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

Chapter 609 Wu Qing, the Unruly Kneeler
Cen Benwen originally formulated a strategy for the King of Shu to seize the throne. Based on the current situation in the court, he took advantage of the situation and pushed the eldest grandson's lineage to the top, making the crown prince the target of public criticism. In the end, he would decline from his peak and be pushed down by everyone, never to be able to recover.

But because Li Ke took the initiative to take over the negotiations with the Turks, he finally spent a thousand stones of grain and five hundred pieces of silk in exchange for 30,000 people in Suizhou.

Li Ke's sudden success disrupted Cen Wenben's arrangements. Later, the prince gave the Zuotunwei Army to Cheng Huailiang as a reward. This created a situation where the prince was weak and the prince was strong. In the end, everyone on the streets was praising the King of Shu.

You can praise him, the King of Shu did do something, but the recent wind direction is a bit wrong. You shouldn't praise the King of Shu while belittling His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, causing the Emperor to come out in person to help the Crown Prince. With someone like the Emperor helping him, the King of Shu is at a disadvantage!

Fortunately, the prince was not afraid and took the King of Shu with him to do the work.

But the King of Shu is still dissatisfied with the Crown Prince. He is afraid that such an attitude will sooner or later be discovered by the Emperor and the ministers in the court. The King of Shu is young, but he does not know how to be modest. He just wants to show off and act arrogantly. Sooner or later he will fall!
Cen Benwen originally wanted to persuade the King of Shu again, but when he saw Li Ke's smug look and Quan Wanji constantly fanning the flames and flattering him, he thought about it and decided to persuade the King of Shu another day when he was free, or he could talk to Concubine Yang.

In addition, I advise the King of Shu to stay away from Quan Wanji. Although this man is clever, he does not use the right way. He is smooth-talking, flattering, and blindly obedient and fawning on the King of Shu. He is simply a treacherous minister.

The emperor is in his prime, and is an iron-blooded emperor who has fought his way through mountains of corpses and blood. He does not tolerate any grain of sand in his eyes. Under his brilliance, even his ministers seem a lot dimmer, not to mention his sons. It is better for him to keep a low profile.

Thinking of this, Cen Wenben's heart skipped a beat. Compared with the King of Shu, the Crown Prince seemed to be a weak sword, restrained in every aspect, and retreated in everything. This made the Emperor feel that he was too weak, and the Emperor had to worry about helping him all day long. Is this the way for a young and wise emperor to survive under his rule?

"Did the prince do it by accident, and is he just a fool? Or is he a rough man on the outside but a talented one on the inside, and did it on purpose, and is actually a man with a lot of hidden secrets?" Cen Wenben was a little unsure when he thought of this possibility, and he became even more annoyed when he thought of it.

Seeing that it was getting dark, he gave Li Ke a few words and left in a hurry.
The next morning, in the commander's tent of the Western Inner Court Zuotun Guard Army camp, a burly square-faced man wearing a dazzling Ming Guang armor sat on the commander's chair in the tent. It was Cheng Huailiang, the General of the Yifu Palace who had just taken up his post.

Another thin man, wearing the uniform of a fifth-rank general, stood in front of the big man with a hunched back and said flatteringly, "General Cheng, I and the officers in the army have long admired your reputation."

"When they learned that General Cheng was coming to our Zuotunwei Army, everyone in the army was smiling and it was like the New Year."

"Everyone knows that General Cheng is the son of Duke Lu. He not only has a family background in military studies, but has also been familiar with various military books since he was a child. He is good at marching, fighting, setting up camps, and attacking cities. When he pacified Liang Shidu some time ago, the general even captured several ferry crossings in succession, and his reputation spread throughout the three armies!"

"It's just that the general is young and was born a few years later, and there are many senior generals in the court. Otherwise, the general must be the one guarding the front line of Yunzhong Dingxiang and presiding over the overall situation, right?"

"Haha, Wu Qing!"

Cheng Huailiang was tall and strong as an ox, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a square face. Wearing armor, he looked even more majestic and murderous, and was able to control the situation. On the first day he came to the Zuotunwei Army, everyone in the army was subdued by Cheng Huailiang's majesty.

In particular, Wu Qing, a senior general of the Zuotun Guard, was the first to surrender. Not only did he send over a thousand taels of silver in gifts, he also contacted several key officers and invited Cheng Huailiang to the largest restaurant in Chang'an, Taifeng Tower, to prepare a delicious meal.

Cheng Huailiang had just arrived, so he naturally wanted to win over the generals, and the generals also tried their best to please him, making the scene extremely harmonious.

In addition, Wu Qing, an old soldier, was quick-witted and eloquent, and he kept on giving flattering words, which made Cheng Huailiang, a young general with little life experience, feel dizzy and comfortable all day long.

Just a few days later, he regarded Wu Qing as his confidant and took him with him wherever he went. Wu Qing also reciprocated him. By setting an example himself, Cheng Huailiang quickly established his prestige in Zuotunwei.

At this time, Cheng Huailiang, flattered by Wu Qing, was half sitting and half lying on the handsome chair, with his eyes dazed, drinking the tea that Wu Qing offered him with great care. He felt a little intoxicated even without drinking any alcohol.

