In Wude Hall, the lights are as bright as day.
A group of civil and military ministers sat in the hall surrounded by Li Chengqian. The sound of gunshots outside was like beans and continuous, and the sound of fighting could be heard faintly even from a long distance away.
Many timid people are on pins and needles...
Li Chengqian's expression remained as usual, and he even ordered his servants to serve fragrant tea. He invited the ministers to drink tea and served snacks to satisfy their hunger. As an emperor, he felt proud and happy to have so many ministers accompanying him when the rebels came to the city. No matter what the reason, he felt proud and happy.
The emperor is aloof and holds the power of life and death for all people in the world, so he is called a "lonely man", but who really wants to be a "lonely man"?
When it comes to success or failure in life and death, having someone by his side to share weal and woe and never leave him can prove that Li Chengqian is not a failure...
Very pleased.
Li Ji noticed that the emperor was in a good mood, but he still dutifully reminded him in a low voice: "Your Majesty, it is clear that although Duke Yue led troops into the palace and defeated the rebels, Li Daozhong and Wei Chigong have already captured the meeting point of Chengtianmen, and the battle is unfolding. Counterattack, the battle situation may change at any time, and your Majesty should also be prepared to quickly withdraw through the secret passage if the right guard is unable to resist the rebels."
He has been fighting for half his life, and he is well aware of the dangers of war and the unpredictable nature of the world. Many times, when it seems that the situation is just a few feet away from victory, the situation takes a turn for the worse and collapses rapidly. The difference between life and death, victory and defeat, is unpredictable.
Li Chengqian nodded happily: "Don't worry, sir, I am not a headstrong person like Xiang Yu, nor do I have the domineering attitude of someone who would rather die than cross Jiangdong and plot a comeback. If the situation goes bad, I will immediately escape from the secret road. Leave Qingshan here, I am not afraid of running out of firewood. As long as I am still alive and as long as you and other loyal ministers are still loyal to the country, even if they return to Hexi, they can regroup and contact the people with lofty ideals in the world to counterattack Chang'an. Although the rebels are proud for a while, they will be defeated by the law of heaven sooner or later. In my heart Countless."
Li Ji was completely reassured: "It is certainly disdainful for Gou Jian to stoop to serve as a thief, but his courage and courage, his unswerving determination to turn defeat into victory and wash away the humiliation, are even more famous and admirable throughout the ages. Your Majesty, I wish you understood this truth."
Xu Jingzong, who was opposite, heard the conversation between the emperor and his ministers, and agreed quite a bit: "It is said that the only way to survive through the ages is to die. In fact, sometimes it is easier to die. To survive in the face of setbacks is what a hero does."
He finally got to where he is today, becoming the Minister of Rites, the head of the six departments, and one of the prime ministers and assistants of the dynasty. It is not impossible that he will eventually be promoted to the head of the prime ministers and assistants. That is the ultimate in being a minister and the pinnacle of life. Even if Li Chengqian leads The army withdrew from Chang'an and fled to Hexi to establish a separate regime. He was still a high-ranking official and held great power.
But what if Li Chengqian is too weak-minded to bear the blow of the fall of Chang'an and the loss of his orthodoxy, and collapses and simply drinks poisonous wine and dies?
Once the King of Jin ascends to the throne, he, an important bureaucrat who was "promoted" by Li Chengqian, will definitely not get any good results, and he will be sent to a job three thousand miles away at every turn...
Three thousand miles, how far is that?
It reaches Goguryeo in the east, Hanhai in the north, Luntai City in the west, and Qiongzhou in the south... Well, it would be better if it were Qiongzhou. After all, the Tang Dynasty Navy now spans the ocean and has already built a military port in Qiongzhou. Almost the entire Qiongzhou belongs to the navy. In the world, with his relationship with Fang Jun, he is at ease there.
…
Li Junxian, dressed in armor and stomach, walked quickly into the main hall: "Your Highness, I have an audience outside the Yue Kingdom Palace!"
Since Li Daozong led his army to rebel and enter the palace, he has led his elite "Hundred Cavalry Division" and the palace guards to resist the rebels. They fought bloody battles endlessly, during which they only rested for a short time and were already exhausted.
Now the Youtun Guards entered the palace and defeated the rebels who besieged Wude Hall, allowing him and his extremely tired soldiers to take a break...
All the ministers in the palace suddenly became silent.
Li Chengqian said: "Xuan!"
Li Junxian: "No!"
Exit after giving the salute.
Li Chengqian, contrary to everyone's expectations, stood up, took his seat and walked out to greet the palace gate: "Dear dear friends, please join me in welcoming the Duke of Yue!"
The cultural relic ministers ignored the shock in their hearts and quickly stood up, gathered behind Li Chengqian, and greeted Fang Jun who walked in from outside the palace door with his head held high...
Fang Jun is dressed in dark mountain armor, which makes his slender body look strong and strong. He is full of momentum when walking like a dragon and a tiger. His thick eyebrows are as sharp as swords and his eyes are as bright as stars. The short mustache on his lips becomes more and more heroic and thick. The queen of the palace was slightly surprised when she was greeted by Li Chengqian and the ministers, but the surprise on her face flashed away.
However, Li Chengqian knelt down on one knee five steps away: "Your Majesty, your Majesty, Fangjun, came late to save me!"
Li Chengqian stepped forward, stretched out his hands to hold Fang Jun's shoulders, and lifted him up with a slight force. His face was filled with relief, he looked up and down, and when he heard this, he said with concern: "Ai Qing sneaked out of Xuanwu Gate without hesitation. He took over Youtun Guards, defeated the rebels such as Chai Zhewei and Yin Qinzhou one after another, and also captured Xuanwu Gate to rescue them. It can be said that he has made great contributions to the country and his honor is as heavy as a mountain. What crime is there? But these consecutive battles are extremely dangerous. Has Aiqing ever been responsible for this? Any injuries?"
