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

Chapter 1155: The Emperor’s Personal Expedition (Part )

What happened in Hou Junji's mansion yesterday was not only known to Li Yan, but also to outsiders. The ministers were all delighted at this time. They heard that the emperor originally wanted Hou Junji of Mount Tai to lead the troops, and sent Zhang Xuansu to invite him yesterday.

Zhang Xuansu went to Hou Junji's house excitedly, but he didn't know that Hou Junji was still lying in bed recuperating, and all the medicine jars in the house were placed in the bedroom, making the whole place smell like medicine. When he heard that Zhang Xuansu was here to recommend him to lead the army, he was shocked.

Hou Junji got so excited that he started coughing violently, gasping for breath and almost fainted.

In the end, Zhang Xuansu naturally returned empty-handed. He comforted her with a few words and then left.

As soon as Zhang Xuansu left, the news that Hou Junji had fainted came out of the mansion, and the servants went out to find a doctor to get medicine. Everyone in Chang'an knew that the emperor's top general was too sick to get out of bed, and naturally couldn't lead the troops, so everyone was relieved.

This is why today's recommendation came about. Many people were glad that Hou Junji fell ill at the right time, otherwise who else would have been the commander-in-chief?

Because Hou Junji had met with an accident before the Turks came south, no one suspected that he was using this excuse to avoid the expedition. When the generals were young, they all had injuries all over their bodies. It was normal for them to have injuries when they were old.

As long as the body can withstand it, everyone will be happy to hear about the war. They would not even have time to fight even if their heads were broken, so how could they hide?
Li Yan had known this result for a long time, and the reason why he asked Zhang Xuansu to go again was to give the whole court a result that the emperor wanted but could not get. This battle was a perfect opportunity to seize military power. If he, as the emperor, did not take action, it would easily arouse suspicion.

Zhang Xuansu made this trip to give an explanation to outsiders.

However, Li Yan felt that the strength was still not enough. He had a big move today, and only by fighting with all his strength could he reasonably clear himself of suspicion after being defeated in the future.

The court officials continued to make suggestions, and slowly, in their respective narratives, the others were excluded, leaving only Cheng Yaojin and Li Ji.

Finally, the ministers simply started arguing. They first stood up to speak, recounting the experiences and achievements of the generals they supported, and finally attacked each other, making the entire hall a mess.

Li Yan sat on the dragon throne, watching silently without interfering.

Whether it is Li Ji or Cheng Yaojin, they are all representatives of the aristocracy. Just looking at the current court, you can see that under his deliberate concession, it has become the world of the aristocracy. They can fight among themselves, but the imperial power has nothing to do with it.

Li Yan knew that if he wanted to fight, he had to learn to retreat first. This was not weakness or incompetence, but a high level of life wisdom. Only those who knew how to retreat would have the opportunity to see the situation clearly and wait for better opportunities.

Those who are always striving to be the first may fall into great risk and crisis.

Now, the nobles are slowly walking into the trap that they had set. After so much effort, they finally brought out their true strength.

Li Yan did not try to win over Cheng Yaojin and Li Ji. Needless to say, Cheng Yaojin was the one who was drifting further and further away from him.

Although Li Ji was brave and good at fighting, he did not take Li Yan seriously.

He has new generation forces such as Xue Rengui, Liu Renzha, Liu Renyuan, Sun Renshi, Xi Junmai, Gao Kan, Pei Xingjian, Li Jingxuan, Li Jinxing, etc. These young people who have been branded by the Eastern Palace and have a deep connection with him are more useful.

If you want to win over a veteran like Li Ji, the cost will be even greater.

Li Ji's background was too complicated. After the Zhenguan era, he had intersections with the forces of various factions in the court, and was very close to princes such as Wu Wang Li Ke and Jin Wang Li Zhi. Of course, this inevitably required the need to spread risks and place bets on multiple parties.

For such a senior general, if he is willing to lean on me, I will naturally accept him. If he wants to wait for me, the emperor, to come to him and ask him for a price, and play with several women at the same time, that is not what I need.

After ascending the throne, Li Ji also tried to get closer to him, but he was not very enthusiastic. Li Yan also treated him with ordinary courtesy. Li Yan looked the weakest now, and he would only treat well the ministers who were willing to follow him wholeheartedly at this time.

Once he has dealt with the nobles, those who become his vassals will be treated differently.

Looking at Prince of Qi Li You, who was standing at the forefront of the civil officials with a conflicted look on his face, Li Yan smiled imperceptibly and then stood up.

He walked to the front of the Danchi and said loudly: "No need to fight anymore, since Generals Cheng and Li are both outstanding talents, why don't they both go?"

"Uh"

Suddenly, the civil servants and military officers who had been arguing fiercely fell silent and looked at Li Yan in surprise.

The hall suddenly became quiet, and fell into an awkward atmosphere.

Although the Guanlong nobles sent troops, they didn't care who led them. Anyway, none of them could seize this army, and they only had temporary use rights. It didn't matter who the generals were, these were minor details, as long as they were generals from the nobles, they would be fine.

Whether it was Li Ji or Cheng Yaojin, they were both in a bad situation. Fighting in the court would make the emperor feel at ease and think that no one party would dominate. That was why the officials of the Hebei aristocratic families put forward their candidates to compete.

As the representative of the Guanlong clan, the Prime Minister Zhangsun Wuji did not care much about this.

