Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 229: The Emperor is rubbing salt into His Majesty's wounds! [Long chapter, please give me a monthly ticket]

"Prince Hejian, Prince Jiangxia, you two can chat first. I have something to report to His Majesty, so I won't be here with you any longer!"

Seeing that Wei Zheng and Li Chengqian were getting happier and happier as they talked, Yun Duan felt more and more that something was wrong. Coupled with what Li Chengqian had just said, he felt that he needed to report to Li Shimin.

Just as he was about to say goodbye to Li Daozong and Li Xiaogong, Li Xiaogong stopped him and said, "What urgent matter could Commander Yun have? Can't you see that His Majesty is watching the game with the Emperor?"

"Yes, Commander Yun, think about it yourself. Has His Majesty and the Emperor done this since the ninth year of Wude?" Li Daozon on the side also echoed.

"But I really have something important to report to His Majesty!"

Yun Duan didn't know why Li Dao Zong and the other two stopped him, but he was still looking for an excuse to leave.

However, Li Xiaogong had no intention of letting him go. He smiled and changed the subject, "Commander Yun, I remember you were with His Majesty when we fought Wang Shichong, right?"

"This"

Yunduan hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Prince Hejian remembers correctly. When fighting Wang Shichong, I followed His Majesty into battle and blocked an arrow for him. Later, I became His Majesty's personal guard!"

"Huh, why do I remember there was another person who also served as your majesty's personal guard?" Li Daozon exclaimed lightly.

Yunduan glanced at him and said, "Could it be that King Jiangxia is talking about Kuisan?"

"Oh yes, yes, I remember now, it's Kui San!"

Li Dao Zong slapped his forehead and asked, "Where did he go?"

"I don't know about this matter, you have to ask His Majesty!"

Yunduan replied with a frown, then tried to say goodbye and leave.

At this moment, Li Xueyan, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said, "Look, the Red Armor team has a new commander!"

"Ok?"

Li Daozon, Li Xiaogong, and Yunduan were all stunned and looked in the direction of the voice.

Hou Junji appeared at the command seat of the Red Armor Team at some point.

The original commander of the Red Armor Team, Su Dingfang, is nowhere to be found.

"How is this going?"

Li Daozon and the other two looked at each other.

But then Li Xueyan continued, "I just saw Duke Lu, Duke Wu and the others go to see His Majesty. Then His Majesty and the Emperor stood up, and Duke Lu replaced the original commander of the Red Armor Team!"

"This"

The three of them looked at each other, all silent.

It was obvious that something must have happened to Li Shimin that they were unaware of, otherwise such a change would not have occurred.

But when he saw the changes on Li Shimin's side, Yun Duan immediately gave up his previous thoughts.

Because judging from the current situation, Li Chengqian's ambition is indeed astonishing, but what happened between the retired emperor and the emperor seems to be more important.

After all, Li Shimin has always been on guard against Li Yuan's restoration.

And now, as long as he keeps a close eye on Li Chengqian, Li Yuan alone should not be able to change anything.

But then Yunduan said in a deep voice: "My two princes, I have to go to the Crown Prince to report this matter, so I won't be here with you anymore!"

After saying this, he left without saying anything else, giving Li Daozon and Li Xiaogong no chance to stop him.

After Li Daozon and Li Xiaogong watched him leave, they smiled at each other.

Although they didn't communicate anything, their minds started to become active after Li Chengqian said that there would be two people in charge of the Tang Dynasty.

Because they know very well what this sentence means.

Moreover, Li Chengqian's attitude towards the royal family was obviously better than Li Shimin's.

It goes without saying who they will support.

Therefore, they took that seemingly unreasonable yet reasonable action towards Yunduan.

On the other side, the conversation between Li Chengqian and Wei Zheng entered a new stage.

"Master Wei, you have evidence from Hebei Province, and I have evidence from Henan Province. If we expose their scandal, we can finally put the final nail in the coffin. Don't you agree?"

Li Chengqian smiled and looked at Wei Zheng and said.

