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

Hearing Su Ming's words, Li Cunli showed a bitter smile on his face. After seeing Feng Dao's chess pieces, he realized how much effort the emperor had held back when playing chess with him.

People are afraid of comparison.

If he played chess with Feng Dao, he would most likely lose. Like the emperor, he also advocated offense. Even the emperor took more than a hundred moves to break through his defense, let alone himself.

Su Ming picked up the teacup and said meaningfully, "When you have time, Prince Xue can interact more with Lord Feng and exchange chess skills."

The implication is to let them interact more often and reach cooperation in the court.

"Wei Chen takes orders."

"The minister obeys the order!"

Feng Dao and Li Cunli looked at each other and bowed at the same time.

After leaving Qianqiu Hall, Li Cunli took out gold beans from his sleeve and rewarded the eunuch. Feng Dao did not do anything. He was not like Li Cunli, who could receive a salary like a king. He was relatively poor among the court officials.

After sending the eunuch away, he turned to look at Feng Dao, "Master Feng, I will host a dinner tonight. There are still many things I don't understand about today's game of chess, so I would like to ask you for your advice."

Chapter 153: The Khitan Army is Unbeatable

Feng Dao was stunned for a moment, then he smiled and said frankly, "That is what I wish for, but I dare not ask for it."

Then, the two of them got on the carriage together and drove towards Prince Xue's mansion. In addition to playing chess, they had a lot of topics to talk about.

……

Jin Palace.

Li Cunzhi sat in the hall with an uneasy look on his face. He did not touch any of the tea and cakes served by the servants. Instead, he looked out the door from time to time, looking very anxious.

Just when he was getting impatient, Li Siyuan finally arrived.

As soon as he appeared, Li Cunzhi breathed a sigh of relief and his expression was no longer as anxious as before.

"Seventh Brother, sorry to have kept you waiting." Li Siyuan walked slowly to the upper seat and sat down slowly.

As soon as Li Siyuan opened his mouth, Li Cunzhi could not wait to report, "Brother, the emperor just summoned the Minister of Rites Feng Dao and the traitor Li Cunli. I wonder what they are plotting."

Hearing this, Li Siyuan raised his eyebrows, then returned to his smiling face, "Seventh Brother, why are you so anxious? The sky hasn't fallen yet. It's just a matter of the Khitans."

Li Cunzhi frowned and said hastily, "Brother, if the emperor wants to unite with the Khitans to plot against you, what should we do?"

"Seventh Brother, that's your fault. You're too impatient." Li Siyuan took a sip of the teacup slowly and continued, "With my current status, how can they deal with me?"

"Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. If he does this, it will be exactly what I want. If he unites with foreigners to deal with meritorious ministers of the court, what will be left of him as the Son of Heaven?"

"Don't worry. We have come this far in just one year. The emperor is not as stupid as you think. He will not touch me, let alone disrupt the political situation of the court, before there is a perfect plan."

Li Siyuan's explanation made Li Cunzhi feel relieved. However, he asked again, "Brother, the emperor has made so many moves recently, are you indifferent? Are you just watching him expand his power?"

This sentence is full of dissatisfaction towards Li Siyuan.

As his confidant, Li Cunzhi was eager to step to the front and seize power. No one wanted to stay in the shadows all his life.

Li Cunzhi was not alone. Behind him there were people who also wanted to take credit for following the emperor. Some of them were generals, some were officials, and some were local forces in Hedong.

Li Siyuan's concessions in the court have already made them dissatisfied, so the purpose of Li Cunzhi's visit today was not to report, but to test.

Li Siyuan's eyes widened instantly as he stared at Li Cunzhi with cold eyes. "What do you want to say?"

At this time, Li Cunzhi no longer concealed it, cleared his throat, and said solemnly, "Brother, the emperor has no troops. If Yuan Tiangang was really that powerful, how could Emperor Zhaozong be killed by Zhu Wen? How could the Tang Dynasty be destroyed?"

"Didn't Li Maozhen wantonly bully Emperor Zhaozong back then? What can he do to Li Maozhen? Why should we be afraid of a mere emperor in name only? Can't we do what Li Maozhen did?"

"You were already in charge of Jin before you came to Luoyang. After you came to Luoyang, you still only controlled Jin. Didn't you come to Luoyang for nothing?"

