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

Chapter 607: No Secrets in the Court

"Hahaha, Cheng Qian, I didn't expect you to really get a treasure. Among these ten tutors is Wang Xuance. Your efforts are not in vain. At such a young age, he has such a deep mind. If you train him a little, he will definitely be your loyal minister in the future."

Li Yan saw Zhangsun Wuji's admiring expression, stood up and stretched, and said speechlessly: "Uncle, what are you talking about? I don't understand. What's the plan? What's the trap? What do you understand?"

"Forget it, if you don't understand then just don't understand!"

Zhang Sun Wuji looked at the innocent little white face with a meaningful look on his face, shook his head, and said with a smile: "Just be a good prince, be a filial brother to your parents and love your brothers, and leave these things to me."

"I have fully understood Xuan Ce's intentions. Now it's up to me."

Li Yan finally felt relieved. Zhang Sun Wuji was an old and cunning man, and he did things perfectly. The effect was better than if he did it himself. Moreover, he had been in the court for a long time, so he knew what to do and to what extent, and he knew it better than himself.

Of course, the most important thing is that there are many smart people in the court, such as Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui, who can often infer the truth behind the situation even without evidence, just by looking at the surface. It is really terrible, so there must be someone to take the blame.

The eldest grandson is the most suitable person. He has a strong background, is cunning and resourceful, and has the motive to do so. This blame must belong to him.

Even if he said it wasn't him, Lao Fang and Lao Du wouldn't believe it.

Li Yan sighed and shook his head. In the eyes of those smart people, there were basically no secrets in the court. No matter what the matter was, as long as they glanced at it and started their CPU to calculate, they could immediately draw the conclusion: 60% was J, 30% was K, and 10% was A.

Is this simply cheating?

Changsun Wuji looked at the sun outside which was about to set and urged, "It's getting late. The palace gates will be locked in a little while. Go back quickly. You don't have to worry about this matter. Just focus on your own work. I promise that within three days, I will stir up a storm in Chang'an City and make your third brother pay for it."

"In that case, I won't care about your nephew anymore. I'll go back to the palace now." Li Yan smiled slightly, called Xue Rengui outside, and went back to the East Palace with a group of guards.

After seeing Li Yan off, Changsun Wuji said to the outside, "Housekeeper, come in. I have something to tell you."

As soon as Li Yan returned to the East Palace, Heng Lian came up to him anxiously and reported, "Your Highness, where have you been? Someone just came to the palace. The Emperor is in Chengqing Palace, calling for you to see him."

"Oh, what's the matter? It's already this time, and the emperor usually needs to rest."

"Half an hour ago, Eunuch Wang from Chengqing Palace first sent someone to come, and then came in person. If you don't come back, who knows, he might come again in a while. I have sent several guards to the East Market to look for you."

Li Yan quickly changed into the crown prince's attire and went out of Xuande Gate with Heng Lian. He took the shortcut from the West Inner Courtyard and entered Taiji Palace. As soon as he arrived at the entrance of Chengqing Hall, he heard Li Shimin yelling inside: "Where is the crown prince? Why hasn't he come yet? What has he been doing all day? Why can't I find him?"

Li Yan secretly stuck out his tongue. The emperor had a bad temper. He wanted to see whoever he wanted to see immediately. No wonder none of the ministers went out for entertainment after the court session, especially people like Changsun Lao'er, who stayed at home except for attending court sessions.

Li Yan could meet him anytime he wanted. Li Yan had usually mocked Changsun Laozi, saying that although he was a third-rank official, he had no nightlife at all and didn't even know how to make plans. He said that the song and dance of the Tang Dynasty were incomparable to those of other dynasties.

After all this time, we have an emperor who is so eager to see every minute count. Who would dare to run around?

What if I was drunk and was summoned by the emperor? Wouldn't the emperor hate me?
Li Yan quickly quickened his pace and walked into the imperial study: "Your son pays respect to the emperor, long live the emperor."

"Okay, get up quickly!"

Li Yan greeted Cen Wenben who was serving the emperor in Chengqing Palace, and the other party bowed slightly.

Li Shimin handed a memorial to Li Yan: "Hongwen Hall has just received an urgent report. It has rained heavily in recent days and the river has risen sharply, which has washed away the Yongtong Canal. The grain transport from Luoyang to Chang'an has been piled up at the entrance of the Tongguan River. The only land route connecting the north and the south is Tongguan, which is not enough."

"The border towns of Jingzhou and Bingzhou are in urgent need of food and fodder. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers are waiting for food. The Tongguan Pass is blocked for hundreds of miles. The food in Luoyang cannot be transported to Chang'an. The urgent news has been reported to me."

"The transportation of grain involves a wide range of issues. All six ministries are involved. It is difficult for anyone to mediate, so I intend to let you take the lead and manage this matter. On the one hand, you need to repair the grain transport, and on the other hand, you need to adjust the Tongguan Pass. The grain and grass for the border soldiers must not be delayed." Li Yan took it and saw that it was indeed an emergency document from Luoyang. He did not agree immediately. After thinking for a while, he said, "Father, I am quite busy these days. It just so happens that my third brother has returned from the negotiations in Suizhou and has been staying in the mansion every day with nothing to do."

