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

Chapter 1230 The Emperor Faints
Whether it is the emperor or foreign enemies, as long as they target the aristocratic families, they cannot avoid the people surrounding them. They are intertwined and connected, and there is no distinction between you and me. This is also the fundamental reason for the final failure of Yang Guang and Li Shimin.

Hou Junji also thought that this question was unsolvable, even if Li Chengqian had the fighting power of the entire Turkic people. He could easily destroy the Tang Dynasty and change the dynasty, but he could not eliminate the aristocratic families that had penetrated into his bones.

Just like Hou Junji can destroy a person at will, but he cannot eliminate the virus in that person.

But right under his nose, Li Chengqian did the impossible.

First it was Shandong, and now it was Guanlong. The Turkic army of 800,000 people moved southward, slowly pressing down from the north with the force of a mountain pressing down on one's head. They were approaching step by step, one after another, and the pressure was so great that people could not breathe and could not see any hope.

Finally, he took advantage of the nobles' selfish desire to preserve themselves and made them choose to withdraw.

Take the army for example. The aristocratic families have been running the army for a hundred years. More than half of the officers and soldiers are their strength. They are mixed with the army of the court. You are in me and I am in you. No one can tell them apart.

When the interests of imperial power and the aristocracy are consistent, the court can mobilize them smoothly; if there is a conflict between imperial power and the aristocracy, these people will make it impossible for you to mobilize the army.

Hou Junji had led troops for many years and was well aware of this: the aristocratic families were a group that was tightly attached to the tree of the Tang Dynasty, and they would live and die together.

Now, the emperor has pushed the situation to the edge of a cliff with disasters and wars, and the next step is irreversible. In this situation, the nobles with independent consciousness will naturally not perish with the Tang Dynasty.

In the past few days, not only was there chaos in the court, the people in the north were in chaos, and even the army was in chaos.

Hou Junji now understood why the emperor put him in this position, which was to let him stabilize the overall situation and gather the remaining military forces. People who were originally connected by blood but had different thoughts were separated cleanly under the command of various noble families.

This is more efficient than what we could achieve no matter how much effort we put in the past.

Hou Junji knew why the emperor locked himself in the imperial study and refused to see outsiders. On the surface, it seemed that he was panicking and didn't know what to do, but in fact he was just stalling for time, cutting off the hope of the nobles and making the situation even more dangerous.

Is it actually dangerous?

There is no safer time than now. Hou Junji knew that the 800,000 troops of the Right Wise King were all friendly troops. When it really came to the last moment, whether to march eastward to pacify Li You or turn westward to wipe out the noble families all depended on the emperor's mind.

Hou Junji was thinking of this just now, so he deliberately tested it.

It is said that strong winds reveal strong grass, turbulent times reveal loyal ministers, and times of crisis reveal people's true colors. Those generals who relied on their education background, if they secretly joined the nobles, or if they were not firm in their minds, would be washed out and would never be able to enter the emperor's eyes again.

This is a war, it's being fought now, and loyalty and betrayal are the keys to victory.

Everyone has to go through the test, and only those who stand firmly on the side of imperial power can get the huge rewards in the future. Because once the nobles leave, the court will have a lot of powerful positions vacant, waiting to reward those loyal ministers.

In Chengqing Hall of Taiji Palace, important officials were running around in a panic. The emperor had been staying indoors for five days.

In the past few days, the Turks have moved southward for several hundred miles and have captured many areas in the northern Hetao region, including Shengzhou, Youzhou, Lingzhou, and Xiazhou. This time, the Turkic army is large in number and powerful, and they marched southward in four routes, each with 200,000 cavalry.

The empty states in Guannei Road were not able to resist, especially the brutal treatment of local noble families by the Turks, which made the noble families in the capital area panic. Many ministers did not even attend the court and fled Chang'an with their families and children.

People from the northern part of Guannei Road and the prefectures near the capital kept moving south. The rioters fleeing from the north endlessly spread the atrocities of the Turks, making the people in the capital unable to calm down, and many of them joined the army fleeing south.

People's hearts are confused and the world is in turmoil.

Even the military was greatly affected. In just a few days, the army transferred back from the north and the Western Regions shrank by half.

But at this time, the emperor hid in the imperial study, neither attending court nor handling government affairs. He did not see any of the important officials of the central government or the ministers of the six ministries, as if he really could not withstand such a disaster and was escaping alone.

Fang Xuanling stood in the hall and said to Wang De anxiously, "Wang De, go and tell him that I want to see the emperor. The palace is about to collapse. There are so many things waiting for him to deal with, and so many officials have already left the court. If we continue to delay, the emperor will be in trouble."

"Even gods can't save the Tang Dynasty."

"That's right. Now Chang'an is in chaos both inside and outside. The world is out of control."

Xiao Yu also said anxiously: "We need the emperor to come out and take charge of the situation. No matter how powerful the enemy is, our Tang Dynasty has been established for 30 years and has a solid foundation. As long as the emperor can appease the people and organize forces to deal with it, we can still stop it."

