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

Chapter 1078: The Contest between the King and His Ministers (I)

"Hehe, sir, please take a seat. I asked you to come here today because I have something to ask you."

Li Yan listened to Cen Wenben's flattering reminders and earnestness, and saw that he looked like he was about to be executed. He smiled secretly and asked, "Yesterday, Hou Junji came back from hunting outside the city and encountered an assassination on the street in Anxingfang. Do you know anything about this, sir?"

"I just heard about it during the court this morning, and the specific situation is still unclear?" As expected, it was because of this matter. Cen Wenben's heart sank and he replied hurriedly.

Li Yan handed over a detailed report on the imperial case: "Sir, please take a look. This is what happened when the Jinyiwei came up."

Cen Wenben walked forward to take it, unfolded it and started to read it.

The above description is very detailed, including when Hou Junji entered the city, where he was assassinated, how many assassins were there, how many arrows were shot, what the battle situation was like, how many people escaped later, and how Hou Junji led people to shoot the last assassin in front of the gate of Prince Wu's palace?

Including the later departure of King Wu Li Ke from the palace and the quarrels that occurred between the two sides, all of them are clear.

After reading it, Cen Wenben felt relieved. From this report alone, he could not tell the relationship between the assassin and the Prince of Wu's Palace, nor could he conclude that the assassin was sent by the Prince of Wu. Instead, it seemed like he was deliberately trying to throw dirty water on the Prince of Wu's Palace.

However, Cen Wenben did not dare to doubt Hou Junji. Besides considering his special status, the Hou Mansion had indeed suffered heavy losses and Hou Junji himself was also injured.

"Your Majesty, there are many doubts about this matter?"

Cen Wenben quietly defended Li Ke: "Everyone knows that the general is a brave general on the battlefield. He has seen countless scenes of swords, spears and arrows, and he is followed by warriors who have survived hundreds of battles. It is child's play to send only three or five assassins to assassinate the old general with his guards."

"Also, even if we send out assassins, they will definitely be deadly. If they fail, they will most likely commit suicide on the spot. Even if they manage to escape, they will go to the downtown area. There are a large number of residential houses in Anxing and Yongxing, with crisscrossing streets and complex terrain."

"If one or two people run in, they will disappear in a short time like fish into the sea."

"To the north, the Daning and Xingning districts are the residences of important officials in the court. They have many servants, tight defenses, and are sparsely populated. Not to mention Yongfu District where the princes live. There are guards patrolling day and night."

"The assassin went straight to the Wu Palace instead of going near."

Li Yan looked at Cen Wenben who was in great difficulty, and said calmly: "Sir, you are saying that the assassin deliberately fled to the Prince of Wu's mansion, intending to frame Li Ke and kill him with a borrowed knife."

"Your Majesty, please understand. I just have some doubts." Cen Wenben looked at Li Yan's expression, which showed no emotion, and said with a stiff upper lip.

He knew that in the arena of power, the truth of things was sometimes not important.

The important thing is that he did not proceed from the interests of the emperor and follow the general trend to push things in the direction that is beneficial to the emperor. From a certain perspective, he was sitting on the wrong side of the fence, and the position was more important than the truth of the matter.

This move might make the emperor disappointed in him, and Cen Wenben felt a tingling sensation on his scalp and was uneasy in his heart.

Li Yan ignored Cen Wenben's words, took the report and threw it aside without even looking at it. He stood up, walked to the window, put his hands behind his back and looked at the sparkling lake outside, feeling the slightly autumn air, and said lightly: "Sir, what do you think of the upcoming court situation?"

"what"

Cen Wenben was confused by Li Yan's wild ideas, and suppressed his anxiety and said reluctantly: "Your Majesty has just ascended the throne and proposed the great idea of ​​issuing Tang Dynasty treasure notes and establishing the Tang Dynasty Asset Management Bureau, and has won the support of the nobles."

"In just half a month, more than a dozen noble families responded and are expected to raise 50 million strings of cash. The Finance Temple is also being established. This alone can be regarded as a major initiative and good governance of the new dynasty, which will benefit the present and the future."

"In the eyes of the civil and military officials in the court, your majesty's ability is no less than that of the emperor. As long as you carry out the plan step by step, the Tang Dynasty will surely reach a higher level."

Li Yan did not move at all despite the flattery. Instead, he sighed, "Sir, there is no need to beat around the bush. You should know that this is not what I am talking about. It is about those princes. How should I treat them?"

Turning around, I saw Cen Wenben already fidgeting and sweating profusely.

Li Yan returned to his seat and said slowly, "The Emperor has already found a place for them to retire. Last year, the court also selected fiefs for the princes in the court. As long as the adult princes are over the age of sixteen, they must go to the border to defend the country."

"The fiefs of the royal family members are mostly in the Snowy Plateau, the former lands of Tubo and Tuyuhun, while the nobles and ministers are mostly in the Western Regions. But until now, these people have accepted the fiefdoms, but still stay in Chang'an, and have not made any moves to move to the fiefdom."

Ignoring Cen Wenben who looked flustered and somewhat at a loss, Li Yan said to himself: "The brothers of the retired emperor are all uncles of the emperor. I can't control them for the time being. The noble families are well-established and the enfeoffment of the Western Regions is like an additional way out for them."

"They will not sit idly by, and most of them are already in the process of recruiting and building."

