In Chang'an, under the deliberate propaganda of Jin Yiwei, there were rumors everywhere in Chang'an's restaurants, restaurants, and streets that Chai Rong and Li Shimin were secretly conspiring. They only waited for the conditions to be negotiated with the Sui Dynasty before they raised troops to return to Chang'an to seize the throne.
The rumors spread more and more fiercely. As the Tang Dynasty failed to use troops abroad several times, Li Yuan became more and more strict in controlling the people. This matter soon reached Li Yuan's ears.
The second son, Li Shimin, resisted and disrespected the imperial edict, occupying Longyou and holding on to military power. This in itself was a thorn in Li Yuan's heart. Now that he heard that Chai Rong and Li Shimin colluded to try to seize his throne, and then thought about Chai Rong who had followed Li Shimin in the battles against Liu Wuzhou and Zhao Kuangyin in his early years, and was finally able to sit in Bingzhou with Li Shimin's repeated recommendation, he couldn't sit still for a while.
"Wei Zhongxian, pass on the decree, and quickly pass it on to King Yuanji of Qi, Prime Ministers Pei Ji and Chen Shuda, Minister of Personnel Qin Hui, Minister of Rites Tang Jian, Minister of War Sima Yi, and General Tong Guan came to the study room."
Naturally, Li Yuan did not dare to bring such a matter to the court. It can be said that the people named by him this time were all his close ministers. Wei Zhongxian, who had been serving beside him, hurriedly accepted the order and left.
Li Yuanji, who was forcefully forced away from the Longyou Army by Li Shimin, is currently living in Chang'an, hunting and having fun all day long. Today, he was summoned by Li Yuan with great reluctance. After a long time, he slowly left the Qi Prince's Mansion and headed to the palace.
"I pay homage to His Highness King Qi!"
Li Yuanji rode into the imperial city, handed over the horse to his servants at Xuanwu Gate, and hurriedly passed the city gate. He saw Qin Hui, the Minister of Personnel, waiting at the city gate. When Li Yuanji came in, he hurriedly bowed his hands and bowed.
"Master Qin, there is no need to be polite!"
Li Yuanji had always followed his elder brother Li Jiancheng's lead. Naturally, he knew that Qin Hui was his elder brother's right-hand man, so he was polite.
Qin Hui took two steps forward and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, King Qi, do you know why your Majesty called you here this time?"
Li Yuanji shook his head: "I don't know!"
Seeing Li Yuanji's confused face, Qin Hui almost went dark. The man in front of him really didn't know. Fortunately, he had the foresight to come to him for ventilation, otherwise he wouldn't be able to reach an agreement with him later.
"Your Highness, there are rumors in Chang'an right now that General Chai Rong has colluded with the King of Qin and intends to make peace with the Sui army. Taking advantage of the time when our Tang troops and the Sui army are bleeding, they will fight back to Chang'an to seize the throne!"
"What!"
Li Yuanji's eyes widened and he lost his voice and said: "Chai Rong, how dare you do this?"
"Your Highness, be silent!"
Qin Hui's expression changed, and he quickly pulled Li Yuanji and made a small gesture.
Only then did Li Yuanji react and quickly lowered his voice: "Master Qin, is this true or false?"
Qin Hui smiled slightly and said, "Your Highness, does it matter whether this is true or not?"
"Master Qin, what do you mean?"
Li Yuanji was still confused.
Looking at Li Yuanji, who was still confused in front of him, Qin Hui almost spit out a mouthful of old blood, and said helplessly and patiently: "Your Highness, if Chai Rong's affair with the King of Qin is confirmed, it is naturally impossible for Your Majesty to continue to command the army. At present, Your Highness the Crown Prince , His Highness the King of Qin, and His Highness the King of Huai'an are all leading troops outside, who do you think will take over from Chai Rong to lead the elite troops and generals of Bingzhou!"
Only then did Li Yuanji come to his senses and hurriedly thanked Qin Hui: "Thank you, Mr. Qin, for your advice. Xiao Wang understands. Whether Chai Rong is in collusion with Li Shimin or not, Xiao Wang will pull him down!"
. . . . . . . . . .
