The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 1204 Li Xiang and Hou Junji
"Grandpa, don't you know that there was a fierce quarrel in the court today?" After Xuan Xuan said a few words, Li Xiang naturally brought up the affairs of the court.

"Oh, is it about Generals Cheng and Li again?"

When this was mentioned, Hou Junji's eyes flashed with a hint of fear. Some time ago, Li Xiang told him that the 200,000 cavalry of the Tang Dynasty were annihilated in Hebei Road, and the Turks also suffered heavy losses. He was simply stunned.

At the same time, I was also frightened.

Although he knew that the emperor would take action against the nobles and would definitely not miss this opportunity to use the Guanlong nobles' trump card, he did not expect that the emperor would act so quickly and so ruthlessly in just two days and one night.

He launched two consecutive encounters, and despite the result of both sides being injured, he managed to defeat the Longxi Flying Cavalry. From this point of view, the emperor is worthy of being a hero who travels across the grasslands. He has a keen eye for seizing opportunities, and his actions are decisive and ruthless.

He knew that the Guanlong clans had a powerful military force, and he was even aware of the reputation of the Longxi Flying Cavalry.

When the throne was first passed on, because he was Li Chengqian's father-in-law and the most staunch military leader who supported the crown prince, Li Shimin had not even revealed it to Changsun Wuji, but told him everything. He earnestly told him that he could reveal it to Li Chengqian at the right time.

Let the successor monarch be on guard against this, so that he won't rashly take action against the aristocratic families without knowing anything, and end up with the same fate as him.

As for when is the right time?
Naturally, it was when the relationship between the emperor and the aristocracy was not good and he was preparing to take action against the aristocracy, or when Hou Junji died.

Hou Junji felt that Li Chengqian had just ascended the throne, and even if he wanted to confront the nobles, it would not be so fast. In addition, he knew that his son-in-law was strong and had millions of troops in the north, so he was naturally not afraid of the Guanlong nobles' background.

But he didn't expect that Li Chengqian was more shrewd than he thought. He used a roundabout way to save the country, using the Turks to lure out the Longxi Flying Cavalry, and then instantly seized the opportunity and acted decisively. In total, it took only one month from the time the nobles used the Longxi Flying Cavalry to the time they were eliminated.

After this battle, the Guanlong clan was seriously injured, and the Hebei clan also suffered heavy losses. Only the Jiangnan clan was not affected because it was far away. The three major clan circles in the world were in a delicate balance of power.

During this period, he also realized more things. In the Battle of Hebei, two-thirds of the 300,000 Turkic cavalry were also lost. Most of these people were tribes north of Liaozhou, such as Khitan and Jurchen, Shiwei and Mohe tribes. These tribes would threaten the power of the Tang Dynasty to guard the northeast.

After this battle, the two tribes bordering the Tang Dynasty suffered almost a devastating blow, and the two tribes further north, Shiwei and Mohe, were also severely damaged.

When the Tang Dynasty is done, Changsun Shunde or the forces of Mo Nan will be able to easily take over large tracts of territory in northeastern Liaodong with a sweep.

As for the grassland, when the emperor was the Right Wise King, he moved the royal court westward, probably in order to slowly lead the power of the Turkic Khanate westward, and then gradually transfer the territory in the east to the Tang Dynasty.

By making use of the war this time, we can greatly weaken the power of the tribes in the eastern part of the grassland and further accomplish this grand strategy.

What a generous act!

After Hou Junji understood the game of chess, he admired the emperor's skills to the extreme. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the emperor was smart.

Since everything was in the emperor's plan, he had nothing to worry about. He could just rest at home peacefully and continue to comprehend the emperor's strategy so as to have a deeper understanding of the emperor's intentions and infer the next plan.

"Yes, Grandpa."

Li Xiang's eyes sparkled, and a gossipy expression appeared on his honest face. "Some time ago, the court announced a great victory in order to stabilize the people's hearts. Now that the battle in Hebei has been over for more than a month, the people have not been greatly affected, so the court has begun to settle accounts."

"The nobles were very excited and reported to Generals Cheng and Li that they had lost their army and humiliated the country. The 200,000 cavalry were annihilated, which was an unforgivable crime. If they were not executed, it would not be enough to appease the public anger and comfort the soldiers who died in Hebei."

"Especially Cheng Yaojin, who actually surrendered to the Turks. This is a great disgrace. His entire family should be executed as an example to others."

"Ugh"

Li Xiang looked at Hou Junji's old face and said thankfully, "Who would have thought that the Turks were so crazy and fierce? Grandpa, it's a good thing that you were not feeling well during this period and did not go to the battle. Otherwise, I'm afraid you would be the target of public criticism now."

After he finished speaking, he saw Hou Junji frowning, and immediately realized that he had said something wrong, and hurriedly made amends: "Of course, Grandpa, your talent is much better than Cheng Yaojin and Li Ji. It should be said that it is a pity. If you had led the troops yourself, I am afraid that such a great loss would not have occurred."

"Who would have thought that Cheng Yaojin and Li Ji, who were usually so famous in the army, would be so vulnerable? It really doesn't live up to their reputation!"