"Many of my brothers are too young, and some have just reached adulthood, and they are also looking at the older princes."

"Among them, the King of Wu and the King of Wei are the oldest, and they are not much older than me." "Li Tai was imprisoned by my father's personal order, and he cannot be released during his lifetime. The Prince of Wei's mansion is his lifelong prison. In addition, he has a deep foundation in the court, so it is impossible for him to get out. Even if he wants to go to the vassal state, it is impossible."

"I have also issued an order to the guards of the Prince of Wei's palace. If the Prince of Wei dares to step out of the palace, he can be killed immediately without asking for permission. If the Prince of Wei escapes from the palace, all the guards, maids, eunuchs and servants will be killed, and no one in the palace will be left alive."

"That wall was both a barrier that trapped him and a guarantee for his final life."

"The other one is Wu Wang Li Ke?"

As soon as Li Yan finished speaking, Cen Wenben's heart sank, and he finally stopped holding on to any luck. The emperor summoned him just to discuss Li Ke's matter.

"Sir, do you know why no one is urging Li Ke to go to the vassal state?"

Cen Wenben was stunned. When he saw Li Yan's meaningful smile, his heart skipped a beat. Suddenly he thought of a possibility. His heart started pounding and his face turned pale in an instant.

Seeing that Cen Wenben had reacted, Li Yan said, "The King of Wu and the King of Wei once fought with me for the world. Under the thunderous pressure of my father, the King of Wei is no longer worth mentioning. As for the remaining King of Wu, some people don't want him to escape."

"Letting him stay in Chang'an is so that we can easily deal with him."

"After all, Li Ke has been praised by my father, the Emperor, as being as brave and capable as I am. With his background, even I feel a little ashamed of myself!"

Li Ke came from a very noble family. His great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother were both daughters of Dugu Xin, one of the Eight Pillars of the Western Wei Dynasty, the Grand Marshal and Duke of Wei, and the father-in-law of the emperor for three dynasties. His great-great-grandfather was also Li Hu, the Duke of Tang, who was a founding hero of the Western Wei Dynasty and one of the Eight Pillars of the Western Wei Dynasty.

His maternal great-grandfather was Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, the founding emperor of the Sui Dynasty, and his maternal grandfather was Emperor Yang of Sui, Yang Guang.

His grandfather was Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan, the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and his father was Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin. Li Ke and his brother Li Yin were the descendants of three great families, the Yang Sui, Li Tang and Dugu, and were descendants of emperors of two unified dynasties, which is rare in thousands of years of history.

Li Ke inherited the imperial bloodlines of both the Sui and Tang dynasties, a respect that even Li Chengqian could not compare to.

It can be said that as long as Li Ke is alive, the bloodlines of the Li and Changsun families will always be ranked in the second tier. This is also the fundamental reason why Changsun Wuji vowed to eliminate Li Ke's lineage. This bloodline is too enviable and too disturbing.

A man is innocent unless he has a hidden wall.

With a background like Li Ke's, he can only move forward but not backward. If he cannot become emperor, he will be doomed forever. Which emperor in the world can tolerate this?

When Cen Wenben heard this, he was already trembling in his heart and extremely uneasy. He had not expected that Li Ke's background would bring him such a disaster.

But if you think about it, it makes sense.

Li Ke himself has noble blood and is also very outstanding. He has an upright figure, handsome looks, extraordinary martial arts, outstanding courage, kind to others, and a heroic character. He has gathered a group of military generals like Chai Zhewei around him, and his power is not small.

In addition, with the presence of Concubine Yang from Ningxin Palace, a group of ministers with backgrounds from the previous dynasty unconsciously united around Li Ke.

However, it was these people who aroused the vigilance and precautions of the Guanlong nobles. They were afraid that after Li Ke came to power, he would pull together a group of old officials of the Sui Dynasty and follow the path of Emperor Yangdi to eliminate the nobles by force. This blocked Li Ke's path to the throne from the beginning.

Cen Wen had been in the central government for a long time, and he knew that Li Shimin actually planned to make the prince who was most like him the crown prince.

But there are some things he can't decide.
Once Li Ke was appointed, it would inevitably cause a violent backlash from the Guanlong nobles, leading to the disintegration of the newly born Tang Dynasty. After comprehensive and careful consideration and soliciting opinions from a small range of people, Li Shimin finally gave up Li Ke with regret.

If the opponents of ordinary princes in the fight for the throne are other princes and emperors, then Li Ke's fight for the throne was extremely difficult and despairing. His opponents were a huge aristocratic group that even four generations of wise emperors, Yang Jian, Yang Guang, Li Yuan and Li Shimin, could not defeat.

Seeing Cen Wenben sweating profusely, Li Yan looked at the report on the case and said bluntly: "I have not investigated the assassination in detail. However, I can conclude that the ultimate target must be Li Ke."

"If I don't stop it, within a few months, Li Ke will be charged with treason and be taken to the guillotine, and no one will be able to save him."

"A large number of court officials and their families will be executed along with him. Chang'an will surely be plunged into a bloody storm."

At this point, Li Yan stared at Cen Wenben's eyes with sparkling eyes: "Sir, you have been in the officialdom for a long time and are well versed in the operation of power. You should know that this process may be tortuous, and you don't know how many people will be implicated."

"But political struggles, no matter how they change, remain essentially the same. The final result will not change. What do you think?"

(End of this chapter)