The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 1020: Court Battle (I)

Wang De was obviously much more respectful and honest in front of Li Shimin than before. Although he was familiar with Li Chengqian in his youth and got along well with him, he had not seen him for 16 years and he had no idea what his temper and personality were like.

In the past, Li Chengqian was young. Although he was the crown prince, he was also one of the princes. He had to be polite in front of his trusted confidant.

But now he is the emperor, ruling the world.

A new emperor chooses his own ministers. As a close eunuch of the retired emperor, Wang De had to be careful in everything he did. If he overstepped his bounds and Li Chengqian thought he was showing off his seniority, he would probably have a hard time having a good end in his old age.

Wang De had been with Li Shimin for many years, serving as the chief eunuch, in charge of the twenty-four bureaus of the three major departments of the Internal Affairs Department, the Palace Department and the Shang Palace Bureau. Thousands of eunuchs and maids in the Taiji Palace were under his jurisdiction. Don't think that he was a dog in front of the emperor.

But among the eunuchs, he is a majestic and well-deserved ancestor.

Even the noble families, princes of the royal family, concubines and other dignitaries would treat him with great courtesy when they saw him.

It all stemmed from the fact that he was Li Shimin’s first attendant.

Being in such a critical position, if the princes and royal families wanted to insert someone into the palace, or wanted to find out something about Li Shimin's attitude, or even if the concubines in the inner palace wanted to create opportunities to get close to the emperor, it all depended on Wang De's mood.

But correspondingly, there are also many people who are offended.

If he loses his position as the emperor's attendant and fails to gain the emperor's trust, his current glory will quickly collapse and disappear, and it will be difficult for him to return to his hometown to live out his retirement in peace.

Therefore, Wang De was very cautious and followed all the rules to avoid upsetting the new emperor. He knew that he was only in a transition period, but during this period, he had to show his value as much as possible so that the new emperor would trust him and use him for a long time.

"Your Majesty, it is almost time for the morning court session. I have prepared the washing, meals, and change of clothes. Please give your instructions, Your Majesty."

"Well, I'll be out right away."

Li Yan nodded, pointed at the clone in a black cloak, and instructed Wang De: "Wang De, you don't have to go to the court later. Let Heng Lian accompany me. Take this person to the side hall, and when there are fewer people, find a way to send him out of the palace."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Wang De felt a little disappointed. He glanced at the figure in the corner without leaving a trace and responded honestly.

In fact, Wang De saw this person as soon as he entered the inner hall. He had been in this imperial study for nearly twenty years and knew every corner of it by heart. It can be said that even if a cockroach crawled into the room, he would be able to tell where it was by listening to the sound.

Wang De was secretly surprised. When the emperor came back last night, he had clearly sent someone to clean up the imperial study, and he had been guarding the door all night.

The emperor didn't rest, so none of the servants dared to go to sleep.

Including Wang Xuance and Heng Lian, the three of them stayed up all night and chatted all night, but no one came in. When did this person come in?
However, Wang Deren was experienced and knew how to serve the emperor.

It is best not to see or hear anything. It is best not to ask about things that the emperor does not want him to know. Even curious eyes and expressions cannot be revealed. Moreover, this man is sneaky and dressed in black. It is difficult to identify his appearance. It is obvious that he is not doing serious work.

Wang De had been with Li Shimin for twenty years and had seen everything. Li Shimin had done this kind of thing before, so Wang De really didn't care much about it. He only needed to complete the tasks assigned by the emperor and didn't care about anything else.

Li Yan glanced at Wang De and warned him expressionlessly, "Don't say a word to him, and don't let anyone see you on the road. If anyone sees his appearance or talks to him, just kill him."

"Yes, I will obey your command!"

Wang De's heart trembled. Just now he thought that the emperor was ignoring him by not letting him accompany him to court. Now it seems that this matter is very important. Not only is it not an indifference, but it may be a reuse. The emperor asked him to handle such a secret matter, which undoubtedly showed his respect and trust in him.

Of course, it could also be a test.

Various speculations flashed through Wang De's mind. He cheered himself up and walked out of the imperial room with his clone to arrange the rest of the matters. He wanted to do this matter personally.

After the two left, Wang Xuance and Heng Lian came in to help Li Yan wash up.

The two were not outsiders. They were Li Yan's right-hand men in the East Palace. One was responsible for internal guards and the other was responsible for external information gathering. They complemented each other. In the past few years when Li Yan was away, the two of them stayed around Li Xiang and never left him.

After Li Yan came back, he naturally transferred the two back to his side and gave them important positions.

Following the previous habit in the Eastern Palace, Heng Lian arranged for the palace maids and eunuchs to come in one after another outside holding copper basins and towels to serve Li Yan's daily life. Wang Xuance reported to Li Yan on the various developments in Chang'an City.

Two quarters of an hour later, the first drum sounded in the front hall. Li Yan got on the dragon sedan chair and went to the Taiji Hall under the protection of a group of guards.

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

"Everyone is safe!"

After the first day of novelty, Li Yan, who had been the overlord of the grassland for many years, regained his composure as a superior, waved his hand casually, and sat on the dragon throne calmly. His expression was indifferent but with a hint of majesty, which made the ministers below secretly amazed.