"In that case, why should we be suppressed by the emperor in Luoyang? We might as well go back to Hedong and do whatever we want."

These words are not only his inner voice, but also the voice of Li Siyuan's subordinates.

"What do you know?"

"What do you know?"

Li Siyuan stared at him with an expression of disappointment, "If Li Maozhen was really so arrogant, how could the Prince of Qi standing in the court now be a woman?"

"If Yuan Tiangang really had no ability and no means, how could the Tang Dynasty have lasted for three hundred years! Zhu Wen and Li Cunxu were both killed by him. If I go one step further, who do you think will be the next one?"

As he said this, he put down his teacup and knocked on the table. "Notify Lao Ba as soon as possible and let those people in Hedong be stable. If they don't want to be decent, then don't blame me for being ruthless. I am not a pawn in their hands that they can manipulate."

Li Siyuan's tone was more serious than ever before, cold and even murderous. Hedong was his foundation, and he would never allow a fire to break out in his backyard!

Pfft!

Li Cunzhi knelt on the ground, sweating profusely. Usually, he, the eldest brother, was kind and easy to talk to. But today, he realized what the dignity of a king or a prince was. When a king or a prince with real power got angry, he could not withstand it.

"Brother, I was wrong!" Not surprisingly, Li Cunzhi admitted his mistake straightforwardly. He was just testing the waters and had not done anything out of line. Admitting his mistake was nothing.

Seeing him admit his mistake straightforwardly, Li Siyuan's face looked better. "I know that since I came to Luoyang, many of you are dissatisfied with my actions, but don't forget that I only control Hedong. The governors of other places don't buy my account at all!"

"Luoyang is not only occupied by me, but also by the Queen of Qi. She has already fully surrendered to the emperor. The power of the imperial court is not as weak as you think. Once Hedong betrays the imperial court, Qi will definitely become our enemy. When the emperor makes a call, the whole world will follow. How will you and I cope with this?"

Li Siyuan shuddered at the thought of that result. With his stubborn character, he always considered defeat before victory. Unless the emperor took action, he would never take the initiative to act and lose his reputation.

Before Hedong has grown strong enough to rule the world, he is just a minister, not a king!

If one violates the righteousness between the ruler and his subjects, he becomes a traitor.

Li Cunzhi had collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down his face, "Brother, I was wrong, I was really wrong."

He just wanted to make progress so much, but he didn't expect that there would be such dangers behind the progress.

"Okay, I don't blame you for this. You just came to Luoyang not long ago and you are not clear about the situation in the court. On the contrary, the Central Plains is in turmoil, which is far more dangerous than what you have experienced in Hedong. If you make a wrong step, you will lose everything and be crushed to pieces." Seeing that he had almost finished beating him, Li Siyuan helped him up.

"As for what you said about going back to Hedong, it's not like I haven't considered it, but it's easy to go back to Hedong, but it's difficult to come back again."

He was a king of a different surname and also a military governor. Without the emperor's edict, he could not enter Luoyang under normal circumstances. The reason he could stay in Luoyang now was entirely because of his contribution to following the emperor.

Li Cunzhi recovered and asked, "Brother, what are you going to do next?"

Li Siyuan regained his smiling face and said, "What should we do? You have seen the Khitan's military might. We can never defeat them. However, after the peace talks, we in Hedong can exchange horses at the border and expand our power."

"Hedong is our base, and we cannot be careless. I am in the court, and the emperor has to be cautious when doing things, and it is impossible for us to expand our power."

Chapter 154: First Meeting with Yelu Zhiwu

After all, Li Siyuan still couldn't bear to leave. Having come to this point, who would be willing to retreat from a powerful official to the local level? It is better to lose a son than to lose power. He would rather give in in the court than leave.

In the court, he could still grasp the changes of the situation and retreat to Hedong. Even if he left more people in the court, they were out of reach and could not suppress the emperor, unless he openly rebelled and bullied the emperor.

But in this way, the good reputation he has built and the merits he has accumulated before will be lost in one day. Without these, what is the difference between him and those separatist military governors?

Without a good reputation to protect him, the emperor will no longer have any scruples and will not be criticized if he takes action against him.

"Brother, I understand." Li Cunzhi nodded respectfully and didn't dare to say anything more.