One sentence established Fang Jun's first contribution in the mutiny.
The ministers in the palace had mixed feelings in their hearts. It was obviously impossible not to be jealous. With such a feat, no matter who he was, he would be able to secure his position as the prime minister in the future. However, Fang Jun really did his best to turn the tide. It is natural for him to be so highly praised by His Majesty.
But when everyone looked at Fang Jun, who was being supported by His Majesty's own hands and looking at His Majesty's eyes, they felt envious and jealous, but also filled with emotions.
The thick armor and stomach supported the power of holding the sky, and also paved the way for Fang Jun's unparalleled achievements. In the past, the playboy who was jokingly called one of the "Four Pests of Chang'an" was under everyone's attention. Complete the transformation and get to where you are today step by step.
We all know that "a prodigal son never changes his fortune", but such a huge difference like Fang Jun's is still rare in the world...
With everyone's emotions up and down, Li Chengqian took Fang Jun's hand and returned to the main seat, wanting Fang Jun to sit next to him. This is the treatment a hero deserves.
But Fang Jun had a look of panic on his face and refused.
Now that he has made great achievements, he has aroused countless jealousies. If he doesn't know how to restrain himself, he will inevitably be the enemy of the whole court... People's hearts are always like this. There are people who "hate the rich" in ancient and modern times. There is no need to cause unnecessary trouble. If you can avoid Otherwise exempt.
Seeing that Fang Jun refused to sit next to him, Li Chengqian was also in a dilemma. The closest ones to him were Li Ji and Xu Jingzong. Liu Zi was unwell and had not come to rest in the side hall. He couldn't add another seat next to Li Ji, right?
Even though Fang Jun is now at the top of the court in terms of status, power, and achievements, there is still a big gap between him and Li Ji, who is "the number one person in the court". However, if Fang Jun is placed in his original position, it would be unworthy of Fang Jun's current status. Meritorious service...
"Your Majesty, since I haven't seen the Duke of Yue for a long time, please buy a seat next to me so that I can get close to the Duke of Yue."
Xu Jingzong has a plump face and a mellow smile, and there is no hint of sinisterness in his belly. He can finally achieve the achievement of being the first prime minister and assistant from the humble position of "Eighteen Bachelors of the Prince of Qin's Palace", at least there is no problem with his affinity.
People cannot be judged by their appearance.
Li Chengqian glanced at Xu Jingzong, who had solved the embarrassing situation, and said with a smile: "That's good, it's rare that you two have such a deep friendship as colleagues, very good, very good."
Of course, people who are officials in the same yamen should be familiar with each other, but because of this, they often have conflicts with each other because of their interests. They laugh and laugh on the surface, but secretly they want to stab you to death with a knife...
It is indeed rare for Xu Jingzong to relieve Fang Jun's embarrassment in front of ministers and appear to be close to each other.
Xu Jingzong's fat old face smiled like a chrysanthemum, and he was even more happy in his heart. His Majesty's two "very good" people clearly showed his knowledge and interest in praising him.
As for putting Fang Jun's position above his own... is that still a thing?
After so many days as a colleague in the academy, he has already seen that Fang Jun is ruthless and scheming. If he hadn't obediently defected to Fang Jun when he saw the situation was bad, he wouldn't have been persecuted now. Look, he has always been against Fang Jun. That guy Chu Suiliang not only couldn't survive in the academy, but he also lost his face and became a different person inside and outside...
After everyone sat down, Li Chengqian asked the servant to serve fragrant tea and cakes to Fang Jun. After Fang Jun took a sip of tea, he asked: "What's the situation outside?"
Fang Jun put down his teacup and glanced at the concerned faces of the ministers in the palace. Before he could speak, he saw Li Junxian who had just walked out quickly coming back and came to Li Chengqian to report: "Your Majesty. , a scout just returned the news from outside Chengtian Gate. The Shandong private army was defeated outside Mingde Gate. The 100,000 rebels were completely collapsed. Most of them fled outside the city. They were dispersed and captured by the navy soldiers led by General Liu Rengui. Some of them followed Cui Xin into the city from Mingde Gate. Due to the demoralization of the defeated troops and the collapse of their morale, the organization failed and they could not be restrained after entering the city. They rushed into the various buildings near Tianjie, burned, killed, looted, and committed all kinds of evil, destroying half of the city of Chang'an. Caught in a military disaster..."
"What?"
"That's unreasonable!"
"Is Prince Jin crazy?"
"Chang'an is the capital of the empire and the foundation of the country. How can we send troops to cause disaster and ruin lives?"
"The traitor has lost all conscience, and heaven and earth will not tolerate it!"
The ministers in the hall were shocked and angry, and they all scolded each other. There was a commotion in the hall.
This time the King of Jin raised an army, no matter from any aspect, it was just a mutiny, fighting for the throne and seizing Zhengshuo, rather than a war to destroy the country. Both sides must control the war within a certain range and cannot do whatever they want unscrupulously. Otherwise, even if the mutiny is successful, how can they get the support of the government and the public and secure the throne?
Therefore, apart from their own personal interests, the ministers of the court did not object to who would win in the end. After all, they were all the sons of Emperor Taizong, so what did it matter who was superior and who was inferior?
However, the King of Jin sent troops to cause chaos in Chang'an and poisoned the imperial capital, which was absolutely intolerable. This had touched everyone's bottom line.
