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

Chapter 743: The Secret Contest between Imperial Power and Military Power
After Li Shimin learned the news, he rushed to the marquis's mansion overnight to stop it. You know, an emperor can't wait until the next day, and he falls asleep and then gets up and rushes out of the palace to deal with something. How could it be a trivial matter?
In a hurry, he did not forget to call Fang Xuanling who was outside the palace.

He was so anxious just to avoid the embarrassing situation of being unable to back down. Li Shimin did not even bother to check and directly announced in public that the one million was for compensation to the families of the Flying Tiger Army. Even Fang Xuanling immediately endorsed this matter.

Apart from the fact that the silver note obtained by Li Ke was originally given by the emperor, Fang Xuanling also knew that this matter could not be investigated at all.

What Fang Xuanling was considering was that Hou Junji was not only the core of the military power of the Prince Zou's Palace, one of the Nine Heroes of Xuanwu Gate, who had just pacified the Ding Jie rebellion in Xiangyang and made outstanding contributions, but he was also the General of the Right Guard in the court, in charge of half of the imperial guards in the capital area.

He was secretly training the Flying Tiger Army, and his daughter's marriage to the prince was also settled.

At this time, it was revealed that he had embezzled millions of public funds. How could the court explain this to the world? Hou Junji, representing a large number of military forces, did not make any comments. But in the upcoming Dingxiang Battle, Hou Junji would either lead his troops to the front line or sit in the capital to stabilize the rear.

There is no time for Li Shimin to calmly adjust his deployment now. If Hou Junji is attacked, it will cost a huge price!

But the Turks will not stop because of the internal adjustments of the Tang Dynasty. Now both sides know that a war that will determine the fate of the two countries is about to begin. If they win, they will control the world, and if they lose, they will become prisoners and slaves of a conquered country.

Now is the eve of a huge storm. Everyone is preparing themselves and accumulating strength for the unprecedented and shocking blow. No one can stop.

As the core official of the prime minister, Fang Xuanling knew that in order to deal with the Turks, Li Shimin had made huge concessions to the civil and military officials and the aristocratic families in order to unify all opinions and face the outside world in unison.

First deal with the Turks, create a peaceful environment, and then calmly govern the country internally.

This is the national policy, and the overall situation must not be affected by some corruption issues, so Hou Junji’s greed for reading cannot be investigated at all.

Li Shimin didn't want to investigate either. Fang Xuanling knew this, Li Shimin knew this, and Hou Junji knew it even more.

Otherwise, how could Hou Junji dare to use such a thing to set a trap and lure Li Ke into the bait? He saw that Li Ke was young and naive, impulsive and eager for fame, and did not have the vision and experience to see the secret contest and game between imperial power and military power behind this matter.

He could not see the precarious situation and trend of the Tang Dynasty, so he plunged into this bottomless abyss, and he was doomed to suffer.
In fact, Hou Junji took a great risk by doing this. He was overdrawing his friendship with the emperor, and he took advantage of Li Shimin's layout of the court and the subsequent Battle of Dingxiang to force the emperor to abandon Li Ke and support the prince.

As an emperor who emerged from troubled times, Li Shimin had excellent vision, ability and skills. He saw the mystery behind it, so he had to make a prompt decision and chose to sacrifice Li Ke, strip Li Ke of his prince title, and kick him out of the competition for the throne.

He turned a blind eye to corruption, appeased Hou Junji, and quickly arranged for the prince to marry Haitang before the Battle of Dingxiang, giving Hou Junji a reassurance. Stabilizing Hou Junji meant stabilizing the entire military faction, laying a solid foundation for future victory over the Turks.

As for Wei Zheng, he was praised highly, then gently put down, and just scolded him. Li Shimin knew that Hou Junji's target was Li Ke, and Wei Zheng just happened to be there, so whether to severely punish Wei Zheng or not, General Hou didn't care at all.

What happened later also proved that everyone felt relieved once Li Ke was out.

But the matter was over, and Cheng Yunliang showed up again. At this point, Li Shimin had to secretly thank Hou Junji. If it weren't for Hou Junji's prompt decision, Cheng Yunliang's entry into the palace would have set off an earthquake in the officialdom. Wouldn't he be in a real trouble at that time?
Maybe there would be another disturbance and everyone would put the Turkic issue aside and start infighting. This was the last thing Li Shimin wanted to see.

What's more, Hou Junji did not make a big deal out of the matter. He only dealt with Cheng Yunliang and did not do anything to Li Ke. This was considering the overall situation.

However, Cheng Yunliang and Li Ke did not know that it was far from the time to deal with these generals. Outside, the Turks were lurking in the north, and inside, the aristocratic families were waiting to make a move. The Tang Dynasty was still standing on the edge of a cliff and had not really settled down.

These generals, especially those loyal to him like Hou Junji, are very important to him and the Tang Dynasty.

If he wanted to deal with them, he would have to wait until the Battle of Dingxiang was over, when the Tang Dynasty was completely stable and there were no more threats to the Tang Dynasty's military power in the surrounding areas. At that time, he would not need them, and he would start to reduce the military power of the generals.

