Li Xian didn't pay much attention to Li Dan's expedition to Silla, because he had been on the battlefield for more than ten years and trained no less than a thousand middle and low-level military attachés. Although these people were scattered everywhere, they
They were all absolutely loyal to him, and he found a way to insert most of them into the forbidden army of Nan Ya and Bei Ya. In addition, Li Xian would have regular secret gatherings with them every year, and he would also give a lot of money at each gathering.
Reward, so Li Xian has absolute confidence in his control over the army. Although Li Dan is in charge of the army, he does not have strong military force as a foundation, and he does not have huge financial resources to win over people. Even if he cultivates a group of cronies,
What can it be used for?
What's more, his younger brother has always been weak in temperament and timid. In this regard, he inherited Gaozong, so even if he really took control of the military, he would not pose a great threat to Li Xian.
What's more, Li Xian also has this self-confidence. All the soldiers who have been strongly attracted by him are loyal and there is no way they will turn to Li Dan.
Although Li Xian was very concerned about the war on the front line, he did not invest too much energy. After all, Li Dan was the nominal commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and Gaozong showed a little fear of himself. If he cared too much,
, isn’t it true that we fell into Empress Wu’s trap?
Therefore, Li Xian has been focusing on court affairs. He goes to court every day to listen to government affairs. Although he rarely expresses any opinions, it is also a kind of experience from which he can learn some experience in handling government affairs.
In fact, the current situation in the court is in a delicate balance. Although Empress Wu seems to have all the power, and the prime ministers under her sect have an absolute advantage not only in terms of quantity, but also in terms of status. However, Gaozong is deliberately or unintentionally
He supported Li Xian so that he could compete with Empress Wu, but Gaozong took advantage of the situation and used the forces of the Empress and the Eastern Palace to check each other to control the situation of the court.
This situation is beneficial to Li Xian. Although Li Xian's influence among middle and low-level officials is higher than that of Empress Wu, the background of senior officials is really too low, especially in December of this year (
At this time, the Yuan Dynasty had been changed to the first year of Kaiyao). Prince Shaobao Hao Chujun died of illness, leaving Li Xian without a strong helper at the top.
Although Hao Chujun was a member of Gaozong, he was an upright man and had always been tabooed by Empress Wu. However, he admired Li Xian very much, so he cooperated with Li Xian many times and defeated Empress Wu in court battles. Now that he died of illness, he admired Li Xian very much.
It’s really a heavy blow!
Of course, this incident was also a heavy blow to Gaozong, because Hao Chujun was the two ministers whom Gaozong relied on most. Although Liu Rengui, Xue Rengui, and Pei Xingjian were also ministers whom Gaozong relied on, and they all also relied on Gaozong.
Although he was loyal and loyal, his status in Gaozong's heart was not as important as that of Hao Chujun.
When Hao Chujun was about to die, he left his last words to Emperor Gaozong, saying that he had not made any contribution to the country in his life. After his death, he must not go to trouble and waste it. When Emperor Gaozong heard these last words, he was very sad and said to his ministers: "
Hao Chujun was loyal, knowledgeable, simple in style, and unswerving. Although he was not a hero, he served me for many years. It is a pity that he has passed away now."
So he issued an edict to posthumously present the three divisions of Kaifu Yi and Tong to the Grand Governor of Jingzhou. He mourned for a day at Guangshun Gate. On this day, he ignored the government affairs and offered sacrifices with the ceremony of Shaolao. He also made hundreds of officials cry and offered sacrifices, which showed him great respect.
Honor.
In fact, before Hao Chujun died, he met Li Xian secretly, or rather, Li Xian met him secretly, because Li Xian used his superb self-portrait skills to sneak into Hao Chujun's home. Although Hao Chujun was the prime minister, his home
However, it was very simple and shabby. It would be an understatement to say that the family was bare-bones. A family like this would naturally not be able to guard against Li Xian.
The reason why Li Xian met Hao Chujun was that he admired this upright minister for a while, and also wanted to find a way to help his family. Of course, it would be best to get some help from him.
Hao Chujun naturally knew what Li Xian meant. In fact, he was deeply worried about Empress Wu's involvement in politics. However, he also knew that as a minister, there was nothing he could do about the matter. However, he also asked his two sons, Hao Beisou, to
, Hao Nanrong and his grandson Hao Xiangxian served the court and were loyal to the prince. At the same time, they wrote a suicide note and asked their son Hao Beisou to give it to his good friend. Prime Minister Li Yiyan, who also opposed Empress Wu's interference in politics, inspired each other with righteousness and asked Li Yiyan to follow Li Tang's example.
The royal family helped the prince deal with Empress Wu.
In addition, Hao Chujun also recommended some loyal officials under his command to Li Xian, and then watched Li Xian leave.
Although Li Xian received help from Li Yiyan and some other officials, he lost Hao Chujun, a good teacher who had taught him diligently for more than a year. Overall, his losses far outweighed his gains.
Fortunately, Empress Wu's close confidant Cui Zhiti, the Minister of Household Affairs, also died in this year. After a fierce debate, the court appointed the centrist Su Weiwei as the trusted Minister of Household Affairs. Although Su Weiwei appeared to be attached to the Empress Wu, in fact
However, he had secretly turned to Li Xian, so this was a good thing for Li Xian. At least Li Xian could get some information about Empress Wu's accomplices from him.
And at the end of the year, a shocking news came that the situation in Silla's war had actually reversed.
It turned out that after the army started the war, it went very smoothly at first. Although Li Dan did not understand military affairs, Xue Rengui, as the coach, had been in Liaodong for a long time and was very familiar with the situation there. In addition, he had been training troops for more than ten years.
The soldiers under his command were very elite, so they were unstoppable along the way. In just two months, they captured more than 30 cities in Silla, leaving the main force of Silla to survive in less than one-third of the southeastern region.
But what no one expected was that at this moment, Li Jinzhong, the leader of the Khitan Dahe tribe alliance, and his brother-in-law Sun Wanrong, killed Zhao Wenhui, the new governor of Yingzhou, and declared a rebellion. At the same time, Su Mo, who had moved to Yingzhou for a long time,
Chief Mohe, Qiqi Zuorong, who was only fourteen years old, led his troops to rebel and called himself Da clan, so he was called Da Zuorong. He announced his break with the Tang Dynasty and vowed to avenge his father's murder.
At this time, the Japanese bandit group wandering in the northeastern border because they opposed the New Deal suddenly sent a large fleet to block the sea communication line from Datang to Sanhan.
As a result, the entire territory of Yingzhou was occupied by the rebels, which cut off the connection between the army going to Silla and the Tang Dynasty. The food routes were also cut off, and the army was in a serious crisis.
In addition, the Turks, who had just been suppressed, became active again and sent troops to attack the Shanyu Protectorate. The entire northern border of the Tang Dynasty was once again in turmoil. (To be continued.)