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

Chapter 635: Subjugating Quan Wanji (Part )

From the angle of the moonlight coming in through the window, Quan Wanji quickly determined that he had only fallen asleep for a short time and it was not yet midnight.

'Bang, bang. bang'

At this time, the door rang again, and Quan Wanji was frightened. Could it be a ghost? I heard that some officials in prison hanged themselves in their cells out of despair. Could it be that their wronged souls lingered and ran out at night?
Quan Wanji asked tremblingly: "Who is it?"

Hearing the trembling sound coming from the room, Li Yan smiled slightly, took out a large candle from the space, reached out to light the oil lamp above the door, then pushed the door and walked in. The dim room suddenly became bright.

Li Yan put the candle on the table and looked indifferently at the middle-aged official who was shivering on the edge of the bed.

As the room lightened, the previous weird atmosphere was instantly swept away. Quan Wanji looked at the person who came in. After seeing the person's appearance, he was surprised and even showed an expression of uncontrollable suspicion on his face.

"Your Highness, Madam?"

Then he was startled, and seeing Li Yan slowly sitting down, he quickly stood up, not even bothering to put on his shoes, and rushed to the ground in his single clothes, kneeling in front of the table: "I, the guilty minister Quan Wanji, kowtow to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. May His Royal Highness live a thousand years, a thousand years, and a thousand thousand years!"

"Ok!"

Li Yan nodded and said expressionlessly: "Master Quan, you don't have to be polite. Let's get up and talk. Although it is almost July now, the temperature difference between day and night is large, and the ground is cold at night. Master Quan, please take care of your health!"

The gentle attitude and concerned tone slowly calmed Quan Wanji's nervous mood. He quickly stood up and looked at the table, as if he wanted to make a cup of tea for Li Yan. But thinking of the environment here, it was late at night and the leftover cold tea was not enough to entertain guests. So he smiled apologetically, stood aside and said stiffly: "The environment here is simple, and I hope Your Highness will forgive me for my poor treatment."

Quan Wanji has always been a close confidant of King Shu Li Ke, and is an enemy of Li Yan. Although he usually acts like a decent person and agrees with Li Ke without any bottom line in front of him, and slanders and criticizes Prince Li Yan in every possible way, it is actually to please King Shu Li Ke. He himself rarely deals with the prince, and his impression of the prince also follows Li Ke's rhythm.

But at this time in the middle of the night, when no one else was present, the prisoner Quan Wanji faced Li Yan alone, only to find that the power and aura of a superior emanating from the other party was not something he could bear.

Quan Wanji was from Lueyang, Tianshui. His father, Quan Zhuojie, the governor of Kuangzhou in the Sui Dynasty, once served as the chief officer of Chaozhou. Later, he became a disciple of Feng Deyi, the right servant. Because he was smooth and good at flattering, he was liked by Feng Deyi and was placed in the Honglu Temple. After only a few years, he was promoted to the sixth rank of Honglu Cheng.

Li Yan, who has been in the officialdom for a long time, knows at a glance that Quan Wanji is the type who relies on power to rise to the top. He was first placed in an unimportant department of the court to accumulate experience and raise his rank. Later, he looked for an opportunity to be transferred to an important department, without showing off, and rising one level each year.

Li Yan knew that if this incident had not happened, within two years, Quan Wanji would have been transferred from the idle job of the Honglu Temple to the Censorate, and then he would have made rapid progress all the way, from the position of Zhishu Shili to the chief official of the Shuwang Palace.

After the King of Shu was demoted, he served as a senior official under the King of Qi, Li You. However, he was eventually involved in Li You's rebellion and was dismembered by the rebel army. It was a horrible sight.

Quan Wanji had been well-versed in poetry and books since childhood. He was quite talented and quick-witted, and was known as the rival of Zhuge Liang. Before his death, Feng Deyi recommended him to Li Ke, who appreciated him.

At this time, when Quan Wanji was not around Li Ke at all, his disgust and rejection of the prince made him very confused. He and the prince had no contact with each other on a daily basis, and from a standpoint, they were also hostile parties. If King Shu Li Ke came to see him quietly in the middle of the night, it would be even more confusing.

The appearance of the crown prince in his own cell made the usually alert Quan Wanji a little confused, but no matter what, as a sixth-rank official awaiting punishment, he could not abandon the etiquette when facing the crown prince.

So Quan Wanji responded with a sly smile while constantly guessing what Li Yan's intention was.

"Lord Quan is now in prison. Do you know why?" Li Yan looked at Quan Wanji and asked.

Quan Wanji was stunned for a moment, then a bitter look appeared on his face and he pleaded, "They said that I was greedy for money and asked for bribes, this is really unfair!"

"Your Highness, I am the Minister of Rites. My job is to receive envoys from all sides. You know, some gift exchanges are normal, but I really did not ask for a large amount of money or beautiful women from foreign envoys. I hope Your Highness will understand."