But Wei Zheng remained silent.

Li Chengqian chuckled again and analyzed, "The Five Surnames and Seven Families have been managing Hebei and Henan for hundreds of years. Most of the local officials of the imperial court are their followers. Since the drought in the first year of the Zhenguan period, they have been defeated by me three times. No one will sit idly by and wait for death."

"Even though they're dormant now, there's a saying from ancient times: 'Strike while you're sick, and you'll be dead.' I can't wait for them to recover before dealing with them."

Having said this, he paused and continued, "In my opinion, the Five Surnames and Seven Families are already surrounded by enemies on all sides. Looking at the various clans in the Tang Dynasty, no matter what they do, they will find it difficult to reverse the decline."

"Lord Wei doesn't want to be associated with the aristocratic families, but he doesn't dare to offend them. It's simply because his descendants are not good enough that he has to compromise and cling to them."

Wei Zheng was struck by what he was thinking, and for a moment he felt a little lost: "The ups and downs of officialdom are unpredictable. How many people can understand my heart?"

After saying this, he couldn't help but put his hands behind his back and frowned.

The two of them were silently processing their own thoughts when suddenly Yunduan came hurriedly and reported, "Your Highness, Duke Lu has replaced Commander Su and is directing the Red Armor team's second half!"

"Ok?"

Li Chengqian was slightly startled, then he looked towards the center of the field and saw Hou Junji. He frowned and asked, "What's going on?"

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, don't you know?" Yun Duan asked with a blink of his eyes.

Li Chengqian's face darkened. "Why would I know this? Are you doubting me?"

"Don't dare!"

Yun Duan quickly bowed and said, "I just learned about this as well. Perhaps it has something to do with Your Majesty and the Emperor!"

"presumptuous!"

Wei Zheng shouted angrily, "Commander Yun, what is your crime for presuming the emperor's will without any investigation?"

"This"

Yun Duan was slightly surprised and thought to himself, "Are you really angry? You're so angry!?"

But before he could open his mouth to explain, Li Chengqian asked again, "What does Lord Wei think of the Duke of Lu?"

"What does Your Highness the Crown Prince mean?" Wei Zheng asked in confusion.

"Just what do you think of him?"

"This"

Wei Zheng hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Yunduan and said thoughtfully, "He is your Majesty's original and meritorious minister. When your Majesty was the King of Qin, he was a rare general with both courage and wisdom. Therefore, I think he has the talent to be a prime minister!"

"Oh?"

Li Chengqian raised his eyebrows: "Lord Wei said that Hou Junji has the talent to be a prime minister?"

"The so-called prime minister's talent is to be able to observe the trend and plan the overall situation. Speaking of this, I think Du Zhenglun also has the talent of a prime minister!"

"is it?"

Li Chengqian's expression became a little strange.

Because the two people mentioned by Wei Zheng did not have a good ending.

One of them was his original accomplice in the rebellion.

Therefore, it can be seen that Wei Zheng was good at giving advice but not very good at judging people.

As if seeing through Li Chengqian's disappointment in him, Wei Zheng explained awkwardly, "Actually, it is the Right Prime Minister's job to discover talents. I just think these two people can accomplish great things."

"Oh, then do you think Hou Junji can win?"

"As far as I know, Duke Lu once studied military tactics under General Li Jing, and this rugby game seems to also contain some military tactics. Therefore, I think Duke Lu can win."

"Ah!"

Li Chengqian smiled: "Since Lord Wei thinks Hou Junji can win, how about we make a bet?"

"This"

Wei Zheng hesitated for a moment, then turned his head to look at Yunduan and asked, "What's the bet?"

Li Chengqian thought for a moment and said with a smile, "If I lose, I will marry my sister to the Wei family as a daughter-in-law. If I win, Lord Wei, how about doing me a favor?"

"Uh,"

Wei Zheng's mouth twitched, and he thought to himself, you really dare to gamble!
However, Wei Zheng was still quite confident in Hou Junji's ability, so he pondered and said, "This kind of bet doesn't seem interesting to me. How about we bet on something else?"

