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

Chapter 1223 Dilemma (Part )

The next morning, dozens of high-ranking officials of the Tang Empire gathered in the Liangyi Hall. In addition to the officials in the court, Dou Dan, Li Jing, Fang Xuanling and others who were usually recuperating at home and rarely seen were also present.

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

The Danchi of Liangyi Hall is not as high up as that of Taiji Hall, which would have increased the distance between the monarch and his subjects. Instead, it has only three steps. The layout of the hall below is not as solemn as that of Taiji Hall. Instead, the open space is lined with brocade cushions on both sides.

The matters discussed here are all important and urgent. Many of those in power are very old and frail. If they were allowed to stand for a few hours, they would probably fall apart. Therefore, the environment here is relatively relaxed.

Li Yan, wearing a bright yellow dragon robe, waved his sleeves and said, "Everyone, please stand up and sit down to discuss this matter!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" After the ceremony between the emperor and his subjects, everyone stood up and took their seats.

Then Li Yan glanced at one of the civil officials in the front row and said, "Cen Wenben, please tell me about the situation in Shandong."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Cen Wenben stepped forward with a serious face and introduced the various actions of Li You in Luoyang, as well as the people's joining the rebellion. In just a few days, a hundred thousand troops had been gathered, and there were also a steady stream of rebels from Hebei, Qi, Jianghuai, Jingxiang and other places.

Afterwards, he took out the imperial edict and the uprising manifesto forged by Li You and showed them to the ministers.

"Everyone, Li You now has no less than 300,000 troops under his command. If we delay for another ten days or half a month, I'm afraid the number will exceed 500,000. With such a large rebel force, even Tongguan will not be able to stop Li You from marching eastward."

"The Tang Dynasty is in imminent danger. The court must quickly send troops to defeat the rebels. If the situation continues, the Tang Dynasty will be in danger of extinction. The emperor convened a court meeting today in the hope that the court and the various noble families will contribute money and strength, and work together to protect the Tang Dynasty."

'Om'

As soon as the voice fell, many bigwigs who were recuperating at home and did not understand the situation in Shandong were also shocked. They never expected that the situation would deteriorate to this extent in less than a year after the Khan retired and the new emperor ascended the throne.

Duke of Shen, Right General, and Imperial Clan Minister Dou Dan asked tremblingly, "Didn't we hear a while ago that the Turks were like grasshoppers in autumn, unable to jump for much longer? It's only been a few days, how come the situation has become so serious?"

"Yes, they were Turks a few days ago, but now the King of Qi is rebelling again. What happened?"

They are all the people who hold power behind the scenes of the Tang Dynasty. They can enjoy wealth and prosperity because of the stability of the Tang Dynasty. If the world is in chaos, they will not be able to protect themselves.

Although they are big guys, in troubled times, killing disasters come, all beings are equal, and all people and forces will be involved. There are wolves that eat sheep, but there are also tigers that eat wolves, and there are even dragons that eat tigers. Every time the world is in chaos, there are great families comparable to kings and princes who are calculated and destroyed in the world.

They may not care about other things, but they cannot ignore the stability of the court and the country, so they started asking questions one after another.

There weren't many rules for the Liangyi Hall, and with Li Yan's tacit approval, the hall soon became like a market. Each of the seven important officials in the central government was surrounded by a large group of people, who were engaged in intense discussions.

After a stick of incense had passed, everyone had a complete understanding of the situation.

Cui Benshan, the Minister of Rites, angrily accused: "I said at the beginning that the Turks are evil-minded and that dividing the land will shake the foundation of our family, but you just don't believe it. Instead, because of the internal power struggle, you indulge them and allow them to plunder Shandong."

"It's all good now. The Turks are weak and the Tang Dynasty is rebelling again."

"Li You clearly saw that the people were unwilling to give up their land, so he took advantage of this opportunity to forge an imperial edict and stir up a popular uprising. Afterwards, he borrowed the power of the people and deceived them in the name of clearing the emperor's side and protecting the country, causing such a big disturbance."

"Its momentum has already been formed, its power is already great, how can we eliminate it?"

Li Deqing, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of War, also stood up and said, "Before, my Guanlong clan had contributed all its strength, but was completely wiped out in the two battles in Hebei. Now we are asked to contribute again. The court should see how many people are left in our 20 or 30 Guanlong clans, and send them all to quell the rebellion."

"Humph"

Wang Zhongbo, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, was also dissatisfied and said, "The affairs of the court are all handled by you, the chief officials of the three provinces. You failed to maintain peace, which led to one wave after another in Shandong, and the chaos is getting bigger and bigger. Now you can't clean it up, but you want to push it to us."

"How ridiculous! Whoever has the ability to clean up this mess can do so. But our clan doesn't have the ability to do so."

Officials from aristocratic families accused and vented their dissatisfaction. First, they were afraid. Li You's uprising was not a big deal. After all, they were all the blood of the Heavenly Khan. At worst, they could abandon Li Chengqian and acknowledge Li You. They would still be his subjects.

The problem is that Li You's rebellion was in the name of protecting the untouchables, and he used the power of ordinary people. He was ruthless to the nobles and wealthy families in Luoyang, and carried out a brutal purge, and he had no reconciliation with the nobles.

