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

Chapter 739 Li Shimin Sets His Eyes on Quan Wanji

Li Shimin's thoughts changed, and the Hundred Cavalry Division, which was just maintaining its status, was no longer enough. Ma Xuanliang was originally just a general defending the city, a warrior, who had never read any books, had a simple mind, and was narrow-minded, and could not meet his needs at all.

But Li Shimin did not want the ministers in the court to get involved, so as to avoid the power falling into the hands of others.

And this really proves the old saying, "If you try to plant flowers, they may not grow, but if you plant willows by accident, they may grow into a shade."

The prince's childish tricks actually paid off time and again, and he obtained important intelligence about the Turks many times, while the professional agency, the Hundred Cavalry Division, became a decoration. This made Li Shimin feel very embarrassed and extremely dissatisfied. Fortunately, the prince did not know the existence of the Hundred Cavalry Division, otherwise he would have laughed his head off.

Li Shimin looked at Ma Xuanliang, who was kneeling on the ground and apologizing, and felt angry and helpless. This man was loyal, but he was just incapable of doing anything. He was just a blockhead and was not cut out for intelligence work.

Even if he killed him, he wouldn't be able to force anything out of him. He still had to find someone to be in charge of the Hundred Cavalry Division so that Ma Xuanliang could concentrate on protecting his own safety.

But it is not easy to find such people.

He was the emperor now, and the people he could interact with were mostly eunuchs, palace maids, and guards, people of too low status. They had no ability and no qualifications.

However, important officials like Fang Xuanling, Zhangsun Wuji, Wei Zheng, Xiao Yu, and Dai Zhou were capable, but they were more cunning than himself and easily lost control.

Not to mention generals like Hou Junji, Cheng Yaojin, Li Jing and Zhang Liang. The main responsibility of the Hundred Cavalry Division now is to monitor them. How can they be allowed to manage themselves? This is like letting a wolf into the chicken coop and asking for trouble.

Not to mention people like Li Daozon, Li Xiaogong and Li Yuanchang, using them would easily threaten one's own safety.

Seeing Li Shimin angry, Ma Xuanliang quickly explained, "Your Majesty, the most important duty of the Hundred Cavalry Division was to monitor the military commanders in the court and the governors and governors of some important local towns. Later, Your Majesty ordered us to focus on the Turks, so most of our forces were transferred to the periphery."

"Among the princes in the capital, we only focus on a few princes who can threaten the emperor."

"There weren't any people around the young princes, so we could still get some public information, but if the princes were a little more low-key, we wouldn't be able to find out the inside story, and the emperor didn't allow us to ask directly, so."

"Useless! Even if we put them in the periphery, your Hundred Cavalry Division won't be able to do anything about them."

Li Shimin stood up irritably and paced back and forth in the study room: "The Crown Prince's Jinyiwei has only been established for a few months, and they have been able to find out the information in the Turkic tent. Last month, Tuli and Jieli almost fought each other, and you, the Hundred Cavalry Division, have not figured out the reason yet."

"Half a month ago, Xueyantuo leader Chuluo was killed, and the Xueyantuo and the Xibi tribes started fighting. You didn't know about it either, so how did the Jinyiwei know about it?"

"The Imperial Guards only have a few hundred men, while your Hundred Cavalry Division has several thousand men, yet they are still not as useful as the Imperial Guards. I think you have been idle for too long, your teeth and claws have been worn down, and you have forgotten that you still need to hunt."

Ma Xuanliang quickly fell to the ground, resting his head deeply on the floor, not daring to make any distinction.

Facing the emperor's accusations, Ma Xuanliang was full of questions and felt a little ashamed when he thought that the prince, a teenager with only a few hundred people, was able to find out such important military intelligence earlier than himself. Could it be that he was really incompetent?

"Did anyone suspicious come in and out of Li Ke's house during those two days?"

Ma Xuanliang thought about it quickly, and then said: "After the conflict between the Prince of Shu and the Crown Prince in Huichang Temple, as soon as I got the news, I immediately sent more people to pay attention. After the Prince of Shu returned to his mansion that day, the Taicang Office Commander Quan Wanji went there."

"But he left not long after that, and then the Prince of Shu was assassinated on the way to the palace."

"Quan Wanji?"

Li Shimin was stunned, and immediately thought of the fat official who had been removed from the position of Honglu Temple Secretary by him for spreading rumors. The reason why he had a deep impression of him was thanks to the picture Wei Zheng gave him, which allowed him to imagine it.

After finally finding out the other party's identity, I made a special comparison myself.

Sure enough, it was exactly the same as in the image. Because of this incident, Li Shimin had a deep impression of Quan Wanji.

As soon as Ma Xuanliang mentioned it, he thought of that image.

Li Shimin asked in surprise: "Isn't he working in the Honglu Temple? Why did he go to the Taicang Office again?"

Ma Xuanliang was beaten with dozens of sticks because of the rumors at that time, so he had a deep impression of Quan Wanji. He also paid attention to Quan Wanji's several changes later.

So he said, "Your Majesty has too many things to do, so he may not remember clearly. Because of the rumors, Quan Wanji was demoted several levels. Because he was also an official of the Prince of Shu's Palace, the Prince of Shu spoke up for him, and the Majesty appointed him as the Taicang Office Manager."

When Ma Xuanliang reminded him, Li Shimin immediately remembered that he had asked the King of Shu to intervene in the transportation of grain and grass as a check and balance.

