Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Just as Du He and Li Yi were discussing the arrangements for entertaining guests, Linglong, who was sitting on the side with her head down, did not express her opinion, nor did she show any dissatisfaction.

In her mind, the princess was already very kind to her by hosting the banquet, so how could she ask for too much?

Besides, the Prince Consort's friends are all from aristocratic families, and their identities are not simple.

After Du He and Li Yi finished their conversation, Linglong raised her head and asked in a low voice.

"Your Highness, Prince Consort, can I invite a few sisters to the banquet?"

Linglong has no relatives or friends in Chang'an. Apart from Li Yi and Du He, two masters with whom she has a good relationship, she only has a few friends such as Taozi and Xia He.

And she also wanted her good friends to witness that she had transformed from a pheasant into a phoenix on the branch.

Li Yi smiled and said, "Linglong, please invite all your good sisters over."

"Your life event should be witnessed by your sisters."

After waiting for Li Yi's permission, Linglong jumped up excitedly and said.

"Thank you, Your Highness Princess!"

Looking at Linglong who was stamping her feet excitedly, Du He and Li Yi both showed a faint smile on their faces.

This girl is really easy to satisfy. She can be so happy if you agree to her small request.

...

Night falls.

Under the clear and bright moonlight, the howling north wind blew the snow all over the sky. Outside the city of Chang'an, except for the occasional night watchman passing by, no other pedestrians were seen.

The Ganlu Hall was brightly lit with candles.

Several burning fires kept the hall at a suitable temperature.

Niu Jinda, a tall man with slightly gray hair, was respectfully reporting to Li Shimin, who was sitting in front of the imperial desk.

"Your Majesty, today the Crown Prince and Prince Consort Du went to Duke Lu's residence. They stayed there for an estimated less than half a quarter of an hour before coming out."

Li Shimin paused slightly while reviewing the memorials, then asked without raising his head.

"Do you know what the prince wants Zhijie to do?"

Although Li Shimin's eyes were still on the memorial in his hand, his expression was a little vague.

Obviously, the impact of this news on him was not as small as he showed, and it caused some ripples in his heart.

Niu Jinda replied in a low voice: "According to the spies of the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince is trying to find a matchmaker for General Xi Jun of the Right Guard, and the target is Cheng Ying, the second daughter of Duke Lu."

"The person who made this suggestion to the prince was Prince Consort Du."

Hearing that it was just a small matter, Li Shimin raised his eyebrows slightly.

Then he put down the memorial in his hand, looked at Niu Jinda and said.

"Niu Jinda, have you found out what the Crown Prince and Zhijie talked about in Duke Lu's mansion?"

The Eastern Palace was right under his nose. When Li Chengqian led his army to conquer Goguryeo, he had already sent a large number of princes into it.

It can be said that he knows clearly about any movement in the East Palace.

As for Cheng Yaojin's Lu Mansion, Li Shimin did not intervene to avoid causing misunderstandings among his trusted generals.

Niu Jinda shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, I have not heard the content of the conversation between His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Duke Lu in the mansion."

"But I think Duke Lu is a man who knows his limits and won't get too close to the Crown Prince."

"Your Highness the Crown Prince and Du He's visit to Duke Lu's residence should be simply to act as a matchmaker for General Xi."

In his early years, Niu Jinda followed Li Mi to participate in the Wagang Uprising, and worked under Cheng Yaojin and Qin Shubao. After the failure of Wagang, he went through many twists and turns and finally defected to the Tang army.

Therefore, Niu Jinda was also a core figure of the Wagang faction, and had a close personal relationship with Cheng Yaojin, Li Ji and Wu Heita.

Li Shimin nodded calmly.

Li Shimin was very clear about the character of Cheng Yaojin, his trusted and beloved general, and had full trust in him.

There was silence for a moment.

Li Shimin stared at Niu Jinda with his deep eyes, and then asked in a complicated tone.

"Has the Prince of Wei's Palace done anything unusual recently?"

When Niu Jinda heard His Majesty asking about the Prince of Wei's Palace, he replied with a tense body.

"Your Majesty, since the Ministry of Personnel's assessment last month, the King of Wei has carried out a major replacement of officials in the counties and prefectures within his fiefdom."

"The reason why the King of Wei dismissed these officials was that, in addition to their mediocre performance, many of them were corrupt."

"The people of Xiangzhou, Weizhou, and Mingzhou greatly appreciated the king's removal of corrupt officials, and many of them erected longevity tablets for the king at home."

The princes not only had the power to command the royal military forces, but also controlled the local taxation power and the power to appoint and dismiss officials below the fifth rank within the fiefdom.

Therefore, except for the provincial governors and deputy governors in his fiefdom, Li Tai had the right to appoint and dismiss other officials.

Moreover, the reason why Li Tai dismissed these officials was because they violated Tang law, which seems very normal.

Li Shimin frowned and asked, "Where will the King of Wei fill the vacancies?"

Niu Jinda quickly replied: "Your Majesty, the King of Wei has promoted many people from the Jingzhao Du family, Jingzhao Wei family, Boling Cui family and other aristocratic families to official positions."

"Especially the Jingzhao Du clan, they also moved many of their clansmen and slaves to live in Xiangzhou."

As Niu Jinda finished speaking, the Ganlu Hall fell into silence again.

Maybe it was because the firewood in the stove was not burning strongly enough, but Niu Jinda and the eunuchs serving around him felt a chill on their backs.

Li Shimin rested his hands on the chair, staring blankly out the screen window.

Li Shimin could understand the move of the Jingzhao Du family to migrate their clansmen to Xiangzhou, because Du He killed them all and they had to find another way out.

The reason why he did not step forward to mediate was that he wanted to weaken the power of the aristocratic families.

But now both the Jingzhao Wei family and the Boling Cui family have sent their clansmen over, which is very abnormal.

So many forces gathered in the King of Wei's fiefdom. Li Shimin could not think of any other reason besides having evil intentions.

There was silence for a long time.

Li Shimin then asked quietly, "Niu Jinda, what do you think the actions of the King of Wei and the other noble families are about?"

Niu Jinda replied in a low voice: "Your Majesty, I don't know."

The King of Wei is the apple of His Majesty's eye. Even if Niu Jinda had some guesses in his mind, how could he dare to speak without solid evidence?

Moreover, the two ungrateful remnants of the Yin family stayed by the King of Wei's side, and His Majesty also tacitly approved of it. What else could he say as a subject?

"Hey~"

Li Shimin sighed, then spoke in a deep voice.

"Niu Jinda, send someone to keep a close eye on the people in Prince Wei's mansion and don't let them make any mistakes."

In early spring next year, he will lead civil and military officials to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth. This trip will surely attract everyone's attention. If the people in the Prince of Wei's mansion have any ulterior motives, it will be troublesome.

The last thing Li Shimin wanted to see was going into battle with his beloved son Qingque.

Niu Jinda clasped his fists and saluted with a serious expression, saying, "I obey your order!"