Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4884 Military Position
It was snowing heavily. Zheng Rentai sat at a table by the window in Songhe Tower with a serious face. His mood was as cold as the winter outside the window.

Opposite him, Li Xiaogong was drinking tea leisurely. He was wearing a brocade robe and a futou, looking like a wealthy elder. But his words were as sharp as a knife: "Zheng of Xingyang is the relative of Prince Yin. During the Xuanwu Gate Incident, they were openly hostile to Emperor Taizong. When Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, he did not blame them. Today, there are traitors who want to rebel. Do you want Zheng of Xingyang to join the rebellion and avenge the blood feud of that year?"

Zheng Rentai had naturally sensed the sinister turmoil in the court, but he knew that he was not yet at the core of power in the Tang Empire, so he had always followed in Fang Junzhi's footsteps and did not try to get involved.

Unexpectedly, Li Xiaogong asked him to meet here today and forced him to express his position right away.

This made Zheng Rentai a little confused: Fang Jun was the most staunch supporter of His Majesty in the court and the country, and His Majesty also regarded Fang Jun as his right-hand man and obeyed his orders. There was no doubt that standing on Fang Jun's side was equivalent to standing on His Majesty's side. But why did Li Xiaogong force him to choose between His Majesty and Fang Jun?

Did Fang Jun intend to rebel and steal the throne?
This is absolutely impossible. Even if Fang Jun has such ambitions, the Tang Dynasty has experienced three emperors and has prospered. The political situation has long been stable. No one except the Li Tang royal family can get involved in the throne. If His Majesty is deposed and a new monarch is established...what is Fang Jun trying to do?
Zheng Rentai said righteously, "As the prince said, the Zheng family of Xingyang has been deeply favored by the three generations of emperors of the Tang Dynasty. We should do our best to protect the orthodoxy of the Tang Dynasty, even if it means our death. With me, Zheng Rentai, the Taiji Palace will be as solid as a rock. If there are traitors who rebel, they can only step on my corpse to enter Chengtian Gate!"

He didn't believe that Fang Jun would rebel, and he had a vague guess as to who the real rebels would be. Even if the imperial power was in turmoil and rebels arose, Fang Jun would still be the cornerstone of His Majesty. As long as he followed Fang Jun's footsteps, his future would be worry-free.

Li Xiaogong took a sip of the wine and said calmly, "To be honest, I don't believe you, and I don't even believe any of the old followers who followed Prince Yin during the Xuanwu Gate Incident. Of course, some of you are grateful to Emperor Taizong for not killing you, and you have great prospects and power in recent years. It seems that there is no reason to betray His Majesty and start a rebellion, but if there is still one person in the court who raises an army and joins the rebellion, it must be one of you."

Li Jiancheng was the eldest son and grandson of the "Duke of Tang". When Emperor Gaozu founded Chang'an, he was appointed as the crown prince. It was a legitimate and righteous decision. In addition, he was outstanding in both civil and military affairs, and countless people attached themselves to him.

Even after Li Jiancheng was executed and his entire family was killed after the Xuanwu Gate Incident, leaving no possibility of his resurgence. However, countless people still vowed to avenge him, and were ready to die.

For example, Xue Wanche and his ilk even threatened to charge into the Qin Palace and slaughter everyone in it to avenge Li Jiancheng...

Even though Emperor Taizong eventually suppressed everything and cleaned up the mess, he also forgave and pardoned these people with the utmost tolerance. Most of Li Jiancheng's former subordinates obediently served under Emperor Taizong. But after all, they were forced by current affairs and had no choice. Who knows how many of them harbored hatred?

Many of Li Jiancheng's former subordinates were implicated in the previous two defeats. If there is another mutiny, there may be more hidden forces who will suddenly rise up...

Zheng Rentai shook his head and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, what you said is wrong. We followed Li Jiancheng because of his status as the crown prince, the royal orthodoxy, and the righteousness. Now the orthodoxy of the Tang Dynasty lies with Your Majesty, and as a minister, we should swear to serve you until our death. Moreover, since Emperor Taizong pardoned our crimes, we are innocent. How can the prince hold us accountable for the crimes that Emperor Taizong has pardoned? Is Emperor Taizong's decree not worth mentioning in your eyes?"

"Oh," Li Xiaogong sneered, "Don't use the title of Emperor Taizong to pressure me. It's useless to say nice things. Only when things happen can we know who is loyal and who is treacherous, good and evil."

Zheng Rentai nodded: "Then wait and see!"

After saying this, he stood up and bowed, saying, "I still have military duties to attend to, so I will not drink with the prince. Goodbye."

He turned around and strode down the stairs.

Li Xiaogong took a sip of wine and watched from the open window as Zheng Rentai went downstairs and mounted his horse under the protection of his personal soldiers. A group of more than ten people galloped along the long street and disappeared in the wind and snow. After frowning slightly, he sighed, filled his own glass with wine and drank it all.

Zheng Rentai is now the general of the Right Guard, commanding troops stationed in Chang'an, which is enough to influence the situation in Chang'an. However, although he is nominally Liu Li's man, he actually has an unclear relationship with Fang Jun in secret, and his position is surprisingly vague and difficult to distinguish.