It's just that I wouldn't even bother to remember the appointment of such a low-level official.
Seeing that Li Shimin was very interested in this man, Ma Xuanliang was immediately excited and felt that he was useful again. He quickly told the whole story of Quan Wanji: "Your Majesty, Quan Wanji is from Lueyang, Tianshui, Longxi. His father is Quan Zhuojie, the governor of Kuangzhou in the Sui Dynasty."

"Quan Zhuo had a very good relationship with the former Right Prime Minister Feng Deyi. Because of this relationship, Quan Wanji became Feng's disciple as soon as he arrived in Chang'an."

"After Lord Feng died, Quan Wanji joined the Shu County Palace and became an official there. He was well-read since he was a child and had a bit of brains. He was known as 'the better Zhuge Liang' and often gave advice to the Shu County Prince, who relied on him a lot." "Oh, there is such a thing?"

Li Shimin was startled, and immediately became very interested in Quan Wanji. He murmured, "He is a seventh-rank Taicang official. He happened to appear in the Prince of Shu's mansion that day, so he must know the inside story."

"Well, you go find him and ask him now." Thinking of this, Li Shimin said decisively.

Halfway through his speech, Li Shimin suddenly seemed to have thought of something and waved his hand: "Forget it, how about this, you go out of the palace now and secretly summon Quan Wanji to Chengqing Palace for me. Remember, don't alarm others."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Ma Xuanliang looked at the sun, thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, the palace gates are closed. Please give your order. I am too big a target. If I don't want to alert others, I can't come out in person. Should I send someone else to get the token out of the palace?"

Li Shimin went to the shelf next to him, took out a token similar to the one given to Li Yan, and handed it over: "Bring all the files of Quan Wanji to me, I want to check them."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Ma Xuanliang responded, took the token, and left the imperial study.

An hour later, it was already dark. Quan Wanji was wearing his home clothes and had no time to change before he was taken to the palace by a stranger holding an imperial edict.

Although he did not know the visitor, the imperial edict could not be forged, so Quan Wanji did not dare to delay and followed the visitor through the many palace restrictions to Chengqing Hall. After Ma Xuanliang verified that everything was correct, he took Quan Wanji into the hall and reported it.

Li Shimin waved his hand, and all the eunuchs and palace maids in the palace, including Ma Xuanliang and Wang De, withdrew.

Seeing this scene, Quan Wanji immediately knelt down and saluted: "Your Highness, I am the commander of the Taicang Office, Quan Wanji, and I pay my respects to the Emperor. Long live the Emperor!"

Then there was no movement, and the entire imperial study fell into an eerie silence.

Li Shimin didn't call out, and Quan Wanji didn't dare to move, or even ask, or look up. He just pricked up his ears and listened to the sound of Li Shimin flipping papers from time to time while sitting at the desk, feeling a little at a loss.

Quan Wanji was very panicked, secretly wondering what he had done wrong again.
He was only a seventh-rank official, a small official. He was not qualified to attend the court at ordinary times. He could only attend the square outside the Taiji Hall to make up the numbers during the grand court meetings.

Above them are the Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Junior Minister, and the Minister. The Ministry of Revenue has the Granary Department and the Minister of Revenue. If the Emperor wants to ask about the transportation of grain and grass, the Crown Prince is in charge, so it is not my turn, right?

The Taicang Office has been mobilizing food and fodder very frequently recently, and officers from various armies have been interacting with each other from time to time.

But Quan Wanji did not dare to reach out again. It was not that he was not greedy. He was good at everything, including wine, food, money and luck. It was just because it had not been long since the last incident at the Honglu Temple, and Quan Wanji was still in danger, so he controlled his desire.

Since nothing happened in Taicang, then there must be other things, which made Quan Wanji even more frightened.

Is it the King of Shu's business? Or is it the Crown Prince's business?

These two are masters, and I have to serve them carefully. If something happens to one of them, won’t I be able to take responsibility?

Li Shimin flipped through Quan Wanji's file slowly, glancing at the fat man kneeling below from time to time with a leisurely look.

That's right, he is leaving the other party hanging, but he is also warning the other party, asking him to reflect on himself and think things through. Otherwise, he might still be holding on to illusions, hoping for luck, and trying to fool himself.

Li Shimin knew very well what Quan Wanji was thinking at this moment. He was just worrying about gains and losses, weighing the pros and cons, making choices, and so on.

As long as you can wear down the other person's anger, he will naturally be honest with you. Anyway, you have plenty of time.

This was a silent contest. As the emperor, Li Shimin had absolute advantage and initiative.

Half an incense stick of time had passed when Quan Wanji lay on the ground, sweating all over, panting, his arms trembling slightly, and the sweat on his forehead wet the floor.

In the past, whenever Quan Wanji met Li Shimin, he was surrounded by a huge crowd. Quan Wanji always thought that he was full of knowledge and wisdom, but he just lacked some opportunities. When he entered the officialdom, the Tang Dynasty had already been established, otherwise there would be no such people as Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and Wei Zheng.

They just happened to catch the right opportunity. If there was a time for him to meet the king alone, Quan Wanji would definitely show off what he had learned and speak eloquently, using his talent to impress Li Shimin and talk about the Longzhong Plan of the Tang Dynasty, so as not to let Prime Minister Zhuge Liang take the lead.

But when he really faced Li Shimin alone, the pride in Quan Wanji's heart was instantly shattered.

Now, there are only Li Shimin and myself in the entire imperial study, without even a servant. Isn’t this the scene I have always dreamed of?
Why was I so frightened and afraid when the time came? Before the emperor even spoke, I was sweating profusely and felt like I was going to faint.

"Quan Wanji!" At this moment, a majestic voice seemed to come from the sky, waking up the drowsy Quan Wanji.

(End of this chapter)