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Chapter 983: Wang Xuance, the Mastermind Behind the Scenes (Part )
Wang Xuance was not too worried about these core ministers. There were spies of the Embroidered Uniform Guard around these people. Li Ji and Li Daliang, the two generals who held military power, had their own spies and ears around their deputy generals.

He knew that these people were all Li Shimin's team, and they supported Prince of Jin only at Li Shimin's instruction.

However, there were some ministers, such as Su Xu, Gao Ji Fu, Zhang Xingcheng and others, who had somehow gotten together with the Prince of Jin. These were things that the Jinyiwei had no idea about, and this made Wang Xuance secretly alert.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard is not omnipotent. Even the emperor may not know all the connections of some princes.

Changsun Wuji secretly defected to Prince of Jin. Wang Xuance learned about this by chance from a spy around Prince of Jin who reported that Prince of Jin had secretly met Changsun Wuji several times in his villa in the south of the city.

Wang Xuance looked at Changsun Wuji, who was keeping a distance from Prince of Jin in the crowd with a gloomy face, and secretly despised him in his heart.

This old fox is obviously a member of the prince's party.

However, after the prince disappeared, he got involved with the King of Wei. Everyone thought that he had defected to the King of Wei, but in fact he was secretly plotting against the King of Jin.

In Wang Xuance's eyes, it was not that Changsun Wuji was optimistic about Prince of Jin, nor was it that he had really pledged allegiance to anyone. It was that he had not pledged allegiance to anyone. It was just that among these princes, Changsun Wuji had placed his bets on all of them, some openly and some secretly.

No matter who is elected as the crown prince, he will be invincible.

At the last moment today, Changsun Wuji did not personally say the name of the prince he wanted to nominate, but followed the crowd.

Although his attitude was expressed, it was very vague. On the surface, it was not even clearer than Fang Xuanling's.

Why? Isn't it because he is afraid that if things fail, his true intentions will be exposed and he will repeat the mistakes of Cen Wenben?

Since Li Shimin could play a trick on Cen Wenben, why wouldn't he remove the old fox Changsun Wuji from the confidants of the new crown prince?

Over the past decade, Wang Xuance has also seen clearly that on the surface, Zhangsun Wuji and Li Shimin, the pair of partners, trust each other very much, but in fact they are secretly on guard, responding carefully, seeking unity in the struggle, and quietly playing games under the surface harmony.

Li Shimin has not been able to completely subdue Changsun Wuji until now, and Changsun Wuji has not completely submitted to Li Shimin.

If we were to say who Changsun Wuji really resembled, and if we were to look for a similar minister in history, it would undoubtedly be the old thief Sima Yi, who was shrewd and calculating, lying in wait, striking at the critical moment, and finally usurping the foundation of Cao Wei.

No wonder the prince told me to be on guard against Zhangsun Wuji before he left, and not to reveal any information about the Embroidered Uniform Guard to him.

I'm afraid that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has already seen through this man's heart. If it weren't for the Crown Prince's reminder, I would really be deceived by his superficial behavior. After all, there are too many ministers in the court, and Wang Xuance has limited energy to spend on each of them.

Unless you emphasize it, you won’t be able to notice those people who are in hiding in the court.

Fortunately, since the Crown Prince reminded him, no matter how low-key Changsun Wuji behaved, he could not escape Wang Xuance's sight. Especially after he learned that he had once been in charge of the Hundred Cavalry Division for Li Shimin, he made him the most important target.

Only by observing him with extreme caution can you truly understand him.

This is a person similar to an emperor or a prince, who has devoted his life to hiding behind the scenes and controlling the overall situation. As to whether he will eventually become Sima Yi, it does not depend on him, but on what kind of monarch he will meet.

When he meets a strong king, he is a loyal and wise minister; when he meets a puppet emperor, he is a powerful and treacherous minister, or even a traitor who usurps the country.

Wang Xuance sighed in his heart that he had grown the fastest under the hands of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. What he got today was too much and too precious.

Since I met Hou Junji yesterday, I learned that General Hou was going to do something big.

Wang Xuance contacted the Shidu group overnight. He did not reveal anything about Li Yan, but the Shidu group knew that Wang Xuance had the closest relationship with the prince, even more important than Xue Rengui. If there was one person who knew the whereabouts of the prince, it would be Wang Xuance.

Every time they asked Wang Xuance about the whereabouts of the crown prince, Wang Xuance remained very calm and told them with confidence that the crown prince would come back naturally when it was time, and they just had to do their respective jobs well and not disappoint the crown prince when he returned.

So everyone naturally believed that Wang Xuance knew the prince's true situation and was observing them in secret, so they all redoubled their efforts to live up to the prince's expectations.

Of course, Li Shimin had also heard of this situation and asked about it in person.

Wang Xuance just said that he believed that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would not get into trouble so easily, and that he would definitely come back one day. He wanted to stabilize the situation and the people's hearts for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Li Shimin just smiled when he heard this. Instead of being afraid, he thought that Wang Xuance was showing his loyalty to his old master.

