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

Chapter 569 Entering the Prince's Eastern Palace
The most important palace in the Eastern Palace is the Guardian Hall, which is the first main hall of the Eastern Palace. It is where the crown prince receives ministers and holds major political activities.

In addition, the Chongwen Hall in the East Palace was also a very important government hall. It was where the crown prince studied and there were "Chongxian Hall Scholars" to serve as lecturers in the palace.

The Prince's Palace was filled with palaces and pavilions, and it was surrounded by clear mountains and green waters with beautiful scenery. Li Yan fell in love with this place at the first opportunity.

The palace architecture of the Sui and Tang Dynasties inherited the grandeur of the Qin and Han Dynasties, but also had the characteristics of their own era. It was also mixed with some exotic styles of small Western Regions countries on the Silk Road in the northwest, and the heroism and publicity of the nomadic peoples of the grasslands. It is extremely charming!
Li Yan stroked his chin, looking at the nearly ten-meter-high wall of the East Palace, feeling somewhat helpless.

Although he had internal strength, he could only climb five or six meters high at most. The walls of Taiji Palace and East Palace were both ten meters high, which were taller than three-story buildings in later generations. If he really wanted to climb over them, he could only do so with the help of Xiaoyanzi's flying claws and Bailian ropes!

The East Palace has a main gate on the north and south sides, namely Xuande Gate in the north and Jiafu Gate in the south. There are no main gates on the east and west sides. The East Palace is to the east of Taiji Palace where the emperor lives, separated by a wall. There is a corner gate at the southernmost side in the direction of Taiji Palace, and you can go to Taiji Palace through there without going out of the main gate.

However, the distance is not much different from going through the main gate Jiafu Gate.

For his bedroom, Li Yan chose Cheng'en Hall, the northernmost part of the harem, without hesitation. More than a hundred meters to the north, it was opposite the Xuande Gate in the north, and opposite to the Xuanwu Gate in the north of the Taiji Palace. Li Shimin often liked to stay in Chengqing Hall behind the Taiji Palace.

It is more convenient to go to Chengqing Hall to see Li Shimin through Xuande Gate and Xuanwu Gate. In addition, the name of Cheng'en Hall is more auspicious, which can express a sense of gratitude and comfort Li Shimin's heart.

At present, Li Yan is still single. He was just a child when he was guarding the border of Zhongshan County. Now he has no family at all. He only has some chief secretaries and guards arranged according to the court etiquette.

However, in the original drama, Li Yan knew that he was engaged to Hou Junji's daughter Haitang. It is estimated that Old Li used this to win over Hou Junji in order to make him work for him during the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

Now that the matter has been settled, Lao Li has become the emperor and Hou Junji has become an important official, there is no reason for them to break their promise.

The current guards, palace maids, eunuchs and servants of the Eastern Palace were all arranged by Li Shimin. The female official who serves him is Empress Changsun's personal maid, named Wan'er, who had followed Empress Changsun when she was in the Prince of Qin's Mansion.

It is said that she was originally a maid brought from the Changsun family. She was prudent, knew the rules, had deep feelings, and was trusted by Empress Changsun. She also watched Li Yan grow up. Empress Changsun was worried and sent her confidant to take better care of her eldest son.

"Prince, I am the chief of the guards of the Eastern Palace, Henglian!"

Li Yan looked at the big man in front of him who was saluting him respectfully, with a look of helplessness on his face. This was the chief guard selected by Li Shimin himself. He was not only responsible for his life safety, but also had the duty of surveillance.

In the original drama, Li Shimin said that Henglian had only sent him one letter in his life, and that was to protect Li Chengqian. Li Yan didn't believe it. As an emperor, he only said that. He must have reported Li Chengqian's various conditions every now and then.
As to whether it is concern or worry, who can say for sure? Maybe it is a bit of both!

Chang Sheng, the former commander of the guards of the Prince of Zhongshan's Palace, suffered some hardships during this trip to Luo Yi's camp, but he also made great contributions. Li Shimin appreciated him very much and promoted him to a higher rank and transferred him to the 16th Guards to participate in the battle to defend Chang'an.

Li Yan knew that even if he came back, he would be sent to the border to participate in the attack on Liang Shidu and continue to serve the country, and would not be a guard by his side. Otherwise, Chang Sheng might be delayed, and Heng Lian would not be able to replace him as Li Yan's new confidant.

It seems that I will be living under the eyes of everyone from now on. If I want to do something secretly, it will be harder than climbing to the sky. Even when I eat, sleep, or go to the toilet, there will be people watching me. There may even be a weakened version of the daily record, recording my every word and action.

"Ok!"

Li Yan opened his innocent eyes and said, "Henglian, I am still young. My father and mother have told me to focus on learning from my teacher, so the guards of the East Palace are now in your charge. If there are any small matters, you can make the decision yourself."

"If it's a big deal, you can ask your father and mother for their advice and act according to their opinions. I have no objection."

"Yes, I respect the prince's order!"

Heng Lian bowed seriously, not looking down on Li Yan at all because he was a half-grown child. After all, no matter how young he was, he was still the crown prince of a country and the future emperor. As a guard, he had to take the initiative to protect the prince's dignity.