"Oh?"

Li Chengqian's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but ask, "What does Lord Wei want to bet on?"

"If I win, how about the prince listening to my advice?"

"Heh, it seems that Lord Wei doesn't have much confidence in me!"

"Then will the prince gamble?"

"bet!"

Li Chengqian agreed concisely.

Although Hou Junji did have some ability, this competition was designed by him, and Hou Junji only watched half of the game. For him, who designed the rules of the game, this was simply a disrespect.

What's more, Xue Rengui and Su Dingfang are both his men. Did he really waste all the time training them?
Moreover, Li Chengqian also had a hunch that the changes in Li Yuan and Li Shimin's affairs should also be related to this game.

If Yunduan wasn't here, he would probably have sent someone to find Li Yuan as soon as possible.

Now Yunduan has come here, ostensibly to inform him, but actually to monitor him.

If he acts rashly, something unexpected might happen to Li Yuan again.

So, he could only wait quietly for the results and do nothing.

Thinking of this, Li Chengqian couldn't help but look at Yunduan deeply, and he was very impressed by the sharpness of the commander of the imperial guards.

At the same time, as soon as Hou Junji arrived at the stadium, he gave instructions to Su Dingfang's team, as if to say, "If you want to win, rely on me."

This made Su Dingfang, who was standing next to him, very unhappy.

However, Xue Rengui, who was also talking to the team members, looked at Hou Junji with a look of contempt on his face.

Finally, after a whistle, Du Caigan raised the green flag in his hand, signaling the players to start the second half.

However, Hou Junji's players seemed to have some objections to his tactics. But every time a player wanted to say something, he was interrupted by Hou Junji and could only obey his orders.

After all, the command is in his hands.

Even Su Dingfang who was standing by was unable to intervene.

At the same time, Xue Rengui finished explaining the tactics and let the players enter the field one after another.

Soon, Hou Junji's side formed a battle formation.

Compared with Xue Rengui's deployment, Hou Junji's formation is more scattered, and it feels a bit deliberate, which makes people wonder who his main players are?

In contrast, Xue Rengui also arranged his formation, but it was not much different from the formation he used in normal training. It seemed that he did not adjust the formation specifically because of Hou Junji's deliberate trickery.

"Prepare--!"

Du Caigan gave the order and the second half suddenly began.

Unlike the first half, the collisions in the second half were not intense.

Because Hou Junji's formation was scattered and could not achieve a dense collision, the visual effect was naturally greatly reduced.

The advantage of doing this is that the football can smoothly reach his own defense zone, and then pass it without hesitation, aiming for the right side.

Hou Junji, who was directing the game off the field, couldn't help but shout loudly.

Almost at the same time, the receiver on the right side successfully caught the ball, and then moved forward under the cover of his teammates.

Although it was Hou Junji's first time to coach a rugby game, he did understand some of the secrets.

If nothing else, the pass was a success.

And because of the dispersed formation, the receiver ran to the defense's first defense zone very early.

His teammates passed the ball very decisively, allowing him to catch the ball steadily in the first place.

Such a rapid advancement made Li Shimin's eyes light up in the stands, because this had never happened in the first half of the game.

"Hahaha! It seems Hou Junji's comprehension is indeed quite good, and the results are very significant!"

Li Shimin laughed out loud, looking at Li Yuan beside him from time to time.

Seeing that Li Yuan was calm and composed, he awkwardly restrained his laughter and had a pleasant conversation with Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and others.

Obviously, they thought Hou Junji should win this game.

At the same time, Xue Rengui did not panic at all. Instead, Su Dingfang outside the field looked at him with a depressed face, as if he was envious of his good luck.

Sure enough, the situation changed quickly.

The player of the Red Armor team, who seemed to be very stable in receiving the ball, advanced towards the opponent's second defense zone after taking the initiative. However, due to the dispersed formation, he had no teammates around him to cover him, and the opponent's defensive players surrounded him in time.

