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

Chapter 1228 The situation has changed drastically
Li Chengqian was not polite and put all his trusted followers in key positions. With these people, he took a practical step towards controlling the military power of the Tang Dynasty. It can be said that from today onwards, Li Chengqian truly sat firmly on the throne.

Without real control over the gun, the emperor is just a decoration.

"We obey the emperor's order and thank him for his grace." Xue Rengui, Liu Renyuan and others were so excited that they knelt down to express their gratitude.

Among these people, only Wang Xuance also served as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

This was a rare opportunity, so Li Chengqian sent Wang Xuance out as well. No matter what, he could occupy the position first and raise his rank.

However, Wang Xuance had a hunch that the emperor might not be satisfied with his job as a member of the Jinyiwei, which was why he allowed him to take on a military post in the Sixteen Guards. This meant that he might be able to leave the Jinyiwei and fully serve as a military commander.

Because the emperor appointed Xu Jinzhong and Li Yifu as deputy commanders of the Jinyiwei, both of whom were cunning people. Their entry meant that the Jinyiwei would undergo a complete transformation and play a greater role in internal supervision.

There were huge personnel changes during this court meeting, and Li Chengqian also realized why emperors in ancient times always liked to start wars.

A country in a war environment is in an abnormal state. Positions that are usually very expensive can be created in large quantities under this situation. With full deployment, under the cover of war, a power reorganization that would normally take ten or even twenty years to complete can be completed quickly.

Of course, this is also a double-edged sword.

The experience of Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen also shows that if you make a big move, you must win. War is not a joke. It is dangerous. If you lose, not only will you lose miserably, but the vitality of the country will also be severely damaged and it will never recover.

But Li Chengqian didn't have to worry, because both Li You and the Turks were under his control. As for the battle against the nobles, there were more experienced people who would handle the aftermath perfectly for him.

When Wang De's voice ended, every minister was frantically thinking about the impact of this change on the future of the court.

Amid the complicated thoughts of the ministers, the court meeting came to an end, and the court also made top-level preparations for the upcoming war.

Just as Li Chengqian was about to announce the disbanding of the court and the army would march out the next day, a voice suddenly came.

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened."

When the ministers looked back, they saw General Chang Sheng of the Left Gate Guard rushing in with a serious face, followed by two soldiers who were supporting an extremely tired messenger.

Chang Sheng and his men walked quickly to the front, holding the military report in both hands, and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, there is an urgent report from Fengzhou. The Turkic Right Wise King led an army of 800,000, claiming to have a million troops, to the south and has captured the border towns of Fengzhou, Feng'an, Yongfeng, Jiuyuan, etc."

"They are heading towards Yunzhou and Dingxiang."

"Boom!" This time, the court was completely blown up, and many people's faces turned pale. It was really a case of "misfortunes never come easy". I thought Li You's rebellion was already difficult enough, and now there was also the Right Wise King.

Is it true that the Tang Dynasty has run out of luck?

In the east, Li You gathered an army of 500,000, and in the north, the Right Wise King sent another 800,000. The court transferred back 400,000 troops from the border areas, plus the 200,000 originally guarding the capital, only 600,000 in total. How could they be a match for these two powerful enemies?

Especially with the 800,000 Turkic cavalry, even if there were a million people in the Central Plains, they might not be able to defend it, not to mention that the Tang Dynasty is now showing signs of division.

For a moment, all the officials in the court were filled with despair, as if they had seen Chang'an being broken, and they were dying one after another under the scimitars of the Turks. After all, everyone knew that the Right Wise King had no good feelings towards the aristocrats.

It can be written that the streets are full of the bones of nobles and officials. One can imagine their attitude towards them. Once they break in, the only way waiting for them is death.

Wang De did not forget his duties. He quickly walked down the stairs, took the military report and presented it to Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian opened it and read it, his face suddenly darkened, looking at the officials who were already in a state of panic. He said nothing, but stood up, looking a little flustered, as if he couldn't bear it anymore and wanted to escape, and said, "Dismiss the court."

Then he left alone.
The remaining ministers, who were standing there at a loss, no longer had any scruples and began to discuss the matter.

Cui Benshan, the Minister of Rites, pulled Li Deqing, the Minister of War, and asked, "Brother Li, Guanzhong is the territory of your Guanlong clan. What is its specific strength? Tell me the truth. Can the court resist the Turkic army?"

"You are kidding me. They are 800,000 grassland soldiers who are proficient in riding and shooting. Do you think they are the soldiers holding hoes under Li You's command?"

Li Deqing shook his head heavily. "If our Longxi Flying Cavalry was still there and Li You hadn't raised an army in Luoyang, we could have worked together to keep the Turks out of Chang'an. But now, you know what the situation is in the Tang Dynasty." "As long as the Right Wise King is determined, the Tang Dynasty will be defeated without a doubt, and even Chang'an will not be able to be defended."

