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 faintly transmitted 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, invite the ministers to drink tea, and serve snacks to satisfy their hunger. As an emperor, when the rebels came to the city, he could still have so many ministers accompanying him, no matter what the reason. All the reasons made him feel 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"?
In life and death, success or failure, 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 reminded him in a low voice dutifully: "Your Majesty, although the Duke of Yue brought troops into the palace and defeated the rebels, Li Daozong and Wei Chigong have already captured the meeting place at Chengtianmen, and the battle is unfolding. Counterattack, the battle situation may change at any time, 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 impermanence of life. Many times, when it seems that victory is just a few feet away, the situation suddenly 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 the Yangtze River and plot a comeback. If the situation goes bad, I will immediately escape from the secret road. Leave Qingshan alone. I am not afraid of running out of firewood. As long as I am still alive and as long as you 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. The rebels may be proud for a while, but sooner or later they will be defeated by the law of heaven. 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, and his perseverance in turning defeat into victory washed away the humiliation. His reputation will last through the ages and is admirable. 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 pinnacle of human ministers 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 weak-minded and cannot bear the blow of the fall of Chang'an and the loss of his orthodoxy, and he collapses and simply drinks poisoned wine and dies? What should he do?
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 three-thousand-mile ban...
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 was dressed in armor and walked quickly into the main hall: "Your Highness, I have an audience outside the Yueguo Palace!"
From the time when Li Daozong led his army to rebel and enter the palace, he led his elite "Hundred Cavalry" 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 fell silent.
Li Chengqian said: "Xuan!"
Li Junxian: "No!"
Exit after giving the salute.
Li Chengqian, who was beyond everyone's expectation, stood up, took his seat and walked out to greet the palace gate: "Dear ladies, 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 strode in from outside the palace door...
Fang Jun is dressed in dark mountain armor, which makes his slender body look strong and strong. When he walks, he is full of momentum. 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 a little surprised when she was greeted by Li Chengqian and all 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 you!"
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 after hearing this, he said with concern: "Ai Qing sneaked out of Xuanwu Gate without hesitation.
He took over the Youtun Guards, defeated Chai Zhewei, Yin Qinzhou and other rebels one after another, and also captured the Xuanwu Gate to come to the rescue. It can be said that he has made great contributions to the country.
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 who looked at His Majesty's eyes as if he were a king and a minister, they were filled with envy and jealousy, and were filled with emotions.
That thick armor and stomach supported the power of holding up 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 comes back with gold", but such a huge difference like Fang Jun's is still rare in the world...
Amidst the excitement of everyone, 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 meritorious official 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 it,
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 was resting in the side hall and did not come. 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 achievements.
…
"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 prime minister and assistant minister from the humble position of "Eighteen Bachelors of the Prince of Qin's Palace". At least there is no problem with his affability.
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, it's very good, very good."
It is true that 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 that the situation was bad, he wouldn't have been persecuted now. Look, he has always been against Fang Jun.
Not only was Chu Suiliang unable to survive in the academy, but he also lost his face due to the quarrel. He was no longer a human being inside and outside...
After everyone sat down, Li Chengqian asked the waiter 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 tea cup and scanned 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 defeat of the soldiers, their morale was depleted and their morale collapsed. After entering the city, the organization failed and they could not be restrained. They rushed into the squares near Tianjie, burned, killed, looted, and committed all kinds of evil, destroying half of Chang'an City.
Caught in a military disaster..."
"What?"
"That's unreasonable!"
"Is King Jin crazy?"
"Chang'an is the seat of the imperial capital and the foundation of the country. How can we send troops to cause disaster and ruin lives?"
"The traitor has lost his conscience and will not be tolerated by heaven and earth!"
The ministers in the hall were shocked and angry, and they cursed loudly, making the hall full of noise.
The King of Jin's rebellion this time is nothing more than a mutiny, a fight for the throne and 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 we get the support of the government and the public and secure the throne?
Therefore, apart from their 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.