When Li Yuanji and Qin Hui arrived at the imperial study, Pei Ji, Chen Shuda and other ministers had already arrived for a long time. Prime Minister Chen Shuda was trying to persuade Li Yuan not to believe the rumors: "Your Majesty, General Chai has commanded the elite of Bingzhou for many years and has been deeply favored by the emperor. How could he betray him?" Your Majesty. The general is currently leading his army in a bloody battle with the Sui army. This must be a estrangement plan by the Sui army!"
"There is no smoke without fire. Mr. Chen is too arbitrary!"
Li Yuanji snorted coldly, strode into the imperial study, and said loudly: "Father, I think that the rumors cannot be fully believed, nor can they be disbelieved! Please investigate in detail!"
"Your Majesty, what His Highness King Qi said is absolutely true!"
Because Li Shimin resisted the imperial edict in Longyou and refused to return, no one in the imperial study was Li Shimin's party member. After hearing that Li Yuanji came forward, Li Jiancheng's die-hard party member Pei Ji echoed: "Your Majesty, Chai Rong not only commands one hundred thousand elites of our Tang Dynasty, but also needs to unite Zhu Yuanzhang and Prince Wokuotai to conquer Hebei. The stakes are very important. I think, Even if there is only a slight chance, we can’t be careless!”
"Your Majesty, what Xiangguo Pei said is absolutely true, and I second my opinion!"
Qin Hui, Tong Guan, and Tang Jian all agreed. Li Jiancheng had been in charge of the court for many years, and most of the officials in the court were close to him. Everyone knows that Chai Rong and Li Shimin have a close personal relationship. If Chai Rong is replaced, it must be someone from Li Jiancheng.
"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the King of Qin is His Majesty's own son. General Chai Rong has been favored by the country. How could they have a deal with the Sui army? Your Majesty, please think twice!"
In the imperial study, only Chen Shuda was still trying to persuade Li Yuan.
"Sima Aiqing, what do you think?"
Li Yuan turned his head to the silent Sima Yi. Ever since Sima Yi launched a five-pronged attack on the Sui Dynasty, his status in the Tang Dynasty had skyrocketed, and he was highly trusted by Li Yuan.
Sima Yi rolled his eyes a few times after hearing this, and then slowly said: "Your Majesty, I have several people in mind."
Li Yuan was slightly stunned and asked: "Who did Sima Aiqing think of?"
"Weichen thought of Zheng Yan, Pei Shuang, and Wei Fusi."
As soon as Sima Yi said these words, Chen Shuda on the side suddenly turned pale. These people were all officials who rebelled against Yang Xuangan. Zheng Yan was the son of Zheng Shanguo, the chief minister of Dali Temple at that time, Pei Shuang was the son of Pei Yun, the imperial censor, and Wei Fu Si was also from a wealthy family in the Sui Dynasty. Seeing that Yang Xuangan was in power, most of them followed Yang Xuangan in the rebellion. They had no concern that their fathers were still under Yang Guang. One mistake could even lead to death.
"Then who does Sima Aiqing think can succeed Chai Rong?"
Sima Yi became the last straw that broke Chai Rong's back, and Li Yuan had made up his mind to replace Chai Rong.
Sima Yi smiled slightly, raised his hand and pointed at Li Yuanji and said: "Your Majesty, His Highness the King of Qi is brave and good at fighting, and he has been in charge of Bingzhou for many years. The minister thinks that His Highness the King of Qi is the best choice to command the Bingzhou army."
Li Yuanji was overjoyed when he heard this. He had no friendship with Sima Yi, but he didn't expect Sima Yi to take the lead in recommending him. He immediately gave Sima Yi a grateful look.
Qin Hui on the side also looked at Sima Yi with some doubts. Letting Li Yuanji succeed Chai Rong was a task given to him by Jin Yiwei not long ago. However, Sima Yi did not think he was from Jin Yiwei, so he jumped out to recommend Li Yuanji.
However, in order to complete the task, Qin Hui had no time to think about it and immediately agreed: "Your Majesty, what Master Sima said is absolutely true. His Highness King Qi is the best candidate to take charge of the military power of Bingzhou."
