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

Chapter 702: Contest at the Court
A few days later, the grand court meeting was held in Taiji Hall on the first day of the lunar month!

The ministers walked into the palace in groups of three or five from the square in front of the Taiji Palace, facing the rising red sun. Li Ke and Cen Wenben chatted and greeted the familiar ministers. The same was true for Li Tai, the King of Wei, who was surrounded by several ministers in red robes.

"It turns out to be the third brother!"

When the two of them walked to the front of the palace, Li Tai quickly left the officials around him, stepped forward, and said with a smile on his face, "Meet Third Brother. I heard that Third Brother has been wandering around the West Market recently. Did you get another excellent horse? Can you let me see it when you have time?"

"It's my fourth brother!"

Seeing Li Tai bowing, Li Ke nodded casually and said with a hint of sarcasm: "Fourth brother, you have been burying your head in the palace, reading poetry and classics. You are so knowledgeable at a young age. Even father often praises you for your profound knowledge and talent, which is far superior to other princes."

"I don't have your talent, so I can't read this book. I can only devote myself to martial arts, which is also a helpless act."

Neither of them took their foolish and weak elder brother the Crown Prince seriously. In their minds, the Crown Prince would be replaced sooner or later, and both of them were fighting for the throne in different ways.

Li Ke believed that there were many internal and external troubles. Outside the Tang Dynasty, there were enemies such as the Turks, Tubo, Tuyuhun, and Gaochang in the Western Regions. Inside, there were powerful aristocratic families like the Five Surnames and Seven Families, which were as powerful as the royal family, waiting to act. The country was far from stable, and what was needed was a strong emperor, who followed Li Shimin's path and established his ambitions through military force.

However, Li Tai believed that one had to rely on strong bows and crossbows to conquer the world, but had to rely on pens to rule the world. In addition, he had been pampered since childhood and was fat, so he could not wield a spear or ride a horse. Therefore, he decisively gave up military affairs and turned to literature, learning from Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty.

The bet is that Li Shimin is still young, and in the second half of his life he will fight all the wars that the country should fight and conquer all the enemies that can be conquered. He will definitely leave behind a unified and powerful dynasty for himself. At that time, he only needs to shift the focus of the country from war and annexation to peace and development, and then govern the country with peace of mind.

Both of them have found their own special development paths, and have also been supported by some ministers in the court. On the surface, they are harmonious, but in fact, they are also fierce competitors in secret, and they are always mocking and disliking each other when they meet.

In the past few days, the two men had been in frequent contact through their confidants, and had already decided on a common goal of joining forces with the King of Qi and using the Flying Tiger Army to overthrow the Crown Prince.

It was just that the long-term hostility made the two of them unconsciously mock each other. They both knew that once the position of the East Palace was vacant, the two sides would immediately start a new round of competition, which was destined to be a life-and-death struggle.

However, considering that they had a common enemy today, both of them were restraining themselves.

Seeing the two men acting in a vain, the ministers nearby were not surprised. They smiled and nodded, ignoring the two princes standing at the door and talking, they crossed the threshold of the hall and entered.

Seeing that Li Ge was losing his temper, Li Tai became even happier. In his heart, he despised Li Ke for his vulgarity, but on the surface, he became more polite, showing the demeanor of a refined scholar. He slightly bent his body and made a gesture of invitation: "Third brother, please go first."

"Hmph!" Li Ke couldn't stand Li Tai's hypocritical behavior. He snorted, turned around and stepped into the Tai Chi Hall.

Later, Li Tai entered the hall with the courtesy of everyone.

After a while, the sound of bells and drums rang out, and the ministers hurriedly found their seats. Hundreds of officials lined up in six long queues in the hall. Half of the officials in scarlet robes and all the low-ranking officials in green robes were standing outside the hall.

Officials of all levels in Beijing can attend the grand court meeting, so a large number of grassroots officials from the capital area were present. Although the Taiji Hall was large, it could not accommodate so many people, so many people stood outside the hall, and even the square outside the Taiji Hall was densely packed with officials from various departments.

This is also a manifestation of the dynasty's majesty. In fact, most officials participated in the grand court meeting only to highlight the authority and ruling power of the court. You have to know that they can't even enter the Taiji Hall and can't even see the emperor. How can they discuss politics?

In the Taiji Hall, there were civil officials in the East and military officials in the West. Li Yan, wearing a light yellow prince's formal dress, stood at the head of the civil officials on the left.

Yellow is the color reserved for the royal family. Only the emperor and the crown prince are qualified to wear it. The emperor wears dark yellow, and the crown prince wears bright yellow. But Li Yan felt that he was the only one wearing bright yellow in the court, which was too eye-catching. Li Shimin would not like it after seeing it for a long time.

Moreover, the bright yellow color under the sunlight is even more dazzling than the dark yellow, making him look more eye-catching than Li Shimin.

Li Yan only tried it once and felt that it didn't work, so he chose the light yellow color which was thinner.

It is said to be light yellow, but the yellow color is not very obvious. At first glance, it looks more like off-white. In order to avoid irritating Li Shimin, Li Yan changed his prince's dress to this color. The other gold thread piping and flying dragon embroidery are in accordance with etiquette.

