji turned to leave.

"The King of Shu has already agreed."

Cui Mingan said slowly and deliberately.

Hou Junji paused, turned around, and asked:

"What did you say?"

"His Highness the Prince of Shu is a man of great principle and is willing to step forward. Tomorrow is the funeral of the Emperor Emeritus, and the defenses of Chang'an will be weak."

"As long as the general opens the Vermilion Bird Gate and lets our people in, this merit of following the emperor will be yours."

Hou Junji's mind began to race at this moment.

This family is planning to go public through a backdoor listing.

"His Majesty has treated me well..."

"Has he treated you well?"

Cui Minqian interrupted him with a cold laugh.

"General, you fought in the north and south and made great achievements, but what about now?"

Civil officials like Wei Zheng and Fang Xuanling were taking advantage of the general.

Even Cheng Yaojin, that roughneck, was more favored than the general.

The Crown Prince doesn't even respect the general. Once the Crown Prince ascends the throne, will the general still have a place in the court?

Cui Mingan stood up and walked to Hou Junji.

"General, you only have one chance. If you succeed tomorrow, you will be the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, granted the title of Duke, and the position will be hereditary. All the troops of the Tang Dynasty will be under your command."

Hou Junji's eyes darted back and forth between the gold bars and Cui Minqian's face.

Rebellion is a capital offense punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family, but if he doesn't rebel, he can only remain in the position of Minister of War until he dies.

"The risk is too great..."

Hou Junji gritted his teeth and said,

"What if the Xuanjia Army returns to reinforce..."

"There's no 'what if'."

Cui Mingan resolutely blocked the railway.

"I have already taken care of half of the sixteen guards outside the city. As long as the general controls the inner city, the matter will be settled."

Hou Junji was still hesitating.

How could he not know what Li Shimin was like?

If this fails, my whole family will be finished.

Cui Mingan looked at Hou Junji's anxious and uncertain appearance and sneered inwardly.

"General."

Do you want to be like Wei Qing, who is constantly oppressed, or like Dong Zhuo, who wields absolute power?

Hou Junji's mind went blank.

My already limited brain started frantically hypnotizing itself.

On what grounds?

Half of the Tang Dynasty's territory was conquered by Hou Junji.

Why should he have to put up with this kind of rudeness?

"Master Cui."

Hou Junji stared at Cui Mingan and said,

"The funeral will be tomorrow, and I will be in charge of the defense of the Vermilion Bird Gate and the Chengtian Gate."

Cui Mingan was overjoyed upon hearing this:

"Excellent! General, you are indeed a man destined for great things."

Hou Junji grabbed the contract from the box and stuffed it into his pocket:

"Tomorrow at noon, we will use the pretext of changing guards to divert the guards from the Vermilion Bird Gate."

You have only half an hour. If you fail to capture Da'an Palace in half an hour, I will immediately turn my back and lead my troops to annihilate you all.

"Half an hour is enough."

Cui Mingan burst into laughter.

The two made a vow by high-fiving in the main room.

Late at night, at the Cui residence.

Cui Mingan returned to his residence without even changing his clothes and went straight to the ancestral hall in the backyard.

The ancestral hall houses the memorial tablets of the ancestors of the Cui family of Qinghe.

Cui Mingan lit three incense sticks and respectfully placed them in the incense burner.

"Our ancestors are above us."

The Li family has gone too far, attempting to sever the foundation of my family's lineage. My unfilial grandson has left me with no choice but to resort to this risky tactic.

Hou Junji has taken the bait, and the King of Shu has become a knife in our hands.

Li Shimin, Li Chengqian, you two father and son, you can expect to keep each other company on the road to the underworld.

Cui Mingan knelt down and kowtowed three times.

When he raised his head again, the dim candlelight illuminated his old face, making it appear particularly ferocious.

"After tomorrow, this world, this Tang Dynasty..."

He laughed silently.

"Then I'll have to change my surname to Cui."