Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

After Du He and Hou Junji finished discussing their business, they both felt much more relaxed and cheerful, and then they started to chat while drinking.

Hou Haitang came in halfway through and saw that it was Du He and not her lover Pei Xingjian who was drinking with her father. She left quickly after saying a few contemptuous words.

"Hey, I thought Shouyue came back for dinner, but I didn't expect it to be you!"

"I wasted half an hour dressing up for nothing. It's such a bummer!"

Du He watched Hou Haitang, with rouge on her face, walking away with her waist twisted, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but twitch.

Her original appearance could be considered above average, but now that she had painted her face to look like a ghost, it did look a bit disconcerting.

Hou Junji smiled and said, "Don't mind, nephew Du. Haitang is just like that. She speaks directly and doesn't know how to be tactful."

"I will talk to her and ask her to apologize to you."

Good guy!

If you can't speak, don't explain!

It's true that birds of a feather flock together. Hou Junji and Hou Haitang, father and daughter, are exactly the same kind of people. Their sharp tongues are as bad as Cui Shenji's.

Du He curled his lips and did not talk back to Hou Junji.

This old guy didn't read many books when he was young. He is a mean and crude warrior. It's impossible to reason with him.

Hou Junji then asked, "Du He, the Ministry of Personnel's assessment will begin in a few days. Hasn't Du Aitong's meritorious service materials been prepared yet?"

"If he doesn't submit his stuff in advance, he might miss the performance evaluation of the Ministry of Personnel. When the four Zhongshu Sheren are full, he will miss the opportunity."

Although there is only Gao Ji Fu as the Secretary of the Central Secretariat at present, the other prime ministers already have people they want to recommend.

If Du Aitong delayed presenting the horseshoe and arithmetic too late, it would be difficult for the prime ministers to recommend them to Li Shimin in advance.

Du He frowned and said, "I'll write a letter in a couple of days to ask, but judging by the time, there will be a result in the next few days."

Arithmetic is a ready-made thing, and horseshoes are not too difficult to forge. I guess the third brother Du Aitong is testing the effect of horseshoes.

Anyway, the Ministry of Personnel assessment is still a few days away and will last for nearly half a month.

Hou Junji continued, "You better keep an eye on him, old man Changsun Wuji has recommended Liu Shi as the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, and Liu Shi will definitely be chosen!"

"And your Majesty himself wants to promote Yuan Gongyu, the Tongshi Sheren, to become one of the Zhongshu Sheren."

As for the little-known figure Yuan Gongyu, Du He had met him several times when he was the Shangcheng Fengyu.

He, Xu Jingzong and Li Yifu are all the same type of people, the kind who will start fighting among themselves as soon as they get a little power, but his official position is relatively low now so he hides it more deeply.

As for the official Liu Shi, Du He had never heard of him.

Du He asked curiously, "Uncle Hou, who is this Liu Shi?"

"Could it be that he is from the Hedong Liu clan of Guanlong?"

The current Guanlong forces are different from those in the Sui Dynasty and the early days of the Tang Dynasty. Except for the unchanged area of Guanlong, the families within this force have undergone major changes.

For example, the original Eight Great Families of Guanlong were the Longxi Li family, the Langya Wang family, the Chenjun Xie family, the Hongnong Yang family, the Lanling Xiao family, the Taiyuan Wang family, the Zhaojun Li family and the Qinghe Cui family.

Ever since the Longxi Li family was promoted to the overlord of the world, and with the strong suppression by Li Shimin in recent years, this force has long since fallen apart.

The current new Guanlong forces are headed by Zhangsun Wuji, and include members of such aristocratic families as the Hedong Liu family, the Hongnong Yang family, the Guanlong Yuwen family, and the Guanlong Yu family.

Moreover, Changsun Wuji also absorbed people from meritorious families such as Chu Suiliang and Han Yuan into the Guanlong forces.

The representatives of the new Guanlong forces currently active in the court include Zhangsun Wuji, Yang Shidao, Yuwen Tai, Yu Zhining, Chu Suiliang and Han Yuan.

Moreover, there were a large number of clansmen from these new Guanlong forces in the court, and they occupied important positions such as governor and chief secretary of various states.

Hou Junji nodded and said, "Liu Shi is from the Hedong Liu family, and he is also the uncle of Jin Wangfei Wang!"

"I said he would definitely become the Secretary of the Central Secretariat because it was His Majesty who wanted to promote him. I just used Changsun Wuji's words!"

After hearing Hou Junji's explanation, Du He's heart was shocked.

I didn't expect that Liu Shi was actually the uncle of Princess Wang of Jin. I didn't expect that he was usually low-key, but was suddenly promoted by Li Shimin.

Du He thought to himself, "Could it be that Li Shimin wants to take this opportunity to secretly strengthen the power of the Prince of Jin's Mansion in order to contain the huge power of the Eastern Palace?"

But didn’t Li Shimin know that Liu Shi was also a member of the new Guanlong forces?

Considering Li Shimin's recent behavior of promoting Zhangsun Wuji, Yu Zhining, Chu Suiliang and Liu Shi, Du He was completely unable to understand Li Shimin's imperial skills.

How could a father vigorously support another force just to prevent his son from becoming too powerful?

Although the current Secretariat is still under the control of Li Shimin, the core officials within it are still from the Zhangsun Wuji faction.

"Hey!"

"It seems that the Secretariat will become the headquarters of Zhangsun Wuji and Li Zhi!"

Thinking that the two assistant secretaries and two secretaries of the Secretariat in the future would all be from Zhangsun Wuji's faction, Du He's heart was suddenly cast with a shadow.

Li Shimin is now frantically supporting the power of the New Guanlong Group. If he really becomes confused due to illness in the future, the mess will be difficult to clean up.

For their own interests, the two equally powerful forces, the Eastern Palace and the Prince of Jin's Mansion, will definitely fight to the death.

Moreover, in Xiangzhou and Weizhou and other places, there is a vicious tiger called Li Tai lurking. It would be easier to deal with him if he had rebelled earlier.

If Li Tai has enough patience and lies dormant until the Eastern Palace and the Prince of Jin's Mansion fight to the death, his chance will come.

By then, if Li Tai raises his banner and joins forces with Li Ke, Li Yuanchang and others to rebel, the Tang Dynasty will be in chaos.

When Hou Junji saw Du He frowning, he suddenly spoke jokingly.

"Nephew Du, His Majesty is only promoting two Zhongshu Sheren, why do you look like that?"

"The Zhongshu Sheren is only responsible for drafting memorials and other imperial edicts for His Majesty, and it is not a position that holds great power. Could it be that the sky is falling?"

"When did you become so sentimental? You don't have any of the impetuousness of a young man!"

Well...

Du He, who was lost in thought, was interrupted by Hou Junji. Seeing that Hou Junji seemed unaware of anything, a look of helplessness suddenly appeared on his face.

Even though Hou Junji holds great power now and seems to be quite smart, he is essentially a warrior who was born into a world of fighting and killing.

Let Hou Junji take a look at the current situation and see if it is okay. Don't even think about asking him to plan the overall situation.

Du He collected his thoughts and then said with a smile.

"Uncle Hou, I just feel a little emotional."

He could now finally understand Li Chengqian's feelings. Sometimes, thinking too much was indeed a worrying and annoying thing.