It not only reflects the difference between the crown prince and his other brothers and ministers, but also is restrained, reflecting his modesty. I don't know if Li Shimin noticed it, but he never mentioned it anyway.

From then on, Li Yan always wore this kind of formal dress when attending court.

Beside Li Yan were, in order, Li Ke, Prince of Shu, and Li Tai, Prince of Li. Li You was enfeoffed in Shandong and was not in Beijing, or he was the next prince. The other younger princes were not yet old enough to attend court.

"The Emperor has arrived!" A tall guard in front of the hall shouted in a loud voice. His voice was mighty and majestic, and it echoed through the surrounding buildings like thunder, rolling and reverberating above the ministers in the Taiji Hall, conveying the emperor's majesty to the hearts of every minister.

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

Amid the thunderous kowtow of his ministers, Li Shimin, wearing a dark yellow dragon robe, walked slowly towards Dan, then stood in front of the dragon throne. He did not sit down decisively. Instead, he straightened his back and slowly scanned the entire hall with a majestic gaze from behind the pearl curtain hanging from his crown.

At this time, all the ministers knelt on the ground, including the guards inside and outside the hall, as well as the low-ranking ministers who lined up outside the hall because there was no room inside.

Finally, Li Shimin's sight fell on the endless square outside the palace. Looking down from the height of the dragon throne, he could just see the square below the steps outside, where hundreds of officials were kneeling densely. It seemed as if he was in the ninth heaven, and a feeling of dominating the world arose spontaneously.

Only the maids and eunuchs at the side of the gilded dragon screen behind the throne did not kneel, while the guards around the hall stood guard at their posts, looking straight ahead, but lowered their heads and dared not look directly at the emperor. It was not because of their high status that they could be exempted from kneeling.

But in such occasions, in the eyes of those in power, they are not human beings at all, but just props, not even qualified to kneel.

Li Yan used his spiritual sense to look at Li Shimin unscrupulously. He saw Li Shimin standing on the stage, looking at the "people of the world" who were kneeling on the ground, and hearing the roar like a landslide. It seemed as if he really had a feeling of ruling the world.

A smug smile quietly appeared on Li Shimin's lips. He narrowed his eyes slightly, immersed in it, feeling the supreme intoxication at the moment, which was superior to all living beings.

Li Yan curled his lips secretly. This feeling was something he had experienced during the last few days in the Qing Dynasty. It was indeed intoxicating, as if he was flying in the clouds and was out of the world. Therefore, Li Yan held court almost every day during the last ten days in the Qing Dynasty.

Li Yan believed that even if he became the president of a great country in the future, he would not be able to enjoy such supreme enjoyment.

It is said that when the sun shines brightly in Xianyang and the moon is high in the sky, the saints throughout the ages soar into the purple sky; the Great Wall is so powerful that the spring scenery of the nine provinces bows down.

The feeling of being the only one valuable among so many people is something that cannot be achieved by any amount of material enjoyment. No wonder Li Shimin would be briefly addicted to it. Li Yan could understand Li's current mood very well. It was a feeling of wanting to live another 500 years.

It took only a few seconds for Li Shimin to come back to his senses. His face became solemn, and he waved his sleeves and uttered a few words majestically: "All the people, please stand up!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty"

By the time all the princes and ministers stood up, Li Shimin had returned to his original state and slowly sat down on the dragon throne.

Wang De slowly waved the whisk in his hand, stepped forward from Dan's side, and said solemnly: "The emperor is in the court, and the ministers have something to report."

This is the last procedure before going to court. Usually at this time, Zuo Pushe Fang Xuanling would first report some things that had been discussed with several ministers in the Hongwen Hall or Chengqing Hall. All of them were finalized. It would be better to say that it was a report than to let the officials, big and small, below know the recent work focus and trends of the court.

Today was the same as usual. After Fang Xuanling and the ministers of various ministries had made their reports, about an hour had passed. Usually, the court meeting would be almost over by this time. Li Shimin then said, "The condition of the Minister of War and Right Prime Minister Du Ruhui has become increasingly serious. Many things have been delayed, especially the matters of the Ministry of War, which are all urgent matters."

"Du Ruhui submitted his resignation some time ago, and I have approved it. You should discuss and see who in the court can take on this position, and nominate a list of names."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Fang Xuanling stepped forward and responded.

This left two important positions vacant, which was enough to stir the hearts of the ministers. Li Shimin smiled slightly and said, "If there is nothing else to do, let's withdraw from the court."

"Your Majesty, I have something to report."

At this moment, an abrupt voice came from among the civil officials. The drowsy officials were immediately startled, knowing that the highlight of today was about to begin. Li Ke and Li Tai turned their heads to look at each other reflexively.

There was an irrepressible joy in their eyes. As for the prince, they could not take the lead and could only support and cheer from behind.

Otherwise, if the prince fell, they would also be hated by Li Shimin.

When they were discussing before, both of them wanted the other to take the lead, killing two birds with one stone and calculating the other side as well, but they had all been foxes for more than ten years and knew the cruelty involved, so neither of them fell into the trap, and in the end they had to use Wei Zheng to take action.

(End of this chapter)