The Bad Guys: Playing the Fake Li Xingyun at the Beginning

He broke the defense.

But soon, he cheered up again. Li Siyuan had never been a person who would be easily defeated. If that were the case, he would have been lying down the last time Yuan Tiangang came.

It was precisely because he knew that Yuan Tiangang wanted to make him the whetstone for the emperor that he was unwilling and resisted.

He outlasted Li Cunxu and personally saw off Li Keyong. He finally had his day to shine, but suddenly another emperor descended upon him and weighed heavily on his head.

You still have a chance!

A cold light flashed in Li Siyuan's eyes, and he looked gloomy and scary. "Come here, invite An Zhonghui, Ren Yuan and the others to the mansion."

Soon, An Zhonghui, Ren Yuan, Li Congke and Shi Jingtang gathered at the Prince of Jin's Mansion.

When they arrived at the hall, they saw Li Siyuan sitting in the upper seat, drinking tea with an expressionless face.

They looked at each other in tacit understanding, and their hearts suddenly calmed down.

Li Siyuan put down his teacup slowly and said, "What do you think of what happened in the court today?"

Ren Yuan said cautiously, "Your Highness, King Qi is coming with great force, I'm afraid he's coming for you."

Li Siyuan smiled, contrary to his usual behavior. "Besides me, is there anyone else who is qualified to be targeted by him? The emperor supports the King of Qi, and it is obvious that he wants to challenge me."

Shi Jingtang, who used to be taciturn, made a suggestion, "Your Highness, I think it is better to stay still than to move. The court is in chaos now. In the past, no one stood up. We don't know who is truly loyal to us, nor do we know who is our enemy."

"The arrival of King Qi is a good opportunity to gather these people under his command. It will be better to set up a battle with chariots and horses than to cause accidental injuries."

Hearing this, Li Siyuan's eyes flickered, and he obviously took the advice into consideration.

If we act rashly at this time, unable to distinguish who is the opponent and who is the friend, it will be easy to cause accidental injuries and attract criticism. I have taken the initiative and have been planning in the court for so long, so why would I be afraid of a group of mobs?

He nodded and said in a deep voice, "You are right. At this time, we should remain unchanged in the face of change and not lose our composure."

Then, he looked at Li Congke and An Zhonghui, "What about you? What do you want to say?"

An Zhonghui stroked his beard and said, "Your Highness, although King Qi has a high prestige when he first arrived in Luoyang, that is in the past after all. His foundation is still shallow at this moment. It is better to send our people to join him and serve as undercover agents among him. When the critical moment comes, it will definitely be effective."

Speaking of undercover agents, Li Siyuan couldn't help but think of his sworn brother Li Cunli. He served as the Secretary of the Secretariat and was a direct subordinate of Prince Qi. It would be reasonable for him to defect to Prince Qi at this time.

"I'll have someone do it."

Once he had a direction, Li Siyuan was always decisive and made a decision quickly.

This matter set the tone. Li Siyuan looked at Shi Jingtang and Li Congke, "When do you plan to go back?"

Before that, he worked hard to transfer Shi Jingtang to the post of Jiedushi of Hedong. It was a great promotion from the military commander of a small Shanzhou Prefecture to the Jiedushi guarding a local area.

Hedong was the core area of ​​Jin State, and was near his old nest Taiyuan. Li Siyuan transferred him there, which was enough to show his trust in Shi Jingtang.

"Your Highness, I have just arrived in Hedong and I am unfamiliar with the place. I cannot stay in Luoyang for long and will go back in two days. I hope Your Highness will forgive me." Shi Jingtang stood up from his chair and saluted respectfully.

Although Shi Jingtang was Li Siyuan's son-in-law, Shi Jingtang was cautious and never overstepped his authority. He always treated Li Siyuan as a superior or a subordinate and did not act recklessly just because he was Li Siyuan's son-in-law.

Li Siyuan nodded secretly and did not try to persuade him to stay. In his opinion, someone like Shi Jingtang was a man who could accomplish great things, and it was worth it for him to hand over Hedong to him. "Well, since you want to leave, I won't keep you."

After saying that, he looked at Li Congke again.

Li Congke said quickly, "Your Highness, I plan to leave in two days. If I stay in Luoyang for too long, it will easily attract other people's attention and cause trouble."

At this time, if the Jiedushis stayed in Luoyang for a long time, it would definitely be an unstable factor. Li Siyuan didn't want them to stay here. He asked them to leave Luoyang to prevent the Jiedushis from various places from being won over by the emperor.

With them taking the lead, it would be difficult for others to stay here for long, and leaving was the inevitable choice.

However, the military governors near Qi State were destined to get closer to the emperor. Even the King of Qi surrendered to the emperor, so they had no choice but to follow.