No matter what, it is always right to defend oneself and cry out for injustice, so Quan Wanji started to complain. Li Yan nodded slightly. It seems that the officials in the Dali Temple did not know what happened in Chengqing Hall. They always thought that Quan Wanji was in there for the crime he had on the surface. Li Ke and Cen Wenben had not told Quan Wanji the details yet, so Quan Wanji was still unclear about why he had fallen to this point.

"You don't have to explain, sir!"

Li Yan said sternly: "Your Excellency's current imprisonment is not due to the complaints of those court officials."

Seeing Quan Wanji was stunned, Li Yan asked back, "Your Excellency, you must know the rumors in Chang'an City about the battle of wits between King Shu Li Ke and Jie, as well as the rumors of treason later on. What is the reason?"

Well.
Hearing Li Yan mention this, Quan Wanji's face suddenly turned panic-stricken, his eyes flickered, and he couldn't utter a word for a long time. After being slandered by the prince, Quan Wanji felt a little embarrassed when facing the person involved, no matter how thick-skinned he was.

Li Yan said to himself, "Ten days ago, Xiao Yu and several important officials of the Imperial Court reported to the Emperor in Chengqing Palace that the King of Shu spread rumors, coveted the throne of the Eastern Palace, and committed treasonous acts, and requested the Emperor to punish him. Finally, the Emperor was furious and sent Lord Wei Zheng to investigate privately."

"You can guess what happened next. Lord Wei investigated a large number of storytellers and singers, and finally found out that the one who spread the rumors was actually your steward Quan Cheng. The emperor and several important officials, considering the overall situation, did not make it public, and only arrested you and sent you to the Dali Temple on the charge of extorting money."

"Logically speaking, Lord Cen was the Minister of the Central Secretariat and was present at the time. The King of Shu also knew about this later. I don't know why Lord Quan has been kept in the dark until now."

Quan Wanji listened to the inside story that he had never known before, and suddenly it dawned on him that it was no wonder that when he was reported in the Taiji Hall, neither the King of Shu nor Cen Wenben came to plead for him. Moreover, he had been in the Dali Temple for several days and no one came to interrogate him. So this was the reason.

If it was because of greed for money, then no matter whether it can be implemented or not, it will not be a big problem in the end. Greed for money in officialdom is not a big deal. Besides, the King of Shu will plead for him behind him. At most, he will be demoted a few levels and stay quiet for a few years. After the storm has passed, he will be promoted again.

But if he was disliked by the emperor because of the crime of participating in the fight for the throne and slandering the monarch, losing his official position would be the least of his worries. It is also possible that he would be exiled thousands of miles away to do hard labor in the frontier, and his future in this life would be over.

Quan Wanji himself just wanted to increase the popularity of the King of Shu and suppress the Eastern Palace, but he did not expect that his own housekeeper could not grasp the measure and unscrupulously excluded the Eastern Palace. In the end, the rumors became more and more outrageous, and even those ambitious miracles and lies that were superior to others came out. Quan Wanji was scared and quickly stopped everyone.

But rumors are easy to spread but difficult to take back. Quan Wanji became a little afraid later on. In addition, Li Ke was not in the capital at that time, and Cen Benwen had always disliked him, so he didn't even have anyone to discuss things with. Just as he was panicking, disaster struck him and he was sent directly from the court to the Dali Temple.

Before, Quan Wanji was still holding on to hope, maybe it was really because of the gift-accepting incident?

Now after hearing Li Yan tell the truth, he immediately realized his dangerous situation. No one told him beforehand, and no one came to visit him in prison afterwards. It was not difficult to guess that he might have been abandoned by the Shu King's faction.

As a core member of the Shu King's faction, once abandoned, for fear that I would be used by others and endanger myself in turn, the Shu King would probably suppress me in turn and completely drive me into the dust to ensure that I would not cause any trouble to the Shu King.

If that happens, I'm afraid I will never be able to gain a foothold in the court again, and my future will be really over. In more serious cases, my life may be threatened.

Having been at the core of power for a long time, Quan Wanji had some experience of the cruelty and darkness of the power struggle. His previous backer, Feng Deyi, a veteran minister who had served three dynasties, died in unclear circumstances. Now he himself had fallen into such a situation. Quan Wanji's heart was pounding and beads of sweat the size of beans were streaming down his forehead.

Thinking of this, he could no longer control his fear, and knelt down with a plop, kowtowed like pounding garlic, and said with tears streaming down his face: "Your Highness, I am guilty. I shouldn't have spread those rumors to defame Your Highness, but I didn't expect it to end up like that. Please forgive me, Your Highness!"

"Sir, please stand up."

After Quan Wanji realized his dangerous situation and his mentality completely collapsed, Li Yan stepped forward to help Quan Wanji up, and then said earnestly: "Sir, as a confidant of the King of Shu, you should eat the salary of the king and worry about the king. It is your duty to consider your old master and suppress your opponents. What crime have you committed?"

"I admire your loyalty and righteousness very much, and I also appreciate your intelligence and wisdom. With a casual plan, you spread the reputation of the King of Shu to all corners of the world, and brought me a lot of trouble. Now that you are in trouble, the King of Shu has ignored you and refused to help you. The fault lies with the King of Shu, not you!"

(End of this chapter)