When Lu Chengqing, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, heard this, he also said anxiously: "What should we do? I heard that the Right Xianwang is the eldest son of the hidden crown prince Li Jiancheng. He has no good feelings towards our Tang Dynasty or the nobles. Once he takes Chang'an, we will surely die."

"Humph, what else can I do?"

Li Deqing blurted out, "We can't stay in Guanzhong any longer. Fortunately, we have a vassal state in the Western Regions, which is a remote area. While the Right Wise King is keeping an eye on Guanzhong, we should hide there first and see if the Tang Dynasty can resist it, right?"

"What, you want to escape?" Lu Chengqing asked with a gloomy face.

"Don't say such harsh words. This is called temporarily avoiding the sharp edge and strategically shifting the focus."

Seeing that the Tang Dynasty was about to fall, Li Deqing no longer had any scruples, and did not care that he was still in the palace. He said unscrupulously: "Li Shimin conferred the nobles like me to the Western Regions, and he did not want us to stay in Chang'an. In this case, it's just right, we leave and don't bother the royal family."

"Don't blame me for speaking harshly, you two. Once the Turks get angry, they won't care who you are."

"While the Tang Dynasty can still delay for a while, let's withdraw in advance. There are only two lines of defense in the north of Guannei Road. One is Fengzhou on the Yellow River, which has now been lost; the other is Dingxiang Yunzhong, which can't withstand the impact of the 800,000-strong Turkic army."

"Once we enter the pass, the road ahead will be smooth. In less than ten days, the Turks will be outside Chang'an City, and by then it will be too late. Li Chengqian is not Li Shimin. Without the reputation of Xuanwu Gate, he cannot scare the Turks."

Li Deqing's words made the hearts of the people around him sink to the bottom. Even the Li family, which had the deepest foundation, had no intention of resisting. What could they do if they stayed here? They would probably die.

Thinking of this, many people looked at each other and began to back down.

The ministers who had just come out of the Taiji Hall gathered in groups of three or five, talking passionately about something.
In the next few days, bad news came one after another. The Turks who came south attacked cities and plundered land in the north, burning, killing, looting, and committing all kinds of evil. Wherever they passed, countless wealthy families were destroyed, and the people suffered. Coupled with some rumors, Chang'an City was completely in chaos.

In addition, the emperor seemed helpless in the face of the situation and did not take any measures to calm the people.

Some aristocratic families could no longer sit still, and carts and cars were used to pull goods out of the city. Some common people also packed up their bags and fled south with their wives and children to avoid the war. Chang'an, which had been prosperous before, suddenly showed signs of decline.

In the army camp outside the city, in the commander's tent, Hou Junji, wearing a bright armor, sat in the commander's seat. He looked at the general in front of him, holding a resignation document, and said coldly: "Yu Wenzhou, explain to me what this means. Do you want to escape from the battlefield?"

"The Turks are about to attack us, and you are asking for resignation now. What have you been doing?"

A middle-aged general at the head also had a helpless look on his face. He clasped his fists and said, "Forgive me, Grand Marshal. I am not afraid of fighting. I am just ill and can no longer perform my duties. In order to avoid delaying military and national affairs and dragging down the army, I have to ask for your forgiveness."

"Hmph, what's wrong with you? That's just an excuse."

With a bang, Hou Junji slammed his palm on the table, stood up angrily, threw the pile of documents on the table in front of Yu Wenzhou, and shouted angrily: "Look, how many resignations have I received in the past few days, including those from the Yuan family, the Yuwen family, the Dou family, and the Dugu family."

"There are also the Wei family, the Du family, the Xue family, the Yang family, the Houmo family, the Doulu family, the Daxi family, and the Helan family. They are all from your clans."

"General Yu, the court treats your clan well. It can be said that our Tang Dynasty is a country where the king and the clan share the world. Now that the country is in crisis, I don't expect you to die on the battlefield to repay the country. You can't desert the battlefield either."

"If you all leave, who will protect the Tang Dynasty and who will resist the Turks?"

Yu Wenzhou looked at the document under his feet, a look of shame appeared on his face, he struggled for a while, and finally shook his head: "General Hou, you are also a general from the previous dynasty. We are both ladles stirring the same pot for a lifetime."

"I don't believe you can't see the current situation clearly. Li You from Luoyang is just a clown who can't make any big waves."

"The Right Wise King is a fierce tiger on the grassland. He has been gathering strength for many years. This time, he took advantage of the weakness of the Tang Dynasty and personally led an army of 800,000 to the south, far exceeding the scale of previous Turkic southward marches. There are rumors that this man is Li Jiancheng's eldest son, and this march south is to destroy the Tang Dynasty."

"At the beginning, our clan stood on the side of the emperor, and he hated us to the core. This time he went south and showed no mercy to the wealthy families in the places he passed through."

"We have no choice. The common people can still survive, but our clan will not survive. To be honest, the head of the family and the clan leaders have already discussed and decided, and issued a strict order for us to lead the clan members to the west, where our fiefdom is."

(End of this chapter)