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Chapter 1220: The Court’s Response (Part )

"Your Majesty, although Dou Xiaoci, the governor of the Eastern Capital, did not say that the Prince of Qi was raising the flag of rebellion, his act of capturing Luoyang was in fact treason."

As the tides rose, Xiao Yu was also in a headache. He said directly: "The Turks plundered Jingxiang some time ago, and the defense in the direction of Hulao Pass is tight. Without the cooperation of the King of Qi, the Turks would not have been able to enter Luoyang."

"All signs indicate that the King of Qi has rebelled."

Cen Wenben also stood up and said, "Your Majesty, we all agree that the court should be prepared for the situation, gather all the ministers, and announce the King of Qi's rebellion. And issue an order to the whole country, especially the prefectures and counties around Luoyang, asking them to send troops immediately."

"Surround them from all sides, cooperate with the court, and quickly put down the rebellion to prevent the King of Qi from becoming too powerful."

Zhang Xuansu, Ma Zhou, and Chu Suiliang also echoed, "We agree. Please ask the emperor to make a decision and not let the situation get out of control."

"it is good."

Seeing that everyone was of the same opinion, Li Yan said decisively, "Humph, since Li You would rather be a running dog of the Turks than a prince of the Tang Dynasty, I will not show any mercy. Convey my order to summon the six ministers and the chief officials of the various departments and temples, and immediately mobilize the army to go and besiege him."

"Wait a minute."

At this time, Zhangsun Wuji, who had been silent, spoke up: "Your Majesty, I know that the Turks have not been pacified yet, and the incident with the King of Qi has happened. You are very angry. My colleagues are also very angry, but internal troubles are different from external troubles. We must not be careless, right?"

"Changsun Wuji, what do you mean?"

Cen Wenben's face turned serious, and he accused: "Of course we know the seriousness of the Qi Wang incident, so we must immediately dispatch troops to suppress it to prevent the rebellion from spreading like wildfire. Do you think this is inappropriate, or do you want to plead for Li You?"

"Li You led his troops to attack Luoyang without authorization. This is a foregone conclusion. There is no way to justify it."

Changsun Wuji felt annoyed, as his nephew's plan to capture Cen Wenben had finally worked.

After the Longxi Flying Cavalry of the Guanlong Clan was defeated in Hebei, their strength was greatly reduced. The Jiangnan Clan joined forces with the Shandong Clan and fought them several times. Later, the Guanlong Clan allowed the Turks to move south, diverting the trouble to the south and setting a fire in the backyard of the Jiangnan Clan.

This move could be concealed from others, but not from the Jiangnan nobles. They saw through the intentions of the Guanlong nobles at a glance. Together with the Shandong nobles who were also affected, the three forces fought for half a year before they reached a compromise.

However, Cen Wenben also held up the banner of the Jiangnan nobles, and competed with Changsun Wuji, who represented the Guanlong nobles. They were tit-for-tat in every aspect. This was the current situation in the court.

Changsun Wuji did not argue with Cen Wenben at this time, but advised earnestly: "Your Majesty, Li You is not to be feared. He has no family support, no stable territory, and most of his troops are soldiers of the Tang Dynasty."

"Although he entered Luoyang, he did not raise the flag of rebellion. Perhaps he had some reservations."

"I believe that as long as the imperial edict is sent to Shandong, and Hou Junji leads a large army to attack, Li You will surely be pacified quickly."

"But we can't just consider Li You. Guanzhong lost 200,000 cavalry six months ago. The north is already empty, and we still have to defend against the Right Wise King on the grassland. He lives deep in the north, eyeing the Central Plains covetously. He is the real rival of our Tang Dynasty."

"If we send the troops from Guanzhong to Luoyang, and the Right Wise Prince takes the opportunity to march south, our Tang Dynasty will be in danger of being destroyed."

Well.
Hearing this, the others were also shocked. Yes, they were only thinking about Li You, how could they forget about the fierce tiger, King Youxian.

"Master Changsun is right. We can't just focus on Luoyang."

Liu Bo stepped forward and said, "According to the news from the Imperial Guard, the Right Wise King has recovered after recuperating for most of this period. After the weather warmed up, he even took his troops to hunt. The Turks are safe and the west is stable."

"If the Right Wise Prince becomes restless and thinks of making a move, our Great Tang will be in danger!"

Li Yan hesitated upon hearing this and looked at Changsun Wuji: "Then how does Zuo Pushe think this matter should be handled?"

"Your Majesty, once the relationship is broken, war is inevitable. Shiluodi has been plundering for half a year and has not been eliminated, and people are uneasy. The Right Wise King in the north is also lurking around, so we have to be on guard. If this matter can be resolved peacefully without fighting, it would be best."

Zhang Sun Wuji explained: "Why not send an old official to Luoyang to ask Li You in person what he wants to do. If he is just dissatisfied with the court's treatment and has resorted to this desperate measure, then we can discuss it again."

"If he really intends to rebel, we can still send troops to suppress him in time."

"Well, Lord Changsun's words do make sense. If that's the case, then I will..."

Before Li Yan finished speaking, Wang De hurried in with a military report in his hand: "Your Majesty, Hongwen Hall has just forwarded the urgent report from Luoyang."

call.
Everyone turned around in an uproar. Changsun Wuji stepped forward quickly, took it, and after checking that it was sealed tightly, he handed it to Li Yan.

Li Yan opened it and his face suddenly changed. He said angrily, "Rebellion, rebellion. Li You, this traitor, is so bold that he dared to kill officials and forged the imperial edict. It seems that he really doesn't want to be a prince of the Tang Dynasty and is determined to be a traitor."