If he reaches Guanzhong, he will definitely attack the aristocratic families.

They were extremely angry at the incompetence of Li Chengqian and Zhangsun Wuji, the ruling monarchs and ministers, but they had to defend them because they represented their interests. Li You, on the other hand, represented the interests of the lower class people, so they were destined to be at odds with each other. Secondly, the Longxi Flying Cavalry of the Guanlong clans had set out from Guandong, but were eventually annihilated, and they were already seriously injured. If they gathered their last strength and fought against Li You's army, even if they finally put down the rebellion, they would no longer be as powerful as they are now.

Li Yan, who was sitting on the dragon throne, had a serious look on his face, but he was secretly happy in his heart. This was also the point of his plan to trick people. His designs were always to block both ends.

If the nobles sent troops, Li You would really rebel and fight with the nobles until the nobles' resources were exhausted; if the nobles did not send troops, it would be very easy to quell the rebellion. Li You's biggest loophole was that he raised his army in the name of clearing the court and dividing the land.

As long as the court officially acknowledges the distribution of land, the people will naturally be satisfied and disperse.

With the ownership of the land confirmed and the whole family having hope, who would want to risk their lives with Li You? Whether there are treacherous officials in the court is none of their business. When the time comes, the court will symbolically punish one or two officials and give them a way out, and the matter will be resolved without a trace, and Li You will have no choice but to follow Shi Luodie and flee to the ends of the earth.

In short, this chaos will either force the nobles to increase their investment and lose their strength, or force them to acknowledge the ownership of the land. No matter which choice they make, Li Yan will be the final winner.

Of course, the nobles can also act like an ostrich and ignore it. When the time comes, Li Yan will have a backup plan and will force them into a desperate situation.

Everyone in the hall was emotional and anxious.

They suddenly remembered that half a year ago, Li Gu of the Longxi Li family led half of the Lintao family's power to the Western Regions to establish a kingdom. At that time, everyone laughed at him for being too timid, but now it seems that the old ones are still the wisest. Once Guanlong falls, all the noble families rooted in Guanzhong will be finished!

For a moment, these people were anxious and panicked. Some people thought about gathering military strength and fighting a desperate battle; others were thinking about whether they should find a way out for themselves like Li Gu did.

The last 100,000 cavalrymen of the Guanlong clan have been transferred to the Western Regions.

This is the power to protect the foundation. Li Gu had said long ago that these people would never go back to the interior of the country again, no matter how critical the situation was.

Now that the Tang Dynasty is in imminent danger, shouldn't they temporarily move to the Western Regions to avoid danger, and then return after the Li family's men have fought to the death and pacified the situation?

At this time, the Minister of Revenue Pei Xiaomin suddenly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I think this is all a misunderstanding. The King of Qi has been fighting for a long time, and the court not only did not commend him, but also criticized him. This is why the King of Qi was so angry that he raised an army and captured Luoyang."

"I see that he did not say in his manifesto that he was against the court, but rather that there were treacherous ministers in the court. If this is the case, it means that there is still a chance for peace talks. I intend to send an old minister to Luoyang to have a good discussion with Li You and persuade him to withdraw his troops."

Well.
Many people in the hall's eyes lit up. Yes, since Li You wanted to purge the emperor's side and pointed out that Zhangsun Wuji was a traitor, we can sacrifice this person to save the country.

"Yes, Lord Pei's words make sense. I think we can give it a try."

Immediately, a minister came out and said, "War is dangerous. We are all on the same side. It is best not to fight if we can. The Prince of Qi is young and cannot stand being wronged. It would be best if Your Majesty appeased him and asked him to withdraw his troops."

"Yes, I agree."

"."

The ministers found a compromise, and after a while, they all agreed.

At the same time, the officials who had gathered around Changsun Wuji all stepped back tacitly, leaving him alone. Seeing this, Changsun Wuji felt a chill in his heart. Since he became the Prime Minister, he had worked hard day and night.

Although he had some thoughts about bringing glory to his family, he did not neglect the government affairs, and carefully reconciled between the imperial power and the power of the aristocracy. He never expected that when he was in trouble, the aristocracy would first think of treating him as Chao Cuo.

He wanted to use his own head to appease the traitor Li You.

If the emperor were to be tempted at this moment, I would die without a burial place. Even after death, I would be branded as a traitor who brought disaster to the country, and my family would be implicated and infamous for eternity.

Changsun Wuji now understood why Li You started a rebellion in anger. It was really unpleasant to be wronged and sacrificed.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty."

Zhang Sun Wuji fell to his knees on the ground with a thud. When he looked up again, tears were streaming down his face. "Your Majesty, all the mistakes are mine. The Grand Emperor has passed away and entrusted me with the important task of assisting in government affairs. Your Majesty also has great trust in me and will consult with me on everything."

"But during my time as regent, there were successive invasions by the Turks and rebellions by the vassal kings. This is all my fault. At this point, I don't want to say anything more. Please, Your Majesty, chop off my head and let Lord Pei hold my head to appease the King of Qi!"

"As long as the King of Qi withdraws his troops, I will die without regrets."

(End of this chapter)