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

Chapter 785: Cen Wenben, this old dog?

He hurried into the inner duty room and handed the minister on duty today, Changsun Wuji, "Lord Changsun, the Ministry of War has sent an urgent message eight hundred miles away. Mayi has been surrounded by Turkic cavalry. The report from the Yuan governor said that the cavalry besieging the city is as many as 70,000 to 80,000, and they are also carrying the large banner of Jie Li."

"Mayi? Jie Li?"

Zhang Sun Wuji, who was handling official documents, put down his pen, rubbed his temples with his hands, and asked in confusion: "Hasn't Jie Li always been in the Yinshan and Yellow River area? How did he run to Hedong Road? How many years has nothing happened in Mayi?"

"What is wrong with Jie Li again?"

Changsun Wuji reached out to take the report and read it carefully, thinking about the intention of Jie Li's move. When he saw that the Turkic army of nearly 100,000 surrounded Mayi, a city with only 3,000 defenders, but did not attack it, he was suddenly shocked, thinking that the prince was going to pass through Mayi on this trip.

Calculating the time, the siege of the city started three days ago, and at that time, the prince and his entourage just entered Mayi.

"It's over, it's over, something terrible has happened."

Changsun Wuji's body suddenly stiffened, his face turned pale, his scalp felt like it was exploding, and he no longer cared about the dignity of a prime minister. He hurriedly picked up the petition and ran towards Chengqing Palace.

The servant was a little at a loss. Seeing that Changsun was so disregarding his image, he secretly despised him and said, "It's just Mayi. In these years, the Tang Dynasty has lost three or five border towns every year, and each of them is bigger than Mayi. Is there any need to panic like this?"

"You Pushe, you are so impatient, bah."

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened."

With a look of horror on his face, Changsun Wuji rushed into Chengqing Hall, shouting all the way. Even Ma Xuanliang at the door did not dare to stop him. He quickly stepped aside and let Changsun Wuji, who was like a mad dog, in.

Li Shimin, who was reviewing memorials in the palace, saw Zhangsun Wuji's appearance, frowned, and rebuked him unhappily: "Fuji, you are now the right servant, why are you still so irritable? What's the big deal? You even ignore the etiquette between the emperor and his subjects?"

"Your Majesty, please take a look!"

Zhang Sun Wuji angrily threw the document onto the imperial desk: "The governor of Mayi has sent an urgent message of eight hundred miles. Jie Li has surrounded Mayi with nearly 100,000 troops?"

"Mayi?"

Li Shimin didn't react for a while, and asked in confusion: "Why would the Turks attack Hedong Road?"

"Oh, my emperor, you are really forgetful."

Zhang Sun Wuji was extremely angry and lowered his voice to remind him, "Have you forgotten that the crown prince went to the alliance with Tuli on your behalf?"

"What, you mean." Li Shimin's heart skipped a beat and he couldn't help but stand up, his face pale with horror, his eyes suddenly widened.

"According to the route we planned in advance, the prince arrived in Mayi three days ago!"

After Changsun Wuji finished speaking, he said angrily: "Mayi is a place of trade and circulation agreed upon by both sides, and there are many Turkic merchants there. Logically speaking, the Turks will not attack there. Even if they want to take over Mayi, 10,000 or 20,000 people are enough."

"It's not worth it for Jie Li to go to such great lengths to mobilize an army of 100,000?"

"Someone among us must have leaked the intention and itinerary of the Crown Prince's trip to Jie Li. Do they want to use the Turks to get rid of the Crown Prince?"

Chang Sun Wuji was used to playing tricks and schemes, and the first thing that came to his mind was conspiracy theories. He was convinced that it was the factional struggles in the court that led to the prince's danger. Seeing that those people had already lost their composure and were willing to do whatever they wanted, he no longer cared about anything and started attacking without restraint.

Li Shimin's face was also very ugly, but as an emperor, he did not lose his composure like Zhangsun Wuji did, and quickly ordered: "Wang De, call Ma Xuanliang in."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Wang De, who was standing in a corner of the hall serving, had probably guessed something at this time and was even more frightened. He hurried out and called Ma Xuanliang who was at the door.

Before Ma Xuanliang could salute, Li Shimin could not wait to ask: "Ma Xuanliang, I want to ask you, where did the prince and his party go?"

"Your Majesty, according to secret reports, the Crown Prince passed through Gang County four days ago, and there has been no news since then."

Ma Xuanliang looked at Zhangsun Wuji, thought for a while and said, "But according to the prince's schedule, he should have arrived in Mayi three days ago."

"After Mayi, we will reach the Turkic territory. Normally, the prince and his entourage will rest in Mayi for two days and make some supplements before setting off again. If everything goes well, we should have crossed the Sanggan River and entered the heart of the grassland."

"Look, look!"

Before Ma Xuanliang finished speaking, Changsun Wuji could not wait to interrupt him and said, "I was just wondering, how could it be such a coincidence that the Turks surrounded the city just when Cheng Qian arrived in Mayi, and they mobilized so many people."

"Except for going to Cheng Qian, I can't think of anything else in Mayi that can attract Jie Li?" Speaking of the latter part, Changsun Wuji was already very distressed and cried regardless of the occasion: "My poor nephew, he has suffered so many disasters at such a young age. He just came back from Zhongshan three years ago, and before he could enjoy a single day of happiness, he was sent to the clutches of Luo Yi by that old dog Feng Deyi."