Afterwards, Li Yan handed the general report to several important officials.

Everyone was shocked when they saw this. It turned out that Li You had already slaughtered those officials who refused to join the rebellion in Luoyang and eliminated the generals who were descendants of noble families in the army. At the same time, in the Luoyang Palace, he falsely passed on the imperial edict to inform all prefectures, counties and cities in Shandong that the emperor had acknowledged the ownership of the land.

All the people who were allocated land by the Turks could possess the land legally and rationally without having to return it.

"How can this be possible." "Li You, you are not a human being, how dare you do this?"

"You are a traitor, you have cut yourself off from your ancestors and from the world."

"."

All the ministers cursed angrily, and even Changsun Wuji and Liu Bo, who had just proposed the appeasement policy, could not help but denounce it.

They knew very well that the emperor's edicts were drafted by the Secretariat, reviewed by the Ministry of Personnel, and then handed over to the Ministry of State Affairs for public release. Without these three checkpoints, even if the emperor spoke directly, there would be no legal effect.

Generally speaking, the emperor’s words are decisive and everyone follows them.

That's because they are all small matters, and the emperor can save face. Even so, after the emperor finishes speaking, there will be special ministers to draft an imperial edict, go through the process, and finally file it for record, but these procedures are all carried out behind the scenes.

Without that set of official procedures, there will be no specific implementation.

Matters concerning land are the foundation of the country and are more important than the current battle. The emperor would not casually express his views on such matters, let alone secretly issuing an imperial decree. This must have been done by Li You without authorization.

However, Li You’s rebellion has not yet been made public.

He used his status as the King of Qi and the General of the Eastern Expedition, and the title of the Imperial Edict, which made it easy for the people who did not know the truth to believe him. The most important thing was that they were willing to believe that this Imperial Edict was too beneficial to them.

Even if it is false, the people are willing to admit it.

"Li You has evil intentions. He is trying to use the people's support. If this is the case, there is no room for maneuver."

Zhang Sun Wuji said quickly: "Please ask the emperor to issue an edict immediately, declaring that the King of Qi is plotting a rebellion, calling on the local governments in Shandong to resist, and explain that the King of Qi falsely conveyed the imperial edict, and the court did not issue an edict on the ownership of the land, and everything was fabricated by the King of Qi."

"Yes, we second the proposal. Please approve it, Your Majesty." Xiao Yu, Cen Wenben, Liu Bo and others stood up decisively to support it.

"We also agree." Zhang Xuansu, Ma Zhou and Chu Suiliang hesitated for a moment and then agreed.

Although they fought each other, they all shared the same interests when it came to land. After half a year of fighting, they had redivided the territory of Shandong, and even Changsun Wuji got a piece of land in the heart of the Central Plains that satisfied him.

Before, they were not worried about the issue of reclaiming the land, because the unanimous agreement of the three major aristocratic circles was more effective than an imperial edict.

If Li You makes such a fuss and if it is not corrected in time, once the people have accepted it, it will not be taken back anymore.

Once the people's mentality changes, it becomes plundering, which will inevitably cause greater chaos.

Therefore, even though they knew that this move was inappropriate and would affect the court's reputation and subsequent expeditions, they could no longer care and had to explain everything as quickly as possible to avoid a reversal of public opinion.

Li Yan, however, was well aware of this and knew what was going on.

In the early stages of a rebellion, everyone has the same interests, fearing that the entire boat will be overturned and everyone will fall into the water, so they focus on attacking the enemy. When the enemy is about to be eliminated, everyone thinks that the overall situation is settled and there will be no more danger of capsizing.

It will breed all kinds of selfish desires, and even lead to the use of rebels and the keeping of enemies for one's own benefit.

Didn't the uprising army that lasted for many years in the late Ming Dynasty and the Jianzhou Jurchens in the northeast both experience ups and downs before eventually becoming completely powerful and out of control?

For thousands of years, these people's tricks have hardly changed and have been repeated over and over again.

"Okay, I'm sure."

Li Yan said decisively: "Draft a document immediately and announce to the world that the King of Qi has colluded with the Turks, has rebelled, and has secretly taken up residence in Luoyang. I decree that Li You will be stripped of all his titles and official positions, and his status as a royal family member will be eliminated."

"All the notifications he issued were illegal, and the imperial edicts he passed on were also forged. No one in the world can trust them. The court will soon send a large army to wipe out the traitors."

The ministers responded loudly: "Your Majesty is wise, and we will respect your will."

Afterwards, everyone left in a hurry with serious faces, preparing to convene a court meeting to discuss how to put down the rebellion.

Li Yan seemed anxious on the surface, but he was extremely excited in his heart. Everything was going according to plan.

Luoyang had already taken the lead, and the hesitant people were already immersed in joy. If an order was issued to correct the situation at this time, the desire to gain and lose again would inevitably intensify the conflict, and then Li You would be able to recruit soldiers openly.

With Li You's help, the noble families in Shandong and their power in the army and government can be eliminated, so that one-third of the entire Tang Dynasty will be completely ruled by noble families. Once taken over, this part of the power can be used as a support to attack the Guanlong noble families.

After the North is stabilized, we will use the North's powerful military force to complete the land reform in the South.

Li Yan stood at the window with his hands behind his back, looking at the beautiful scenery of the imperial garden with its colorful flowers and green willows, and smiled calmly. In this way, the Tang Dynasty could be reborn, and the imperial power to control the world could be truly regained. He could also be an emperor whose words were law.

(End of this chapter)