Thinking of this, Li Siyuan couldn't help feeling regretful. When Li Cunxu was alive, he was afraid of Qi's military strength and did not fight with them, which allowed Qi to preserve its strength intact.

And now, this force has indirectly fallen into the hands of the emperor. It is truly a turbulent time.

A small mistake actually gave the emperor a chance to make a comeback and compete with him.

······

Prince Xue's Mansion.

Li Cunli walked back and forth in the room, his face full of joy and excitement. Today's court meeting gave him such a big surprise that he was very surprised.

He thought that the emperor had given him enough surprises before, but he did not expect that the emperor had quietly won over King Qi and placed him in the court.

I have to say that this was a brilliant move, a stroke of genius.

With Prince Qi in the court, Li Siyuan's influence will be much less than before, and the emperor may very likely be the one who has the last laugh.

In other words, this risky move of mine really paid off.

Thinking of this, the corners of Li Cunli's mouth rose wildly, his heart was very happy, and full of the pleasure of revenge: Li Siyuan, Li Siyuan, you looked down on me before, now, you can't even save yourself!

Chapter 92 A Calm Situation

In Li Cunli's eyes, Prince Qi was a man who once competed with his adoptive father. Now that he has entered the court, with the support of the emperor, he will definitely be able to suppress Li Siyuan's arrogance or even defeat him.

Although Li Siyuan was powerful, he was just a powerful official. It was already the limit for him to be able to control the troops around Jin State. The total number of these troops probably only accounted for one-third of the total troops of the court.

These troops usually have to be stationed in local areas to guard against foreign tribes such as the Khitan. In fact, he actually does not have many troops at his disposal.

In other words, the core of Li Siyuan lies in the State of Jin where Hedong is located. That is his old nest, his base camp, and his real cornerstone. However, when Li Cunxu was in power, he used actors to suppress the Jiedushi.

Therefore, even if Li Siyuan continued to develop in a low-key manner, he would inevitably be suppressed.

Even though Li Siyuan died, he got the biggest piece of the pie, but the number of troops under his command did not increase much. What he gained was political advantage, he placed people in place, and cleaned up the court.

Unfortunately, before he had time to digest these political advantages, the emperor suddenly appeared and caught him off guard.

Thinking back on the past, Li Cunli's eyes gradually turned cold. Ever since he took office as the leader of the Li Sect in Tongwenguan, he had been loyal to Li Siyuan. When Li Siyuan reached the peak of his career, he did not rise with him but was kicked away instead.

No matter who it happens to, it would be hard for anyone to accept.

So, he surrendered to the emperor.

Li Cunli's smile grew wider. He thought that this move he made was right. With the Emperor and the King of Qi, plus the information he had handed over, it would be easier to deal with Li Siyuan.

But, Longquan treasure...

Thinking of the Longquan treasure, Li Cunli was filled with emotion. Several leaders of Tongwenguan had searched for several years but found nothing. As a result, Li Xingyun made progress as soon as he went down the mountain. Not only did the Longquan sword come out, but now he also got the Longquan treasure box.

Now that the thing has fallen into the hands of the emperor, no one can take it back. This Longquan treasure is destined to be obtained by the emperor.

My search over the past few years was more like a game. I was busy and busy, but got nothing and it was all in vain.

At this moment, he felt extremely complicated, but finally felt relieved.

It is better for the Longquan treasure to be obtained by the emperor than to be obtained by Li Siyuan. As long as the emperor wants to restore the Tang Dynasty, it will not be difficult to see the day when the Longquan treasure appears in the world.

At that time, he wanted to see what the Longquan treasure that he had spent several years searching for looked like.

······

Soon, King Qi took office and officially served in the court.

Although Prince Qi served as the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Su Ming did not make any drastic moves. Changing orders every day is not a good thing. Prince Qi had just taken office and had not yet adapted to the job. He had no one under his command, and if he acted rashly, something unexpected might happen.

Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish. You can't be impatient. If you act too hastily, you may easily become like Emperor Yang of Sui, who died instantly and left behind a bad reputation for all eternity.

Although there was no change in the imperial court, it did not mean that there was no Zhongshu Province. As soon as she took office, the empress reorganized the Zhongshu Province. First, she restored the complete functions of the Zhongshu Province, expanded the officials, and cleared out all the unqualified people and those who were close to Li Siyuan.

After the reorganization of the Secretariat, its efficiency was greatly improved, and it was more confident when handing over to other government offices. More importantly, Li Siyuan could no longer make orders about the Secretariat and interfere in its political affairs.

Now, the Secretariat is the territory of Prince Qi. If the Secretariat is not reorganized, how can it compete with the Three Departments or even the Privy Council?