But now the emperor actually asked both of them to go, which was somewhat beyond Changsun Wuji's expectations, so he stood up and said: "Your Majesty, since ancient times, there has never been two suns in the sky, and there has never been two rulers in a country. Although there are many generals leading the troops in the front, we still need a supreme general to unite the people and unify the orders."

"Yes, Zuo Pushe is right." Li Yan said with a smile: "I believe that both Duke Lu and Duke Ying can deal with the Turks. But the number of Turks who broke into Hebei this time is too large, and they are all cavalry."

"It's difficult for any one general to take care of everything, so why not have both of them go? Isn't that safer?"

All of a sudden, all the ministers were stunned by Li Yan's lack of military knowledge. They looked at each other in dismay. It seemed that it was not a good idea to put too much pressure on the emperor. He had no knowledge and would always do things that made people laugh and cry.

Xiao Yu was afraid that others would contradict the emperor, so he advised: "Your Majesty, it is a taboo to issue orders from two gates! If the two generals disagree during the expedition, who should the soldiers listen to?"

"Who said to order us to go out of the second gate?"

Li Yan said confidently and proudly: "In the past few months since I ascended the throne, I have not done anything useful for the people. Instead, the people of Hebei have been wailing under the iron hoofs of the Turks. I am really uneasy!"

"So for the battle in Hebei, I intend to lead the army in person and personally serve as the commander-in-chief. Duke Lu and Duke Ying are both experienced and brave, so they will serve as my assistants."

"What."

This speech caused a great uproar. All the ministers stopped fighting immediately and stepped forward to persuade him, "No, Your Majesty. Since ancient times, a son of a wealthy family would not sit in the palace. Your Majesty wants to stay in Chang'an. How can you easily take risks? I will never agree to this."

"Yes, Your Majesty, the war is dangerous, Your Majesty must not go to the front line in person."

"If the emperor leads the army in person, the soldiers at the front will be hesitant and lose sight of the big picture. It is better to appoint a general!"

"."

For a moment, all the ministers came forward to dissuade him, but not a single minister supported him.

Changsun Wuji's mouth twitched unnaturally. Looking at his nephew standing on the altar with an excited look on his face, full of confidence, he unconsciously stroked his forehead and felt tired. It was obvious that this energetic nephew had done something weird again without being watched carefully.

Li Yan frowned and said unhappily, "The Emperor joined the army when he was young. He conquered Xue Ju, attacked Liu Wuzhou, fought against Wang Shiyun, attacked Dou Jiande with a surprise attack, and pacified Liu Heita. He has fought hundreds of battles and conquered the vast land of the Tang Dynasty."

"If he can do it, why can't I do it?"

Xiao Yu was stunned, and immediately said with embarrassment: "Your Majesty's words are reasonable. This is a different time. At that time, it was a chaotic time. The emperor was only the King of Qin. As a prince, it is reasonable for him to lead troops to conquer."

"Your Majesty is now a king of the highest rank. How can you lower yourself to the level of a noble man and venture into an unpredictable place and face unknown disasters?"

"That's not right, Mr. Xiao."

Li Yan looked down at Xiao Yu with a look of blind confidence: "If I remember correctly, when the emperor first ascended the throne, he once led a few civil officials to confront Jie Li's 200,000 soldiers on the north bank of the Wei River without changing his expression."

"It seems that Lord Xiao was one of them at that time. You experienced it personally!"

"Also, under the city of Fengzhou, the Emperor Taishang even blocked the threat of a million-strong Turkic army to the Central Plains. Wasn't that all based on his status as an emperor?"

Xiao Yu was choked by the rebuke and rolled his eyes. He wanted to say, "How dare you compare yourself with the emperor, who was a hero who fought his way out of thousands of troops. You were just born into a good family and sat on the throne with the help of your father."

There are few opportunities to even see you wielding a sword and wielding a saber, so what qualifications do you have to lead troops into battle?

Xiao Yu's thoughts were also the thoughts of the ministers. In the eyes of the crowd, Li Chengqian was just a scholar who couldn't lift anything with his hands or shoulders. When he performed martial arts in the East Palace before, it was said that he always shot arrows in vain and never hit the target.

It is hard to imagine that such a person can lead troops to war.

Li Yan seemed not to notice the slightly disapproving expressions of the ministers, and said very happily: "Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty led troops to the north many times, fought the Battle of Yanmen, and personally led troops to conquer Goguryeo many times;"

"The former Turkic Khan Jie Li, the later Right Wise King, and the current Shi Luo Die, they are no less powerful than the rulers of a country, and they can lead the army to conquer in person, so why can't I?"

It would have been better if they hadn't said it. Once Li Chengqian said it, it seemed to awaken distant memories in the hearts of the ministers.

Many old officials in the palace remembered that when Yang Guang was on a northern tour, he was besieged by Shibi Khan's heavy troops at Yanmen and almost died prematurely. The three expeditions to Goguryeo were even more sinister and his command was a mess, which laid the seeds for the demise of the Sui Dynasty.

It was a catastrophe that made everyone feel unbearable. Countless people lost their homes and families, and the noble families were also severely damaged. Civil officials and generals were dragged into it involuntarily, and noble sons and daughters died like pigs and dogs. The whole world was turned upside down.

It has only been thirty years since this incident, but the tragic scene is still vivid in our minds.

The officials of the noble families were all shocked and shivered. They looked at each other with fear in their eyes. Although the emperor in front of them was unlikely to be a person like Yang Guang, they would not allow such a thing to happen again.

(End of this chapter)