Hou Junji was stunned, then gave a bitter smile.

This was a murder plot planned by the number one man in the world. No matter who went, it would be useless. Even if I personally went out, at most I would end up like Li Ji, barely escaping death. The emperor would never make an exception for anyone. If I was really so blind, I would most likely die on the battlefield to avoid being an eyesore to the emperor, right? Cheng Yaojin and Li Ji, two veteran generals in the army, were just two small shrimps in front of this terrifying and shocking murder, and were dealt with by the way.

"What happened next? Did the meeting come to a conclusion?"

Li Xiang nodded quickly. "Under the unanimous request of the officials from the Guanlong noble families, the emperor had no choice. However, the emperor was generous and merciful, so he compromised and issued an order to strip Li Ji of all his official positions and titles, hand him over to the Dali Temple for trial, and imprison his entire family."

"As for Cheng Yaojin, because officials from Hebei noble families strongly protected him, my father dismissed him from all his official positions and titles, and also dismissed his several adult sons from their posts. In order to prevent them from secretly communicating with the Turks, all the people in the family, young and old, were confined in the mansion."

"You are not allowed to go out without permission. The Imperial Guards will be under strict supervision."

Hou Junji nodded silently. Cheng Yaojin and Li Ji, two important military generals, have always been close to the nobles and are not on the same side as the emperor. The emperor used the war in Hebei to suppress the prestige of the two men, and he would probably use them again in the future.

In addition, this battle completely severed their relationship with the nobles, which also laid the foundation for their future use.

It seems that although the emperor is cold-blooded, he is not so heartless. Under the condition that it does not affect the overall situation of the world, these veterans will still give them a chance. It depends on whether they can wake up and seize it tightly.

Seeing Li Xiang's confused and questioning face, Hou Junji smiled kindly: "Xiang'er, do you have any questions?"

"Yes, Grandpa."

Li Xiang asked seriously, "I think that although Li Ji was defeated, he at least saved some of his generals and returned to the capital to confess his crime. But Cheng Yaojin's army was completely annihilated, and he surrendered to the Turks."

"Relatively speaking, Cheng Yaojin's crime is greater. Why does the court seem to punish Li Ji more severely? I just can't understand this."

Hou Junji's mouth shone slightly. You are right not to understand. Li Ji is bad because he saved so many generals. Who asked him to save them? The emperor set up this killing plan to get rid of these people, but Li Ji meddled in other people's business. How could the emperor not be angry!

In addition, Cheng Yaojin surrendered to the Turks, and he can continue to be used by the emperor. He may become the vanguard of the cleansing of Shandong nobles, and he must be won over.

However, Li Ji ran back to Chang'an, jumped out of the chess game, and became a useless chess piece with no value anymore, so he could naturally be liquidated.

However, Hou Junji couldn't tell Li Xiang about these secret calculations in the power field, so he had to explain from another perspective: "Xiang'er, in fact, the court is right to do this."

"Think about it, the key to the two defeats in Hebei was the night battle at Gonggao City. If Li Ji could stop the Turks, even if he couldn't win, even if he could delay the battle for two days, he could buy time for Cheng Yaojin's southern army."

"After Ande City is captured, the southern army will move north. The main Turkic army will naturally face being attacked from both sides. Our army will surely win a great victory."

"But Li Ji didn't even last a day, and finally failed, and he didn't inform Cheng Yaojin in time. This caused the southern army to suffer an unexpected blow during the siege, which led to a series of changes and led to complete failure."

"Therefore, Li Ji's crime is greater."

Li Xiang suddenly understood the situation after hearing his in-depth and simple analysis of the battle situation. He nodded silently, "So that's how it is. Grandpa is still very clear-headed."

Hou Junji looked at his grandson with an innocent face and felt that he should not be overprotected. He should at least let him understand some reality, otherwise he would not be able to be qualified as a noble.

So he changed the subject and whispered, "Besides, Li Ji has already returned to Beijing, and his case can be settled. But Cheng Yaojin has fallen into the hands of the Turks. If his family is punished, he will have no choice but to go down this path and serve the Turks wholeheartedly."

"On the other hand, keeping his family can somewhat restrain him."

"He is thinking about his family. Maybe he is in Cao's camp but his heart is with Han. He can even be on the side of the Tang Dynasty. That's why the officials in the court didn't do anything extreme. It's also from this aspect. Cheng Yaojin is more valuable than Li Ji. Do you understand?"

Well.
Li Xiang was stunned, and then he realized that there was such a concern. But after thinking about it, it did make sense: "Grandpa is really knowledgeable and wise. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have seen this."

Seeing Li Xiang's face full of admiration, Hou Junji shook his head bitterly. It was all because of his daughter's over-indulgence. When Li Chengqian was not even this age, he had already shown a mind far superior to others. He also knew how to pretend to be stupid in order to avoid standing out from the crowd.

His grandson was really simple, while he himself was very wise. Compared with those old foxes in the court, he was just a warrior who changed his career halfway. He had only gained a little wisdom through years of life experience and the influence of the core of power.

(End of this chapter)