This was also due to the fact that Li Yan left when Li Shimin valued him the most and the relationship between father and son was the best, so there was no conflict between father and son due to the overlap of power. Before Li Shimin had time to be afraid, Li Yan "died". What was left was the longing and concern that blood is thicker than water!

Seeing that his subjects were so nostalgic, Li Shimin was very impressed. He felt that this was the performance of a loyal minister and a filial son, and he appreciated Wang Xuance even more.

However, as an emperor, he was also suspicious and did not completely believe Wang Xuance's one-sided words. Li Shimin knew through the people planted by the Jinyiwei and feedback from various parties that Wang Xuance, like him, did not know the whereabouts or life or death of the prince.

I didn't take it to heart anymore.

At this time, Wang Xuance informed them that they would support Hou Junji in the court the next day. No one said a word. Regardless of whether it was the prince's intention or the need to maintain a small group, they had to stick together in order to survive in the power field.

What happened in the court later was far beyond Wang Xuance's expectations.

Because of their firm support, Zhang Xuansu, Kong Yingda, Du Zhenglun and other old officials of the Eastern Palace also stood up. Yu Zhining was the left son of the Eastern Palace appointed by Li Shimin later. It was his instinct to advance and retreat with the officials of the Eastern Palace.

Ma Zhou and Linghu Defeng protected the Eastern Palace because of Princess Ankang's attitude.

Chang Sheng, let alone, had no good feelings towards Li Shimin, and he was the first to rush up to the East Palace. Even if he was asked to play the role of Yuchi Jingde and put Li Shimin under house arrest, he probably had no psychological barriers.

The strength demonstrated by the Eastern Palace gave the King of Wu and the King of Wei hope to counter Li Shimin and stop the King of Jin from entering the Eastern Palace. Finally, due to coincidences, a domino effect occurred, leading to the entire court's defection.

Not only Hou Junji was stunned by this, even Wang Xuance was caught off guard.

However, Wang Xuance was not too worried. If Li Shimin was in good health, he would definitely investigate and retaliate. But now Li Shimin himself was in danger, and as a confidant who controlled the secret organization, only he and Quan Wanji knew about it.

Li Shimin was so weak now that he was almost on the verge of losing control of the court.

It wasn't that there was something wrong with the Jinyiwei and the Baiqisi, but because after Li Shimin's physical collapse, people's hearts were scattered and they were looking for a new power core to rely on, which led to the original power structure becoming loose from the foundation.

After spending nearly twenty years in the core of power, Wang Xuance already knew that five points of power in the Tang Dynasty were in the hands of the aristocratic families, three points were in the hands of the emperor, and the remaining two points were divided among the princes and court officials. This was almost an unspoken secret among the upper class.

But Wang Xuance knew better that five points of power in the world were in the hands of the crown prince, two points were in the hands of the aristocratic families, two points were in the hands of the emperor, and one point was in the hands of the ministers.

The chess game of Chang'an was neither under the control of Li Shimin nor in the plans of the aristocratic families, but in the calculations of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the actual controller of the Great Turkic Khanate in the Irtysh River Valley in the distant grassland.

But Li Shimin was not aware that his Tang Dynasty had an unparalleled foundation, as solid as a rock and as stable as Mount Tai. He only knew that he was about to fail, so he couldn't wait to establish a new power core immediately to ensure a smooth transition of power.

What Hou Junji and Wang Xuance have to do is to do the opposite. Before His Royal Highness the Crown Prince returns, let the chaotic situation continue and not form a new power core for the time being. Keep that position vacant and wait for its real owner.

Wang Xuance looked at Li Zhi and his supporters who were walking away and shook his head slightly. They felt that Hou Junji was blocking their way.

However, Wang Xuance knew that Hou Junji's action saved them.

That chair already had a new owner, and it was just being loaned out temporarily to Li Shimin to sit on.

The prince's strength is far stronger than Li Shimin, and his foundation is deeper than all the princes combined.

The only person I am afraid of is the emperor!
The prince is willing to let his father stay in this position until his death, but that doesn't mean he can tolerate others.

Now that Li Shimin's time is running out, the crown prince's return as a king is just around the corner.

If he came back and found that someone else had taken his place, he would definitely poke a hole in the sky and turn the world upside down. He would kill people and make rivers of blood, no matter who it was or how many people were involved.
No matter how many people support King Jin, the final outcome is death. There is no other way.

Since the final result is predetermined, we must strive for a perfect ending and leave a glorious mark in the history books. This is also the pursuit of the prince who traveled far away from home, and he must not let the dirty things like the bloody Xuanwu Gate happen again.

Wang Xuance felt that if he watched such a thing happen, the person His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would really blame was not anyone else but himself. This was also a test that His Royal Highness had left for him. If he really messed up, the Crown Prince would have to clean up the mess.

That would undoubtedly affect his evaluation in the eyes of the Crown Prince and his position in the new dynasty.

Therefore, when Hou Junji appeared yesterday, Wang Xuance knew that his real master was coming back and Li Shimin had automatically become the emperor. Wang Xuance gave up all his worries, mobilized all the power of the Jinyiwei, and began to monitor the entire Chang'an.

(End of this chapter)