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

Chapter 1229 Hou Junji's Pleasure
Hou Junji said with anger and sorrow: "If the skin is gone, where will the hair be attached? If the Tang Dynasty is destroyed, can you survive by staying in the Western Regions? Will the Right Wise King not come to the Western Regions to attack you? Then you will also die."

"Why not stay and defend Chang'an? Maybe there's still a chance to repel the Turks?"

"General Hou, I understand what you said, but I can't make the decision. You know, our clan is well-organized and has strict rules. We have no choice but to follow what the elders have decided."

Yu Wenzhou thought about it, and finally said frankly: "Actually, I don't want to leave at this time. After all, our Guanlong clan has been rooted in Guanzhong for hundreds of years. Now we have to leave our hometown and go to the bitter cold land of the Western Regions. Do you think we are willing?"

"It's just that we Guanlong clans are of the same blood and have always stood together."

"The Yu family is no longer as prosperous as it once was. The powerful Li, Wei, and Du families have all withdrawn their forces to the Western Regions. If we stay in the Western Regions, we will be united and have the strength to fight. But if we stay in Chang'an, we will be abandoned."

"Moreover, if we all concentrate in Chang'an, we will be easily captured by the Turks. If we divide a part of us, we can also form a pincer attack and attack the Turks from the outside. It will make it difficult for the Turks to take care of both ends, and our chances of winning will be greater this way."

"Humph"

"Do you think I'm an ignorant kid who can't understand your calculations?"

Hou Junji sneered and scolded: "When the snipe and the clam quarrel, the fisherman benefits. I'm afraid you want to stay out of it and let the Tang Dynasty consume the Turks. If the Turks are defeated, we will also suffer heavy losses. Your strength is intact, so you can naturally come back and clean up the situation calmly."

"If the Turks progress smoothly, they will also be trapped in the quagmire of the Central Plains. If they are unable to extricate themselves for a while, you can take the opportunity to expand your strength in the Western Regions. When both of us are defeated, you can come back and take advantage of us."

"Pull yourself away. No matter what the situation is, you will not be affected."

"Leave this piece of fat meat of our Tang Dynasty here to attract the attention of the Turkic wolves, and you will naturally be able to leave calmly."

Yu Wenzhou, who was exposed, twitched his lips in embarrassment. He also knew that the nobles' plan was indeed selfish. The nonsense about the pincer attack and internal and external attacks might be used to fool others, but it would be difficult to fool Hou Junji, who had fought wars all his life.

"Hou Junji, please don't say such harsh words."

Seeing that the other party was already merciless, Yu Wenzhou also said coldly: "You are the Queen's father, so you are naturally tied firmly to the Emperor's broken ship. If it weren't for this status, I don't believe you wouldn't consider your own family."

"We, the nobles, originally wanted to support the emperor, but look at him, is he a wise ruler?"

"He has been on the throne for only one year, but he has already become lazy, pursuing immortality every day. What a disaster he has brought upon a good country. He is the one who invited the Turks. It took him nearly a year to pacify a small Shiluodi."

"He also forced Li You to rebel. How could such a tyrant not be defeated? Why should we die with him?"

After saying that, Yu Wenzhou stopped pretending and turned around and left without waiting for Hou Junji to say anything.

When he reached the door of the tent, he turned back and sneered: "Hou Junji, don't blame me for not reminding you. No matter what the status of the Right Wise King is, he is undoubtedly a Han Chinese. This trip south must be to plot for the throne."

"You and Li Chengqian are on the same boat. Even if others can surrender, you can't. The Tang Dynasty will definitely lose this time. You should think about your retreat carefully, right?"

"you"

Seeing Yu Wenzhou disappear at the door, Hou Junji yelled in frustration, "Assholes, all assholes."

At this time, the curtain was lifted, and Su Dingfang and Liang Jianfang walked in together, followed by newly promoted generals from the Eastern Palace such as Xue Rengui and Wang Xuance.

As soon as he entered the room, Su Dingfang started to curse: "Now that the country is in crisis, these people who usually show off their power have become cowards. Marshal, hundreds of middle-level generals have left one after another in the past few days. If this continues, we will be in chaos before the Turks attack us."

"Yes."

Xue Rengui's face was also very ugly: "The most important thing is that they not only left by themselves, but also took away a lot of grassroots officers and soldiers. Marshal, my left guard has 20,000 people, and no less than 3,000 people have left in the past few days."

Wang Xuance also agreed, "Four thousand of my Right Guards also left."

"It's the same with my Zuo Wuwei. Some of them ran away without even saying hello." Liu Renyuan said indignantly.

"And my Right Guards, my Left Guards, my Golden Guards." The remaining few people also reported the losses in their own military camps.

Faced with such a large number of deserters, everyone was at a loss.