"I finally came back alive, but Luo Yi tortured me like a ghost."

"This time, I was sent to Turkic for the safety of the Tang Dynasty, but was used as a tool by those treacherous officials in the court to kill people."

"Cheng Qian has been kind and righteous since he was young. He respects his parents and loves his brothers. What has he done wrong? His biggest mistake is that he shouldn't be the crown prince. He is blocking the way for others. That's why those people are desperate to kill him and make room for them."

The more Changsun Wuji spoke, the more sad and angry he became. Thinking that his nephew, who was usually very close to him and whom he treated as his own son, was now in Jie Li's hands and his life was in danger, he felt a pang of pain in his heart.

As if he had thought of something, Changsun Wuji gnashed his teeth and shouted, "Cen Wenben?"

"He is Li Ke's man. We were the only ones present that day who knew the inside story. Fang Xuanling is mature and steady, Wei Zheng is an open-minded gentleman, Xuan Su is the Grand Tutor, and he has contacted Tuli. He is the most likely person among them."

"It must be this old dog. He appears to be hypocritical and considerate of the overall situation, but in fact he is extremely cunning and treacherous, and is bent on planning for the position of the Eastern Palace for the King of Shu."

"If something happens to the crown prince, the King of Shu will become the eldest son and can replace the crown prince. He and the King of Shu will be the biggest beneficiaries. By using the Turks, the crown prince can be removed without anyone noticing. What a good plan!"

"Your Majesty, you must take care of my poor nephew. He got into trouble on behalf of your father, the Emperor."

Changsun Wuji had a rather reckless attitude, as if we were all going to die together, he spoke without restraint and attacked indiscriminately.

Although Changsun Wuji's attitude was very arrogant and domineering, Li Shimin didn't care about it. What Changsun Wuji said made a lot of sense. Besides, Li Shimin couldn't think of why Jie Li wanted to attack Mayi at this juncture.

There are countless strong cities along the Hedong line. Since the Yellow River and Yinshan Mountains fell into the hands of the Turks, the northern gate of Guannei Road has been opened. The Turks have repeatedly invaded the Tang Dynasty, and they all went directly into the capital from Guannei. The capital of the Tang Dynasty was Chang'an, and the Turks could easily enter Guanzhong from here.

We have already given up on the strategy of attacking Hedong. What's the point of conquering a small city like Mayi?

Unless he had received the prince's itinerary in advance, Li Shimin was furious when he thought of this. Veins on his forehead throbbed, his teeth clenched, his cheeks bulged, and he ordered murderously, "Ma Xuanliang, ask Cen Wenben to come and see me."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The information from the Hundred Cavalry Division was not as fast as the 800-li express from the imperial court. Ma Xuanliang, listening to the conversation between Li Shimin and Zhangsun Wuji, had guessed that something had happened to the crown prince, and he was extremely frightened. Thinking that the crown prince had always been nice to him, his face was gloomy at this moment.

Chongrenfang is located on the east side of the imperial city. It is inhabited by high-ranking officials in the court. Corning Street is the main road where important officials above the third rank gather. On both sides are mansions with tall houseplates and deep courtyards.

Changsun Wuji's mansion is on this street, but on the west side near the imperial city, while Cen Wenben's mansion is on the east side near the East Market.

Cen Wenben was not on duty today and returned home after the court session.

At this time, Cen Wenben was drinking tea and playing chess in his house, wearing a loose Shu brocade shirt. He had no idea that a disaster was about to happen. He looked relaxed, made his moves calmly, with a confident smile in his eyes, and his demeanor was undoubtedly revealed.

Sitting opposite him was Li Ke, the Prince of Shu, who had just recovered from his injuries.

At the end of the game, Li Ke threw in the towel and said with a smile, "Sir, you are able to do three things at once, and your chess skills are superb. I am really far behind you. If it were Zhe Wei, I could still beat him by a few moves, but when it comes to you, I have no choice but to bow my head and admit defeat."

"Haha, the reason why I can stand firm in the court despite many storms is that I can do three things at once. I not only keep an eye on myself, but also on my opponents, and pay attention to those who are watching. Only in this way can I have a comprehensive view of the whole situation without missing anything."

"Your Highness is very talented and is good at both civil and military affairs."

Cen Wenben stroked his beard and said with a smile, "It's just that you are just full of vigor and have little experience of hardships and trials, so you are a little impatient. When you do things, you are greedy and reckless, and you are eager to achieve success, which makes it easy for you to fall into the trap set for you by others."

"That's what happened last time between Chi Deli and Hou Junji."

"If Your Highness can reflect on himself after this setback, do things prudently and avoid taking risks, you will surely become a great man in time."

Li Ke was very annoyed by Cen Wenben's constant teachings, like he was teaching his grandson. However, today he had a request from Cen Wenben, so he pretended to be educated and said seriously, "Sir, I will definitely remember your teachings."

"By the way, sir, I asked you to help me find out about Wan Ji. How is your information going?"

There was a flash of disappointment in Cen Wenben's eyes. He had been in officialdom for a long time and pleased countless people. How could he not see that Li Ke was being perfunctory!
Then he sighed and shook his head: "Quan Wanji is now a close minister of the emperor, but he is not on the same path as me. Isn't he your man?"

"Why don't you just ask him directly? Isn't it a waste of time to ask me?"

(End of this chapter)