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

Chapter 1210: Inviting Hou Junji to Come Out of the Mountain (Part )

Upon hearing this, Li Yan's face immediately fell, and he said unhappily, "You didn't tell me, and I really didn't notice that Hou Junji hasn't appeared in the court for more than half a year. He should be responsible for the emperor's work, so he can't just take the salary and not do any work, right?"

"Could it be that he suspects that I am narrow-minded and would spare the life of the dog and cook it away, or hide the bow after the bird is dead?"

"No, Hou Junji is the father-in-law of the emperor, the Grand Commandant, and the grandfather of the prince. Even if he is cooked, he cannot be blamed. Besides, am I such a person?"

Zhangsun Wuji and Zhang Xuansu looked at each other and shook their heads, saying, "Your Majesty is open-minded and broad-minded. He is a benevolent and holy ruler rarely seen in a thousand years. How could he be a narrow-minded ruler? I think Hou Junji has the mentality of a warrior. I am overthinking it."

They both laughed, secretly complaining in their hearts that only a king with great talent and lofty ambitions could kill a donkey after it has done its job. Just like you, who doesn't care about anything every day, only cares about pleasure and the pursuit of immortality, it's an overestimation of you to say that you are suspicious.

Others have their own ministers according to the changing dynasty, but you, on the other hand, have no pursuit at all, and now the court is still full of old ministers from the Zhenguan period.

Apart from promoting two corrupt and sycophantic ministers to serve him, he had no great ambitions.

Changsun Wuji was also very conflicted about this. If the emperor was diligent in government affairs and wanted to achieve great things, he, as a member of the aristocratic family, was worried that he would threaten them; when the emperor was lying down and didn't care about anything, as an uncle, he couldn't help but watch and do nothing, and always wanted to say something.

It’s so hard to be a human being. ...

Li Yan frowned and said, "If that's the case, I will go to Hou Junji's mansion after the court tomorrow to see what he is up to. If he is sick, take good care of himself. If he is fine, go to Shandong and clean up the mess for me."

"Really? He is still the Grand Commandant of the dynasty?"

"I, the emperor, don't have a comfortable life like him, and I have to deal with so many political affairs."

Well.
Seeing Li Yan swung his sleeves and left with an unhappy look on his face, Changsun Wuji immediately complained in dissatisfaction: "Master Zhang, look, is the emperor behaving properly now?"

"As the Son of Heaven, isn't it his duty to handle government affairs?"

"When the emperor was in power, he would get up before dawn every day and review memorials until midnight."

"He left everything to us, and spent the whole day having fun, sleeping until the sun was high in the sky. What's worse, he even cut down on court meetings in order to sleep in. Now, he's complaining so much even though he just went to Hou Junji's house."

"This is really too much. No wonder the Queen Mother couldn't help but complain."

As he said this, Changsun Wuji looked at Zhang Xuansu who looked nonchalant, and became even more furious: "Zhang Xuansu, you are the emperor's teacher. As the saying goes, a teacher's failure to teach strictly leads to his downfall. You can't just sit there and do nothing. Do you want to speak out?"

"Changsun Wuji, everyone else has the right to say this, but you don't. I am just a master. Compared with other ministers, I am closer, but not as close as you. You are the emperor's uncle, but you don't say anything. Let me say it. I won't be the bad guy if you want me to do it."

Zhang Xuansu glared at him and said, "He is the emperor, not an ordinary disciple. If he offends me, he will send me out of the court. Can you protect me? On the contrary, your uncle doesn't care. Even if the emperor is furious, he won't do anything to you."

"Humph! You only think about your own personal gains and losses, and don't think about your duties as a subject."

"Haha, I remember that the emperor was not like this when he first ascended the throne. Others may not know the reason why he indulged in pleasure, but don't you know it?"

Zhang Xuansu directly retorted: "It's because your family has the upper hand, 200,000 cavalry. It really subverts my cognition. You are so brave. The Guanlong family has 200,000 cavalry, what about the Shandong family and the Jiangnan family? What trump cards do they have?"

"You are so powerful, the world can be supported by you, what else do we need an emperor for?"

"If I really persuade the emperor to regroup and work hard to govern the country, I'm afraid you won't be able to sleep again. No, I'm afraid you will be even more worried, hum..."

During the past six months since Zhang Xuansu entered the Central Government, he has been exposed to many secrets, and therefore has a new understanding of the true structure of the court. He knows that the real power of the Tang Dynasty is not in the hands of the emperor, and even several important officials in the Central Government are just spokespersons.

If you really encounter a big event and want to do something, you still have to look at the opinions of the big family leaders in the major circles behind you. Without their consent, don't even think about doing anything.

Therefore, he did not just blame the emperor as he did in the past, but also had some understanding.

He was also very dissatisfied with the fact that these big aristocratic families controlled the government and had influence in every corner and region of the Tang Dynasty.

But he was helpless. Even Li Shimin couldn't shake the power. What use could he, a minister with no deep roots, have? At most, he just complained in front of Zhangsun Wuji. He knew that there were some things that Zhangsun Wuji couldn't make the decision on and had to look at other people's faces.