Deputy Commander Liang Jianfang stepped forward and said, "General, these are all the areas where our generals are from the East Palace. Nearly half of the troops are transferred back from the Western Regions and the North. Their chief generals are all generals from aristocratic families."

"We are suppressing the situation here, so the losses will be less."

"And I heard that those troops left in an organized manner. Some of the 20,000 soldiers in a battalion could leave with 15,000 soldiers. Every morning when we woke up, large areas of the military camps were empty. We dared not stop them on such a large scale." "If we stop them, I'm afraid we will have to fight a battle before the Turks come."

Hou Junji's face darkened: "Are they all heading west?"

"Yes."

Wang Xuance was also the commander of the Jinyiwei, so he was well-informed: "After leaving the barracks, many troops directly escorted the nobles coming out of Chang'an City and headed towards the Western Regions. There were their fiefdoms there, and the nobles had chosen to abandon the court."

"I will definitely take away all the power that can be taken away. I won't stay here to die."

After thinking for a while, Hou Junji sighed and said, "Forget it. If it rains, it will rain. If my mother wants to get married, if they want to leave, let them go! Don't conflict with them. I don't believe that all soldiers are willing to follow the nobles."

"Try to appease the soldiers who remain. For those who choose to stay after their commanders leave, discuss and absorb them into your army. If the number of people is insufficient, reduce the organization and make sure those who remain have combat effectiveness."

"Yes, Marshal."

Everyone agreed. Then, Li Jingxuan, the youngest among them, hesitated for a moment and asked tentatively, "General, now we have internal and external troubles and the situation is critical. I wonder if the emperor has any coping strategies? If there is a mature plan, it can also calm the morale of the army."

"No, I heard that the emperor has locked himself in the imperial study and has not been seen for three days."

Hou Junji said with a serious face: "I don't know what the emperor is planning. But we, as generals, only need to do our duty. Even if the Turks break through Chang'an, I will not retreat a single step."

"I have lived for most of my life and served two dynasties as a loyal minister. The worst that can happen is that I will die. I will bury my old bones in advance."

At this point, Hou Junji changed the subject, glanced at everyone, and said calmly: "Of course, you are all young, and you have families. This battle is a life-and-death struggle. If you want to find a way out, I won't blame you."

"You can also leave, protect yourself or join the nobles, I will not make things difficult for you."

Well.
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's faces changed. Xue Rengui was the first to kneel on one knee, clasped his fists and said, "General, I am a minister of the Tang Dynasty, and I have been trained by the emperor since I was a prince. I am deeply favored by the emperor, and I can only repay my country with my death. Please do not doubt me, General."

"That's right. A real man should be grateful and repay kindness."

Wang Xuance then said with emotion: "The emperor treats us like brothers. If we leave now, we will be no different from animals. Please rest assured, General, I would rather die on the battlefield than follow the example of those scums of the noble families and live in shame."

"We swear to live and die with Chang'an!" The others also expressed their stance firmly.

Hou Junji nodded with satisfaction and praised excitedly: "Well, you are indeed selected by the emperor himself, and you are all good. I believe that with your help, we will be united. It will not be easy for the Turks to take Chang'an and destroy our Tang Dynasty."

After everyone stood up again, Hou Junji ordered everyone to reorganize the remaining soldiers and regroup them. Finally, he said, "The noble generals and the emperor are not of the same mind. They stay. Although they seem to have a large number of people, their combat effectiveness is not strong."

"Now it's all right. The redundant ones have been eliminated and the elite ones have been retained. Those who remain are those who are truly willing to defend the country."

"Keep these people firmly in your hands and train them. I believe we can defend Chang'an."

The generals responded loudly: "We respect the commander's orders!"

After discussing for a while, everyone slowly left.

When there was no one else in the account, Hou Junji's solemn expression suddenly changed, as if he had become a different person, and he slowly returned to the desk and sat down. Looking at the resignation letters thrown on the ground in front of him, a strange smile appeared on his face.

In the past few days, many generals from aristocratic families have left, and they have also taken a group of trusted men with them to escort their families to the Western Regions. In the eyes of outsiders, Hou Junji, as the pillar of the Tang army, should be like an ant on a hot pot when facing such a dilemma.

But in fact, Hou Junji was more excited than ever before. If he was not in the military camp at this time, he would have wanted to roar to the sky to release his inner joy and excitement.

He understood now, he understood everything.

This feeling of seeing through the situation and being the only one awake while the rest of the world is drunk is really refreshing. He had already admired the emperor before, but the current situation still made him feel like a frog in a well looking up at the bright moon in the sky.

The emperor was so wise. He felt fortunate to have been able to live with such a wise ruler in his lifetime.

He knew that Li Shimin's last wish was to eliminate the aristocrats and regain the imperial power. After hundreds of years of development, the aristocrats had long been integrated with the Tang Dynasty, with their tentacles spread all over the world. No one could separate them from the people except themselves.

(End of this chapter)