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

Chapter 588 Seeking Help from Li Shimin
By the time everyone returned to Chang'an City, it was already dark and the palace gates were closed. Changsun Wuji originally planned to ask for the gates to be opened.

Li Yan flatly refused: "Uncle, the curfew at the city gate is a court system. Although I am the crown prince, I should also be a role model for the other officials. If I take the lead in breaking the ban, how will the court restrain others in the future?"

"The Northern Courtyard's Imperial Guards and the Eastern Palace's Guards are stationed in the Western Inner Courtyard. Why don't we rest there tonight and enter the city tomorrow when the city gates open?"

The Western Inner Courtyard is a guard camp outside the Xuanwu Gate and Anli Gate, the north gate of the Taiji Palace. It directly guards the three city gates of the Taiji Palace. Although the guard camp is also heavily guarded, for Li Yan and Changsun Wuji, it is no different from being inside the city.

Chang He was on duty in the Northern Yamen Imperial Guard. When he heard that the prince and his entourage had returned late from the Qingming Festival, he hurriedly opened the military camp and welcomed Changsun Wuji, Li Yan and his entourage into the Imperial Guard camp.

Chang Sun Wuji smiled and said, "Chang He, the Crown Prince and I will rest in your military camp tonight. I don't mind, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is of noble status, so you must not neglect him."

Changsun Wuji's words made it clear to Li Yan that Chang He was one of their own.

Chang He had a simple and honest face and looked like a simple farmer. Who would have thought that this man indirectly changed the situation in the core of the Tang Dynasty.

Chang He was wearing armor at this time, and had just finished arranging the defense. He said enthusiastically: "Of course, it is an honor for our Imperial Guards that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can come to inspect. Your Excellency is usually very busy with court affairs, and you are a distinguished guest that we cannot invite. Tonight, I, Chang He, must entertain you well."

"Chang He, we are late coming back from Sanyuan County. Please send a message to the city and have the guards on duty inform the emperor that we will rest in the West Inner Courtyard tonight and go to the palace to pay respects tomorrow. In addition, there are two hundred guards of the East Palace and some officials of the Imperial Palace. Please also make arrangements for them."

Li Yan's attitude was friendly and approachable, making people feel warm and at ease. In fact, Chang He was not an outsider either. When Chang Sheng just left, he went to the East Palace to serve as the commander of the guards for a period of time. The two were very familiar with each other.

He was transferred into the Northern Yamen Imperial Guard just last year, and was a superior or subordinate to the two hundred Eastern Palace guards that Li Yan brought today.

Chang He hurriedly called for help and arranged food and lodging for Li Yan and his group. He also sent someone to deliver a message, then brought Changsun Wuji and his son and Li Yan to his tent, and sent someone to boil hot water for the three of them to wash up.

After they were busy for a while, they put up the roasted whole lamb. The conditions in the military camp were simple, certainly not as good as those in the palace, but they also had their own kitchens. The commanders of the imperial guards like Chang He even had their own kitchens, with a table of wine and food, and a roasted whole lamb next to it.

After a while, the tent became warm!
Li Yan also put aside his princely airs and mingled with several other imperial guards who had come after hearing the news, holding jars of wine, and began to eat and drink. At first, everyone was a little reserved because of Yu's status as the prince.

But after three or five cups, Li Yan took the lead, rolled up his sleeves, stepped on a stool, and started drinking games with several rough men in the army.

Seeing that Li Yan did not have the airs of a prince and did not have the slightest intention of looking down on them, everyone slowly put their minds at ease and began to toast with Li Yan under the influence of alcohol. The noise in the tent could be heard by the entire central army.

After thirty dishes and five flavors were served, at Li Yan's suggestion, everyone left the table, holding jars of wine, and sat down by the fire where the whole lamb was roasted.

They started to brag while drinking. Chang Sun Chong could not help but mention the prince's achievement of beheading the fugitive Sun Da in the royal forbidden garden today. The generals also began to praise him half-seriously.

After such a commotion, the prince, who used to be mysterious and unfamiliar in the depths of the imperial palace, also became flesh and blood in the hearts of many Northern Yamen soldiers. Li Yan's frankness in drinking, his heroic spirit of standing on a chair, stretching his neck and opening his mouth wide to play drinking games, made everyone look at him with friendliness.

Especially when they were sitting around the fire, cross-legged on the ground, the audience would talk about fighting the Turks. The young prince would nod and praise from time to time, with a look of envy on his face, which made everyone feel extremely happy.

All the generals vied with each other to talk about their own battle achievements, boasting about their own bravery with exaggeration, as if each of them had become a god of war on earth. Li Yan did not take it as a lie, but nodded and drank frequently, his anger was enthusiastic and warm.

Changsun Wuji watched this scene with a smile and felt deeply gratified.

That night, Chang He's tent was noisy until the middle of the night, when it slowly quieted down. When Li Yan felt sleepy, he slept on Chang He's couch. The excited Chang He and the high-spirited generals, in the name of protecting the prince, stayed by the fire, chatting and drinking, and stayed up all night.

The next morning, the city gates opened. Li Yan and Changsun Wuji bid farewell to the generals and entered Chang'an City. Li Yan went into the palace to report to Li Shimin about the attack by Sun Da in the royal forbidden garden, and told him how he handled it.