In fact, among the four troops that can directly influence the situation in Chang'an, the Left and Right Jinwu Guards are Fang Jun's direct subordinates. Even Your Majesty would find it difficult to intervene. This is why Fang Jun would rather resign all his official positions and only serve as the Right Prime Minister. As long as these two armies are in hand, no one can shake his power and status.

General Liang Jianfang of the Left Guard was a meritorious official during the Zhenguan period and followed the path of Li Ji. If something happens, he may not be on the side of Your Majesty.

None of the four armies, the Left and Right Jinwu Guards, the Left and Right Leading Army Guards, which were either outside or inside the city, were completely loyal to His Majesty, which made Li Xiaogong feel wary.

In the past few years, he didn't pay much attention to the political situation, which is why the current situation in Chang'an has been formed unknowingly. Now it's too late to turn the tide...

*****
Liang Jianfang, escorted by a group of his troops, went straight up Mount Li along the mountain road. There were many greenhouses in the fields and gullies on both sides of the road. Many farmers and servants were clearing the snow on the roofs of the greenhouses in the heavy snow. Surprisingly, he did not seem so lonely in the wind and snow.

These are all the farms of the Fang family. Today, more than 90% of the vegetables needed in Chang'an City in winter come from the greenhouses of the Fang family farms. The income from this alone in one winter is a huge figure. Countless people are envious and scramble to imitate them.

Although Fang Jun does not "protect his food", he will give some technical advice to anyone who comes to him with some friendship. However, growing vegetables in winter not only requires huge financial and material resources, but also the exquisite cultivation techniques and detailed management experience cannot be learned easily. Therefore, up to now, the greenhouses of other people are just small-scale operations, not even enough for their own consumption, let alone supplying the market.

Going along the mountain road deep into Mount Li, they gradually saw mountains and ravines everywhere, becoming less and less suitable for farming and living, and sparsely populated. From time to time, wild beasts galloped across the snow, but Liang Jianfang had no mood to hunt and just rode his horse quickly.

After turning a hill, there was a slightly flat land in the valley. A Taoist temple was built against the side of the mountain ridge. The personal soldiers of the Duke of Yingguo were already waiting there and led Liang Jianfang there.

Li Ji never worked as a Taoist priest, but he did admire Taoist culture, so he built a Taoist temple nestled in the mountains and beside the water within his fiefdom of Mount Li. When his affairs were not busy, he would go out of the city and stay there for a few days, listening to the rain in summer and enjoying the snow in winter. It was quite leisurely and pleasant, which was in line with his relatively indifferent nature.

In fact, because Emperor Gaozu regarded Laozi as his ancestor, Taoism naturally became the state religion, and everything related to Taoism became popular. For example, it had long been a trend for Tang princesses to marry as nuns...

After dismounting in front of the Taoist temple, Liang Jianfang strode into the temple and saw Li Ji in Taoist robes in the Taoist room.

After the greeting, Liang Jianfang sat cross-legged on the futon opposite Li Ji and asked respectfully, "I wonder what instructions Lord Ying has for you?"

As soon as he arrived at the military camp today, he was informed that Li Ji had summoned him. He did not even go home and hurried over to see him...

Li Ji poured him a cup of tea and asked, "What is the situation in the city?"

Liang Jianfang held the tea, pondered for a moment, and whispered, "I am stupid and don't know the subtle changes in the situation, but the imperial guards have made some unusual movements recently, which is quite unusual. Although I have the responsibility to guard the palace, I dare not rashly interfere in the affairs of the imperial guards."

Li Ji nodded and said calmly: "Just remember your duty as the guard of the palace, and always keep the safety of the palace in mind. For the safety of Your Majesty, you will go through fire and water, and will not refuse death. That's all."

"Don't worry, Marshal. I know what to do."

Liang Jianfang agreed, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Lord Ying specially summoned me to give you some instructions, but is there any possibility of something unusual happening in Chang'an City recently?"

Although he didn't know how the situation would develop, he was naturally paying attention to the situation as he was responsible for guarding the palace. The movements of the royal family, the imperial guards, and so on indicated that perhaps a huge storm was brewing, and he had to consider in advance what to do next.

He was Li Ji's man, so naturally he had to stand on Li Ji's side, but he didn't know which side Li Ji was on...

Li Ji raised his eyelids and glanced at him, his tone slightly stern: "You are a military commander, you only need to do your job well, stay away from politics, always remember to be loyal to the emperor and patriotic, and obey the emperor's orders, and don't care about other things."

Liang Jianfang's heart tightened, and he knew that something was about to happen, but he didn't dare to ask more questions. He nodded solemnly and said, "I will obey the Marshal's order!"

"I am no longer a commander, so what's the point of my orders? They are just a few words of nagging from my comrades over the years, fearing that you will make a mistake. You must remember that you are a soldier, and the position of a soldier is to be loyal to the empire and His Majesty forever, not to uphold justice, to benefit the people, or to fight for interests or factions. That is what civilians do."

Li Ji drank tea and gave earnest instructions.

Today, the empire has a vast territory, its national strength is prosperous, there are fewer and fewer enemies, and fewer and fewer pure soldiers. More conflicts of interest have already penetrated into every aspect of the army, causing the soldiers to forget their original intentions when something happens.

This will not work.