Although King Qi is famous, he is just one person after all. In the court struggle, one person can never accomplish anything. No matter how powerful he is, he cannot resist the wolves surrounding him. Sometimes, strength in numbers is the truth.

There are so many people and the momentum is so huge that they can say what is true is false and what is false is true, confusing right and wrong.

If King Qi wants to get things done, he must first have people under his command. It would be difficult to accomplish anything without people. Even after Su Ming ascended the throne, if it were not for Zhang Zifan, Meng Po and others, he would still be trapped in the deep palace, in the dark.

After the reorganization of the Secretariat, its power was enhanced and many officials began to lean towards King Qi. King Qi accepted all these people under his command, regardless of whether they were speculators, those loyal to the Tang Dynasty or those with ulterior motives.

······

After several military governors led by Shi Jingtang and Li Congke left, the remaining military governors felt it was not appropriate to stay in Luoyang any longer and left one after another. Once they left, Luoyang became quiet.

During the days they were here, Luoyang City was very lively.

No matter how rich and powerful the local vassal states were, they were only able to act in the local area. Luoyang, on the other hand, was the imperial capital. It had gradually become the political center of the Tang Dynasty since the reign of Emperor Gaozong. Although it had experienced wars, it had been largely preserved and was much better than the dilapidated Chang'an.

Today's Luoyang is still the number one city in the world and is extremely prosperous. After Su Ming ascended the throne, Luoyang City became even more prosperous and merchants from all over the world gathered here.

There were merchants from the Western Regions, medicinal herbs and furs from the grasslands and the Bohai Kingdom, silk from the south of the Yangtze River, and rare treasures. In addition to spending money lavishly, the military governors even competed for the ladies in brothels, spending huge sums of money overnight, and the news spread in Luoyang.

After the storm in the city ended, it became silent, but the stories of the military governors were still spread in the streets and alleys, becoming the topic of conversation among the people after dinner.

And there was peace in the court, a temporary peace.

The King of Qi and the King of Jin are both gearing up for the moment when the conflict breaks out.

······

The Imperial Guards Camp.

Su Ming, wearing a dark suit, slowly walked into the Imperial Guards camp. This was where the Imperial Guards were stationed, with thousands of elite soldiers. When he had just ascended the throne, this place was empty.

After Li Cunxu's death, war broke out in Luoyang. Li Siyuan invaded Luoyang and incorporated and disbanded the original imperial guards, leaving only a group of old, disabled and sick people. Before Su Ming ascended the throne, he simply dismissed all the old, disabled and sick people, leaving him no soldiers.

At that time, there were only a few hundred Khitan soldiers brought by Qingguo Qingcheng to patrol the imperial city. Later, Zhang Zifan went on a diplomatic mission to Khitan and brought back a lot of Khitan soldiers. Su Ming did not incorporate these people into the imperial guards, but formed a separate cavalry from them and trained them together with King Qi's soldiers.

When he ascended the throne before, princes and vassal states from all over the country sent him many gifts. These gifts were not put into the national treasury, but became the emperor's private property. Among them, there were nearly five thousand war horses in total, which are now being well nourished by the imperial guards.

These cavalrymen were not numerous, but they could be considered a cavalry seed. In the wars in the north, they would be at a great disadvantage without cavalry. Even in the future wars with the Khitan, they would be destined to be beaten without cavalry.

There are some things that you can do without, but you can’t live without them.

The army under the Jiedushi's command was unreliable, and he only trusted the army he had trained himself.

Chapter 93 Military Camp Training Ground

School grounds.

A murderous atmosphere was spreading. Hundreds of strong soldiers were holding spears, swords, and shields, hacking and stabbing continuously. These were the elite soldiers sent by King Qi from Fengxiang Prefecture.

These people are veterans, the elite who have truly survived the battlefield. Soldiers who have seen blood and those who have not seen blood are two completely different concepts. Su Ming can feel the indifference to life and the murderous aura from them.

These people will be reorganized here and formed into a new imperial guard to replace the original Khitan soldiers.

People of foreign races cannot be trusted. He had no choice but to use them before. Now that he has the conditions, he naturally has to use his own people. Of course, Su Ming will not waste these Khitan soldiers. The most elite ones will be made into cavalry, and the less elite ones will be made into infantry.

Hundreds of Khitan soldiers, who could not make any splash among thousands of elite soldiers, also occupied a dominant position.

"Brother Zhang, it's all thanks to you." Su Ming looked at the soldiers training on the training ground and nodded with satisfaction. Although these soldiers were training without any rules, they were all very practical moves on the battlefield. On the battlefield, the more fancy the moves, the faster they died.