"Prince, you did a great job on this!"

After hearing this, Li Shimin nodded slowly: "Among Prince Yin's former subordinates, Sun Da is the most hateful. He fought the rebellion to the end and went to worship Prince Yin on Qingming Festival, which shows his hatred for our Tang Dynasty. Shooting him to death with arrows and burying him next to Prince Yin is really a bit too easy for him."

"Father, Sun Da is dead, and the story of Prince Yin is completely over. Now our Tang Dynasty is accumulating strength, and the whole court is holding back a strong desire to defeat Jie Li. It is better not to let these old things affect your father's plan of the Northern Expedition." Li Yan advised. "Well, forget it, let's leave it at that!"

Li Shimin looked at Li Yan with admiration: "However, Sun Da is a serious criminal who has been rewarded three levels by the court. Killing Sun Da is a great achievement, but you are not an ordinary court official. Tell me, how should the emperor reward you?"

"Father, I am already the crown prince!"

Li Yan smiled and said, "I am not like an ordinary minister who needs to make achievements and bring honor to his family. I just want to assist my father and pull our Tang Dynasty out of the quagmire of war as soon as possible. I will help my father govern our Tang Dynasty so that the seas and rivers are peaceful and the world is peaceful, and the people of the Tang Dynasty can live a stable and prosperous life."

"Having said that."

Li Shimin nodded in satisfaction: "But if you have made contributions, you must be rewarded, otherwise I will not be able to explain to the court officials!"

Li Yan thought for a moment and said, "Father, judging from the current situation of the court, the Northern Expedition to the Turks should be launched this winter or next spring. As for the task that Father has entrusted to me, I have thought about it carefully these past few days. If I draw some more ordinary soldiers from the Sixteen Guards and train them before sending them to the Turks, it will be too late."

"I think that if we want to cooperate with the emperor's northern expedition, the fastest way is to directly draw a group of elite soldiers active on the border between the Turkic and our Tang Dynasty from the frontiers of Yunzhong and Shuofang, as well as the important border towns of Dingxiang and Jingzhou."

"It would be best to recruit elite forces from the scouts, train them, and then form a group of caravans, or place them in the caravans of Chang'an merchants and quickly send them to the grasslands."

"First, they are more familiar with the Turks. Most of them can speak Turkish and understand the living habits and ways of the Turks. Second, they have been fighting against the Turks for many years and are well-trained. They are natural intelligence experts. They know which information can be used by me, so I can complete the investigation of the internal situation of the Turks faster and better."

"So, I would like to ask the Emperor to directly transfer the troops from several prefectures and states on the border in the name of the Ministry of War. This would be more direct."

After listening to this, Li Shimin nodded silently. It seemed that the prince had indeed put some thought into it. The plan he came up with was very familiar and thoughtful.

"Yes, your idea is very suitable. I will order the Ministry of War to transfer troops from the border areas to make up the total number of 500 for you later."

Later, seeing that Li Shimin was in a good mood, Li Yan said, "However, Chang Sheng alone cannot manage these 500 people. Therefore, I would like to transfer some experienced veterans from the local area to assist me in management. I hope that the emperor will approve it."

"Ok!"

When Li Shimin heard this, he knew that Li Yan wanted to increase his own strength. However, he thought that he had handed over the 5,000 imperial guards to the confidants of his second son Li Ke. Now that his eldest son was the crown prince, he had only increased the number of soldiers by 500. It was reasonable to transfer a few generals to help with management.

Moreover, Li Yan was very frank. He did not look for Changsun Wuji privately, but went directly to his father, the emperor. It can be seen that he really wanted to do something for the court.

So Li Shimin did not hesitate and said readily: "Do you have a suitable candidate in mind? Tell me about it."

Li Yan became excited. There were constant wars during the Sui and Tang dynasties. After nearly three hundred years of chaos, without the suppression of a unified political power, a large number of outstanding civil and military officials emerged in a state of natural competition among various forces.

In addition to those who had already distinguished themselves and achieved success in the late Sui Dynasty and the Wude period, there were also many military generals who shined until the middle and late Zhenguan period, and even in the Gaozong era.

Among them are Xue Rengui, who conquered Tianshan with three arrows, Wang Xuance, who destroyed a country single-handedly, Su Dingfang, who defeated the Eastern and Western Turks, and Li Jingxuan, Xi Junmai, Gao Kan and others who fought against Goguryeo, Tuyuhun, Tubo and other ethnic minorities around the Tang Dynasty.

Of course, due to Li Yan's current age, the old veterans have already come to prominence, and naturally cannot serve as guards for Li Yan's Jinyiwei. Many of the young ones are still children. Therefore, Li Yan can only find some people of the same age as himself, or not much older, to be brought to the East Palace early, to accompany him, and to be his own team in the future.

People like Xue Rengui and Wang Xuance, who shined in the later period, are only teenagers of sixteen or seventeen years old. They are still studying and practicing martial arts in their hometown. They have just reached adulthood and are eager to make achievements. They can be summoned to the Eastern Palace and used after a little training and development.

These famous generals in history must have good luck, and with Li Yan's support, they will soon be able to come to prominence.

(End of this chapter)