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

Chapter 1073: Hou Junji is assassinated

Wei Dezheng said confidently: "I can predict that if the Western Regions countries are finally conquered by the Tang Dynasty one by one, this strategy will be the best conspiracy in the history. But if we raise a tiger to cause trouble, the Tang Dynasty will be swallowed up by the integrated Western Regions countries."

"Well, haha."

Wei Mingshan nodded with admiration. He also thought about the future situation. It was unknown whether the wolves that were released would grow strong and attack the Tang Dynasty, or whether the Tang Dynasty would concentrate its strength to deal with them one by one.

Shaking his head and giving a wry smile, Wei Mingshan asked, "Uncle, what about the third one you mentioned?"

"hehe."

Seeing his nephew's urgency, Wei Dezheng smiled and shook his head: "In the end, it's a matter of strategy. The core of the entire Finance Temple is the Treasure Banknote Issuing Department, which has a similar role to the money houses. What are the money houses most afraid of?"

“Of course it’s a run.”

Wei Mingshan blurted out, then his face lit up with joy and he said excitedly: "Uncle, you mean, this is the Achilles' heel of the Finance Temple."

"good."

Wei Dezheng stroked his beard and said, "The court is going to issue 100 million treasure notes, and this is the share of the royal family and the nobles. If this amount is followed, the Tang Dynasty treasure notes will surely be implemented smoothly, and then, the merchants, gentry and common people will also use them."

"Once the word gets out, the number will double or triple. All in all, it will be around 200 to 300 million."

"With such a huge sum of money and the court now being so broke, they will definitely be tempted to give it away."

"Even if we only lend half of it, it will be more than 100 million. It will take a long time to get back such a large amount of money. And our clan accounts for tens of millions of guan. If we unite, we can run the bank together."

"I'm afraid that the Tang Dynasty will suffer a devastating disaster."

Finally, Wei Dezheng concluded with great pride: "This is a double-edged sword. It can hurt others as well as oneself. It can be used by the emperor as well as by my nobles. In the future, it may not be so troublesome for the nobles to deal with the imperial power."

When Wei Mingshan heard this, his eyes lit up and he smiled triumphantly.

Changsun Wuji went to all the noble families to negotiate, but he didn't have much hope. He just wanted to complete the task assigned by the emperor. He knew that the ministers were wary of the imperial power, and it was difficult to get their support.

If the nobles disagree, he will have given an explanation to his nephew.

Unexpectedly, after running away from Jingzhao Wei and Guanzhong Du, the response was quite favorable. Both families agreed that the emperor should set up a financial temple and were willing to pay 5 million taels of silver to support the court in issuing Tang Dynasty treasure notes.

Excited, Changsun Wuji returned to Hongwen Hall and talked about it with Xiao Yu, Cen Benwen, Liu Bo and Ma Zhouyi. All the ministers were greatly excited.

A small part can give you a glimpse of the whole picture.

The agreement of the two great families showed that the families themselves did not have much resistance to this. In addition, this move itself could increase the influence of the court, which was also a major favorable policy of the new dynasty and would be of great benefit to these important officials.

Everyone became serious now and discussed the matter with each other.

Zhangsun Wuji, Xiao Yu and Cen Wenben began to divide the work and made a list of the top aristocratic families in the entire Tang Dynasty. Each person was responsible for a few names and went to negotiate separately, trying to get the 100 million strings of treasure money that the emperor had expected.

Liu Bo and Ma Zhou began to organize the framework of the Finance Temple according to Li Yan's requirements.

Apart from occasionally dealing with inquiries from Liu Bo and Ma Zhou, Li Yan spent the rest of his time handling daily government affairs.

One morning, Li Yan had just washed up and was about to go to court when Wang Xuance came to report in a hurry: "Your Majesty, something bad has happened. The Grand Commandant has been assassinated."

"what?"

Li Yan was surprised. He had been busy making money during this period and almost forgot about Hou Junji. He also forgot to ask him how the task was going. How come he suddenly encountered an assassin? Who would have the time to cause trouble for Hou Junji?
"When did it happen? Was the father-in-law injured? How serious is his injury?"

Wang Xuance reported, "It is said that the Grand Commandant has nothing to do these days, so he goes hunting in the north of the city every afternoon. He did the same thing yesterday. It's just that he came back a little late yesterday, and was able to enter through the Tonghua Gate in the east of the city before the city gates were closed."

"When we were passing Xingningfang, we were suddenly hit by arrows shot from the roofs of the houses on both sides of the street."

"Hou Gui, the steward of the Taiwei Mansion, was shot dead on the spot, and two servants were also injured. The Taiwei was also shot in the leg. Fortunately, the Taiwei was a veteran of battles, and he drew his bow and fought back immediately, shooting the three black-clad assassins dead on the spot."

“The remaining four people saw that the situation was not good and turned around and ran away.”

"The general led the remaining men in hot pursuit, and the assassins fought and fled. Finally, they chased them to Yongfufang, the residence of the Sixteenth Prince, and shot and killed the last assassin who escaped. However."

"Hou Gui is dead?"

Li Yan was stunned, a thoughtful look appeared on his face, and he asked, "But what?"

"However, the last assassin escaped to the gate of Wu Wang Li Ke's mansion. It is said that the gate of Wu Wang's mansion was already open, and the guards were about to meet the assassin, but they were shot dead on the spot by Lu Guogong from a distance."

