Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Mount Tai is located at the junction of Yanzhou and Yunzhou, very close to Xiangzhou and Weizhou.

As long as he has 10 sets of armor and spears in his hands, he can arm the elite troops under his command. He will not be afraid even if his father brings imperial guards with him.

When the time comes, the emperor will set up camp near Xiangzhou on his way to Mount Tai to rest. He can take the opportunity to capture the emperor and the civil and military officials accompanying him in one fell swoop.

The original plan was perfect, but due to the incompetence of Fang Yiai and Chai Lingwu, two useless people, he missed a great opportunity.

Although Yin Yuhe has now come up with another remedy, Li Tai has no way of guaranteeing when Zhang Liang will be demoted by his father to the governor of Luozhou.

If he fails to get the armor and weapons before his father returns to Chang'an after his ceremony at Mount Tai, the operation will have to be delayed again.

Without Ming Guang armor, spears, powerful crossbows and war horses, the people under his command might not be able to defeat the elite imperial guards accompanying his father.

With the previous experience of Li You's failed rebellion, Li Tai would not so easily rebel openly before he was fully prepared.

Du Chuke said coldly: "Your Highness, Prince of Wei, maybe Fang Yiai didn't work for you seriously, but embezzled all your money!"

"Including Chai Lingwu, he hasn't even been able to produce a warhorse in such a long time, he must not be working hard!"

Hearing Du Chuke's resentful words, everyone in the hall paused.

Obviously, they all heard in their hearts that the old fellow Du Chuke wanted to take the opportunity to take revenge on Fang Yiai and Chai Lingwu in response to their reporting of his own clansmen.

Li Tai frowned and said, "Du Shi, do you have any evidence?"

"Now is the critical period for the uprising. We must not allow any unrest to occur within our ranks, and you must not be suspicious of each other!"

"Otherwise, if our uprising fails because of your internal conflicts, we will all lose our heads!"

When Yin Yushan returned to Xiangzhou, she told him about the bad things that Fang Yiai and Chai Lingwu had done and gave him a proper explanation.

Li Tai also felt that asking Fang Yiai and Chai Lingwu to do such a thing was a bit embarrassing for them, so he turned a blind eye to their secret actions against the Jingzhao Du family.

Anyway, he was just reporting two or three minor officials of the eighth or ninth rank. He would just vent his anger on them. He would compensate the people of Jingzhao Du family in other ways.

As long as it doesn't delay his important business, everything is fine.

Yin Yushan then explained, "Governor Du, Prince Consort Fang and Prince Consort Chai did work hard, but plans can't keep up with changes."

"During the time I was in Chang'an, I watched them do this."

When Du Chuke saw Yin Yushan stand up to speak for Fang Yiai and Chai Lingwu, he could only swallow his anger again.

Now the Yin brothers and sisters hold a very high status in the heart of King Wei, and even he, the Chief Clerk of the King Wei's Palace, has to stand aside.

After this little episode, everyone began to discuss how to stir up the muddy water in Luoyang and plot against Zhang Liang, the powerful general.

I don’t know how long they discussed it, they didn’t finish the discussion until the sun went down.

Li Tai said in a hoarse voice: "Governor Yin, you are fully responsible for planning Zhang Liang's affairs. Governor Du will be your adjutant to assist you."

"All the forces under my command can be mobilized by you. I will allocate all the money you need."

"As long as you can get Zhang Liang to serve as the governor of Luozhou and surrender to me, it will be a great achievement for you!"

Everyone stood up at the same time and saluted with serious faces.

"As ordered!"

...

Just when Li Tai and his followers sent people to Luozhou to cause trouble, the Ministry of Personnel assessment that lasted for nearly a month also ended.

In early December in Chang'an City, snowflakes as big as goose feathers were already floating in the sky, and everything in sight was white.

Shangshu Yousheng.

In the office of the Right Prime Minister.

Hou Junji and Du He sat around a stove, warming themselves by the fire and chatting in low voices about the Ministry of Personnel's assessment.

"Nephew Du, His Majesty summoned several of us prime ministers to the Liangyi Palace yesterday and finalized the transfer of several important official positions."

"The new Zhongshu Shilang, Huangmen Shilang and several Zhongshu Sheren are the same people we talked about before."

Among these important positions, except Du Aitong who was pushed by them, the others were promoted by Your Majesty through Zhangsun Wuji.

How could any accidents happen in this situation?

Du He asked curiously, "Uncle Hou, Chu Suiliang has been promoted to the position of Minister of the Secretariat, so who will take the position of Minister of Rites?"

Currently, Chu Suiliang serves as the Minister of Rites. Now that the Winter Festival is approaching, this position cannot be vacant for a long time.

Otherwise, Zhang Shigui, the Minister of Rites who was born a general, would not be able to accomplish so many things by himself.

Hou Junji whispered, "The left minister of the imperial court Yan Liben has made great contributions in settling tens of thousands of Baekje children, so your majesty promoted him to acting vice minister of the Ministry of Rites."

Acting Inspector General means temporary appointment. If he performs poorly during the observation period, this position may be revoked at any time.

Du He nodded and said, "In addition to being good at painting and craftsmanship, Yan Liben also has extraordinary political talent. It won't be a big problem for him to serve as the Minister of Rites."

As Li Shimin's official painter, Yan Liben also painted "Eighteen Scholars of the Qin Palace" and "Twenty-four Meritorious Officials of the Lingyan Pavilion", which were depicted as Li Shimin's favorites.

Moreover, unlike his elder brother Yan Lide, Yan Liben did not support any force.

Hou Junji was silent for a moment, then said with a strange look on his face.

"Nephew Du, His Majesty has also made new appointments to Su Dingfang, Xi Junmai, and Wang Jun'e. Would you like to hear about them in advance?"

Yesterday, when Zhangsun Wuji suggested that these three generals be assigned to serve as the Grand Commander in Liaodong, he and the Minister of the Court Liu Li immediately argued with him.

Although the Grand Commander is a second-rank official, he still needs to have corresponding civilians and soldiers under his command.

Although the newly established Liaodong Road, Sishui Road and Jincheng Road have jurisdiction over extremely vast territories, they are still uninhabited areas.

It will take at least several years for the people to migrate and for life to recover.

These few years are particularly important for these three young generals. Leaving them in those remote places would easily lead to their becoming useless.

Although Liu Li had always been opposed to it, His Majesty and Zhangsun Wuji had surprisingly consistent views, so Hou Junji and Liu Li knew in their hearts that this was His Majesty's idea.

They couldn't beat the opponent, so they could only accept the result.

Du He already knew about the transfer of the three of them, but he still pretended to be curious and asked.

"Uncle Hou, what new appointments do they have?"

"Oh!" Hou Junji sighed.

He went on to say: "Su Dingfang was appointed as the governor of Liaodong Road, Xi Junmai was appointed as the governor of Sishui Road, and Wang Jun'e was slightly better and was appointed as the governor of Yizhou."

"Nephew Du, Your Majesty is intentionally trying to dismantle the Crown Prince's power!"