The saint is the largest tree in the Tang Dynasty, and the Xiahou family is the root of this big tree.
On the day the saint ascended the throne seventeen years ago, Xiahou Yuanzhen believed that as long as the saint sat on that chair, the Xiahou family's position in the Tang Dynasty would be unshakable, so the Xiahou family would support the saint sitting on that chair at all costs.
on the chair.
Back then, the Xiahou family did their best to support the saint, and even paid a heavy price for it.
The bloodbath of the Li family made the Xiahou family make countless enemies.
There was once a gathering of assassins in Kyoto, and the children of the Xiahou family became the main targets of the assassins. At that time, many members of the Xiahou family died at the hands of the assassins. If the saint had not mobilized a large number of court masters to hunt down the assassins in Kyoto and restored peace in Kyoto,
Xia Houning might not be able to survive.
The Xiahou family has made great achievements in supporting the family, and has paid a heavy price. Therefore, in Xiahou Yuanzhen's heart, if the saint can sit firmly on that chair, the Xiahou family has made great contributions.
The Prime Minister, who is knowledgeable about the past and the present, understands better that when a family reaches the top, it is actually equivalent to standing on the cusp of the storm. There are countless hidden crises. Once a wealthy family like the Xiahou family stands on a high place, it cannot fall down, because of the history.
The cruel facts told him that once he weakened, the entire family would be in doom.
Although he is the Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty, for Xiahou Yuanzhen, the first thing to protect is not the Tang Empire, but the Xiahou family. Anyone and anything that poses a threat to the Xiahou family should not exist in the world.
The princess party and the prime minister's party have been fighting each other for ten years. Outsiders think that the Xiahou family must hate the princess deeply, but only the prime minister knows in his heart that it is precisely because of these ten years of fighting that the Xiahou family's situation has become safer.
After the saint ascended the throne, the Xiahou family was indeed full of brilliance and became the real first family in the Tang Dynasty. Xiahou clan members were also spread throughout the government and the public.
But when the sage promoted the Xiahou clan, he reused the eunuchs in the palace. If the prime minister had not understood the sage's thoughts at that time, the sage used Princess She Yue ten years ago, and in a short time, She Yue's strength spread all over the world.
At that moment, the government and the public were suddenly shocked to realize that the Xiahou family was in danger.
The saint used the princess to check and balance the Xiahou family, which had sent an extremely clear signal that she had felt threatened by the Xiahou family.
Any force that poses a threat to His Majesty the Emperor is of course always in extreme danger.
The Prime Minister also understood from that time that even if the saint was born in the Xiahou family, he would not really regard himself as a member of the Xiahou family when he sat on that chair.
Power is always the most insane poison.
Throughout the ages, how many fathers, sons, and brothers have fought for that chair, killing each other and bleeding like rivers.
It is a chair that makes people forget all emotions.
The saint's first consideration was to keep his throne at all costs, while Xiahou Yuanzhen's first consideration was to continue the Xiahou family.
Although the two are brothers and sisters, their interests are not always consistent.
For more than ten years, the Saint and the Xiahou family seemed to be connected by blood to outsiders, but only the Saint and the Prime Minister knew that the two sides were only connected by blood and were only using each other.
The saint needs the power of the Xiahou family to support him, and the Xiahou family also needs the saint to bring wealth and power to the family.
In the dead of night, sitting alone in his study, the Prime Minister sometimes even thought about what the saint would do if one day she really felt that the Xiahou family posed a huge threat to her.
Similarly, if that day comes and the saint attacks the Xiahou family in order to stabilize the throne, how will the Xiahou family choose?
The existence of the dispute between the Princess Party and the Prime Minister's Party prevents such a situation from arising too early. Deep down in his heart, the Prime Minister has never really thought about completely eliminating the Princess Party, because he knows in his heart that as long as there are forces that can check and balance
Xiahou family, the saint will not be too afraid of Xiahou family.
The Jiangnan Rebellion broke the balance of the court.
Princess Sheyue fell from the clouds into the mortal world. Although her power did not completely disappear, it was no longer enough to compete with the Prime Minister's Party. On the contrary, after that, a large number of officials turned to the Prime Minister's Party, leaving the Prime Minister's Party behind.
The power becomes stronger.
Everyone thought that the Prime Minister would be proud of this.
After all, after ten years of fighting, the final winner between the Princess Party and the Prime Minister's Party belongs to the Prime Minister.
Only Xiahou Yuanzhen himself knew that this was the coming of a huge crisis.
No emperor could watch such a behemoth appear among his ministers.
There are some roads that once you step on them, you can't look back.
Back then, the saint held the imperial edict of the late Emperor Dezong, which left the Xiahou family with no choice but to be pulled on board by the saint. From that moment on, the only way for the Xiahou family was to always stand on the top.
You must not fall down. If you fall from the cliff, you will only be shattered into pieces.
The princess was under house arrest, but the Prime Minister was trembling with fear. However, in this situation, the saint did not come to court for three months, and even the chief minister of the empire could not enter the palace to see him. This greatly stimulated the sensitive nerves of the Prime Minister, so he could only
I feel that the Xiahou family is about to face an unprecedented crisis.