"Explain these things clearly to Lao Ba. Those people in Hedong can cooperate, but they cannot be trusted." Li Siyuan reminded.

After Li Cunzhi left, Li Siyuan's easy-going face suddenly turned gloomy.

This matter was far from as simple as Li Cunzhi saw. He only saw those people instigating behind the scenes, but this actually represented a decline in Li Siyuan's control over Hedong.

He was stationed in Luoyang and remotely led Hedong. It seemed that nothing was happening, but the absence of the commander-in-chief was too long. The people under him would inevitably become disloyal and something bad would surely happen in Hedong. This incident was a warning to himself.

However, compared to his biggest worry, these were all minor matters. His eyes were empty, and he muttered to himself, "Yuan Tiangang, what on earth are you planning?"

Calculating the time, Yuan Tiangang has not appeared in almost a year. Logically speaking, the emperor should show up now that he has done so much.

Could it be that he really intends to let it go?

Thinking of this, he pulled his beard and fell into deep thought.

……

In the following days, the Minister of Rites Feng Dao and the Deputy Minister of the Secretariat Li Cunli presided over the peace talks with the Khitan, which included terms such as not stationing troops within a hundred miles of the border, opening up trade, and allowing commerce.

Although there is internal strife in the Central Plains now, its strength is not weak at all. The Khitans do not dare to push too hard and demand annual tribute from the court.

Although the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms were a period of great chaos, they were full of martial virtues and were much stronger than the Song Dynasty. At least they won and would not admit defeat.

Except for the Song Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, no country in history has been like this.

As long as there was no compensation and no cession of territory, all conditions were negotiable. After half a month of talks, the terms were almost finalized and the two sides formally signed the alliance.

Of course, if necessary, this covenant would be nothing more than a piece of waste paper. Neither the Central Plains nor the Khitan would take it too seriously, but for some small tribes and Jiedushi, they were relieved.

They are always the first to suffer in every foreign war. Even if there is no major war, the occasional looting makes them terrified.

Now, the two sides are in peace talks and they can finally have some peace for a while.

……

"What? Yelu Zhiwu wants to see me?"

In Qianqiu Palace, Su Ming was surprised, and Feng Dao, who was reporting in the palace, also looked helpless.

The imperial court had just concluded peace talks with the Khitan, and the next step was to prepare to marry the Khitan princess. Unexpectedly, the Khitan princess actually asked to meet with the emperor at this time.

This matter was against etiquette, but they were unable to make a decision and could only report it to the emperor.

Knowing that the official from the Ministry of Rites was in a difficult situation, Su Ming did not refuse and agreed directly, "It's okay, go ahead and meet him if you want."

……

The street where the post house is located has been cleared and the road surface has been swept clean. The beggars who usually hang around the street have also been expelled. The number of soldiers guarding here has doubled, and strict checks are being carried out on entry and exit.

Because it was against etiquette, the Ministry of Rites did not make a big fuss about it. After Su Ming left the palace, he took an ordinary sedan chair to the inn.

Along the way, he also looked outside through the sedan chair. Compared to when he first arrived, Luoyang was more prosperous, and the people under his rule had more color on their faces, no longer as numb and pale as before.

The trauma caused by war is more terrible than natural disasters.

After learning about the situation on the street, Su Ming stopped checking and sat in the sedan chair with his eyes closed to rest.

Outside the posthouse, the imperial guards and Khitan soldiers were guarding here together to prevent snooping. Until now, Su Ming has not regained control of Luoyang. The guarding soldiers and Luoyang government officials are almost all Li Siyuan's men. This is one of the reasons why he dared to stay in Luoyang.

The Khitans also knew that the emperor of the Central Plains was coming, so the sedan chair was not stopped in front of the post house and went straight to the courtyard.

After getting off the sedan chair, Su Ming saw the Khitan soldiers guarding around. He took a quick glance and paid no more attention to them, but instead focused his eyes inside the house.

At this time, a Khitan woman dressed in grassland clothes came over, looking like a maid, "Your Majesty, the princess wants to see you."

But what surprised him was that the maid actually spoke the Central Plains Mandarin, the pure Luoyang accent.

"Lead the way."

Su Ming followed the maid to the backyard, where someone was already waiting.