"The palace guards and the general's men almost came to blows, and finally the king of Wu was alarmed. The two quarreled for a while at the palace gate, and the general retreated." "It is said that the king of Wu and the general were very angry. The king of Wu accused the general of killing people in front of the palace gate and intending to attack the palace; while the general accused the king of Wu of privately sending assassins to assassinate important officials of the court. The evidence is solid and cannot be denied."

"This matter has alarmed Jingzhao Prefecture and the Imperial City Guards, but due to the identities of both parties, they are having trouble handling it."

Li Yan's eyes flashed, and he immediately asked, "How is the father-in-law injured?"

"The general was shot in the leg by an arrow, and blood was all over the horse's back. I heard that he was carried back by the servants of the mansion."

"Well, pass on my order and have Wei Jiyuan from the Imperial Medical Bureau take a few people to take a look. They must save the father-in-law."

"Yes, I respect your order."

Li Yan nodded, frowned and pondered for a moment before ordering: "Wang De, inform the Queen of this news later and ask her to go to the father-in-law's mansion in the morning to ask about my health and see how the father-in-law is injured. I will go to court first."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Wang De nodded and turned to leave.

Notifying the Queen was a very important matter. Sending a normal eunuch to do this would obviously be incapable of handling the matter and would appear disrespectful to the Queen, so Wang De had to go in person.

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

After the ministers cheered, Li Yan waved his hand and said, "Everyone, please stand up!"

Afterwards, the court meeting officially began. Li Yan took a quick look and found that Hou Junji, who usually stood at the front row of military generals, was absent today.

In front of the civil officials stood the princes. Li Xiang, wearing a light yellow prince's robe, stood in the first place. In order were the adult princes including Li Ke, Prince of Wu, Li You, Prince of Qi, Li Yin, Prince of Shu, Li Yun, Prince of Jiang, Li Zhen, Prince of Yue, and Li Zhi, Prince of Jin.

Originally, Prince of Jin Li Zhi, as the legitimate son, stood in the front row next to Prince of Qi Li You.

However, after Li Yan ascended the throne, he demoted Li Zhi back to the rank of an ordinary prince in the name of seniority and regardless of whether he was legitimate or illegitimate.

Although Li Zhi was somewhat indignant about this, he could do nothing about it.

As the prince that Li Shimin had favored the most, he was just a little bit away from becoming the crown prince and succeeding the throne. He also became a thorn in the eyes of the new emperor, and even the civil and military officials in the court did not like him very much, let alone dare to contact him.

If Zhangsun Wugou had not become the empress dowager, Li Zhi would probably have been the most miserable among the princes.

Li Ke, on the other hand, had always thought highly of himself and jumped around a lot. But unexpectedly, in the last transition between the old and the new, Li Ke was the least favored. Everyone also saw that the ministers supported Li Tai, the Prince of Wei, while Li Shimin favored Li Zhi, the Prince of Jin.

After all the calculations, no matter how he chose, it would not be his turn, which was a big blow to Li Ke.

Fortunately, as the oldest prince after Li Yan, Li Ke was not feared by the new emperor.

After the new emperor ascended the throne, he didn't do much to him.

He still mingled in the court like an unappreciated marginal prince. One more or one less would not make much difference.

The court meeting had just begun, and Li Ke did not make any movement. However, his half-brother, Prince Li Yin, could not hold back and stood up angrily and said, "Your Majesty, your humble servant, Jun Ji, attacked the Prince of Wu's residence yesterday for no reason and shot arrows at the palace in protest."

"There are still arrows from the Marquisate stuck on the stone lions in front of the palace."

As soon as Li Yan finished speaking, Li Ke quickly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this is all a misunderstanding. The Grand Commandant passed by the palace and had some unpleasantness with the palace guards. The Grand Commandant was born in the military, and he is outspoken and has a stubborn temper."

"I have already explained everything to him. I did not understand the situation clearly and made a reckless report. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Many officials in the court knew about yesterday's conflict, but most of them were indifferent and just enjoyed watching the princes and the emperor's father-in-law fighting each other.

Li Yan scanned the faces of the court officials one by one, taking in everyone's expressions. Cen Benwen looked anxious, while Changsun Wuji's eyes flashed, and it was unknown what he was thinking. Li Yan's heart skipped a beat when he saw Changsun Wuji was about to speak.

He waved his sleeves and said angrily with an unhappy look: "Since it has been brought out, then don't bring it up in the court."

"The Taiji Hall is a place for ministers to discuss politics, not for you to sue. If you have a dispute, you can come to Chengqing Hall to see me after the court session. Don't waste everyone's time. The morning court session will begin now."

Seeing this, Cen Wenben breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly bowed and said loudly: "Your Majesty is wise, and we will respect your instructions."

A war that had not even started was wiped out. Zhang Sun Wuji saw this and had no choice but to give up. He followed the ministers in saying something, then glanced at Cen Wenben with a bad look on his face, with a flash of dissatisfaction in his eyes.

Li Yan also breathed a sigh of relief with a headache. Just now, when he heard Wang Xuance's story about the details of Hou Junji's assassination, especially when Hou Gui died on the spot, he knew that this must be an act of silencing by Hou Junji at his request.

However, Hou Junji had also learned his lesson. He took advantage of this incident to plan an assassination and led the assassin to the residence of Wu Wang Li Ke. This was Xiang Zhuang's sword dance, aimed at Pei Gong!

(End of this chapter)