Whether there is a real rebellion in the palace is not important to the Prime Minister.
At least the attitude shown by that deep and heavy imperial city was already hostile to the Xiahou family.
If the rebel party really kidnaps and controls the Saint, the next step will naturally be to take action against the Xiahou family. Of course, the Prime Minister cannot sit back and wait for death. Even if there is no rebellion in the palace, all this is the layout of the Saint, so the Xiahou family cannot lead the family to kill.
There is no second way before the Prime Minister.
He can only take action.
The strength that the Xiahou family had accumulated for many years could not be retained this time. Thirty thousand troops came to the city. Both Tang Changgeng and Zhuang Zhaoyang were his confidants. He believed that no matter what changes occurred, having these tens of thousands of troops in his hands would be enough to control the overall situation.
Everything was going smoothly, but in the blink of an eye, three groups of soldiers and horses surrounded him. In front of him was the Dragon Scale Forbidden Army, but he was already under siege.
Such a turn of events shocked him.
Although He Taiji and Fang Hui were not his confidants, as long as they entered Beijing with the army and marched to the imperial city, no matter whether the saint was safe or not in the end, at least in the heart of His Majesty, these two Shence Army generals did not accept the imperial edict.
Even if they lead troops into the capital, their loyalty no longer exists, and even if they defect in front of the battle, they will inevitably be liquidated afterwards. Therefore, these two people have almost no choice, at least in the eyes of the Prime Minister, they can only bite the bullet and go to the end.
Moreover, the Prime Minister believes that these two people should know that although the saint is a towering tree, the Xiahou family is the root of the tree. If you are loyal to the Xiahou family, not only can great things be accomplished, but you will also receive extremely generous benefits afterwards.
On the one hand, there is a visible reward, but on the other hand, there is a high possibility of being liquidated. As long as these two people have not burned their brains, they should know how to make a decision.
The current situation is completely beyond the expectations of the Prime Minister.
Those two generals actually had their heads burned out, and they actually led their troops to defect in front of the battle.
The Prime Minister's face was stern, and although he was shocked, he was not panicked.
Before the Shence Army entered the city, the three city gates were besieged by the Wu-Gui Army. After the Shence Army entered the city in three groups, because the main attack direction must be the Danfeng Gate due south, the Shence Army took over the east and west gates.
The Wu-Gui troops, five thousand Wu-Gui troops, were gathered outside the south gate.
Zhuang Zhaoyang had 10,000 elite soldiers, plus 5,000 armed guards. Even if the eastern and western armies defected, his own troops were not at an absolute disadvantage and he could still give it a try.
The Prime Minister has seen too many storms and waves in his life, and he knows in his heart that at this moment, everyone is looking at him, and if he even shows the slightest hint of panic, then this battle will be lost.
However, although he was able to remain calm, the dozens of officials who followed him were already terrified.
Everyone thought that this was a battle with great disparity in power. The victory or defeat was determined the moment the Shence Army entered Beijing. All they were waiting for was when they could break through the imperial city.
After this battle, the Prime Minister will naturally reward him based on his merits. When the time comes, he will be promoted to a higher rank.
But who could have imagined that the situation would suddenly turn upside down, and the originally good situation would take a turn for the worse in an instant. We were surrounded on all sides, and there was no chance of escaping.
Many people were panicked and secretly regretted. The anxiety and fear made all the ministers look ugly and whisper in low voices.
The Prime Minister saw this and just sneered.
"It's noon." Tantai Xuanye's voice came from the top of the city. Although the Prime Minister was quite far away from the south gate at this moment, he could still hear it clearly: "Xiahou Yuanzhen, I gave you a chance, but you didn't
Don't cherish it. I will ask you again, do you want to apologize?"
The square with tens of thousands of people was silent for a while.
All the ministers looked at Xiahou Yuanzhen, and Xiahou Yuanzhen said calmly: "The sky will not fall." He went forward, not in a carriage, but on horseback. Seeing this, Wen Xitai hurriedly said: "Xiang
Master...!"
"Help me mount my horse," the Prime Minister ordered.
In full view of the crowd, Wen Xitai could not dissuade him, so he could only help the Prime Minister to mount the horse. The Prime Minister held the reins of the horse tightly and without saying much, just urged the horse. Wen Xitai hurriedly led a dozen attendants to follow.
The Prime Minister showed no fear at all and rode to the front of the military formation. Tang Changgeng urgently ordered the shield soldiers to guard him in front.
"What a trick!" Xiahou Yuanzhen looked up at Tantai Xuanye at the top of the city, but said with a smile: "Tantai Xuanye, it seems that I have underestimated you after all. You actually reached out to Shence Army secretly.
I wonder what benefits you promised to make those two traitorous generals collude with you?"
"The Prime Minister is the chief minister of the empire. If you are promised benefits, how can I, the commander of the imperial army, offer more benefits than you?" Tantai Xuanye sighed: "The two of them are just loyal to the master and loyal to the saint.
, received the sage’s order, knew that you had deceived him, and immediately followed the order to quell the rebellion. For such a loyal military commander, you are calling him a traitor. Doesn’t the Prime Minister find it ridiculous?”