This is a very rare situation in rugby.

The players of the Red Armor Team were surrounded by the players of the Black Armor Team from all directions, and there was no teammate to help him open a breakthrough.

In this situation, if the players of the Red Armor team hesitated for a moment, they would be knocked to the ground by the players of the Black Armor team behind them.

"How could this be?"

Li Shimin stood on the high platform and could tell something was wrong at a glance.

Li Yuan, who was standing aside, just smiled and said nothing.

It's like your dad is still your dad.

At this time, Hou Junji's expression was a little ugly.

Because they broke through the first defense zone so quickly, but were intercepted outside the second defense zone so quickly, they didn't even have a chance to score, which was equivalent to wasting an offensive opportunity.

"hateful!"

Although Hou Junji was very depressed for wasting an offensive opportunity, he still believed that he could turn defeat into victory, so he immediately called his players together and prepared to change tactics.

But when the players heard his tactics, they had no confidence at all, just like before, they always seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Soon, the second attack began.

Under Hou Junji's deployment, the formation was still a dispersed formation, but there was one less player in the offensive backcourt, which meant that Hou Junji's strategy had changed.

No longer advancing into the opponent's defense zone as quickly as before.

And so, the attack began.

Hou Junji was still running outside the field, shouting, "Quick! Run!"

At the opening moment, there was also not a very intense collision. The 'quarterback' of the Red Armor team quickly retreated to his own backfield, looking for a pass.

But what made him a little embarrassed was that no matter where he ran, there was someone following closely behind him, making it impossible for him to pass the ball.

This made Hou Junji outside the field gather his strength and kept shouting, "Pass the ball! Pass the ball quickly!"

"Are you pigs? What are you standing there for?"

"Ouch! I'm almost dying of anxiety!"

Although Hou Junji was eager to go on the court at this moment, no one heard all his shouts.

At this moment, a player from the Black Armor team suddenly rushed out from the chaotic center line, approached from the blind spot of the Red Armor team's 'quarterback', and jumped from the right side of the 'quarterback' before Hou Junji could react.

The quarterback of the Red Armor team didn't notice the player of the Black Armor team at all and was hit directly by the opponent.

Then he fell to the ground and rolled a few times.

Such a sudden change immediately caused chaos on the field. Not only did the red-armored players who came to provide cover rush forward, but the other black-armored players also rushed forward.

This situation also did not happen in the first half.

This made Hou Junji suddenly at a loss and he had no idea how to respond.

But at this moment, the Black Armor team player who rushed over first climbed up from the crowd and raised the football in his hand high.

Although he was quickly tackled by the Red Armor team's players again, he caused thunderous cheers from the audience who knew football.

"Capture and kill!"

Li Chengqian's mouth corners slightly raised, revealing a relieved smile.

But Yun Duan, standing by, asked, confused, "May I ask, Your Highness, what does it mean to capture and kill?"

"This"

Li Chengqian hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Wei Zheng, who was equally puzzled, and explained with a smile, "A capture is when the attacking team fails to advance into the opponent's defense and loses the ball while still in their own backfield. It's similar to intercepting the ball in polo!"

In fact, such a thing never happened when Su Dingfang and Xue Rengui were training.

Because both of them received guidance from Li Chengqian, they were evenly matched in the match.

It's unlikely that this will happen.

As a result, it happened as soon as Hou Junji gave the order.

Xue Rengui outside the field jumped up excitedly, and then high-fived the cheering players to celebrate.

The officials and servants in the Prince's Mansion who usually supported him also cheered for him loudly.

Because "capturing and killing" would have a huge impact on the enemy's morale, and more importantly, Hou Junji didn't get any chances to attack in the two occasions.

This made Li Chengqian laugh and cry, and also made Li Shimin furious.

"Does Hou Junji know how to command? He didn't even warn his team members when the man ran right up to him!"

"Yeah, both offensive opportunities were wasted!"

