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

Chapter 666 The Prince's Power

In Li Ke's small team, Quan Wanji served as a military strategist who gave advice and suggestions. He had followed Li Ke for quite some time and was deeply trusted by Li Ke. It was Quan Wanji who was behind this private show of goodwill towards Yuchi Gong.

At the same time, this news was also reported to Li Yan through Wang Xuance, so Li Yan seized the time node and killed two birds with one stone. He cut off Li Ke's claws reaching out to Yuchi Gong, and then surrendered Cheng Yaojin. Finally, he influenced the morale of many generals in Dingxiang area through Cheng Yaojin.

As for Yuchi Jingde, Li Yan was not too worried!
Yuchi Gong was honest and straightforward in character, with a bad temper. He had no sense of belonging, was proud of his achievements, and was overbearing. When he saw Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Zhangsun Wuji and others, he often ridiculed them in person and talked about their strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes he even argued with the ministers in the palace regardless of the occasion. His relationship with the dignitaries in the court gradually deteriorated.

Unlike Cheng Yaojin who used rudeness to cover up his meticulousness, Yuchi Gong was truly hot-tempered. He even publicly beat up Rencheng Prince Li Daozon at a banquet over a seating issue and almost blinded Li Daozon in one eye. This had already gone beyond the realm of defiling himself.

This gave Li Shimin a headache, so he had to send him to the local area. This way, at least he would not offend those powerful people who even Li Shimin was afraid of.

In history, it would not be long before Yuchi Gong was sent out to serve as the governor of Xiangzhou. From then on, he left the capital and began his career as a local official for more than ten years. He returned to Chang'an in the name of retirement in the 17th year of Zhenguan.

A hidden talent like Li Yan would try to avoid such a violent and impulsive general as much as possible.

If he got stuck with him, he would probably have no time to clean up his mess every day. When he heard that the commander-in-chief of Dingxiang Road appointed by the emperor was not him, he could not suppress his anger and glared at King Shu Li Ke. He wished he could beat Li Ke up. Li Yan felt that Yuchi Gong was difficult to deal with.

Only a fool like Li Ke would think of winning over such a person, who has big goals, many troubles, and whose emotions are all shown on his face. He is incomparable to Cheng Yaojin.

As for severing the connection between Yuchi Gong and Li Ke, it was purely because Li Yan was afraid that Li Ke would play too crazy and kill himself prematurely.

When watching the original drama, Cen Wenben really taught Li Yan a lot of things. Li Ke didn't remember them, but Li Yan took them seriously. Many of his strategies were influenced by Cen Wenben. Li Yan really didn't want to overthrow Li Ke and then start another game with Li Tai and Li Zhi. Old opponents are always more familiar than new enemies.

I have shaken Chai Zhewei, bribed Quan Wanji, hollowed out Li Ke's foundation bit by bit, and replaced him with my own people. He also has to share Li Shimin's attention for me and exclude and attack those younger brothers? If Li Ke falls, won't all my efforts and contributions become sunk costs?
Therefore, when his strength is low, Li Yan has to add some fuel to him, and when his strength is too great, he has to help him cool down, so that he can keep him in a position to provide good cover and serve as a peripheral, and wait until the day he ascends the throne.

Moreover, speaking objectively, Cheng Yaojin, who appears rough on the outside but is actually meticulous, is more suitable than Yuchi Gong for the positions of commander-in-chief of the Dingxiang Road and deputy commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition Army.

Yuchi Gong was a brave general but not a wise one, lacking in strategic vision and tolerance. In the original play, he was the deputy commander, but he lost Eyang Ridge before the battle even started, and even despised and ridiculed Li Ji on the spot after Li Ji repeatedly reminded him.

In the end, the angry Li Shimin stripped him of his military post and transferred him back to Chang'an.

Cheng Yaojin was far better than him in this respect, but he was slightly less loyal than Yuchi Gong, which was a unique attribute of smart people. The smarter and more active their minds were, the less likely they were to be loyal. But facing the ambitious and young Li Shimin, no matter how cunning he was, he could not play any tricks. In the upcoming war against the Turks, ability was more important than loyalty.

If all the generals were like Yuchi Gong, how many more people would have died?
When the announcement was made, while all the officials were still in shock, Li Shimin took a deep breath, glanced at them majestically, stood up, waved his sleeves and said, "Dismiss the court!"

At this moment, everyone's brains were confused by this series of accidents and they had no mind to discuss politics anymore. They were all frantically thinking about such personnel changes, what kind of power changes were behind them, and what impact would it have on themselves?
After a hasty salute, they walked out of the hall in twos and threes, expressing their speculations in low voices.

However, Wang De, Li Shimin's personal eunuch, stepped forward and said to Cheng Yaojin: "General Cheng, the emperor wants to speak to you in Chengqing Palace!"

"Thank you, sir."

Cheng Yaojin turned away several comrades who wanted to talk to him, and bowed his hands apologetically: "I'm sorry, everyone. Old Cheng has to go to see the emperor. I will chat with my old brothers later."