The prince also has a series of subordinate officials and the six leaders of the Eastern Palace. Li Yan remembered that in the original drama, when Li Zhi came to power, Li Shimin assigned half of the important officials in the court to Li Zhi, but that was when the power was about to be transferred.

The war is urgent at present. Not to mention that Li Shimin cannot take care of it, even if he has free time, it is impossible for him to assign too many important ministers to himself.

So Li Yan can only be regarded as a nominal figure, and the long journey has just begun. "Henglian."

"Chen is here!"

Li Yan thought for a moment and said, "On my way back, I found a girl who was almost starving to death and took her to the Prince of Zhongshan's mansion. Bring her to the Prince's mansion and register her. From now on, you can serve me tea and water and run errands."

"Nothing else?"

"I was in Zhongshan County before. I didn't stay in the Zhongshan County Prince's Mansion in Chang'an for a day. I went directly from the palace to Luo Yi's camp as a hostage. Then my father and mother arranged for me to enter the Crown Prince's Palace. I have never been to the County Prince's Mansion, and I don't know what is inside. Can you ask my father or mother to see how they arrange it?"

"Yes, His Royal Highness!"

Heng Lian thought for a moment and explained, "Your Highness, the Prince's Mansion was set up temporarily after the Emperor ascended the throne in preparation for summoning the Crown Prince back to the capital. Most of the guards and servants inside were also arranged by the Emperor and the Empress from the palace. This time, Your Highness was appointed as the Crown Prince by the Emperor, and many people were directly transferred to the Crown Prince's Palace, so Your Highness does not have to worry."

"There are only a few people maintaining the most basic operation of the Zhongshan County Prince's Mansion. It is also the residence of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince can use it as a villa outside the palace. After all, it is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's hidden residence. Even if the Emperor takes it back as a reward to his ministers, no one would dare to accept it. Therefore, it is still under the name of His Royal Highness!"

"That's it!"

Li Yan nodded silently. The crown prince is still the prince, and he now owns a palace, but he doesn’t have servants in it.

But it was also better this way. In fact, he was reluctant to return it to Li Shimin. The house in the capital was worth a lot of money, not to mention it was a royal palace. It was better to have one more house than one less, even though he was now living in half of the Prince's Palace of Taiji Palace.

Seeing that Li Yan did not ask any more questions, Heng Lian took the order and left, telling his subordinates to do the job. Not long after, Wen Jun appeared beside Li Yan again.

Henglian saw that she was just a girl of about eleven or twelve years old, so he didn't say anything and made arrangements.

In those days, wars were frequent, the Turkic army invaded the border year after year, and there were too many displaced children. If there was no one to turn to, they would either starve to death on the roadside, be eaten by wild beasts, or be sold to a brothel. This girl was lucky to meet Li Yan.

For a period of time afterwards, Li Yan was imprisoned in the Prince's Mansion. He only learned from Heng Lian's occasional words that Li Shimin and Jie Li fought several battles on the north bank of the Wei River, and in the end the Turks did not gain any advantage.

Because of Li Yan's interference, Li Shimin got 100,000 brave soldiers out of thin air, and he was confident enough to deal with Jie Li calmly, and he did not take Fan Xing's advice to empty the treasury, which was a shameful move. Li Shimin was also a great hero in the world, and he was very proud. If he was not really forced into despair, he would not have adopted such a servile expedient.

During this period, precious time was gained and a lot of troops were transferred from the south for support.

As the weather was getting colder and the number of troops in Chang'an was increasing, the situation became increasingly unfavorable. Later, Jie Li had no choice but to hastily conclude a truce agreement with Li Shimin on a temporary bridge and returned north with his army.

This time, Jie Li went south with more than 200,000 cavalrymen, but he gained nothing after wasting time and money. Instead, he lost tens of thousands of troops. The tribes under him were full of complaints and grumbles. Jie Li was afraid that if he continued to fight, he would not be able to suppress the tribes under his command.

There were no winners in this invasion of the south. The Tang Dynasty suffered heavy losses. Many cities in the Guannei Road were destroyed. The Liang army in the north was ready to make a move. In the south, rebels such as Li Xiaochang, Li Youliang, and Li Yuan took the opportunity to become more powerful.

Li Shimin urgently needed a stable north so that he could free up his hands to calmly deal with the rebellion at home.

Under such circumstances, it is reasonable for the two sides to stop fighting and make peace. However, everyone knows that this peace is short-lived, and is only for the purpose of rectifying the internal affairs and accumulating strength in order to launch a bigger war.

And all these have nothing to do with Li Yan, a half-grown child, because since entering the Prince's Mansion, Li Yan's basic life has been to stay in the Prince's Mansion, and his daily schedule is fully scheduled.

In the morning, I started to study Confucian classics, history, philosophy, various rituals of the Sui and Tang dynasties, the division of official positions and corresponding powers in the court and local areas, the different history and culture of each place, the gains and losses of governing the country from ancient times to the present, and all dynasties through the ages with teachers arranged by Li Shimin, including Lu Deming, Kong Yingda, Yu Zhining, Li Gang, Du Zhenglun, etc.

It is very tedious and complicated, but fortunately Li Yan has the heart of an adult and has more time and patience than ordinary people.

(End of this chapter)