"Your Majesty, why don't you let Hou Junji come back and let me take command!"

"Zhijie, shut up!"

Seeing that Li Shimin's face was becoming more and more ugly, Qin Qiong hurriedly scolded Cheng Yaojin for his outspokenness.

Meanwhile, Changsun Wuji, standing by, kindly advised Li Shimin, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. We still have a chance. As long as we score a touchdown, we can turn defeat into victory!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, it's a thirty-point touchdown! We haven't lost yet!"

"Your Majesty! We believe in Duke Lu! He will definitely turn defeat into victory!"

"Pfft-"

When Li Yuan heard the words of comfort from his ministers to Li Shimin, he couldn't help but chuckle.

As far as he knew, Su Dingfang and Xue Rengui had played no less than a hundred games, and there had not been a single 'touchdown', let alone Hou Junji.

Therefore, Li Yuan could almost be 100% sure that Hou Junji would lose.

But he did not dash the hopes of Li Shimin and others.

Because the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

He liked to see the disappointed looks on Li Shimin and others' faces.

Perhaps because he had the same idea as Li Shimin and others, and felt that he could complete the "touchdown", Hou Junji did not give up, but was very excited. After all, when fighting on the battlefield, no one can say that they will win until the last moment.

Of course, he also realized that he had underestimated the game. After coming to his senses, he began to organize the third attack with a relaxed attitude.

The result was as Li Yuan expected. Although the Black Armor Team did not complete a "sack" again, the Red Armor Team did not complete a "touchdown" either.

Ultimately, the Red Armor team ended three offensive opportunities by advancing to the second defense zone.

Just like that, the game ended with the score locked at 25 to 5.

"Wonderful! So wonderful!"

“This is the best game I’ve ever seen!”

"I have to form a football team!"

The ministers and their children in the viewing stands cheered excitedly.

However, the viewing platform for Li Shimin and Li Yuan was completely silent.

Li Shimin never expected that Hou Junji would lose so badly, and his face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

"How about it, Erlang, are you willing to accept the loss?"

Li Yuan saw Li Shimin's extremely grim expression and couldn't help but smile playfully: "How about letting Yuan Tiangang take a look at your face? Look at you, why are you so unlucky?"

I rub!

When Li Shimin heard this, his vision suddenly went dark and he couldn't help but tremble with anger.

Fang Xuanling and others on the side looked at each other when they saw this, not daring to breathe.

If Li Chengqian and Li Shimin were at loggerheads, they might be able to interject a few words.

But they didn't dare to interfere in the conflict between Li Yuan and Li Shimin.

Because this father and son have a deep hatred for each other, anyone who interrupts will be asking for trouble.

After all, the second change of Xuanwu Gate last time was a lesson for us.

Especially Yuchi Gong, who still felt a dull pain in his arm, so he didn't dare to interrupt. He was as timid as a quail, with his head down and no words.

"Alright, I won't waste any more time talking nonsense! I'll accept the loss!"

Seeing that Li Shimin and the others were silent, Li Yuan did not provoke them any further and directly reminded them: "Quickly go and call Cheng Qian over to announce the decree!"

"call!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in his heart, and said through gritted teeth: "Wuji, go call Cheng Qian over!"

"in addition!"

As he spoke, he turned his head to look at the field and said word by word: "Tell Hou Junji to come over and see me!"

"Wait a moment!"

Just as Changsun Wuji was about to agree and retreat, Li Yuan's voice rang out again.

Wow!
The people around him looked at him immediately.

He smiled faintly and said to Changsun Wuji, "When you go get Hou Junji to come over here, have Commanders Su and Xue come over too. They had an exciting match today, and I want to give them a big reward!"

I'll pour it!
Everyone staggered when they heard this.

The emperor is too cruel!

Isn't this just rubbing salt into His Majesty's wounds?

ps: Please give me some monthly tickets.

　Please vote for the monthly ticket, please vote for the monthly ticket, please vote for the monthly ticket. I promised my first helmsman that I would write a little more today.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)