The generals returned to the court, and the soldiers were scattered in the wild.

Unfortunately, Cheng Yunliang only paid attention to small details and ignored the overall situation. He was less than 30 years old, a powerful fourth-rank official, the Governor of Xiangyang, and already an important official in the court. However, he was not satisfied. For the sake of his own political achievements, he seized some spoils and started a fight with a general who held military power.

After escaping by chance, he did not come to find me, but found the King of Shu in the middle of the night. As a result, he was used by the King of Shu and died unclearly. Li Shimin had no sympathy for Cheng Yunliang's end. He had given him enough. Not every minister had the opportunity to enter the Martyrs' Shrine, enjoy eternal worship, and bless his descendants. It was precisely because of Hou Junji's matter that he was so generous and gave him some compensation.

But Cheng Yunliang was unwilling to lie in the Martyrs' Shrine. He wanted to use the King of Shu to defeat Hou Junji, return to the power field, and continue his glory.

One million strings of cash is only enough to buy a fourth-rank General of the Central Army in the Flying Tiger Army, while Hou Junji's third-rank General of the Sixteen Guards and the first-rank Duke of the State are not worth much, and cannot be bought with just one million strings of cash.

Cheng Yunliang was still too young. He was successful at a young age and suddenly got into a high position, so he got carried away. He had no idea about the affairs of power. There were things in the officialdom that were done in public and in secret, and the private things were often more important.

To hold an official position with real power above the third rank, one cannot be promoted simply by making meritorious contributions; those positions are necessary for the stability of power.

Loyalty and ability come first, integrity and honesty are secondary.

However, Hou Junji's loyalty and ability are both top-notch. He is a core member of Li Shimin's power circle and an important support for Li Shimin to stabilize the country and consolidate his power.

He is not the pillar of the East Palace, but the pillar of his own Taiji Palace. How can he allow Cheng Yunliang and Li Ke to destroy him?

Moreover, Li Ke's attack on the prince was not based on considerations of national stability, but on the need for a power struggle. Not only was his vision narrow, but the targets he chose and the methods he used were also extremely stupid, so failure was natural.

Although everything seemed calm on the surface during this period, there were actually turbulent undercurrents brewing underneath, and Li Shimin had no control over the situation. This made Li Shimin very upset. He felt that after becoming emperor, he paid too much attention to being upright and aboveboard, so that he was somewhat out of control of the situation.

This is something Li Shimin could not accept or tolerate!
Thinking of this, he became even more determined to keep the Hundred Cavalry Division running. Not only should he not abolish it, but he should also strengthen it, increase investment, add more informants, expand more information channels, and strengthen his grasp of the situation.

But Ma Xuanliang is obviously not the type to do this kind of thing. Is there anyone in the court who can take on this task?
Li Shimin pondered for a while, turned his head, and suddenly saw a person kneeling on the ground. Then he realized that he was so distracted that he forgot that there were ministers playing music in front of him.

He frowned and was about to tell Quan Wanji to get out.

Suddenly, an idea occurred to me. I was really looking for someone to hire. Isn't the person in front of me the talent I need?
Before this, Quan Wanji had only been promoted to the sixth rank of Honglu Cheng, and now he is even more of a seventh rank, keeping a low profile in the court.

Moreover, this man is in his thirties, which is the prime time for an official.

The Quan family is a family of officials, not a wealthy family, but not ordinary people either. He has been reading books since he was a child, and he is smart, talented, and knowledgeable. He also serves as a counselor to Li Ke. He used to follow Feng Deyi and knows the rules of the power field.

He will not act rashly, nor will he be timid like Ma Xuanliang.

Cheng Yunliang was less than 30 years old when he became the governor of a state, a position of fourth rank in the imperial court, while Quan Wanji was over 30 years old and had the support of figures like the King of Shu and Feng Deyi, but he had only achieved the sixth rank before. This showed that he was not deeply involved with them and had no greater power to support him.

Calling him "the better Zhuge Liang" is of course bullshit, but it also shows that this person still has some brains. I just saw it with my own eyes. Quan Wanji still has some quick wit. At least his ability to read people's expressions is better than Ma Xuanliang's, and his brain works faster.

The previous spread of rumors and the Flying Tigers incident showed that although this person had some ideas, they were not that powerful, at least he would not let himself lose control.

It should be no problem to have such a person take charge of the Hundred Cavalry Division and do some specific operations under my control.

Moreover, this person is not a good person at first glance. He is fat and bloated, second only to Hu Chengcheng. The previous reply also shows that the other party is not a loyal minister like Wei Zheng, but very slippery. Then I don't have any psychological burden. This person is born to be a dog.

Thinking of this, Li Shimin liked Quan Wanji more and more, and a meaningful smile appeared on his face unconsciously: "Quan Wanji, I plan to give you a glorious and arduous mission. Come here and I will talk to you."

Quan Wanji's eyes suddenly widened, and when he saw Li Shimin's obscene smile, he felt cold all over and shivered uncontrollably!

(End of this chapter)