Zhang Xuansu also said sternly: "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. How can you escape at this critical moment? The Turks have already reached Dingxiang Yunzhong. It will only take ten days for them to reach the outskirts of Chang'an. How long can Your Majesty hide away?"

"Hurry up and tell them, we want to see the emperor."

Cen Wenben, Liu Bo, Ma Zhou and others shouted loudly: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, we are begging for an audience." Although Wang De's face was heavy, he said calmly: "My Lords, please stop shouting. The Emperor has caught a cold these two days and is not feeling well. He is not in the Imperial Study, but in the quiet room at the back! There is a long corridor between us, so no matter how loud you shout here, you won't be heard there."

"The Emperor has already issued an order that the government affairs are handled by the important officials of the Central Government."

"As for how to deal with this, you all have more experience than him. Just discuss and deal with it. As long as you reach a consensus, the emperor will have no objection."

“No matter how experienced we are, there are some things we have no right to handle.”

Xiao Yu snorted coldly: "Everything that happened in the past few days is a matter of military and national importance that requires the emperor's personal attention. If he doesn't come out, we will go to the empress dowager to seek justice."

"No need to go, I'm right here."

Suddenly, a majestic female voice came from the direction of the palace gate. The ministers looked back and saw Zhangsun Wugou, dressed in the solemn empress dowager's robe, walking in accompanied by Princess Jinyang and the Queen.

"I will see the Queen Mother!"

Before everyone knelt down, Changsun Wugou waved his hand and said, "Forget it. It's time now. Stop talking about these frivolous words that insult the emperor."

"Queen Mother, you have come at the right time. The King of Qi is rebelling and occupying Luoyang. The Turkic Right Wise King's army is invading the south. The Emperor has stayed indoors and has not come out. We are helpless."

Before Fang Xuanling finished speaking, Zhangsun Wugou said decisively, "Master Fang, you don't need to say more. I know the situation clearly. You should have gone to Daming Palace a long time ago. The emperor may have never experienced such a scene before, so it is understandable that he was a little confused for a while."

"Please wait here for a moment. I will go and invite the emperor."

After saying that, Changsun Wugou looked at Wang De, frowned, and said coldly: "Why don't you lead the way."

Wang De panicked. Although the emperor had ordered not to see anyone, the empress dowager was an exception. He did not dare to refuse and hurriedly led Changsun Wugou towards the inner hall.

Changsun Wugou rushed through the corridor and two palace barriers and came to the quiet room at the back. After thinking for a while, he ordered, "You all wait outside. No one is allowed to come in without my order."

"Yes, mother." Jinyang and Haitang responded and hurriedly stood guard at the door. Wang De, Henglian and others also stopped to move forward.

Zhangsun Wugou stood in front of the door and sorted out her thoughts. She thought of a lot of things in her mind, including the scene of her son hiding in the corner of the quiet room and secretly crying; the scene of him getting drunk and using it as an excuse to escape; and even the scene of him smashing things and roaring wildly, etc.

As a mother and the queen mother, how should I persuade my son to cheer up and clean up the mess?

At the same time, she sighed silently in her heart. She couldn't understand why the situation suddenly took a turn for the worse when it was obviously a good situation before. Li You rebelled, and so many people joined the rebellion against the court; the Turks took advantage of the situation and sent heavy troops to attack.

Thinking of the bad news one after another, it was like thunder pressing down on her, making it hard to breathe. Not to mention her son who had never experienced any hardships, even she was a little panicked.

"Qian'er, your mother is here to see you."

Changsun Wugou called out softly, then opened the door.

This is a large hall with two rooms, the outer one is arranged like a guest hall, and the inner one is the quiet room where the emperor usually practices meditation.

He pricked up his ears and listened. It was all quiet. Changsun Wugou relaxed a little, then pushed the door and walked in.

When she saw the scene, Changsun Wugou's heart stopped beating instantly, and her mind went blank. She saw Li Chengqian, dressed in a dragon robe, lying on the futon in the middle, as if he had lost his voice and was motionless.

"Someone, come quickly!"

A shrill cry suddenly exploded in the quiet hall.

Princess Jinyang and Haitang outside the door, as well as Henglian and Wang De who were guarding here, were all startled and rushed in. When they saw that the emperor was unconscious, everyone panicked. They never expected that the emperor would faint.

When everyone was in a mess, only Henglian calmly stepped forward, tremblingly put his finger under the emperor's nose, and probed slightly. This action immediately reminded everyone of something, and they were so scared that they trembled all over. Haitang even covered her mouth, fearing that she would scream out.

Henglian suppressed his pounding heart, and when he felt the faint breath, he breathed a sigh of relief and said quickly: "The emperor's breathing is normal, but he is a little weak. He also has a fever, maybe he has caught a cold. Quickly send the imperial physician to treat him."

(End of this chapter)