Seeing the old master flicking his sleeves and leaving the imperial study, Changsun Wuji shook his head with a wry smile, knowing that he would inevitably suffer the consequences if he brought up this matter.

Forget it, it's good this way. The world is peaceful, why should I cheer up? I should just enjoy my life. If my nephew really works hard, I will be caught in the middle. Isn't life good now? Why are you so talkative?
Finally, Changsun Wuji looked at the empty imperial study, waved his hand, and left leisurely. The next morning, after the court was dismissed, Li Yan, escorted by a team of imperial guards, rode out of the palace on the imperial carriage. As soon as he left the palace gate, he met Changsun Wuji and Zhang Xuansu who were waiting there. After saying hello, the three teams of people marched along Chengtian Street and came to the Marquis' Mansion.

Yesterday afternoon, a eunuch came to inform us that the emperor would come in person today to visit the Grand Marshal.

Therefore, all the servants in the mansion cleaned the courtyard overnight and cooperated with the emperor's guards in the palace to prepare for defense inside and outside the palace.

When the imperial carriage arrived, Hou Junji, dressed in formal attire, led his family to greet him in front of the mansion gate.

After a brief announcement, Li Yan, Zhangsun Wuji and Zhang Xuansu were invited to the main hall of the Marquis's mansion to drink tea.

Li Yan sat alone at the head of the table, picked up the teacup, slowly opened the lid twice, sniffed it gently, and a strong tea aroma came to his nose. He put it to his lips and touched it slightly, seemingly drinking it, but in fact he didn't move at all, and put it down again.

Li Yan sighed with regret. As an emperor, he gained the world but also lost too many things.

Don't talk about whether to trust Hou Junji or not. In fact, Zhangsun Wuji is more reliable than Hou Junji now. After all, Zhangsun Wuji is his uncle. With him, he can take all the power. In terms of closeness and reuse, Zhangsun Wuji is the person who wants him to continue.

Hou Junji is the prince's maternal grandfather. If something happens to him, the prince Li Xiang will succeed to the throne. At that time, Hou Junji will definitely be more valued by the emperor than Changsun Wuji.

With such a lot of interests at stake, Li Yan is no exception.

"Jun Ji, how are you feeling lately?"

Generally, Li Yan would only discuss personal feelings and seniority when he was alone with a minister. As long as there were two or more ministers present, Li Yan would display the majesty of the emperor and address them by name or position.

This is also a reflection of the difference between the ruler and his subjects, and the hierarchy between superiors and subordinates. It is a necessity of governance, not just for show.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern. Ahem. Ahem."

General Hou, who was dressed in a light robe, coughed twice and said, "Since the weather has warmed up, I have gotten better. It's just that I am too old and didn't know how to take care of myself before. I have a lot of old injuries from years of fighting."

"I had a serious illness last time, and after I recovered, I have been feeling very weak, often having chest tightness, shortness of breath, dizziness, and vertigo. I am getting old and my body is not strong enough."

Zhang Sun Wuji took one look and immediately smiled and said, "Jun Ji, you are the same age as me. You are fifty-two this year. How old are you? When Duke Wei was this age, he was leading the army at the Dingxiang front to fight against Jie Li."

"I see that you are still strong and healthy. You should have no problem leading troops into battle. What do you think, Master Zhang?"

Changsun Wuji knew that everyone present had been in the officialdom for a lifetime, and if they were to play Tai Chi, they would not be able to get to the point even if they talked about it for a whole day. So he went straight to the point and got down to business, and even brought Zhang Xuansu along.

"Yes, Jun Ji led troops to conquer the Western Regions a few years ago?"

Zhang Xuansu stroked his beard with a smile, livening up the atmosphere: "I think Junji saw that the emperor ascended the throne, his daughter became the queen, and his grandson became the prince, so he wanted to unload his burden and enjoy a peaceful life, so he stayed in the mansion all day."

"That won't work."

Chang Sun Wuji quickly followed up the conversation and said, "Although the situation in the court is relatively stable now, the Shan DTZ people are still looting everywhere, the Right Wise King in the north is eyeing us covetously, and the veteran generals who fought for the country have all withdrawn from the court."

"None of the new young players can take on the responsibility yet. Jun Ji, you can't give up at this time."

"Yes!"

Seeing that the conversation had come to this, Li Yan also said: "Jun Ji, I know that you are a little tired after so many years of fighting. I didn't want to disturb you at first, but in the battle half a year ago, Li Ji was imprisoned and Cheng Yaojin even defected to the Turks."

"I can only count on Li You, but who knows that Li You is so mediocre in talent, good at maintaining the status quo but not good at exploring new things."

At this point, Li Yan seemed a little annoyed and stood up and walked around the hall: "Since I took command of the army, although there has been no major defeat, there has been no significant achievement. It took Li You half a year to wipe out the remnants of the Turkic army, which numbered less than 100,000."

"Instead, they allowed the Turks to flee to the Henan, Jianghuai, Jingxiang and other areas, causing chaos in Shandong."

"So I decided to remove Li You and let you go to Shandong to take charge of the overall situation. You must solve this stubborn problem as soon as possible and can't let them continue to mess around like this."

(End of this chapter)