Cheng Huailiang was the second son of Cheng Yaojin, the Duke of Lu and the General of the Right Guard. He entered the officialdom through family ties and became a junior officer under Cheng Yaojin. He also married Li Shimin's daughter, Princess Qinghe, and was granted the title of Duke of the Imperial Concubine's Wing.

Because of his relationship with the two yamen officials, Cheng Huailiang was looked up to wherever he went. In the army, he was served and fawned upon by officers of all ranks, which was common.

Therefore, Cheng Huailiang was not surprised by the flattery of Wu Qing, a subordinate general from a grassroots background. He knew what the other party was thinking. Wasn't it because he valued his family background and wanted him to help him? He had seen too many people like this since he was a child. Cheng Huailiang didn't find it suspicious at all. Instead, he thought it was abnormal for Wu Qing not to flatter him like this.

However, Wu Qing's flattery had no bottom line. As a fifth-rank general of the Yifu Palace, only one level lower than himself, the main general, he acted like a slave and had none of the dignity of a fifth-rank general. He was really a bootlicker with no bottom line!
Not to mention, Cheng Huailiang had never received such treatment before, and he felt extremely comfortable being flattered by such a middle-level general.

However, Cheng Huailiang, who had a little knowledge of the operation of power in the upper echelons, knew that a general like Wu Qing, who was not born in Beijing, would never be able to become the commander of an army even if he was promoted again. Moreover, the fifth rank was already very high. Without a great opportunity, Wu Qing's career would basically be over?
It is said that when the former General Zhang Daozun just arrived at Zuotunwei, Wu Qing was the General. Now that Zhang Daozun has been promoted to Yunzhong to command troops, Wu Qing is still the General, which is evident.

However, Cheng Huailiang was secretly proud of the fact that such a senior Lang Jiang was praising him so wholeheartedly. Besides, the other party probably knew that he could not be promoted, so he put all his energy into currying favor with him.

On the first day he presented the 1,000 taels of silver, he confessed to himself. He knew that his life was coming to an end, and he did not expect to be promoted. He just wanted to stay in his current position and not be transferred to a sinecure.

This request was naturally not difficult for Cheng Huailiang. The other party could not be promoted anyway. If he really wanted to squeeze him out, who knew that another deputy with a good background would be transferred in, and he would be eager to make room for him.

The King of Shu has instructed that the 5,000 guards of Zuotunwei must be firmly controlled, as they are more useful than the tens of thousands of troops stationed on the border.

Cheng Huailiang could not stand the hardships of the frontier and did not want to move for the time being. Anyway, Wu Qing cooperated with him and he could use him conveniently, so he would just use him first. If he did not obey, he would say hello to the King of Shu and throw him aside or send him to the local area to deal with him at will.

Cheng Huailiang was very casual in front of Wu Qing. He shook his neck and complained, "This imperial armor is impressive to wear, but it's too heavy. It weighs dozens of kilograms and makes my whole body ache. It's better to follow the King of Shu and wear comfortable casual clothes."

Listening to Cheng Huailiang's seemingly dissatisfied but actually boastful words, Wu Qing's eyes lit up, and without saying anything, he stepped forward and asked: "General, we don't have to wear armor all the time in the barracks. It's too uncomfortable."

"Anyway, we are in the general's tent and no one can see us. You might as well withdraw first. The general has been very tired in the past two days of training. I often encounter such situations. Take off your armor and I will massage your shoulders. Many brothers praise my skills."

"Make sure the general can relax and relieve the fatigue of the past two days."

As he was about to help Cheng Huailiang take off his armor, Cheng Huailiang stood up and pretended to refuse, "Hey, this is not good. After all, you are a general. How can you do what those soldiers do?"

"General, please don't say that."

While helping Cheng Huailiang take off his shoulder armor, Wu Qing said solemnly, "Among the nearly 5,000 troops of Zuotunwei, there are countless people who would like to serve you as long as you nod. They could line up from the general's tent to the camp gate."

"The general has given me such an opportunity to serve him. This shows that he thinks highly of me, Wu Qing. How can Wu Qing not repay me with his life?"

"Um"

Cheng Huailiang was very pleased to see Wu Qing's honored look. He secretly despised and looked down on such people, but he accepted it calmly on the surface and pretended to be a little embarrassed and said: "Wu Qing, I know your talent."

"This winter or next spring, the Tang Dynasty will launch a war against the Turks. Even if I don't go, my father will be at the front leading the army. If you are interested, I will say hello to him and reserve a position for you."

"If I can make some contributions in the battle against the Turks, it would be easy to become a commander of an army when I come back." Cheng Huailiang made the promise without hesitation, as if he could adjust the positions in the army at will.

"General, what virtue do I have to have to treat me like this?"

Wu Qing was overjoyed when he heard this. He quickly took a step back and knelt down in front of Cheng Huailiang without any hesitation. The most polite thing in the army is to kneel on one knee, but Wu Qing was shameless. He knelt down in front of Cheng Huailiang with his legs firmly pressed down, respectfully, as if he was worshipping his ancestor.

(End of this chapter)