"My third brother is a smart and capable man, and he does things in a swift and decisive manner. I think it would be better to give this task to him, so as to avoid delaying important matters of the court."

Cen Wenben standing next to him had an eager look on his face. He had long wanted to fight for the King of Shu, but he was a calm man and knew that the transportation of grain between the capital and the border was a matter of great importance. The Northern Expedition would not be delayed beyond this winter. Whoever was in charge of the grain and fodder would naturally become the chief inspector of grain and fodder for the three armies on the front line once the war broke out.

Not only will he gain the first merit in the Northern Expedition, but with a bag of money in his hand, the generals will deliberately try to get close to him. I don't know how many generals he can win over and make friends with. This is a great opportunity to expand his power.

Moreover, the negotiations between the King of Shu and the Turks some time ago made a lot of headlines. Later, the Crown Prince gave the post of General of the Left Tunwei Yifu to the King of Shu. The power of the King of Shu has greatly increased. Now, both the court and the public are praising the King of Shu, which has subtly overshadowed the East Palace.

That's why the Emperor gave such a task to the Crown Prince to boost his prestige. Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince was so foolish as to push the task onto the King of Shu without even a second thought. This made Cen Wenben really confused for a moment. Was the Crown Prince a wise man pretending to be foolish, or was he really confused?
The previous judgments are no longer certain.
"Humph"

As expected, Li Shimin's face darkened, and he didn't respond to Li Yan's words at all. He angrily scolded him, "You are the crown prince, and I think you are the one who does nothing all day long, idle away, taking your few tutors with you every day, either eating and drinking, or wandering around the two markets. Are you still busy, busy eating, drinking, having fun, and playing games with your life?"

Seeing that Li Shimin was angry, Cen Wenben dared not speak even more!

Li Yan was not afraid, and said calmly: "In this case, I will listen to my father and accept this mission."

"However, supervising the transportation of grain and fodder and clearing the Tongguan Pass will not require many people. I, your son, and the officials of the Eastern Palace can naturally handle it. However, the breach of the Yongtong Canal cannot be handled by a few dozen people."

"Father, we will definitely need to recruit thousands of laborers to do the repairs. With so many people busy, someone must be in charge. I don't have anyone on my side, so I can't transfer all six officers of the Eastern Palace to manage it, right?"

Li Yan kept thinking in his mind and said, "The Zuo Tunwei is stationed at the north gate. Cheng Huailiang has just taken over as the General of the Central Army. Why not let my third brother take the 5,000 soldiers of the Zuo Tunwei to manage it and recruit some labor. With my third brother's talent, he will definitely be able to repair the Yongtong Canal."

"This matter is of great importance and cannot be taken lightly. Let my third brother assist me. We brothers will work together, one in charge of the land route and the other in charge of the water route. We will definitely live up to our father's trust and get this matter done."

Li Shimin looked impatient at first. I'm helping you, and you're so stupid. Can't you see the current situation clearly? You're being bullied by others. You wander around the streets every day, don't you hear what people are saying about you, the prince?

But Li Yan's last words of "brotherly unity" moved Li Shimin, as if it reminded Li Shimin of some unhappy past. He was stunned and his face darkened. Then he looked at Li Yan with complicated eyes. He saw that Li Yan looked expectant, as if he really had no objection to Li Ke.

In addition, Cen Wenben also looked like he was interested. Li Shimin was silent for a while, then waved his hand impatiently: "Okay, let's do it this way?"

"Cen Wenben, draft the decree."

Cen Wenben quickly cupped his hands and bowed respectfully, saying, "Your Majesty."

"The Crown Prince, as the person in charge of the food and grass circulation from the border to the capital, cleared the Tongguan Pass and sent an order to Li Ke, asking him to mobilize the Zuotun Guards, recruit laborers, and be responsible for the repair of the Yongtong Canal to ensure that the waterway is unobstructed."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Cen Wenben was secretly delighted, this was great, he had been afraid that if he snatched this job, the King of Shu would become more prominent, but now with the Crown Prince blocking in front, it would not be difficult for Li Ke to handle this job with his talent, but everyone knew that the Yongtong Canal was the most important link in the blockage of the canal transport.

Is there any need to say who will make the greater contribution at that time?

Although Li Ke was under the command of the crown prince, all officials in the court knew that Li Ke was the hero who solved the problem, and the crown prince was just a figurehead. This way, the King of Shu would be more powerful, and he would also avoid being inferior to the crown prince and being gossiped about.

In a blink of an eye, Cen Wenben figured it all out. Looking at the prince who seemed to have turned down a huge trouble and looked relieved, he secretly felt lucky in his heart that this prince was not a shrewd man, otherwise, how would the King of Shu have any chance?
After returning to the Secretariat, Cen Wenben quickly drafted two imperial edicts. He gave one to Li Yan and took the other one himself out of the palace and went to the Prince of Shu's Palace.

(End of this chapter)