Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Among all the staff members under the Eastern Palace, the only one who can see the essence of things and understand his inner thoughts is Du He.

Pei Xingjian replied with a serious expression: "I will obey your promise and learn from you."

No wonder Du He is so trusted by the prince. His thinking is so highly consistent with that of the prince. How could he not be reused?

Du He stood up, clasped his fists towards Li Chengqian and said, "Your Highness, I'm going back to rest."

"Go."

Li Chengqian smiled and waved his hand.

Ever since he broke his leg, it was inconvenient for him to move frequently, so he ate and slept in the main hall.

Seeing Du He turn around and leave, Pei Xingjian also said goodbye to Li Chengqian.

outside the hall.

Du He whispered to Pei Xingjian who had followed him, "Shou Yue, the reason I asked you to take over this hot potato is to increase your status in the prince's heart."

"The future of the world belongs to the prince. Completely solving the problem of Baekje now will be a great help to the prince."

Among all the current staff members in the Eastern Palace, only Pei Xingjian has not yet fully demonstrated his talents.

As they were about to return to the court to reward their merits, the size of Pei Xingjian's reward would depend not only on his current accumulated military merits and Hou Junji's assistance, but also on the words of Crown Prince Li Chengqian.

Pei Xingjian said gratefully: "Thank you, Prince Consort Du, for your support!"

He felt extremely fortunate in his heart, and he didn't know how many good deeds he had done in his previous life to have so many noble people to help him.

The next day.

When the sun is three poles high.

Inside the main hall of the City Lord's Mansion, people were toasting each other and bursts of laughter could be heard from time to time.

Li Chengqian raised his glass and said, "Generals, I'll toast you again."

"Your Highness, please."

Generals Hou Junji, Li Ji and Zhang Liang raised their glasses and replied with a relaxed look.

After a glass of wine.

Li Chengqian glanced at the generals, then smiled and said, "Generals, the weather is getting colder now. I have decided that the army will return to Chang'an in triumph in 10 days!"

"Yesterday I sent people to inform the generals stationed in the cities of Liaodong and asked them to bring their men to Anshi City."

Everyone looked at each other, then responded with a smile on their faces.

"As ordered!"

As the army was about to return to the capital, they were all extremely excited.

Especially for Hou Junji and Li Ji, they are the two ministers most likely to become the top officials.

Li Chengqian then gave the order: "Duke Ying, you will be responsible for escorting all the people within the territory of Goguryeo."

"You are also responsible for leading the return of the remains of more than 100,000 Sui soldiers outside Liaodong City to Chang'an!"

There are only tens of thousands of civilians and captives left in the territory of Goguryeo, and it is not difficult to escort them back to Chang'an.

Moreover, among these tens of thousands of people, more than half were young women given as rewards to the soldiers.

Goguryeo had been destroyed, and these people had no other way out except to rely wholeheartedly on the Tang Dynasty soldiers.

As for the remains of more than 100,000 former Sui soldiers, they had already been collected by the soldiers and only needed to be loaded onto trucks for transportation.

Li Ji stood up, clasped his fists and said, "As you command!"

Li Chengqian turned to look at Hou Junji and continued to give orders.

"All the spoils we seized from Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla will be handed over to Duke Chen for his care."

"Because the amount of gold and silver seized is too huge, we can let the Goguryeo captives drive the cattle and sheep and carry the goods. Duke Ying, you must cooperate with Duke Chen!"

Hou Junji and Li Ji saluted and bowed to Li Chengqian in unison.

"As ordered!"

Li Chengqian nodded slightly, looked at Zhang Liang, and gave the order with a slightly serious expression.

"Commander-in-Chief Zhang, you will hand over 400 warships under your command to Pei Xingjian, and assign 2000 men to Pei Xingjian's command."

"In addition, you will be responsible for escorting Baekje's royal family, civil and military officials, and a group of young women."

After a pause, Li Chengqian continued.

"Garden the territories of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla, and draw soldiers from your own ranks."

"Leave 2000 soldiers to garrison Baekje, 1000 soldiers to garrison Silla, and 7000 soldiers to garrison Goguryeo!"

"The soldiers will be rotated after the court has new arrangements."

Although these three countries were conquered, the Khitan, Xi, Xun and Mohe in the north still existed, and enough soldiers had to be left behind for defense.

Prevent people from these countries from sending troops to invade these three territories while the Tang soldiers are returning home.

Zhang Liang heard Li Chengqian's slightly unhappy tone, and he knew that Li Chengqian didn't like him shirking responsibility.

His body paused slightly, then he stood up with a complicated expression and accepted the order.

"The final general honors your order!"

Li Chengqian did not continue to pay attention to him, but looked at Pei Xingjian, and a smile appeared on his serious face.

"Keep your promise. You will be in charge of the children of Baekje!"

"The winds are strong at sea, so we must learn more about the climate at sea from the fishermen in Baekje!"

"Avoid being attacked by wind and waves in the vast ocean!"

After hearing what Li Chengqian said, several people in the hall turned their eyes to Zhang Liang at the same time.

Before the battle began, the navy led by Zhang Liang encountered storms and lost thousands of soldiers.

You should know that when Zhang Liang led the navy to war, it was still early spring.

It was the dry season at that time, and the climate was relatively peaceful and stable.

It is now the transition period between autumn and winter. The wind and waves on the sea are more violent than in early spring. If you are unlucky, big problems can easily occur.

Pei Xingjian said solemnly, "I will follow the instructions of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

The Tang Dynasty’s navy was not on the same level as its infantry and cavalry.

These naval forces used to sail on the rivers, and those who had some experience at sea also fished not far from the coast.

They sailed out to sea in large ships, learning everything on the spot.

Half an hour later, everyone had eaten and drunk their fill.

Li Chengqian said loudly: "Generals, time is running out, you all go down and make arrangements."

"As ordered!"

After several generals saluted with fists, they left the hall one after another.

After a while.

Du He said softly to Li Chengqian, "Your Highness, Hou Junji wants to compete for the position of Shangshu You Pushe, and I need you to say a few good words to His Majesty."

Li Chengqian frowned and asked, "Du He, what do you think of Hou Junji?"

Since he contacted Hou Junji privately, Hou Junji has not provided him with any useful help.

When he encountered the crisis of being the deposed crown prince, as long as Du He led him out of the predicament, Hou Junji played a minimal role.

Du He glanced outside the door and then shook his head.

"Hou Junji is obsessed with power. Although he is a little indecisive, he is a staunch supporter of you."

"At present, ministers such as Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian, Li Jing, Yang Shidao and Xiao Yu are old. Your Majesty will promote Hou Junji, Li Ji and Zhang Liang."

"Pushing Hou Junji up will be beneficial to you, the Crown Prince, when you ascend the throne in the future!"

Among the top ministers in the court, the young Zhangsun Wuji is an uncertain factor.

If he also supported Li Chengqian, there would be no obstacle for Li Chengqian to ascend the throne.

If Li Shimin had died of illness as in the original history, Changsun Wuji, who had been suppressed for decades, would probably have developed the idea of monopolizing power.