Chai Shao, who was standing beside him, turned pale and blue in expression. Seeing Cheng Yaojin so proud of himself, he felt so angry that his teeth were itching.

If I say that other people don't know about this, I would still believe it, but it is impossible that Cheng Yaojin, as the person involved, is completely unaware of it?

You old bastard, you acted like you were opening your heart to me yesterday, but you kept it a secret and didn't let anybody know.

Chai Shao now understood that he had been tricked by Cheng Yaojin!

He gave the Left Guard to his son, advised me to ask the Crown Prince for favors, and sent my youngest son to the East Palace as a tutor. I really thought he was staying out of it and had no choice. After all this time, I was the fool!

This old bastard Cheng Yaojin had clearly sided with the prince and made a big statement, which earned him the prince's full support, enabled him to learn the news in advance, and gave him the position of commander-in-chief of the Dingxiang Road Army.

Otherwise, based on the fact that Cheng Yaojin had been neglected by the emperor in the past two years, if the prince had not spoken well of him in front of the emperor, how could he have been given such an important military post?
I had thought that the prince was a little confused. For some ambiguous goodwill, he gave the Zuotunwei Imperial Guard to Li Ke. It was really naive.

Now it seems that he is really smart. He used an insignificant Zuotunwei to exchange for the position of Dingxiang Road Marching General, and also did me a favor and poached the King of Shu. The King of Shu lost both his wife and his army.
He gained some superficial gains, but lost the real benefits, completely lost the great general Cheng Yaojin, and lost half of the support of his uncle. But now the wood has sunk, can he regret it now?
If we go back on our words, I'm afraid we will seriously offend His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Moreover, with the defection of Cheng Yaojin, an important military general, some military generals who were originally not optimistic about the prince would also be affected and weaken their support for the King of Shu.

With the shameless mediation of Cheng Yao, the generals of Dingxiang Road would probably reconsider their positions. Even if they would not immediately support the Eastern Palace, they would certainly not be as optimistic about the King of Shu as before. This was the biggest loss for the King of Shu in this court meeting.

How could Dingxiang Road, with dozens of brave and skilled generals and an army of more than 100,000, be compared with the mere Zuotunwei?
Chai Shao looked at Cheng Yaojin's receding figure, then looked at his excited son, opened his mouth hesitantly, and finally sighed. When the situation was unclear, it would be better to withdraw first and not make hasty decisions.

Everything that needed to be explained was explained yesterday. Although my son is not very smart, he knows what is important.

Chai Shao felt empty inside when he walked out of the palace. He wanted to tell the emperor that he was actually capable of being the commander-in-chief of the Dingxiang Road Army. He could also leave the King of Shu and join the Crown Prince. He did not want the Zuotun Guard!

However, military affairs are no joke and cannot be changed overnight. The emperor made the decision at lightning speed because he did not want to trigger a dispute among the generals.

Seeing that King Shu Li Ke left the Taiji Hall in a hurry as if he was avoiding the plague god as soon as the court was over, Yuchi Jingde also walked past with a dark face, looking like he didn't want to pay attention to anyone.

Chai Shao smiled bitterly. He was not the only one who felt frustrated. It seemed that Yuchi Gong was also angry. He ignored the envy and congratulations from other generals and walked out of the palace alone.

When Cheng Yaojin came to Chengqing Palace again, his mood was completely different from the previous day's anxiety and fear of gain and loss. He felt much more at ease now. Although it was only a short day, he was terrified and nervous, but today he was trusted by the emperor again and entrusted with an important task.

At the same time, Cheng Yaojin has a new understanding of the prince's status and his influence on the emperor. He didn't expect that it was the first time he heard about this matter the day before yesterday. The prince changed the emperor's mind in just one day. It was really incredible.

The prince's power far exceeds his expectations!

He actually snatched the power to lead the troops in Dingxiang Road from Yuchi Gong, allowing himself to once again enter the core of power in the court.

Thinking of this, Cheng Yaojin felt a little more awe towards the prince that he had not had before.

"Your Majesty, I, Cheng Yaojin, kowtow to you!" Cheng Yaojin knelt on one knee with his hands clasped together, and saluted.

In the Tang Dynasty, there were no such perverted and humiliating formalities as in later generations. One did not have to kneel when meeting the emperor. Civil and military officials generally only needed to bow and salute. Only when attending a grand court or important ceremony did one need to perform the ritual of kneeling three times and kowtow nine times.

Military generals usually kneel on one knee to express their respect.

Li Shimin was in a very good mood and there were no other ministers in the hall. It seemed that he had taken time out specially to receive Cheng Yaojin. After asking Cheng Yaojin to sit on the brocade cushion, he asked Wang De to serve tea. Then he waved his hand, and Wang De walked out of the hall and closed the door.

Li Shimin had been a soldier all his life, and had dealt with these military generals many times and was very familiar with them. After becoming emperor, he was even more busy with state affairs, and he could control his ministers as he pleased.

It was ignored before, but now we pay attention to it and can make the best response immediately.

(End of this chapter)