Most of the ministers, including Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji, felt that the new emperor's temperament and demeanor did not seem like his first time as emperor, but rather like he had been in power for a long time. The kind of ease and grace he showed was similar to that of Li Shimin after the Battle of Dingxiang.

Tang Jian, the Minister of the Honglu Temple, was the first to come forward and say, "Your Majesty, upon learning that the new emperor of the Great Tang has ascended the throne, the Japanese in Yingzhou overseas have sent envoys to congratulate us. Please summon them."

"Hmm? Yingzhou?"

Li Yan was stunned and blurted out: "Didn't Yingzhou fall into the hands of the Turks? Why did they send envoys to the Central Plains?"

It was originally thought that Li Chengqian had only been back in Chang'an for more than half a month, and he had been in the distant Western Regions before, so he was not clear about many internal affairs, let alone things outside the Tang Dynasty.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the words came out, everyone discovered that the new emperor had also learned about the overseas isolated islands and the northern Turks. Just this made many people nod their heads secretly. It seemed that the new emperor had not been idle in the past half month and had worked hard.

"Your Majesty, that is indeed the case."

Fang Xuanling was afraid that Li Yan didn't know the inside story, so he stepped forward and explained the specific situation of Yingzhou again, and then said: "Although the Turks occupied the main island of Yingzhou, their focus is on the eastern silver mine area. There are also a large number of affiliated islands, all of which are inhabited by a large number of local people."

"They hid in remote areas because of the fierceness of the Turks. But they wanted to restore their country and drive the Turks out every day."

"Well, that's it."

Li Yan pondered for a moment, then asked, "What do you think the Japanese are here for?"

"Do you even need to ask?"

Zhangsun Wuji interrupted Fang Xuanling and stepped forward to say, "Your Majesty, the Turks have been burning, killing, looting, and forcing the Japanese like cattle and horses in Yingzhou, committing all kinds of evil. I am right. The Japanese came here to use the power of the Tang Dynasty to deal with the Turks and restore their country."

As soon as Changsun Wuji finished speaking, many ministers stood up to agree with him, and even Fang Xuanling and Cen Wenben nodded secretly.

"In that case, summon the Japanese envoy to the palace."

After a while, a short middle-aged man wearing a black hat, black exotic aristocratic civil servant clothing, and wooden clogs, walked into the hall accompanied by a ceremonial official from the Honglu Temple.

"Fujiwara no Yoshino, the Japanese envoy to the Tang Dynasty, pays respect to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Tang Dynasty and wishes His Majesty long life and happiness!"

The man looked cautious, not at all the arrogant and domineering that Li Yan had imagined. Come to think of it, under the brutal ravages of the Turks, the Japanese were on the verge of national destruction and extinction. All their hopes were pinned on the Tang Dynasty, so how could they dare to be angry?

Fujiwara no Yoshino folded his hands in front of him, bowed his waist, touched the ground with his forehead, and knelt respectfully in the center of the hall.

At the same time, he was accompanied by two Honglu officials who provided translation and assistance.

When the Central Plains dynasty was strong in ancient times, surrounding countries came to attach themselves to it, and many people did not know the etiquette. The officials of the Dianke Office of the Honglu Temple were responsible for these etiquette.

But these foreigners could not be taught in a short time. In order to prevent some people from being impolite due to different etiquette, when these foreign envoys met the emperor, they were accompanied by relevant officials to guide and instruct them at all times to prevent them from doing anything that would damage the reputation of the Celestial Empire.

"Wake up, Japanese envoy!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

With the help of the translator, Li Yan learned that Fujiwara no Yoshino was sent by the daimyo of northern Japan to become a vassal of the Tang Dynasty.

Of course, becoming a vassal was not the goal. The main purpose was to ask the Tang Dynasty to attack the Turks and save Japan from the rule of the Turks.

This idea was consistent with the judgment of the Tang Dynasty's monarch and ministers, so Li Yan comforted him with gentle words, and then said: "This matter is of great importance. I need to discuss it with the ministers. The Japanese envoy can go to the posthouse to rest temporarily and wait for the results of the Tang Dynasty's discussion."

Then Li Yan waved his hand, and the officials of the Honglu Temple quickly called Fujiwara Yoshino to go out.

Fujiwara Yoshino became anxious when he saw this, and immediately fell to the ground, looking excited, and talking a lot.

The official of the Honglu Temple was startled and quickly translated: "Your Majesty, the Japanese envoy said that in recent years, the silver mined by the Turks on the main island of Dongying every month is not the one million taels announced to the outside world, but as high as five million taels per month."

"If the Tang Dynasty is willing to send troops to rescue Japan from danger, Japan is willing to hand over all of this silver to the Tang Dynasty every month for use in petitions."

As soon as these words were spoken, many ministers in the hall were immediately moved and their eyes flickered.

Li Yan's heart sank suddenly. He knew these facts very well, even better than the ministers in the court.

Initially, the Turks only mined 80 to 1 million taels of silver per month. Later, the scale gradually expanded, and as the Turks mined at the cost of their lives, the amount could reach 2 million taels per month.

(End of this chapter)